Picking a pediatrician is extremely important.  When we were born our parents chose a pediatrician based on their parents and friends recommendations; not much has changed.  You will still receive the majority of your recommendations through your family and friend network.  But what has changed since our birth is now you interview the pediatrician. With so many of our friends having babies, I found it only appropriate to write about how to go about choosing a pediatrician. I am no expert, but this was useful information that was passed down to me when we were expecting from many mommy friends and sisters who all had to go through the process of choosing the right pediatrician. You should begin your pediatrician search in your sixth or seventh month of pregnancy.  Most pediatricians now have new parents informational sessions or “meet and greets’ with the pediatrician. If not, call the office and set up an introductory appointment.  They will generally not charge you for this appointment.  My recommendation is that if the pediatrician does charge, then you might not want to go with that practice.  To me it is just like any other business, you do not charge prospective clients; it is considered business development and it is the cost of doing business. When you begin calling the offices to set-up a time to meet the pediatrician consider the following: How long does it take to get through the phone system?  Were the people answering the phone polite, knowledgeable and helpful?   How long did they put you on hold?  If you choose one of these offices, you want to ensure you can speak to someone in a timely manner because if there is an emergency you want to know they will be there for you....

  The holiday season is just around the corner and it one of the busiest seasons for airlines; like millions of other people you probably are considering traveling to see your family and friends.  And if you are anything like me you want to carry on to avoid checking in bags, if at all possible, especially now that airlines charge you for checked baggage. As I stated in my post on 15 Tips for Flying with a Lap Infant, I am not an expert flying with a toddler, but have done it many times in the past 20 months since C2 was born. To provide additional value, I have partnered with another mom, Kristy Wood stay at home mom to 20 mos. old J. Kristy travels often with J and has been on 14 flights with him. We are two moms that want to share our tips and experiences with other parents in hopes that our tips will make your travel experience a bit more pleasant and less stressful. Here are our top 10 tips on how to Travel Carry on Only with a Toddler. 1.  Research. Research. Research. Purchase. Prior to purchasing any items for travel, research and think about the items you really need versus the items you want. My husband and I travel a lot, so when we found out we were expecting we knew we had our work cut out for us. I hate to check baggage with a passion, so this also fueled my need to pack smart, and buy products that served more than one purpose, or were compact. Every trip that we went on after we found out we were expecting became a research trip. We would look around the airports, planes, and at families traveling with...

During the next two weeks, I will be spending some well needed time with my family and will not be writing as much, so I’ll be running posts from the olden days, starting with…15 Tips For Flying with Lap Infants.   Don’t worry though Stroller Runners, I will continue to update the stroller friendly race calendar on a daily basis. For Updated October 2013 United States Domestic Airlines Stroller Regulations, check out Flying the Stroller Friendly Skies. ___ Flying with kids of any age can be very stressful, but flying with kids under the age of two seems like you are embarking on an epic journey. It does not have to be that way. I am no expert in baby/toddler travel, but I have driven several thousands of miles with my son and flown more than 8 times with a “fly free” or lap infant in the past 20 months, so I feel I might be able to provide some useful guidance and tips on traveling with a toddler.  With the holiday season coming up and families are considering traveling to see friends and relatives; I thought this would be an appropriate topic to broach. Here are my top 15 suggestions for parents with lap infant or “fly free” kids (children under the age of 2 years old) to make you and your baby have a more relaxing trip. 1.  Fly when your child seems to be the most relaxed. This might require trial and error. Some parents say flying the red eye is best, or flying during nap times. I have flown during my toddlers nap time; did not work because he was too excited. I have flown a red eye (night time, think that would work); nope he was up the entire flight....

  While on my three month maternity leave, I educated myself on teaching a hearing child baby signs and giving my baby the ability to express his important needs and thoughts through gestures.  What is “baby signing”?  Baby signing refers to the use of signs from American Sign Language (ASL) or other native languages—but with mother and baby modifications: that is, adjusting signing space, signing size, and sign duration or length to emphasize a salient sign and/or word. A dear friend of mine taught her daughter basic signs and I found it remarkable how her daughter – then one year old – was able to communicate her basic needs via sign language with her mom without the presence of any tantrums or frustrations. Of course, she got frustrated when she was not given what she wanted all the time, but the same is true for all toddlers.  I wanted to be able to communicate with my son at age when he still was not able to form words or vocalize his needs.  No, I did not have unrealistic expectation that this would happen overnight nor did I expect him to start signing prior to 9 months old, but I thought this was worth a try. Especially, if the possibly existed that we could potentially minimize frustration and tantrums.  Furthermore, I know this approach is not for every family. Over the past couple years, basic baby signs have become more widely used in day cares and nursery schools, but still remains to be a very controversial issue.  Some of the controversy relies around whether teaching a hearing baby/toddler sign language prior to learning to speak prolongs their verbal development.  Actually, according to Drs. Acredolo and Goodwyn’s federally funded research showed that using baby signs actually...

  [category_specific_rss_menu] As a full-time working, triathlete, and running mom I find it difficult to fit daily exercise into my already tight schedule. My time, like most parents, is scheduled down to the minutes. But for me, exercise is my coffee.  If I do not exercise I am grumpy, I don’t have the extra bounce in my step and as my husband will attest to more difficult to deal with. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my coffee in the morning too. Furthermore, because I train for races and so does my husband, I sometimes get the “catholic” guilt that I am training and I am not spending more time with my son. Every now and then, I need a reminder that leading a healthy lifestyle makes me a better mom. Of course, I am not the first mom who’s had to balance family, work and exercise into my daily life, but after having my son it became just that more difficult.  After giving birth, I began searching for inspirational books, and running communities of moms who could relate to similar issues that I was facing. I came across these two great books Run Like a Mother and Hot (Sweaty) Mamas. These books are great, quick reads that do not require a lot of your time or money.   Run Like A Mother This book is filled with essays based on the personal experiences of the authors, two women who are runners, have full-time jobs, and are also wives and mothers. It is hard to do all of these things effectively, but this book argues that running, because of its side benefits to mood and self-image, is an essential part of life regardless of the inconvenience. It touches on all topics in respect...

  I have been waiting since February 2011 – nearly 7 months – when MSNBC reported on the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Apptivity iPhone Case that supposedly would be toddler proof iPhone case that would become available to the general public.  My son had just turned one and never used the iPhone before, but I knew that it was only a matter of time before he was introduced to it. I do not view the iPhone as a parenting substitute, but a tool to help maintain control and provide a piece of mind for moms and dads while traveling with a baby and/or toddler – which we do a lot. Here it is! Finally the second week in September, I received the Fisher-Price catalog in the mail and it highlighted the Apptivity iPhone case. I was so excited – not only because it was released – but it was only $15. The next day, I ordered directly from the Fisher-Price website and received it a couple of days later. With shipping and handling it cost $20.99 ($15 for the case and $5.99 for shipping).  This product can also be ordered from Amazon for $14.99 not including shipping & handling and will be available in retail stores in October 2011. This case has been tested by my 19 mos. old son. This Apptivity iPhone case has not let me down; I am in love with it and so is my toddler.  Here are some of the highlights that I love. 1.  With the Apptivity iPhone case it eliminates any fear that if your toddler drops the phone that the glass will break.  Most cases, including mine, do not have a protective front cover. 2.  You do not have to worry about your toddler constantly touching...

  I received my weekly email from Baby Center on tips and tricks in dealing with my toddler. Today’s email focused on how to ensure your toddler is happy, how to keep your toddler engaged and stimulated.  The email had a link to a quiz on how much do know about reading to your child. I thought, I am educated person, both my husband and I read a lot to C2 and we are always encouraging any form of reading. C2 loves books and at any given time of the day, he will walk over to the books and just sit and “read”.  So, I figure I knew a great deal about reading to my child. I take the quiz pretty confidentially that I am going to get an 8 or 9 out of 10. I am an over achiever and always did well in school. I got 6 out of 10; 60% correct what? If this was a school quiz I would have received a D-. After taking the quiz, Baby Center provides the answers with an explanation. So, what did I learn? 1.  Although I knew you should read to your child daily, I did not know you should read preferably at a regular time of day.  Of course every night before C2 goes to sleep he gets 4 or 5 bed time stories, but like I stated above he has access to books all day and regularly visits them. 2.  “Children younger than 18 months often find it difficult to understand complicated illustrations that adults recognize easily,” says Jim Trelease in the Read Aloud Handbook.  Young toddlers aren’t quite able to grasp the idea that a small flat picture of an apple represents the shiny red three-dimensional fruit they saw on...

  Recently, Nestlé’s launched a new baby product BabyNes, basically a formula dispenser similar to the K-cup coffee machines.  According to their May 25, 2011 press release: BabyNes is the world’s first comprehensive nutrition system for infants and toddlers, and is based on Nestlé’s latest scientific achievements in baby nutrition and systems technology. With BabyNes, Nestlé builds on its unmatched expertise in baby nutrition gained over 145 years since the invention of Farine Lactée by Henri Nestlé. Nestlé supports exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life, in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, and continued breastfeeding thereafter for as long as possible. For babies who are not breastfed, Nestlé provides high-quality breast milk substitutes, such as BabyNes. BabyNes offers single-serve formulas for infants and young children up to the age of three years. The composition of the six consecutive formulas meets the evolving nutritional needs in the first three years of life: four formulas in the first year, and one formula for each of the following two years. The customised composition of these products is tailored to suit the growth pattern in early life and the baby’s changing nutritional needs, while taking into account the steady introduction of solid food into the infant’s diet. The single-serve portions are sealed in capsules, used in the proprietary BabyNes machine, which recognises each capsule and prepares the bottle with precisely the right dosage and temperature, at the push of a button, in less than one minute. The BabyNes machine combines state-of-the-art technology with the utmost safety and convenience, and ensures a hygienic, quick and easy bottle preparation.   Now, this isn’t a necessity by any means, but from pure marketing point of view, this is brilliant. Let me defend why I say...

  This is poem that most parents will be able to relate to. The Toddlers Creed If it is on, I must turn it off. If it is off, I must turn it on. If it is folded, I must unfold it. If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled. If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared. If it is high, it must be reached. If it is shelved, it must be unshelved. If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed. If it has leaves, they must be picked. If it is plugged, it must be unplugged. If it is not trash, it must be thrown away. If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor. If it is closed, it must be opened. If it does not open, it must be screamed at. If it has drawers, they must be rifled. If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table. If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied. If it is empty, it will be more interesting full. If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon. If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead. If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon. If Mommy’s hands are full, I must be carried. If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone. If it is paper, it must be torn. If it has buttons, they must be pressed. If the volume is low, it must go high. If it is toilet paper, it must...

  I am writing about this because I recently witnessed a mom getting barraged on Twitter about being an “unfit” mom because she had a registry for her son’s first birthday.  Abusive, not providing for your child, not educating your children can classify as unfit, but a gift registry. This is the site she used. Now, I do admit back before I had C2, I might have thought the concept of a gift registry was a bit greedy, but no longer. The practice of registries has been around since 1924, when Chicago-founded department store Marshall Field’s first instituted the bridal registry as a means for the engaged couple to indicate chosen china, silver and crystal patterns to family and friends. As some might recall, I made C2 Amazon Wish list public for his 1st birthday and the reason why is because I had so many people ask me what C2 wanted and I found myself copying/pasting the links into an emails and repeating that process several times.   So to be more effective, save time and reduce frustration, we made the decision to go “public”.  I did have a lot of hesitation about this because I knew some people would view it as being greedy.  Or people would think we expect everyone to purchase him a gift.  Or this may be considered rude or tacky by some people.  Yes, as I suspected I did receive some comments. But, before I move on, I do want to make this clear. We were, are and always will be grateful for any gift C2 receives and by no means do we expect anything or everything from anyone. Now my question, is why ask for suggestions then make a “to do” out of it when a website with gift...