What a pity that my food poisoning induced “labor” precluded use of our doula (the services of which were available gratis via participation in a doula study at our hospital). As first time parents, my husband and I loved the idea of having a childbirth expert in the room to take the pressure off of Jon, and keep our multi-paged (!) birthing plan on track.
Of course, the birthing plan and doula went out the window when I had my emergency C-section. So while I am unable to provide a personal reference, a dear mama friend from Cambridge – who searched long and hard for her doula – offers high praise for the following resource:
What a pity that my food poisoning induced “labor” precluded use of our doula (the services of which were available gratis via participation in a doula study at our hospital). As first time parents, my husband and I loved the idea of having a childbirth expert in the room to take the pressure off of Jon, and keep our multi-paged (!) birthing plan on track.
Of course, the birthing plan and doula went out the window when I had my emergency C-section. So while I am unable to provide a personal reference, a dear mama friend from Cambridge – who searched long and hard for her doula – offers high praise for the following resource:
I’m writing on the heels of a local move that went impressively well, both logistically and toddler-istically; I thought I would pass on moving tips before the packing peanuts go to my head.
Logistical suggestions: 1) hire movers (once you have kids – and all of their gear – it’s time to stop hitting up your friends for moving help); 2) confirm your moving appointment (we would have been waiting around a long time had we not done this); 3) line up an extra set of hands to help with your kid(s) if you are moving on the weekend (Auntie Sha-Sha was a godsend on moving day); 4) ruthlessly prune your belongings; and 5) if possible, donate or sell items before or during your move. You’ll not be surprised by the correlation between discard rate and remaining packing time.
Kid-specific suggestions (they require more description and thus, separate paragraphs…):
1. Keep as many variables constant as possible. For example, if you’re thinking about weaning or potty training or transition to a big kid bed, wait until after the move. Set up your babe’s bedding and critical comfort objects as soon as you get to your new home. Keep to your basic routines as best you can.
A mama friend needs help! Her mother-in-law (MIL) appears to have a hang up about feeding her grandchildren unapproved and/or inappropriate food. Some data: 1) MIL fed my friend’s nephew his first solids (without his parents approval obviously), which resulted in a mild facial rash; 2) MIL tried to feed my friend’s daughter ice cream when she was an infant (luckily the parents were there to intervene); 3) MIL fed my friend’s daughter three new (i.e., not yet allergy tested) foods in one day, including meat, finger foods, and refined sugar products. The behavior persists despite repeated admonishments, conversations, interventions, instructions, and piles of prepared baby food.
At an emotional level, it is frustrating that MIL stole some major feeding milestones from these parents. MIL also doesn’t seem concerned about deviating from the food instructions provided, or the possibility of dealing with allergic reactions (or leaving it to the parents to deal with them). But MIL clearly loves her grandkids (she’s part of the weekly care routine) so what gives?
Our babe recently picked up a nasty little yeast rash along with what appeared to be Coxsackie virus. She was generally in very good spirits, with not much in the way of fever and just a few tiny blisters on her feet and hands, but her bum was looking pretty bad. After a couple of days of diaper treatment, combing my baby manual and the web, and consulting with a couple mama friends, I finally decided it was time to check in with the doctor.
For the most part, time, fluids, and Tylenol are the best treatments for Coxsackie; but our pediatrician did recommend a great tip for the yeast rash. Typical application of antifungal creams is limited to twice a day, thus shortening the time window that the cream can work away at the yeast rash. Our doctor suggested making a 50/50 mix of antifungal cream and diaper cream, thus allowing the antifungal cream to continually treat the yeast rash while still creating a protective barrier via the diaper cream.
Canada is a great place to be a mama. Everyone has access to health care, typical maternity leave is one year, and homegrown products and resources for babies and moms abound.
One of my Canadian mama pals from graduate school pointed me to a couple of especially cool companies. Milkface.com offers a cute array of nursing clothing (check out the comfy and stylish tops!), nursing supplies, and slings. The cloth diapering products from Motherease.com also get high marks. Designed by a seasoned mom who grew tired of the cumbersome and leaky workings of traditional cloth diapering systems, the patented Motherease design offers a snug and streamlined fit for excellent function and comfort.
Both companies ship to the US and internationally.
So how bad is it that my academic expertise is in music and psychology and I have never explicitly purchased a CD for my babe?
Yes, of course I believe that music has powerful cognitive and therapeutic capabilities. But aside from having a decent existing music collection to choose from, I tend to be utterly underwhelmed by the bubble gum bouncy covers on CDs marketed for parents, and especially exasperated by printed claims such as “Proven to make your baby smarter!” Really? Who proved it? Cite a reference please.
Marketing griping aside, I do have one immediate recommendation. My brother-in-law gave us a wonderful CD by Nina Gerber, a professional guitarist based in California. Nina’s “Sweet Dreams” album ($15) includes acoustic guitar instrumentals that are lyrical and textured, yet calming for both babes and adults. This album occupied a permanent spot in our CD changer for about 18 months, serving as our evening wind down/sleep signal music.
Only available for via mail order, but I think it's worth it.
A mama pal from Halifax, Nova Scotia writes in about a fabulous product she picked up for her potty training son. The Piddle Pad from Kiddopotamus is a lifesaver in the car. The top side is soft terrycloth; the backing is vinyl to protect the seat and seatbelts from accidents. With one (or more) of these on hand you won’t be stuck with a babe in a soggy seat, and the major nuisance of wrestling off the car seat cover and running laundry as soon as you get home.
The Piddle Pad is machine washable (of course!) and available for $7.99 at Babies R Us
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Day cares – especially those that take infants – are tough to find, but Bright Horizons offers plenty of places to look. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Bright Horizons from several mama pals. Bright Horizons is massive; they operate more than 600 child-care centers and schools across the U.S., Canada and Europe. In Massachusetts, locations that are open to the community for application include Allston, Andover, Bedford, Beverly, Boston, Boxborough, Braintree, Cambridge, Charlestown, Foxboro, Framingham, Franklin, Hingham, Lexington, Marlborough, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newburyport, North Reading, Norwell, Pembroke, Pittsfield, Quincy, Randolph, Sudbury, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, and Wellesley. Click here to narrow your search by distance from your home; check specific locations for age limits.
Too exhausted to think about having your babe’s next birthday party at home? Full Moon, the perennial top rated family-friendly restaurant in Cambridge, offers birthday party hosting services; choose from one of five themes: wild animals, trucks & engines, dinosaurs, under the sea, princess tea party. Full Moon provides the decorations, balloons, drinks, cake and ice cream, set-up, service, and clean up. Basically, all you need to do is show up.
Party slots are weekdays from 3 - 4:30pm and weekends from 3:15 - 4:45pm (the restaurant is closed during your party); size limit is 10-18 kids (plus parents). Cost is $15 per child, plus 18% gratuity and 5% MA sales tax. You also can pre-order food platters (fruit, cheese and crackers or hummus, pita and olives) for grown ups. Adult cake and drinks charged separately.
Regular service hours include lunch (11:30am - 2:30pm Monday – Friday), dinner (5 - 9pm every day), and brunch (9am – 2:30pm weekends).
A mama pal struck babysitting gold using Sittercity. Search for babysitters by zip code, view detailed profiles (including reviews, references, a personal statement, photos, contact information, and schedule availability), then interview your candidates. My mama pal interviewed five candidates (all fabulous) and happily was able to secure the most fabulous of the five.
Two sign up plans are offered. The annual plan is $7.99 per month + free registration and an included 2-year subscription to Parenting magazine. The monthly plan is $9.99 per month + a $39.99 registration fee.
Mama’ing is incredibly complex. Multiply the mamas times two and a host of new logistical and emotional issues emerge. Vanessa Jones of The Boston Globe reports (May 29, 2006) on a volume that was culled and edited by Harlyn Aizley of Roslindale. This collection of 18 essays (including pieces from five Boston area mamas) is titled “Confessions of the Other Mother: Nonbiological Lesbian Moms Tell All!” and gives voice and description to the challenges faced by nonbiological lesbian moms.
“Confessions” is available on Amazon (regular retail $16, currently on sale for $11.20).
Cotton diapers have obvious benefits: they save trees, lessen landfills, and cut taxpayers’ costs. But it’s tough to face the rigorous routine required to launder cloth diapers at home. It’s one thing to deal with a big baby blowout in the moment, it’s another thing to deal with it again at the laundry machine.
Enter Changing Habits diaper service operated out of Deerfield, MA. The owner, Donna Grybko, is a bit of a kooky koala bear but boy, is she committed to cloth diapers. She even arrived on our doorstep with the first delivery to give us a cloth diaper demo. We loved the service and it was reliable and efficient on all counts.
Changing Habits travels many miles to serve towns in Western Massachusetts and Middlesex County. Check the website for town listings then call to confirm that they can service your address.