Babysitter

Recently I asked A what he would like to do for Valentine's Day. He replied that since J goes to bed around the same time nowadays and pretty much sleeps until at least 1:30 am, we should get a babysitter and go out to dinner.

My immediate reaction was "BABYSITTER?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!".

Just the thought of leaving J with a total stranger, even though J's sleeping and the babysitter probably wouldn't have to do anything, makes me nervous. The word "babysitter" brings to mind an immature, irresponsible teenager whose only experience with an infant is helping her mom take care of her baby brother and even then was only interested in the fun parts. I know this is wrong for many reasons: (1 ) not all teenagers are immature or irresponsible. I'm sure there are many capable of caring for an infant, and (2) not all babysitters are teenagers. I haven't done the research, but I'm sure there are adults looking to make a few extra dollars. They just probably charge more than your neighborhood teenager.

I know I'll have to eventually entrust Jacob to a babysitter because A and I can't not have a date night until J's a teenager and can be home alone. So what to do about Valentine's Day this year since I'm not ready to find a sitter?

Noises

Yesterday, A & I noticed that J was grunting more than cooing. It's almost as if he's making a BM - holding his breath, face turning red. But we don't think it's anything to worry about. We think he's just exploring the different sounds he can make…so cute!

I posted some pictures on Facebook (don't need an account to view them) of J from his first six months.

Soo cute!

Baby's First Audition from alex on Vimeo.

To feed or not to feed

A & I are butting heads about whether or not to continue feeding J when he wakes up in the middle of the night (he slept through the night on Sat & Sun, but hasn't done so since). I've read online that at the 6-month mark (which Jacob is 2 days away from), babies can fast for 12 hours, so when he wakes in the middle of the night, he's not really hungry (WhatToExpect.com).

It may sound harsh, but I am a proponent of the Ferber (aka "cry-it-out) method (see also WhatToExpect.com), though I may not adhere strictly to it. During the day, I wait until Jacob seems tired (rubbing eyes, irritable, yawning, droopy eyes…). Before I put him in his crib, I change his diaper if necessary. Then I tuck him in and kiss him before leaving (even while he's still awake). I usually let him cry for 10 min before I go back in to re-tuck him and kiss him again. I would then wait another 10 min before repeating the process. Usually, I don't have to go back in a second time.

Our usual evening routine is solids at 5:30pm, bath at 7:00pm, and bottle/sleep at 7:30pm. The last two nights, he hasn't fallen asleep right away. Two nights ago, he must have cried for at least an hour before falling asleep (with Alan & I checking in on him every 10-15 min).

The first time he woke in the middle of the night, I was going to let him cry it out, but then A got to him, changed him, and fed him. The second time J woke in the middle of the night, I got to him within 5 min and changed his diaper. After 10 min of crying, J fell back asleep but then re-awoke when A went to make sure he was tucked in. After 5 min of crying, A decided to feed him.

I believe that the Ferber method will help J to learn to self-soothe and help J (and us) avoid sleep problems in the future. Do we really want to have our sleep disrupted for much longer? I don't think it's good for J either. I think the disruption at night also affects him during the day.

Maybe I'm over-reacting about the development of sleep problems. So what if J wants to eat in the middle of the night right now? He goes through these short spurts of sleeping through the time. We've had two of them so far. Maybe J will naturally start to sleep through the night when he is ready and who am I to force him into it? Or maybe I need to push him because sometimes I know what's better for him than he does.

Just bought the cutest winter snow bunting from REI. Apparently "bunting" is another word for an infant's sleeping bag. It was listed on Columbia's website for $72, but on REI at $60 regularly...why the price difference? Anyways, it went on sale for $45, so we got it using A's REI rewards - for free! Yay!

Extreme couponing

I admit it - right before I gave birth to Jacob, I got on this crazy coupon clipping/printing phase, trying to get things for free or close to free. Here is just one example. Granted, I didn't come up with all of these deals myself. I'd like to thank CommonSenseWithMoney.com. Anyways, I was browsing my Google Reader today and came across this article on a new series coming to TLC - Extreme Couponing. I watched the clip below & was muy impressed! Alan scoffed at my couponing sometimes, but what if our grocery bills would only be $6 for $200 worth of groceries? Though I don't know how big a deal we could get at Lotte Plaza - Asian Market ;).

Starbucks is turning 40

Starbucks is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. To celebrate, they are unveiling a new logo. The logo will only be the Siren (lady in the middle of the current logo, if you hadn't noticed) but instead of being white on a black background, she'll be on a green background. The green ring around the Siren, which reads "Starbucks Coffee", will also be removed.


I definitely don't care for the 1971 logo - it was way too complicated for a coffee cup. The Siren just got streamlined between 1987 and 1992, which I liked. Now they are planning to simplify the logo even more, leaving out the "Starbucks Coffee".

After reading some comments on Starbucks.com/Preview, I can see why Starbucks may have made this decision. Someone mentioned that Apple Computer, Inc. changed to Apple Inc. in 2007 (though its logo has remained the apple with a bite taken out of it - interestingly enough, to distinguish it from a cherry). The company dropped "Computer" because they were expanding to other consumer products, in addition to computers. McDonald's also had their name in their logo (amidst the golden arches) from 1968 to 2003. Now, they are just the golden arches. So maybe Starbucks is dropping their name because they feel that the Siren is a recognizable brand. Maybe they're expanding to more than just coffee.

Wikipedia mentions that Starbucks won a trademark infringement case in China because Shanghai Xingbake used a green-and-white logo, and "Xing-ba-ke" sounds phonetically a lot like Starbucks. So maybe Starbucks is dropping their name so that their logo can't be "parodied" or "infringed" upon as much.

But man, are people HATING this new logo. I just read online that Gap had a new logo up on its website back in Oct. 2010 - it was pretty hideous, but I didn't see it when it came out - but it got such backlash on Facebook that the company went back to its old logo. Will this happen to Starbucks too? Or will Starbucks stand firm on its decision?

Zumba

For the record, Zumba is harder than it looks. Glad I'm not doing a class with other people - just embarrassing myself in the privacy of my own home.

Starting solids

While I was pregnant, and then also while I was pumping, I had a lot of time to read What to Expect the First Year. But now that J is taking formula, I'm either working, taking care of him/household, or sleeping, and haven't read much. Now that we've introduced some solids (rice cereal, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes), I wanted to make sure we were doing it "right". Meaning we weren't forcing Jacob into it and also weren't triggering food allergies.

Well, I finally got around to reading the Fifth Month chapter in the book where they talk about starting solids. I have to say that I'm disappointed in myself for introducing solids without reading this chapter. I don't think that J has had any adverse reaction to the foods we've given him, but we should have started off slower and introduced each food one at a time, each for a period of several days. Also, we should have started off with carrots and sweet potatoes, and then peas (since some kids can be allergic to peas, and peas have a stronger flavor which some kids reject at first). But like I said, J has been slopping up the 3 foods we've given him, with no adverse reaction. Reactions like gassiness, diarrhea, or mucus in the stool, to vomiting and rashes. Other symptoms include a runny nose, watery eyes, wheezing that doesn't seem to be due to a cold, and unusual wakefulness or crankiness — day or night. J does have a runny nose but that started before we gave him any veggies. If we notice these things, we should wait a week & try again. If after a few times, we notice the same reaction, J's probably got a sensitivity or allergy to the food & we should wait a few months before trying the food again.

So, we're going to stick with the sweet potatoes for a week & see what happens. If all is good, then we'll move to carrots and other yellow or orange vegetables. We can then go back to peas, string beans and other green vegetables. And then comes fruit (bananas, baby apple sauce, pears, but no citrus fruit until 1 year). Also, we should hold off on wheat, strawberries, and tomatoes until he's 1 year old. I think I read that nuts shouldn't be given until 5 years old.

Minced meat (chicken, lamb, turkey, or beef), mashed egg yolk (no whites), and avocado can be introduced at 7 or 8 months (and to think, I almost gave J avocado now! Eeeek!). By 9 months, we can give J  whole-milk yogurt, cheese, pasta, beans, and tofu (a Chinese favorite!). Between 9 and 12 months, J will perfect his pincer grasp (though he pinches with all of his fingers now...mostly on the neck of the person who is holding him!), he can have finger foods that he can easily gum to a paste (since not all his teeth have sprouted).