The Avent and Dr. Brown’s BPA Bottle Recall Fiasco

I’m pretty late on this BPA in baby bottles thing, but I guess it’s better late than never.

I recently received an email from a colleague of mine saying that there is a recall on Avent bottles. I don’t use Avent bottles. But I do use Dr. Brown’s baby bottles. So here’s the scoop on Dr. Brown’s.
I called the Babies R Us (BRU) store in Westminster. They are taking back up to 10 bottles, used or new, and swapping them for the new BPA-free bottles. But before you bring your Avent or Dr. Brown’s bottles to the nearest BRU store, you might want to call them first to ask if they’ll take the bottles back. Since there hasn’t officially been a recall (they are still within FDA guidelines and are still deemed to be safe), not all stores are taking them back. It’s under the branch manager’s discretion.

I know the Westminster branch will take them. You can bet that I’ll be bringing all 10 of mine in today!

I read something about sending Handi-Craft up to three UPC symbols of the new BPA-free Dr. Brown’s bottles and they’ll send you 3 of the same bottles for free. I called them to verify this and it’s true! What a great deal! Except…that promotion ended June 30th, 2008. Ouch, it was just last month!
Someone made some phone calls to a few BRU stores over the country to find out which store is participating and which isn’t. Click here for the link. 

What exactly is BPA anyway? It’s short for Bisphenol A and is the key component in the production of Polycarbonate plastic. Polycarbonate plastic is commonly found in baby bottles, CDs, medical devices, and household electronics. Long term exposure to low doses of BPA can lead to chronic toxicity in humans.

Good luck with your Avent and/or Dr. Brown’s bottles! Let me know which store you called or went to and whether or not they are taking your bottles for store credit.

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When to Take Baby on First Airplane Ride?

Grandpa in Taiwan passed away last week.  At first, I was going to stay home to be with Little Mochi but after much thought, I’ve decided to leave him with my mom and go back with my husband’s family (it’s Grandpa from hubby’s side).

It would be great to bring Little Mochi with us.  But it’s nearly a 15 hour flight.  Plus, the 3 hour wait at the airport and the 1 or 2 hour drive from the airport to the house.  For a one year old, it’s too much. My cousin took her son on a half hour airplane ride when he was 1 1/2 years old.  But that’s only 1/2 hour plane ride. 

When did you bring your baby on his/her first airplane ride?  Do you ever get worried about recirculated air on the plane?  And what about the cabin pressure?

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Walking and Baby Proofing Our Home

When will my baby start walking?  That was a question that I had a few months ago.  Seeing him cruise along the furniture and the walls was pretty impressive.  Then seeing him let go and trying to balance was awesome.  But then when he took his first step – our jaws just fell to the ground. 

My dad warned me.  He said to give Little Mochi two weeks to learn how to walk after he took his first step.

Today, I will officially say that he is walking on his own.  He even knows how to push himself up.  He wouldn’t know how to fall when he loses his balance two weeks ago.  However, he now can fall and laugh about it. 

He walked all over the house today.  Literally all over the house.  Granted that our place is small (1000 sq ft), but it is still impressive that he can walk from one room to the next.  And it all happened so fast.  It all happened today.  Little Mochi seems so happy to be mobile, to be independent.

Initially, I was so happy because I don’t have to hold his hand everytime he wants to go across the room.  I just let him walk there by himself while I am at my computer.  But then I realized that he was crawling under the tables and into the cabinets!  Arg.  So I still have to follow him.  I’d have to admit that I haven’t baby proofed our place yet.  I just didn’t feel the need to since he spends most of his day at my mom’s.  And when he’s at my mom’s, there’s always someone there to play with him or watch him. 

I talked to my cousin who has a 2 year old son.  She said that the baby proofing gadgets didn’t work.  Her son eventually learned to work around them or break them.  So it really wasn’t worth the money or effort in installing them.  Especially the ones that hold the toilet bowl down.  I guess I won’t be baby proofing our place.

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A Few Pics From the Birthday Party

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Yay! Look at me! I’m ONE!

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Oh My! Look at this balloon!

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Can I play too? It’s my birthday!

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Yup, that’s right, I’m the Birthday Prince!

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First (Ten) Baby Steps

I saw the most amazing thing last night. Little Mochi took his first few steps on his own. He has gotten so comfortable with pulling himself up and letting go and standing on his own now. It’s a matter of taking his first few steps. He has always looked for something to hold on to when he wants to get from point A to point B. However, last night, he stood on those chubby little legs, looked up at me, smiled, clapped his hands, and slowly picked up his right foot. Realizing that he’s walking, he looked down and cautiously took another step toward me.

It’s a little rocky now. One small step at a time. He smiles while he walks. It’s probably because he realizes that he’s doing it on his own. Perhaps he realizes that he’s now a “free” boy. How cute!

He’ll take 3 steps or so, but then extends his hands for my hands. He stands there until I put my hands in front of his. To encourage him to take a few more steps on his own, I keep my hands in front of him. I move forward as he moves forward, reaching for my hand. He took nearly 10 steps this way. How sudden. Two nights ago, he needed to hold on to something. Last night, he walks on his own. I bet tonight, he’ll be running around.

Oh great. As he gains more independence, I lose mine. I now have to keep both of my eyes on him as I know he’ll be walking, running very shortly, into little corners of the house. As if he doesn’t go through the cabinets already!

He’s no longer my little baby. He’s like…a little boy now! I realized last night that I really need to hold on to every moment that I spend with Little Mochi. It won’t be long until I can no longer hold him…or kiss him…or toss him in the air just so I can hear his giggles.

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Happy First Birthday, Little Mochi!

Little Mochi had his first birthday two weeks ago!  We had a big party last Saturday (July 6) – the turn out was good and the guests seemed to have enjoyed themselves. 

For those of you looking for birthday party ideas for your kid’s first birthday – themes, food, decorations, etc – here is what we did for Little Mochi.

Time of the party:

First of all, the time of the party seem to be the most important.  You have to schedule the party around his nap time.  Little Mochi usually naps around noon time and then again around 4 or 5 pm.  So I scheduled the party from 1 pm – 5 pm.  You don’t want him looking cranky in his pictures or camcorder because he’s tired.

Theme of the party:

We picked a Hawaiian theme.  We wanted something fun, laid back, and comfortable for our guests.  We could have done a western theme but I didn’t think having him wear a Western outfit would have been comfortable for him, especially in July when the weather is hot.  Having Little Mochi wear a Hawaiian shirt is not only comfortable for him, but is also easy to put on and take off.

Attire and decorations:

Most of our guests came in their Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts.  We had Hawaiian music playing in the background.  The music was nice because the tunes are relaxing and laid back. We purchased a box of 50 plastic lei’s for $10 from Party City and had one of my cousins lei’d the guests as they arrived.  Although they were just cheap plastic lei’s, it surprised the guests.  And besides, it help create the “Hawaiian” atmosphere.

We also purchased a big blow up coconut tree that holds the drinks at the bottom.  We just filled the bottom with ice and put the drinks on top.  It also makes a nice decoration and adds to the whole Hawaiian theme.

We also purchased some plastic Hibiscus and taped them all over the room.  That didn’t do much since our clubhouse (where we had the party) was so big and I had only 50 flowers. 

The only thing that I didn’t do was get a tiki bar because I decided not to serve any alcohol (too many kids – bad influence).

Food and Drinks:

We almost catered from L&L’s Hawaiian BBQ but decided to serve ribs instead.  The ribs were purchased from Costco.  To make it easier on the guests, we cut up the ribs before we served them so you can grab one, two or three ribs instead of grabbing the entire rack of ribs.  Also, that way, it won’t be the only thing the guests eat (those ribs get expensive!).

My mom made Pineapple, Bacon and Ham fried rice.  I think I would have asked her to use Spam instead of the Bacon and Ham since everyone seems to associate Spam with Hawaii, but Spam gets expensive.  Who would have noticed the difference anyway?

I also had lasgna.  That went quick.  At first, I thought I should have made another plate of lasgna, but towards the end of the party, there was still a lot of left over food.

There was a lot of desserts.  My mother in law made a Chinese green bean dessert.  My mom made carrot cake.  We didn’t buy a birthday cake (thought the carrot cake was enough).  And I had fruit for the guests. 

We also had chips and salsa and egg rolls as snacks.

As for drinks, I made sure we had Hawaiian Fruit Punch!  Lots of it.  Root beer is always a favorite in our family.  As I mentioned before, I didn’t serve any alcohol because there was going to be a lot of young kids at the party.  I didn’t think it was appropriate.

Presents:

Little Mochi got a lot of presents.  We opened them after the guests left because I didn’t want the kids to feel bad.  I didn’t wrap “gifts” (party favors) for them so thought it was best to just open the presents later instead.

Party Favors:

I bought bubble blowers for the kids to keep them busy.  It’s also inexpensive.   But for the adults, I purchased a small box of Hawaiian cookies and a small bag of chocolate covered coffee beans for them to take home.

What I regret:

I didn’t take enough pictures or videos.

We didn’t play any games.  I really wanted to do the limbo, but the day passed by so quickly that I didn’t realize how late it was.  Everyone was either too tired or already running around.

I couldn’t get Little Mochi to take his nap any earlier than 12:30 so I didn’t make it to the clubhouse until nearly 2 pm!

I didn’t bring my cell phone with me so one friend got lost and couldn’t get a hold of me.  It took her 2 hours to finally find us.  And my cousinn tried to call to get directions, but couldn’t get a hold of me.  They ended up not showing up.  Their baby is only 2 weeks older than Little Mochi so it would have been great to see them interact.

What I’m thankful for:

My mom for helping me make the food and carrot cake.

My mother in law for bringing the dessert.

My husband and two brothers for entertaining the guests at the poker table.  Especially my husband since he made them happy since he lost all his money to them!!!!  :-)

My sister for helping out before the party because I was recovering from food poisioning (I almost had to cancel the party because I almost rushed myself to ER early, really early that morning).

All my cousins that stayed behind to help clean up.

My father in law for taking the 5 video clips that I otherwise would not have taken because I barely took any pictures to begin with.

And most importantly, all the guests for showing up in their Hawaiian gear!

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More Baby Shower Games

Before I went to the wrong wedding this past Saturday, my hubby, Little Mochi, and I went to LL’s baby shower. She’s got another 9 weeks to go and is having a baby girl. It’s their first child so it’ll be exciting for them.

Her shower was a small and cozy shower, unlike mine. She had only a few close friends and her parents. Her husband’s family is still in Australia so they weren’t there. Despite the small size, we all had fun. They played a few games. Here are some of the games that they played:

1. The Pin Game: Everyone gets a pin with a ribbon tied to it. If you hear someone say the word “Baby,” you can take their pin from them. Likewise, if someone hears you say the word “Baby,” you have to give them your pin. At the end of the day, who ever has the most pins win. I lost my pin to a little boy while playing the Baby Food Game.

2. The Baby Food Game: 7 baby food jars, with the labels torn off, are labeled 1 – 7. On a sheet of paper, we write down what flavor we think the food in the jar is. I swear I thought I had this one, but I switched the Apple and Pear – they so similar! Hint: Look at the consistency of it.

3. The How Many Diapers Game: Diapers are stuffed into a see through container. We have to guess how many diapers are in there. The person closest to the actual number of diapers in the container wins. I was totally off!

4. The Baby Picture Game: Everyone brings in a baby picture and we all have to write down who we think the baby is. This is actually a rather difficult game, especially if you don’t know the other guests. I didn’t play this game because a) I didn’t submit a picture and b) I don’t know anyone at the party except for the mom-to-be.

5. The Yarn Game: With the yarn, you try to figure out the size of the soon-to-be Mom’s belly by cutting out a piece of yarn. Many of the men just tied the yarn around their waist and consider that the size of the Mom because they have such a big belly already. I was close, but lost to the same little boy that I lost my pin to!

We left early. We couldn’t stay long enough to enjoy their cake and to watch her open her presents. We had to run back home and get ready for my cousin’s wedding later that night.

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