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yeah but the chances of your child dying from SIDS vs your child dying from trauma, suffocation, illness, allergies or choking is by far slimmer, so I do think a CPR class will do more good to you as a parent than a monitor. (unless your kid was preterm with a history of apnea or otehr sleep related breathing issues.)
Put your child on his back in a safe environment and don't smoke. It's so unlikely that he/she will die from SIDS. After 6 months chances are even slimmer. I think it sucks that this monitor company makes profits from parents fears and paranoia. I had Ben in my bedroom for the first 6 months and I totally understand the fear of losing a child while you sleep, but unless there is a family history or an illness I would not buy something like that simply because its a waste of money. I do consider myself a pretty neurotic mother but I just won't turn my house into an intensive care unit because I can buy all this stuff at Babies R Us.

It has been proven that breastfed babies are less obese, have significantly less allergies and get sick less often due to the prolongued immunity from mom. Yes there are exceptions like Evi's kids. Or mine. Ben is almost 3 and still having trouble pooping.
Of course if you choose to raise your baby on formula that doesn't mean they're not going to thrive! Or not going to be smart. And yes there are mom's who don't have enough milk after weeks of trying.
Just saying, in my experience the mothers who are going into this with a sense of inconfidence are more likely to set themselves up for failure. I think 99% of the mommies who request a bottle during the first few days at the hospital are going to stop breastfeeding as soon as they get home and run into a problem there.
I think with all that formula marketing etc mom's believe that as soon as the baby is born he needs a good feed. ASAP. which is wrong. Newborns can actually handle just the few drops that mom provides for a few days.
Babies are wired to sleep, eat, poop and cuddle and mom's are wired to change diapers, rock and feed. Formula companies are very smart rich people who know that and like to encourage an insecure mom to give baby a bottle, because after all he "could be hungry" and you have an instant measurable success if baby takes an ounce vs not knowing if baby is getting enough from the breast.
Evi: sorry you're still having so much problems with Allie! I hope she'll outgrow it soon! Ben is doing a lot better with his bronchial issues, he didn't need his neb since last spring, so I'm hoping he is going to do better this year and eventually outgrow this.
moms: any ideas how to wean a toddler from his pacifier? Ben is doing ok during the days without it, but I have no clue how to get him to stop using it at night without major drama. He goes to sleep in his carseat without it, if we tell him sorry we didn't bring the "bookah" but whenever we tried it at home around bedtime, he won.

Oh man, sorry you had to be there for that. It's one of these things you will never forget in your life and I'm sure these 5 minutes felt like hours. I've been there and the worst feeling is the chaos and the feeling of being totally unprepared for something like this. But hopefully it will be a lesson learned and the code cart is ready next time. No matter how experienced you are this is one of the things that is traumatizing for anyone.
I am hoping for you that there is some kind of remediation for everyone involved where you can talk about it.
I work in OB/NICU and we've had a few pretty bad codes lately and management never addresses things, its not acceptable to talk about it. All of a sudden there is a new read-and-sign or stuff disappears and you're left to your own to make sense of it. That is so different from where I used to work. People have quit because of bad situtations like that or they're scared to death in similar situations.
Well, the good thing is- I learned my lesson fast- we check our code carts on the first tuesday of the month, so I know to schedule myself in for this and the first time I checked the carts most of the suppplies where missing, expired, wrong sized etc. I made a copy of the ACLS algorythm and put it in the top drawer, same for NRP for the baby cart. Also drug dosages- who the heck remembers that stuff in a situation like that (unless you do it every day)? At least you know YOU are prepared if you happen to be in the same situation again. Just know your scope of practice and hospital policies at your facilities regarding intubation etc.
oh and our carts get locked too, but still stuff disappears somehow, there was no lidocaine in one or adult epi in the baby cart etc! You can't ever rely on other people doing it right. The portable suction wasn't charged, oxygen tank was empty.. omg I could go on and on, just make sure you familiarize yourself with the emergency equipment its so important. One of the mom's coded and someone brought the baby cat out... Just such a waste of time if people are not educating themselves.

It has been proven that breastfed babies are less obese, have significantly less allergies and get sick less often due to the prolongued immunity from mom. Yes there are exceptions like Evi's kids. Or mine. Ben is almost 3 and still having trouble pooping.
Of course if you choose to raise your baby on formula that doesn't mean they're not going to thrive! Or not going to be smart. And yes there are mom's who don't have enough milk after weeks of trying.
Just saying, in my experience the mothers who are going into this with a sense of inconfidence are more likely to set themselves up for failure. I think 99% of the mommies who request a bottle during the first few days at the hospital are going to stop breastfeeding as soon as they get home and run into a problem there.
I think with all that formula marketing etc mom's believe that as soon as the baby is born he needs a good feed. ASAP. which is wrong. Newborns can actually handle just the few drops that mom provides for a few days.
Babies are wired to sleep, eat, poop and cuddle and mom's are wired to change diapers, rock and feed. Formula companies are very smart rich people who know that and like to encourage an insecure mom to give baby a bottle, because after all he "could be hungry" and you have an instant measurable success if baby takes an ounce vs not knowing if baby is getting enough from the breast.
Evi: sorry you're still having so much problems with Allie! I hope she'll outgrow it soon! Ben is doing a lot better with his bronchial issues, he didn't need his neb since last spring, so I'm hoping he is going to do better this year and eventually outgrow this.
moms: any ideas how to wean a toddler from his pacifier? Ben is doing ok during the days without it, but I have no clue how to get him to stop using it at night without major drama. He goes to sleep in his carseat without it, if we tell him sorry we didn't bring the "bookah" but whenever we tried it at home around bedtime, he won.

It has been proven that breastfed babies are less obese, have significantly less allergies and get sick less often due to the prolongued immunity from mom. Yes there are exceptions like Evi's kids. Or mine. Ben is almost 3 and still having trouble pooping.
Of course if you choose to raise your baby on formula that doesn't mean they're not going to thrive! Or not going to be smart. And yes there are mom's who don't have enough milk after weeks of trying.
Just saying, in my experience the mothers who are going into this with a sense of inconfidence are more likely to set themselves up for failure. I think 99% of the mommies who request a bottle during the first few days at the hospital are going to stop breastfeeding as soon as they get home and run into a problem there.
I think with all that formula marketing etc mom's believe that as soon as the baby is born he needs a good feed. ASAP. which is wrong. Newborns can actually handle just the few drops that mom provides for a few days.
Babies are wired to sleep, eat, poop and cuddle and mom's are wired to change diapers, rock and feed. Formula companies are very smart rich people who know that and like to encourage an insecure mom to give baby a bottle, because after all he "could be hungry" and you have an instant measurable success if baby takes an ounce vs not knowing if baby is getting enough from the breast.
Evi: sorry you're still having so much problems with Allie! I hope she'll outgrow it soon! Ben is doing a lot better with his bronchial issues, he didn't need his neb since last spring, so I'm hoping he is going to do better this year and eventually outgrow this.
moms: any ideas how to wean a toddler from his pacifier? Ben is doing ok during the days without it, but I have no clue how to get him to stop using it at night without major drama. He goes to sleep in his carseat without it, if we tell him sorry we didn't bring the "bookah" but whenever we tried it at home around bedtime, he won.

Most airlines typically let you check up to 2 baby items for free. So you could bring a pack'n play to thailand, although it adds more luggage. As for the stroller, you can either get a lightweight umbrella stroller and gate-check it (it means you can roll it right up to the point where you get on the plane- very convenient) or you can check your stroller with the other luggage and carry him in a carrier. I found it easiest to have a stroller with me when you have a sleepy baby and there is other luggage to handle or imigration/passport checks etc. I went without a stroller a few times and just had the Ergo (baby carrier and it was fine too, although a little harder to juggle your carry on (full of diapers and baby food) and passports/tickets etc. With a stroller you have your hands free.
Food: you can bring bottles, sippy cups and baby food jars, and the airline staff will warm it up for you (expect to wait 1 hour or more for it though, they are usually not very kid friendly)You can bring this in your carry on. I have a little cooler bag that I use for all the jars and sippy cups and I just put it in the bin when we go through security, never had an issue with that.
Did you buy a seat for the baby? If so, you can bring his carseat on the plane. If not, you will have to leave the carseat home or check it with your luggage. If there are empty seats next to you they may let you bring the car seat on board even if you have a lap baby, but I've never heard of that really happening before.
If he's on your lap, he will be fine if you have a bassinet. It's really a life saver on long distance flights!
bathroom: on the last flights I went to the bathroom when Ben was sleeping. I waited until there was no line, and then just went as he was sleeping on the seat. Worked great. It's tricky with a 6 month old. When Ben was 1 year old (he couldnt walk then) I had to take him with me, because quote "it's not in the job description of a flight attendant to babysit children" when you have to go... Sometimes you get lucky and you have nice people on board who don't mind to watch the baby while you use the restroom. Just don't leave the baby unattended in the bassinet, he could get really hurt if he falls out. If he's alseep in there and you have to go, just ask someone to have an eye on him for 2 minutes.
what else to bring: definitely bring lots of diapers (1 for every 2 hours that you are traveling, is supposedly rule of thumb) You may miss a connection or get stuck at the airport for hours (happened to us twice) and you need to have enough stuff for your own peace of mind. disposable changing mats (huggies makes them), wipes, hand sanitizing wipes ( I buy them at Babies R Us), Formula (if you bottle feed), bottles, baby blanket, a few outfits for baby AND YOU (accidents happpen, I always get spit up on me or chocolate finger prints, spilled juice etc), tylenol/motrin just in case he decides to have a fever on the big day extra pacies (if you use them, they tend to get lost or fall in crevices between the seats where you can never reach) a few toys (preferrably some toys that don't make noise) garbage bags- I use grocery bags. They are really essential. You can wrap up poopie diapers in them or just your regular trash. There is always so much garbage when you are on a plane with a kid.
So you get the idea, haha. It seems a huge affair but the better you're prepared the better it will go. I usually try to travel "light" I have a little carry on trolley where I pack all my emergency and back up supplies and extra outfits, plus stuff like cameras, important papers. That goes in the overhead bin when we're on the plane. I have an extra bag with stuff that we need for the duration of the flight (some diapers, trash bags toys, food for baby, ipod, magazine, drink for mommy, 1 outfit, pen, passports, tickets &hand sanitizer) and that goes under the seat.