Taking A road Trip with Baby

Taking a Road Trip with Your Baby
By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of Gentle Baby Care

To Grandmother’s house we go! And you’ll be in the car for five whole hours  how can you make the trip enjoyable with a baby along?

Learn about it
There’s no question: Marathon car trips with a baby on board take a good amount of planning and organization. But it can be done  and yes, it can even be fun!

Planning the trip
In the hustle that precedes a trip, it can be easy to let things happen, instead of make things happen. Be proactive in making your trip decisions. Contemplating these questions, and coming up with the right answers, can help make your trip more successful:

 Does your baby sleep well in the car? If yes, plan your travel time to coincide with a nap or bedtime so your baby can sleep through part of the journey. If not, plan to leave immediately after a nap or upon waking in the morning. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your baby will behave differently than usual in the car just because it’s a special occasion.

 Is it necessary to make the trip all at once, or can you break it up with stops along the way? The longer your baby is strapped in the carseat, the more likely he’ll become fussy. Planning a few breaks can keep everyone in a better frame of mind.

 When estimating an arrival time, have you factored in plenty of extra time for unplanned surprises? A diaper explosion that requires a complete change of clothes or a baby whose inconsolable crying requires an unexpected 20-minute stop are just two of the things that can easily happen.

 Do you have everything you need to make the trip pleasant? Items like:
-Window shades to protect your baby from the sun and create a darker, nap-inducing atmosphere.
-A cooler for cold drinks; a bottle warmer if needed.
-Plenty of toys that are new or forgotten favorites saved just for the trip.
-Baby-friendly music on tape or CD.
-A rear-view baby mirror to keep on eye on baby (unless a second person will be sitting with your little one)
-Books to read to your baby.

Preparing the car
Take plenty of time to get the car ready for your trip. If two adults are traveling, consider yourself lucky and arrange for one person to sit in the backseat next to the baby. If you are traveling alone with your little one, you’ll need to be more creative in setting up the car, and you’ll need to plan for more frequent stops along the way.

Here are a few tips for making the car a traveling entertainment center for your baby:

 Use ribbon or yarn and safety pins or tape to hang an array of lightweight toys from the ceiling of the car to hang over your baby. An alternative is to string a line from one side of the car to the other with an array of toys attached by ribbons. Bring along an assortment of new toys that can be exchanged when you stop the car for a rest. Just be sure to use small toys and keep them out of the driver’s line of view.

 Tape brightly colored pictures of toys on the back of the seat that your baby will be facing.

 If no one will be sitting next to your baby and your child is old enough to reach for toys, set up an upside-down box next to the car seat with a shallow box or a tray with ledges on top of it. Fill this with toys that your baby can reach for by himself. You might also shop around for a baby activity center that attaches directly to the carseat.

 If you plan to have someone sitting next to baby, then provide that person with a gigantic box of toys with which to entertain the little one  distraction works wonders to keep a baby happy in the car. One of the best activities for long car rides is book reading. Check your library’s early reading section; it typically features a large collection of baby-pleasing titles in paperback that are easier to tote along than board books.

 Bring along an assortment of snacks and drinks for your older baby who’s regularly eating solids, and remember to bring food for yourself, too. Even if you plan to stop for meals, you may decide to drive on through if your baby is sleeping or content  saving the stops for fussy times.

 Bring books on tape or quiet music for the adults for times when your baby is sleeping. The voice on tape may help keep your baby relaxed, and it will be something you can enjoy.

 If you’ll be traveling in the dark, bring along a battery-operated nightlight or flashlight.

Car travel checklist
 Well-stocked diaper bag
 Baby’s blanket
 Carseat pillow or head support
 Window shades (sun screens)
 Change of clothes for your baby
 Enormous box of toys and books
 Music or books on tape or CDs
 Baby food, snacks, and drinks for your baby
 Sipper cups
 Snacks and drinks for the adults
 Cooler
 Wet washcloths in bags, or moist towelettes
 Empty plastic bags for leftovers and trash
 Bottle warmer
 Cell phone
 Baby’s regular sleep music or white noise (if needed, bring extra batteries)
 First aid kit/prescriptions/medications
 Jumper cables
 Money/wallet/purse/ID
 Medical and insurance information/emergency phone numbers
 Maps/driving directions
 Baby carrier/sling/stroller
 Camera and film
 Suitcases

During the journey
If you’ve carefully planned your trip and prepared your vehicle, you’ve already started out on the right foot. Now keep these things in mind as you make your way down the road:

 Be flexible. When traveling with a baby, even the best-laid plans can be disrupted. Try to stay relaxed, accept changes, and go with the flow.
 Stop when you need to. Trying to push “just a little farther” with a crying baby in the car can be dangerous, as you’re distracted and nervous. Take the time to stop and calm your baby.

 Put safety first. Make sure that you keep your baby in his carseat. Many nursing mothers breastfeed their babies during trips. This can be dangerous in a moving car, even if you are both securely belted: You can’t foresee an accident, and your body could slam forcefully into your baby. Instead, pull over and nurse your baby while he’s still in his carseat. That way, when he falls asleep, you won’t wake him up moving him back into his seat.

 Remember: Never, ever leave your baby alone in the car not even for a minute.

On the way home
You may be so relieved that you lived through your trip that you sort of forget the other trip ahead of you: the trip home. You’ll need to organize the trip home as well as you did the trip out. A few days in advance, make certain that all your supplies are refilled and ready to go. Think about the best time to leave, and plan accordingly. In addition, think about what you learned on the trip to your destination that might make the trip home even easier. Is there something you wish you would have had but didn’t? Something you felt you could have done differently? Did you find yourself saying, “I wish we would have…”? Now’s the time to make any adjustments to your original travel plan so that your trip back home is pleasant and relaxed.
This article is an excerpt from Gentle Baby Care by Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2003)

Hand Knit Items

I am getting my fingers limber again and want to do hand knit stuff for people. Right now I am doing scarves just to get back into the groove. See my last post about ebay auctions. Harry Potter is very popular and I am making scarves like they have in the movie. Right now I have a couple of Prisoner of Azkaban scarves up and they will be ending soon. More are on their way I just have to get them done. We here are toying with the idea of creating a new website dedicated to hand knit items. I have this totally adorable pattern for baby hats that look like fruit and veggies. Hopefully I will have pictures of them soon. I can make them from Premie size all the way to adults. I just made an adorable poncho for my 5 year old with rainbow yarn and fun fur. I will get a picture of that soon and post it later. If you are interested in getting a scarf just email me at eclectic_unicorn@prodigy.net and let me know what you are looking for.

Shopping Cart Covers from This Baby of Mine

We are so happy to bring you another great baby product. These are called Buggy Barriers. These shopping cart covers are made to cover the entire front area of the small to large size shopping cart. Here is the information on them.

www.thisbabyofmine.com/shopping-cart-cover.html

Protect your child from commonly found contaminants

such as harmful bacteria from raw meats / produce, bodily
fluids like blood, mucus, saliva, fecal matter and also harmful viruses.
All of which have been found on shopping cart handles.

Recent studies have shown some shopping
carts to be dirtier than public bathrooms! The fact is, bathrooms
are frequently cleaned and disinfected.

Shopping carts are not!

Do you really want to expose, or let your child touch or taste something
that dirty????

Features of the Buggy Barrier Shopping Cart Covers:

Fits x-large or small shopping carts
Two front toy loops
Front child pocket for toys or snacks
Rear parent pocket
Pillowy padding for maximum comfort
Detachable safety belt to help secure child to the shopping cart
Matching pillow for the sleepy little shopper
Covers entire seating area
Vinyl carry bag to store when not in use
100% machine washable

I really wish I would have had these shopping cart covers when my two little ones were babies. Of course I had my Baby Sling Along so at least they still weren't sitting in the dirty shopping carts.

New Ebay Auctions from This Baby of Mine

I was doing inventory the other day and realized I had a lot of knitted items and returned items that were not listed in my webstore so I decided to sell them on eBay instead of creating new pages for them.

So here is what I have up so far.
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZrowanone-hornQQhtZ-1

I have 4 hand knit Harry Potteresque scarves one for each house.
I also have a deep ruby fun fur scarf that the picture doesn't do justice for.
I have a Blissful Babes Pamela Nursing Dress in Mocha sized XL

I will be entering more breast feeding clothes and some new Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban scarves. There will be all the houses here too.

I am still cleaning out the store room so keep checking back. You just don't know what you may find.

Moses Basket at This Baby of Mine

Why buy a Moses Basket?

Moses Baskets have been used for generations, and to this day remain a favorite of new mom's.

A moses basket is a great way for your baby to sleep at home or away! You can take your baby from room to room with you, so you are never more than a few steps away, while not disturbing his sleep. When you are out, take your child's comfortable and familiar bed with you when you go to grandma's, church, visit a friend or anywhere! Your baby will sleep better in his own, familiar bed. Plus, there are no complicated parts to set up, no rails, poles or other things to adjust. Just a simple and elegant basket - it couldn't get any easier or practical.
So pamper the new mom or mother to be in your life or order one for yourself today! Click Here to go to the Moses Basket page.

We have plain moses baskets, and many with bedding. They make great shower gifts and are wonderful for parents on the go. We also carry some accessories that go with the moses baskets, like a rocker bottom and extra sheets.

Breastfeeding Clothes at This Baby of Mine

We here at www.ThisBabyofMine.com have several items to help breastfeeding moms. These include nursing clothes, breast feeding bras, nursing stools. We also have a really cool bracelet for you pregnant moms called Baby in Waiting Bracelets. It's like a medical alert bracelet that tells medical people that you are pregnant and some other important information.

We have 4 different companies that supply us with nursing clothes. Simply Delicious, Breast is Best, Mother's Source and Motherwear. We have Tops, Dresses and Loungewear, as well as a small supply of Bravado Nursing Bras. All the nursing clothes have been designed specifically for the breastfeeding mom. The nursing slits are completely concealed so you can breastfeed discreetly. The clothes are very fashionable too.

Our nursing stools are heirloom quality. They are individually made at the time of the order by my husband. We have several different colors of stain and can take custom stain or paint colors if you need that. They are made of sturdy pine in two different sizes. They were originally designed by a breastfeeding mom and a certified midwife.

We also carry Pandora's Pads for you to use postpartum. These are cotton cloth pads that are reusable. We carry regular and organic cotton in several sizes and colors.

We hope you come into the store and visit for a while. Let us know if we can be of any help to you.

Murphy's Law and running a home business

www.ThisBabyofMine.com is a home based business that is currently run by my husband and myself. We have the 4 girls and a cat. We also have all the household things that need to be done, like dishes, laundry and the like. I primarily do the order processing and packaging while hubby goes to his computer programming job that still pays the bills.

Where does Murphy and his laws come in? Well I am currently trying to optimize the site for search engines and with a site as big as ours that takes some time. I am also trying to get the house ready for our annual Anti-Superbowl Party. We are not big sports fans so we have a party that is as anti-macho as we can. Chick flicks and cocktails are the norm. Here is where Murphy raises his head.

The toilet upstairs that the teenagers use decided to spring a leak and I had to replace the wax ring on the bottom. Not a job for the faint of heart. Then Sabrina, the oldest, says the sink is clogged. I tell her what she needs to do to fix that as I hear the washer thumping because the load is off balance. Now I am running to fix that so the walls don't get all banged up and nearly kill myself by tripping over the cat. Then the carpet cleaner is at the door, remember the party, and as it turns out the outside faucet that he usually hooks up to is frozen. He goes to the gas station to get water in a backup tank that he carries and comes back. Just as hubby and the kids are coming home early.
The carpets getting cleaned are the living room and the little girls bedroom, so the little girls have to play in the dining room where all of the furniture from the carpeted areas are. Hubby takes over the computer so he can work from home so now I can't do any work. We aren't networked yet so only one computer is hooked to the internet. I get the dishwasher running and switch the laundry while trying not to trip over the girls fort of blankets draped over the dining room table. I start to think about dinner. We are vegetarians here so that limits what we can have somewhat. I then find the cat playing with my ball of yarn and nearly pulls out the stitches in the scarf I am knitting. Murphy is really going to town today. I stand in the middle of all this chaos and think that I only have a couple of days to get all this done before the party on Sunday. I finally decide to have a cup of tea and take a half hour for myself. Of course the carpet cleaner is still scrubbing the floor and the girls are screeching in the dining room, rap and hip hop is coming from the upstairs and the phone rings off the hook for hubby.

I decide what I need is a multi task list. I grab the nearest notebook I can find, which of course is written in by the little girls, and a crayon. There is never a pen handy when you want to write, only when you are cleaning the floor do you find all the pens. The list is made, the carpet cleaner gone, one little one down for a nap, the rap is off cause Sabrina went to work and the wash is all done.

I look at my list, clean the kitchen, clean the bathroom, clean the living room, clean the dining room, and I think to myself why am I cleaning them all today? There are 3 days till the party and I will have to do it all again on Sunday morning. I decide that instead of all that cleaning I will take the little girls with me to the store for a little alone time while hubby is working. When he is done then I will finish the days orders and get them ready for the post office. Murphy and his laws have once again been averted, or at least procrastinated till tomorrow when a whole new list of chaos will arise.

Well it is now just before midnight and the house is quiet and I think to myself. "I will just enter a post to the blog and then go to bed." The bedroom door to the little girls room opens and out toddles Zoe, the 3 1/2 year old. She is crying for Daddy and running for me. I pick her up and imediately know what the problem is. She is burning up and complains that her head hurts.

It's been an hour since that door opened. Medicine given, cuddling and rocking done and jammies changed. She is lying in my overstuffed chair watching Nova and getting drowsy again. Does she want to go to bed with Daddy? Of course not. She has slept for 5 hours and now is awake for who knows how long. Willow will be up in a few hours and I haven't slept yet. Looks like Murphy will be out in full force tomorrow too.