Plan ahead.

1. The two most important words when traveling with children:  Direct flight.
2. Window seats are best for traveling with a baby.  You have a lot more privacy.  Nursing is very comforting for the baby which makes life so much better for you and everyone around you.  The baby may sleep and be quiet.  If you don’t nurse, have a bottle or a pacifier ready for takeoff and landing.
3. Aisle seats may be best for an active toddler.  On a long flight, you might do a lot of pacing the aisles following the busy walker.  Never let your baby walk around a plane by herself or without proper outdoor shoes.
4. Pick morning flights.  Everyone is well rested, baby is likely to take a nap and the flight is less likely to be delayed.
5. Bring a copy of your child’s passport, social security card or birth certificate.  It isn’t necessary, but it could solve some major hassles, especially if you are traveling without the other parent.  Southwest says that they require it but I haven’t yet been asked for it.

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1. Airline Baby Travel Tip: Liquid Alternatives

While it seems like Christmas is ages away, it really is just around the corner.  I can’t believe that 2009 is nearly over.  I adore these cheerful felt Christmas lights for a DIY Advent wreath.  They could be a perfect thing for me to sew up as I bundle up in my imaginary alcove bed.  Bella is a bit young for me to decorate with delicate items, so this would be perfect and so very charming.    If you use this as an advent calendar, you could attach numbers to the bulbs.  I can’t believe it, but we are just three weeks away now from the first day of Advent.  There is time enough to make this!  :)  So cute!

If you sew according to her diagrams, you would want to use very light treats, like gumdrops, but if you add some velcro to attach the bulbs to the sockets, I bet you could put some heavier items in there.  This would be a wonderful little tradition…

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I had been mourning the loss of summer, but now that fall is in full swing, I want to just curl up with a good book in bed.

Don’t you just adore these alcove beds?

image from Content in a Cottage

image courtesy of Apartment Therapy

image from decorpad.com

image courtesy of Apartment Therapy

If we ever build a house from scratch, I will build alcove beds for the kids and maybe one for hubby and me. I heart them.

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In  shocking announcement yesterday, Maclaren, a British luxury stroller brand, announced that it was recalling 1 million strollers – Every stroller that it has ever sold in the United States. 10 years worth of strollers.  I had heard rumors that a stroller recall was coming, but 1 million strollers?  All day yesterday, I tried off and on to go to Maclaren’s website, but their site was overloaded with traffic and I couldn’t get the page to load.  After a bit of research, it appears that when opening and closing the umbrella stroller there is a point at the middle of the stroller where little fingers can get pinched.  12 children have had their fingers amputated in the past 10 years.  This is horrifying news.  It wasn’t until I saw this video on abc.com explaining how it could happen that I understood.  When opening and closing the stroller, if a child were to have their hand on one of the bars of the stroller, at the same time it was opened or closed, it would be very easy to have a finger pinched, or worse, if their hands were in the wrong spot and subjected to the force of the collapsing stroller.  If you have a Maclaren stroller, please get your kit quickly and do not use your stroller until you have installed it.

While I am very glad that Maclaren is voluntarily offering free kits to all stroller owners, I am curious to know how long they have known about this problem.  I am surprised at how many recalls there are on products for children.  It seems like there is something very dangerous revealed all the time.  Two months ago, there was a second warning on close-sleeper convertable cribs by Simplicity. Those injuries were even more shocking as babies could potentially get caught in the crib rails and suffocate.  Two babies have already died in this crib. What is especially horrifying, is that the parent company is refusing to cooperate with the government.  They are not recalling the cribs.

It certainly is interesting to see how these two companies are handling the issue of safety very differently.  I do hope that this voluntary recall will strengthen people’s support of Maclaren and belief that this company is working hard to create safe products.  Simplicity is now out of business.  Their assets were purchased by SFCA, but reportedly, they are not responding to concerns by their customers, the government or the public.

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1. 3 Simple Steps for Easy, Convenient, Homemade Baby Food

When I got married 8 years ago, we often heard the same question repeated, “When are you going to have kids?”  It got old after a while, but we kept people guessing for many years.  Now that we have Bella, people ask, “When are you having another?”  Usually I smile and sigh, but what I really want to say is, “Are you outta your !@#$%^&*^% MIND????”

For those of you who are a little less freaked out about the prospect of another crying, diaper-exploding, screaming bundle of joy, you are going to love this freebie.

I have found a fun blog called Couponing To Disney.  I used to love to send away for free things when I was a little girl.  Now that I mostly get bills and junk in my mailbox, I have really had fun signing up for freebies.  It’s funny how a free chocolate cherry granola bar can really make my day.  (Here’s another one!) Every few days, Kristin adds links to her site for 4 free things that you can send away for.  I have signed up for samples of diapers, cleaning supplies and food.  But when I saw this link for the ovulation and pregnancy kits, I know that I have many friends who are trying to get pregnant.  I thought that somebody could really use these!

Of course, if you aren’t looking to get pregnant, there are freebies for you too!  LOL!

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A month ago, Bella and I were leaving a store and walking back to the car as I held her in my arms.  It was the middle of the day, but we were in a parking garage.  It was well lit, as parking garages go, but still a dim, dark concrete, unwelcoming structure.  As we walked down the aisle of cars, I noticed a large, muscled, broad-shouldered man walking directly toward us.  Instinctively, I looked away, stiffened my grip on my baby girl, straightened my posture and quickened my pace.  As we approached each other, I heard Bella laugh in my ear.  I looked over and this big man, twice my size, was making googly eyes and waving to my little baby.

"Hello, Happy Baby!"

I am often amazed at how powerfully disarming a smiling, little baby can be.  Bella laughs, waves and flirts with nearly every person she meets.  Two weeks ago, we were among the first to board a plane to DC.  I was exhausted after having trudged through security, pushed her stroller across the concourse and entertained and fed her while we waited at the gate.  Once we were seated, I was tired and stared out of the window at the baggage handlers pulling up to the side of the plane.  Bella stood in my lap and held onto the chair back in front of us.  Her laughter pulled me back from my daydreams and I looked up.  I saw a full aisle of people streaming onto the plane.  They were all exhausted travelers lugging suitcases, overcoats and laptop bags.  It now costs $20 to check your first bag on Delta and $30 for your second, so we are all our own pack mules. For the moment, however, there was something very different about this crowd.

As far back as I could see, every passenger walking down the aisle had a smile on their face.  As they approached, their smiles became larger. Standing on my lap, Bella was waving at every single person.  She repeated her favorite word, her first word actually, “Hi!  Hi!  Hi!  Hi! Hi!”  Everyone loved it and was quick to respond with a wave and a warm greeting to her as well.  My 15 month old waited for and greeted every passenger on the 757.  She only sat down once there weren’t anymore passengers to welcome aboard.  The woman behind us was thrilled to watch this unfold and dubbed Bella “The Official Greeter”.

I don’t understand what it is exactly about a happy baby that encourages and allows an open sense of community.  We are all strangers in a public space rushing through to get to where we want to be, away from where we are, but a baby can break down these walls that we put up in front of other people, slow down for a minute and smile.  My mom sent to me an editorial in the New York Times that talks about this odd experience of instant and temporary intimacy.  This happens to us everyday and I am repeatedly amazed.

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Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Cooking baby food sounds laborious and tedious, but most of the time is super simple.  You can make it complicated, but like most things, it only appears more complicated than it is.  I don’t spend much time making food just for Bella.  If I know that I need more squash or sweet potatoes for her, I’ll put it on the dinner menu for the family, but I’ll roast twice as much!  Don’t devote an afternoon cooking for the 20 lb munchkin, just cook when you are already cooking.  If you happen to be baking a cake, heating up a frozen pizza or whatever, let the oven do double work. You are home anyway.  Might as well let it work for you!

Hands on time: 10 minutes    Total time, including baking:  90 minutes

Basic Roasted Sweet Potatoes or Squash

Great early food for baby – Stage 1 or 2

1. Rinse and scrub a large sweet potato, butternut squash or acorn squash.
2. Prick skin with a fork.
3. Place on a foil lined baking pan, in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 1 hour + or until soft.

This may be served to baby once it has cooled, or stored in the refrigerator for a few days.

• The real time saver tip is to roast a few veggies at once and freeze portion servings to use later.
• Scoop and smooth the soft vegetable pulp from the skin into cleaned ice cube trays.
• For acorn or butternut squash, scoop the pulp, but discard the inner seeds and fibrous threads.
• Cover trays with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
• In the morning, pop them out of the trays and store in a freezer safe container labeled with the contents and the date.

To serve: Place a couple cubes into a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until desired temperature.  Be sure to mash and stir, as microwaving will create hot spots in food.  Alternately, if you like to plan ahead, place a few of the frozen cubes in the refrigerator the night before.  Bella adores food straight from the fridge.  It must feel great on her little gums.  Depending on the baby’s comfort level, you may want to smoosh the food with a fork or not.  If it is too thick, add a few drops of breast milk, formula or whole milk to thin.

• Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious foods to give a baby.  They are rich in dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium.
• Acorn squash is a good source of potassium and fiber and has vitamins C & B, magnesium, beta-carotene and manganese.
• Butternut squash is an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium, fiber, manganese, vitamin C and magnesium.
• They are all sweet, creamy and delicious.  What’s not to like?

Related posts:

1. How to Get Started Cooking Homemade Baby Food
2. Butternut Squash – 1 Recipe for Your Baby and for You

image courtesy of Penzeys Spices

If you ignore your spices and use whatever you have on hand, you will be in for a treat if you splurged (just a little!) and bought fresh, fragrant spices from this wonderful store.  Penzey’s Spices has a successful mail order business, but in the past few years they started opening stores all over the country.  Bella and I are in DC this week visiting her grandparents and I had to go visit the Rockville, MD store in person.

I easily could have gone wild, but I gave myself a 20 minute time limit and a $20 budget.  I came in under budget at about $16.  I am really pleased with what I bought:

4 oz of Sandwich Sprinkle $4.15 – intended for croutons, great for subs & tuna salad, but has been recommended as an excellent all around spice mixture

.7 oz of Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon $3.25 – spicy, hot cassia cinnamon – strong and rich

.8 oz of Chili 3000 $2.79  - In my rush and enthusiasm, I bought two chili powders accidentally.  There were so many that I couldn’t make up my mind, so I guess I’ll have to have a chili taste test to tell the difference between the two.  Both are salt free.

1 oz of Chili Powder Regular $2.89

.8 oz of Aleppo Pepper from Turkey $2.89  Turkish crushed chili, similar to ancho, beautiful red flakes, great for meats

Mama (Bella’s grandmother) came with me and she bought Chesapeake Bay Seasoning and Apple Pie Spice.  So far, we used the Chesapeake Bay seasoning on crabcakes last night.  They were wonderful and a great change from Old Bay – which as Marylander I love of course, but it is often way too salty.  Penzey’s version was fresh and did not overpower the wonderful jumbo lump crabmeat.  For breakfast,  we cook our oatmeal with bananas (my awesome brother-in-law’s recipe) and I topped it with blueberries and a very generous sprinkling of the Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon.  It made me realize how very flat and monotone my McCormicks is at home.  This cinnamon is reminiscent of hot, spicy cinnamon hard candy.  It will be wonderful for winter and I can’t wait to try it out some for hot, Cinnamon Yeast Rolls.

Consider buying spices that you will use soon from Penzeys.  Remember spices should be replaced every 6 months, if you buy McCormicks, or every 12 months, if you buy Penzeys. In general, Penzey’s spices are more fresh than McCormicks.  Buy in small quantities and write the date on your jars.  Spices may seem expensive if you go out and replace them all at once, but they are one of the more frugal and healthy purchases that you make as you only need a little bit of  a high quality spice to make a big difference in your cooking.  Remember, using great spices is one of the best ways to cook high flavor but low-calorie, low-sodium and low-fat delicious, healthy meals.

Bon appétit !

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At more than one airport security checkpoint, my husband has sat on the sidelines rolling his eyes at me as I have stood my ground in discussions with TSA about my needs for bottles of water, milk or formula.  As long as we have the time, he seems to understand my deep seated need for “defending the rights of mothers everywhere”.  Well, that’s how he puts it.  Nobody likes the TSA rules and nobody feels any safer because they are in place.  They are arbitrarily followed and until recently I haven’t seen anything that addresses the particular needs of traveling with an infant.

Thanks to Maggie Norris, the Phoenix New Moms Examiner, and her great new article on her first trip traveling with an infant, she gave me a link that I had looked for many months ago, but could not find.  I don’t know how recent this update is, but I am happy to have it.  I am grateful to have had the luxury to breast feed Bella because the times that I have tried traveling with formula powder and water were unnecessarily frustrating.  It is considerably easier to travel and breast feed your baby, but that isn’t an option for all parents.

The TSA info allows mothers (curious that they specify mothers) to bring breastmilk, formula and juice in quantites larger than 3 ounces if you:

1. Separate these items from the liquids, gels, and aerosols in your quart-size and zip-top bag.
2. Declare you have the items to one of our Security Officers at the security checkpoint.
3. Present these items for additional inspection once reaching the X-ray. These items are subject to additional screening.

While those 3 rules above are directly copied from TSA’s website, please read the full post for all the important details.  Expect that going through security will take longer than usual as they might test your liquids, but you should be able to do it without much hassle.

So, don’t expect your TSA experience to be quick and enjoyable, but print out a copy of this page and tuck it in your carry-on bag or backpack.  You never know when you are going to need it.

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