How Your Shoes Can Hurt You and Your Family

Although I'm a mom now for 6 months I don't feel that special "I know better" magic that my mom has. The lady is almost always right, really like 99.9% of the time. So much so when a rebellious teenage I would do things to spite her but in the end found I was only hurting myself. (yeap, a stubborn kid was I).

It took some time to realize it's useless to go against her wisdom. But there are things even now I think are quirky, like forcing us to remove our shoes inside. But I guess it takes science to get through to me as proof that what she's been making us do all these years is actually saving us for toxic exposure.

Here's a must read article for us all, courtesy of Glamour Magazine. I hope you consider the study and heed its warnings.

Would love to hear about your shoe policy.

Love Lots,
Mommy SF

Pigeon S(uicide)oup

Driving to the South Bay I've been told to always take 280 as it is the road less traveled, it's true and the pigeons know it too. Today I saw not 1 but 3 pigeons get taken out by a car, joining a many other feathery friends.

Coincidentally, last night's episode of Seinfeld was when George runs over a bunch of pigeons while driving in the car with his gf. She freaks out after he hits them and when he tells Seinfeld about what happened, he talks about the human-pigeon understanding.  It's a hilarious episode especially after experiencing today's series of events. I'd link the episode but it's highly protected on the net.

Anyways, my point is 280's a great freeway and the pigeons know it too. But why they wanna hang out on the freeway, well I have no clue, it's not like the weather is any better there then the Mission.

Love Lots,
Mommy SF

6 Months and Counting

I can't say it enough, "Time Flies!" It's absolutely hard to believe that I've been in the thick of motherhood for 6 months. Where did the time go? In past posts you have read me complain about oodles, from breastfeeding complications to baby gas.

Since then though, I must say things are definitely on the up swing. For the last 2 months Edward has really come into his own. His personality is truly shining, especially after a good nap! At most times of the day you'll find him smiling away revealing his darling dimples and his sparkling brown eyes.

Things turned around during our road trip to lala land. We spent a week with our darling friends who opened their home to us. They too are the proud parents of sweet baby Isla who was 2 months old during our visit. My friend Lana is blessed to be surrounded by fellow mommies; family, friends, co-workers, who shower her with an abundance of  first-hand knowledge. So you can imagine how excited I was to get her advice on all things baby. Especially sleep, and does she know sleep. Her little angel was sleeping through the night while I was still waking for nighttime feeds and at least 2 bouts of a crying baby.  So I put my envy aside and got to learning.  It was amazing. I either grew lots of confidence or my baby realized he needed to shape-up and get to sleeping. Within 2 days, he was napping 3x's/day and waking 1/night for a dropped pacifier.

What did we do different, you wonder? Let me tell you:
*During the day, I wouldn't let Edward stay up for more than 2 hours. Even thought he didn't show signs of sleep, I would set him in his crib with his pacifier and after a little tossing and whining he was out like a light.
*Feed, feed, feed.  I would stock him up during the day by increasing his intake by 1-2 ounces/ feeding. Then a final dream feed between 10-11pm (diaper change too!)
*White noise; we pump his room with either beach waves or heavy rain; Bonus puts us to sleep too!

Sounds easy, right? And it really is. The only issue is his sleep is on a schedule, so it doesn't lend to much flexibility when out and about. He still falls asleep but doesn't stay asleep for the full 2 hours. And if that applies to both afternoon naps, all it means is a baby who is ready for bed at 6 or 6:30pm. Another down to a sleep schedule is trying to go out for dinner.  We've now joined the seniors at 5pm if we go out. It's hard when you have friends and family who work or don't eat until much later.  So we're hosting lots of dinner and gatherings.

One other interesting thing was that both babies were on the same cycle for everything, from feeding to pooping and even sleeping. Not sure why but it was fascinating.

Edward's newest thing is his babble. He's a real talker. Loves it a lot but doesn't like showing off when around others. It's actually very cute how shy he gets around babies. Maybe he's just being a gentleman and letting them get in their 2 cents. Another achievement is he's sitting up and grabbing things. However, he's not rolling over just yet.  I'm not worried, but elated since that's one less thing I have to worry about. Especially, while he is on the floor. With all our computer wires and "things", I'm just not prepared for him to become a mover.

We've also been doing more classes. We attend a weekly play class at Day One, summer reading at the library and swim at Le Petite Baleen.  It's busy but fun especially getting to know other moms.

I'd love to hear what your baby is doing and other ways to keep busy.

Love Lots,
Mommy SF

Circumcision, Isn't it a Personal Choice?

If you've been following the news over the last few months, you've heard that once again our Supervisors are on the loose.  I mean why would a progressive city like ours want to cross the line of entering into our homes and making medical choices for our families? Isn't this our argument regarding pro-choice?

Circumcisions should a decision between parents and doctors not our government. Here are 2 recent articles from the Bay Citizen:

Judge Orders Circumcision Measure Removed from Ballot

Growing Number of Bay Area Jews Forgo Circumcision

I'd love to hear your stories.

Love Lots,

Mommy SF

Things...

Wow, as a parent we are overwhelmed by things; gadgets, furniture, electronics, all of which is supposed to make life easier as a parent.  Often, I've found myself on line at a store with a cart full of things then asking myself, "Do I really need all this stuff?" and of course I don't. So after I put it all back, I swear not to do that again.  But gosh it's hard.  There's so much we need, or do we?

In all seriousness, how much does a baby need? Besides the basics; love, food, shelter, clothing what is a must? Well when we went on a search of all things baby, no way did I realize how so many of the items that attracted us were European. The first and foremost is the Maxi Cosi car seats.  For practical reasons we initially bought the convertible car seat and after a month of trying it out we invested in the Maxi Cosi Mico, which is really a life saver on baby and mama. The infant seat also has adapters for our awesome Bugaboo Frog, which is small but rugged enough for our SF sidewalks.

Another must is the Stokke crib. I really don't know what I would have done without it.  It's been the best investment. We didn't use the sleep system which includes the bassinet. But our little guy didn't mind the largeness of the crib once we transitioned him out of our bed. The sleek oval curves and gliding wheels make this a must for all parents.  The baby stayed in our room for 4 months and occasionally comes back when we use his room for guests. If we had a stationary crib there would be no way we could or even should move the crib in/out of rooms.

Now at 5 months we are on to all things solid. So the highchair and feeding system are very high on the priority list. We love the Svan highchair and Beaba Babycook (and so does Edward). The highchair is also a beautiful piece of well made furniture. It has a great adjustable height and width as well as a sturdy base and a removable dishwasher safe tray.

Our Beaba Babycook is also marvelous. It steams, chops and defrosts all in one!  It's really light and mobile, making it simple to pack up for vacations. For moms who want good wholesome foods for their babies, this is a another must-have. Also great for busy moms, there's the option of cooking and then freezing the food in baby trays which pop-out for single use feedings. Edward also loves their spoons. He has no problem holding the spoon and feeding himself, it's wonderful to watch.

Besides the fact these products are safe, environmentally friendly and good looking, they are also so simple and practical.  There are too many products on the market that lack those traits.  Another important factor is that both the Stokke and the Svan grow with our baby. I think it's genius!

I'd love to hear about your favorite must-haves.

Love Lots,
MommySF  

First Day of Summer

The fist day of summer reminds me of those long hot and humid Jersey days hanging out at home when there wasn't much to do but watch tv, drive mom nuts and run around with the neighborhood kids finding a way to keep cool.  But summer in San Francisco has its own meaning, long dark days of lingering fog with no heat in sight. With an infant staying indoors has its pros and cons:

Pros:
Stay in our pjs
Stick to scheduled nap
House keeping chores
Lots of mommy and baby time

Cons:
Stay in pjs all day long
Spend to much time trying get baby to nap
Not enough outdoor stimulation, aka Bordom

However, staying in line with the rest of the country, summer in San Francisco also means fun summer programs so here are a few fun ways to get out and about with minimal exposure to the cool summer wind:

• San Francisco Public Library - lots of wonderful programs for babies through preschoolers
• California Academy of Science - great exhibitions and if you get there after 2pm most summer campers are gone for the day.
• De Young Museum -I would recommend after 2pm here too but that's hoping the tourists have gone.
• Day One - Classes fill quickly so get there a bit early.
• Westfield Shopping Mall - A great food court and lots of great shopping who can go wrong.
• Free movie - Sponsored monthly by a few real estate agents, not sure if there's a catch, but check it out every second Thursday of every month @ Presidio Theater  

Do post some of your favs.

Love Lots,
Mommy SF

Gas, What a Pain in the ...

We've spent sometime trying to alleviate Edward's gas. New bottles, slow flow nipples, gripe water and even homeopathy. We bicycle, cycling his legs back and forth forcing the fart out along with some tummy time and find both sometimes work. But sometimes sucks.

We have isolated the cause to two things: his motion of sucking and not burping during a feeding.  He's working out the sucking part on his own, he seems to be sucking in less air and drinking more milk, maybe it's due to the fact I've switched his nipples from level 1 to level 2. So now when he sucks, it's not as difficult to get the milk flowing. The burping, well it's up to us to stop the feeding and give him a pat, even though he hates being disturbed.

Then there's the curve ball, in an effort to stretch his sleep, I tried to stop night feedings.  What was a maybe 2 night waking for a feeding turned into a every 45 minute disturbance.  We tried for a week and all we got was a crying baby with more gas than his parents! So last night I threw in the towel and gave him a bottle. Sure enough he slept for 5 hours.

We've also started BioGaia, a baby probiotic yesterday and maybe it's a coincidence he slept through the night but I'm happy to think it may have contributed. I'm sure this isn't the last entry on gas pains but hope my suggestions give your baby some relief.

Love Lots,
Mommy SF