Tips and Savings

Hi again

These are tough times; and we need to cut back on a few things here and there (some more than others). The one things that I learned with my newborn was to think out of the box (not just at work).

While making my baby shower list, some one suggested a diaper genie. And I thought why am I going to waste money on this. No baby in the world has bowel movements that would require this machine while at home; think about it. If you're at home and its time to change the diaper, you do it. You clean your bundle of joy dress them up and put them down. Next is getting rid of the dirty diaper. You go to the bathroom, deposit into the toilet what needs to be there and flush. "Oh look no more messy smell", then you take a plastic bag from the supermarket (we all have them, right), you put the dirty diaper inside tie a knot and into the trash.

Do the math people. How much are those bags for the genie vs how much are the plastic bags that hold our groceries. Most of us save them and use them as trash bags anyway so what's the difference.

Now when you go out you can either carry in your diaper bag these plastic bags, or if like me you belong to one of the mega supermarket clubs, such as Costco, you by sandwich bags. They seal fine and once your done changing the diaper, you fold it up and zip it in the baggie.

Another thing that I learned was not to buy the so called special baby water, that the specialty baby stores are so keen on pushing on to us. By yourself a thermos and boil water. By keeping the hot water in the thermos you'll have warm water to mix the baby's formula at all times day & night. When you are almost out you dispose of what might be there (maybe into a plant) and start over. Boil more water and pour into the thermos. You already have the water and the stove in your house, do you really need to spend more on bottled baby water?

So, you'd like to hear more tricks. Well you can carry your thermos in your diaper bag along with baby's formula. Or you can purchase an item called Nursettes. They are a little high in price; however if you purchase them directly from Enfamil you'll receive a case full. So when you go out you can just carry the bottles that you need or want. When baby's done with feeding you throw away the bottles and keep the nipples. Again you can store the nipples in baggies and reuse them.

What do you think about sterilizing - it can be tricky. This is one special trick I learned while my daughter was in NICU (oh yes, you see, I told you in my first blog that I've pretty much done it all). So getting back to sterilizing. In NICU you have these tiny babies that need to be fed warm milk; do you think they have stoves and bottled water etc. Oh NO!!! They have microwaves. I thought this was fantastic. Go to Kmart Walmart what ever store you like and purchase a big microvable plastic bowl. Put water in your new bowl, open the microwave and put it to boil for 10 minutes. That's all you need. Anyone who uses a mircowave knows that everything heats up very quickly and become very very hot.

So now you've now sterilized your baby's bowl. Whats the next step, put your baby bottles, nipples, pacifiers inside with water and put into the microwave for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Once its done, put on a plate some paper towels, and using thongs remove extremely hot items and place them over the plate, then take another paper towel and cover them. This isn't rocket science and inexpensive. You are reusing recycling and reducing your bottom line; which is at the end what we want to do and try to succeed at it.

Now living in So. Florida does have its benefits due to our almost year round sunshine. When you wash your baby's clothes you can use Dreft its a little expensive but it does protect baby's delicate skin & clothes. But when drying why not line dry? We live in an apartment building and although my child is 7yrs to this day I still line dry. The vitamin E absorbed by the cotton fabrics will transfer on to your baby, perhaps not in large quantities but every little drop helps. Remember vitamin E helps protect our bodies from our hot sun.

My thoughts on coupons varies; very few are great deals especially when the household is 2. Plus sometime you're not really saving because in the tax charged at the checkout line will recover your so called savings. My suggestion go shopping with a list and calculator; get to know your prices and options. I'm a firm believer that Target's toilet paper brand is the best bang for your buck as well as Bounty's (pick your size) sold at Target. But remember you need to do your math and see what works for your family size and situation.

Until next time - have a great day!!

Kids & Comfort Food

Our children are what we feed them. Don't blame them if they can't get enough of those Happy Meal prizes; or if they have medical conditions due to the processed foods that you introduced them to.

When they were infants or toddlers - did they ask you to take them to these fast food places? I don't think so. We as parents need to be responsible for teaching our kids to eat in moderation and not endlessly like feeding a slot machine in Vegas. As they grow we teach them to eat portions and slowly; so they can feel full. If we teach them to eat, eat, eat then guess what, they're going to eat non-stop.

I choose to stay away from processed meals all together. I taught my child to eat other choices; realizing that in a few years when she goes out on her own with her friends she can choose at that time what she prefers. If you ask my child if she wants fast food (any type), she'll respond "no thank you I don't eat fat food; and its not healthy either".

Obviously we each raise our children as we each choose and according to what we have been taught. However, if there are consequences to those choices that we made for them, don't turn around and sue the companies, blame the advertisers or expect big brother to step in and regulate; because we have the power of choice.

For some it might be easier to simply swing by the drive thru window and purchase there than to get home and cook a meal. I've been there.

You, don't believe me? Before becoming a mom I had a very different lifestyle. Life in the fast lane, full speed ahead never stopping. I would eat at a certain un-named fast food chain2 or 3 times a day. Several times a week I would adorn my table with this feast; however it wasn't until after I gave birth to my child that I realized how hard it was to drop the weight gained.

My daughter was about 1 year old and I was weighing a whopping 260lbs. I knew that I was all she had in the world and had to do something drastic about my weight. Diets weren't working nor was trying to work-out, and then add to that breast feeding, pumping, as well going to work. This wasn't happening.

My insurance covered the famous gastric bypass surgery. So without much hesitation I decided to go forth. Please don't think it was easy. There were a lot of steps; sleeping tests, blood work, doctors etc. However I wasn't simply planning a surgery, I also had to coordinate my daughter & her sitter. Also had to realize that this was a lifestyle change; not only for cosmetic reasons but health.

I had my procedure the Monday following Thanksgiving. I had left my child with a sitter; whom informed me by phone at 7am, the day I was leaving the hospital, that she couldn't wait until 3pm which is when I'd be home; she had to leave at 10am.

Can you imagine, me laying on a hospital bed thinking what do I do now? I can assure my mental language was a lot more colorful than that expressed here, lol. I did what every other business person in the world would do, pulled out my cell phone, my personal phone book and started calling everyone I could think of that could stay with my child for a few hours. I was frantic, while at the same time pushing to get myself discharged as quickly as possible. Luckily, I was able to find a dear neighbor to help me out.

Now while all this is happening at home; I have a draining tube stuck up my nose. A very wonderful student nurse, whose name escapes me at this time, came into my room and began pulling it out very gently as if not wanting to hurt me. But her lack of speed made it oh so more painful, that I took the tube from her hand and pulled it out myself, thus ending my pain.

By 1pm I had fulfilled all the necessary requirements to be dismissed. The nurses were aware of my home situation; what they didn't know is that I would be driving myself home; which is a big no-no.... Needless to say, I made it home by 3pm the time I had originally planned.

Like most I've had selfimage issues my entire life. Even when I weighed 110lbs I felt fat. It's a struggle that to this day we see and a few years after my surgery I began to struggle with once more. At least now-a-days the girls have Oprah & Dove to assist. (Children in general can be very cruel - topic for another day).

Going back to the topic at hand. We look for food (or whatever drug you prefer); to help aid so many of our fears, mistakes, lack of self-confidence. I'm not sure why, but one day I'll figure it out and when I do I'll share my results with all of you.

After my first month of surgery I had dropped 30lbs. I began to see this amazing transformation and I knew that I couldn't let this opportunity be lost. I ate according to the schedule provided by my doctor, Dr. Enrique Whitwell and his staff, who were all amazing. I soon learned to listen to my body and eat only what it wanted and the amount it asked for.

I took me a total of 1 year and half to lose all my extra weight and level out at 118lbs.

The reason for sharing this story is to show that there is a reason for my being so careful with my daughter and her weight at an early age. I know that if she has her first menstrual cycle over weight the chances of her losing the weight without medical intervention aren't good.

My child is not a skinny stick like a stick; but I do drill in on a daily basis the need for good food and a healthy lifestyle. All my friends know that there are no sodas nor candy in our home. Let me clarify that perhaps once a month we share half a cup of coke from a soda fountain. So there are some sweets, and we eat pizza, ice cream and all other fun things; but our meals are home cooked.

I once said to a friend, for now she would eat greens and home meals; and when she was old enough, healthy with no medical problems she could go on to the Oprah show and complain on "how my mom never let me eat junk food". My friend understood what my intentions were and agreed that healthiness begins at a very young age.

I'm not very sure why, but my child has a tendency to prefer veggies to meats etc. I've often believed that she is too young to be vegan; but now that we have her annual wellness appointment I will mention it to her pediatrician. I'm not vegan, and I do appreciate a good piece of steak or chicken or salmon.

I've learned through process to plan a menu. We bought a tiny white board at Target and write down together our meals for everyday of the week (it helps my daughter practice spelling writing and makes her aware that she's part of our family and our decisions are made together); including the weekend even if we are going out. Then got myself a slow cooker, small enough for just the 2 of us.

While maybe not everyone will agree on my postings; there are ways to help our pockets and waistlines. Remember to always hug your child and remind then that they are beautiful :)

Motherhood

Hello to all - many things have been said about motherhood. However in my opinion the most important one is missing. We should be called Nobel Prize Winners in every category. We heal all wounds, resolve every conflict, invent science experiments, make volcanoes erput (more importantly on the spot).

Being a mom is perhaps the hardest task women can face. Imagine, we're entrusted in raising tomorrow's leaders. We always wonder if the decision we're making today are the smartest for tomorrow. Constantly we second guessing our actions and decisions, this seems to be part of the equation. In our work lives, if we make a mistake we can go back and correct it; or go to board, supervisor, boss and say listen I made a mistake we need to do over. With our children, there are no do overs; therefor we need to try to do it correctly or as best we can from the beginning.

Constantly being criticized by others (and ourselves which is even worse). When we go out with our bundles of joy; there are those staring glares if you reprimand, and if you don't, its even worse. I will admit that I've been very lucky my lil' one was never a restaurant shouter nor did she run wild.

But before motherhood, I used to be one of those that were critical of those that wouldn't discipline their child. I remember thinking "why don't you discipline your kid lady, just give him a push on the tush and they'll stop. However it wasn't until I became a mom that I understood the true importance of that push on the tush at the right time, as well as that perhaps it might not always be the best method to correct an action.

In the beginning I was little embarrassed to discipline my child in public. Then one day it dawned on me, "if I don't then what's her behavior going to be when she's older? Do I want her to be the opening story of the 6pm news? NO!" At that point I realized that parenting was a full time job and didn't end when we left our home, actually that's where it starts. We all want our children to be the best they can; but we have to show them. Don't be afraid to discipline and correct; your child will love, respect and one day perhaps thank you.

A couple of years ago I took a foster parenting class; and the social workers would share stories of stripping parental rights, kids behavior, number of times that children are returned to parents. We'd do mock situations regarding some of these and probably the most important lesson that the child would always want to stick by their side. The bond of mother child is rarely ever broken.

I'd like to share some of the lessons learned and those missed during my years of mothering. Its been an interesting road, from battling cancer previous & during my pregnancy to falling down and rebuilding. I hope you enjoy, learn, share, cry, laugh and perhaps share some of your stories and questions as well.