By REBECCA MAZUR
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DENNIS - It began when Christine Barnes of Dennis posted her ultrasound pictures on the Web so her parents, just north of Pittsburgh, could keep up on her pregnancy.
Barnes, who says she had a "difficult pregnancy," spent a good amount of time during those nine months surfing the Web for information relating to babies and expectant parents. She discovered that there is "a great on-line support group for pregnant women," and she wanted to make that support "more accessible" to new parents on the Cape.
The site, which is located at www.capecodbaby.com, was established in late May and has links to some of the best sites for expectant parents, as well as information about local prenatal services and "freebie" opportunities for baby supplies.
Barnes also supplies new parents with personal Web sites for their babies, so far-flung relatives and friends can keep up on the development of the family's new addition. For a basic rate of $29.95, Barnes will construct a Web site, complete with photographs and the baby's vital statistics, and for an additional charge a guest book can be added so people can sign in when they visit the site.
"My husband shows off the site. Every times he's at work and somebody asks him about his kid, he says 'Hey, take a look at this,' and shows them the site."
Since www.capecodbaby.com went up in late May, 200 people have visited it. Although Barnes has only set up a few personal Web sites for babies, she is hoping to do more.
"The feedback has been real positive," said Barnes. "A lot of people are proud to have baby Cape Codders. ... And it's instant."
The site won Web site of the week for the week June 21 from WebMasters, an on-line group that honors quality Web sites. The judges complimented the site's design, and said it is "easily navigated and is clean, engaging and comforting."
As for Barnes's 4-month-old son, Alexander, he will be shown his Web site "when he is old enough to appreciate it."