| 1st baby: | You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB-GYN confirms your pregnancy. |
| 2nd baby: | You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible. |
| 3rd baby: | Your regular clothes ARE your maternity clothes. |
The Baby's Name
| 1st baby: | You pore over baby name books and practice pronouncing and writing combinations of all your favorites. |
| 2nd baby: | Someone has to name their kid after great-aunt Mavis, right? It might as well be you. |
| 3rd baby: | You open a name book, close your eyes, and see where your finger falls. Bimaldo? Sounds good to me! |
Preparing for birth
| 1st baby: | You practice your breathing regularly. |
| 2nd baby: | You don't bother practicing because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing. |
| 3rd baby: | You ask for an epidural in the 8th month. |
Clothing
| 1st baby: | You prewash your newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau. |
| 2nd baby: | You check to make sure the clothes are clean and discard only those with the darkest stains. |
| 3rd baby: | Boys can wear pink, can't they?? |
Worries
| 1st baby: | At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby. |
| 2nd baby: | You pick up the baby when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn. |
| 3rd baby: | You teach your 3 yr old how to rewind the mechanical swing. |
Activities
| 1st baby: | You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swim and Baby Story Hour. |
| 2nd baby: | Your take your infant to Baby Gymnastics. |
| 3rd baby: | You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners. |
Going Out
| 1st baby: | The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times. |
| 2nd baby: | Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave number where you can be reached. |
| 3rd baby: | You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood. |
At Home
| 1st baby | You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby. |
| 2nd baby | You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking or hitting the baby. |
| 3rd baby | You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children. Unattributed If anyone knows who wrote this story contact Modern Housewife so we can properly credit the story. |
The manufacturer, British Columbia-based Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., announced the voluntary recall of approximately 1,2 million drop-side cribs distributed in the U.S. and 968,000 distributed in Canada, the CPSC said in a news release.
Nearly 150,000 of the cribs on recall carry the Fisher-Price logo.
Health Canada, the U.S. agency and the company are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment -- 67 incidents in the United States and 43 in Canada, the U.S. agency said.
Three entrapments were reported in Canada and 12 in the United States, four of them resulting in the suffocation and death of four young children.
Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises.
The CPSC said the cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.
The recall includes Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009.
It also includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo hat have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004.
The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998.
It called on parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, and contact the company -- at 1-877-274-0277 -- to receive a free repair kit.
The recalled cribs were sold at major retailers in the United States and Canada, including BJ's Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400.
The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.
Thats why The Couponizer may has been a major asset to me. Invented by Amy Bergin, it has been called the “Hottest Coupon Accessory on the Market” byVal-Pak.com.
The Couponizer scomes with a wire-bound booklet, a guide to smart savings, a sorting mat for all your clippings, a shopping list, a monthly savings record, scissors and a carrying bag. The system uses 18 grocery categories organized like aisles in a grocery store, so finding coupons should be easy! It even has specific section for coupons youre planning on using this trip, and coupons that expire this month. Its amazing how much money you can save just by being organised!
Happy Shopping
Jaymi
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Consistent with our unwavering commitment to child safety we are providing U.S. consumers notice of a voluntary recall of all Maclaren umbrella strollers sold in the U.S. In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, we are providing free of charge to all affected consumers and retailers a kit to cover the stroller's hinge mechanism, which poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller. The affected models include Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, Techno XLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.
Maclaren USA's Umbrella Strollers meet all U.S. ASTM & JPMA compliance standards. These certifications guarantee our umbrella strollers meet the maximum safety standards available. The voluntary recall is to alert the operator when opening or closing the stroller of the possible risk of injury.
Safety is our first priority and through this voluntary effort we urge consumers to contact us immediately to obtain the kit which consists of hinge covers designed specifically to fit all Maclaren strollers.
Maclaren stresses all operators read the instruction manual prior to use which contains valuable safety tips and service recommendations.
Long Sleeve Cable Knit Maternity Sweater
Secret Fit Belly™ Midcalf Length Straight Fit Stretch Fabric Maternity Skirt
Body Scrubs
You need only four ingredients to make these moisturizing exfoliants. The base can be made from either Epsom salts or sugar, depending on whether you want a large or fine grain. Color the scrubs with shades that are in keeping with some of the scents you use -- pink with grapefruit, for example, or green with eucalyptus. Makes about 2 1/3 cups.
Tools and Materials
2 cups Epsom salts or organic cane sugar
1 cup carrier oil
8 drops essential oil(s)
1 drop food coloring
Special equipment: plastic pipette, canning jars
Directions
1. Stir together Epsom salts or sugar and carrier oil in a bowl, mixing well.
2. Using pipette, add essential oil, 1 drop at a time. Add food coloring, and stir until color is even throughout. Spoon into canning jars.
3. Download clip-art labels, enlarging or reducing to fit top of canning jar if necessary. Print onto ink-jet bumper-sticker paper (which is designed to withstand water). Cut out the labels, and affix to clean jars.
These fragrant spheres for the bath (we scented ours with peppermint oil) are made by packing Epsom salts into a plastic mold. The bath "snowballs" can be tinted any color. You'll need 3 to 4 days to make the bath balls because of the drying time between steps. Makes 2 large or 4 small balls.
Tools and Materials
2 cups Epsom salts
2 tablespoons water
A few drops essential oil(s)
1 drop food coloring, plus more if desired
Special equipment: plastic pipette, large or small round bath-ball molds, storage jars
Directions
1. Stir together Epsom salts and water in a mixing bowl. Using pipette, add oil, 1 drop at a time, until strength of scent is to your liking. Add food coloring, 1 drop at a time, until desired shade is achieved; stir until color is even throughout.
2. Spoon a generous amount of mixture (more than necessary) into 1/2 of a bath-ball mold. Pack firmly. Repeat, packing mixture into second half of mold. Press pieces together until they connect. Remove top half of mold very carefully. Let bath ball stand, mold side down, overnight (set ball on an overturned jar lid to keep it from tipping over).
3. Remove mold carefully. Invert, and let ball dry completely, 2 to 3 days more. Transfer to jars.
Bath FizziesIce-cube trays serve as molds, giving the fizzies their shape. Using a flexible silicone model lets you slide the cubes out smoothly without breaking them.
Show off the colors of the bath fizzies in glass jars with screw tops, the kind used for storing sugar and flour. Pack each type of fizzy in a separate jar so the scents won't meld. Write the name of the scent on a vellum tag (choose a shade that matches the fizzies), and punch a hole in the top. Thread the tag with ribbon, and tie it around the jar.
Citric acid, a common food additive, is available at wine-making-supply stores, some spice shops, and online. When citric acid is combined with baking soda and placed in water, a chemical reaction creates bubbles.
Makes 1 dozen (use 2 per bath)
Tools and Materials
1/2 cup citric acid
1 cup baking soda
3/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
About 6 drops food coloring
10 to 15 drops essential oil(s)
Special equipment: 2-ounce travel-size spray bottle, plastic pipette, silicone ice-cube tray, storage jars
Directions
1. Stir together citric acid, baking soda, and cornstarch in a glass measuring cup.
2. Pass mixture through a fine sieve or a flour sifter into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar.
3. Fill spray bottle with water, and add food coloring. Spritz mixture lightly (it should become damp but not fizzy) until you can pack mixture with your hands.
4. Using pipette, add oil, 1 drop at a time, until strength of scent is to your liking. Using a metal spoon or your hands, mix ingredients until color is even throughout (mixture will begin to dry out; when this happens, spritz until packable again).
5. Spoon into ice-cube tray, pressing firmly. Let dry at room temperature overnight. Pop out of tray gently. Transfer to jars.
Happy Crafting
What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations. Then scroll down to read our favorite comments from readers about how their babies changed their lives.
1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.
And from our readers...
1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom
2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous
3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte
4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom
5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne
6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye
7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous
8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda
9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom
10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom
11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom
12. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo." — littlehulk2008
13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey
14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom
15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom
16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona
17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara
18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution. — Anon.
19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys
20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.
21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon.
22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"! — gummismom
23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect. — japanese_macaque
24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom
25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!" — Anon.
26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor
Would you like to add to this list? We'd love to hear what changed for you.
Jaymi
What do cooking and card making have in common? Apparently a lot.
