Diaper Bag Suggestions - Mom Reviews

Praneetha (United States)

Skip Hop Duo Deluxe Diaper Bag - Blossom

Below are the points i find the bag very useful:
1. It looks trendy, stylish and very chic.
2. It has ample space for all the needs for a baby.
3. It has two insulated pockets for the bottles , in each pocket it holds 2 bottles ( i use brown's and playtex ventaire wide bottles - so this shd accommodate any 2 bottles) and 2 side pockets where u can keep the flask/sippy cup.
4. It has 2 zippers on the top where u can keep ur personal belongings or something tht u need to grab right away... they are pretty spacious too.
5. Inside the bag I usually keep 4-5 diapers, wipes, his food, his snacks, one extra dress for him, a recieving blanket, washcloths, sometimes even a spare dress or a top for me depending on where we are going - STILL THE BAG DOESN'T LOOK STUFFED .
6. U have a compartment on the backside of the bag for the diaper changing pad and its good there...
7. Best part about this is, it has one knee length shoulder(just in case ur husband wants to access the bag) handle and 2 normal size handles for ur convenience..
If you don't want the single strap, u can take it off and they have provided with 2 extra buckles inside the bag.. these buckles u can strap onto any stroller,shopping cart, any trolley easily - this benefits u bcoz u need not carry the bag all the time or keep the bag under the stroller n dig for stuff when u need... this way the bag is hanging right in front of u and u can access easily.

Sree (India):

Baby Master (spacious and roomy)

 1. I personally use Baby Master bag which is a medium size bag, not the extra large stuffed looking one.. pale English colors with predominant yellow pattern, which is the kid's favorite color.

2.  I liked its pricing, very less and looks very trendy, costs just around 300 rs/-, got it from Big Bazar, Vijayawada.

3.  It has 6 compartments in all, 2 at the side to hold the wide-size 9-oz Ventaire bottles also, so can easily hold normal ones.  Can hold a wide sipper in the front pocket.

4.  Can hold the hospital record and bills etc in one exclusive velcro compartment.

5.  Can easily accommodate a couple of dresses to change, a baby blanket, first aid kid, towel, diapers and even a couple of comfort toys without actually looking stuffed up and also an additional compartment to store up the soiled clothes.

6.  Basically, above all I love its compact size and easy compartments to organize and look for.  It can be carried in two ways one long removable strap which can be modeled to backpack or just hang along and one usual small straps easy for the helping aide to carry around.  On top of it, it handles rough usage, kid keeps dragging it around, stores her stuff in them, learning zipping and unzipping on it and still it is holding up, so for me it is a paisa vasool item.

PS:  It was not an intentional purchase but something fancy that caught my eye for a steal and hence it is.. otherwise, the good old bags in India do just fine.

Keerthi (India):

General Utility Bag

I have no specific diaper bag designated for that specific purpose, in fact that concept is something which is alien to a lot of people out here in India.  I use a bag that I got from a jewellery shop which is in blue n pink colors and looks very cute, so it is set for the purpose of baby bag.  It can hold up to 3-4 diapers, dress, his sipper (insulated), water bottle, towel, napkins, food/snacks, my purse.  In other words, just a normal handbag which serves the purpose of a diaper bag :).

Usha Jasti (United States):

  

From Pottery Barn Kids, similar to the skip hop ones.

The bag is stylish..:) does not give a feeling of carrying a diaper bag and was comfy too.  It has a long handle so it could be worn cross the shoulder and it is very helpful when carrying the baby as the bag falls sideways and there is an extra handle which allows it to be worn as a school bag on the back.. Personal engraving is a plus for these bags.

  Meera Girija (United States):

Compact Hobo Diaper bag

 I am using this bag for almost six months now. I am a first time mom and use it on a regular basis for all sorts of trips. It is a messenger bag model diaper bag.
Pros:
It is trendy and won't look like a diaper bag at all. Even men won't feel bad wearing it. It has adjustable strap, so can be worn sidewise, diagonally and can also be hung to the stroller. The color is vibrant and modern. Will pass for a school bag. Has 2 insulated compartments that can fit 2 wide or regular bottles. Has microban protected lining. It has 4 interior pockets, that can fit upto 4 diapers each. Has a good changing pad that has 2 pockets for taking diaper and wipe along with u to rest room , instead of carrying the entire bag.
Cons:
I read other people's reviews that it ripped off soon and had bad construction. I have been using it pretty roughly and so far no issues. Since it is a compact bag, it becomes a little small after the diapers start getting bigger in size and when u have to carry additional clothes or other stuff.

Altogether it is a smart bag for everyday use. If you need a big roomie bag, this not the one for you.

 Divya (United States):

Lots of storage space to carry everything baby needs, like diapers, toys, feeding bottles, bowl,spoon, burp cloths,receiving blanket,extra dress...
i even take 12 oz formula box/tin in it sometimes... 2 small bottles of nursey water,2 gerber food(fruit/veggie), n 4-5 ready to use formula bottles.....
It comes with a matching little brag book to show off baby's special moments.

# Bag opens wide for easy access.
# Inside organizer pockets.
# Zipper closure at the top.
# Two external bottle holder pockets.
# Two sturdy flexible handles with metallic hardware.
# Includes matching changing pad.
# Mini brag book holds 24 photos. Acid-free pages.
# Easily wipes clean.

but
as it looks like a regular handbag u'r husband can't hold it when needed..
..i stuff too many things in it...so difficult to carry for long time....

finally its gud and suggest others to buy it...if u alone can carry for long time without u'r husband's help

Visa (USA):

I had planned Pooh theme for the kid's nursery....so I bought a character themed diaper bag @ babiesrus. I tried searching for the model and they no longer carry it. I could carry a lot!!! really a lot in the bag!
The bag had a compartment for wet and soiled clothes, diaper station and three other compartments. I could fit in a set of clothes, formula, snacks, bottles, spare nipples and liners, Tylenol (is a must...) pretty easily.

Cons... the only thing that bothered me was that I had to compromise the stylish look for a character themed one...otherwise no problems with anything.

I used it for 2 to 2.5 yrs and it had lived itz life....I had to discard it recently.

Now am carrying a backpack with the kid's name engraved on it. Though he'z out of diapers, I still carry his water, snacks and a set of clothes and pull ups :)

Diarrhea in Toddlers

Toddler’s diarrhea is common between 1-3 years, which we often linked with teething. Actual cause for it is not clear, probably your daughter is having same thing. It usually doesn’t need any treatment, it goes by itself gradually.

When to intervene?
If your child develops any blood or mucus in stool.
If she has fever.
If she develops any dehydration.


If the kid has received full course (5 day) antibiotics already, it’s unlikely to be infective diarrhea.
Well you can still wait if it is decreasing gradually, otherwise get one stool examined (both routine and culture), anytime you feel its worsening.

Honey -- Some Facts and Concerns

Truth is everything depends on what type oh honey are you giving to your kid. Don't look for big brands, look for quality. Most of the famous or infamous brands, whichever have honey, most of that honey comes from apiculture (bee keeping). Apiculture is an agro-based enterprise, which farmers keep bees in their farms to take up for additional income generation. You can also call them pet bees. This honey has very very high amount of insecticides and pesticides in it as the bees prefer to suck nectar from the crops grown in the farms and this honey is not good for anyone.

Also during rainy seasons, winter or during the times when there are no flowers, farmers or bee owners start feeding them with sugar. Honey produced during those days is almost near to sugar serum. This type of honey is then mixed with honey produced by bees when there was availability of flowers, is also not good for health. We think we are giving our kids honey but the truth is we are giving them sugar serum.

Apiculture bees are said to forage 12 km radius to collect nectar but studies have shown that average apicultures bees in India forage only about 4 km radius to collect nectar. This honey does not have good mix and quality of local area vegetation nectar. Also these bees live in almost same area for their entire life so their honey does not have that good quality.

People say honey acts as excellent antibiotic. It is wrong to say this. Honey manufacturing companies in India took advantage of it. They started adding antibiotics to sugar serum or to honey produced by apiculture. This honey acts as antibiotic not because it possess those properties but because it has antibiotics added to it. But is is good for our health? well, you know the answer. This honey weakens our natural strength of fighting against disease.

It is natural RAW HONEY which is true honey. Raw honey is antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, antibacterial and anticancer -- it never spoils

Raw honey is antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, antibacterial and anticancer -- it never spoils

Wild bees those make raw honey forage 100s km to collect best quality nector to make honey. These bees prefer to suck on wild flowers and vegetation. They are not like apiculture bees which will be like, ok, this is our area and this is what we have available, lets make honey out of this. Funny hmm. Or its not like the honey sold by many companies with antibiotics added to sugar serum.

If you are in western countries then its worth visiting to the natural health food stores. You will find raw honey there. This is the honey you should be giving to your kids.

If you are in India then you can get this raw honey in villages. If you have family, friends or relatives living in a village then give them call to help you get raw honey. Though this kind of honey is expensive these days but considering its health benefits and other uses its worth spending your bucks there. You will get this honey with much ease in villages.

Raw honey, due to its anti-biotic and anti-allergen nature is given itself or along with garlic/ginger/onion/citrus fruit nectar for cough, pollen allergies, rashes, burns, abrasions, ulcers and certain fevers. Garlic/ginger/onion/citrus fruit contain NATURAL ANTI-HISTAMINES. Antihistamines are anti-allergens. These natural anti-histamines are more nutritious, healthy and have no pesky side-effect.

If you are a victim of pollens then make a routine of taking about 1-2 teaspoons of raw honey everyday from about a month or so before the spring season. Raw honey contains a certain level of pollen in itself and will thus adapt your system to the allergen early on so that when time comes your immune system is super ready to deal with the drasted pollen.

Raw honey is the ultimate moisturizer. Smooth a small amount of Really Raw Honey lightly over the skin; easily remove later with splashes of cold water or comfortable warm water. It will leave your skin baby soft.

Raw Honey acts as bath and antibacterial soap. Facial blemishes and acne caused by cosmetics or allergies will clear up quickly using a nightly treatment of raw honey.

Raw honey is used for hair and scalp treatment.

It is also used for dental care and mouth sores. It cleans teeth, mouth and dentures and stops bleeding gums. Canker sores, blisters and mouth ulcers respond to application of well to its application.

Application of honey keeps foods fresh and moist longer and retards spoilage.

Few drops of raw honey mixed in a glass of warm milk taken everday prevents osteoporosis and arthritis.

Unprocessed honey found in ancient tombs was determined to be edible and was even used to preserve bodies.

Testing for purity

one way to test honey is to dip an unused matchstick into the comb honey. Then strike the match, if it lights up continuously then it is "pure honey" .If adulterated, the presence of water will not allow the honey to burn, If it does, it will produce a cracking sound. honey adulterated with water will moisten the tip of the matchstick thus getting it wet making it unable to light and burn.

***dip a cotton bud in honey and it should burn smoothly
***it takes some time to dissolve in water
***Pour a teaspoon of your honey onto a blotting paper. Unlike the impure honey, pure honey will not be absorbed by the blotting paper.
***pour the teaspoon of honey onto a piece of cloth and then wash the cloth. Pure honey will not leave a stain on the cloth.
***Pour a few drops of honey into a clear glass of water and we could see the drops settle at the bottom of the glass, . If the honey completely dissolved in water, it is impure, if it stays as a mass, it is pure honey.

*dip a spoon in the honey and raise it about 8 inches (or more). If it comes down in a steady, thin stream, it is likely pure.
*taste it to see if there is an unpleasant aftertaste. if Sugar or corn syrup is added to honey it will leave a fermented-like taste in mouth.

It is also said that if honey is pure a dog will not lick it; ants, flies will not sit on it (bees add some enzyme to the honey that keeps them awy) 

Organic Health Food

Natural health food stores like "Nutritional World", Nutritional Foods", "Grains and Greens", "Natural health" and many more. Organic food stores are different and vegetarian food stores are different and so are the natural health food stores. Those are different too.

Even at health food stores you will find two types of honey.
1. Bottled honey with company name.
2. Raw honey in open containers.

There is a big difference in organic and raw honey. Every natural thing is not organic, and every organic thing is not natural. Its not Google where every natural search engine position is labeled organic and organic links are called natural positions.

Every state in US or every country in this world has its own definition of organic. Like in my state is food is labeled as organic if the land where it is grown is not sprayed with any insecticides, pesticides, urea or any other chemical or such thing for 10 years. Plus the seeds those were sowed in the ground to produce the crop were organic and fed with only organic compost/manure. Few states have it to 8 years instead of 10 years.

Source:  Indian Parenting.. (Stay Cool).

GIVING HONEY TO KIDS AND FROM WHAT AGE IS A BIG QUESTION.. DEFINITELY NOT IN FIRST YEAR OF LIFE WITH SO MUCH OF CONTRADICTION FOR IT.. THIS POST IS JUST ABOUT HONEY, USES AND TESTING PURITY..  USAGE MUST BE ACCORDING TO PEDIATRICIAN'S ADVISE.

Flat Head

Plagiocephaly in medical terminology and flat head for a layman is a cause of concern in infants... from too much of lying down in the same position to the same side, they may develop a soft spot and the shape of the head may become a little flattened.  A little of this is not a concern but obvious mis-shapening should be avoided... There is a lot more attached to it than a cosmetic problem.  Nothing about to raise your panic antennae up though.

Tummy time and keeping interesting things on 4 sides of the room to look at, consciously making it a point to divert the kid's attention to turn around and look in all directions, top, left and right... these are the simplest measures from day of birth.. :) Repositioning to ensure equal time spent on both sides is vital.. also while being cautious that the kid does not suffocate self, adequate tummy time is the key.

The babies are not born with a perfect round shape head, it gradually takes one shape as the skull hardens.. so, all we need to make sure is that the growth is uniform in all direction rather than one flat spot at one side which was not there earlier during birth.  simple!!  Most of this occurs during the early stages of life say first 3 to 5 months where the skull is very soft.  So changing the baby sleep position and side every 2 hours or so or after every feed between 3 to 4 hours if the kid tends to sleep just on one side should solve the problem.

A baby pillow serves two purposes in the infant.. one keeping the head a tad bit elevated and also holding the head in a proper position.


A traditional baby pillow made of mustard seeds

Dried yellow mustard seeds, a method traditionally used in India for hundreds of years to help preserve the round shape of the new-baby head. The mustard seeds mould to the natural shape of the new-born baby head and prevent the head from becoming flat at the back.  Yellow mustard seeds are preffered to black ones as they have a smoother surface and therefore slide more easily against each other, enabling the pillow to form more snuggly to the shape of the baby's head and therapeutically too mustard seeds are believed to reduce back pains, migraines and joint pains, so no harm making one for the kid.

Do not panic if there are signs of early flattening just focus on keeping baby's head position uniform in all directions and gradually it will go away.

PS:  The rai seeds/aavalu/mustard seeds should be packed loosely so they have moving space in the pillow rather than packing it tightly.. something akin to a micro bead pillow.  The size of the pillow actually is very small, a big notebook size, not very stiff, not very high... in short maybe about one and a half or double the size of the baby's head (length/breadth everything put together), not very big or fluffy just the correct size.

I used something like the one in the picture above, which we get in all the baby stores in India. A very tiny pillow. Preferably, stitch a cover for it so that you can wash it regularly and keep it clean for the kid.

Omega-3 supplements for Vegetarians

Are plant sources of omega-3 sufficient for human needs?

Vegetarians and vegans have no direct sources of EPA and DHA (long chain omega-3 fatty acids) in the diet; hence they must convert alpha-linolenic acid to EPA and DHA in the body.

Scientific studies suggest that although the conversion is slow and incomplete, and although vegetarians tend to have lower blood levels of long chain omega-3 fatty acids, it is sufficient to meet the needs of most people

In addition, infants convert alpha-linolenic acid to DHA and EPA more slowly than adults. Studies have provided evidence that preterm infants do not have the capacity to form sufficient DHA, resulting in reduced visual acuity and brain function. Thus DHA must be considered an essential nutrient for these babies. Currently, infant formulas in the U.S. are not fortified with DHA, although several companies have patented DHA blends for this purpose and DHA-fortified formulas are expected to hit the U.S. market sometime this year. Several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Spain, presently produce DHA-fortified formulas

Breastfed infants generally receive ample DHA from their mother's milk, although amounts vary. Vegetarian and vegan mothers have lower concentrations of DHA in their milk, although infant levels of DHA appear to be only slightly less than that of infants of omnivorous mothers. A DHA supplement based on cultured microalgae (under the trademark Neuromins) is now available from natural food stores nationwide.

So, one thing is clear, if someone takes fish, no issues.

If someone is purely vegetarian, may be for preterm child, we need some supplements. For a full term child, who is otherwise well, I will not suggest any supplementation unless more guidelines are available.

Food Allergies

Food allergies affect about 3.5% of US population.
Around 6% of children experience food allergic reactions in first 3 years of life
Out of them 2.5% comprise of cow’s milk allergy, 1.5% egg allergy and 0.6% peanut allergy.
Other allergies are – fish, soy, wheat allergies.
Symptoms may be in skin, Gastrointestinal, respiratory or cardiovascular.
Diagnosis is done by skin testing (IgE mediated) and other by proper history, elimination trials etc, which may vary from 2-8 wks in different conditions.

Good thing about these allergies is that, almost half of these children with milk or egg allergies outgrow by 2-3 years of age, as their immunity improves.
But around 80-90% of children with peanut, sea food allergy retain their allergy for life.

So, in nutshell, be hopeful, things are bound to improve with time. Your concern about soya milk is not valid. We have used it in many children from years. It’s safe.

Fortunately, these food allergies in India are not that common as it’s there in developed world for many unclear reasons.

Joining Job After Maternity Leave ..

Clinginess is normal for this age, and thats the typical time, will last may be up to 2 years at least. Regarding your concern about joining job after maternity leave, its difficult to answer, but I know that working mothers face many challanges, but with carefull planning you can make a smooth transition, here are some tips :

Before you return to work

While you're still on maternity leave, set yourself up for a successful return to work:

Let go of the guilt. Returning to work after maternity leave can pose emotional conflicts for new mothers. Working outside the home doesn't make you a bad mother — and it's OK to look forward to the challenges and interactions of your job. Remind yourself that you're doing what's best for you and your family. Don’t worry, children learn to adjust.

1. Find dependable child care. Look for a safe, stimulating environment and qualified caregivers.
2. Talk to your boss. Clarify your job duties and schedule so you'll know what's expected of you after your maternity leave. You might ask about flexible hours, telecommuting or working part time.
3. If you're breast-feeding and plan to continue doing so after returning to work, ask your employer about a clean, private room for breast feeding, if possible.
4. Get organized. Make a daily to-do list. You might divide the list into tasks for work and tasks for home, or tasks for you and tasks for your partner. Identify what you need to do, what can wait — and what you can skip entirely. (Try to maintain a daily work diary with you)
5.  Stay connected. Plan at least one daily phone call to your baby's caregiver to find out how your baby's doing. Place a favourite photo of your baby on your desk or in your work area. Set aside time after work to reconnect with your baby.
6. Make backup plans. Know what you'll do if your baby is sick or your baby's caregiver is unavailable on a workday — whether it's taking the day off yourself or calling a friend or loved one to care for your baby.
7.   Seek support. Don't try to do everything yourself. Accept help from your partner, loved ones and friends. Speak up if you're feeling guilty, sad or overwhelmed.
8.  Nurture your own well-being. Relax in the tub after you put the baby to bed, or unwind with a favourite book or soft music. Cut down on unnecessary commitments. Pick a reasonable bedtime, and stick with it. On weekends, sleep when your baby sleeps.

Above all, maintain a positive attitude. Tell your baby how excited you are to see him or her at the end of the day. Your baby may not understand your words, but he or she will pick up on your emotions.

Hope this will help you in preparing and taking your guilt out.