Baby Food

Baby food is insanely expensive! We bought all of the baby food we fed to J when he was eating the stuff. With N, I've decided to take a different approach. I'm trying my hand at making the food.

I had my reservations about doing this, because I thought it'd be hard to do, time consuming and messy. My sister bought a Baby Bullet, and it came with an extra one, so I split the cost with her and now we both have a Baby Bullet set. Way cute and way easy to use.

It came with a recipe book that not only has recipes in it, but it's organized by what foods you should start during what months, etc. I LOVE it! It's made baby food making really easy.

But I have to say that if I'd thought about it, I could have gotten away with doing the same thing in my regular blender. It just wouldn't have the nifty serving/refrigerating cups, the freezer cups and the flat blade...maybe your blenders came with one of those, but mine doesn't have one, so I'm assuming they don't.

What have I noticed about making my own baby food? I know exactly what goes into my baby's mouth. I can make and store a week's worth of food in less than 30 minutes. It costs WAY less than store bought baby food. It tastes better than the nasty stuff you buy. And I think it's just easier.

How do I make it?

Well, with soft things, like avocados, you just blend one up with 1/4 cup of water (more or less if you want it runnier or thicker) and there you have baby avocado food.

With harder things, like sweet potatoes, you boil, microwave or bake them, however you'd like to cook them, then you put them in the blender with about 1/4 cup of water. Very, very easy.

These things keep in the fridge for about 3 days, and in the freezer for about 3 weeks as per the instructions in the Baby Bullet cookbook. An easy way to freeze them is to put the puree into an ice cube tray. Then, when it's frozen, you take them out of the tray and put them into a freezer safe bag, label it and then just toss it back into the freezer. Simple as that. Depending on the size of your cubes, you'll usually have 1-1 1/2 of those as a serving size.

You can even make your own rice, oatmeal, millet cereal.

For cereals, grind 1/2 cup of brown rice, oatmeal or millet into a fine powder. Put it in a pot with 4 cups of water; cover until it boils. Turn down the heat to low and cook with the cover on for 20 minutes. Test the consistency of the cereal. If you want it thinner, add more water. This mixes well with fruit purees and, later on, with chicken or beef dinners.

I've tried both homemade foods and store bought foods with N. He definitely prefers the homemade.

For more recipes, go here.

Your Average Day

I've been thinking about the last post for almost the last month. With a new baby in the house, a lot of things have changed - especially my schedule (note that it's almost 1 a.m. as I'm writing this).

Not only has my schedule been thrown off kilter, but so has my toddler's. Before N was born, we had a fairly good routine down for dinner and bedtime. Now, he does everything he can to stay up longer and longer and longer. I'd like to ask another question of all you moms out there because you are full of great advice that you definitely can't get in parenting books because your experiences are your own and most of you haven't published...at least not that type of book. (Wink at Deborah, since she's having her book published later this month!)

My question is what is your schedule like on an average day? I'm trying to fit everything back into my life that fit before, and it's like I'm doing a puzzle with too many pieces. I know it'll take time for me to see how everything can fit, or at least pare it down, but I'd really like to know how you other moms do things.

So, what does your average day look like?

Colicky Babies

Disclaimer: Sorry if this post seems a little jumbled. My head is that way for reasons explained in the post. :)

It seems a little crazy to me that something so cute and sweet as this:
could make you experience so many conflicting emotions. Joy, love, and awe are accompanied by frustration and sometimes depression.

Baby N has been here for a month now. I can't believe that it's already been a month, but on the other hand, I can't believe it's only been a month. It seems like he's been with our family for much, much longer. In that "postpartum" month, I've experienced all of the emotions listed above among several others. I've probably cried more in desperation with Baby N than I did for J when I had him. Why? Because Baby N has colic. 'Nuff said.

Ok, maybe not 'nuff said. He started out like pretty much any other cute little newborn baby. About 2 weeks after his birth, he started getting MUCH more fussy. Kids tend to do that anyway. But this wasn't the "normal" fussy. This didn't end with the soothing mommy or daddy gave. It kept going on and on.

Along with the fussiness, you could hear, actually hear BIG gas bubbles rumbling around in his poor little tummy, but no amount of us trying to burp him helped. Not even Mylecon (or however you spell that) drops worked very well for him. I know there's a direct correlation between the food you eat and how gassy you and your baby are (if you're nursing) and I try to avoid gassy foods at all costs.

As you would rightfully assume, having a very gassy/colicky baby leads to little or no sleep for mommy and daddy. That's what we've had here for about 2 and a half weeks. We've gone to the doctor and she suggested that since I was lactose intolerant during pregnancy (not before...just during) that he might be not only lactose intolerant, but dairy intolerant. She suggested taking dairy out of my diet entirely for 3-5 days, then to slowly introduce it back in. She said to start with yogurt first as it's the mildest form of dairy.

I also heard that there are pediatric chiropractors out there who have colic treatments/adjustments. Who knew?! I did a Google search to find one in my area and took Baby N to see her.

We've been off dairy for a week. I decided to give it 7 days instead of just 3-5. And we've also had 3 visits to the chiropractor. The adjustments have helped a bit. I haven't noticed much difference in fussiness with yogurt being introduced back into my diet.

So now, I have a couple questions for you:

1. What are some other things you know of that help with colicky, gassy babies?
2. What's the difference between postpartum depression and baby blues? (As you might imagine, with little to no sleep, I'm getting to be a little down. I know there's a direct relation to the amount of sleep I get and how down I feel. I'd still like to know what you think is the difference between the two, if there's any difference at all.)
   

What is the Best - Part I

I want to start a new segment asking for your opinion on the best baby/child products.

My son is plagued with really bad diaper rash right now (thanks to 7 diarrhea diapers in the last 24 hours) and I sent my husband out this morning for more diaper rash ointment. He asked me what to get and I wasn't entirely sure.

So, here's my questions. What is the best diaper rash ointment/cream/treatment? What are your methods for getting rid of diaper rash?


**********************************************************************************
Deborah says: I usually use Boudreaux's Butt Paste. It's gentle, clean, smells good and does a great job at preventing and treating light diaper rash. However, it hasn't seemed to do a great job with heavy lifting. Still I love it and will continue giving it as a gift to every baby shower I go to.

Emily says: I have only ever used Burt's Bees diaper ointment. It is natural, which is the big selling point for me. In my experience, it works really fast. Usually a rash was cleared up by the time I changed the next diaper! Hope this helps!

Jennie says:  I use something that may sound strange but it works like magic. It's called Bag Balm, and is actually made for cow's utters. Depending on which state you live in, Walmart sells it. In Idaho (where I used to live) they sold it in the pet section, but here in Arizona, where I live now, they don;t sell it at any Walmart, which means you'd probably have to get it at a feed store somewhere or something. It's in a square, green tin and unfortunately has kind of a strong, unpleasant smell (in my opinion), but it works great. We've used all the other butt creams, but this one heals the rash faster than any of them. You can actually use it on any skin irritation, whether it be diaper rash, some other rash, exema, etc.

Meagan says:  I have to agree with Emily. I used the buttpaste for a while, but Ve had a pretty bad rash while teething and I switched to Burt's Bees. It did wonders! It works VERY quickly and smells incredible!

Sandi says:  We use either desitin or corn starch on their bums. Also, I use a hot wash cloth to wipe off their rumps because the heat kills the bacteria and doesn't seem to hurt as much as the cold wipes do.

Maura says:  Buttpaste is good.

I also used to let J sleep with nothing on...let it air out. I would put a plastic mat and a few towels down and let her sleep away with her little bum out in the open. It lets it breath and the diaper wasn't rubbing it. Helped clear it up faster.

Mindi says: I SWEAR by the stuff my hometown pharmacist makes. They've been making it for years and it's a family secret and they do NOT tell you what is in it (besides the usual Petroleum jelly, zinc, ect). It will take away your childs diaper rash in 1-2 days, NO JOKE. We all use it, everyone from my town swears by it, and I will NOT use anything else. Anyone wants to try it out, let me know!

I think this important!

I received the following information from a work email. I thought it important to share!

Some knew about the red light on cars, but not the 112.

It was about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her
and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road,
but rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.

Lauren had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called 112 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to
tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.

Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.

I never knew about the 112 Cell Phone Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a safe place. *Speaking to a service representative at Bell Mobility confirmed that 112 was a direct link to State trooper info. So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about 112.

You may want to Send this to every woman (and man) you know; it may save a life. This applies to ALL 50 states

1. snopes.com: Cellphone 112 Emergency ��
Will dialing 112 connect you with an emergency call center when your cell phone has no signal?
...Claim: Even when your cell phone signal is blocked, dialing 112 will connect you with an emergency call center. Example: [Collected on the Internet,...
...your mobile phone has no signal (so even if you were in a tunnel) if you dial 112 it diverts to a satellite signal and puts you through to the 999 call...
...The global mobile emergency number, 112, is "special" in the sense that (unlike other local emergency numbers, such as 999) it will use any tower your...
Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:18:08 GMT http://www.snopes.com/science/mobile.asp

When my baby is sick...

Yay, the holidays are here. Snow is on it's way. Soon we'll all be joining hands around a giant Christmas tree singing,

Fah who For-aze
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome Christmas
Come this way!

Oh, wait, I guess that's the Who's in Whoville. Anyway.

Let's face it folks, it's flu season. And cold season. And pneumonia season. And RSV season. And G.I. virus season. And (insert illness here) season. So many of my friends, family, and fellow mothers are home sick with their little ones.

One of our mommies asked for advice on what we like to do when our babies are sick, but I think so many of us were home sick with our babies that we didn't have time to respond.

I've been thinking about it, and here are just a few areas I have some ideas. More are appreciated.

COUGH/COLD

When I had my first child (and by "had" I mean adopted), I was pretty sure I had this mothering thing down. I knew why my baby was crying and how to fix it. I knew much to feed him. I knew that he needed his nose suctioned every morning and his fingernails clipped every three days. I knew that he sneezed a lot in the sunlight, and that he didn't love his swing. Yet. I knew how many times he pooped a day and how many ounces of formula he guzzled.

But when he got a cough at 4 months old, I felt like I needed to call this kid's mommy and have her pick him up. And then I remembered, "Oh wait. I am the mommy." I didn't really know what to do. My son didn't have a fever, but he had terrible green mucus and a cough that didn't sound wet, just uncomfortable.

I didn't want to call the doctor's office every ten minutes, so I watched S for a day and made sure I had all his symptoms. Then I called. I talked to the nurse and she told me a few good tips.

With babies that young, they can't have medicine. She told me to ease his discomfort and coughing, I could give him an ounce for every month old he was of warm apple juice. So, since he was 4 months old, he could have up to 4 oz of warm apple juice per day. (I actually watered it down, but I think it worked just the same.)

Also, I got baby Vick's vapor rub and rubbed it on his chest and feet. Yes, the soles of his feet. You may think it's silly, but it really does work. And besides, it's homeopathic, so why not give it a try? It also eases their discomfort from coughing and helps them sleep better. I loved that stuff and grew to associate it's smell with the smell of my baby. It says it's safe for babies 6 months and older, but the doc said I could use it on S.

You can use a humidifier to help baby breath at night. Get friendly with your child's nasal aspirator and keep one in every room of your house. If your child is older, sometimes propping them up helps them sleep better at night. Our son was always propped because the nurses at the hospital told us it would help with his acid reflux. However, you still have to be very careful with newborns and extra blankets or pillows. SIDS is always a risk.

Also, there is this cool thing called saline mist that you can spray into your baby's nose. It helps with breathing, and I found it also loosened up the dry gunk and made it easier for me to suction out.

RSV

A few months later, my son's cold returned, but this time it was different. His eyes were watery, as seen in the picture below.

His nose was constantly running, and his cough was wet. He was tired all the time and not really playful. Still happy, just lethargic. I called my sister-in-law that day to ask her about her son who was a year old and had just been diagnosed with RSV.

"I think that's what S has," I told her. The next day I took my son in to the doctor. He checked him out, listened to his lungs and his cough. Sure enough, my little guy had RSV. My sister-in-law said she had never seen a mother so in tune to her baby. That made me feel pretty good, but I told her it wasn't because I'm special, it was because I'd kept S indoors for the first 3 months of his life trying to avoid getting RSV.

There was a few things more we could do for him than with a common cold. We bought a nebulizer and gave him prescription breathing treatments every few hours.

It wasn't exactly fun or comfortable, but we did what we had to. We also made sure my husband and I did not spread the virus. S stayed home so as not to share the wealth. We washed our hands and clothes regularly, and we made sure S was as comfortable and happy as possible.

Why am I going through the trouble of this rather lengthy and possibly not all that interesting post?

Because. The only reason I knew to look for the symptoms of RSV were because someone had told me about them. RSV itself is not fatal, but it can weaken the immune system, making way for things like pneumonia, which can be fatal. So just be careful.

I also wish that I had been given some ideas on what to do when my baby is really sick. Now you know for a cough you can use apple juice and Vick's to the soles. Also, make sure your baby/child is hydrated. They may not feel like eating, but they've got to drink.

STOMACH FLU/ILLNESS

Our mommy Nicole just posted on her personal blog that her son J is having GI problems. He's been puking and...other fun activities, so his pediatrician recommended he eat bananas and yogurt. I don't know anything about this topic, so ideas are welcome.

RASH

A few weeks ago my son got a mystery rash. It was so strange and bizarre and I hated it. I was frightened. I called my mother, who didn't answer. I called my neighbor who is an ER nurse, and she wasn't home. I called my brother-in-law who is a Pharmacist. He asked me all the questions I expected. Did he have a fever? Was he introduced to any new foods? Did we recently change his laundry detergent? Was he itchy and scratching? Did he have any other symptoms?

The answer to all of these questions was no. My brother-in-law's advice to me was not to treat the symptom if it wasn't there. Benedryl would have been my first go-to drug, but I didn't have any. However, S wasn't itchy. He wasn't scratching. He wasn't miserable. The only reason I even knew he had a rash was because I happened to see it while changing his diaper.

So I watched him like a hawk, afraid that if I even picked him up I might irritate his rash. After a day, it went away. I never used Benedryl. Would S have died if I did? No. But I knew that it would have been for my own peace of mind instead of the well being of my child.

That being said, if I had said yes to any of those questions, I may have, honestly, taken S right to the doctor or the ER. I'm not even kidding. Especially with the food allergy. If he had been cranky or scratching, I would have pumped him so full of Benedryl that rash wouldn't have known what was coming!

Bottom line: rashes are scary. Don't freak out. Ask yourself a bunch of questions, watch your baby and his/her behavior, and then react.

You are the mom. You know best.

TEETHING

My son is now old enough to be getting some molars. Yippee. We took him to the dentist two weeks ago, and he actually recommended using a frozen Gogurt to help with teething pains. It's cold, it's edible. It's small enough for him to fit in the back of his mouth.

It was brilliant. I tried it on S and it was great. Messy, but great.

When it comes to cutting teeth, I don't skimp on the pain meds if my child is in need. If he's awake and happy and playing, I don't bother because he's plenty distracted. But when he starts to tug on his ears and hit his face or head, I break out the Tylenol. Or if he's going to bed. I don't want him sleeping terribly because he's in pain all night.
A bib also helps with the little ones. That way their shirts aren't covered in drool. :)

I noticed that my son's chin gets red and irritated when he is teething because the drool drips down his chin and just kind of hangs out there. I try to keep a rag around to dab off the drool and keep his chin from chapping.

FEVER

This section will be relatively blank. You see, my son does not get a fever. Hardly ever. Even when he had RSV he had a very low grade fever. Does that mean he doesn't get sick? No. In fact, he just expresses it in different ways. For example. About a week before the rash incident, all of a sudden my baby had really red cheeks. They stayed red for hours. He seemed a little down, a little more tired. No cough,  not really a runny nose. But I knew that this was his body's way of telling me he was sick. I gave him Tylenol, lots of liquids, lots of rest, etc. After a few hours he felt better.

What I know of fevers is that it's usually not the fever that is the problem (unless it's really high, and then you've got a serious problem!). The fever is just a symptom of something else going on. It could be a simple bug going around or even teething. Or it could be something bigger. You know your child, so don't be afraid to call your pediatrician and tell him your child's symptoms if you are really concerned.

--

So, as you can see, in my limited experience, I have found a lot of things help for me. I'll ask you to share what helps you take care of your little guy or girl when they are under the weather, and if you aren't too busy mopping up puke or dosing out cough medicine, I'd love to hear.

One last thing. Mother's instinct is sometimes confused with panicking, but it's like I said before. YOU know your child, and if the doctor/nurse/etc won't listen to you, and you are sure there is something very wrong with your baby, you leave and find a doctor who is willing to listen to you and not brush aside your God given talent of mothering.

Sick with the Flu

Being sick is never fun. Having sick kids is almost worse because not only does it tug at your heart strings, but if they're young, there's not much you can give them (medicine wise) to comfort them and help with their symptoms.

This last weekend, we had a little boy who was sick with the flu. He threw up BIG time three times during the day. Each one was on me. He'd come up and want to be held and then just toss his cookies all over the place. That night he kept throwing up every few hours, but it would mostly be Sprite and crackers that we had given him. I just felt so helpless, but I knew it was only the flu and that it wasn't really terribly bad. It just seemed worse because he was barfing on me.

What are some things that you moms out there do for your kids when they're not feeling their best?

Feeling Overlooked

My husband and I are both middle children. We've both had to do our fair share of vying for parental (and sometimes sibling) attention. There have been times when we've felt a little overlooked, which can sometimes be the case in a family with so many children.

BUT, vying for attention is not something I want my kids to ever feel like they have to do. And, I don't ever want them to feel neglected or unloved or like we're playing favorites.

How do you moms of multiple children ensure that all of your children feel loved and like you're paying attention to them? I've been wondering about this a lot lately, because it will soon (within the next month and a half) be more of a worry for me. I'm due to have our second son in about 49-ish days. When our little guy shows up, I want our older son to still feel as loved as he has been. I don't want him to feel excluded, overlooked or ignored.

So, if you would, please share things that you have done that help with this situation.

Candy, Candy, Candy

This time of year always comes with a double edge sword.....copious amount of candy. Good because well....its good! and bad because of stomach aches, cavities and the not so much fun part of telling children they can't eat five pounds of candy at once!

There are a few ways to deal with all this yumminess.

One: sneak into the kids buckets nightly and start eating some of it down. They probably won't notice its going down. But then we end up with the extra work outs and the tummy aches. ;)

Two: put the candy away. Out of sight out of mind. When they ask for some of that goodness, get it out and have a few pieces. Eventually something new and fabulous will come along that will let them forget....like Christmas.

Third: Let the children pick about a week to two weeks worth of candy out (how many pieces a day/week you think is a good amount) and then tell the children to put their candy buckets outside their door. That night he tooth fairy will come and exchange the candy for an awesome prize (prizes can range from toys, to color books... even money to buy their own fun prize). The kids get to keep some candy and they get a cool new toy. Best of both worlds and you my friends get to do with that candy as you please.

We do the last one and surprisingly the kids are excited about getting to have both the candy and a toy. Plus we explain to them they are keeping their bodies and teeth healthy! It might not work well for the older children but it will work for a bit for the younger ones. :)

Constipation Anyone?

If your kids are anything like mine, then their internal plumbing systems will stop working quite as well once they start solids.  I don't know what it is, but my babies just plug right up once solids are introduced.  It doesn't matter how much they drink, or how diluted their cereal is, they seem to have a really tough time with filling their diapers up.  I have learned a few different things to try when your little one is spending a lot of time grunting without much to show for it.

1.  Prunes and Prune Juice:  Doctors will usually recommend this first.  They claim that it softens things up and gets them flowing again.  I have never had much luck with them myself, but old people eat/drink them for the same reason, so there must be some truth to it.

2.  Blueberries:  I haven't had to use blueberries specifically for this purpose, but my kids love them.  I have been told that they work like a charm when it comes to cleaning out those little baby pipes.

3.  Yogurt:  I tried almost everything you can imagine with my first child and she continued to remain clogged up almost constantly until she was introduced to yogurt.  Once she was old enough, I started to feed her yogurt every single day and she has not had a bowel problem since.

4.  CARROTS:  Yes, those beloved little orange bits of deliciousness that most children will gobble up quite willingly are filled with fiber.  Especially if your baby is not old enough to eat yogurt yet, then carrots are a good option.  If my little one has gone for several days without stinking up the house, then I will feed her a big helping of carrots.  Without fail, she will have a major blowout by the next morning.  Sometimes they work a little too well and the mess is uncontainable.  But that is information for another post ;)

5.  Suppository:  If nothing else works, you may be in need of a suppository.  However, I would suggest trying the other options first.  Suppositories are very effective, usually working within 15 minutes or so, but they are uncomfortable for your child and are not a long term fix.