Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with infant

travel with infant

kingfish — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:46:28 -0800

Travel with infant. Do I have to bring a car seat for the trip? We are flying to LA with our 6 month old next week. Quite nervous about the adventure.

The car seat we have right now is bulky, heavy and very unwieldy. We are trying to avoid it as much as possible.

The baby will probably sit on our lap during the flight. But do we need a car seat after the trip? We haven't decided if we will rent a car or just do taxi, but I would imagine a car seat is required by law in both cases, right?

We have a Baby Bjorn. The little guy likes it very much. Can we use it for all purposes even when riding the car?

A friend who hates mothering

LittleMissCranky — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:35 -0800

A friend who hates mothering. Ideas? A longtime friend of mine had her first child almost five months ago. Prior to her son's birth (and conception, actually), she was, at best, ambivalent about the idea of having a baby, but her husband was extremely set on having children immediately. Now that the baby is here, she is having a very tough time. She, frankly, gets no joy from her baby whatsoever. She is taking competent care of her son, but there is virtually no bonding at all. She is really at the end of her rope with frustration and desperation. Some of this is no doubt due to the fact that her son is a pretty difficult baby, although it's probably exacerbated by her depression. Additionally, she is not well supported emotionally (or with childcare/house chores) by her husband, and has little external support. She quit her job (at her husband's insistence) and is now home full time, often without her husband for up to weeks at a time.

I have already suggested that she see her doctor about her depression, and I am really trying to offer as much support as I can via meals, babysitting, etc. as well as emotional support. Any concrete ideas about how she can get through this? Any bonding exercises or activities appropriate for a five month old? How can I better help her?

I am truly worried about her. It is well beyond normal baby adjustment, and while her situation is really tough, her borderline resentment of the baby is worse than I would expect even in her circumstances. I am NOT worried that she is going to harm herself or her baby, but I am concerned that this will have lasting effects on her son's development and her general happiness.

when is 6oz not 6oz? Baby formula measuring.

dpx.mfx — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:31:29 -0800

How do you measure how much formula your infant is eating? This sounds like a silly question, I know, but I'm confused.

I make my daughter's bottles as she needs them. As explained on the formula container, I mix one scoop of formula for two ounces of water. I put 6 oz of water in the bottle, add three scoops and mix. When I'm done, the bottle contains more than 7 oz.

I have a friend who mixes all her formula in advance. So she puts 30 oz of water in a container, adds 15 scoops of formula, and mixes. When she wants to feed her baby 6 oz, she pours 6 oz of formula into the bottle.

We both say our babies are eating 6 oz. My theory is that she is getting 6 oz worth of the powder, so 6 oz worth of calories. Her theory is she's drinking 6 oz of liquid, so, that's 6 oz.

I realize it doesn't really matter as long as I'm consistent, and that I should ask my pediatrician. But I'd like to know how other people measure, or think it should be measured, or what they believe logically makes sense (or if there is an actual right answer, that would be great, but I have no idea where to find it!)

Infant: H1N1 flu vaccine now or wait for preservative-free version

NortonDC — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:15:16 -0800

Is it worth delaying H1N1 swine flu vaccination for an 8-month-old infant to get the preservative-free version? As for me, shoot me up, whatever, go nuts. But I wonder about the wee one and the higher concentration of thimerosal she would get due to her tiny mass and two shots to my one. Is it worth delaying until we can be sure we're getting the preservative free version? What are the facts and numbers driving the answer?

I understand there's no established link for autism. I get that. But mercury is still best avoided when feasible, so does the current pandemic change the definition of "feasible"?

NaturalNews-type scaremongering will be disregarded, so don't bother with that. Thanks.

Where to go on vacation with an infant?

stormpooper — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:19:56 -0800

Where to go on vacation with 14 month old? I haven't been on a vacation since 2005. We have a now 10 month old son. If we go in Feb. he'll be 14 months. We've been considering the following:

Havasu (since we have friends with a house out there so it would be free accomodations). My hesitation is Havasu is for adults. With a baby, there is NOTHING to do out there. I'm not bringing him on a boat.

Florida but don't want to do Disney since he's too young and it's expensive. We have friends in Miami and even thought of the Keys.

California. We have friends out there but may or may not stay with them (logistics). But it seems there is the most to do with a child--Hollywood tours, aquarium, zoo, beach....

I'm open to other suggestions. I rather be somewhere warm but with things to do from outdoor/sightseeing, beach (maybe but can do a pool at the hotel), decent restaurants, etc. But I've thought of Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Oregon, etc). We even thought of wine country in Napa but everyone said no to bringing the baby.

I've never traveled with a baby before. Is this even feasible? (lugging strollers, what about the car seat?). But if I don't go somewhere beyond our usual summer local outting in WI, I'm going to go nuts.

Help my boy teeth without BPA exposure.

ajr — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:54:42 -0800

My wife is going mad looking for BPA-free teething toys for our 5-month old. Can you point me to web sites (or other resources) that might help us find such toys? Additionally, any insights into whether we should really be concerned about BPA in toys, etc. (especially those designed for teething) would be appreciated.

Good Winter Clothes for Toddlers

puritycontrol — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:15:10 -0800

Please recommend good winter clothing for 1-year-olds, especially super warm coats. We're talking months and months of ice and snow here. It's our first midwest winter and we'd love recommendations on coats and clothes to get our 1-year-old boys (well, they turn 1 in a couple of weeks). Online or stores in the Aurora, IL area. Thanks in advance!

How to get my baby to sleep all night?

zardoz — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:32:20 -0800

My five-month-old son has suddenly started crying in the middle of the night every hour or two, just as he did as a newborn. What gives? The boy is breastfed and has had no medical problems at all. For the first two or so months after he was born, he did the usual crying every two or three hours to be fed, and that pattern was day and night. At about the three month mark, though, he started sleeping longer and longer, and by five months was sleeping a full seven or 8 hours and waking up only once, or twice when his diaper was wet.

In the past week that seems to have suddenly changed. We always give him a bath around 8-8:30, and he's ususally asleep around 9-9:30. Now he'll sleep for a couple of hours and wake up and scream. And I mean scream. His eyes are open and looking around and he frankly looks terrified. My wife or I will cuddle and rock him for a while, and he'll go to sleep only to wake up an hour or two later with the same terrified screams. A few times we've taken him to the living room, turned on the lights because we think he might simply be attaining his first fear of the dark (the bedroom he's in is dark, but not completely; there are outside streetlights that keep the room in some ambient light, especially when your eyes adjust to the dark).

We've heard anecdotally that that's what this is, a new fear of the dark, maybe seeing monsters or whatever it is little babies can see/imagine. A friend told us that this went on with her kid for months. We've didn't expect sleepless nights to be completely over, but we also didn't imagine the little guy would revert back to his newborn crying. Any experience with this by you mefi parents?

I've read this thread and it's very helpful, but I was wondering if there's any more advice out there. Also, my son is at 5 months, much younger than the other babies discussed, who all seem to be around 8 months to 1 year old. Why would he start this so soon?

Power adapter for an infant swing?

dpx.mfx — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:39:38 -0800

Power solutions for an infant swing? We have a Fisher Price Cradle N Swing for our 9 week old daughter. It takes 4 D cell batteries. I did not think, when buying the swing, to see if it had an A/C adapter (apparently some do; this model does not). It looks like you can get third party adapters online. Has anyone tried them? Or does anyone know if they do/should/should not work? I obviously don't want the swing to catch fire or something while she's in it!!

Will baby's skull look "normal"?

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:20:43 -0800

Question about my three-month-old's head shape. My daughter was born 3 months ago, and during the delivery, at the last minute, there was an emergency. Her blood pressure dropped and the doctor had to affix a plunger-like vacuum device to her crowning head and pull her out for delivery. I live in a country where that technique is more commonly used than forceps.

The result of this is that her head is somewhat elongated towards the crown. If you look at her face to face, it's not noticeable, but from the side you can pretty clearly see the odd shape. She's also pretty much bald and you can see her entire skull. Once she has more hair it'll be much harder to discern her head shape.

I realize that newborns' skull bones haven't hardened yet and won't for some time. But is it possible that she'll have this elongated shape once the bones fuse?

FWIW, we love our kid no matter what! With the intensity of a thousand suns! I'm just curious how she'll look a few years from now.

Car camping with a six-month-old?

gottabefunky — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:39:42 -0800

Any tips on car camping with a 6-month-old? We're thinking of heading out this weekend from Portland, OR for baby's first camping trip.

Looking for any wisdom on making the whole experience run smoothly, especially since she's not the greatest sleeper. (For example, how do you put her down to sleep at 6 pm when it's light out until 9?)

Simple bread recipe for kids?

swrittenb — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:40:36 -0800

Anyone have a good recipe for a safe, tasty, and digestible "first bread" for an infant? I love making breads, and look forward to the day when my little boy can really start mowing down on a lot of tasty treats. However right now, he's a seven month old still working on getting those teeth to erupt. He's working through the solid food list, and is getting more and more curious about semi-solid foods that he can play with while eating. The soft inside of a fresh loaf of bread seems like a good option (small pieces that aren't a choking hazard, obviously)

Has anyone made bread for little kiddos, and could you share a recipe? Is a good plain white loaf acceptable, and at what age did you start giving things like whole wheat flour? Are there things we should be concerned with, or reasons to wait? We're not in any huge rush, but it would be fun to help him explore new treats.

How did you split up nighttime newborn duties?

wolfkult — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:38:19 -0800

How did you split up nighttime newborn duties? My wife and I are expecting a baby in the next week or so. We have talked a lot about how to split up infant duties but want to make sure we have a plan that we can agree on now and that will work.

We'd like to hear some people's experiences on how to split up the workload. We're mainly wondering what has worked for people on weeknights when the father works and the mother does not.

Some details:
-I will be working 40 hours a week (8-5, 9-6, computer engineering, office job)
-We are lucky that the mother does not have to work for the foreseeable future
-Mother is going to breastfeed (or try to, we have bottles ready just in case)
-No relatives live nearby to help
-I have always slept a lot (8 hours or so) and have no idea how I will function on a lot less sleep but realize I may only get half of that
-Baby is going to be sleeping in a bassinet for the first few months in our bedroom

How did you split up the duties? What worked and what didn't?

Good books for the infant?

skepticallypleased — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:47:31 -0800

Good books to read to the infant child? People state you need to read early to your kids. Ours is less than a year and he pretty much wants to eat most of the books we try to read to him. Any recommendations on books that a really teeny one might actually like and that might help their development and help our interactions together? Thanks!

Please help us get to longwood to visit friends!

Nanukthedog — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 06:42:57 -0800

Anyone have any tips on taking public transportation with an infant? Bonus for Boston-centric and the T-based green line? Do we strap in the car seat? Do we just hold it or set it down? Should we go for any special seats? Tips tips tips?

car seat confusion

gnutron — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:09:21 -0800

Please help me navigate the complex world of car seats for our impending baby. Wife and I are expecting our first child this summer, and the gearing up has began in earnest. Picking a car seat seems kinda baffling to us - we have no real understanding of what types/models are good or bad.

We've looked at convertible 3-in-1 seats that can fit a kid from infant-toddler. Buying one seat that will last for a couple years seems appealing. We've also looked at the infant car seat/stroller combos.

Any recommendations or anecdotes on what has or has not worked for you and your family? Our car is a 4-door 2005 Civic.

It's a hard question...

Bardolph — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:08:18 -0800

So many great pads available to soften hard mattresses, but nothing seems to go the other direction. What are some creative ways to make our cushy pillowtop mattress firm enough for safe cosleeping with a new baby? The mattress is queen-sized, and while it's not ultra-squishy, it is soft enough that I suspect it wouldn't meet current standards for safe baby bedding. We're planning on using a cosleeper or Amby for most of the night, but I'd like to be able to nurse in bed without stressing over what might happen if I drowse off and let the baby fall asleep next to me. Sadly, a new mattress is not an option. Any ideas for pads or DIY fixes I could use to give this one a firmer surface?

While padded, the baby butt is not sufficient for full body spine comfort.

cavalier — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:11:42 -0800

[NewBabyFilter] Baby Incoming! Before the stork arrives I have furnished the Nursery(tm) with, er, furniture. Crib, chair, what have you. Baby Mattresses vex me, and I need help in buying one. Will you be my baby mattress daddy? Seriously; I know full well that mattress sales is a shell game. It almost makes used car sales look more moral. Change the model name between stores, change the coil count, change the name of the coil technology, whatever.

Bottom line, though, when I want to buy a new mattress -- er, I just shop around and well, sleep on one, till I find one that I like.

I doubt my newborn baby is going to be able to evaluate effectively if the crib mattress fits his needs -- thus my distress. Guides all say buy firm, firm mattress! With a wedge! Firm mattress! Yet I visit the local Babies R Us / Target stores and they have a wide line of "soft, cozy" mattresses. Most are Sealy by way of Kolcraft. Prices range from $80 to $200 on average. Yes there are $625 mattresses made with "Mohair." I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a good, safe, proper mattress for cavalier jr.

Can you help?

Does clipping for a tongue-tie really require general anesthesia?

NortonDC — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:05:27 -0800

Our 21 day old daughter is tongue-tied (ankyloglossia). The doctor wants to do the clip (lingual frenectomy) under general anesthesia by default, and we're uncomfortable with that. Is general anesthesia appropriate by default for this? Should we be concerned?

The germs crawl in, the germs crawl out...

Bardolph — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:44:47 -0800

Kid's due this spring, and we've amassed huge piles of used baby gear. What are some safe disinfecting procedures that will reliably rid all this stuff of any lurking mold, bacteria AND viruses? I'm not a germophobe or anything, and I understand and believe the hygiene hypothesis-- but with all the stuff in the news recently about what happens When Microbes Attack (black mold! obesity viruses!), I'd at least like the kiddie to start out with a blank slate, flora-wise, instead of Freecycle's Best premium microorganism assortment. Criteria for disinfection procedures: must be

ultimately baby-safe (so, not necessarily completely natural or nontoxic, but should be rinsable or removable to leave a safe end product)
as un-damaging as possible to the stuff itself (won't be easy with fabric cushioning/other mixed-material stuff, I know), and unlikely to break down plastics to yield toxic byproducts
effective against molds, bacteria, viruses, and (ideally) bacterial spores.

My current idea is to start by dousing everything with a mild bleach solution to clear the field, then follow up with Dr. Bronner's Tea Tree Soap and lots of baking in the sun to remove residual chlorine. I was also considering just using lots and lots of 95% ethanol, but wasn't sure whether it'd do much against viruses and molds. Would love to hear critiques and/or better suggestions for how to accomplish this!

Diaper suggestions for small infant?

Happydaz — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 07:44:45 -0800

Our newborn pees right through the preemie diapers, through two layers of clothes and into the crib/blanket. This happens every time. Help! I_love_therain and I just brought our baby boy home from the hospital on Monday. He's absolutely fantastic, and so is his bladder. His weight when leaving the hospital was 5 pounds 10 ounces, so we've been using preemie diapers on him. (A combination of Huggies and Pampers. We probably have about 100 of these diapers left right now.) The diapers contain the poop no problem, but whenever he pees it soaks right through the diaper (usually through one of the legs) and gets everything else wet. I don't mind changing 5 diapers in one hour (which is what we did last night, when he just peed and peed and then peed some more) but 5 outfits in an hour is just ridiculous. Isn't it?

This is our first child. Everything else with him is going great, and I'm just wondering, should we be using normal diapers instead of preemies? Am I installing them incorrectly? Is this just something you suffer through until the infant is big enough to wear real diapers? Oh, and if you've read this far, here's the obligatory link to a photo of our kid. :-).

So what do they feed kids in other countries, anyway?

Zinger — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:38:41 -0800

Infant feeding: Having just had my third baby, I'm struck once again by the rigidity of North American guidelines on feeding wee ones. I'm curious as to what is done in other countries and cultures, and what we did in the past. Resources? For example, the 'rules' here suggest breastfeeding ONLY until at least six months, and then introducing foods one at a time, starting with the cereals and so on. Health care workers react with unmitigated horror if you suggest doing anything different - and I typically find that with my kids, introduction of solids has to happen earlier.

So does anyone know of any studies on what's done in other countries and cultures? Can anyone living abroad tell me what the guidelines are in your area? What did we do in the past? What about your experiences?

What happened to Zero Tolerance?

cjets — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:23:49 -0800

How concerned should I be about the recent revelations about melamine in US infant formula? I came across this NY Times story about melamine in US infant formula. tonight. I read it to my wife.

We've got a five month old. Please tell me why we should NOT be freaked out by this news. Or alternatively, why we should be.

I tend not to be a conspiracy theorist and want to accept the FDA's explanation. But everybody makes mistakes. And I have visions of this story snowballing.

Any recommendations on US infant formula that does not have trace elements of melamine would be greatly appreciated (And yes, we're aware of breast milk).

My apologies to those who find this curreneventsfilter or chatfilter but this is an issue of some urgency in this household.

2+1 costume help!

Big_B — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:15:36 -0800

CostumeFilter#437: Need costume ideas for a couple with an infant! We have a 5mo baby girl that we are taking to two parties, and want something original that we can dress up our new family as. Additional bonus question: SO wants to dress our daughter as the Pink Panther, and us as goons/theives, but I swear there were never any goons in the cartoons, just the panther and the inspector. Prove me wrong!

Others ideas on the table:
The Flintstones (Wilma, Fred, Pebbles)
Little Bo Peep and two sheep

Some great baby ideas here, but we want to dress as a group.

We're pretty crafty, so bring on any wild ideas.

Babycycling for dummies!

Bardolph — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:06:14 -0800

Which infant/baby items can safely be bought secondhand? We're expecting a little one in the spring, and since we have plenty of time to prep, I was thinking I might try over the next few months
to see how much of the necessary apparatus I can pick up for free or cheap via Craigslist/Ebay/Freecycle. I'm wondering, though, if there are any big no-nos when it comes to acquiring used baby items from people one doesn't know too well.

I know everyone always says not to buy a used carseat, for example (I'm assuming because of structural integrity issues??); but are there potential dangers lurking in other used items-- evil, unsanitizeable viruses lurking on that cute onesie, deadly BPA leaching from that sippy cup? Assuming the item isn't visibly broken, is there an age range for things like swings, cribs, strollers, walkers, etc., past which materials might be too deteriorated or safety standards too outdated to make the item trustworthy around a baby?

Would welcome any tips for spotting the good, safe stuff, as well as cautionary tales of used-babystuff purchases gone horribly wrong!