I Wish You Wrinkles - A Dedication to my Mother-in-Law

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO WORDPRESS, BUT HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THIS ENTRY...

I’m proud to announce that I’ve started guest blogging for Jersey Moms Blog and my first entry titled “I Wish You Wrinkles – A Perspective on Aging” published today. I hope it serves as a reminder that time, all time, is a blessing. And though she’s going to be annoyed with me for this because she hates attention, I dedicate that entry to one of my super heroines, my mother-in-law. I’ll explain of course…

Follow the links above to read full entries or comment on this post.

Car Seat Safety & Winter Coats Warning

Our blog has moved to Wordpress, but we'll keep new article links active on blogger for our existing followers.

http://justlikesuperheroes.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/car-seat-safety-winter-coats-warning/

Holiday Craft Markets in New York - Unique Shopping

Ready for a big shocker? I absolutely hate clothes shopping. I consider it the mortal enemy of my superhuman existence. I make exception for one reason - to support local vendors and artisans. I super heart shopping on Etsy. And I love, love holiday craft fairs in New York City. It makes shopping special because I get to meet the people behind the products, which in turn makes me appreciate where my hard-earned dollars are being spent. It's also eco-friendly to shop local and feels great to give a unique handmade gift.

All of this does remind me that this time last year I discovered my 'kryptonite': Mommy guilt! I was a new mom and just couldn't bring myself to leave the baby to go shopping. I also needed my rest to recharge for the work week. As one of those people that likes to fit it all in, it was hard to admit that this new supermom had a weakness!

Well this year the kryptonite can stay in its lead box because Lucas gets to spend Saturday hitting some of these great spots with mama!

Following is a list of my favorite places to support local vendors and artists, starting with the Martha Stewart Craft Fair where my good friend Dani Fiori will be featuring SweetDaniB cookies (warning: shameless unpaid plug for the best cookie designer in our local area!).

This Weekend:

Saturday, December 4th - Martha Stewart Craft Fair
BRING CASH!
Starrett-Lehigh Building

601 West 26th Street (between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues)
9th Floor
New York, NY 10001

Read more at Marthastewart.com:
Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Sale - Martha Stewart Crafts

Sunday, December 5th - Holiday Handmade Cavalcade featuring Etsy vendors.

Ongoing Fairs (usually until Dec. 24th):

#1 Union Square Holiday Market

#2 Bryant Park Holiday Market
Plus they have ice skating!

#3 Columbus Circle Holiday Market
Plus you get to pop into Central Park for a nice walk with the kids!

#4 Grand Central Holiday Market
I find this one has the less unique vendors because many just resell mass produced products, but there are a few gems in the mix.

If you want to visit Brooklyn and Queens, here's a great article about local shopping in those areas from the Mommy Poppins NYC blog.

A Sweeter Halloween for St. Jude's Hospital

I can't believe a month has almost passed since Halloween! Families everywhere are preparing for Thanksgiving. I love turkey day but I don't cook so tend to just show up for this event, which is very unlike me. Maybe I was trying to make up for this at Halloween. Actually, this post may seem a bit late, but it's an important time of year to think about giving, and how we are going to teach our children to do that. And so a bit late, but here's the story of our Halloween...

See, we decided to host a "small" party. The idea came to me as I was over-thinking my son's costume. Was I really going to prepare for a month so that I could walk my 11 month-old down the street for 5 minutes? NAH!

I figured my friends would want to show off their kids just as much and I was right.We had over fifteen kids under the age of 2 in an apartment! And you can multiply that by two for the rest of the guest list! It was very cute and not as hectic as you'd expect. It was a perfect age. If many of the kids had been much older it would probably have been nuts!

To make the showing off even better, I distributed a flier in our neighborhood and promised a very cute Little Monsters Halloween Parade! I also asked our neighbors to make Halloween even sweeter by donating $1.00 (or whatever they could) to my son''s Trick-or-Treat bag on behalf of St. Jude's Children's Hospital. We asked party attendees to do the same.

We had a blast and raised money for a good cause. We did the same at Lucas' baptism, and will make a small personal donation in honor of his first birthday. See, I consider it our responsibility to teach Lucas to do as much as he can for others in need. I hope that makes him appreciate how lucky he is in so many ways. If we make this a normal part of his celebrations, he'll never ask "why" but hopefully wonder "why not".

We choose St. Jude's because being a parent is the best thing I'll ever be, and having a child has been life's biggest blessing. I don't dare imagine having to fight for the life of a child. St. Jude's does amazing things for their families. We have also had our own battle with a family member's cancer (an adult), and we want Lucas to always honor that person and his bravery.

The Mommy Kit - Car Accident Safety Tip

As a mom, do you keep a 'mommy kit' in your trunk in case of an emergency with your vehicle?

My corporate site, Accidents.com, posted an article called "Auto Accident Advice That Saves Pain Later", which provides a quick list for you to read BEFORE an accident. Well a fellow mom posted a great comment that I want to share with you...

Shane said "I also keep extra baby Formula, water bottles, one extra baby bottle and non-perishable snacks for my older kids in my trunk in case we have car problems. I call it the "mommy kit"."

Read more: http://www.accidents.com/top-auto-accident-advice-tips.html#ixzz160iM0EwO

I think that is great advice - and plan to create my own mommy kit asap. I plan to add diapers and wipes to that list.

In case you aren't aware: my company operates the site Accidents.com, which focuses on accident safety, distracted driving solutions and connects consumers with attorneys, chiropractors, and other pain management specialists.

Helping the Picky Eater | Parent Earth | Videos about Food for Families

Great article alert: Helping the Picky Eater | Parent Earth | Videos about Food for Families
From Parent Earth. What can you do to help your child enjoy and try new foods? In this video, family doctor and childhood feeding specialist, Katja Rowell MD reviews tips to help your picky eater learn to like new foods.

Journal Dedication Page: Happy Birthday Lucas

Today is our son's First Birthday. I am sharing my dedication page to his journal because I know there are moms out there that will appreciate this. I'm not a poet and don't consider myself a strong writer... but here goes.


Dear Lucas,

Happy first birthday 'mi vida' (my life). This journal started as a part of my own when I was just starting to dream about you. I’ve been trying to write this opening birthday entry for months, but finally realized that nothing I put down here will be able to express what your life means to us. Your first heart beat answered years of prayers, and your first breath defined who I would become - your mom above all else - for the rest of my life. You may not understand what I am about to say until you have your own family – but from the very moment you existed as a little life inside me, your life became my own, and the reason for everything daddy and I do. On that day we started to share in our life's journey together as a family, and all of our hopes and dreams for you began...

If there is one thing that parenthood has made me realize more than ever Lucas, is that life passes us by way too fast. I can’t believe you are already a year old! Life, and the people that make it wonderful and sometimes difficult (and these are mostly all the same people by the way!), is hard to appreciate as you are living it. One of my hopes is that these pages always remind you that everything you’ve done, big and small, makes us proud and fills us with wonder. That's something that will hold true to papa and me no matter how old you might be!

I also hope we can teach you that loving honestly and deeply makes you a happier person, because you’ll get so much of that in return. And that it all starts with family, because we don't get through life alone. As you read this you’ll see that you have been blessed with love from a diverse ‘family’. Your great-grandparents and many, many grandparents have already loved you so much! Your tias, tios and cousins from the US and Colombia are also a big part of who you'll become. And it’s not just blood relatives either. The friends we choose to call family over time can sometimes turn into the most special people in our lives – that’s how your dad and I came to be after all! So this journal may seemingly be about your individual life, but we are bound together by blood, love, marriage, friendships and the memories of all those things combined.

As time passes I know you will teach us many things. You already have. The hardest lesson will come when you are ready to live independently from us. A tough day, and a proud day, for any mom I am sure. But remember that a child and his parents are tied by this life's journey together; no matter how far you may go, we are and will always be a part of you.

Until then, I hope we can find precious time to keep filling these pages together. It's our proud job, gift and privilege to guide you through it. It is your job, gift and privilege to go live it fully. Remember to look back and cherish your past. Learn from it. Most importantly though, remember to smile each night because you are about to be blessed with a new tomorrow. New chances to live, learn, love yourself, give back to others and start fresh. Remember that every second you have is a gift dad and I wanted more than anything else. Our favorite gift to love in our entire world. Love that gift and take really, really good care if it.

Happy 1st Birthday 'mi vida'. Love, Mama

Journals: The Gift of Memories and Stories

I finished the dedication page in my son's first journal last night. I wanted to "give" it to him today, for his first birthday.

I have always kept a journal. When I was a teenager it was a diary full of drama, and if life was accurately chronicled, a very sad, tortured young life. That of course isn't true, and I laugh about it now. If I wrote something I didn't want mom to know about, I would staple the pages shut and circle the staples with red ink so that I could tell if mom or brother tampered with the evidence! As I grew up I wrote here and there, but not consistently. So there are gaps that memories and pictures help fill. I started to write again after September 11th, and as life would have it I met my husband about a year later.

When we couldn't get pregnant writing was a necessity. I carried around a little red notebook and chronicled every doctor's appointment, new medical terms I had to repeat, every phone call, every disappointing result, dates and more appointments. Side notes mentioned how I felt. If I didn't have the notebook I would email myself with the subject line "Journal", and kept a folder. I have five sentence emails from myself in the recovery room after our IVF transfer, I called that entry "Maybe Baby".

So when we got pregnant, I decided that our "Maybe Baby" would continue to get the same type of attention that I sporadically gave myself, and that I obsessively gave our infertility treatments. I made it a habit to write notes about our pregnancy on my commute, and continued to email them to myself as our "maybe baby" became our baby with his first heart beat. I kept copies of my emails in Google docs to make sure I had back-ups.

When Lucas was 3 months I ordered a handmade leather journal from Etsy. I transcribed our pregnancy stories from my electronic journal and have been writing for Lucas during my commute ever since. I use a combination of Evernote, LilGrams and email to accomplish this. I transcribe the longer stories once a week (most of the time), in my handwriting, into his journal. All the milestones and emails from family are automatically and easily kept using LilGrams (more on that in another post). Last week Lucas started to "color" in his journal. Amazing. I hope we learns to write his name in this same journal.

My husband says he feels a little bad because if we had a girl, she might appreciate all of this much more later in life than a boy. I like to think he'll appreciate it just enough, and I like to dream that his wife children will love it.

Happy 1st Birthday my little man!

Journal pictures kindly taken by Daniel Fiori of SweetDanib. Thanks Dani!

Holy Super Deal Batman! Borders Coupons

Here is a quick suggestion on how to use these great deals from Borders. I think this will provide great savings, especially if there are a lot of kids or book worms in your family. I love giving books and music as gifts to kids!

* You can buy yourself a $50 gift card from Borders and you get a $10 bonus coupon or $5 Gift Card. I don't plan to give them away, but instead use them myself to get more out of my money by using more coupons!

* 33% Off Borders Coupon

* 40% off CD's

If you used these and it worked out, tell us about it! More coupon tips coming soon!

1st Birthday Cake Drama - Did You Just Ask Me That?

That's Right. My husband went to pick up our son's FIRST BIRTHDAY CAKE and the bakery simply said it 'aint here'. Here is a quick transcript of one of those moments that you know is going to be funny LATER. Thirty minutes before the official start time of our meticulously planned party? Not so funny. I spent HOURS making lists, creating slide shows, movies and wall collages... and THIS is what I ended up having to deal with?! Of course!

Husband: Mar, they can't find our cake. Are you sure you ordered it here?

Wife: Did you JUST ASK ME THAT? Did I order our son's first birthday cake from the same place we've been getting cakes for years? #$%&% YES.

Wife: Are you at the right place; Or is this your hangover at work?
.....Insiders note: husband decided late night (very late night) at Dave Matthew's Concert the night before our party was 'just fine'.

Husband: Well don't freak, but well, they said they 'aint got it'. Now what?

Wife: I will call.

After 6 minutes and 42 seconds on hold and then being 'accidentally' disconnected, twice!:
Wife: Hi, my son's first birthday party starts in 45 minutes and.... (told them story)

Baker: Are you trying to order a cake or pick up a cake?

Wife: Okay, I will repeat the story (slower).

Baker: So if you already know we can't find your cake, why are you calling?

Wife (trying not to yell, knowing that if situation got nasty, there would be no cake at all):
Did you just ask me that? Look, I am trying to stay calm, but you need to understand that my baby's first birthday party starts shortly and I need a cake. I ordered a plain, white cake - whipped cream, strawberries. Nothing written on it, no decorations. I just need any cake (mentally, I said %#%&$ cake... but you knew that already).

Baker: oh, so you want us to make you another one? Not sure we can, let me check.

Wife: I don't care if you have to take a shoebox and put whipped cream on it - I need a white, plain sheet cake for my son's first birthday. I am having it decorated at the house, and I need it here very soon.

....... Insiders Note: Fact is that I am lucky enough to have an expert stylist that lives in my building. Sweet Dani B can make dirt look like art work. So I figured that worst case scenario, she could take her design idea for the cake and put it on a shoebox. Not kidding. That was my back up plan. I had already called her to warn her about our 'situation'.
Baker: Looks like we have a cake available. Send your husband back in 10 minutes. We are so sorry we misplaced your order, we won't charge you for it.

Wife: You can charge me what you want, or not charge me at all. Just get me something that looks like a cake, soon.

Baker: What would you like written on it?

Wife: (Deeeep breath) I need a PLAIN, WHITE CAKE. Now. Pretty please (clenched teeth).

Long story short - the cake was practically still frozen when it arrived, but they came through. We had no idea what it was made of, but as you can see from our amazing picture, our dear friend and amazing designer Dani B (www.sweetdanib.com) did her magic as planned, and Lucas had an amazing first birthday cake. Husband did a great job of talking me off the ledge.

Lesson: make sure the cake is the FIRST thing you pick up just in case a shoebox with whipped cream is the only cake your baby's going to get! Would I really have done that? Really - did you just ask me that? ;-) More about the party soon!

Amazing Photography Print Deal - 20x30 Prints for $9.99!

Folks: don't pass this up. Adorama prints the most beautiful pictures. I am an avid hobbyist and my prints always get printed there. I can't wait to see how they do with my baby's pictures!

20x30 Prints for $9.99!

Children's Place 20% Coupon Link

Children's Place 20% Coupon, Expires November 15, 2010

Pioneer of In Vitro Fertilization Wins Nobel Prize

THANK YOU to Robert G. Edwards, Nobel Prize Winner for developing in vitro fertilization. Thank you for giving us, and millions of parents, our baby's first cry, those amazing eyes to admire every morning, and that laugh which echoes through our hearts every time we hear it.

Dr. Edwards will never hear these millions of thank you's, but if you believe in karma, or God, or anything bigger than 'us' - and I do - then I believe that Mr. Edwards is on a list much bigger than that of Nobel Prize winners! But that one is pretty cool too!

And of course, a big ol' shout out to Dr. Seaman and the entire crew at The Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas for mastering the science that Dr. Edwards brought to their very capable and caring hands.


Sourced:

Health, NY Times

Pioneer of In Vitro Fertilization Wins Nobel Prize

By NICHOLAS WADE

Published: October 4, 2010

Robert G. Edwards of Britain won the prize in medicine for a breakthrough that has helped millions to have children.

2010/2011 Flu Vaccines Ingredients - Advice from Dr. Bob Sears

If you are going to go with the flu vaccine, this is a great article by Dr. Bob Sears. He's the doc that believes in a more conservative approach to infant/children's vaccinations. We started with his schedule and split our vaccines even further, but I like his thinking. Anyway, this article also includes the INGREDIENTS that go into different brands of vaccines.

THIS WAS SOURCED FROM http://mindfullivingnj.com/2010/09/27/dr-bob-sears-on-the-20102011-flu-vaccines/
Dr. Bob Sears on the 2010/2011 Flu Vaccines

By Dr. Bob Sears

How to make sure your flu shot is mercury-free

In my opinion it is very important for infants, young children, and pregnant women to make sure their flu vaccine is mercury-free. I know that the majority of published researched has failed to demonstrate that this mercury causes any harm, but I don’t think that anyone should take this chance with the susceptible brain of a developing infant. Although the information I provide above makes it very clear which brands and formulations contain mercury, it isn’t so easy to guard your child against this in the busy chaos of a doctor’s office. You can ask the nurse to make sure your child (or yourself) is getting a mercury-free dose, but when the nurse prepares the vaccine out of your site at the nurse’s station, then brings it into the room, how can you really be sure?

Here is how:
• You can get the nasal spray vaccine (approved for anyone two years and older). This has never had, and never will have, mercury.

• If getting the injected vaccine (which is most often the case), ask the nurse to allow you to see the labeled vial and watch her prepare it, either in your exam room or the nurse’s station. After rolling her eyes at you, most nurses will comply.

• If your dose is being drawn out of a little plastic or glass bottle that looks like it would hold many doses, then this is guaranteed to contain the full dose of mercury.

• If your dose is already pre-packaged in a single-dose syringe with a manufacturer’s label on it, then you are guaranteed that this is mercury-free. The one exception to this is the Fluvirin brand (see below); its pre-filled syringes have a trace amount of mercury, which I think is harmless.

• If your dose is drawn out of a very small plastic vial with a manufacturer’s label on it that only contained your single dose, then this is mercury-free.

• If you are getting the Fluarix or Agriflu brand, these are all mercury free.

• If you are getting the FluLaval brand, then you are getting the full mercury dose along with it.

• With the other brands (Fluzone, Fluvirin, and Afluria) it depends on the formulation. The single-dose syringes and vials do not have mercury (see the Fluvirin exception above); the large ten-dose vials do.

The bottom line on flu vaccine mercury is to stand up for yourself and for your child and be sure what you are getting is safe. You have this right. No nurse or doctor would purposely deceive you and give you mercury when you asked him or her not to. But people make mistakes. I get such emails all the time from angry parents who tell me their doctor’s office or a flu vaccine clinic gave them the wrong formulation. Until mercury is taken out of all flu shots (if ever), you need to exercise this vigilance. I would even go so far as to suggest that if your only option is a mercury-containing flu vaccine because your doctor or clinic doesn’t have any mercury-free doses, skip it for that year (if you are okay with the disease risk).

Note: These details apply to the most current flu vaccines for the 2010/2011 flu season:

The Fluarix brand (killed injected vaccine), made by GlaxoSmithKline, is approved
for anyone three years and older. It contains:

Killed and split virus particles
Saline solution
Octoxynol-10
Alpha-tocopheryl hydrogen succinate
Polysorbate 80
Hydrocortisone
Gentamicin (an antibiotic)
Formaldehyde (<>

The Fluzone brand (killed injected vaccine), made by Sanofi Pasteur, is approved for anyone six months and older. It contains:

The killed and split virus particles
Saline solution
Gelatin
Egg proteins (not mentioned in the PI, but residual amount is likely there as in other brands)
Formaldehyde (<50>

All four Fluzone pre-filled syringes or single-dose vials are mercury-free. It’s important to make sure infants and toddlers under age three are getting the proper dose, which is either the 0.25 ml pre-filled syringe labeled for infant use or a half-dose (0.25 ml) drawn out of the large multidose vial. An infant could technically be given half of one of the 0.5 ml pre-filled syringes or 0.5
ml vials; the leftover half would simply be discarded.

Child Safety Week Passes and Concerns Get Bigger

So for those of you that don't know, I am the CEO of a start-up media agency that owns the site Accidents.com. We've been crazy busy following distracted driving laws and more importantly, building our Distracted Driving Education and Resolution section, which launches soon.

We are looking for any technical and non-technical solutions to the distracted driving problem, particularly texting while driving. Also looking for any bloggers or writers that are already writing about child safety and accident prevention on the road, in parks, etc. Anyone in this category can get featured on the site at no cost, so please use the "Bat Phone" form on the top right to get in touch with me personally.

My own personal eye opening day.....

When we started to focus on this, my husband and I both became more aware of how much we were putting ourselves in jeopardy over such a stupid decision. We would never drink and drive, but we both admitted to glancing at our phones for "a quick second" when something popped up on the screen. This made us change that habit: when traveling at 55 MPH, a driver texting for 6 seconds actually looks away from the road for 4.6 seconds of it. The car can travel the LENGTH OF A FOOTBALL field in that time! You can read the details on that here.

So moms and dads, I hope that convinces you to stay off your handhelds while you are driving! Our kids need us to be role models in this. Please forward this to anyone you know that might be interested in partnering with us to fight this growing problem.

A Chance Encounter with a Sept. 11th Superhero

I make it a point to walk down different streets in NYC when I'm heading home. Two days ago, a friend and I walked west on 30th street, and ran into the amazing building of New York Police Department's Traffic Control Division, 23rd Precinct (between 6/7th Ave). As I snapped this quick i-phone picture, a police officer walked over to us.

The officer knew the building's history and told us that it has been a NYPD property since it was built in 1907. He mentioned that he was standing outside because the interior was hard to keep cool and he was uncomfortable from the heat. He had just returned back to work after a battle with colon cancer, which doctors believe was caused by September 11th. And there it was, a chance encounter with a real-life superhero of 9/11. What an amazing coincidence just two days away from the anniversary.

This officer was a chatterbox and had such great spirit! He was funny, sarcastic (of course!) and above all else, grateful. He told us how blessed he was that he's been able to see his children grow up. He has good medical coverage which allows him to battle through his illness. He loves his job and was so glad to be back. After about a 10 minute chat, we moved on. Before doing so, we thanked him for his sacrifice on 9/11, wished him the best with his battle and continued on.

The officer mentioned that he is 30 years old, which means he was just a rookie at the time of the attacks. In his young life he has already survived 9/11 and (hopefully) his battle against cancer. Moments like that, people like that, become a part of me and I am so grateful for them...

... they make me close my eyes and whisper 'thank you' for all I have.

... they remind me that America is full of superheroes that survived 9/11. Some of their battles continue but they feel blessed that they can keep on fighting. Amazing.

... I take a moment to remember and pray for the friends or friend's family members that passed on that day. I say thank you again, for the fact that I stayed home from work that day, and that all my neighbors came home.

... and above all else I know that these are the superheroes that I want my son to meet someday and thank for keeping New York and America safe.

Road to our Baby's Round Head - DOC Band Decorating

While some parents find it absolutely adorable to keep the DOC Band Helmet a blank canvas, I knew I was going to have fun decorating it. We waited until his second appointment (3 weeks) to make sure that there would be no major changes. While I waited I recruited the help of my brilliant neighbor/graphic designer to help me think of some ideas.

I decided I didn't want to go too 'baby'. Our little guy is a bit on the rough side, and we wanted something that fit his personality. I remembered that his papa told me that he was nicknamed "Shine-a-saurus" in high school because of his size, and that gave me an idea. We would create a "Lucas-a-saurus" helmet. I also decided on black and white because I was afraid too many colors would be difficult to match with outfits. Yes, I know - I'm nuts. I was also afraid to paint the helmet because (a) what if I got sick of the color and (b) I'm not crafty and would mess it up.

A Shorter Route to Decorating your DOC Helmet

Before you read all this and think that you just don't have the time, let me give you the quick option. Go to Michael's or similar and find any rub-on transfers. They have amazing pre-fabricated designs that you can play with. One baby at Cranial Tech had these on his helmet and they looked amazing! It will save you A LOT OF WORK. I just didn't find anything that I loved, and decided to go with a custom design. I would still recommend the mod podge final steps below if you go this way.

Not including the ink, I spent about $20 on the supplies. We bought all of our supplies at Pearl Art Center near the Cranial Technologies offices in Paramus so that I didn't have to pay for shipping. These links are meant to show you the exact products we used. We used (1) Inkjet printer (2) Grafix Rub-onz Film & Adhesive Film print at home transfer paper (3) Scissors (4) Mod podge (4) Foam paint-brushes

Decorating the DOC Band Helmet:

1. Search Google Images for ideas. We searched for 'cute dinosaurs' and 'cute dinosaur stickers'. Finally found images I wanted on a paid site, but had access through my designer friend. There are tons of free resources out there, including free coloring pages that you download, crop and save.

2. Download and save the images to your computer at the highest resolution possible (sometimes you don't have a choice on the resolution, but most download in a very acceptable size). Recommend you create one folder to save all the pictures in. It will make it easier for printing later.

3. Open the pictures using Microsoft Office Picture Manager. I find this has the best printing options for me, but Picasa or similar programs may work for you.

***Make sure that you select 'mirror' printing in your print options so that letters and "humps" go in the direction that you planned out. I made that mistake - - cost me a sheet of the Grafix paper.***

***First print on plain paper, cut the images and plan your layout.***

4. Select the images that you want to print the same size. To get the size effect we got for the dinosaurs, print in "wallet size".

5. Select the smaller sized images that you want to print. To get the size effect that we got for the dino prints, select "contact sheet". You can select the number of times that you want the image to print. I printed 15 prints.

6. To print your baby's name, find a font treatment that you like. Search for free fonts online. Download and install the fonts you like, and 'write' the name in MS Word (or similar). Print the name in different font sizes. Our "Lucas-a-saurus" was about a 14 point font.

7. Once you are ready to print on the Grafix paper, cut the images but NOT TOO CLOSE to the edge. Those are the instructions that come with the Grafix paper. I made that mistake and had to reprint a bunch of them. That was lost sheet #2!

8. Follow the instructions carefully for how transfering the images. Remember step 6! Don't go to step 9 for at least two hours.

***warning: I am NOT crafty and it took me two dumb tried to get the transfer to work. If you haven't done this before, test it on something else. I used ruined sheet #2 to test this process!

9. Once you are finished, lightly brush on the mod podge. It may look like it isn't going to be clear, but it really does dry clear. I put the helmet in front of a fan, and let it dry for an hour. I repeated this process again the next day, and did two coats.

***I should do another coat. I can see that the mod podge is starting to wear down, but I plan to replace the design at some point for Halloween, so I'm not going to bother.***

CT would probably yell at me, but I did end up keeping the helmet off for more than an hour, probably closer to 2 1/2, the night I decorated it. I wanted to make sure everything was SUPER dry before Lucas got his little hands on it. Though none of these items are toxic, better safe than sorry. Besides, this was a lot of work.

So I hope this was helpful. Though I'm not crafty, I am pretty good with printing, cropping, etc. so if you need any help at all, follow the blog and leave me a comment. I will gladly help out a fellow "helmet head'!

Road to our Baby's Round Head - First Sore

First let me say that I absolutely think the stocking used over the baby's head when they take measurements is hysterical. Lucas looks like he's ready to go break into someone's house and steal the latest Baby Einstein video or something.

So, we thought our visit last week went well. As usual Cranial Technologies (CT) took us on time and we were in and out. They couldn't find Lucas' head mold but promised to get to the bottom of that before the next visit. We were in and out in about 15 minutes. Good news for mommy.... until the next morning.

Lucas woke up with his first bad sore from the DOC helmet. I was mortified - it was pretty bad. He's been a little red here and there, but it has always passed. The sore was about the size of a quarter and bright red. As instructed in the past, we took off the helmet and waited one hour to see if it would fade. We also applied hydrocortisone and rubbed it in really well to make sure Lucas wouldn't get it on his hands. I was hoping he had slept on it wrong.

Three hours passed and it was still there. When I looked inside the helmet I noticed a pretty bumpy ridge in one of the areas they adjusted over the left ear temple. I called CT and they squeezed me in at the end of the day. Instructed me to keep the helmet off. There really was no choice in the matter. As soon as I had put it back on him earlier, the sore came back immediately.

When we arrived the technician was surprised to see us and apologized for the inconvenience. They really are super nice at the Paramus office! Problem fixed, except now it seems like the helmet is a bit too loose. That will have to wait until next week.

So, lessons learned last week:
1. Take a close look at the helmet and feel around with your own hands before you leave. It will give you a chance to address any doubts. Look for any ridges that might feel a little too much like a speed bump!

2. Check baby's head first thing in the morning, especially day first few days after a new adjustment, to make sure that that he doesn't have red spots from sleeping on it the wrong way.

3. Keep that hydrocortisone cream handy. It cools the sore spot and stops them from making it worse by scratching at it.

More soon!

Distracted Driving Now Deadliest Road Hazard - Accidents.com

Here is the article that I promised I'd share when it was completed.

Eye opening: According to a 2009 study by Virgina Tech Transportation Institute, when traveling at 55 mph, a driver texting for 6 seconds is looking at the phone for 4.6 seconds of that time and travels the distance of a football field without their eyes on the road.

http://www.accidents.com/distracted-driving.html

Australia bans flu vaccines in children after vomiting, fevers, seizures

Australia bans flu vaccines in children after vomiting, fevers, seizures

The flu vaccine argument continues. I'm really broken up about what to do about this for my 9 month old. Any views would be appreciated!

Child Safety & Technology - Cell Phone Texting and Driving Can Now Be Stopped

Where do you draw the line between protecting your child and giving them privacy and freedom? How do you control the use of your child's cell phone?

This blog entry is being driven by a new article I am researching for a work website. I've known that this cell phone tracking/managing technology was coming for a while, and I have been drooling to hear which side of the privacy issue people will sit on. Me?

FACT: Every year texting and driving injures 2X more teens
THAN DRUNK DRIVING

FACT: 25% of fatal car accidents involve a cell phone

FACT: 20% of teens admit to texting nude pictures of themselves

Folks, let me start by saying that I would probably chip my kid - that's right, like you can chip a dog - if they'd let me. I know, I know that sounds terrible. I'd let him turn it off when he was 18 or 30, or something. Nobody wants the villains to know (which of course they would) that your kid is traceable and try to carve out the chip and cause them harm... you can see I've thought about this. It's would be a tough choice. But we can't do that - well, now we kinda can. Read on.

Here's the deal - for $10 per month, parents can now STOP TEENS from TEXTING and DRIVING. This CellSafety* technology apparently SHUTS OFF the phone if it senses movement while your teenager is driving (or in a moving vehicle). It has a SPEED ALERT (and you are notified immediately).

There's more. Using keyword technology (same as other web safety services that are in the marketplace), it can tell if teens are texting about nudity, cyber bullying, guns, suicide, porn. You can block texting in certain areas (like the classroom). Last but certainly not least (and here's where there might be more on that 'chipping' debate), it uses GPS technology to tell you where your kids are, and where they have been.

Thing is fellow superheroes, there are sick bastards/villains in this world that want to harm my child and I know how easy it will be for them to find him. Particularly now that kids are plugged in all the time. Imagine what the future will look like? Nobody likes to hear about those Amber alerts. So if you could buy some extra time, find them faster - would you? What if you could teach teens that what they are doing is putting them in harm's way in real-time?

Spousal Disagreement!
My husband and I completely disagree on this issue. He hates when I mention the "chipping" idea. Probably because (shut your eyes mama-in-law) his parents would have locked him up if they knew half the things he got away with. Yes, I know that we have to let our kids learn a lot on their own. He believes that sometimes you just have to 'let them fall'. And so do I to a certain extent (see last blog entry). My husband survived all the craziness, and so did my brother. But I think they GOT LUCKY. Don't get me wrong, that GPS technology would have probably kept me out of by high school bo's house many a nights!!!! Or not? ;-)

So, how DO YOU manage your teenager's cell phone (and internet) use and will you start taking advantage of child safety technology as it enters the marketplace? I am very curious about your points of view on this. Please comment!

*NOTE: TBrightgeist Media (company I run) WILL BE PAID if you sign up for this offer. That's how I found out this product was coming into the marketplace. This isn't a pitch for the product. I am writing about this because I think its important,. I just like to be transparent when there is any financial gain (even when it's not directly to me) on product links or offers. They also offer a very good WEB SAFETY product that provides similar controls. Ditto on the financial gain thing.

I'll publish the www.Accidents.com when we finish it. Follow Accidents.com on Facebook for other accident safety articles. Yep, THAT was a shameless plug!

It's the difference between superman and superparent...

We LOVE this article by Parenting Bliss. Here is an excerpt:

All kids get sick, all kids get hurt and all kids receive insults and disappointments. They are better served when we try to teach them how to live in a world that has many challenges, than pretend life is all cushions and pillows.

The ultimate point here is that for sure we should try to protect our children, but they also need personal challenges in order to grow.

It’s the difference between superman and superparent. As much as we would like to remake the world with no rough edges or nasty people – it just isn’t so, nor remotely possible. However, some parents don’t want to believe it -- they think they have figured out how to make it so no one gets sick or says a mean word, so they play superman sweeping in to save the day.

*******

My mom called this the "fishing line" effect. She would cast out the fishing line and let us pull it out (testing the waters) but when she thought she needed to reel it in, she would, but very slowly. Her hope was that we would learn a little through that process.

I don't know how I'll react when Lucas starts to test more dangerous waters. I hope I can use that fishing line effect, but right now I feel like I have to play superman and over-protect. I know my husband tends to disagree. But if I can avoid some extra scrapes and bruises... well then, I will!

Quote for Today...

"Mother Nature is wonderful. Children get too old for piggy-back rides just about the same time they get too heavy for them." ~Author Unknown

Our son is now 9 months old and has his "well" doctor's appointment tomorrow. I have no doubt that he weights over 25 lbs. I'm 5'2". I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to give him piggy-back rides. Maybe I'm too short for piggy-back rides? :-)

The Road to a Baby's Round Head - Part 2 - About Week 1

It’s Working!

Lucas has now been in his DOC band helmet for four weeks and we can see a very big difference, particularly above his ears where he was very wide. He also had a deep ridge in the back of his head and that is absolutely gone. The back still looks flat, but we can see that it is starting to fill in at the bottom. The technicians were very happy with the results after only three weeks.

Looking Back - The First Week

Looking back over the last few weeks makes me appreciate how much he has gotten used to wearing his helmet, particularly at night. The first week was miserable. The folks at Cranial Technologies warned us that he would get hot, but we didn’t expect what we went through. I’m not going to downplay it - it was bad! Every kid is different, and our son tends to be a ‘hot’ baby. The first night we took the helmet off after about 3 hours because he was so upset. He woke up completely soaked down his back, and there was really no consoling him. That night I thought we’d never get through it. I think we slept a total of 4 hours.

Sleeping with the DOC band helmet

During the first few days we followed the guidelines (take off every couple of hours to check for sores) and every time we took it off, he was soaked. No sores the first week. I called Cranial Technologies and they told me that it just takes some time for their body temperature to adjust. The second night we broke our rules and let him sleep in bed with us. That made it easier for me to feel for sweat, and when I started to feel it drip out of the helmet, I would take it off for an hour or two (yep, in the middle of the night). I’d set my iPhone timer so that I could wake up and put it back on. I am not going to say it was easy, but by the 4th night he was not leaking sweat out of it anymore. By the fifth day he was definitely sweating a lot less. We also really chilled down the room to 70 degrees and didn’t put him in pajama pants. He is still only sleeping in an onesie. It’s made a big difference. I’ll try throwing a blankie on him but he only kicks it off. Now that he’s adjusted, we are sleeping with the room at 73 degrees and with the ceiling fan.

I was pleasantly shocked by the fact that the helmet had absolutely no impact on him during the day. He completely ignores it. Once in a while when he’s tired he’ll tug on the part by his ear, but only because that’s how he always tells us he’s tired. Funny side benefit - now that Lucas is crawling and scooting, the helmet has saved us from many, many bruises! The helmet does droop down a lot when he's drinking his bottle, so we just make sure to adjust it so that it doesn't get in his way. One other thing - parents have to be careful! We have been scraped and banged by our son's head a few times, and it hurts!

When we went back for our first adjustment (the first time its in a week) they had to do some pretty major cutting in the front of the helmet because it was coming down too low over his eyebrows, and it was hitting his left ear every time he got on his belly to try to crawl. I kept thinking that the helmet wasn’t’ the right size, but Cranial Technologies reminded me that they have to leave room for three months worth of head growth. If you think about how much they grow every month, the size of the helmet made more sense.

A few days after this first adjustment we ended up back at Cranial Technologies. Lucas was getting fairly large red spots at his temples that weren’t disappearing, so we went back and they adjusted it again. That fixed the problem, and we haven’t had any issues with sores since then.

I waited to decorate his helmet until we went for his 2nd week’s appointment, just to make sure that they weren’t going to drastically change anything else on the outside of the helmet. After that second appointment, we went right to Pearl Art Center and bought our goodies. More on decorating the DOC band helmet in my next entry!

Hope this gives everyone some sense of what the expect after they get the DOC band helmet. Best of luck to those considering it or just starting out!

Coupon Alert: Shutterfly 20% off Photobooks and Free Shipping (expires9/1)

You can't beat baby books that are easy to make! Discount expires September 1st according to the website, according to the email it expires Aug. 25th. Who knows, but it's a good deal along with the free shipping which usually boosts the cost. Here's the link!

Coupon Alert: 15% Off Children's Place through (expires 9/1)

Children's Place Discount Email dated 08/16/2010. Use coupon code C9A9U7KD8A for online shopping.

The Road to a Baby's Round Head - Part 1

For parents worried about or dealing with their baby's head shape. Warning - this is a long blog entry. You should read it if:

• You have ANY questions about your baby’s head shape, in the front, sides or back. You are not being OVER PROTECTIVE. You know best, and you should read on. Your pediatrician may NOT be the professional with the right answers.

• You don’t know the answers to 'What is Plagiocephaly' or 'What is Torticollis'?

• Your baby is less than 4 months old because you might be able help plagiocephaly through repositioning techniques.

• If you are a DOC parent, than here's our story. When I was doing my research it was the other parents’ stories that helped me the most…

Cheating tip: if you don’t feel like reading my sob story, skip to the end where I provide ANSWERS/RESOURCES.

The ROAD TO DIAGNOSIS

It was at Lucas’ 4 month check up when I mentioned his head shape to his doctor. I thought something was off because it was so flat in the back, but when he told me that it would be fine as Lucas spent more time on his tummy, I let it go. I told him that Lucas absolutely hated tummy time. No exaggeration, my kid would go into what I call the ‘red devil’ fit because his face and body would turn so red from crying. All we had to do was turn him over and the screaming would start. We didn’t like to upset our child so he stayed on his back. The doc said that “this would pass” as he got stronger. Stronger? He was lifting his head the day he was born. He was already trying to pull himself up using our fingers. This baby was strong and ready. Over the next two months Lucas grew by inches (woo hoo!). He did start pulling himself up early, and was doing so with our help by 5 months. He was thrilled when he was standing, but the ‘red devil’ still emerged at tummy time. I knew Lucas was fine developmentally, but my stubborn child (we’ll blame daddy, ha!) wouldn’t roll over!

At his 6 month checkup we were scheduled to see the other doctor at our practice. We barely made it in the door when she jumped up about his head shape. I got very upset, as any mother would have been. Upset because my instinct was right, because I didn’t push harder two months ago, because I didn’t know there was a real problem – or a solution. But there were answers. For the record (facts I screamed at the doctor as we talked), my child did not sit in a swing all day, or lay underneath a play gym. If anything, his full-time nanny spoiled him by carrying him around way too much! He wasn’t watching television (yet!) and we DID TRY tummy time but were guilty of giving up too soon. Lucas slept on his back as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He actually slept on one of those breathing monitors because I was so afraid of SIDS.

DIAGNOSIS

When I mentioned his crying fits the doctor’s answer was a simple one: let him cry! She recommended we train him by doing 5 minutes of tummy time (play, run, jump, entertain him, but do it), three times a day. Increase it when he can handle the 5 minutes. She also made sure that his neck alignment wasn’t off (Torticollis ) and causing pain or discomfort. In her opinion, it was fine, and this was not a physical or development problem. If it was, there was physical therapy she could prescribe. So what was going on? Our little man knew that we weren’t letting him cry, and he was taking advantage of it! At six months! By the way, after 3 days of these exercises, the ‘red devil’ disappeared and Lucas started to roll over. Three days. Five days later he was sleeping on his belly. So now what? At this point the Doc believed that Lucas could be diagnosed with plagiocephaly. And she believed that the best people to diagnose him were at Cranial Technologies.

I didn’t know what she was talking about until she said, “you know, those kids that wear those helmets? That’s why they have to wear them. To reshape their heads. ” Plagiocephaly is an abnormal head shape in infants and this company has been working on the prevention and treatment since 1986. I had seen kids with the helmets before, but didn’t know why they were wearing it. I thought maybe they had to protect a cut from a surgery, or something else. Maybe a development issue that I just wasn’t aware of.

BLAME and FRUSTRATION
Prescription in hand, I came home upset and incredulous. How the hell did I miss this? If you knew me you would be shocked too. I am a research ANIMAL. I researched strollers and baby carriers for 3 months for the love of God! Why, why didn’t I come home 2 months ago and Google “baby head shape” or something like it? And why, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHY didn’t the other doctor WARN ME that this might happen. Since when do I listen to doctors anyway? Okay, enough. You can’t change the past. Forward we go, and off to Cranial Technologies (website) we went. Babycenter.com also had some great information, and more importantly, links to other blogs from parents that had used Cranial Technologies.

THE ANSWERS/RESOURCES

Most of the information I SHOULD HAVE HAD when Lucas was 4 months old (or sooner) was on CranialTech.com. Really great, useful information that could possibly have stopped the need for this helmet.

In summary:
1. TUMMY TIME IS IMPORTANT because without it, your baby could get Plagiocephaly. Here is a GREAT BROCHURE that explains why.
2. Before 4 months, parents can try repositioning techniques. Tips for repositioning.
3. Don’t leave this to guess-work. Cranial Technologies will give you a very through and wonderfully free evaluation.
4. Here are pictures of different baby head shapes. See if they seem familiar.

After our appointment with Cranial, Lucas was diagnosed with moderate Brachycephaly. The technician said it might somewhat correct itself now that Lucas was starting to sleep on his side and belly. But there were no guarantees. After a certain age, it would be too late to correct it. I’ll tell you more about what we decided (I am sure you already know where that is going), what other options we found, and what factors led to our decision. I just really wanted to get this information out there for other parents.

For parents considering the DOC band, let me know if you want to hear about Lucas’ first few days with it (not as easy as they tell ya, but not that bad either). Happy to pull that from his journal for you. You can follow the rest of our story under the category “Baby Head Shape”. More soon and good luck. Hope this was helpful.

Product tip: Sophie the Giraffe Leash by TutimNYC

We had stopped taking Sophie the Giraffe for walks because we were tired of picking her up and worse, we were afraid to lose her.  After all, my son absolutely adores this thing and Sophie is the only teething toy he really likes.  He attacks those legs with a vengeance and can now fit her entire face in his mouth.  It's a riot.  Oops... back to the point of the post.

Anyway, we are happy to report that a friend found the solution and Sophie is officially on the toy leash by TutimNYC.  They didn't post instructions on their site so here they are for our reader'ns pleasure.  Once you know  how to do it, it's pretty easy.  Thanks to the superheroes at Bambi Baby in Hoboken for teaching me how to leash Sophie!

Tip: I was using pacifier wipes to clean off Sophie when she was spending more time on the floor than in Lucas' little hands/mouth!  Oh, and we now own the paci clip as well.  Yes, we love that too.

Just in case you are wondering, we are NOT BEING PAID to ADVERTISE this product NOR was it received for FREE.

How to (pictures below):

1. Make sure the tag goes across Sophie's torso as shown

2. Pull the leash across Sophie's neck

3. Wrap it around, button and go!








Another battle against cleaning and bacterias has been won!

Resources:

http://tutimnyc.com/toy.htm

You can buy this product in Hoboken, NJ at Bambi: www.bambibaby.com/

Storing and Freezing Baby Food - BPA Free Trays

Finally!  After months of dealing with different methods of freezing food, I found what I was looking for.  These BPA-free Kidco baby food freezing trays have the key things that we were looking for:

1.  Safety.  BPA-free keeps baby food safe from contaminants.  More on why this is important in another entry.

2.  Cleanliness.  It's very important that we keep food covered.  Keeps out bacteria and freezer burn.

3.  Easy to label.  You can use dry erase markers to label the trays

4.  Price.  These are well priced (less than $9.00 for set 2) compared to others that can go as high as $20 each (Beaba silicone trays)

We bought seven boxes (14 trays) for a total of $59.43.  Each tray carries 7 , 1 oz. servings of food.  Our son is eating 5 oz. of food at each meal so I figured that was enough to get me through about 2o home-made meals!

What else did we try for freezing and storing frozen baby food?

- vs. Silicone:

I have to admit that though silicone trays make it easier to pop the food out (and they are environmentally friendlier) the price made it difficult to buy the volume I needed.  I found silicone trays at Bed, Bath & Beyond but not with covers.

- vs. Taking food out of trays and storing.

Tuperware (even BPA free ones) is bulky and was difficult to stack.  We have limited space and ended up taking up half the freezer.  This wasn't convenient towards the end of a food cycle (we make fresh food every 2 weeks) when we were only storing a few bits of frozen servings.  Additionally, the cubes of food were being touched and handled every time we opened the containers.  That was freaking me out!  If you are going in this direction, make sure that the covers are FLEXIBLE (Target has some nice ones) so that they are easy to close tightly when they have been frozen.  The stiff covers were either tearing or not closing all the way.

-  vs. Ice Cube Trays

No covers! Bacteria.  I was using Saran Wrap or moving it to Tuperware.  See point above.  Ugh.

Best Price found on Diapers.com

So in the end we found the best deal on Diapers.com.  I googled for a coupon, quickly found a 15% off coupon and NO SHIPPING FEES for an order over $50.  The difference between buying from them vs. Amazon or BuyBuyBaby was well over $20 in my pocket.  If you'd like to use my handy dandy new discount code from Diapers.com, see below.  And I also provide links to the different options on Amazon and direct link to Diapers.com below.

Thanks to the ladies at  HappyBaby.com for introducing me to the product at a recent food tasting!

Resources:

Amazon.com Search for Baby Food Freezing Trays (or just search those terms)

Diapers.com link to KidCo Food Freezing Trays (try diapers.com discount code MARC9420 if you are a first time buyer)

Hope this was helpful!

Introducing "Superheroes", A Parenting Blog

Like many moms, I've become a superhero.  That's right, I said it.  In my opinion, being a parent (not just a mom) is just like being a superhero.

During pregnancy we go through the metamorphosis from normal humans to super humans.  Our bodies can suddenly create another being, endure the pain of child birth and once they are born, our super powers emerge!  We have super powers?  Yep, think about it...

• We can leap from tall buildings.  Weren't we able to jump out of bed after a c-section or natural child birth to feed a baby every 2 hours?  And didn't dad manage to go to work the next day and function?  I bet you leaping from one building to another hurt Superman less than that!

• We read minds.  How else do we know how to decipher different types of cries?

• We can tolerate mind control. Aren't we surviving 'advice' from mom, mom-in-law, neighbor, nurse, boss, and others that thought you needed it even though you didn't ask?  And wasn't that  when you JUST had the baby and your emotions were at their all-time high?!  Did I mention no sleep?

• We have 'Spidey-sense'.  Haven't we caught our baby a million times before he or she hit the ground?


• And I hear that someday, I may have to take my first bullet.  I've met the parents that survived the first time that a child says " mommy, I hate you!".  My own mom and mom-in-law have both told me that story!  It sounds funny now, but I know it's going to break my heart.

So in actuality, even without all those superpowers, parents really do these amazing things.

This is why I've joined the mommy and daddy blogging world.  To meet other superheroes, fight the villains, share stories about won and lost battles.  It'll be an adventure to explore the world of parenthood with the rest of you.  Raise your hand if you are a superhero of any kind and join our journey!