Confessions...

It only took me eleven months but I finally figured out how to get out of the house before the first nap of the day. 

Not putting on the housecoat. 

Early sunrise, summer weather, and slightly later sleep-ins also help but really its about just getting my ass in gear and getting it out the door. I don't necessarily have to shower and do my hair and makeup, I just need to get him to the park. 

Battling the Pantovirus and Keeping Your Medicine Cabinet Stocked

As a nurse I have a tendency to overstock our medicine cabinet (athletes foot spray, topical numbing agents, Chinese muscle ointments - you name it, I've got it) but even I was caught off guard this weekend when Jack got sick with a violent flu bug.

Jack has previously had little colds. There is always a snotty nosed little cousin with the newest strain of the mutated virus who wants to give "hugs"- aka- attempted strangulation. And he had his share of refluxy projectile barfs as a newborn, but nothing compared to this flu. So much barf! I didn't know that so much liquid could come out of a tiny body. It was everywhere, all over me, the floor, the couch. And then I made the rookie mistake of thinking it was over and bringing him into bed with me. The poor little guy vomited until he dry heaved and his little eyes watered.

I didn't realize how heartbreaking it would be to see him sick. I felt like someone with giant hands was squeezing my ribs in and my heart was working its way into my throat. I have taken him for his shots so I know what it's like to see him in pain but that's different because you are expecting it and you know it's only going to last a couple of seconds. AND you know that immunizations are a lot less painful and life threatening than things like measles and polio.

And then there was the diarrhea! If it smelled any worse I would have sworn he had c.diff!

So 4am rolls around and he won't keep the oral acetaminophen down and his fever is 40 degrees and the cool shower only does so much and he is basically inconsolable. So I busted my ass up to the drug store and said a little prayer of thanks to baby Jesus for living in a city that has a 24hr drug store.  I grabbed some acetaminophen suppositories and some pedialyte.

Again, as a nurse I have put my fair share of suppositories up people's butt's but the baby sups are so tiny they are adorable. And the key factor is that they are very very effective; which I am thankful for. Thankful for modern medicine, a super supportive husband, three day weekends, in-suite laundry, and the resilience of infants.



FYI: Good infant meds to always keep on hand:

• Oral Acetaminophen
• Oral Ibuprofen
• Acetaminophen Suppositories
• Gripe Water
• Pedialyte (Use the leftovers for your hangover!)

Traveling With Infants

Don't do it. 

No seriously, sit down and have a little chat with yourself. 

Vacations will never be the same avec les infants. It's simply the truth. It's not that they won't be as good, they will just be different. I'm sure it gets better as they get older, but with babies you're not doing anything cool any time soon. No more waking up and drinking last night's melted margarita from the nightstand. No more falling asleep topless in your cabana. No more spelunking in Belize. No more staying in a sketchy hostel in Hanoi and sharing a room with a stanky dread-head named Rain. No more Vegas. And no more footloose and fancy free. That's just how it is, it takes a lot more planning and a bit more luggage.

Travel Honeymoon Period
Before six months is good time to travel, before three months is even better. They sleep all the time, they sleep on you, they're small, and you don't need a lot of gear. 

Transit Time
If possible keep it a direct flight. The 38 hours of travel time to get to Bora Bora will end in you wanting to murder your spouse on the glass bottom floor of your over-the-water bungalow. Breaking up the travel is a good way to avoid burnout. Stay overnight in a stopover city, have a nice meal at a restaurant in the city instead of shite airport food, and get a solid night's sleep. Anytime more than one solid nap is missed, meltdowns should be expected. And avoid really shitty airports like LAX where you might find yourself stuck in a terminal that's only food options are tuna fish sandwiches and coffee from a vending machine. 

Upgrade
If your flight is 10+ hours I highly recommend splurging on the premium economy seats if possible. At the very least try to book really far in advance so that you can get the bassinet seats. Some airlines don't have bassinets for certain flights so be wary. 

Equalization
Babies can't exactly pop their ears or chew on a piece of gum to equalize. So it's best to nurse or give them a bottle on the ascent and descent. The timing can be a bit tricky with boarding and taxiing so if babe is already fed or sleeping give them a soother. If they won't take a soother, shove your finger in their mouth to suck on.

Giving No Fucks
#1. There are always gonna be crying babies on a flight, maybe it's just your turn. (I am guessing the flights to Vegas are a bit quieter). 
#2. You are never going to see those people ever again.
#3. Drugs.

Rent 
Some cities have baby gear rental companies, even items like bouncy chairs and highchairs that they will deliver to your hotel. And some car rental companies have really inexpensive car seat options, saving you from schlepping your car seat through the airport and waiting for it at the oversized luggage claim. Also FYI: if you stay at a hotel and request a crib they will usually just send a pack-and-play to your room unless you specifically request a crib. 

Travel Gear/ Pack Light
If you do have to bring a car seat, don't bring your good one. Borrow a travel one from a friend or buy a cheap one off Craigslist. Baggage handlers kick that shit around like Solange in an elevator and it gets all dinged up. Same goes with your stroller, don't lug your favourite giant one to the gate (I learned this the hard way), just use a small umbrella stroller. Some airlines will bag it for you at the gate, most won't. 

Know Your Terrain
Also learned this the hard way. Got to Playa la Ropa in Zihuatanejo and discovered that not only was it too hilly to use a stroller but also the major thoroughfare in front of our house was under construction. If you choose, strollers can be sent in the checked luggage at no cost (and you should have a case for it) but carriers are much easier to travel with in general. If your destination is warm a forward facing carrier is a bit cooler than a rear facing. 

Bring a Babysitter
Travel with another couple with kids so that you can trade off nights out on the town sans babies. Seriously, genius. Also apparently hotels have babysitter services that you can book in advance, also genius!

Lower Your Standards
Just take it easy. Give yourself lots of time at the airport and try not to sweat it. If needed you can always have a drink at the airport bar...

Jack at 6 weeks - a champ for his first flight: YVR > YXC.

4 month old Jack refusing to nap on the train ride from New Haven > NYC...

 ...Resulting in a meltdown in Eataly and an eventual stroller/swaddle nap. 

Christmas trip to Australia at 6 months. He was a perfect fit for the bassinet and thankfully slept most of the 14 hour flight from LAX > MEL.

 Bleary eyed but we survived! 

10.5 months. YVR > PHX. Not the most awesome age to fly, he wanted to stand/crawl around/grab everything within reach. 

Confessions...

When you go to prenatal classes the like to tell you that your nipples will be "sensitive" when you start breastfeeding. I call bullshit. It hurts. It straight up goddammotherfucking hurts. I think that there should be a prenatal program that you sign up for where someone comes to your house twice a day and spends 30 minutes flicking your nips to "desensitize" them!  

My Cloth Diaper Manifesto!

I started cloth diapers when Jack was a couple weeks old. Thankfully I had an extremely helpful mentor, my cousin's wife Jodi, who found a second-hand stash for me, lent me her newborn stash, as well as guided me through the learning process. She even put up with my early morning calls about leaks and laundry! I advise everyone who plans on using CD to have a mentor of sorts. There is an abundance of conflicting information online and so many options, it is best to have someone you trust verses the trial and error of using the google.

As with everything babies, you find out what works for you, this is simply my experience. There are a million ways to diaper your baby - prefolds, covers, all-in-ones, all-in-twos, pocket diapers, hybrids, so be careful what kind of stash you invest in. Try some out, go to a CD party, dabble a bit.

I discovered that I didn't like velcro closures because of the tangled mess it makes in the washer and how worn out it can look. So my stash is fully snap diapers. I only have a couple Tender Tushies from my original stash, the rest I bought off of Craigslist, a Canadian brand called Glow Bug. Seriously CL is a cloth diaper gold mine. Lots of first time parents buy CD thinking that they will use them and never do so they sell them virtually brand new. Another good place to buy second hand ones are the CD buy&sell Facebook groups. A brand that I have just recently tried are Funky Fluff, another Canadian company, which makes a reasonably priced and really nice and trim diaper.


Diapers

I have 35 diapers in my rotation. And really 35 inserts as well. If you want you can double up on inserts at night, but I just prefer to use disposable. The "one-size" can be snapped to their smallest size to be used for newborns but I would wait till bub’s thighs have chunked up to start on cloth. Probably around the 3 month mark or 13-15lb range. You wanna make sure they are nice and snug up in the groin to prevent leaks. There is also the option of purchasing newborn sized cloth diapers (sometimes called size small). The down side is they grow out of them fast, and because newborns poop so frequently you either have to either wash them every day or have a large stash. If you were going to have multiple children use them it might be worth the investment. If you do buy I recommend an all-in-one (AIO) option, verses a pocket diaper. It's just less hassle and the little diapers are a bit of a pain to stuff. 

Detergent

I use Country Save detergent, it’s 8 bucks a box and it lasts 4-6 months. You can get it at Target and London Drugs and it’s the best bang for your buck by far. Works out to 16 cents per load. Other brands that are popular are RockinGreen and Nettie’s, it really just has to be residue free. I do a load every 2-3 days, any longer than that and it gets smelly. No dryer sheets and no fabric softener of any kind. 

Washing

To wash your diapers it is a three step process: 

1. Rinse Cold 

2. Wash Hot (with detergent) 

3. Rinse Cold. 

All on a large load setting. The purpose is to use lots of water to rinse off the pee, wash them at a high temp, and then a final rinse to ensure that the detergent has been rinsed out. Diapers are always hang to dry, preferably somewhere where they will get a bit of sun for some UV rays. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, baby’s poo is water soluble and can go in the wash. Once babe starts solids you will have to use a sprayer or liners (or the shake it off method). 

Diaper Creams.

You can’t use any creams that have Zinc, Petrolium, or Silicone. Basically unless it says cloth diaper safe don’t use it. The type of cream that you use should depend on what’s going on on babe’s bum. 

Redness - Usually just irritation from pee or teething. Coconut oil or Black’s Butt Balm http://www.lagoonbaby.com/Blacks-Butt-Balm_p_368.html 

Excoriation - Use a barrier cream. Grandma El’s was the one I had the most success with and it smells fabulous. http://www.amazon.com/Grandma-Els-Diaper-Prevention-3-75-Ounce/dp/B0042RPDWM If it’s really bad just switch to disposable and use a zinc/silicone combo. 

Yeast - shows up in the groin and can be red skin and/or little red dots. Very common if you're breastfeeding and post labour, especially if you had any Antibiotics in labour. You must switch to disposable and use canesten or nystatin on their skin and if it lingers in the cloth diapers you will have to strip them.

*I use the Black's Butt Balm every day, now that Jack is on solids it helps prevent the turds from sticking to his butt. 

Accessories 

Diaper Pail - I literally just use a bucket and prefer no lid so I can just drop the dirty diaper in one handed (the other hand is usually holding down squirmy Jack). I started out using a pail liner but you just end up washing that as well. Now I just rinse out the bucket. 

Wet Bag - essential for on the go, to toss dirty diapers in. I have a couple, also handy for swim suits post lessons.

Liners - for when baby starts on solids, turds go from liquid to solid and stanky. They are supposed to be flushable but that's debatable, you have to let them soak for a while first and they have become a problem for the city sewer system. Also some brands aren’t septic field safe. I just pick the edges of the liner up and put it turds and all in the garbage. I have only tried the Bummis and GlowBugs and I prefer the GlowBugs.

The Windup
You really have to like the cloth diapers to use them, and I am not maniacal about it; I use disposable at night and when we travel. Full disclosure, there is extra laundry involved and time spent hanging them and stuffing the insert into the pocket to prep them. There is also the slightly bigger bum, occasionally you have to go up a size in pants to fit over the booty. And the maintenance, the diapers do have to be stripped periodically to maintain their integrity and absorbency (I'll post about that some other time).

All in all I am really happy with cloth diapers; the two biggest reasons for me are cost and waste. The average cost of diapering two children in disposables from birth to potty training is over $5000. In contrast I have spent just over $400 on my stash. And the average child in the same span will use 6300 diapers, which is nuts! I figure that if I have brought a human into this world then I should at least try to make an effort to help sustain the planet that they will live on.

Hey Tartine, put it in your pie-hole.

I recently got back into making No-Knead Bread because I was forced to. 

We used to buy our bread down the street at Tartine and don't get me wrong, the bread there is fabulous. It's artisanal, it's crusty, it has a great crumb and I friggen love it's white doughiness. But half the time you show up they don't have bread made. And it's not because they've sold out. I am not shitting you, I've gone there at 7 am, 9 am, 5pm, you name it- any hour of the day and it's a 50/50 crapshoot whether they have bread or not. 

I'm not sure if the owners knew this when they opened a bakery, but someone needs to get their ass out of bed at 4am and start baking some bread! Additional evidence that the place is poorly run is the fact that the service can be horrendous. Sometimes the young women behind the counter are nice but the older staff are brutal. I swear the only reason they are open is because they are the only place in the neighbourhood where you can get coffee. 

After getting bread-blocked I have officially boycotted Tartine and gone back to making No-Knead Bread. And really I am just waiting for the Vancouver House development to be built across the street and a superior bakery to swoop in and run them into the ground. (Fingers crossed that it's Purebread!).

Really I should be thankful, I am thoroughly enjoying this new yeasty calling. 

I make the bread every three days or so and it's so easy it doesn't even make any sense. All you need is a dutch oven, I use a le creuset but any old pyrex with a lid will do. Four ingredients! Flour - Yeast - Salt - Water. 

This is the recipe I use - 

You can read more about it here : Sullivan Street Bakery No Knead Bread

I mix it in the evening, any time between 5 and 8 pm and let it proof overnight. And then the next morning, usually 12-14 ish hours later I fold it over for it's second proof, which is only an hour or two. 

It's a very forgiving recipe and technique and it makes amazing crusty bread, you really have to try it! I love how the smell of it baking fills my whole apartment,  I love the sound of the crust cracking as it cools on the counter, and I love how a warm buttery slice fresh out of the oven melts in your mouth. 

This is it's nice bubbly top after 12 hours or so.

Then you plop it on the counter over some flour/cornmeal.

And you fold it into a nice little package.

And BAMMO!

Look at that beautiful crack!

Breadgasms. That's what those little holes are called. 

Sometimes it doesn't look the prettiest, but who gives a flying fart. 

Confessions...

Sometimes I like to leave Jack's dinner crumbs in his highchair overnight so that they dry out and I can sweep them up easier.