speaking of boogers...

thanks to sb reader nym: this is the manny picking his nose while holding the sweetest boy from feb 11.

new feature: parentblogging

i have been kicking around the idea of turning this into a blog about blogging about parentblogging

very post-modern, i know, but 10,000 blogs about kids and parenting are estimated to be created every day.

besides, what do bloggers like better than to explore their purpose on this planet? other than mucophagy, of course

custom mommyblogging tshirt

snapshirts scans your blog and makes a t-shirt out of it. a pretty sweet idea

(for those using blogger) it scans the bar at the top so words like "flag objectionable content" will be included until you take them out or replace them

The great (size three) diaper test!

the sweetest boy is quickly becoming a giant and needs a new diaper. the best diaper he has been using when not in cloth is pampers swaddlers. they only go up to size two. gasp!

swaddlers appeal is all about the stretchy side tabs. they fit and grow with boy, hold everything in, and generally resemble a pair of human underpants.

we bought a brick of every type of diaper, eight in all. here are the results, as the sweetest boy tested them with various fluids and semisolids, ranking in order of worst to best:


only if it was the last diaper on earth, honey:
pampers baby dry-like trying to use a piece of loose leaf paper as a diaper. no stretchyness whatsoever. nowhere.your child will end up with plenty of damp, yellow-stained clothes. 25 cents per diaper.


cheap - and performs that way:
target brand- weird tissue paper tabs flap out to the side of each leg like strange wings. minor elastic along the back, zero on side tabs. scratchy and noisy. pity the poor baby's rump.however, price is appealing at 14 cents per diaper


albertsons brand- looks identical, feels identical, sucks just as much, and for identical reasons. 15 cents per diaper





known brand, pricey, and not that good:
huggies baby shaped fit- on sale (buy $99 get a $30 gift certificate) -has elastic band going all the way across to *trick* parents into thinking there is stretchyness. actually the elastic is quite brittle by the side tabs. 25 cents each

huggies supreme- on sale (buy $99 get a $30 gift certificate) short tabs with an underwhelming stretch factor. an excess of elastic by the leg, three leg gussets. they don't fit well. (after all that baby shaped fit marketing!) very thick. I get the impression that Huggies just doesn't get it. 27 cents each


two worth checking out:
pampers cruisers-the premium pampers line- very stretchy side tabs-quiet but not all that soft compared to swaddlers. 27 cents each




kirkland- stretchy in the back and side tabs. not as stretchy as swaddlers on side tabs but the back is extremely elastic. side tabs will tear if handled too roughly. feels thick. 16 cent/diaper



THE EXTENDED TEST:
boy wore pampers cruisers and kirkland.

the cruisers are all around good diaper, fit, comfort, blowout resistant. another benefit is that they are sold in any store in a range of sizes. the only negative is the high price at .27 each

kirklands are comparable in fit, comfort and resistance. they are only sold in a box of 182 and only at costco, which would be a negative if he was close to outgrowing the size. they get a bit hard once wet, and the fragrance seems to be industrial strength because it caused some diaper rash on the sweetest boy's bottom. the price is the lure of the kirklands at .16 each

the B was exhausted and a bit perplexed from so many successive diaper changes!

lactivism merchandise: it's nipple lickin' good

clever, appealing, repulsive, in your face, lovable, all depending on your orientation: the lactivist offers bibs, tees and onesies with some interesting slogans. to name a few:



nip/suck
open mouth insert nipple
eat at moms
boob man
i'm no weaner

more on the SIDS thing

sb reader mom101 steered me to an interesting new zealand study regarding conventional mattress offgassing and SIDS. [they call it crib death over there, g'day mate]

according to the study mattresses release toxic gas when a common fungus reacts with the chemicals inside a mattress.

These heavier-than-air gases are concentrated in a thin layer on the baby's mattress or are diffused away and dissipated into the surrounding atmosphere. If a baby breathes or absorbs a lethal dose of the gases, the central nervous system shuts down, stopping breathing and then heart function. These gases can fatally poison a baby, without waking the sleeping baby and without any struggle by the baby.

i find this theory believable b/c one of the first things i intuitively wanted for our own bed where the sweetest boy would sleep was a good mattress cover to protect him and the mattress from each other.

casting doubt on SIDS

the manny says i should blog about this: neither of us believe in SIDS

SIDS is sudden infant death syndrome, all kids of definitions can be found out there

there are more than a few skeptics. says Dr. Mason:

Pediatricians may have been making a tragic mistake all these years. Waneta Hoyt was convicted of five counts of murder in 1995 for the deaths of her children. Dr. Jerold Lucey, editor of Pediatrics in 1972, now states, "We should never have published this article. . . . [S]ome physicians still believe SIDS runs in families. It doesn't—murder does." Some new studies estimate that 5-30% of SIDS cases are actually homicides. Because of the sporadic nature of SIDS, I doubt that anyone will ever know how many SIDS cases are actually more sinister.

But most skeptics like Roy Meadow link some cases of SIDS directly to murder. (it is too weird to get into here, but basically he said that parents would kill their babies for the attention and sympathy of the medical community aka MSbP)

The manny and i do not go that far, not even close. but as pretty dedicated attachment parents, we think that neglect, baby training and sheer ignorance is enough to kill a child.

example #1 (ignorance): the lactation consultant at my hospital says a number of new parents wonder why their newborns aren't gaining weight even though he/she has been taking three meals a day. newborns need 8-10 meals because their stomachs are so small. they will starve with so few meals.

example #2 (baby training) Ferberization, where a baby is left to "cry it out" is a widely applied parenting strategy, never mind that it has been recanted. it is also laregly misunderstood as an approach that advocates leaving the baby alone for longer and longer periods of time at night, regardless of their reaction, at any age. combine this with daytime parenting beliefs that holding a baby will somehow hurt or spoil it, and that doesn't leave any window for real human interaction between parent and child. i think that if my early days were this way, i would choose to die. doctors show that something changes in the brain of a SIDS victim that is visible by autopsy. maybe they have willed their own death because their lives are so miserably alone.

example #3(neglect) SIDS has been cut by 50% by having babies sleep on their back, so obviously suffocation has been a factor. next to go: those big padded crib bumpers...

i hope i get some comments on this

(close to) senior citizen is new mom

aieeeee
a 62 year old mom gave birth to a healthy baby this week

technical difficulties

the cat destroyed my blogging ability by knocking the computer off the table. no more posts until this here power adapterarrives

asking the experts

mommymatic had an interesting post on asking the sleep experts the real questions- not the dubya-style republicans only in the town hall meeting- style ones presented in the books.

the best: Dear Dr. Sears: During the time you were raising your 8 children, when, exactly, did you get to have sex?

or mine: dear dr sears-do you offer anything to physically remove my lactating breast to give to the manny after he has woken up the sweetest boy in the middle of the night? that way he can stay up all night feeding him instead of me.

what is a bugaboo??

sb reader mona asked, what exactly is a bugaboo.

the google definition is interesting, but not it.

a bugaboo is a wonderful, versatile, and expensive stroller favored by the bourgeios and celebrity moms. it is also favored by dads who prefer not to be seen surrounded by light green and plaid baby accessories.

a cheaper knockoff (for those that think $1000 is expensive for a stroller, so basically everyone) is available at target

mommy and me

yes, i go to mommy and me class, thank what you will

target and toddlers

Gather up your purse, be sure to add a sippy cup, snacks, toys, blankey,binkie and the "Floppy" for when your kid will never agree to sit in the seat. Fight your child again as he's taken off all of his clothes this time. Go out to the car, try to push his rigid body down into the carseat

so goes a segment from target and toddlers: a primer

i think it is amazing that a sling has made all my shopping experiences pleasant ones (so far). just today, the sweetest boy's parents took him shopping all day and it was easy.

how bourgeois via blogging baby

"a brighter future"

why is it that we find sick humor in stuff like this?

mommy knows worst started it with all the absurd ways people cared for their children in the last century

these bad idea toys take it to a whole new level

via daddytypes

digital electronics for kids

"some assemply required" is about to get a lot more interesting

according to thenyt in the future, kids toys will resemble complex electronics for the parents -er, their children to play with.

and it won't be just batteies you need to put in, now your kids will need an entire music library installed in the toy they will either break or only use once

like a baby einstein rocking chair and mp3 player combined

via pasta and vinegar, and nyt

the smart way to do it

from sb reader nym:
the folks at vicks are selling an oral thermometer/pacifier

i haven't tried it, but i have taken the sweetest boy's temp under his little arm, and i would never do it rectally. so it seems like a pretty good idea

milk banks/ feeding preemies

on a completely less disgusting and more altruistic note, ive been thinking of donating to a milk bank

milk is made on a demand basis, so the sweetest boy would still get plenty, and i already have a freezer full of "backup" for when i go on assignment.

most importantly, even a few ounces can feed a little premature newborn, if his or mother can't for some reason. i guess human milk can really make a difference in those first few critical days.

the bank i am going to doesn't do this, but human milk also helps people with cancer taking chemo and people with organ transplants b/c it is the most gentle food.

has anyone ever done this? what was your experience with a milk bank?

diaper fetish

sb reader kristal "blue persuasion" points out that some people actually enjoy running around in diapers, well into adulthood

caution: you might not want to open this up at work

you can however purchase a matching footed sleeper for yourself to match your baby's

my most recent photo gig

you'll have to read the story to find out why these happy newlyweds are posing by a giant chicken

adult breastfeeding

turns out, this is a thing people do for fun

or as daddytypes pointed out today, for laughs

EC or early potty training

There are times when i have considered putting the kid over the toilet for a number of reasons: cost, environment, a closer communication with the sweetest boy. even though i imagine it would be difficult, some authors swear by it

but i am happy to hear some pediatrician be skeptical of the practice, saying that the same thing can be accomplished by letting the kid run bare-assed in the yard. basically, that nobody loses the desire over time to exist in wet and smelly pants.

who knows? i may still try to catch a poo while the sweetest boy is at the optimum age.

yes, i sling my child.

Today at mommy and me we had the founder of the company which makes this awesome sling come in and give us a demonstration. She took babies from 19 days to 12 months and slung them, and they were as happy as can be! I am so greatful to see her demonstration b/c i sling the boy every day, and now i know how to do it without ruining my back, breastfeed on both sides hands free, etc....

The best thing susan urban said was that her and her old neighbors's (william and martha sears!) practiced attachment parenting, and it was nice, but there was no way to know how succesful it would be back then. Now that their kids have grown up, she has seen attachment parenting produce really special and wonderful people, all the way into adulthood.

The britney debachle

I never saw myself coming to Britney Spears's defense, but i think everyone has considered avoiding a carseat and just holding their kid, albeit maybe not behind the wheel. The thought has crossed my mind to keep the kid with me, and even to nurse, to get out of a place i didn't want to get stuck. only in my case it was a shitty part of L.A. as it was getting dark. Via the BBC

get your kids all germy

GIANTmicrobes are thhe greatest stuffed animals i have ever seen! via Daddytypes

fake domestic dispute

my case for the validity of my blog today went something like this:

sweetest mom:(wiping boy's ass, while being accused of doing nothing) hey its not like im blogging right now!

the manny:but you will be

sweetest mom:yeah, blogging about this. why don't we just talk shit to each other in the comments section of my blog?

the manny:i'll ask you why you didn't put away the laundry today

sweetest mom:and i'll say i folded it, even though you can't tell (gestures to a crib full of blankets and laundry)

i am awaiting the manny's witty rhetort. he is a writer professionally, so i am in all kinds of trouble now

baby swim training.

AP's most emailed photo of the day is this crazy thing of baby swim training in China. Not that baby swim training is crazy, we dunked the sweetest boy in a lukewarm hottub at 7 weeks. And when i say dunked, i mean fully submurged and passed between parents, multiple times. the boy actually did quite well with it.

betty friedan, 85

"For a great many women, choosing motherhood makes motherhood itself a liberating choice" says betty friedan, feminist author of the book feminine mystiqueand key figure in the 60's and 70's. She died saturday.

another good nyc blogger

Metrodad is one crazy dude, and a hell of an amusing read.
via the New York Times

why this blog began

Adventuredad puts it best:"What we all have in common is of course that we are fathers of very young children. And we all want to be cool fathers. Cool fathers is perhaps the wrong word. We want to be great fathers but at the same time enjoy life and have something meaningful to do. That may sound easy but I don’t think it is."

I think in order to be a "cool parent" you have to be able to have independent interests, be creative, to love and nurture your family while also being able to find time for meaning outside the family structure.

or greg allen from daddytypes, way back when he started it, saying, "The other day on the radio, a retired general was talking about her early days in the army. Women couldn't wear the then-standard boots, she recalled, and so the army had to redesign them. Suddenly, the male soldiers were reporting far fewer foot problems; women were the catalyst for improving all the soldiers' experience."

I think that the male involvement in parenting has transformed my (and all non-single moms') experience for the better. thanks dads!

it scares the crap out of me to think of what moms forty years ago were expected to do. they were responsible for all the childcare, meals, be well groomed, and expected to make it all seem effortless. yipes! the new dads' interest in parenting allows for both parents to be "cool parents" b/c the joint division of labor equals a joint division of free time. although i hope the blogoshere can come up with a better word for it than "cool parenting"

super

the boy completely melted down in the middle of the third quarter. the endless roar of the crowd on full volume and on hdtv was too much for him. now i have one more excuse not to watch the game

a rocker that rocks

eq3 has a really decent rocker and glider

attachment parenting

yes, i practice attachment parenting, co-sleeping, babywearing, etc. think what you will.

can't wait for boy to sit on these

i am looking forward to the day when one of these, or these, or these will be graced by my sweet boy's bottom.

male lactation

in 2002 a man in sri lanka fed his 18 month old by lactating after his wife's death. i know this news story is old, but im still tripping out over it.

what is salon.com doing!?

ack. i love how this article eschewing consumerism provides plenty of product references complete with links to where they can be purchased online. seems like not so subtle fundraising.
ringing up baby via daddytypes

a hard way to earn a few bucks

found via 5dollars blog on blogger: if you can answer a bunch of essay-style quesitons with a witty and heartfelt 25 word answer these guys will pay meagerely for it.
real moms speak

teaching this photo thing

DSC_0109a
Originally uploaded by lokepuf.

today i arranged to give a talk to my mommy and me class about taking good photos of babies. i am not doing it until march but here are the highlights:

-keep baby large in frame, not dwarfed by some adult sized object.
-avoid using your camera's flash, it will ruin the cutest picture
-keep baby in shade if outdoors, we like to see baby's eyes open not squinting
-have people look at each other, not at camera
-try using backgrounds by taping a solid sheet to the wall.
-use humor
-shoot body parts, the dont stay small for long!

to see examples of shots of the sweetest boy from this month, shot by my buddy kristal and i, follow the link at the bottom, or the link on the side, "sweetest boy pics".

The Queen Mama

The Queen Mama
ok this is a really good mommy blog that i have enjoyed stumbling upon and reading. i think it is better than dooce- who apparrently the queen mama is obsessed with