hello all, sorry i haven't posted in a while, with three kids i get a little busy. here we go. lets talk about car seats. there 3 different types with different uses. most people don't know what use those are so thats why i'm here. there are baby carrier carseats, convertable carseats, and booster carseats.
baby carriers are the first stage of carseats and should not be skipped, AT ALL. there are a couple of reasons why you should not skip this stage. the 1st reason is that some hospitals will not allow you to put a baby in anything else. they are the safest seat for newborns, and infants. the 2nd reason is these carseats recline a little better the convertable carseats. babies like to lie back and these seats do it better than others. the 3rd reason you want a carrier is that it makes it easier for parents to do things. for instance when you go out to dinner, you can just pull out the carseat. if the baby is sleeping, there is no need to wake them. which you should do anyway because babies are on a schedule. like all carseats, these do have a weight limit and they vary from the brand you get. they go from 5 lbs to 35 lbs. so know what the weight limits are for your carrier. important to know, baby carriers are only rear facing seats. putting them forward facing can be deadly so DON"T DO IT.
convertable carseats are great. why you ask? well they are versatile. you can use them for babies all the up throughtoddler ages if you get the right one. now , when i say babies, i mean 5 to 6 months old is when they could go into these carseats. the carriers are still better for babies but its the parent's choice. remember this though, babies must remain rear facing for at least a year AND 20 lbs. baby has to meet both critirea before they switch to front facing. switching a baby early is dangerous for baby. switching early could result in dislocated shoulders or broken collar bones. switching these carseats rear and forward facing is why they are called convertable carseats.
the 3rd group of carseats are the boosters. now boosters can be very different looking from each other. best way to spot a booster is that it does not go rear facing. most boosters look like a tiny seat with a flimsy back. you all know what i'm talking about. but what you probably didn't know is that that flimsy little back is what saves a child from whiplash and back and head injuries. there are boosters that look like convertables but what i learned at the BRU, babies r us, is that with most of those boosters you are still going to have to buy another seat after your child out grows it anyway so i would stick with the little flimsy one.
in my next post i'll talk about some of the different brands and what they offer but for now lets talk about the rules. all carseats have expiration dates, weight limits, and benifits. read all the information about installing and limits. most hospitals will have info on how to install them if you can't seem to get it right. BRU staff use to show you but i'm not sure about now though. police and fire station don't do it anymore because liability issues. now there seems top be a debate over what the height limit is for when a child can get out of a carseat. it is 4 FT 9IN. don't try to get away with taking them out before that. it is not only dangerous but deadly. remember, saftey first, everything else second. oh and by the way, consumer reports are generally wrong when it comes to ranking carseats.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
baby bottles 2
i hadn't realized how much info goes into bottles, so here we go again. last time we talked about regular bottles. now we come to specialty bottles. there are some bottles out there that allow you to be handsfree. there are some bottles that are made special forbaby cereal. there are even bottle that help you transistion from breast feeding to bottle feeding. storage bottles are also in abundance so now what you are looking for.
bottles for storage are exactly what they sound like. they store milk ( formula or breast). when it comes to these bottles, really any bottle will do. when it comes down to it, wether you're using a bottle warmer or the microwave you're going to use that bottle to feed so why switch bottle to bottle. now if you are using bottles to store breastmilk in the freezer, freezing milk in a bootle is a bad idea. the reasons it is a bad idea is because you can't but breast milk into a MICROWAVE. the microwaves kill all the good stuff in breastmilk, so don't do it. second problem comes in the thawing process. when you heat up the bottle in hot water, you heat up the outer ring of milk but the inner ring is all slushie so the baby won't like it and spit it out. best idea is to store and freeze in bags lying down.
handsfree bottles sound kind of cool huh? for the most part they work. however, i have heard by a lot of parents that the tubes are ultra hard to clean and that they sometimes kink up. if this happens then baby isn't getting anything to eat and spends sometime sucking in air. not good for preventing colic. now the one bottle that doesn't have those problems, according to parents is the PODEE. look for it if hands free is what you're looking for.
transistion bottles are very difficult to come by although you could manage with a bit of patience with regular bottles. most bottle companies will tell you that its product is a transistion bottle. they just want you to buy their products. the best bottle that i have ever seen for transistion is the ADIRI. the reason it is so good , is that it is shaped more like the breast than any other bottle out there. another really great feature of the ADIRI is that it only has three parts to clean. now the problem with the ADIRI bottle is that people don't know how to store it. upside down is thew way to go with this particular bottle. storing it right side up will cause it to leak, a lot. it was designed to be stored upside down so help yourself out oif you get one.
bottles that are used for baby cereal are out there as well. this makes feeding your baby cereal easier. however it makes it harder for baby to learn to use a spoon. if cereal from a bottle is something you want to do, i would suggest once a day. almost every bottle system has a nipple for feeding cereal. it is usually the " x or y" cut nipples. especially for baby has a spring loaded bottle that helps to push the cereal out. now i know we are talking about bottles here, but BOON makes a spoon that is great. you mix the cereal in the spoon and spueeze out the food onto a spoon. it is simple and easy and makes very little mess. drop me a line or 2 to let me know how i'm doing. as always, love your kids and they will love you.
diaperchangindad
bottles for storage are exactly what they sound like. they store milk ( formula or breast). when it comes to these bottles, really any bottle will do. when it comes down to it, wether you're using a bottle warmer or the microwave you're going to use that bottle to feed so why switch bottle to bottle. now if you are using bottles to store breastmilk in the freezer, freezing milk in a bootle is a bad idea. the reasons it is a bad idea is because you can't but breast milk into a MICROWAVE. the microwaves kill all the good stuff in breastmilk, so don't do it. second problem comes in the thawing process. when you heat up the bottle in hot water, you heat up the outer ring of milk but the inner ring is all slushie so the baby won't like it and spit it out. best idea is to store and freeze in bags lying down.
handsfree bottles sound kind of cool huh? for the most part they work. however, i have heard by a lot of parents that the tubes are ultra hard to clean and that they sometimes kink up. if this happens then baby isn't getting anything to eat and spends sometime sucking in air. not good for preventing colic. now the one bottle that doesn't have those problems, according to parents is the PODEE. look for it if hands free is what you're looking for.
transistion bottles are very difficult to come by although you could manage with a bit of patience with regular bottles. most bottle companies will tell you that its product is a transistion bottle. they just want you to buy their products. the best bottle that i have ever seen for transistion is the ADIRI. the reason it is so good , is that it is shaped more like the breast than any other bottle out there. another really great feature of the ADIRI is that it only has three parts to clean. now the problem with the ADIRI bottle is that people don't know how to store it. upside down is thew way to go with this particular bottle. storing it right side up will cause it to leak, a lot. it was designed to be stored upside down so help yourself out oif you get one.
bottles that are used for baby cereal are out there as well. this makes feeding your baby cereal easier. however it makes it harder for baby to learn to use a spoon. if cereal from a bottle is something you want to do, i would suggest once a day. almost every bottle system has a nipple for feeding cereal. it is usually the " x or y" cut nipples. especially for baby has a spring loaded bottle that helps to push the cereal out. now i know we are talking about bottles here, but BOON makes a spoon that is great. you mix the cereal in the spoon and spueeze out the food onto a spoon. it is simple and easy and makes very little mess. drop me a line or 2 to let me know how i'm doing. as always, love your kids and they will love you.
diaperchangindad
Friday, May 28, 2010
disipline
unfortunately, in every household where kids are involved, there has to be rules that have to be followed and disipline when those rules aren't followed. now, myself, coming up in a very violent home, know the difference between a spank and a beating. time outs are a parent favorite as well as taking things away. i only know about the disipline of younger kids as i don't have teens yet.
i, myself am not opposed to a soft smack on the behind, but i favor the time out. there are several ways to do the time out. in the corner is the one that takes the fight out of kids for a while. the standing in front of you time out, is for younger children, toddlers really. however the one that my children hate the most is a time out on the bed. take away all there toys, turn off the tv, and turn off the light. they think that it is bedtime and they behave for a good long time.
yelling at your children, hardly ever works. all it does is make your children afraid of you. that is the last thing you want. you want your kids to love and respect you, not loathe and fear you. i know its hard not to pull your hair and yell. i know i slip every once in a while but try and control the voice. you can make your point talking with a controlled voice rather than a loud one.
disiplining children in public is not great either. probably one of the worst ideas you can think of. children have feelings just like everyone else, but they're harder to control. your children's feelings will get hurt faster and easier than we, as parents, sometimes think. with starangers aroung it is even worse. worse than that are the people that are around. some might think you are being a little to hard on your own child a call the police. to be totally honest, i have done it myself, but the little girl was getting her hair pulled and yanked by her mother. still, it was a situation that i did not want to be in as the caller and it would probably be worse as the one one who was called because of.
remember that when you are around family, you are the ones to hand out disipline. no one else should be handling that part of parenting. if someone in the family tries handing out justice, stand up for yourself and your kids. i think your feelings should be known, that nobody shall disipline your kids but you. now, when you are not there, you should designate someone to hand out the punishments. that's about all i have on this subject. please leave me some messages as to what has worked for you. unless you are a cruel hateful person like my step father was, your kids will see that the punishment you hand out is and was for their own good.
diaperchangindad
i, myself am not opposed to a soft smack on the behind, but i favor the time out. there are several ways to do the time out. in the corner is the one that takes the fight out of kids for a while. the standing in front of you time out, is for younger children, toddlers really. however the one that my children hate the most is a time out on the bed. take away all there toys, turn off the tv, and turn off the light. they think that it is bedtime and they behave for a good long time.
yelling at your children, hardly ever works. all it does is make your children afraid of you. that is the last thing you want. you want your kids to love and respect you, not loathe and fear you. i know its hard not to pull your hair and yell. i know i slip every once in a while but try and control the voice. you can make your point talking with a controlled voice rather than a loud one.
disiplining children in public is not great either. probably one of the worst ideas you can think of. children have feelings just like everyone else, but they're harder to control. your children's feelings will get hurt faster and easier than we, as parents, sometimes think. with starangers aroung it is even worse. worse than that are the people that are around. some might think you are being a little to hard on your own child a call the police. to be totally honest, i have done it myself, but the little girl was getting her hair pulled and yanked by her mother. still, it was a situation that i did not want to be in as the caller and it would probably be worse as the one one who was called because of.
remember that when you are around family, you are the ones to hand out disipline. no one else should be handling that part of parenting. if someone in the family tries handing out justice, stand up for yourself and your kids. i think your feelings should be known, that nobody shall disipline your kids but you. now, when you are not there, you should designate someone to hand out the punishments. that's about all i have on this subject. please leave me some messages as to what has worked for you. unless you are a cruel hateful person like my step father was, your kids will see that the punishment you hand out is and was for their own good.
diaperchangindad
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
baby bottles
lets talk bottles people. it is something every parent use for there babies. now if you happen to go to a baby store you'll probably see a whole wall of them. you will see different sizes, shapes and brands. there are even different use for some types of bottles.
lets start with the standard type of bottles. those are the bottles use for everyday milk or formula. there is a lot of advertisements on the packages themselves about reducing colic. for those of you that don't know, colic is the amount of air a baby swallows while eating. this causes them to be gassy and fussy. from experience, you don't want a colicy baby. they cry and srceam all day. now i used four different types of bottles: playtex ventaire, born free, avent, and dr. browns. they all reduce colic, but some are better than others. me personally, love the avent bottle because there are less parts to clean then the other three. however, and it never happened to me, some parents i talked to said that they leaked a lot. the other three bottles all have at least four parts to clean. out of all the bottles the playtex was the worst at reducing colic. ninja monkey was using them and got sick bad. the born free is a good bottle but it just sat weird in my hand. which leaves dr. browns for last. i like these bottles the best because they reduce colic the most, in my opinion, and make feeding baby a cinch.
now, for all the bottles out there, there are standard and widemouth bottles. now standard bottles are great if you are not going to breast feed. they get use to a smaller nipple and a bit easier flow. the widemouth is great if you are going to breastfeed and bottle feed as well. the reason is that it is a larger nipple and makes the baby open their mouths a little wider. this feels more like the breast than a standard nipple and it makes them suckle just a little bit harder, just like when they are at the breast.
in the past year, there has been a lot of talk about bottles amde with BPA. BPA is a chemical that they put in a lot of plastics that make the bottle clear. there are studies out there that say that BPA causes learning disabilities, among other symptoms. the chemical is suppose to leak out into milk and other liquids when you heat the bottle up. i'm not sure about the exact tempurature but washing your bottles in the dishwasher is a no no. most if not all bottle companies now have glass bottles or BPA free bottles. personally, i'd go with BPA free so as not to break anything but i'll leave that up to you. now there are a lot more bottles to talk about but that will be in part 2 of baby bottles. until then, here is a little tip to give you some extra time. keep ahead of your bottle cleaning. as soon as the baby is asleep, wash your bottles so you are not rushing to get a bottle ready.
diaperchangindad
lets start with the standard type of bottles. those are the bottles use for everyday milk or formula. there is a lot of advertisements on the packages themselves about reducing colic. for those of you that don't know, colic is the amount of air a baby swallows while eating. this causes them to be gassy and fussy. from experience, you don't want a colicy baby. they cry and srceam all day. now i used four different types of bottles: playtex ventaire, born free, avent, and dr. browns. they all reduce colic, but some are better than others. me personally, love the avent bottle because there are less parts to clean then the other three. however, and it never happened to me, some parents i talked to said that they leaked a lot. the other three bottles all have at least four parts to clean. out of all the bottles the playtex was the worst at reducing colic. ninja monkey was using them and got sick bad. the born free is a good bottle but it just sat weird in my hand. which leaves dr. browns for last. i like these bottles the best because they reduce colic the most, in my opinion, and make feeding baby a cinch.
now, for all the bottles out there, there are standard and widemouth bottles. now standard bottles are great if you are not going to breast feed. they get use to a smaller nipple and a bit easier flow. the widemouth is great if you are going to breastfeed and bottle feed as well. the reason is that it is a larger nipple and makes the baby open their mouths a little wider. this feels more like the breast than a standard nipple and it makes them suckle just a little bit harder, just like when they are at the breast.
in the past year, there has been a lot of talk about bottles amde with BPA. BPA is a chemical that they put in a lot of plastics that make the bottle clear. there are studies out there that say that BPA causes learning disabilities, among other symptoms. the chemical is suppose to leak out into milk and other liquids when you heat the bottle up. i'm not sure about the exact tempurature but washing your bottles in the dishwasher is a no no. most if not all bottle companies now have glass bottles or BPA free bottles. personally, i'd go with BPA free so as not to break anything but i'll leave that up to you. now there are a lot more bottles to talk about but that will be in part 2 of baby bottles. until then, here is a little tip to give you some extra time. keep ahead of your bottle cleaning. as soon as the baby is asleep, wash your bottles so you are not rushing to get a bottle ready.
diaperchangindad
Sunday, May 23, 2010
play time
you know, yesterday i went to a birthday party with all the kids and my mom. making playtime with the kids is a must. i love to play with my kids and it makes for good exercise. i don't care who says its not exercise, the more running around you do with the kids the more exercise you get.
i don't get to the gym ever so i do things that seem silly to the kids but your moving and jumping and getting your heart rate up. for instance, i play lightsabers with the hboys all the time. i run, jump, fall and swing all the time. excellent cardio workout and the boys love it. other times i pick them up and lift them like free weights. three sets of 10 with boys and girls that weigh anything from 19 to 35 pounds is a workout. i call it babyrobics. all the things you do that tire you out while playing is a workout. the best part of this is what you call a workout, your kids call playtime and fun.
i'm off the subject a little here, but yesterday at the party my little silent monkey did somethings that just lifted my heart. you see silent monkey doesn't talk much but yesterday he walked a to a lady at the party and started talking to her. he was saying colors and numbers that he really doesn't say at home all the time. he also climbed up a ramp by himself to slide down an inflatable slide. its things, be they big or little, that you have to be proud of and let them know you are proud of them. remember, babyrobics is a great weigh to get yourself in shape and a great way to see your kids laugh and smile. with them doing that, won;t your day just light up. all kids are a treasure, so every time you see yours be thankful.
diaperchangindad
i don't get to the gym ever so i do things that seem silly to the kids but your moving and jumping and getting your heart rate up. for instance, i play lightsabers with the hboys all the time. i run, jump, fall and swing all the time. excellent cardio workout and the boys love it. other times i pick them up and lift them like free weights. three sets of 10 with boys and girls that weigh anything from 19 to 35 pounds is a workout. i call it babyrobics. all the things you do that tire you out while playing is a workout. the best part of this is what you call a workout, your kids call playtime and fun.
i'm off the subject a little here, but yesterday at the party my little silent monkey did somethings that just lifted my heart. you see silent monkey doesn't talk much but yesterday he walked a to a lady at the party and started talking to her. he was saying colors and numbers that he really doesn't say at home all the time. he also climbed up a ramp by himself to slide down an inflatable slide. its things, be they big or little, that you have to be proud of and let them know you are proud of them. remember, babyrobics is a great weigh to get yourself in shape and a great way to see your kids laugh and smile. with them doing that, won;t your day just light up. all kids are a treasure, so every time you see yours be thankful.
diaperchangindad
Thursday, May 20, 2010
making time
as important as keeping your family happy , healthy and safe there is a need of one's self that also needs looking after. it is vital to all parents, that they make just a little time for themselves. why? well i'll tell you. after a long day of watching the kids. you hear them laugh which brings happiness to your heart, you get to hear them cry, which makes you want to cry, and once they start talking you get to hear NO about a 1000 times, which makes you want to pull your hair out. this is just in one day, now imagine a whole week of this. all the emotions that go into one person throughout a whole week can get bottled up. so try to make some time for you to relax.
here's the tricky part, how to do it? it is not as hard as you think. your kids have grandparents, aunts, uncles, relatives or friends that can watch the kids for a couple of hours while you go out to dinner, or a movie. whatever you plan on doing, make sure you are not gone to long. your friends and family love your kids but sooner or later they are gonna feel like you do, so keep it short and sweet but enjoy. now if you have a loving spouse or partner, like i do, they will send you out with your friends and they will take care of the kids. chances are they miss the kids as much as you miss getting out. my wife always sends me out with my best friend to go to book stores or out for drinks.
don't forget to pay your help, be it with a promise of a good meal in the near future or looking after their children one evening. and if you hire a babysistter always get references first and pay them well if they do a good job. i'm very lucky in the fact that my sister-in-laws love to watch the kids, at least every once in a while. and they do it for free. if you do get your relatives to watch your kids, don't guilt them into it with things like, "they're your family, you should do it" , it makes them almost resent you and your children. remember, you stay at home parents, you can't do it without your partner, so a nice dinner for them, or just a word of appreciation can go a long way to letting them know how much you mean to them and the family.
as always this is thediaperchangindad
here's the tricky part, how to do it? it is not as hard as you think. your kids have grandparents, aunts, uncles, relatives or friends that can watch the kids for a couple of hours while you go out to dinner, or a movie. whatever you plan on doing, make sure you are not gone to long. your friends and family love your kids but sooner or later they are gonna feel like you do, so keep it short and sweet but enjoy. now if you have a loving spouse or partner, like i do, they will send you out with your friends and they will take care of the kids. chances are they miss the kids as much as you miss getting out. my wife always sends me out with my best friend to go to book stores or out for drinks.
don't forget to pay your help, be it with a promise of a good meal in the near future or looking after their children one evening. and if you hire a babysistter always get references first and pay them well if they do a good job. i'm very lucky in the fact that my sister-in-laws love to watch the kids, at least every once in a while. and they do it for free. if you do get your relatives to watch your kids, don't guilt them into it with things like, "they're your family, you should do it" , it makes them almost resent you and your children. remember, you stay at home parents, you can't do it without your partner, so a nice dinner for them, or just a word of appreciation can go a long way to letting them know how much you mean to them and the family.
as always this is thediaperchangindad
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
a little more about me
well, is a little more about the diaperchangindad. i am 32 years old this year. i am a father to 3 wonderful children, 2 boys and 1 girl. their nick names are ninja monkey because is is super quiet when enter our room, the silent money because he doesn't talk much but shows all his emotions in his face, and the bug for no other reason than just cause.
you know i am not an expert when it comes to parenting and anyone that claims they , well wow i'd like to introduce them to ninja monkey, but i have learned somethings. for instance, i know its hard sometimes, but never argue in front of your children. they see it and no matter how yound they are it hurts them. even just playing around with an arguement can hurt little ones because they can't distinguish between real and fake. so any yelling and screaming and talking in a loud voice, do quieter or in a room a couple of rooms away.
kids are pretty smart and feed on the emoitions that you are putting out, so what i try to do is be calm. i figure once a fight or arguemnet is over, its over. win or lose, walk out of the room calm, like you won so the kiddos don't pick up on your emoitions. its not good if your goods see you fuming when you leave the room and fuming when you get back.
now, some tips on how to keep the place clean. if your kids are anything like mine they have their favorite toys and the ones they play with every once in a while. here's what i do. i have 2 toy boxes, 1 for what they play with all the time and 1 for toys that they play with sometimes. so instead of going through the big toy box and pulling out toys they don't like and leaving them til the end of the day, or putting them back and cutting into playtime, they go through a little one and find what they are looking for. it also helps you to not get frustated at having to pick up all toys not played with. another thing this does is help you to figure out what toys you can get rid of. if at the end of a month or two you see a toy that hasn't been played with, get rid of it b/c your kids don't really care for it.
net hammocks are great for getting all of those stuffed animals that your children get every holiday off the floor and out of the toy box. you know and i know that they are annoying (stuffed animals) but you and i also know that your kids love them. they never play with them but try to give them away and your kids go bonkers. so put them in the air, space you rarely use anyway. remember, your kids are precious so treat them as such. cherish their sweet innocence b/c you can't get this time back.
diaperchangindad
you know i am not an expert when it comes to parenting and anyone that claims they , well wow i'd like to introduce them to ninja monkey, but i have learned somethings. for instance, i know its hard sometimes, but never argue in front of your children. they see it and no matter how yound they are it hurts them. even just playing around with an arguement can hurt little ones because they can't distinguish between real and fake. so any yelling and screaming and talking in a loud voice, do quieter or in a room a couple of rooms away.
kids are pretty smart and feed on the emoitions that you are putting out, so what i try to do is be calm. i figure once a fight or arguemnet is over, its over. win or lose, walk out of the room calm, like you won so the kiddos don't pick up on your emoitions. its not good if your goods see you fuming when you leave the room and fuming when you get back.
now, some tips on how to keep the place clean. if your kids are anything like mine they have their favorite toys and the ones they play with every once in a while. here's what i do. i have 2 toy boxes, 1 for what they play with all the time and 1 for toys that they play with sometimes. so instead of going through the big toy box and pulling out toys they don't like and leaving them til the end of the day, or putting them back and cutting into playtime, they go through a little one and find what they are looking for. it also helps you to not get frustated at having to pick up all toys not played with. another thing this does is help you to figure out what toys you can get rid of. if at the end of a month or two you see a toy that hasn't been played with, get rid of it b/c your kids don't really care for it.
net hammocks are great for getting all of those stuffed animals that your children get every holiday off the floor and out of the toy box. you know and i know that they are annoying (stuffed animals) but you and i also know that your kids love them. they never play with them but try to give them away and your kids go bonkers. so put them in the air, space you rarely use anyway. remember, your kids are precious so treat them as such. cherish their sweet innocence b/c you can't get this time back.
diaperchangindad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)