Baby Included

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Something to Chew On

I received a rather disturbing email last week. Normally, I immediately categorize these types of emails (such as my personal fav, the Blush spider that lurks under public restroom toilet seats) as chain letters, made just to scare people into spreading the word to other gullible victims. This email was the usual forward from a forward from a forward, and was about a side effect of Baby Orajel. It went something like this:


Zane's been teething pretty badly for the past few days, and we decided to give him Baby Orajel on Sunday afternoon. We've given it to him a few times previously, when his first two teeth cut through, and never had a problem. Scott and I were both sitting with Zane on the floor in his room when I rubbed a dosage on his upper gum. Seconds after I gave it to him, he made a face as if he were crying but no noise came out. I picked Zane up and he immediately went limp in my arms and his face turned blueish. He was not panicking or gasping for air - he was lifeless. This lasted for approximately 15 seconds, but felt like an eternity... Ultimately, Zane "came to" and began to cry hysterically. Thank g-d!!!!!!!!

We spent the evening at the hospital, where Zane underwent numerous tests, all of which came back normal. We also spoke with Zane's pediatrician, who stated that she advises against the use of this product because its purpose is to numb and if it gets into an infant's throat, it may stop them from breathing...
It's surprising then that no such warning is on the bottle and that more people do not discuss the negative and possible deadly implications of the use of this product.

Sounds like a pretty standard scare tactic one would use as a catalyst to do harm against a brand, as the recipient would then forward this off to others and people like me would start posting this in their blogs. After some more searching for "orajel dangers" and "orajel side effects," I came across only one other source to validate this email (that wasn't a review, forum post, or blog entry):
Since this link was dated back in January, 2006, I would think:
  • if it was it was really true, more people would know about it by now
  • if it was really false, more people would have heard about the rumor by now
  • it's a cover up and government conspiracy and Orajel was created by aliens to rule the human race starting with our babies
This email had already made it into snopes.com, but the status is "undetermined" at the time I wrote this.

Never one to believe something too readily without something to back it up, this does make a bit of sense to me, and would not be something I'd be willing to risk or experiment with. Baby in the meantime is biting anything he can get his hands on to soothe his emerging incisors:
Purple rings


Balls with holes


Defenseless purple kittens

Just this morning, he made a dive for my jugular before I was able to buckle him into his bouncer. If that does happen, look for a forwarded email in your inbox on how sucking on colored plastics turn babies into vampires.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Peekaboo

The term "Peekaboo" can apply to a:
Baby only knows about the last type of Peekaboo, at least until he learns to appreciate a stylish bikini. Ever since he was born, I've tried to play Peekaboo with him, but he would always laugh more when his eyes were covered than when he saw me. Either I'm not as handsome as my mom says I am, or Baby just doesn't get this game.


Well, Baby showed me what I was finally doing wrong: Daddy can't Peekaboo as well as when baby does it himself:


At least it's comforting to know that I'm handsome after all.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Roll Over

After five years of marriage, wifey still reminds me that I tend to get things only halfway done. This trait may be carrying on to Baby, in the latest that he's learned to do... but only half way.

It began when we put him to bed, and then we would find him in a totally different position a few hours later. It's like playing Baby Roulette, and betting on whether he's right side up, upside down, which side of his body or the crib he lands on, and what direction he's facing when he wakes up.
After a few days, we kind of expect him to no longer be lying in straight line, but we didn't expect to walk in to his room and have him staring right back at us:

Within the past week, Baby has now learned to totally flip over, but only from his back to his tummy. Now whenever we lay him down to sleep on his back, he'll automatically flip, bottoms up, so he's lying face down on the mat. And then he cries a muffled cry, until we put him back on his back, just to flip himself over again. Now this isn't too big of a deal, except when you find that he sleeps like this:
Last I checked, babies kind of need their faces to breathe, but he seems to prefer this position. So whenever he naps, we tiptoe into the room and just try to get roll his head over at a slight angle so he gets some oxygen while he sleeps.

Something else to be conscious of when a baby sleeps face down: their mouths become like dripping faucets, and a baby will likely wind up in a pool of their own drool by the time they wake up. To combat this, find some waterproof bedding for them to rest their cheeks on.
These products will be good for when they're potty training too, when you've got more than drool to worry about. Also, here's another batch of coupons you can use at Babies R Us until 9/14. (Bedding, coincidentally, is on sale too: Buy One, Get One at 50% Off.)

Only 180 more degrees to go...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Time to Laugh

What's better than 30 seconds of a laughing baby?




10 seconds of a baby squealing.