Category: Family

Families at Outsideland

http://www.db798.com/pictobrowser.swf

Last weekend, we had media passes to the Outsidelands festival, a multi-day, outdoor concert in Golden Gate Park. The passes were courtesy of Crowdfire, a Web app that makes it easy to find out what people are saying about an event by aggregating attendees’ Twitter, Flickr, You Tube, and Facebook feeds. Useful, yo.

Anyway, Hank had a great time, and I was amazed at how many families were there. It’s nice when organizers take a few small steps — like allowing strollers, or not charging for wee ones — that make it possible to include your kids in the fun parts of grownup life.

9 Tips for Quick Airpot Security Screening With a Baby

Admittedly, Bryan and I stress about getting through security efficiently. We don’t like to delay other people, and we also don’t like to miss our flight. So we developed a system, a meticulous system, early on.

If you’re a laid-back sort, these tips will amuse you. If you hyperventilate at the thought of people in line behind you rolling their eyes, you’ll find this helpful.

The tips assume one baby, two adults, and three carry-ons. And away we go:

1. Get organized. Put liquids, gels, or powder (including baby food) in clear plastic bags. Wear shoes that slip on and off. Skip jewelry, empty your pockets into your bag, and affix your watch to a bag strap.

2. Toss contraband. Before queuing, ask yourself if you have any food or water that you’ve forgotten, and then throw it away. If you accidentally stow it in your bag, they’ll have to search your stuff, possibly send you through the air-puffing machine, call out the dogs, strip search you, and so on. It’s a pain.

3. Centralize IDs and tickets. Have one person keep IDs and tickets in an accessible pouch or wallet. That person shows ID for the group, and collects boarding passes after screening.

4. Get in the fast line. Lots of airports will send you into a quicker line if you have a baby with you. Approach the security agent with your stroller and ask, “Should we be in a different line with the baby?” Blink innocently.

5. Prep while you wait. Remove your shoes and laptops while you’re waiting. When you reach the magnetometer, un-stack as many trays as counter space allows.

6. Use lots of trays. Laptops need their own trays, as do your plastic bags full of food and toiletries.

7. Split up if possible. Ideally, one of you loads the conveyer belt while the other carries the baby through and packs up on the other side.

8. Load the conveyer belt judiciously. That means:

– Stroller or sling so the baby is situated right away and you have your hands free.
– Bag, then contents of that bag, rinse and repeat. That way you can zip one bag shut before tackling the next.
– Shoes go last. Either slip them back on, or go sit down elsewhere so you’re out of everyone’s way.

9. Exchange high fives. Damn, you’re good.

Like I said, meticulous. But awesome, no? If you have more ideas, please share them in the comments.

12 Travel Tips for Flying With a Baby

Twelve Tips for Flying with a Baby

In Hank’s first year, we’ve visited four different states and three different countries. We’re very tired. Still, we’ve learned a lot about flying with the little guy, and it’s all stuff you should know too.

Follow these guidelines and you’ll be comfortable, entertained, and prepared for the duration of your flight. And if not? Well, at least you’ll be in Belize when it’s over.

1. Book wisely. If your baby is on a regular sleep schedule, take a moment to savor your good luck. Then book your flight during nap or sleep time. Booking tickets is your first chance to optimize seating, though fortunately not your last.

2. Ditch your diaper bag. This smallish Samsonite tote is Hank’s travel bag. (On sale for $20! The hell?) We use it as his carry-on instead of the diaper bag because it has more room, but still stows under the seat. The extra pockets and U-shaped top zipper also make things much more accessible.

3. Provide entertainment. Pack a few new toys if the baby is older, otherwise cup lids and pretzel packets will fascinate. Leave noise-making toys at home. Even soft jingle or squeak will irritate others after an hour or so.

4. Prep for security screening. Invest in a couple of sturdy clear bags that you can yank out of the tote when you get to the security gate. (By the way, food doesn’t count toward your quart-bag limit on toiletries.) We use a medium bag for all his food—usually two ready-to-use bottles of formula, one empty bottle filled with the right amount of powdered formula, and a baggie of powdered formula with the scoop in the bag. The little bag houses children’s Tylenol, hand cream, travel-sized butt paste, a nasal sprayer, eye drops, thermometer, etc.

5. Plan for mishaps. Tuck in two fresh onesies for the kiddo, and a clean T-shirt for you or your partner, in case there’s an incident. You’ll want a few quart-sized plastic zippie bags for wet clothes. I also throw in a large plastic yard bag because it packs so small and is useful if you have a little guy who decides to poop, pee, spit up, and repeat. Dress the baby for easy changes.

6. Prep for fussiness. If you know your baby is a screamer, pack a bag full of foam earplugs for your neighbors. We also find that chamomile or herbal teething drops help calm our baby when he’s grumpy.

7. Buy a couple bottles of water. You can’t get bottled water through security in The States, but you can bring it on the plane if you buy it at the airport. The water on planes has lots of bacteria, so I add bottled water to our powdered formula. We also use a little bottled water and bathroom soap as a last resort if we have to wash a bottle for re-use on board.

8. Strategize seating. A bulkhead seat or an extra empty seat will change your life for the next few hours. First ask for the bulkhead (if you’re traveling internationally with a baby who’s under 28″ or so, this is where they hook you up with bassinets). If they’re not available, and you’re traveling with a partner, ask them to seat one of you on the window and the other on the aisle. This often leaves you with an empty seat between, because no one wants to sit in the middle. If you still haven’t wrangled an empty seat when you get to the gate, bring your cute baby up to the counter and ask very nicely if they can help you find an empty seat should one open up. Then ask if you can get them some coffee.

9. Keep your stroller with you. They’ll give you luggage tags at the gate, and you just leave it outside the door of the plane. We travel with a Kolcraft car seat stroller so we can check the wheels and take the car seat aboard if there are empty seats.

10. Make friends. Be extra kind to every crewmember you encounter. When you board the plane, show the flight attendants your baby, introduce them, take your baby’s hand and help him wave. Flight attendants are awesome, and they’re your allies in keeping the little one quiet and happy. They’ll heat bottles, bring extra blankets, supply cup lids, you name it. But only if you’re pleasant.

11. Do a scrub down. Our doctor advised us to use a few baby wipes to clean our arm rests and table trays. We even clean the light buttons and air vents so everything we touch is a little more sanitary. When you use the changing table in the bathroom, you might also want to wipe off anything the baby can reach in there.

12. Ease ear pressure. The baby should suck on something during takeoff and landing. Nursing works, as does bottle feeding, pacifiers, or a lollipop.

That’s all there is to it. Easier than you thought, right? You’re welcome to leave more ideas in the comments. Tomorrow I’ll do a little roundup of the best way to get through airport security efficiently. You can hardly wait.

G Diapers, the Verdict

I’m talking about diapers in this post. If you don’t care, you should totally check out this awesome article on the erotic appeal of the Land’s End Catalog.

All right, now a while ago I mentioned that we were switching out to G-Diapers and I’d tell you how it went. The verdict is, I still love them. I eased into using them overnight and for travel, and it’s working out. More stuff I learned:

–Pay attention to the clock.You have to be on top of the diaper changes (about every two hours) because when the diapers get full, they’re actually damp against the baby’s skin. Upside is, this should help with toilet training. Downside is, if you’re not careful, you could have a diaper rash on your hands. Or rather, on the baby’s butt.

–Fine for travel.They’re awesome out in the world because you can flush the poopies instead of carrying them around with you in a gross little plastic bag (so you don’t rudely stink up the public restroom). This is my favorite thing about them. However, they can be a bit bulkier in the diaper bag if you want to carry an extra cover and liner in addition to the absorbent pads.

–No plumbing issues so far.We have old plumbing, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem. I’m really careful about making sure the diaper is completely stirred around and broken up before I flush.

–They’re super cute.They come in great colors, are easy to use, and are way less bulky than cloth or even some disposables. In warmer months, I’ll let him wear the diaper in lieu of shorts without ruining his cute little outfit.

–They do cost more. Like many things that are better for the environment, they’re more expensive. Disposables are about 19 cents each, G-diaper liners are about 36 cents apiece, and that’s not counting the initial investment of about $68 for the cloth covers. This may be a deal breaker for many.

–Poopy diapers, even bad ones aren’t really a hassle. I’ve only once had a poopy diaper that made it past the liner and onto the cloth. This is probably because I run my finger around the leg bands every time I change him, but you have to do that with disposables too. You can also just rinse the plastic liners, and they dry within minutes.

In conclusion, thumbs up! Way to go G-Diapers.

G Diapers

So I ordered this sample pack of hippie diapers a million years ago, and then left it in our trunk. Having recently re-located it, I decided to try them out.

Early on we tried cloth diapers and found them to be ass. For us. I realize that they work for you, and that is because you are awesome. You can handle the cloth diapers, and you are a super-goodie. However, we hated them and had to stop using them. (I do not need tips! No tips, please, you helpful parent, you.) Sooo…

So we’ve been using crazy-evil disposables that take three million years to decompose, and I have the guilt. G Diapers are flushable diapers that seem easy to use. I started using them yesterday, and I kind of love them so far. Of course, I don’t flush the liners, just throw them away. But still, they biodegrade a zillion times faster than disposables, and they use less stuff you throw away overall, so I’m feeling angelic. Also, the covers are soft, so Hank doesn’t try to claw them off.

So, here begins my great green experiment. I’ll tell you if they begin to suck, but so far they do not suck! And we are virtuous, earth-loving people who are busy looking for trees to hug right this minute.

In D.C.

We’re in D.C. for Adaptive Path’s User Experience Week, and we’ve decided to roll with the baby’s jetlag, as midnight to 8 a.m. is a far more awesome schedule than his usual 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. It’s a much bigger conference this year, and AP encouraged a few of the speakers to bring their babies along (which partially explains the much higher proportion of female speakers than you typically see at other conferences). The presentations have been surprisingly moving so far — a lot of speakers who are really using design to change people’s lives in meaningful ways. More later.

I Heart Menu Planning

I love to cook, but don’t have a ton of time. When I can, I like to spend a whole Sunday putting up a bunch of frozen dinners. I try to plan our grocery buying so that nothing’s wasted by making mostly frozen stuff, and then having fresh stuff on hand for nights when we have more time to prepare a meal.

Anyway, last weekend the girls were talking about how they hate meal planning, and I mentioned how much I love it. We decided I should share my menus. Most recipes are from Bill Granger cookbooks because those are the cookbooks I’m working though right now.

I’ve linked out to recipes where I can find them, but I don’t have the energy to type in the recipes I couldn’t find online. Buy the cookbooks! They’re excellent and have quality, shiny photos.

FRESH FOOD
This is stuff we’ll keep in the fridge for snacking and super quick meals.

Crudite
-celery
-broccoli
-sliced jicama or turnips
-baby carrots
-hummus
Mixed salad to have as sides with dinner
6 hard boiled eggs
Fruit salad with honey and rum
Smoothies (frozen fruit, condensed OJ, plain yogurt, psyllium husks)
Turkey sandwich ingredients

FROZEN FOOD
These are the meals I spend one whole day making so we have stuff to eat when we’re too exhausted to cook.

chicken with summer vegetables (red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, basil and chicken stock)
Bill’s Spring Vegetable Soup
spiced zucchini soup
coconut bread
Bill’s corn ginger soup
Bill’s lentil soup with parm toasts

FRESH DINNERS
These are the foods I’ll make the week after I’ve put up frozen dinners. They’re things that don’t freeze well and have fresh ingredients.

thai fried rice
crab spaghetti
carrot avocado salad (via Chocolate and Zucchini)

WILL KEEP
These are the meals I’ll make about a week later because they don’t have many ingredients that will spoil quickly.

open-faced omelette
udon noodles (this is a cleanup recipe involving udon noodles, chicken stock, some fish sauce, and whatever veggies you have left over from the crudite or other recipes)

TIPS
-When I get home, I put the eggs on to boil, then prep crudite and fruit salad.
-I prepare the meals that I need to freeze, starting with those that will take longest to cook.
-I make a list of any fresh food that we should eat first, and post it on the fridge.
-I prep fresh meals whenever you have time in the week to come, and move on to “Will Keep” meals, using any leftover veggies from crudite or other meals to make Udon noodles.
-I have a Manhattan.

Birth Announcements

Birth Announcement, originally uploaded by MaggieMason.

So this is Hank’s birth announcement. It is cute, my friends. Can you handle the cuteness? If you want a similar design for your own birth announcements, or your save-the-date card, or your Christmas card, or whatever, here’s what we did:

The card is based on a Martha Stewart Baby design, and went out in a bright blue Paper Source envelope with a red address label and a little American flag stamp. The card stock was also Paper Source. (If there’s a store near you, they’ll have more color options available than the ones you see on the site, so it’s worth heading over.)

The round photo of him is actually a sticker, an Avery label to be exact. We grayed out this photo, then Warholed it in Photoshop, cut the label sheets in half, and printed the photos on one of those mini home photo printers. It was kind of a pain, so if Photoshop makes your head hurt, Zazzle will make the stickers for you.

I got the Hank stamp and the birth information stamps (for the back of the cards) through an office-stamp company online. I’ve since lost the link, but it was a lot like these guys. They’re the self-inking kind, which made the process much easier. We wrote in his birth date and weight info.

Ta-Da! If you make your own version, send me a note. I’d love to see it.

Nesting: the Nursery

Me painting, originally uploaded by MaggieMason.

Bryan and I adore our spacious, reasonably priced, one-bedroom apartment, so instead of moving when I got pregnant we decided to convert the breakfast nook (my old office) into a nursery. I have a photo set going to record the process.

So far, we added doors to the arched entryway, Bryan tore down a wall of mirrors and painted the room (twice, as the first color looked like a Tiffanys explosion), and we enlisted some friends to help paint this bubble mural on one wall. We’re going for a nautical, 1950s Illustrated Encyclopedia look.

Here’s how we did the mural, easy peasy:

-The design is from a letterpress card that we love. I photographed it with my digital camera, discarded the color info in Photoshop, and turned the contrast way up.

– We borrowed a projector from Bryan’s office (Thanks, Adaptive Path!), and plugged it in to my computer. We opened the image in Photoshop and moved the projector around until the image fit the whole wall.

– I tried painting a single circle with a paintbrush, and it took forever. Our friend Rachel suggested using common household items (like glasses, bottles, tins) to stamp the bubbles. She is a genius.

– We filled paper plates with paint and got to stamping. Before marking the wall, we tested potential stampers on a piece of paper to be sure they’d work well. Glasses with wider lips seemed to work best. With Ryan and Rachel’s help the whole thing only took about 45 minutes.

-We ordered pizza.