*Baby Corner*

[Susita 175]

Vi, that's how we did it too and plus if you'll be taking taxis in Peru.

Yes those taxistas are crazy. I would probably bundle my baby up in padded material and put a helmet on her

j/k they aren't all that bad but I did think I was going to die a couple of times.

[chnst 6]

@VI: I never used the infant seat on flights. But I would bring the base. Also- definitely check with the airline if they let you gate-check the stroller. Some airlines have stopped that. I was in that situation last August when I had to check in our umbrella stroller, and carry Ben, diaper bag and carry-on-suitcase through JFK and then through the entire airport in Paris (including 2 stories of stairs). He weighed 25lbs If you have a sling or a carrier, bring it with you, just in case. I thought they would gate check it and let me use it until we board the plane. My stroller got all bent and dirty, even though I had cover for it. Most airline check strollers or carseats as free luggage, but they have recently changed their policies about how many bags you are allowed to check in. Some international airlines restrict each passenger to 1 bag now. Or you have to pay. I had to pay $50 for each checked bag when I went to Germany. Also I would check if someone in your family/friends with small children can give you a pack'n play or something so you can travel lighter. My mom has a pack'n play and high chair for when we visit, also extra carseats, changing mat etc. My sisters baby uses it too.

I am so happy for you, that you can finally go home and visit and show Sofia Peru! Your parents must be so excited!

@Mommies: does anyone have a wipe warmer? I bought one a few months ago and it has completely eliminated our diaper changing issues. Now I just bought the cloth wipes from the same brand. They go into the wipe warmer like real wipes and You can wash them in the machine, they are super soft and you can make your own "recipe" or just use water. Does anyone use cloth wipes? Anna or Evi maybe? What do you use? I think this is so cool! I was considering cloth diapers/wipes for a while but it is such a hassle and this way you always have a bunch of cloth ready and wet and warm at the same time.

I am also considering to give the gDiapers another try... any good tips where to get the inlets cheap? They are actually more expensive then a pack of the 7th generation diapers at wholefoods.

[chnst 6]

Yes those taxistas are crazy. I would probably bundle my baby up in padded material and put a helmet on her

j/k they aren't all that bad but I did think I was going to die a couple of times.

haha, are they worse than the cab drivers in NYC?? I remember how scared I was when Ben was 4 months old and we took a cab and he was just on my lap. I wanted to stuff him in my shirt and was holding his head with both hands, begging the driver to slow down.

[Susita 175]

haha, are they worse than the cab drivers in NYC?? I remember how scared I was when Ben was 4 months old and we took a cab and he was just on my lap. I wanted to stuff him in my shirt and was holding his head with both hands, begging the driver to slow down.

Yeah it's that at least in NYC when you break traffic laws and a cop sees you, you get ticketed. In Peru you can slip them a couple of bucks and they let you go. Although Luis & I saw on America Noticias (Peru News) that they are cracking down on that, which is good. His friend usually picks us up from the airport but it's not him I worry about it's the other crazy drivers and the buses! My brother in law was hit by a combi (bus) along with another lady and the lady died!! He recovered though with only a broken leg. Thank god!

[chri'stina 190]

chnst-I hope Ben feels all the way better soon! Kavi didn't really have pneumonia, they were just worried he might. So no nebulizer, just the antibiotics. He seems to be getting better.

When I took a pregnancy test it was a Walmart brand one. My line was an obvious positive a day or two before my period was due. Kinda blurry. I can't believe this pic was taken so long ago(end of May 07).

Edited January 2, 2010 by chri'stina

[tnh9479 1]

OMG...my normally sweet, smiling baby has turned into a whiney, clingy mess. I told her I would beat up the teeth for her!

Hana is getting in two more teeth and wasn't this bad for her previous six. Maybe she is just older and more conscious of them. She was up until 9 last night and Zak until 10pm. My husband and I said this is a bad way to start the new year.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Twila, Hate to tell ya but the first 6th teeth are a breeze. Your going to spend the next year battling 10-12 (or in your case 20-24) more teeth that are FAR more painful than those first few. The front molars werent tooo bad but the other molars and inscisors are BRUTAL. Get lots of teething tablets , chew toys, and get ready to be bit! lol. There was nothing easy about Zaid turning 1 year until now. I miss the mellow days. It has progressively gotten worse from teething to tantrums to misbehaving in public. Im assured by many it does get better but for now, I wish teething was the worst thing we were going through! lol Hang in there.

[Susita 175]

As far as teething goes what I used to do for the boys was make little homemade iced pops out of their apple juice & grape juice and fresh fruit mushed up and that helped a lot. Plus they were yummy snacks.

They never liked those teething rings, although they had quite a few. Orajel didn't do anything for them either. They would just chew on their bottle nipples or sippy cup tops so we went through a lot of those.

[Anna C. 4]

@ chnst: I made flannel wipes, but have no wipe warmer, and you really need one. Which one did you get and whcih wipes? I will get one next time around. Jona doesn't mind being wiped, he just doesn't want to be on his back and changed... So I use the wipes I made for wiping his face and hands, and they work great....

I wouldn't mind looking into it now if you could tell me how it's going... I was considering a solution of witch hazel, calendula and camomille with a drop of tea tree oil (cause it's antibacterial, some kids are sensitive to it, but I don't think Jona would). How often does one have to prepare it? I thought of ordering powdered forms of the above mentioned stuff, it's pretty cheap even organic if you buy by the pound at bulk stores (under $10 for a pound!).... I really do not like the prices of wipes (we use Tushies or 7th Generation, all other brands contain weird chemicals)...

[chnst 6]

@Anna: it's Prince Lionheart wipe warmer. It was only $25 at Babies R Us. I always use coupons they send in the mail. Plus you need a pack of the heating pillows every other month for $8.99 a double pack. Considering the money I would save for wipes, that is pretty inexpensive. The wipes are the same brand. They are actually made from bamboo cotton, super soft. I think a pack of 8 was around $10, but I used the babies r us coupons to pay for 2 packs. I really want to give it a try. I have 16 cloth wipes, do I need more than that for a day of wiping? (I would probably use disposable wipes for messy poop, but he never poops anyways, haha). Come to think of it, I think I also have a pack of tiny tiny washclothes I never used, maybe I can use these for backup. Where do you get the "ingredients"? Calendula, tea tree oil etc? Online? I guess I will start with just water, maybe some baby oil if I can't get it clean with just that. He doesn't have sensitive skin in his diaper area so I I guess that will be fine.

Haha, I also like to annoy MIL. She is old-fashioned and hates the wipe warmer. She rather warms up the wipes in her armpits and refuses to use it. which reminds me to get a second wipe warmer for her house, so I don't have to constantly pack the thing whe n I go to school.

@Twila: Ben got 16 teeth within 12 months. It was tough, but not too bad. He has been extra fussy right before they cut through, and nothing helped- no popsicles, no teething tablets, no chew toys, ointments... just hang in there! Trying to get him to brush his chompers is harder than the whole last year of teething I think.

@Kelly: lol, I hear ya. Thank God Ben has been a lot better lately. I can negotiate with him now, give him choices and he understands the time out concept. He loves to please us, so when he acts up I make a sad face and ask him where Mommy's "good boy" went. It always works. I think a big part of it is that he can talk now and tell us what he needs/what hurts etc.

Now that we're through the tantrum phase he has started to drive us insane with the whining phase. He constantly wants to sit on my lap, eat whatever I eat, cuddle and I can't even go to the bathroom without him going through withdrawals

[Anna C. 4]

@ chnst: Ah I see... It comes with 4 wipes right away, but I can use mine with it. I might give it a try. They have it for $25 at drugstore.com too, and I get 5% cashback there with Discover.... Bamboo is sooo soft, I got it for the pocket diapers I'm making. I was making them in newborn size for SIL, but she now wants to use compostable diapers instead, so I guess those are for us, hehehe.

I buy those oils at luckyvitamin.com - where I also buy laundry detergent (Ecos, as good as 7th generation but cheaper) and soap and stuff, it's all on like super sale.

iiihhugugugugi, MIL warms the wipes in her armpit? She better use an antibacterial deostick and be shaved!

[caybee 21]

Bamboo is wonderful. My sister made Rayan some hats from bamboo yarn. But I have to hide them from the cats - apparently they smell really good to them.

[Autumnchik 6]

I miss my little boy!!!! He and daddy and my mother headed down to Florida. I work this week and then fly down on Friday to meet them. They left yesterday afternoon. Yesterday was pretty cool, I must admit .... I actually watched 2 DVDs all the way through and slept the whole night long. But 1 day is enough!!!

Cannot wait for FLorida .... and looking forward to getting to meet Stina and Kavi! Yay for VJ playdates

[Anna C. 4]

@ Autumn: Oh that must be hard... But at least you'll go to FL soon, far away from all this snow!!!

Ladies, I forgot to mention... We won a snowblower! Yeah! A local store had it as a giveaway and we won on 12/31. It is really useful here. We get snow and horrible drifts up to 5 feet in our driveway. Last time hubbie shoveled for over an hour to clear it.... So the snowblower is totally ueber-awesome...

@ chnst: Oh well, evil you made me buy that wipe warmer. I also ordered the ingredients for a solution on luckyvitamins. I opted for organic witch hazel, calendula, aloe vera and vegetable glycerin (as soap substitute) and of course the tea tree oil. Let's see how that works out... I read that someone mixes the solution once a week, puts it over the wipes daily and keeps the rest in a bottle in the fridge and it stays fine (no mold). Jona rarely has messy poopies these days, but still you gotta wipe them down! For me it's actually a pain to use disposable wipes as I have to separate them from the cloth diapers, now I can just toss everything in one pail, no more separating. It's really annoying. Btw, in case you ever wanna give it a try, we have absolutely no issues with Coolababies pocket diapers from Ebay. They are dirt cheap and work well, hold up well and they work like Pampers (so it's easy peasy to put them on)....

[Vi Mazzella 4]

You mommies ROCK!!! thank you for all your posts!!! I guess I'll be bringing car seat+ base 'cause I'll need it in Lima, Susita is so right when she says thta driving in Lima is a real nightmare, Silvio used to make of it alot, just to cross the street is like playing frogger (videogame). I'm so ansious about this trip, now hubby is giving me aheadache about the luggage, he just wants me to bring one but I know thta I need two, C'mon I'm traveling with a baby,I need to bring alot of extra stuff for her plus all the gift she is going to get there,doesn't make sense to bring just 1 piece of luggage. Oh, I'm bringing a big backpack with all what I will need for the ariport and flight.

Autumnchik Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww enjoy mommy, I'm looking forward to the three weeks that my family will spoil me and I'll be able to sleep!!!!!

Twila@ Sof has 8 teeth, how many more dos she need????? hahaha. I still bf and sometimes my little one forget that is a NO-NO to bite mami.