We lived in the U.S. when I had my first child. My job offered me a whole six weeks off - unpaid of course. I knew that wasn't going to be enough, so I was planning to quit. Bedrest and corporate takeover stymied my plan for a long feminist diatribe; an email had to do.

I think maternity leave differences between the U.S. and Canada are one of the biggest things that set us apart. The one year Canadian maternity leave forces companies and individuals to recognize that bonding with your baby is important. By holding a job open, it also forces employers to recognize that women's roles in the workplace are important.

Do you remember when "mom" was just what you called the woman who gave birth to you? (Mum, in my case.)

Now the word "mom" is a whole marketing strategy. The momification of every sector from business to fashion and entertainment to blogging is ongoing. There doesn't seem to be an area that can't be mommified. And I say this as a writer who is proud to be called a Mom Blogger (said with only slight sarcastic intonation).

You know that mommydom is trendy when even the celebrities are pulling out their mom card whenever they can. From their baby bump to getting their body back, a celebrity mom gets extra media attention, more tabloid shots and possibly extra sympathy from the cultural group known as "moms".

I got asked this a lot: "Do you know what you are having?"

Our usual answer to that question was: A) a baby B) a big meal C) what do you think I'm having? D) a human, unless that alien abduction dream was true.

At which point the asker would then try and guess, either by using some superstition that had to with my skin, eating habits, the way the wind blows, the size of my stomach or something else with little reliability.

But is knowing the gender of your baby really that important?

In case you missed it, Beyonce had her baby. Unless you have been hiding in seclusion with no access to any form of media or public contact, this is not news.

JayZ and Beyonce's little princess is named Blue Ivy Carter. The current theory is that Blue is after JayZ's album Blueprint and Ivy is a riff on the Roman numerals for four (IV), the name of Beyonce's current album and the couple's favourite number. Personally, I hate the use of everyday words as first names. Poor little Blue will have to live with the 'why so Blue?' jokes for the rest of her life. But I guess she can retaliate with, "an apple a day" joke to you-know-who.

If you knew you could save your child from a lifetime of pain you would.

If you could save your child from an early death you would certainly do that too.

What if while doing those things you could also pick their intelligence? Their height and their ability to run fast? Those things may also help them as they go through life, wouldn't they?

I'm far beyond the need to read baby name sites or search for baby names - and yet the top names of the year always interest me. I know there are a lot of baby naming geeks out there as well.

So with fanfare... here are the top names, according to Babycenter.com, for 2011. You can definitely see some of the celebrity influence in there.

Do you hang on to some of your kids' beloved clothes long after they have outgrown them?

I have some shirts from the boys, a couple of tops and dresses from my daughter. Every time I look at them I remember the way they looked in them, and they way they acted in that certain item. I can literally picture them standing in front of me in that outfit, like a ghost of days gone by.

I bury the small clothes in the basement and then, about once a year when my husband forces me to clean up, I come across them. Then I have a frisson moment where I feel the pain of them growing up, but also happiness at the memory of them as little children.

Keeping dirty onesies, torn jeans and wrinkled dresses is nothing more than being sentimental. And it is something that I should let go of. It is hard because the physical reminder of the item is what brings back the flood of memories.

But clutter is clutter and those piles of favourite kids' items get weaned down. It is the right thing to do. As my husband says, those memories are in your head - not your closet.

I wonder what I will do with the remaining items. Will I toss them eventually? Will I pay someone to compile all the pieces into a baby blanket for a grandchild? Or will I just hang on to them and reflect on the time I held up those teeny tiny sleepers to my swelling belly, amazed that the wearer was going to be born in weeks; those fleeting days when my kids were so little that they couldn't dress themselves; the year when they thought that Spiderman pajamas gave them superpowers; when the love for one particular shirt could make or break an entire day. Holding on to a few pieces of clothing isn't the most rational thing that a parent does - but in a few instances, I can cast rationality aside for a little space in storage.

What do you with your kids' most special clothes? Do you give them all away? Do you have a few hiding in the closet?

Want more chaos? Last year, I admitted one of my deepest secrets: I cheated and I got caught. You won't believe that I could be that stupid.

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I don't have anything against tattoos, per se. I just don't understand how people can commit to inking their skin in a permanent way when I can't even decide on a new duvet cover. And tattoos don't look so good when you are old and wrinkly - who wants a zodiac sign that looks like a prune on their back?

But an article on Babble made me see tattoos as a means of expression of things you love and have lost.

Stars, they are just like us. Alanis Morissette admits that she was totally unprepared for motherhood.

No one told her about post-partum she laments in a blog post, so she reduced all the stories together "composite-style, into a fantasy that included bursting into blissful tears, buoyed by clouds and surrounded by cherub angels gushing how the lil’ one’s lips were his father’s and his deep contemplative gaze mine."

The City of Milwaukee has very high rates of infant death, and one of the ways they have chosen to tackle this problem is through an education campaign and simple-to-understand posters aimed at scaring parents away from the evils of...co-sleeping.

According to Milwaukee's Health Department, sleeping with your baby is as dangerous putting a giant sharp blade next to your baby in the bed. They suggest that a crib is always a safer option and offer a toll-free number for free cribs.

Follow the jump to see the posters.