Expecting

Redwood City’s Counsyl has a new testing kit for prospective parents: They each spit in a tube, mail it back to Counsyl, and the company screens for more than 400 genetic mutations, including those for sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs, and cystic fibrosis. If each sample shows a marker for a mutation, the parents can consider their options, which include IVF and testing of the resultant embryos. The Counsyl Universal Genetic Test is $350.

Geneticists point out that the test has its limits–there are many diseases not covered, and some are so complex that couples may go through IVF (an expensive and arduous process) for nothing. Possessing a genetic marker for a disease doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop it. But since previous genetic tests required a blood sample and are generally looking only for a specific disease (such as one that affects a family member), this is a significant stride forward. Is it worth $350? Nervous parents-to-be, your guess is as good as mine.

One thing’s for sure, the test is easy to get. Unlike blood-sample genetic screenings, which require a trip to a clinic, Counsyl is available online.

One of the best baby/kid items spotted at San Mateo’s Maker Faire a couple of weeks ago: Ms. Craftypants’ achingly cute Robots on Parade blankets. Painstakingly handcrafted, the mini-quilts feature simple robot shapes and delicious patterns. Ms. Craftypants herself, Bay Area artist/designer/work-at-home mommy Rebecca Morrissey, tends to shell out for the really good stuff, fabric-wise: the material that goes into her quilts is high thread-count and very pleasing to the eye and the hand. Fabrics are pre-washed too, soft and supple, not stiff with starch like most new bedding.

On Morrissey’s Etsy site there’s just one Robots on Parade blanket, pictured here. But at Maker Faire, the Ms. Craftypants table was piled high with blankets, in blues, reds, browns and more lovely shades. Wouldn’t one look nice in your babe’s crib? Contact Morrissey through Etsy if you’re interested.

Robots on Parade blanket, $35

Sure, we all love those “This Week In Your Pregnancy” emails where the writer attempts to make you understand the current size of your fetus by comparing him with a type of food (”This week, your baby is the size of a kidney bean/lemon/avocado/coconut”), but sometimes picturing the little kidney bean in your belly just isn’t enough. How’s a mom supposed to contain her raging curiosity between ultrasounds?

Download The Baby Ticker, available free from San Francisco’s Widgetbox.com, maker of the downloadable bits of useful software known as widgets. Input some simple information about your pregnancy, click to download, and poof! The widget appears on your desktop, with a countdown to the due date and a representation of what your baby should look like, given his current state of development. Each day, the widget-baby will move, grow and change, just like your own. Oooh, finger buds! Look, he’s sucking his thumb! It’s creepy-cool to everyone but a pregnant lady. For her, it’s magical.

It’s (almost) enough to make me want to have a second child: John Robshaw’s Lapis crib bedding set, in resolutely non-cutesy neutral colors and with a batik, ethnic feel. Since designer Robshaw is known for his Indian block print textiles and exotic accessories, this line of baby bedding seems a natural extension of his talents; but it’s unlike anything else out there I’ve ever seen.

See the Lapis bedding along with other bedding at swanky home-accessories store Nest, 2300 Fillmore Street (at Clay Street), San Francisco. Call 415-292-6199 or visit nestsf.com. The collection is available at several other Bay Area boutiques; or just buy online.

Lapis Crib Bedding, $370 for set

It’s really too bad that baby/kids store Modern Nursery doesn’t have a bricks-and-mortar outlet, because I’m betting that Hushamok’s Modern Bassinet (pictured) or Jenny Sauer’s beautiful wall prints would really be something to see in real life. No matter, Modern Nursery has the gush-over-goods you want. Baby bedding, diaper bags, furniture; Modern Nursery has everything you need to create the sleekest baby’s room you can imagine.

Modern Nursery’s toy selection is particularly choice, with toys nicely grouped by age (now you know what to get that seven-year-old nephew!). There aren’t pages and pages of toys, just a few, carefully selected, stylish, eco-friendly, and so pretty you want to display them rather than hiding them away in a storage bin.

Modern Nursery was launched by San Francisco mom Trish Meyler, yet another escapee from the corporate world. She’s since moved to Grass Valley, but her signature store maintains its sharp city aesthetic, one that will make droolers out of all who visit.

It sucks to spend hundreds of dollars on maternity wear that you’re going to dump on Goodwill six months from now. Skinnymaternity.com, a new website launched in the Bay Area, intends to be the Craigslist of maternity and new baby gear. Got stuff to sell? List it on the site. Need something? Cruise over to see if someone else has it.

The site’s brand new and patchy right now, but hopefully it’ll fill up soon with stuff that won’t be going to a landfill instead. And let’s also hope that it will be stuff that’s a mite hipper than you find in Goodwill’s maternity section, the final resting place of all those little flowered tieback dresses from the ’80s.

Visit skinnymaternity.com.

Score one for the home team — Alan Trounson, an IVF pioneer and director of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in San Francisco, was quoted in a gee whiz article in Nature, expounding on the possibilities for tomorrow’s “designer babies.” The article is only available online to subscribers, but Trounson’s big quote is:

“If you remove all the expensive stuff and use low-cost drugs (such as clomiphene) and remove just one or two eggs, and only transfer one embryo, it can be done for less than US$100.”

IVF for less than it costs for a decent pair of shoes? Whoa.

Canadian news source The Star spells out a few other possibilities, such as lab-made sperm and egg cells developed from stem cells, handy for those too old or unhealthy to make their own baby building-blocks. One developmental biologist told Nature that both newborn babies and grandmas could have babies with this technology: “It could easily happen in the next 30 years.”

Also in the pike: genetic material that could be inserted into embryos to correct flaws or cure diseases, highly sophisticated screening tests for embryos, artificial wombs, and more. So those “gender selection” kits that have caused such controversy? That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The cheap/cute Liz Lange Target line aside, maternity wear is expensive if you want anything at all stylish. It’s a little nervewracking to splash out and pay $200 for a skirt that you’ll drop like a hot rock after your nine months are over.

Your alternatives: the scanty selection of flowered tents at consignment and thrift stores, cheap schmattes from Ross, empire waist tops from the mommy shops. Or the discounted designer clothing available at Maternity Xchange.

Each month, the San Francisco Maternity Xchange is held in the Sports Basement store in the Presidio (by Crissy Field). Shoppers can buy quality used clothing from better labels (”Gap and up,” says the Xchange website); moms get to drop off their used maternity clothing and receive 40-50% of the selling price.

It’s a win-win for everyone. Stylish pieces are priced in the deeply discounted $30-$80 range, meaning that those who consign their clothing get a nice bit of cash when they’re sold. This is where you should look for that nice pair of black pants that’ll stand you in good stead until you deliver. Just don’t be depressed if you’re still in them three months after your kid is born.

The next Maternity Xchange sale is at the East Bay Baby Fair, 7/12, 11am-3pm, at the Veterans Memorial Building, 1345 Portland Avenue (at Ramona Avenue), Albany. The next San Francisco sale is Sat. & Sun, 7/19-20, 11am-4pm in the Presidio Sports Basement, 610 Mason Street (at Sutter Street), San Francisco. Call 510-814-1848 or visit maternityxchange.com.

Puppet shows, county fairs, star shows and a chance to let trained professionals wiggle and strap your car seat into submission.
Zanzibar Puppets present Cinderella

Extraordinary puppets, a classic story, and a swanky venue. Drag out the velvet dresses for this one.

When: Sat., 6/21, 11am, 1pm, and 3pm; Ages 3+; $15-25.

Where: Harry Denton’s Starlight Room in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, 450 Powell St. (at Sutter St.), San Francisco, 415-391-8619, zanzibarpuppets.com.

Alameda County Fair

Watch the pig races, join the pie-eating contest, and take a chance on the whirling rides — will your kid throw up cotton candy and corn dogs? It’s all part of the fun at this old fashioned fair. Admission is free for kids under 12 on Fridays and always free for kids under 6.

When: Fri. 6/20 to Sun. 7/6, 11am-10pm Mon.-Thu., 10am-10pm Fri.-Sun.; All ages; Free-$10.

Where: Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Avenue, Pleasanton, 925-426- 7600, alamedacountyfair.com.

Lake Chabot’s 125th Anniversary Free Family Fun Day

The venerable planetarium/science center throws itself an anniversary party with admission, movies, free planetarium shows, and special space games, all free. Design a rocket, play space bingo, and kibbiz with Bill Nye the Science Guy.

When: Sat., 6/21, 10am-6pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Lake Chabot Space & Science Center, 10000 Skyline Blvd. (at Redwood Road), Oakland; 510-336-7300, chabotspace.org.

CPMC BabySteps Kick-Off Event

Oh, you got the carseat in your car — but is it in properly? Professionals give it a check at this launch party for a new California Pacific Medical Center parenting networking site. You can also get toys tested for toxic lead levels, eat a free healthy lunch, and enjoy a storytime and face painting for the kiddies.

When: Sun., 6/22, 12pm-2pm; All ages; Free.

Where: Fisher Family Hall in the Jewish Community Center, 3200 California St. (at Presidio St.), San Francisco, cpmcbabysteps.org.

A small-but-interesting study suggests that babies delivered by C-section are more likely to develop asthma and allergies. Researchers analyzed the umbilical cord blood of 50 babies born by Caesarean and 68 babies delivered vaginally, with at least one of the baby’s parents afflicted with asthma or allergies.

Says Dr. Ngoc Ly, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF, “We found a dysfunctional cellular response in the normally protective immune system among C-section babies. And although more work needs to be done to follow how long this response might endure, we think this disrupted immune pathway may influence the development of asthma later on.”

The researchers also theorized that vaginal delivery could expose infants to immune-building microbes.

This seem particularly rich to me given that the U.S. has the highest rate of C-sections in the world. And despite UCSF’s pride at their C-section rate of 22.8%, lower than the national rate of about a third, and also lower than the going San Francisco rate of about a quarter, that’s still almost 1 in 5 women going home with a big slice across their bellies, and an infant who may be affected for life, in ways we don’t even really yet understand.

Interestingly, another of the study’s lead authors, Dr. Wilfried Karmaus, is involved in other crunchy-compliant projects, such as a study to determine the best diet for breastfeeders and a long-term project linking exposure to environmental toxins to immune system damage. Could be a good idea to keep an eye on that guy.