Thursday 13: Things in my medicine cabinet

People always want to know what's in other people's medicine cabinets. Well, it's your lucky day, here is a look into mine. Admittedly, it's not real exciting. I wish I had some eyebrow raising prescriptions or something that would make you gasp. Sorry!

I have pretty bad skin. I've had moderate adult acne for the past 10 years, so I'm very specific about my skin-care regimen. Here are some products that I always have on hand that help my skin, or otherwise make me feel oh, so pretty.

1. Rare Minerals Blemish Therapy. This is my newest purchase. It's a new acne treatment by Bare Minerals. It's a loose mineral powder that you dust on at night and in the morning. I've been using it for about two weeks and have had one pimple in that time. I usually have at least one new pimple per day. I'm stoked, but my face has a tendency to build up a tolerance to effective products and medications.

2. Clean and Clear face wash with salicylic acid. It's gentle and it's cheap. If there is a store brand available, I buy that. It works just as well.

3. Clinique Dramatically Different Gel. This is the classic yellow gel in the square bottle. Be aware, the gel is great for oily complexions, but the lotion is not. They are packaged alike. The gel feels light on my skin and it absorbs well.

4. Clinique Repair Wear Eye Cream. This stuff feels so good going on. Also, a little of it goes a long way.

5. Equate Collagen Treatment. The Wal-Mart equivalent of Loreal's Wrinkle Decrease works well. It doesn't make lines disappear, but it does soften them. Good enough for me!

6. Yonka Hydratant 60 Gel Mask. If you want to splurge on a spa-quality treatment, this is the one. It leaves your face so soft and supple.

7. Tweezers. Every now and then I have my brows done professionally. I usually save the money and do it myself. My method is simple. Take a white eyeliner and pencil in the areas you want to tweeze. This makes it easy to see the shape of your brows before you start yanking them out. Tweeze the hairs within the pencil marks, wash and you have perfectly shaped brows.

8. White eyeliner. see above. You can also dab near your tear ducts to give a youthful appearance to your eyes. I've read this, though I personally don't notice much of a difference when I do it.

9. Advil PM. That is what's in there now because I had a coupon. I'm not brand specific. These days I need help turning off the chatter in my head at night. This does the trick.

10. VO5 Heat defense. Spray on before blow drying your hair to counteract the damage from the heat of the dryer and an iron. It works as good as more expensive brands that I've tried.

11. Target Breastfeeding Cream. I never packed this away. It's great on really dry patches of skin on your feet and elbows. If you are breastfeeding it keeps your nips in great shape!

12. Mary Kay Satin Lips. You know how your lips get all chapped and you can't wear lipstick because it won't go on smoothly? Well, this totally eliminates the problem.

13. Clinique Happy. It smells happy. I love it.

Here's to a good body health

Every now and than I get the urge to try to improve my body health. It usually involves envisioning myself in a swimming suit. We’re going to the beach in June. EEEEEK! So, I got the bug back. I’m not planning any major life changes, just eating a little better, exercising a little more, drinking more water, drinking less iced coffee and mochas – that sort of thing.

Let me dispel a myth right now. Just because someone is small, does NOT mean they have a good bathing suit body. Don’t throw anything at me, but I’m a size 4 and I can tell you that I jiggle, bulge, sag and pucker in the same places that I did when I was 35 pounds heavier (and no, I don’t mean when I was pregnant). Unfortunately, exercise is the solution. Exercising for me had been non-existent since I had the baby. I did strength-training (lunges, squats, free weights) often when I was pregnant and was moderately active beforehand. One of my favorite things to do was Total Body: Body Sculpting Basics by The Firm. It is from 1995, sounds like a porno and has a lot of spandex, but it works well.

The reason why I love the workout is it is simple and it is challenging. There are no dance moves. NONE. So you have plenty of room in your living room. There’s nothing worse than grapevining into the coffee table. Plus, if I’m blundering around trying to figure out a combination of moves, I’m not exercising. In this video, to elevate your heart rate you jog in place and do jacks, sometimes you do them with weights in your hand. The whole thing is a combination of weights, floor exercises and bursts of cardio. If you do it, you get toned fast. The only thing “optional” you need are hand weights (they use a board to help position your feet, buy I never used it).

Anyway, I was stoked when I found The Firm Bootcamp with Alison Becker on sale at Target. I thought it might be just what I need to get back into it…. something new and different. I was disappointed. There aren’t many dance moves, but some of the combinations of lunges, hops and skiing motions leave me scratching my head. I know that in time, I’d learn what they are doing, but I guess I just want to get down to business. The workout was just fine, but for the time invested, I’d rather do the other. In fact, I popped it in the DVD player so that next time I work out, it’s ready to go!

I eat pretty good 85% of the time. If you opened my freezer you’d see lean meats, and leaner cuts of beef and pork. I have fresh fruits, canned and frozen veggies. I don’t have anything that ends in “-helper” or “-aroni” or any product that is the self-proclaimed “cheesiest.” But I have been overdoing the flavored coffee products, the fast food (I do it about 3-6 times a month, way up for me) and the snacking.

One of the easiest rules of dieting is not to drink your calories and until I started drinking the iced, frozen and hot coffee drinks (I don’t drink “regular” coffee) a few months ago, I always followed that rule. If you are a sucker for the hazelnut-flavored coffees like I am, try Bigelow Vanilla Hazelnut tea. It’s a good substitute, it has antioxidants and it has no calories. The smell is heavenly. The hazelnut and vanilla flavors are yummy. I didn’t think it would taste as rich as it does since it’s a tea. Add just a touch of 1% milk and Splenda and it hits the spot. It’s certainly not Starbucks, but it fulfills a craving and tastes good.

Another thing that I am starting to do since The Baby is mobile and eating and licking everything in his path is replace some of my regular cleaning products with ones that are “safer” for kids. Clorox anywhere, for example, is marketed to be safe to use around children and food, so I bought some for kitchen cleanup and disinfecting (like I have time to disinfect, but I now could do so safely). I picked up a bottle of Method daily shower/bath cleaner since The Baby is now bathing in the tub.





Thanks to my sister-in-law for scaring the bejesus out of me about skincare and hair products for babies, I am buying organics. We use California Baby (Target, Wegman’s, Giant Foods). It’s expensive, but a little goes a long way.








Speaking of hair, I also picked up one of these so that I can’t butcher The Baby’s hair again with the scissors. My husband is taking over barber duties with his clipper. This 1" comb should keep The Baby's hair from looking too short or too long or, ummm, crooked.

OMG, U2 3-D was awesome!

If you live near an Imax theater I recommend it highly! It was very much like being at a concert; people at the movie were even cheering and singing like they were there. My husband thought it was like being a fly, buzzing around the band and through the audience. That’s pretty accurate. It’s neat being on the stage. You see all their hidden drinks, instruments, props, cheats sheets taped to the floor, even roadies. The only complaint that I could find is that sometimes I wish the camera would have slowed down for a little bit and focused longer on a member of the band. Just when you were getting into watching The Edge, they switched over to Bono. Also, when did Adam Clayton become so good-looking? He’s one of those people that actually look better with age.

Anyway, it was so nice to go out for a while. We’ve been to a few parties and on some dates, but we always take The Baby to my parent’s house. Just a couple weeks ago we went to a party. It entailed packing up The Baby, his crib, his clothes, milk, food, my pump and stuff for us to spend the night (so we don’t have to wake The Baby and drive home after 11 p.m.). It was literally like packing for a weekend away to get out for 3.5 hours. On Friday my parents came over to our house, it was so much easier. We just left and had fun. It’s still nice to have my parents close by and available.

From the Pump Room:
Here’s a good interview the authors of The Milk Memos. Just click on "Enter Salon" in the upper right corner.
www.salon.com

Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Table

The Baby is at the age where he just wants to move. Who can blame him? He’s been sitting or lying around for nine months. Gone are the nights when my husband and I can plop him in the swing or the jumper and eat a peaceful dinner. He wants to pull himself up on everything – the TV, the cat, the radiator. We figured it was time to get a standing toy that was safe and didn’t hiss.

He has a bazillion little toys that keep him somewhat occupied, but this one is really worth a mention to anyone else looking for a toy that will hold their baby’s attention and meet the need to be standing and all grabby. The Baby can easily pull himself up on the table. It’s designed to look like a meal with a bowl of soup, slice of pizza, cookies, napkin, cup, and fruit, all of which move and play either music or a lesson. It keeps The Baby occupied. Heck, it keeps me occupied. It’s also small and light enough to move from room to room or to grandma and pop-pop’s. It was $37 at Babies R Us. I give it a big pumps up!

Oh, hey, it's snowing…


From the Pump Room:
I got my new pump! The milk has stopped backing up into the horn, but the suction isn’t very much stronger. It fixed the reason that I called Ameda, so I am happy. I might order a new tubing kit. My tubes are pretty icky looking. Some milk got backed up in them. All in all, I hate to say it, but I just don’t think that I’m letting down very well anymore – maybe my breasts are getting to used to the stimulation? Who know!

Ameda Customer Service

I have a Ameda Purely Yours pump, which I’ve always loved (as much as you can love a device where you crank up the suction and attach it to your breast); however, in the last month or so it seems to be losing a little steam. About once a week I have a day where milk gets backed up into the horn and I have to break suction to release the milk to the collection bottle. On most days the pump also doesn’t seem to have as much suction. When I’m done pumping, there is still milk – so much so that I can hand express it. I don’t know why I didn’t call in November when it started. I had typical excuses… I’m losing supply, I’m probably just not as stimulated by the pump anymore, I’m almost done anyway…

I finally called on Wednesday. They asked if I tested the pump suction by taking off the tube, turning it on and putting my finger over the hole. I had and I felt suction. “Yes,” she said, “but did you hear a loud pop?” I hadn’t! So she determined the motor was defective and a new one is being Fed-exed to me. Of course, since then, I retried the test and DID hear a pop! *sigh* But sometimes the suction is better than others, sometimes the milk backs up and sometimes it doesn't, so I must have just hit it on a good day. Customer service also said the model I had was several years old! I just bought it nine months ago – thanks, Baby Depot. I should have known, when I sent in the registration I got it mailed back because the building moved.

Anyway, the customer service was helpful and more than willing to help solve the problem. I got the number off of the Web site: www.ameda.com, just click contact us in the lower corner.

Pumpin’ Pal

“I’m into nuggets, ya'll… I’m into nuggets, ya'll…
Ketchup and may-o! Ketchup and may-o!”

I can’t get that McDonalds commercial out of my head. Agggggggggghhhhhhhhhh.

From the Pump Room
I’ve been pumping for 9 months now and, at this point, I don’t plan to buy anything to make things easier or to increase my supply. If I were to buy something, however, this product might be it. Pumpin’ Pal has flange inserts called Super Shields that make it easier to pump in a semi-reclined position. Perhaps an even bigger reason to consider this product is that it is available in three sizes. Flange fit effects supply. Your entire nipple should not touch the sides as it is being suctioned, nor should your entire boob be pulled in. At only $12.95, it is less then you’d pay for custom flanges from the manufacturer.

Pumpin’ Pal also makes a hands-free pumping strap that sells for a $9.95. I simply put my pump on and close my nursing bra around it for hands-free pumping. It works great, it’s free and it’s one less thing to take to work. To do this you need a nursing bra with cups that don’t fully cover your breasts. There will be no room for the pump horns if they do. In other words, those ugly uni-boob nursing bras won’t work – trust me, I have one. Target sells nursing bras for around $14 with cups that don’t go up to your collar bone.

Anyway, I justed wanted to pass this on to anyone who might find it helpful. There are good testimonials on the site and I was impressed that they didn't charge an arm and a leg for their products. Hands-free pumping bras can cost up to $35. Medela has a kit for $10.95, but it says it works with only Medela nursing bras and pumps.

Confession : I've been slacking with the pumping.

R.I.P. the electric snot sucker

That's right, after all this time it died on us after three whole days. *sniff, sniff* Naturally, the other aspirator was taken to daycare (and left there) so we didn't have anything over the weekend that worked. We have three other bulb aspirators in the house but the tips are so large that we can't get them in his nose. I know that's the point, but not going into the nose defeats the purpose entirely. Anyway, thank goodness for returns. If you decide to get an electric aspirator, beware the BeBe Sounds NasalClear.

THE ELECTRIC ASPIRATOR HAS ARRIVED

I ordered a Bebe electric aspirator from Target. I didn’t realize it, but this model also plays music! OMG, I can now suck out my kid’s nose peacefully to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Okay, not quite. I was actually a little disappointed. The suction just isn’t strong enough to clear The Baby’s nose any more efficiently than a manual bulb aspirator. The Baby’s cold is going away and his snot isn’t the prolific runny kind, it’s the gunky stuff -- so I’m still holding out some hope. It does work, I was just hoping for quicker results!

When I first used it on him, he was actually quite curious. As a baby, he likes things that vibrate and make noise (he’s fascinated by a electric toothbrushes, razors and that type of thing). I got the thing up his nose and he was relatively still. “Wow!” I thought. And then SHNNNNNUCK, I found a pocket of snot and The Baby went into hysterics drowning out both Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and my husband screaming from the sidelines, “Hold his hands down, hold his hands!” Speaking of my husband, he likes it. It’s a gadget-y guy thing. He actually seems to get the thing to work better than I do. I’m serious.


From the Pump Room:
This has nothing to do with pumping, but this is what I was thinking about today in the pump room. As parents, especially first-timers, we get all sorts of things that we either can’t use or we can only use for a limited time. Here are few suggestions for extending the life of some things that you have laying around.

Receiving blankets --can’t use all 500 of them? They make great dust clothes.

Lanisol--great for the dry patches on my feet. How sexy. I also got a tip from someone on The Nest that lanolin works well to soothe rashes around a baby’s mouth.

Pacifier tether --put a toy on it instead (many infant toys have rings to attach them to carseats and strollers anyway) while shopping to keep dear child occupied and from throwing it on the ground and either a) giving you the cute uh-oh face, b) screaming, or c) losing said toy. For the record, I like the uh-oh face, but only the first three times.

Boppy --The Baby sits up on his own now, but still falls over… usually backwards. We put the Boppy pillow around his hips. It’s nice because it doesn’t touch him, but it’s there if he falls over.

That’s all I can think of off hand. Anyone have anything to add --any secondary uses for electric aspirators? (just kidding)

Travel System Review

Rating: 1 lowest and 5 highest

Evenflo Journey Premier - ****
This includes the Embrace infant car seat and the Journey stroller. I like both pieces. We have two bases for the seat so that we don’t have to move them between cars. We had the bases installed by professionals. Actually, re-installed. We’d put them in ourselves, but didn’t manage to get them tight enough or leveled correctly. An organization called SafeKids hooked us up right. The infant seat is comfortable and lasts to 22 lbs. The Baby travels in it daily and has even gone on an 8-hour road trip in it with little fuss. At 20 lbs he’s still comfortable. The “Z” handle makes it easier to carry. We’re also pleased with the stroller. Getting the carrier on top of the stroller if fairly easy, though sometimes the safety strap was hard to pull on. It’s easy to fold and open, it reclines for occasions when baby wants to sleep. There is ample storage behind the seat and cup/bottle holder near the handle.

Sling/Baby Carrier Review

Here's a list of what I have and how I like it. This by no means is to say that any of these brands are better than other brands, it just happens to be what I have! I've given them ratings: 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest.

Lucky Baby Wear Sling - **
The color was nice. Black on the outside and a pretty celadon on the reverse -- it was reversible too, which was nice. Another feature was a hidden pocket for keys. The sling is a sash (folded to create a pouch), and there was no give in the cotton. I felt like I was squishing The Baby in it. He didn't like it at all. I'm wondering if I would've gotten a sling that had more give to it if it would've worked out? I ended up selling this on Ebay. I'm giving two stars instead of one because the company gives money to charity, which is really cool. I'm sure there are people who had a great experience with this sling, I just didn't.

Evenflo Snugli - ***-1/2
The Baby loves riding in the Snugli! It has pockets for keys/phone/money. It's a pain to put on though. I've never wore another brand so couldn't say if the Bjorn, for example, is easier to use. My husband and I both use the Snugli and hope that The Baby continues to like it!

Nursery Furniture Review

Here's a list of what I have and how I like it. This by no means is to say that any of these brands are better than other brands, it just happens to be what I have! I've given them ratings: 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest.

Storkcraft Beatrice Combo Tower in Cherry - *****
I'm very happy with this unit. I'm not a hanger of baby clothing. All of The Baby's clothes get folded and put in his dresser. Each drawer is spacious. During the summer, when clothes are a little less bulky, I am able to keep all of his current size clothing in a single drawer… all the pants/shorts, onesies, shirts, socks, sleep & plays and PJs all fit in the top drawer. SOO convenient. I organized the next sizes up in the other two drawers. Now that the weather is getting cooler and the clothing is getting bigger and bulkier, I'm using the other drawers. The tower is great! It has three shelves that fit tons of diapers, wipes, various creams, disposable pads, hats, shoes and there is still room to spare! In time, it will be a great place to store toys/books/CDs. A standard-size changing pad fits perfectly on top of the dresser. This will be a great dresser that will grow with The Baby. It will look good in his room at any age. The drawers pull out easily and the tower drawer shuts completely.

Storkcraft Rochester Crib - ***
This is a nice looking crib. The drawer on the bottom is convenient storage for sheets and blankets. There is plenty of room. The crib features a drop-down side for us short mammas. Unfortunately, it's difficult to work. I can't hold a sleepy / sleeping 20-pounder and get the rail down with one hand. Now that his crib is on a lower level it's not comfortable holding the baby as he sleeps and lowering him to the bottom. Lifting him out is also more difficult. I think that this is a fact of life for a short person. I was hoping the drop-side would help, but it doesn't look that way. Also, the drawer has fallen off of its rails twice. I have no doubt that this crib is safe to sleep in and sturdy… but it's add-on features leave something to be desired.

Rocker - ***
I have no brand on the rocker. It's a garden-variety rocking chair that cost about $90. It looks great. They are just so much more charming looking than a glider. They are also much less expensive. I did and do use it, but it's not all that comfortable. A glider really is your best bet for comfort. That being said, I could invest in a nice rocker cover, which I am sure would help, but I'll just keep that in mind for baby #2.

Pumping at Work

Not only is it Friday, it's lunchtime! Generally, I eat lunch at my desk and surf the Internet. I figure I might as well do something constructive so I decided to start a blog.

If you've made your way here you're probably either another mom with a little time to spare at work, you're at home and the kids are napping or you're totally confused and wondering what in the hell a breast pump is and why someone would subject themselves to such torture, or at the very least why someone would want to blog about it.

I don't really want to blog about pumping per se, it just seems to really define this part of my life. I'm 34, married to a wonderfully kind/sweet/sexy/silly/cute (and only occasionally annoying) man, I have a gorgeous 7 month old son, I have a career, and all these crazy wonderful things in my life. But, as any new mom will tell you, time is scarce. Sometimes I feel as though the only time I have for myself to think and / or read is in the Pump Room at work.

The confession part??? I think I may have a little touch of post partum depression. *gulp* There. I said it. I've always been a little on the down side. Bono once said, and I'm paraphrasing, that he is happy to be sad. That is sort of how I am, except I would say that I am really a happy person trapped in a sad mind... I’m haunted by sad thoughts and grim realities. I could go into examples and such, but I don't want the blog to be about PPD either. It's just part of my life right now.

My other confession? I didn't care for breast feeding. OMG... SOMEONE CALL THE LACTATION POLICE. That's right. I didn't like it. I bought a pump by week 3 and began to pump because, for some reason, breastfeeding agitated me. Pumping does as well but to a smaller degree. I did BF (breast feed) 2-4 times a day for approximately 6 months despite all of this. The Baby liked it, it was good for him, so I continued. When The Baby got his 8th tooth and took a shine to biting -- no CLAMPING -- down on my breast, I went to exclusive pumping. Ouch.

I feel proud that I was able to BF for so long. It was a horrible challenge for me. The only thing that the LLL and a lactation consultant could figure was that I was having an odd reaction to prolactin (a hormone secreted during BFing). Generally, it relaxes a woman. It makes me feel like kicking the cat. *sigh* I really feel sad that it wasn't a good experience. In fact, it makes me feel like I failed and that something must be "wrong" with me. I hate that I think like that!

Anyway, I hope, in time, to post links that I find helpful, funny and inspiring as a woman and a mom. I hope to make note of products/advice that help me along the way. I hope that my honesty about parenting issues and experiences helps someone else feel a little less alone. We're all under a tremendous amount of pressure - bless us all!

From the Pump Room:
I'll start with the obvious. I have an Ameda Purely Yours breast pump in a black tote bag. I got it for about $170 at Baby Depot. It works great. I use it 3-6 times daily and have for 6.5 months. Note: I also tried to the Isis Manual pump and it didn't work well for me.

What I'm reading: Time to read - Hooray!! Memoirs of a Geisha. This is a great book! I now LOOK FORWARD to pumping. :-)

Anyone else have any good Pump Room books?