Moms.. this and that..

Having kids may make you smarter...

Diaper Changes: 7,300 by baby's 2nd birthday....
4.3 babies are born each second...

Kids: Modern moms average 2 kids (1950s: 3.5 kids; 1700s: 7-10 kids)...
2 billion moms in the World (82.5 million in the U.S.)..

July, most popular birth month... Tuesday, most frequent birth day..

Most Kids: Mrs. Vassilyev of Russia gave birth to 69 children between 1725 and 1765
Oldest Mom: Rosanna Dalla Corte gave birth to a baby boy when she was 63 years old in Italy in 1994
Heaviest Newborn: Signora Carmelina Fedele gave birth to a 22 lb 8 oz boy in Italy in 1955..

30 Pounds: Average weight gain during pregnancy
Baby Gender Gap: 105 boys born for every 100 girls..

Research suggests that moms who give birth later in life, live longer.

In the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother" begins with the letter M.

80% of moms: The percentage of moms who are happy when back-to-school time rolls around,

TV moms... 58% The percentage of people who chose Clair Huxtable of The Cosby Show as one of the top five best TV moms in a survey conducted by TiVo. Rounding out the group: Marion Cunningham from Happy Days, Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch, June Cleaver from Leave It to Beaver and Marge Simpson of The Simpsons.

Fun mom quotes:
"The happiest families are those in which the children are properly spaced...about 10 feet apart. "
"Raising a teenager is like nailing Jell-O to the wall."
"Mommy brain: when your grey matter turns into grey hair..."
"Cleaning up with children around is like shoveling during a blizzard"
"Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky."
"It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it."
"Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going."

Animal Moms:

A mother giraffe often gives birth while standing, so the newborn's first experience outside the womb is a 1.8-meter (6-foot) drop.

Just like people, mother chimpanzees often develop lifelong relationships with their offspring.

Kittens are born both blind and deaf, but the vibration of their mother's purring is a physical signal that the kittens can feel - it acts like a homing device, signaling them to nurse.

Elephants have the longest pregnancy in the animal kingdom at 22 months..

Possums have one of the shortest pregnancies at 16 days..

A female oyster produces 100 million young in her lifetime, the typical hen lays 19 dozen eggs a year, and it is possible for one female cat to be responsible for the birth of 20,736 kittens in four years.

Huh? Male seahorses can actually give birth to offspring. While this is normally impossible for human beings, Thomas Beatie, who had his gender legally changed from female to male, is currently the world's first pregnant man.

NOT SO MUCH: Harp Seals:
Mothers of these precious little ones are highly dedicated for the first twelve days. In fact, they do not eat at all during that period. Unfortunately, once the feeding is over, that’s it for mother-child bonding—she’s out of there, ready to mate again.
Unlike many other species with such abrupt weaning periods, the harp seal pup can’t go on to survive on its own yet. Instead it is left stranded on the ice for the next month and a half, leaving it incredibly vulnerable to predators. The babies will lose half of their body weight during this lengthy fasting period. Finally, when they are about eight weeks old, they are ready to swim and are finally able to start hunting for their own food. With a childhood like this, it’s no wonder that at least 30% of all pups die during their first year.

Bird infedelity: House Sparrows: While most women would be furious if their husband cheated on them, few would choose to take it out on any offspring that resulted from the infidelity. But that’s just what the house sparrow does — she seeks out nests of other females that mated with her partner and kills the resulting chicks. This way, her baby’s daddy will spend his time fathering her own youngsters. Just imagine finding out your mom killed your half-brother so your dad would spend more time with you.

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Being a father - I have no way to walk in the shoes of a mother. Being a son though, has allowed me a wonderful peek into that special world of "mom." I was fortunate to be among those who use the verbiage "The Best".. For many, many years - it was bedtime ritual for our family to announce "Good night mom, you're the best mom in the whole world".. and of course it was followed by dad, sister, brother.. but mom was always the first one said.

The world would literally end if it were not for mothers - not only numberwise - but what would a world be without nurture, care, heartfelt concern? If the shoe fits, and you as well think "The Best" of your mom, and she's still here - please tell her so.. If she's not still here, then do as I plan to do tonight at bedtime... inwardly saying "Good night mom, you're the best mom in the whole world." Love, Victurd.