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An article published today titled, Expectant Moms Packing on Too Many Pounds says there are new guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy. (This outta be good.) And they go a little something like this:

- A normal-weight woman should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy.

- An overweight woman —should gain 15 to 25 pounds during pregnancy.

- For the first time, the guidelines set a standard for obese women — to gain 11 to 20 pounds.

- An underweight woman should gain 28 to 40 pounds.

Thankfully, the article stresses the importance of gaining weight in a healthy way. Just because you’re preggo doesn’t mean you can live on Dr. Pepper, Skittles, bacon sandwiches, Cheetos and a daily Frosty!  You can’t throw all of your knowledge about nutrition out the window just because you see a plus sign on the little stick. It is tempting, but it’s not smart.

Keep this in mind – you will probably want to lose everything you gain.  (If for no other reason than you like your existing wardrobe and don’t want to say goodbye to those William Rast jeans forever, right?) See, that takes the fun out of your nightly rendezvous with Krispy Kreme, doesn’t it. It may sound odd, but my big craving was those old-school multi-colored rainbow popsicles. I probably had one every day and haven’t had one since I was pregnant. Strange, huh?

When I was pregnant, my doctor told me my goal weight gain was 25-30 pounds. Well, I gained a ton more than that. (I may have been on the underweight side when I got pregnant, but only by a few pounds.) I probably gained close to 55 pounds during my pregnancies, maybe more. I was freaking out, but my doctor was fine with it. My diet was good and I was exercising, but I packed on weight no matter what. I passed all of my blood tests and check-ups with no problem, etc.

My point is if you gain more weight than you’re supposed to, don’t starve yourself to stay within the “recommended” numbers.  Don’t beat yourself up mentally or try to exist on a unrealistic diet. Every pregnancy is different. These guidelines are exactly that – benchmarks. You may be within that range and you may not. Be honest with your doctor and if you’re doing everything you can do to be healthy, yet you’re packing on the pounds – so be it. You need to be smart. Your body will do the rest.

Weight gain guidelines – friend or foe? How much weight did you gain? Do you agree with these guidelines?

It’s always amusing to receive comments from readers who do not agree with my opinions. While the positive comments are wonderful and reassuring, the negative ones are certainly worth mentioning. What’s great about negative comments is they often end or begin with a personal insult. And being that these insults are from total strangers, they are even more entertaining. Here are a few of my favorites:

“You must be in bad shape and most likely fat.”

“You better believe I wear tights, mock me all you want, but I’ll be mocking your cold chicken legs right on back.”

“Are you a cynic? I pity your family if they have a positive outlook on life.”

I hate to burst all of your bubbles, but I’m actually not in bad shape or fat, I don’t have chicken legs (even when they’re cold) and my family is just as cynical as I am. That being said, I appreciate your honesty and taking the time to respond. Your scathing comical comments are just peachy-keen with me.

It’s been a while since I dished on celebrities and that makes me frowny face. It seems that any spare time I have to watch E! or flip happily through the pages of People are long gone. Between life as a mom and wifey, work, blogging and running some kind of weirdo cat sanctuary, my know-it-all-ness about vapid celebrity factoids has deteriorated. Well, that’s all about to change as I take you on a wild ride through haircuts, blah, blowouts and babies.

Jon & Kate Plus 8 – I’m sorry, who? I can’t even speak intelligently about this potentially splitting duo with ocho kidlets, because I’ve never watched the show. I have heard that Kate Gosselin has been quoted a bunch because normal women like us (and her) have been requesting her haircut. Not sure if that’s true or not, but Kate needs to walk in Jennifer Aniston’s footsteps on this one and turn the whole haircut craze into pure gold. It’s spiky, soft, dark, light, long and short all at once. Come on, what’s more fun than a bi-polar hairdo?

Jessica Simpson’s Reality TV Show – I’m afraid this one won’t be half as entertaining as Newlyweds, which spawned some of her greatest one-liners ever. “Sorry, I don’t eat buffalo.”  This show is about the importance of what’s on the inside as opposed to being judged on outer beauty. No offense, but we all know what’s on the inside – gross-looking, stinky, icky organs and guts. Jess, we’d rather watch you pronounce platypus.

Suri’s B-Day Party – TomKat spent about $100k on Suri’s birthday party. The cake alone was $5k and the catering bill was about $45k. Surprised? Anyone? Anyone?  I guess when you have all the money you could ever want from doing movies with a chip on your shoulder and at least one solo running sequence, you can throw a bash like this for your toddler. It will be awesome to see what Suri’s sweet sixteen party will be like. Think about it. If you have to outdo yourself every year with something more extravagant than the previous year, let’s say you have to spend $10k more per year. If my math is correct, by the age of 16 her parties will cost around $240k. And if you nodded in agreement with anything in this paragraph, you need to get help. Seriously, there are clean padded cells waiting for your arrival.

Adriana Lima Gets Fat – The beautiful Brazilian supermodel is expecting her first baby this winter. You’re about to meet the real Mother Nature, Ms. Secret, and she isn’t all that fond of bodies that can rock skimpy bikinis and prance around in a confident non-jiggling way. Say goodbye to fruits & veggies, and say hello to your new diet, muffin tops!

Melissa Joan Hart Gets Thin – I am so tired of trying to keep track of who is fat and who is thin. Why can’t celebs just pick a size and stick with it! It would be so considerate to the rest of us. If you’ve been thin for a long time like Nicole Ritchie or Kelly Ripa, you will be dubbed as “thin” forever, even if you gain like 20 pounds.  Anyway, Melissa decided to lose her baby weight and People thought, “Hmmm, photographing a bikini-clad celebrity in a before-and-after weight loss story, what a unique idea!”

Being no different than the zillion other mom bloggers out there, I wrote a little something about preggo 66-year-old Elizabeth Adeney a few weeks ago. In a post titled “First-Time Mom at 66” on blogs.com, I was quoted as saying, “Just because one can do something, doesn’t mean one should.”

I have since received a variety of comments from older moms and they tend to agree. The act of having a child at the ripe old age of 66 – almost 70 – might just be selfish indeed. Check out the article or my previous blog post about Elizabeth here and let me know what you think.

The time you spend with your children while they’re splishing & splashing in the tub is always amusing. For some reason, when you strip away clothes, mobility, distractions and rules, fun is the name of the game.  Bath time brings out the wackiness in my kids. The only downside is keeping all of the toys and bath products organized. There’s nothing more annoying than cute bath toys soaking in their own filth. Ewwwww!

Boon, one of my most favorite baby product brands, captured parents’ attention with Kermit’s best pal, Frog Pod. This handy froggy friend is also a scooper, so you can easily move toys from the tub to the pod. Then the pod sticks to the wall for storage. Last year Frog Pod gained a new pod pal, LadyBug Pod.  Now there is another neoprene option from Skip Hop, the Tubby Bath Toy Organizer. I haven’t seen this one in person, but it is BPA-free and claims to store lots of toys with ease. I’m guessing it’s pretty popular because it is sold out at BabyEarth right now. (You can click the ‘Notify Me’ button to know when it will be back in stock.)

If you want to make the most out of bath time, you can always add some bubbles. And if you use California Baby Bubble Baths, you can rest easy knowing they are extremely safe. Give the sampler tote a try to see all of California Baby’s unique options like Overtired & Cranky, Colds & Flu, I Love You and more! Makes a great birthday present too.

In my opinion, this is either a fashion trend you love or hate. I can’t see people being on the fence about it. Rompers. First, don’t envision a little bubble onesie for infants. No, no, no. I’m talking about the one-piece short or pant outfit for women. Rompers are like jumpsuits and I love me some jumpsuits. No matter how many times styles change and trends emerge, a black jumpsuit is a timeless classic. I’m not kidding. And you either really like ‘em or you really despise ‘em. No blurry lines.

If done correctly and worn with the right accessories and ‘tude, I think these are awesome. In fact, MommyQ has one and I’m just waiting for the right time to wear it.

Check out this stylish number from Diesel, the Jubent Black Romper. F-U-N! What about this sporty one by Nanette Lepore, Three Grace Jumpsuit? How about going silky in this one by Twenty8Twelve?

Lemme make a little fashion prediction here, expect to see lots of women rocking the romper this summer. And if you hate it now, have no fears – you’ll like it soon enough.

If you’re a MommyQ blog fan, you know I have a young child with autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder). As a result, my whole family is dedicated to promoting awareness. MommyQ’s lil sis, Ms. Chatterly, will be participating in the Walk Now for Autism event in Denver, CO.

She is currently gathering recruits to form the most elite walking group ever created, Team Wubbzy. Yes, that funny one-of-a-kind yellow marshmallow-shaped dude, also known as Wub-Z, is the guy who is gonna bring all of this together. Visit Team Wubbzy’s page to donate to this important organization.  We’re hoping to raise $250! Help us reach this goal.

It’s not even necessary to go into a lot of details about this breaking news story. Elizabeth Adeney is pregnant at 66-years-old. She now wears the crown for being the oldest pregnant woman in England’s history. Yeah, that’s a long time folks. Confused by all the buzz about her situation, Adeney replies, “I’m just a pregnant lady.” Really? Hmmm, let’s think about that.

I, MommyQ, am in my mid-30s with two small children under the age of five. After a day with my spirited, funny, active, goofy, demanding, jumping, leaping, walking, running, throwing, tossing, eating, napping, griping, giggling, smiling, frowning kiddos, I’m exhausted – both physically and emotionally. Again, I’m in my mid-30s. Based on nothing personal about the woman – just math – I think this is a sadly selfish, unethical situation.

When her child is an active toddler, she will be approaching 70-years-old. When her child is ten-years-old, she will be getting close to 80-years-old. It’s simple mathematics. Just because one can do something, doesn’t mean one should. In my silly little opinion, this is completely unfair to the child. I cannot imagine being 30 years older than I am and attempting to raise a newborn. It’s too absurd to even consider.

Adeney might be the best, most loving parent in the world, but the odds are not in her favor to be around for her child’s life. Not to mention, the ew factor is pretty high too. (Having a baby at 66? Ew.)

What do you think MommyQ readers? Is she just another pregnant lady?