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Display Name: asprygal
Member Since: 10/25/07
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I have responses that address a few of your concerns:

1. There is a solution to the loose sheets -- there are things called sheet suspenders. They are basically a wide, long, adjustable piece of elastic with clips at each end. Hotels use them sometimes to keep sheets really crisp and tight. You could also rig something up courself; suspender clips are available at fabric stores as is wide elastic.
2. Alternately, you can make fitted sheets - many tutorials exist. That way you can make sheets for a thinner mattress.
3. I think that if you feel uncomfortable and worry that your baby will be insecure on a floor bed your baby will *be* insecure on a floor bed. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy: any odd behavior on the baby's part you will attribute to her being insecure on the floor bed. You can always introduce the floor bed when your baby is ready, after you know your baby's temperament. We waited to introduce the floor bed until our daughter was 10 months old, and she sometimes sleeps on it and sometimes sleeps with us.

However, If you have a co-sleeper at-the-ready, I think you are prepared. The other decisions (crib or floor mattress) can wait until you know more about your baby. Unless you have a large baby that quickly outgrows the co-sleeper. Give yourself permission to take it one step at a time.


Montessori Floor Bed Logistics? Good Questions
4/24/12 1:00 PM

I love this idea, but caution against putting anything in or around a carseat that might compromise its efficacy. I do not know whether this particular idea might compromise safety, however...


IKEA Flort As Car Seat OrganizerThe Odd Mom Out
3/20/12 2:15 PM

I kept my last name when I got married (it is a very unique name and I am the only grandchild able to carry on the name). When I had a baby, my husband and I agreed that if I "picked" the last name (i.e., if the baby got my last name) then he would get to pick the first name. Our daughter has my last name now; he picked the first name and I love it.
I hope people ask her and us why her last name is different from her father's last name: why not challenge the patriarchal naming tradition?


Hyphenated Last Names for the Next Generation
New York Times

12/5/11 4:28 PM

I recommend giving a gift certificate for a local photographer -- not Olan Mills or a mall portrait studio.


Unique Non-Baby Baby Gift
Good Questions

4/7/11 4:30 PM

Only cribs made and sold between certain dates were recalled. Owners could either get rid of the crib or update certain pieces to make the crib safe. You can find more (official) information here: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11135.html


Frances May's Patchwork Nursery
Nursery Tour

4/5/11 3:05 PM

I don't think that looks like a chair I'd sleep in -- no padded arms, no head support, not very good lumbar support (at least, it doesn't appear that way), no footrest.


Sleepy Chair by Autobahn
Daily Find

3/23/11 12:10 PM

I think this is a terrific idea and asked for one when my aunt was planning my baby shower. She thought no one would feel comfortable bringing used items to a shower, but I still added comments to my amazon.com wishlist specifying which items I felt comfortable accepting used and which items I preferred new (car seat, breast pump, etc.).


Secondhand Baby Shower
3/16/11 4:34 PM

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!


Have You Used a Baby Travel Bed In Your Bed?
Good Questions

3/11/11 9:45 AM

@ TCoulter: The travel bed pictured is the Brica Fold N' Go Travel Bassinet .


Have You Used a Baby Travel Bed In Your Bed?
Good Questions

3/10/11 2:49 PM

@ avimom -- The bed isn't too big for the room, but adding a full-sized bassinet would make it too cramped for my taste (there is theoretically room, but I'd rather try something else first -- thus the question about in-bed co-sleepers). Also, I feel that bassinets don't warrant the cost (they can only be used for a few months), while travel beds can be used for outings as well (and are usually less expensive).
Finally, I would never go back to a smaller bed. We slept in a full-sized bed for years and now that we've made the leap to king-sized, I wouldn't ever want to go back. I can barely hear by husband's snoring when he's waaaay over on his size of the bed.


Have You Used a Baby Travel Bed In Your Bed?
Good Questions

3/10/11 2:48 PM

Our bed is king-sized (76" wide).


Have You Used a Baby Travel Bed In Your Bed?
Good Questions

3/10/11 2:20 PM

April,

Thanks for the link to a hard-water-tested homemade detergent. I have hard water (more than 27 grains per gallon, yikes!) and I dislike having to always resort to the commercial stuff when I need something to actually get clean.

Have you ever tried Charlie's with your hard water? Have you ever washed children's clothes/diapers with your concoction?


How To Do It Better Guide: Making Your Own Cleaners
2/11/11 5:10 PM

How can I best photograph an infant? How do photographers achieve the directly-overhead shot (stand on a chair?) so often seen in infant portraits?


Your Chance to Ask a Photograher!
2/4/11 5:07 PM

I know I will be in the minority here (I'm a bit of a grinch), but I increasingly feel that, especially at Christmas, if you don't know the recipient well enough to chose a gift for them, why give a gift at all? There are exceptions to this, for example, when giving to charity or when giving to a child who needs the gifts. I mean, what is the point of giving gifts? Isn't it partly to show someone how much you love and appreciate them?

My husband and I have 5 nieces and nephews and we see them once a year (if that). I feel pressured to buy them gifts, yet we never know what to get them because we rarely see, talk on the phone, or otherwise interact with them. It feels meaningless to chose gifts for them from a list/registry. I would guess that our gifts feel equally meaningless for the recipients -- none but the oldest even remembers us from year to year.


Gift Registries for Kids: Good Idea or Bad Form?
12/15/10 4:49 PM

I have been using this style of vermicomposter for over a year and wish I would've gone with the DIY solution (i.e., the big rubbermaid tub with holes drilled in it). In my experieince, I've noticed these drawbacks:

*Although one can stack several trays, only one tray is actually in use at a time.

*The liquid from the spigot is not compost tea and is not appropriate for houseplants. It is compost leachate and, in fact, can overwhelm the small contained "ecosystems" of houseplants.

* In order for the worms to quickly process large amounts of food scraps, the scraps need to be cut into small pieces. I found this to be an annoying extra step. Adding whole food scraps means it takes longer for the worms to do their work.

*The low height of the trays mean that there is not always ample coverage of the worms and scraps with shredded cardboard or paper. We have had fruit fly problems because of this.


The Worm Factory: Simplifying Small Space Composting? | Apartment Therapy DC
6/15/10 12:18 PM

I'd also like to comment on the misperception that lard is unhealthier than butter. Of course, it all depends on what you mean by healthy, but lard has less saturated fat than butter, and less cholesterol than butter. Lard has more total fat and more total calories, though.


Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | Conscientious Cook: Alternatives to Vegetable Shortening
10/1/09 4:52 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am going to try freezing gnocchi, hash browns, and stew.
I can't store the potatoes because I do not have a basement (I am an apartment dweller), and my kitchen is much too warm and damp, even in the winter. I have no control over our heat, so the kitchen is generally 72-75 degrees in the winter. Last winter I had spoilage problems with potatoes and onions (we kept them separated from each other).
If I figure out any great ways to make and freeze has browns, I'll pass it on.
Thanks,
Lexy


Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | How Do I Freeze Potatoes? Good Questions
9/16/09 11:30 AM

For items that I really buy in bulk (flours, sugar, lentils, popcorn) I use very large Click-Clack containers. I like the wide mouth and the fact that they are air-tight and relatively light. For items that I buy in bulk but in smaller quantities (whole spelt, wheat, barlet, oats, cornmeal, etc.) I use a variety of glass containers, but am slowly transitioning to quart or half-gallon mason jars with reuseable plastic lids. Although I would like to use glass (mainly for aesthetic reasons for items like flour and sugar, I was worried that a large glass container more than five pounds of flour/sugar = accident waiting to happen.


Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | Best Jars to Organize Your Pantry The Kitchen Cure Spring 2009
5/1/09 12:50 PM

Casey Leigh -- I like your ideas. It's also a system that's easy for others to follow. I'd also add wine opener to the "things that open" category.


Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | Kitchen Cure Week #2: Declutter and Give Away Kitchen Equipment The Kitchen Cure Spring 2009
4/20/09 4:50 PM

I find it funny that the egg in the vintage egg slicer has a shell. Also, $6.00? They can be found at garage sales (at least in the Midwest) for about $.25. They're handy for slicing strawberries and mushrooms, too!


Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | Mint Grilled Tofu and Egg Slicers Old and New Delicious links for 04.20.09
4/20/09 4:43 PM