Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Thankful




(I'm participating in Wordless Wednesday. If you can't see the photo, click here.)

Monday, November 26, 2007

A cute remedy for acute nausea

What do you do when feel sick to your stomach but can't (or don't want to) take anything for it? For some people, putting pressure on their wrists helps prevent/relieve nausea. I've seen people wear special (but ugly) wrist bands to ward off motion sickness.

Thankfully, that remedy is looking more attractive these days. I came across these Psi bands, which come in three very fun designs as well as your basic black. I haven't tried them, but I would say it's worth a shot - especially if you're pregnant and can't just pop a pill to make it feel better.

More tips for dealing with morning sickness, etc. coming soon!

Friday, November 23, 2007

Wednesday on Friday

A couple of you mentioned having trouble seeing the last Wordless Wednesday photo, so I posted it here on my website. If you still can't see it let me know.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Skip the mall madness

It may seem a little early for this post, but I figure that by the time most of you read it, you will be just re-emerging that familiar turkey-induced stupor and starting to contemplate joining the masses (possibly with kids in tow) for Black Friday.

I want you to know: you don't have to go through with it.

You may consider what I'm about to say shameless self-promotion. On the other hand, it may be useful information for you. So I'll continue...

This Friday instead of fighting the crowds, you could be home in your p.j.s, sipping your coffee (or tea or whatever your morning beverage of choice is) and still getting all your shopping done.

Because you can purchase ornaments,

cards (on sale!),


t-shirts,

cute kid clothes,

stocking stuffers,



and all kinds of fun gifts in my online shop.

Which means you can skip the driving and have your purchases shipped to you or directly to the recipient. (Speaking of which, check out our free shipping promo.) The designs are original; we have a great return policy; and you can shop whenever you want - you don't have to elbow your way into the store at 4am.

Although if you enjoy that sort of thing, you can always visit my shop once you come back home.

Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Not always "EC"

Ah, the gap between theory and practice.

I remember a meeting for a group project in college where 3 out of the 5 members of the group were late. The first one to arrive had been an international student who was pretty irritated. I'm not sure if she was more upset with the latecomers or the orientation materials she had been given before coming to the U.S. that claimed you should never arrive late to a meeting because punctuality is very important to Americans. It is. In theory.

As you know, I've been reading about Elimination Communication (EC). Some websites make it sound like it's the simplest thing in the world to learn your baby's signals and make sure they're in an appropriate place to potty when the time comes. But, like anything else, you dig a little deeper and you'll find out real life is a bit more...messy.

Still, theory is good. It helps to know what you're aiming for. ;) So here are some articles/sites that will give you the idea behind EC and some forums that will give you an idea how it plays out in real life. (For example, a lot of people do some combination of EC and diapers.) Oh, one more thing before you start clicking away, you start researching this stuff you'll probably end up seeing way too many photos of peeing babies. You've been warned.

The Theory of EC...

EC in the real world...

Photo 1 by me: Dog jumping out of a fountain at ASU. Photo 2 by Gisarah: A different kind of diaper mess. (Creative Commons License.)

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Where I've been

Merry Christmas card on Bold Avenue
So I haven't been posting as much lately (but I'll start up again soon, don't worry). One reason is that I’ve been hard at work on holiday newsletters for my business, Bold Avenue. Over the next couple months I’ll send out about three editions of In Bold Print with ideas for gifts, simplifying your holiday season, decking the halls and all that good stuff. Oh yeah, also, there are occasional subscribers-only sales too. Want in on that? Just enter your email in the box below and click "go."








Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Friday, November 9, 2007

Attaching the dots

When I started this blog, I thought I'd look at the diaper debate for a couple weeks, then move on to baby carriers, strollers, etc. Nothing has been as simple as it seemed. Why did that surprise me?




I was about ready to choose cloth diapers over disposable when I found out that "none of the above" is actually an option. Need to read up on that.


I thought carrying your baby around in a sling/pouch was just handy, little did I know that simple action came with its own terminology (noun: babywearing; verb: to babywear) and often a whole philosophy. Need to read up on that too.

When I read that both those things - along with breastfeeding, co-sleeping and probably some other activities that help you pass the granola mom test - can be all connected under the "attachment parenting" umbrella, I realized I had a lot to learn. And a lot of reading to do.



Photos: As I have no babies, and therefore, no baby stuff, I have to use photos of other people's baby stuff. In this case, Twelve Paws (photo 1) and Sean Dreilinger (photo 2). Yay for Creative Commons ! (Licenses: photo 1 and photo 2.)


Thursday, November 8, 2007

Another day, another recall

With the Aqua Dots recall and all the other recalls of baby and kid products going on, I thought it would be a good time to re-post the link to the CPSC's Product Safety and Recalls page.


You can also sign up to receive email alerts about product recalls from the CPSC (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.)


Photo from CPSC.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

To diaper or not to diaper?

As it turns out, that is actually a valid question. In an earlier post, I think I mentioned someone joking about skipping the diaper debate altogether and letting their baby go diaperless.

The thing I didn't know is that many people around the world believe diaperless is the way to go. In western countries, it's known by names such as Elimination Communication (EC), Infant Potty Training, Natural Infant Hygiene, or (ugh!) trickle treat.

At first, I thought the whole idea was insanity. However, the more I learned, the less crazy it seemed. The basic idea is that babies naturally show some sign that they're about to potty (scrunch up their faces, make grunting noises, etc.). Once you're familiar with a child's schedule and signals, you can hold them over a toilet, sink, bowl, etc. and let them do their business there rather than in a diaper.

Proponents of EC make some valid points, and I'd say it's worth looking into. If you'd like to find out more, this article would be a great start - it examines contrasting attitudes about diapering in India and the U.S., as well as broader issues like consumerism and parenting.

What's your take? Feel free to comment. :)

Photo by Sean Dreilinger: One day's dirty diapers are at least the size of the baby! (Creative Commons license)

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Are you positive?

I was vaguely aware that sometimes a baby's blood could somehow be incompatible with the mother's and cause problems, but I didn't really know what that was all about. So when it came up the other day, I decided to do some reading. Here's what I found out.

Most people's blood has something known as the Rh (Rhesus) factor, which is basically a protein that rides around on your red blood cells. If you have it, you're Rh positive; if you don't, you're Rh negative.

Being Rh negative isn't a big deal. Your body doesn't even know what it's missing. The only problem (that I know of) comes if you happen to be an Rh negative woman who is pregnant with an Rh positive baby and if your blood happens to intermingle. In that case, your white blood cells - who tend to be a little trigger happy and very xenophobic - go into attack mode and could seriously hurt your baby.

Anyway, if you are at risk for Rh incompatibility (more on that below), usually all you have to do is get an Rh immune globulin shot when you're 28 weeks pregnant and then again after you give birth. That pacifies your white blood cells and keeps everyone healthy. There are a few other instances (like if you have a miscarriage) where you might need that shot, but your doctor will be able to discuss that with you.

There's no way to tell for sure if a baby is positive or negative until birth. However, since it's a genetic trait, it's pretty easy to guess if there's an incompatibility possibility.
  • Rh positive dad + Rh positive mom = always Rh postive baby (compatible, no worries)
  • Rh negative dad + Rh negative mom = always Rh negative baby (compatible, no worries)
  • Rh negative dad + Rh positive mom = maybe Rh negative baby (rarely a problem)
  • Rh positive dad + Rh negative mom = maybe Rh positive baby (incompatible! Get your shots.)
  • If the dad's Rh is unknown and you're Rh negative, assume you're at risk.
More info:
PS The first photo is of blood cells, but don't you think it'd be an awesome pattern for a funky top?