Working moms have to do a lot during the day; there's the work stuff (meetings and sales calls and paperwork) and the mom stuff (car pool and soccer practice and homework). And then there's all the other stuff that needs to get done -- laundry and groceries and dinner and bedtime stories.

Your working mom wardrobe shouldn't be split into WORK clothes and MOM clothes; there's no reason you can't wear the same pair of pants to a meeting and to a soccer game. Look for classic cuts and washable fabrics; shop for pants in neutral colors that will work with everything else in your closet. But don't be afraid of pattern -- a great plaid or tweed pant is can be versatile and fun.

We've found five pairs of pants that can go from a meeting to the park with ease; it all depends on how you wear them. Take a look and think about retiring your Mom Jeans and replacing them with something a little more chic and grown up -- and a little more professional.

"Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast, / To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak." So wrote William Congreve, in The Mourning Bride, way back in 1697. Turns out the guy knew what he was talking about. Researchers in Taiwan studied pregnant women and found those who listened to lullabies and classical music over a two-week period lowered their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

About half the women in the study were given four CD's and told to listen to at least one of them every day for two weeks. Each woman got a CD of classical music, one of lullabies, one of nature sounds, and one with new age versions of children's songs. "Pregnancy is a unique and stressful period for many expectant mothers and they suffer anxiety and depression because of the long time period involved," explained Professor Chung-Hey Chen of Kaohsiung Medical University, who led the study. "Our study shows that listening to suitable music provides a simple, cost-effective and non-invasive way of reducing stress, anxiety and depression during pregnancy."

This comes as no surprise to me; I've known for a long time that a little Vivaldi, Ray Lynch, or Beethoven before a trip to the dentist makes a huge difference. It's good to see the idea put to use making pregnancy a little easier.

As if sleep deprivation and hourly diaper blow-outs aren't enough, dressing her post-baby body can reduce a new mother to a weeping mess. After months of wearing polyester smocks, trying to shove your now-unfamiliar shape into your old size 10 jeans is agonizing.

Most new moms feel ambivalent at best about their bodies. Yes, it is a miracle machine, creating a brand-new person. I mean, wow -- your body made a human being from scratch. Amazing! But the process wreaks havoc on your abdomen and bottom.

In fact, a survey of 7,000 new mothers revealed that more than half of that number felt their body image worsened after becoming a mom. To make matters worse, high expectations make it even harder to cope with the postpartum bod -- 65 percent of mothers expected to be back to their fighting weight by the baby's first birthday, but a poll of mothers of 1- and 2-year-olds showed that more than half of them were still carrying extra pounds.

OK, so there's a little more junk in the trunk than there used to be. A girl still has to get dressed.

My problem is that I always tell myself I'll wait, and buy new clothes when I lose the weight. Ha! Lose the weight! So I'll be buying new clothes when my son is, what, 18? This time, I vowed not to pretend that I'll lose 20 pounds in two months.

The first step to dressing your new body is honesty. I'm not a size 10 anymore. And my hours and hours of watching What Not To Wear during nocturnal feedings helped me realize that size, in this case, doesn't matter. Do the clothes fit you? Then ignore the number. %Gallery-33809%

Winter is just around the corner which means that it's time to think about coats, because one morning soon you're going to wake up and it's going to be freezing outside. By this time of year, most moms have triple checked to be sure the kids all have coats that fit; now it's time to take a look at your options.

If you're buying a basic workhorse winter coat, choose a style that you will be able to wear lots of ways -- with jeans and dresses and everything in between. Choose a coat that will fit well over a sweater but don't assume that bigger means better; look for fitted shapes with roomy arm holes. If this is going to be your go-to coat, choose a neutral shade, and keep in mind that darker colors won't show stains as dramatically.

But don't skimp on style -- if you're going to wear this coat everywhere for the next four (or five or six or more) months, look for great details like beautiful buttons or an unexpected lining. And invest in a well-made coat, one that won't wear out before the winter is over.

We've found five options, all for under $300.00. Four are pragmatic enough for everyday, and the fifth is so darn cute that you might not be able to resist.

It's Monday, which means you have all week to plan for Date Night. Call the sitter, make dinner reservations, and then start looking for something to wear. The best date outfits include pieces that are comfortable but NOT kid friendly -- go all out with beautiful fabrics and shapes that are just a wee bit sexy. For a simple date night ensemble, pair a great top with your jeans, or take it up a notch with dressy pants or a pencil skirt.

Here are five options, all perfect for a mom body, and all suitable for an evening out. All five will last beyond this season and can be worn for pretty much any grown up event (but really, wear them for Date Night -- you'll be glad you did).

For most of us, the daily routine of being a mom is pretty mundane: get up, get dressed, get ready for the day. We shuttle kids and juggle projects and run errands. We start the laundry and start dinner and start homework. Occasionally, we go to soccer practice or dance class.

So why is it so hard to get dressed for all of this?

What you need is a basic outfit -- okay, sure, a uniform -- that works for you every day. But instead of defaulting to the Mom Uniform (capris and a t-shirt), try dressing your mom uniform up a little.

Here are five pieces you can pull together for those days when you're on the go from dusk till dawn. They are practical and pretty and -- best of all -- not terribly expensive. And they look great together.

Recently we at ParentDish reported to you that Naomi Campbell was ready to be a mom now that she's had some secretive corrective surgery to help her conceive. well, now all the walls are down and Campbell is being extremely open and detailed with the surgery, which occurred in Brazil and was until now kept pretty secretive. Apparently the supermodel underwent surgery to remove several cysts when doctors also repaired her fallopian tubes, which were damaged, meaning she would be able to have children.

Campbell said that in the year before the surgery she'd been in a great deal of pain and actually collapsed in her friend's apartment before following her pal's advice to see a Brazilian doctor. One of the two tumors (cysts) was infected and was leaking, and, according to the supermodel, would have put her in danger had it gone untreated. She says the doctors doing the surgery noted one of her fallopian tubes was blocked and took care of that issue as well. Campbell claims the surgery saved her life.

Perhaps it did. Perhaps it did in more ways than one. We've been quick to snark at Naomi's desire to have a child, now that we know all about her tantrums and violent behavior. That said, many a person has become changed after having a child--we tend to have more patience and generally be happier. Perhaps being able to be a mom will give Campbell a new lease on life (and more control of her temper!).

For first-time parents, the thought of bringing another life into the world--and being responsible for it--is daunting enough. Add to that all the advice, the stuff people tell you that you need and the endless lists of such things and becoming a parent can seem less appealing than ever. Then there's the matter of labor and the trip to the hospital. If you haven't done it before--and, for some, even if you have--the hospital can be the scariest part. Just how do you prepare for such an event, especially when you haven't the slightest clue about what will REALLY happen once you're there?

Lists are great for a lot of things. And there are plenty of lists of things to pack for the hospital out there on the web, some better than others. Ultimately, what each woman (and/or man) needs is going to be different, based on his or her comfort level and lifestyle, but there are some things it's a good idea to have in the hospital when the time comes. The first thing to do is to pre-pack what you think you MIGHT need. You never know when your child will arrive, and the last thing you want to be thinking about when your water breaks is whether or not you packed your house slippers as you scramble toward transportation.

Rather than tell you what you do need at the hospital, I can provide a short list of what you DON'T need. For example, in my experience at least, you do not need extra underwear. Nope. They give you these giant maternity underwear to wear over the giant pads they give you to help with...well...leakage. Sure, you may wish to wear something different home from the hospital, but I had a totally regular, easy delivery and I still was very thankful to have those giant honking underwear--which, by the way, are made out of some sort of mesh--they gave me.

It seems they're pretty serious about carpool chic over there in the Netherlands and Burkas simply don't cut it. Well, actually, it's not so much about fashion as it is security and being able to communicate. According to Ronald Plasterk, the Dutch education minister, "it is important for children to learn that proper communication requires being able to look the other person in the eye."

The ban on burkas will apply to all schools, including private, Muslim schools. Parents, teachers, and even people making deliveries will not be allowed to wear the dress which covers the woman's entire face, except for a narrow opening to see through. This will make it difficult for Muslim mothers to collect their children after schoo, I'm sure.

Personally, I don't really care what anyone else wears or why, but I do think it would make me feel better, were I a teacher, to be able to tell exactly who was picking up the kids in my class.

Victoria Beckham is having a normal Mom week, attending fashion shows in NYC's Bryant Park with gal pal Jennifer Lopez -- well, okay, it's only a normal mom week if you're a Hollywood celebrity, but really it's the same as a day at the mall with your girlfriends, right?

Sort of.

Anyway, Posh Spice wowed the crowd at yesterday's Marc Jacob's show with her new super-short pixie haircut. The Daily Mail has some great photos of the back and sides, but the scoop is this: Posh's hair is cropped and slightly curly and artfully dishevelled -- a kind of carefully-arranged bedhead look.

And it's fabulous.

This is a good look for moms with fine hair or moms with wavy hair, or for moms who just don't want to mess with styling every day -- the whole idea of a cut like this is that it's not supposed to look perfect, it's meant to look pretty much like you just rolled out of bed. But as Beckham showed the media yesterday, short hair can also be elegant and sexy and feminine.

Or maybe it's just that gigantic diamond ring that makes her look so great ...

It's not fancy. It's not fabulous. And sometimes it's not even stylish. But the basic tee gets me through my busy days.

A friend of mine was joking recently about the Carpool Uniform at her children's school: yoga pants, sunglasses, and lipgloss. "Everyone's doing it," she said. "We all like to pretend that we're going to work out after we drop the kids off, but really we're just too lazy to get dressed."

We're all familiar with that -- it's often all a mom can do to get the kids dressed for school; if you don't have to show up at an office precisely at 8:15 am, what's the point of getting all dressed up just for car pool? But there's more to what you wear to school than just convenience and comfort; according to Lesley Thomas, fashion blogger at the Telegraph, Carpool Chic is an elusive look. "Look glam and you alienate other mums, wear pyjamas and you mortify your kids." So what's the middle ground?

Thomas reminisces about moms who used to annouce, that "'School's not a fashion parade!" And while they were talking to their kids, she recently realized that "the same adage now applies to today's school-run mums. Not the glitzy Yummy Mummies for whom life's a catwalk, but the ones who seem to believe that motherhood equals sacrifice, fashion equals selfishness, and a mother who dresses well is a bad one."

So what's the middle ground? Thomas points moms to sensible flat shoes and classic wardrobing pieces that look crisp and chic without being too over-the-top. Everything she suggests is wearable and affordable.

What are you wearing to take the kids to school? Do you ever wish you could spiff up your look just a little more, or are you good with your yoga pants and ball cap?

Wipes. Once you have a child, it seems impossible to get away from using them. They're everywhere and made to use for everything baby related. And there are so many different kinds to choose from, you find yourself sampling until you find the "right" wipe for your family. Some prefer the all-natural variety, some prefer antibacterial. Others prefer the sensitive skin version, and some just go for whatever is cheapest. Heck, you can even make your own baby wipes at home.

But, are wipes all they're cracked up to be? Are they really safe for all the uses for which they are available? I use them to wipe up during a diaper change. And I use them to wipe my hands. And I use them to wipe down the table after my son has his meal. And I've been known on occasion to use them to wipe his face after said meal. I've used them to wipe his nose instead of traditional tissues because they keep the skin on his nose from drying out.

My husband came home from Costco with a box of 700 wipes. Yes, 700. And all for the low cost of like $17. But are they good for the environment? Do they disintegrate or pile up in a landfill somewhere like everything else? Is it worth it for the convenience? And what about the organic versions versus the regular kind? Is there any real advantage to using chlorine-free wipes as opposed to generic ones? So many questions, so many wipes. They're invaluable when it comes to diaper changing duties, but other than that are they really worth it? I come from the cloth napkin world where little is thrown away or not reused, but I love the cleanliness and simplicity of the wipe. Is there any middle ground?

What is your favorite type of wipe, or have you found a way to get things (and your kids) clean without them?

Recently we all got a good laugh, intentional or not, from a mom who posted on Craigslist looking for a nanny. For those of you unfamiliar with Craigslist, it's a now international site where one can post or look for anything from a job to household goods (used baby clothes too!) to a hot date, and everything in between. Hence, it should come as no surprise that someone would post looking for a nanny.

Finding a good nanny, especially in a city as big as New York, can be daunting at best. Sure, there are many to choose from, but they're expensive and trolling through their credentials can be arduous. All the good ones seem to have been snatched up by a neighbor uninterested in doing a nanny share. Finding affordable daycare, however, can be twice as hard. There are waitlists and questionnaires long enough to boggle the mind. All the good ones are very expensive, and few if any actually provide a discount for siblings (often they will give your child preference over another if you already have a child in regular attendance).

I find myself in this very situation right now. To live in New York, I have to work full-time, so childcare is a necessity for me. I am a Brooklyn mom so things in my part of New York should be less expensive than, say, the Upper East Side (from whence the poster looking for a nanny hailed), but it's still eyepoppingly absurd how much everything costs. If I were to put both my kids in daycare it would cost more than my new mortgage. Yep. So a nanny seems like a good idea, if I could just find a good one that wasn't too expensive and that didn't need to live with me. I, too, have thought about posting on Craigslist. Perhaps not in quite the manner in which the other mother posted, but it's certainly crossed my mind. After all, folks post for everything else so why not?

Would you post for a nanny on Craigslist or any other site or is that a crazy idea? Also, if you happen to be a nanny or know of a good one in the New York area, please let me know. My kids are NOT a pain in the ass. They're cute.

It was nearly a half-century ago that science uncovered just how harmful drugs could be to a developing fetus. The threat--thalidomide. I don't even know what thalidomide is, save for the phrase from the Billy Joel song We Didn't Start the Fire, but my parents certainly did, as did the rest of the nation who discovered they were poisoning their unborn children by taking the drug. Today, the environment is decidedly different. We live in a world where information of all kinds is at our fingertips (whether true or not is another matter). The Internet and, frankly, women entering the working world have given us control over knowledge, specifically with what can or does happen to our bodies. We as women, and as the world, know more about conception, pregnancy and birth than we ever did before. So do our doctors. They also know what can go wrong, and seem to take every chance possible to ensure something terrible doesn't happen to an unborn child.

The result? Many women feel like they're nothing more than a "walking uterus" or some ovaries. They feel that doctors forget to treat the whole patient because they're so focused on the damage that could be done by, say, taking a certain medication, if the woman happens to be pregnant (whether she knows it or not). They consider the woman "pre-pregnant." Of course doctors are trying to save and preserve lives. They're also trying to avoid malpractice or other kinds of suits. What they might be missing out on, though, is that a woman is in control of her body. She can avoid getting pregnant if she wants to--especially in order to take a certain medication. Yes, there is the slight chance that she doesn't know she is pregnant, but that's a risk the medical profession might have to be willing to take in order to treat women patients fairly.

This past winter I got strep throat REALLY BAD. (Actually, it's ALWAYS really bad.) We had not been using protection and so there was a slight possibility I could be pregnant. I told the doctor, rather than him asking me, that it was a possibility, so he prescribed a different kind of medication for me. The point? Well, I took control of the situation instead of having someone do it for me. I was the one who did the talking, was aware of and responsible for what was going on with my body. And you know what? I was pregnant. And now I feel a whole heck of a lot better that I got different medication. But, it was my choice--the doctor didn't make any presuppositions about me (smart man, good doctor).

Pic by zimpenfish.