Baking

I think every girl has an idea of what kind of mother she's going to be, or wants to be. Or if she doesn't she, at least, has an idea of what she thinks a mother should be like. For me it was a woman who is involved, and caring, with an overwhelming desire to feed her child plate after plate of homemade pasta, I clearly grew up in an Italian family. I have this picture (probably from some awesomely cheesy Disney channel movie) of a young girl sitting in the kitchen baking cookies and talking with her Mom. Problem is ... I'm not much of a baker. I don't see myself in the same way I imagine Moms to be. And I'm totally okay with that. If I've learned anything in my short time as a Mother, it's that there are a million different ways to be a mom and not a single one of them is the right way.

I guess I knew I was going to stray from my Motherly vision from the moment Claire was born. Everyone says when you hold your baby for the first time you fall in love. As I held her for the first time I thought to myself, "Where's all this love everyone's talking about?" Don't get me wrong, I thought she was the most adorable baby I'd ever seen but I just didn't have that moment. To me she was a little stranger who I barely knew aside from her kicking the crap out of my belly (which I didn't actually appreciate). As the weeks progressed I grew to like her a lot but I still didn't love her like I thought I was supposed to. When I finally decided that I did love her it was pretty conditional. It took me about 6 weeks before I felt full on unconditional love for her. From the outside it seems so cold not to love your baby immediately, but to me it felt normal. I needed to get to know her better and she needed to get to know me. I don't think I'm the only woman to feel this way upon the birth of their child. With so many different types of women, it seems unnatural for all of us to feel the exact same way about the same event. At first I felt really bad about my reaction to Claire and how long it took me to connect with her, but now I feel so much closer to her because I gave myself the time I needed to become the type of Mom I know how to be.

More than a year later, I've cast aside my vision of the perfect mother for a more realistic version. As the time passes I become more comfortable and confident with my style of mothering. It's become clear to me that I don't have to change who I am at the core to be a good mom. I might not change a diaper as quickly as other mothers, but the diaper still gets changed. I'm more laid back than most moms, and I think that's great. I will take Claire to Disneyland more times than I can count before she will be able to remember it and I will think it's worth it, even if other moms don't. I can be involved and caring while sarcastically cracking jokes on the side. I can use the word "really?" as discipline effectively. And I can sit in the kitchen with Claire talking and eating cookies without having to become a baker.

Where to Begin?

Dad's Log, Earthdate 28, 07, 2009 -

So, I wish we had started this blog when we had Claire so that we could talk about things as they happened instead of the way I'm about to try. I'm going to attempt to go through my memory and just talk about some stuff.

If you don't know us then you may not know that we aren't yet married and that Claire was an early gift. (Nice way of saying we oopsed that one.) I have always wanted to be a father and have a family, and I couldn't have asked for anything better than my little girl. It was also a nice relief to have her now because doctor's told Alexis at one point that they aren't sure she'd be able to have kids and after she turns 30 it would be even harder. So I count myself blessed to have her and hopefully we can get married and have another in the next couple years.

Having your own child is such a life changer (I know, I know, everyone says that). You really don't realize it until you have one, but it changes how you look at almost everything. Any time I watch a movie and see a baby get kidnapped or hear about a baby being real sick or disabled it effects me in such a more emotional level. Having Claire fills me with such a bigger purpose in life and I don't even care what my situation is like as long as I am taking care of her and she grows up happy and well.

A love for your child is truly unconditional. I don't care how much of pain she can be at times (and she can be a PAIN!), I'll always miss her as soon as she goes down for a nap or I walk out the door with out her. Claire becomes more of an individual every day and I don't want to leave her in fear I'm going to miss something new she says or does. I always wondered how I'd be as a parent and if it'd be different from when I helped babysit/raise my brothers. And it is way different for me in such a good way.

I'm kind of blabbing about my overall feel on the last year and nothing in particular all at once... but I did feel it important to express to you what she means to me and how important she is in my life before I do any posts about specific events.

I'll be back next week to continue my personal logs, but you can look forward to Lex's log and another combined review later this week/week end.

Baby Butt Blunders! (a diaper remedy product review)

Hello, I hope you've been looking forward to seeing what kind of things we'd be talking about on here. I was kind of curious myself heh. For our first product review we're going to talk about Diaper Rash remedies. We have extensive knowledge of butt pastes, creams and ointments. Claire has had some BAD rashes that would come on without warning and be blistering and bleeding. Really a bad time for all involved.

We started out not applying creams on every diaper, only if it started getting a little pink or red. But once she started getting bad rashes we would use powder and butt paste on every diaper no matter the condition. Even with extra precautions she would still get rashes, it was frustrating for us and our poor girl. Throughout this ordeal we have sampled quite a few diaper rash creams and ointments and here is our assessment of those brands.

Below you'll find a short description of each product and a mini review from each of us including a rating.

Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

We received this product as a gift and used it from the start. It's made with Zinc (an important ingredient in fighting off red butt syndrome) and Peruvian Balsam. It has a think consistency (a little thinner than peanut butter) and smells ... not disgusting. A 16 oz jar cost $16 - $18 and lasts basically forever, like more 6 months, and is available at most baby stores, drug stores and Target like places. This product also has the benefit of a hilarious name which clearly adds to it's credibility. You can get a free sample of BBP if you go to www.buttpaste.com and send a self address, stamped envelope to the address found there.

Lex's Review - I would say that overall this product worked well for us. For a child with mild diaper rash it's perfect. I have to say that I always felt like a cool hilarious parent when we used it cause the name kills me! We don't currently use this product and I kind of miss it. Although one downfall is it's sometimes hard to get off of the booty. In the end I give Boudreaux's Butt Paste 3.5 out of 5.

Jason's review - This was the first diaper cream I've used since I was changing my brother 13-15 years ago and I was happy with it. It lasted a long time for us. Also it was really easy to apply. It wasn't greasy like some can be and stuck to her butt well. The price is right on this one as well. Overall I'll give it (Boudreaux's Butt Paste) a solid 4.0 out of 5.

TriDerma Baby Severe Diaper Rash Fast Healing Cream

This product is made with Zinc PCA, which is an antibacterial amino acid derived from common household zinc. It also has something called AP4 Aloe in it which is basically "virgin" aloe. I had to google these ingredients to figure out what they are. It has a creamy consistency and smells pretty medicinal. TriDerma is available at Babies R Us and most drug stores. It costs $15-$17 for a 4oz tube.

Lex's Review - I absolutely hated this diaper cream! The box claims overnight results and if you count extra redness results then it worked. It was expensive and didn't work for us at all. I also think it stung when we put it on. Claire would scream every time we used it. I would NOT recommend this product to anyone. Overall I would rate TriDerma Baby Severe Diaper Rash Fast Healing Cream 0 out of 5.

Jason's Review - We bought this in desperation. Claire was having a really bad rash and we needed to do something different. Found this product which claimed 5x healing abilities and over-night results...not the case! This one was a little greasy when putting it on (which is a bad thing in my opinion.) It also seemed to sting her bottom when we put it on her. She was really red and sore which is why we tried this expensive type, so I'm guessing it wouldn't have stung if she wasn't already with a really bad rash....but then why would we need to use a 5x/overnight result brand in the first place. I am so annoyed with this waste of money and rate TriDerma Baby Severe Diaper Rash Fast Healing Cream a 0 of 5

Method Baby Squeaky Green Diaper Cream

From the earth friendly people at Method, Squeaky Green Diaper Cream is 95% natural and comes in a convenient pump top container. It has the all important Zinc and is made with rice milk and mallow. It has a soft creamy consistency and almost no scent. It costs about $7 for 5.4 oz, and can be found at Target and most drug stores.

Lex's review - We currently carry this in our diaper bag and I really like it. I wish all diaper creams came with a pump top like this it's super easy and much more clean up friendly. It goes on really smoothly and cleans off easily. When Claire has a bad rash we don't use it because it doesn't really combat a bad rash well but for everyday use it's my favorite. Overall I would rate Squeaky Green Diaper Cream 4.5 out of 5.

Jason's review - We bought this one solely for the convenient push top dispenser. Which is awesome. It's seemed to work well. We're on our 3rd bottle I think. It's not very thick, but it seems easy to spread around and cleans off easy. Will wipe off if the diaper rubs across it and that's one thing I don't like. But overall I'll give it (Squeaky Green Diaper Cream) a 4.5 out of 5.

Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment

This product is different from all the others in that it's not a cream. It's an ointment and it's main ingredient is petroleum, not zinc. It's a clear greasy-ish ointment that can be used for dry, chapped skin or burns. It's kind of the kitchen sink of skin products for babies. It costs $7 to $9 for a 3 oz tube and is available pretty much anywhere you can buy baby stuff.

Lex's Review - This is the golden goose of butt related ointments! We use it on every diaper, unless we're away from home. We bought a HUGE tub of it and since we started using it Claire has barely gotten any rashes and when she does they are far less severe. My main complaint is that it's greasy on your fingers after you apply it but it's so worth it. We also use this one Claire's dry skin. Overall I would rate Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment 5 out of 5.

Jason's review - We bought this for use as a lotion on some dry skin and had it sitting around while she had bad diaper rashes. We never thought to try using it as a butt cream until we researched online and saw other parents highly recommend this as an overnight worker. So we used it on some bad rashes and were impressed! After 2 nights of using it went from red and bleeding to pink and not bothersome. I would suggest to everyone to try this. It does leave a lotion-y grease feel on your hands which is annoying for me, but it washes off and hey...you can moisturize your hands at the same time lol. It was expensive for a giant tub of it either, so I'll be giving this (Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment) the max rating of 5.

It is important to note that you should talk to your doctor about any severe rash. Until next time...you stay classy

Welcome Aboard!

Welcome to Baby Trek: The Next Generation! Here we are for our inaugural post! We are Jason and Alexis, parents to 1 year old Claire. We are a young family living in Southern California, and trying to survive this insane recession! Being first time parents is hard enough without having to worry about cutting costs, and these days I don't know anyone who isn't worried about that. And with all the baby paraphernalia out there that you have to have, figuring out what is necessary and what is extra fluff was something we had a hard time with. After a year we've finally figured out how to get exactly what we need while cutting costs without losing quality. That's why we decided to start this blog; to help other parents by reviewing baby products we like, and don't like, and comparing them to some of the more popular (big name brand) products out there, without which we shouldn't be able to function.

Like lots of other new parental units, spending time together is key, and getting out of the house with a baby or toddler is sometimes chaos. Just the thought of managing naps and tantrums during a day of activities away from your home can be enough to land you back in your sweats and in front of your TV. But I think any parent can agree that putting in the extra effort to get out of the house as a family is well worth the screaming and crying it takes to get out, sometimes from us more than our kids. Jason and I have made a point to go places with Claire. We spend the extra time and (sometimes) money it takes to experience things with our child. We go to the Zoo, the duck pond, restaurants, and even Disneyland with our little one because even if she doesn't remember it, we do. It's part of our experience as parents. It's also a good experience for her to see different people and places and discover more than our living room or stuff that fell on the kitchen floor. As part of this Baby Trek, we'll share our experiences and tips on traveling with Claire, from airplanes to parks, to zoos to, my favorite place to take her, Disneyland.

At no point in our lives will you hear either of us say we're experts on parenting or baby products, we are far from it. But when I look for information about a new product or a place for Claire, I don't only look for an expert filling the page with facts. I try to find people my age, who are new parents experiencing the same issues as we are. Those opinions are based on reality, which in my expert opinion are just as important.

I hope you will continue to check back with us as we travel along in this blog. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time ... Stay Classy