Sleep Book Recommendations

For those of you about to lose your mind due to the lack of sleep and inconsistent schedule of you new baby, we recommend the book: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD.
We aren't saying this will be your absolute fix, but it does have some really helpful hints.
The key thing that I realized too late, is many experts recommend that you put baby to sleep every 2 hours for the first few months of their life. This prevents them from getting overtired and thus in the "no sleep zone". If a baby gets too overly tired, it will become more difficult for him to sleep. So, the thought- "he has been up for awhile, he should be exhausted and go right to sleep" is not the case! He is exhausted, but once he is overtired, his body starts to fight sleep.

• Amazon.com sells it as well as most bookstores: http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp/0449004023

The second recommendation is: Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD.
I personally LOVED the video! Dr Karp lays out the "5 S's"

1. Swaddle
2. Side/ stomach (football hold) of baby
   
3. Shushing
4. Swinging
   
5. Sucking

I swaddled my son for the first week we were home, but than stopped. I started again around 6 weeks when he become SOOO fussy! It REALLY helped and he slept better tightly swaddled. Instead of using the receiving blankets (which never seem to be big enough) I used those ones that had the leg pouch and velcro closure.

Check out this link and it shows you some excerpts from the video: http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/

If it makes you feel better, most babies do not sleep through the night until they are 5-8 months old. Hang in there and it gets better- we PROMISE!

Work out with your baby!

I am not suggesting that you strap baby weights to your child's feet and have them doing bicycle kicks. My idea is that you grab your baby or toddler and a fun CD and get ready for some fun exercise and quality time! Each song do something different.

• Dance to the music holding your baby if she is small.
• If you child is standing or walking, stand in front of them and dance together.
• Pick up child and do squats for a song, this gives you extra weight to lift and provides a fun ride for your child.
• Run quickly to and from your child. Keep a smile on your face!
• Dance with your arms up and bend your torso side to side as you sing along.

Not only are you getting a pretty decent 30 minute workout in, your child will have a blast watching you and listening to the music!

Warning- Feeding soy to infants

I have to admit, I LOVE Morningstar and Bocca Soy "chicken" patties. They just taste better to me. I was told that when trying to conceive and when you are pregnant, you shouldn't eat soy, but I didn't think about it after nor gave it a second thought when I gave it to my son as a new table food.
Although recently soy has gotten a lot of good press, you should be aware of the "dangers" of giving it to your infant. Mainly, the concern is the estrogenic effects that soy can have on your baby, especially if you have a boy.
I have attached a link for you to read more about the topic.
http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_story.html

Songs with Elmo

My daughter received a fun gift for her birthday. She got a CD that has songs with Elmo on it and the CD sings her name throughout! It is so fun! We dance to the songs and when Elmo says her name she looks around and then laughs! It also doesn't sound like the singer just "inserted her name" but rather sang the song with her name! It was really cute! This is definitely the 2nd best CD she owns. Her 1st is the Rock-a-bye baby renditions of U2- this has been putting her to sleep since she was 3 months old!

We are on Myspace!

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www.myspace.com/thelittlehipster

Make sure to add us to your friend list!

The Zoo

What a fun weekend we had! My father, daughter and I went to the zoo. We had a wonderful time and what a great learning experience for her! Most of the animals were pretty far away, but as soon as we were within sight of an animal my daughter's interest and focus was amazing! I brought along her animal book so that she could look at the animals in her book and then see the real ones! When she saw a hippo she stared intently at the animal and then looked down at her book. She did this at least 4 times. You could just see her linking the picture with the animal. If you go to the zoo- bring a book! It also lets the child get closer to the animals!

Baby Registry 101: Lesson #1- The Receiving Blanket

After one too many views of all my friend's baby registry I began to cringe at their choices. This may appear to be "unwanted advice," but for new moms it's a necessity to know what you need and don't need. I was fortunate enough to have 3 pregnant friends while I was pregnant and we all helped each other research, register and recoup (yes- it is overwhelming!)

After printing off several friend's registry more than once and having to "edit" it, I have decided to share my thoughts with all of you and help those of you who are in registry melt-down! We will try to get out a lesson once a week. Please comment so we know what you think!

Lesson #1: The Receiving Blanket

Please DO NOT register for more than 2 receiving blankets! I have seen so many people register for 5-10 blankets, because they were told to by a large corporate chain of stores (no names here!) If anyone has EVER been to a baby shower they will tell you "You will get more than enough blankets!" People even use receiving blankets to wrap up gifts and be creative.

I didn't register for any receiving blankets, and went home with about 7. Now- I will suggest registering for one fabulously luxurious stroller blanket, but that's for another lesson!

The cutest thing!

My daughter never ceases to amaze me!

Yesterday, she put her favorite doll in her toy kitchen sink. She then left the kitchen and went to get her bath loofah in the other room. With the loofah in hand she proceeded to "wash" her doll while making singing noises! My husband and I could not stop laughing about how cute this scene was and how remarkably smart she is becoming! At 13 months old she is definitely a little girl who loves to play pretend already!

Moving from bottle to sippy cup

Experts recommend that you can stop giving baby a bottle around the age of 1. The longer the baby stays on the bottle the harder it will be to transition to a cup.
To do this, you need to help your baby learn to start drinking from a sippy cup. Introducing the sippy cup between the ages of 6-9 months will help make your child a pro by 12 months!
My daughter is about 13 months and still does not have the hang of using a sippy cup. What I have found works well for her is a straw. She doesn't quite understand the point of leaning her head back to drink from the cup, so the straw solves that issue! There are many brands out there that make a straw sippy cup. There are also cups that have lids with a little hole for a straw. I have a set of tumbler cups from Tupperware that work great for her and are large enough that we can use them as well.

Strollers- how to choose

Initially, my thought on strollers was- it doesn't matter, they are all the same.... well, I was wrong!

After much research and comparison shopping, I found that there are some key questions you should ask:

• How easy does it turn and maneuver through a crowd (especially if you live in the city)? Most likely it will be you holding the door for yourself and trying to push stroller through. A feature some strollers have are swivel wheels, which allows you to turn it with one hand!
• Does it have some type of "snap and go" feature?
  That means, can your carseat snap onto your stroller base? This is such a great feature because when your little one is in those first few months, they need their sleep but still at that age where they can sleep on the go (usually)... So if you are running errands and baby is asleep in car, instead of waking them up and putting them into a sling or stroller, you can just snap carseat onto stroller
  
• My friend got one of those "Snap & Go" Frames, but she said it was so flimsy she ended up buying 3 of them. If you add up the price of those 3, plus the other stroller she figured it would have been better to have just invested in a nicer one in the beginning
• Does it fold up easily? Check to see if it can stand once folded up.
  
• Is it heavy or lightweight? Can you lift it into your trunk with ease? Remember if you have a c-section you can't left over 30lbs!
• Ask yourself- how will I use my stroller? Is the answer: Daily? Walking outside, through a crowd? Or will you mostly be indoors at a mall?

The following are the ones that have been top rated for the above reasons...

• Bugaboo Frog
  
• Uppa Baby (new to the scene, but have gotten great reviews)
  
• Phil & Ted's
  
• Bob Revolution (can function as a jogger and an "urban" stroller. The only downside is it is bigger)

If you live in an area, where you aren't walking along city streets often and don't think you want all the bells and whistles, the following are ones that work well (and look cute too)

• Quinny Zap (new to the scene in the US)
• Maclaren (the Quest is a nice one)- great umbrella stroller

Finally, there are the typical Travel systems. I am not too familiar with these, so stay tuned and Noel will speak on these ones further... but, the following have been rated well:

• Chicco Cortina Travel System
• Graco
• Peg Perego
• Inglesina (According to the Baby Bargains Book Inglesina was better rated than the Peg Perego)
  

Most importantly, go look and play with the different strollers in the stores- turn them around corners and see how they move with one hand. Try folding & picking it up. Imagine how it would roll over curbs and bumps.

Good luck and happy strolling!

5 Tips to Take a Great Picture

You dress your child to the nines for a great party only to see that the "oh so great photo" you thought you shot ends up making you frown due to your lack of photography skills.
Here are a few great tips to make the best of your next photo shoot.

1. Get on their level! No one likes to see shots of kids looking up at the camera.
   
2. Get in close. Close up shots of your child are always keepers!
3. Get outside! Not only is the fresh air going to create a fun environment for your child, it provides great natural backdrops!
4. Good lighting. Again if this means getting outside for natural light or turning on every light withing reach- do it!
5. Be patient. Work around your child's schedule and make sure to have food within reach! Remember, and unhappy child makes unhappy pictures!

Make sure once you have taken that great pic, you enter it into our photo contest! The child who gets the most votes will win a prize and be featured on our website! Send your child's photo and name to contests@thelittlehipster.com.

Little Hipster of the Month

To kick off our June website launch, we decided to start a "Little Hipster of the Month" photo contest! This is a great way for you to show off your little hipster! Send us a photo of your baby along with your child's name. We will then post the picture on our blog for the vote. Whoever gets the most votes will be declared the "Little Hipster of the Month" and be featured on our site!

Please submit your photos by June 1st.
Voting for June's "Little Hipster of the Month" will begin on June 9th and will end on June 27th.
Make sure to tell your friends and family to vote for your baby!

E-mail contest photos to:
contests@thelittlehipster.com

More than a Diaper Bag

I finally found the ultimate diaper bag. This bag is amazing. To all you pregnant and new moms, let me explain. When I first looked for a diaper bag I did not realize that this would be a bag I would see everyday, use everyday, and be seen with...everyday. I first bought a diaper bag I thought was cute, but when I received it and used it a few times I realized it was too small. The quest for the best diaper bag started. After months of shopping I figured it out- I had to get a diaper bag that I could take with me as a purse. I HATED switching my wallet from purse to diaper bag. I found myself going out and realizing that my wallet was in my purse from going to the store the night before!

Then we found it...The most amazing diaper bag. It doesn't look like a diaper bag! It is called a Nest bag. the style is called Whipstitch. It is simply the most fabulous bag you will ever see! It is a beautiful leather with a platinum finish and gold detail. You wouldn't even guess it was a diaper bag unless you inspect it closely. then you will find a secret diaper compartment at the bottom. This is where you can keep diapers, wipes and a changing mat. If you look close at the interior fabric you will see a soft blue with little storks throughout.

I have gotten countless compliments on this bag and everyone wants one! It was well worth the price, especially since it is my purse now too!

Shopping Cart Germs!

" The handles of almost two-thirds of shopping carts tested in a 2007 University of Arizona study were contaminated with fecal bacteria. The carts had even more of these bacteria than the average public bathroom has."

One word: Gross!

I am so thankful that I have a beautiful shopping cart cover that creates a germ-free zone for little one. It also is large enough that it covers the handles for me! Now, I don't have to touch the germ ridden handles! I Love it! Mine is a designer cart cover and it is black with white dots and reverses to red. Another great thing about the cover is when you come home- just toss it in the wash!

It has 3 major uses:
1- Shopping Cart Cover
2- High Chair Cover
3- Playground Swing Cover

I have used my cover daily and each time I use it I continue to think that it is a perfect gift for any new mom!


For more information please visit
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100202755&imageindex=3

Diaper Comparisons- Hail to Pampers

So, I was shocked to find out that such a small human being will go through 300-400 diapers (depending if you are breast feeding or not) in the FIRST month! Seriously!! My little one went #2 after every nursing session. I even made up a little song- "Who made poo poo in his pants? Did you make poopie in your pants? " (Ok, sounds stupid but try it in a nice chorus- it is pretty catchy, but I digress!)
Anyways, there are sooo many different brands and styles- so how do you know which one to get?
A few people have told me that Pampers Swaddler diapers were the best so I stocked up and had a few packs on hand. Why are they so great? They have these gel beads inside and most importantly they really absorb ALOT! My friend Bridgett says her son had several "blow outs" a day and the only diaper that could manage such a load was the Pampers Swaddlers.
After months of buying diapers you start thinking, Hmm- which ones are on sale?!
Pampers Swaddlers are about the same price as Huggies from sizes newborn to 3 and work MUCH better. Once you get to size 4 and beyond, there is a price difference. But, I have to ask- what is worth more? Saving a few dollars on diapers or not having blow outs in every outfit??
You can sign up for Pampers Rewards on their website and they send you coupons in the mail from time to time. Target usually has the best prices on Pampers.
Costco carries Huggies at size 2. Now, I have a few friends who have made the switch at size 2 and don't have any problems so I cannot say they are terrible. (Costco Kirkland wipes are great and the best price out there. Plus since you get over 700 wipes, you won't have to keep running out and buying more).
Another one of my friends noticed that because Huggies are not as soft, her daughter's bottom was chafed after wearing them and she had a little diaper rash.
I tried to make the switch but the problem is, once you use a diaper that works REALLY well, you cannot go to one that just is ok... well, at least in my opinion.
So, in summary I believe Pampers are the best and worth the extra money.

Today's Heirloom Clothing

AT the end of each growth spurt I find myself going thru my daughter clothing. When I do so, I separate her outgrown clothes into 3 piles:

1- Heirloom Items
2- Keep for future children
3- Give Aways
4- Trash :(

The first - Heirloom Clothing- is what I want to talk about. People sometimes rush to get rid of beautiful clothing in their children's draw- especially if they don't plan on having anymore. This is where I must yell "STOP!" You should keep a few of your child's classic pieces! Of course the trends will change and styles will be created, but there is nothing more special than being an adult and seeing in person the baby clothing that you once wore! My mother handed me a small box of clothing that she had kept of mine. My favorite item is a blue pea coat. It was made so nicely and the style is so classic that I will be letting my daughter wear it next year. My mom also gave me two other outfits that scream 1980- but I put my daughter in them and had her photo taken in them. I am hoping that she will have a daughter and do the same!

By my mom doing that for me- she made me realize that I should keep a few nice pieces for my daughter.

If you notice the last pile is "trash" and this is because there are so many poor quality children's clothes that make it into her closet! This is a TERRIBLE waste- not only my future children not wear it, but no child will wear it! These clothes will never make it into a heirloom box. This is why it is worth it to spend a little more on quality clothing- they WILL get worn again and again- if not by your children, but a child somewhere!

Solid Foods

Well, around the time most babies are 1 years of age, they are ready to eat a much bigger variety of foods. After months of buying expensive jar food, both you and your little one are eager for something new. Therein lies the challenge-- how do you make easy, quick meals that are healthy??
I ask you all out there to share any favorite meals or recipes that have been a hit!
The following are a list of few suggestions I have:

• Amy's Organic Chicken Sausages (may want to peel the outer skin off)
• Turkey Hot dogs with or without cheese
• Instead of buying the mac n cheese boxes, you can buy Pinwheel pasta and boil half the box. That should last you 2 days and use when needed for several meals. I grate sharp cheddar cheese over it and microwave for 22 seconds. You can also add in frozen peas to it.
  
• Rotassire chicken, shredded in pieces
• Grilled cheese

Also, as we try to move them from the bottle to a cup, I found straws are great. My son feels like a big boy drinking from one and it is a fun and easy way to get them to drink with meals.
Happy dining!

Organic Whole Milk

At about 1 year a baby moves from formula to milk with the doctors "okay." The next decision as a parent to make is the type of milk you will choose. After much research, the logical choice for us was organic whole milk. Organic milk means that is was produced without using hormones, pesticides or antibiotics. It also means the feed that the cows are fed are organic and have been produced on land that haven't touched by pesticides for at least 2 years. The milk is also pasteurized twice- once at high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization (pasteurization), and secondly at an ultra-high temperature pasteurization (ultra- pasteurization). This lets the milk have a higher shelf time. If you look at a carton of organic milk, you will see that the sell by dates is usually a month away. This is perfect, because we can by 3-4 1/2 gallons at a time and keep them in the fridge. No more late night runs for milk! Remember though, once the carton is opened you must use it within 1 week! Another reason half gallons are great!


More information on organic milk

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there! Like for most women, until you become a mom you have no way to know how you could love someone else so much. Especially when they look at you with their little eyes and smile!
It is hard to believe, but my little guy will be 1 years old next week!
The sediment "the days are long, but the years are short" is so true. Gosh, remember how those first 6 weeks were a total blur?! My friend Sharon says that truly the first 16 weeks are the most challenging.
It was like groundhogs day for me- sleep 2 hours, eat, poop, sleep 2 hours... Not that by any means we are saying we didn't love them, but Come On! How ridiculous- you go from once sleeping 7-8 hours per night, sleeping in a on weekends to virtually no sleep for weeks on end! It truly it is the hardest "work" but one with the biggest rewards!
I cannot tell you how it melted my heart when my son said Ma Ma for the first time... now, after he says it 20 times in a row- not so cute, but ya know.
Or the time he did his first sign. After months of staring and laughing at me, he lifted his little hand and signed "milk". Amazing.
I hope all you moms are enjoying your precious little ones as much as I am.