Baby Blurbs

Finding a Mommy Group

Joni — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:54:32 +0000

I find myself searching for “Mommy Group” friends now that I have a little one. It is funny how my life has changed so much, and now, on top of it all, I feel like I should surround myself with people that I did not know of have a need to know until I had a baby. The normal talks about who is dating who, or a conversation surrounding the longest lasting lip glosses, are lost on me. I would rather talk about smushed bananas or brands of diapers. I guess a baby will let you know where you are at in the world, and I had better catch up, and meet some more “Mommy” friends. The one part of this search that I am liking is that I am asserting who I am finally. Am I a soccer mom or a tree hugger? Do I make clothing for our family, or spend lots of time stroller walking the malls? There are mommy groups out there for everything, and I am excited about trying them!

Sharing the Breast

Joni — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:54:34 +0000

With the rise of breastfeeding in our culture, we see lots of heated debates involving all sorts of issues on this matter. The one that I find particularly interesting is that some women are enlisting the help of wet nurses. I am sure these are well to do women, that have a career that they just cannot give up. The one question, without knowing too much on the subject, where do these women come from? Do they have a family of their own? In order to have milk you usually need a child. So what do these women do with their babies?

I have to say, though, with the little bit that I know, this is a good thing. As long as the wet nurse can prove that she is healthy, I think that it is important to breastfeed babies. I know that babies can get it from a bottle, but when the child nurses at the breast, it tells the female to produce more milk. I don’t think that a pump can provide this same cause and effect, and definitely not long term. I have held babies that cried so hard with no way to console them, and my friend has held mine. After lots of thought, I think that I would prefer my friend breastfeed my child rather than try to console him to no avail.

Stretch Oil or Belly Butter?

Joni — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:35:25 +0000

Whichever it is for you, if you are pregnant, I am sure you have tried it. I was religious with putting on the oil (Earth Mama Angel Baby Stretch Oil at Baby Blurbs.com) and I luckily didn’t have the dreaded stripes down my abdomen. So many books told me that it was due to heredity, and not because of topical creams and oils. I think that it is a mix of both, though. Either way, pregnancy flies by, so I didn’t want to risk it. I will mention that if you are going put on the slick stuff, then stick with it. You don’t want to give up two weeks before your due date! That is when some women notice the marks popping up!

More for the Breastfeeding Mama

Joni — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:28:08 +0000

Do you feed your baby exclusively by the breast? Do you get tons of marketing for formula in the mail? If you answered yes, then why not give your coupons and free formula to moms that need it? Your local adoption agency or mothers clubs can find a use for those items that you would normally throw away. There are many women that cannot breastfeed, and formula is so expensive that every coupon or formula sample will help those in need. Even your OB-GYN would know the local outlets that would gladly take it all off your hands!

Breastfeeding Moms

Joni — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:22:11 +0000

Here are some tips from one mom to another.

*Olive oil is okay to use on your breast pump. Pure lanolin is okay to use on your nipples. Nipple Butter by Earth Mama Angel Baby at Baby Blurbs is made from organic olive oil, and doesn’t have to be wiped off. It is safe for baby!

*Mastitis, Yeast/Thrush, and even over active or under active Montgomery glands can lead to latching problems or feeding problems, resulting in pain for mom and too much or too little milk for baby. Make sure you ask your OB-GYN or family doctor about any potential problems.

*There are a million different breast pads out there, and you can write the companies for free samples to try them out. Change your breast pads very frequently so not to develop yeast problems!

*Soothies and Booby Tubes are great help for sore breasts. The Breastfeeding Kit at Baby Blurbs contains Booby Tubes that are cold for easing pain and can be warmed in the microwave for moist heat 5 minutes. before nursing. They can be reused, too. Moist heat helps your let down and is great for engorgement.

*This is the best tip: Use all of your friends and family that are pro-breastfeeding. You will need a clan of help to get you through the hard times. Remember, it is the best for you and baby!

Newborn #2

Joni — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 19:11:59 +0000

A new site for Baby Blurbs! Yeah! It is the most work I’ve done in a month! Aside from the new baby, we feel like we have another newborn in the house. What is it you ask? The Baby Blurbs webstore newly redesigned looks so great with the new updates, and new product. I really like what the web designer has done with the new site. There are many new updates in the store, so make sure you browse around!

We also have a new promotion. We are offering 10% off of any purchase while we are celebrating the new updates, and the BabyZone advertising.

Visit the site now: Baby Blurbs

Cool New Products

Joni — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:19:02 +0000

I am so excited about all of the new products that Baby Blurbs will carry. I have now included Melissa and Doug “First Play” toys, which are wooden toys for small babies that are nontoxic and are safe for their little mouths. There are the cutest little rattles and pull toys!

I think that the biggest addition is the KidKraft furniture! There are Harley Davidson rockers, Golf Carts, and Fire Truck beds. I would have loved one of the kids’ kitchens when I was little….by the way…isn’t that why we have kids anyway? We want to give them all of the stuff we didn’t have when we were that age? It is funny how overwhelming that urge is!

Newborn

Joni — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 14:58:46 +0000

The baby is here! We are officially first time parents!

So many things come to mind when I think of what a new mom need to survive the first week home with her first child. I think that honestly some of the best advice I have comes from other mothers, and I feel happy to pass it along. So here goes!

~Make sure you get a chance to take a shower everyday. Allow yourself that little bit of time, and it will make a lot of difference!
~Nipple Cream…need I say more?
~Keep the baby swaddled really well and you won’t have those little jerks and jumps that wake baby up.
~Let the family and friends do it! They will ask to help you with anything from dishes to lawnmowing. Always take them up on it, even if you feel guilty. They ask because they want to, and the asking will stop all to quick. Don’t find yourself wishing that you had used the help after 4 weeks of sleepless nights have gone by!
~Baby your baby. In the first weeks pick the baby up anytime he wants it. It will help the bonding process right away.

Well, I am full of tips, so stick around!

Birth Plan?

Joni — Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:34:51 +0000

Practically all pregnant women have heard of the birth plan. It is a document that tells your healthcare provider what you want during and after your labor and delivery. Most healthcare professionals do not like this “plan” because it puts in writing what most women want, but cannot have certain times. Making the woman all the more upset.

Gone are those days of the dredded birth plan. My own hospital (yes I am giving birth..hopefully…in a hospital) tells the mothers during the tour that a birth plan is great to bring along, and that it helps the nurses provide adequate care.

I know that it is possible that the birth plan will be changed if anything goes wrong during my labor, but I feel better knowing that I have thought everything through, and it helps me to stand my ground on what I want. One other thing that I added is that my coach be a decision maker if I am not able to. My novice advice is to get a stong person to know fully what your wishes are. Sometimes certain family members will do everything they can to help you in the moment, even if it is against your long term wishes.

Finally, here are some places that you can find birth plans to fill out.
http://birthplan.com
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/interactive/birthplan.asp
http://www.babycenter.com/calculators/birthplan
http://www.childbirth.org/interactive/ibirthplan.html

Baby Safety

Joni — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:22:45 +0000

Four minutes or less of child safety guidelines is what most parents are getting these days from healthcare professionals. It seems that in a study where 140 people were surveyed what they were trained on at Pediatric Primary Care Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, 75% say that childseat safety was discussed. However less than 25% of parents were told about baby gates and bath thermometers.

With safety being discussed just 3.7 minutes on average, it seems like many parents are going home without the knowledge they may need. Granted, there were no safety talks years ago, and the hazards were much more, but I hear of silly accidents in which a child was injured for no apperent reason other than parental fault. It is said that most car seat injuries occur from improper instillation of the seat, rather than the seat itself.

To read more about the safety statistics: http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060501-121219-7636r

Cute Celebrity Moms

Joni — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:59:02 +0000

I have seen so many celebrity Moms in the news lately. I have to say that I think one of the cutest is Maggie Gyllenhaal. She always looks happiliy pregnant and very comfortable!

*courtesy of Teddy and Moo*

Another very hip mama right now is Gwen Stefani. I think that her flowing dresses make her look like a natural mother. I know that we don’t all look like that, and even these people don’t look like that most of the time. It is nice to see cute, happy pregnant women sometime, though. It makes you realize that there are women that are truly enjoying every moment and trying to take it all in!

*courtesy of Teddy and Moo*

Roll Call - Who wants to parent?

Joni — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 18:32:27 +0000

Choosing people to become the godparent, guardian or both for your child is a difficult task. How do you qualify a person to take care of your most prized possession? How do you tell a person they are in charge of something like that? I find it odd that there aren’t more discussions and books about that very topic. There are birth plans out there that give you an itemized list and you check items off that are/aren’t important. Where is this tool for guardianship?

After attending a workshop on wills, trusts, and related topics, we decided to talk it through. It is a decision that we want to make before the baby is here. As first time parents we don’t even know what is truly needed to care for a child of your own. It may take us a little longer to make our minds up and put it in writing. After talking it over in great detail, and being open about our possibilities, we are feeling a little better now about making a decision. I do recommend it to all new parents, it gives you an even deeper feeling of the responsibility need to care for a child.

Timing the Arrival

Joni — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:47:49 +0000

Before I became pregnant I did not realize how difficult it is to “time” the baby’s arrival. Most mothers would be angry at me for even using the “timing” terminology. I guess that with 28 years of planning my life I went into all of this thinking I would have certain week in which to expect the baby to come. I have heard of the 37 week baby quite often, in fact, my friend just had her baby at that time. But my due date is a full 3 weeks away from that mark. The baby could also easily wait in there until 42 weeks. There is an 8 week gap in the time the doctor tells you that the baby is heathly and “ready” until they check you daily waiting for the sign that it is time.

After pondering this topic of when to expect my baby, I do realized that it is family life’s first little joke. Teaching us all that we can’t plan every little thing, especially the arrival of a brand new human being. There will be bumps and brusies, crayon on the floor and walls, and even spit up on Dad as he is going out the door. That is all more of the comedy that comes with raising kids. Guess I’m up for it. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t find all of that humor in life.

Victoria Secret Nurse-in

Joni — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 22:01:54 +0000

I was doing some reading online and it seems that many moms in the area and nationwide are organizing their own nurse-ins. I had to see what all of the commotion is about so I check out the reasoning. It seems that someone from the Limitied Corp. made a remark (could have been a college part-time employee) that “breastfeeding is unsanitary and that public breastfeeding is like changing on the salesfloor,” from what this particular atricle said. So now many mothers are going to the front lines…the mall that is to show their anger at the system.

There are two things that come to my mind, and as a blooming mother, I don’t think that they are the expected thoughts. Number one, it makes me laugh that the group most upset by these happenings probably can’t find a decent nursing bra in ANY of the stores in the mall, especially Victoria Secret! So why do we even care? Second, after having many mall jobs over my 9 year career “out there,” including 3 years with the Limited corp., I highly doubt anyone present will care. Granted, the mothers are trying to get “exposure” with the media, etc. However, I don’t think that the wanted response will work.

I am probably angering many, but those were my orginal thoughts, and since they are varying, I thought they were interesting!

ICE anyone?

Joni — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 21:10:44 +0000

I just found out that there is a Brittish first responders code named ICE that means In Case of Emergency. They use it when they are called to an emergency and the person cannot responed, but has a cell phone. They look up the name ICE in the cell phone and call for help in figuring out how to treat the person in need of medical attention. I am hoping to attend an ICE training in my area, but I think that the word is spreading in the US. So think of your emergency contact number and put ICE in your phone today.

Did you know?

Joni — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 17:09:04 +0000

Every woman is different. That is probably one of the biggest lessons I will take away from this, my first pregnancy. Another lesson is that you aren’t told everything about pregnancy. I’m not sure why it is such a big mystery. I always dreamed that being pregnant meant sitting with your feet up, a perfectly rounded belly, and literally glowing skin that would bring people to you, while you knitted baby booties.

I would like to do the booties, once I can sit straight upright without a bowling ball laying on my bladder. I also had some time in early pregnancy that those booties were on the to do list. Only if I could get past spending every waking hour finding a food I could attempt to eat, or just trying to keep it down. Who says that prenatal vitimans must be the size of horse pills anyway?

I started out by saying that if I got over the food thing that I would have a great pregnancy. Then came the frequent urination, the weird walk that I can’t stop doing, and not being able to bend over to paint my toes! I guess I forgot about the fatigue, and the hormones that allow you to have no normal schedule.

Outside of that, the doctor’s visits are just a little weird for me. Now I know that every office is different, but in mine, I go into the round tummy room where you will always see a “worst case scenario” of a woman pregnant with triplets, begging for it to be over. Then you are carted to the “hallway of bathrooms,” where you must provide your sample every time, then be weighed, then into the room where the other vitals are taken. The doc or midwife comes in to hear the heartbeat (good luck with that!) and tell you if you are still on target for your due date. Off to the front again to schedule another visit! Ocassionally you will get the ultrasound, or pelvic exam, but at 28 weeks I haven’t had too many of those. I have, however gotten pricked with the needle plenty of times!

I guess I am still waiting for my perfect round belly, and my glowing skin. Until then, my teeth remain un-brushed (gag reflex) and my bladder constantly full, but I am proud of the job I’ve done so far!

Mommy Memory

Joni — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 21:27:20 +0000

After a very long period of â€œmorning sickness,â€ it is nice to have a something to look forward to. A couple of kicks and jabs to the gut are what cures me of the flu like symptoms now. I guess all of those moms out there can tell me that it was so much fun to have the baby moving around at 5, 6, 7 months.

Funny though, I have a friend that misses the baby dance now that she gave birth. But I do remember talking to her a couple of weeks ago about the discomfort of a foot to the rib and not having any more room in there at 36 weeks.

I guess that a mothers memories change as those great moments happen. Just a few months ago when asked how I was feeling I would reply â€œsick, or nauseous.â€ Now I say that the baby is moving all of the time. I am not sure how that describes my feeling? Well, in a few months, no one will ask. They will inquire, â€œhow old, whatâ€™s the name, or can I hold the baby?â€ And I’m counting on the fact I will have no memories of delivery pain when those questions are asked!

Baby Days in Hollywood

Joni — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 21:06:24 +0000

Itâ€™s funny how many things there are to talk about during pregnancy. What your Mom is telling you not to eat, what you need for the nursery, or how many times baby kicked you today, but I want to talk about others. Who doesnâ€™t want to know everyone elseâ€™s business? Mothers to be get bombarded with personal questions all day long. We all want to know about others!

Well, if you are pregnant or have kids then you may not be up with the most recent news of babies that are abounding in the Celebrity World! So as the entry blog I’m covering the first installment of Celebrity Baby Talk!

As everyone on planet earth knows by now, Angelina Jolie gave birth to a baby girl named Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. Creating a trifecta of celebrity stardom since her grandfather is actor Jon Voight. That baby picture when it happens is said to be worth millions. One rumor that is sprouting up everywhere is that she was scheduled for a c-section; after all of the rumors of giving birth in an African hut. That must make the every-mom smile a little.

Speaking of smiling, this pic has got to make your day. I dedicate this picture to every Mom that has been sprayed, pooped on, or breastfed her little ones. Katie Holmes is finally getting out after the birth of her baby girl, Suri, but she seems to be out more than she wished. I feel bad for her since she is doing the best for her baby while always in the spotlight. Iâ€™m sure you have stories of worse!

Us Weekly also states that Sophia Coppola, the second-generation film director is three months pregnant. She is 35 and this will be her first. Matt Damon is expecting his first, a daughter in a few weeks states People magazine. http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1195862_2,00.html

Other pregnant celebs are Jennie Garth with her third and Brittany Spears with her second. BTW, did you all see what she was wearing on the David Letterman show?? Stick around for more celebrity baby gossip! People Magazine is even supposed to put out a special edition on this stuff! Seems that being pregnant is in vogue right now!