End result with some slight assistance from Chicken Little and Dad. But the concept was all Pancake Man’s.

I hope this post finds everyone well, warm and safe and now realize I have no further excuse for not updating this blog more frequently.

Last week despite Christmas preparations of making goodies and gifts we made a quick trip to the Science Center (post Disney’s Christmas Carol at the Imax.) We saw Santa vs. The Snowman in 3D and played at the water table.

A little brotherly cooperation while driving the helicopter.

Everyone is getting so strong!

We visited the Christmas train exhibit at the Center House

Two grown up bottom teeth in, two top baby teeth getting looser daily. M is doing great in kindergarten, writing all his own letters and sounding out words while writing his journal.

Meanwhile L is running wild and doing his own thing. The chickens are always there like lap dogs.

Santa was good to us this year and both boys are fully immersed in the wonder of Christmas. We wish you all could have been here – it was magical!

Selling lemonade door to door – $1 a pop.

Tug of War ending badly for Chicken Little on the slip and slide.

He was so fragile of spirit that I was afraid to explain the concept of stranger danger to him. It seemed unimportant since he was with my constantly, holding onto my pants and afraid to leave my side. That gave me some comfort. But I knew he needed to know more about it – that there were people out there who would do him wrong given the chance. I was at a loss to explain what might happen in a way that would not frighten the friendliness right out of him or give him bad dreams since he was already prone to night terrors.

Then I came across this stranger safety video. It was created by the John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted who started that show after losing his child to a stranger and Julie Clark, the creator of the Baby Einstein videos. This video is up to date, compelling enough that even a nearly 6 year old Power Ranger fan wanted to watch it again, and clear enough that he was able to repeat for me everything he had learned correctly.

The information is presented in a non-scary format yet by the end of the video he understood the very real possibilities that could happen and what to do to prevent them. This is something I plan to watch with him at least several times a year since kids frequently forget.

What I particulary love about this video is that it has instant credibility. I could explain things to him until I’m blue in the face and they wouldn’t sink in. For some reason this information needs to come from someone else, someone outside his circle of safety, and the fact that it was presented in a media-rich format makes it real to him. Sadly, kids really do believe almost everything they see on TV. Use that to your advantage.

This video is a must-have for every household with kids over the age of 3, even though the video says 4 and up. If you have put off having the stranger danger talk, or even if you haven’t, please consider this video today. You can find this and other great child safety products at www.MyPreciousKids.com.

Another product, very worthy of a practical parent pick award!

I was excited to come across the Hug Me Joey car seat support which can alleviate the pressure on the tummy and has been extensively crash tested and hospital-approved. The Hug Me Joey has a wedge that goes into the well of the carseat to minimize it, lifting the baby up and out of the well. It also has a positioning roll that keeps the baby from slumping over to the side. The roll creates a cozier sense of boundaries in the carseat for newborns that makes them feel more secure.

Next to tear and barf-free car rides, my favorite thing about the Hug Me Joey is that you can also use it in a bouncy seat, swing, or stroller and the roll can be used to help position a baby for side sleeping or can be placed around the baby in a U shape to prevent a tiny baby from rolling down a slightly propped crib or bassinette mattress, which makes it a great value.

If you are tired of cleaning the carseat and baby each time you take a quick car trip try the Hug Me Joey. Another practical parenting picks winner!

If you have a younger baby who is placed on a wedge with sling from an early age they adapt very well to it. However, some babies aren’t diagnosed with reflux until they are older and by then they want nothing to do with a harness. For them and the unfortunate toddlers and older kids who are too big for baby reflux wedges there aren’t many propping solutions.

It takes a 30 degree plus angle to provide real relief from reflux. An adult can simply recline with their torso on a wedge and remain that way all night. Children are very active sleepers so that solution doesn’t work well. They either roll off the side of the wedge or scoot down to the flat mattress, rendering the wedge ineffective. To make matters worse a baby may roll down and become wedged against blankets or crib railings, increasing the risk of SIDS.

I was so excited to learn about a fairly new sleep solution for acid reflux in children and pediatric reflux – an ingenious foam bed comprised of a series of stacked wedges that allows babies 12 months on up to 5 years old to sleep on an angle without either rolling off the side of a wedge or sliding down to the foot of the bed or crib.

The Comfy Lift kid’s reflux bed is basically a series of wedges at the head sloping down towards the feet with another series of wedges at the feet sloping the opposite direction back to the bum to keep the child from sliding down. As the child grows and the wedges at the feet are no longer needed they can be removed. There are also wedges at the sides sloping in to the body to prevent the child from rolling off the sides of the wedge.

The bed comes with a waterproof cover and one fitted knit cotton sheet. It has a rather large footprint (48″ x 28″) but does fit in standard American crib and toddler bed frames. It can also sit directly on the floor. At it’s highest point it is 16″ high so once an older baby starts climbing you should use a secure crib tent to prevent any falls, or move the whole wedge to a toddler bed frame or the floor.

Karen over at www.InfantReflux.org has an extensive review of the bed with images. If you have never been on her site before it has an amazing forum for parents and caregivers of infants with reflux that I highly recommend.

For the toddler or older child with low oxygenation levels, pediatric GERD, sleep apnea, congestion or other breathing troubles that cause frequent and/or painful night wakings this bed is a blessing and worthy of a practical parenting pick!

I just recently finished reading Reflux 101: A Parent’s Guide to Gastroesophageal Reflux by Jan Gambino, aka Reflux Mom. I’ve followed Jan Gambino for the last 5 years since she’s been a driving force behind the PAGER organization, a non-profit pediatric reflux website. She’s also written many articles on reflux and writes a weekly reflux blog for the HealthCentral Network so she knows a bit about infant reflux.

The book was an easy read that I wish I had when my first was born. It covers what is normal and what is GER versus GERD, sleep issues specific to reflux, positioning, testing, medications and prepares you for conversations with the pediatrician. There is a section for reflux in older children and information on high needs parenting, returning to work and taking care of yourself.

Jan covers all the topics a parent with a refluxer would be experiencing and then some, based on her experience from years of monitoring reflux boards. What I particularly love about this book is her easy writing style, non-judgmental or alarmist approach to the topic and the useful tips and stories from the trenches that other GERD parents have shared.

This book is the perfect thing to make you feel less isolated and see what has worked for other parents in your same situation. It definitely ranks as a practical parent pick!

Whiff!

First tooth gone – and now I’m out $2.

Perhaps dreaming of chickens?