Bath Tub Safety

In addition to not buying a bath seat, follow these bathtub safety tips:

• Never leave your baby unattended during bath time, even for a second, even when you're just filling the tub with water. (To play it safe, stay within arm's reach of your child when he's around water, whether he's in an adult or toddler tub. If your baby can't sit up on his own yet, alwasy keep a hand on him at bath time, too. Plan ahead. Make sure you have everything on hand before you start the bath. You don't want tohave to scurry for a washcloth or towel while your baby is in the tub. The Aquatopia Safety Bath Time Easy Kneeler: anti-slip pad for your knees and extra padding for your elbows. It has pockets that are perfect for soaps and shampoos, keeping everything you need close at hand.



• When bathing your baby, fill the tub with as little water as possible. Two inches is a good amount.

• Be careful about scalding water. The water should feel warm, not hot. Before you put your baby in the tub, test the temperature with your wrist, elbow, or the back of your hand. Don't rely on a tub with a temperature indicator, such as a drain plug that changes color to indicate too hot or too cold, and just right. If you're using a thermometer with a read-out, baby bath water whould be between 90 and 100 degrees. Munchkin has a Safety Bath Ducky I like to use, and find very accurate. But again, use your wrist, elbow, or the back of your hand as your main guide.

• If you need to leave the bathroom, take your baby with you. Don't rely on older children to watch the baby for you. If the phone rings, let the answering machine or Voice Mail pick it up. If there's a knock on the door, ignore it. Make that rule as stringent as strapping your baby into her car seat every time you drive.

• When using a baby bathtub in the sink or regular tub, always turn the hot water off first and watch out for hot metal spigots. Get a cover for the bathtub's spout to protect your child from it's heat conducting metal and hard edges. Some covers are soft plastic in the shape of an animal, such as a moose or an elephant. Others are inflatable plastic. Swoosh tub water around with your hand so that any hot spots even out. To play it safe, reduce the setting of your hot-water heater to 120 degrees F. An infant's skin burns much more easily than an adult's.

• Always empty the bathtub immediately after bath time. Babies can drown in as little as one inch of water, and can aspirate any level of water resulting in a "dry drowning".

• When your baby graduates to a regular bathtub, attach rubber strips to the bottom of the tub to prevent slipping.

• Remind caregivers, your spouse, and the baby's grandparents about these safety tips. Better yet, if they're new to bath time, tell them not to give your baby a bath while you're away if that's possible.

•The Puj Tub was designed to make bath time quick and easy. The tubs revolutionary design allows you to bathe your infant in any standard bathroom sink.

• No more leaning over the bathtub stressing your knees, neck, and back.
• No more lining the bathroom sink with sponges and wet towels
• No more wondering where you are going to store that awkward plastic bathtub you used to use. The design allows for easy set up, bathing, clean-up, and storage.

•Bathing Buddies Baby Shower Sling

Bathing Buddies® shower slings are made from a soft athletic mesh. This fabric is very sturdy and breathable. It's also very easy to dry.

Our pouch style sling is one of the easiest types of slings to use in the bath. Just fold the sling into itself, creating a pouch. Drape over your shoulder like a sash and pop your baby right in! No silly clips, buckles, or rings.

Pouch style slings are suitable for a tiny newborn or a toddler. Bathing Buddies® slings are very versatile slings. They can be used in a variety of carrying positions and in showers, pools, or during hot weather!

Family Photo Christmas Cards

I had the pleasure of shooting the Repetti family photos in November. They loved them so much they decided to make one of them their Christmas card. I found this fun card that matched the picture perfectly. I am such a big fan of family photos for Christmas cards that are fun and playful. Amy said her friends and family all loved their card, and took the photo out of the sleeve to frame. So glad I was able to give them just what they wanted!

Monique's Boutique

I would like to introduce a childs boutique that specilizes in unique, high-quality embellished baby and children's clothing, and matching Mommy coordinates! She uses beautiful appliques and crystals not metal nailheads to create her designs.

Monique hand-creates original items for children in sizes 3-6 months to size 10 on pre-shrunk 100% combed cotton clothing from American Apparel. They are high quality and hold up well when washed regularly, but look their best if you skip the dryer.

This is a Mommy run business that is local to me in San Diego, and Monique is my go-to Momprenuer for cute onsies, or custom personalized baby clothing. The clothes are cute, Monique is a pleasure to buy from, and the options are plenty. Monique's Boutique easily became one of The Baby Planner's WHAM local business favorites!

Baby Planner Article in San Diego Union Tribune

More working moms-to-be want baby planner on board
By Sarah Schweitzer
BOSTON GLOBE
September 27, 2008

When Meredith White was expecting her first son, nothing terrified her quite like a visit to Babies “R” Us. Aisle after dizzying aisle of baby paraphernalia beckoned, with dozens of varieties of bottles, nipples, wipes (and their warmers), pacifiers, cribs, strollers and bibs. She did not want to buy anything without first assessing safety, usefulness and developmental appropriateness. The analysis led the 34-year-old lawyer to a state verging on despair.

Information At least two baby planners in the San Diego area help expectant parents with their needs. Here is some basic information. Call or e-mail for prices and more details: Essential Baby Planning – ebabyplanner.com; (858) 405-1913 Services include researching baby nursery needs to fit your budget; setting up a baby registry; baby shower planning; birth announcement ordering; interviewing and hiring nannies and pediatricians; new-mommy classes and more. Packages of services also available. The Baby Planner – www.sdbabyplanner.com (619) 417-4899. Services include product research; referrals to midwives, doulas, and doctors; baby registry; nursery design (including “green” focus); shower planning; postpartum support; baby proofing; nanny search; pregnancy fitness and nutrition and more. Packages of services also available. – JANE CLIFFORD

“It was overwhelming,” said White, who lives in Stow, Mass., with her husband. “I would try to cram all the research in on weekends, but there was never enough time.”

Cue the Baby Coordinators, the latest entry in the burgeoning “baby planning” field that helps expectant parents prepare for a new baby by advising on everything from the most absorbent diapers and sleekest strollers to decorating a nursery and readying a pet. For a fee of $250, Kristen DiCicco of Natick, a Baby Coordinators co-founder, walked White through Babies “R” Us. She offered the pros and cons of products, and when White left the store, she had a baby registry list and peace of mind.

As a growing number of older women – many professionals, with disposable income – join the ranks of bulging bellies, pregnancy has acquired a slew of luxurious accouterments. There are prenatal spa treatments, personal pregnancy chefs, pre-baby vacation packages known as “babymoons,” “push presents” given to a mother to reward her for carrying and delivering a baby, pre-packed hospital bags containing items like a hardcover journal and breath mints, and now, baby planning – a kind of full-flight concierge service for the pregnant.

Baby planning first surfaced in England and on the West Coast, in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., two years ago as a variation on the concept of wedding planning. It has caught on in other cities, including Boston, where two start-ups were launched in the last year by women who say the market is ripe for their services.

“A baby is so important – so wouldn't you want someone to assist you with all the research you need to do to get ready?” said Sandee Tisdale, 29, a social worker who co-founded Perfecting Expecting.

Skeptics say baby planning promotes the commercialization of parenting and the belief that parenting can be perfected with products or bought advice, rather than with reliance on intuition and the advice of family and friends.

“That's part of the commercialized culture: You can't do this yourself; you need experts,” said Susan Linn, a psychologist at the Judge Baker Children's Center, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, who has studied the effects of marketing on parents and children.

Linn said employing a baby planner robs parents of the opportunity to learn to make choices on behalf of a child.

“Part of getting ready for a baby is having the experience of making decisions that are going to affect someone else, a child you love,” Linn said.

For Emily Carines, 32, a massage therapist from Brighton, Mass., the prospect of navigating pregnancy, parenthood and the ever-growing number of products that now accompany the journey was daunting.

“Being someone who hasn't really been around babies or kid products, I just didn't know what to choose,” said Carines, whose family is in South Carolina. “I was overwhelmed by the little things – which toys to buy, which are developmentally helpful.”

Her baby planner, DiCicco, proved instrumental on more than the toy front, she said. DiCicco helped her choose a diaper pail, opting for a brand that does not require special bags – something Carines hopes will be a money-and hassle-saver.

For other women, the clincher is the time savings that baby planners offer.

“To be a really good mom, you want to pick the best for your baby, and that takes a while,” said Erica Aguilar, 29, of Framingham, who works in the merchandising division for TJX Cos. and said she came across hundreds of baby product reviews online. “I could have spent hours and hours reading. . . . I didn't want to have to read them all myself.”

So she hired a baby planner.

“It was worth every penny,” Aguilar said.

Boston-area baby planners say their clients are working women, in their late 20s to mid 30s. Most look for help putting together baby registries and baby-proofing their homes, but a number of other services are offered, including babymoon planning, daddy preparation and readying birth announcements.

Perfecting Expecting charges $100 for baby registry consultation and $500 for putting together a complete registry, $100 for help maternity shopping and $500 for baby shower preparation. The Baby Coordinators charge $250 to compile a baby registry, $300 to arrange and set up a nursery, and $200 to baby-proof a home.

DiCicco, of the Baby Coordinators, who is not a mother, and her partner, Paula Spurling, a mother of two, said they learned about baby arrival preparation from working at day-care centers and as nannies.

Tisdale, of Perfecting Expecting, and her partner, Kristen Parker, research operations manager for Harvard Medical School's pathology department, neither of whom have children, said they watched pregnant friends struggle to make sense of the array of baby products, realized there was a market for offering expertise, then burrowed into research.

“I thought if one person had all the knowledge,” it would save everyone “so much time,” Tisdale said.

Both companies have partnerships with baby-product companies. The Baby Coordinators receive 10 percent of the sale proceeds from clients they send to two companies, Your Bags Are Packed and Baby-Strong, DiCicco said. Perfecting Expecting has business partners that give discounts to clients, and those companies send business to Perfecting Expecting, Tisdale said.

Carolyn McLoughlin, 28, a therapist who lives in Brookline, Mass., said that after watching a friend spend 30 hours researching strollers, she decided she would go the baby-planning route.

“We wanted to put a lot of thought into adding a new family member, but we didn't have the time,” McLoughlin said. “Also, I don't like shopping.”

Keeping Baby Food Safe

To keep baby food free of bacteria and other food-borne pathogens that can cause illness:

•Wash your hands with soap and water before handling baby food or preparing formula. Not only will you be keeping your baby safe, but regular hand washing also helps protect you from getting sick.

•Don't feed your baby from the jar (or yogurt container) and then put the uneaten
portion back in the refrigerator. Harmful bacteria from your baby's mouth can grow and multiply in the jar. If your baby is likely to eat less than a full jar, spoon a portion in to a bowl and put the jar in the fridge for later. You generally can keep opened jars in the fridge for up to three days in the case of fruits and vegetables, one day for meats, and two days for meat and vegetable combos. A permanent marker can be handy for dating opened jars so you'll know when they were put in the fridge.

•Don't leave perishable items out of the refrigerator (without a cold pack) for more than two hours. Throw them away if they've been sitting out longer than that.

•When you're traveling, transport food and filled bottles in an insulated cooler with frozen packs.


•Watch expiration dates on baby food. Listen for the pop of vacuum seals of jarred foods.
Don't feed your baby anything that has expired and throw out jars with chipped glass or rusty lids.

•Don't give your baby honey if she is less than a year old. It could contain bacteria associated with botulism, a potentially fatal food poisoning.


•Don't serve your baby or older child raw or unpasteurized milk, which may contain harmful bacteria. And no cow's milk
before age 1.


•If you're making homemade baby food, use a brush to clean the blender or food processor blades and parts. Trapped food particles can harbor bacteria. My favorite product for this is The Beaba Babycook. It is a one-of-a-kind, patented compact countertop appliance that functions as a steamer, blender, warmer and defroster to prepare fresh, healthy meals for baby. It starts by steam cooking vegetables, fruits and meats in less than 15 minutes, while preserver their vitamins and flavors. It then purees and blends them to the desired consistency. Parents can also use the Babycook to quickly reheat or defrost precooked foods.

•To freeze homemade baby food, put the mixture in an ice-cube tray. Cover with heavy duty plastic wrap and freeze. Later, you can pop the frozen food cubes into a freezer bag or airtight container and date it. Store vegetables up to three months, and meat, fish, and chicken up to eight weeks. Beaba also makes food trays called Beaba Multiportions. They are designed for freezing and storing a la carte foods for baby. The Multiportions are comprised of seven individual portions of ¼ cup (60 ml) each. Multiportions are made from silicone.

•Use dishwashing detergent, hot water, and a clean rag to wash and rinse all utensils that come in contact with the baby's food, including the can opener. Just wiping them with a paper towel isn't enough. Soap, water, and friction do the trick.

•Don't keep bottles or food in the same bag as dirty diapers unless the food is in its own separate, insulated container or sealed plastic bag. Planet Wise has products have been designed with this in mind. The new collection of reusable wet bags is perfect for keeping things sealed and separate in your diaper bag. For other "Bottle Does and Don'ts"

•When your baby gets to the finger-food stage, which can start as early as 7 months,
cut food into bite size pieces. But don't offer your baby nuts, raisins, grapes, or hot dogs: they're all choking hazards and not appropriate for infants or toddlers. Munchkin makes a Fresh Food Feeder. This product allows your baby to enjoy lots of delicious foods without the choking risk. Simply put a piece of fruit, vegetables or meat into the mesh bag and snap shut. Your baby can chew, suck and enjoy all the whole food goodness and taste, with only the tiniest, digestible pieces coming through.

Bottle Do's and Don'ts

Here are a few Bottle Do's and Don'ts that aren't so commonly known.

Do:
• Wash your hands before preparing your baby's bottle.
• Have someone else introduce your baby to the bottle by 4 weeks old if you want to begin using a bottle in addition to part of your nursing regimen. Your baby will associate mom with breast-feeding and may resist if you try to give him the bottle yourself.
• Wean your baby from a bottle by 12 months of age. By that time, they will be ready for a sippy cup.

Don't:
• Heat formula or breast milk in the microwave. (See my previous blog "Got Warm Milk?")
• Give your baby a bottle of milk or formula to suck on during the night or at naptime, it causes tooth decay. Don't mix bottles and bed.
• Prop up your baby with a bottle. The "feed yourself" practice can lead to choking, ear infections, and tooth decay. Your baby needs cuddling and human contact, which all babies crave.

Shower for Baby Dominic

If your youngest is 15 years old when you find out your expecting again, you need a baby shower of mega proportion! It was so much fun taking this seasoned mother of two, to register for baby items she didn't even know existed. Baby products have changed completely in 15 years, and Mommy-to-be was relieved to have a Baby Planner on board! My favorite moment was when she opened her Petunia Pickle Bottom Designer Diaper Bag, and she couldn't believe they made diaper bags so beautiful AND well designed now!



There's something really fun about throwing a baby shower for a 40-something mother, who has not had to think about any parenting skills outside of dealing with teenagers for quite some time. Grandparents, friends and extended family had a great time teasing her about being a Repeat "first-time" Mother.