Baby Picasso

Dylan's newly found interest in smearing his food all over his highchair tray, inspired me to nurture his creative side.  As I watched him squish his raspberries through his fingers and smash his avocado with his cup, I started thinking that maybe he could use these skills to create a work of art.  I remembered that a friend of mine recently had a playgroup at her house where she made homemade edible paint and put the kids in a blowup plastic pool.  They gave the babies paint brushes and let the creative juices flow.  The bath tub is also a great place for finger painting.  When it is time to clean up, you can just wash baby and wash out the tub at the same time.  I found the following recipes for edible "paint" online and the pudding paint worked the best of the three.  I am planning on letting Dylan "paint" some masterpieces for the grandparents for the holidays.  

Pudding Paint
• Instant Vanilla Pudding
• Food Coloring
What to do:
Mix pudding according to directions.
Add food coloring for desired color.
Finger paint on paper plates.
Completely Edible!

Kool-Aid Finger Paint
What you need:
• 2 cups flour
• 2 packs unsweetened Kool-Aid
• 1/2 cup salt
3 cups boiling water
• 3T. oil
What to do:
Mix wet into dry.

Jello Finger Paint
What you need:
• Any kind of flavored jello
• Boiling water
What to do:
Mix jello into boiling water until it is a good consistency for finger paint.

Read More http://www.ivillage.com/home-made-finger-paint/6-a-144533#ixzz14TNXxY9u

Table Manners

Dylan recently turned one year old, and a I swear the day after his birthday a switch turned and my sweet little boy started testing the waters of mischief.  This has become the most apparent during meal time.  We have been playing the "drop the cup game" for several months now, but he has taken it to a whole new level by flinging his cup several feet from his highchair, splashing milk or water all over the floor.  We have tried to give positive reinforcement with clapping and cheering when he puts his cup in the cup holder of the highchair, but now he will put it in the cup holder for 3-4 seconds to get the praise and then launch it when no one is looking.  Ahhhh!  And the cup is not the only thing flying these days, he is more interested in throwing food than eating it.  Beside the fact that he is making a huge mess, I am beginning to worry that he isn't eating enough because most of his meal ends up on the floor.  

We have been trying to introduce the spoon these days which has just added to the new excitement of meal time.  I bought some of those suction cup bowls to attach to the high chair and I will put 2-3 spoonfuls food that is thick in consistency and stick well to the spoon.  We have tried oatmeal, cottage cheese, and yogurt.  He actually has been doing pretty well with the spoon for the first few attempts, and then throws the spoon on the floor and goes at the food in the bowl with his fingers.  I guess it is a learning process...and other moms I have talked to are going through the same thing. 

Here are some tips for introducing baby to a spoon:
Taken from: How to Teach a Baby to Use a Spoon | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2104273_teach-baby-use-spoon.html#ixzz144URP

1) Wait until after your baby is ready to teach him. Babies can use a spoon around his first birthday. Although it takes a while to develop the skill, and it may seem like all he's doing is playing, the skill will develop.

2) Give your baby foods that stick to the spoon. Foods such as yogurt, applesauce or pureed vegetables are good at staying put.

3) Be patient. It takes a long time for your baby to use a spoon. In fact, she won't be great at it until well into toddler-hood in some cases.

4) Expect a mess. Food will be flung, dripped, dropped and splattered. Be prepared to clean up afterwards. Just remember that in order to learn, your baby has to try repeatedly.

5) Use a spoon to help teach your baby. This is especially good advice if there is concern for baby getting enough food. Try to sneak a spoonful of food in between baby's attempts so he can see how to do it and copy. If baby protests to your help, let him be. Offering finger foods is another option.

6) Encourage and praise baby for her attempts. She may get more on the floor and her clothes than in her mouth, but the important thing is she tried. Starting to use a spoon is something to be proud of, so let her know what a great thing it is. 

Pull Up a Seat

My husband and I decided to grab dinner out the other night.  We took our Dylan with us.  There was this restaurant nearby that we had been meaning to try for a few weeks.  We parked the car and carried Dylan in with us into the restaurant.  We told the woman at the front that we needed a table for two with a high chair.  She said, "Oh we don't have high chairs."  Really???  I mean this wasn't a fancy place, pretty casual American fare.  I guess it never even crossed my mind that a restaurant wouldn't have at least one high chair.  I guess we could have gotten the stroller out of the car and fed the baby in the stroller, but after she said they didn't provide high chairs, we didn't even want to eat there anymore.  So when I got home, I thought that I would do a little research to see if restaurants are required to supply high chairs for their customers.  Surprisingly there is not much on the internet in regards to what is the actual responsibility of the establishment.  

There IS however TONS of information on the cleanliness of restaurant high chairs.  In fact some articles reported that the amount of bacteria found on high chairs was significantly greater than the amounts found on public toilets!  Ahhh!  So maybe we should be happy that the restaurant didn't have a highchair for us!  See full story below:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2010/10/high_chair_bacteria_toilet.php

I know that they make high chair covers that you can just throw into the washer.  I just use a few baby wipes to wipe down the restaurant high chair before we plop Dylan down into the seat.  It takes a couple of extra seconds, but I make sure to wipe the strap and the table down too. 

Let Him Eat Cake!

October is my son's birth month and we have been planning his 1st birthday party for the last couple of weeks.  The biggest debate between my husband and I is whether to let Dylan dive into his cake and make a huge mess.  I feel like that it is a rite of passage.  So what if he gets a little messy?  It's all part of the fun.  My husband being a bit of a neat-nick, is worried about the mess that he will make during his party.  I say, "Let Him Eat Cake!"

Dylan will be diving into his very own Elmo themed cupcake.  We decided to order them from a bakery simply because my baking a decorating skills are lacking (to put it nicely).  But for those of you who may have food restrictions or simply want to make your child's first birthday treat a little healthier, here are a couple of alternatives.

Egg-less Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
* 4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 3 cups white sugar
* 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 cup vegetable oil
* 3 cups water
* 3 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Add sugar and mix together.
3. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
4. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


Chocolate Zucchini Cake

If you want less sugar and more fiber this Chocolate Zucchini Cake might work for you.  This one is kind of dense and not too sweet. And everyone will get a serving of veggies!

Ingredients:
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 cups white sugar
* 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 4 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
* 3 cups grated zucchini

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Here are a couple of non-cake alternatives:

A trifle is a delicious layered dessert. It is a good alternative to cake for your baby's first birthday party.  A trifle is a combination of layers of cake, fruit and yogurt or cool whip in a clear bowl, according to Gomestic.com. A trifle is a great alternative to cake as it provides nutrition as well as sweetness and can be decorated to your liking with your favorite fruit.

Fruit pizza is a tasty dessert that serves as a terrific alternative to birthday cake.  Fruit pizza consists of a baked sugar cookie crust and a layer of strawberry cream cheese, and is topped with your child's favorite fruits. This alternative provides all of the flavor of a birthday cake, without all of the processed ingredients cakes include. If you wish, you can substitute whipped cream for the cream cheese. 



Read more: Alternatives for Baby's First Birthday Cake | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6152110_alternatives-baby_s-first-birthday-cake.html#ixzz12Sz26rLy

Frequent Flyer

Traveling with a little one can be challenging (to say the least) but being prepared and creative can make your flight a lot easier!  We started flying with Dylan when he was 3 months old, and because our family is scattered throughout the country, he had been on 7 round trip flights by 7 months.  This may sound a little crazy, but believe it or not, flying with a newborn is so much easier then flying with a 1 year old!

When packing for a flight when Dylan was a newborn, I would make sure to pack 2 bottles of expressed breast milk.  If we were going on a short flight (less then 2 hours) I wouldn't even carry it in a cooler.  I would just put it in the diaper bag.  Fresh breast milk can be left at room temperature for 4-6 hours so if you factor in the time it takes to get to the airport and such...you will have enough milk for a bottle during take off and landing.  For longer flights I would pack the milk in a small insulated lunch bag cooler with a small gel ice pack.  When going through security we always went through the medical liquid/family line.  The TSA worker would always open the milk and test it with their equipment, but luckily I never had to do anything crazy like drink it in front of them.  I don't think they are allowed to do that anymore.

When flying with Dylan from 7 months to 10 months, I would still bring one bottle of breast milk, but would also bring him some baby food/finger food.  Again I would pack it in my little lunch bag cooler.  When packing homemade baby food for a flight, I would make sure to bring food that was not prepared with breast milk.  I would usually bring frozen containers, this way they would be defrosted by the time I needed to use it on the flight.  I would usually check it before getting on the flight and if it needed to be defrosted, I would just get a small cup of hot water from one of the airport shops and let the container sit in the hot water for about 5 minutes while still at the gate.  When packing large batches of homemade baby food for a trip I would use a larger insulated lunch tote and fill it with frozen containers (again avoiding purees made with breast milk).  I would always put containers in a freezer bag before placing them in the cooler, just in case they leaked.  I put a gel ice pack on top of the food in the cooler.  I usually put the cooler in Dylan's suitcase because it always seemed like he had the biggest one because he had the most stuff.  I never had a problem with the food defrosting during the flight, even if it was a 6 hour flight.  The food just needed to go back in the freezer whenever we reached our destination.

At 11.5 months, the days of toting around small containers of purees are long gone, but there is an abundance of Cheerios.  We were traveling this weekend (5 hour return trip) and Cheerios saved the day numerous times!  When packing finger foods for the plane, I try to pick stuff that will travel well.  Bananas are great and are easy to find at in airport shops (Starbucks always has them).  Yogurt is another easy to find healthy food at the airport.  Otherwise I bring cheese sticks, grapes, berries, wheat bagels or bread...and of course Cheerios.

Happy travels!

Related articles

• Storing Breast Milk Safely (brighthub.com)
• Packing Guide for Family Carry-On Bags (abcnews.go.com)
• The Well Packed Bag: Regulations Regarding Air Travel with Kids (blogher.com)

Millions of Fisher Price Toys Recalled!

Today Fisher-Price recalled millions of infant play zones, playgrounds, and other toys.  The recall includes 7.15 million trikes, 2.9 million infant toys, 1 million high chairs, and 120,000 cars and ramp ways.

Luckily no deaths have been reported involving any of the recalled items, but associated injuries include choking and cuts requiring stitches.

Apparently the tricycles have a protruding key that could cause injury. The high chairs have pegs on the chairs' legs which can cause cuts, and the cars, ramp ways, and infant toys have faulty parts that pose choking hazards.

Check the list below and if you have any of the items, stop using them and call Fischer Price for repair kits and replacement parts. Supposedly the defective items have already been pulled off store shelves.

Contact Fisher-Price for a free replacement kit by calling (800) 432-5437 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern time, or visit the company's website.

See photos of the recalled toys on the CPSC's website

Products affected by this recall:

Trikes

• 72633 Hot Wheels Trike
• 72639 Barbie™ Butterfly Trike
• 72642 Lil' Kawasaki^® Trike
• 72643 Tough Trike
• 72644 Tough Trike
• 72792 Kawasaki Trike
• B8775 Kawasaki^® Ninja^® Tough Trike
• B8776 Barbie™ Tough Trike
• K6672 Nick Jr./Dora the Explorer Tough Trike
• K6673 Go, Diego, Go! Tough Trike
• M5727 Barbie™ Tough Trike Princess Ride-On
• N6021 Kawasaki Tough Trike
• T6209 Thomas & Friends™ Tough Trike
• V4270 Go, Diego, Go!™ Kid-Tough™ Trike

Rampway

• T4261 Little People^® Wheelies™ Stand 'n Play™ Rampway
• V6378 Little People^® Wheelies™ Stand 'n Play™ Rampway Gift Set

Infant toys with inflatable balls

• 73408 Baby Playzone™ Crawl & Cruise Playground™
• B2408 Baby Playzone™ Crawl & Slide Arcade™
• C3068 Ocean Wonders™ Kick & Crawl™ Aquarium
• H5704 Baby Gymtastics™ Play Wall
• H8094 Ocean Wonders™ Kick & Crawl™ Aquarium
• J0327 1-2-3 Tetherball
• K0476 Bat & Score Goal™

High Chairs

• 79638 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• 79639 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• 79640 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• 79641 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• B0326 Deluxe Healthy Care™ High Chair
• B2105 Deluxe Healthy Care™ High Chair
• B2875 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• C4630 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• C4632 Link-a-doos™ Deluxe Plus Healthy Care™ High Chair
• C5936 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• G4406 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• G8659 Aquarium Healthy Care High Chair™
• H0796 Deluxe Healthy Care™ High Chair
• H1152 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• H4864 Aquarium Healthy Care™ High Chair
• H7241 Healthy Care™ High Chair
• H8906 Close to Me™ High Chair
• H9178 Easy Clean™ High Chair
• J4011 Easy Clean™ High Chair
• J6292 Easy Clean™ High Chair
• J8229 Easy Clean™ High Chair
• K2927 Rainforest™ Healthy Care™ High Chair
• L1912 Healthy Care™ High Chair

Recycle Me!

With today's economy we are all looking for ways to save money!  Especially when it comes to things that we need for baby.  Items specifically made for a baby can be outrageously expensive.  Now, I am not one to sacrifice safety for cost, but here are some safe substitutes for things that you may need for your little one, and already have laying around your home!

Sunshade for Car Seat
This may sound ridiculous now that it is the last day of summer, but for those of us that live in the desert, where it is still 109 degrees this may be a useful tip.  Once Dylan transitioned out of the carrier to the "big boy" car seat, I started looking for a way to keep it cool if we were out shopping or the car was parked somewhere out in the sun.  Some days when Dylan and I return to the car, even after as little as 30 minutes, the temperature of the car is over 180 degrees.  I can't even sit him in his seat!  I looked online for solutions and found a cooler cover for about $40...but I thought there has to be a better solution.  One day, instead of  placing my reflective sun shade in the windshield, I simply opened it and placed it reflective side up, over the car seat.  What do you know, it worked!  The straps and buckles were cool to the touch and the seat padding was much cooler then without.  The best part is, that if you don't already have one, they cost about 5 bucks at Walmart!

Tupperware as Toys
Many of you probably already do this, but a friend recently suggested this to me and it is amazing!  Babies have a natural affinity to plastic containers!  My son has a bucket full of toys, but he will sit on the kitchen floor for 20 minutes chasing a plastic lid around the floor.  I have started putting his Cheerios inside some of the small containers an placing the lids half on, and letting him work the lids off.  He loves the rattling sound of the O's inside when he shakes it, and it really works his fine motor skills to take the lids off.  Just make sure to properly clean the containers before giving them to your little one, and make sure there are no sharp edges around the opening or on the lid.

Laundry Basket as Push Toy or Activity Table
Laundry baskets can serve dual purpose if you have a pre-walker at home.  An up-side-down laundry basket is the perfect height for a little one to pull up to stand.  The wide base creates a sturdy surface for standing and playing.  When your baby gets ready to take his or her first steps, the up-side-down laundry basket makes a great push toy.  Pushing on carpet creates more resistance and makes it easier for baby to control the speed.  If you don't have carpet, control the resistance by keeping a hand on the basket to slow it down. As with all infant push toys never leave your baby unattended and wipe down the bottom of the basket before letting baby play with it.  Never give your baby a broken laundry basket and check thoroughly for sharp edges.

Turn Unused Shirts into a Breastfeeding Cover
Are you tired of wearing an "apron" around your neck when breastfeeding in public?  If you are like me, I am a full supporter of breastfeeding in public, but could never bring myself to "bear it all" when sitting at a restaurant or at the shopping mall.  I used the Utter Covers and Hooter Hiders...whatever fancy name you want to call it, but it is still an apron for your neck!  Recently I was cleaning out my closet, full of clothes that I no longer wear...for various reasons.  But came across some shirts that I was getting ready to donate.  I thought, "Gosh, what if I can turn these into stylish breastfeeding covers?"  I am not a seamstress, but I can sew a simple stitch and that is all you need.  Instructions below:


1. Use a shirt that is loose fitting and longer then your waist line.  Avoid polo shirts or shirts with wide collars. The materiel should be breathable and lightweight, as baby will need to be able to breathe underneath while you are breastfeeding.
2. Cut tags out of shirt and make single cut up the middle of the BACK of the shirt.  You may hem edges of opening for a tailored look.
3. To ensure that shirt will stay in place, sew small "pocket" to hold large washer or 2 quarters at top corners of each side of the opening.  This will weight down the back and prevent the cover from slipping off your shoulders while in use.  Wear the shirt with the opening at your back with the closed part of the shirt covering baby.  It takes about 5 minutes to complete and people may not even know you are feeding a baby under that fabulous shirt!