Pampers offer -- anyone out there?

Amazon is having its recurring Pampers (etc) special -- spend $99, get a $30 gift card that you can use over the holidays, and free shipping. Click here for the link.

Baby Pool?

Has anyone found a good inflatable kiddie pool for the little ones? I'm having trouble shopping for this on-line. There seem to be some good ones for real babies (<=1 year), but then I can't tell if the bigger ones are decent. The prices range from about $7 to $70. I checked the usual suspects, e.g. Amazon, One Step Ahead, Target (nothing there). Any suggestions? Thanks!

Our Kids Weekly Newsletter

Lauren passed this on:

"Our Kids Weekly" is a weekly newsletter emailed to you every Tuesday of the month highlighting activities and resources for families in the dc metro area. For a one-year $24 subscription, the newsletter includes:

Weekly picks
Special events
A daily calendar of events
A now playing list for local family theaters
Free classified listings (family related)
Free tickets to advanced screenings of movies
Occassional free goodies (posters, coupons to local family places, tickets, etc) and
Advanced notices of consignment sales, ticket sales and other upcoming events.

http://www.our-kids.com/newsletter.shtml

Milk Alternatives article

Lauren spotted this article about soy/rice milk for babies:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12553999/site/newsweek/from/ET/

Mom compensation

You deserve six figures.... click here.

Sedating kids on flights

Funny, I don't think of this as a secret *or* big news, but here ya go, from the venerable WSJ:

----
A Guilty Secret: Some Parents Sedate KidsTo Keep Them Calm on Long FlightsApril 20, 2006; Page D1

When Ginger Ogle suggested giving her 3-year-old son an antihistamine to help him sleep during an eight-hour flight to Europe, her husband "was appalled that I'd even consider drugging our child," she says. He bought a portable DVD player instead, to play in-flight movies for his son.

But after four hours on the plane with a kicking, whining, irritable child -- who was unconsoled by the movies or grab-bag of other distractions the Berkeley, Calif., couple had brought along -- he reluctantly agreed to try a dose of Benadryl. The medication didn't seem to have much effect, Ms. Ogle says, but the incident shows how divisive the issue can be.

Should parents medicate their babies and toddlers to calm them on long flights? As the summer travel season approaches, this question will drive a wedge between more mothers and fathers, grandparents and parents -- and sometimes, it seems, between stressed-out parents and almost everyone else on the plane. Leisure travel is projected to rise 2% this year after an estimated 4% increase in 2005, says the Travel Industry Association, a Washington, D.C., trade group, and some 31% of travelers will have children in tow.

In an online poll conducted for this column by the parenting Web site www.BabyCenter.com2, 33% of 3,657 parents who responded said they'd never sedate their children for a plane flight, and 24% said they've never needed to. But 18% said they have and would do so again, and an additional 20% said they've considered doing so.

"It's sort of the guilty secret of parents," says Erik Budde, San Carlos, Calif., owner of www.travelwithyourkids.com3, a family-travel site.

One mother, on a message board attached to the poll, defended her use of Benadryl to calm a frightened toddler, asserting it's "the right thing to do for the child, the other passengers, the flight crew and yes, the parents as well." A critic fired back: "What kind of parent sedates their child?"

The controversy seems to arise more from differences in parenting philosophies than safety concerns. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have a position on the matter, and individual pediatricians vary in their views.

"If you asked 100 pediatricians, you'd get 20 strongly in favor, 60 who didn't think about it much, and 20 strongly opposed," says Richard Gorman, past chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' National Committee on Drugs. "Good doctors can disagree about this, just as thoughtful parents can disagree."

Children's Benadryl Allergy liquid, with antihistamine as the single active ingredient, is widely regarded as safe for children; because drowsiness is often a side effect, it's a common choice among parents. Its maker, Pfizer, recommends parents consult their pediatrician before administering the medication to children under 6 or to any youngsters with breathing problems such as chronic bronchitis. While Benadryl is "very safe" when used as directed, it isn't intended to be used as a sedative and "we don't promote any off-label use," a spokeswoman says.

To be sure, antihistamines can have an opposite effect in some children, making them agitated and hyper-alert; Dr. Gorman estimates this happens in about 10% of children. If you have a doctor's OK and are considering an antihistamine, pediatricians say try it with your child first to see what effect it has -- not just at bedtime, but at the time of day you're likely to travel.

Most kids can do fairly well on flights with a well-planned series of distractions, says Linda Murray, executive editor of BabyCenter.com. And some pediatricians say parents should worry less about what other passengers think. Dr. Gorman, who practices in Ellicott City, Md., doesn't recommend medications for what he considers a social issue. For parents who fear passengers will complain if their kids cry, he administers a little assertiveness training instead. "I give them little comebacks, like, 'Please be nice to them, they're going to pay your Social Security someday.' "

As humans, we're hard-wired to respond when we hear kids cry, and it isn't always in annoyance. I wrote much of this column on a four-hour flight seated directly behind a family of four with a screaming baby. By the time we landed, my stomach was in knots -- not in anger, but because I felt so sorry for the miserable baby and her beleaguered mom. To avert similar anguish for my two kids when they were babies, I occasionally used Benadryl to calm them on airplanes, with good results.

Avoiding long flights isn't always possible for today's far-flung families who want to stay connected. Most parents who use sedatives do so only when other modes of calming children -- cuddling, rocking, bags of toys and games, books, conversation, walks down the aisle, DVDs or in-flight TV -- have failed. "Anyone who's ever flown with an inconsolable infant can understand why" a parent might use medication, says Eileen Ogintz, a family-travel author.

Sometimes, however, antihistamines don't work and you have to come up with other solutions. Eager to show their firstborn baby to his grandmother two years ago, Emily Ingrao, Belmont, Calif., and her husband embarked on a 23-hour journey to Sicily from San Francisco. On a turbulent New York-to-Rome flight, he cried almost the entire time. "It was just awful," Ms. Ingrao says. "Every time he would settle back to sleep, the captain would come on the intercom," and he would wake up.

Ms. Ingrao tried Benadryl, but it had little effect. Pregnant again, she says she and her husband will break the family's next Sicilian journey into two days.

Great recipe - Mahogany Broiled (or Grilled) Chicken

Here are the recipes for mahogany broiled (or grilled) chicken, served with chipotle sweet potatoes (AMAZING) and cilantro chimichurri sauce. it's DELICIOUS!!! And best part of all, you can make it all ahead of time. Great on the grill!

MAHOGANY BROILED CHICKEN

5 T. dark brown sugar
3 T. dijon mustard
2 T. bottled hoisin sauce
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut in 1-inch cubes

-mix together brown sugar, mustard, hoisin sauce and vinegar. reserve 2/3 and add the lime juice to the remainder. stir in the chicken, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

-preheat the broiler or grill. thread chicken on 8 bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 30 minutes. broil about 6 inches from heat, basting with reserved mahogany sauce until done, about 8 minutes... or grill/baste until done. (<--we do it grilled)

-to serve, divide potates among 4 plates; top each with 2 skewers of chicken and drizzle with cilantro chimichurri sauce (recipese follow). garnish with cilantro sprigs.


CHIPOTLE SWEET POTATOES

2 large sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 T. butter
1 tsp. chopped canned chipotle pepper
1 tsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotle)
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1-1/2 tsp. lime juice
cilantro sprigs for garnish
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

-put sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. cook, covered, over medium-high heat until tender, about 15 minutes. reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid, then drain potatoes. return potatoes to reserved cooking water, add rest of ingredients and mash


CILANTRO CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

1 c. chopped cilantro leaves
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

-mix together, serve over chicken

PVC in toys

Perhaps I'm the last to know, but some children's plastic toys are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which can put kids at a higher risk of developing asthma, cancer or organ damage! The EU has banned the use of PVC in teething products and pacifiers and the like, but the US still allows it. The following link is a somewhat old list of what toys contain PVC:
http://www.turnertoys.com/PVC_framepage1.htm

Also, I read a separate article that stated that toys made in Asia (read: "Made in China") more frequently contain PVC than those made in other regions of the world.

I didn't realize I should be reading the label to confirm what materials are in Phebe's toys! If this is news to you as well, sorry to add to your long list of mother's worries.

Carlyn

How Babies Learn Words

This article was on the wires this morning.

interesting program on WAMU

Carlyn passed this on:

>I'm not sure if you listen to the Diane Rehm show on WAMU, but she had a program with the author of "Mommy Wars", and it was very interesting (about the struggle of mothers deciding between work and staying at home). You can listen to it online. The program was broadcasted on March 9th at 11am.

Here's the link (near the bottom of the page, from the 11:00 hour):

http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/06/03/09.php

Safeway.com coupon

Click here for a link to a Safeway.com coupon for free delivery and $10 off your order of $100+. You can still use your club card to get the sale prices. I believe this is good through March.

Picture People coupon

Free 8X10 or 10x13; no sitting fee between now at 5/14/06.

http://www.picturepeople.com/promotion/coupon/coupon_detail.aspx?PromoType=nowshowing&PromoNumber=1&CouponCode1=EDCWA&Referral=

There's also one in the new American Baby magazine.

Sure, they'll *want* you to buy additional prints... but fight the power! (You know I do!)

:)

Free Birthday Stuff

I don't know if any of you have been following this discussion on DCUM, but apparently you can get a free 8" birthday cake for the baby's first birthday from Safeway (and maybe some other grocery stores) if you bring in his/her birth certificate several days before the party.

You can also get a free ice cream scoop and a coupon for discount on ice cream cakes at Baskin Robbins if you sign up online in advance -- and you can do that one for EVERYONE'S birthday in the family:

http://www.baskinrobbins.com/Bdayclub/

File this away for a few months from now....!

$30 Amazon coupon when you order Huggies

I saw a good deal on diapers...if you order $99 worth of Huggies from Amazon you get free shipping and a $30 Amazon gift certificate. (The offer expires Feb 28th - not sure how long the gift certificate is good for).

Teether recall

Hi All! I hope everyone is well. I'm looking forward to our upcoming GNO! Hopefully by then I will be emotionally recovered from our first real medical scare - I won't go into details here, but the upshot is that yesterday morning we found Willy in his crib totally limp - couldn't get him to make any sound or movement. No talking, smiling, coughing, crying. Nothing. We picked him up and he just lay motionless against us - couldn't hold his head up. Then he vomitted violently. It was terrifying. We rushed him to the doctor, who believes it was sleep apnea - his breathing passages were allegedly blocked by fluid/mucous and he didn't get enough oxygen during the night. I pumped him up with Pedialight and he gradually came to over the course of the day. He's back to himself today, but he's on antiobiotics and we're going to an Ear-Nose-Throat specialist in a few days. Have I mentioned it was TERRIFYING? Alas, that is not why I'm posting...I was e-mailed notice of a teether recall and I thought I would let you all know in case your little munchkins are chewing on any of these....http://www.thefirstyears.com/customerService/teetherrecall.asp

See you soon!
M.

Baby Movie Night!

The Arlington Cinema Draft House in Arlington is going to try out "baby nights" at the movies starting this Tuesday 1/31... I'm proud to say, at my suggestion! We went to something similar at a theater in California and it seriously was one of the highlights of our year. It was so fun to go on a "date" -- but to get to bring the babe! So I e-mailed them and they said they'd give it a go.

It's kinda like Reel Moms I guess (though I've never been), only since it's at night BOTH parents can go (yeah)!.

I have never been to this theater but it sounds quite a bit the same -- comfy seating, they serve food and beer, very laid back, and about 5 bucks to get in. The first movie is Pride and Prejudice. The guy told me they are going to try it out, and only continue if they get a good turnout -- so I think it would be great if we can support it so they'll keep doing it! I realize Arlington is a bit of a trek... but come on, not THAT far.

When we went, Lindsay watched a bit and then fell asleep. Other babies fussed some, but it was no big deal at all and everyone loved seeing all the babies. It was very social.

PS: I hear "Pride and Prejudice" is much less a chick-flick than one might think, and men dragged to see it end up really liking it -- wink. Anyone up for it?

Here's the official blurb:

http://arlingtondrafthouse.com
Baby Night @ the Drafthouse / Tuesday 1/31 at 7:10PM - Pride & Prejudice

Parents are encouraged to bring their babies to the Tuesday 7:10 show. Babies get free admission, all others pay the normal admission fee of $5.50. This is a great way to get OUT for an evening and see a movie. Don't worry about your baby crying or walking in the back of the theater to comfort your little one - the other Parents in attendance will understand. Have someone else make dinner, start the movie and clean up, while you and your new family enjoy a top box office film! Please note: All are welcome; however there will be babies in attendance.

Grind-your-own baby food

Lindsay and I got this cool food mill (brand is Kidco) for Christmas. I just used it for peas today and it was wonderful! Very easy to use and small and light so it could go in the diaper bag. The grind did have some texture, which your baby may or may not like yet (Linds was fine with it), and I presume this will be even more useful once the babies are old enough to eat whatever we are eating -- just pop it in.

Obviously it's not as efficient as the food processor but really good for single servings. It also seems to separate the more fibrous parts of the food (like the pea shells) and leave them behind (they don't go thru the grinder holes), which is nice.

My mom swore by one of these when we were growing up, because we always ate whatever the family was eating -- and none of us were picky eaters.

Here's a link on Amazon, and I think they also have them at Buybuybaby.

Great seeing you guys yesterday; missed the rest of you! Hope all is well!

2006 Play Date Hosts

Monday January 16th- Karen & Lindsay
Saturday January 28th- DeeDee & Pierce
Monday February 13th- Lauren & Matt
Saturday February 25th- Julie & Colin
Monday March 13th- Melissa & Willy
Saturday March 25th- Carlyn & Phebe
Monday April 10th- Rachael, Emma & Andrew
Saturday April 22nd- Rachel & Max

Still thinking of GNO February for the odds-defying b-day girls?
For May, how about for our first real Mother's Day, a potluck picnic in a local park? Date in the vicinity of, but close enough where we can celebrate this memorable first year and all the "firsts" we have shared?
Thinking ahead, what to do when the kids turn ONE? The dates span from first-to-turn Matt on June 1st until Colin hits his big day on July 20th... With everyone's vacation plans, let's nail a date and location early?
Let's kick around some suggestions...and vote when we know what we like?

I'll start. We have a pool membership with small, medium and large pools, and a reservable gazebo. Off Lockwood Drive in Silver Spring. We are blessed with SUMMER babies! The grounds are largely grassy and treesy, easy to run after a babe on the move.I have not investigated party details, but will if there is an interest.
Any other ideas???

Activities for babies and toddlers

Have you guys seen this? http://www.thebabyduck.com/dcactivities.htm

Goodness, if I didn't have to work, I really could do a lot of fun stuff with William all week long! I think there are some fun things some of you might want to take advantage of.

And on the Mondays we don't meet for playgroup, I'm going to keep in mind the storytime at Politics & Prose - 10:30 on Monday mornings. There also appears to be a free weekly storytime at the Barnes & Noble in Bethesda.

Free photos from Shutterfly

If you need some photo prints for your baby book (whoops -- haven't even started poor Lindsay's), here is a coupon code for Shutterfly.com, for a free $15 print package (10 4x6, 3 5x7, and 3 8x10 prints).

Go to Shutterfly and log in or create an account. Click on "My Shutterfly." Then click on "Enter special offer code." When prompted, enter code SW03-PRTS for the credit.

Offer expires 1/31.

Here are a couple more, though probably less useful now that the holidays are past:

*20% off all photo cards, code SW02-CARD

*Buy one photo calendar, get one free ($19.99 value), code SW01-CLDR

See you guys soon! We've missed you!

help! need recommendations for stroller and car seat

Phebe is growing out of her infant car seat and stroller. Has anyone researched which strollers and car seats are recommended for growing babies? I have no clue and find the massive quantity of strollers and car seats at buy buy baby to be overwhelming (and not to mention generally expensive).

Carlyn

My Baby Float

As seen in our holiday card, click here for a link to the baby float we got for the pool in Hawaii.

I see that someone reviewed it very negatively (so I just had to add my own counter-review; not sure if it's posted yet), but it sounds to me like they were using it wrong or unclear on how it was supposed to work. I totally loved it, and would recommend it to anyone as a cheap, fun thing to bring on vacation.

Incidentally, we got it for $5 poolside, so you might be able to find it elsewhere on the web or eBay for cheaper than Amazon.

Aloha!

Edited to add: Umm, I just noticed it says it ships in 1-2 MONTHS! I'd definitely shop around...!

Baby Passports

Maybe this is a big "duh," but I just learned that babies need their own passports when travelling out of the country. It takes 6-8 weeks to get one (though you can pay ~$100 for rush -- two week -- service), and the baby and BOTH PARENTS need to appear (or bring a notorized form with second parent's signature). If you have upcoming travel, it's something to start thinking about!!

Click for the link to the official US Passport Office website.

Happy holidays everyone!

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

Your Clothes:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing. 3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress-a whimper, a frown-you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins (a favourite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays. 2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch forthe coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Are 'educational' baby videos a scam?

Research lacking to support claims
By Nell Minow
Special to the Tribune
December 14, 2005

Nothing grabs the attention of nervous new parents and excited grandparents like a product they think can make their children smarter.

The market for educational "baby videos" aimed at children as young as newborn has skyrocketed, representing about $100 million in annual sales, according to Business Week.

It's ironic that while food labeled "fresh" or "low-fat" must meet very specific federal standards, there's nothing to prevent a manufacturer from labeling a kiddie video "educational" or "enriching" without providing much support for the claims. Indeed, for at least one educational baby video series, the PhD "experts" endorsing it on the box do not disclose they also are the experts paid to help develop it.

Our youngest children are growing up in media-saturated households, but a Kaiser Family Foundation report released last January found only limited research on electronic media's effects on them. (This week the non-profit private foundation plans to release a report on the marketing of educational media for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as hold a roundtable discussion on the topic.)

There's also little available to help parents figure out the value of educational DVDs or videos or computer games designed for children under age 2.

Here's what we do know:-

The "Mozart effect" -- the popular idea that listening to classical music will make you (or your child) smarter -- has been discredited.

- The American Academy of Pediatrics advises zero "screen time" (videos, television, computer) -- none -- for children under age 2.

- No reliable body of research exists to support the notion that a child so young can measurably, permanently benefit from watching developmental videos.

Unfortunately for parents and grandparents, according to Dr. Susan Linn, psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center and Harvard Medical School, so-called "developmental" videos won't put Baby on the path to the Ivy League.

"Essentially, the baby video industry is a scam. There's no evidence that the videos are educational for babies, and a review of the research on babies and videos concludes that while older babies can imitate simple actions from a video they've seen several times, they learn much more rapidly from real life," Linn says.

One of the best known series of developmental media for infants is Baby Einstein, which got its start in 1997 when new mom Julie Aigner-Clark created a video "to help her share her love of art, classical music, language and poetry with her newborn daughter," according to the company Web site.

Until then, instructional media for children usually began around age 3, with the focus on preschool curriculum content -- dancing alphabet letters and numbers and flashcard-style presentations of colors, animals and shapes.

Baby Einstein, aimed at infants, is more gentle and free-form, with music, words and images of babies, children, toys, pictures and nature.

The company names its products after people from history instantly recognizable as brilliant in the arts and sciences -- Baby Bach, Baby Galileo, Baby Monet, Baby Wordsworth, for example.

Now a part of the Walt Disney Co., Baby Einstein has expanded its series of DVDs, music CDs, books and toys to include many more titles intended for infants, some as young as newborn or a month old. The company also has launched a new line of Little Einstein products for preschoolers.

But to my mind, it's hard to figure out what these products do. Are they entertainment? Are they educational? Something between a baby-sitter and a hold button to give tired parents a break?

Smarter not the goal

I turned to the company Web site and online store -- www.babyeinstein.com -- and learned the videos, music and "discovery cards" (flashcards) don't promise to raise a baby's IQ to Einstein levels. "Baby Einstein products are not designed to make babies smarter," the Web site says. "Rather, Baby Einstein products are specifically designed to engage babies and provide parents with tools to help expose their little ones to the world around them in playful and enriching ways -- stimulating a baby's natural curiosity."

The Web site features parental testimonials for Baby Einstein's success at holding their babies' interest, increasing attention span, teaching colors and appreciation for classical music. There's also a separate group of testimonials attesting to Baby Einstein's power as a calming agent for fussy, fractious kids. "Thank you so much for making something that my baby is interested in because I cannot get him to sit down and watch anything else except Baby Einstein," says one.

"They have been almost like a baby-sitter to me, while I shower or wash the dishes," says another.

Nobody can take issue with harried parents thrilled to find something to keep the baby occupied for a few minutes so they can clear the table or grab a shower. But do we really want babies to learn that the best way to find something interesting to do, or to calm themselves down, is to watch a television screen?

I e-mailed Baby Einstein to ask if staff members know of any independent research showing what babies and toddlers learn from material like their videos. I heard back promptly from a publicist who ran my questions by the company's vice president for marketing, communications and educational products, Rashmi Turner.

"It is important to note that Baby Einstein products are specifically designed to provide parents with tools to help expose their little ones to the world around them through parent-child interaction," Turner said."The Baby Einstein Company does work closely with child development experts and relies on their insights and expertise to help ensure its products are appropriate for both parents and babies alike."

I brought up the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation that babies under age 2 not have any "screen time" at all, whether television, DVDs or computers because children learn best through hands-on experience and interaction."As stated on the Web site, The Baby Einstein Company respects the American Academy of Pediatrics," Turner said. "While we don't necessarily agree that children under the age of 2 should not be exposed to television, as we believe it can be a powerful learning tool when used appropriately, we do agree with many aspects of the AAP's recommendation."Notably, Baby Einstein agrees that parents should watch programming with their children and parents should interact with their children throughout -- talking, playing, singing and reading together. That part of the Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation, however, is supposed to apply to older children, not infants and toddlers.

Turner said the Baby Einstein DVDs are "not research-based" and the company does not have any data showing that children learn anything from watching them.

Evaluation difficult
It is very difficult to evaluate how much infants can learn from watching videos and DVDs, first because we can't ask them, but more important because infants are at the most receptive stage of life for learning. It is almost impossible to measure how much they pick up -- much less how quickly or how well they learn -- from a DVD compared with having a parent or caregiver sing a song or play with them.Still, an academic review of the research to date by Daniel R. Anderson and Tiffany A. Pempek of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, discussing studies from different perspectives (measuring attention, imitation, new vocabulary), shows babies learn less from watching DVDs than from the same amount of time playing and interacting and observing directly.

In other words, your baby will learn more about gravity from throwing her spoon onto the floor than she will from watching a video of a baby dropping spoons -- no matter what kind of music is playing in the background.If you look and listen carefully, that's what the producers of the baby DVDs themselves tell you.

Three "academic leaders" (who also are paid consultants, though that isn't disclosed) appear in a segment for parents on the Eebee DVD by Sony Wonder, for example, to explain to parents that babies need interaction and experience. They advise parents that "play is the work of childhood" and that children need to feel textures and explore objects for themselves."We know that passive viewing is not good for children," says Kathy Hirsch-Pasek, identified as a PhD and co-author of "Einstein Never Used Flashcards." On the DVD's box, however, which does not identify her as a consultant in developing the material, Hirsch-Pasek, provides a cheery blurb that reads: "Eebee's adventures sparkle with a creativity that shows how the magic of everyday moments can become extraordinary learning opportunities."

Also on the Eebee DVD, Dr. Deborah Linebarger of the University of Pennsylvania, another paid consultant, says, "It's not realistic to tell a parent no TV or no videos."Not realistic? That makes me furious. Are babies going to tell you they're going to the library to study and then sneak off to a friend's house to watch something on a screen? One lesson babies cannot learn too early is that parents know how to set limits.`What are we learning?'Former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson once said, "All television is educational. The question is what we are learning from it."Despite adults' best intentions in turning on "enriching" videos, there's a danger babies and toddlers may be learning they don't need to develop imagination, curiosity and the ability to entertain and quiet themselves. As Linn says, "What babies do learn . . . is to turn to a screen for stimulation and for soothing."These DVDs don't teach babies nearly as much about colors or words or shapes or the world outside as they teach them this: Watching television is and will be a major occupation.

So when we sit babies down in front of a video about how wonderful it is to touch, squeeze, roll, stretch, hide and feel -- instead of encouraging them to actually do those things -- the lessons they are most likely to learn are that watching television is important and that the grown-ups in their life will tell them one thing but do the opposite.

Maybe that's a new line of products. We can call them Baby Irony.
- - -AlternativesMedia Mom suggests:
- Play music and sing to your baby (she doesn't care that you're not a candidate for "American Idol").
- Read books out loud and make audio tapes of yourself reading them to play to the baby when you are away.
- Give the toddler measuring cups and something safe to scoop and spill -- his cereal, maybe, or mashed potatoes. (Let him enjoy getting messy and be sure to take pictures before he takes a bath.)
- Describe what you're doing, and describe what you see. "We are driving to the bank, and oh, look! A fire engine! Where's it going?" is thrilling repartee for a toddler in a car seat, and your excitement and curiosity will be inspiring.
- Remember, you are doing much more than practicing words or pointing out things about the world around you.

You are teaching your baby he or she is important to you -- that's a lesson no video can match.-

- -What the American Academy of Pediatrics says about television, children and learning:

Television affects how your child learns. High-quality, non-violent children's shows can have a positive effect on learning. Studies show that preschool children who watch educational TV programs do better on reading and math tests than children who do not watch those programs.

When used carefully, television can be a positive tool to help your child learn.For older children, high-quality TV programs can have benefits. However, for younger children it's a very different story. The first two years of life are especially important in the growth and development of your child's brain. During this time, children need good, positive interaction with other children and adults to develop good language and social skills. Learning to talk and play with others is far more important than watching television.Until more research is done about the effects of TV on very young children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television for children younger than two years of age. For older children, the AAP recommends no more than one to two hours per day of quality screen time.www.aap.org

- - -A crowded field

The popularity of the Baby Einstein series has inspired other companies to further pry open the wallets of competitive or worried parents. Psychologist Susan Linn has counted more than 200 titles for this age group. Among them:Baby Chatterbox (where "learning is always fun!!!") is "designed by caring parents, teachers and speech language professionals" to "focus on promoting your child's vocabulary acquisition." Recommended ages: 3 months to 3 years.Baby Bumblebee, which claims to rely on "a scientifically well-established teaching method," says it will "build your baby's brain" with DVDs devoted to vocabulary building and numbers. Recommended ages: 4 months to 11 months, though it adds that "many parents have successfully started earlier or later."Eebee's programs ("when adventure becomes understanding") show adults interacting with babies and a baby puppet, playing with a ball and pouring cereal.Tiny Tot Sports says it helps fight childhood obesity with its DVDs about baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and football for "ages 0-4."Sesame Street announced in November the advent of Sesame Beginnings, "a new line of DVDs, books, toys and infant products, brings everything you love about Sesame Street to you and your infant." The Web site notes, "With Sesame Beginnings, every time you and your baby laugh and connect over a silly song, you encourage your child's curiosity and interest in learning."

Something for your Baby Book?

If you send one of your birth announcements to
White House Welcome
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
you will receive a note from the President & Mrs. with the White House return envelope addressed to your baby. Takes a couple of months. Pierce just got his, kinda neat, as he does not get much mail yet!

DD

Swimming

Just FYI, registration opened today for Montgomery County Recreation classes for Winter.

They have a whole bunch of "Waterbabies" classes for 6 months+.

Cost is $43 for 6 sessions ($53 for non-county residents).

Lindsay and I are signed up for a Wednesday class from 10:10-10:40 am in Silver Spring that begins 1/11. There are lots of others available at various locations in the county, including some on weekend mornings for you working types and the dads. Class code is 140141 if anyone is interested in that particular session.

You can sign up online, although the website is cumbersome, and there is some lag between registering for the site and being able to use it. Nevertheless, the web address is:

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec

(It was a total mess this morning and I had to refresh about 100 times before I got on, but I figure it will slow down as the day goes on.)

Thank you Secret Santa!

Thank you Secret Santa for our gift! It was especially nice of you to drop it off at our house since Colin was too sick to come to the party on Saturday.

(Hmm…our Secret Santa likes the blog and Ebay…could it be Karen and Lindsay?)

Colin just LOVES his train. He is completely mesmerized by the lights and the music - and the animal blocks are also very yummy. He was also a big fan of the wrapping paper.

After a week of croup (“barking” cough ALL night…exorcist style projectile vomiting…green snot…pooping 8 times a day…etc…) Colin seems to be feeling better. I think mom and dad will need at least another week to recover though!

Mall Santa

Linds and I headed to Montgomery Mall today for pictures with Santa. Just FYI, the Santa there is really good -- a real beard (or at least I was convinced!), which scores major points with me, for starters.

Also, they have a big sign up that says "please don't use personal cameras," which was at first a bummer, because the pictures are quite expensive ($11.99 for a 5x7, and more for packages). BUT, when we got to the front of the line I asked if I could take a shot with my digital camera in addition to buying a polaroid or whatever, and they said "Oh, you don't actually have to buy anything, you can just take the picture." So that was pretty cool. I'm sure most people see the sign and don't bother to ask (but you know me).

We got a great shot which I am resisting posting here, but I will email it to any of you if you want to see! ;)

Saturday was great, thanks again Carlyn!

Library Time/"Cuddleup"

Wheaton Library (on Georgia Ave.) is having a baby program tomorrow, Friday 12/9, at 10:15 am.

Branch: Wheaton
Date: Friday, 12/9/05
Time: 10:15 AM Program: CUDDLEUPS
Description: Come join us for songs, fingerplays, puppets and rhymes. For birth-2 year olds and their caregivers. This program lasts about 30 minutes. Please preregister!

I am going to TRY to go before baby sign language class (11-12), naps etc. permitting -- since the library and the class are pretty near each other. Usually 10-noon is one of the better times of day for us so hopefully it won't be totally overstimulating... we'll see!

FYI if you are interested, you have to preregister: 240-777-0678.

Here's a link to the library info (including a map):
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/Libraries/branchinfo/wh.asp

Six-Month Dr. Visit Dispatch

We are just back from Lindsay's 6 month doctor visit (although technically she is 1 week shy). A few things our doc told us of interest...

-She said it's time to lower the crib mattress to its lowest position, and remove the bumpers. Anytime in the next few months, she said, the baby will start to pull herself to standing.

-Re: solids... she said it's great to make your own, but you probably shouldn't when root vegetables -- carrots, sweet potatoes, beets etc. -- are involved, because of the nitrates in the soil in which they grow. She said babyfood makers actually test their batches to make sure the levels are low, but grocery stores don't -- and this applies to organic veggies too. I dunno, there are so many differing opinions on solids, take it or leave it... but this is what I heard today.

In other news, remember the $35 worth of formula coupons I was selling on eBay? Umm, they sold for $25.83!!! WHAT??! I definitely have a new hobby. Even better, my husband told me I could subscribe to a year of US Weekly if I made $30+ in formula coupons, hahaha. :)

See you Saturday!

Tea for Increasing Milk Production

For anyone who is still breastfeeding and worried about supply, I've tried with some success the Traditional Medicines tea called Organic Mother's Milk. It works for the couple of feedings that occur after I drink the tea. Now if only the Gingko Biloba tea would actually make me smarter!

Carlyn

Make $ for Unused Formula Coupon/Checks

A friend just emailed me to tell me that there is a huge demand on eBay for those unused formula coupons you surely receive every week in the mail. Sure enough, I did a search on Similac, Enfamil and Good Start and there are tons listed -- and almost all are selling! I get a million of them free, and since they only would cost $0.37 to ship (and wouldn't demand a special trip to the post office), it seems worthwhile to auction them off, even if I only get a couple bucks.

I just listed a lot of seven $5 off coupons with a variety of expiration dates, so I will let you know what happens (my starting bid is $0.01). Clearly, though, the trick is finding the time to list them in the first place (they have been gathering dust on my kitchen counter for months)! :)

Feeding mistakes

At DeeDee's house last week a few of us were talking about how there aren't clear guidelines about introducing solids into our babies' diets. Well, I already messed up! So we can all learn from my mistake (though most of you probably already know not to do this) - you probably should *not* initially feed your baby "solids" at his/her evening meal. Here's my tale of woe...

Last Wednesday, to prep for Thanksgiving dinner, we fed William 1 tbl rice cereal with 5 parts breastmilk. He was mostly perplexed, slightly amused, and he managed to get a bit into his mouth. The next day at Thanksgiving dinner, we fed him 1 tbl rice cereal with 4 parts breastmilk. It was wonderful - he sat with us at the dining room table and ate the whole thing! He even grabbed the spoon and wanted to do it himself. So cute! So we repeated this for a couple days...Then last night at 6 pm, being more ambitious, I gave him 1.5 tbl rice cereal with 3 tbl breastmilk. By way of explanation, I thought it would be nice for his "solid" meal to be dinner, so that we could have it together every evening, rather than having the nanny give him his solids on the days I have to work. And really, it hardly looked solid to me - I would have sworn digestion would be no problem. Well, the poor kid woke up at 11 pm and couldn't get back to sleep until 3 am - he was whining, pooping, laughing, crying, peaing, passing gas, etc. (I was begging, pleading, singing, crying, laughing...)

This morning I told my Nanny what happened and she said (in Spanish, so I might not have gotten it all exactly right), that his stomach was practically asleep at 6 pm and then I dropped the equivalent of a rock in it, that made his body work hard all night long - of course he couldn't sleep. And until he gets the hang of solids, his "solid" meal should be at 10 am....Not sure how medically accurate that is - perhaps you want to check with your baby's doctor - but I'm sitting at my desk exhausted now, firmly decided that Willy's solid meal will not be dinner. :-(

Any one else have any feeding success or not-such-success stories or tips?

Book Recommendation

Just FYI - Phebe LOVES her fabric book entitled "Fuzzy Bee and Friends". She'll flip the pages (mostly to get a fresh one if the current page is soggy), and she seems to enjoy the crinkling noise of the cover. I would highly recommend it! There is a companion book "Snowy Bear and Friends", which she also likes, although the colors are not as bright.

Carlyn

MOMS Club of Chevy Chase/Kensington

This message was posted on my neighborhood's website this week. (I unfortunately have to work that day...but I've heard great things about this group is anyone else is interested).

MOMS Club of Chevy Chase/Kensington (a national support group for mothers who primarily stay at home with their children) invites moms and their children to attend the monthly meeting November 30 at 10:30 AM at the Kensington Park Community Library, 4201 Knowles Ave, Kensington, MD. The group's activities include trips to parks, lunch and coffee get-togethers, playgroups, and more. For more information call (301) 656-2723. Those of you outside the Chevy Chase/Kensington areas, call (301) 527-8273 for information on a chapter in your neighborhood.

Ferber retracting his method

Hi everyone,

I was just watching the evening news and one of the stories was about Ferber--apparently he is "rethinking" his method of letting babies cry to help them learn how to put themselves to sleep. Did anyone see this clip too? There are so many ideas about teaching babies to sleep--it can be overwhelming to try to find the best one.

Recipes

I think Dee Dee had the idea of posting easy to make recipes on our blog. I'm open to anything anyone wants to share! I need some help in the kitchen!

here's one that i like that requires a crock pot: take either chicken breast or pork loin and brown (you can probably skip this step if you're in a hurry). Put the meat in a crock pot, add however much or little BBQ sauce you want (I use about 1/3 - 1/2 bottle). Then set crock pot on 6 hours. You can stir it occasionally if you want. You end up with great pulled pork or chicken for sandwiches and your house smells delicious all day!

--Lauren

Library Time

I took Matthew to the chevy chase library story time today. It was actually fun...very low key. Only about 10 kids and half of them were toddlers the other three were Matthew's age. It was just simple sing alongs and readings but he laughed a few times and enjoyed watching the other kids more than anything. If anyone's interested, the next one is on December 15th. there's one at 10:30 am and one at 2 pm.

here's the website for montgomery county library programs:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Apps/Libraries/kidsite/storytimebranches.asp

there's also something at the Cleveland Park libarary on 11/17 called "Lap time" at 10:15 a.m.

--Lauren

Upcoming Schedule

Hello all,

Here's our schedule going forward, as I have it:

Saturday 11/12 - Rachel & Max hosting - it will be fun to have the Monday working moms and their babies with us again!
Monday 11/21 - DeeDee and Pierce hosting
Monday 11/28 - Rachel, Emma, and Andrew hosting

Monday 12/5 - Karen and Lindsay hosting
Saturday 12/10 - any ideas for a seasonal outing/activity?
Monday 12/19 - Melissa and William hosting, and our first annual Secret Baby Santa!! (We can draw names and work out details at our 12/5 get together; of course, babies need not celebrate Christmas to participate!)
Monday 12/26 - Happy Hannukah! (I'm assuming no get together)

No plans have been made yet for a moms' night out.

Some news from yesterday's get together - for those who couldn't join us - Matthew and Pierce have ventured into the world of solid foods...yummmm - rice cereal! Karen scored an advance copy of Dog Train, the sequal to Philadelphia Chickens. And Matthew was so sweet about sharing his toys and blankets with all his friends. A big thanks to him and Lauren!

Melissa

CDs

My iTunes runneth over with kids' music thanks to cds some of you have shared, plus my new obsession with the library. If anyone wants copies of these, I'm happy to burn them off for you -- it only takes a minute for each. Just bring me a list of which ones you want and enough blank cds to cover it. I'm more than happy to do as many of them as you want.

(FYI I have holds on a bunch more Raffi stuff -- he is my favorite so far -- at the library so this list will grow!)

The best new addition: "Dog Train," the as-yet unreleased sequel to Philadelphia Chickens, thanks to my sister who got a preview copy! (It's much more rock-n-roll than PhilChick.) Here's the list:

-50 'Bestest' Kids Songs (traditional nursery songs)
-All for Freedom (Sweet Honey in the Rock)
-Bedtime with the Beatles (instrumental)
-Evergreen Everblue (Raffi)
-One Light, One Sun (Raffi)
-Country Goes Raffi (country stars sing Raffi tunes)
-Get Funky and Musical Fun (The Learning Station)
-Kids, Cars and Campfires (folk music, a la "Frog Went A Courtin')
-Muppet Hits
-Philadephia Chickens
-Dog Train (Philadelphia Chickens sequel)
-Schoolhouse Rock (3 cds)
-The Planet Sleeps (mellow world music)
-World Music for Little Ears
-Classical Music for Growing Minds
-All Time Classic Lullabies

Keeping Baby Warm

Click here for an article on keeping baby warm in winter, something I know several of us summer-baby-mommies have been concerned about as colder weather looms large!

Born to Read

Noyes Library for Very Young Children in Kensington has a program called "Born to Read" -- a half-hour program for newborns thru 24 months -- featuring songs, rhymes and stories.

It's free, and the next one is this Saturday, 11/5 at 9:30 am. No reservations required. Linds, Geoff and I are probably going to check it out if she is not napping (which she often is at 9:30!!).

I hear it gets crowded, so it might be worth showing up early so you can sit in the floor.

Also FYI, this is a great little library full of little kids books... and (non-copy-protected -- grin) cd's. I know, I'm cheap......

Pretty sure both Montgomery County and DC residents can check stuff out.

Walk on Thursday in Bethesda?

Hi everyone,

Some of us were talking today about meeting to go for a walk this week. We decided to meet at Bethesda Barnes and Noble (on Woodmont Avenue---there is a parking lot directly across the street) to go for a walk on Thursday at 2pm. The Capital Crescent Trail is right across the street and it's perfect for a walk. Hope to see you then!

Rachel

Another one

Dee Dee asked me to post this one too (not sure why it looks so teeny here! Blogger is bizzare...), and asked me to let those of us who could not be there today know that Kay's daughter did not require the extensive surgery they were expecting (for now anyway), and will be able to trick-or-treat tonight! Good news!

Happy Halloween!

We sure did miss all of you who couldn't be at today's group -- it was awfully quiet with only 6 mommies and 7 babies! Hope everyone is feeling good and ready for a fun Halloween night. Here are a few photos (admittedly not the greatest -- please post if you have better ones!) of the costumes. Happy haunting!!

Baby Sign Language

I've been dying to take a baby sign language class but until now hadn't found one that worked for me schedule-wise. I see Holy Cross has some new ones coming up and I am planning to register for the 2-Friday session (12/2 and 12/9 from 11-12). Cost is $30 for one parent and baby. There are some other dates too, if you're interested (see below). Let me know if you want to join me (you can email me directly if you are having trouble posting)!

=========

Sign Language for Babies-Part I

One 2-hour session on Sunday November 20 at 12-2 pm or two 1-hour sessions on Fridays December 2 & 9 at 11 am-12pm or Tuesdays November 29 & December6, 7-8 pm Let your fingers do the talking and learn to communicate with your children before they can talk. Teaching children American Sign Language has been shown to have many benefits including improving IQ scores and reducing temper tantrums. You will learn signs for family members, food and playtime activities. You will have fun with your child as you learn to incororate signing into daily activities. The class is for parents and children up to age 2. A book is included in the class fee.

Location: Holy Cross Resource Center, 9805 Dameron Dr. Silver Spring, MD 20902
Preregistration: Required
Phone: 301-754-8800
Cost: $30 per person ($50 per couple)

Fleece Bunting

I found a cute fleece bunting for Colin at Land's End. The feet and the hands fold over so you don't have to deal with mittens or covering their feet. I am hoping it isn't too bulky for him to wear in his carseat :)

Here is the link.

http://www.landsend.com/cd/fp/prod/0,,1_2_52357_63663_133172_111619_5:view=-1,00.html?CM_MERCH=PAGE_63662&sid=6399120660072116090

Operating Instructions

This is the book I was telling you about in group, Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott. It's the diary of her first year of (single) motherhood, and everything in it is so poignant and so true. I literally laughed and cried. I would tell everyone in our shoes to read it immediately. It's short and you'll get through it quickly (a good nursing read).

FYI, I also noticed that Amazon marketplace (used stuff) and half.com have really cheap used copies -- like $2. Totally, totally worth it. Could I emphasize that any more? :)

Continuing as a play group

Hello Ladies - I'm getting sad that our PACE "class" is coming to an end, as I have learned so much and enjoyed all your company a great deal! Should we think about how we might want to extend our time together? I put in a call to MusiKids, but have yet to hear back. It does seem a bit pricey to me though. Perhaps while our kids are still too young to really appreciate organized activities, we could just continue meeting informally, perhaps rotating homes, perhaps every two weeks, perhaps just for coffee (decaf for the more disciplined among us) and bagels? And we could play silly CDs for the babies to enjoy.

I'd be happy to keep the tally - Who would be interested and able to do this? Is there a day/time that would work best? Perhaps a time that even those returning to work full-time could join us? I have a fairly flexible work schedule, but in general, the best times for me would be any time on Mondays or Wed/Fri afternoons.

Melissa

New York Times article on back-sleeping

Hi everyone,

My mom just gave me an article from today's New York Times about parents of infants putting their baby to sleep on their backs (because the baby sleeps much better, despite the risk of SIDS). I thought it was an interesting article...if I knew how to attach it here I would! I bet people can find it on the New York Times online, but I will also bring the article to next week's group if people would like to see it.

Naps and amount of sleep needed

In my search to find information on how to get Colin to take naps, I found this chart on the babycenter.com website that shows how much sleep the average baby should be getting. I thought it was useful so I am passing it along (the link to the article is also pasted below).

After trying lots of different things, I was finally able to get Colin to take an afternoon nap in his crib for the past two days. I wrapped him up in a new blanket (not the blanket we put him in at bedtime), gave him his bear stuffed animal to hold and a pacifier. I stood by his crib and rubbed his tummy and said "shhh" until he was calm and then left the room. When he cried I waited 5 minutes and then went back in and put the pacifier back in his mouth and rubbed his tummy and said "shhh" until he calmed down again. He ended up sleeping for about 45 minutes both days.

http://www.babycenter.com/general/toddler/toddlersleep/7645.html


Age Nighttime Sleep Daytime Sleep * Total Sleep
1 month 8 1/2 7 (3) 15 1/2
3 months 10 5 (3) 15
6 months 11 3 1/4 (2) 14 1/4
9 months 11 3 (2) 14
12 months 11 1/4 2 1/2 (2) 13 3/4
18 months 11 1/4 2 1/4 (1) 13 1/2
2 years 11 2 (1) 13
3 years 10 1/2 1 1/2 (1) 12
* number of naps in parentheses

Chevy Chase/Kensington MOMs Club

The gal finally wrote back to me. Does anyone want to maybe check this out with me? I realize our babies won't be quite old enough for arts and crafts, but... It's free...

Hi Karen, I'm so sorry about not getting back to you sooner! The MOMS Club of Chevy Chase / Kensington meets on the last Wednesday of every month at 10:30am at the Kensington Library on Knowles Ave in the downstairs meeting room. This month the meeting will be a Halloween Party on Wed. October 26th. The kids will be doing a craft and be dressed in their costumes. I hope you can come and learn more about the club. There are multiple playgroups and activities each month and there are kids of all ages involved in the club. We look forward to meeting you! Sarah Osborn

Reminder

See you guys at my place tomorrow at 10.

And again, please do not feel the neet to rush off right at noon -- we'd love to have you stay and hang out awhile if the babies will allow it! :)

Recommended CDs for the nursery

I thought it might be useful for people to post a list of their favorite baby CDs and/or books, so we can all benefit from each other's recommendations. Here are Sophia's favorite CDs:

"Liquid Silk" by Marina Raye - relaxing flute with nature sounds (great for stressed-out moms, too!)
"Now the Day is Over" by The Innocence Mission - nice collection of lullabies and standards
"The Planet Sleeps" compilation - lullabies from around the world
Peter, Paul and Mary (self-titled album)

Please post your favorites - I'd love to add some new titles to our rotation!

Jen

Baby's first foods

Thought you all might be interested in this article that challenges the current guidance about baby's first foods:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/parenting/10/10/baby.food.myths.ap/index.html

Bottle vs. Breast

As you guys know, Lindsay and I have unfortunately been not very vigilant about bottle practice and as a result we've been sort of chained together. I am trying to introduce more bottles but it's hard because Dad is only around to help with feeding on weeknights and weekends, and I don't want to give her a bottle as her last feeding before she goes to bed (just want her to be as full and relaxed as possible for nighttime).

Anyway, we have had some success this week! This morning I pumped and gave her 5 ounces and she absolutely guzzled it down after only fighting me for about 10 seconds. However, afterwards she still seemed hungry... so we nursed a bit too. Not sure if that was more pacification than sustenance...??

My question is this: how much do you give your baby at each bottle feeding? Since we have been almost exclusively on the breast, I really have no concept of how much she eats at any given time. I honestly thought 5 oz would more than do the trick (it was her 2nd feeding of the day, she had eaten 3 hours prior)...?! If we are leaving her with a sitter etc, I want to make sure she has plenty (although we do have reserves in the freezer -- but now those 2-3 oz servings seem laughable!).

Sliding around crib?

Hi everyone,

Does anyone notice their baby sliding around the crib? I'll put Max in for a nap and when I come back he has thrashed his way down to the bottom of the crib, or he has somehow ended up sideways! We put him inside a wedge-type of a thing to hold him, but he still ends up all over the place. Any advice? Also, do people have bumpers on their cribs? I read they can be dangerous so we don't have any, but then Max's fingers seem to come quite close to getting in-between the slats.

Good to see all of you today-
Rachel

Saturday directions

Looking forward to seeing everyone and their partners on Saturday at 10 am. As I said in group today, please do feel free to stick around beyond noon if you're not in a hurry to get out the door -- we'd love to hang out and chat beyond the scheduled program!

[edited to remove my personal information, since this blog is available to the public on the www -- if you need directions or my address again, please contact me directly! thanks! 10/19]

There should be plenty of parking on the street. We have room for baby seats in a bedroom but no room for strollers, sorry! :)

If you need any additional info, call me or drop me an email. See you Saturday!

Speaking of Diapers...

Pampers has a new promotion kinda like frequent flier miles where you collect codes in the packages which turn into points which you can redeem for products. You can sign up at the Pampers website.

Incidentally, if any of you are using Pampers but NOT saving the codes/points, I'd be happy to take yours off your hands. :)

1800Diapers.com coupon

I went to Costco yesterday to buy diapers and they didn't have any size 2s. So, I thought I would try 1800diapers.com. They sent me a Referral Code to give to my friends good for $2 off your first order- the code is JUMCX636 if anyone wants to order from them. They were about the same price as Costco, but you don't have to pay tax and shipping is free if your order is more than $45.

napping progress or regress?

Hey ladies - hope you're all doing well. I think this is my first ever blog posting ever - quite exciting.

Anyway... you all inspired me to be more diligent about Sophia's naps since I've been carting her around town with me most days since we brought her home from the hospital. This has worked pretty well until recently when she has started getting overtired in the evenings, which I attirbute to her always napping "on the go." So, for the first time yesterday I forced myself to stay home with her (very difficult for a restless person like myself!) My plan was to put her down for naps in her crib 2 hours after her last waking (as Ferber and some of you recommend). Unfortunately these naps lasted only 30 minutes each and I was only able to get her to take 3 naps. Slightly discouraged, I decided to try again today. I woke her at 7 am and planned to put her down for a nap in her crib at 9 am. However, at 8:30 I put her in her swing so I could switch the laundry, and returned 5 minutes later to discover her fast asleep, and this is where she remains - sleeping soundly - 2 full hours later! I don't think she's taken a 2-hour nap since she was a week old! I know we're supposed to avoid using sleep crutches like the swing, but if by using the swing I can get her to nap for 2+ hours versus only 30 minutes, is it really that bad?? Has anyone had similar experiences and/or have any advice for me? Thanks!

"Baby Steps" Photos

Okay I feel like I am posting ALL the time. Somebody stop me if it gets annoying. But I like this stuff so I figure other people do too...!?

Wanted to tell you Lindsay and I discovered a program at Freed Photography (a fancy-pants photography studio in Bethesda) called "Baby Steps."

For $99 total they take pictures of the baby at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months, and then at the end of the year you get a 4-photo panel with one shot from each age of your choosing. And they do a really nice job -- this ain't no Sears.

It's a good deal -- of course they count on the fact that your baby will look so darling you will not be able to resist buying extra prints, which are not at all cheap. But if you are very, very disciplined, I think it's awesome.

The link for Freed is http://www.freedphotography.com; my contact there is Tandis.

PS: Incidentally, why can my baby nap for 3 hours in her carseat (in the house, like she's doing now) but 30 minutes in her crib? Hmmm.

Good Resource

A friend told me about a good website, DC Urban Moms and Dads (http://www.dcurbanmom.com).

It has a listserv you can subscribe to, and also bulletin boards with people looking for childcare, recommending nannies, etc. Looks pretty interesting, and it appears to be free.

I have also heard the Moms Club of Chevy Chase-Kensington has a good e-mail listserv... I have emailed for more info, and will post it when they write back.

Philadelphia Chickens

For anyone who might be interested, here is the "Philadelphia Chickens" CD I mentioned today. William just loves it. Actually, we all do!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761126368/103-8363017-1996615?v=glance

The Kissing Hand

Click here for a link on Amazon to the book Becky was telling us about (that had us all verklempt), The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. Looks very sweet.

MusiKids in Chevy Chase

Hi all!

I was playing around on the www.our-kids.com site suggested in our PACE packet (I don't know what happened, I was working on my Medicaid presentation and just started procrastinating....). Anyway, I checked out the MusiKids site about music classes for babies and they advertise that they can put together a special class for PACE groups. Perhaps this is something that might be fun for us to do in the future...

http://www.musikids.com/classes.html

See you tomorrow!

Melissa

1800Diapers.com

Has anyone tried www.1800diapers.com? A girlfriend of mine who has a 6-week-old suggested it to me and she thought the prices were comparable to Costco. There is no tax and the shipping is free.

Starting Solids

Hey Ladies!
Karen, thank you for creating this wonderful exchange!
After our PACE group today I remembered that our pediatrician gave us a handout on starting solids published by Gerber. All the information can be found on their website at:
http://www.gerber.com/fpidea?ideaid=idea1

Hope you all have a great week.
By the way I just got Sammy down for a nap in his crib! Thanks for the inspiration!

Sara

Cheap(ish) Diapers

A couple of us were talking after the group about where to buy cheap diapers. FYI Amazon sells the giant packs of diapers (same as Costco and Sam's Club) for about the same price -- I think they are 50 cents more per case, but NO tax and NO shipping, so actually end up being a bit less. I haven't done it yet, but if you can plan in advance, seems like the best deal.

Rachael also suggested Peapod -- they deliver groceries to the house and have the same sales as their parent company, Giant.

Welcome to our BLOG

Hello ladies (and babies) of the Sept-Oct. 2005 Chevy Chase PACE group!

I have set up this "blog" (http://chevychasepace.blogspot.com) to serve as an electronic bulletin board for our group. We can use it for anything -- posting interesting links, articles, ideas, questions, hints, activity suggestions, invitations, etc. [We can also post pictures, though as Dee Dee pointed out, some people may not want photos of their kids on the Internet, so maybe we should discuss that before posting.] You can start your own post or leave comments for existing posts.

Right now the blog is set up so that only members can post. You should each have received an e-mail inviting you to become a member. FYI, it is possible (albeit unlikely) that the general public could stumble across this blog -- it is not password protected or anything -- but only we can actually contribute to and/or edit it. You may or may not choose to post with your full name and/or e-mail address displayed, if you have privacy concerns (I think I just show up as Karen). If you have trouble setting up an account, call or e-mail me and I can help you. Incidentally, the host website (http://www.blogger.com) promises it will not share your account information with third parties.

If you want to share something with the group but do not want it posted on a blog in perpetuity, we can also just e-mail each other the old-fashioned (!) way -- but this is a nice way to hit everyone at once... just don't forget to check in every couple days or you might miss something! :)

Hope you are all enjoying our group as much as Lindsay and I are. See you next Monday! --Karen