San Diego Mom - Carmel Valley

I couldn’t resist a post about this.  Who doesn’t love ice cream and when its free… yum….

Soft Serve, Baskin-Robbins is inviting all expectant mothers to try a free cup or cone of Soft Serve for “Bump Day” on Wednesday, May 21. Moms-to-be can receive a free 3 oz. cup or cone of Soft Serve between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. at participating Baskin-Robbins stores in California.  Check out www.baskinrobbins.com/bumpday to find the nearest store location and details.

Enjoy! 

There are a few topics that women rarely discuss, and its a shame.  There are so many women who have experienced these issues. 

Infertility is more commonly written about and discussed.  But, the loss of a baby is rarely openly shared, and so many women have at some time along the 9 months or shortly thereafter encountered it.  Its a tragedy regardless of when it happens and agony for those who endure it.

I stumbled upon this and thought it might be helpful to anyone coping with the loss.  It happens to be from a Jewish spiritual/religious perspective, but I’d love to hear from people who have other religious or otherwise meaningful links. 

http://www.jewishpregnancy.org/infertility_and_loss.html 

A warm embrace to anyone reading this and going through this experience.  But, I do hope the information will be helpful.

This was sent to me by the Founder, a mom working part-time from home.  She’s put together this service to find the cheapest way to buy a book, CD or DVD online. It takes into consideration both the price of the item and the shipping costs and presents you with the cheapest option at the top.  Most major vendors such as Walmart, Amazon, etc. are included.

If you’re like me and you favor shopping online to dragging your young kids into a store…this is a nice service to avoid unnecessarily high shipping fees, etc.

Check it out: http://www.booksprice.com/ 

I don’t know a lot about this, but we did have a son and needed the services of a Mohel.  We were lucky that our pediatrician was also a Mohel.  Stuart Rubenstein. You can see his information about these services at: http://www.brisforbaby.com/

We were very pleased with his service, the care he took of course with the baby and our family too.  We had multiple needs having a family of mixed religious experiences (Orthodox as well as Conservative) and he took care to listen to those needs, and include people as appropriate.  It was an incredibly meaningful experience.  Beyond my expectations.

Another option in town is Rabbi Moishe Leider.  Phone: 858-518-6513.  I don’t have personal experience with him, but he’s the Rabbi at the Chabad Center at University City.   

This book helped me with everything from sleep to crying.  The 5 S’s.  My girl-friend lent it to me when our girls were 3 or 4 months old.  I remember watching her swinging her daughter and thinking she was nuts, until I read it and tried it and got it.  The babies like the movement.

Anyway, while the first chapter gets a little weird digging into a theory of the last or 4th trimester, strongly suggest you persevere and read about and then employ the 5 s’s - swaddling, side/stomach position, shhh sounds, swinging and sucking.  It works.

At Amazon: Happiest Baby On the Block

For when the baby arrives, if you’re Jewish, call the JCC and let the Shalom Baby folks know about your new baby.  They have a wonderful basket of resources they bring along with a few gifts and discounts/certificates for local merchants.  Its a nice way to get to know what’s around here in the Jewish Community.

http://www.lfjcc.org/shalombaby/ 

Truly the bible for new parents.  My brother, an obgyn believes in this book so much he gives it out to patients who are pregnant.

At Amazon: What To Expect When You’re Expecting

I had a rough time initially as many do with breastfeeding and it remains one of the most awkward experiences unfortunately associated with child rearing for me.  Nonetheless, there were amazing resources in town to consult with for free.  This link has all the various things I tried"

http://www.breastfeeding.org/english.html

Mamma’s Pump in Carlsbad was a great store for items like bras, pumps, etc.  Honeysuckle & Mommy is a smaller store but equipped and closer off of Villa De La Valle. 

The most valuable to honest, was the weekly clinic that met at UTC where moms could come in and feed their babies and have hands on help from someone there.  It helped a lot to talk with other moms and quite honestly, when it was frustrating to have someone there who I had worked with before.  Its a Scripps Resource called Scripps Mende Well Being - and its listed on this page above as well.  Hours for the UTC clinic are here: http://www.scrippshealth.org/Services.asp?ID=322&pID=226