Kate McCann thinks we'd sympathize with her more if she was heavier, bigger breasted

Kate McCann believes that if she weighed more and had bigger breasts that the public would be more sympathetic to her. Madeleine's grandmother, Susan Healy, apparently explained that, "Kate said last night 'If I weighed another two stone, had a bigger bosom and looked more maternal, people would be more sympathetic." In her interview with the Liverpool Post, Healy defended Kate's weight by saying, "Kate has always had that kind of build and has never carried any weight. But she does look very traumatised."

Healy went on to condemn the allegations that the McCanns had something to do with Maddy's disappearance: "Kate and Gerry are as innocent as you or I, or anyone reading this. The perpetrator or perpetrators are still out there. We still pray that someone will open a door and say 'Here she is - it's all been a terrible mistake'." Let's hope you're right, Susan.

[via The Daily Mail]

Motherhood: can I have my nipple and some tact back please?

Natalie Lue writes...

“You’d better get used to it!” my boyfriend declared in bed last night. No he wasn’t talking about nookie…but he was responding to my complaint about a woman yanking the bambino off my breast whilst I was feeding her at our christening on Sunday. Have you any idea what it is like to be breastfeeding and have someone snatch your baby out of your arms whilst they’re latched on to your nipple? I am very rarely rendered speechless but all I could do was stare, as I was afraid to speak. My friend who had witnessed the whole thing had to run from the room because she couldn’t stop laughing! Not content with trying to remove my nipple, she then placed her back on my lap and then tried to ‘assist’ in latching her back on!

Only a man would say something like that when he’s not in any danger of experiencing it and assumes that it is normal. I’ve been thinking about buying a nipple clamp and clipping it to one of his nipples, attaching it with string to a door handle and slamming the door. I wonder if he would say the same thing then…

A Mommy Makeover? No, thanks.

Two articles in the New York Times this week got me going: Is the 'Mom Job' Really Necessary? and 'Recontouring' and Its Critics.

The first one was forwarded to me from a friend, who thought I might find the article funny and maddening at the same time. Which I did. Obviously, having given birth less than a year ago, my body is still recovering from a c-section, and I suppose I would be considered the target audience for this sort of package: The Mom Job or also known as the mommy makeover. It usually consists of three procedures: a boob job, tummy tuck and some liposuction. Which, apparently, is all it takes to give you back that perky, bouncy prenatal body.

Motherhood: With formula and weaning comes whining

Natalie Lue writes...

I’ve long held the opinion that we live in a nanny state where if we’re not careful, the government will monitor our every movement like in Enemy of the State. However since becoming a mother, ‘nanny state’ has taken on a whole new meaning. When you have a child you court the opinion of your parents, extended family, your NCT group, colleagues, neighbours, that woman behind the till in Waitrose, health visitors, midwives, your GP, the man at the train station, the crazy guy that shouts along to his iPod at the bus stop… You get the idea…

I’ve recently taken the decision to start weaning the bambino and slipping her a bottle of formula most days, and by God, the opinion floodgates have opened! The Department of Health recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months but not only do they forget that every baby is different, but that this time period has varied over the years to as little as 12 weeks for weaning (Mine is almost 18 weeks). I appreciate that some babies have allergies etc but many women wean before 6 months and the earth is still turning…

Waddling, weeing, wincing: get pregnant without getting pregnant

The Empathy Belly Pregnancy Simulator is 30 pounds of pure fetal-kicking, back-aching, bladder-squashing fake pregnancy.

The detail on this baby (ahem) is amazing.

As well as fake breasts and a lung-restricting belt, it also features weights to feel like baby limbs and a fake baby head that is specifically designed to push on your (real) bladder.

It's got a point, of course - it's a sex education tool, which explains the glum-looking teenage couple in the picture. But the belly has more interesting uses too, including prenatal care and domestic violence protection.

The only bummer is that it's for educational purposes only. So sadly no chance of a pregnanter-than-thou competition with genuinely up the duff friends/girlfriends/wives...

Femina Potens: 1,000 paper cranes - part two of our interview with Kati Kim

Part two of Kate Kotler's exclusive interview with Kati Kim...

On 17 February, 2007, Kati, her daughters, and James’ family and friends gathered in Golden Gate Park to remember and celebrate his life. There were thousands of people who were touched by the heroism of James Kim, touched by Kati’s amazing resilience and character following her rescue, and touched with the idea of wanting Penelope and Sabine to grow up understanding how moved the world had been by their father’s dedication to his family. It was the heroism which took his life which joined them together to remember this truly remarkable man.

It was an uncharacteristically warm, sunny February day in Golden Gate Park that featured friends speaking about what James had meant to them, a children’s craft table, fire dancers, Native American drummers, opera singers, DJs, and the famous HoopGirl. One thousand colorful paper cranes fluttering in the breeze. The day epitomized the joyful way that James and Kati lived their lives, with families sitting on blankets showing their love and people danced to their own internal rhythms. The celebration continued on past sundown.

Kati remarked to a friend that she thought James was out in the crowd that day, dancing his heart out.

Read part two of Kate Kotler’s exclusive interview with Kati Kim after the jump:

Beth Ditto's column: "I'm 30 and feel under huge pressure to have kids!"

In Beth Ditto's fortnightly advice column for The Guardian, she explains the pressure she feels to have children as a 30-year-old, unmarried woman. Despite the fact that she's a lesbian and constantly told that "even lesbians can have babies these days" line, Ditto says that while she loves kids and thinks they're great for some people, the idea of children is very "romanticized". She asks her female readers where the pressure to have kids comes from, and advises to separate "their feelings from yours". She even sites Britney Spears as a "testament" to the fact that kids aren't exactly for everyone. She closes her brilliant column with this:

"This archaic idea - that a woman who is unmarried and childless at 30 is somehow unnatural - will probably always exist, and, like most social standards, it is ridiculous. Please, let's all make a pledge. Ignore it!"

[via The Guardian]
[image via Getty]

The pressure to lose pregnancy weight: does my bump look big in this?

Natalie Lue writes...

Last month I had to buy two dresses for weddings we were attending and for the first time in my life, I had no idea which styles suited my body. I needed something that could keep the puppies in, but let them out for breastfeeding, and I also needed to minimise the appearance of my post pregnancy weight, all whilst looking hot to trot. Outfit after outfit was discarded and panic started to creep in as I feared that I wouldn’t find anything and that if there was any hint of post-pregnancy weight, people may comment. Looking back I feel sorry for the boyf who patiently shopped with me and didn’t pull out his eyes with a clothing hanger…

Every week we are being marketed to by magazines that spew out headlines and stories about how whatever A-Lister or Z Lister lost their baby weight. We used to know that losing the baby weight was a gradual process that happened over the year after your baby was born, but now we’re being led to believe that your figure should snap back and that you can exercise off the weight and be out in a growler grazing skirt by the time your baby is a month old. I’m an intelligent woman that knows the score really, but society’s obsession with weight means that I have times where I lack the confidence but have plenty of doubt about my body.

Should Britney be in trouble for letting her kids see her naked?

Both Slate and Jezebel have been weighing in on this question, and personally, I don't see the big deal. It would be one thing if she were prancing around the house and saying, "Hey boys! Want to watch Mommy do her stripper-robics?" But I seriously doubt that's what's going on. I didn't grow up in a very "naked-friendly" house, however, I really like the idea of raising my future spawn in a home where your naked body isn't that big of a deal.

Slate makes a good point that, "Seeing your parents au naturel can be confusing for older kids who are more curious about bodies and sexuality." I think the age of Britney's kids and the context in which she's in the nude is the point. I think that just because a family is raised to be comfortable with nudity, doesn't meant that they're just running around naked at inappropriate times. I think this just means that the natural parts of our lives, like sex, menstruation, and other bodily functions won't seem so awkward and taboo as your children grow older.

Women are happier in part-time jobs because they can work around family life

The Daily Mail has reported today that women who work part-time have "greater job satisfaction than those in full-time work and say they are more content than those with no paid job at all". There are 13 million women with jobs and 44% of those women work part-time, and it surprised the people conducting the study that in jobs that were "associated with low-paid, low-skilled jobs". However, they seem to think this suggests,"Women want work that is fulfilling, but they want to fit their work around their home life."

Femina Potens: Kati Kim breaks her silence to tell a story of survival. (Part 1 of 2)

On Saturday, 25 November, 2006 Kati Kim, her husband James and their two daughters were traveling home after having spent the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday in Seattle, Washington. They were on their way to the Tu Tu Tun Lodge, located near Golden Beach, Oregon, when they missed their turnoff from U.S. Interstate 5 onto Oregon Route 42. Instead of turning back, James and Kati decided to take a secondary route which they believed would lead them to the Oregon coast and their destination.

Soon – due to high snows and increasingly bad weather – the Kim family found themselves stranded in a remote area of southwestern Oregon; though, both Kati and James believed their location to be mere miles from the nearest town and that imminent help would arrive to assist them.

This was not to be the case.

Read Kate Kotler's exclusive interview with Kati Kim after the jump!

I'm suing! I need more time to express breastmilk

Sophie Currier, a Harvard medical student unsuccessfully sued the National Board of Examiners because she felt that the 45 minute rest period between exams wasn't enough time for her to express her milk and that it violated her "constitutional right to breastfeed".

The judge feels that she could pump during the test or at the scheduled breaks and that considering that the test is available several times a year, she could also take it after she has finished needing to express. He bases this decision on the fact that regardless of what she thinks of the conditions, she could still pass. Sophie's lawyer on the other hand thinks that "the judge decided it's OK to tell women to wait until they are done being moms to become professionals, which as far as I'm concerned is not acceptable in this day and age."

High-flyers v. playgroups: how trained are you to sacrifice?

Vicky Ward's article Home for bath time? Who cares?, was spot on for me. And I ended up nodding my head to her ending comments:

Personally, I think, in general we women have it easier. We know instinctively from a pretty early stage that life is going to be a series of compromises, that if we want careers and children and happy marriages we are going to have to work for that, and that things may go wrong along the way. Somehow we understand that men are the weaker sex, in the respect that for, whatever reason, they just don’t get this.

Bill Maher: breastfeeding is like masturbation, public breastfeeding is lazy

Now, I already strongly dislike Bill Maher, but hearing him refer to breast feeding as "an intimate act" and that he doesn't want to have "watch strangers performing an intimate act...at least not for free!" just convinced me that I hate him. OH BILL! You are so funny! What's even funnier? Bill mocks "breastfeeding activists" by saying their argument that breastfeeding should be appropriate everywhere because "it's natural" is wrong because, hey, "so is masturbating".

His next hilarious joke? "Next thing you know women will want to be giving birth at the waterfall at the mall!" And you know, really, he's right. I mean, women really should be ashamed for being "too lazy" to "plan ahead or cover up" if breastfeeding in public. Good god. How is this man allowed on television?

You can watch his entire smug, sexist monologue after the jump.

Professional mums, the death of my NCT interest & not competing in motherhood

Natalie Lue writes...

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t competitive. I like to overachieve at work, win board games, and I’m still sulking that the boyf has a far bigger brain than I do on Big Brain Academy, an accolade he achieved by taking advantage of my pregnancy befuddled brain. However, when I took up this motherhood mallarky, I expected caring and sharing, not entering into an 18 year long marathon with women who attack their roles of motherhood as a cross between professional mum and rehab member.

Like thousands of women around the country, I took out a National Childbirth Trust (NCT) membership and paid to take their antenatal classes. It’s supposed to be great for meeting people who are going through the same experience as you from the same walks of life. It’s basically a mothering club for the middle classes when you break it down… The initial get-togethers were quite funny, bitching about being huge, too big and tired for sex, and feeling like you were constantly showing off your va-jay-jay to complete strangers. As they all popped and my baby stayed in its warm little oven rather stubbornly, I admit to feeling my only tremors of competition as I realised that despite being due second, I was in danger of popping last…

Monday Question: "...and apparently I hit 'reply all' instead of just 'reply'."

This week the lovely Dollymixers share with us...

"What’s the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you at work?"

Susi Weaser:
Getting drunk and really insulting an important client at a Christmas party is pretty high on my list. There’s nothing more embarrassing than being a cliché.

Katherine Hannaford:
When I was a teen, I was working in my small town’s only fast food place. One day I was feeling very under the weather, and threw up in front of a customer, when serving them on the till. Obviously not the greatest endorsement of our fried chicken...

Katie Lee:
The time I called my boss a "stupid bloody woman" in an email and then sent it to her by mistake. That was fun.

Isabelle O'Carroll:
One of my jobs was being disputes advisor for a large financial corporation and just working there was embarrassing enough.

Financial incentives for pregnant women to adopt healthier lifestyles

If I hold off on getting pregnant until 2009, when I’m 7 months along I’ll be £120 better off if they go ahead with the introduction of a new ‘health in pregnancy grant’ for fruit and vegetables. Undeterred by accusations of being a ‘nanny state’, Health Secretary Alan Johnston intends to attempt to close the great class divide by giving all expectant mothers this one-off payment despite concerns that women will be “free to spend the money on drink and cigarettes”.

The grant aims to help protect children against “diseases and incurable conditions later in life” and to encourage women to adopt healthier lifestyles that will cut out the fags and booze…especially if they come from deprived areas where both a lack of money and education may prevent them from making the healthiest choices.

Kate McCann's diary entries of normal mom struggles are not proof of murder

Cate Sevilla writes...

I've managed to avoid writing about the Maddy case the past, I don't know, 43 months it's been dragging on. I don't believe the McCanns are innocent, and I certainly don't agree with a lot of what the McCanns have done. However, I found myself feeling sort of defensive of Kate McCann after reading how the media is using her personal thoughts and worries about motherhood from her diary as "proof" that she killed Maddy.

The Daily Mail reports that a newspaper has claimed that Kate "frequently" complained in her diary that her children are "hysterical". The newspaper also exploits Kate's personal thoughts by saying that she, "Speaks of Madeleine as a child whose excess activity exhausts her. She tells also how Gerry doesn't help her with the family chores and that she has to cope alone with her two youngest children." Gee, this sounds like the personal diary of a lot of mothers out there, doesn't it?

Childbirth & Motherhood: Expect the unexpected

Natalie Lue writes...One of the things that I learnt before I endured being induced, thirty-six hours of labour, a tens machine, gas and air, pethidene, thirteen epidural top-up’s (and that’s not including what they gave me for my emergency c-section), plus morphine, and God only knows what else, is that when it comes to babies, expect the unexpected.

We planned to be in our new house two months before she was born, but we exchanged on my due date and moved on the day that I was being induced. I remember driving back to our new home after dropping off the keys to our old place and noting that I had to be at the hospital in four hours. The adrenaline that I had operated on had suddenly been replaced with the terrifying fear of pushing something the size of a melon out of something the size of a lemon and I sat there shaking with my legs clamped shut.

Buy your little girl a pram, a 'baby carrier and a crib.. for her doll!

There's nothing wrong with emulating Mummy to a degree, as bumbling around with a doll that pees itself (why?WHY?) can be considered rather cute, and give the child some nurturing experience all her own, but there's cute and then there's just plain crazy. Yes, you can buy 'toy' vacuum cleaners, 'toy' ironing boards, and 'toy' ovens (all targeted at girls and painted lurid shades of pink) but when you buy a toy pushchair set that costs more than a real one I say stop! Things have now gone too far.

Mums gone mad: are you protecting or imprisoning your children?

I realize it's a dangerous world out there and that one can never go to far in protecting their children, but there are some things I have read about recently that just make me question if we are turning into a nation of scaremongers, or Big Brother style parents who keep a vigilante style eye on their children 24/7.

First off we have the 'amazing' new concept of school uniforms embedded with satellite tracking systems, and then, more worryingly, a site I stumbled upon called Bulletproof Baby. Here you can protect you little treasure with a riot helmet all of their own, or purchase a bullet proof baby stroller to keep them safe on the go.

New Zealand bans the baby name 4Real, while the UK has 36 kids named Arsenal...

Sadly, a couple in New Zealand has been legally banned for naming their child 4Real, and have had to settle for the name Superman. Firstly, I'm hoping that Superman will end up marrying Princess Tiàamii. Secondly, this is good news for those of us in the UK because apparently we have some of the most liberal baby naming laws in the world. (And by "good news" I mean "horrible, horrible news with frightening possibilities".) According to the figures released last year by the genealogy website findmypast.com., there have been 36 boys and girls in the UK named Arsenal, six boys named Gandalf, and two children named Superman since 1984. Nevermind all those Apples, Princesses, Romeos, and kids named Moses runnin' around...

"I believe the children are the future..."

[via BBC news]

Italian families are shrinking - is the lack of child care to blame?

The average family in Italy consists of only 1.33 children, despite large families being part of Italian culture. Italy not only has the lowest average number of kids per family in all of Western Europe, and also has the highest number of women having children over the age of 40. Cristina Odone from The Telegraph points out that these numbers go strongly against the Vatican's teachings of no birth control and large families.

However, it appears that Italy's lack of child care could be at the root of the "problem". As one interviewee puts it, "This is not a problem the Church can solve, it is a problem only the government can fix. I'm scared to lose my job if I take time off work, but I also know that leaving a baby in a private nursery is not an option - a place there costs €1,000 a month."

[via The Telegraph]

Have you seen my nanny? "I Saw Your Nanny" blog lets you tell all...

There are some very paranoid people out here, and none more-so than mothers who have to entrust their beloved offspring into the arms of a virtual stranger daily. Every day they deposit their beloved with the nanny and have to hope that this one won't run off with their husband/ bully their kids/spend their days tethering their kids to leads and making them fetch. In response to the growing fears for kiddies safety many avenues have been explored, from nanny cams, to hourly phone calls, and surprise drop in visits to check everything is OK in your absence.

Well, now nanny stalking has gone cyber with the I saw your nanny website, which people can email or text in info about nannies they have seen. The site is so popular that it now has sections devoted to individual states and countries and entries range from the bizarre, 'your nanny looks like an ape', to the more worrying reports of nannies seen asleep on the job. The site is anonymous, but people can recognize their nannies from the description, and hopefully rectify the situation.

Momzillas: why these modern-day monsters should be the least of our worries...

In The Telegraph's Stella magazine, Jill Kargman wrote about her book Momzillas, who are, apparently, the "most terrifying modern mother yet". At the beginning of this article, I found her description of these horrifying, New York mothers who are "black-clad fashionistas" with bodies that "bear not an ounce of cellulite" a bit funny. However, I couldn't get her reference of the Momzillas being a breed of mothers that "approach child-rearing with the same unbridled ambition that got her the millionaire husband and a wedding in the pages of the New York Times." out of my mind. Is it just me, or are Momzillas just Yummy Mummies or Alpha Moms in more expensive sunglasses, bigger apartments, armed with organic baby food?

Women being obsessive, perfectionists, and even elitists in motherhood is nothing new. We've heard about it, watched it on TV, and read about it in The Nanny Diaries. These Momzillas and Alpha-Yummy-whatevers just sound made up at this point. I'm sure they exist, and that the people who hang out in certain places in Manhattan that I've never even heard of know plenty of moms like this. However, I think the rest of us average mortals could give a crap. Mothers will always be critical of each other. They will be nasty, patronizing, and competitive...no matter what your address.

[illustration by Stephen Collins]

Why Hollywood MILFS like Britney and Nicole Richie are putting their children at risk

I really hate to be negative about what should be someone else's joy - but I feel as though I must. The Metro reported on Friday that those Yummy Mummy's (commonly known as MILFS) babies could be at risk, saying that "Women should try to keep a healthy weight before, during and after pregnancy, to give their child the best start in life." Therefore, when the rumours about Nicole Richie's pregnancy were confirmed, I was a bit mortified.

Sasha Bennington: 11-year-old Katie Price wannabe with spray tan and extensions

Katie Price scares me. She does. But what scares me even more is that there is a mother in the UK who willingly lets her 11-year-old daughter, Sasha Bennington, try to look like Katie, complete with acrylic nails, make-up, hair extensions, and finely plucked eyebrows. Even more disturbing, is that Sasha's mother, Jayne Harris, says that anyone that has a problem with this "is just jealous". A former glamour model herself, Jayne claims that her critics are "Just do-gooders who probably have fat kids that they can’t do anything with. We’re a good-looking family - she can’t help being good-looking. I just want her to use it to achieve something."

Women who blog: Stephanie Nielson

Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with a dedicated wife and mother...

Just because I'm the kind of cynical old trout who complains about her husband on a wedding blog doesn't mean I can't appreciate some good old fashioned romance. And Stephanie Nielson's blog - The NieNie Dialogues - just oozes it.

What made you start your blog?

I was living in New Jersey and very homesick. In my 23 (then) years of life, I never had been away from home (in Utah). Now I was living in different state very far away with three small children. I needed to connect and feel creative, so I started a blog. It started out a family journal and evolved into sort of an approach to illustrate my talent as a mother, wife and homemaker-and showing my life through pictures I take everyday.

Women who blog: Melinda Roberts

Keris Stainton continues our Women who blog series with the mommy blog to beat all mommy blogs...

I discovered Melinda Roberts when she sent me her book, Mommy Confidential, to review for Trashionista. 500 pages later, not only did I feel like Mindy was my new best friend (that's why I can call her Mindy, you see?), but I also thought she was one of the most amazing and inspirational women I (virtually) know. There are loads of mommy blogs, but if you only read one, it should be The Mommy Blog.

What was the first blog you ever read?

The first one was Chasing Daisy, followed closely by Amberbamberboo, chiefly because they were the very first to read and comment on my blog. Amber and I went on to be good friends, and I traveled to Brussels to stay with her family for a couple of weeks in 2004. I’m still waiting for an invitation to Wales from Daisy. : )

Is your Mother your best friend?

Not to sound like Baby Spice but my Mother really is my best friend. I speak to her everyday (more or less), I tell her everything about my life, she even knows a fair amount about my friends lives, and she provides me with continual unconditional support both with my professional and personal life.
I moved 100 miles south to London four years ago and have continually kept up the same amount of contact throughout. This has never felt unusual to me, admittedly past boyfriends have been slightly shocked by how close we are but I grew up with little contact with my father and have gained the utmost respect for my Mom who always does the best for us no matter what.
However, a close friend of mine recently commented on how it was unusual but nice that we were so close but it seems I am not an isolated case. Paris Hilton is continually being quoted for expressing how excited she was to see her Mother when she got out of prison. "Just being able to hug my mom felt so great, and I really needed it."
[image: Paris and Kathy Hilton, Getty]

Eddie Murphy takes DNA paternity test to see if he is Melanie Brown's baby's father

Scary Spice's potential baby daddy, Eddie Murphy, is now reported to have taken a DNA test, to see if he is the daughter of Melanie Brown's daughter. Melanie Brown's spokesperson, Natalie Whorms, says that Murphy has "indeed taken a paternity test", and we are now awaiting the results. In turn, Murphy's spokesperson has declined from confirming the paternity test, claiming "We do not comment on Mr. Murphy's personal life." And here I thought that was a spokesperson's job? Huh.

Back in December, Eddie Murphy said, "And I don't know whose child that is until it comes out and has a blood test." However, Ms.Brown is so convinced that her daughter is, in fact, Murphy's child, that she insisted his last name be put on her daughter's birth certificate. You can run, Eddie, but you can't hide! I love you in Shrek, dude, but you should really just own up to the fact that you're the father, jerk.

[image via Getty]

The Anti Yummy Mummy on finding the right baby name

In the last of her weekly Anti Yummy Mummy columns, Camilla Chafer asks what's really in a name?

The bard, as we all know, once wrote 'a rose by any other name would be just as sweet'. It's a nice sentiment but he's not one of the few children in America who have had the misfortune to be named Chlamydia or Ikea by their dimwitted parents. Of course, children landed with such idiotic names are no doubt just as sweet as the rest of their peers (or not, depending on how you prefer to look at it) but surely it's about time there were a few rules in place to prevent such awful atrocities from occurring at the baby registering stage.

Names ebb and flow in popularity and locations, hence an abundance of six year old Archie's in Muswell Hill and Chloe's in, well, everywhere. There are certain types of professions which seem to acquire certain types of names and some names that look incongruous in certain settings. Do you really think Chardonnay-Whitney will rise to become a lawyer? That's not to say we should only pick names from a certain pool, flouting originality along the way, but it's about time parents thought really carefully about how original they are being in lumping a child with a name that may have to last it eighty or ninety years.

Katie quits The Apprentice in a storm of maternal feelings... and her best quotes

Well, that was a turn up for the books. Uber-bitch Katie Hopkins quit The Apprentice last night, when it turned out that perhaps she didn't want the job quite as much as she thought. Interesting about face, from the woman who says her aim in life is apparently "to be the CEO of a large global brand by the time I'm 40".

And the reason? She suddenly remembered she had kids. In a move which has the internet awash with conspiracy theories and rumours of the retaping of boardroom scenes, Sir Alan asked her about whether she'd considered the ramifications of moving her children to London. And it turns out, she hadn't actually thought about that.

Dina Lohan in talks for reality TV show about trying to make her kids famous

Despite her daughter Lindsay's current cocaine scandal that landed her in rehab (again), Mama Lohan is riding so hard on Lindsay's coattails I'm amazed they haven't ripped off yet. The self-professed "white Oprah" has repeatedly failed to get her own talk show, but is apparently in talks with E! to get her own reality TV show called "Mom-ager" in which she tries to get her two youngest children famous. Ya know, because Lindsay becoming famous at such a young age turned out SO WELL. But, this is hardly surprising considering this is the same woman who thought it was necessary to give Entertainment Tonight updates on Lindsay's progress during her first stint in rehab. And if that doesn't scream "motherly love" than I don't know what does.

[image Getty]

The Anti Yummy Mummy and the right sized family?

In her weekly column, Camilla Chafer asks is there such a thing as the right sized family?

We have our standard 2.4 children in the West, in China the policy is a solitary one, in some nations, the bigger the family the better. Which nation is right? Which parent has the right amount of off spring - the parents of one? two? three? four or more? It's an interesting question, not least because there isn't a definitive answer.

The Times Alpha Mummy blog addressed the question recently of why all their bloggers had no more than two children and the 20 plus comments had plenty to say on the subject. My favourite comment of which is 'With two [children], you're staff. With three, you're management.' So how do you make sure you've got the right number?