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Crib notes: One year in Baby's world -- a sweet retreat or shoot me now?

Did you spawn and move on or did you bear and care? A new pair of parents left their daughter’s side only once during her entire first year of life -- despite the fact that all of their friends urged them to go out, get a babysitter, and put the grandparents to good use. In a column on Jezebel, LA writer Tracy Moore noted how so many of her friends seemed to have kids and then quickly resume the

Did you spawn and move on or did you bear and care? A new pair of parents left their daughter’s side only once during her entire first year of life -- despite the fact that all of their friends urged them to go out, get a babysitter, and put the grandparents to good use. In a column on Jezebel, LA writer Tracy Moore noted how so many of her friends seemed to have kids and then quickly resume their pre-baby lifestyles, while she and her husband were happy to rearrange their lives to really get to know the little person they'd just created.

She said their period of "confinement" gave them time, as a couple, to retreat into their relationship – and skip out on some dreaded social obligations. What about you? Does this sound like a sweet haven from rest of the world or a prison of your own making? How long did you wait before going on a post-baby date night?

Australia must have a really long statute of limitations because a 25-year-old woman is suing the doctor who delivered her. She claims that her mother had requested a C-section because she was much bigger during that pregnancy than she had been in her previous pregnancies. However, the doctor refused and wound up using forceps. The young woman contends that the delivery gave her erb's palsy, which has left her without full use of her arm. Erb's palsy is often caused by shoulder dystocia during birth, which is when a baby's head and neck are pulled to the side while the shoulders are going through the birth canal.

Kissing babies on the campaign trail is Politician 101. Not too long ago, President Obama showed that he can not only kiss with the best of them, but proved that he might be something of a baby-whisperer as well. However, a new slideshow on Slate demonstrates that the Commander-in-Chief evokes a whole range of emotions in babies. Some of the pictures are hilarious and are begging for a photo caption contest -- especially the kid who seems to be trying to force the President's jaw open. "Look here, Mr. President, I have this jar of baby food, see. One of us is going to eat it and it's not going to be me. Now, open up!"

Most child drowning (or near-drowning) stories seem to involve a kid who wasn't properly supervised in the water. Not this time -- a three-year-old girl was swimming in the pool with her grandfather, who, by all accounts, was paying attention to her. The next thing anyone saw was both the little girl and her grandfather at the bottom of the pool. Before you start to get sick, don't worry, there's a happy ending. Even better, there's a child-hero. A 9-year-old boy noticed the pair and dove in and saved them both. Doctors are still trying to determine exactly what happened, but there may be a possibility that the grandpa had a heart attack. Now is a good time to give your kids a hug and a kiss, by the way.

Dana Macario is a TODAY Moms contributor and Seattle mom to two sleep-depriving toddlers. She is currently developing an alarm clock that will start an IV coffee drip 10 minutes prior to wake-up time. Once properly caffeinated, she also blogs at www.18years2life.com.