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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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 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

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).