Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces

Photo from amberbeata.com

Wiggle started to teethe when he was two months old.  We used quite a lot of teething tablets, but I wanted to try something else that would help him out.  A lot of the teethers I found were too big for him because he was so young.  A couple of moms I know use Baltic Amber as a pain reliever and all you have to do it wear it.  I asked them what they thought of it and they swore up and down that it was one of the best things I could get for Wiggle.  I did some reading up on it to make sure it wasn't one of those "this rock has powers from the moon" type of things.  Some of the sites I used to help me with my research were Mom's Milk Boutique, Momma Bean Stalk, and Allspice Teething, LLC (who also incorporates Allspice into her teething necklaces...check out her site for more info.  This is the kind I plan to get when Wiggle needs a bigger one!).

Why Baltic Amber and not just ANY Amber?  Baltic Amber has been prized for thousands of years as a natural healer.  It is not a stone or a crystal, but, rather, fossilized tree resin.  Baltic Amber is the oldest amber in the world (30-90 million years old!) and contains the highest levels of succinic acid found in nature (3%-8%).  Succinic acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues that has many health benefits.  When a person wears Baltic Amber, the warmth of their body allows some of the succinic acid to be absorbed into their skin.  These necklaces help with pain relief, strengthen the immune system, restore energy, and help to stop chronic inflammation.  I even know some adults who wear them to aid migraine relief and to help their chronic pain.

Wiggle wears his necklace!

 If you've heard anything about "recharging" your Baltic Amber, please know that this isn't true.  Leaving your necklace out to absorb sun or moonbeams doesn't do anything beneficial; in fact, sun can harm your amber.  Your amber does not lose effectiveness over time, either, so you don't need to replace it every 3-6 months (the ones with Allspice do need to be replaced!  Please check out Allspice Teething LLC for more info on that).  You may lose some beads or chips from the jewelry just from normal wear and tear.  There are multiple shades of amber, but they all perform the same.  Having a matte or shiny finish to them doesn't impact their effectiveness, either.  Raw amber will not hold up as well as finished amber.

Your child should NOT chew on the necklace and it should be taken off of their neck for sleeping.  Some people put it on  like an anklet when their baby is asleep.  Make sure to order a necklace that is knotted between each bead and has a baby-safe clasp.  Always make sure that you can fit at least two fingers between your child's neck and their necklace.  Personally, I would recommend getting finished beads in your child's necklace because they are the least likely to have sharp, pokey, or rough edges, or to break. 

I take Wiggle's necklace off of him for sleeping and bathing.  When the necklace needs to be cleaned, just wipe it off with a damp cloth or paper towel and lay it out to dry. If you wear your jewelry to swim or to bathe, it will stretch with time.  The necklace should be worn under clothing so that your baby doesn't realize it's there and it is getting optimal skin contact.

Happy Pain-Free Wiggle Kid!

Since I got Wiggle's necklace, I have used so many less teething tablets!!  There are some weeks when he doesn't need any; sometimes just 2-3 doses a week.  Which is awesome because at our Walmart the tablets are around $10.  Wiggle's necklace cost us $18.99 (with shipping) and came from Amazing Amber Love.  I love that you can get all sorts of different colors and patterns.  The amber is beautiful!  I can't wait to get him the next size up!  I really think that these necklaces do the job.

Wiggle says: THIS NECKLACE IS AWESOME!

What other remedies do you recommend or did you use to help soothe your teething baby?  Leave me a note in the comments!

Con Review: Wizard World Philadelphia 2014

Wizard World Philadelphia

On Saturday, June 22, 2014, we made our way to Wizard World Philly.  There were four of us going: my husband and I, and his brother and his wife.  I had asked some friends earlier if this Con was child-friendly and was told it was probably a good idea to leave Wiggle with my parents.  He had a smashing good time with them, and I'm really glad that I did not bring him along because this convention was a huge boondoggle.  I'm pretty sure that he had at least as much fun as us, if not more.

Wiggle-- totally pooped out from too much fun!

Hubs and I got up extra early because we had planned to get on the road at 5:00 am.  Ugh.  If we ever plan to do something like that again, please kick me.  Our vehicle is not very conducive to in-seat napping.  I had finally managed to fall asleep when my arm slipped off of the door and jolted me awake.  I'm still in recovery from the strange positions I tried to get comfortable enough to sleep in.  We wound up making it into the convention around noon because we had done some rest stop for food and had some tire trouble on the edge of the city.  We had known that our pre-paid parking spot was about a half-mile from the convention center, but thought it would be easier to find our destination than it actually was.  For most of it we just followed other cosplayers if we could.  It would have been great if there had been signs up anywhere to point us in the right direction.  When we finally made it to the convention center, we were on the wrong side.  Not that we would have known if some nice guys hadn't told us that there was a business convention going on in that end of the building.  Eventually, we found a volunteer who helped to point us in the right direction after we'd walked through some places we would never want to go at night.

Redeeming our pre-paid tickets for wristbands was easy and quick, but I was surprised to see that staff members had to use their own mobile devices to scan them.  They also had to use their own phones to scan in the papers we had for pre-paid signatures.  The first thing on the agenda for Hubby and me was to get the four Walking Dead signatures that were the whole reason we made the trip.  The ones we had pre-paid for were Norman Reedus (Darryl Dixon) and Lauren Cohen (Maggie).  First up was Jon Bernthal (Shane), once we finally found where the celebs were....back behind all of the vendors.  We made it through his line in short order and even got a picture with him, but it would have been great if the staff member who took it had cared whether or not my eyes were actually open for this once-in-a-lifetime event.  Jon Bernthal was really nice and seemed to be very appreciative of his fans.

Me (as steampunk Ariel wearing Damsel in this Dress), Jon, and Hubs (as a Ghostbuster)

We wanted to get Sarah Wayne Callies' (Lori) signature next, but were informed by staff that she was elsewhere and to try back around 4:15, so we decided to jump into the massive failure that was the line for Norman Reedus.  Now, Wizard World had sold VIP experience passes with him.  With this pass, you were guaranteed a signature and a photo op, along with a shiny lanyard badge with his face on it for the not inconsiderable about of about $300, which included your entry for the entire duration of the con.  These passes were WAY oversold.  There were TONS of VIP's in line when we went over.  Now, you'd think that since we pre-paid for Mr. Reedus' signature that we'd get put in line after the VIP's.  Nope.  Pre-purchasing your signatures for Wizard World means absolutely NOTHING to them.  We were sent to the end of the line of anyone who wasn't a VIP.  At one point, the wonderful staff volunteers who were managing the back of the line (Seya and Justin) added another lane to it so it wasn't stretching back into infinity, just nearly-infinity.  Thank goodness we had some awesome people around us (like Gin and her son John!  Love you guys!).  Expect for the booger-picker guy who was up to his second knuckle and flicking his snot once he managed to extract his digit from his nostril; I had tissues, dude... all you had to do was ask.

After waiting about an hour, we decided to bust out our packed lunch of ham sandwiches and were quite happy that we had the forethought to bring them.  After another half-hour, I decided that I was going to go use my breast pump because ouch.  There was nowhere at the Con that I felt comfortable doing this except in the restroom.  Have you ever tried to pump in a small public toilet?  It's not easy, and it's not fun.  Since there are no lids on public toilets, I had to squat on the floor while I waited for it to get done and listen to the people going in and out, all the while hoping that I wasn't taking up a stall that someone desperately needed to get into for regular usage.  When I had finished, I came out to find a rather upset Hubby.  Mr. Reedus had to go to his photo op, so they were dispersing his line.  Yes, you read that right.  We had just wasted TWO HOURS in line for NOTHING.  Some security guys began to pass out numbered tickets to reassemble the line at 7:00 PM, after the con was closed.  They told us that NO ONE was guaranteed to get a signature, even if you came back at 7:00 and even though we had pre-paid.  Wizard World and it's employees seriously don't care one ounce that you pre-paid for signatures.  I will continue the saga in a little bit... I'm trying to keep this chronological so it makes sense.  Here is a picture of Mr. Reedus with a bowler hat for your trouble (...that's more than Wizard World will give you):

Norman is just dandy!

Once we were no longer in line for Norman, we decided to go try to get in Lauren Cohen's.  Hahahahaha.  Yes, that is the laughter of the deranged who just wasted two hours waiting for nothing trying to get into another line for nothing.  Lauren also had left her crazy que behind to go to her photo op and they had just passed out her numbered cards to get the line back together at 6:00.  No one would give us a card because we hadn't been in the line, even though we had pre-paid for this signature, too!  It was at this point that I needed caffeine to keep my head from exploding.  The bottled water I had brought was simply not cutting it.  I went and purchased a lovely warm Coke from the "nice" convention people for $3.50.  Yeah, really glad now that we had packed sandwiches.

Now it was time to try to slide back into the line for Sarah.  The volunteer who was running this line was AWESOME!  Thank you SO MUCH, Simone!  I really hope that you get put on regular staff and can be paid to organize this Con because you could do it.  They need you to do it or this sad history is going to repeat itself.  This line was well organized and Simone knew who was doing what at all times and kept everything together.  Sarah was super nice and she loved Hubby's Ghostbuster cosplay.

Me, Sarah Wayne Callies, and Hubby

It was at this point that we finally got to check out the con because cons aren't just about getting signatures, even though that was the big draw for us at this one.  For the fact that this was a COMIC CONVENTION, there was a surprisingly large lack of COMICS.  There were lots of people selling lots of cool prints and jewelry and other artwork.  Hubby got Greg Capullo to sign three comics for him right before he left.  We had wanted CGC to witness them to get a signature series CGC, but had no ideas where their booth was and no time to search for it.  Sorry, CGC, no money for you.  Maybe you should have had someone wandering around near where artists were signing?  Yeah, that probably could have gotten you some good cash.  After that, Hubs went out for a cigarette break (yes, I know, it's bad for him and I want him to quit, but seriously, after what we had dealt with, I kind of felt like I needed one, too, and I have never smoked.), and I was left to wander the rest of the Con floor by myself.  I actually say Nathan Fillion while he was doing his signings, but I wasn't allowed to even take a picture of him from a distance as proof.  I got to finally meet up with some online friends, which was super awesome!  I also got to talk with this cute girl who made her own Belle costume:

Me (steampunk Ariel in Damsel in the Dress) and Belle!  Her rose even lit up!  SO COOL!

Eventually, it was time to try to get into Lauren's line again.  It took us an hour to finally get to her and we were one of the last people to get the chance.  Once again, I'd like to reiterate: WIZARD WORLD DOES NOT CARE IF YOU PRE-PURCHASE A SIGNATURE!  THEY WILL TOTALLY THROW YOU UNDER THE BUS FOR A STICK OF GUM!  Lauren was only there on Saturday, so it wasn't a thing where we could just try to come back.  Nope.  It was now or never.  Thanks for being helpful, Wizard World.

Directly following Lauren's signature, we had to go down to jump into the reforming line for Norman Reedus.  This was the fun moment that we discovered that because we had voiced our displeasure to the security guards giving out the numbers for the line that we'd gotten shafted.  They had apparently pulled our number and the number for the lady in front of us from the bottom of their pile.  We were now 100 people behind where we should have been.  And we pre-paid.  Which, by now, I hope I've drilled into your head means nothing.  Please don't ever give your money to them weeks early.  There were still a bunch of VIPs waiting at the head of the line because they never got their signature.  I don't know why they didn't just have them do it during the photo op.  I wound up needing to pump again, so back to the restrooms I went.  There were fewer people there so I took a handicap stall so I'd have more room.  There was still another one available or I would not have done this; my sister is disabled, so I understand the need for these stalls.  It would have been nice to just find a nice quiet spot to go use, but I really didn't feel comfortable doing that after the way this Con had already treated us.

By the time we finally got our signature, it was 10:30.  Admittedly, I did get a lovely hug from Norman.  It would be nice if Wizard World would be so kind as to not oversell his VIPs and photo ops and signatures so the poor guy doesn't have to stay there until midnight.  They owe him as much of an apology as they do us.

Norman Reedus at our ridiculous late night signing session.

While we were waiting in line for our final signature, there was quite a ruckus going on over people getting their prints from photo ops.  Nothing was organized.  Celebs were all mixed in together, so you had to dig through and ruin other people's photos to find your own and hope that it was in good shape.  I am not joking when I say there was almost a riot.  One of my friends said that pics were all finger printed and scratched and bent.  The people who ran this convention had no respect for any of the attendees.

I have seen a lot of people railing against the con staff.  Please keep in mind that most of these people were volunteers.  I talked with some of them and they actually don't get anything for helping out.  Yes, you read that correctly.  They help save the convention thousands of dollars and don't get so much as a voucher for a free warm $3.50 Coke, much less a free day pass or complimentary autograph.  These people get no real training from Wizard World in convention management and have to use their own mobile devices to scan pre-paid tickets and autograph printouts.  I'm pretty sure they all thought that they'd be getting something for their efforts, but Wizard World just isn't nice enough for that.

Our passes for Saturday only were $75 apiece.  Hubby didn't even get to explore all of the vendors, and I only got to make one circuit of the show floor.  Sorry if your vendors don't come back because they didn't make enough money.  Time spent is epic lines equates to less money spent with them.  Neither of us got to attend any panels.  Just writing out this blog and reliving the day is seriously stressing me out because I'm still so upset over how poorly managed it was.  If you are looking to get multiple signatures, it seems like you really need to attend more than one day.  Unfortunately, that was not fiscally possible for us right now.  I am infinitely grateful to my parents for watching Wiggle because this convention is 100% not a place to bring small children and babies.  In fact, this isn't even a convention that I want to take myself to again. 

Beech-Nut Baby Food: Honeycrisp Apples

Beech-Nut

So, Wiggle and I were sent some Beech-Nut baby food to review.  We got Honeycrisp Apples, which are a stage one food, and Pear and Black Cherries, a stage two food.  Wiggle isn't ready to start on stage two's yet, so we've only done the Honeycrisp Apples.  The jar states that there are two servings in it, but Wiggle couldn't eat that much of a solid in a sitting, so we got three out of it.

Beech-Nut Honeycrisp Apples Nutrition Facts

Beech-Nut's foods are all organic.  According to their website, their mission is "to provide honest, real, great-tasting food that's as close to homemade as possible. Because everybody deserves real food. Especially babies."  They are the only baby food plant in the world that is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified and are committed to being good to our environment in all of their processes.

Wiggle was super excited to try this out!  He ate as much as he could, as fast as he could!

Wiggle loves Beech-Nut's Honeycrisp Apples!

I tried it too, once he was done.  It tastes like some pretty good apple sauce!  Personally, I like mine with some cinnamon, but if this came in grown-up sizes, I would probably get some!

Beech-Nut Honey Crisp Apples and Wiggle

Snugglish by Totlings-- Baby Bean Bag Review

www.Totlings.com

In March, we won a baby bean bag for Wiggle.  Totlings asked me to do a review on it, but I would have done one anyway because we LOVE this "Snugglish."  Ours is in Blue Meadows print, but it comes in several nice options. 

Snugglish with the "big kid" non-belting cover.

I thought that I was going to have to give Wiggle some time to get used to hanging out and sleeping on the Snugglish, but he enjoyed it right away!  One of our friends got one recently, too, and it is the only place her little guy will tolerate being that isn't "on the Mommy" (that's every baby's real favorite place!).  While the Snugglish is a bean bag, it is not the super squishy kind that I had growing up; it is very supportive.  I wish that I could get a mattress that felt like this because it is SO COMFY!  The velvety top of the cover is so soft and dreamy.  Seriously, I need a grown-up sized one!

Wiggle's first time on his Snugglish.  As you can see, he's delighted!

As you can see, Wiggle is buckled into the Snugglish, so he can't go anywhere.  Before we use it, I shake the stuffing up into the top and make sure that everything is shaped just so because everything will settle when you aren't using it (can't fight physics!).  In addition to having a great place for wiggle to chill on, the Snugglish also has health benefits.  According to Totling's website, it helps to prevent Plagiocephaly (aka flat head).  Wiggle had started to get a flat spot, which I attribute to how much he likes to nap in his swing.  The Snugglish helped us to correct that because it isn't a hard surface; it cradles and supports his head very nicely.  Totlings also claim that the Snugglish helps with acid reflux and laryingomalacia (the softening of the tissues around the voice box).  Since Wiggle doesn't have either of those problems, I cannot attest to how much it helps them.  This seat is CPSIA certified with the standard consumer safety rating for children's chairs.

Wiggle last night, getting tired and snuggly before bedtime.

The Snugglish comes with two top covers-- one with the belt and one without.  I was wondering where the second one was, so I went exploring!  As you can see in the pictures, there is a white zipper around the top cover.  It was very easy to get off once I realized that the zipper pull was attached to the top cover and not the base.  Underneath it was the belt-less cover.  I like this storage place!  It makes sure that the other cover won't get lost!  The bottom cover can zip off, too.  Totlings takes the zipper pull off of that zipper, though, so that kids can't get into it and potentially eat the microbead stuffing.  If you have a paperclip, you can insert that and use it to unzip.  I didn't have one on hand, so there are not pictures of the inside-- sorry!

With Buckle Seat and Without.

As you can see from my pictures, we have the Blue Meadows print.  The color in my pictures is true and it is actually more teal than blue.  It makes me happy because it's a bit more gender neutral, and I like teal... just sayin'.  The material is all water resistant so that when they inevitable happens, it is easier to clean up.  Totlings advises to just spot clean and line dry.

My only complaint about the Snugglish is that I wish there were buckles on both sides of the seat, instead of just one.  It would make getting Wiggle in and out of the seat much easier.  That's not a very big issue, though, and overall we really love this baby seat!  Check out Totlings and order your own Snugglish at their website (www.Totlings.com) and give them a "like" on Facebook (www.facebook.com/Totlings)!

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Steel City Con - April 2014

Steel City Con is a toy, memorabilia, and pop culture convention that is hosted in the Monroeville Convention Center.  It happens three times each year.  Last year we only made it to the Spring convention, so we hadn't been in a year.  It would seem that this small and unassuming convention suddenly exploded while we were away from it!  At this season's event, they hosted several celebrity guests including Brent Spiner (Star Trek: Next Generation's Data), Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: next Generation's Commander Riker), comic book artist Neal Adams, and Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man).  They have also hosted WWE talent and Star Wars actors in the past, as well as other celebrities. 

When we arrived around 1pm, the line for entry was wrapping around the parking lot!  We have never seen a line for a Pittsburgh convention that long.  We only had to stand in the line for a short amount of time because they had staff members watching for people with disabilities or small children.  We were escorted in and basically got to line-jump (sorry everyone who had to wait!  We really weren't expecting such a crazy line and will purchase tickets online next time!!).  This was really appreciated because, as much as it was a nice day out, Wiggle could easily have gotten sunburn (well, me, too, but I wasn't as worried about me!).

Wiggle, asleep on the way home with his present from Con.

As long as the lines were, the Con was not super crowded and we didn't have any issues with having the stroller take up a lot of space or not being able to get through anywhere with it.  People were considerate and were paying attention to their surroundings.  Wiggle even got to see Brent Spiner when we got his autograph as a birthday present for my boss.  He was really nice and enjoyed having small conversations with the fans.  Overall, his line didn't seem to be ridiculous throughout the day.  Lee Majors was the celebrity with the crazy line for this Con.  My husband needed to get a signature from Travis Love who played Shumpert (AKA the Bowman) on The Walking Dead for his show poster.  He basically was able to just walk right up to him.

I do wish that they had put up more tables and chairs for people to take a break at!  We were lucky and scored a seat at one of the four or five tables they had and only had to share it with two approximately-ten-year-old kids when Wiggle was ready for his bottle.  If there had been more adequate seating, I may have felt more comfortable with breastfeeding.  We attend Pittsburgh Comic Con in the same space every year and they always have more tables set up.  As for those 10-year-olds, they were pretty amusing, but had no parents in sight.  While I wouldn't say that this is a big convention, I still wouldn't recommend letting your kids just walk around it by themselves because they could easily get turned around or miscommunicate to you where they are in the building.  To me, it is the same as allowing your child to wander around the same area's mall unattended.

Wiggle loved watching all of the people at this convention and everyone was really nice to him.  Overall, I would say that this is a convention that is great for all ages!  There were tons of cosplayers, more than I have seen at our local Comic Con, and it made me very happy to see so many people having fun!

Photo Courtesy of Auntie Bren!  Left to Right: Auntie Bren, Mommy, Another Cool Lolita Girl

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Bottle Reviews

Wiggle is breastfed, but we do do some supplementing.  I got sick when Wiggle was three weeks old and it started then.  I had to go into the hospital on Christmas and it was quite a runaround to get formula because everything was closed!  We did manage to get some from the hospital eventually, but I do recommend that you keep at least a small can on hand just in case.

We have a couple different types of bottles-- Dr. Brown's, Born Free, and Nuby.  I know that some babies can have nipple confusion from using different bottles and nursing, but Wiggle has never really had any problem with anything we've used yet.

Bottles: Dr. Brown's, Born Free, and Nuby

1. Dr. Brown's - These are our favorites!  We use the "standard" style and have them in 4 oz and 8 oz sizes.  According to their website, these bottles "reduce feeding problems like colic, spit-up, burping, and gas."  They have a couple of extra pieces, as you can see from the picture.  I really hate washing dishes, but having some extra bits is totally worth it!  These bottles come with little wire brushes to help you clean them all the way and get into all of the nooks and crannies.  The extra internal parts are a venting system that prevents the creation of a vacuum which makes it more like breastfeeding.  Dr. Brown's website also states that this system "reduces air bubble oxidation of the milk to help preserve vitamins and lipids, key nutrients to baby's health."  These bottles are free of BPA, PVC, lead, and phthalates.  Wiggle has never had any trouble holding onto these nipples and the thin shape is easy for me to hold while feeding him.

Dr. Brown's Standard Plastic Bottle, 8oz

2. Born Free - Of all of our bottles, these are our least favorite.  Wiggle has trouble holding onto the nipples; the base of them is very wide and then they get long and skinny.  I can see how they were trying to emulate a breast, but my mostly-breastfed-baby just can't do these.  The Born Free bottles also include a vent, but not as complicated as the Dr. Brown's ones.  Born Free's website states that the nipple is designed to cut down on nipple confusion and reduce air ingested while feeding, and that it mimics a mother's natural flow.  These are BPA and PVC free.  They say that these bottles aid in reducing "colic symptoms like gas pain, spit-up, crying, and fussiness."  The shape doesn't feel very good in my hand; they're kind of bulky.  Basically, these are our emergency "Ack, everything is dirty!" bottles.

 

Born Free Bottle

3. Nuby - We have Nuby's Non-Drip Standard Neck Bottles.  They state that the nipples are non-drip and leak proof, and keep your baby from ingesting air, featuring a "Vari-Flo" valve to allow your baby to control the flow.  We have found that the nipples have extremely large holes, so large, in fact, that when I wash them the end of my nipple brush can poke out of them!  Wiggle gets way too much formula, way too fast out of these.  The bottle is BPA-free and ergonomic; it sits well in my hand.  Nuby says that these are shatter-proof, even though they do not feel very thick.  I really wish that the nipple was better for Wiggle.

Nuby Non-Drip Standard Neck Bottles

I hope that my reviews help you to choose the bottles that you will use for your own baby!  I really do highly recommend the Dr. Brown's and think that most mothers would be very happy with them.  If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comments!

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Hello!

Hi, Interwebs! I’m Mom’s The Nerd, aka Julia! My son is currently four-months-old. We are from Central PA. He was born in the beginning of December 2013. We like to listen to music and movies (he’s not allowed to watch them yet, but I do!), read books, and go to conventions! Wiggle’s first convention was MonsterMania in Cherry Hill, NJ. It was also his first big car ride, first time staying in a hotel, and his first trip to the toy store, and first time meeting a celebrity (Tyrese from The Walking Dead... we didn't get a picture with him though, because we were already paying for his signature and it cost extra for a photo)!  

With this blog, my goal is to share my adventures in parenting Wiggle, discuss parenting, and to review products and techniques that we try with him (and possible future children).  We look forward to lots of interaction with our readers and hope you enjoy this peek into our life!

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