No more ring around the collar

Another shout out to my main mom Lindsay.... Aquaphor is the bomb. My lovely friend Lindsay came to visit last week and noticed my poor son's "neck chap." She saw it and I cringed. I had been trying everything to keep it under control, but it was breaking my heart that it wasn't getting better. She looked at it and said one word: Aquaphor. You buy it in your local drug store, in the baby aisle (near the petroleum) and I swear within hours it was better. I imagine this stuff would be great for any chapped, dry skin this time of year.

I don't know how I lived without it. Thanks love.

Theory #4 - tank him up

So as you guys may or may not know, I've become kind of a dork on sleep theories as I've been reading everything I can get my hands on. A couple gems I've come across lately are courtesy of The Baby Whisperer. Tracy Hogg, the so called whisperer, advocates for a more closely monitored, more rigid daily schedule. She teaches you how to read your child and see the cues for fatigue. I have to say, once I knew what to look for naptime became SO MUCH easier. Remarkable really.

What leads me to my latest "Theory in Parenting" is that she talks about "tanking your child up" if he's waking frequently in the night. The idea is that you really fill him full of calories during the day to sustain him overnight - makes sense right?

So yesterday I really focused on getting all good feedings which is easier said than done. Henry is starting to be more aware of his environment and thus, much more distractable. But we stayed the course and the result was positive. He was only up twice! I'll take that!

So here's to pudging out my little boy in exchange for a good night sleep :)
I guess I'll be a food pusher mom.

It really is a miracle!

Alright this post is a shout out to my best friend and fellow mumma Lindsay (who is also my most diligent comment-maker.) She reminded me of the wonders of the Miracle Blanket. This thing is like the Rolls Royce of swaddlers....there is just no breaking out of it. I will admit, it does look a tiny bit like a straight jacket when you are putting your child in it, but man oh man does it lull them. So as two moms agree, if you are a big fan of wrapping your baby up (especially in the cold months of winter) the Miracle Blanket is the way to go.

Musak for babies

I have this funny vision of Henry someday standing in an elevator when all the sudden the instrumental version of "Knives Out" (or Knifes as Mr. Thom Yorke would have you believe) by RadioHead starts leaking out the elevator speakers. Henry instantly falls asleep. Alright maybe not instantly - who am I kidding?

But I will say the Rockabye series, very much including the RadioHead version has made naptime much more enjoyable for me and I dare say it DOES lull Henry to sleep. Besides, what better way to introduce him to very good music than through his subconscious?

We also have the Coldplay Rockabye Babyin heavy rotation and one of these days I'm going to pick up The Cure Rockabye Baby because come on, its The Cure. How cool is that?

A mommy logic problem

If I ever had the interest or the aptitude to apply for a consulting position I imagine I would get slammed with some horrible logic question in the interview like, "How many tennis balls can fit into a 747?" Now is that the passenger compartment alone, or are we including the cargo store?

An interview like that might be the equivalent to my worst nightmare.

Problem: A new mom and her (adorable) three month old son are out running errands. The new mom has precisely two boxes to drop off to be shipped. The boxes are large, cumbersome and the mom and son are alone. How, without leaving her son unattended in the car, does the mom deliver the boxes?

Answer: The mom grows another arm so she can carry the annoying large boxes and her (adorable) son into the store.

I'm not going to lie, I was mentally plagued by this situation all morning. In all fairness Henry would have been fine if I left him for a split second while I dropped off the pre-paid, already packed up boxes and if the year were 1950 I probably would have. But since we are now in the dangerous age of 2008 and last year marked the year of the negligent mother (thank you Britney Spears) I just couldn't do it.

So somehow I managed to get Henry's infant carrier out of the car, then opened the front door to grab the boxes with my free hand while balancing the load against my chest and under my chin. I took the few steps toward my destination and said a quick prayer that someone would open the door for me so I didn't topple all over myself. Somehow I timed it just perfectly and my prayers were answered. A very nice man took one look at me, with all my hair in my face from the blustering wind, he smiled and held the door wide open. I thought I saw sympathy in his eye which is lucky for me for surely he would have been the one to report me to child services if I had left Hank for that instant alone. Thank God for good decisions.

BPA in bottles

Now I don't mean to stir the pot, but if any of you new parents out there want to speak up, I'd love to hear your thoughts. The topic is BPA. Now previous to having Henry I kind of dismissed the idea of BPA being a harmful agent in many baby bottles. Today, I'm still not sure about it, but I'm starting to think if we have the means to use a different bottle brand maybe we should. Henry only gets one bottle a day usually from his dad and so switching to glass wouldn't be an inconvenience at all. What are your thoughts on it?

My chemist friend and mother of an adorable toddling boy sent me these links to peruse:
http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/05/sippy-cup-showdown-safer-bpa-free-sippy.html
http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/07/z-report-bisphenol-in-polycarbonate.html
http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/11/z-report-bisphenol-in-baby-bottles-and.html

Kind of makes me wonder...