Sliced Grapes for Teething Babies!
Eventually your going to start your child on solids and move away from baby food. Around that time teething begins (or is already in progress) and feeding your baby can start to be challenging. It’s common for your baby to seem not interested in food and there is a lag time before ibuprofen starts to relieve the pain.
Enter sliced grapes.
Why grapes? They’re cold, juicy, and sweet. What’s not to love? 
Note: We always slice the grapes to prevent a chocking hazard.
Peace, Love, and my iPhone!
Apple's iPhone
I don’t know about you, but there are times when my child is a little more mobile than I’d like. At almost 11 months old my son crawls and pulls up every where! There are also those times when you “need a moment” – like to go potty.
What do you do? What does your child do?
My son likes to follow me into the bathroom and like any good parent I don’t close the door. I want to know my son is safe and having the door open allows me to hear everything that’s going on. This also gives him the prime opportunity to crawl right in!
It’s moments like these that you don’t have any toys with you, perhaps you have your phone, and you definitely need “a moment.”
Here’s what I do:
I always have my iPhone with me. One of my iPhone applications is Pandora radio. When my son crawls in – or gets into trouble – I turn on Pandora’s radio (i like Bob Marley), blank the screen, and hand my phone over to my son.
My son laughs, dances, and shakes about.
These actions give me Peace and Love.
Peace – and quiet! The stress of a crying baby or one that is in trouble will ruin my “moment.”
Love – I love it when my son dances, it’s cute. It also makes him ready for his nap faster. You have to Love that!
I also have other apps on my iPhone for my son – this one just works the best in a pinch.
Mac & Cheese – Great food for teething babies!
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
When your baby starts teething, you really focus on ways to comfort your child. You invest lots of time in teething rings, toys, and ibuprofen. You may not realize that your baby’s sleep can be drastically affected as well.
Let’s think about it. How much food would you eat, if your mouth really hurt?
By now you’ve probably started to give your baby some real table food, in addition to bottles, and of course mommy. I’ve noticed that my son is not eating as much as he used to from all of the above sources. This means he’s going to be hungry and wakes up screaming for food in the middle of the night.
The solution: Good ol’ Mac & Cheese at dinner time.
Here’s why:
1) Kids love the flavor (I know I still do)
2) The noodles are soft and very easy to eat.
3) If you let the noodles cool down, they can be clumpy – which makes for great finger food (my son likes to feed himself).
and
4) It’s cost effective.
The bottom line: Teething babies still need to eat – and parents really need the sleep.
Don’t just bring the Car Seat – Bring The Base Too!
Most car seats can be installed with a belt or latch system. When you travel and leave your base behind you’re typically forced to use the belt system. This is typically not a big deal if you’re not going to be in and out of the car a lot. However, it will definitely be a problem for your little one if you’re going lots of places in a single day. Here’s our story:
We’re relocating to another state and need to find a new home. On our first trip we didn’t bring the car seat base and the belt rubbed against our son’s legs when we took him in and out of the car seat. On our second trip we brought the car seat base and it was much easier. He was able to take his naps and be comfortable; I got my exercise as I took the car seat (with baby inside) in and out of the car to look at houses.
By far this was the best way and I highly recommend it.
So, don’t just bring the car seat – bring the base too!
Bring Your Own Car Seat (BYOCS)
When you travel with your baby you may be tempted to use a rental car’s car seat. Let me tell you why this is a very bad idea:
1) They are not guaranteed to be there when you get there.
Ever read your rental car reservation details? They never guarantee that a baby car seat will be available for you. If you don’t have a car seat – You’re Stuck!
2) You don’t know what you’ll get.
You select a car seat for a reason. My wife and I bought the Graco SafeSeat (see above) because it has a great reputation and it’s safe. The first time we rented a car we didn’t get a Graco, we got a cheap piece of plastic that I will never put my son ever again.
3) You already know how to install the one you have.
Car rental agencies don’t install the car seat for you. If you brought your own you could probably install it in any car in about 5 minutes or less. But how long did it take for you to install the first time? Every car seat is different, and the last thing you want to do is waste time installing a strange car seat.
4) It’s very easy to travel with.
Car seats are very easy to travel with. Just take it right to the airport gate and check it at the gate. You’ll never have to wait for it at baggage claim and it’ll be there when you get off the plane (this works with the stroller too).
So – why leave things to chance? Always bring your own car seat!
Hidden Danger: Door Stoppers!
By the time your baby starts crawling you’ve probably covered all electrical sockets and protected all cabinets. Perhaps you’ve even bought a couple baby gates and installed them. Well here’s something no one tells you – the Door Stop.
The white tip on the door stop (see picture above) comes off rather easily. My 9 month old son pulled one off and stuck it in his mouth. They are the right size for a baby to choke on.
It’s better to be safe – secure those door stops!
Pineapple for Teething Babies
There are times when you have a game plan for a teething baby, and then there are times when that plan completely falls apart. Yesterday my son was having teething pains and he was hungry as well. The frozen teething rings were not accepted and for some reason the sassy teething feeder wouldn’t open (could have been frozen shut). The ibuprofen takes about 20 minutes to kick in and I was grasping at ideas.
Finally, I realized we had some frozen pineapple parts (core, skins, etc..) that I had saved in the freezer to use in a future tropical drink. I handed my son a slice of the frozen pineapple skin with and the crying stopped. He chewed on it for a few minutes and then dropped it.
After the pineapple he took a bottle just fine and eventually the medicine also kicked in. I just used this method this morning as well to get him to eat his cheerios.
The short: Don’t go crazy, try pineapple!
The Sassy Teething Feeder
Sassy Teething Feeder
Over the months we’ve collected a few different teething toys for our son. We found that some teething rings we too big, some too small, and some he just didn’t like. You don’t really pay attention to teething toys, until you’re trying everything to stop the crying. The Sassy Teething Feeder was the last teething toy we purchased and I’m quite pleased with it.
In times of teething pains I’ve used frozen strawberries and ice cubes in the teething feeder. The strawberries were a little messy and they worked great! Just make sure you have some Oxyclean to get the stains out. Also, we’re saving money because we don’t need to buy any other teething toys.
So.
What’s going to make your kid happier – frozen plastic or frozen food?
Get the feeder, save some money, and your sanity.
Crib Bumpers = Danger!
Let’s talk a little about crib bumpers….
Mom’s find them “cute” and want to buy them. So what’s the problem? You’ll find out when your child is about 8 months old and climbs out of the crib and lands on the floor. Yep! The crib bumper is easy to grab onto and makes climbing out of the crib much easier. My son can’t stand on his own yet, but he was able to climb out of the crib. He would not have been able to climb out of the crib using the bars alone.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also has reservations about some crib bumpers as well (read).
So, save the money – avoid being “cute” – and you’ll reduce your gray hair count.
Happy Baby and Feeding
Keeping your baby happy can be very challenging. Especially when your baby is teething and wanting to feed themselves. Today, I decided that I wasn’t going to battle my 7.5 month old child during feeding and let him feed himself. After feeding him a couple wagon wheels it was time for the bottle. I had a bunch of e-mails to answer, phone calls to return, and other stuff I needed to do.
So, I put the mommy milk into the sippy cup and let my son sit on the floor.
End Result:
Happy Baby and Very Happy Daddy (free time + happy baby).
Just bring a burp cloth with you, it might get a little messy. 
