18 Month appt...What to expect

Hi,
Lucy had her 18 month appt. today. A lot more of the same old, same old. Two shots-DPT, round four and the third Hepatitis shot. She got them both big-girl style, on the upper arms. Other than that, they asked about how much milk she drinks daily, sleeping habits, eating questions. The doctor stressed continuing to give whole milk and gave a few lame tips for trying to incorporate vegetables (put them on pizza or in scrambled eggs). They weighed her, measured her and we were out the door. Next appt. is at 2 years old. By the way, how much milk does Maya drink in a day? Anyone else-childs age and milk consumption??

18-month appointment

Hello, mamas.

Can anyone who's btdt tell me what to expect at Maya's 18-month appointment?
Thanks...

-Maureen

The Vaccine Exemption Issue-

I know there is a lot of debate about vaccines now-
this is a MP3 teleconference from Dr. Mercola on exemptions-
(about one and a half hours long and kinda slow...)

I wish it was more about the individual vaccines, but oh well....

Dangers of Vaccines and How to Avoid
http://www.mercola.com/forms/downloads/vaccine_teleconference.htm

http://www.vaclib.org/letters/CAExemption.pdf
is the philosophical waiver for CA

Toddler Food Idea

Hey Ya'll! It has been awhile since I fed a toddler and have had some trouble remembering...one of the things that Sadie loved is a slice of deli cheese with 1/2 slice of turkey, rolled up tight and cut into small pieces. She just loved it and I would give her some mustard to dip it in. Because we all know kids LOVE to play with their food. She still wants it to this day and she will be 3 next month. She also loved avocado cut up, but this is hard for them to pick up. I also would always arrange her food in shapes on her plate like use a cookie cutter or cup to make a sandwich into a circle and put slices of fruit around it like a flower. You can do this with any shape. Also, rotisserie chicken was always a hit. Hope this helps...I will keep thinking and trying to remember...

Finger foods for Baby w/no Teeth?

I only know as much as my 8-month old has taught me, so sorry I can't offer toddler food suggestions. Thinking about this made me realize you ladies might have some insight on what I can feed my daughter Alena. She has no teeth but is at the stage where she insists on grabbing the spoon/bowl to feed herself. I need food large enough for her to successfully bring to her mouth, that won't be a choking hazard. We've not yet had luck with her being willing to eat cheerios, well-cooked broccoli stalks, cut up bananas or sweet potatoes (too mushy!). I might try tofu, small pieces of cheese and egg whites. I realize this could be a phase where Alena merely needs to explore the texture of food in her hand but I want to make sure she actually consumes something! Any other ideas?

Food, glorious food

Hi, mamas.
I'm still in need of toddler meal and snack ideas if anyone has any to share. (Ahem, Eliza, Mo, and April. You've btdt, so c'mon, help a sister out!)
In the meantime, for what it's worth, I'll post some snacks Maya likes that are decently nutritious:
-Avocado spread on Saltines
-Cinnamon toast
-Graham crackers with yogurt to dip them in
-Quesadillas with salsa for dipping (she really, really, really likes to dip)


-Maureen

Mattel toys recalled

Due to lead paint, many (very many) Fisher Price Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer toys have been recalled.

http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/39054_IVR.asp?prod=

I'm amazed at how many are being recalled! There are bigger kid toys being recalled too because of dangerous magnents...

Sorry- not upbeat... but important!

Good News! EPA Study Shows Imaginary Ice Cream Free From Harmful Chemicals

Good News today for Maureen- who thought all hope was lost and that dangerous chemicals were everywhere- trying to get her baby. A very thorough study has found that imaginary ice cream has no chemicals at all. Yup, thats right! None. Go out and get some for your child today!






See Maureen? There is hope! :)
(Just wanted to put up something upbeat for you)

(Also moms, this is the last day to use that great Target baby food cupon!)

Bad bottles, dangerous toys, lead-painted bibs...and now, kids' cold meds

More upsetting news on the product-safety front:
FDA Limits Children's Cough and Cold Medicines

Could somebody please post something fun? I'm getting awfully depressed over here...
-Maureen

Mama is pissed off

Mamas, did you see this news story today?
Some Baby Bibs Said to Contain Levels of Lead
This problem with contaminated baby products is really raging out of control. I am angry!
-Maureen

Also: Thanks to Erica for posting that National Geographic link regarding green products. It's in the Comments section of the "Re: Debbie Downer" post. I'll add it to the product-safety links list at right when I get a chance.

Sorry, I really can spell CRIB

I guess I do need to preview before I post next time. Lesson learned.

Cirb Tents Anyone?

So, I've got a little climber on my hands. Lucy is 18 months and has crawled out of the crib and the pack and play. Only once each, but she typically has one leg hanging over the crib when I go to get her in the morning or after a nap. A lady at our community pool suggested getting a crib tent. Does anyone have one of these? They are about $80, which I don't mind spending if they work well, but I'd love some feedback or other ideas. I really can't have her being able to get out of her crib, and her room...

May I reveal your identity?

Mamas,
I plan to add a little sidebar to this blog that lists our names and our kids' names and ages. (I'll omit last names for security purposes.)

Like this: Maureen (17-month-old daughter, Maya)

That way we can sort of get a sense of who the others are.

If you would prefer not to be listed, please e-mail me privately. Thanks!

Also: For now, as far as I can tell, I am the only person who can issue invitations to other mamas to join this blog, because I'm the "administrator." Until I can figure out how to change this, please send me the e-mail addresses of other mamas you'd like to invite. The more the merrier! I'll let you know when I find a work-around for this issue.

-Maureen

Ideas needed

Hi, Mamas.
I could use some new lunch ideas for the days I'm home with Maya. I usually make something that the two of us can split, but I feel limited by Maya's lack of teeth! She doesn't have her molars yet (just four teeth up top, in the front, and two on the bottom), so it's not like I can feed her, you know, half of a turkey sandwich, for example. I've been doing quesadillas, pasta, leftovers from the previous night's dinner (when there are some)---and that's about it. We have quesadillas waaaaaayyy too often. What else is softish and nutritious? Tracy gave me a good chili recipe that her daughter (Lucy, 18 months today) likes. I'll try that soon.
But what else?
Thanks in advance...
-Maureen

Registry tips

This blog is really taking off!
I am LOVING the Target talk- both poetic and cuponic- Keep 'em coming!

These are the tips I've collected that are baby-registry related... in case anyone is going through this again or has friends that are having their first. I found tips very helpful when I was going through it- navigation of wedding and baby registries can be tricky!

Registry/baby stuff:
-Don't buy clothes. Don't buy clothes. Don't buy clothes. Everyone told me this but I still got anxious (The shower is close to the birth and I didn't want to be unprepared!) and bought clothes. People LOVE to buy baby clothes (and toys) so just register for the specifics and necessities, then buy what you still need after your shower. (Our hospital sent us home with about a week's worth of newborn clothes anyway, so being caught without clothes for our newborn was never even a possibility.)
- Put the brand of diapers you want on your shower invitation- this was the best advice I got! For my shower, anyone who brought diapers was entered to win the “Fantastic Door Prize,” and well, everyone brought diapers. Pampers Swaddlers are the absolute best money can buy as far as I’m concerned.
-Don’t get a ton of toys yet- baby can’t use most of them for at least 6 months
-get things you’ll actually need/use like detergent, nursing supplies like bottles, pads, a pump, pump parts etc., bottles, wipes, wipes, wipes, pee pads for the crib and your bed and anywhere else baby is, some newborn size clothes (but not a lot,) and pacifiers.
-Register for or buy yourself bibs with button closures- not Velcro. The Velcro can scratch baby and makes laundry difficult as it scratches up your other laundry unless you want to take the time to separate it every time. (You do double the laundry with a baby that you do now- and do it more often as it is stinky!)
-DON’T OPEN YOUR PACKAGES OF DIAPERS BEFORE BABY IS BORN –you don’t know how long your baby will fit in newborn- being able to return/exchange the unopened packages is
great and saves you money/provides you a gift card for things you find you need later.
-Don’t waste money on more than 5ish “receiving blankets” for swaddling. Use them as little blankets and seldom to swaddle as babies wiggle them loose in a minute. Instead buy the swaddling blankets by The First Years- 3 fold with Velcro- stays On. Swaddling a live baby (as opposed to a doll) in a receiving blanket is pointless
-Receiving blankets that you buy to use as blankets should be at least 35” by 35” Smaller is useless- no matter how soft
-Do get a wipe warmer- warm wipes don’t make a baby cry- cold ones do
-Diaper Genie II is awesome- Not the original
-The Sleep Sheep (or any other noise [ocean, heart beat, and shushing sound] machine) is
Wonderful to get or keep the baby asleep the first month. The breast pump left on to dry the Tubing works well too- soothes baby every time. After one month- Vibration (a bouncy, vibrating chair or, even better crib attachment that will let baby sleep in the crib/co-sleeper)!
-A glider is also awesome- relaxing, movable seat for both for baby and mommy
-remember the baby changes so much in the first few weeks. Some tactics used to soothe baby will work week one, others week 2, others week 3 etc.
-Stock up on AA and D batteries. For some reason, baby stuff doesn’t seem to use C or 9V batteries, and very few AAA.
-Get one (or two!) vibrating chairs. (We were lucky enough to get one from Maureen.) They are called Soothing Vibration bouncers and made by Fisher Price… around one month of age you won’t be able to put the baby down unless it is in one of these. Also, if you can find it, get a vibrating attachment for your crib/co-sleeper. They usually have music and a night light attached. Dunno why, but the babies LOVE the vibration. All my mom friends told me this- and I should have listened from the beginning!
-If you live in the LA area, the Mattel corporate headquarters are in El Segundo. They have a toy store on the first floor where everything is retail price, and if you bring an employee of Mattel and cash you get 50% off of store prices. We got a $52 mobile for $11.44. They have all the Fisher Price stuff- bouncy seats, pottys, mobiles, swings, activity centers, high chairs, tons of toys for kids, and most of the Fisher Price baby stuff that anyone would want. Inventory changes every week (usually it is new lines/items that are just about to go into stores). If anyone wants to go, let me know as I know a few people who work there!

Hope this helps!

The poem is bad, Hand Foot and Mouth is worse

Maureen,
Your literary prowess never ceases to amaze me. Here's my love poem for Target for all you lay people.
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I came in for one thing
and bought Twenty-two

So, after a day or two of my daughter whining, crying, puffy/bleeding gums and being way to sleepy, we went to our doctor. Turns out she has cocksackie or hand, foot and mouth virus. Lots of little tiny ulcers on her tongue and a mild fever. She never got the classic bumps on her hands and feet so the doctor said this may also be the herpes-1 virus (coldsores). Either way, it's no fun when it's your baby. Really, all they said to do was give her Tylenol to ease her pain and reduce the fever. I hope you all don't go through it, but if you do see these symptoms, hopefully you'll know what it is.

Ode to Target

Twelve-dozen diapers for twenty greenbacks
Fragrance-free butt wipes that come in eight-packs

Circo-brand onesies for $4.99
Cute Robeez knock-offs fit perfectly fine

Dig through the dollar bin for baby socks
The soft-pretzel/Starbucks stand totally rocks

Diaper Genie refills are always on sale
Got some nice sand toys: shovel and pail

And I recently snapped up two handbags from there
(Buying only for Maya just wouldn’t be fair)

Grabbed fake Chuck Taylors that Seth thinks are cute
Threw them into the cart with the piles of kid-loot

A week without Target’s like a week without sun
Spending money on cheap crap is awfully fun!

-Written by Maureen...at work...while her boss was watching YouTube videos

Baby Coupons

A friend emailed this to me and I thought you all might be interested...

Hey there! I wanted to pass a couple of baby deals on to you guys. All of you either have little ones, are about to, or know someone who does, so I figured you might be interested. First, there's this insane baby food deal at Target. On the link below, there is a $1 off coupon for two Gerber foods (it's the third from the bottom). So, at our Target, the jars of 2nd foods are $0.52. Two therefore are $1.04. Take off the dollar, and you get two jars for $0.04. I got 32 jars of food today for $0.64. The other foods are a little more expensive, but it's still a great deal. I got 2-packs of the 2nd foods fruits and veggies for $0.34 cents a pack. Not bad! Those don't expire until late next year and the jars don't expire until 2009, so it's a great deal for those with even the littlest babies. I also thought it was a good deal for someone who might want to donate to a food bank. http://coupons.50webs.org/ My friends sent me this link for an online clothes shop that's going out of business. All of their clothes are $3.00 or $5.00, and they're really cute! www.royalbambini.com

Re: Debbie Downer

I was suprised like you about this issue. I learned about it 2 years ago...a long time in my opinion from 1999. The Fire Marshall at UCLA gave me an article because he knew I had a baby...well at the time she was no longer taking a bottle and I was freaked out about the time that she had...it is important to note that it is not just bottles but sippy cups as well, anything made of plastic including containers we might drink out of. I can't remember all the details of the article but what I do remember is that the risk is less if the plastic is not worn and in good condition since the chemical is released as a part of the plastic breaking down and that colored plastics are not part of the issue? it is just the clear ones please correct me if I am wrong....the process it takes to make plastic clear is the problem -- also some clear plastics are not made with the chemical so you may want to look at your brand and see before you buy and replace. I read something recently that warned against microwaving food in plastic containers or covered with plastic wrap because chemicals are released from the plastic into our food. I now heat everything in my own ceramic dishes with a papertowel covering to avoid splatter.
-April

Hello C2CM's!

My name is April and I live in a suburb of Houston. My husband and I moved here in January from Southern California. It has definitely been an adjustment. If anyone needs advice about moving with young children (mine are 3 and 1) I would be happy to provide some of my thoughts. The hardest part for me has been making new friends. As a stay at home mom I find that it is easy to stay in my little bubble of activities and not branch out.

Well I am excited to be apart of this blog. I enjoyed the post pregnancy insight from Eileen :-) I could not agree more. I will tell you the second time around it is hard to get rest mostly because you are often chasing around a toddler (depending of course on how far apart your kids are), but as you said it is incredibly important. My advice would be to not sweat the small stuff...despite what we think the dishes can wait a while and a spotless house I am convinced will only happen when my children can clean up consistently on their own...based on my own childhood memories I would say that doesn't happen until you are an adult:-) .

-April

Helpful Hints

These are the tips I've collected for Pregnancy that I wish someone had told me. Some we've all heard, but not listened to... but mostly they're just about the little things that would have been nice to have known and will help next time go more smoothly.

PREGNANCY:

-Get a lot of rest
-Remember that the first trimester is the most important for baby’s development
-DON’T buy maternity clothes that you can’t breastfeed in. (if you plan on breastfeeding) Make sure the shirts/tops/dresses have buttons or low/stretchy V-necks- or else you’ll have to buy a whole new wardrobe after the baby is born! May as well get double use out of the maternity clothes.
-One day when you have the energy, go through you closet and separate out the things you can nurse in later- it is easier now then when you’re holding a newborn and leaking milk all over.
-If you buy nursing nightgowns (nice to have a couple- especially nice at the hospital
when on your second [or third] day being able to wash your face and put on something that isn’t a hospital gown will feel Really good) buy darker colored ones because when your milk leaks (which it will) it stains the heck out of anything white or light colored. The first few days, your pre-milk/colostrums is dark yellow… you’ll have dull yellow sunny side up sploches over both breasts- and then your father in law stops by to visit…
-Collect free samples at your classes, the OB and through the mail
-Read all you can, but be aware that much of the stuff is printed by the baby industry/formula manufacturers etc. so be wary of breastfeeding info printed by formula companies etc.
-Sign up at Pampers.com and all other formula and diaper websites (Similac, verybestbaby.com, huggies, babycenter.com, babiesrus, Enfamil etc.). Coupons, coupons, coupons- free diaper bags and free samples! Yay! They come in the mail and are great. Even if you don’t use the formula, you get great articles, coupons, and can give the formula to a friend or day-care center.

Debbie Downer

Hi there, C2CMs. This might not be the happiest way to kick off a brand-new blog, but I wanted to post this because it seems pretty important. Last week I read this Salon.com article about a "hormone disrupting" chemical found in polycarbonate baby bottles (and other polycarbonate products), and I've been a little freaked out ever since. I've had Maya on Dr. Brown's bottles forever, and they're made of polycarbonate.
The science behind the Salon report is controversial, apparently, and there seems to be quite a bit of disagreement among various experts about how potentially dangerous the chemical (bisphenol-A) is. However, I ended up ordering new, glass bottles for Maya anyway from a company called Born Free. They should be arriving soon.
What kills me is that when I googled "bisphenol-A" after reading the Salon piece, I found all sorts of articles from the media on this subject dating back to 1999. So, has everyone else known about this issue for years? Where have I been?
-Maureen

The C2C Mamas experiment is underway!

Welcome to Coast-to-Coast Mamas, ladies. Once you've signed on as an author, please feel free to post whenever and whatever you'd like! You may want to begin by introducing yourself and taking part in the poll that's over there on the right side of the page.
Happy blogging!
-Maureen