Helpful Advice From Hank
 

Are you still drunk from last night, or have you started fresh again this morning?

Baby stuff
 

I nominate burger for MHP (that's Most Helpful Poster). Sorry, Hank.

Baby stuff
 

I'm sorry- let me get this straight. you're telling me you are considering buying a used car seat? I call bullshit- right now. Now one on this board is using old car seat- burger's advice might be extremely valuable on some other chat board- but not to you.

And balt- I gave a real observation from someone who's kids are a few years older that directly impacts everyone else here, and where their kids are- Atticus actually sent me a PM with a heartfelt "mea culpa" admitting I had nailed his behavior and that he would certainly change.

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean you should go into attack mode. you don't see any of us asking RT what in the world she's thinking about, do you?

Baby stuff
 

I didn't nominate him for Most Helpful to Me (that's a separate category). Please, Hank. It's just business. Nothing personal.

Baby stuff
 

oh. i see. you mean as you understand what the proles need help with.

let them eat cake?

Baby stuff
 

You're right, Hank, I'm sorry. I forget sometimes that things like not yelling at one's kids isn't intuitive to some people. I'm sure your advice is quite helpful.

Does your kid understand that now when you yell at him, it's different?

Baby stuff
 

Have you been to a kid's soccer game? are there parents yelling? do you think none of the yellers have law degrees?

wow. you the first person I've seen that can Whiff as strongly as wonk. congrats!

Baby stuff
 

You're first post suggested that you thought your kid wasn't scoring goals and winning because he forgot that was the point, and so you felt you needed to remind him by yelling at him.

I see parents yell things like that all the time. "Kick it in the net!" (Sometimes followed by "Dumbass.") "No, the other way!" and my favorite "Why are you so stupid?" They tend to be the parents that make the rest of us uncomfortable. Everybody else is yelling things like "Good try!", "Way to go!" and "I'm so proud of you, dumbass."

Baby stuff
 

Query: My brother is running in the marathon next weekend. What should I yell at him when I cheer him on?

Baby stuff
 

the gay guy? "You ass looks a little less fat already!"

Seriously- 1st Marathon advice- wear a shirt with some logo that isn't too common (Not a U of Houston as an example)

The one I ran I wore a plain white singlet. when I was hitting the wall the people along the road were cheering people "way to go Florida" or "still looking strong CIA" or whatever. No one could yell for me. I know it sounds stupid now- but trust me- it matters about mile 22.

Baby stuff
 

As long as it's low-calorie cake. There are enough fatties around here.

Baby stuff
 

"No, the other way!"

Baby stuff
 

Piece of advice: don't marry into a Mediterranean or Hispanic Family.

Baby stuff
 

He should wear a shirt with his name on it. My friend Timmy wore one and said by the end of the day it was a major boon. In the NY marathon he said African American women were great at making up silly songs with "Timmy" in it and dancing around. He said it kept him going.

Baby stuff
 

Sebby also must be in the running.

Allergies
 

I'm pretty sure it has to be with a sledgehammer to the base of the skull, but haven't researched kosher butchery in a few years, so things may have changed.

How do you do it at the store?

Baby stuff
 

You're one to talk, Tits LaRue.

Baby stuff
 

Go Coogs!

Ketchup and peanuts
 

Peanuts: My mom works at a preschool. One of the kids was discovered to be allergic to peanuts at the school (parents were unaware). Paramedics were involved and now the school is peanut-free. I think that once the school is on notice that a child is allergic they have two choices, don't accept the child and its parents' money at the school or accept the child and be willing to keep the kid safe.

Carseats: Our baby bucket goes to 22lbs. At 6mos, #2 is 23lbs and about to be switched to a big boy seat. The big boy seat is from a neighbor I know well - her kid is 3 and the seat has never been in an accident so I feel safe using it.

Tiny clothes: We never used 0-3 clothes so they were all wasted. We even put the word out not to buy them, but some people cannot resist the impulse to buy the tiniest (and therefore apparently cutest) sizes. I gave a lot to people with normal sized babies and exchanged quite a few for the same outfit in a larger size which most stores will do without a receipt. A few of the very expensive outfits were given away as gifts. #2 is currently wearing 12-18mo clothes.

Baby Gifts: Best present ever if you can swing it - a battery charger that does all sizes and a bazillion rechargeable batteries. Second best is the Playtex Hip Hammock - it carries babies over 15lbs and I LOVE it. #2 is way too fat for our pricier (but generally awesome Bjorn) and it is much easier to get around in and doesn't kill my back. It's about $40.00.

Baby swing: We have a full sized and a fold-up - I would recommend the fold-up as a space saver since the performance is similar.

Socks: Buy all white and the same brand. Boring yes, fabulously practical, yes...especially when you are running late which will be always once the kid arrives. I'm liking the soft terry ones from The Children's Place right now - they are not too tight on #2's ankle rolls.

High Chair: We have a spendy one and a $25.00 booster seat. I'd just get a reclining booster (with tray and harness) and forego the high chair if I did it again.

Bouncy Chair - We have two - one in the living room and one in the master bath. They are awesome. Both kids slept in them numerous nights when they were 0-3. One folds for storage, one doesn't - if space is an issue, get one that folds.

Formula: It's not bad to have some around just in case. In my case that included going back in the hospital at 10 days PP and being pumped with radioactive and definitely non-nursing-friendly drugs for part of the time. Being as I prefer my babies not glow in the dark, we reluctantly gave him formula for a few days. You can give the cans and coupons to your local food bank where they will be very gladly accepted. Otherwise, there is a huge market for all those coupons and free cans on Ebay if you know someone who sells.

Ketchup and peanuts
 

Now here is my nominee for the most helpful poster.

Child Abuse?
 

The woman in this video was arrested for "attacking" a child on a bus. I know its wrong to touch someone else's kid, but...it just doesn't seem as outrageous to me as the press is saying. Looks to me like:

(1) Lady is waiting for her kid to get off bus but kid is in back of bus and is scared to walk off bus b/c of boy in front standing up in aisle taunting her;

(2) Out of frustration, lady gets on bus, tosses heckler aside and goes to back of bus to retrieve kid. But kid demurs because heckler has now stood back up in aisle and is walking towards lady's kid in back of bus. So Lady grabs him, takes him back to seat and tries to force him to sit there. In the meantime, she tells her kid to go around her and get off the bus.

I guess the alternative to getting her scared kid off the bus (if talking didn't work) was to physically get on the bus, pull her own kid down the aisle towards the exit, but then.....the two of them would have probably banged into the heckler (if he didn't move on his own).

http://www.wftv.com/news/5881764/detail.html#

Child Abuse?
 

Wow. She went way too far. I would have picked up my own kid and carried her off the bus. But that's just me.

Kind of makes you wonder though... where was the bus driver during all of this?

Child Abuse?
 

True. And I would have done the same as you. Except... it sure looked like the heckler was going to block their way in the aisle. Then they'd be forced to crash into the heckler which would seem like big impact on the heckler (um...especially given the size of the woman, when combined with her own child).

Child Abuse?
 

Who cares if she crashes into him? In that case, he'd have deserved what he got. But man, oh man, if someone ever laid their hands on my kid the way she did, I'd be absolutely livid.

Child Abuse?
 

this is the pushed kid's mother:

• "He feels like he was wrong, but me and his counselors are working with him .................," she said.

dtb, wouldn't getting the child into some other school have been a better thing for the mother to have done? One doesn't learn to appreciate the value of proper grammar if one is not raised around proper grammar.

Mobiles
 

I took a closer look at my umbrella stroller this weekend whilst pushing it through Disneyworld. It's a Maclaren. A Maclaren Volo.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg....1875_110045668

See? There it is in orange. Cute, huh?

And my jogging stroller is a Maclaren too. So I clearly have no attention to detail.

Child Abuse?
 

I'm not sure how to take this, but when I read the quote from the pushed-kid's mother, I thought almost exactly what Hank said. I think I may need another vacation.

Mobiles and Porn
 

I had been using a beat-up stroller I bought in a supermarket in Viet Nam (it had a smiling bunny with big sneakers on it and a funny hat which must be an Asian thing) but got stuck splurging on a Maclaren when I was in desparate need and the only nearby store was FAO Schwartz. But I love the pink and grey:
http://www.strollerdepot.com/photos/0913.sm.jpg

On a COMPLETELY unrelated note -- Viet Babe's sitter (who used to be a teacher at her Kindercare and I used her along with many other families when I had to work late) has me in her email address book and sometimes sends group emails out saying "Merry Christmas" or chain letters/jokes. Last night, she accidentally sent me AND HER ENTIRE EMAIL ADDRESS BOOK an email that attached pornographic pictures of her "in the act" and a link to an "adult profile" on a graphic porn website with more of the same. I opened the email thinking it was the usual chain letter/joke and WHOOSH! There was VietBabe's sitter's face, performing oral sex on someone (only his private parts were in view). The rest of the shots were....I can't even describe them they were so graphic (one involved a cob of corn) but let's just say the up close shots of anal sex were not the most disturbing. I have never discussed anything remotely sexual with this person, or even personal for that matter, so I was shocked and annoyed. Today I got an email, which had a lot of other recipients, INCLUDING HER MOTHER, FATHER AND AUNT, apologizing for the mishap. Now I'm not angry - just glad I'm not her! The pics were really whacko and I really think the child care industry attracts flakes. Between this, and my bad nanny experiences, any future Vietbabes would go straight to daycare (but maybe not Kindercare anymore!).

(PS - no she is not that cute; no I won't send the email or link!!!)

Mobiles and Porn
 

It's slow on the fashion board so I *had* to cross-post this there for commentary.

Mobiles and Porn
 

So, are you still going to use her as a sitter?

Mobiles and Porn
 

After the corncob, are you kidding, or trying to draw Less here for recommendations on vinyl sofa slipcovers?

Mobiles and Porn
 

Unthinkable. Anyhow, her "adult profile" says she likes doing a certain something "24/7" and I'd be concerned about her ability to multi-task.

Mobiles and Porn
 

careful. sounds likes she might have sex-addict disability. i believe Baltass would argue you'll have to accomadate her.

Mobiles and Porn
 

The corncob is a little out there, though, I dunno, maybe they were at a bbq and didn't have any toys handy. Sending the pictures to the entire universe was stupid as hell. But liking sex doesn't seem like it should be a disqualifier. And if she does it 24/7, she MUST be good at the multi-tasking. Or she would have starved to death.

Baby Stuff
 

Late to the game but here's some additional input on baby stuff:

Swings: if you get one, get the larger one and skip the so -called "take along" swing which is smaller:
http://www.epinions.com/images/opti/...resized200.jpg By the time you set it up, babies can push off the ground with their feet and hurl themselves backwards. I still have the hilarious image in my head of Vietbabe capsizing backwards.

Formula: if you (or your wife (:) are breastfeeding and just want to have some "in case" I would get the kind that is in a glass container that you just pop on a nipple. The container doesn't need to be refrigerated and no mixing of water or powder. The greatest is that some formulas, like Nutramigen (which is gentle and for sensitive tummies) come in 6 ounce bottles and not just the 3 ounce.

Highchairs: If I had it to do over, I'd use a plain wood one and not the ones everyone uses now with the cushiony seat that comes off. Cleaning it was a pain with all the nooks and crannies and you won't feel like taking it off to douse in the sink b/c it's a pain putting it back on because of the straps that go through it. Food gets under the cushion through the strap holes. I dry heave just THINKING about it.

Doubles: if I was doing infanthood again I'd have at least two of many things (though not two babies). Some things like binkies a/k/a fafas are so cheap, you should have them everywhere throughout the house. Why spend 1 hour with a kid screaming as you search for a $.13 binkie? Time is money. Besides binkies: an extra set of monitors you can use to travel with (what a pain to move furniture to retrieve them and to have to put them back), tons of bottles so you don't need to hand wash between dishwasher cycles, multiple baby tylenol/gas drops and assorted things to keep in a few rooms in the house. I also like an extra car seat so anyone can take baby in their car, or if you are travelling you won't have to rip your's out of the car (the local police usually have a program that sets it in the car securely). I got the same seat so I knew how it worked.

Stocking up: if you have the storage space, besides diapers you can stock up on heavy things like Dreft (baby laundry detergent). I felt like I was hauling that stuff in the supermarket once a week.

Mobiles and Porn
 

Liking the sex is one thing. Posting pictures on the Internet that make tubgirl look like June Cleaver is another.

(Yes, they were that bad)

Mobiles and Porn
 

This almost sounds like someone else got access to her computer. While "reply to all" is a much-abused feature (shouldn't it be disabled, or at least require a confirmation dialog that can't be turned off?), I've never seen a 'send to all in my addressbook' feature. Why would one ever want to send something like this to so many people that it's easier to "select all" and then delete certain people.

Of course, she's still apparently a wanton slut I wouldn't let near anyone except my son after he turns 18, and then only with five condoms glued on.

Mobiles and Porn
 

The "to" line only had one name on it -- her friend. There were no other recipients listed so I don't know why it got sent to everyone. Is it possible that this could happen accidentally? Or maybe she put in the person's name but when she went to hit "send" she hit some option of sending to her entire mailbox? Or the intended recipient was part of a group (including me) that she normally sends jokes to and the computer thought, then, that everyone should be sent the email? Final guess: an error when she created a group (when she saved her group of different people for jokes, she misnamed the group "Sheila" so when she hit "Sheila" it didn't just go to Sheila but the whole group.) I dunno. Sucks to be her though. And probably her sex drive is not that high this week.

Mobiles and Porn
 

this is mom and dad board-

I feel bad for her dad. that would really suck to see my daughter that far out there.

Mobiles and Porn
 

2. There is no way he will ever recover from seeing those pics (or worse, reading the text of the profile). I can only hope she has developed a convincing argument about how her face (and distinctive tattoos) were superimposed on someone else's body (maybe you could show them your own handiwork) Problem is -- the background is their living room and bathroom. I guess it's too late to claim rape. She had better think of something.