Tip #46: Thicken baby food with rice cereal

I've had a hard time replicating the consistency of store bought foods.  My husband pointed out one day that one of the ingrediants is often rice flour.  One day when I had used too much water, I added baby rice cereal and it was fixed!

Tip #45: Teething bags are fantastic for sore gums

We picked up a Sassy teething feeder for our guy recently, and what a wonderful way to soothe sore gums. So far we've used chilled apple and mango slices and it's calmed him down almost immediately. I've also used a clip from a pacifier to attach it to his clothes/bib since he has a tendency to throw it. (Use with supervision of course)!

Source: Friend

Tip #44: Make pumping as fun as possible

I know..funny title huh? But, I have found that pumping is a drag. I love nursing, but could do without the hassle and stress of spending about 40-minutes a day (sometimes 60minutes) in a little antechamber off of the women's bathroom in the building next to mine. There's not a lot of work I can do while pumping, so I've tried to make that time as relaxing and stress-free as possible. Here are some of the things I do (by the way I bought a netbook specifically for this):

• Blog
• Watch Netflix streaming
  
• Listen to podcasts (This American Life and Planet Money are my favorites)
• Knit
• Read a book
  

Tip #43: Time medications if they have sugar

I have just learned if you are giving your child a medication that is suspended in a sugary syrup that you should not give it to them just before bed. We just started a course of antibiotics and we have gone from a sleepy baby to a jacked-up-on-sugar baby.

Tip #42: Home daycare age separations

When we started to consider home daycare, I contacted a friend's mom who has run one for a long time. The best piece of advice I got from her was to consider the age ranges in the daycare. Since we would be looking for an infant spot, she recommended infants and 2yrs+ toddlers was a great mix, but not to go somewhere with a lot of kids in between. Kids around 12-18months who are still learning to walk and have no perception of babies underfoot are a bad mix with infants. Since seeing kids this age I highly agree! We found a place with a very good split in ages and a method for separating the older kids so that the crawlers can have a safe space all to themselves.

Source: Friend's Mom

Tip #41: Alphabetical feeding

Once you've introduced solid food, and done so for long enough you have more than a few foods to give your little one, it can be hard to remember what they've had recently. I saw a tip to feed your baby alphabetically, so you roughly give them a diversity of food, e.g., applesauce, avocado, bananas, peas, plums, sweet potatoes, etc.

Source: From Parent Hacks which a friend of mine told me about recently. A very cool site with an array of tips.

Tip #40: An alternate baby book

We keep a blog of our life in general, and since getting pregnant and having a baby, it has allowed us to keep all our family and friends up-to-date on his development. It's chock-full of pictures as well. At the end of his first year, I plan to make a book (you could use iPhoto or a web-based photo album kind of place). The book will basically have every blog post that pertains specifically to him or our family. For example, I have lists of foods he likes at certain ages, posts on when he got his first tooth, when he started crawling, weight and height updates etc. Plus, pictures of us apple picking, playing at play groups, and so on. With the blog, we also have the date of when those things happened, so when he hits 12-months old, I'll simply copy pictures and the blog text into a dated book to have printed for us and grandparents.

Source: Grandma suggested this as an alternate to remembering to write into a more traditional baby album.

Tip #39: Safe kitchen toys for endless entertainment

On the same vein as Tip #38, introducing new objects is important developmentally and it also ensures ample entertainment for baby. I've been introducing my 6-month old to safe kitchen toys while I cook and he hangs out in his exersaucer. It's amazing how interesting a plastic measuring cup, a funnel and a wooden spoon can be! As always, make sound judgement as to safety.

Source: I apologize, I can't remember where I heard this.

Tip #38: Rotate your baby's toys

Our pediatrician recommended that we put away some toys occasionally for a couple of weeks and reintroduce them, and keep a rotating cycle. This way they never get bored. I can confirm they are quite excited again to see a toy that a few weeks ago they played with all the time.

P.S. Sorry for the long absence. Life has gotten busy, but I'll continue to try and post as much as I can.

Tip #37: A wet cloth can help a teething baby

Wet a wash cloth with cool water and let your teething baby chew and suck on it. It worked wonders this weekend with our very fussy baby.

Source: Daycare provider

Tip #36: Put a shirt around the bottle to help a breastfed baby take a bottle

Sometimes a breastfed baby has a hard time adjusting to a bottle when you decide to introduce (or re-introduce) one. One tip I've heard is to wrap mom's shirt (one that's been worn and smells like her) around the bottle while someone else gives it to them.

Source: Lactation Consultant

Bonus Funny Story: Hopefully, the person who told me this story won't mind if I share it here (it's anonymous right?). Her husband was having problems getting their baby to take a bottle and so she set a tank top out for him the night before for him to use to feed the baby her bottle in the morning. When Dad came back into the room in the morning, mom said "Why are you WEARING my tank top?" Dad said: "But you told me to use it when I gave her the bottle!"

Tip #35: One spoon to eat with, one spoon to play with

It's important for your baby to learn to the action of eating with a spoon when you start to feed them. I keep two spoons in the rotation, one to eat with and one to play with. For that reason, my favorite spoons are actually the Take N' Toss spoons. All parts of them are fine for baby's gums and they are a good size for a small mouth.

Source: Leader of Mom and Baby group.

Local Resource: Library calendars for free literary fun!

The Arlington library (main branch and Fox branch) are fantastic resources for free children groups; ranging from reading, to music, to play. Here are links to the events calendar of local libraries, make sure to check them weekly for the schedule (I've highlighted fun infant groups that appear to occur weekly at each, there are programs for older kids as well).

Arlington
Events Calendar Here
Robbins Library, 700 Mass Ave
Fox Branch, 175 Mass Ave
Tuesdays, Robbins, 10:00-10:30, Sing-a-long (get there early to sign up)
Thursdays, Fox, 10:00-10:30, Sing-a-long

Cambridge
Event Calendar Here
Boudreau Branch, 245 Concord Ave.
O'Neill Branch, 70 Rindge Ave
Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge St.
See addresses for other three branches through link to library above.
Mondays, O'Neill Branch, 10:30am, Toddler Time (Stories and Songs for 0-3 years old)
Tuesdays, Valente Branch, 10:30am, Toddler Time
Wednesday, Boudreau Branch, 10:30am, Toddler Sing-Along (all ages)

Lexington
Events Calendar Here
Main, 735 Mass. Ave
Thursdays, 9:30am-9:50am, Baby Laptime (0-15mo)
Thursdays, 10:30am, Toddler Time (16-24 mo)

Medford
Events Calendar Here
Main, 111 High St.
Fridays, 10am (Oct. 2, Nov. 6, and Dec. 4), Sing Alongs

Somerville
Event Calendar Here
Central Library, 79 Highland Avenue
West Branch Library, 40 College Avenue
Tuesdays, Central, 10:30-11:00, Sing-a-long
Thursdays, West, 11:00-11:45, 'Babygarten'

Tip #34: List of foods to buy organic for your baby (and you!)

We are at the stage of introducing solid food and I have heard a whirlwind of information regarding carrots and nitrates (part of the information says No carrots! Some say carrots after six months! Others say all the info on nitrate poisoning is really a concern regarding well water and very high exposure to children less than three months of age). Anyway, I decided it was time to look up the Environmental Working Group's list of the 'Dirty Dozen'..fruits and vegetables you are better off buying organic due to their high absorption of chemical fertilizers (one of those is carrots).

• Peach
• Apple
• Bell Pepper
• Celery
• Nectarine
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Grapes (imported)
• Carrot
  
• Pear
  

TIp #33: Protecting your baby's toys while washing

In order to protect your baby's soft toys, but clean off drool and disinfect as well, put your soft toys in a pillow case when you wash them. Even better, if you have a Boppy cover, or the like, simply zip the toys into the cover whenever you wash it.

Source: Mom's group leader

Tip #32: Diapering a supersoaker overnight

Our son has been soaking through every diaper we've tried on him overnight, from several kinds of cloth to several kinds of disposables. I hit up the Arlington Parent's e-mail list for some advice and had lots of great responses. Here's the summary:

Disposables

• Huggies overnight were the preferred brand by far
• Tip: Add a disposable diaper liner (they are similar to maxi pads). Buy plastic-free, biodegradable liners from gDiapers
  
• Tip: Tuck in the top of the diaper to stop overflow
• Tip: Buy a larger diaper (one mom pointed out with variation in lengths, they may grow out of a size before the upper end of the weight limit is met).
• Tip: Put a pull up diaper over a disposable.
  

Cloth

• The general thought was to add a doubler.
• Favorite disposable doubler: gDiapers
• Favorite place to look for cloth doublers: Diaper Lab
• Tip: Choose a fleece lined doubler for next to baby's skin, it will feel dryer longer.
• Tip: Use more than one doubler.
  

Tip #31: Babyproofing with plaster walls

Pre-1950 it was common for inner walls to be built using a lath and plaster process. Sometimes, to keep the plaster affixed to the wall boards, horsehair was used, and so now this is sometimes also called horsehair plaster and it's ubiquitous in Arlington (at least in east Arlington, where we live). If you've ever tried to attach a load to these walls (even a small load you know wouldn't be a problem in drywall), the plaster crumbles and leaves a large hole. This means if you want to attach furniture to the wall using straps, in order to keep it from toppling over on a baby using it to pull up, you need to find a stud. Studs are 16" apart and not necessarily in a convenient place for your furniture. Instead, you can use an L-bracket on each side of your piece of furniture and drill one side into the furniture, and the other into the baseboard. This will guarantee a solid connection to the wall without relying on studs. However, make sure to use caution when it comes to top-heavy items.

Pics and how-to's coming later. We'll be implementing this process soon!

Source: Neighbor

Tip #30: Remedies for cradle cap (be sure to check with your doctor)

Once you've had a baby, you'll for sure hear about cradle cap. On our baby it looked like dry skin with a yellow tint. I've heard of three takes on removing cradle cap:
1. Rub an edible oil on it and let it soak, then when it's soft run a soft comb over it (our pediatrician).
2. Do the same as #1, but don't let it soak, instead rub it off with a towel (our niece's pediatrician).
3. The same as #1, but after applying, wash the area with baby shampoo and towel dry (a mom's group leader) and then comb the flakes out the hair (if your baby has hair!)

#1 did not work for us. #2 has worked for our brother. #3 has worked for us. Make sure to check with your doctor about their recommendation. The more gently you can remove cradle cap, the better for baby's skin.

Tip #29: Hold off on that stroller purchase

The carseat/stroller industry makes it really easy for parents to be roped into buying a stroller, long before they know what their needs are (on the other hand, if you buy upfront you can probably make anything work). Advice given to us, that has worked well, buy Snap n' Go style stroller for the carseat (you can get them cheap from consignment/Craigslist or free as a hand-me-down or off Freecycle). This is may be all you need for awhile since sleeping babies are best left in carseats to transfer. Then, once your baby is alert and ready for the stroller world, you can take them stoller testing to see which ones they like! In the end you spend an extra $10-$50 if you end up buying the same stroller you would have in the carseat/stroller travel system. However, if that wasn't the right stroller for you and your baby, you've saved over $100.

Source: Friend

Tip #28: A stroller toy bar can be used for more than a stroller

There are toy bars (for example check out Tiny Love's, the one we use is Sunny Stroll) that are meant for strollers but can be used for much more. Dress up and make your baby's highchair, stroller, or bouncy seat more fun!

Source: When I was complaining how expensive (and kind of boring) the Bjorn Baby Bouncer Activity Bar was, a friend pointed out that I could buy a stroller bar for much less and it has worked great!

Tip #27: Keeping formula/milk cold on an airplane

We just returned from our first big journey with baby..so you'll be seeing a few traveling tips we have picked up along the way....

They say to keep a baby's ears from hurting during elevation changes on an airplane, have them suck something during takeoff and landing. We specifically bought a seat for him for the most dangerous parts of the flight, takeoff and landing, and the little dude will NOT due a pacifier. So on the way up I would give him a bottle of expressed breast milk and on the way down a bottle of water. However, we had two legs on the way back and four ascents/descents, so I had to keep the milk cold. This should work with either expressed milk or formula (although with formula, you just need to get water on the other side of security before boarding..but just in case you have something ready but don't need right away...).

1. Make sure to declare the liquids, have them in a separate bag and put them through x-ray on their own.
2. Ice is allowed by FAA regulations, however, some security agents didn't know this. So to be prepared to avoid the hassle if you have one of these agents, pack ice around your milk, but keep an extra ziplock so you can dump the ice and get more ice on the other side of security. In the end I kept the ice but got more at Starbucks anyway.
3. On the plane, those little bags for motion sickness are a great way to pack a bottle in some ice (the flight attendant told me this one).

Local Resource: Car seat inspection

In the past, parents have been able to head to a local police department (of any neighboring town) and have their car seat installation inspected for safety. Unfortunately, budget cuts have caused stations to limit access to residents, or disband it entirely. Check out this article. The moral of the story, call your local department first. If they won't do it, then you can go to Children's Hospital in Boston and pretty soon Isis Maternity. See this handbook on inspection stations and tips. Also, this page contains local events for inspection.

Tip #26: Make that a replacable lovey

There's lots of advice out there that suggests (when babies are old enough ~6months) to introduce a 'transition object'. This lovey is an object of some kind that your infant will become attached to and when you put them down to bed, will help soothe them to sleep in place of you. The best advice I've heard, whatever you introduce as a lovey, make sure you can buy another (and in fact, buy a couple up front if they do get attached to it).

Source: Multiple books, newsletters, and advice of other moms (heck, I even noticed at Isis Maternity, they are selling packs of three Angel Dear lovies).

Tip #25: Alternate activities to tummy time for neck strengthening

A lot of babies hate tummy time when they are still developing the strength to hold up their heads (they get very frustrated when they can't do what they want yet!). Here are a couple of alternate activities to help them develop neck strength that you can do with them (also check Tip #12 for how to make tummy time itself less frustrating):

• Up-up-up Game: With baby lying down, hold their hands and pull them up into a sitting position. Sing "Up up up up!" and then help them to return to the ground singing "Back Dooown". When they are really young, you'll need to support their head with one hand and pull them up/set them down with the other. I've seen most need less support going up at the beginning then back down. This is also the thing pediatricians sometimes do to check upper body development.
• Assisted Airplane: It's so much more fun for baby to do tummy time when they can see mom/dad or another loved one. With you laying down, put your legs up, with your shins parallel to the floor to create a surface for baby to lay. Place baby on your lower legs and have fun! You can sing them a song, you can bring your legs towards and away from your face (stick the boppy under your head to support your neck). This is also a good way to work out the postpartum tummy. My little guy takes tours of cities around the world ("here we are flying over Tokyo, and here comes Moscow...")
• Tick Tock Cuckoo Clock: This helps development of side to side motion. With them sitting on your knee, rock them back and forth singing: "Tick tock, tick tock, I'm a little cuckoo clock. Tick tock, tick tock. Now it's striking one 'o clock. Cuckoo!" When you hit the last Cuckoo (one for one o'clock, two cuckoos for two o'clock etc.) pick them up into the air with every cuckoo.
  
• I'm a little teapot: You know this song, you can do this with them on your knee and when you get to 'tip me over and pour me out', you tip them to one side.
• Trot-trot To London: With them on your knee, bounce your knee singing "Trot trot to London, Trot trot to Dover, don't go across the bridge you might fall ooover", when you get to the over, you tip them to the side.

Sources: Various moms groups, mommy baby yoga, and experimentation.

Tip #24: Speeding up diaper changes out of the house

While on a cross country plane trip, my husband discovered a cool way to speed up diaper changes. With the diaper changing pad face up, place a new diaper and the wipes on top of it and fold it up before you place it back in your diaper bag. Next time you need to do a diaper change, just place the package on top of the changing table, unfold and voila!

Source: Super Dad

Tip #23: Line the baby bath tub with a wash/burp cloth

You can line your baby bath tub (if you use one) with a wash cloth or burp cloth to make the bath tub less slippery and more comfortable for baby.

Source: Grandma

Tip #22: Turn off your monitor when you have guests

If you're sharing a room with your baby, make sure to turn off your baby monitor when you're in the room for the night if you have guests in the house!

Source: It's a funny story....

Local Resource: Parents lists

Local parents lists are a phenomenal way of getting information about kid friendly activities, tips, advice on daycares and other various topics as well as for sale kid items and free stuff. Here are links for signing up on various lists in the Boston area.

Arlington Parents List

Boston Parents Network

Cambridge Families Group

Somerville Moms Email List

Tip #21: My favorite clothes for nursing

I was given a couple of 'hootie hiders' as gifts, which in theory are a great way to discreetly breastfeed in public. In actuality though they are usually brightly covered and my little guy loves playing with them so much when he's under them that it's more like he's flagging a jet plane onto an aircraft carrier than he is eating. Therefore, I've had to decide on clothing that I find comfortable and discreet. My favorite has become stretchy style tops (my favorite are from LL Bean), one size larger than I would normally wear and a nursing tank top. The tank top ensures all my skin is covered (in case the shirt in the back gets hiked up pretty good) and whatever skin is exposed around the boob area is covered up by the nursing baby. It was recommended to me once by a lactation consultant to use nursing tank tops and button down shirts. This didn't work for me because once I actually did it I realized I felt really exposed. Once you pull the cover down on the tank top your entire boob is exposed and a open button-down shirt won't cover it up!

Source: Personal experimentation

Wanted: Tips on what to do with a distractable baby! Since covers don't work, I don't know what to do when he rolls off the boob while eating to look around. Also, when I want/need to feed him just before I leave for work, he's often too distracted to eat!

Tip #20: Have a special toy for the diapering table

As babies get squirmier and more active, diapering gets harder and harder! Try having a special toy for the place where you change their diaper that will distract them in order to keep them still and keep them from getting their hands/feet in the dirty diaper!

Source: Mom's group instructor, hm..I think I also just read it in a Baby center email.

Tip #19: Use a mesh bag for baby socks and bra pads

Ever wonder where missing baby socks go..or maybe your bra pads? A friend in a mom's group found out the hard way that sometimes these things get sucked up over the edge of the tub in the washing machine and into the pump. You can use a mesh bag to keep all the little things in your wash from literally being eaten by the washing machine.

Tip #18: Your body will make milk..even when you are sick

Sorry I've been offline for a while now. I came down with a very nasty stomach virus that had me in bed for a full three days. On the third day of not keeping any food or much fluid down, I was restocked at urgent care with three IV bags of fluid! However, I learned a valuable lesson about milk production, even in the face of limited resources, your body will continue to prioritize production of milk! I also learned that no matter how hard it is, getting and keeping fluid is the most important thing you can do when you are sick.

Also, the answer from the pediatrician is that I should continue to breastfeed if I felt up to it. Viruses and bacteria aren't transmitted in breast milk, but important white cells that can recognize the virus are.

Tip #17: Take home as much stuff from the hospital as you can

While you are in postpartum care at the hospital you'll be inundated with diapers, wipes, and other baby accouterments. The hospital throws away anything that is opened or used, so make sure to take it home with you to help get you started. The blue bulb aspirators they use at the hospital are by far better than the ones you can typically buy in the store.

Source: Friends + I don't know how many times I've seen the generic hospital receiving blanket wrapped around a newborn.

Tip #16: Changing a diaper on an airplane

Changing a diaper in a small airplane bathroom can be quite difficult, but here are some tips to make it a bit easier:
- Strip your little one down to the diaper before heading to the bathroom
- Grab just the things you need (diaper, wipes, diaper cream).
- For older babies, you can change them standing up
- For non-standing babies, you can sit on the closed toilet and change them on your lap

Source: We're traveling for the first time soon and I found these tips here.

Local Resource: Find a daycare near you

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care is the formal body responsible for licensing daycares (family and group) in the state of Massachusetts. They have a fantastic search feature built in for all daycares they have licensed: EEC Online Daycare search feature.

When we began our family home daycare search, I asked each one a set of questions and realized I was getting a standard response back. I then realized that a lot of my questions were covered by the licensing regulations of the state of Massachusetts. Here is a non-exhaustive summary of the things your family home daycare provider (if licensed) will/should be following (but might be a common question you have):

Child to provider ratio:
Home daycares are licensed for either up to 6 children or 7-10 children. More than 10 children and it's considered a group daycare (Infants are 0-14months and toddlers are 15mos-two years).
For up to 6 children:
Case 1: One caregiver and one assistant can provide for only three children under the age of two (at least one of these three has to be a toddler)
Case 2: Two caregivers - no limits on the distribution of ages under two years old.
For 7-10 children:
Case 1: Two caregivers + one assistant, only six children under the age of two allowed, no more than three of them may be infants.
Case 2: Three caregivers: all ten kids may be under the age of two, but only seven of them may be infants.

Visiting policy:
Directly from the EEC regulations: "Parent Visits. Parents must be permitted to visit a child care home unannounced any time during the hours that their child is present. The provider must inform all parents of this policy in writing, and maintain a copy of this notification in the child's record."

Illness and Medications:
Your child will not be allowed at daycare if they have a fever of 101 degrees or higher or have active symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea. They must then be symptom free for at least 24 hours before returning to daycare. Children with common colds are allowed (as long as they don't have a fever). You'll need to fill out Medicine Authorization forms if they need to have medicine dispensed during daycare hours.

Vacation policy:
I can no longer find the document that contains the policy for provider vacation, but I believe it allows for two weeks of paid vacation for the provider. In addition to that the daycare will be closed (and paid) for typical holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, MLK, Labor day etc. Providers are required to give you a 30 day notice for the intent of a vacation (again this is from memory, so make sure to ask your provider what their policy is). Essentially, plan on paying for 52 weeks a year and hope that you can line up your vacation with theirs. You will not be discounted tuition for anytime your child is out of daycare (once they begin) for vacation or illness.

Tip #15 - Don't prebuy seasonal baby clothes

My husband and I thought we were really on top of things when we found great deals on Craigslist and at consignment shops for baby clothes before our little munchkin was born. What we didn't know, but all moms seem to find out pretty quickly, is that baby clothing sizes don't mean a whole lot! So here we were buying long sleeves for 6-months old thinking it will be fall when he's six months, only it turns out he's in most of those now (June and July). He spent about a total of two weeks in '3-month' sizes and there are even some 12-month clothes that he's in now at 16-weeks.

So if you are pregnant now, feel free to stock up on onesies, but hold off on the swimming trunks and the winter jackets until you have some idea how big your baby will be (and birth weight has nothing to do with it, I've seen some small babies put on a lot of weight as well as big ones). If you're buying presents for a friend...gift cards, so they can buy that seasonal stuff as needed.

Tip #14: Consider stroller compatibility when purchasing a car seat

There are so many factors that go into your decision to buy a particular stroller: size, price, weight, maneuverability, ease of folding, etc. One thing we didn't consider pre-baby was how our carseat was going to fit into that decision. We bought the carseat based on safety record and ease of use only to find out that it doesn't 'officially' fit any of the strollers we were interested in. It turns out it does 'unofficially' fit them however, so in retrospect I think we would still go with our same decision.

If you would rather not be caught unawares, check out this compatibility guide.

Another great tip from my brother- and sister-in-law is to consider buying a used seat from Craigslist if you want something for the stroller. If you aren't taking it in the car, then buying used is fine!

Poll

Along with the theme of Tip #13, this week's poll is what your baby's favorite food was/is when they began solids. This poll is a write-in poll, since enumerating all possibilities seemed difficult. However, to avoid needing to use an e-mail client, this poll will take you to a response-o-matic form (they have an email script on the back end that sends me an email..I didn't feel like writing my own). You can return to this page once it's sent. Thanks for voting!

Tip #13: Share baby food making with friends

I've heard lots of parents who want to make their own baby food (especially because then they can make it organic), but then the time to make it outweighs the cost factor. A great tip I heard is to create a food making group. The structure is up to you, but here's one example: 10 sets of parents get together once a month to exchange cubes of frozen food. This month, set #1 made apples, #2 made peas, #3 made butternut squash, etc. etc. So you make a large lot of food once a month and you get 10 different foods! The mom I heard this from said they would have a little party on a Sunday when they got together to exchange food, they also changed whose house they got together at every time.

Source: Friend

Tip #12: Improve your chance of tummy time success

If your little one is like my little one then you are also struggling with tummy time. You can improve their enjoyment (or at least minimize their frustration) by bolstering them up. If you aren't using a boppy or towel then start, and if you already are then add more material to make their tummy time surface higher and firmer. As our little guy has gotten stronger, the amount of bolstering material we've needed has gone from boppy+folded blanket down to just a boppy and now finally on the floor.

Also, if you aren't already, find a favorite toy to put in front of them to distract them, that could be you, a cat, a black and white card, a mirror, etc.

Source: Combination of mommy and me classes and friends.

Tip #11 - Use a dishwasher basket for hard toys and bottle parts

You can purchase dishwasher baskets to keep all those little bottle parts in one place while you sanitize them on the top shelf of your dishwasher. We actually have two, one is by the sink collecting dirty parts, while the other is getting washed and/or drying in the drying rack. This isn't an endorsement for a particular product, but here's an example at Babies R' Us. These baskets are also great for holding those small teething and hard plastic toys your baby loves to play with while they get sanitized on the top rack.

Source: Grandma set this up while she was here taking care of grandson.

Resource: Track your baby's patterns

I've been using Trixie Tracker to monitor our baby's sleep patterns. You can also keep track of nursing, bottles, pumping, and diapers. It's fantastic if you have a daycare provider (like a Grandparent or a nanny) who will use it too. It gives me my fix of knowing what's going on in my little guy's day and how much milk he's drinking (and if I'm balancing that by pumping).

Here's an example of a sleep report, the hope is we would be able to pick up on patterns of napping. You can see our little one wakes up pretty consistently at the same time and then takes a morning nap an hour-and-a-half after he wakes up (this is oriented with midnight on the far left and right and 6am is that very solid line). Of course then it's hard to say if there's any pattern for the rest of the day.
They have a 14 day free trial that will help you decide if you want to keep using it.

Source: Friend

Poll Results: Favorite Swaddling Blanket

Thanks everyone who voted for a favorite swaddling blanket (there were 11 voters). I learned a little something about polls, I should have labeled this one "What swaddling blanket works for you?" Since, clearly, who ever tries something new when something is already working? Here are the results:

Kiddopatomus SwaddleMe	4
Miracle Blanket	3
The Woombie	2
Aden and Anais Blankets	1
Receiving Blanket	1
Halo Sleep Sack	0

Tip #10: BabyLegs make for easy diaper changes

A mom from my first mom's group always had her baby in the cutest baby leggings, BabyLegs. She was kind enough to share her source with me recently at Naturally Trendy: An eco-friendly baby boutique. These things are great for the diaper bag in case it turns out to be a little too cold for shorts or a onesie only. Also, you don't need to remove them when changing a diaper and can be put on while their legs are hanging out of a carrier. I was going to save this little gem of advice for later, but they are having a half-off sale on baby leggings right now at Naturally Trendy..I may have gotten a little carried away when I saw that.

Source: Friend

Recall: Kolcraft play yards

From another blogger, I saw Kolcraft play yards have been recalled. Details here.

Tip #9: Sources of white noise for soothing a baby

If your baby can be soothed with white noise then you can soothe a fussy baby in the car by tuning your radio to an unused station. Experiment, apparently some babies prefer AM noise and some like FM noise.

Other ways to create white noise for home or for the car:

• Download recorded white noise tracks from ITunes
• Use the box from a sleep sheep, one mom I know removed the box from the stuffed animal so it would fit in a diaper bag.
  
• Make your own recordings of vacuums, dishwashers, showers, hair dryers, etc.
  

Source: Friends

Local Resource: Gyms with babysitting

Here are just a couple of gyms local to the Arlington/Woburn/Cambridge area that have babysitting so that mom and dad can work out without worry.

Woburn YMCA
137 Lexington Street Woburn, MA
Their website doesn't explicitly state childcare costs and availability for while you are working out, but a mom on the Arlington Parents list loves the facilities at the Woburn Y for child care. They have lots to keep kids active and a section to separate non-walkers from walkers.

Evolve Fitness
52 New Street Cambridge, MA
This gym is brand new. The website advertises monthly membership fees at $19.99. They don't have the price for babysitting services, but from an Arlington-Parents email list conversation, a parent said it is $4 for babysitting services for the duration of your workout.

Boston Sports Club
See this page for locations in the Boston area that offer babysitting services.
Rates for babysitting and membership vary from club to club, but the BSC clubs linked above all offer babysitting services for up to two hours per visit. They don't publicize babysitting fees, but I heard through the grapevine that it's about $1 per visit (probably for members). They also offer these services to non-members.

Healthworks For Women
Several in the Boston area offer child care so see link above
36 White Street, Cambridge MA
Babysitting services exist for this just-for-mom gym. Reservations for young babies are required. Enquire with Healthworks for membership and babysitting fees. I have heard great things as well about their Mommy and Me fitness classes. Apparently, bring baby to class and mom gets a very serious workout.

Work out World
200 Boston Ave Medford, MA
From a mom on the Arlington parent's list. Childcare is $1 for the first 45 minutes and an additional $1 for every half hour following. Childcare hours are roughly 8:30-12:30 and 4:30-8:00, these times are approximate, make sure to call WoW for details.

Tip #8: Use cotton washcloths or paper towels instead of wipes

Related to Tip #7, one way to minimize baby's exposure to harmful chemicals is to replace conventional wipes with cotton washcloths (great if you already wash cloth diapers) or your favorite soft paper towel. Simply place some water on these just before using, I keep a water bottle at the changing station. There's also a lot of do-it-yourself suggestions on the web for creating your own paper-towel wipes using a little bit of oil. Just search for "Make your own diaper wipes".

If you go the simply water route and you have a temperature sensitive baby, you can put warm water in one of those coffee thermoses with the pump feature and have warm water at the ready. Always make sure water going into the thermos is less than 98degrees Fahrenheit for safety.

The bonus of cotton wash cloths is given their size one will usually do for even the largest diaper blowout! Costco carries white cotton washcloths in packs of 24 that are a great size. Then you only need to carry the more expensive wipes with fewer harmful chemicals in the diaper bag (or go the do-it-yourself route).

Tip #7 - Look at chemical compositions in your baby products

It's easy to forget that the baby products we rely on daily are packed full of chemicals, dyes and perfumes. Some of these may be harmful to baby. Check out the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Database to determine if your diaper rash ointment, baby shampoo, baby wipes or other products have chemicals in them that you would rather not expose your little one to.

Tip #5: Balloons (mylar) make excellent toys

This is being reposted since I was alerted by a friend that balloons can actually be a safety hazard. So make sure you buy a balloon that is unlikely to pop and create lots of small pieces that can be grabbed or inhaled by an infant, i.e. mylar. As always, play comes with adult supervision.

Infants love watching balloons bounce in the wind. You can tie it to the top of their play mat or to their bouncy chair. Added bonus if you can tie it to a four-legged pet, then it's fun for the whole family!

Source: Baby Play, 100 fun-filled activities to maximize your baby's potential. Dr. Wendy S. Masi and Dr. Roni Cohen Leiderman, Creative Publishing International, 2001. (Pet idea contributed from personal experience).

Tip #6 - Don't be dooped when buying a crib

One tip we picked up from Baby Bargains, was to check how well a store had put a crib together. The authors heard from one reader (who worked in a furniture store) that stores would try and trick buyers into thinking the cheaper cribs were less sturdy by not fully screwing everything together well. We were disgusted to find this put into use at Jordan's furniture store. Their lowest end model had a lower, corner screw completely unscrewed (we were able to pluck it out!).

Source: Baby Bargains, Denise and Alan Fields, 7th edition, Windsor Peak Press.

Local Resource: Consignment shops in Arlington and Belmont

Since infants grow so fast, second-hand clothes are rarely well used, and so consignment shopping is a great way to load up on infant clothes. Here are a few local places to find second hand kids clothes.

Arlington

Pink Dolly
8 Medford Street, Arlington MA
Arlington Center
This shop has great deals on very nice clothes for slightly older kids. Last time I was in looking for 6-month onesies I couldn't find anything. However, I did hit a fabulous sidewalk sale this spring here..everything you can fit in a bag for $5.

Little Fox Shop: Fox Library
175 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington MA
East Arlington
This isn't exactly a consignment shop. Donations here are resold by volunteers and the money goes to supporting the Fox Library branch of Arlington, which is a great library for children. Make sure to check the hours, since it's run by volunteers the hours aren't standard shop hours. In addition to clothes this has great deals on things like exersaucers and stroller toys.

What's Yours is Mine
1185 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington MA
Arlington Heights
I haven't visited this shop yet, but heard about it from another Arlington resident with kids. If you visit let me know if you like it!

Belmont

Growing Up
443 Common Street, Belmont MA
I heard about this place from a friend who lives in Belmont. It's a wonderful little gem packed with clothes and some games and toys. We managed to outfit our boy for 6-9months for $14. We followed that up with a pretty good lunch at the restaurant across the street called Kitchen on the Common. They had seating outside (great for kids), but the service was a little slow (not so great for kids).

Tip #4 - Keep your baby used to the bottle

If you breastfeed and decide to introduce the bottle at the recommended time (4-6 weeks, after breastfeeding is well established), make sure to keep your baby used to it by giving them the bottle every other day or so.

Source: Unknown, but I've met many moms now who introduced the bottle early and then dropped it, just to find at the end of their maternity leave they wouldn't take it anymore.

Local Resource: Postpartum Support Groups

There are free drop-in postpartum support groups and/or breastfeeding support groups every day of the work week in the Arlington/Cambridge/Somerville area:

Monday

2:00pm-3:30pm Mt. Auburn Midwives Support Group .
Vineyard Church Meeting Rooms, 2nd Floor
15 Notre Dame Avenue, Cambridge, 1 block south of Rindge Ave., between Middlesex and Sargent Sts.

You don't need to have delivered with the Mt. Auburn midwives (or at Mt. Auburn at all) to join this group of women. Each week there is usually someone in addition to a midwife, a lactation consultant, a baby massage specialist, etc.

Tuesday

10:00am to 11:30am Jewish Family and Children Services: Cambridge Group
Congregation Eitz Chayim 134-136 Magazine St, Cambridge

You don't have to be Jewish to attend JFC&S groups!

10:00am to 12:00pm JFC&S Breastfeeding Support Group: Cambridge
Cambridge Health Alliance , 8 Camelia Avenue , Cambridge

Wednesday

3:00pm-4:00pm Isis Maternity Drop-in BreastFeeding Group: Arlington
397 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington

Thursday

11:00am-12:30pm JFC&S: Somerville Group
Somerville Family Network, 42 Prescott Street (Cumming School), Somerville

Friday

10:00am-12:30pm JFC&S Arlington Group
Calvary United Methodist Church
300 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington
I've heard great things about this informal group of women from a friend.

Tip #3 - There are diaper rash creams that can work with cloth diapers

Source: Pin stripes and Polka Dots has a list of diaper rash creams and rates them with their compatibility with cloth diapers.

Summary of diaper rash creams that work well (and don't require a liner):

• Angel Baby Bottom Balm
• Baby Bottom Butter
• California Baby (this is the one we use and have very good luck with available at Whole Foods)
• Claymazing Powder
• Grandma El's (available at Target.com)
• Northern Essence Diaper Salve
• Norhtern Essence Better Butter Cream

Tip #2: Improve car safety

If you have an SUV or a car with an open cargo hold, install a safety net to keep projectiles (could be your dog or your groceries) from launching over the seat towards your child in the event of an accident.

Source: Instructor of a Mommy and Me class

Tip #1 - Make pumping more efficient

Refrigerate your pump parts in between uses so you only have to wash and sanitize them once a day.

Source: Friend (and I think I remember seeing this reiterated in a Medela pamphlet as well)

Welcome Post

Greetings,

I created this blog as a place to keep track of all the great advice I hear from other moms, that I pick up from Mommy and Me classes as well as various book resources and parenting lists. I struggled with the naming of this blog for a while and then when my friends teased me about always going too far with the personal information, I realized TMI Mom was a perfect title! It captures both a personality trait of mine as well as the need to write stuff down, since I have too much information from too many resources to ever remember it all! I hope readers will find something useful once in a while and will post their own comments and solutions on a topic (I may keep these for future posts as well). Not everything works for everyone, and so I'll post anything I feel is safe for baby, whether it works for us personally. I had originally hoped to post something once a day, but being a busy working mom, I now plan on aiming to post two tips a week and one more tip, local resource, or little known fact on a weekend day.

You'll see the content of these posts evolve with our child, who is currently 3 months old. Thanks to all the parents out there who so willingly share their advice and experiences that help new moms and dads with their parenting experience!