Parent Extremis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 3, 2008
Release #08-389 Firm’s Recall Hotline: (866) 208-0269
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Optave Inc. Recalls Action Baby Carriers Due to Fall Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Action Baby Carriers

Units: About 250

Manufacturer: Optave Inc., of Alpena, Mich.

Hazard: The baby carrier’s chest strap can detach from the shoulder straps, posing a fall hazard to the baby.

Incidents/Injuries: Optave Inc. has received two reports of the chest strap detaching from the shoulder straps on the baby carrier. No injuries have been reported.

Description: The recalled carriers were sold under the “Action Baby Carrier” brand name. The carriers are sold in various colors and patterns: blue, brown, green, “so square”, “the larrisa” and “spring breeze.”

Sold at: Specialty retail stores nationwide and Internet sites from May 2008 through June 2008 for between $80 and $90.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the carrier in the positions that require the use of the chest strap and contact Optave to receive free replacement straps.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Optave Inc. at toll-free (866) 208-0269 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.actionbabycarriers.com

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Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $800 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC’s web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

I have one car seat.  And we own two cars.  Nevermind that fact because we just keep the car seat with the baby, by which I mean the CRV with the professionally-installed car seat stays wherever the baby is staying.   Also, Marc’s car is a two-door and I cannot imagine crawling into the back seat with a twenty-two pounder, kneeling on the floor and wrangling him into the seat without completely losing my sanity.

We are going to Florida later this Fall to visit my in-laws for a week.  We will need a car seat, duh!  Florida may not have a helmet law but you can be sure that my child will be locked into a very safe car seat no matter what state-law requires.  Oh by the way FLORIDA, a four-year old is not large enough to be safely restrained by a regular seatbelt, but  that’s a discussion for another time.

You don’t have to get the Britax Marathon (retail: $299) to have a safe seat for your child.  There are seats for less than $100 that meet all necessary safety standards.   I am referring to convertible seats, they are the seats that are rated for a 5-pound baby up to a 40-50-or even 60-lb toddler.  They can be moved from rear-facing to front-facing,  when your child is over one year of age.   Most people really like these seats because of their versatility and the fact that they are useful for several years.

I am planning to get a second car seat for my in-laws car, an Evenflo Titan Elite maybe?  I particularly like this seat because it is rated front-facing for up to 50 lbs, and I think that will buy us an extra year of use with Noah.

For more in-depth information about this subject, this article published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlights some of the issues in finding a good safety seat for children and particularly, the types of injuries children often suffer.  There are some graphic pictures in this link.

What about you?  Do you recommend any particular car seats?  Do you strongly NOT recommend a certain one?  There are tons of different websites for safety ratings and personal reviews but from a simple usability standpoint, what’s your favorite? Why?

I took over this site back in February and I have always felt a little guilty for not posting more about, oh … those controversial parenting issues, you know, like bottle versus breast feeding and attachment parenting and the dreaded sleep-issues. I haven’t been living up to the TITLE of this blog, writing about parenting EXTREMES. Personally, I don’t parent in any of the extremes, at least I don’t think. I have my nuttiness, as my husband likes to remind me, but for the most part I dabble. I make some baby food, I buy some baby food, Noah sleeps alone, in his crib and he does get a little fussy sometimes and I don’t rush in to grab him, I do use Tylenol for those teething moments and post-vaccine fevers, I do use a sling and a carrier but only BEFORE he reached 20-pounds and mostly for convienence, not because I thought we weren’t bonded enough. So, I don’t really fall into any of the strong beliefs about attachment parenting and authoritative parenting and cry-it-out (Ferber/Weissbluth) versus Sears-method sleep training.

But! Some of you do! And I’d like to get some of those debates out in the open here at PARENT EXTREMIS. It’s what we’re all about, when I’m not writing about nose-picking and Cabernet play dates.

TypeAlice recently had a down and dirty comment war with another blogger about letting a baby cry and where to draw the line at ABUSE and WRONG. It is hard to hear your baby cry but sometimes when they are really tired they cry for like 30 seconds before they fall asleep, after you have fed and comforted and rocked them. Is that BAD? To me, that isn’t crying, its more like, fussing. Each parent has a different tolerance for hearing their baby cry and only each parent knows the line of a distress cry versus an I’m-annoyed-come-entertain-me cry. And to some parents, it doesn’t matter, a cry is a CRY.

I think the problem comes when one parent thinks THEIR way is better and RIGHT for someone else. But, who am I to judge? I buy baby food and put my baby in a stroller??

What are your thoughts on these extremes? Food, sleep, etc … do you dabble in the “methods” or do you follow one more than another?

I started feeding Noah a mixture of baby rice cereal and purees of fruits and vegetables right around his six month birthday. True to family form: He ate everything we gave him and never spit out one bite. We take our food seriously around here.

So here we are, almost eight months old and I’m getting a little bored with his food. I actually make about 75% of his food, and not because I am a SAHM WAHM SUPERMOM but rather, it is CHEAPER. Like, seriously cheaper. A jar of Earth’s Best Spinach and Potato (Stage 2) is $.76 at a local grocery store. A bag of frozen organic chopped spinach is $3.99. If I steam and puree the spinach it will make more than one ice cube tray of frozen spinach blocks, a minimum of twenty meals.

When I first started I would make a huge mess of puree all over the kitchen. I used all the spoons in the drawer and I had leaky watery stains of spinach green and cherry red all over myself and my counter. I am happy to report that I have gotten much better at containing the food and getting it cooked, pureed and frozen in the time it takes Noah to individually toss ten cheerios onto the floor after first licking them and showing them to the dog.

I just found this book this week and I’m really excited to make some new foods for Noah. This book tells you how to make something as basic as a puree of carrots to something more complex like fish and meat and pastas. I also really like the section at the beginning discussing baby health and nutrition. It is short and concise; well suited for a mother to read while her baby crawls into the kitchen to play in the dog’s water bowl.

Teething is a bit of a mystery for us first time parents. I have been convinced that Noah was teething since he was about a week and a half old so clearly, my observations are not to be trusted. Fast forward to NOW, Noah is seven months (32 weeks) and I suspect a tooth is just about on the horizon.

Teething is a bit of a gray area at this time because I can’t tell which tooth might be coming in first. Most babies get the two bottom teeth first, although I have known plenty of babies who get five teeth on top and then no others for months on end.

Teething can begin as early as three months or as late as a year. The averages are around … seven months.

Some common symptoms of teething are:
* biting hands or anything that comes near their mouths
* crying out in yelps of pain
* drooling
* runny nose or congestion from drooling
* “smokers’ cough” from the drool going down the back of the throat
* spitting or throwing up from drool going into the stomach
* “drool stool,” which is shards of drool in the poop (I know, and it’s truly stunning when you see it)Moxie says it’s true!)
* rash around the mouth
* rash around the anus
* acidic poop (sometimes you can even smell the difference) and a burned monkey-butt look after pooping
* tugging or pulling at the ears
* not wanting to nurse
* biting while nursing
* flash fevers (fevers that come out of nowhere, don’t last, and are gone in 30 minutes to an hour)

Teething remedies will be discussed in a later post …

It was a hard day, Noah was difficult. Cranky? Drooly? Teething? Constipation? Crawling difficulties? Sleep Regressions? The Wonder Weeks?

Cabernet Savignon is the answer whatever you think the question may be!

Alas, Noah has a rough day and I can’t attribute it to any one factor. But other than today I am finding seven months to be a cheerful and enjoyable age. For the most part Noah sleeps well and eats well and plays well. We have garnered ourselves a decent routine that seems to be more challenging for me than for him.

I do know a few other parents who are still having a lot of trouble getting their six and seven month olds to sleep well. Here are some recommendations originally published on Parents.com.

1. Give your child a quiet and calm period before bedtime. Figure out which activities are effective in calming your child. For many, it’s reading, singing, or a warm bath. Sticking to a regular routine will help your child understand that it will soon be time to go to sleep. Limit television viewing, video games, and active play shortly before bed.

2. Set a consistent schedule. Decide on a time for your child to go to sleep and make bedtime the same every night. His sleep patterns will adjust accordingly.

3. Encourage your child to take a favorite teddy bear or special blanket to bed. These comforting items often help children fall asleep — especially if they wake up in the middle of the night.

4. Make sure your child is comfortable. Make sure that she is comfortable with the temperature in her room and that she’s wearing pajamas that fit well. She may also feel more at ease with a drink of water, a night-light, or the door left slightly open.

5. Avoid returning to your child’s room every time he calls out. A child will quickly learn if you always give in to his requests at bedtime. However, it’s important to reassure your child that you are there if he needs you. Try waiting several seconds before responding and taking longer each time he calls out. (A few minutes of crying is okay, but listen to your baby and if he seems to be in distress go to him.)

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

There are an interesting variety of watch-dog type sites that comes to mind when I think of all the times that we, as parents would appreciate an extra eye on our children. Nannycams and hidden cameras are all too common inside our homes, but what happens when the nanny goes for a walk? Does she cross streets safely while pushing your child’s stroller? Does she demonstrate extreme and laudable safety? How do you know?

1. A new site, How’s My Nanny (Howsmynanny.com) gives each person who signs up a mini-license place to put on their stroller. If you see one on a stroller you can report praise or problems, anonymously, and the parent is notified via an email.

2. Parent Pager. The parent pager is a device that comes in two pieces, one is attached to the child, and the base to the parent. If the child wanders beyond fifteen feet of the parent’s device an alarm sounds notifying the parent. Also similar is the GOTCHA, sold online for $59.99.

3. Nanny-Cams. There is a website, Know Your Nanny that sells a plehtora of hidden cameras and accessories all of which help you to spy on your nanny. I’m not going to delve into the shark-infested waters of controversy on this one but suffice to say, a little spying is okay, to ensure peace of mind and safety of the kids and all that … but undisclosed taping can be illegal in many states and also violates a certain trust you should have with anyone watching over your children. So, use wisely. Many parents choose to tell their nanny that they are recording or recording in one room, also so that they can watch their children when they are away. I highly suggest you read THIS before opting for any home surveillance system.

Four new flavors of Stage Two/Second Foods dinner are now available from Earth’s Best Organic. New flavors include the following: Beef, Carrots and Corn Country Dinner, Chicken and Brown Rice Country Dinner, Chicken Tomato Pastina Country Dinner and Harvest Squash Turkey Dinner. All the dinners are 100% organic.

They also make organic formula and a soy-option is available too. You can purchase these items anywhere that baby food is sold. Also, visit the Earth’s Best website for direct purchase information.

So far I have fed Noah almost exclusively organic foods from Earth’s Best. I like their variety of flavors and foods. The website is very useful and full of nutritional information as well as general baby-health and baby-eating advice too. Each foods nutritional and allergy facts are also located easily on the website.

We had some friends over for dinner last night and I was busy running around grilling steak and pork chops and pouring my pasta salads into serving platters and setting the table that I asked my friend to feed the baby. Who doesn’t jump at the chance to feed a little cute cherub like mine?

I made a little bowl of rice cereal and put a spoonful of pureed edamame in it, opened a jar of babyfood peaches and finished off a jar of Spinach & Potato. Noah ate it all. Go figure. He does love his vegetables.

So far he has eaten with success (well, he hasn’t NOT liked anything, so it’s all been successful, I suppose) the following:
Baby Food Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Winter Squash, Pears, Apples, Bananas and Prunes.

I have made him pureed organic chicken that I poached in broth, pureed white potatoes, a mixture of pureed bananas and blueberries and spinach. I also steamed and pureed Edamame.

Mah baby loves to eatz zee SPINACH.

AM SUCCESS AS PARENT!!

ALL WILL BE EASY FROM HERE ON.

…

Well … I figure at least until the pureed spinach comes out the other end.

For the most part I have fed him almost 100% organic food thus far. It really isn’t feasible to live 100% organically, at least not when you live in the suburbs of Washington, DC and don’t have a garden or year-round Farmer’s Market or a cat that sheds dollar bills instead of hair. But, I am trying to be open-minded and give him the best start I think possible. Giving him organic baby foods help to eliminate a small amount of the toxins that we get from our environment. So, if I can give him a little head start on the poison collecting, I think that’s a good thing. Now, if only I’d stop eating my mom’s Velveeta Cheese Dip, ’cause it’s not like my breast milk is organic with that shit in my body.

My baby. He turns SIX MONTHS OLD in two days.

More tomorrow about the typical six month milestones, what to expect, look forward to, dread … and much more.

I just got an email from another blogger who has a baby the same age as Noah and after reading one of my postings about finally getting the baby to sleep for a nice long period of time, things are about to hit the fan because it is just about TEETHING time. Can I get a collective sigh of URGH.

I think the baby is starting the whole dreaded teething phase. He drools like a fountain and gnaws excessively on his hand, my hand, my shoulder, the dirty washcloth in the bathtub, you get the idea. His top row of gums have puffed up in the shape of little baby teeth. The bottom hasn’t shown too much action so far.

Babies can start teething as early as three months and some don’t show any signs of teeth appearing at their one year birthday but for most babies, the little nubs start cutting through that soft gum tissue somewhere around seven months of age, just for an average.

Sometimes breastfed babies will start to bite when they are teething. They are not doing it to hurt you, but rather because their gums are sore and biting down feels good but rest assured you can teach them not to bite. Moxie has written a good piece about breastfed biters.

The teething ring pictured at the top of this article is made out of all natural maple wood. It is made in the United States and is free of chemicals, most importantly, lead but also there is no potentially toxic gel inside. It is sold on Amazon.

When your baby starts teething and you want to offer some organic means of gum soothing, consider offering them a washcloth damp with cool water at room temperature or one that has been refrigerated for awhile. The cool sensation will gently and naturally numb their gums. Some babies will take to chewing on a pacifier. Even if the baby hasn’t liked a paci in the past, consider showing them they they can chew on it now. Sippie cup spouts are just about the right size to be chewed on. Overall, just choose something safe and large (READ: NON-CHOKE-ABLE) that your baby likes to chew on. Anything that takes the edge off of their discomfort is a good option.

There are also a hot of over-the-counter medicines including Tylenol and Orajel, a benzocaine-product. It is recommended that you speak with your pediatrician before offering any of these products.

In one of the many, many, many baby sleep books I read that left me doubting** not only myself but also the reliability and validity of the many baby-sleep theories out there I recall a passage saying that a baby will naturally regulate their daytime sleep pattern around the age of five months. And dammit, I think that was right.

Just last week, at the age of five and a half months I finally put Noah down for day-time naps that seemed to last a long time and occur at the same time each day. And he only cried for a few minutes and seemed grateful for the sleep.

In his early weeks I let him nurse and nap in my arms while I caught up on some very important Tivo’d television. But, as he got older and I needed to get some things done I needed him to nap in some sort of baby-holding-device other than myself.

It was only about a month ago that Noah’s wake-up time in the morning seemed to be consistent from day to day. So after waking up and nursing and hanging out in bed while I prayed for a brief nap from him, we get up and come downstairs and he plays while I eat breakfast. By the time I have eaten and cleaned up and checked some email and let the dog out he is cranky and whining for me. Add in a fast calming nursed-feeding and he’s back to sleep. Where he used to sleep on me, I now put him upstairs in his crib and he has slept for anywhere from twenty minutes to two hours.

I’m hoping our consistency develops into the two-hour nap days.

** I still think that many of the baby books out there today are theories based in scare tactics: DO THIS or else you are setting your child up for a lifetime of insomia. Please. Parents are just trying to survive, do we really need to add to our plethora of worries?

In a perfect world I would own three strollers. I would have a Maclaren Triumph umbrella stroller for scooting around the neighborhood and going out to ballgames, the Bugaboo Cameleon for the infant-bassinette piece and the utter mobility and resourcefulness, and a Britax Vigour Travel System BUT I live in the real world with a budget and a sense of self restraint and an understanding of what it means to be a materialistic whore.

I actually have one stroller. And it works just fine. We have the GoGo Babyz Urban Advantage Stroller. I was actually able to wedge my infant carrier into the seat area when Noah was younger and I used it like a travel system, albeit, without the safety and security of pieces that were meant to be used together. I was careful. I love this stroller because it is perfect for tooling around the neighborhood at good exercise-walking speeds. The big wheels do make for a more comfortable ride for the boy. When we go shopping, the under-basket is very sufficient for all my needs and it comes complete with THREE cup holders! Two for the pusher, I figure one for my water - you know for hydration purposes, and one for my Gin, for you know … medicinal purposes.

I have been searching for the perfect umbrella stroller for a few weeks now. I need something light-weight and compact, something easy to clean, easy to get the baby into and out of and with the highest weight limit, because, let’s be realistic, my little boy eats very well and I’d like to get use out of this stroller for a few years.

I had seen a few strollers for about fifty dollars and I was willing to take the plunge until I saw a review in a parenting magazine of the EvenFlo X-Sport Convenience Stroller, retailing for THIRTY DOLLARS. So I just bought that sumbitch right up and it is due on my doorstep in a few days. I’ll review it when I get it. But I’m very excited to have a stroller that I can flick open with one delicate little hand motion.

Noah is taking a nap right now and I just ate lunch and am now sitting at the kitchen counter in utter and total silence watching him on the video monitor.

After feeding him downstairs in front of the television with the dog running around yapping I noticed that he looked tired so I just carried him upstairs and put him in his crib. I turned to close the curtains fully expecting him to wake up and scream about the whole putting-the-baby-down thing and demand a new diaper, another feeding, twenty-bucks for the night, ma! But he didn’t. He opened his eyes just long enough to establish where he was and then he closed them and went back to sleep and that was a whole thirty minutes ago. If past performance is an indicator of future behavior he will be waking up with a scream in about eleven minutes.

But for now, SUCCESS!

Noah’s upset sleep patterns a few weeks ago were due to a period of extreme growth and neurological development. I believe this and I read it in a book too. Since that period of awfulness he has returned to sleeping through the night and he has also mastered, MASTERED I tell ya’ the art of rolling over back-to-front and front-to-back. He’s a little genius!

The book, The Wonder Weeks describes major developmental milestones in a baby’s life and when they occur, approximately. This book doesn’t tell you what to do about them, which is cool because we all know I don’t like being told how to parent. But, by knowing when some major developments are going to occur it prepares you steel yourself for those tough weeks when your baby doesn’t sleep so well or needs more feeding or is just overall clingy and fussy.

EDITED TO ADD: It was more like seven minutes. URGH.

I have always been a big time swimmer. I love the water. My mother had me in a swimming pool when I was about five months old and I honestly believe that the earlier exposure helped me become a strong and confident swimmer. I love swimming as a sport. It is great exercise and because it is an individual sport — even when you are in a relay — it is an individual sport the feeling of moving through the water so sleek-like and strong is extremely transcendental for me. It clears my head and keeps me healthy like no other exercise ever has. Because of my love of the water I want Noah to have the same early exposure. We’re planning on getting him into the pool as soon as the weather and the water are warm enough.

Noah is about four and a half months old right now so by the time pool open and get warm enough for a baby to swim in, as in, NOT 70 degrees, I plan to have Noah in the water as much as possible. He’ll be six months in June so he should fit most of the baby-pool toys in terms of age recommendations.

I’m looking for suggestions about baby swim toys and baby-holders for the pool. I keep seeing a lot of little funky shaped blow-up things with little awnings for the baby under a year of age. We have a pool close by and will be spending a lot of the hot July and August hours in a pool this summer. I would love to get some suggestions or recommendations about what has worked for you in the past. I’m looking for something safe, comfortable and easy to use.