Recently in Editorials Category

This weekend was our first attempt at driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. To avoid traffic and a prolonged car ride, we picked to go on Thursday and come back Saturday. On the way there, my younger daughter, the crankier and harder traveler of the two, fell asleep an hour into the trip. She woke up, we had lunch, got back in the car and they watched a video. Suddenly we were there!! Hooray!! I couldn't believe the ease and uneventfulness of it all. I started planning road trips to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and even a cross country trip to New York!! We had a great time in Vegas, everything was good.

When it was time to go home we had no thought or concern of the return trip so we dilly dallied around and left way past our intended time. We finally set off at 6pm. Little daughter slept thru lunch so I got her yogurt and a croissant for the road. At 8:30 we stop for dinner, she ate more than usual and daddy rewarded her with fruit punch. I got coffee and the kids wanted milk. Ok. No problem. Off we go for the second leg of the drive. Ten minutes on the road, in the dark, we hear gagging. Lights go on and we witness the most harrowing display of vomiting since The Exorcist. My poor little girl threw up 3 times, back to back, the last one being so violent and intense of a stream that we all had a hard time comprehending what we were seeing. It projectiled into the back of the front seat and saturated her clothes and the car seat so that it all dripped to the floor like a waterfall. There was so much vomit I couldn't believe it all fit in her little body. Well, apparently it didn't. Yogurt, croissant, fruit punch, chicken dinner, churros and milk. Uh, yeah, maybe a bit much for a tiny stomach. Without exaggeration I estimate the volume to be an entire gallon.

We pull over as soon as we could, in the middle of the dessert with nothing in sight. I didn't even know where to begin to clean her up. Getting her out of the car seat was a problem because of how slippery she was. I had a hard time pulling her clothes over her head in fear of smearing vomit all over her face and hair. I stretched the head opening until I heard the seam rip and gently got it over without touching her head. The only thing we had were wipes (thank god I decided to bring an extra box!!) so little by little we start wiping away the slime and chunks and got new clothes on her. The seat was another issue. The wipes were not getting the job done. What I needed was a towel so I went into our suitcase and found a terry cloth bathing suit cover up. I soaked it in water and using big swipes got most of the vomit out of the car seat then used wipes for the finer detailing.

Now we had to brace ourselves for the second half of the trip, two and a half more hours! I lined her car seat with t-shirts and wrapped the harness straps with tube socks (yes, clean ones, but even dirty ones would have smelled better than what we were dealing with). Luckily, I had perfume on me so I doused tissues with it and shoved one end into the AC vents so that the air coming out could blow Hermes Verte scent throughout the car. My cousin (who was with us) commented on how nice the perfume smelled. We were all trying our best to not think of (or smell) the undertone of fruit punch / yogurt vomit. It was a good hour before we could talk about it and make jokes about it.

Leave it to your kids to serve up a prescription dose of reality when you're enjoying uneventful bliss. Now, you'll have to excuse me so I can go give my current reality a much needed bleaching treatment.

To honor dads on this day, I have listed my top 10 reasons why they are so lovable.

1. When he says I'm beautiful, he means it with all his heart.
2. We can't live without those hugs.
3. Can carry a sleeping baby in his arms for hours while we shop (and most of the time, without complaining).
4. His chest is the best sleep aid without a prescription.
5. Can always be counted on to have a new razor for me to "borrow" :)
6. Happy to run out and buy milk at midnight.
7. Will not sleep until the 2000 piece Lego set is put together perfectly.
8. Never too embarrased to play dress up, lipstick and all.
9. Expert toy engineer.
10. Keeps tupperware matching and organized.

By Tot Snob Kelly (reason #11, his computer always works when I need it!!).

Big open grassy area, dancing fountains, a playground area and the piece de resistance - lounge area for grown ups with clear view of playground. Americana at Brand in Glendale is an outdoor mall made to look like a "city" with Disney style charm and cleanliness. I complained the whole way driving here because, trust me it is not close to my home. But oh was it worth it! We started with lunch at Katsuya, sitting outside in the patio overlooking the fountains. Then we headed straight for the playground. There is an adjacent kiosk running a pretty nice racket selling a small set of sand toys for $10 (same set at CVS for $2). But I figure that buys me an additional 30 minutes to relax and finish my latte which as we all know is priceless :).

Next is mommy time, shopping! No compromises here, there was something for everyone to love; Barneys Co-Op, Sur la Table, Tiffany & Co., Anthropologie, Calvin Klein, Crew Cuts (J. Crew's tot collection), H&M, Kitson, Forever 21, the list goes on. To reward my sweet tots for letting me actually try things on, we had ice cream at a really cool vintage ice cream truck. There is also Crumbs (think elaborate cupcakes) but that will have to be another day. To end the perfect afternoon we go to Barnes & Noble where they have an extensive tots' section and a great reading area. We picked up a few books and the tots are ready for a nap. Motherhood made easy and fun thanks to this place!!

US Coast Guard Medevac Team tends to mom and baby

Amber Badua, a 30 year old woman from Sacramento, gave birth to a healthy baby girl aboard a Carnival Cruise line on May 27, a day after her own 30th birthday. But the amazing part of the story is that she only found out she was pregnant a week before! She began feeling stomachaches the night of the 26th and thought her symptoms were due to constipation from overeating, as is common aboard a cruise. At 10:20am the next morning, she pushed the baby out on her own with no assistance. Actually, she did not even know she was in labor!

So how did Amber not know she was pregnant? That's the first question I asked when I spoke to her for her first interview after the event. This story was all over the San Diego local news but Tot Snob got the exclusive full story. I should disclose that I am friends with Amber's cousin and I have met Amber on several occasions.

On May 20, Amber emailed her OB-GYN with concerns of "weird movements" in her stomach, as well as some spotting. This was after months of speaking to her doctor about irregular periods after coming off birth control pills last October. Her doctor reassured her that "spotty periods" were common after coming off the pill and that those were in fact menstrual cycles. In her mind, there was no way she could be pregnant. But to be sure, her doctor told her to take a home pregnancy test. She did, 3 different ones, all positive. Amber went in for a blood test and the pregnancy was confirmed the next day, on May 21st. Thinking she was still early in her term, as in 8-12 weeks pregnant, the doctor okay-ed her for a planned cruise and scheduled Amber for her first prenatal appointment on June 1 (which would have been a whole 5 days after the baby was born!).

Interesting. For such a blingy binky, shouldn't the tot be smiling instead of scowling? Or maybe she is appropriately annoyed at such a tacky thing? I think the latter. This Crystal Pacifier ($120) may be kind of funny to buy as a gift but who would buy this for their own tot? And even weirder, on the Vivre site, it says that it is the "perfect choice for stylish mini metrosexuals". WHAT??!! Ok, that is disturbing. Maybe the money should go toward much needed therapy.

After seeing the feature on the Today show about bacteria growing in bath toys, I became weary and uneasy during bath times. I try to squeeze all the water out of the squirty toys but of course it is impossible to be 100% diligent. So the other day, after being away on a trip for a few days and allowing things to simmer and brew in the bath toys, I noticed something strange in the crab squirt toy - it looked as if something was casting a shadow inside. It was, of course, full of water and when I squeezed - BLACK gunk came out!!!! I was like, "OUT OF THE BATH, EVERYONE!!!!!" (my 2 tots bath together). It was so nasty. I immediately ran them into my shower for a proper scrub down and as soon as that was done I tossed ALL the squirt toys. Needless to say, there will be no more squirt toys for us. The ones that wind up and swim are ok because they completely drain and dry. Tonight during bath time I would take a closer look at the toys in the bath and seriously consider a proper heave ho of potential germ capsules.

My husband would like to point out that your first vacation with your tots is not a vacation. Set your expectations of relaxing appropriately low to none (for example, you won't need to pack your novel). With the summer approaching, you are probably making elaborate plans to go to some fabulous far away destination. I have traveled A LOT with tots so I just want to help out those who have delusions and illusions of a 8 city European tour or some other itinerary equally nightmare inducing. But don't be alarmed, you can still have fun as long as you keep things simple and keep the following in mind.

Same City, Same Hotel - Do not try more than one destination. Stay in one place, whether it is a hotel or a friend or family's house.

Big City - Go somewhere that has an airport within an hour's drive. For example, do not take a connecting flight and then drive 3 hours once you land to get to your final destination.

Car Seats - By far this causes the most problems on a trip. There is no way around it, you need to bring your car seat. But DO NOT bring it on the plane with you, unless you have an infant and plan on getting a seat for him/her. For tots who are over 1 year, get the CARES Seat Belt, it allows you to turn the plane's seat belt into a 5-point harness. Check your car seat at check in. Make sure you have a travel bag for your car seat so you don't have to deal with the plastic trash bag the airline will give you.

Car Rental - Rent a car that is manufactured after 2001 to ensure it comes with the Latch system (I'm pretty sure most rental cars are newer than that). If you are traveling with another person, have that person take the shuttle to the rental office with the car seats and have it installed before coming back to pick you up at the curb. Trust me, you do not want to, A) get on that shuttle with all your luggage and your tots; or B) deal with installing car seats at the curb while the airport police is yelling at you to "MOVE". You can hang on to the luggage unless you have a tot who is already potty trained because you will not be able to run to the bathroom with a cart full of luggage.

Short Road Trip - For maximum enjoyment for all, the preferable first vacation should be a short distance road trip. No more than a 3, you can push it to a 4, hour drive. You can pack as much stuff as you want, no worries of car seats, you are in control of when you go and when you stop and you are in familiar surroundings. Make sure you have a full tank of gas and have all your errands done BEFORE you even back out of the driveway. Do not extend the trip by stopping for gas, snacks or coffee. The objective is to minimize the time spend in the car. If you have a potty trained tot, get a portable potty (I have the Kalencom 2-in-1 Potette Plus, $14.99) for the car as well as some Travel John Jr.-Disposable Potty (6 pack for $9.99). You will save yourself a lot of grief if you can avoid accidents in the car or panicked searching for the nearest bathroom (which also eats up a lot of time).

Snacks - DO NOT forget the snacks! Always pack more than enough and for emergency bribing purposes, bring along treats that you normally don't give to your tots (candy and the likes). And water, too. TSA will allow water if you put it in a bottle or sippy cup.

Limited Activities - You will be less stressed out and the tots will be less cranky if you limit your activities in one day. If you do have a list of sights, do the most important one first because chances are, that will be the only one you'll get to. Keep in mind, museums are boring for tots and they tend to touch everything which is very stressful for you.

Early Mealtimes - If you normally eat dinner at 6pm, go to the restaurant at 5pm. You will miss the crowd and avoid meltdowns if the service is slow or run into some other hurdle that keeps food from hungry mouths.

Check Hours - This sounds obvious but do not miss this step. Check the hours of your destination, regardless of what it is. You think Legoland is open all the time? Wrong. Children's Museums tend to close early and are closed on some days. Whatever it is you are doing, call ahead, double check, look at their website - it takes a few seconds and will save your day.

Post sponsored by:

More than 1 million baby slings recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is advising that babies under 4 months old should stop using these slings immediately. There have been 3 infant deaths due to suffocation in the soft fabric. Especially at risk are babies who had a low birth weight, were born prematurely or had breathing problems such as colds. There are 2 possible scenarios for the cause of death:

-A sling's fabric can press against a baby's nose and mouth, blocking the baby's breathing and suffocating a baby within a minute or two.

-The other scenario involves slings where the baby is cradled in a curved or "C-like" position, nestling the baby below the mother's chest or near her belly. That curved position can cause a baby who doesn't have strong neck control to flop its head forward, chin-to-chest, restricting the infant's ability to breathe. "The baby will not be able to cry for help and can slowly suffocate," warned the commission.

Via The Washington Post

The Huffington Post reported today that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is preparing to issue a general warning about possible suffocation deaths from small infants being carried in baby slings. These slings have been popular for ages but there have been too many deaths caused by these slings for the government to not do something about it. The warning should come out sometime this week.

Duomo; Torino Bull (you spin your right heel on his testicles for good luck)
Castella Sforzesco, the carnival next to the Castella
Santa Maria delle Grazie, home of The Last Supper
We did finally get to see Milan, outside of runways and showrooms. I was feeling extra guilty for dragging my entire family to Milan only to be working the entire time. Once Fashion Week was over, it was all tot time (well, then I had to go to Madrid to speak at a conference). It is never easy trying to balance work with family especially when traveling, it is so tough! But in the end, it still was better to travel with them because I would not be able to be away from them that long. But between working and doing family activities, I was extremely exhausted the whole time because I had absolutely no downtime. I also felt bad treating my husband like a hired nanny so I also had to give him some free time to explore the city on his own. I can recover from exhaustion, it is certainly a small price to pay for having it all =)

For the most part, Milan is not very tot friendly, in the sense that there is not a whole lot for them to do. But the people there are extremely nice and friendly when we showed up to restaurants and places with them. We did avoid super fancy restaurants so as to not ruin some rare date where they are spending good money on a nice meal. We decided to just do the regular things like museums and cathedral visits, which were boring for them. But I figured they will need to start learning to travel like grown ups if they want to go on grown up trips. We do enough Legoland and water park trips specifically for tots, sometimes they have to go on grown up adventures too.

We went to the Castello Sforzesco, a real life castle! It was build in 1368 as a fortress and turned into a palace in the 15th century. There were all the fixings of a fairy tale castle - turrets, draw bridges over actual motes, gates with spikey pointy ends and of course a dungeon! This place was magnificent and enormous, an inspiring and impressive sight to behold. So the modern Italians decided to honor this landmark by putting a super cheesy carnival right next to it. The historical importance of the castle was lost on the tots, but the exciting carnival was not. So maybe the modern Italians had a point. This was the strangest and most ostentatiously decorated carnival with multiple themes piled on top of one another - jungle, Hawaiian, Princess, Disney, robots, pretty much everything you'll find in the Birthday theme section of Party World. But the tots LOVED it!