Study Hard!

November 9, 2005
Calvin went to a "New Baby Care" class at the hospital last night. (Michele couldn't go because of a meeting at work.) So, Calvin took very detailed notes on diapering, feeding, dressing, and all those other essential baby care tasks! He even brought home papers on how to do baby massage. The instructions ended up being posted on the fridge, next to the feeding stages/instructional guide he had put on the fridge last week! It reminds me of "finals week" at college, when we would post "study guides" in the kitchen!

The class instructor had some interesting advice. She said that the bulb syringes are "non-essential," and that she never sends them home with parents because they use them "improperly, and in the wrong orfices!" So, I'm wondering why this nurse didn't TEACH the parents how to use this very useful tool. Babies can't blow their own noses! What if they get a cold? I think I'm going to go get a bulb syringe... She also said that burping babies isn't necessary, either. Hmm... I guess we'll just let the kid deal with painful gas bubbles. No big deal, right? But, she did give good information about when to call a doctor (if the baby is turning blue, has a fever of 101*, etc.), so I guess we're prepared for emergencies.

Before the class, we wandered around "Toys R Us" together. We were there to get bedding for the baby travel bed (posted earlier), but we also had fun trying out all the toys, and reminiscing about our favorite childhood toys. Did you know that See & Say Toys are completely different from how they were 20 years ago? We did find Care Bears and Hot Wheels, though. Calvin had fun hearing me tell him all of my mom's reasons why I couldn't get certain items as a child. It was all wonderful mommy advice, such as: "No, you can't get that board game; you'll lose all the pieces" "No, you can't get that; it'll be too hard to wash." "No, you can't get a huge gumball; it won't fit in your mouth, and you'll drool." (Thanks, Mom! I love you!)