Category — parenting

I kind of stopped posting messages when I was being bombarded with XRumer generated auto posting crap.

But, with economy being what it is, I think I can contribute to my readers with some detailed product reviews so that you can minimize buying crap like I did.

Ok, so my oldest is now about 31 months old now.  As you may recall, we started with Pampers Swaddlers but decided it was waay too expensive, especially since my guy did not have any allergic reactions.  So when he was about 3 months old, we switched to BJ’s house brand.

Now, some people might say it is inferior to Pampers but I have to ask you this question:  if you knew your baby pee’d in his or her diaper, wouldn’t you change it right away?  I don’t get this hold notion of not changing diapers frequently because it can hold more liquid.  I guess under certain circumstance (like being out in the mall), it might be convenient, but for general use, I think using BJ’s brand is better.

Having said that,  I decided to switch the diapers to Luvs for several reasons:

1. Size 6 diaper is slightly wider, preventing poop leaks (yuck)

2. Luvs diapers seem to be softer (but slightly thinner) than BJ’s diapers

3. Luvs diaper seem to better hold liquid than BJ’s

4. Price (with BJ’s manufacturer coupons) is comparable between Luvs and BJs

So, there you have it. If you have a size 6 boy or girl, why don’t you give Luvs diapers a try?  As I recall, Luvs is a cheaper brand manufactured by Procter and Gamble who also manufactures the Pampers brand.

PS.  What is up with Costco?  Because Costco is closer than BJs from my house, I checked out their store the other day.  It seems like the majority of the items are their own Kirkland brands.  Especially for diapers they only had the Huggies and Kirkland!  Instead of paying membership fee, Costco should pay ME to shop there!  lol.

I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding immunization shots and autism.  Although scientists are saying there is no correlation, some parents are rather skeptical.  So, should you get shots for your child or not?  We decided that not getting shots present greater “known” dangers than not getting one.  Besides, it’s not just our child’s health, but others as well, right?

The only thing we requested from our pediatrician was that the shots are made WITHOUT any mercury.  We were told that most shots do not contain mercury these days, but call ahead to make sure that is the case.  In addition, keep a detail record of all shots.

Birth to  2 months: Hepatitis B (Hep B)

2 months:  DTP (diphitheria, tetanus, pertussis), OPV (polio), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B)

2 to 4 months: Hep B
4 months: DTP, OPV, Hib

6 months: DTP, Hib

6 to 18 months: Hep B, OPV

12 to 15 months:  Hib, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)

12 to 18 months: DTP (or DTaP at 15-18 months), Var (chicken pox)

Before starting school (4 to 6 years): MMR, DTP or DTaP, OPV

11 to 12 years: Var (if your child has not had the chickenpox shot, and  has never had chicken pox), Hep B

11 to 16 years: Td (tetanus, diptheria)

At almost 11 months, Gregory seems to be progressing at his own leisurely pace.  He is still sporting a single front tooth and today, started to carry on conversations with us (and himself) by generating what sounds like a bunch of wild turkeys talking to each other!

We are starting to read to him more diligently, so we hope his verbal skills will improve soon.

Believe it or not, we have committed ourselves to NOT watch television and I think that is helping.  Not only do we avoid all those flashing tube signals (and possibly scrambling his little brain), in place we spend more quality time together.  Yes, it is much, much harder to do it this way, rather than plopping him in front of a television set.  With all the hoopla about autism, maybe avoiding “empty” stimulus is a good thing?

Our little boy managed to get us into panic last night. About 1 hour after eating Gerber’s banana (1st food) for the 2nd time, he got into a sudden sneezing frenzy. He sneezed some food through his nose as well as coughing up mucous stuff. I quickly grabbed the bulb nasal aspirator and extracted most of the yucky stuff. He was a bit lethargic so I wanted to feed him some water but I wasn’t sure how much or if I should even give it him. I definitely did not want to give his usual night time formula to add to the mucous situation, so I ended up leaving a voice message on the nurse’s line at my pediatrician’s office. A nurse called within 45 minutes, and after going through a list of questions like how is he doing now, is he laboring for breaths, etc., we decided to give him some diluted formula (4 oz water, 1 scoop of foruma) and keep a close eye on him. I was very impressed with my pediatrican’s office, so here is what I would recommed when choosing a pediatrician:

1. If at all possible, choose an office with at least 2 doctors so that when one is not available, the other doctor can see you;
2. Make sure to see as many different doctors as you can at this office; after 8 months, we do have a favorite doctor, but early on we made sure that we saw all 8 doctors;
3. Ask your neighbors to see who they use; I can’t stress enough the importance of selecting an office that is near your house. We initially selected one near the hospital where my wife was delivering (30 minutes away), but decided to switch to the one that was 10 minutes away. Trust me, you can’t no longer get ready in 10 minutes and leave; everything takes at least 20 minutes longer so closer the office, less stree you will feel when you are running late;
4. Make sure the office has designated hours for regular checkup vs. sick visits. Our pediatrician’s office has morning hours reserved for regular checkups and afternoon hours for sick visits. Yes, yes, you can visit during either hours if you have a scheduling conflict but you can’t be too cautious with your little one, at least in the beginning. Some have suggested selecting an office with segregated areas but come on, everyone walks through the same door and goes to the same counter space right? Can a single half-wall partition really filter out germs? That’s like saying you want to sit in a non-smoking area when the smoking area is right next to you;
5. Of course, make sure your pediatrician is in your health insurance company’s network. $15-20 co-payments quickly add up! And yeah, increase your FSA (flexible spending account during open enrollment. You will need at least $500 the first year.

If your wife has not delivered yet, it’s very important to shop around now! Pediatricians vary greatly so you need to talk to many, many different doctors. I’d suggest selecting someone who’s in their mid 40’s. I didn’t want someone that was too young (lack of experience) or too old (lack of latest techniques/knowledge).

Just keep in mind, when the baby arrives, everything, I mean everything will more more hectic!!
Here are some useful links I found during my research:

Expectant Mother’s Guide

Baby Center

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