Recently my son was diagnosed with something called brachycephaly and plagiocephaly. In simple terms it means he suffers from “flat head syndrome.” Ever since the “Back To Sleep” program was created in 1994 to reduce the risks of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) more and more babies are getting this condition. In the first several months of their lives babies are put to sleep on their back. Their little skulls are so soft and malleable that sometimes it creates a flat head in the back. The condition can be corrected with something called a cranial remolding orthoses. It looks like a little helmet and it helps provide a pathway to more symmetrical skull growth.

After noticing my son Brenner had a flat spot in the back, I took him at 5 months old to a place called Cranial Technologies. They make what’s called a DOC Band helmet. They took photos of my son and then explained to me that Brenner had both brachy and plagio happening. His head was starting to grow up and not back. Always trying to see the humor in everything from this point on I started calling him Megamind after the animated character played by Will Ferrell. Brenner didn’t mind.

I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to confine my little boy to this contraption for several months. First, because he was so alert and so active I was afraid he would hate it and try and rip it off. Second, because let’s be honest people can be cruel. Just read the comments on pretty much every blog ever written! Our society loves to tear people down, even babies. I was dreading having to take my son out to the grocery store and the mall and have to hear people make stupid, inappropriate comments asking what was wrong with him. Selfishly I thought “it’s hard enough being a single parent. Now I have to deal with this too!”

As a society we are not very well versed in “flat head syndrome.” So, despite it being very common most people don’t’ know why kids have to wear these helmets. I know I certainly did not know what they were for when I would see a baby with one. I figured either something was wrong with the kid or the parents were super over protective. And this is what I was afraid other people would think. Babies are resilient. Parents are not. We get our feelings hurt and we feel terrible when our child has to do something that we think would feel uncomfortable.

Well, after waiting two months and hoping the flatness would work itself out, It didn’t. So back to Cranial Technologies we went. Brenner took photos again and the clinician showed me how not much had changed. So, I left knowing I had to make a decision. I was completely torn about what to do. I’m a big believer in signs though and that same night I ran into a couple at Costco whose daughter was wearing a helmet. She had gotten hers late as well at eight months. They prefer babies get them around 4 or 5 months. The baby’s mom told me she didn’t’ want to get it for her daughter for all the same reasons as me. However, it was a blessing in disguise to them because at ten months their daughter started walking and climbing and she would hit her head a lot and the helmet saved her from getting any injuries. Once I heard that I was in.

We picked up Brenner’s helmet yesterday. I was ready to start crying the minute it got put on his head. Except that something unexpected happened. Brenner didn’t make a peep when it went on or while it was on at all. It was like nothing different had happened. He just went about playing and crawling around exactly the same as he had ten minutes before. I still thought he looked cute in his little helmet. So the tears never flowed.

Now, Brenner is a stomach sleeper and the clinician didn’t want him to sleep overnight with it just yet to make sure his skin can handle the helmet. It can sometimes irritate the skin. So, that will be the true test when we get to that point and he has to try and sleep with this thing on. After that he will wear it for 23 hours a day (with one hour off to clean).

Lots of kids with helmets have them painted or put stickers on them to make them look better. Next week I am having Brenner’s painted to look like a Steelers helmet since I am from Pittsburgh originally. At least it will be a conversation starter. Perhaps I will have him walk around with a terrible towel too!

If you have any stories to share about Plagio or Brachy with your child please tweet me at @midlifemommies. I’ll be updating Brenner’s journey as often as I can here.

When I was 14-years-old I spent a lot of time babysitting. The pay scale back then was about $3/hour and I was pretty darn happy with that. I started my very first bank account with that money and built up a nice little nest egg for college mad money. Cut to 26 years later and now I’m shelling out $12 to $18/hour for babysitters here in Los Angeles. I get that there is inflation but there just seems to be something so wrong that the cost of a sitter has quadrupled.

As a single mom with no family living nearby it’s hard enough finding the money for sitters but it’s equally as difficult finding good, solid, trustworthy sitters. This it seems is not just a single mommy issue though. I took to Facebook recently to comment to my mom friends how they should count their lucky stars to have their husbands and/or close family nearby for babysitting duty. I was surprised to find my friends all around the country complaining though about their lack of quality babysitters at an affordable price from Texas, to Ohio to Pennsylvania us parents are having are pockets constantly pilfered!

There has to be something we can do about this situation. We take our children to daycare during the day. Has anyone thought of nightcare or weekendcare perhaps? A center run by the same cpr certified, trained professionals that is filled with cribs and toddler beds where we could safely bring our children for an evening out? Somehow I bet there are a million legalities that would prevent this from happening but if it did exist I’d be the first to sign up!

Well, I started this site with the best of intentions but my job at Access Hollywood sometimes keeps me so busy I can’t get to my other projects. Not to mention being a single mom to my five-month-old son is another job all in itself.

This weekend is the 2011 Emmy Awards so I’ve been getting ready for that. I had been dreading trying to squeeze into one of those size 2 designer dresses for the last month, yet doing nothing about it. While I don’t have a ton of weight to lose, just the last few pounds all that weight has redistributed to my belly and hips.

Then I decided there was a lot more post pregnancy issues I had to get a handle on. LIke the fact that my hair had started to fall out which is common in women after they have babies. My skin continues to be dehydrated. Plus, my problem with psoriasis came raging back after the baby. So, I decided to do something about it since I have access to some of the best trainers, nutritionists, skin care specialists and dress designers in town. However, I wanted to help other women. So I created a web series for accesshollywood.com called “Body After Baby: Emmy Bootcamp.”  This 10 day bootcamp is aimed to help me but also as a tool for anyone post pregnancy who needs to get ready for a big event whether it be a wedding, a holiday party or just some fabulous special occasion.

I hope everyone will find it informative and not self serving. My goal is to always bring the best secrets from Hollywood celebrities to everyone.

Head to the entire Body After Baby page on accesshollywood.com:  Body After Baby: Emmy Bootcamp

Emmy's 2010

One of the best parts of my job as an entertainment reporter is to be able to go to screenings of movies before they come out in theaters. Of course, as a new mom that luxury pretty much went out the window as did going to the movies even on my dime. I did sneak out once when my son was a month old to go see “Bridesmaids.” My mom and dad babysat while I went alone. The guilt was torture but the movie was hilarious so with each laugh I forgot more and more about poopy diapers. Once nana and papa returned to Florida though I pretty much figured my movies days were over. Turns out they weren’t.

Two months ago I discovered Monday Morning Mommy Movies here in Los Angeles. Every Monday morning at 11am several of the Pacific Theaters allow moms to bring infants and toddlers to watch adult movies on the big screen. http://www.pacifictheatres.com/MMMM.htm

When I first heard about it I figured it would be a bunch of screaming babies and crying mommies. I was totally wrong. My first experience was awesome. I took my son to “Friends With Benefits.” I walked in to find a slew of new mommies holding their little munchkins on their laps, while other babies slept in their car carriers. The movie started, sans previews. I’m sure those extra 15 minutes of not having to sit through commercials and coming attractions makes all the difference with a fussy baby. The movie started promptly at 11am. There was still barely a peep from any of the babies. All of a sudden Justin Timberlake’s face came on the giant screen and my son was mesmerized from the second he opened his mouth. He literally sat for 98 minutes watching the screen not making a peep. Now I won’t lie and say that it was all-quiet all the time in the theater. Some babies did start to cry and fuss but each mom either quieted their baby down or stepped out for a few minutes.

The funniest thing about the whole experience is that the theater isn’t reserved for just moms. So, if you get the itch on a Monday morning to go see an 11am movie you were in for a huge surprise.

The following Monday we went to see “The Change Up” starring Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. While not as enthralled with Jason as he was with Justin, again my son sat mesmerized the whole time.

Last week we were at dinner in Studio City and in walked Jason with his wife and daughter. They sat right next to us and I swear I’m not lying when I say my son recognized Jason. He kept smiling and laughing at him the whole time!

Oh and today I jumped at the chance to take in a screening of “Ides of March” (directed by George Clooney) simply because it was during work hours. No offense to Brenner but mommy needs some movie me time. It was totally worth it. Fantastic flick. Ryan Reynolds is phenomenal and will get nominated for an Oscar for this role.

When I was a teenager I thought a 40-year-old mother was ancient – a relic in mom jeans with bad perms who nagged their children with things like “Wait til your father gets home!” Now a 40-something mom is many times a first time mom juggling a career and a Baby Bjorn strapped over her shoulders.

Thanks to anti-aging products and injections and fillers we are looking better than ever and waiting longer and longer to have babies. Unfortunately, our biological clocks don’t quite get Botox and Restalyn or our need to find success before settling down. So, many women (including myself) are choosing to have babies after the age of 35. Halle Berry, Salma Hayek and Christina Applegate recently all had children later in life.

In fact, it’s become so prevalent that doctors have come up with a term for it – Geriatric Pregnancy. Geriatric? It sounds like we should all be convalescing with our feet planted in stirrups in the nursing home infirmary. What an insulting term to use. I certainly wouldn’t call myself geriatric when I’m on mile three pushing my four-month old in his BOB jogging stroller. To me geriatric implies grandma was getting busy after “Wheel of Fortune.” Oooohhhh, that Pat Sajak sure is an aphrodisiac!

I was alerted to this newly coined terminology by a good friend in New York who snuck a peek at her chart one day during her pregnancy (at age 40) only to be horrified by her geriatric assessment. So, when I found myself pregnant at 39 years young, I couldn’t resist a clandestine perusal at my own chart. In my case, late life babies run in the family. My grandmother gave birth to my mom at 35-years-old in 1942. That was unheard of in that day and age. On my first visit to the ob/gyn, with the doctor out of the room, I hopped off the table and there it was at the top of my chart. Laura Saltman, “Advanced Maternal Age.” Phew! I like this a little bit better. It certainly doesn’t imply I’m sporting a baby bump and a walker.

Why don’t men ever have to deal with stuff like this? My son’s father is nearing 50. Should we have called him Elderly Procreator when he showed up for an ultrasound with me the one time he chose to partake.

I think it’s time to come up with something a little more flattering to us mid-life mommies. Perhaps “Waited Til She Was Ready” or “Couldn’t Afford A Baby In Her 20’s” or simply “Late Life Pregnancy.”

Ok, well I guess those aren’t technically medical terms. So if anyone has any suggestions I’d like to hear them. Let’s just not call it Pre-Menopausal pregnancy.

6 Months Pregnant at the 2011 Golden Globes