Baby

If you're a big fan, you already knew what was coming in the season finale. But it didn't make it any easier -- or less heartbreaking -- to watch. The majority of the Season 3 "Downton" finale, or the "Christmas special" as its called in the U.K., took place in Scotland, where the whole family (minus Branson) visits the Highlands home of the Dowager's niece, Susan, and her husband, Shrimpy. Most of the trip included bagpipes, hunting, more bagpipes and Scottish reel dancing. But more on that later (and more on O'Brien meeting her Scottish lady's maid doppelganger)

 The obstetrics unit at Maryland General will close June 30th displacing 10 to 15 doctors and midwives. The news was first reported in the Baltimore Business Journal. The University of Maryland Medical System, which owns Maryland General, made the decision to stop the services because of a declining number of deliveries at the hospital, said spokeswoman Mary Lynn Carver. The hospital delivered about 1,200 babies annually five years ago and now delivers about 400 each year.

May. 18, Post Time: 10:45AM Entries and comments provided by the Maryland Jockey Club First - Purse $55,000, AOC $25,000-$20,000, 3 yo's & up, One And One Sixteenth Miles Post, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds 1 Aussi Austin, Rosario, R.Rodriguez, 3-1 2 Bob's Gone Wild, Vargas, J.Lopez, 20-1 3 Jarrod's Commando, Karamanos, C.Garcia, 10-1 4 Warrensburg, Boyce, D.Barr, 20-1 5 Benny Or Local, Cruise, D.Kobiskie,...

Guess what happens when baby spits out all of her dinner (9 offerings, mind you) instead of swallowing it? Baby wakes up really hungry at 4 a.m. Sigh. Danielle was an eager little eater for a while, but she now seems to have developed a picky palate at the ripe age of 13 months. If it were up to her, she would eat bananas and blueberries and nothing else. Any tips on tasty, healthy finger foods for babies with just four teeth? (Or magic spells to coax baby back to sleep after a 4 a.m. bottle feeding?

The 19-year-old Harford County man with developmental disabilities who is accused of killing his 2-month-old niece was ordered Monday to continue being held without bail. Colin Christopher Wolf, of the 2000 block of Bay Meadows Court in Forest Hill, is facing first degree murder charges after he allegedly struck the child, who had been left in his care, in the face Thursday night and she later died, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office. After an earlier bail review hearing Friday where Harford County District Court Judge Mimi Cooper questioned Wolf's competency, District Court Judge Victor Butanis ordered Wolf to continue being held without bail Monday and made no mention of any competency concerns.

An affectionate lowland paca named Poco investigates the nursery and a photographer at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Poco is the first time paca to be hand raised at the San Diego Zoo. His keepers hope he will one day become an animal ambassador, available for educational programs. The rodent was born on Sept. 7.  

Kudos to Susan Reimer for her column exploring the difficulties experienced by mothers traveling alone with babies and toddlers ("Babies on a plane: Can the rest of the flying public cut mom some slack?" April 4). As a grandmother of five, I have witnessed first-hand the tribulations moms with young children endure whenever I travel with my daughter and daughter-in-law. One must be physically fit, mentally strong and spiritually sound to juggle the incredibly cumbersome equipment, deal with a baby whose ears are popping and entertain restless toddlers unaccustomed to being confined in tight quarters - all while enduring the withering looks of other passengers.

Summertime is a prime season for babies — for anticipating them, having them or just watching them go about their napping, toddling and drooling business. Maybe we just see more babies this time of year, perspiring in their jogging strollers with their fitness-oriented parents, sitting in laps on lawns with their melting snowballs, or being held aloft in front of frighteningly toothy giraffes at the zoo. Whatever the reason, you can't escape the abundance of babies in the summer, and it's delightful because these mini-humans remind us that life is a journey that is unpredictable, joyful and sometimes just plain gross.

Veterinarian Doctor Maria Diaz gives milk to a newborn lion at the Zoo and Eco Park in Honduras. Pretty darn cute..... If you can't get enough bouncing baby lions, check out this one . And also this one.

Just what is this little cub up to? Good thing its mama is there to catch him or her. The spectacled bear, just four months old, was playing at the zoo in Cali. (Tremarctos ornatus), born in captivity four months ago, is seen with its mother at the zoo in Cali Zoo in Colombia.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has joined 42 other attorneys general asking the FDA to put a warning label on opiod pain killers explaining the health consequences babies face when their mothers take the drugs while pregnant. The states' leading attorneys sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to put what is called a black box warning on pain killer bottles about the condition neonatal abstinence syndrome. Under the condition, babies suffer withdrawal symptoms after giving birth.

I am in total agreement with Kim R. Filer ("Authorities too quick to kill rescued baby fox" May 7). This poor baby fox was doomed from birth. First by an accident that put him in harm's way and then by "authorities" who had to show their big nasty hand of power to kill. How sad for those who have so little care and empathy for creatures who are at mercy of men who couldn't even take a week to see if the fox was a rabies carrier before snuffing out his little life. Mary-Jo Dale, Baltimore Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

The Social Security Administration has released the most popular baby names of 2012 and at the top of the list are Jacob and Sophia. Ten years ago it was (also) Jacob and Emily, 20 years ago it was Michael and Ashley, and 50 years ago it was Michael and Lisa. A century ago John and Mary topped the list. When my daughter was born, we brought the laptop to the hospital and entered our favorite names into the SSA website to make sure we weren't picking one that was over-the-top common.

I initially loved The Sun's story about the baby fox rescue, although it's ironic the firefighters were the ones who ended up helping, being unable to get hold of people and agencies who are supposed to be there. But I was horrified by how it all ended ("Rescued fox pup put down for fear of rabies," May 5). What on earth is a health agency doing taking over an animal matter? Worse yet, the Harford County agency decided to put the animal to sleep, claiming they needed to test for rabies - even while admitting the fox hadn't bitten or scratched anybody.

Parents who lick clean dropped baby binkies instead of sanitizing them may be doing their kids some good by warding off allergies and skin issues, according to a Swedish study published today in the journal Pediatrics. The study , which followed 184 infants, claims kids whose parents "'cleaned' their pacifier by sucking it" were less likely to have asthma or eczema at 18 months of age than children of parents who used another cleaning technique, like soap and water. Researchers suggested that oral microbes transferred to the children through their parents' saliva may have stimulated the kids' immune systems and reduced the risk of allergy development.

A baby fox rescued Tuesday night from a storm drain in Edgewood by a well-meaning group of Harford County firefighters was later euthanized so it could be tested for rabies — though the disease was not ultimately found. The decision — which was met with disappointment from the volunteer firefighters — was made out of fear that handling the abandoned pup during and after the rescue may have exposed the men to the deadly viral disease, even though none of them were bitten or scratched, the Harford County Health Department said.

If you've ever heard a baby fox screaming for its mother on a dark spring night - foxes can sound eerily human - you'll know why a team of volunteer firefighters in Harford County was alerted to the howls of a desperate pup trapped in a storm drain in Edgewood late Tuesday. But thanks to the yipping plea for help, the furry redhead ended up getting a ride in a fire truck and spending the night with a bunch of firefighters at the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Station. The firefighters are "tasked with protecting lives, not just human," the station said in a news release.

An endangered lemur species native only to the island of Madagascar has grown its global population by one with the birth last month of Maximilian - the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore 's newest Coquerel's sifaka. The species (pronounced CAHK-ker-rells she-FAHK) produce babies that resemble "tiny gremlins" before their white hair begins to grow in, the zoo said. Images of "Max," as he's known, show his hair has come in - he was born March 30, though his birth was announced Wednesday - and he can now be seen on some days with his parents inside the zoo's sifaka exhibit at the Chimpanzee Forest, zoo officials said.