Baby weight.

How do you lose it? Why is there so much of it? And why do other moms seem to banish their baby bellies immediately after giving birth?

Maybe their secret is Belly Bandits, an abdominal compression binder to help flatten the belly and redefine the waistline post-baby. The wrap also helps decrease bloating caused by water retention, give support to legs and back, improve posture and reduce back and shoulder pain associated with breastfeeding. Check out the wraps here.

Belly Bandit is giving away a $50 Belly Bandit Couture to a lucky SouthernMamas subscriber. See the giveaway wrap here. Even if you aren’t pregnant or a recent new mom, these tummy wraps make fun shower and baby gifts.

To be eligible to win, email us your name and your secret to losing baby weight (or your gameplan on how you will lose it.) Deadline is 9 pm Thurs. Sept. 18. Send email to anne@southernmamas.com. We’ll pick a name at random and announce the winner here Friday. The winner can select her size of Belly Bandit.

You have to be a SouthernMamas subscriber to participate. Subscribing is free. Click here to do so.

If you are pregnant or know someone who is, please check out my column today in the Accent section of the Savannah Morning News to find out how that newborn can help save lives.

Read it by clicking here.

To find out more about Cryobanks International Inc.’s free donation program, click here.

Babble.com has an interesting and quick Q&A today with Sanda Tsing Loh, author of the new book “Mother on Fire: A True Motherf%#$@ Story About Parenting.”

Loh , a writer, performer and NPR essayist, is now a staunch defender of “those scary, scary” public schools. She points an accusatory finger at moms like me who are leaning toward choosing private schools (if we can save enough money by the time my son’s ready and if we don’t make the lottery for the public school Charles Ellis Montessori Academy).

Should we feel “judged” or “disrespected” or “guilty” for choosing private schools over public?

That depends, according to Loh. If you are disgusted with the state of public education, the best solution is getting involved and making improvements as a public school parent. Loh says she has a big problem with “The very elite, wealthy blue, blue Democrat, Manhattan or L.A. people railing against the educational system” while sending their kids to exclusive private schools.

“They could make it (the public school system) better. All the money they’re dumping into the private schools, all the favors they’re doing for private schools — speaking at commencements, the fund raising, teaching the little Latin class, dumping all their resources into the private schools — then looking critically at all of us people out there in the not-so pretty schools. Those are people I would judge most harshly,” Loh says.

She also defends the stereotypical PTA mom who makes school fund raising her life’s mission, leaving other parents feeling inferior.

“It’s the moms at public schools who are doing all of it: cutting out cute heart-shaped figures, bringing snacks for field trips, figuring out the system, selling the wrapping paper, writing grants for the violins, getting money together for a music program,” Loh says. “So the PTA mom is glaring at you. . . leave her alone, she’s getting a new gym built!”

Read the Q&A here.

Below is a blurb from Amazon about her book. It sounds like an interesting, albeit guilt-provoking, read.

“Prompted by her own midlife crisis, Loh throws her frantic energy not into illicit affairs, shopping binges, or exotic trips, but into the harrowing heart of contemporary, dysfunctional L.A. life when she realizes that she can’t afford private school for her daughter, and her only alternative is her neighborhood’s public school, Guavatorina, where most of the kids speak Spanish and qualify for free lunches. “

I want to live in a leeann ritch portrait. Check out her photos here and you will, too.

The Savannah photographer and new mom – her 3-month old treasure Easton is pictured here – has a love for life, children and, now, motherhood that is evident in her photography (and in her blog). We’re thrilled to have her as our newest sponsor.

LeeAnn shoots portraits (like this mother-daughter shot pictured here), weddings, even pets.

She has a knack for natural lighting and candid shots. A native Floridian, LeeAnn also has lived in California, and, now, Georgia. She’s obviously not one to be landlocked. LeeAnn has had a passion for photography since she was a little girl and has been shooting all her life.

Mention SouthernMamas when booking your session with LeeAnn, and you will receive 10 percent off the sitting fee. Click here to contact LeeAnn. Or call 912.308.9327 or email leeann@leeannritchphotography.com

Ginger D. Thompson!

Congratulations, Ginger.
She wins a $50 gift card to use @ Just for Baby & More, which is in a new location @ 7701 Waters Ave. – right across from their former spot. Look for the polka dots.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Look for a different giveaway from a different business to be announced here Monday.

Make plans to attend the Aesop’s Fables family puppet show presented by The Red Herring Puppeteers visiting from North Carolina.

The FREE! puppet shows will be various branches of Live Oak Libraries including:
4:30 pm Thurs. Sept. 18 @ Oglethorpe Mall Branch, 7 Mall Annex, Savannah.
10:30 am Thurs., Sept. 25 @ Effingham (Springfield) Branch, 810 Hwy. 119, Springfield
4 pm Thurs. Sept. 25 @ Islands Branch, 125 Wilmington Island Road, Wilmington Island

Best for ages 5 to 12.

Sponsored by The Savannah Coastal Puppetry Guild and the Live Oak Public Libraries Foundation.

Let SouthernMamas sponsor and travel agent Jennie Tarver book your next trip.

Visit Jennie’s Web site – My Easy Travel Planner – by clicking here to book travel direct or to have Jennie find and create a great vacation that you can afford without the extra fees that traditional agencies charge. This is especially handy for a large group trip because reserving them can be time-consuming.

Jennie specializes in honeymoon travel, but also books other types of travel including: family vacation packages, business travel, wedding destinations, golf packages, cruises, and even tickets to concerts, theme parks, sporting events. You can be on vacation and pull up My Easy Travel Planner and purchase tickets for events etc.

Jennie also helps other moms start their own travel business. Find out more about how to work from home as a travel agent by clicking here.

Contact Jennie: 912.272.9965; email jennie@myeasytravelplanner.com.
Or visit My Easy Travel Planner.

We’ve heard a lot of talk lately about the value of carrying a baby with Down syndrome to term.

One of our sponsors, Bethany from The Polkadot Platypus, and her husband are actually CHOOSING to adopt a little girl from Russia who has Down syndrome. The couple already has two birth children including a daughter with Down syndrome.

Bethany and her husband will be traveling to meet their soon-to-be adopted daughter within the next couple of weeks and will hopefully bring her home soon after that. As you know, adoptions are pricey.

The Web site – The Mom Crowd – is hosting a raffle to raise funds to help with their substantial adoption costs. Each raffle ticket purchased will enter you into a drawing for amazing prizes listed here.

Raffle tickets are $5 each. The more raffle tickets you purchase, the more chances you will have to win.

The raffle ends midnight Wed. Sept. 24. Winners will be announced Fri. Sept. 26. Click here to purchase tickets.

Searching for a professional photographer whose sessions won’t break your bank?

Check out our sponsor, Lynnae Weller, owner of “Weller Is Deeper” and some of her work pictured here.

Lynnae has a passion for pictures. She loves to photograph, create, combine, and work with pictures to see them come to life and capture special moments. She specializes in photography, DVD slideshows (also known as photo montages) and photo restoration.

Lynnae photographs families, children, pets and events. Her love for life spills over into her art. She finds nothing so beautiful as outdoor photography, so she chooses to do only on-site shoots.

Any images taken during a photography shoot will not be copyrighted. You have the option of receiving your photos on a CD, download them from a private website created just for you or have them uploaded directly to a website that you can order them from. You may have them printed where and how you choose.

Contact Lynnae by clicking here or call 912.921.4541. She offers $5 off to SouthernMamas subscribers.

The popular Toddler Tuesdays craft, storytime and animal program @ Oatland Island Wildlife Center is about to get better.

Starting Tues. Sept. 16, Toddler Tuesdays will feature more age appropriate activities on alternating weeks.

• Each month, the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month will be more appropriate for 6 month-2 year olds.

• The 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month will be more appropriate for 3-4 year olds.

• On the rare 5th weeks of each month, the program will be appropriate for all ages

Of course, all toddler ages from 6 months-4 years are welcome to attend any of the programs! Toddler Tuesdays is from 10:30-11:15 am every Tuesday. It’s free with regular admission to Oatland Island Wildlife Center.

Dates, ages and topics are also posted on Oatland’s Web site. Click here.

Just for Baby & More is in a new location @ 7701 Waters Ave. – right across from their former spot. Look for the polka dots.

And to celebrate their move with SouthernMamas, Just for Baby & More is giving away a $50 gift card to a lucky SouthernMamas subscriber! To be eligible for this week’s giveaway, just email your name and the answer to the following question to anne@southernmamas.com.

One example of the fun baby gear Just for Baby & More carries are adorable bottle pets – soft, plush bottle covers that turn feeding time into cuddle time. Bottle pets come in a variety of animals. Email us the name of the monkey – pictured here. Or the name of the turtle or the cow. Hint. Visit the Just for Baby & More Web site by clicking here. Then click on toys and scroll down.

Deadline is 9 pm Thurs. Sept. 11. We’ll pick a name at random and announce the winner Friday.

You have to be a SouthernMamas subscriber to participate. Subscribing is free. Click here to do so.

Does Sarah ‘Barracuda’ Palin make you marvel and wonder “How does the supermom do it all?”

If so, you’re not alone. Be sure to read my column “Pitbull in lipstick’ puts moms to the test” in today’s Savannah Morning News Accent section. Read the column by clicking here.

But a much better article is this one from the New York Times about parents of special-needs children being divided over Palin’s promise to help. Read it by clicking here. The question raised is what Palin, whose youngest son has Down syndrome, would seek to accomplish for disabled children as vice president.

Parents of special-needs children ask whether her promise to help in her nomination speech means she will improve services and financing for special-needs children; get rid of Medicaid wait lists to get kids services; quickly pass the American with Disabilities restoration act?

Would love to hear from any parents of special-needs kids about your take on Palin’s promise that you would “have a friend and advocate in the White House” in a McCain-Palin administration. As the NYT article points out:

“The last time a candidate explicitly appealed to families of the disabled at a national convention, advocates said, was 20 years ago, when the presidential nominee, George H.W. Bush, endorsed the Americans with Disabilities Act — and got a 10 percentage point bump among voters who identified themselves as having disabilities.”

Starting Sept. 15, Telfair Museum of Art will offer youth studio art classes for a variety of age levels, including as young as 5. Check out all the classes by clicking here.

Sessions include:

• Home-school art: painting – art fundamentals for Savannah-area home-schooled children.
• Photography, drawing, mixed media.
• Multi-media Saturday series – painting, sculpture and drawing.

To register, call 912.790.8823.

Don’t forget, the next Toddler Third Thursday @ Telfair’s Jepson Center of the Arts is 10-11:30 am Sept. 18. Toddler Third Thursday is designed for preschoolers ages 3-5 and their adult companions.

Toddlers explore artwork and partake in a fun-filled art project relating to their tour. Colors, shapes and material vocabulary are encouraged. Each month brings a different tour and project. This month’s is s farms and barns art activity based on the work of William Christenberry.

Kids also get time to play in the ArtZeum, the Jepson’s interactive children’s section, and can take home their art masterpieces. Admission is $4 per child with adult admission fee. Call 912.790.8823 to register.

You spent all summer cultivating your child’s love for the ocean.

Now you can celebrate that nautical love @ Gray’s Reef 2008 Ocean Film Festival. The festival has a special program for kids – Seaside Saturday. It will be 9-10 am Sat. Sept. 20 @ SCAD’s Trustees Theatre – Broughton Street. All children are invited to attend this FREE! event with their parents.

The event includes these kid-friendly films:

• Sanctuary Sam – (1 min) – The National Marine Sanctuary System’s “flippered” ambassador delivers a message.
• Water Detectives – (11 min) – Children of one Mexican town teach the adults how to conserve water.
• Ride of the Mergansers – (11 min) – Baby mergansers get their first look at the world.
• Always Ready – (4 min) – A kid-sized view of the U.S. Coast Guard produced by 8-year-old Herbert Gilman.

For more info, click here.

Bang your drum, shake your tambourine, sing and dance with your child at one of the Kindermusik classes that start next week in Savannah, Richmond Hill, Wilmington Island, The Landings and Rincon.

There’s still time to sign up for this early childhood music program. Registration includes your own Kindermusik CD so you can continue the dancing at home.

Attention work-outside-the-home SouthernMamas who have difficulty finding weekend mommy-and-me activities: Saturday Kindermusik sessions will be offered in Savannah, starting Sept. 20!

Kindermusik classes are available for children ages 0 to 7. Classes are divided by age including the “Zoom Buggy and Dream Pillow” class for ages 0-20 months; “Milk and Cookies” for ages 18 months to 3.5 years; “Hello Weather, Let’s Play Together” for ages 3 to 5; and Family Time classes for newborns to 7 year-olds and the whole family.

Kindermusik also has a baby sign language class, “Sign and Sing,” for hearing children ages 6 months to 36 months and their parents. You and your child will learn over 150 signs to help you communicate.

Browse the local Kindermusik Web site and register for the Fall’08 session. Be sure to tell them SouthernMamas sent you!

Melanie Barton wins the gift cube from Cry Babyz, a mom-owned and operated Webshop. The cube includes an original paci pocket and CryBabyz pacifier. Congratulations Melanie!

And Alexia Pittas Webster wins a free soccer team registration and soccer ball from Savannah Celtic, for her son, George. The league has different programs for children ages 3-8. Congratulations Alexia!

Look for another giveaway to be announced here Monday.

Has your couch seen better days?
If you have the ugliest couch in America, you could win a $5,000 living room makeover from SureFit slipcovers and HGTV.
All you have to do is send a color photo of your hideous couch to Sure Fit Inc., c/o “Ugly Couch Contest”, 6575 Snowdrift Road, Allentown, PA 18106.
On a separate piece of paper, include your full name, address, phone number and email address. Or you can enter online by clicking here.
Make sure your photo gets in before October 13, so HGTV’s panel of judges can decide just how ugly your couch is.

Nothing like a vice-presidential candidate and governor who’s also a mother of five, including a special-needs infant son and a pregnant teen-age daughter, to add fuel to the already heated debate about the appropriate balance between child-rearing and working .

Within two hours of The Washington Post reporting on its Web site the pregnancy of Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, more than 1,000 people had weighed in, fighting about whether Palin, 44, is placing her own political ambition above the needs of her family.

Social conservatives, usually advocates for stay-at-home motherhood, mostly defend Palin. Others, including working mothers, are concerned she is taking on too much.

What do y’all think?

If you had a 4-month-old infant with Down syndrome, would you take on the job of full-time campaigning across the nation? Would you go back to work as governor of Alaska three days after giving birth?

And if you knew your 17-year-old daughter was pregnant and not-yet-married, would you accept the vice-presidential slot or bypass the chance to make history in order to spare your daughter the embarrassing spotlight?

Or is it unfair to scrutinize Palin about any of these questions, that, after all, no male candidate has to endure?

Learn about a new early childhood music program @ an open house, 5-7 pm. Thurs. Sept. 4 @ Trinity Lutheran Church, 12391 Mercy Blvd. on Savannah’s southside.

Vicki Mills, who has a masters in vocal performance and more than 20 years of experience teaching children, offers early childhood music for ages newborn to 8. Classes begin Sept. 25 and are held Thursday @ Trinity Lutheran Church.

At the open house, you will be able to experience a FREE demo class @ 5:30 pm. Come dressed to move with your newborn to 5-year-old. There will also be drawings every half hour of instruments, CDs and reduced tuition. Those who register @ the open house receive 10 percent off tuition.

To find out more about class times, contact Vicki @ MakeAJoyfulNoiseMusicStudio@comcast.net or call 912.920.6542.

Add this to this week’s kids events we highlighted in your weekly SouthernMamas newsletter (If you didn’t receive yours, email anne@southernmamas.com): crafts and coastal reptiles @ Skidaway Island State Park on Fri. Sept. 5.
2 pm: crafts and critters bags @ the park’s interpretive center.
4 pm: coastal reptiles. Learn all about them. See live ones. Bring your camera for pictures.
8:30 pm: sensory awareness night hike. Learn about different creatures that come out at night and awaken your senses with experiments on this hike.
For more info, call 912.598.2300. For driving directions, click here.