Schleich party

Today I had another MomSelect party, this one was for Schleich figurines.  10 kids between the ages of 5-9 were invited to our party at the nearby playground, to play games and try out Schleich figurines.  They each took home one, plus a gift bag with a pig keychain, some coloring sheets, and a brochure of Schleich products.

Schleich is a German-based company, and they have a whole world of little fantasy creatures called the Bayala line, which you can buy online or at toy stores, Target, Toys R' Us, etc.  They also have tiny farm animals, sea creatures, dinosaurs, and a series with knights and other royal figures.  Lauren's liked them ever since last year when she saw this unicorn figurine at the toy store and desperately wanted it for Christmas.



We did a little research and found out that the line was from a European-based company, so conformed to EU standards.  So while we wouldn't necessarily want her gnawing on the toys, if she did, at least we knew they would be lead-free and safer.  At her birthday she asked for a fairy figurine from the same line and thus the collection was born.

In exchange for hosting the party today, she got another figurine and we also got to keep the Shadow Rock Elf House you see above.  At the party, the Elf House had center stage and the kids played with it.

They also ran around and played games.  A favorite was hunting for the unicorn horn (a paper towel roll or toilet paper roll covered with tin foil.)

They also colored on coloring sheets, which you can print on Schleich's website here.

At the end of the party, kids were pretty tuckered out!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this blog posting, however, MomSelect and Schleich provided products for this review and for the party guests.  I have also previously bought Schleich products myself and I heartily endorse them!

Before I could post about the first one...

...she lost the second one! Two baby teeth gone in 4 days! On Saturday, we were at Nonna and Poppy's house and Lauren lost her first tooth. It had been loose for a few weeks. 3 weeks ago, Dr. Schwartz told me that her teeth would probably fall out within the next 2 weeks. I had not even noticed they were loose! Nor had Lauren, but once she knew, she kept wiggling them. When we were visiting my parents last week and in the pool, my dad reached into her mouth and took it out. It was only hanging on by a thread anyway. It didn't hurt and Lauren was very excited.

We hadn't decided whether we were observing the Tooth Fairy ritual or not, but the dentist decided for us, telling Lauren that the fairy leaves money under the pillow but *only* if the teeth are clean and have been brushed every night. Lately toothbrushing has been a nightly struggle, so anything to help ease the battles...

Anyway, Lauren left this note:

(add it later when I'm not so tired)

and in the morning, she found $1 and a brand new Hello Kitty toothbrush. A few days later, I found Lauren's tooth in my purse in a ziplock bag, so the tooth fairy must have returned it so that I could keep it in the nice little ceramic box Aunt Marguerite sent, along with the first lock of hair.

On Monday night her tooth came out while she was eating ice cream after dinner at the kitchen table. She was so excited that she immediately called Nonnon, Poppy and then Uncle Peter and then Ammy. They were all happy for her. She wrote another letter to the tooth fairy asking what she looked like. In answer, the next day under her pillow there was $1 and a beautiful vintage Victorian hand mirror with an illustration on the back of a cupid/fairy creature who, we all surmise, *must* be the tooth fairy!

Medela Party part 2: Pumping tips

As I mentioned in the previous post, I hosted a MomSelect party for Medela with some pregnant friends this week.

   I know a lot about pumping and Medela's products because I went back to work full time with my Pump in Style when Lauren was 8 weeks old.   At peak, I pumped at home in the morning before I left, then at work 2 times, and then once in the evening after Lauren fell asleep.  I went through a lot of trial and error so I learned a lot about pumping.  Here are some things I learned:

   - Morning pumping always has the most milk, and less comes out as the day goes on.  This is normal.  If at the last pump of the day, not much is coming out, fiddle with the pump's knobs to get the letdown reflex more than once and keep drinking water throughout the day.
   - You need to set aside about 15 minutes to pump, but much of that time goes to disassembling and sterlizing the pump parts.  If you use a double pump, you'll get twice as much out in the same time.  I used to use an Avent Steam sterilizer when at home (makes a great drying rack, too) and the Medela Quick-clean Micro-steam bags when at work or traveling.  Medela has since come out with some special Quickclean wipes that I can't wait to try, as they will save time in the clean-up/sterilizing phase.
   - You don't have to just use the bottles that come with the pump, you can fit many other brands on and pump directly in using the bottle the baby will drink from.  I had Dr. Brown's bottles and the narrow size fit the pump perfectly.
   - I found it easier to pump into bottles and dump the milk into the bags, because if I needed to set everything down, the pump set-up comes with little yellow plastic "feet" that the bottles stand on, so they won't tip over.  Set down the bags before they're full, and they might just spill.  You don't want that!  Also, don't overfill the bags, they might leak.  (They show the limit line on the bags, but if you have just a little extra, it's tempting to keep going...)
   -  Milk comes out better if you are fully relaxed, easier said than done!  But to help, lock the door of the room where you're pumping, so you don't have to worry about Bob from Accounting barging in. ;) And have a magazine or something mindless to do so you're not stressed while pumping.  Pictures of the baby help the letdown reflex, too.
     - When organizing the milk, put the most recent milk in back and the oldest in front.  You can label the date with a piece of masking tape on the bottle, or write directly on the bags if you're freezing them.  I kept a Sharpie in the pump bag, it was easier than pressing with a ball-point pen.
      - If for some reason the pump does not seem as effective after awhile, change out the membranes.  They are little white pieces that are only $1 each and they can wear out after awhile.  Really easy to pull them out and put new ones on, takes half a second!

   If you have any questions or suggestions for other moms, feel free to post a comment for me and I will do my best to answer.  Another great resource is Medela's webpage.

   Final tip:  If you end up having extra milk, consider donating it to a local mom in need.  Milkshare is a great resource for matching donors with recipients.  It is illegal in most states to sell breast milk, so you cannot accept money for it, but the recipient should provide you with milk storage bags, a cooler (if you are shipping the milk) and perhaps other things that you need in conjunction with pumping.

Medela party: Part 1, my breastfeeding tips

On Tuesday, Ryan took Lauren to a Dodger game (Matt Kemp bobblehead night, yay!) and I hosted a party for some of my pregnant friends. 

    This was my first MomSelect party, and it was sponsored by Medela, a company I happen to be a huge fan of, so it was right up my alley.  Medela gave me goodie bags to give the guests, which contained Breastfeeding Information Guides and:

    -  Tender care lanolin
    -  Quick clean wipes
    -  Disposable nursing bra pads
    -  Quick-clean Micro-Steam bags

    Here are some photos of us, (note, it looks like we're getting drunk but they're all mocktails!)

    With Lauren, I went back to work full time at 8 weeks and I got tons and tons of use out of my Pump in Style Advanced breast pumpMedela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump.  I had so much milk I ended up donating the extra to three other babies.  

    Here are some of my breastfeeding tips, things I was doing anyway, that I later learned increase milk supply:
    -When you are still in the hospital, have the nurses watch you feed the baby and show you how to do the correct hold. 

    - If you have a Boppy pillow (my favorite) or My Breast Friend, bring it to the hospital so you so you can practice using that too. 

    - Ask the nurses for the pumping kit from Medela, they will probably give it to you for free and then you save $56!  It has all the attachments, membranes, etc., that you need to hook up to a rented breast pump but it also works on your Medela pump at home and then if you need any of those parts, say while you are washing one set, you have extra.
    -Consider meeting with a lactation consultant while you're in the hospital and a few days after you get home, to make sure your baby has the latch down right.  If you do it while you're there, it should be covered by insurance as part of the hospital stay.
     -If it hurts when the baby nurses, get help!  Lauren had nursed so hard on my left side that I had a very painful blister, and that is when I discovered the nipple shield.  They have them in the hospital or you can buy them online, but they're not available, say at CVS, Longs, RiteAid, Albertsons, Vons, Ralphs, etc. (Yes, I did go on a desperate shopping trip one night to all of those places!)
     -Remember to drink tons and tons of water.  I went through cases of Perrier and Pellegrino, my favorites.  I was also eating lots of oatmeal because I like it, but that is supposed to boost milk production, too.  Also Mothers' Milk Tea tastes pretty good and couldn't hurt.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this blog posting, however, MomSelect and Medela provided products for this review and for the party guests.  I have also previously bought all of these products myself and I heartily endorse them!

New toy and sibling anticipation

Yesterday I bought something on Craig's List that I have been wanting for awhile.  It's a Valco Hitchhiker, which attaches to the back of a stroller so that Lauren can stand on it and get a ride.  What appealed to me about this particular brand is that it attaches to many strollers, and has a weight limit of 66 pounds.  So for example, the Bugaboo wheeled board has a weight limit of only 40 pounds and attaches only to a Bugaboo.

The nice guy who sold it to me attached it to our Maclaren  for me and showed me how to use it.  It is very easy.  The Maclaren can still fold as usual, because with 2 clicks, the board part detaches, leaving only two smalll attachment pieces that are clipped to the stroller.  I plan to put it on the back of Wrigley's Bugaboo after he's born.  But for now, will keep it on the Maclaren (which he won't use until 6 months).  Last night Lauren got so excited to try it out that we took a walk around the block in it, using one of Ryan's 25 pound free weights in the front of the stroller (it would tip over if you put extra weight on the back without a kid or weight counterbalancing in front).  She had such a good time that she didn't want to come inside, and I had to explain to her that neighbors you meet in the darkness are not as um, chatty, friendly (showered, sober??) as ones you meet in daylight, and it's good to come inside at dusk.

Lauren's startin to get excited about her brother being born, and now this is one more exciting part.  To ride on the back of his stroller like a big kid!  Tomorrow we are testing the Hitchhiker again with a trip to Farmers' Market with our friend Laurel in the front, Lauren riding on back.  If Laurel's handlers will allow it, I may post a photo.  :)

Quote from rude stranger at the store

On Tuesday, Lauren and I were shopping and this strange lady came up to us, didn't even acknowledge me, just talked to Lauren, and here is what she said:

"Wow, you are lucky you didn't get you mom's hair! Daddy must have the curls, huh? Or does your dad even have hair left?"

Just when you think you have heard everything...

Bounce house