Archive for the ‘Babies’ Category

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Older Dads Father Dumber Kids?

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

This one hits closer to home since I was already 43 when w had our first.

A recently released study finds that children of older dads score lower on IQ tests even after weighing socioeconomic factors.
Australian and US researchers analyzed test results of more than 33,000 US born children born to fathers between the ages of 14 and 66. The tests included reasoning, concentration, learning, memory and speaking and reading skills, at eight months, four years and seven years.

[From Fatherhood Examiner: Older Dads Father Dumber Kids?]

The lead author, John McGrath says that he was surprised by the results, since a lot of the “blame” for DNA errors usually goes to older eggs in the mom. Luckily, McGrath says the “effect we see is very small.”

Despite my advanced age, my kids are still among the smartest, most beautiful and well-behaved on the planet.

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Posted in Babies, Fertility, Health, Safety, and Medical | 1 Comment »

From the “There but for the grace of God…” department

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime?

The charge in the courtroom was manslaughter, brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia. No significant facts were in dispute. Miles Harrison, 49, was an amiable person, a diligent businessman and a doting, conscientious father until the day last summer — beset by problems at work, making call after call on his cellphone — he forgot to drop his son, Chase, at day care. The toddler slowly sweltered to death, strapped into a car seat for nearly nine hours in an office parking lot in Herndon in the blistering heat of July.

It was an inexplicable, inexcusable mistake, but was it a crime? That was the question for a judge to decide.

[From Fatal Distraction: Forgetting a Child in the Backseat of a Car Is a Horrifying Mistake. Is It a Crime? Gene Weingarten Reports. - washingtonpost.com]

This is a particularly chilling article on how leaving babies in the back seat of cars to die in a closed car is a tragedy that happens to all sorts of people. As a society, we demonize these poor people who already have suffered the worst event that could ever happen to a mom or dad. And then, we subject them to criminal prosecution. The truth is that this is a horrible unintended consequences of an unrelated safety issue. When airbags were put in cars, new laws required babies and children to move to the back seat, putting them out of sight, and sometimes tragically, out-of-mind.

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Maxi Cosi Mico car seat Review

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

The
Mico Cosi Mico car seat is a seat you can easily use everywhere. Thanks to rigorous European and US standards testing, the sleek and brightly colored Maxi Cosi Mico car seat is known for its safety, surpassing US safety standards. Most people choose it for its safety features, including the padded harness and side impact protection, but also enjoy it’s ergonomic design and distinctive colors. The snugly padded seat also makes your baby feel safe and comfortable.

Off its base, the seat is light and easy to carry around with its retractable carrier handle (4 different positions!). It also fits nicely into the Quinny Zapp stroller, which we use a lot. Snapping in the seat to the base in the car can be a bit tricky, but you get used to it. The Mico will carry your baby from five to up to 22 lbs and the shoulder harness, buckle and infant head cushion are all adjustable as your baby grows from infant to toddler. We also use the sun shade a lot where we live but it could ideally be a bit longer. The nice thing is the shade tucks away behind the seat when you don’t need it. When you’re on the go, the Maxi Cosi Mico is overall just an easy car seat to reckon with.

$169.99 MSRP and 144.95 on Amazon.


Pros:

  1. Moves in and out of car easily.
  2. The seat is light and easy to carry around with its retractable carrier handle (4 different positions!)
  3. Compatible with the Quinny Zapp and Quinny Buzz strollers
  4. Retractable sunshade tucks away easily behind the seat when you don’t need it.
  5. Features side impact protection.

Cons

  1. Snapping the seat to the base in the car can be a bit tricky, but you get used to it.
  2. The sun shade is good-sized, but could ideally be a bit longer.

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Posted in Babies | 1 Comment »

Our intrepid mom and dad reviewers rate the Symmetry Sleep Positioner

Friday, December 12th, 2008

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In our careful watch to ensure our baby slept on his back to avoid SIDS, our newborn son started to develop a flat head. While only a cosmetic concern, our pediatrician recommended we put him on his side while sleeping to mitigate the potential problem. The challenge was, our active son actually rolled over by himself at 1 week, so was not likely to stay on his side.
We found the Symmetry Sleep Positioner useful to keep him on his side (and rotated sides). In the months before he was able to really move on his own, we place him in the SSP within his crib, and he slept comfortably. The device stopped being useful once he could roll himself off of it, but by then he was moving enough that the flat head syndrome was not an issue.
While we never used the caliper to actually measure change, the improvement was visible.

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Cloud B Constellation Nightlight

Monday, October 27th, 2008

The Cloud B Sea Turtle is a fun addition to the nighttime routine. My kids say it helps them get to sleep because is has a soothing light. I like it because it turns their entire room into a planetarium, with choices of blue or green stars (and a moon). Stargazing has always been a special time for me with the kids and, while they can’t always figure out what I’m pointing at, they like the time lying on the grass staring up at the sky with daddy and talking about ’stuff.’ While the Cloud B Sea Turtle, and it’s other endangered animal constellation brothers, can’t replace that experience, it reminds of good times we’ve had and to come. The lights turn off after 45 minutes, which is usually long after they’ve fallen asleep.

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Baby Lift Strap – a must-have for new dads

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

New dads, you don’t know it yet, but your back is going to be killing you in a few days. When you take that baby home in the little carrier on the first day, you’re going to feel a little twinge when your spine curves a little to the side of your favored arm. Because the baby carrier is wide, you have to hold it out even further from your body than a suitcase or briefcase, which feels very unnatural. Surprisingly, someone has just invented a gadget that might make this a little easier on you. Check out the Baby Lift strap, a very low-tech device that gives you a little more support in carrying the baby and his carrier. The strap goes over a shoulder and attaches to one side of the chair. This means you can even let go when stationery and use your free hand to tend to the baby. It’s only $14.95 at MothertoChild.com.Baby lift strap.jpg

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Boon snack ball

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

31Mqbd8NN%2BL._SL160_.jpgBoon Snack Ball – Simple, but elegant, our kids fight over these little balls filled with goldfish or other snacks. I don’t put them in their lunches though, for fear of losing them in the crowd. The ball breaks in half for easy cleaning, but the orange (or pink) top also swivels open for easy open closed for snacks. $6 from Amazon and BabiesRUs.

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Cloth diapers and health risks by Alison Manes

Thursday, October 2nd, 2008

(Editor’s note: Here are more arguments in favor of cloth diapers. Everyone needs to make the best informed choice on this “paper versus plastic-type” debate, but it’s in everyone’s best interest to know the facts.)

Cloth diapering your young one’s bum is not only eco-friendly; it offers a solution to the highly absorbent chemicals found in disposable diapers. Consider the following.

*Babies in cloth diapers have fewer diaper rashes.1

*Cloth diapers are soft on baby’s delicate skin.1

*Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. SAP has killed children after ingesting as little as five grams.2

*Scrotal temperature increases in boys wearing disposable diapers affecting spermatogenesis which can lead to infertility. 2

*Disposable Diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) — a toxic pollutant pollutant, which has a hormone-like effect. The smallest concentrations of TBT can harm people’s immune systems and impair their hormonal system. 3

Sources:

1 http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu

2 Whitewash: Exposing Health and Environmental Dangers of Women’s Sanitary

Products and Disposable Diapers, what you can do about it. Armstrong, Liz and

Adrienne Scott. 1993. HarperCollins.

3 New tests Confirm TBT Poison in Procter & Gamble’s Pampers: Greenpeace demands world-wide ban of organotins in all products. May 15, 2000.

Alison Manes is the mother of six, and the co-founder of Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC. Alison won Tucson’s Business Woman of the Year award from the American Business Women’s Association in 2003 for her marketing work. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, manufacturers a remarkable new sustainable diapering system using organic and recycled fabrics. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, is committed to manufacturing sustainable products made in the USA. You can view LolliDoo® Diapers at www.lollidoo.com. You can also view Alison’s blog at http://earthymommaodyssey.blogspot.com/.



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Ubimed Cleanoz Aspirator a good replacement for that gnarly rubber aspirator bulb

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

We had a chance to meet the inventor, Jose Bensoussan, of the Ubimed Cleanoz Nasal Aspirator Kit at the recent ABC baby and kids product show (2008) and he told a compelling story about this new device. The Cleanoz aspirator is meant to replace the rubber aspirator bulb given by hospitals to new parents. Many parents have been suspicious of the bulb since there is no way to really clean it out or sterilize it and it’s used inside the mouth and nose of very small babies. Better to leave it on the ground the next time it rolls off the changing table and use it as a dog pull toy. The Cleanoz does the job far better and easier using suction to gently pull mucous into a little balloon. After use, or the end of the day, you just throw away the balloon.

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Baby Light and Clip – great gadget for fingernail-clipping dads

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Baby Light and Clip – Nail Clipper for Babies If you’ve ever struggled to cut a baby’s finger or toenails, you’ll love this little gadget. It’s a very simple little tool that incorporates a basic baby fingernail clipper and a light so you can clip in the dark while they are sleeping. And, if you’ve ever cut down too close and actually cut your baby (yes, it does happen) because baby was struggling, or you couldn’t see, this clipper has finger guard so you can’t push in too deep. This may seem like just another gadget to some, but your kids will really appreciate it, up to eight years old. And the price is right at $14.99 MSRP and right now only $7.99 on Amazon (9/21/08).

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