Shop, Drop and Roll or is it Drop, Roll & Shop?

One of the biggest differences between Finland and the US is the car culture here in the US. Peanut and I go everywhere by car -- a real change from the days when we would roll to the store or post office in Tapiola.

I actually think this car juggling act is tougher than the stroller!

Here's why:
> I'm moving Peanut in/out of car seat to stroller to car seat every time I need to go in somewhere. She can't sleep through the changes in scenery and often really doesn't want to get into one after she's been in the other.

I've noticed many American mamas have car seats that look like they are designed to sit in the child seat part of the shopping cart. They have some sort of hooks to hold them safely in place and letting baby snooze peacefully. Unfortunately our MaxiCosi Cabrio doesn't.

Or, they have a stroller base into which the car seat fits - nifty!

> We have her umbrella Maclaren stroller with us so in the store, one hand goes to navigating the stroller, the other to carry the shopping basket. Let me tell you -- it gets full and heavy fast!

> Since Peanut can sit on her own, today for the first time I tried putting her in the shopping car child seat to do away with the challenge of stroller in one hand/shopping basket in the other.

It worked quite well though Peanut would rather be facing the direction we are going :-) Mostly she just turned herself this way and that to see all the people. Occasionally she adopted a lounging pose.

I had to make sure I parked next to the cart return in the parking lot so I could manage getting her into the car seat and keeping her in my sight after I did.

Another useful local invention is the shopping cart seat cover. Not exactly sure how it works, but its a cloth seat that fits into the child seat part of the shopping cart. In part I guess for comfort and in part to protect bebe from the germs of all the other babies using the child seat.

Moving onto Solids at 6 mos

Current wisdom is to start babies on solids at age 6 mos. When Peanut turned 6 mos, we started her out on baby rice. We chose Gerber's and were thinning it out with water. No go. She hated it. Then I read several articles about the changing wisdom of starting out on baby rice - it has virtually no nutritional value and little taste. But, it is least likely to cause allergic reactions.

We quickly moved onto baby oatmeal. Yummy. She really gobbled this stuff down. Its still diluted with bottled water - on rare occasions with mama milk. And, the trick, its heated. A 5 - 6 second zap in the microwave makes it thhe perfect temp. I know some say that babies don't care if the food is cold or warm, but Peanut clearly does. Its easy to see why - the milk she is used to drinking is a nice warm temp.

I have to confess to using food in jars for the first months. We were still on the go and not yet settled in our own home. I opted for Gerber's Tender Harvest organics (available at most grocergy stores) and Eathe's Best (available at Tom Thumb). The cost of baby food in jars is outrageous when you compare it to what you can make on your own for the price, but the convenience is undeniable. I also felt confident that I was giving Peanut safe ingredients.

I'm now making Peanut's food, but more on that later...

The doctor here in Texas recommended the following list for introducing new solids (the ascending order of causing a reaction):
> squash
> carrots
> sweet potatoes
> bananas
> oatmeal
> beets
> spinach
> applesauce
> barley cereal
> pears
> peaches
> chicken
> peas
> green beans

They suggest giving as much solids as desired, but making sure baby consumes the same amount of breast milk or formula.

The Neuvola in Espoo suggest this daily menu for 6 mos olds:
Meal 1 - Breastmilk
Meal 2 - Breastmilk + meat/fish/egg and potatoe/veggie
Meal 3 - Breastmilk
Meal 4 - Breastmilk + 'puuro' (porridge) + berries/fruits
Meal 5 - Breastmilk

For 7 mos olds:
Meal 1 - Puuro + berries/fruits + Breastmilk
Meal 2 - Meat/fish/egg and potatoe/veggie + Breastmilk
Meal 3 - Berries/fruit + Breastmilk
Meal 4 - Potato/Veggie + Breastmilk
Meal 5 - 'Puuro' (porridge) + berries/fruits + Breastmilk

I also got some handouts (dated from 1995) about how to make my own baby food for phase I (veggie purees) and II (puuro and the meat/fish + veggie purees).

Sleeping like a baby - HA!

Peanut is now about 7 1/2 months old and we recently had to make another concerted effort at getting her to bed in the evenings and to sleep through the night. Back at 10 weeks or so, she slept through the night for the first time and did so for several months.

When we moved to Dallas, there were several nights of adjusting to the new timezone. The advice i read was the babies who are breastfed should be fed when they wake during this time. So I did. Peanut was waking maybe 1 or 2 times a night.

But, then it continued. Every night she would wake up at a random time - sometimes 2 am, sometimes 4.30 am - crying, crying, crying. We couldn't bear to listen to her cry so we'd bring her to our bed for a feeding. Which ALWAYS put her back to sleep.

At her recent well-baby visit, the pediatrician simply said you've got to stop the night time feedings. period. she's not hungry, its just habit. And, its going to get worse at around 9 mos when babies develop more adult sleeping cycles and wake more frequently during the night. i felt the hairs on my back stand up in protest. i didn't like the advice. But, recognized that we should try it.....

Baby sleep training is about as controversial as it gets in the baby world:
Sears vs Ferber vs Cry It Out vs Baby Wise vs everything in between.

The aim is to get baby to be able to fall back asleep by herself. It should start with baby going to sleep by herself. We adjusted our evening routine so that milk came before story time. After story time, we turn out the lights, snuggle for a bit in bed and then I put Peanut in her crib while she's still somewhat awake. This was surprisingly easy. There was only about 5 evenings of more intense crying, standing, and crying. We'd go in, lay her down, rub her back/belly and walk out. Once, when it went on for more than 40 mins, I admittedly 'milked her down'.

The nighttime wakings were more of a struggle. When she woke up, we'd give her 5 mins or so to see if she calmed down. Usually she doesn't. Then, we'd go to her crib , lay her down and try the belly/back rub. It wasn't working - at least the first few nights. I'd often have to pick her up and rock her to sleep. It'd take like 40 mins before she settled back to sleep. Exhausting.

Now, about two weeks later, we've had 5 nights of no wakings. Last night, she woke at 4 am, papa went to rub and soothe. She slept for 1/2 hr. Mama's turn. She slept another 45 mins. Mama again. She slept until 6.30 when its morning milk time.

Not an easy path, but it can be done, and I feel in a gentle way.

Finnish Babies Healthiest in Scandinavia, but....

From YLE 24

A new study shows that babies in Finland have better health, compared to other Nordic countries. But the evidence also suggests that Finnish children and young people are at higher risk of illnesses and accidents.

Finland has higher rates of suicide amongst young people, and they smoke more than other Nordic countries. The annual report of the Nordic Health and Social Statistics Committees indicated that over 40 percent of Finnish 15 to 16 year olds had smoked tobacco during the previous month.

In addition, children and young people are the victims of more fatal traffic accidents. The rate of increase in diabetes amongst children and young people is also highest in Finland. In addition, illness caused by asthma and allergies are higher.

Statistics showed that Danish young people consume the most alchohol, with 40 percent having enjoyed a drink no less than twenty times a year and over a quarter admitting that they had been drunk at least once during the previous three months.

YLE24