Article on "over-parenting"

Recently while in our lunchroom at work, where people bring in old magazines to share, a cover article on a magazine caught my eye. It was an article by Nancy Gibbs entitled "The Case Against Over-Parenting: Why Mom and Dad need to cut the strings" in the November 30, 2009 issue of Time magazine. Because just about any parenting article interests me, I scooped it up (and had to laugh out loud as I read it because I actually own a cookbook cited in this article, among other things). I thought the article was thought provoking in many ways and though a couple months old, worth sharing with the group.

BPA Free Cheat Sheets

With all BPA concerns over the last few years, it is hard to know what is BPA free and what isn't. Or even what all your options are for BPA free products. Or even what of your child's products contain BPA, besides the widely known bottles and sippy cups.

Though most companies are labeling their product as BPA free when it is and more companies are going to BPA free products, it's still helpful to be able to refer to a good resource. www.safemama.com, which was started by moms just like us, has many cheat sheets for BPA free products such as bottles and sippy cups, pacifiers, baby food and baby food making products and much, much more. These cheat sheets, which are updated regularly, can really help you get your arms around all that is BPA free and much more.

Valentine's cards, crafts and sweets

The Family Fun website always has really neat ideas for all things holiday. If you are looking for ideas, here is a link to all their Valentine's Day ideas.

For Valentine Day's past, we have made the sweet shovel (we filled it with stickers, little raisin boxes and a couple chocolate kisses) and the sweet for the sweet - naturally for my oldest son's friends. Both were a huge success.

In addition to the card ideas, there are also a ton of fun recipes, games and party ideas.

Baby sign language

We taught our first child baby signs and though I was a little skeptical at first, we found it well worth it. We stuck to the basics mostly: more, hot, hurt, milk, please, thank you, all done, bath, book, and a few others. It worked really well and he ended up being an early and very good talker, as well as communicator. So when the twins were old enough, I taught them those few signs as well. Both twins had delays in all areas, including speech, so having baby signs proved even more helpful for them. I really feel, as do others, that it helped them feel more in control and comfortable being able to express their needs before they could get it out with words.

We later discovered that one of the twins has a speech disorder called Apraxia, so knowing some sign language has meant the world to him. We actually all started learning more signs when we discovered this and we noticed a big change in him - he was less frustrated and more social with children and even adults. Even his speech therapist noticed the change.

If you want to teach your child baby signs, or ASL, there are many great resources.

Here are some that I have used and recommend:

• Baby Signs book by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn
• Babies and Sign Language website - signing glossary (with photos)
• Baby Signs Quick Reference Guide
• Signing Times DVDs (recommended by our speech therapist and our favorite resource)

Personally, I found teaching signs worked best when my children were about nine months old and starting to self feed. That's when I started with 'more,' 'drink' and 'all done.' We worked up from there.

To anyone that has interest and is wondering if it is worth it, in my opinion and experience it definitely is. Here is a great interview with Rachael Coleman the creator of Signing Times on the Multiples and More Blog.

How about our other moms? Did any of you use sign language with your babies? When did you start? What worked best? What resources were invaluable or helped the most? Any tips? Let us know!

Thinking about teaching your baby sign language and have questions? Ask us!

Transitioning to finger foods

The question regarding transitioning to finger foods comes up often. We're all excited to get to this point, but when we do... what can we feed them?

Here are some suggestions that club members provided:

• soft cooked pasta
• Gerber puffs
• brown rice
• cottage cheese
• baby yogurt
• soft cheese
• avocado chunks / guacamole
• whole grain couscous
• cooked green beans (soft)
• hummus on soft pita bread
• ripe apricots
• cooked carrots (diced and very soft)
• Zwiebeck crackers
• shaved or grated apples
• banana (cut small)
• ripe peaches
• small pieces of well cooked broccoli florets
• scrambled egg yokes with/without cheese
• tofu cubes rolled in (coated with) crushed cereal (Cheerios, Kashi Mighty Bites, etc)
• baked or steamed (until very soft) chunks of sweet potatoes or squash with cinnamon and/or nutmeg

All cubed and pieces of food, no matter how soft, should be very small. For the soft and somewhat slippery items, crush up cereal (like Cheerios, Kashi Mighty Bites, etc) and roll/coat the food chunks with crumbs. It will make it easier for your baby get a grip and pick up (and save them the frustration).

A great website for all things baby food, including first finger food ideas, is wholesomebabyfood.com. Here is the link to the finger food page which lists some other food ideas and recipes.

What additional tips do all of you have for transitioning to finger food? What resources did you use to get ideas? What favorite foods did your baby have? Give us your input!

School Aged Twins...To Separate or Not

Via email, one of our members asked for advice concerning a Kindergarten issue. She was wondering whether or not to separate her twins. Here is some feedback she received.

Our twins are now in first grade. They had a dependence on each other and did not do well when seperated at preschool, even for a short period. We kept them together for Kindegarten, the first time one went home sick was traumatic for the one left behind, but a huge growth experience for both. The teacher said there is no issue having them together. As they are growing, they are still just as close, but the interdependence on each other is waning, without the trama of seperation. I agree with other posts, it varies by twins, ask them and then be flexible enough to change the situation in the first week of school if necessary.

We kept our twins together for Kindergarten and First Grade (boy/girl twins). At that point, I asked them what they'd prefer, and they said to be separated. They have been separated since. That approach worked well for us. I made an appointment and talked with the principal (spring) to request they be together; normally our school splits them. I then put it in writing when they wanted to be separated. One thing I would have done differently was to request that both had one good friend in their classroom the first year they were split. I (incorrectly) assumed they would do that. The beginning of that year was a little rough for my daughter; I think it would have been easier if she had a good friend in her class.

Each year I would ask my sons' teachers if they saw any reason my sons should not be in the same class. (Our school only had one class for each grade) One teacher, that only had them once a week, did not even know they were twins (fraternal). Ask the boys as you go along and the teachers for feedback. Things could change as they grow.

I say keep the twins together if there are no rivalry issues or other reasons to separate. As soon as Kindergarten, kids are bringing home work and projects. It's much easier to keep up with one teacher and lesson plan versus two. School is a learning curve for both the parent and the twins. Make things easy on everyone the first year and re-evaluate as needed. Definitely talk to your school district though as each district differs on how much control the parent has in decisions such as classroom placement.

Cakes, Cakes, Cakes

Just an FYI,

One of our very own club members is offering her services. She will make cakes for any occasion. Just email or contact her for more information.

Holly Rickelmann
hlbn3@columbus.rr.com
phone#: 740-881-3117