New Recalls on Jardine Cribs

Jardine announced a new batch of crib recalls. According to JardineCribRecall.com,

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Jardine is recalling the Americana, Berkley, Capri, Hilton, Olympia, Positano, Spindle, and Windsor Jardine cribs listed below. We are recalling these cribs because the wooden crib slats and spindles can break, creating a gap, which can pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants. The cribs were sold nationwide from January 2002 through April 2009.

You can find the full list of model/batch numbers, and get information on how to get a replacement, at the aforementioned JardineCribRecall.com.

As I type this, Angelica is napping in her Jardine Americana crib, which was just added to this list...keeping an ear out for anything out of the norm, but I will be checking that model number as soon as she wakes up!

[Edit] I just checked and her crib is not recalled. Whew!

Sidewalk Chalk

[caption id="attachment_65" align="aligncenter" width="512" caption="It says, "Save the Earth! It is the only planet with ME!""][/caption]

I live in an apartment complex, and there is no shortage of families with young children living here. The other day I saw a group of them hovered around a staircase, drawing hopscotch on the sidewalk. Playing hopscotch is one of my favorite childhood memories, so I'm glad that in today's world of virtual, digitized, synthesized everything, kids are still going outside and playing a rousing game of hopscotch, and drawing with sidewalk chalk. 

Upon looking a little closer, I noticed something else that hasn't changed - the fact that kids are so very egocentric. Today I walked past the remnants of the hopscotch game, and noticed, surrounded by many hopscotch boards, the pictured masterpiece.
 
Ahh, the innocence of youth. I miss those days.

Tuesday Timesavers: Crockpots

I'm testing out a new weekly feature: Tuesday Timesavers! Let me know what you think by comenting below!

As a working mom, who is also working on a masters, finding time to work in cooking at the end of the day is pretty difficult. By the time both Scott and I get home, we're wiped out from working all day. Angelica's also usually pretty tired from a full day of running around like a tazmanian devil at daycare, plus she's not very handy in the kitchen yet. This has resulted in many nights of takeout, which has been detrimental to our waistlines and our wallets.

What's the solution then? A couple of weeks ago I pulled my trusty crockpot out from the black hole where it was stored, dusted it off, and started making meals with it. One afternoon of cooking usually equals 3-4 meals for each of us. I'm kind of liking the whole "cook once, eat all week" idea. Plus, it's fairly easy to make healthy food this way!

Here are two of the recipes that I have made so far:

Bloody Mary Chicken
1 bottle of Spicy Bloody Mary Mix (appx. 33 oz)
3 boneless chicken breasts, thawed and cut in half

Put the Bloody Mary mix and six halves in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-4 hours).

Chili Pasta Bake
1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey (if you want to go healthier, use ground turkey breast)
1 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni
2 cans of diced tomatoes in water
1/2 can tomato paste
1 cup of chopped onion
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/4 tsp dried crushed oregano
2 tsp of chili powder

Brown the ground turkey. Add the other ingredients to the crock pot first, then add the browned ground turkey. Cook for 3-4 hours on low, 5-7 hours on high.

Here are some other resources for crock pot recipes:

A Year of Crockpotting
Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes (Better Homes & Gardens)
Cooking Light Cook's Essential Recipe Collection: Slow Cooker: 57 essential recipes

A Memo to Angelica #1

Fellow mommy blogger BabyRabies is hosting a weekly "Memos from Mommy" contest. My contribution this week is as follows:

Dear Angelica,
Yesterday I watched you play with the other "big kids" in the mall playground and was amazed. You'll be a year old next month and you looked like a real little girl, which I know sounds silly. Of course you're real. But I couldn't help but think, that's not my baby. I even said to Daddy, "That's not my baby" because of course, you're growing out of that baby stage and into being a full-fledged little girl. You ran around and held your own amongst a sea of other little boys and little girls. You made me proud. But forgive me if, when I look at you, I always see your little pink face sticking out of the blanket as I held you for the first time.

Love,
Mommy

The Choking Game Terrifies Me...

Though there are many, many years until my daughter is a teenager, every time I hear about the choking game, I get a little chill down my spine.

Momlogic.com ran an article today on two teens who died as a result of the choking game. This isn't the first time I'd heard of it. In fact, I read about it in a magazine several years ago, long before I had children and thought, what a strange concept.

Each generation has something they can look back on from their teen years and think - what idiots we were.  (For mine, it may have been angel trumpets or huffing, the latter of which sadly took the life of a friend when I was in 10th grade.)  But this scares me even more because your kids can be in the next room from you and you'd never know. It doesn't have a "smell", they don't need to buy anything extraordinary...and it seems like kids who are normally "good kids" are the ones who fall victim to it.

Without experience with a teenage child, I'd imagine the first step to preventing this would be building a relationship of openness and trust - but I'm also realistic. Teens are a secretive bunch. I'm just going to hope that in 15 years, the "cool" thing is to hang out with mom and eat your vegetables.

A year ago today...

A year ago today I got some very good news.

At 33 weeks (April 16, 2008) I went to see the MFM doctor for a check-up and ultrasound...I had been seeing him for most of the last half of my pregnancy, since I had been battling blood pressure issues. At that visit, it was determined that Angelica's amniotic fluid was low...very low. He threatened to take me out of work. Ultimately, after discussing the pros and cons of the situation, it was determined that it was okay for me to continue working, as long as I stayed off my feet as much as possible and drank ungodly amounts of water (I was consuming 4 liters of water a day). At home, I was only allowed up to shower and get dressed. A week later, April 23, 2008, was my follow-up to see if the situation had improved. If it hadn't...we would be delivering that day.

Thankfully, it had improved, but was still at the low end of normal. So, I remained on restricted activity for the rest of my pregnancy, and was induced the day before my due date. Angelica was born the next night, on her due date, via c-section after some complications during labor.

When I looked at the calendar today I remembered breathing that sigh of relief one year ago today. As I watched Angelica play, I wondered to myself what it'd be like if her birthday were today. Would she be as healthy as she is? As advanced as she is? (She is known as "superbaby" amongst friends, family, and her daycare teachers because she has always hit her milestones months ahead of the curve...in fact, she already had head/neck control the day she was born. Crazy, right? If I ever have another baby and he or she has a floppy head I won't know what to do!)

I know I've only been committed to this change for a few days, but so far it has gone well. With the exception of some sweets at lunch today (boo to me for that) I have done well. I've eaten healthy, and exercised. Tonight, I did something I never thought I could. I'm starting the Couch to 5k plan on Coolrunning.com, and I actually completed the first day's run. I ran. I have been telling myself for years that I can't run, I'm too big and it will hurt too much. But tonight, I did it.

The pain I feel in my muscles is beyond what words can express...but my pride is swelling.

Interested in winning a free onesie? How about free barrettes?

Folks, I have two great contests to bring to you today!

Enter to win a free onesie!
Check out this contest at Mission Motherhood, you can enter to win a free onesie with your child's age on it!

Enter to win free barrettes!
Check out this contest at http://nbjenni.blogspot.com/2009/04/another-giveaway_23.html and you can enter to win!

Good luck :)

It's Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day...

...and the halls here are filled with the sound of silence.

I considered packing up my almost-11 month old and bringing her with me this morning, but alas, it was "Rock Star" day at daycare, and she was dressed the part, so off she went to school while I went to work.

When I was growing up, today was known as "Take your daughter to work day" and the day was used to introduce girls to a variety of careers. Today, parents of sons and daughters can bring their children to work thanks to changes in the program.

I remember growing up, going to work with my dad a few times and how much fun it was. When I was in school, my dream was to be a computer programmer (and a singer and an actress but then I grew up and became more realistic). My dad worked in this industry, so going with him was beneficial to me. I got a feel for what the workplace in this industry was like, and got to know the part of my dad that existed outside of the house.

Ultimately my career path took a very different direction...I got my degree in computer programming but decided it was very much not for me. But I am grateful, in retrospect, to have had that opportunity.

In a few years, when my daughter is old enough, hopefully she will want to see what mom and/or dad are like in the office.

Other parents out there - did you bring your children to work with you today? How was it?

The Video Game Discussion

My dearest husband, Scott, and I just shared the following exchange.

Me: (Noticing Scott in the kitchen) Why don't you relax and play some video games.

Him: No, I have to do chores.

Me: No, seriously, go play some video games.

Him: But whyyyy???

Me: Because you've done the dishes all week, it's my turn. Go play some video games.

Him: But whyyyy???

Me: JUST GO DO IT ALREADY.

I may be embellishing a little bit, but seriously - if your wife is telling you to go play a video game, GO PLAY IT.

As I frequent mommy message boards and other mom blogs, I notice a lot of griping about husbands playing video games all the time and not helping out with the household duties and baby care. I have the opposite problem. My husband is AWESOME around the house and with the baby and takes good care of us, but won't do anything for himself. So tonight, when he said he wanted to play video games, I told him to do it. Then I come out and find him starting to clean the kitchen, resulting in the aforementioned disagreement.

I won, by the way. He's sitting on the couch playing something on the Playstation 3. And I'm wrapping up a homework assignment and will be cleaning the kitchen shortly. And I will be glad to do it.

Apple's Disturbing New iPhone App

News.com ran an article today on a disturbing new iPhone app that allows you to shake a crying virtual baby to death. (Read the full article here: Apple Approves 'Baby Shaker' For App Store.)

As I mentioned back in my post on our first three months with a newborn -- there are some days when your colicky new baby will just drive you batty. The solution to being overwhelmed, which I employed often, is to put the baby down in a safe place and walk away (as long as the baby is crying but okay). Go somewhere quiet for five minutes, just long enough to catch your breath and be able to approach the situation rationally.

This absolutely sickens me. While I honestly do not believe that violent video games beget violence (in fact, when I was working on my minor in psychology I did a research paper on how the opposite is usually true), trivializing something so serious as shaken baby syndrome is not entertainment. Will it promote shaken baby syndrome? Probably not. Maybe it's because I'm a parent of a little one who is still a baby, but I fail to see any humor or entertainment value in this.

Now excuse me while I go hug my baby and try to forget I ever saw this.

Feel free to post a comment and share your thoughts on this.

[Edit] Apple has now removed this app from their store. 

A Letter to My Baby Girl About Being a Healthy Mom

Dearest Baby Girl,

There are some forces at work in this world that can't fully be explained, and one of those is how it feels to be a mother. I watch you grow and change, watch you learn and develop reasoning skills and I hope every single day that I do something to keep you on the path to being a strong, healthy, independent woman. I make sure you eat nutritious foods, get your fruits and vegetables, drink your water and your bottles, limit your television time, read to you, and snuggle you and give you all the love in the world. With all of that, though, there is one area that always concerns me, and that's making sure you don't follow in the footsteps of many generations of your family, your Mom and Dad included, and let your health go.

You see, I've struggled with my weight for well over a decade. I struggled with it when we were preparing to bring you into the world. I struggled with it throughout my pregnancy with you and now that you're here, the full impact of being overweight weighs heavily on me - literally. I want to be someone you can be proud to call mom, someone who is strong and takes care of herself so she can take care of you. And I'm so sorry, but up until now I know I've let you down.

Tonight as you slept, your Dad and I got caught up on our shows, one of which is The Biggest Loser. On this season there is a father, Ron, and son, Mike, who are battling their obesity together and having tremendous success. Tonight's episode featured Mike, who is 18, breaking down and asking Ron why he couldn't change and be a better example. My thoughts immediately went to you. No parent wants their child to be sick or unhealthy, but so few see the connection between their habits and their children's habits. Seeing this being depicted in the interaction between Ron and Mike, my heart felt heavy, heavier than the extra 140 pounds I carry. 

I want you to also know that being at a healthy weight and being "beautiful" don't have to be related. Being healthy is the goal; being beautiful comes from within your heart. Your weight has no bearing on your value as a person, and no matter what society would like you to believe, via magazines and television shows. It simply isn't true. I also want you to know that I will never judge you based on the size you wear or the number on the scale - you are my daughter and you are beautiful. 

You're still baby, you won't remember me the way I am now, and that's how I want it to be. I want you to think back on your childhood and remember having a strong mom, who played with you and chased you around and was fun and happy, not the mom whose whole body aches from years of neglect, who gets winded during a short walk, who has trouble getting up off of the floor when we play together.

So right now, in this moment my dear daughter, I promise you to be the best example I can, so that you don't carry the burden of generations of bad health choices. I promise to live a healthier lifestyle for you, for any future siblings you have, for your father, for your children, so that I can be a better mom, wife, and one day, grandmother. I love you so much and you deserve to have a mom who will live long enough to see you become a grandmother...maybe even a great-grandmother! 

Love,
Mom

New UK Law Promotes Flexible Work Schedules

As reported by Web Worker Daily, a new law in the UK allows workers to request flexible work schedules.

I wonder how long before something like this is implemented in the United States? With the current regulations on maternity leave and the state of the economy, a flexible environment like what is being offered in the UK would be beneficial to not just parents, but businesses as well.

Today found this mom working from home while tending to a baby with a fat lip following the morning from hell. See, my 10 1/2 month old daughter is now walking...but still very clumsy. We were at the hospital getting a CT scan done on her (she's got a cyst on her eye that needs to be removed so the CT scan was to get imaging on that), and she's running around the waiting room, seeing how fast she can go when...splat, mouth-first into the floor. Tears, screaming, blood and swelling followed. What better place for this to happen than at a hospital, right? She's fine now (I worked from home to keep an eye on her as a precaution). Our problems are minor and acute, but with this situation and the baby's impending eye surgery (as well as a surgery of my own in the near future), medical problems are always very stressful. I'm fortunate to have the option to work remotely on occasion, but I have an appreciation for the struggle faced by parents whose children have chronic medical problems, who need to work in order to keep insurance or pay for medical costs, and do not have the option to work remotely. But if we had a policy in place in the US similar to what's being done in the UK, it would be one less stressor on families whose lives are already stressful enough.

What do you think? Would broad-scale flexible work legislation be beneficial in the US?

Help Make Breastfeeding Easier in America

In this country, a new mom who is choosing to breastfeed encounters some obstacles in the United States. Scientific studies have shown that there are some health benefits to both baby and mom from breastfeeding, but it doesn't always work out. (If you remember from reading Our Experience With the First Three Months, it didn't for us, despite our best efforts.) The US Department of Health & Human Services recognizes this, and is asking for input from parents all across the nation.

Want to get involved in the conversation? Click the link below:
Call to Action on Breastfeeding

Moms and Internet Addiction

Do you lose yourself for hours in blogs, social networking sites, message boards and other mom-related internet outlets? So much so that you find yourself forgoing television, books -- even time with your family -- for the internet? If so, you may be falling prey to internet addiction, which, according to parenting.com, is becoming more and more common among new moms.

As someone who works in online education media, I was no stranger to the internet when I became a mom. I was an early adopter of MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and other social media/networking services. I created my first website when I was fifteen (and I won't tell you how long ago that was). When we were planning to get pregnant, and throughout my pregnancy, I utilized these types of sites heavily. I frequented mommy message boards, mommy blogs and parenting websites endlessly until my daughter was born.

During her first few weeks of life, I found myself longing for the freedom to surf the web for hours as I once had. It was an escape from all the changes taking place. I could connect with other moms my age, who had babies my daughter's age -- not just to make sure I wasn't totally screwing her up, but to commiserate about the experience of becoming a mom and all the changes that go along with it. I think we all knew that becoming a mom would change our lives drastically, but speaking from my own experience, there's no way to know until you're in the moment how hormones will color that experience.

But then I returned to work, and found my hours with family to be limited. It was then that I decided that after I arrived home,  until my daughter was sound asleep, it was family time. The computer was simply off-limits. Most of the time, it still is. I have learned, and now enjoy being disconnected from the web and connected to my family.

Feel free to share your experiences with internet use in your household by posting a comment!

Interested in subscribing to Parenting Magazine? Click the Parenting-Early Years or Parenting-School Years link below to subscribe from Amazon.com!

Our Experience with the First Three Months

I would like to thank Jennifer at momlogic.com for writing The Truth About the First Three Months, a post I can totally get behind.

As a mom-to be, I expected to have a perfect pregnancy, ending in the med-free labor I had dreamed of. My baby would be happy, calm, sleep through the night at six weeks and never cry unless she needed something.

What I ended up with was: partial bed rest when I was eight months pregnant, induction on my due date, epidural, a c-section, a colicky baby who cried endlessly and didn't sleep through the night until she was seven months old.

Needless to say, I wish I had taken the words of wisdom of so many experienced moms and been open to the idea that things would not necessarily go the way I wanted -- and that's okay. I also know that there is no way, as a first time mom-to-be, that I would have ever understood this, though.

Now that she's coming up on her first birthday, I can look back on those first three months and appreciate my inexperience. Yes, as Jennifer mentioned in her article, there were moments when I wanted to drop my baby off at the local police station and check myself into the nearest hospital's psychiatric ward. Was the insanity worth it? Absolutely. Would I go through it again? Without a doubt. But let's not ignore the fact that the first three months of my daughter's life were the hardest months of my life.

Moms (and Dads!), feel free to comment and share your experience with the first three months!

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