Stripping and drying cloth diapers

Here are two small notes about cloth diaper up-keep.

Stripping cloth diapers
If you notice your child's cloth diapers are starting to become less absorbent and you can't figure out why, it may be time to strip them. I've discovered that our cloth diapers need stripping approximately once every three months. Even though we use a gentle detergent and generally treat them nicely (as nicely as anyone can treat a diaper), residue build up happens.

There are lots of suggestions out there about the right way to strip a diaper, but I decided to the follow the routine suggested on the Cotton Babies blog because 1) that's the parent company that makes Bum Genius diapers, our diapers of choice and 2) the instructions are pretty simple.

To strip cloth diapers:
1) Wash the diapers as you would normally. For us this means one cold pre-wash cycle (i.e. soaking) followed by one hot cycle using detergent.

2) Keep the diapers in the washer, and add one tablespoon of original blue Dawn dishwashing liquid for a hot cycle plus a hot rinse.

3) Run one more hot rinse cycle.

I love the way the diapers come out of the wash with a subtle Dawn smell. I immediately notice a change in absorbency after stripping the diapers.

Solution for drying diapers
We've been drying our child's diapers on a traditional wooden drying rack, but last weekend during a trip to IKEA I decided to purchase this space-saving solution: the Pressa drying rack.

This novel little gadget has 8 arms, like an octopus, and there are 16 clips total hanging from the arms. For our needs this a perfect mechanism for drying diaper shells because we find ourselves typically washing 16-18 diapers at a time. Because our laundry room is on the bottom floor and our bedrooms are two floors above, the Pressa makes it easier to carry the dry diapers upstairs all at once while also holding our toddler who can't manage walking the stairs without assistance.

Although the arms of the Pressa theoretically fold up for easy storage, my one complaint is that the arms don't actually stay in place when folded. This isn't a big deal for us, but it does seem like a design flaw. At $4.99, though, I'd say it's OK.

Doodle.com: Organize your friends

Doodle.com is a website I wish I had thought of creating myself. It satisfies the conundrum most of us face when trying to rally our friends together for a social event: how do I find a time when everyone is free? As the event organizer, you can create a poll, send it to your friends, and immediately see if and when everyone is available.

Here are the reasons I love Doodle:
1) It's free.
If it were not free, I wouldn't use it.

2) It's super easy to set up a poll as an event organizer.
It has taken me approximately 3 minutes to set up polls, about as long as it might take to send an email requesting the same information.

3) Poll respondents do not have to create a Doodle account to answer your poll.
I think this helps guarantee most, if not all, guests will reply.

4) There are lots of poll options. 
 I haven't experimented with all these yet, as the default poll settings generally have worked well for me so far, but I appreciate options such as, "Ifneedbe," another choice respondents can select in addition to the traditional "yes/no." The "Ifneedbe" option is apparently the only way a group of my girlfriends and I could find a weekend when all of us are available for a trip.

5) The poll tallies for the event organizer exactly who is free when and encourages more democratic scheduling.
I sometimes find that trying to schedule a group event via email can lead to scheduling bias. Because I don't have the raw numbers (compiled by a computer) starring me in the face, I might unintentionally choose a date that is not actually the most convenient one for the greatest number of people. There's something about seeing the unfiltered scheduling results on Doodle that makes me feel a little more democratic.

6) People respond to Doodle polls quickly.
The few Doodle polls I've administered get 100% participation usually within a few hours. This is way different from email, which I feel like people open, mean to respond to, don't respond to immediately, and therefore ultimately forget to respond to at all. There's some interesting psychology behind this one, no doubt, and here's my personal theory. To make an analogy, email is like an essay test, and Doddle is like a multiple choice test -- people just think multiple choice is easier, so they do it first. If you want fast results, use Doodle.

I haven't been this excited about an online tool in a long time. Enjoy!

My body, 15 months later

Disclaimer: This is a totally vain post. Just thought I should point that out.

I could have titled this post, "My body, 12 months later" because the information is the same now as it was several months ago, but obviously I do not keep up with blogging the way I used to, so this will suffice.

Nearly a decade ago, long before I had any remote desire to have a child, I remember finding myself in a doctor's waiting room, thumbing through a random magazine which contained a large photo of a woman with all kinds of arrows pointing to all her various body parts, showing how her body would never be the same once she got pregnant and had a baby. Her feet would permanently swell, going up at least one shoe size. Her stretch marks would be there for life. Her weight would increase at least 5 pounds for every baby she had. The information in this magazine was probably loosely based on some scientific research, but even if it was entirely made up, it was enough to convince me I didn't want a baby any time soon.

So, in case you haven't been through the pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding experiences, I thought I'd share my story about how those experiences affected (or didn't affect) my body to offer you some glimmer of hope that you too can get your old body (mostly) back after you go through these events.

The short answer to, "How has my body changed?" is: Not much. I got back to my pre-baby weight within 12 days, thanks to breastfeeding, genetics, and the fact that I gained a healthy amount of weight slowly during pregnancy. I also avoided stretch marks, probably thanks again mostly to genetics and healthy weight gain. My feet did not grow, so those four pairs of shoes I bought while pregnant still fit perfectly.

Here, though, are some less awesome noteworthy details:

1) Although my weight was back to normal super quickly, I retained extra fat on my stomach until I stopped breastfeeding.

This makes sense, given the fact that a breastfeeding mother's body needs to hold on to fat deposits gained during pregnancy in order to help sustain the baby. So, I stopped breastfeeding Natalie when she was 10.5 months old, and by the time her first birthday rolled around my stomach was as flat as it was pre-pregnancy. No one had told me that they got their stomach back when they stopped breastfeeding, but I have a feeling I am not alone in this experience.

2) It turns out I grew a lot of extra hair on my head that then fell out postpartum and is now growing back.

I have these new "wings" of "baby hair" especially noticeable (to me) on either side of my head. These wings of new hair just sprouted in the past few months. Thanks in part to the insanely curly nature of my hair, I didn't realize while pregnant that my hair was in fact getting thicker. Then I didn't realize I was losing more hair postpartum. Now, though, the evidence is pretty obvious, especially when I pull my hair back (which is why I'm trying to keep my hair down as much as possible).

3) My c-section scar is significantly less noticeable now, but it's only just beginning to get back to normal.

Prior to my c-section, I'd never had any kind of surgery. I'd never even had stitches. Having this huge red, bulging scar ripping across my lower abdominal region was making me pretty upset. Plus, my scarred region would hurt when I would lean over Natalie's crib or sometimes even when the air pressure would change. Now the pain is virtually gone (though when the weather changes I sometimes feel a twinge of discomfort) and the scar itself is closer to the color of the rest of my skin and it is hardly raised. No doubt this is just part of the natural healing process, but I also started applying BioOil to my scar around the 6-month-postpartum mark. I wish I had thought of this way sooner, but I'm glad I started using it regardless because I think it did speed up the healing process.

4) My boobs are smaller.

I didn't think this was possible, but it happened. After I stopped breastfeeding, my boobs didn't just get smaller compared to how they were while I was breastfeeding (they were fabulous, thank you very much). They became smaller than they were before I got pregnant. I had vaguely heard  from some other women that this could happen. And it did. Whatever. Twelve-year-old me would be upset, but after a year and a half spent as a temporarily well-endowed woman thanks to pregnancy and breastfeeding, I can at least say life is easier with smaller boobs.

That's it. Really. Not that bad. I knew pregnancy and childbirth and breastfeeding would mean a lot of sacrifice of my own body, and I was willing to do it, but I'm happy to say it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Dreams for my daughter

There's no good way to start a post like this, so I'll just say it: our friend Megan passed away on March 21 and life is not the same. We first heard about Megan's diagnosis with stage IV stomach cancer last July while we were on vacation in New York on that ill-fated trip. There were no words then and there really are no words now. What I can say, though, is that in the face of death I think a lot about life. Knowing Megan's attitude and personality, I think that's what she would want her broad circle of friends and family to do.

I think about looking out at the women who surrounded me at my baby shower in November 2011 and seeing Megan standing there. What I wanted to say to everyone there (but couldn't quite get out) is how fortunate I am to be surrounded by so many strong, successful women, and how I am so glad that Natalie will have such a powerful circle of women surrounding her, teaching her how to be strong and confident and smart and funny. Megan isn't physically present in that circle now, but there are lessons I take from Megan's personality and her life that I hope I can help Natalie embrace as she grows older.

Find balance in your life.
Work hard, but not too much. Read things that are serious but also things that are silly. Eat healthy, but let yourself have the cupcake you earned. Value solitude as much as you value amazing parties. Participate in a variety of activities you enjoy. Have strong opinions, but learn when to speak up and when to stay quiet. Experience gratitude each day, but recognize that you're human and it's OK cry or complain, too. Explore new opportunities, but allow yourself time to lounge around the house.

Take pride in yourself and your life.
Take pride in your appearance: look good and you'll feel good. Take pride in your home: keep it welcoming, clean, and comfortable. Take pride in your schoolwork and your job: always do your best work.

Recognize that the most important thing in life is other people.
Stay in close contact with the people who matter. Make plans; keep them. Organize events; bring your friends together. Tell people that you value them. Send cards and thoughtful gifts. Be a role model in your workplace. Nothing is more important than giving people your time and talents.

Even though Natalie was alive for over a year of Megan's life, Natalie won't remember the little things, like the time she spit up on Megan's silk shirt when Megan kindly offered to feed her and instead of being upset Megan just brushed it off, saying, "I knew what I signed up for!", or how Megan made silly faces and noises to entertain Natalie during an in-the-car meltdown when Meg was in the midst of chemo, or how Megan tried to trick me and tried to buy Natalie's baby food one day when we were out grocery shopping after Megan's diagnosis. One day when the time is right I'll tell Natalie more about Megan. No doubt that time will be many years away. But Megan will always be, among a host of infinite things to many people, an example of strength to inspire my daughter.

A baby registry with 20/20 vision

I get a lot of questions about creating a baby registry. I wrote about our experiences choosing a place to register and choosing some of our main registry items when I was 20 weeks pregnant. Now that I'm a mom of a nearly 15-month-old girl, I'm able to look back at our registry experience with clearer vision. Here's our experience and my advice.

We'll start with baby-registry philosophy:

1) Borrow as much as you can.

Seriously, that baby stuff gets used for such a short period. Some items to consider borrowing: Snap n Go stroller frame, bouncer seat, swing, exersaucer, infant gym/activity mat, infant tub.

2) Put any splurge item on your registry. You never know, someone might (and probably will) buy it for you.

3) Anything that sounds unnecessary while you're pregnant probably is unnecessary once you have a baby. Think: wipe warmers, bottle warmers, bottle sterilizers, baby food makers (use a blender), nursing covers (use a blanket). We tried to limit how many baby-specific items we brought into the house. You hear it so many times, but it is true that babies just really don't need THAT much.

4) Resist the urge to buy a bunch of 3-month baby clothes because that's what everyone's going to get you.

5) Consider registering with Amazon. Although we solely created our registry through Buy Buy Baby (still totally hate that store's name) and we had a good experience, now that the majority of people I know order their gifts from an online registry I think Amazon is the way to go. 

6) Do not open/use anything before you need to and save all gift receipts. We definitely could have returned some items if I hadn't been so determined to have everything cleaned and ready to go before Nat was born.

Now on to categories of items:

Feeding

1) bottles - 3 4oz and 3 8oz. We like Dr. Brown's bottles.

2) bottle drying rack

3) dishwasher basket for all the bottle parts

4) I'd hold off on buying a breast pump, if you're considering breast feeding, and rent the awesome ones from the hospital if needed. I'd hate to have a $300 pump lying around that I never used. You can always buy later. (Edit: After publishing this, Matt reminded me that breast pump rentals are now included under Obamacare, so rent away!)

5) hands free pumping bra - bring this to the hospital just in case

6) a few nursing-related starter items, like nursing pads and lanolin 

7) burp cloths!

8) Boppy pillows -- I liked using these while nursing and while bottle feeding. We own one and borrowed one. Get an extra slipcover.

9) toddler feeding: 6 baby spoons and 6 baby forks; Oxo Tot bowls with lids and divided plates with ledges (all microwaveable!), Munchkin snack traps, Baby Bjorn plastic bibs (pack of 2), several types of sippy cups to try out, Kiddopotamus Tinydiner placemat

Bedding

1) crib

2) crib mattress

3) crib mattress pad (2)

4) crib sheets (2 or 3)

5) Pack n Play is great to have for travel and/or bassinet sleeping (we got the kind with the bassinet insert that Nat slept in inside our room for first six weeks)

6) Pack n Play sheets (2), we like the quilted kind

Other nursery furniture

1) rocker and ottoman

2) dresser that can serve as a changing table (put a changing pad on top [these can be screwed into the furniture], and don't forget 2 changing pad covers).

3) bookcase

4) organizational items (baskets, etc. for closet/toys) -- We have my childhood toy box, and it's one of the best baby items we own.

5) clothes hamper

Sleeping

1) people love to give blankets, so try not to put too many on your registry. We got one set of 4 Aden + Anais swaddle blankets and that was more than we needed. You could put one set on your registry but don't add more (because you might get a bunch you want to return)

2) Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe -- these are like little baby pods that take the guesswork out of swaddling. Start with 2.

3) Halo sleep sack-- start with one or two in different sizes. Fleece for wintertime is nice, and the newborn ones with wings for swaddling are nice.

4) Aden + Anais muslin sleeping bags for spring/summer -- again, start with one or two in different sizes.

5) A few infant gowns for making night diaper changes super easy in the beginning.

6) White noise machine -- we have the Cloud b Sleep Sheep, but a simple idea is to take an old iPod and inexpensive speakers and load up some white noise apps.

Bath time

1) infant bath tub (if possible, borrow)

2) several baby wash cloths

3) a hooded towel -- This was the most common gift we got after Natalie's birth. We received 5 in addition to the 2 we already had on hand. Don't buy too many of these.

4) a body wash/shampoo combo. We like Burt's Bees.

Gear (for much more specific gear advice, check out Baby Bargains)

1) Stroller -- Start with one stroller. Consider your lifestyle seriously. Are you really going to jog with your baby? If so, good for you, and definitely get a jogging stroller. But if you are like me and had zero intention of jogging with your baby, do not waste the money or space on a jogging stroller. We started with a Maclaren Triumph umbrella stroller and are still using that as our one and only stroller. Many friends have used convertible strollers that have a space for the infant car seat (or an add-on attachment that holds the infant car seat) and then the child can sit in the main stroller part when it's older and can sit up better (most likely around 6 months old).

2) Infant car seat -- at first I thought our car seat was huge in our old, small car. Then we bought a new, big car, and our car seat still seems big. We have also used other car seats in SUVs, etc. Moral of the story: No matter what kind of car seat you get, they are big. We got the Graco Snug Ride 35 and Nat is still in it at nearly 15 months. At least we haven't needed to buy our next car seat yet and we're getting our money's worth out of the Graco seat. For what it's worth, babies are now recommended to be rear-facing for the first two years. So, when you buy your second car seat (likely a convertible when your child is between 1 and 2 years old) it will still ideally be backward-facing. Pain.

3) extra car seat base

4) Ergo carrier -- Not a necessity, bit of a splurge, but I love this thing (makes shopping way easier!), and Nat can still fit in it and it doesn't cause me discomfort. Buy or borrow the infant insert.

5) Pack n Play (see Bedding above)

6) High chair -- still loving our Stokke Tripp Trapp, though Nat would probably tell you that anything that is meant to contain her is something she does not like. We bought the Stokke Table Top (an expensive plastic place mat that we fortunately found on a major sale) and Stokke Tripp Trapp Baby Set. I am so glad we don't have a traditional high chair that takes up a ton of space. A good alternative to the Stokke sets is a booster seat (with an attached tray) that can snap on to a chair at your dining table.

7) a place to put your baby when you're showering -- this is one of those items I recommend borrowing. An inexpensive bouncer seat will do the trick.

Diapering

1) no matter what type of diapers you use, you need a place to dispose of them/save them for washing. We didn't go with the Diaper Genie because 1) we use cloth diapers and 2) I think they're ugly. We just have a trash can that serves as a diaper pail, and we use a smaller pail for dirty wipes.

2) diaper rash cream -- We like Burt's Bees.

3) diaper bag -- I think this is a fun place to splurge, especially if you get one that looks like a purse but has all the helpful compartments/insulated pockets for bottles/food

4) diaper bag should come with a portable changing pad inside, but if it doesn't, register for one you can put in your diaper bag and/or give your husband when he goes on adventures without you.

5) an essential if you're cloth diapering, but even a good idea if you're not: a wet bag. Easy to wash, eco-friendly, a medium-sized bag can hold a few diapers and a couple dirty outfits (lest you experience a blow-out diaper outside the home, which destiny seems to indicate you will).

6) if cloth diapering, I recommend the Bum Genius Diaper Sprayer.

7) wipes -- I like getting the Huggies Natural ones that are sold in bulk at Costco.

8) enough disposable diapers to get you started -- you'll probably need some newborn-size diapers, but you'll likely need way more size 1 diapers. The hospital will give you some, and guests visiting you right after you have the baby can always bring some along, too.

Health/safety

1) humidifier -- Crane Cool Mist is the one we got.

2) humidifier filter

3) thermometer -- we opted for rectal. The theme with thermometers seems to be: more expensive = more likely to break. Go for a cheaper digital option.

4) saline nose drops

5) baby Tylenol

6) nail clippers -- some people believe in baby nail files. I say, how do you plan to file your baby's nails? Never seen it done.

7) comb and brush

8) set of 2 Soothie pacifiers, just in case!

9) AngelCare Movement and Sound Monitor -- this made me sleep well knowing my baby wasn't dying of SIDS. 

10) Foscam camera as a video monitor

11) if you have stairs in your home, get baby gates. We went with KidCo Angle Mount Safeway Gate. It's easier to have them and install them before the baby arrives, if at all possible.

12) outlet covers

13) cabinet locks

Clothes -- seriously, do not buy baby clothes. Everyone else wants to buy you baby clothes. Your job is just to fill in the gaps and get your clothes-shopping fix when your kid is 9 months old and everyone has forgotten about you and your kid. That said, here are some items for the beginning:

1) Kimono-style long-sleeve T-shirts -- for baby to wear before the umbilical cord stump falls off. The Gerber brand has fold-over sleeves.

2) A pack of 5 onesies, size 0-3 months, to wear under clothes

3) Trumpette socks -- These are still the only socks that consistently stay on Nat. I would add 2 sets of these to a registry (a set contains 6 pairs). They are fun to buy and expensive, so they made a great gift. 

4) borrow some zip-up newborn onesies. After you have the baby you might buy some more. Having about 5-7 of these on hand will keep you from doing laundry every day.

5) no-slip baby clothes hangers -- I think we have about 50.

Toys/books

My philosophy here was to put some of each on our registry so that people would get a sense of our "style." I don't know that this actually happened, but it has been helpful for me when buying for friends. For example, my friend who put 20 wooden toys on her registry clearly wants wooden toys. All the books we put on our registry helped reduce how many duplicate books we received.

Parenting books/items

1) Baby 411

2) Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

3) a free BabyLog app 

4) If you have a digital SLR camera, I'd recommend getting the 50 mm f/1.4 lens for your camera for indoor and action shots. This is the single best item we have for our family.

5) A subscription to Amazon Prime.

6) A Netflix subscription or another stock-piled collection of several seasons of several shows you plan to watch while your baby sleeps 18 hours per day during its first few months of life.

Clearly, our experience is not universal, and what worked for us may not work for you, but I hope this list helps get you started!

Our travels with a 14-month old

We just got back late Sunday night from a trip to St. Louis for a family event for Matt's grandmother. This trip marked the first of our plane travel with Natalie. Everyone, myself included, is always looking for travel advice with an infant or toddler. Although I can't state definitively how much of what we did is legitimate/will work for us again/will work for anyone else, I thought I'd throw this out to the interwebs.

To add more context to the trip, we left on a Friday morning and were scheduled to return on a Sunday night. At 14-months old, Natalie is fully mobile, relatively talkative (lots of single words, only one two-word expression: "good dog"), still drinks milk out of a bottle, drinks water out of a sippy cup, vacillates between 1 and 2 naps per day, and sleeps 12 hours at night. She loves books, doesn't really watch TV, is getting interested in toys with lots of parts (think blocks, finger puppet sets), has a mostly agreeable temper but is starting to get more fussy/express her will more vehemently.

Here's the climax:
We woke up early Sunday morning to a horrible weather forecast: 10 inches of snow predicted for St. Louis, and it would start any minute. We were scheduled to leave on a 5:20 p.m. flight. We didn't want to miss some family events happening that morning, but we really didn't want to risk missing a friend's funeral back home. We called the airline and got the flight changed to 11:55 a.m. We got ready quickly, let Natalie sleep as long as possible (9 a.m. for the win!), said goodbye to Matt's grandmother, and kept watching the flight status on the way to the airport.

When we were going through security, our flight was still on. Five minutes later, when we made it to the gate, our flight was canceled. We called the airline and got reassigned to the 5:20 p.m. flight we'd been on originally. The roads in St. Louis were treacherous at this point, so we knew sitting tight at the airport for about six hours would be the plan. By some miracle, as we watched the majority of flights out of St. Louis that day get canceled, our flight remained scheduled, and even on time.

In disbelief, we boarded the plane. Then we sat on the tarmac for one hour while the plane was de-iced. As the de-icing men boarded the plane, we looked at the other passengers and thought, "This is it. We're not going anywhere." Again, by some miracle, our plane took off about 15 minutes later. We hit some turbulence in the air, but nothing absurd. We landed in D.C. around 10 p.m., and by 11 p.m. our baby was asleep in her crib at home. Our 12+ hours of travel, though not what we would choose, were actually OK, and we have our daughter's mostly agreeable temperament and a little bit of preparation to thank.

Here's what we did.

Packing plan

1) Over pack.

I hate to over pack, but I know it's a necessity with a toddler in tow.

Starting about a week before we left, the weather forecast had been calling for a freak early-spring snow storm in St. Louis the day we were supposed to fly home. So I threw in an extra day's worth of necessities. That means extra outfits, extra PJs, extra socks, extra diapers and wipes.

2) Bring items for the night time routine.

For us this meant Natalie's Halo sleep sack, stuffed bunny, and a copy of Goodnight Moon.

3) Ditch the cloth diapers; put vinyl pants over the disposable diaper for the airport/plane.

Although cloth diapers are still working perfectly for us, we knew we didn't plan to travel with them. This was especially helpful for the dozen or so airport diaper changes we had to do. To hopefully save us from an unexpected diaper leak, we put Natalie in the Dappi vinyl diaper covers we originally bought for taking her in the pool.

4) Have a bags-within-bags baby carry on.

Of everything we experimented with on this trip, this is the thing I think we did "right." Diaper bags do not count toward the total carry-on bag allowance, so we ditched our normal diaper bag for this trip and instead used a giant Land's End canvas tote as our big diaper bag for the weekend. Inside we had three additional bags:

1) a lunch bag filled with food and drink for Natalie
2) a medium-sized canvas tote filled with books and toys
3) a small tote, no bigger than a normal purse, just containing diapers for the airport/flight,      changing pad, a travel case of wipes, hand sanitizer, dog poo bags (for containing any really gross diapers in a worst-case scenario), and diaper rash cream. This suggestion was a great one from a mom friend who said this made her travels easier because it minimizes how much stuff has to come with you into an airport or airplane bathroom for a quick change.

5) Bring two bottles' worth of milk. Put them inside a big Ziploc bag with a freezer pack.

I knew prior to the trip that you could take breastmilk and formula through airport security. I wasn't sure about whole milk. Good news: bottle that stuff up and bring it with you. Two 8-ounce bottles were enough for us. Starbucks also sells whole milk in small cups (for $1.35 in St. Louis, at least), and a waiter at the airport Chili's who has three small kids of her own and feels bad for you might bring you a cup of whole milk, too. The Ziploc bag is crucial, as we learned, thanks to the changes in air pressure inside the cabin causing a tightly sealed bottle to still leak.

6) Take a small stroller to the airport, put it inside a travel bag, and gate check it.

We originally were not going to travel with a stroller. We were staying with generous family friends who happen to be grandparents who have a fully stocked nursery. There was a car seat, crib, stroller, and high chair waiting for us when we arrived. At nearly the last minute, we decided to take our own umbrella stroller, fearing getting stuck in the airport on the way home without a stroller. A generous neighbor lent us her umbrella stroller bag, which gave us peace of mind when we checked the stroller at the gate. I'd read strollers can get rather knocked around on airplanes and didn't want to risk it.

Airport/airplane plan

1) If traveling with a partner, have one person in charge of parking the car and handling most of the luggage. Have the other person in charge of the diaper bag and baby.

This fits into our plan of minimizing how many forms of transit Natalie had to be on and increasing how many opportunities she had to run around before getting on the plane.

2) If traveling with a partner, have one person board the airplane with all the luggage right after the first-class passengers board. Have the other person run around the airport with the baby and be the last people to board the plane.

Natalie really wanted a water bottle, so I made her chase me around the airport for 20 minutes while I held the bottle and the other passengers boarded.

3) Don't bring out the milk bottles until you can hear the plane's engine getting ready to take off.

We've all been stuck on planes on the tarmac. On our return flight, we were stuck for one hour on the tarmac while they de-iced our plane. Natalie did shockingly well, but to keep her from drinking her milk too soon I had Matt distract her while I got a bottle out of the bag, otherwise she would have seen it and wanted it.

4) Remember to save some milk for landing.

On our first flight from D.C. to St. Louis, Natalie drank too much too soon and therefore wasn't interested in milk during the descent. This led to a not fun time thanks to the pressure on her ears.

5) Let your child play in the aisles for as long as humanly possible.

Our flight to St. Louis was pretty uneventful because Natalie could play in the aisle fairly indefinitely while we were at our cruising altitude. Snowy turbulence on the way back to D.C. meant basically no time in the aisle, aside from the one hour waiting on the tarmac. Thankfully, by squeezing Natalie super tight (despite her significant protestations), I got her to sleep for about 30 minutes on that flight.

Toys/books/distractions

1) Take some favorite books.

We opted for variety: a couple lift-the-flap, a couple first words, a couple calm/bedtime stories.

2) A few weeks/months before the trip, hide some favorite, small toys, and bring them out on the plane.

We did this with Natalie's Green Sprouts stacking cups and Sassy linking letters. When we reintroduced them on the plane they led to over an hour of distraction.

3) Bring non-toy, tried-and-true distractions.

Natalie loves to wear my big, chunky necklaces (which she calls "'sazs"). Seeing as they are likely choking hazards and whatnot, she only gets to wear them under close supervision on special occasions. Airplane travel seems like an appropriately special occasion. Taking the necklace on and off repeatedly is a favorite pastime.

What we didn't use

1) Ergo carrier.

We brought it along, but Natalie screamed in it at the airport despite a week of re-training her to love it prior to the trip.

2) iPad apps.

We downloaded six free Fisher-Price apps to the iPad before we left. We didn't let Natalie see them prior to the trip, either. We never had to resort to using them, which is for the best because she's never really used an app before and likes the iPhone/iPad solely for looking at pictures of herself.

"OK, as you take that picture of me, you also must let me see it."

3) Cheap toys/stickers/PlayDoh, etc.

Many friends recommended stocking up on items from the $1 bins at Target. I think this is an awesome suggestion for slightly older kids. I just knew it wasn't in the cards for Natalie, so I didn't follow the advice this time.

You know, it's not that bad

We went into this trip prepared for just about anything, and we experienced just about everything. While on the trip, we were able to accommodate the weekend's schedule and make Natalie's schedule fit around it. Natalie was exhausted at night and slept like a champ. For the first time since she was about four months old, Natalie actually fell asleep on top of me Saturday night. Holding her in my arms while she sweetly cooed reminded me of how she's somewhere in between infancy and toddlerhood. Maybe that's what parenting is all about: moments when your child reminds you of what she used to be and what she's becoming.

In the 11th hour of travel, when we were about 30 minutes away from landing in D.C. Sunday night, as Natalie was falling asleep on me, her head nuzzled against my chest, I poked my almost-falling-asleep husband and said, "Isn't our daughter adorable?" He said, "Good job with that." We watched the lights of D.C. emerge from under the clouds. Sure, she started her meltdown about five minutes later, but we made it, and we are better for it.

Gifts for a one-year old

It's relatively easy to buy gifts for a newborn (or yet-to-be-born) baby. Go to the registry.

It's harder to buy for a one-year old. The child has a year's worth of stuff. You don't want to duplicate anything the toddler already owns. You also don't want to clutter your friend's home (at least that's a major gift-giving principle for me). You probably don't want to buy your friend's kid anything too potentially annoying (for the parents), lest karma get you back down the line.

Here are some items Natalie has either received recently as gifts or has gotten as a hand-me-down or a rare item we've purchased for her. I hope this can give you some ideas next time you find yourself searching for ideas, as I did all the time pre-baby.

Books
My number-one go-to gifts for babies and children are books. Not only are they gender-neutral, but they don't take up much space and they can be enjoyed for many years and easily shared among siblings. Added bonus: books are easier to return than clothes or toys, in my experience; take them to Barnes and Noble, even sans gift receipt, with your baby in tow and you'll probably get store-credit pity.

I highly recommend the Baby Einstein 12-Book set. Each book has a different theme (shapes, colors, letters, farm animals, etc.) and only contains about 10 pages. This format has worked well with Natalie, as the books fit nicely in her tiny hands and the simple pages have taught her some basic vocabulary words. Down side: she wants to read each of the 12 books over and over, which is exhausting, but she's super happy.

Other recent favorites include any books of words, such as Baby Einstein: First Words and First 100 Words by Bright Baby.

Something book-like that Natalie adores are these DK Publishing My First Touch and Feel Picture Cards. She received the colors and shapes ones as a gift, but I'm sure any of the varieties they sell would be great.

Toys
I'm much more cautious when it comes to giving toys or even buying them myself for Natalie. I'm a fan of more interactive toys, ones that have more than one function and require a little imagination. Of course, that needs to be tempered by the fact that Natalie is not yet in the imaginative play stage. She's more in the putting things in and out of boxes phase.

Number one toy-buying rule: if it's electronic, make sure it has an off button.

Regardless, here are a couple winners these days:
The Earlyears Pound N Play -- I had something quite similar to this as a child. Natalie loves watching the balls slide down the ramp. It's also amusing to watch her walk around giggling while holding a plastic hammer. She is starting to (very slowly) understand that she needs to put each ball in the correct spot on the toy, so I guess there's some hand-eye coordination developing there.

B. Parum Pum Pum Drum -- OK, so this 7-piece musical instrument set violates most of my gift-giving principles, which is why I bought it for Natalie myself and haven't given it to anyone as a gift. But this toy is awesome. Again, I remember lots of happy playtime as a child spent with my now-obsolete Fisher-Price music set, and I'm glad Natalie gets a similar experience with this toy. It's easy for a one-year old to manipulate, but I think it's a toy that will grow with her, too. Though it doesn't have an off switch, I have carved out a drum-sized space in the toy box so I can make the set disappear when I've had enough for the day.

IKEA Finger puppets -- I won't link to these, because they are constantly revolving products, but I will say that Natalie received a set of three finger puppets (a dragon, a butterfly, and a snail) and these are some of her favorite objects to carry around and put inside boxes and baskets. They're small enough to throw in the diaper bag and make excellent distractions in restaurants or in the car.

Speaking of baskets, though I've never given nor received this gift, I have thought about how the perfect gift for someone Natalie's age would be a basket small enough for a toddler to carry around, filled with toddler-friendly items such as egg shakers, stacking cups, Munchkin Snack Catchers, etc. As cliche as it is, it's true in my experience that a toddler would rather play with packaging and small household goods than play with a fancy toy.

Clothes
This is the third main category for kids' gifts. Based on my experience, my three pieces of advice would be:

1) Buy clothes for the season ahead in the size ahead. For example, if a baby turns one in September, buy him/her winter clothes in size 18 months. The baby probably already has enough 12-month fall clothes by the time the first birthday comes around.

2) Buy clothes from (slightly more expensive) places the average parent is unlikely to buy from on a regular basis, such as Nordstrom or Baby Gap. That will decrease the likelihood of you buying something the child already has in his/her closet.

3) Buy accessories. Think hats, socks, hair bows. Toddlers receive a lot of outfits but few accessories. Bonus: accessories are more likely to fit and last longer than outfits.

For her first birthday, Natalie received an Amazon gift card that I promptly used to purchase her first pair of real shoes (these Stride Rite sneakers).

I will probably be stealing this idea in the future, giving a gift card designated for baby shoes, either from Amazon or Stride Rite. Baby shoes are expensive, yo. The parents will be super happy. Plus, I've learned that it's quite easy to order baby shoes online and skip the hassle of wrangling a toddler inside a shoe store. Simply go to the Stride Rite website, print the sizing chart, put your toddler's feet on the chart, plug in the measurements online, and you'll easily wind up with the correct size. Then you can browse the seemingly endless choices online while your toddler sleeps.

What gifts have you given/received that were a big hit for a toddler?