Oh no! Not another Halloween warning to dampen our spirits. Every year, we parents are faced with the choice of locking our kids in (thus protecting them from harm) or letting them out and enjoy childhood for a little bit longer. Mrs H’s Halloween Safety Tips just about said it all.

Now, there’s nothing like face paint to make Halloween or any kiddie party for that matter, fun and festive. From the shimmering to the neon, to the glowing-in-the dark colors, most parents have used face paints on their little ones.

Beware of Halloween Face Paint

Then comes this warning from no less than the US FDA itself. Was it only yesterday that we were advised to use face paints instead of masks? Masks can obscure child’s vision and can present choking or asphyxiation hazards. Now, we have to take care which face paints to use.

Why To Be Cautious When Using Face Paint

Face paints may contain toxic or irritating substances that can trigger allergic reactions. Some have been reported to contain lead and mercury. Reported adverse effects of the paints on the skin areas it was applied to are:

• Rashes

• Itchiness

• Burning Sensation

• Swelling

So which will it be, mask or face paint?

Well, luckily the US FDA gives some recommendations regarding the safe use of face paints. So before you do a Spiderman or princess masterpiece on your child’s face, please read the following:

• Use only paint or make up that is intended for the skin.

• Check for allergies before extensive use by doing a patch test before the big day.

• Avoid applying paint around and close to the eyes, especially fluorescent (neon) and luminescent (glow in the dark) colors. The fluorescent colors (D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11; D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27 and No. 28; and D&C Yellow No. 7) should especially be avoided near the eyes.

• Follow application instructions carefully.

• Read the labels and check the ingredients. Watch out for colors not approved by the US FDA. Colors approved for cosmetic use are listed on the FDA site.

• Use newly purchased products. Paints already opened and previously used may be contaminated.

• Watch out for recalled products. In May of this year, the FDA advised consumers of several types of children’s face paint recalled by Fun Express. Check out the list of products here and here.

• Remove the paint thoroughly after all the fun is over. Don’t sleep with paint or make up on. Follow removal instructions on the product labels.

Halloween is a fun holiday! With a little caution and awareness from parents, it can stay that way.

BPA in baby bottles, phthalates in baby sunscreen, melamine in baby formula, lead in baby toys. What are parents supposed to keep their baby healthy? Move to a desert island and live like Swiss family Robinson? Buy your own organic farm? Unfortunately, these options are not feasible for most of us.

Matilda is a very lucky little girl. Instead of giving in to panic or resignation, her parents did extensive research about the products they used on her, from her cloth diapers to her eczema remedy. And what’s more they’re nice enough to share their findings with other parents in their website Squeaky Clean Tot. The site is user and family-friendly and is a great platform to get shared information about baby products, household cleaning products, home remedies, you name it. Truly a site made by parents for parents.

Here’s what you can do Squeaky Clean Tot:

Rate and Review
Who can better rate a product than the firsthand consumers themselves? Say what you think and tell what you know about products. Whether it’s a sippie cup or a silicone pacifier, a stroller or a dishwashing liquid, you can vent your frustrations or sing your praises about the products you’ve encountered as a parent. Just remember to be fair.

Get and Search for Info
Before buying or using something new, you can read about other parents’ experience and opinion of different types of products. If what you are looking for is not on the list of reviewed products, email Matilda’s parents and they will try to get the information for you.

Give Suggestions
I’ve lost count of the number of products I’ve used on my babies but they reach into the hundreds. The site also welcomes suggestions and ideas from other parents to make the list of products reviewed as complete as possible.

Other resources

• The site includes links to useful sites including Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database of the Environmental Working Group which look at body care products for babies and the whole family.
• Matilda’s mom is a firm believer of cloth diapering and in this Cloth diapering resources section, she specially reviews makers and retailers and different types of cloth diapers and wipes.
• There are also links to organic product sites and other family-friendly sites.

October 20 is the deadline for joining the website launch competition. The giveaway grand prize is a Squeaky Clean Tot gift pack (see the front page for more information).

Like many people of my generation, I didn’t grow up having sunscreen slathered on me every time I set foot outdoors. While I know the health benefits of wearing sunscreen today, that doesn’t mean I like applying it – to me or my infant daughter.

Many sunscreens feel greasy, tacky and oily after application. Put something on a squirmy infant or toddler that makes them slippery – and it’s a recipe for disaster! Other sunscreens are hard to apply evenly because the lotion isn’t smooth enough. And spray on sunscreen? They work great as long as you rub them in, but I’m always afraid of spraying it in my daughter’s eyes.

Then I discovered Earth Baby Sun n’ Fun Baby Sunscreen. Earth Baby’s sunscreen lotion goes on smooth, makes baby’s skin feel soft – not greasy – and provides SPF 30 sun protection for even the brightest days.

Earth Baby also works well as a moisturizer thanks to a special blend of:

• Cocoa butter

• Essential oils of chamomile, vanilla and honey

The Importance of Organics

When my daughter was first born, I went on an all-organic kick. But it didn’t last long and, last night, for instance, she sat munching on a French fry at Appleby’s. But I know it’s important to some moms to find all-organic products for their babies. For me, if I can find a superior product at a reasonable price and it is also organic, that’s a bonus. That is exactly the case with the Earth Baby line.

The Earth Baby line is not only certified 90% organic, it’s also phthalate- and paraben-free, pediatrician-recommended and made in the USA. Knowing the product is safe and also supports American industry means a lot to me.

Additionally, Earth Baby partnered with the Forest Stewardship Council and the Rainforest Alliance to use a certifiable 100% tree-free, recyclable FiberStone paper. The packaging contains no bleach and is produced using less energy and no water. It doesn’t get much greener than that.

Oleosome Technology

It’s easy to tell, from all the company is doing for the environment and the U.S. economy, that Earth Baby cares about its customers. The company is also on the cutting edge of technology. It uses proprietary, award-winning oleosome technology (winner of a Frost & Sulliven Technology Innovation of the Year Award) to deliver nutrients directly into the baby’s skin.

Oleosome technology, appearing more and more in high-end beauty products, uses Fresh Cells to deliver nutrients directly to the skin. Picture tiny bubbles within the products, filled with extracts of fruits and vegetables, that burst upon application, releasing healthy nutrients like beta-carotene, and E and C vitamins onto the skin. It’s never to early to start a health and beauty regime for baby, and Earth Baby makes it easy. You’ll find fresh fruit and vegetable extracts deliver through Oleospheres in all their products, including:

• Baby lotion

• Wipes

• Hair detangler

• Baby shampoo

• Bath gel

• Diaper rash cream

Disclaimer

I know this review sounds a bit like a paid ad, but let me assure you, it is not. Earth Baby, as part of a campaign to get their new products into the hands of influential mom bloggers, sent me a sample. I can see why they took that chance – the product really is that good. Now I’m wishing they had offered to send a year’s supply! I’m looking forward to checking out the other products.

Udderly Smooth Udder Cream lotion was originally developed for use on dairy cows and the product still bears the instructions for use on cattle, as a treatment for cracked or sore udders.

I first herd… sorry, bad joke… heard about Udder Cream from a friend whose six-month-old baby had eczema, and was having a difficult time finding anything that would relive it. Her son’s pediatrician recommended Udder Cream, and reassured her that he didn’t think that her baby was a calf and that the cream was perfectly safe for human babies, and that he had used it on his own children.

My son, a few months older, also had eczema and dry skin on his legs and arms. I had been using other lotions but hadn’t found one that helped. So, I tried the Udder Cream on the rash, and on his dry skin. A few days later, his dry skin was much improved, and while his eczema rash was still there, it didn’t seem to be bothering him so much. We used it twice-daily from then on.

One of the first compliments I received on a date with the man who turned out to be a serious relationship was what soft skin I had. Oops, did I mention that I’d been stealing it? Mom’s skin takes plenty of abuse, with frequent handwashing after all those diaper changes, and baths and all that extra laundry and housework babies generate. I love using it on my hands, and I keep a pot in the kitchen, and one in the bathroom.

It comes in a nice big screw-top tub that cost about $5 each and last a long time, and then are useful for storing bits of toddler toys in when empty.

The downside is that it’s hard to find in stores. I order mine online in packs of six. Ace Hardware is the only store that (sometimes) carries it in my town, but you can order a tub online and have it shipped to your local store for free.

And a little warning – the cream contains lanolin, which is a natural product from sheep, but rarely, it can cause an allergic reaction. I’d advise doing a patch test and trying a little out on your baby and watching for a reaction before using it.

I love Udder Cream. It helps dry skin better than any other lotion I’ve tried, and it made a big difference on my son’s eczema. The best part is that it’s cheap enough to try even if you’re unsure.

This was the must-have baby product when I was pregnant, and along with all the other moms of newborns that I knew at the time, I bought one, despite the nagging doubt that I was wasting $40 on a blob of plastic. The buzz on the Internet swayed me – rave reviews from other moms saying their 1-6 month old babies LOVED their Bumbos. Or more usually, LOVED!!!!!! with plenty of exclamation points.

I ordered my Bumbo from the internet, and it arrived, and it was indeed a blob of plastic, a sizable, sturdy lump of plastic, but still a lump of plastic. I started to feel that I’d been duped.

I plopped my son, who was at the age where sitting up is almost a possibility, into the seat. He looked startled. Then a big grin spread across his face. He flapped his arms, kicked his legs, and grinned. From that day, every time I needed to pee, answer the phone, or do anything that needed concentration or two hands, I set him in the Bumbo and he was perfectly content for several minutes, sitting up and watching the world go by. He used it for a couple of months, until sitting up was old hat and crawling was now the new black.

Then fast forward almost three years. My son is now capable of climbing on top of the five foot high radiators, then sitting and grinning and kicking his legs, and we also have Daycare Baby (age 1) and Boyfriend’s Daughter (age 6). We just moved house, and when I was packing, I pulled out the Bumbo from the back of the closet, and all three kids crowded round. “What is it? Is it a potty?” They asked. “It’s a baby seat”, I said. “I want to sit in it!” They all said. Actually Daycare Baby said “aa? aa? aaaaaaaa!!” but that seemed to be what she meant.

It’s a baby seat, guys. But they all had a go. Daycare Baby tried to get in backwards, which she thought was very funny. My son sat in it and peed, which they all thought was hilarious. The Bumbo had a wash. Then Boyfriend’s Daughter had a go. The Bumbo got stuck on her bottom, so she crawled around the house like that. It kept them all entertained for a good thirty minutes. Never mind that it’s a baby seat.

The Bumbo Baby Seat is a very useful lump of plastic, perfect for babies aged 1-6 months. And 1-6 years too.

As an Attachment Parenting practitioner (more or less) I try to hold my daughter whenever possible. But she doesn’t care for the baby sling, so there are times during the day when she really needs to sit or lie down someplace and entertain herself. After she outgrew her bouncy seat and began devising ways to escape from her swing, I started hunting for a good, safe seating option. I didn’t want something we’d be shuttling into the attic after a few months, either.

That’s when I found the Cushi Tush. It’s a safe, green, portable sitting solution for your little one that will last until they are about 18 months or weigh 30 lbs.

Hailed as the “perfect babysitter,” the Cushi Tush rests flat on the floor with a wide base to prevent tipping. There are no straps or buckles; the baby stays in place by means of the tray that slides into position. A center bar prevents the baby from “submarining” out the bottom of the seat.

Use the Cushi Tush for:

- Play: Like an infant swing, exersaucer, or playpen the Cushi Tush provides a safe place for your child to play while you do other tasks.
- Mealtime: If you’re going to visit friends or relatives and don’t feel like lugging a high chair, the Cushi Tush serves that purpose.
- Storytime: You can turn the book’s pages and read easily, knowing your child is safe and secure.

According to the manufacturer’s Web site, the Cushi Tush is approved by pediatricians and conforms to all safety standards.

In my quest for a baby seat, I was concerned about BPA in many baby products; I wanted something that was safe for my baby and the environment. The chair is not made from polystyrene, but from an ecologically-safe, strong but lightweight and recyclable expanded polypropylene material called ARPRO. Manufacturers use ARPRO to make car seats, bicycle helmets and more.

The Cushi Tush wipes off easily with a damp sponge and does not house bacteria, so it’s sanitary and safe. It’s also dishwasher-safe.

But let’s get down to the really important point: How does the baby like it?

She sits in it for about 20 minutes at a time. Although I’m in the same room, I don’t have to pay constant attention to make sure she’s not rolling or scooting off someplace now that’s she’s mobile. She plays with her toys in it or watches a Baby Einstein DVD and I’m free to fold laundry, wash dishes or even take a shower. She loves to sit in her Cushi Tush and bang on her toy keyboard while I work on my laptop, too!

Because it’s so lightweight, it travels easily from room to room. I also use the Cushi Tush during interactive time; it gives the baby a place to sit for stories and flash card games so my hands are free to turn pages.

We travel a lot, and the Cushi Tush works well in a hotel room as a high chair or, again, a place for the baby to sit while you do other things. It’s a lot easier to carry around for short—or long—trips than an exersaucer or swing.

There are certain things you can’t do with the Cushi Tush. The manufacturers do not recommend using it in the bathtub or on elevated surfaces (it’s not a booster seat). I would love if it had straps so you could use it as a booster seat or if it had a base that made it safe to prop up on the couch.

With no buckles or clips, the tray simply slides off the base and then slides back into place firmly. It’s easy to use, but I doubt even the most resourceful child could remove the tray by herself. I found it tricky to open the seat one-handed while holding the baby the first few times. I eventually discovered the trick of placing my toes on the base for leverage while I wiggled the tray out one-handed. It’s much easier to put the baby down and use both hands to open the chair.

The Cushi Tush comes in blue, pink, green, orange or mottled patterns of blue/green, green/pink or all four colors. For the price (under $40) it’s a good, durable baby product that lasts longer than many other options on the market.

A ‘Lil Cushi Tush, sold separately, lets your child place their favorite doll or stuffed animal in a seat just like theirs! Find out more about the Cushi Tush and other baby products at www.cushitush.co.uk.

I love companies with a social conscience. Apparently Pampers (and its manufacturers Procter and Gamble) is one of them. Together with UNICEF, Pampers is running the 1 Pack = 1 Vaccine program. Every pack of specially marked diapers and wipes sold translates to 1 tetanus vaccine donated to the UNICEF. The program has been running for tow years now and has provided more than 40 million vaccines for UNICEF to be used all over the world, most especially in impoverished areas.

Of all vaccines, tetanus was chosen because newborn tetanus is a major health problem in low- and middle income countries, and causes more than 140,000 deaths each year. A woman who receives the vaccine during pregnancy actually passes the protection against tetanus to her newborn, making the disease preventable.

The vaccine program is an ongoing worldwide campaign but it is not the only charity work in which Pampers is involved.

Even here in Europe, Pampers is actively campaigning for the program as I saw at the supermarket the other day. What a shame that they started the campaign long after my children were potty-trained. With my twins’ consumption of diapers, we could have provided a couple hundred more vaccines.

In the December 2008 issue of The Lancet, a case report was published about an 11-month old baby girl who, while playing in her baby walker, fell down a flight of stairs and suffered serious head injuries. The doctors involved in the case issued a call to all governments to ban the use and import of baby-walkers on the grounds that baby-walkers present a potentially deadly but preventable hazard to little children. They are not alone. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly opposes the use of walkers and together with the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, have called for a ban on the manufacture and sale of baby walkers with wheels.

Parents and caregivers may believe that walkers help children learn to walk. Unfortunately, this is not true; walkers can actually interfere with normal muscle development. Whatever benefits the walker brings are very minimal to the risk and dangers associated with it.

The Parenting Corner of AAP lists the following safety issues:

• Falls – as in falling down the stairs and steps, leading to severe injuries.
• Burns – babies on walkers can reach much higher, making even a single cup of coffee a hazard.
• Drowning – babies in walkers can reach a pool, a bathtub, or a garden pond fast – and then fall.
• Poisoning – again, walkers help babies to reach what is normally unreachable at their age.

These accidents do not only happen when the adults are not looking. Babies on walkers can move very fast and sometimes adults won’t have time to react.

In addition, AAC also gives the following recommendations:

• Make sure there are no walkers at the daycare.
• Make sure there are no walkers at the homes of people you are visiting.

It is said that 2000 children die everyday all over the world due to preventable injuries. Walker injuries are preventable. AAP’s parting shot is “Keep your child safe. . .throw away your baby walker!”

The innovative Tripp Trapp highchair brings your baby closer to you physically and emotionally. Invite your child to the table with an adjustable high chair. This is the last high chair you will ever have to buy.

Whether it’s meal-time or play-time, the Tripp Trapp highchair inspires family bonding at the table. The easily adjustable and elegant design provides comfort and support for your growing child while blending in with the elegance and beauty of your home.

Read the Babies Online Blogger Review for more details!

Purchase the Trip Trapp high chair now and receive a FREE Anabel Karmel feeding gift.

Free gift valued at $24.99 USD.

Also new at Stokke is the new Xplory(R) stroller and accessory kit.

A high chair is one of only a handful of big ticket items you will buy for your baby. Before investing $100 or more into this purchase, you’ll want to do some research. And yes, you can get a high chair for under $100, but I’ve discovered that in this product category, the adage “you get what you pay for” holds very true.

I began researching high chairs with some personal biases in place. Many months ago, I researched and wrote an article about ergonomics in the home for www.theWAHMmagazine.com and I learned of the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair. I was immediately hooked.

The high chair has several appealing features:

• sturdy solid wood construction (and available in a variety of colors/finishes)
• adjustable footrests
• removable tray for easy cleaning
• modular seat so it grows with the child, even converting to an adult chair

Most significantly, the Tripp Trapp is the first chair that permits you to pull your child—even an infant–up to the family table for dinner.

The solid beechwood construction is built to last and, with 11 available colors, you can purchase a high chair to match your kitchen or dining room table. The cushion is sold separately, so if you change your décor, you can buy another cushion. I love the fact that the high chair doesn’t look like yet another piece of baby gear, but an actual piece of furniture in the home.

And it becomes just that, years down the line, when you can convert it to a regular chair.

The Tripp Trapp allows you to adjust both the height of the seat and footrests and the depth, so your child can fit comfortably at any age and size. Designed ergonomically, the chair has a double curved back rest which takes pressure off your child’s developing spine.

Additionally, the adjustable footrests keep your baby’s feet planted solidly, not dangling in mid-air. Since children are able to shift their weight from foot to foot, they fidget less. (Aren’t you more comfortable and secure with your feet solidly on the floor or a footrest?)

For infants, a separate baby set is available, and a five-point safety harness keeps your baby safe and secure. Not many (if any) other high chairs offer the five-point harness, which exceeds ASTM safety standards for a high chair. The baby set / safety guard is available in colors to match your chair.

Many moms (myself included) might balk at the price tag of the Tripp Trapp. But when you consider that you’re getting a high chair that can change with your décor, last for the life of your child, and convert to an adult chair that holds up to 250 pounds comfortably, the price begins to make sense.

Even more important, however, than the style, durability and adaptability of this chair are the psychological benefits of a high chair / booster that brings your child directly to the family table during dinner. For co-sleeping parents, the concept is a no-brainer. Our children share the family bed; by all means they should join the family dinner table.

Studies show that the family dinner table is the optimal place for children to learn socialization skills, manners and good nutrition. Your child can be part of dinner in a conventional high chair, but they might feel separate from the rest of the family—the “grown-ups.” I’ve always believed in integrating children, whenever possible, to the adult dinner table. Let children be a part of dinner activities as soon as they are able to sit with support, and the learning and socialization can begin sooner!

Best of all, Stokke, manufacturers of the Tripp Trapp chair, have joined forces with Babies Online to offer a FREE Anabel Karmel feeding gift with each purchase made before March 31, 2009.

I’ve heard a lot of moms say they received a Boppy pillow and never used it because they weren’t sure what to do with it. Then there are Boppy enthusiasts who say they couldn’t live without the comfy horseshoe-shaped pillow. I fall into the latter category. I use it for everything! So to help Moms who aren’t sure what to do with this odd-looking contraption, here are uses for a Boppy pillow!

I didn’t bring the Boppy to the hospital with me, so I used my memory foam pillow to prop the baby on my lap in bed for a better feeding position. But when I returned home, I wouldn’t have minded having two Boppies. I used one to support my back while I sat up in bed to feed her during late-night nursing sessions. By the time she was three weeks old, my daughter got all excited when she saw what I affectionately called “the Boppy Bears” come out. (Our pillow has a three little bears design on the front.) I often say, “Thank goodness for the Boppy Bears!”

• The other night, desperate to finish an article, I sat cross-legged on our floor and placed Ashley on the Boppy pillow to nurse, so I had both hands free to type on my laptop. This put her in the perfect position to latch on without assistance. Since nursing is such an important bonding time, I don’t do this often… But hey, WAHMs have to pay the bills, too!
• As Ashley began to sit up with assistance, I used the Boppy to let her sit on the couch beside me and my husband. Propping the Boppy at a 45-degree angle against the back of the couch, I sit Ashley inside the opening. It gives her the side-to-side support she needs and she feels more like part of the family. Most places that infants can sit or lie put them down near the floor, not up on-level with the rest of the family.
• Yesterday morning, I fed her breakfast on the couch sitting up with her Boppy, rather than setting her up in the kitchen where it gets very cold in the morning. The Boppy pillowcase is easily removable and machine-washable, so I didn’t worry about oatmeal drips on the pillow.
• We use the Boppy as a prop in photo shoots, to position the baby exactly how we want her.
• The Boppy is also great for tummy time. You can prop baby’s arms on the pillow so she’s not lying flat. This makes tummy time more tolerable for many babies.

The other night, I got quite a laugh when I saw my husband napping on the couch, using the Boppy as his pillow. The shape creates fantastic neck support, and the covering is just warm and cozy.

As Ashley grows into a toddler, I’m sure she’ll find her own favorite position to lie using her Boppy. And I’m considering buying a Boppy for everyone in the family!

A safety tip: never leave the baby alone with the Boppy pillow as it could create a danger of suffocation.

Cold and flu season has attacked with a vengeance. Kids everywhere have runny noses or worse, those awful boogers caked beneath their noses. On a normal day, I wipe or pull at least two of those out of Ashley’s nose. Running the heat in the house also dries up sinuses and can cause congestion. A humidifier helps a lot, but how do you get rid of those boogies?

Mom-preneurs Mindee and Julie of Little Busy Bodies, LLC, came up with the answer in Boogie Wipes. These gentle wipes contain saline that loosens caked on mucus, permitting you to wipe it easily from little noses. Boogie Wipes are available in “Natural Fresh Scent” and “Grape” and also contain aloe to moisturize the skin.

I used to keep about four aspirators (aka snot-suckers) in my house so one was always at hand. I’m happy to say I haven’t had to use one at all since I got a pack of Boogie Wipes. I always despised using the nasal saline solution and the aspirator on Ashley. I could tell she hated it. I don’t like having anything squirted up my nose, either! I was always afraid I would push the aspirator up to far, or she would move at the wrong moment, and I would hurt her. Q-tips were no better in that regard.

The saline in the boogie wipes loosens the mucous, letting you wipe it away easily. Tough boogies sometimes take a while, but they always come out. With the pleasant grape or “fresh” scent (which smells like fresh-washed laundry hung out to dry on a spring day!), Ashley doesn’t mind if I spend a minute or two wiping her nose. But most of the time, it only takes a second! That’s why the inventors created the wipes: To catch and clean little noses on the go.

Ashley smiles whenever I pull out a Boogie Wipe. She also opens her mouth to try to eat the grape wipe. (I will have to keep them out of reach when she’s a bit older!)

Boogie Wipes cost about $4 for a package of 30 wipes, and they come in a convenient pop-up package, which allow you to pull out one wipe at a time. They fit easily in your diaper bag or on the changing table. Four dollars isn’t exactly cheap for only 30 wipes, but the convenience and quality is worth it. Since you are helping to support a U.S.-based small business, it is money well spent. I’d like to see a re-usable package and then “refills” that sell for less money in bulk, just like baby wipes.

My only complaint is that the wipes are a bit bigger than they need to be; they are the size of actual baby wipes. Look at the size of a butt, then look at a nose (even an adult nose!) and you’ll see what I mean! The wipes could easily be half the size and still do the trick, and then you could get more per package. I’ve tried ripping them in half, but they’re too strong to tear easily. You’d have to cut them, and who has time to do that when you have a kid with a dripping nose?

Pulling out a package of boogie wipes at the local park will spark questions, so beyond their practical use, they’re a great conversation piece if you’re looking to meet other moms. I am definitely what social media expert Seth Godin would call an “early adopter” so I love being the first to have an innovative new product and telling my friends about it.

If you have a tot with a runny or stuffed up nose (and really, this winter, who doesn’t?) I definitely recommend you pick up a pack of Boogie Wipes. They are available at Wal-mart, Rite-Aid and grocery stores across the U.S.

Before I had my daughter I never lived by much of a routine. Being self-employed, I set my own hours and had freedom to vary the structure of my days. It wasn’t unusual for me to stay up writing until 3 AM  to make a deadline and then sleep until eleven the next day or to work regular office hours when I had to be available for interviews.  I never understood the value of a strict predictable (read: boring) schedule.

During my daughter’s first three months of life, we still didn’t keep a schedule. I fed her on demand, let her nap when she wanted, played with her when she was alert and bathed her when she looked like she needed it–no less than every three days.

I also woke up happily for late-night feedings, early-morning diaper changes and every thing in between.

Around her three-month birthday and as she approached ten pounds, the lack of sleep started getting to me, as I’m sure it does too many new moms. It seems unfair that this is also the time many moms must return to work. Anyway, I decided it was time to start encouraging the baby to sleep through the night. How would I do this? First, by  establishing a bedtime routine.

At around the same time, I read an advertising insert in a Johnson’s Baby Shampoo gift set, touting the benefits of Johnson’s Bedtime bath bubbles and Bedtime lotion. The products, when used together, are clinically proven to help baby sleep better. At the same time, I received a flyer from Babies R Us, advertising a sale on all Johnson’s products. Was the Universe giving me a hint?  It couldn’t hurt to try.

Now our bedtime routine, which we’ve been doing for a week, is as follows:

1. She watches her Winnie-the-Pooh mobile while I prepare us for bed. I fill the humidifier, get into my pajamas, make sure the bathroom is warm and lay out her pajamas in the bedroom.
2. I bathe her with the bedtime bubbles. When she’s dry she gets a new diaper and her favorite hooded towel, “Lambie.” This is her favorite part.
3. Give her a massage with bedtime lotion. If she’s hungry after the bath she eats first. She added this part of the routine herself!
4. We lie in bed together after her massage. While she nurses, sometimes I will tell her a story or sing a song, but I confess I often check my e-mail, surf the Web or write using my iPod touch. It’s a time for us both to wind down; I never do anything strenuous or stressful, just fun projects like writing for this blog.
5. When she is close to falling asleep, I play Billy Joel’s Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) on my iPod, which usually puts her to sleep for the night. Then she goes into her bassinet right beside the bed.

Does the routine work? I don’t know if I just started the routine at the same time she was going to begin sleeping through the night anyway. Doctor’s say 10 pounds is that “magic number” when a baby can sustain themselves without a meal for more than six hours. But she’s slept at least five-and-a-half hours every night this week. Three nights ago, she slept for six hours. Two nights ago, she fell 15 minutes shy of a full 7 hours. And last night, she made an all-time record of seven-and-a-half hours of sleep without waking.

My next bedtime goal is to get her to go back in her bassinet rather than sleeping with us after she wakes for that early morning feeding. Although I have to admit, waking up on this lazy, snowy Sunday morning with the baby stretched out on her back between myself and my sleeping husband makes me not-so-eager to give up those special moments too soon.

I found a wonderful little book for my baby today: Haiku Baby by Betsy Snyder. Each poem is short (haikus have 3 lines, 5 syllables each) and is about nature. Each one inspires emotion and even action when you read to your little one. When I read rain to my eight month old, he loved my exaggerated voice and gestures.

It reads:

“Splish splash, puddle bath!
Raindrops march in spring parade.
Wake up, sleepy earth”

For the first line, I “splashed around”, during the second I marched and during the third I yawned and stretched like I was trying to wake up.

Each haiku is equally engaging. It’s amazing how there can be so much in three short verses! The colorful pictures caught my baby’s attention and the big tabs on the sides encourage baby to turn the pages.

I found this little treasure at my local bookshop, an absolutely amazing place located in the oldest building in town. I can spend hours in there, hunting for unusual and interesting books, journals and other gift items. I’m so glad I went in and found this book for my little one. The kids’ section is full of books which I have never seen at larger chain bookstores.

Another thing that came from this trip is that I was reminded that even during tough economic times (and maybe especially then), small, local businesses need our support, even if it is just to buy a little book for baby.

There is also a haiku baby website which has some very cute nature sounds and other cute features. (I looked it up as soon as I finished reading the book.) You can order the book from Amazon. I recommend it!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that it plans to study the effects of BPA in depth in the future.  Currently, the FDA says that BPA’s are safe.  According to experts, the FDA bases this on the results of two studies done by other groups.  These studies, which were funded by chemical industries, claim that BPA’s are safe.

The National Toxicology Program has determined from it’s research that BPA’s, even in small amounts, can cause changes in brain development and behavior in infants and small children.  BPA’s are most easily ingested when chemicals from plastic containers seep into food and drink.

I became concerned about this when I saw an article that the bottles that I’d used for my son had a high concentration of BPA’s.  I began to try to find products without the chemical and was shocked at the lack of choices I found.  Many companies that made infant bottles weren’t even forthcoming with information it seemed.

Several months have passed and while strolling down the baby aisle last week, I noticed several products that actually announced that their product was BPA free.  I bought several BPA free products that day for my son.

Call me cynical, but I don’t buy the FDA’s position that this chemical is safe.  I’m grateful that I now have choices for safer products to purchase for my son.

Do you seek out products that advertise that they are BPA free? Do you agree with the FDA that this chemical is safe?

I remember once walking up to a booth at a carnival and the look of relief on the lady’s face as I approached.? She was working the booth and had some dirt on her hands.? She eyed my diaper bag hungrily and exclaimed, “Oh, thank God! It’s a mom! She’ll have diaper wipes!” Of course I did, and I proudly whipped my wipes out and bestowed upon her a few so she could wipe her hands.

Aren’t diaper wipes wonderful? I’ve used them to wipe down tables, wipe my hands, wipe runny noses, and once in a while I actually used them for their intended purpose and used them to wipe up my baby’s behind after a messy diaper.? Even though I never really liked schlepping a diaper bag around it never ceased to amaze me that diaper wipes could be used for so many purposes.? It was like I could fix anything just by reaching into my bag and pulling a diaper wipe out.

Now that both of my kids are (thankfully and blissfully) out of diapers, I don’t carry a diaper bag around as much as I used to.? If we’re going somewhere for more than an hour or so I usually do grab my diaper bag because it’s always a good idea to have a change?of clothes for my kids because you never really know what is going to happen, but quick trips to the store or library usually just involve me grabbing my purse and dashing out the door with the kids.? There have been more than a few times when I reached to grab a diaper wipe out of my bag only to discover that I had my purse instead of the diaper bag.

I bought some of the single-use hand wipes and stuffed them into my purse, but the cleansers and anti-bacterial ingredients make me apprehensive about using them to wipe my kids’ faces or to blow their noses.

One option I’ve hard about is to make your own diaper wipes, which is supposed to aid in the elimination of things like the dreaded diaper rash. Admittedly, I haven’t tried that option. I will tell you that graduating to a reasonably-sized purse instead of my whopper or a diaper bag was a joyous occasion, so I’m reluctant to get a bigger purse just so I can start carting diaper wipes around again.

For the record, though, I still rank diaper wipes as one of the greatest inventions ever.

We are finally reaping the fruits of the Human Genome Project – in the form of affordable personalized genetic information – or simply said “retail DNA test service.”

And 23andMe seems to be in the frontline. It has just been named Best Invention of 2008 by Time magazine. The company’s name comes from the fact that we all have 23 pairs of chromosomes and that by knowing more about what’s in those 23 pairs, we see our genes “in a whole new light.”

So why go for personalized genetic testing? Well, the answer goes in two direction: genealogy and personalized medicine.

Genealogy

Want to know more about your ancestry? Want to reconstruct your family tree? Or more closer to home, want to confirm your paternity? DNA tests can provide you with answers. In an earlier post, I’ve written something on paternity test kits.

Medicine

23andme can now test for over 90 traits which reveal a person’s predisposition to certain diseases. There are other services around. However, 23andme made the headlines by lowering their prices down to $399. Because of their prices “genetics just got personal” the company’s motto goes. Another plus is the fact that the test is non-invasive. Everything is tested on the saliva.

Why is personal genetics important?

Research studies are pointing to the fact that a person’s genetic make up can determine not only his/her risks for certain diseases, it has also an influence on a person’s response to certain drugs and treatments. Personal DNA information is therefore very important in the so-called personalized medicine.

Caveat

For every new development, there are cautionary tales attached to it. For retail DNA test, it’s all about privacy. One main concern comes from the fact that a cofounder of 23andme is no other than Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google boss Sergey Brin. The fact that Google in parallel also launched GoogleHealth this year, a personalized online health information platform, makes some people wary, an issue already raised by a Nature article last year.

Other concerns come from health experts who feel people are not yet ready for such a technology because data that is derived from the tests are incomplete and uncertain. This may lead to problems of interpretation by lay people, a case of “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”

So what so you think? Is it worth this new test worth the money? How about a DNA test gift certificate for Christmas?

When you make the choice of your baby’s first car seat, you can either get a rear-facing infant seat, or a convertible infant and toddler seat.

The second option is financially more economical. But, the infant seat will save your sanity. Babies tend to fall asleep in the car. A baby in an infant seat can be unclipped or unstrapped and carried, sleeping, around wherever you are going, or back into the house. If you are expecting a baby right now, do not underestimate how important this option is.

Consider the sleeping baby in the convertible seat. You can’t take this seat out of the car and carry sleeping baby around. So what do you do baby falls asleep in his car seat? your choices, once you arrive at your destination are 1. Wake baby up. 2. Sit in car until baby wakes up.

Option 2 is clearly inconvenient, although I’ve done it when arriving home with my son. I had a stash of books, magazines and candy in my car just so he could get a decent nap in. I wouldn’t like to do that in the winter though. I knew another mom who did drive through banking, picked up medicine at the drive-through pharmacy, and got lunch at MacDonald’s drive through while her son slept in the car.

Option 1 is risky. Baby make wake up and then be extremely grumpy. If you are going home, you may be able to rock or nurse or lie down with baby and baby may go back to sleep. Or baby may not. Naps for the rest of the day may be thrown off.

Eventually, my son learned to go back to sleep when I bought him into the house from his convertible seat. It took several attempts before he’d consistently fall back asleep in his crib, so if you try and your baby won’t go back to sleep, don’t loose heart: keep trying.

From the day my son grew of his infant seat, until he learned how to go back to sleep, I missed the infant seat like mad.

So my advice is, get an infant seat, rather than a convertible one, for your newborn, and appreciate how portable your baby is. It doesn’t last long enough!

One of my favorite online stores, Amazon, is having a 4-day Super Sale. Are you eager to get started on your Christmas shopping AND get a good deal at the same time? Amazon has wonderful offers for moms, moms-to-be, parents-to-be, and everyone in between. From Boppy cradles to slings and gliders; from Lamaze pillows to P’Kolino toys. What’s more, they have free 2-day shipping with NO minimum purchase.

Hurry, on over to Amazon.com. These 4 day Super Sales Begin on Friday and end on Monday throughout the entire month of November!

It’s a financially tough time for many, if not all, of us. If you don’t get your local Sunday paper, it’s worth spending the $1.50 or so per week, just for the coupons. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great if you can be informed and actually read some of the paper, too, but the coupons and store circulars featuring weekly sales, can lead to big savings.

Before going grocery shopping, look over your supermarket’s circular. Ours is delivered to our mailbox each Thursday. (Circulars for other stores, including pharmacies, Kmart, Target, AC Moore, etc, are in the Sunday paper.) This week, I added some ‘Buy one, get one free’ (or BOGO) items to my shopping list and, in addition, clipped a coupon for the items. I got two boxes of frozen soft pretzels for less than the cost of one! Granted, these aren’t a necessary part of my kids diet but they love hot soft pretzels, and the only way I’ll buy them at this point is at a very reduced cost.

Also, you can pair store coupons with manufacturer’s coupons. I’ve been putting off buying an expensive moisturizer I need. This week, though, I’ll pair my ‘$3 off’ manufacturer’s coupon with an in-store coupon from Rite-Aid and save a nice little chunk of money.

If there are certain cosmetics you buy from the drug store such as mascara and lip gloss, or toiletries, such as a certain shampoo or conditioner, keep an eye out for BOGO sales and stock up. You can regularly find manufacturer’s coupons for these things and get those BOGO bargains for less than the cost of one!

Another way to save money on your grocery bill is to substitute store brands for name brands. You may not always be satisfied but it’s worth trying. I have found that for me, some things, like oatmeal, are easily substituted; I don’t ‘taste’ a difference. But when it comes to mayo, only Hellmann’s will do.

I have also switched to store branded medicines, both prescription and over the counter. Just look at the labels and the active ingredients are exactly the same!

I’m wishing I had an extra fridge or freezer to stock up on things like meats and frozen foods when they’re on sale. I plan two meals ‘in my head’ when buying ‘BOGO’ meats. If ground beef or turkey is the sale du jour, I plan to make spaghetti with meat sauce (or meatballs) one night, and tacos another night. If I’m not sure if I’ll use both packages in the near future, I freeze one.

I have yet to venture into the world of buying in bulk from places like BJ’s and Costco, but with three growing boys, I’m sure I’ll be looking into what kinds of savings I can find there (plus, larger quantities equal fewer trips to the store!). This kind of shopping may really require an extra freezer in the basement.

I’ll continue to keep an eye out for ways to be thrifty in these tough times, and always!