Happy Wednesday, ladies! I’m liking this wrinkle-resistant, machine washable dress that is steeply marked down over at Pendleton. The below-the-knee length would be a miss for me, but it’s easy enough to buy the petites version or get it hemmed — and the great discount is worth the chance. The dress was $150, but is now $39 — available in three colors, in petite, plus, and regular sizes 04-18. Pendleton Travel Tricotine All-Day Dress
(L-2)
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
CPA Lady says
You know that “explain to me like I’m five” reddit board? I feel like I need someone to do that to me about how to feed my daughter food. We started baby food last week, and it’s gone well so far, in that she’s enthusiastically eaten everything we’ve given her, but I have no clue what I’m doing, if I’m giving her enough, etc.
For those folks that feed their babies baby food, how much do you feed them at the beginning? All their normal bottles plus 2 things of baby food per day? Three per day? And when do you start transitioning to solids? I know that baby led weaning is having a real moment right now, but I don’t have a good grasp on how to start that either. Just give her some broccoli florets or something? She has two teeth, if that matters.
And is there any way to make it less messy? Do I need bibs with sleeves? Or do I just need to develop “my daughter is smearing sweet potato in her hair” zen?
Also, I ordered a bunch of num num dips from Amazon, and they are awesome.
anonyc says
I never gave a huge amount of thought/stress to food, but luckily my kids have been good eaters. Some have liked jarred purees more than others (first kid loved them; third was into it for about a hot minute), and that’s certainly a super-easy route for the parents. When in the puree phase, sometimes kids will eat the whole jar, other times not, and I’d just save it for later. Also remember that some real foods can be good, too: we had a lot of success with sweet potatoes, can’t get enough of that–and that’s a good place to start if purees aren’t going down.
It takes a bit for babies to get accustomed to solids, moving the food from the front to back of the mouth, but once they get the hang of that it goes a lot faster. I’d say just use common sense: offer foods that are eatable for someone with effectively no teeth, including purees; start giving food a few times a day to start getting into a regular eating schedule; and when baby starts refusing food, that usually means she’s full. Think of it as experimenting for both of you, but a low-pressure one.
rakma says
I totally over thought when and what to feed DD, and she just kinda rolled with it all.
We did purees at first, I made them and froze them in ice cube trays, so about at tablespoon at a time. One cube + some cereal was what we’d give her at our mealtimes, bottle schedule stayed the same. We started with food at just lunch, then lunch and breakfast, then all 3 meals. When she started finishing the one cube at most meals, we added another cube of something different, so she’d have a fruit cube, a veggie cube, and some cereal. (I never measured the cereal)
We didn’t do full baby led weaning, but if I made sweet potato or something super soft, I’d cut up some cubes of it and put it in front of her. Yes, lots of it ended up on her, not in her, but she figured it out. It was usually what ever we were eating -mashed potatoes were a big hit. The containers of puffs were a easy, cleanish way to get her feeding herself, as were Cheerios.
She started purees at 6mo, and puffs and Cheerios a few weeks after that. She didn’t have any teeth when we started, she just gummed everything down.
pockets says
I don’t think anyone knows what they’re doing with starting solids, some people just don’t deal well with not knowing so they determine a plan in their heads and then decide that their plan is amazing and the best way to do solids, and those are the people who seem to know what they’re doing. This actually applies to basically everything about parenting.
We did once a day feedings (one thing of baby food or 3-4 ice cubes of homemade food) and then around 6 months transitioned to 3x a day feeding by just starting feeding her 3x a day one day. We kept giving her the same amount of milk until she voluntarily dropped a bottle around 1 year.
My child would start turning her head away or refuse to open her mouth when she was full. If your child starts smearing the sweet potato into her hair that may be a sign that she’s done eating.
As for starting with finger foods (from what I can tell solids is just food, even in pureed form – the stuff they pick up is called finger foods), I started around 6 to 7 month with Cheerios or the Gerber/Happy Baby puffs because they’re dissolvable and babies freaking love them (even now at 14 months my daughter will DROP EVERYTHING AND DIVE FOR THE PUFFS if she sees an errant one on the floor), and then move on to more challenging things (steamed carrots, diced chicken, bits of pasta).
ETA: I can’t believe there’s a baby item I haven’t heard of, I’m getting the num num dips right now.
CPA Lady says
Pockets, I laughed out loud at your first paragraph– that is so true.
Thanks for the help guys. I know I’m over thinking this. Why don’t babies come with a how-to manual?
GG says
Yes, pockets! Last night, I gave my 9 m/o lightly seasoned taco meat, shredded cheese, blueberries, peas, and a glass of water. I had a passing thought–should a baby eat tacos?—which was never answered because I had to run after a toddler. Second kid problems.
hoola hoopa says
Pockets and GG – both so true.
For baby #1, we did it like Pockets described. It was also back in the day when babies got cereal (I feel like that’s a no-no now?), so the first foods were mixed with cereal.
Baby #2 and #3 did baby lead weaning, aka giving the baby food when they screamed and reached for it.
ELL gives good advice/instruction. I’d add:
– Introduce only one new food per day. That was the prevailing philosophy when #1 was a baby, so that you could identify an allergy.
– No honey before age 1. (Baked is okay)
– I’d postpone nuts until age 1, but that again may be outdated science and probably biased by my own experience of ending up in the ER with a 13 month old who turned out to be allergic to nuts.
pockets says
I hope giving cereal isn’t a no no because that’s the first thing we gave. I read something about how you don’t want your child’s first food to be an empty carb (such as rice cereal), but really? I just have such a hard time getting behind this dire-results-from-one-tiny-decision prognostication.
BKDC says
We’ve been doing solids for about 2 months now, and I feel badly that my son has just been eating a rotation of avocado, yams, applesauce, pears, prunes, oatmeal, carrots, lentils and hummus (all pureed, of course). My dude has no teeth and eats much earlier than we do for dinner (he’s usually in bed by 7 and my husband and I don’t eat until 8 or later, so I can’t offer bits of what we’re eating). He’s usually good at telling me when he’s done eating (he’ll tear the spoon out of my hand and refuse to give it back)
I might try some broccoli and quinoa puree next for my 7-month-old. Any other suggestions?
Famouscait says
We gave kiddo (who is almost 6m old. What?!?) some Cream of Wheat last night. I thinned it with his formula. This is only the second time we’ve tried something other than his bottle. He seemed offended at first taste, tried to suck it from his lips for a while, and then seemed to get the hang of opening his mouth when the spoon arrived. I would estimate I fed him about an 1/8 of a cup. As for how much stayed in him? Who knows.
My dad (a pediatrician) just said to stay away from sweet foods at first (so no fruit, sweet potatoes, etc). so baby will eat the bland ones without sweetening. I bought steamer bags of peas, carrots, and green beans and will start those one by one (in puree form) in a few days once we give the Cream of Wheat a few more tries. I’ll also do some oatmeal (plain, unflavored, of course). We’re just doing the solids at night (in addition to as much formula as we can pack in him) to help with overnight sleeping. Our daycare will also feed him solids during the day, so I’m looking forward to having them help him learn as well.
Carrie M says
On the amount to give when you’re starting out: our ped said to just try different textures and flavors, without worrying about the amount. Same even for when they start finger foods. They’re still getting all their nutrition from breastmilk or formula.
It wasn’t until she was about 9/10 months that she started drinking less milk and eating more food, and of course then I became obsessed with how much she was eating and whether it was enough. Fast forward to her 12 month appointment, and the ped said that a meal serving size for a 1 year old is about 2 palm sized portions — her palm size, not the parents. So really, that’s not a lot at all.
We started with feeding food 1x a day and then increased to 3x a day around 10 months. We kind of followed her lead – when she started showing an interest in the food on our plates, we would give it to her. Even without teeth (or only 2 teeth), they’re really good at gumming their food. In the beginning, she loved avocado slices, salmon, shredded cheeze, guacamole, bananas, pears, peas, all the puffs, toast, sweet potato wedges we roasted til soft, etc. Then one day she just started eating everything – literally grabbed my hamburger and took a bite out of it!
Have fun! Try not to stress about it (though I know it’s easier said than done!).
In House Lobbyist says
We made our baby food because it was really easy and my husband likes to cook. I used the book Super Baby Foods (or something like that) from Amazon for ideas. I didn’t do even half of what she did but thought it had great advice on how to even get started with solids. Avacodos are apparently a great first food for babies and even our ped said that was his kids first food and is something I would never thought of on my own.
ELL says
Here’s how I’d explain it to a five-year-old, more or less:
Feed your baby food you think she will like. This may involve spices or seasonings.
Try a given food more than once on more than one day. Babies are born liking sweets but have to learn to like every other flavor. It often takes a dozen exposures or more.
Don’t feed her things too big to swallow.
Feed her when you eat.
Feed her as much as she wants. Stop feeding her when you sense she no longer wants to put food in her mouth. So when it’s being repeatedly spit out or going in her hair she’s probably full.
Food before one is just for fun. You’re teaching her to love and enjoy eating and socializing at mealtimes.
This is my mom’s academic research interest. Her other is eating disorders. The two interests are connected sometimes. If you want to raise a child with no ability to recognize when she’s full, then force feed her as a baby. If you want to raise a child with a lot of pickiness and anxiety around food then insist she eats foods she hates.
Ellyn Satter is the academic expert in this field. Her website has great tip sheets.
JEB says
There’s a website called wholesomebabyfood which I’ve been reading this past week (getting ready to start solids in a month). I’ve found it to be very helpful! It recommends only a few tablespoons of food 1-2 times a day when first starting out.
just Karen says
I second the recommendation for wholesomebabyfood as a great resource site. I also love babyfoode for creative food ideas if you’re making them yourself (if not, the first site is still very helpful for nutritional info, ideas about what to put together, and when a food is recommended to be introduced).
Liz says
We tried to start BLW at 6 months, but our daughter wasn’t ready. She had a really strong gag reflex and would vomit whenever we gave her finger foods so we stuck with purees / mashing fruits and veggies (avocado and mango were her favorites) until about 8 months. We relied on day care to feed her solids 1-2x a day at first. Around 8 months we started with finger foods again. At first I drove myself and my husband crazy by over researching nutritional requirements. Now at 10 months she eats whatever finger foods are offered at day care (I love that food is included! ) for breakfast, lumch, and snack and whatever my husband and I are having for dinner. We are careful about not adding salt to our meals until we’ve served her and making sure there is some meat at dinner time (for iron). Favorites right now are meatloaf, broccoli, peas, and bread. I’m trying not to overthink things and just offer a variety of foods.
Famouscait says
I’ve posted before with questions about a trip I’m doing do Europe this summer with my baby (who will be 9m old then) and I’ve gotten such great advice, I’m gonna give it another go!
This question: traveling with a stroller and/or carseat. We’ll be in the following cities: Tallinn, Helsinki, Maastricht, and London. All public transit/walking in London; the other cities we’ll be with family, so using a combination of (small) car and public transit/walking. We have a Britax B-Agile but I’m wondering if I should get an umbrella stroller instead? I really like that I can handle the Britax with one hand, but I don’t know if it’s too big for city use? It also takes up a lot of trunk space, so that is a concern with the small cars.
Regarding the car seat: I either bring ours (a Britax B-Safe) or rent/borrow one in Tallinn, Helsinki, and Maastricht. I don’t think I could handle the carseat without the Britax stroller (above), because I’m traveling over by myself with baby; my hubby will meet us at the airport when we arrive. Renting/borrowing a carseat wouldn’t be that bad, but if the Britax stroller is what I should bring, the I’d be more inclined to bring our own matching carseat since I can snap it in and drive the two as a unit.
If bringing both carseat and stroller, should I baggage check them all and just keep kiddo in the Bjorn while in transit? We have to connect in Frankfurt on our way to Tallinn. Thoughts? Other ideas for how to work this?
NewMomAnon says
I haven’t done those cities lately or ever with a baby, but I did Washington DC with the Britax B-Agile and B-Safe. Public transit is a nightmare with a stroller; I would strongly recommend an Ergo or Bjorn or some way that doesn’t require you to find elevators. The B-Agile was a pain to fold up and carry down escalators because it is so big, and elevators are often not in the ideal places (it made me understand how hard the Metro probably is for folks with disabilities). I think an umbrella stroller would have been better, as long as I had another adult to carry the stroller while I carried baby.
As far as carseats – if you have the option of getting a carseat when you land, I would do that. Otherwise, I thought it worked well to click the B-Safe into the B-Agile, push baby through the airport in the stroller/seat combo, and then gate check the stroller and use the bucket on the airplane (if you have a seat for it). I know the common wisdom is use an Ergo in the airport, but the stroller was really handy.
Do you have the front facing Bjorn, or the 360? I’ve had friends say that the front-facing Bjorn isn’t that comfortable for them or for baby for extended carrying. If you have time before the trip, I would look for an Ergo, 360 Bjorn or other soft structured carrier that has baby facing you or can be used in a hip carry or back carry
Famouscait says
Thanks – this is helpful. As for the soft carrier, its actually Infantino brand (don’t recall the model/type) but it can be used with baby facing in or out. I thought it would be uncomfortable for baby and adults to have him in it all day, everyday during our 3-week trip…? We like to keep gear to a minimum, but I’m not sure I could do without a stroller at all.
hoola hoopa says
Buy an ergo. You’ll be using it a lot, and you’re correct that the infantino one will be uncomfortable. A baby carrier is the best way to navigate public transit.
My vote is bringing Ergo + umbrella stroller and borrowing/buying carseat at destination.
RDC says
I don’t know those cities, but I’d be inclined to do umbrella stroller and rent a car seat, and plan to use the carrier a lot. There may be more places that are not stroller-friendly (eg cobblestone streets or sidewalks, stairs and no ramps) and the britax might be a tight squeeze some places. I would also gate-check the stroller (and car seat if you take it) since it seems like it might be handled a bit more gently that way. There are cheap gate-check bags you can get on Amazon to keep things clean.
pockets says
We bought a cheap, super light carseat for our recent trip (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AJSIQCW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and checked it at check-in in a plastic garbage bag. You can check carseats for free. We also brought an umbrella stroller and gate-checked that. We had a carrier (the Onya, which I think is more comfortable for bigger kids) which was good for getting through airport security. When you land you can carry your child in the carrier and use the stroller to cart the carseat around.
ETA: also important that you can open (and, to a lesser degree, close) the stroller with one hand. Does the Britax have the same close mechanism as the City Mini?
Famouscait says
Thanks for the car seat idea. Yes – I can close the Britax stroller with one hand while holding the baby.
ANP paging acf from yesterday says
Any chance you can have your husband buy an umbrella stroller in Europe and meet you with it? I understand not wanting to go stroller-free the whole time, but our Ergo was a lifesaver when our kiddos were at that age. FWIW, we’ve traveled (domestic but urban) with a BOB Revolution (not compact or quick-fold) and made it work. Just depends on your tolerance.
Meg Murry says
Are family members going to have to pick you up at the airport or train station with all your luggage and stroller? Or can you take a cab just for that trip? Keep that in mind when packing – my aunt has a (now funny, not at the time) story of how her relatives came to pick them up at the airport in Germany and not even 1/2 of the luggage fit in the trunk of their tiny car and they had to pay out the nose for a cab to/from her relatives’ house.
Can you ask the family you are visiting if they have a friend you can borrow a stroller from for the trip? Or if they can buy an umbrella stroller there?
Or will the B-Safe fit on the Snap-N-Go style stroller? That would be a smaller option, and they are still relatively easy to fold and manuver, and don’t take up all that much trunk space if you put things on top of them.
I think its an all-or-none problem – you either take both carseat and a stroller that can hold it, or you don’t take either – I agree that taking the carseat without stroller would be a logistical pain
Maddie Ross says
The B-Safe does not fit in the Snap and Go. 99% of car seats work with it. As far as I can tell, the B-Safe is the only outlier. I would probably take the B-Agile stroller though in place of a Snap and Go. I bought it frankly in place of it. It folds up nearly as quickly and just as small.
K. says
London subway stations sometimes ONLY have stairs. I’d imagine having a stroller there to just be a pain. That’s all I have to add, but definitely bring a carrier!
RR says
This. Having just been to London and having traversed the Underground with a carry on roller bag, I would pretty much rather stab myself in the eye than take a stroller in the London Underground.
CPA Lady says
My sister lives in Europe and has traveled extensively with her 3 year old since she’s been born. She almost exclusively uses a baby carrier. When she does use a stroller, she uses a foldable umbrella stroller. But not what we in America consider to be an umbrella stroller. Something like the $15 Cosco umbrella stroller that is as tiny and lightweight as you can possibly get.
I am not sure about the particular cities you mention, but some places she has traveled have been completely impractical with a stroller at all because of the number of stairs/unavailability of ramps or stroller-unfriendly road surfaces like cobblestones. It makes me wonder how anyone in Europe can be in a wheelchair.
EB0220 says
Somewhat off-topic, but google “Where in the World is Erin” if you have a moment. Her blog has photos from a trip she took to Europe with her kiddo, stroller-free. She uses woven wraps, but I love the photos. On a practical note, I agree with the above to buy an umbrella stroller in Europe and borrow/rent a carseat.
BKDC says
Wrong place
JMDS says
Our nanny’s birthday is next week. It will be her first birthday with us. Any advice on gifts/celebrating?
Middle names says
Hi ladies! I just had a baby boy at 27 weeks so much earlier than expected. He’s in the NICU and doing well but we need to find him a name! We’d like a middle name that means strong or survivor because he is one :) any suggestions? Thanks!
Chronic Overachiever says
Congratulations! Sending good wishes your way!
Ethan means strong and Wyatt means little warrior.
pockets says
Congrats! There was just a thread on this a few days ago. I remember that someone suggested Rex
Empire Records? says
I will never be able to hear the name Rex without thinking of Rex Manning.
EB0220 says
Same here.
anon says
Arthur, Zeke (of Ezekiel), Gabriel, Riker.
FWIW, my husband’s cousin had her son at 27 weeks. After a long and sometimes scary stay in the NICU, her son is now 2 years old and a thriving and active toddler on developmental pace with his peers who were carried to term. Best wishes and good vibes to you and your family :).
Newly pregnant says
Congrats! What about Griffin or Griffith? According to Nameberry both mean “strong lord.”
MomAnon4This says
Raphael is a Healing Angel.
I think of Chaim, Hebrew for Life.
Arthur means strong, and is Kingly. :)
Good luck!
Nonny says
One more – Peter means “rock”.
hoola hoopa says
I like ‘rock’.
Nicholas/Nicolai means victory. St Nicholas is also the patron saint of children.
Duncan means dark warrior, which you could interpret as underdog.
Watson means powerful fighter, and I think it’s adorable.
This might help: http://nameberry.com/list/468/Baby-Names-That-Mean-Strong?all=1
Congratulations!
quailison says
Congratulations! I don’t have any name ideas, but wanted to add to the good wishes!
just Karen says
Congratulations! I don’t have a name suggestion, but had my now 7-month old just shy of 34 weeks, so spent a few weeks in NICU and can only imagine the magnified shock that you must be experiencing (our daughter went a few days nameless). Please do take care of yourself during this time – if the nurses start telling you you’re there too much and need to go home to rest, DO IT. Hugs to you and your family, and best wishes for your little boy.
JJ says
I love all of these middle names options, and the idea behind your middle name choices. Just wanted to add in the good wishes. I’ve had several friends with babies born at the 28-27 week mark, and all have been happy and healthy once they were out of the NICU. Best wishes!
PinkKeyboard says
Oh my goodness! Congratulations! I don’t have any name ideas (currently 27 weeks with a girl) but best of luck to you!
FWIW says
Okay, so I know it’s late and nobody might see this, but HOLY COW I JUST GOT A POSITIVE TEST.
I’m supposed to have margaritas with the girls tonight and my husband picked them up because I kept mentioning how ‘off’ I felt.
Yep. Digital ‘Pregnant’. Holy cow.
woohoo! says
Congratulations!!! I am on my 10th month of hoping for a positive, so this internet stranger is super pumped for you!
FWIW says
Hugs to you too internet stranger!!
I don’t know if this helps, but because of my husband’s travel schedule, this was our 10th month of ‘hoping for a baby’, but only the fifth month our timing worked out enough to make a serious attempt.
JJ says
Congrats!!!
Frozen Peach says
Yaaaaaaay!!!!!