Update: Survival and the power of the portable dvd player. When I was pregnant, I said that my son would not watch videos until he was atleast 2 years old.   Apparently, I was wrong.  We made it to Grandma and Grandpa’s house on the train with limited tantrums thanks to Baby Neptune. 

I have decided to bring Peanut on the train to visit family in New Jersey.  Just the two of us.  On the train.  Alone.  My son on the train. My son who won’t sit in his high chair long enough to finish dinner (not even for the strawberries). I can not explain my decision to embark on this journey and it as occurred to me that rational people do not make these kind of decisions. I want to be one of those moms that just picks up baby and goes. A toddler in tow, no big deal. There has not been one moment in the past 15 and 1/2 months that I have been this mom. But, tomorrow, well, maybe that will be me.  Or, I could become that woman on the train that I have always despised. The one with the uncontrollable child screaming his head off that she can not seem to hear as busy as she is reading a trashy magazine and talking on the phone.  Wish me luck.  

I thought I was being so careful. Diligently scrutinizing the ingredients of any food or products that I gave Peanut. He never touched any piece food if we didn’t know what was in it, how it was cooked and where it was processed. It never occurred to me to check his baby toothpaste. Why would there be egg in toothpaste? But, as I patiently watched Peanut go through all of his toys and tear apart his room, rather than nap this afternoon, I mindlessly picked up his toothpaste and read the ingredients. And, there it was, Ingredient #10 “lysozyme (from egg)”. I have to be even more careful. It is not enough to just watch everything that Peanut eats, I have to read (and re-read) labels of everything Peanut touches.

Yesterday morning I had to make some telephone calls.  Calls that I kept putting off because it is impossible to use the phone in front of Peanut. He is in love with the telephone.  To an almost alarming level.  Nothing sets him off into a temper tantrum quite like not having access to the telephone or even worse when it is taken away from him.  Just try and pry your cell phone from his little paws as he clutches for dear life.  The screams and cries are out of this world.  Most of the time he is a happy, easy-going boy, but, when he hears that tell-tale ring, you can hear the rapid pitter patter of his little feet as he comes running and screaming, “hi!”, “hi!”, “hi Dadda!”.

But, back to that morning.  I could not put off the calls any longer. So, Peanut was happily banished to the playzone downstairs to watch Baby Macdonald while I got to it.  

In the winter, the temperature on the first floor of our townhouse ranges from freezing cold to ice age, so, Peanut was decked out his stylish camel colored chords, turtle neck, and jacket. When I came downstairs 15 minutes later, this is what I found: 

Apparently, he was not down with the stylish camel colored chords.  I am afraid we may have a little nudist in the making.  I am grateful that diaper was still intact.   

My latest obsession: the reverse pregnancy calendar.www.mymonthlycycles.com/whencalcct.jsp?calctype=rpc

Plug in the date you want your baby to be born and it tells you the day that you must conceive. How convenient! You can schedule your baby’s birthday.

Having trouble deciding on your baby’s birthdate?  First, head over to www.babiesonline.com/horoscope/ and pick your baby’s desired personality. Then, plug in the the dates for that sign into the reverse pregnancy calendar and mark your calendar.

This is how it works… Life does goes as planned, right?Well, this is my latest past time, atleast. Just don’t tell my husband. We are not even thinking about talking about having another baby any time soon.

Play:Where is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz: This is the book that started it all.  Peanut does not sit still.  Ever.  He barely makes it through dinner in his high chair, before it is time for him to be on the go again.  Therefore, I imagined it would be quite a while before he would sit and listen to a book.  But, a few months ago, we received this book as a gift and we have not stopped reading together ever since.  He enjoys all flap books, but this one and the Gossie series by Olivier Dunrea are his (and our) favorites.  Another favorite of ours is Hug by Jez Alborough. Watching him clap with excitement when Mommy comes to give Bobo a hug is one of the highlights of my day.  He could listen to the rhymes in Just like Mommy and Just like Daddy by Cecilia Johansson for hours.

Jumperoo: The rain forest jumperoo is the official toy of my play group.  All of the babies love it and most own one.  Peanut started jumping at about 4 months. At 13 months, he doesn’t spend too much time in it anymore.  But, when he does, he has a blast.

Chicco Baby Activity Walker: This has been a long time favorite. Peanut runs with it, walks with it and is clearly proud of himself when he hits the jackpot and gets the shape in the correct hole.

Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Home: Peanut can play with this for hours.  He loves fitting the key into the door and putting the mail in the mailbox (and taking it out again and again).  We bought it at Toys R Us.  Check out the reviews on their site and you will see Peanut is not alone in his obsession.

Music table: We have two. He loves them both. We have the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn table and the Learn and Groove Music table. Both from Toys R Us.

Scotty Cameron Putter: Just like his daddy, Peanut already appears to loves all things golf.   I do not recommend giving a baby a putter, ofcourse.

Equipment:Bob Revolution stroller: In a previous post, I complained about the Bob Ironman stroller (still HATE it). But, since I am such a Stroller Strides fanatic (www.strollerstrides.com), I needed a good walking stroller. The Maclaren Quest is good, but Peanut would get antsy and start standing up just a few minutes into class.  I gave in and bought yet another stroller, the Bob Revolution.  We all love it.  It moves so easily, even with just one hand (something the Maclaren and the Ironman can not do).   It is comfortable for Peanut who actually sits rather than stands in it.  I take it just about everywhere.  You can fit tons of packages under the carriage.  I no longer carry a diaper bag and fit everything in the stroller itself.  My complaints: (and I can not imagine a stroller that would not warrant a few) it is heavy to get in and out of the car.  Also, it is large and, occasionally, I have some trouble in stores with it.  Overall, I am thrilled that I added the Bob Revolution to my ridiculously large stroller collection.

JJ Cole Urban Bundle Me Toddler: I get comments about this almost on a daily basis.  We keep it attached to the Bob Revolution stroller.  It is comfy and cozy for Peanut.  It is as if he is traveling in a sleeping bag.  We do not need to put him in a huge winter jacket, just a light coat and zip up the Bundle Me.  The best part is that it collects all stray toys that would have otherwise been thrown over the side of the stroller and lost.  I love that when he eats his Healthy Times Teddy Puff’s from the snack trap, the excess puffs are contained inside the Bundle Me rather than following us like a trail of bread crumbs.  For infants, I still prefer the baby polar fleece that zips on the outside of the infant car seat (see prior entry, The Buying Guide). I would not use the Bundle Me in a car seat for safety reasons.

Diaper Genie 2: We tried many diaper pails and have found this one to be the best. Easy to use and contains the stink. We first tried the Diaper Champ, but we found that it was too difficult to close.  After you put the diaper in the pail, you turn the handle to flip the diaper into the bottom. We found the handle to be extremely difficult to turn, even when the pail was empty.  There were times when I thought my husband would throw the thing out of Peanut’s 3rd story window.  Next, we used a regular garbage can.  Easy to open and economical, but we needed to take the trash out everyday, or else.  Also, for some reason, Peanut was fascinated by the plain white trash can and, if allowed to, would spend hours trying to knock it over.  The Diaper Genie 2 was our last and final pail.  You do need to buy special garbage bags, but they are easy to install and dispose of.  As long as we take the trash out every few days, there is no smell.

Everything else:California Baby Shampoo and Body Wash: No nut butters.  No parabans.  No sodium laurel sulfates.  And, smells wonderful.  No need for anything else.

Healthy Times Baby Food: This is the only jar organic baby food I have found that is not processed in a facility that also processes nuts. We used Earth’s Best for a year before I learned that they process nuts on the same equipment used to make the baby food (they do say that they clean the equipment in between).  But, knowing what I do now about food allergies, I only give Peanut Healthy Times. The flavors sound great, too (such as Aloha Mango Chicken and Pumpkin Pie).  And, Peanut seems to enjoy them. It is sold at Whole Foods, but, for the more exotic flavors, try their website, www.healthytimes.com