Maternity Clothes

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Posted by Dana

An excerpt from:

Maternity and Post Natal Notes for Meredith
(aka The unsolicited advice that will eventually annoy you)

Old Navy and Motherhood Maternity are the best places to get nice casual or work clothes for an affordable price.

DO: Splurge on a pricey pair of maternity jeans for two reasons: one, because you will have something you can dress up or down as needed and two, because there will be times when you need to feel pretty and maternity jeans that still make you look slim are a godsend.
DON'T: Buy too many "under the belly” styles. They are fine for the first two trimesters but unless you want to buy more clothes at month seven, invest in the “secret belly fit” option. As your stomach gets bigger the pressure from most under belly styles will become uncomfortable.

There is a store called Destination maternity which is Motherhood, MiMi and a Pea in the Pod all under one roof. They have some great sale racks and it's definitely worth a trek to north Dallas to get the "nice" jeans and their lingerie selection is vast. I also purchased some maternity/nursing gowns there that I still wear because they are so comfortable.

I also still wear my old navy tank tops. I have them in every color, they were cheap and did not lose their shape.

Terusin Bacanya......

Preparing for a teething puppy...I mean child

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Posted by Dana

If you are in the market for a crib and you feel like I did (and still do) that a convertible crib is an awesome idea then you need to purchase a little item called a plastic guard. You will not need it right away, but once you see that first tooth coming through you need to hop skip and jump to your local Home Depot and grab one or your crib rail will look like this:

Derek is not the only tot to ruin a future foot board. The plastic guard is just an inexpensive small piece of clear plastic that is worth every penny. You might worry that it is an eyesore but I assure you that it looks a lot better than the alternative.

Terusin Bacanya......

Thermometers

Monday, February 16, 2009

Posted by Dana

Thermometers are just like any other baby category. There are so many different types and different spins on the same item. There are basically five types pf thermometers:

Rectal, Oral, Temporal, Ear and Armpit

Oral is not considered a viable option for infants and your pediatricians office will ask you for your child's rectal temperature if you call them with an issue as the rectal temperature is the most accurate.

I have used every type (except the oral obviously) and while the ear and temporal sound fool proof, if they are not done exactly right the reading will be off. I actually own the two options pictured above and the top one is my absolute favorite. I am sure I am not the first mother or caregiver that has been a little worried about sticking something up my child's behind. What is nice about this thermometer is that the display screen is large and lights up. In addition, the portion that you insert is short so there is no concern of going too deep.

Terusin Bacanya......

Baby Bathtubs

Monday, January 12, 2009

Posted by Dana

You can spend countless hours pouring over all of the baby tub reviews like I did or you can come to terms with the simple fact that there really isn't a comfortable or easy way to bathe a small infant and one tub is pretty much as useful as the rest. Soap and water will clean a baby just as effectively in a $10 tub as a $40 one regardless of what the ads say.

There are new tubs out that will do fancy things like tell you the water temperature, circulate the water and add bubbles, and there are tubs with fancy slings and attachments. Each style of tub or bathing apparatus works best during certain stages. I personally tried the Fisher Price Rainforest Bathtub and the Mother's Touch Comfort Bather.

When my son was a newborn I found the easiest way to bathe him was lying on a thick folded bath towel next to the sink with a baby towel over him. This prevented him from getting cold and kept his cord stump dry. I found that using the newborn sling caused him to get cold and not enjoy his bath time as much. Now that he is older, the rainforest tub works well for both a baby that can and can not sit up. My only wish for the rainforest tub is that they pad the back of the slanted seat. My son tended to slide sideways.

As for the comfort bather, I am not overly fond. Not only does my son slide down in the seat but he is high enough out of the water that he gets a bit cold.

I have since purchased the Aquababy Bath Ring. The downside is that his little hiney slides around a lot. I solved that problem by using a thick rubber kitchen drawer liner. Once the sliding debacle was address he splashed, played and had a grand time.

Aqua Baby Bath Ring

Mother's Touch Comfort Bather

FP Rainforest Tub

So which tub is for you? It really boils down to preference. I personally think that the Rainforest tub (and those like it) was the best transitional tub. It will easily work for an infant up to 12 months (or older) depending on the size of the child. For both the tub and bath seat, rubber drawer liner solved the slipping problem.

Terusin Bacanya......