Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Baby Bottles

Does anyone read my blog anymore? I discovered that the last time I had written anything was Aug 2008. Well, just in case there are some people who use google reader and are subscribed to me...

I thought maybe it would be a good time to start trying to write on this blog again since I have a baby. I've been going back and reading over things Julie wrote when Penelope was a newborn. This is helpful since I'm very concerned about doing stuff right and worried that Lincoln will spontaneously combust if I do something wrong. Then I re-read over Julie's blog a description of her day when she had one new baby and three other children, knowing that Penelope has made it to two years old and both she and Julie have survived. It makes it better.

So today I bought a bottle warmer because I wanted to make it easier for Rob to warm up a bottle quickly when it is his turn to feed Lincoln at night. He's been running the bottle under hot water in the sink. So, I figured, waste less water, Lincoln gets food faster and doesn't have to wait as long while crying and getting all hyped up. So I buy one that boasts "Ready in 90 seconds." Of course it has a little star by it that says this is if you are heating 4 oz that was at room temperature to start with. But I figure it's the only one with a time boast, so it's probably the fastest for refrigerated milk, too.

So I read the instructions and discover that what it does is steam the bottle. That's cool, but here are the instructions for how much water to put in the warmer: 4 oz bottle with initial liquid temp of 68 degrees,0.25 oz. 5 oz bottle with initial liquid temp of 39 degrees, 0.7 oz. Then there is measurements for 10 oz bottles at 68 and 39 degrees. That's it. No word on if you want to heat a, say, 6 oz bottle. OK, so I usually have a 4 oz bottle in the fridge, which I suppose I can do the same as a 5 oz bottle at 39 degrees, but 0.7 oz of water in the steamer? What kind of directions are these? Who has any kind of measuring device that gives you tenths and hundreths of ounces? So, I did a search on google and found an ounces to tablespoons chart. A tablespoon is .5 ounces. So, about 1 1/2 tablespoons? Rob said he was going to go ahead and do 2 or 3 tablespoons, and get it really hot so that he has to put the bottle back in the fridge for 15 minutes before he can give it to him.

I think half the baby items in the world get sold because parents are just desperate to do something...

I also decided that in being a parent you have to play mind games with yourself in the same way you do when you are exercising, say running, and you think "I will run for just 2 more minutes, ok, another 2, ok, I can do a little more..." I keep thinking, "If I can just make it to six weeks, I'll be ok...alright 8 weeks...well maybe 3 months." I'm sure it will continue to extend to six months...a year...five years...ok, maybe when they are 18...make that 22...