WebGoonies.com - July 2005

Tip of the day.

Written on July 31, 2005 by Kevin.

We all know that kids love to go to McDonalds and furthermore, they all love their happy meals. The tip of the day is simply to keep your McDonalds happy meal boxes and when your child needs cheering up or maybe wont eat their food, try putting it in a happy meal box. Sure, some kids may know the difference but I imagine many of them will think they are getting a grand ol' treat. You could even add some cheap toys to the box and top it off. I am curious to see if anyone will take this tip and report back their findings.

Father Contribution: What worries you?

Written on July 30, 2005 by Kevin.

This question is mainly geared towards father to be's or current fathers. I wonder what your greatest worry is with having a child. I know that without a doubt my fear is simply not being able to financially provide for my family. My guess is that many other men would show this same fear. What worries you about having a child? Please post your worries as a comment.

What age to kick the pacifier?

Written on July 29, 2005 by Kevin.

I recently read an article from ParentHood.com titled Toddler Pacifier Habits No Cause for Alarm in which they go on to explain that a child should be able to suck on a pacifier until the age of 5 years old. Previously researchers suggested the age of 2 to kick the habit. When do you think a child should have their pacifier removed? I would be quite concerned with a child if they were 5 years old and still sucking on a pacifier. To me, that just does not seem healthy. Not necessarily from a TMJ issue but likely from an emotional level. Would the kid have further un-addressed issues if he is still wanting the pacifier at that age? The following image was the results of a survey performed on ParentHood.com in which they asked 'When should your child stop using a pacifier?' I am glad for once that I am considered the norm.

Thank you.

Written on July 29, 2005 by Kevin.

I recently made a post titled Top 5 ways my baby will be similar to Google.com in which I tried to point out similarities among babies and Google. My co-worker took note of this posting and noticed at the bottom of it my comment about wanting the Google Onesie. He recently provided me with my first baby gift from anyone outside of the family. A big thank you to my co-worker. I really appreciate this gift. The following picture is the Onesie and a Google T-shirt I also have. Look forward to a picture of the baby and I wearing our shirts one day.

User Contribution: Baby Middle Name?

Written on July 28, 2005 by Kevin.

My wife and I have decided that Rylan will be our sons name however we are still working on a good middle name. Some of the middle names we have looked into were:

Kaleb

Michael

We are looking forward to finalizing a name but we need some further suggestions. Please post any middle names you think would go well with the name Rylan. You guys were very helpful with the first name, We look forward to see what you suggest now. Thank you.

Ebay Auctions: Part 2

Written on July 27, 2005 by Kevin.

I mentioned a month ago how I found Ebay to be a great place to purchase baby items. With about 3 months to go before the baby arrives, my wife and I have been on the ball winning a large amount of baby related auctions. These items include baby towels, clothing and bibs. I continue to agree that Ebay is a great place to purchase used/new baby items. The discounts that are there for the taking are outrageous. New clothing with tags are going for 20% of the normal price. One auction to keep your wife away from would be the Baby Einstein movies. Everyone wants these things. My wife nearly lost her sanity after losing about 10 auctions at the last moment. The unnecessary stress that the auction caused was amazing. I am very glad that we have now won an auction; well see how she handles waiting for it to be shipped. Ey Yi Yi.

The AVENT ISIS iQ DUO™

Written on July 27, 2005 by Kevin.

It looks like Avent has a new breast pump which actually is considered intelligent. The device monitors how you manually use the pump and will then simulate it for you. I am obviously no woman, but is this truly necessary? My father in law has mentioned a few times that the stroller we purchased was a high tech tank (it has a temp and time display), but this breast pump definitely seems high tech to me. Can any women ring in and give us their opinions on this idea?

Link: The AVENT ISIS iQ DUO

Pregnancy and Toxoplasmosis

Written on July 26, 2005 by Kevin.

In addition to yesterdays post, we also received a lot of information on toxoplasmosis. While my wife and I were already aware of the issue, we felt that gathering all of the information we could would be good. The bottom line is that pregnant women should not be cleaning the kitty litter box. This infection can be spread from the pregnant woman to the unborn child and possibly cause serious birth defects. Many cats can acquire this from eating contaminated raw meat, birds, mice and soil. (why you would have a pet cat and keep it outside is beyond me.) Further information can be seen at the provided link. Husbands, since we want to do all we can for our wives, make sure you clean out the litter box often.

Link: Our Prescription for Toxoplasmosis: Learn the Facts and Keep Your Family Together

Preparing your pet for the baby's arrival

Written on July 25, 2005 by Kevin.

I went to an Arizona Baby Expo a few months back with my wife in hopes to see all of the latest and greatest things related to babies. While there, we approached the Humane Society booth and they had some great information about children and pets. The thing that my wife and I both took from the conversation was their suggestion to get the pets prepared for the baby's arrival.

We have 3 cats and while they are each very tame, we wanted to make sure they were going to be fully alright with the new addition. Over the past 6 months we have purchased items such as a bouncer, crib, playard and recently we purchased diapers. These large items we have been simply teaching them to stay out of. We have allowed the cats to smell the diapers so they can get adjusted to the new smells that will be in the house. Another suggestion they provided us but we have not had the ability to do, was to play the noise of a screaming baby. Like the smells, pets can be very touchy when it comes to new sounds. They may become nervous or irritated. The following links should provide some great tips to preparing your pets. Does anyone have any good or bad experiences with a newborn and pets?

Link: Human Society - Preparing Your Pet For Baby’s Arrival
Link: American Baby - Preparing your pet for baby's arrival

User Contribution: Good baby books?

Written on July 23, 2005 by Kevin.

My wife and I have gathered a small library of baby/child books from garage sales. I was wondering if anyone has good suggestions on books. I would ask that the books be for babies under 6 months. Thanks for all suggestions provided.

Newborn + Chiropractic Therapy

Written on July 22, 2005 by Kevin.

"Life for the newborn depends on the preservation and healthy functioning of the brainstem and upper spinal cord." - Towbin

I am a firm believer in the benefits of chiropractic adjustments. I had the opportunity to get many years of therapy and found it to be very helpful. The overall feeling I had was much better during that period. The topic though relates to newborns and the benefits of chiropractic therapy. I have seen many newborns go into my old chiropractors office and get adjusted and many of them appeared much happier.

The babies skull and spine are exposed to injury as it is forced through the birth canal. The birth process are also capably of disturbing the normal function of upper cervical spinal segments. An untreated spine can interfere with normal function of the nervous system and may cause serious health issues through the child's life. Below are some signs that your child may benefit from a chiropractic doctor.

Experiences Colic

Unexplained crying

Lack of appetite

Frequent ear infections

Link: The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association
Link: Upper Cervical Trauma and the Birth Process
Link: What Patients Want To Know About... Pediatric Care
Link: Children need chiropractic too!

Early sex selection test raises ethical concerns

Written on July 21, 2005 by Kevin.

This article from CBC states that women can now find the gender of their unborn child as early as 10 weeks. The ideas behind this can be helpful and harmful though. Many parents (including my wife) wanted to know the sex of the child so we could prepare better. This would include purchasing clothes and other gender specific items. Now the problem occurs when the mother wants a specific gender. If she was to find out that she is having a girl rather than a boy that she has always dreamed about, what may happen? Would these results cause her to think heavily about abortion? Would early detection give her enough time to become ready for the outcome? Could this test help reduce post-partum depression in women who did not receive the baby they have always wanted? This is definitely going to be a hot topic in months to come as this develops. What are your opinions?

Link: Early sex selection test raises ethical concerns from CBC

Why newborns look so funny

Written on July 21, 2005 by Kevin.

Here is a great article I came across that explains why babies look so funny after birth. It has some helpful information as well as some answers to questions that new fathers may have. Definitely a good read for this slow Thursday.

Link: Why newborns look so funny from MSN.com

New dads and finances

Written on July 20, 2005 by Kevin.

One of the biggest worries that many men have relating to a new born child is the money issues. I have always been one to worry about our financial situation and with the pregnancy, it certainly has been exaggerated. I am always trying to find new ways to help save a penny so I have been researching ways to do so.

Link: Slash High Electricity Bills
Link: How To Make Your Garage Sale A Success
Link: Developing a Family Budget
Link: Frugal Ways to Dine Out with your Family

Many financing books will flat out tell you to pay yourself first. This simply means putting a portion of your money into a savings account, stocks or other alternatives. This idea can also bleed over to the new child. Creating a saving account for a young child and contributing to it slowly will give you a safe place when your child grows older and you need a large amount of money for a car, wedding or other events. My father created a mutual fund account for myself and since then, I have been contributing to it. I believe these types of ideas also can help gear a child into a financial mindset which should help them succeed in the future.

Book Recommendation: Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!

Thinking about my child's future, I have decided that all funds from advertisements will go directly to my child's savings account. This would include any money that I receive from ads, associate links or general donations. Hopefully I can give my child a good head start into financial freedom.

Back from the checkup..

Written on July 19, 2005 by Kevin.

I just returned from my wife's checkup meeting with the doctor and boy do I feel strange. I walked into the waiting room after getting checked in with my wife to only be looked/stared at by every woman there. I don't know if they were simply shocked that a guy would go to a checkup, or maybe they were so irritated that their own boyfriends/husbands wouldn't come with them. Now this is only my second checkup with my wife so I can understand some guys not being able to attend due to work. It just seems that my soul was being sucked out of my body by these women. Can any women explain to me what they are thinking when they see a man in the waiting room with their significant other? Why do men need to be glared at with hawk eyes? Furthermore, why is it that this pregnancy thing is entirely geared towards the women. I understand fully that its the women who have to carry the child and then go through the delivery but if women really wanted their husbands to attend more meetings and just be into the pregnancy more, why don't they make them more comfortable? Everything seems to be geared towards the baby and mother. Someone please explain this to me.

FYI: The baby checkup was a good one.

User Contribution: Name suggestions needed.

Written on July 19, 2005 by Kevin.

My wife and I are trying to narrow down our name choices for our newly discovered boy. We have a few names picked out but we are curious to see what other people would suggest. Please post a comment with your favorite boy names. We will take each of the names into consideration. Thanks.

100+ activity ideas to do with your child.

Written on July 18, 2005 by Kevin.

I came across on the Huggies website a section that provides over 100 activity ideas that you can do with your child. It appears to be activities for all sorts of ages. Definitely a good link to check out when you have a free moment from the kids. :)

Link: Baby Activities via Huggies Activity Playhouse

Question of the day. Cord Blood.

Written on July 17, 2005 by Kevin.

In recent years, there has been alot of talk about storing newborns cord blood stem cells. The medical positives certainly seem to outweigh the negatives. My wife is due in a few months and we are trying to get some opinions on cord bood. Has anyone had this procedure done? What are your opinions?

Link: Cord Blood Registry

A dad's delivery-room anxieties

Written on July 17, 2005 by Kevin.

MSNBC.com recently ran an article about a dads view of the delivery of his daughter. The comments he makes are quite funny however I imagine are very true. I also wonder whether or not I will be able contain myself or if I will simply faint at the first sign of pain/blood/fluid. I hope that I can be the best I can for my wife at her most needed times. And furthermore, I hope that I don't have the "thousand-yard stare". I will save that for after I haven't gotten any sleep in days.

I learned that the placenta looked like the biggest, rarest steak imaginable.

Link: A dad's delivery-room anxieties from MSNBC.com

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Written on July 16, 2005 by Kevin.

I imagine many blogs will post their reviews/comments on the latest Tim Burton movie. I will follow along and try to stay clear of simply opinions. I was able to see this movie on the opening night. Many parents seem to want to know if this movie would be safe for kids. Overall, I would say yes. There are some very strange scenes that may scare a few kids but the majority of kids would probably find this movie funny. The reason I am making this post entry is simply because of the underline moral story of the movie. Throughout the movie, Willy Wonka has flashbacks of himself as a child and his father not allowing him to eat candy/chocolates. This turned him into a candy nut in addition to being afraid of family. Charlie shows him how important family truly is and eventually Willy Wonka goes to see his father. Charlie ends the movie with everything he could want, his family and his wonderful chocolate factory.

Dream Meadow

Written on July 15, 2005 by Kevin.

Here is an item that I can count on my wife wanting. The appearance and functionality are certainly not lacking with this product. It converts from a bed, diaper changing table or even a see-saw/rocker. It definitely is a colorful and playful item which isn't too tacky like many other baby toys. I was simply blown away the first time that I stepped into a baby store and saw all of the outrageously colored toys/items. I understand the items are for functionality rather than matching my house colors but still, some of the patterns out there are just terrible.

Link: Haba Dream Meadow.

Batteries everywhere..

Written on July 14, 2005 by Kevin.

With recent purchases for baby toys and other items, it has come to my attention that the amount of money spent on just batteries is amazing. I wanted to try and figure out how much money I may spend on batteries in the first year of the babies life. I tried to be very conservative with the numbers and based my research on peoples opinions/reports of battery usage with the toys that we currently have. This is certainly no where near a scientific calculation but fun none-the-less. These numbers will likely increase significantly in time when the amount of toys needing batteries increases. For now, I expect to spend at least $74.25 on just batteries in the first year.

Items Include:

Einstein Neptune Toy Bar

Flutterbye Dreams Lullabye Birdies Soother

Fisher Price Kick N learn Piano

HP PhotoSmart 635 Digital Camera

Update: Recalculated after adding batteries for digital camera.

Eat as a Family, Lose Weight

Written on July 12, 2005 by Kevin.

A recent article on WebMD points out that family who eat dinner together, will commonly eat healthier. Studies have shown that families who eat together will eat more vegetables and fruits. According to the article, "they also tend to eat less fried foods, soda..." More information with the following link.

Link: Eat as a Family, Lose Weight

Baby's first year can cost dear

Written on July 11, 2005 by Kevin.

The Seattle Times recently ran an article titled 'Baby's first year can cost dear'. The article points out that the average first year of life will cost anywhere from $7,000 to $14,600. The article goes on to provide some helpful tips to keeping that amount as low as possible. Many of these tips we hope to do with our newborn.

Link: Baby's first year can cost dear

The results are in. It's a BOY!

Written on July 9, 2005 by Kevin.

The day has finally come when we were able to find a definite answer that we are having a boy. We had the opportunity to get a 3D ultrasound which showed a much clearer picture of the inside of my wife's belly. It truly is an amazing technology and I would highly suggest it to anyone who is capable of purchasing a package. Below is one of the many pictures that we received as well as a short video. For those interested, Geddes Keepsake was the company who performed this ultrasound.

Movie: Click here.

3 ways a baby is like a computer program.

Written on July 8, 2005 by Kevin.

Many visitors to the website may not find the humor in this post but the ones who know a bit about computers certainly will.. 3. There is always something that can be fine tuned. 2. There is always the need to be on the lookout for buffer overflows (poop). 1. No matter how well the program is written, it will eventually spit out junk. Baby Perl Code

Top 5 ways my baby will be similar to Google.com

Written on July 7, 2005 by Kevin.

5. Always will have something new for me to be shocked and amazed about..
4. Continues to absorb new information everyday.
3. The space capacity (belly) will continue to grow and grow..
2. Retrieve large amounts of data (food), archive it and spit it back out..
1. The speed at which it processes content (food) will be amazing..

On a side note, the following onesie is for sale at the GoogleStore. Purchasing this, should be the start of my google baby.

Women carrying girls are more forgetful?

Written on July 7, 2005 by Kevin.

I came across the following link which in a nut shell says that women who are having a girl tend to be more forgetful. A short but interesting read..

The researchers said they found evidence that women who gave birth to boys consistently outperformed moms of girls in tests that specifically taxed memory in areas of listening, computational and visualization skills.

Link: MSNBC.com

The minivan debate..

Written on July 6, 2005 by Kevin.

One thing that seems to come with starting a family are the thoughts of purchasing a minivan. It seems that many people buy one even though they only have a single child. Is this really necessary? From all reports that I can see, minivans never seem to go over 45mph. They are always extremely slow to respond to any road incidents and general are a pain to be stuck behind. I hope the day never comes that I have to go minivan shopping. I hope that my large sedan will keep the (soon to be) three of us with plenty of space. I just cant imagine having to face myself while I make car payments on a minivan for the following 3 years. Lets hope my wife's desire for a minivan doesn't outlast my dislike for them.

<rant> why oh why?

Written on July 6, 2005 by Kevin.

I believe we can all agree that every pregnancy is different in some way or another. My wife has been sick since nearly day one and ever since, I have been hearing "it will go away soon." I am getting this from nearly every person I talk with. My wife is over 5 months pregnant and into the 3rd trimester now and still the sickness/pain continues. While the sickness appears to have gone down a bit, it is still commonly there, in one way or another. If people truly understand that every pregnancy is different, why do they keep telling me that her sickness will pass soon? Maybe it will, maybe it wont. Furthermore, the women who flaunt that they had a great pregnancy with no sickness/issues need to quiet down. This only makes women who have a more difficult pregnancy all the more annoyed. I can see why many women only choose to have one child. Not necessarily because they don't want too, but simply because they cant imagine going through the sickness/pain again. Hopefully for my wife's sake, the sickness will pass before the end of the pregnancy. </rant off>

Saturday is the day...

Written on July 6, 2005 by Kevin.

Because we were not able to see our child's sex at the last and final ultrasound, we decided that it would be a good time to try out a 3D ultrasound. The images that these devices produce are much clearer (creepier) than your normal ultrasound. They basically show a big blob with a baby's body/face in it. Its an extreme difference than your normal image and they state that it will be very unlikely that we will not be able to find out if we are having a girl/boy. My wife and I want a girl but the gut feelings are pointing to a boy. Possibly a name of Rylan? Either way, its going to be an interesting time. Anyone have any suggestions for boys and girls names?

The Daddy Difference

Written on July 2, 2005 by Kevin.

In the recent June 2005 Edition of Arizona Parenting they had a section relating to daddy information. They go into talks about how dads should be given alone time with the child(ren) and how fathers should attend doctor visits, ultrasounds and certainly the birth of the child. According to a recent National Center for Fathering report, nearly 40% of fathers between the ages of 25 to 44 did not know the name of their child's teacher. A more staggering number is that they say 33% of fathers have never attended a child's class event or school meeting. These numbers truely blow me away. I cannot understand why you would not want to see your child succeed in school/life. They go onto say that in another study that mothers and fathers who are highly involved in their childs education, earn much higher grades and generally enjoy school more. There is much more reading to be had... I would suggest picking up a free copy of this magazine at baby stores, and for people out of state, try this link.