Parent Extremis

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?

Wine! I highly suggest keeping a good bottle of cheap wine in the house at all times. It’s very nice to have a calming glass of wine after the kids go to bed each night. There are nights when that little treat renews me and lulls me into a ready-for-sleeping calm that I haven’t been able to channel sans alcohol since well before I had a baby.

I’m not at all advocating alcoholism or drinking as a means of managing the stresses of parenthood, however, it is a good coping tool! But, if you would rather consume a more benign substance, try an herbal tea or warm milk which is proven to help you sleep, and gives you a good dose of calcium and protein. Milk contains very small doses of melatonin and tryptophan that tend to have a sleepy calming effect on the body and mind.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is not recommended, however if you are breastfeeding it can be safe, in moderation. Alcohol can be found in breast milk but the amounts are small, however, it is recommended that you have only one and no more than two drinks per day while nursing. Although, two drinks each day and every day isn’t suggested, so, you know, be smart about it. Alcohol doesn’t stay in breast milk, it does get metabolized by the body so you don’t necessarily need to pump and throw away the milk. For more information about alcohol consumption while breast-feeding, visit Bella Online.

A good nighttime tea to try is Celestial Seasonings Sweet Apple Chamomile. It is all natural, free of calories and caffeine. If you prefer an organic tea, try Sweet Clementine Chamomile Organic Herb Tea, also by Celestial Seasonings.

It’s that time of year again kids … time to put away the flip-flops and swimsuits and breakfast at 10am while watching Noggin, time to starting going to bed ON TIME and start using those new binders with the questionable factory-plastic smell. Parents: Can you hear that tune in the distance, it sounds to me like …CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!.

Yeah folks, it’s back to school time!

I bet you didn’t know that you can be creative and make a lot of your school supplies, or at the very least, spruce up that bland notebook with something as simple as MASKING TAPE. Readers Digest just recently published an article about the many creative uses of masking tape! We’re not talking about just labeling folders here, you can fix a broken umbrella and design a road for Matchbox cars all using this wonder tape.

You can get creative, resourceful and organized with a few tips and products like aluminum foil and an old milk-crate or cardboard box.

Did you know that you can use aluminum foil in place of a brillo pad to scrub a soiled pot? Uncrumpled you can lay a sheet of it flat on the bottom of the oven to keep drippings from baking on to the oven.

You can use old return address labels for all those pesky school supplies that are always getting lost. A missing pencil bag might just find its way back home with an address label affixed to its side.

Click here to read the entire article on Homemade School Supplies and learn some great tips for labeling, organizing and using everyday household items in new ways.

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

Parent’s Magazine has a new list of the best books for children, broken down by age.

I have very strong memories of my Dad reading me Dr.Seuss books. I love the crazy words, the images and the wacky scenarios.

Reading to children is one of the best activities and gifts you can give them. It is calming, bonding and promotes conversation about things you may not have talked about otherwise. Also, hearing the rhythm of language and sounds teaches kids about language and improves their own language skills. Reading promotes imagination and play, a venue through which kids learn.

Child Literacy (dot com) recommends the following based on age:

For babies and toddlers up to 2 years

• point at pictures and say or ask names of things (depending on age)
• use a slow sing-song voice
• use different voices for different characters - be entertaining
• spend time talking about the pictures before turning the page
• say a name and ask your older baby or toddler to point to the item
• give huge praise each time your child points at and names an object

For 2-4 year-olds

• give your child time to look at the pictures before you read
• ask, ‘Where’s the…?’ ‘What’s that called?’ ‘What’s she doing?’
• always follow text with your finger as you read
• with familiar stories, see if your child can join in or finish phrases
• ask questions like: ‘Why did he do that?’ ‘What happens next?’
• discuss things you both liked/didn’t like and why

For 4 year-olds and over (and possibly some 3 year-olds)

• as for 2-4 year olds
• ask your child if he can remember the order of events in the story
• try paired reading (sometimes called shared reading)

Julia wrote about vaccinations awhile back and she basically said everything that I felt. So perhaps you can just go read her posting and then we’ll be done? Oh… you actually want me to put actual words here? In this space? Oh. Alrighty then.

Wow. I never should have attempted such an often times controversial subject this early on a Monday, but my goal isn’t to say what I feel is right or even try to sway anyone to vaccinate or not to vaccinate. Ultimately, it is a personal decision. I will say that the arguments are in favor of vaccines as they are overwhelmingly safe. The public health defense being is at the top of PRO list, as is personal health. It is much better to let your child get a short-run, controlled fever than say, a case of the Mumps. There was an outbreak of the Mumps in 2006 which was a real reminder that we have let our guard down in terms of diseases once thought to be eradicated, or at least, totally off of our radar.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a very extensive web page detailing recommended vaccine schedules and a chart that suggests how to catch up when vaccines have been missed or skipped for whatever reason.

The biggest vaccine controversy today is a concern that vaccines have contributed to the rise in Autism rates. However, there is no proven link. In the past two decades the number of available vaccines has grown quite a bit, and coincidentally, so have the rates in diagnosed Autism. At this point, this is really is a coincidence, there is no proven scientific research demonstrating any link.

It is difficult to watch your babies getting shots but it is ultimately better to have the sting of the shot than the disease it is preventing. Some pediatricians recommend a delayed vaccine schedule for babies who were born prematurely or who have stronger reactions to the shots. This option should be discussed with your pediatrician if you think it would benefit your child.

In the wake of a recent tragedy, a friend of a friend just lost a baby, an 18-month-old baby who drowned in a hot tub, I think it is important that we all take a minute and read over some good tips to keep our kids safe around water, specifically, pools. It’s summer time and we all want to take a dip to cool off. Young children and babies have no concept of the dangers of water and also, the double edged sword is that they are fascinated by water and can get away from us and out of sight in the blink of an eye.

The American Academy of Pediatrics makes the following statement:

A swimming pool can be very dangerous for children. If possible, do not put a swimming pool in your yard until your children are older than 5 years. Help protect your children from drowning by doing the following:

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Never leave your children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment. An adult who knows CPR should actively supervise children at all times.
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Practice touch supervision with children younger than 5 years. This means that the adult is within an arm’s length of the child at all times.
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You must put up a fence to separate your house from the pool. Most young children who drown in pools wander out of the house and fall into the pool. Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all 4 sides of the pool. This fence will completely separate the pool from the house and play area of the yard. Use gates that self-close and self-latch, with latches higher than your children’s reach.
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Keep rescue equipment (such as a shepherd’s hook or life preserver) and a telephone by the pool.
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Do not use air-filled “swimming aids” as a substitute for approved life vests.
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Remove all toys from the pool after use so children aren’t tempted to reach for them.
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After the children are done swimming, secure the pool so they can’t get back into it.
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A power safety cover that meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) may add to the protection of your children but should not be used in place of the fence between your house and the pool. Even fencing around your pool and using a power safety cover will not prevent all drownings.

Remember, teaching your child how to swim DOES NOT mean your child is safe in water.

Red Cross Water Safety
Also, the American Red Cross makes the following recommendations for HOME POOLS:

Summer over at The Attached Mother wrote a great piece about unassisted home birth. It isn’t for me, especially after I had an intervention-intense first labor due to some complications beyond my control, but for the right mother with a healthy pregnancy, it sounds incredibly empowering and exciting.

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.

Okay, so as a parent there are these moments when you wonder what the hell has just happened to your sleep, routine, life, whatever … because something that you have come to depend on as routine and expected suddenly changes with no warning whatsoever. Frequently you read about this stuff before you have the baby but when it actually happens your brain seems to have spilled the information out into the dirty diaper pail during one of the five hundred middle-of-the-night diaper changes.

Noah’s sleep was shot all to bloody hell about a week ago and it left me frantically fumbling around like a sixteen year old in the dark after getting caught making out with a boy.

So I did what I do when things happen to me: I blogged about it.

And my fabulous readers who I love more than blogging itself left me a comment and told me to go read some stuff that Moxie wrote awhile back about babies and … (DUH DUH DUUUUHHHHHHHH) why their sleep gets all fucked up at certain times of their lives.

The concept is called sleep regression and it is detailed in a book called The Wonder Weeks where it goes into detail rather extensively but the short of it is that there are several periods of time during which neurological growth is so intense that baby’s sleep is interrupted, often intensely so. Those periods of growth include weeks 5, 8, 12, 19, 26, 37, 46, and 55 (that’s as far as they studied), according to the authors, Hetty Vanderijt and Frans Plooij.

KEY: MORE DRAMATIC MUZAK BECAUSE NOAH IS 19 WEEKS OLD RIGHT NOW.

So I assume this will fade, in time, and if not, and he never sleeps through the night again, I am taking a definite peace that in 18 years it won’t be my problem anymore.

So you know … at some point, it’ll get better.

I also totally attribute my lackadaisical bordering on psychotic calmness to the sleep deprivation that I am experiencing due to this little sleep regression thingy.

LINKS:

I feel the need to link to what Linda wrote today because something similar happened in my life this week too.

::

Being a parent is, well, just outright… gross, sometimes. I was at the park talking with two other moms the other day and for some reason we were very frankly discussing how to remove a booger from a baby’s nose. After a lengthy discussion one of the other moms apologized for the grossness and I said, “don’t worry, it’s not the most disgusting thing I have done today.”

And we all nodded in agreement.