Real Tech Mom

Have you wanted to go and see a new movie without feeling badly about if your baby or child makes a scene or has a melt down? Now you can with Cineplex Odeon’s Stars and Strollers!  Most of their theater’s offer this service to moms, and dads alike, not to mention grandparents and family members who want to get out and enjoy a movie with the special “little” people in their lives.

Children under 3 are free, so all you have to worry about is a ticket for the adults or children that accompany you.  They offer complementary Diapers and wipes (at least the location we went to today did). The only draw back is that there was only one changing station in the woman’s bathroom.  They had one set up next to the complementary diaper’s but it is a little awkward changing  your baby in front of 30 other strangers. But as an option (while the movie is playing) it is dark in the theater so provided that you need to change your little one during a show, it is dark enough to do so privately as long as you bring a change pad.

Stars and Strollers allows you to:

• Enjoy the latest movies in a Baby-Friendly environment at Cineplex Entertainment theatres
• Generally featuring a choice of two movies at every screening!**
  • **Film options may be reduced to one per week during summer months and holidays
  • Find out if your Cineplex theater offer’s this service in your area by visiting this site:
  • This site will also allow you to see which movies are playing in your area this week!
• Screenings of the latest releases every week at your participating theatre
• Lowered volume levels
• Dimmed lighting
• Stroller Parking Available

For us we are given a choice of one movie per theater (i’m sure because it’s summer) and we chose to see Wall-E . The movie itself was not too bad, it started out pretty iffy as there was no talking for a good 30 minutes of the film, and only robot sounds, which get’s old to adults quickly. But the movie picked up and introduced the humans so if you do decide to go see it, it won’t totally bore you.

There was however the funniest short film i’ve seen in a long time. It’s by Pixar, and it’s called Presto. A tale of a rabbit and his magician. I laughed so hard for the whole time it was playing and my son was amazed at the huge animations on the screen.

The Bottom Line

If you are going to take your young baby, make sure you take a blanket as watching a movie, that size for a lengthy amount of time is quite stimulating. I was able to put up a “wall” in the line of vision so that  he could try to nap. Amazingly he did well, he watched for 20 minutes, got fussy, I wrapped him up he slept for a good 40 minutes and then I was able to feed him in the darkness before the end of the movie. All in all successful trip!The movie is still loud, and may startle those babies who need absolute silence to sleep! For what it’s worth, I would not plan to stay for any length of time, you never know how they’ll react to the big lights and sounds.

Oh and as a side note, there was a shady character that came up to me after the movie, and while as a parent you carry a lot of things with you when you travel, my hands were full. So I opted to sit down and wait for my mommy friend to return (she went in search of a change table at the mall). Well I had the diaper bag around me and had placed my son on the floor (in his car seat with my purse between my feet). He came up to me and said cute baby, so being the nice person I am (LOL) I said thank you but decided not to continue the conversation. He proceeded to sit down, which made me uncomfortable (he sat at the table next to me) and I decided to nonchalantly pick up my purse and pretend to look for a baby wipe. He then asked me for spare change, to which I replied I had none, and then he said, i’m just looking for coffee, to which I still replied I had none. He sat there for another 5 minutes before getting up and walking away. Just as a warning ladies, with as much as you carry around with you are are a perfect target for criminals. I wouldn’t run after this creep if he had swiped my purse and leave my son unattended. So either don’t take your purse or strap it to yourself!

Happy viewing everyone!

• It’s beginning to look at lot like Winter.
• Creepy fake babies
• Use what you learn or stay in bed.

The other day I was looking around for funny baby videos, and found a lot of great ones, and some pretty bad ones.  You have to love what babies do, and what parents will put on the Internet.  **Note: language warning in video’s marked with two asterisks**

So without further ado, here are the videos on the Internet that I found.

Top 10 Funniest Baby Videos on the Internet

1. Don’t mess with Kung-Fu Baby

2. Very Talented Baby and her Soother–ooh if they only all did that!

3. Baby Laughing

4. Beware all Monsters–You’ll Kick his what?– I love this one**

5. Should I Eat or Sleep?

6. Childbirth song–Parody written by Helen Austin**

7. Who needs to walk when you can scoot? What a baby will do for Chocolate.

8. E-trade Superbowl Ad

9. Baby drinking water from a hose–I just love this one too.

10. Facial expression of a two year old on a waterslide for the first time!

Bonus: Baby Panda Sneezes (watch the mom)

The Bottom Line

These are just some funny ones I’ve found online, thanks to Sara for the Childbirth song! Please note that I do not endorse any of these video’s or what parent’s do or don’t do with their children. I think some of the stuff I came across I thought at first was funny–like giving your child a lemon. But I came to think that’s kind of mean, kids are so curious and trusting of you, and will try it more then once (probably because of it’s colour and fleshy texture, but man it’s kind of mean.)

But if this has taught me anything it’s to keep your video camera handy, you never know what you will get on tape! Also, there is a lot of stuff that “parents” find funny, and cute, but really it’s only “funny” and cute to them–but who cares if you think your kids are cute and funny, enjoy them! It will never cease to amaze me the sheer joy kids get from their parents being silly, so enjoy your kids, play with them, and cherish their laughter. There are just too many children around the world that don’t get that opportunity to just be kids!

• Sponsoring a Child
• About the Real Tech Mom
• Creepy fake babies

Every Sunday we will feature a Kitchen Korner feature article. This will be a small blurb about an easy recipe that you can add to your family meal time. Most of these will be quick meal idea’s along with pictures!

Cajun Potatoes

What you’ll need:

• 5 or 6 medium/small potatoes freshly washed with skin on
• Cajun spice
• Olive oil
• Aluminum tin
• Aluminum foil
• Salt (optional)

What do I do next?

Preheat your oven to 400 Degree’s Fahrenheit, Cut potatoes in small cubes, sprinkle (generously) with Cajun spice and Salt if desired and Olive Oil. Mix your potatoes up so they are evenly covered. Once your potatoes are covered evenly with the seasonings, pour them into an aluminum (or greased cooking pan) and cover with Tin Foil. Cook for 40 minutes or until potatoes are soft but firm.

Serve and Enjoy!

–Thanks to Lea for this quick side dish idea!

If you’d like to submit and article for publication, please contact me at erincarrasco@gmail.com with ingredients and directions along with a photo. I will only publish food recipes with photo’s. You will get full credit for your idea should you want your name published.

• It’s beginning to look at lot like Winter.
• Back in Action

Let me preface this post with saying, I don’t think I could have survived the first three months of my crazy adorable son’s life without this DVD. Dr. Harvey Karp is a nationally renowned pediatrician and child development specialist. He is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine. Now that I’ve gotten the technical stuff out of the way, I’m going to tell you how he saved my husbands and my sanity. I swear I would have thought my son was “colicky” if it were not for this DVD.

The Beginning…

Babies are wonderful miracles, and it still amazes me today that I have the privilege of being a mother. It is the hardest job I’ve ever done in my entire life. We’re talking about 24/7— 365 days a year, and no your work doesn’t stay at the office when you go home! But, the first three months are the hardest time in a parent’s life. Why? Let’s see, after a crazy experience called “birth” you are thrust into “motherhood” with little to no training. No matter how many books you read, how many shows you watch, and how many friends tell you their version of motherhood, NOTHING can prepare you for your journey.

So what happens after you give birth?

Well, for me I was thrust into a semi private room (after 22.5–and yes I will add the .5 in there–hours of labour) and not having slept in two nights, was given my baby.  Not that I’m advocating leaving your child with someone else, but birth is such an emotional rollercoaster, and even with it taking almost 24 hours for it to be completed, you’re so tired, and almost shell shocked and thrust forward into reality. So for the past 10 months (that’s right for all of you who think pregnancy is 9 months, it’s 40 weeks long) you’ve been incubating this little baby, while you go through the rough part of morning/noon/night sickness in the beginning, gaining lots of extra padding, and then feeling like you’re a beached whale, trust me pregnancy is the “easy” part. You only really have to worry about you for those months, you get to eat when you want, sleep when you want and run to the store when you want. Well after your little one comes out, it ceases to be about you.

No matter how tired you are, your baby comes first. You need to feed, change and love this little bundle of joy. Sounds easy doesn’t it? Well the premise is good, but what happens when your baby is crying. Generally you ask yourself these questions:

1. Is (s)he hungry? Feed baby.
2. Is (s)he wet? Change baby.
3. Is (s)he lonely? Pick baby up.
4. Is (s)he gassy? Burp baby.
5. is (s)he cold/hot? Bundle baby or remove some layers from baby.

Uh oh… baby is still crying. What now?

Welcome to parenthood. It seems like people are forever giving advice, that’s all well and good, but the problem is that half the time, its conflicting advice. More often then not when a baby is crying, people assume it’s Colic. So… What is Colic? Most websites describe Colic as this:

“When a baby’s crying lasts longer than three hours a day, it is called colic. Almost all babies develop a fussy period. The timing varies, but it usually begins at about three weeks of age and peaks somewhere between four and six weeks of age. For most infants the most intense fussiness is in the evening”

Alright ladies and Gentlemen, have you ever had to endure a baby crying for any length of time? Let alone for 3 hours? Now as a new parent you’re seriously supposed to wait until 6 weeks before things get better? NO!!!!  A lot of people believe that colic is gas, well hate to tell you this, if when you try Dr. Karp’s method’s and baby stops crying instantly, it’s not gas. Newborns have this shrill cry, about everything when they get worked up. It sounds like they are in constant pain, in reality they’re just trying to get used to their surroundings to our world. Imagine, you’re in this temperature controlled environment, with constant rocking, hugging, sound (it’s louder than a vacuum inside the womb), and food. And then you’re born– all of a sudden, there is no constant in your life.  It’s quiet, you feel hunger for the first time, you bum gets dirty and then someone places you in a big open space and expects you to sleep!

So what can I do?

You’ve checked baby’s bum, fed baby, comforted baby (baby probably won’t let you put him/her down), burped baby, and made sure (s)he is not too hot or cold. Now it’s time to help your baby with their “calming reflex”  Dr. Karp insists that babies are born with a calming reflex (much like the sucking, or rooting reflex) and it’s our job as parents to turn it on!

The 5 S’s

Swaddling - Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support the fetus experienced while still in Mom’s womb. He Swaddles using the Down Up Down Up (DUDU for short–no I’m not kidding) The best way to explain this–And this is seriously the most important of all 5 S’s, is get a large square blanket. Make it yourself tip: Get enough stretchy cotton from the fabric store, to make three or four 42 Square Inch blankets–have someone or do it yourself, serge the edge of the material or place ribbing around the end and sew it on. Or you can buy them off the site.  Now lay the blanket flat on the ground in a diamond shape. With the top edge of the diamond, fold it down just a tad, that is where baby’s head will rest. Take the left side of the swaddle (note: babies will try to fight you but sleep much better wrapped up, because they don’t have control over their arms yet) and fold it over baby, tuck tightly under baby leaving right arm free. Bring bottom part of diamond blanket up and tuck around right shoulder, encompassing the right arm. Now this is the tricky part. Take the right side of blanket (often holding arms so they don’t wiggle out)and bring it down towards the chest–stop half way down. Notice you still have material left over? That’s what you wrap your baby with all the way around and tuck into the fold. To buy the video go to their site or rent it from your local library for free–note, there is usually a waiting period so if you are expecting, I’d get on a wait list near the end of your pregnancy. Here is my take on how to wrap the DUDU way!

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Sidebar: Here is the RealTechMom’s swaddling technique. I’ve combined the Happiest Baby’s technique with a little twist. My son has very strong arms, and while the DUDU way works very very well, my son would always manage to get out of it after 3 or 4 hours thus waking up.  There are a number of different swaddle makers out there, but honestly for me to spend the kind of cash they want to ship to Canada is ridiculous. My solution? Make one myself (well actually my MIL made it), you take your 42 square inch blanket and lay it down the same way, here’s the difference, there is bound to be some left over material when you’ve made your swaddle blanket or (you can purchase some from the store), lay that down across the blanket so that it’s near the top where the head would go (see video for instruction), then you are going to take the sides of each blanket and individually wrap the side of each arm so the material goes under baby’s bum/back. Then proceed to wrap baby like the happiest baby does (the DUDU method). When I started to use this method my son started to sleep longer and longer and is now (I am proud to say: sleeping through the night!) I went from getting 2 or 3 hours of sleep, and around three months, he started giving me a 4 hour stretch. When I implemented the new swaddling technique, he gave me 5 hour stretches waking around 2 am, for a feed for about a week and now, does not wake at all for a feed between 8 and 4/5 am! Here is my take on the swaddle, but either way, the key is to make the swaddle out of stretchy cotton material, and when you are pulling tight at the end, make sure it’s snug. I guarantee that baby will sleep longer if baby is swaddled.

Babies will fight you, and you have to be strong (you and your partner/support person(s)) and commit to swaddling. It looks like they don’t like it, but you are the parent and you know what’s best. This will definitely help you get more sleep. Babies’ arms wake them because they lack the ability to control them themselves. If/when they hit themselves, they really have no clue that those thing flying around are their arms, hence the startle and the waking. Now the important part to remember is that swaddling often by itself will NOT calm baby down. Once you’ve swaddled, it allows them to focus on the next S’s so that you can get them to the best “s” Sleep!!!!

Side/stomach position - You place your baby, while holding him/her, either on her left side to assist in digestion, or on her stomach to provide reassuring support. This is often called the “football hold” or reverse breastfeeding hold. You want to make sure that baby is placed with their stomach to the side, if baby is laying flat on your arm it will help but if you tilt baby to the side a bit, you’ll notice your baby has a “sweet spot.” This can often (in combination with the swaddling) can calm your crying baby. Once your baby is happily asleep, you can safely put her in her crib, on her back. Dad’s some of you may excel particularly well at this hold because your arms are bigger, and you feel comfortable holding football’s. For me, I could never quite hold my son in this style. But sometimes baby needs a little more help.

Shushing Sounds – This is the most amazing to see on the Video (that is why I seriously recommend renting or buying it, I liked having a copy that was purchased for me because I could re-watch it over and over to get some of these techniques right. Dr. Karp goes right up to the baby’s ear and goes (shushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh— loud enough to match baby’s cry) At first, mom’s, grandmom’s, sister’s and anyone else watching may freak out. It appears that you are making baby deaf.  But in the video, you watch Dr. Karp do this to numerous babies and it’s like and automatic switch that turns on their calming reflex. Dr. Karp advocates that it is louder then a vacuum in the womb and that baby’s are “thrust” into silence, the “white” noise comforts them. Have you ever turned on the vacuum to calm a baby down? Try it, unless they are hungry, uncomfortable, or in pain, crying will subside. These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb.  The good news is that you can easily save the motors on your household appliances and get a white noise CD which can be played over and over again with no worries. *Note: if using a hair dryer to make white noise for longer then 1 minute, move the hair dryer at least 6 feet away.*

Swinging - Ahh the Swing, where would I have been without my swing. I think I would have been thrown in the loonie bin. Dr. Karp advocates that newborns are used to the swinging motions that were present when they were still in Mom’s womb. *Note: the swing will not calm your baby, baby must be calmed before placed in swing, if baby starts to fuss, give the bucket a little jiggle to re-calm baby* Every step mom took, every movement caused a swinging or jiggling motion for your baby. After your baby is born, this calming motion, which was so comforting and familiar, was abruptly taken away. Your baby misses the motion and has a difficult time getting used to it not being there. “It’s disorienting and unnatural,” says Karp. Rocking, car rides, and other swinging movements all can help. This jiggling that he demonstrates in his video is amazing and is what saved my husband and me. Also dad’s this is where you can swoop in and save the day, men often feel more comfortable using this jiggling then the mom’s. *Note: this is not shaking your baby, you should never EVER shake your baby, if you ever need a break, place baby in a safe spot (crib, play yard) and walk a way for a few minutes or call someone to help.

Sucking – The last but certainly not the least S “Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system,” notes Karp, “and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain.” This “S” can be accomplished with breast, bottle, pacifier or even a finger. He advocates that pacifiers are very useful for the first 3 to 4 months of age to help baby to self soothe, and I 100% agree (we’re not talking about a 3 year old having a sucky here, these are newborn’s.)

Now some babies just need a little bit more help then others and what one of his parents described as the “cuddle cure” (using all 5 at once) takes some practice to find out what works for your baby. Don’t get frustrated, you may not get how to do these right away, but I promise if you give it time to work, it will! You will also get better at each of these things and will learn what works for your baby. Here is Dr. Harvey Karp talking about the 5 S’s.

Back to Sleep

What is SIDS?

SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS rarely occurs before 2 weeks or after 6 months of age, while still possible most deaths occur in children who are between 2 months and 4 months of age.

The number of SIDS deaths has declined significantly in recent years, thanks to research that has identified simple measures parents can take to greatly reduce their child’s risk. The most important of these measures involves placing infants to sleep on their backs instead of their stomachs.

The Moro Reflex

Many parents find it very difficult to get their baby to sleep on the back. Most of the time, this difficulty is due to a startle reflex infants have called the Moro reflex. The Moro reflex is a normal reflex for an infant when he or she is startled or feels like they are falling. The infant will fling out his or her arms sideways with the palms up and the thumbs flexed. This reflex can be activate while sleeping if your child is dreaming. This “jerking awake” motion can startle your child awake, upsetting him or her in the process.

Swaddling, arguably the most important component of Dr. Karp’s method, helps your baby feel more secure and allows you to place, an otherwise unwilling baby, on his or her back, instead of the stomach. The swaddling gives your baby a safe secure feeling, as if you are holding them, and will limit any of the sudden movements which can cause your baby to startle awake.

Swaddling makes is easier to place your baby in a safer, recommended, sleep position which reduces the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

For more information on the “Back to Sleep” campaign call Toll free at 1-800-505-CRIB (2742)

The Bottom Line

Buy or Rent the DVD, it’s only about 20-30 minutes that will save yourselves from hours of crying. It is worth the money as a purchase in my books. There is also the book that goes into much more depth about the missing 4th trimester (basically our babies are born 3/4 months too early and need to adjust to the outside world). He also advocates that what you are doing is not spoiling your baby. He says you have to look at it from this perspective, in the womb, baby had all of these things 24 hours a day, so holding them, shushing them and rocking them is not spoiling them even if you’re doing it half the amount of time. So let’s say they go from getting these things for 24 hours a day to 12 hours a day, that hardly sounds like spoiling to me. Remember, your job is to love your baby the best way you know how, these are just some tools that helped me. My son has slept in his crib from day 7 (that’s another story, I did not have my crib mattress yet as he was 3 weeks early) and I’ve never looked back. I’m not knocking co-sleeping because for many people it works, but for us this works better. You can also implement these techniques if you are co-sleeping too.

If you can’t calm your baby, and you are feeling closer and closer to losing control:

• STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
• Put your screaming baby down in a crib, swing, or other safe secure spot.
• Walk a way. Go stand on the porch. Go take a shower. Go do something that will get you away from the situation until you have regained your composure and are able to deal with your baby.
• REMEMBER—It’s normal to feel upset and angry. Women have a natural instinctual reaction in us to feel (hormonally) upset/frustrated when babies cry, not that men don’t get frustrated but for women it’s chemical.

Taking care of a baby can be tiring and sometimes extremely frustrating, I can’t tell you how many times at the beginning I would sit and cry with my son when he cried because I was so frustrated, so tired, and felt like I was doing a bad job as a mom–It does get better (I know, I hated that saying too but it’s true) . But there are ways to comfort him and yourself, and people nearby to help. Never yell at, hit, or shake a baby!!

If you are having a difficult time dealing with your birth experience, and the emotions that come with having a baby, you are not alone. Do not ignore these feelings. Postpartum Depression is normal and should not be ignored. Feel free to look at this site(http://www.postpartum.org/supportgroups.html) and contact the closest location to you, or talk to your public health nurse–they are wonderful resources! Remember being a parent is not easy, especially when you come home from the hospital your hormones are all wacky, but never let that be an excuse. Talk to your doctor if you are even slightly concerned, and if your doctor dismisses your feelings, GET ANOTHER DOCTOR.

• Creepy fake babies
• My appologies to the Emo and/or Cutter World
• Use what you learn or stay in bed.

So recently I’ve noticed some wear on my son’s favourite soother. And after an episode of Simpsons prompted me to keep more then one of the same brand of soother available to my child (for sheer fear of losing his favourite one) I have been vigilant to change it up every once and a while so this “favourite” does not become his “only” soother!

My son’s brand of choice is the Gerber Nuk. We tried a few different kinds but ultimately the Nuk won out. (thanks mom!) But wow do these things ever wear out quickly, I’ve maybe had the new one for a month and a half and it has started to show wear on it.

With all of the BPA-free hype, it’s made us parents “paranoid” about using anything that “could” contain this chemical that most plastics contain! So after all the years we’ve been eating and drinking things (how many of your water bottles had the little 7 in the recycling box hummm?) containing this harmful chemical only to now learn it’s not safe. (Much like lead paint and asbestos I guess)

Before my son was born I was unsure if I was going to use a soother, my nephew had a real strong attachment to his soother and at three was still clinging on to it for dear life. My sister had tried everything and finally on his third birthday, they’d made a “deal” when he turned three, he was a big boy–no more soother! So we all came over for his birthday party and at the end of it we tied his soother to a helium balloon and said “goodbye” to his soother. We told him that babies needed it more then he did, so we all watched in amazement as he attached it (with mom’s help of course) to the balloon string. Well he let go and waved goodbye like a big boy, all seemed well—until that night. While that soother would never return to their house, a new one certainly did, they luckily had another on in the house to spare. He did eventually (one day out of the blue) did not want it anymore, so there is hope! Ok back to my point!

I was given a great gift by my cousin (who had recently studied to become a Doula) for an in home education on something called The Happiest Baby on the Block. This Doctor (Dr. Harvey Karp) not only suggested it, he advocated, that in the first three months babies need to suck– as a calming reflex. So I decided after three weeks of no sleep and being raw from being sucked on—no fun! That I was going to use a soother. My son; however, had other plans. It was such a war to get him to take it. I guess some would say it’s a blessing in disguise but when he did take it, it was when he was tired and it really did help him calm himself. The good doctor deserves his own posting himself, so please check back for updates.

While doing research for some previous postings, I came across a question that plagued some message boards I belong to: When do I get rid of soothers and bottle nipples?

Gerber’s website stated in their FAQ:

How often should we replace pacifiers?

Pacifiers should be replaced when any type of wear is noticed. The strength of the pacifier should be tested by pulling on the bulb portion. If any tears, stickiness or swelling are noticed, the pacifiers should be discarded and replaced.

Why do the nipples and/or pacifiers get so big?

Continual use of rubber nipples and pacifiers can cause them to swell. Constant sucking action, the acidity of a baby’s saliva, microwaving and excessive boiling are all contributing factors to the breakdown of the rubber. Swollen nipples and pacifiers should be discarded, as they are a choking hazard.

For me, I err on the side of caution and would suggest that when your soother’s become cloudy in colour (if they were clear) I would discard them.  The same thing goes for bottle nipples, if they become misshapen, get some new ones! Also out of all the pacifier maker’s I could find, (online) only Gerber had an answer posted on their website. (see answer above) So really my new motto as a mom has become, “if you are asking yourself, should I do this, is it safe?” answers my question. If I’m questioning it, I’d best not be doing it. But it’s all about going with your instincts, while there are so many outlets of information out there for you gawk at, you as a parent have to trust yourself to know what’s right for your baby!

• About the Real Tech Mom
• Creepy fake babies
• It’s beginning to look at lot like Winter.

With so many brands of disposable diapers to choose from, and all at a variety of price, how do you choose? For some it’s simply what fit’s their baby best, for some it’s what people have given you as gifts and for most it’s the price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For us, we have chosen Pampers as our Diaper of choice. Not that I didn’t try Huggies, or Teddy’s choice, because we did, but the way that my son fit the diapers just seemed to bring huge poo disasters. I mean, you know you’re going to have some blowouts, so let’s not be unreasonable here. My little one (not so little–18lbs at 4 months) has always been on the chunkier healthier side of the spectrum. We always went back to the Pampers Swaddlers, as they seem to fit him the best with minimal leakage.  Now not all diapers just because they have a "brand" name stamped on them are in the same category for me in terms of effectiveness. While I love the swaddlers (I’m still squeezing him into size 2-3–not an easy task to find those in stores), I’m not crazy about the cruisers (that’s what starts at size 3). He’s been in size three diapers since he was just over three months old, and is not cruising. He’s kind of like the Goodyear blimp.  But I digress.

The program

When I was expecting, I had someone tell me about the Pampers website (she was big into coupons–Thanks Jenn!) and let me know she’d entered me into a draw to win diapers for a year, Yippie! So I decided to check out what else I might be missing out on, and discovered Gifts to Grow. It works for us mainly because we buy the swaddlers for the fit, not for the brand name and certainly not for the rewards. (something silly like 110 rewards get’s you a Starbucks gift card for 10$) Considering you get anywhere from 3-5 rewards per purchase, that’s a lot of diapers just for 10$ at Starbucks. But instead you can enter monthly draws for trips and other sweepstakes as well as (and this is probably the best reward to give) Donating your points for vaccines. Where one point = one vaccine!

So Where do you find the codes?

Now when you open a pack of Diapers (Click here to see what products qualify for points) it’s on the inside of the bag of diapers (it’s a sticker you peel off). If you buy a box, there are usually two codes, one on each bag within each box (again a sticker you peel off). The one thing that miffed me (and it’s my fault for not looking on the website sooner) was that every time I bought the refill packs for the sensitive wipes, there were no stickers to be found! So after going through two boxes (that’s 7 bags of wipes–each) I got peeved at Pampers for "forgetting" my sticker. I went on the website and do you know where they were???? (see below)

 

 

They were on the side of each freaking pack of wipe. So frantically searching through trash–maybe it’s a good point to tell you all, I had maybe been getting only 1.5 intervals of sleep for 2 and a half months, to find any left over, and to my surprise I found 2! So all excited, I went to the website, logged in and started entering my code.

Two things, the code is in black in and on plastic… it rubs off! and number two, you can’t read some of the numbers/letters because it’s been printed on plastic (almost as an afterthought)

Ok so I salvaged one code, and guess how many it was worth–0.5! Yes that’s right folks I went in search of .5 of a point through the trash. I went to my son’s room in search of the new ones freshly out of the box, and out of 7 codes I could read 3. So I got 1.5 codes out of 3.5 possible codes. At that point I got frustrated and switched to Kirkland brand wipes, they are cheaper and are thicker, and you also get double the wipes in most cases.

 

 

 

The Rewards

 

So here is a sample of the rewards you can save up for, but when I joined, two points got me a "spin" on a wheel to for different prizes, last month there was a trip for 4 to somewhere exotic that cost you 4 points to enter. So I’ll say it again, the best thing about these rewards is the fact that you can donate your point to Unicef for vaccinations around the world.

 

 

 

The Bottom Line

If you are going to be buying Pampers anyway’s, then this is an added bonus. So if you have some pampers stuff laying around, check it out for stickers, and if nothing tickles your fancy in the rewards category then by all means donate away!

But I would not purchase pampers just to get these rewards. If you find that another brand of diaper works just as well for your child then by all means, continue to use them. The extra price for the brand name and the rewards that go along with it; frankly, is just not worth it. The program was originally scheduled to end by March of 2008, but has been extended until March 2009.

Oh and for all of you cloth diapering momma’s out there, you are amazing, thank you for saving our planet one baby at a time! We’re not there yet, but we may just get there soon!

• Creepy fake babies
• About the Real Tech Mom
• Use what you learn or stay in bed.

With social networks dominating our lives (especially in the last few years) it’s no wonder that there has now become a place for babies to be friends with other babies! Check out the latest craze called TotSpot!

What is TotSpot?

According to their website, Totspot is:

“…a place for parents to publish a page about their kids and share with family and friends. It’s part online babybook, parent journal, and social network. Childhood is an ongoing story and TotSpot is the first site that makes it super easy for parents to securely share their kid’s story with friends and family.”

What better place to boast about your favourite things in life: your children! The best part about this website is its commitment to privacy. Let’s get a few things straight. You can only search for babies by knowing their username, first of last name, or email. It’s not to be confused with facebook, where you can search for people you know and add them as friends. This site is designed specifically for Kids and their friends and families. So making a profile for your child, the child can add his “baby friends”, and his “big people” friends, but “big people” cannot search each other, after all that’s what facebook is for.

TotSpot is also designed specifically for kids! It allows you to add the following to your child’s webpage! This allows you to invite aunt Salley or uncle Bob to view what’s new and exciting in your child’s life, no matter where they are in the world!

Growth charts Firsts Beautiful themes Hi-Res photos Favorites Videos

One other thing that I think is neat and “facebook-like” is the fact that they have “status” updates (i.e. Little Suzie is taking a nap with mom!) and instead of “poking” someone you can “tickle” someone.

Let’s get Started!

To get things started you need to create an account:

There are two types of accounts you can sign up for, the child’s account (the parent or guardian would create your child’s account) or the Grownup account (this is where grandma/grandpa or aunts/uncles create accounts so they can tickle them and look at their profile!)

Child Account

Depending on how many children you have (let’s start with one) you would select the number on the left and hit next. Once you are past that stage, and fill in mandatory information (such as username, first/last name, and an email address that you’ll need to verify the accounts authenticity).

The next step will be to create the first child’s page. It asks things such as username, (this will identify your child, not you) first name, last name birth date and gender. For expectant moms, you can still register your babe, without a name, because you can use the username to hold your child’s place on the site- also if you need to change the date of birth it allows you to do that on their profile as well as the gender. Hit create and you’re well on your way to showing that cute little baby off to your friends and family!

Grownup Account

The Grown up account is similar; you need a username, name, birth date and email address (used for verification). You’re well on your way to showing up as a grownup on your favourite baby’s page!

Searching for the babies you know (if you didn’t receive and invitation) requires you to know, their username, first and last name or email address, and even then, you need to be accepted by the “guardian” who set up the baby’s profile in the first place.

Your account (say you’re grandma, or aunty) will show activity on your grandson/daughter, nephew/niece in the “activity from my network” part of your webspace.

It also allows you to see if you are a “contributor” to your favourite baby’s page. You can contribute photo’s and video’s of your favourite baby!

Three Ways to Invite your favourite baby:

It’s easy to build your TotSpot community. Invite your friends and family to participate. You can enter e-mail addresses directly, import an address book from Outlook, or import your contacts from any of the major web services: G-Mail, Yahoo, Flickr.

Your Child’s Page! (This is the Fun Part!)

Your baby’s biography is the heart and soul of this site! It brings together your child’s profile with everything customizable in TotSpot like their status updates, their birth details, their photos and videos even certain milestones playfully named their “firsts.”

This is also where you edit their birth details (if you want too–but remember even 22 hours can fit in a single word, LONG). If you’ve made a mistake when you are signing up you can edit things here. If you were expecting and have since given birth this is the place where you can edit the name, gender and birth info in.

You can even input your child’s eye colour and hair colour. Two of the features off of this page are the growth Chart, the Profile picture and Theme.

To edit your growth Chart, simply input the height and weight, and it will keep track of your baby’s development! There are also a multitude of themes, so if your child likes blue or the outdoors there are specific ones that reflect their favourite themes!

The Dashboard

The Dashboard is the “home page” of your child’s profile. It allows you to see if anyone has sent a “tickle” to your child, or uploaded photos, video’s and sent a message to be posted on his “dashboard” (much like the Facebook ‘wall.’)

Here is where it will tell you how much you’ve completed of your Child’s profile. At first there will be quite a few things that you can add (and it’s so nice, it points it out for you to just click away and it appropriates it to the right spot!) So if you want to add certain things like “favourite drink” all you have to do is fill in the blank and on the display page to others it says, “Dominic’s favourite drink is Milk.” There are also other pages that tell you about their milestones, or “firsts” and they even have a list to choose from! So for all of you mom’s who may not have time to fill in the baby book, or locate your baby book, (I never bought one to begin with) This creates and easy, hassle free way to keep records of when your child hits wonderful milestones like sleeping through the night–that’s my personal favourite! This is also where you can update your Child’s “Status.”

You’ll also be able to see how many people have viewed your child’s page as well as any activity that has happened on your child’s page. (i.e. someone comments on a picture you have posted) If any of your children’s friends update their pages, it shows up on this page as well!.

The Friend Page

The Friend page is simply, just that, where you can see your baby’s friends. (I’ve blanked out my babe’s friends for privacy reasons) It also updates you on your babe’s friends status updates as well as telling you how old they are!

It also allows you to see the “big” friends. So these are the grown-up accounts for friends and family such as grandmas and parents of other babies. Their profiles aren’t clickable (you’ll soon learn that I like everything to be clickable), and at first I was disappointed, but my husband reminded me that this site is for our babies, to show them off, not to chat about like a message board or grown up social network. (like Facebook)

The Bottom Line

TotSpot is a neat and private place where you can share details about your little one(s) with friends and family. It’s a great way for your family members to be included in milestone moments and to check out new videos and photos. It’s very user friendly so give it a whirl and make a profile for your child go to TotSpot. Remember it’s like any other Social Networking tool, you choose who you add to your child’s profile, so if you do not know them, please do not add them!

• Sponsoring a Child
• Creepy fake babies
• Use what you learn or stay in bed.