My husband and I are both big-time worriers. When we bought our television, you
wouldn’t believe the contraption my husband built behind my armoire to secure it so that the children couldn’t pull the television on them. My son is still in a crib at night and not climbing out, so even though I’m big on baby-proofing, I still had a list of to-do’s in his bedroom. I haven’t been urgent about these to-dos because he is rarely in his bedroom out of his crib for more than a few seconds. Well, a few seconds is too long!
A few weeks ago, my son was playing in his room while I was in my bedroom and I heard a very loud crash. I ran into his room to find his dresser on top of him. Thankfully, he was fine and was not seriously hurt. Do you know what was in his top drawer? Furniture straps that I had already purchased to secure his dresser. Securing his dresser has been on my “list” for quite some time now and it took a very potentially dangerous incident to get us to make his room safe for him. This was one of those cases where I should have nagged my husband to get it done!
I am mortified that this happened and very embarrassed. BUT, hopefully you can learn from my mistake. Please take a look at your furniture and televisions and make sure that your little one cannot pull anything on top of them. 5,000 children go to the ER every year because of furniture or televisions falling on them. I decided not to look up the number of deaths because it’s just so sad to me. Please don’t wait like I did for an accident to happen. Your accident may not have the same outcome as ours!
It’s so simple to prevent furniture from tipping and very inexpensive. Some furniture comes with anti-tip straps. My curious toddler loves to open the drawers of his dresser. With the drawers open, he has the perfect climbing opportunity. This is how I think he pulled his dresser down.
To secure your furniture, televisions, and bookshelves, check out these items:
Safety 1st Furniture Wall Strap $4.29 (this is what we bought for our heavy furniture)
Anti Tip Furniture Strap by KidCo $3.49
Anti-slip Appliance Safety Straps $16.99 (for televisions, computers, microwaves, etc…)
What danger have you ignored with your children?
This past week, our whole family attended the National Down Syndrome Congress’ (NDSC) annual conference. This is the third year I have gone. This year’s convention was held in Boston, Massachusetts. I can’t say enough great things about visiting Boston. The Boston area is so rich in American history! The kids did so well on the trip. My fears were Connor on the plane, Connor going to sleep at night, and Darah becoming overstimulated. Connor LOVED flying and went to bed like a champ. We didn’t have to put his crib in the bathroom like I thought we would, and we even got to keep the television on while he slept right through it! Darah did have one really horrific day and didn’t do so well on the plane trip home, but all in all, she did 100 times better than I expected! On a scale of 1-10, Connor got a “10″ and Darah got a “6.5″ after all was said and done. That’s not too bad!
The NDSC put on a great conference and I came home with a lot of information. I attended a workshop about gross motor skills post walking led by Pat Winders. Pat is a physical therapist who has done so much research on children with Down syndrome and how their gross motor skills develop. Another workshop I attended was all about Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Dr. Sally Shott is an ENT physician from Cincinnati who specializes in children with Down
syndrome. She spoke about treatment options and other related issues to OSA. I am excited to share all the information I have learned on OSA, but that will be saved for another post! This is just a glimmer of the education I received while I was in Boston, and I’m anxiously awaiting for the audio of the workshops I wasn’t able to attend.
Another cool thing that happened in Boston was meeting again and talking with Denise from eReadingPro, which is one of The Mom Crowd’s sponsors and the reason Darah is doing so well with her reading. It was great talking with her one-on-one and meeting her other half. We left the day she had her workshop, or I so would have been there! She’s a ton of fun! Actually, I spent most of my time with another one of our sponsors, Bethany, from The Polkadot Platypus! In the picture above, she is the second from the left. She’s my twin!
The very best part of my trip was meeting up with old friends and making new friends! I have made a 
lot of online friends through an online forum for parents of children with Down syndrome. This group has been the most amazing family and has given me so much support and encouragement. I have formed some of my closest friendships from this online group and it’s been great to reunite with these friends in person! I was able to meet some people in real life for the first time. It was so great to see these pictures and personalities come to life! Darah’s extra chromosome and the internet has connected me with a very special family!
If you have a child with Down syndrome, I strongly encourage you to attend one of these national conferences. You will walk away with a wealth of information and will have made new life-long friends. Here’s some points to consider:
- Book your hotel early! We had to stay at a hotel across the street because the conference hotel fills up fast!
- Check with your local group to see if they provide scholarships or grants for families attending the conference. Some groups will pay a grant in exchange for you writing up an article for their newsletter on what you learned. Other groups will send their top volunteers to the conference! That is how I paid for my first two conferences! President Bush’s stimulus check paid for a chunk of this year’s conference!
- Make it a family vacation! There are grandparent workshops, a whole separate conference for individuals with Down syndrome and a separate conference for siblings of individuals with Down syndrome.
- If you are not able to attend, think about purchasing the c.d. from the conference and listening to the workshops!
2009′s conference will be in Sacramento, California from July 31-August 2. I’m booking my hotel as soon as they post the information!
Have you ever met any online friends IRL (in real life)? What was that like? Did you attend this year’s conference? What did you think?
I am a big time sucker for the newest, greatest baby item! I am always drooling at the newest baby bedding, diaper bag, stroller, etc…! Let’s face it, anything “baby” is pricey! A few things I do when purchasing baby items is I shop for older models or prints. For example, the 2008 Maclaren Twin Techno stroller retails for $399 at Babies “R” Us, however I purchased the 2006 model (which is exactly the same, but a different color) brand new for $250 after shipping! Because of this “baby 
gear obsession,” I have accrued a lot of nice things that we have outgrown or no longer need. My husband and I had sold a few things on Ebay and had been pretty successful, so I started selling some of my gently used baby gear on Ebay as well. I have had major success!
The best thing about selling things on Ebay is the extra cash in your pocket to buy that newest item in the baby catalog! While this will in no way give you EVERYTHING you need to know to become an Ebay seller, these are a few tips that will hopefully make your adventure easier.
For the bigger items, use Craigslist!
- Unless you’re an experienced Ebayer, it’s best to sell items like high chairs, cribs, and strollers on Craigslist. Craiglist is an awesome, local, classified ad and it’s free for anyone to list items! You don’t have to worry about shipping items when you sell them on Craiglist, which is why you should stick to this avenue for your bigger items!
If you want to sell, you have to buy!
- Ebay definitely takes practice! My number one advice to people who want to start selling items on Ebay is to start purchasing items. By purchasing items, you can learn the process of how Ebay works, build a reputation, and see what you appreciated and didn’t appreciate from the buyers perspective.
Check out completed auctions!
- By typing in an item, and selecting the “Completed Listings Only” box, you can see what items sell for. You can also compare shipping costs so you are competitive with your shipping rate. This will help you know what you can predict your auction to go for.
Watch out for shipping!
- The number one mistake people make on Ebay is underestimating the cost to ship an item. It can be so disheartening to finally sell your first item, only to learn that $5.00 of your winning bid has to pay for the remaining shipping costs. The US Post Office has flat rate boxes that will ship priority which can help you determine what to charge for shipping.
Media Mail-the best kept secret!
- Most people are unaware that the US Post office offers a cheaper rate called “media mail” for items like books, cd’s, DVD’s, magazines, etc… If you are shipping any “media” items, be sure to take advantage of this shipping method.
Be a good communicator!
- Make sure you contact your buyer once your auction is completed informing them when you plan on shipping their item. Remind them to leave you positive feedback once they receive their item.
Just do it!
- Pick an item that you think will sell and just jump in! Becoming a successful seller on Ebay is going to be trial and error. If you need a cheerleader or want me to answer some specific questions, let me know!
For much more detailed information on how to start your selling adventure on Ebay, check out this site!
Do you have an obsession with all things “baby?” What has your experience been with buying and selling items on Ebay and Craigslist?
The reading program I was working on with Darah is still in pilot mode and it was getting difficult to progress past the point we had made it to. I loved the program, but needed something that was a little more complete. I began a new reading program with Darah a few weeks ago. I wrote an article reviewing Out of the Box reading a while back. The company has now changed and is called eReadingPro. They are one of our newest advertising sponsors. The only problem I had with Out of the Box was the cost. eReadingPro has modified their program to accommodate tightwads like me people who are wanting to try it out first before making the big investment. Well, I am a total believer and believe that it is worth the big investment!
I purchased the eBook Do-it-yourself Reading Program Book 1. I paid through paypal and the program conveniently arrived in my email inbox before my paypal receipt arrived! Talk about fast! I quickly downloaded my eBook and got to reading. I had the advantage of having attended their Out of the Box conference, so I had a basic understanding of the program and how it works. The eBook came with everything you need to know to get started and 178 days worth of lessons. It included pictures for some of the abstract words being taught and illustrations for books later on. I got to work making my flashcards and started the program a few days later. This program is a sight-word based program and is not a phonics program.
So how does it work?
This program is geared toward the visual learner. Children with Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, and an “overwhelming percentage of the population” are often visual learners. While many parents of children with special needs have embraced this program, they have a series for typical developing children as well. It does take some time to get it all set up, but once you set up the program you are good to go. I should be completely set for 178 days and then I will purchase Book 2. You can purchase the program with the flashcards preprinted. I saved a little money by writing them out myself. I keep the flashcards in order in a basket on my refrigerator and look at my daily schedule of what flashcards to present that day. I then show Darah the flashcards three times a day. As simplistic as it sounds, it works! By presenting these gigantic flashcards in groups of 5 over a cumulative 10 minutes a day, Darah has learned about 13 sight words! We are currently working on learning single words, but we will soon progress to learning to read sentences. The best part of this program is it has improved her speech! When she sees the flashcard with the word on it, she is articulating so much better than she did before. Her little voice is just way too cute when she says “pancake.” I am seeing results MUCH FASTER than with the other program we were doing. It requires much less energy and time on my part as well, and Darah seems to engage very well to this program.
eReadingPro will soon be releasing reading programs for teens/youth, adults who are learning to read, and for children and youth who are learning English as a second language. The whole word approach to learning to read is a very effective method! We are also working on phonics and individual letters. For phonics, I strongly recommend this DVD and this toy!
I prepared for childbirth like most moms. My husband and I attended a series of child birthing classes and created a birthing plan. I had incredibly fast labors with both of my children. During my first delivery, my epidural made my whole bottom half incredibly numb (just like it’s supposed to) which made it hard to push. My nurse asked me if I wanted to use the mirror so I could see the muscles contracting and I could know how to push effectively. Well, I wasn’t planning on keeping the mirror there for very long, but Darah came very quickly and there wasn’t time to tell the nurse to get the mirror out of the way. I watched her delivery and it was incredible! I was so glad the mirror was there! It was so amazing to see her little body enter the world for the first time. I will never forget that moment. It was perfection!
Fast forward two years and three months later. I found myself again in the delivery room, dilated to 10cm, and ready to PUSH! I specifically asked the nurse for the mirror this time because I wanted to have that magical moment of watching my second child’s delivery. Well, this one didn’t just slide right out like my first. I know this isn’t record breaking, but compared to the time it took to push my daughter out (less than 10 minutes), 45 minutes felt like an eternity! I was getting nervous because he wasn’t coming out very quickly and was very irritable. The mirror was getting on my nerves. I didn’t remember that it was a magnified mirror before and my butt was huge! This was not nearly as romantic as using the mirror with my daughter’s delivery, but I felt committed. Second children always get the short end of the stick, and I didn’t want to start short-changing things for my second child in the delivery room!
So, the mirror stayed and I (and everyone else in the room) stared at my butt in a 10x magnified miror for 45 minutes. The saddest part is my eyes were closed during his delivery and I missed it anyway. We later found out why he had such a hard time arriving…he was 10 pounds! The second he was born, I completely forgot the mirror was there and gazed at my perfect little boy. I then looked back down and saw the crazy long umbilical cord (I had no idea how long that thing was!) and saw the doctor going to town with a needle and a thread on my poor body…all magnified in that blasted mirror! I told the nurse to move the mirror and went back to heaven in my arms.
If we have another baby, I will most definitely use the mirror again. The only thing I’ll change is it will not be pointed to my butt until the baby is crowning!
I’m not even going to ask a question to start some conversation…I am hoping some fun discussions sprout on their own from this brave honesty of mine!
