Announcements

What do you call it when you put someone’s head in the toilet? Well that’s what Scarlett (13 months) was doing to her baby doll when I walked into the bathroom this morning. Bad supervision! Bad mommy!

If you have preschoolers or pre-preschoolers, you probably already know about SavvySource as the best place to do some research and find preschool reviews. Well, now it’s also one of the best places to find out what to do with your 2-6 year old when they’re not in school.

SavvySource just launched the Being Savvy City Sites as an amazing reference for parents in 20 different metro areas. We have been furtively and feverishly writing for Being Savvy: East Bay at eastbay.savvysource.com. Please have a read or just stop by when you need fresh ideas for fun stuff to do.

Here are some of our favorite recent posts, but there’s already more than a dozen to list, so go see for yourself. Have a click, get comfortable, and make an action plan:

99 things you must do in the East Bay before your child grows up
Discovering the wilderness of the urban jungle
How to cultivate the tiniest green thumb in Berkeley

… and many many (many!) more. If you don’t live in the East Bay, there are 19 other blogger city experts covering other areas around the country.

Thankfully I have bypassed the phase of new motherhood where all I can think about are my nipples. I mean, seriously people, what’s up with the “it doesn’t hurt if you are doing it right” myth about nursing?! It’s crap. It hurts. It does! For my first kid, it was excruciating for about 5 weeks. I know that was on the extreme side, but I had a really bad time with it. Like a trooper, or perhaps a fearful Berkeley mother who didn’t believe that bottle feeding was an option, I marched onward and breastfed my son for 15 months. With Baby Sis, I was prepared for the pain. It lasted a few days and it did not crush my spirit, for I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel. A light whereby my baby’s food supply is always ready, heated, and sanitary. And I like that. So onward I went and have logged almost 11 months of using my nipples as milk dispensers. If you told me about this 10 years ago, I would not have believed any of it, by the way.

So before #2 arrived, I bought myself every cream and soothing device available to (wo)man so that I would be prepared for the painful break-in period. Including Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream, which today, I am told by Amazon.com, has been recalled. “The product contains potentially harmful ingredients that may cause respiratory distress or vomiting and diarrhea in infants.” You must be kidding.

Anyone else wanting their money back??

On Saturday, from 10am to 3pm, we’ll be (wo)manning the Rookie Mom’s Table at the Birth and Baby Fair at Fort Mason. Come on out and see us!

Saturday, May 24th • 10am to 3pm
Fort Mason Conference Center
99 Marina Blvd • San Francisco, CA 94123

• Decorate a Onesie at our Onesie-of-a-kind area (is a corner of a table really a station?)
• Buy our books — We’ll have a few dozen to sell and autograph with a special trade show price.
• Just say “hi” if you’ve ever read our site!

There’s also other way cool stuff to see and do and buy if you’re expecting a baby like get maternity clothes at a discount, visit tables with unbelievably cute mom-preneur inventions and clothes, and learn from experts about birthing options. More details here at birthandbabyfair.com.

Tomorrow we’re having a party to celebrate our book and we want to invite all you rookie mamas. Realistically, we’ll just expect those of you who live in the Bay Area to show up.

The details:

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
11:00am - 12:30pm

Studio Grow
1035 10th Street at Gilman
Berkeley, CA
510.526.9888

Here’s what will be happening:

At this fun-filled event, Heather and Whitney will offer tips for first-time moms on how to maintain your individuality and boost your confidence with the new baby in your life. Meet other new moms and participate in fun activities that will inspire you to discover baby-friendly destinations and adventures.

FUN ACTIVITIES FOR YOU AND BABY, INCLUDING

• Babywearing session: 5-10 different carriers will be available for moms to try on. Sponsored by Waddle and Swaddle
• Baby Portrait Station: Your newborn cutie can get their photo snapped by a professional photographer, Jen Molander
• Onesie-of-a-kind Decorating Station: We supply the materials, you leave with a cute new top for your baby
• Raffle for baby items, including
  • $25 Studio Grow “Green Card” for a family’s admission to Studio Grow
  • An autographed copy of Rookie Mom’s Handbook (with many more on sale!)
  • Mommy Organizer
  • Moby Wrap
  • A Lucky Brand Baby outfit worth $100.00!

Immediately following the event, Studio Grow will be hosting Baby Grow, their weekly drop-in parent discussion group for parents of children 0-12 months. Group is facilitated by Judy Alley, a pediatric social worker.

Click over to Mama Knows Breast to enter to win our book!

The other day a reporter contacted us, having read our web site, and said that she was doing a story on the use of high-tech toys and gadgets with babies and toddlers. At this point, it tickles me to think that a product like the LeapFrog Learning Table is high-tech, because what plastic living room fixture doesn’t have lights and music these days? But to the moms of yesteryore, of course it is high-tech. Anyhow, she thought that we would have something to say about this topic.

Neither of us thought we had much interesting to say, but we want to stand up and represent for anyone who might feel the same way — moderate. We both let our kids play with toys that are electronic, toys that are not electronic, and toys that are not toys, for example sticks and salad bowls. We also have exposed them to the computer, to our iPods, and of course to cell phones and digital cameras.

I think this was pretty well captured in the article and I have only two corrections to make.

1- To correct the claim that Holden’s favorite activity is using the Internet. I don’t live with Holden, but from what I know, his favorite activities are talking, vehicle play, music, and napping.
2- The LeapPad learning system does not go online as stated in the article.

After we met the reporter at a cafe where she interviewed us about our kids and their use of technology, a photographer snapped a bunch of photos - and the one of Scarlett that appeared in the paper is darn cute if I do say so myself.

Read the article and let us know if we sound like jackasses. (That’s what Heather would say anyhow, and she’s at work and cannot blog right now.)

I had to drive all over town to find this paper, as it’s for the county next to us, and it just really got me thinking about how ironic it was that we are used to being all over the Internet, but to be in the printed paper was a treat.

I just ran across this most excellent roundup of rockin’ kid and parent venues in San Francisco in the Chronicle: Rockin’ with Kids.

Forgive me if some of the info is outdated, I was in the midst of my newborn-haze when it originally ran.

Local families, Nest is hosting a shopping event for baby gear at Studio Grow.

Shop the latest baby and childrens collections from over 20 local designers while your little ones romp through the play rooms at Studio Grow.

I’m a fan of Studio Grow on a good day already, so if I just had some extra money for cute stuff, this event would be perfect.