Emergency Contact Information
Even though we rarely leave The Boy with a sitter, I felt compelled to create an Emergency Information sheet for him soon after he was born. It’s actually nice to have on hand. I keep a couple of copies with the age and weight sections blank. Then I can just fill out a new one every few months or so. This is a handy, one-sheet to have for sitters or even for yourself.
I have emergency and non-emergency numbers for poison control, fire, police, and gas and electric. I have my home address and directions on how to get to my home. This might be especially helpful for a young babysitter who might need to tell an emergency service provider how to get to your home. I have The Boy’s name, birthplace, blood type, immunizations (I just pencil in “18 months immunizations complete” or something to that effect), age, weight and known allergies.
I have various family numbers listed, along with the names and numbers of our pediatrician, eye doctor, dentist and preferred hospital. At the bottom of the page, I’ve listed our medical insurance information and a brief, signed medical release statement in the event that The Boy needs medical attention and I cannot be reached. I’m happy to say (knocking on wood) that we’ve never had to use this information. It sure is nice to have all in one place though. I do leave a copy out when we have a sitter and I usually have a copy in the diaper bag for the rare occasion that I leave him at someone else’s house.
911
Poison Control
Fire Department Non-Emergency Number
Police Department Non-Emergency Number
PG&E Emergency Number
Home Address and Phone Number:
Directions :
Full Name:
Born at:
Blood Type:
Immunizations:
Age:
Weight:
Allergies to Food:
Allergies to Medicine:
Family Numbers:
Doctor:
Dentist:
Eye Doctor:
Preferred Hospital:
Medical Insurance Information:
Medical Release Information: I authorize any hospital or emergency facility to administer emergency medical treatment for my child, , in the event that I cannot be reached.
How to Start a Family Without Breaking the Bank
In case you need more information on starting a family on a budget, check out How to Start a Family Without Breaking the Bank over at GetRichSlowly.org.
The bottom line here is that it is possible to start a family without breaking the bank. In fact, if you were to wait until you’re financially “ready” to have kids, complete with all the trappings that new parents often view as absolute necessities, you’d probably never start a family.
Baby Bargains Book
Although this might be better found at a garage sale, Baby Bargains is a good book to have along if you are embarking on the journey that is called parenting. Particularly if you are going down the single-income road or are just money-conscientious in general.
The book lists great deals and money-saving strategies for a wide variety of must-have items, from maternity wear, baby clothes, and diapers to furniture, bedding, and toys. Extensive charts allow parents to compare and contrast name-brand cribs, strollers, high chairs, child safety seats, baby monitors, and more. Now in its seventh edition, the book has been completely revised and updated to include new sections on toddler topics like potty training and booster seats;the latest news on hot strollers, including new models from Europe; new reviews on ultra-modern nursery furniture brands; extensive charts that compare and contrast name-brand cribs, strollers, high chairs, baby monitors and more; and a special section on Canada bargains, with expanded reviews on Canadian brands and discount sources.
Book Review: The Happiest Baby on the Block
A friend lent us a stack of books before The Boy was born. One of them was The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp. This turned out to be our ‘go-to’ book for all things soothing when The Boy was an infant. That tricky time between birth and 4 months old can be frustrating in terms of soothing and sleeping. For both baby and parents.
Dr. Karp describes the first 3 months of life as the 4th Trimester. Evolutionarily, he explains, babies had to be born with smaller heads in order to not cause harm to the mother at birth. This 4th Trimester, then, is a time period in which babies should be treated to situations that are as womb-like as possible. Dr. Karp of course gets into much more detail in his book. He has developed 5 steps to create a soothing experience for your baby.
The 5 S’s are: Swaddle, Swing, Sucking, Side, Shush. We found that a tight wrap, or swaddle, on The Boy really calmed him when he was fussy and helped him to sleep through the night. We swaddled him during sleep times from birth until about 6 months of age. This gives the baby that tight, warm feeling of the womb. All during gestation, your baby was gently rocked by your movements. This is where the swing comes in. We used a musical swing for nap times for the first few weeks. Most infants need to suck. Many sucked on fingers in the womb and they instinctually need to suck in order to eat after birth. Dr. Karp recommends a pacifier for soothing infants. One position that babies often feel most secure is a side hold. We would sometimes swaddle The Boy and hold him ‘football style.’ Shushing (or a white noise machine) may sound like what the baby heard in utero. We also often shushed him loudly while he was falling asleep. In our own experience the white noise machine did not work as well as mommy or daddy.
Dr. Karp writes with humor and includes some funny cartoons. There are also many anecdotes and personal stories from his own patients included in the book. It is repetitive, but I believe that this just enforces the 5 S’s and other ideas that he has put forth in the book.
If you are watching your pennies, then check this book out from the library or scour your local garage sales for a copy.
NOTE: I was excited to read The Happiest Toddler on the Block when The Boy got a little older. However, I was not as impressed as I was with the first one. It is still an interesting read, but it didn’t hit home like The Happiest Baby on the Block.
Free Diaper Bag?
As I was cleaning out The Boy’s closet this afternoon, it occurred to me that we really didn’t need to register for or buy a diaper bag. We actually own a total of five. One lives permanently in the car, the other four on the floor of The Boy’s closet. One diaper bag was lovingly knitted for us by my very talented sister, we registered and received two, and two came free from our hospital. The point of this post is to find out if your hospital gives away a free diaper bag and if it will suit your needs before going ahead and buying one.
We took a childbirth class (worth the $100 registration fee in my opinion) and received one free diaper bag there. The other one came home with us from the hospital when The Boy was born. Both free bags came with lots of free goodies, samples and information. They are both on the small side, but it would have been doable with just those two. I always over pack for every excursion anyhow. Another cool thing about the two free bags is that they both can double as a cooler bag. They are lined with easily-cleaned plastic and came with freezer ice packs.
Cool Mom Picks website
Their motto is, “We find it, you flaunt it.” Cool Mom Picks finds the coolest things on the internet for moms (and dads and kids too). There is a daily post with two or three Cool Mom Picks. Or you can check out the archives for picks by topic or month. My favorite is Maternitywear That Doesn’t Suck and Reads (cool new books out there). There even a category with cool stuff for dads with great Father’s Day ideas.
*Note: Most of these cool things are not cheap. I like to look at them for ideas (clipping a baby blanket to the stroller so it doesn’t get kicked off) and I like to read about the new books and then request them from the library.
Is Your Family Ready for a Natural Disaster?
After reading about Momergency Kits over at ParentHacks.com, I thought I should detail what the modern parent can do to prepare for real emergencies. Although googly eyes can be very important in certain situations, being prepared for all kinds of emergencies is another step towards sleeping easily at night.
Being prepared for a disaster is nothing to sneeze at. We’ve seen so much media coverage of major disasters in the past few years. It is time to think about being prepared for the possibility of losing water or electricity for several days. I am a worrier. Having a 5-day disaster supply kit eases my mind a bit. At least in the “being prepared for a disaster” area.
There are many emergency preparedness websites out there. The Red Cross has an emergency supply list and there are dozens of 72-hour kit websites. My favorite, though, is from the East Bay Municipal Utility District. With this guide, you can assemble a 3-7 day disaster supply kit over a period of 6 months without going bankrupt.
The guide is broken down into 24 weeks; you collect all of your supplies and them rotate them over a six-month period. Each week there is a short shopping list for the grocery store, hardware store or first-aid supplies. You purchase and gather your supplies little by little and at the end of 6 months, you should have a comprehensive collection of food, tools, water and other emergency supplies.
Storing these supplies does take up room. Consider your storage area before beginning the buying process. Our supplies take up a 32-gallon garbage can (with wheels) and a cupboard that is about 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall by 18 inches deep. The water is, in my opinion, the most important supply to have on hand and it definitely takes up the most room. We also don’t keep many of the suggested tools and clothing in our specific emergency supply area. I keep a text document with the supplies that notes where certain tools and clothing can be found in the garage and the house.
Some of these supplies can be stored indefinitely (toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrush, etc.), while others should be used and replaced every 6-12 months. At the bottom of the above plan, there is a handy chart noting the typical shelf-life of your supplies. I have another handy word document that lists when I need to replace food items in my supply cupboard. I also label each box or can with the month and year that it was purchased.
Along with your ’shopping list,’ there is a short ‘to do’ list for each week. This has suggestions
such as “Have a fire drill at home” and “Make photocopies of important papers and store safely.” There are also reminders such as checking and changing smoke alarm batteries.
In our emergency supply bin (e.s.b. as I like to call it), we have also placed copies of the kids’ immunization records and birth certificates and a list of phone numbers, out-of-state contacts, pet information, and some financial numbers (phone number of credit card companies, bank phone number, etc.) These documents are handy and could easily be tossed in the car if the emergency was such that we needed to leave the house and property immediately. The e.s.b. is on wheels and could (probably in a burst of adrenaline) be lifted into the trunk of the car.
I rest a little easier at night, knowing that our family has taken steps toward emergency preparedness.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Website
The Consumer Product Safety Commission website is a good site to check out once a month or so. Or whenever you are cleaning out your bookmarks. I came across it again the other day and made a mental note to check it out more often. It contains recall and safety information that may affect your family. For example: “Mervyns Recalls Children’s Capri Pants Due to Choking Hazard.” Apparently, the button may fall off and cause a child to choke, should they put it in their mouth. It is not actually the pants that are a choking hazard. Although, I suppose it might be hazardous to put a pair of capri pants in your mouth.
Baby Name Website
To check out really cool graphs of every baby name you can think of, go to Baby Name Wizard
Pregnancy Guide Online
As if you didn’t have enough to obsess about while trying to determine if becoming a single-income family is right for you, you can find tons of info at the Stork Net Pregnancy Calendar. Assuming you are pregnant or are planning to be, you can check out the week-by-week guide for your pregnancy at StorkNet.
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