VotD

So I finally got to hear Anne Hathaway's version of "I Dreamed a Dream" and it's truly stunning. I'm a huge fan of "Les Mis" and there is a vulnerability to this version I haven't quite heard before. Somehow she makes this tried and true song her own (Man, I sound like I'm a judge on "American Idol", stop me, SOMEONE!). Anyway, the full scene from the movie is available at Vimeo, but I can't link to that video, so instead here's an abbreviated version from the trailer for your enjoyment:



And just for fun, here's her "For Your Consideration" video; clearly it worked!

Things that make me go hmmm

I never understand why when businesses decide to redo their websites, they take the old website down entirely and put up a placeholder with the cheery "We're re-doing our site! Check back later!" Sometimes, those animated gifs (remember those from the mid-90s?) of a construction vehicle is displayed prominently. And the kicker is, "later" is always well after you need the information or you've already called to get it from them. I've seen some sites keep the messages up for months and months and it makes me wonder. Did they make the decision to design a new site and think they needed to take the old one down first before they could even start a new one? Did the person they hire to design the new site take longer than needed? Why not design the new one in the background and then upload it over the old one when it's finished? No matter how bad the old website looks, it looks a lot worse when customers can't easily get the information they want for months and months.

LotD

Isn't science cool? Remains of King Richard III found under parking lot

New blog

I've been traveling a lot lately with baby which is another explanation for my lack of bloggity here. I've decided to makes more sense to separate that topic from this blog as over the 19 flights and multiple car trips and boat trips and train trips with baby, I've accumulated a lot of tips. And those of you who know me in real life know I can be awfully preachy when I want to be. So if you're interested in my tips for traveling with a toddler, you can read all about it at my new blog: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Circling the Globe with Baby. Note: this blog will remain active, just everything concerning travel and baby will be over at the other blog.

New year, new look

After years and years after the previous template -- which was inherently buggy due to any number of customizations I made and trust you me, I did NOT know what I was doing when I made those customizations -- I have upgraded to a new template. The archive is now by year instead of the really, really long list of postings by month (wow, I had a lot to say in 2002!), and a lot of the extraneous 'free' code that I was using to add functionality is now gone as well. Hope you like the new look!

Happy new year!

Wishing you and yours a very happy New Year! I'm sorry I've been out of bloggy-world lately, but we've been traveling a lot and as a result, blogging had to take a backseat. It's next to impossible to blog on a tablet!

I'm planning on starting a new blog sometime in the near future to detail all of our travels. We've gone to some really cool places like Singapore, Indonesia, and Japan and it's been fun to experience new sights and cultures.

In the meantime, you'll see some slight changes on this blog. I realize it's gotten harder to blog as I've tried to move away from the personal stuff and also from fanfiction. I also felt politics is a zero-sum game, given how divided everyone is on every single issue. I didn't feel like engaging in virtual food-fights; who has time for that? Plus, I worked for a very staunch Republican for a while who has connections to various Republican presidents and I just wanted to keep my head low for the duration of my employment.

All of those concerns are now on the backburner, so I've decided to put a bit more personality back into the blog and also point out and blog about issues that I care about again. Hopefully that will give me more things to actually write about and motivate me to continue blogging. This blog has been around since 2001 and I'm not ready to retire it yet!

Traveling with baby

Traveling with baby

Air travel with babies (kids) is never easy. When I used to travel for work, I would carry one small bag that fit into the overhead bin and call it a day. I had the TSA checkpoints down to a science, such as undoing my shoes and already getting my little toiletry baggies out before I even got to the conveyer belt for the x-ray machines. But baby has changed all of that. Now I'm that harried, haggard person standing there in line hoping that you all won't be mad at me as I rummage through the diaper bag to find all the food that I now need to declare, figure out what to do with my toddler who wants to toddle and not stay put, and then handle the stroller and the carseat expertly with one hand. Seriously, babies have a lot of gear and even traveling light, you can't avoid most of the stuff.

Here are some products I used on my most recent travels that made life a lot easier (note: I'm not sponsored by any of the products I'm mentioning and I don't get any commission etc if you click on the links, which lead to Amazon, btw).

* Enfamil Premium Infant Single-Serve Powder Packets: I usually pour pre-measured powder into bottles and then add water as needed, but one thing I found with travel is that with all the hectic running around, bottles aren't always dry when I need them to be. So now I use these pre-packaged packets where I can dump the powder into the bottle of water when needed and not worry about lugging around the giant tub of formula around. It also means that if a bottle is wet when I hit the road, no worries, since I'll be putting the powder in just before baby needs it.

I've really only used Enfamil so I have no idea if the competing brands like Gerber and Similac have such a product, but it's worth checking into. Also, these are pretty pricey compared to powder tubs (which are pricey to begin with!) but are worth it for the convenience. 
  
There are also pre-made formulas out there in single servings, but I avoided them after hearing a horror story from one of the moms in my playgroup. Apparently, TSA needed to test the formula after they opened it, she had to dump it out and as a result, she had no food for the flight and had to go home. I do expect TSA to have to test powder (though on 6 flights so far -- 3 roundtrips), the most TSA has done is look at the tub of powder and wave a wand at it. However, even if they take a scoop of powder out for testing, the remaining is still good to use. So I'd avoid the pre-made formula, just to be safe.

* Medela Steam Bags: These bags are great for sterilization on the road. All you need is some water and a microwave and a lot of hotels now have microwaves in the room. I know sterilization isn't particularly necessary anymore but it's just something that I feel good about doing, especially when I know that the bottle cleaning might not be going as well as it might at home. And it's a decent value -- about $5 for 100 uses.

* Plum Organics Baby Food: I just used Plum Organics extensively (they were on sale at Babies R Us for a $1/pack -- usually run around $1.50 to $1.60 normal price), so hence my recommendation. There are other brands that come in a sack like this. The bottom line is that these are super easy to travel  with since there is no worry about glass breaking and baby can easily suck the food out of the package so there's the added benefit of not needing to travel with silverware and dishes.

I packed enough food for the flight into a small generic cooler bag and purchased a bottle of water after passing through security. Incidentally, on one of my flights, I pre-filled the bottles with the appropriate amount of water and  went through security and they let me through. I believe TSA allows you to bring as much food and water as required to feed the baby for the flight, but still be prepared to dump any water out or have TSA look/scan the food appropriately. 

Once on the plane, I put the diaper bag up in the overhead bin and then put the cooler on the seat next to me. That way I had all of the food right there and I wouldn't have to bother my seatmate to get it. I also purchased a new toy for the flight but baby wasn't particularly interested in that or in any of my Kindle apps that I downloaded for her. She just wanted to pull magazines etc out of the seat pocket in front of us.

On my next trip, I plan to use the Travelmate and see how it works. Currently, I'm using a Graco Infant Carrier with the infant stroller frame (BTW, this stroller is awesome; I didn't know about it until after baby was born but it really is life-changing compared to the behemoth travel system stroller we purchased). We'll see how that goes!

LotD
The Craigslist Experiment. Check this out: a guy set up a fake job ad on Craig's List etc to discern WHO his competition in the job market is. The results are a bit sobering. And on a related note, here is an interesting article: Why Good People Can't Get Jobs.

In Memory

Today's Bollywood song is in honor of legendary star, Rajesh Khanna, who passed away today.

LotD

How about this for a look: a Gummy Bear dress? It's colorful, though I think it would probably get squished once you sat down. And possibly pretty sticky too. Though, if it has those Coke bottle ones, I'm totally sold and will be wearing it to my next red carpet event.

Music time

I just realized I haven't posted a music video in a long time and when going through and trying to fix my iTunes, I came across a song I haven't heard in a while: "Desi Girl" from the film Dostana. This song is so much fun, so catchy and infectious. And no, there's no one quite like a Desi girl.

Clarification

I realize my previous post might have sounded like I was anti-breast feeding, and I'm not. It's just that it's difficult, far more difficult than I expected, and it does feel like a marathon -- just one more mile to go, one more, if I can make it to that next marker. We've all been in that position and I wrote that post at a time when I was really mentally, physically and emotionally struggling with breastfeeding. I think we owe it to women to be truthful about the experience, that it's NOT for everyone, and it's not the end all and be all if you don't breastfeed. I think this last point is really what I wanted to get at.

There's such pressure and guilt put on mothers by society and other women regarding this topic that any deviation for whatever reason feels like a major failure. It's not a failure to say breastfeeding isn't for you. Feeding is such one piece of a complex algorithm on how one raises her (and his! fathers included!) child and there's no surefire way that everything you do is going to be exactly right on setting your child on the way to Bill Gates awesomeness. There are so many questions to answer along the way, so many decisions to be made. So as plaintive that post sounded, I needed to say what I said, and I'm calmer and more reassured about the decision I made. And that's all any parent can really do.

LotD

I've been hemming and hawing over this one for a while and have finally decided to post it*: The Case Against Breastfeeding. I've been of two minds because I do think there are some definite benefits to breastfeeding (I can't speak to the accuracy or completeness of Rosin's 'findings' in the article), but there are downsides to it that are rarely discussed. Instead, you get these lovely pamphlets and books with pictures of mothers staring beatifically at their children and all is well with the world. Just master the right hold, go skin to skin, and voila, life is good and wonderful and your child will grow up to be Bill Gates.

 I'm still trying to gather my thoughts on the subject, because this is an intensely personal choice and I'm still trying to understand how I feel. What I will share is that I didn't have the beatific experience that everyone seems to emulate and that it took a lot of support from various parties to get me through the first 10 weeks. Around months 7 to 8, I felt that tug of, "Okay, I've reached my goal, let's get on with life. I want to wear a dress again." And then I felt immediately ashamed, as if my desire to wear a dress trumped the well-being of the child. I didn't necessarily feel closer to the baby because of the breastfeeding. I mostly felt a bit of panic, some frustration, some angst -- why isn't this working? Where is the milk they said would be coming in days? Why won't the baby latch? Isn't it instinctive? Didn't I follow all the rules?

The rules, mind you, came from a breastfeeding class and as a result, I had made up my mind prior to delivery that the baby would a) not have a pacifier and b) no bottles and c) no formula. Within 12 hours of birth, all three rules had been broken; the lactation consultant was confuzzled and told me she'd be back in the morning to try again, but not before she bottle-fed the baby a bit of formula. And she came back twice the next day and again, the baby wasn't interested in nature's best and instead, once again, there was formula in a bottle. On the third day, the day I left the hospital, another consultant came, and after an hour, told me, "You may need to just pump. Some babies take time to get it." Her tone of voice made pumping sound like a weekend in the Swiss Alps.

 So we rented the hospital grade pump and retired the one I had bought -- a rather inexpensive double electric, bought on the premise that it would be used sparingly. Instead, I was hooked up to this loud, monstrous yellow box 6 to 8 times a day at 15 to 20 minutes a pop, sometimes as long as 45 minutes. And then there was the cleaning and sanitizing of all pump parts and bottles. It was enough to make anyone go crazy. When I couldn't pump enough milk, which happened more than I liked, we supplemented with formula. And I kept trying and trying to get the baby to latch. Week 10, I was about to give up and give in and lo and behold, the magical latch happened.

 I made it to the six month mark, pretty happy that I was a) disengaged mostly from that pump, b) had less bottles to wash on a daily basis (and oh, the dishwasher basket saved my life for sure) and c) it was relatively to easy to feed the baby when the baby was hungry, regardless of where I was. But something changed after I hit the six month mark. Was it that I had reached the goal set by the AAP -- six months of exclusive breastfeeding?** Or may be it was the baby was getting wiggly and knocking my cover off in public. Or that it was getting hot in the summer and I was tired of wearing the same old t-shirts and skirts and wanted back into my pretty dresses. Maybe it was the baby always seemed hungry (at six months, the baby regressed to newborn sleeping habits) and I felt like a nursing zombie. Still, I made it through month six because then I thought it was cruel to wean a baby just like that. And the pediatrician assured me that the baby would lose interest as solids were introduced.

But not losing interest fast enough for me. And that's when I realized I had come to the end of my rope. I wanted off the nursing bandwagon quickly and as minimally traumatic to all parties. And yet, even though I had made it longer than most women, I still felt guilt. My heart and mind were no longer in the process and I found myself reaching for the bottle and formula often. Suddenly breastfeeding no longer seemed easy and I wanted my life back.  

* I'm pretty sure I haven't posted this one yet as an LoTD, though it's been on my 'to do' list for quite a while. I find the article provocative in every way and it's never far from my mind in its dissonance from what society/culture dictates. If this is a rerun, I apologize. ** I always had to supplement with formula, but I would say at the 6 month mark, the baby was on 80% breast milk and 20% formula.

LotD: Everest 2

I thought this was an interesting post on how much it costs to climb Everest. It's certainly not cheap! The skinny answer is that it will cost you around $83,000, if not more. Puts a bit more perspective on the people who actually make the climb -- it's not just having a dream, it's putting money where their mouth is.

LotD: Everest Edition

Check out this article about the four people who died on Everest this past weekend. What's astonishing is the enormous line of people -- 300, per the article -- who are lined up to make the ascent. Truly amazing.

LotD

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of the pink and red, I bring you my favorite cultural commenter, Jon Stewart, weighing in on the recent birth control controversy. The most important point regarding the issue is at the very end.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Vagina Ideologues
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Follow-up

I think, I think Celo Green was on The Today show this morning. I'm starting to suspect my deep thought from yesterday is indeed true. Celo Green is property of NBC!!! If anyone can confirm, please let me know as I just saw the tease for his appearance. If it is indeed true, bottoms up!

Deep thought of the Day

Does Celo Green live at NBC? So far this year, we've seen him on the following shows, all NBC:

* The Voice
* The Today Show
* Parenthood
* The Macy's Parade
* Super Bowl Half Time Show

He may have also been on America's Got Talent, but I can't quite remember. The point is, Celo Green is on NBC a lot, so I don't know why I was surprised when he showed up during halftime during tonight's ballgame. Next time you see him, specifically when you see him on NBC, take a drink!

LotD

How to drive Planned Parenthood out of the abortion business.

A picture is worth a thousand words

What Planned Parenthood Actually Does.