The past 12 months have brought us many trials and tribulations as parents. This year’s round up of 2011 events brings inspiring stories of flashmobs and tots surviving depsite all odds. Here are some of our favourites from the past 12 months.

• January – Snatched baby Carolina White renunited with family
• February – Breast milk ice-cream
• March – Daffodil police
• April – Fetus in trouble with police
• May – Boy or girl?
• June – Toddler found alone on bus
• July – IVF baby raffle
• August – Toddler tumbles 40ft
• September – Flash mob in Aberdeen Trinity Centre
• October – Free parenting classes
• November – Woman passes test during contractions
• December – Breastfeeding Flash Mob

January

Some of you may remember this story from 23 years ago when Carlina White was snatched from a New York hospital aged just 19 days old in 1987. In January of 2011, Carlina, who had been abducted and raised as Nedra Nance by a woman who posed as a nurse was finally reunited with her birth mum. Suspicion aroused after her acting mum refused to give her access to her birth certificate when she was applying for a driving license. After realising she bore no resemblance to her ‘family’, Carlina phoned National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children who quickly matched her childhood photographs with some taken before she was abducted. On seeing photographs of her grown up daughter, Carlina’s mother knew it was her right away and was ecstatic to know her daughter was alive and well.

February

One of our more bizarre tales of 2011 happened in February. A Covent Garden restaurant launched a new range of ice cream…made from breast milk. Called Baby Gaga, the ice cream is made up of donations from London mother Victoria Hiley, 35, who said if mothers knew how tasty breast milk was, they might be persuaded to breastfeed in the future. The dessert is served with a rusk and an optional shot of Calpol or Bonjela. After 200 donor mother’s came forward, the ice cream created at Icecreamists was removed for testing and shortly after, creator Matt O’Connor found himself up to his elbows in law suits with Lady Gaga despite changing the name of the dessert to Baby Googoo. Since then, the product has been banned by the council, renamed and is back on sale again at Scream, an ice cream installation in Covent Gardens.

March

March is the epitomy of Spring time. With the weather starting to brighten up and beautiful flowers starting to grow, many homes will have a freshly picked bunch of daffodils gracing their windowsill. That was what sisters Sienna, four, and India, ten, and their step sister Olivia, six had been planning to do when on a family walk in their local park in Poole. A local councillor spotted the young girls picking daffodils and alerted police officers who were waiting near by in their patrol car. The officers told the parents of the girls that they could be arrested for theft and criminal damage before moving the family on. The girls were reduced to tears and four year old Sienna is now scared to return to the park incase her family are taken away by the police.

April

Another of the most bizarre stories of 2011 happened in April when a 36 week old foetus was awarded an ASBO following anti-social behaviour. You might be wondering how an unborn baby could land itself in such trouble, so were parents Charlotte and Damien Childs. The couple from Lincoln were shocked when a letter from the police landed on their doormat explaining their child had been causing trouble in a near by park and had been given an ASBO. The letter even used one of the baby names they had been thinking about naming their child. Sheepish police officers and council officials apologised for what they blamed as an admin error.

May

A controversial story that shook the world was the story of the couple from Toronto, Canada who had decided to raise a completely genderless child. Kathy Witterick and David Stocker are raising their child as Storm, a genderless child as a tribute to freedom and choice. The couple, a family friend, 2 midwives who delivered the little one and Storm’s two brothers know if Storm is a boy or a girl and the couple intend on keeping it this way.
They sent an email to their friends and family explaining their decision and have since expressed that they don’t want any more media attention.

June

A two-year old went on an adventure in June when he traveled 28 miles alone on a bus unnoticed. The boy climbed on the bus in Montgomery and ran up the back of the bus. The driver and other passengers assumed he belonged to someone who had boarded and only discovered he was alone when they arrived in Shewsbury 45 km away. Quite an adventure for a two-year old!

July

In July, the world’s first IVF lottery was launched in Britain. People hoping to ‘win a baby’ were encouraged to buy tickets from a website costing £20 with the winner of the draw receiving £25,000 worth of fetility treatment in the hope to falling pregnant. With no restrictions on who could enter, single women, single men, gay couples and the elderly were allowed to buy as many tickets as they wanted in hope of winning a child.

August

July brought us a welcomed positive story when Glasgow born toddler, Aaron Train survived a terrifying 40ft fall from a top floor window. Aged just one year, Aaron had followed a cat onto a window ledge and took a tumble falling 40ft, landing on his head and escaping with a fractured skull and a few scratches. Missing a tarmac path and a spiked fence by just inches, the death defying toddler from Drumchapel has quite a tale to tell when he’s older.

September

Shoppers at the Trinity Centre in Aberdeen faced quite a shock when shopping in September when a flashmob of women when balloons up their tops paused for exactly nine minutes. The flashmob was staged by The National Organisation of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to promote awareness for the physical and mental defects that can occur when excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed during pregnancy.

October

In October, Children’s minister, Sarah Teather announced that free parenting classes are to be introduced and trialed for all parents with children aged five and under living in England. The classes, aimed at parents whether they are struggling with raising their children or not, will likely cover skills such as communication and listening to help promote healthy, positive relationships in the home. Ms Teather vowed to “break the link between your birth and your fate” telling conference the Government needs to intervene before youngsters arrive at school because “inequality starts early”.The classes are set to be rolled out throughout 2011/12.

November

November brought us a story and we can’t decide if it shows determination or is just completely mad. Emma French, 20 from Livingston was learning to drive whilst pregnant. On the day of her test, she went into labour and was so determined to pass her test that she hid her condition from the examiner, endured four contractions and went onto pass the test. After hearing the good news, Emma drove to her grandparents to tell them the good news before driving herself to hospital. Baby Eva was born at 5lbs and 1oz and is healthy and well.

December

Claire Jones-Hughes, 38, from Brighton was breastfeeding in her favourite cafe when she was approached by a group of customers who told her watching her feed her child was ‘unpleasant’ and that she should have covered up more. Upset, Claire felt vunerable and calling on support of local Brighton mums, staged a breastfeeding flash mob of over 40 women to raise awareness of the issues surrounding breastfeeding in public. A very inspiring end to 2011!