Baby Products

I've raised 3 babies of my own, almost gotten through raising 3 toddlers of my own, and taken care of lots of other peoples' babies.  During this time I've bought many different infant products for our kids and tried out many more that came in the door with my daycare babies.  That said, I've formed some opinions. :o)

Everyone has their personal preferences, and what is perfect for one baby might not be ideal for another.  That said, as a starting point, here are some of my favorites.

Formula:  If you are going to use formula, unless your doctor recommends something specific for your specific baby, I recommend starting with a generic brand.  We used Up and Up (Target brand) regular iron-fortified formula for our babies.  It is exactly the same as Enfamil and costs about $10 less per can!  When you are buying several cans per month that adds up fast!  The consistency is a little different, the smell is a little different, but the nutritional content is exactly the same.  So with all the expenses babies can bring, do yourself a  favor and save some dough!

Bottles:  Again, if your doctor doesn't advise a specific bottle then here are my thoughts.  Babies often don't care what kind of bottle you use, but they often have a preference for nipple shape.  Get a couple bottles of the narrow variety and a couple of the wide variety and see what your baby likes better.  If your baby likes the narrow kind then I recommend the Gerber bottles pictured above.  They are really cheap, easy to clean, and in my opinion just as good as the fancy ones with the vents and the special gizmos that redirect air.  If your baby has a bad reflux problem it wouldn't hurt to give a fancy bottle a try, but I wouldn't go out and buy a bunch of them until you know that it will help.  The gerber ones are cheap enough that if you are away from home and leave one somewhere, you won't be kicking yourself because you're really only out about a buck or two.  The playtex bottles with the drop-in inserts are really nice for clean up, but it's hard to tell exactly how much milk your baby has drank from it unless he or she drinks the whole thing.  Might be a good option for a baby that routinely drinks the whole bottle of milk.  

Diapers:  When our babies are newborns I really like the expensive Pampers Swaddlers.  They are soft and they have a yellow line down the diaper that turns blue if the baby has peed, which is helpful when they are just born and you are literally counting wet diapers.  When they get a little bigger and outgrow the swaddlers we switch to, once again, Up and Up brand.  Pampers are nice, but expensive for something that is only going to be worn for a couple hours or less and then pooped in.  I don't like Huggies because they seem so rigid to me which appears uncomfortable.  Luvs and Up and Up are my favorite diapers to buy.  You'll be buying diapers for years so you might as well start saving that money for more important things and give the good-but-inexpensive ones a shot!

Wipes:  Once again... Up&Up.  Nobody from Up&Up is sponsoring this post, they don't know who I am, and I'm not making a dime on this post, I just really like their products!  I HATE Huggies brand wipes.  When I wipe baby butts with the huggies ones there are often wipe-fibers coming off and giving me more to wipe up, also they can be a pain to get out of the wipes container once they get down a bit.  Pampers are ok.  I love the Up&Up unscented cloth-like wipes!  They are soft, don't fall apart, easy to remove from the container, do a thorough job, and are inexpensive!  I was at the dollar store once and saw they had wipes, so I figured I'd give those a shot... they were awful and I ended up throwing them away.  They were so strongly scented with this horrid perfume smell that it grossed me out more than the poop I was cleaning up!

Diaper rash cream:  Now this is a category that I have tried the heck out of!  I am constantly recommending Desitin Maximum Strength to all my daycare baby's parents.  I've tried various ointments, boudreaux's butt paste, burt's bees diaper cream, Desitin creamy, and a wide variety of others.  What I've learned is that Desitin Maximum Strength is hands down the only thing worth spending your diaper rash treatment money on!  The maximum strength desitin is the same as Desitin Original.  Every other kind of rash cream takes at least 4 times as much to gob onto their little rear-ends, and far more applications to work.  With the maximum strength stuff you just need a little bit to coat the rash, apply it at each diaper change and the rash is usually gone in about a day.  

The only negative is that it can sting if the rash is severe.  If the rash is severe then skip the desitin until it's healed a little more and then use it.  In the mean time try A&D ointment, pictured below.  It is a soothing ointment that can be used for not only diaper rashes, but dry-chapped skin in other areas too.  It doesn't work very fast to treat a diaper rash, but it can help heal it enough to use the desitin maximum strength.  Please do not buy Desitin Creamy... it falls into that category described above that doesn't work... repeat after me... "Creamy is Crap".  Desitin Maximum Strength is where it's at!

So there you have it, take it or leave it. :o)  

Fixing Those Obnoxious Noisy Toys

Did your kids get toys that make a bunch of noise?  I know I know, silly question!  Some noisy toys are less noisy than others, some are downright obnoxious.  Little Man got a bunch of construction trucks for Christmas which he LOVES, and some of those are really loud.  So I fixed them.  And I'm going to show you the trick I learned years ago!

 Here's one of the more obnoxious sounding toys that we got for Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, he loves it and I'm glad he got it!  But I'd be less glad if I couldn't do what I'm showing you next.  And you should get some note paper because it's complicated.

Look around for the speaker holes, and cover them with a layer of clear tape.  That's it!  Usually one layer is enough to turn down the volume without taking the fun of the sounds it makes away.  If you looked around our house at noise-making toys, you'll find a lot of them with tape on them.  Some are quiet enough on the low setting to not need any tape, but many do.

So if you're kids toys are driving you crazy because of the sound, tape them up!

He Pooped! He Pooped!

A monumental event occurred at our house today, our youngest child used the potty chair for the first time!!!  He pooped!!

Way back 153 years ago when Sweet Pea was just barely 2 years old we started potty training her.  We tried just putting her in underwear, taking her to the potty several times per hour, and she was staying dry for a couple days.  We thought we were amazing at this whole potty training thing and wondered why people complained that it was so hard!  She was on a role for about 2 weeks when her attention span for the whole deal diverted and she stopped going in the potty and started having lots of accidents.  While we were anxious to be done buying so many diapers for a while we felt like it would be nonconstructive to put much pressure on her as a young two-year-old.  We tried several times during her twos, until a couple months before she turned three when she just got it.  All of a sudden she was telling us she had to go before she went, willingly went on the potty chair, stayed dry (during waking hours), and all was good.  We waited.... and she potty trained herself. 

Now, if we had never exposed her to the process she wouldn't have been able to train herself, but she understood what it was about, she had small food rewards (we used skittles with her) for successful potty trips, and she just decided one day she was ready!

Fast forward to Babydoll.  We knew this time around we weren't going to worry about it much, we would just show her the ropes and be really easy-going about it all.  When she was 26 months old she was already really into the whole deal and was peeing in the potty chair often, but not necessarily staying dry.  We asked her every 15 minutes if she had to go potty, but if it had been 30 minutes since she last sat we would go sit on the potty no matter what.  This method worked really well for her, along with food rewards for successes.  I think we usually used skittles for her, or whatever skittle-sized candy we had around.  We didn't even put her in undwear until she was about 27 months old though, because she was pretty successful while wearing a diaper.  Also I was several months pregnant with Little Man and wanted to make things easy on myself!  As soon as she was in underwear though she did stay drier and had fewer accidents, but she was already well on her way before we switched to undies.  At 28 months old she was totally day trained (though still has little leaks because going potty is "boring" and she'd rather just hold it until she can't hold it any more)! 

Night training for Sweet Pea didn't happen until a year after she was day-trained, for Babydoll it was 2 years of being day trained before she stayed dry at night. 

My personal opinion on pull-ups?  For me, they are a waste of money until they are mostly staying dry all day.  If they are mostly dry, then using pull-ups is really nice because of how much easier it is to get them on and off the potty chair.  I like to use them in that transition period between needing several diapers per day and staying dry enough to wear underwear.  I also prefer them over diapers at bedtime before they are night-trained.  It makes middle of the night bathroom runs much easier!  They also don't seem so expensive when you're only going through a few of them over a whole 24 hour period.

Now fast forward to Little Man.  He is currently 28.5 months old.  We are taking things, again, really easy going.  We bought a new potty chair (my old one was big and awkward) several months ago and he first just used it as a chair for reading books in the living room.  Once he was used to sitting on something that had a whole in it (while wearing pants), I showed him what it was for!  I had Babydoll show him how to sit and pee in it and then he tried it.  Until just recently he has mostly been disinterested in sitting on it at all, and if he did it was only for a second before he'd pop up and say "Done!" 

Yesterday he was willing to sit longer than a second, so I had him sit on the potty for as long as he wanted to,  get up, put his diaper back on, wash his hands, and then 15 minutes after standing we'd go back.  The only reason I was taking him so often was because he was enjoying it.  He's a stubborn kid (takes after his old man) and if I try to push him when he doesn't want to he'll dig in his heels and potty training would be over.  Actually pretty typical behavior for most toddlers!  All that sitting and he didn't go one drop in the potty.

Today, this afternoon, he woke up from his nap dry.  This never happens so I praised him for having a dry diaper and said in a very excited voice, "Lets go pee in the potty!" and he happily sat for a few seconds.  After snacktime we went outside, potty chair with us, and tried one more time to go potty, no luck.  So I did something drastic - I let him run around outside with no diaper/undies/shorts/anything! I wanted him to notice his peeing.  Every couple minutes I'd ask him if he had to go potty, he'd say no and I'd cheerfully reply "Ok!" and then I'd continue to watch him for signs of peeing (also to make sure if he peed on something I could clean it up!).  After about 10-15 minutes he was nearby and looked at me quite seriously and said, "Poop!".  I jumped up and cheerfully exclaimed, "lets go poop on the potty chair and you can have a cookie!" 

He sat, and 30 seconds later there was the most glorious turd sitting in the potty chair!  We cheered and clapped and high-fived and danced and sang a spur-of-the-moment poop song!

Then we went inside to clean up, eat a cookie, call everyone we knew, and announce it on facebook!

Now although I am SO tempted to run out and buy little boy underwear (mostly because his tiny little naked butt is the cutest damn thing on the planet) I am trying to remember not to push him too fast.  If I push, he will push back.  And he is the one who really has control over his bodily functions, so that's not a fight I want to have.  I'll keep taking him to the potty to give it a try, and wait for him to routinely pee in it before I through him in underwear.  If I put him in underwear before he's really ready for it we'd all end up stressed out and exhausted.  And if there's one sure thing I've learned, it's that if you keep trying without the pressure, when they are truly ready, they will practically train themselves, and instead of it taking months or years it will take a matter of weeks or days!

But that first anything in the potty is a huge milestone and we are all thrilled for our BIG boy!

Pancakes for Lots of Kids

I like pancakes.

The end.

Just kidding:o)

I like pancakes, and the kids all like pancakes, but they are kind of a pain in the butt to make for many children and then cut up for many children.

Recently I tried something different to make the process more efficient so everyone could eat at the same time and I didn't spend forever-and-a-day cutting up the little kids' pancakes.  Here's what I did...

Pull out the big skillet!

pour your batter into a rectangularish shape, and don't beat yourself up about the irregular shap.

It was at this point that I realized flipping the dang thing would be impossible, so I used the spatula to cut it into 3 flipable chunks

Flip!

but watch the edge!

when done cooking move them to a large cutting board, take out your pizza cutter (it's good for everything!) and cut it into strips that they can pick up with their fingers and dip into a little syrup!

serve with some syrup and fruit

and enjoy!

There's a way to make pancakes like an actual cake, in a cake pan, which makes things even easier, but with the pancake mix I've been buying it just doesn't turn out right.  Also I don't really know how hot to cook it at or for how long :o) 

I hope to return to regular blogging after our taxes get done (should happen next week) and can once again devote some of my brain power to blogging!

The Spike Diet - Weighing In

In October I told you about a diet Spencer and I had started, back then I had lost 5 lb in the first 2 weeks.  The diet is called The Spike Diet, and you can read about it on their website.

I'm thrilled to update that I've lost, as of my last weigh-in last Saturday, 18 pounds!  There's no way I'll tell you my actual weight, but the second digit in my weight dropped to a number I haven't seen in years!  I've lost more than 2 inches off my waistline! I bought a smaller belt and am now buckling it at the 3rd hole, and I'm wearing jeans I nearly threw out before because I haven't fit them in a long time and couldn't foresee squeezing into them again... now they fit comfortably!

I'm not the only one who's been losing weight, Spencer lost 25 pounds and is in the best shape he's been in in years!

I'm not going to lie and say it's been a total breeze, but for someone who's never really committed to a diet before... any serious attempt at a diet would not be a total breeze.  But it hasn't been hard at all either!  Once a week I get to stuff my face with whatever the heck I want, and it's a key part of the diet! I've heard from a couple people that they would be worried about getting back in diet-mode after a day of indulgence, but for me it actually makes it so much easier because I know that on Saturday I can eat as many Christmas cookies as I want. 

A few things that have helped me along the way...

I keep track of ALL the food I eat and calories on a spread sheet and enter them as soon as possible.

I snack on protein because it burns more calories in the digestions process. 

Keeping a bottle of water handy helps stretch me to the next meal, and keeps the water weight off... somehow.

We buy Special K Protein Meal Bars for when I don't want to make something... the chocolate chip ones are the best and the convenience of them keeps me from reaching into my kids' halloween candy, or popping a hotdog into the microwave.

I'm trying with all my might to not bake any cookies until Saturday, because I know that before they are even cooled off I will eat like 7 of them... which is ok on Saturdays because that's my spike day!

When I make dinner I add up all the calories in the ingredients and divide it up to get my total calories eaten.

The calculation of how many calories you are supposed to eat can be a bit confusing, so be careful when you figure it out.

   The whole metabolism boosting thing must be working because I feel like I'm losing weight more easily as I go along, although I'm not expecting much weight loss in the next couple weeks with Christmas coming up.  I'm not really worried about it though because a couple times during my diet I've fallen off the bandwagon and gained a couple pounds back, but the next week those pounds were gone.  One of those times was when I had the flu (or whatever it was) and I was eating whatever I could grab or was given to me, like really yummy and bad for you creamy chicken and wild rice soup.  Once I was well enough to prepare stuff I was back on track.

Oh and, a small Christmas miracle occurred on Sunday.  I took the girls to go see the childrens' play How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and there were cookies for sale, and I didn't get one!  Most people wouldn't consider that a small miracle, but if you know me then you know I'm obsessed.  Coffee and cookies get me every time, but not THAT time!

I'll check back at some point again, hopefully it will be because I reached my goal of 25 lbs lost!

Oh, and because tips are always good, what diet tips do you have?

One of my Favorite Kitchen Tools

Recognize this?  This, my friends, is one of my favorite kitchen tools.



You may think this is a pizza cutter, right?  It is, but it is also so much more than a pizza cutter!

I use it to slice quesadillas.  I cook the quesadilla in a pan sprayed with pam, throw it on the cutting board and slice it up quickly and easily with my pizza cutter!

I use it to cut pancakes as well!  instead of cutting up pancakes for 6 kids with a knife and fork, I make quick work of it with a pizza cutter on a cutting board, slide the cut-up pancake onto a plate, and drizzle a little syrup on it!

It works for other foods as well, like turning french toast into french toast sticks!

What's your favorite kitchen tool?  What handy little tricks do you have to share?

Tips From Experience

Question:  My 13 month old daughter hits us in the face, all the while smiling away.  What's the best way to handle this?

My Answer:  When your 13 month old hits you (often with a smile on her face ... it's a game to her, she's not trying to hurt you) firmly, without yelling, tell her, "no hitting" wait a few seconds, then take her hand and show her "gentle". Tell her in a softer voice, "show me gentle"... (help her gently touch your hand/face/arm), "gentle".  Do not just take it and keep brushing her hand away, and for pete's sake don't smile at her when she's hitting you, get firm with her so she knows that it does not make you happy when she does it.  If she hits you again after the whole routine above, put her down and ignore her for a minute or so.

Question:  Is my 1.5 year old too young for a time out? 

My Answer:  A 1.5 year old is not too young for a time out. It is important to give a clear warning first though.  For example, Ben is 18 months old and has just randomly hit another child.  Get down to Ben's level, look him in the eye, and using a firm, controlled voice, tell him, "Ben, no hitting.  No hitting.  Be gentle" and then use the "gentle" technique described in the above Q/A.  If, shortly afterward, Ben hits again then get back down to his level and tell him in your firm and controlled voice, "I said no hitting.  You hit Sarah and hurt her. Now you will have a timeout."   Take Ben to your chosen timeout spot and sit him there without any further eye contact or speaking from you, for a minute and a half.  for a toddler as young as this you may need to place him in a safe spot you can strap him in, like a booster chair at the table, but as he get's a little bit older and gets used to the timeout routine just take him to a small chair, rug, step, or spot and make him stay there on his own.    After a minute and a half, come back and give a brief recap of why they are there, ask him to tell the girl he hit, "sorry", tell him, "I forgive you" and then hug it out!  If he is not yet able to say the word sorry, just have him give a hug instead.  Even though they may not truely be sorry, and don't understand the word, for now they need to know that an apology helps make the person they hurt feel better.

Do you have any thoughts on these questions/ answers?  Any experiences of your own?