Peditrician

Dr. Robert Rinaldi
Fountainville
215-345-1122

He has been great. you'll never feel like you are bothering him... EVER... he does not prescribe antibotics on a wim at all. He's a single practicioner. We have been to group practices and have waited and waited. Here, i think the most we have ever waited (once only) was about 20 minutes.

We also go to another woman for Sarah since dr rinaldi didn't do great with her anxiety. 

Dr cyrvil navaro

Doylestown

215-348-2258

Dr Navarro is great. She's an older doctor who uses no nurses, doesn't wear a white coat- key for us and down to earth. Sarah walked in with ease and loved her. She isn't great with babies I jVe found but great with my older kids. 

Kressly Peds

1432 Easton rd

Warrington, pa

215-343-5520

There are 2 doctors in this office. They are really wonderful. Office is bright, clean and office staff is wonderful. I would change all my kids there except they are a little far from me for a quick sick run. 

baby shoes

Should babies wear shoes? They should? they can't walk!

Well, i have found (with other people's children) that if babies aren't wearing shoes before they can walk, they are more likely not to want to wear shoes at all. Besides, they are so cute! Sock and shoes do NOT stay on their feet too well. We have found robeez to work really well for us. You can use them with or without socks and they have sandels too! While they are kinda pricey, knock offs can be found at Target.

hospital bag

ok, so i WAY over packed for Sarah and did JUST right for Kate. Take the stuff you need. EXTRA granny panties! the hospital's panties are gross! to say the least! LOTS o pads, and one or two comfy clothes for you (you'll be in a gown for probably the first day- at least).

They give you everything you need for the baby... especally the diapers! take all the diapers home you can.. don't forget to look in the drawer of the bassinet.. goodies! Take with you an outfit for the picture, your own wipes (you have wet theirs- ew) and maybe a take home outfit. I'm pretty sure we took comfy stuff for both girls. Also a cute blanket or 2 for pictures. Don't take a sleeper bag, you can't buckle them into the carseat well (we did that with sarah) and of course don't forget the carseat. Bring your boppy and pump... the lactation consultant will help you with the pump-  hospital grade one.
Take your computer- free WiFi

bassinet

ok, with Sarah we used the bassinet feature on our pack n play. it worked out fine- though very large it was ok. You may need it on a second floor of your house though. If you decide to get a bassinet, get one that has a fold down side. This has easier access to the baby from your bed. No need for it to rock or anything. We had one that rocked and it didn't REALLY rock...

registry

I would put on all carseats you may need for this kid.. they are expensive! Swing, boppy, bumbo, bumbo tray, diaper bag for you and him (see later post), bottles, even if you aren't going to use them-you might, bibs, bouncer, saucer, travel system and/or deluxe umbrella stroller, pack n play, crib mattress, rattles, sippy cups, thermotor-digital, bath tub, DIAPERS, nursing stuff, paci (if you are going to use them), carseat cover (to protect your seat), rear view mirror, booster seat, rocker, crib, changing table, changing pad(with curve), changing pad covers, monitor, we loved the aquarium fish crib attachment...hmmm....

diaper bags

it's worth the extra money.. really.. i've had SEVERAL, let's leave it at that.. several diaper bags and the one i have kept is my SkipHop bag. this one is pretty close to the one i have www.skiphop.com/product/20000.html and i just loved it. It has an attachment for the stroller which we used ALOT. you can go to amazon.com and go to wish list and baby registry and select the option for the univeral button, which allows you to add items from any website onto one registry.. NICE!
We also liked our eddie bauer backpack.. that came in real handy!

Strollers

Hmmm, i've had a few... let's see how many...

Evenflo Triumph Travel System: Bought the protection plan with it, definately helped since it broke and we got a full refund (within one year). It was fine. This carseat had the "Z" handle. Not as necessary as I thought. Both the stroller and car seat were heavy too. Stroller had a large basket and nice canopy.

Combi (forget the model): Loved it.. until it broke. Bought this one off Ebay. Much cheaper there. It was a deluxe umbrella stroller which came with a part to fit my car seat on it. The Frame snaped. UGH! Good canopy, large basket.

Combi Cosmo: Loved it, light weight, orange, fun, had a strap to hold on your shoulder. When i put both girls in it, it didn't hold up. It did hold the carseat too though. The basket wasn't very assesible or big for that matter. Small canopy. Though you can buy a larger one to fit on top of stollers..

Sit and Stand joovy Ultralite: so lite, so nice. Huge canopy. Huge basket. I bought the parent cup holder thing. Although once sarah got too heavy, it was hard to move with her in the front. I shouldn't have gotten rid of this one.. wish i kept it.

Sit and stand joovy: purchased this one after my 3rd for a Disney trip. Still hard to maneuver with my big girls in it.

Baby Trend Double Jogger: Huge canopy, easy to push. folds pretty small for what it is

Double stroller maclaren: very lite weight, folds ok doesn't push great.

Graco quartto tour duo ;front to back double: This was an awesome stroller. It was 35 or 40 pounds to pick up. Too heavy for me with a bad back. nice large baskets. cup holders for all. loved it... would be perfect for twins. Folded pretty small. Considering the size.

Side by Side chicco trevi: Perfect for us. Easy to push, both girls can get in and out with no trouble. Folds small. A little heavy but i'm dealing. large baskets. Large canopy. Cannot hold carseats though.

Baby Trend (umbrella type): loved it, but had too many at the time. Small, good for short people. Basket was a fine size and had a tray for child.

2 umbrella strollers: Not worth it. Short, hard on back, no basket, some don't have a canopy.

Graco (pink stroller): Loved it, just had too many to keep it. It was a travel system i sold the car seat part. it was lite and nice. big basket.

City mini double: wonderful stroller. Pros: easy to push, easy to open/close, large baskets, mid price range, can adapt to car seat. Cons: doesn't have the one hand push bar, baskets not as easy to get into, bar goes all the way across instead of over just one seat.

Britax b agile: love this one. Pros: one hand push bar, easy to maneuver, front basket access, easy to hang 2 accessories bags from. Can put car seat on with the tray adapter, adapters go across one seat at a time Cons: folds/opens a little tougher than they say. Foot rest gets very dirty

Preg preggo pilko switch: great stroller. Maneuvers well, goes from snap n go to forward facing stroller to rear facing very easily. Also has a spot for a small child to stand and ride on. Mine decided to sit ON the baby.great single stroller.

We have found all different way to use the strollers in different ways too! See the picture :)

Sterilizing

Not saying that it's a bad thing to be sterile. Just don't think you need to go to the extreme of microwaving bottle parts and such. i think a dish washer gets plenty hot. Get a basket for the dishwasher and put all the parts in there.

Pacifer, Binky, Nuk, whatever

When i was in the hospital, they didn't want me to use one, because i was nursing, by the time Kate came around, i brought one with me. 

 We definately didn't want out 3 year old walking around with it and had that in mind ahead of time. So, we took their paci away around 9 months. Either of the older girls was nursing. 

As for thumb sucking, our 3rd sucked her thumb and used the paci until about 8/9 months. She's over 2 and we are working on the thumb situation. 

We were told by our dentist that if the pacifer falls on the ground, don't put it in your mouth to clean it. The baby will get more germ that way. Wipe it off or use another one.

A clip definatly helps with sanity. This will definatly help with germ control too.

I also had a pacifer holder for my diaper bag. Loved that!

Pregnancy

Don't worry about how much weight you'll gain, you'll loose it. You'll have to work hard at it, but you will. Be prepared for everyone to ask you "how your feeling." They just do it. What do you mean how am i feeilng? i have a 4 lb kid sitting on my blatter and i'm suppose to answer that? blauh!

Prenatal Yoga was awesome! Kept me moving and I worked out for most of Sarah's Pregnancy.

Go to Old Navy and cheaper stores for clothes, remember, you won't wear them long and towards the end, you will probably be in a different size anyhow.

Welcome!

I am writting this blog to capture all the kid advice i can give from the last 8 years. There is no particular order, just when it comes to mind. Enjoy!