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).