Eating On the Go

Summer is a fantastic time for picnics and eating outdoors. With summer camps you may also have more lunches and snacks to be packing too. Here are some recent fun finds for food on the go:

Cereal-on-the-Go- How clever is this thing?! Freeze the bottom half of our Cereal-on-the-Go container before you leave home to keep milk cool. Cereal stays dry and fresh in the top compartment until it's time to eat.

Snack & Dip- These brightly colored containers are just too cute. It's an all-in-one container for storing carrots, celery, apples and other treats, along with your favorite dip. Microwave re-heatable and top rack dishwasher safe.

Beetle Spoon & Spork- whimsical and reusable spoons and sporks. The wings unfold to form a handle. Each comes in its own compact travel case

Great Finds

The Container Store is a fabulous place if you happen to have one nearby (otherwise it is all online). They have organizational stuff for every corner of the house- including cute stuff for kids. Here are some cute/clever things I've seen recently:

A cuter way to hang up coats and backpacks:

Deep Game Savers™ Box-

A sturdy way to keep Monopoly and other games together- will fit the playing board and pieces without getting ripped, squished or damaged.

ELFA system well utilized in kids room's:

Restoration Hardware Baby is Here...

Restoration Hardware announced earlier this year that they'd be adding a baby line this summer, and it is now here. The verdict? I'm not as impressed as I could have been. Their cribs and furniture are basically the same as the Pottery Barn Kids selection but instead of ranging from $499- $999 they range from $799- $999.

Their color palette is rather narrow- if you look at their selection it appears that everything is pastel pink or pastel blue with brown or white accents. Bedding, window treatments, lamps- all the same few colors! Occasionally you see pastel green and khaki thrown into the mix, but overall not very creative. Dwell's baby bedding is much more colorful and interesting- even IKEA has interesting colorful bedding- and it's nowhere near as pricey.

Hospitals Drop the Ball on Breastfeeding

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released it's findings yesterday in the first national report to include breastfeeding practices in hospitals. The results had some surprising statistics. The CDC found that one in four medical centers gave healthy newborns formula or supplements even when their mothers were willing and able to breast-feed.

They looked at 2,700 birth facilities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and rated them based on labor and delivery, breastfeeding assistance, mother-newborn contact, postpartum feeding, breastfeeding support after hospital discharge, nurse/birth attendant breastfeeding training and education, and structural and organizational quality.

Western and New England states performed the best. Vermont and New Hampshire tied for the highest scores, followed by Maine and Oregon. The lowest scores were seen in 7 southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

What to do if you are looking to breastfeed your infant:
- Ask beforehand if lactation consultants are available at the hospital you plan on delivering at
- Let your doctor and the nurses on call know that you want to breastfeed and ask that they not give your child any formula or supplements
- If lactation consultants aren't available at the hospital, try La Leche League staff or a doula
- Look for breastfeeding classes in the area to take before birth
- Remember that breastfeeding isn't easy off the bat and may take some time and practice. Be patient, stay motivated and get the help you need.

June: National Safety Month

It's National Safety Month this month, and the National Safety Council is focusing on four "most significant reasons for unintentional injuries and deaths in the American workplace, on the road and in the home and community".

This week the focus is on safe driving; here are some facts to remind you of the dangers of driving while distracted:

- Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event

- 81 percent of drivers admit to making calls from behind the wheel, making it the most common distraction

- Even when using a hand-held or hands-free device, the distraction caused by cell phone use is similar to that associated with driving while legally drunk - with a blood alcohol content of .08

Keep your kids safe by properly installing car seats and using seat belts and drive safe this summer!

What Happened to My Cartoons?

Sure somethings need updating, but I'm not sure about all the updates some older cartoons are getting. Check out the new Strawberry Shortcake:



She was so cute and innocent before! Apparently, she wasn't popular with today's young audience. Now prefers fresh fruit to gumdrops- ok that's an improvement. Now apparently she wears just a dab of lipstick- again, a reasonable improvement. Now she spends her time chatting on a cellphone instead of brushing her calico cat- what?! Why a cell phone? How old is Strawberry Shortcake? Not old enough to chatting away on a cell phone certainly. What's wrong with playing with cats? Kids grow up too fast these days anyways, no need to push them along by having their cartoons involved in seemingly grown-up activities.

Salmonella Tomato Warning

Careful all you pregnant moms when ordering your hamburger/veggieburgers. Salmonella is not something you want to get while pregnant.

From WebMD:
The CDC reports that at least 167 people in 17 states have been infected with Salmonella Saintpaul, the salmonella strain involved in the current outbreak.

Those 17 states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The FDA says it's fine to keep eating the following types of tomatoes from any source: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, and homegrown tomatoes.
Because of the salmonella outbreak, the FDA advises consumers not to eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, and raw red round tomatoes, or products containing those types of tomatoes.

Kids Say The Funniest Things...

OverHeardInNewYork.com is an entertaining blog that consists of submissions from people all over NYC. While most of the submissions are tidbits of conversations had between adults, occasionally you get some good pieces of conversation had between parents and children or children talking to each other. Here is a small sampling for your entertainment:

Adult friend: Your mommy just had a baby! How is Jack doing? Does he have a lot of bottles?
Little girl: No, just boobies.
--Economy Candy, Lower East Side

Little boy: That's not art!
Mom: Shhh... some people think so.
Little boy: Nope, not art.
--Whitney Museum, 5th floor

Kid #1: Paper beats rock. BAM! Your rock is blowed up!
Kid #2: "Bam" doesn't blow up, "bam" makes it spicy. Now I got a SPICY ROCK! You can't defeat that!
--6 Train

Dry Drowning in the News

Many of you may have heard of the dry drowning case in South Carolina. A 10-year-old died more than an hour after he had gone swimming. So what do parents need to know when it comes to dry drowning?

What it is:
Dry drowning occurs after removal from water when there is a small amount of water still present in the lungs. This can cause result in laryngospasms reflex- a spasm of the vocal cords. Laryngospasms can then cause asphyxiation, leading to an inadequate supply of oxygen in the blood, cardiac arrest, and eventually death.

When it occurs:
Usually within an hour to 24 hours of swimming.

Are some children more likely to dry drown?
Yes. Dry drowning is more likely of child is not a good swimmer or a first-time swimmer and if the child has underlying lung problems like asthma.

What should parents look for?
After swimming, if the child has swallowed a lot of water or had an accident at the pool, keep an eye out for these signs:
- persistent coughing or pain in chest
- difficulty breathing
- extreme tiredness
- changes in behavior
If a child coughs for a minute, then calms down -- that is much different than if the child keeps coughing or complaining of pain.

What do I do if I suspect dry drowning?
Call your doctor or bring the child to an emergency room if there are any signs of dry drowning following a swimming incident. If it is caught early, dry drowning can be treated by inserting a breathing tube and having oxygen supplied under pressure to the lungs.

Water safety is a big topic in summer months. According to the CDC, 4,000 people drown each year and 1,400 of these are children. Always watch kids at all times when in the water and enjoy your time safely!

Facebook for Babies?

TotSpot.com is a new site that recently launched, while some describe it as a "social networking" site, I think it's more like an online baby book or Facebook. It was built with parents and security in mind and reassures users that all photos and information are protected and safe. Your child's page is invite-only accessable and parents can see who has been looking at their site any given week. You can decide how much or how little you want to post, and also who can see it.

So what's the main advantage? It's a single place to post pictures and videos, plus there are special features to keep track of growing kids. There are growth trackers, milestone lists, and children's favorites (ie. Suzie's currently in love with Elmo). No more sending out an email to 15 people with the latest pictures, post once and let them check at their leisure.

Happy Anniversary TushBabuy

www.tushbaby.com is celebrating it's one year anniversary! To mark that special occasion, everyone who shops at TushBaby is entered into a weekly drawing. This week's prize is an Urban Smalls Onesie. So thanks for reading and good luck!