How to Write Baby Shower Thank You Notes

I had two baby showers, one with my friends and another with my colleagues. It’s amazing how many thank you notes I had to write! I think it took me almost one month to finish writing nearly 40 thank you notes. I’m not sure about you, but I had a hard time figuring out how to write a nice thank you note, especially the ones for my colleagues. It had to be funny yet entertaining. But after writing a few, I realized it wasn’t has difficult as I thought. Here’s how to write nice thank you notes:

Good luck!

Leave a Comment

Finding a Middle Name for Baby

Finding a middle name for baby these days have become more and more common. As a matter of fact, it seems as if it is just as important as choosing a first name. Some couples decide to use a grandparent’s name as the middle name whereas other choose to use the mother’s maiden name. Ethnic couples also often choose a middle name in their native language. For example, a Chinese couple may name their baby daughter Stacy Mei-lin Chao.

The most important thing about the middle name, however, is that you should NOT pick a middle name where the acronym of your child spells out something that other children can make fun of. For example, Ashley Susan Smith = ASS.

To help pick out a nice middle name for your baby, you can check out sites that lists popular baby names. A great site that I used is YeahBaby.com. It has the top 1000 baby names for both boys and girls. Some names are exotic and unusual baby names whereas others are cool and unique baby names.

My husband and I decided to keep our Chinese culture by picking out a Chinese name for the middle name. Although I’m due in a few days, we can’t make a final decision on a name yet. This is because (traditionally) we have to wait until we know the exact date and time of when the baby is born. We believe that the name of the baby is destined by the date and time of when the baby is born. And the name of the baby can be a factor in how his/her life will turn out. Strange huh? I think so too. But on the same token, I think it’s neat to be able to keep our tradition alive.

2 Comments

WIC = Woman, Infants and Children

I ran into an ad in the newspaper today targeting pregnant women or mothers with children under 5 years old. I’m not sure if you have heard of WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), but it sounds like a wonderful program for low income families.

Basically, you have to apply. The qualification is your income. If you’re pregnant and it’s just you and your husband, your household have to earn $2,100 gross or less per month. If you already have children, then your household have to earn $2,648 gross or less per month.

If you’re pregnant, they give you coupons to local markets (those that accept WIC coupons) for milk, juice, cereal, eggs, cheese, and butter or beans. If you have children under 5 years old, you will get coupons for formula. I believe it’s Similac or Similac Advanced. I heard they are going to be giving coupons for Emafil in August.

Not only do you get food coupons, but you also get other services such as Nutrition Education, Breast Feeding Support, Immunizations, Medical and Dental.

WIC is a state funded program and is free. I’m not sure if this program is outside of California, but you can try to contact them for more information. To apply, you must bring in your last year’s tax forms or pay stubs as proof of low income. Find your local office by calling 888-942-2229. If you’re already on Medi-Cal, your Medi-Cal benefits will not be affected (At least that’s what the lady on the phone told me. You might want to double check just in case).

Leave a Comment

Chinese Conception Calendar

It’s fun to predict whether your child is going to be a boy or a girl. Use this ancient Chinese Conception Chart to determine the sex of your baby. Download a copy of it here: Chinese Conception Chart

To determine the sex, find your conception month and your lunar age at the time of conception. The lunar calendar is approximately 29 days. Oddly, it has been accurate so far with me and my friends.

Note: This is for entertainment purposes only. Do not rely on this chart when preparing your nursery or purchasing clothes for your baby.

Leave a Comment

2006 Top Baby Boy and Baby Girl Names

Interesting…according to the Social Security Administration, the most popular boy name and girl name for 2006 are Jacob and Emily. Here are the results:

Rank Boy Girl

1 Jacob Emily
2 Michael Emma
3 Joshua Madison
4 Ethan Isabella
5 Matthew Ava
6 Daniel Abigail
7 Christopher Olivia
8 Andrew Hannah
9 Anthony Sophia
10 William Samantha

Leave a Comment

Chinese Pregnancy Superstitions

During my months of pregnancy, my mom has told me to do or not do many things that just don’t make any sense. But somehow, I obeyed. Perhaps I believe in them too. Here are some of the things she told me.

  1. Do not use a plunger in the bathroom while pregnant.
  2. Do not put up posters on the walls while pregnant. A part of your baby will be sealed off (nose, mouth or anus).
  3. Do not cut any paper while pregnant. There will be a cut or mark on your baby.
  4. Do not move your bed. You will have a miscarriage, no matter what stage of pregnancy you’re in.
  5. Do not do construction work in the house.
  6. Do not buy used baby stuff (or take used baby stuff from someone) if you do not know if the previous owner is healthy or alive. You don’t want to bring the previous owner’s misfortunes into your house.

Supposedly, these superstitions apply to everyone in the household. If you have any more to add to this list, please do so!

3 Comments

Baby Back Rib Recipes For Grilling (Or Oven)

Okay, I confess. Every now and then, I have a craving (although not often). Last month, I really wanted some baby back ribs. I guess I wasn’t getting enough meat in my diet or something. So I went out and bought some ribs, spread lots of yummy BBQ sauce, and put it in the oven. Boy did it satisfy that pregnancy craving of mine! Here’s the recipe I used. It’s really simple, but it sure takes a while. I got it from Allrecipes.com.
Serves 4. Prep time: 8 hours. Cook time: 2 1/2 hours.

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil big enough to enclose each portion of ribs. Spray each piece of foil with vegetable cooking spray. Brush the ribs liberally with barbeque sauce and place each portion in its own piece of foil. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
  3. Bake ribs wrapped tightly in the foil at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from foil and add more sauce, if desired.

You can similarly grill it instead of cooking it in an oven.

Leave a Comment

Free Diapers and Wipes Coupons for Target

Look what I found! $1.50 off coupon for Pampers Splashers Swim Pants and $3.00 off your purchase of both Pampers Diaper and Wipes. These are Target coupons and expires July 3, 2007.

Click here to print them: Free Pampers Coupons

Leave a Comment

Lansinoh Double Electric Breast Pump at Target.com

I decided to trust all the great reviews on the Lansinoh Double Electric Breast Pump and purchased one instead of the Dr. Brown’s Electric Breast Pump. Lots of great reviews on Target.com, but what ever happened to the actual product?

I went to two local Target stores, and they didn’t have any. I went home, searched at Target.com to find the nearest Target that has it in stock. Most of the stores around me were out of stock! Can you believe that? Can they really be “out of stock” in so many stores? I finally found one Target that had 2 left in stock. Problem was…it was 20 miles out from where I live! I called the store and asked for them to place it on hold for me (they can put items on hold for 24 hours for you if you call them). “Wow!” I thought. “This breast pump better be worth it!”

Anyhow, I would have saved myself the trouble and purchased it online at Amazon.com or something but I’m due in a few days so I needed to get the pump as soon as possible. I wanted to bring the pump with me to the hospital because there will be a lactation consultant there to help, and I thought it would be great if I could bring my pump.

Lansinoh Double Electric Breast PumpIf you’re looking to purchase this Lansinoh Double Electric Breast Pump, call the store first to see if they have one available (even if their website said they have it at local stores). Or if you are willing to pay for shipping and wait a few days, purchase one on Amazon.com. Click here to purchase.

Once I use it, I’ll come back with a product review.

Leave a Comment

Best Breast Pumps

I’ve been doing a lot of research on breast pumps lately. I recently purchased the Dr. Brown’s Natural Flow Manual Breast Pump, but was advised to exchange it for an electric one. So I went online to do some research on Dr. Brown’s Single Electric Breast Pump. Oddly, there aren’t many product reviews on this product.

According to the product description, the suction has a honeycomb liner that helps stimulate the nipples. This is supposed to increase the milk supply. Also, it has a patented one way air flow system that continuously draws milk away from the breast to reduce the chances of getting breast infection. It is also very light and very small – you can easily put it in your diaper bag. The parts are large so they are easy to clean. Sounds good so far…

However, finding product reviews on this breast pump is hard to find. The only ones I have found so far are on the Babies R Us website. And those reviews do not help as they have mixed opinions! 1/2 say it’s a great product, the other 1/2 hates it.  It seems as if it’s one of those “either you love it or hate it” products.

I’m trying to compare the product to the Lansinoh Double Electric Breast Pump. It’s also lightweight and compact. They are in the same price range ($150). And there are lots of great reviews on this pump on Target.com. I’m trying to debate which pump to get, Dr. Brown’s Electric or the Lansinoh Electric, and am having trouble deciding because there aren’t enough product reviews on Dr. Brown’s Electric Pumps. Everyone I have talked to seems to love Dr. Brown’s products, except they haven’t tried the breast pumps yet.

If you have tried Dr. Brown’s Electric Breast Pump, any comments would be appreciated!

Leave a Comment