Ergo Carriers on Sale - $85

I really love my Ergo carrier - it's really comfy for me, my husband (when it's not too warm for him to use it, since he's a human furnace), and Baby. They're incredibly convenient, especially in crowded areas, such as malls or cities, where strollers may be a bit difficult to navigate. They usually retail for over $100, however there are some on sale for $85 (+$8.50 s/h) here: http://www.yellbaby.com/ergo-baby-carriers.html. Sale is limited to supply on hand, and they're not going to get any more carriers in stock.

Flu Shots

I just took my son in to get his flu shot today at Kaiser. I wanted to get him his flu shot weeks in advance of our upcoming Hong Kong trip, in case he suffers any reactions. The flu shot clinic was surprisingly efficient! There were no tears during the injection; in fact, Son just gave out one loud squawk, and that's it. After the flu shot was administered, we were asked to stay for 15 minutes so the nurses could monitor any reactions to the injection. It was a good thing that we stayed, since Son experienced some slight swelling at the injection site - nothing too serious. The Kaiser nurses promptly noted the reaction in his medical record, gave us an ice pack, and sent us on our merry way.

Since Son is under 9 years of age, it's recommended that he receive 2 flu shots, 1 month apart. Given his reaction to the initial shot, it'll be up to the discretion of his pediatrician as to whether or not he should receive the second shot. He has a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks, so we'll see what she says.

I'm hoping that the H1N1 vaccine comes out soon so he can get the shot before we leave for Hong Kong.

Relevant links:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Information about H1N1 Vaccination

BebePods

Since my son is on the small side, he doesn't really fit in restaurant high chairs - this really is a drag if my husband and I actually want to eat our meals at the same time, without having to hold a baby. We've figured out a temporary solution, however. We just lug our BebePod around with us. Actually, we've just been leaving ours in the car, and bring it with us to restaurants. We have the fancy version with the seatbelt, so Baby stays pretty secure in the seat so far. We've learned that placing the BebePod on bench seats, in booths, or on banquettes work the best, since it's less likely for the BebePod to fall of the chair. When we have to put the BebePod on a chair, though, I usually keep my left arm on the chair (because of new-mother paranoia) and am still able to eat with my right hand. After all, new parents learn pretty quickly how to do all sorts of things with only one arm.

There are plenty of travel-friendly high chairs on the market. The ones that I've seen clip on to the table (for example, the Chicco Caddy Hook-On Chair for approx. $40 or the Phil and Ted's Me too! Travel High Chair for approx. $50). I've refrained from shopping for one of these chairs because we tend to frequent hole-in-the wall Chinese restaurants with unstable tables, so hooking on a high chair to the table isn't safe at all. (Another plus of the BebePod option at these venues is that the high chairs at a lot of these restaurants look absolutely filthy. At least if my BebePod is filthy, it's my baby's filth, and that's always okay.) And further, I already had a BebePod, so spending money on an additional baby item just doesn't appeal to me.

Ikea!

There's a great song about Ikea from Jonathan Coulton (you can find it here, just search for "Ikea"). Seriously, this song runs through my mind every time I'm at Ikea, and sometimes upon noticing that people are giving me strange looks I realize that I'm singing the song.

Anyway the point of this post is not to plug Jonathan Coulton (who also does a great cover of Baby Got Back, found via the same link posted above), but to discuss Ikea. Ikea is incredibly baby-friendly, which is surprising, given Sweden's low birth rates.

The Ikea in Palo Alto, CA has these great baby care rooms. There's one on the lower level when you first enter the store, and another on the top floor near the cafeteria. These baby care rooms are stocked with baby wipes and even diapers (size 3 only, but still...)! There's a changing table, a sink, and an Ektorp chair for nursing. They also have these strategically placed speakers next to the door so that the music that they pipe in covers up most of the sound outside. It really helps when you're nursing so that Baby doesn't get distracted by loud and sudden noises outside. My only complaint is that they should put another chair (even a simple wooden chair) in the bathroom, in case husbands, partners, family members, or friends are in the baby care room while Mom is feeding Baby.

The cafeteria also has bottle warmers in case you need to warm a bottle. I tried it once, and I couldn't seem to get it to work - it took a looooong time for the water in the bottle warmer to heat up. Either the bottle warmer sucked or it was broken. I just ended up filling a cup with hot water from the hot water dispenser attached to the coffee machine and warming up the bottle that way. (Caution: that water is HOT - you might want to mix it with some cold water so you don't melt the baby bottle.)

I believe all Ikea stores have these great amenities.

Nursing in Hong Kong?

We'll be going to Hong Kong at the end of October, and I'm excited... though anxious. I've been to Hong Kong many times before, but never with a baby. One of my big concerns is nursing Baby. Is nursing in public common? Encouraged? Taboo? I had read an article from a while back stating that nursing isn't very popular in Hong Kong, although the government is taking steps to encourage mothers to breastfeed babies. If breastfeeding isn't common in public, are there stores/malls/restaurants that are more or less nursing-friendly?

While doing some research on this issue, I stumbled across this article that gives a list of places in Hong Kong with nursing rooms and changing rooms. It's quite helpful.

To encourage nursing, the HK government has also provided baby care facilities in some government offices/premises. They've published a list of these facilities here.

Gate-checking car seats and strollers

On the few times that we've flown with Baby, he still fit his Graco Snugride car seat. Since we were renting a car and driving at our destination, we took the car seat along. We have three strollers at home, and the stroller we chose to bring with us was the Snap n Go stroller - it folds easily, has a metal frame that isn't likely to get crushed or damaged easily, and is easy to use with the Graco Snugride.

At the airport, we simply took the carseat and the stroller all the way to the gate with us. (You'll have to take the baby out of the carseat, put the car seat and stroller through the x-ray machine, and carry your child with you through the scanner machine thing.) At the gate, we told the employee that we were gate checking the stroller and the car seat, and they printed up Gate-Check tags for us. Upon boarding the plane, we simply left the car seat and the stroller at the end of the runway, and then picked them back up at the same place when we arrived at our final destination. All in all, it was quite convenient.

I highly recommend gate-checking any car seat you might bring - there's a greater likelihood that it'll make it on to the same plane as you do, and you don't want to arrive at your final destination without your car seat if you have somewhere to go immediately. If you've gone through the trouble of lugging your car seat along, I don't think you'll be very happy if you have to use a loaner car seat from the airline or from the car rental company.

Now, I've seen big glorified red bags out there that claim to protect your gate-check items. Sure, they might work, but rather than spend the money, we simply asked for a couple of the airline's complimentary large plastic bags when we checked in at the ticket counter. These plastic bags were large enough to hold a car seat or a stroller, and they were sturdy enough to survive a round trip flight.

Note: these comments are based on my experiences flying with Southwest Airlines so far. Policies and procedures with other airlines may vary.

Southwest Airlines

I used to hate Southwest Airlines. Okay, maybe hate is a little too strong. But I wasn't a fan of their boarding procedures - I always felt like the passengers were cattle, being rounded up into a small pen. But I must admit, now that airlines are charging fees for everything (even for using the bathroom!!!), Southwest is looking better and better. Not only are the first two checked bags free, but if you wish, you can check in two baby items (such as a pack n play) in place of one of those free checked bags. (See the policy here.) This is great for parents, since babies require lots of gear.

Now some may grumble at Southwest's boarding policy for families with small children - if you have small children, you don't get priority and don't get to board first. Apparently there was too much complaint from Southwest's frequent fliers. So the policy is that families with children under 4 board between boarding groups A and B. If you're assigned boarding group A, then of course you board the plane during your assigned time. If you're in boarding group B or lower, then you would board between groups A and B. Because I'm the anal-retentive paranoid person that I am, I'm always afraid that if I board between groups A and B I won't be able to get a seat next to the window for privacy during nursing. So I always make sure to set my alarm for 24 hours before flight time so I can be assigned the first boarding group.

Something to remember: if you're not purchasing a seat for your baby and he'll be a lap child, remember to bring a copy of his birth certificate. I know it may be obvious that the child is under 2 years of age, but the check-in people may request to see a birth certificate anyway. I've read horror stories about parents who have had to buy a last-minute seat for their baby because they didn't bring the birth certificate. You can find more information about Southwest's baby on board policy here.

I never had to make use of the changing table on board the plane, but the flight attendants informed me that the lavatory at the front of the plane has a changing table. And I also asked them if they had any recommendations on the best place to sit with the baby. Responses varied, ranging from "near the front bathroom" to "in the middle near the engine" so the vibration might lull the baby to sleep. So I haven't heard any consensus on the best place to sit if you have a baby with you on board. If you have any advice otherwise, please comment!

But seriously, if RyanAir implements that rubbish about charging for toilet use, that would make them a seriously baby-unfriendly airline.