As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, Tuesday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the largest ever crib recall.
Over 2 million Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. cribs made from 1993 to October 2009 were recalled, including about 147,000 with a Fischer Price logo.
These cribs were recalled due to the plastic hardware on the drop side cribs can break, deform or parts can become missing. This has lead to over 100 incidents including 4 infant deaths.
When one of these plastic hinges breaks, it causes a gap between the mattress and the railing. Infants have been getting stuck in the gap, and either getting injured or in the most extreme cases, dying.
Stork Craft representatives have been interviewed and are standing by their product claiming they are safe.
I beg to differ. When children are dying and their safety is in question, I would not dub that product safe!
I have one of these recalled cribs, as do most parents I would assume. I tried to get through to the 877 number provided to order a repair kit, I could not get through. I tried to get on the Stork Craft website, but could not get on.
This is due to the fact that this is a worldwide recall I’m sure… but what am I left to do? It is advised that you stop using these cribs immediately, until you get the repair kit.
Call me paranoid, but I’m going out and getting a new crib – that is not a Stork Craft product!
This is the second recall in the last 6 months and I’m just not willing to take the chance with my son. Better safe than sorry I’d say!
Note: Here are a few links to resources about the StorkCraft Crib Recall:
Health Canada’s Offical Recall Notice
CBS News Reports of the StorkCraft Recall
CBC News Reporting StorkCraft Website is Down
This is a statement for StorkCraft:
“In the majority of incidents, the cribs were being used with broken parts, parts with pieces missing, parts that were damaged or with modified or homemade parts,” the firm said in a statement.
“In some incidents, the crib was in a state of significant disrepair. In other cases, the consumer had installed the drop-side rail upside down — contrary to the instructions that are glued to the mattress base of each crib. This causes extraordinary stress on the plastic parts that could result in breakage.”
Lame. Lame. Lame.
Parents be very aware that your child is potentially in danger and either secure or get rid of your StorkCraft crib today!
The big U.S. holiday – Black Friday – is coming up, and I wanted to take this opportunity to explain what it is and discuss how I feel about it.
First, the day isn’t technically a holiday, however, most employees (minus retailers and bankers) get the day off to boost up the number of shoppers on that day.
It falls on the day after American Thanksgiving (the third Thursday in November) and has been a recognizable term since the 1960s.
The day is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season, and stores typically decorate weeks in advance.
Some stores open at 5am just to get a jump on the day, and some bigger retailers including Sears and Best Buy have been known to open at midnight.
My thoughts on this “holiday”? I can’t believe, first of all, that people get the day off work to shop! That’s just crazy to me.
Also, I remember seeing on the news last year cases of a few people who died because they were trampled by the masses of people trying to get into stores. The one I remember clearly was a case at Wal Mart.
This is absurd, uncalled for and ridiculous if you ask me, and for that reason alone I wouldn’t participate in the day.
But, to each their own!
I think every mother worries at least a little bit about getting their wee one vaccinated. We worry about the quick pain they’ll feel when the needle is inserted, we worry about how they’re going to react after, and most of all we worry that they’re feeling scared and in pain.
There’s not much we can do to avoid these worries, other than not have your child vaccinated, but I don’t personally think that’s the way to go.
I learned a couple of tricks along the way that I’d like to share, now that I’ve successfully lived through the 2, 4 and 6 month shots!
We probably worry too much about this topic, but it’s not fun watching your child cry. I hope these tips come in handy!
If you’re anything like me, you want to take pictures of all your memories, and then display them in a nice way for everyone to see.
I like the idea of scrap booking as you can add your own personal flair to the pictures with embellishments, mementos and your own words.
I am currently starting to get myself geared up to start scrap booking my sons life up until now. Although it’s only 6 months so far, which doesn’t seem like much, we have collected A LOT of pictures of the little man in that time.
Here are some tips that I’ve learned from scrap booking in the past that may help you get your mind around how to do this for yourself.
1. Identify a theme of the scrapbook you want to create. Example: My son’s first year
2. Gather all the pictures you have on that topic
3. Organize the photos how you would like. Example: chronological order (first month, second month, etc), groups (pictures with mom, pictures with dad, etc.)
4. Go through each group you’ve created and select only the pictures you would like to use, being a little ruthless as you don’t want to have millions of photos in your scrapbook. They’ll end up looking repetitive if you do.
5. Gather any mementos you may want to use. Example: excerpts from my journal of certain moments
6. Gather embellishments to make your pages come to life and add a certain “professional” look.
7. Figure out a layout you would like to use. You don’t have to use the same layout for each page, but they should flow nicely from page to page.
8. Lastly, put them all together!
Keep in mind that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on this to make it look great. I have found a lot of great scrap booking supplies at the dollar store.
This can seem like a daunting task when you first start out, but the result is a great collection of your memories that everyone in your family can look back on forever!
Some parents luck out with a baby who learns to sleep all on their own right through the night early on. Other parents aren’t so lucky, and have to teach their child this skill.
If you don’t you’re really doing your child a disservice as well as yourself. You need your sleep to be able to properly take care of your bundle, and they need their sleep to tackle all the learning and growing they have on their plate!
I have been one of the luckier ones; fortunately, Jaxson has been sleeping through the night since he was about 8 weeks old. I do have a few mommy friends though, who are currently struggling with this issue.
My friend’s 4-month-old wakes up almost every hour throughout the night. He’s not necessarily hungry, but has gotten used to having the constant comfort of having her by his side.
But he has come to the age where it’s time to settle in his crib, and she is using the “Ferber” method to help. This involves picking a bed time and sticking with it.
When the child starts crying…and they will!… you have to let them cry it out on their own. The method tells you to let them cry for 5 minutes. Then you can go into their room and console them – without picking them up. Only stay a short time, even if your baby is still crying.
Leave the room for 10 minutes this time before you go back into console. Then wait 15 minutes, and set that as the maximum for the rest of the night.
The next night you extend those wait periods to begin at 15 minutes and carry on to 20 and 25 minutes.
It is normal for babies to take a while to get used to falling asleep on their own because up until this point they are used to the constant comfort of mommy. But in the end this is the best for your little one because learning to fall asleep independently will teach them to self soothe.
Don’t worry, they’ll never not need you… it is good for them to be able to depend on themselves as well!
Good luck!!
I think the time has come where my son is ready, and in need of, the introduction of solids to his diet.
For the last two nights he has woken up in the middle of the night (not normal for him. He’s been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old), and he is hungry! So I’ve done my research and here is what I have learned about how to get started on this new phase of his little life!
In addition to his regular formula feedings (5-6 feedings a day) I am going to start spoon feeding him a tablespoon of rice cereal mixed with 5-6 teaspoons of formula in the morning, about an hour after his first feeding, as well as in the evening to try to help fill him up for the night.
At first I am going to water it down a lot in since up until this point he is only used to drinking! I’ve also learned that the rice cereal can be fairly bland, so if he doesnt take to it in the next few days there is also oatmeal based cereal and wheat that I can try.
He turns 6 months next weekend, which is the recommended time to wait to introduce solids these days as Doctors say that is when the kidney function is up to par to be able to handle it.
Once he’s had his 6 month shots and I’ve consulted with my family doctor I’m going to start introducing water and pureed fruits and veggies to him as well!
I know everyone says this about babies, and it is really true… they grow up so fast!
If you’re breast feeding your child
, I think you’ll agree when I say this has to be one of the hardest things about being a new mom.
When Jaxson was a newborn I remember the only thing I really found difficult about caring for him, besides the major sleep deprivation, was trying to breast feed him. The challenges never seemed to end.
At the very beginning it was a challenge because all he seemed to do was eat, and for hours on end, because my milk hadn’t come in. And it didn’t come in for almost two weeks!
Once that problem was solved I had an issue with how much milk I was producing – not enough. I’ve never experienced the let-down sensation or ever had a problem with leaking or having to pump if I’ve gone too long between feedings.
Before you break out the jealousy cries, I have to say I’d rather have to wear pads in my bra than have a non-stop screaming baby because I can’t feed him enough. It was tough.
To fix this problem my doctor prescribed Domperidone to increase my milk supply.
So, by the time I got a regular schedule worked out, and I was producing enough milk, my boy was growing so healthily and quickly that he just needed more milk than I could give him by the end of the day. (I didn’t even have enough milk to pump during the day to give him that instead of formula)
This started the supplementing with formula stage, which quickly began a long weaning process.
I started my weaning by replacing Jaxson’s last nursed feeding with an 8 ounce bottle of formula. This quickly became his last two feedings when my milk supply dropped off considerably by the end of the day.
As of now I nurse him for his first two to three feedings of the day and the rest (3-4 feedings) are formula.
He’s almost 6 months old now, and I had planned on stopping the nursing by about now anyhow, but I’m getting a little emotional about it as I love our first thing in the morning cuddles in bed while I feed him. For all the trouble breast feeding has seemed to be, that I will definitely miss!
As a new mom I am quickly learning that infants go through a lot of different stages in their little lives, and each new phase is an adventure! These phases generally start with very fussy days until you figure out what your baby needs.
Currently my 5-½ month old, Jaxson, is changing his sleeping habits, starting to teeth and being weaned off breast-feeding, and it is not making for a happy camper! I’ll clue you into little hints that I’ve come to learn for myself.
It seems sleeping habits change frequently, around every 2-3 weeks. My son was taking a 15-20 minute nap at around 6:30pm and then going to sleep at 9pm, but now it seems he has decided to forego his nap and head straight to bed at 8pm. I believe this is because the seasons are changing and so it’s getting darker earlier.
The first few days I tried making him take his late nap and then keep him up until his regular 9pm bedtime. I found this just had me dealing with a very cranky baby for that last hour and a half before bed.
Mommy’s Tip: Let them sleep when they’re tired and then deal with whatever that means for later in the night/morning. The faster you learn this the easier their transition into the new phase will be – for both of you! I’ve been trying to hold onto some semblance of a schedule since he was born, and I’m realizing it’s just not up to me anymore!
Jaxson has been showing signs of teething for almost two months now, the incessant drooling, sticking everything he can get his hands on into his mouth, and rubbing his gums a lot. So far, no teeth and a sometimes very upset little man.
Mommy’s Tip: Teething rings or pacifiers that you store in the fridge come in handy to help soothe their sore gums. Gripe water helps take the edge off for this and several other annoyances such as hiccups and upset tummy. And finally rub their gums with your finger or knuckle, Jax LOVES this!
Some Mom’s won’t notice much fussiness during this time, but other “lucky” mom’s (like me!) can use all the help they can get!
Weaning off the breast milk hasn’t been too much of a chore. I’ve been taking away one feeding about every two weeks, and substituting it with a bottle of formula.
The only thing I’ve noticed to be a challenge is my son likes to snack, and it’s not so easy to quickly prepare a small bottle, which he’ll eat about an ounce of, as it is to just feed him your self.
Waiting for that bottle to warm up can seem like the longest 2 minutes of your life!
