on the safe side...

To all my mommy friends and family out there...

At fear of sounding like a paranoid mommy, I wanted to post what I have learned about baby feeding products and pacificers containing phthalates or BPA. Its a chemical that makes plastic softer and it "leaches" or leaks into the babies body and some studies show it can cause health issues, especially in boys reproductive organs.

Thanks to my mom who brought this to my attention after reading the book Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power
http://www.amazon.com/Exposed-Chemistry-Everyday-Products-American/dp/1933392150/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199082783&sr=1-1

I found a website that has done a lot of research on the topic and has offered some history on the brands that are BPA-free and those that are not.

http://zrecs.blogspot.com/2007/11/z-report-bisphenol-in-baby-bottles-and.html

Please take this info with a grain of salt but it certainly made me want to learn more about things Grant is using currently. His pacificer (Soothie by First Years) seems to be on the ok list. But the breast milk collection bottles I use (Evenflo) are not. The Playtex nurser sytem of bottles seem to be ok. According to the Playtex website:


The Playtex Nurser System with its holder and disposable liners was originally developed in 1948 and has been trusted by generations of moms. The system uses disposable liners made of polyethylene- in both Drop Ins liners and rolled liners. So, the only contact between baby and the food is through the nipple and the liners, which are both BPA- free.

Some other cool things I learned about:

A cool sippy cup:
http://www.thesafesippy.com/

Natursutten pacifiers:
http://www.zoebonline.com/natursutten-natural-rubber-pacifiers-organic-pacifiers.html

The Born Free line of products:
http://www.newbornfree.com/pics/bornfree/bf1.htm?gclid=CLnPoN_y0ZACFQ8nawod2lMuXg

ABC News report on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mor3xRZuKMU

Its always good to be well informed. If anyone has comments on this topic or info about products they use that are BPA-free please let me know. You would think as a 2nd time Mom I would have heard of this but sadly I have not, until now.

Back to sweet pictures and lighter topics tomorrow, I promise! ;0)

back to nj

Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop returned to NJ today. We had a really nice visit with them and miss them very much already. Can't wait to see them again in mid February!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone!! We hope you had a wonderful day and that Santa was good to you. Grant enjoyed his first Christmas with family from both coasts. Big brother James enoyed all his loot and opening his brothers loot too!

Marvelous Mercer!

James received a beautiful Christmas gift from our beloved friend Mary Jane Clayton - a book called Marvelous Mercer. It is written by Shea Megale, a girl in Mary Jane's neighborhood. To add icing to the cake - the book was accompanied by a soft and cuddly Mercer!

This is a must-have for all my friends with kids out there - and all the big kids too (you know who you are! ;))

Check it out at:

http://www.amazon.com/Marvelous-Mercer-Shea-Megale/dp/0979401208/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198202178&sr=1-1

Thank you MJ! We love you!

New photos

Hi
I put some new photos online at our new Flikr site

http://flickr.com/photos/siripokefamily/

You can also access it in the fun links section top left of this page.

Have a great day!

Beautiful December Day

James played outside today with Daddy. It was a beautiful Sunday here in SJ. I hope everyone reading this has a nice week in preparation for Christmas!

Find more pix of James at http://flickr.com/photos/22005881@N06/

School Christmas Program

James and I attended his 2nd annual Christmas program at school on Friday night. He and I went alone and left baby brother and Daddy back at home since baby is getting over his cold.
James chose not to participate in the program (still recovering) but he did agree to sit on Santa's lap and accept his exchange gift.

;0) What a trooper. ;0)

We hope that he participates in the program next year when he is 4 yrs old. Other Mom's tell me that their kids were ready to perform at 4. James performs at home non-stop so we hope he shows his stuff next year.

On Santa's lap...

Grant and James had an impromptu visit with Santa at the mall yesterday (hence their casual outfits!)

Christmas pictures

We think James in on the mend...

James seems to be getting better by the minute. We received a box of gifts from Auntie Steph and Uncle Ray today and James got a ton of enjoyment out of the shipping box with peanuts....;0)

Make that two...

Now little Grant has Bronchiolitis...guess it was inevitable! Back to the doc today (my 3rd day in a row!) and he is also on the breathing therapy but in good spirits. We hope both boys are back to good health soon.

Stay healthy out there, wash those hands! ;0)

p.s. on a happy note - Grant is now 12 lbs 3 0z.!!

Pass the tissues....

We have the winter time bug flying through our house...James came down with Bronchiolitis (did you even know that existed?!) on Friday night and he is slowly getting better. Several visits to the doc, neubulizer breathing therapy every four hours and Zithromax (for the ear infection that started today - ugh!) for 5 days should do the trick. ;0) Dont't try this at home....hahaha. ;0)
Let's hope this is it through the holidays.

Hope to have healthy pictures soon...

a few more pix of Grant...

3...going on 10!

The school photographers have once again captured great shots of James. Hard to believe he is 3 years old. On one hand he is still my baby and yet he looks like such a big boy!! Pass the tissues...;0)

by the light of the tree...

...and now he sleeps...

it should be naptime, but....

Grant is wide awake...so why not take some photos...

decorating the tree...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We got our tree today! James is very excited about Santa's arrival!

some more photos

Grant

Hi,

Grant is doing great today. Slightly cranky last night due to the shots but had a restful night and seems to have recovered really well..thank goodness.

Some pictures from this morning...he is my test subject as I try my hand at some amateur photography using our new camera. Hope you enjoy!

5 shots today...

Grant was a champ at his 8-week visit but its now 5:13 and the crankiness has set in. I know I would sure be cranky if I was stabbed twice in one thigh and three times in another...OUCH!

On the brighter side he is 11 lbs 7 oz (a bit off my at home weigh in) and 23.5 inches long. That puts him in the 50% for weight and the 75% for height. Sounds good to me. ;0)

Here's to a restful night...hey, a girl can dream.

Mom's Bday

It was my mom's "39th" birthday on 11/20 while she was here visiting and we had a little Thanksgiving day celebration. We have so much to be thankful for...

Happy birthday to a wonderful mother!

Yet another weigh in...

Ok the count down to the 8 week check up has begun - just a short 3 days away. Today's unofficial weight is 13 lbs! Boy I cant wait to see how close we are...

Grant's Baptism

We baptized Grant this weekend in a small family ceremony. The priest that married us and baptized James was able to squeeze in a Thanksgiving weekend ceremony and we were very grateful to do it while my parents were in town.

The christening gown is a family heirloom - worn by my mother, her siblings and cousins, myself, my brother, all my cousins and now the new generation. Very special. ;0)

Haircut

Jamers had a haircut on Thursday at our favorite spot - Balloon Cuts. He chose to sit in the red motorcycle again. Don't be fooled by the somber look...for some reason he gets very serious and still during the cut for which I am very grateful. Behind me was a child screaming bloody murder so I was counting my blessings. ;0)

Bath time fun!

Grant just got cleaned up and big brother James was the post bath entertainment...

Grant's expression is priceless when James moved in for a kiss...

Thanksgiving Party at James' School!

Today was the annual Thanksgiving feast at James' school. We brought Thai food to the feast for a little twist on the traditional spread! It was a special request of the teachers at school. Mrs. Siripoke was kind enough to make the food for us and of course it was a big hit!!
James was very happy to have mommy, daddy and baby Grant with him to eat lunch today. He was especially happy that it was half day and he could come home with mommy!

A little video is attached of James and his classmates singing the "before we eat lunch" song. Enjoy!

An evening with the Siripoke's

Well an evening would not be complete without stubbing a toe just before sitting down to eat dinner. Poor James injured himself on, of all things, a truck sitting at the bottom of the staircase. Hmm...I wonder who left that there!? After a serious crying session and 2 bandaids we were back to our old tricks. James recovered in his bed and Grant enjoyed his bottle with his brother.

On a lighter note James got a haircut this afternoon and is now ready for picture day on Monday 11/19 (and just in time for Mom-mom's arrival).

Tomorrow is the annual Thanksgiving feast at James' school so check back for some pics of us all pigging out! Pass the gravy! ;0)

Love,

S, C, G and "the patient"

Length!

Hi!

So I found the measuring tape...my unofficial measurement is...

23 1/4 inches! Grant was 20 1/2 inches at birth so that is quite an increase in 6 1/2 weeks! He's my little string bean!

We are all gearing up for Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop's visit for Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble! Safe travels to everyone traveling next week for the holiday!

(naptime pic taken 11/14 - looks like the calories are going straight to the cheeks!)

Until next time...

Playtime

James and Grant had some fun today laying under the play gym. Grant loves his big brother -- he always becomes especially attentive when James is talking to him and looks for him when he walks away. The beginning of a beautiful friendship... (at least until Grant is big enough to start playing with James' toys, then its a new ball game).

Happy Sunday!

The "Unofficial" 6 week weigh in results!

We weighed Grant on the scale by first weighing ourselves alone then with him and the results are in.....drum roll please....11 lbs!!! (give or take a few ounces)

We'll do it again in 2 weeks (and probably a few in between just because its fun) to see how close we are to the "official" weigh in on 11/29 at the 8 week appointment.

Next blog entry...HEIGHT! Now where's that darn measuring tape...and you thought my life was temporarily reduced to only feeding time and short naps. ;0)

Big brother James would like to add that he is 40 lbs! He has currently 56 weigh ins and counting to prove it. Half of the Toys R Us action section resides in our family room and the most popular item - the scale...go figure.

Have a great night! Until next time...

Chunky Monkey

Ah, the legs -- they're gettin' chunky! He may not like it when I dig this photo out when he is 18 but for now I can post the leg shot. How can a mother resist!?

The Boys

All three guys huddled in the recliner tonight for a little Warrior basketball. :0) Go Golden State!

Happy Thursday!

Another easy going day in the Siripoke household. I wanted to post at least a little something since I know Mom-Mom Voorhees checks this blog at least twice daily for a new picture. Can't let her down. ;0)

Love you Mom-Mom! See you on 11/20!