Adiri Bottle Review

Adiri was kind enough to send me a sample of one of their Natural Nurser bottles to sample. I was able to try the bottle out on my son. The following is my review of the Adiri Natural Nurser Ultimate Baby Bottle - Stage 1.

The Adiri bottle is designed to simulate breast. On the box it states "Introducing the ultimate baby bottle: the world's most breast-like bottle experience."

Pictured above is the Adiri Natural Nurser. On the left is the bottle and on the right is the cap.
After receiving the bottle I read the product instructions, which prompted me to boil all bottle parts in hot water for five minutes before use.

Well, unfortunately in my haste to try the bottle out, I didn't read the directions well enough. I put the pumped breast milk directly into the upside down bottle and the milk spilled everywhere. So I had to start over again.

Note to Adiri users, read instructions thoroughly; even if you are one of those people who 'hates instruction manuals' and can 'figure it out on your own by trial and error.'

So, I washed the bottle and parts out with hot soapy water as instructed by Adiri. I waited a few hours and pumped again.

This time I read the manual. It told me to:

--put the cap on the bottle

--turn bottle and cap upside down so that nipple is facing downward

--make sure the nipple is securely in the cap

--screw open the bottom of the bottle

--pour breast milk into the bottle

--screw cap back on

--finally turn bottle right side up.

At last, I was ready to try out the bottle on my one year old son who has not taken a bottle since he was five months old.

I put the Adiri Natural Nurser on his high chair tray in front of him. I kid you not, he immediately grabbed it, placed it in his mouth, drank from it, and smiled.

He was in love.

The only issue that he had was the flow seemed to be a bit too slow for him. He didn't get frustrated, he just seemed like he wanted more milk then he was getting at one given time. I may have to purchase a faster flow version of the Natural Nurser from Adiri.

The Natural Nurser comes in three flow rates. 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6 months to one year. Perhaps he will like the fastest flow the best.

All in all, my son really liked the Adiri Natural Nurser. As a breastfeeding mom, I wholeheartedly recommend this bottle to babies who are nursing and do not take a traditional bottle.

For more information on the Adiri Natural Nurser, visit their website

First Birthday Parties

My son turns one year old today! May 6th. Happy Birthday, goo-goohead!

The first birthday is a big deal. In most ways it is a bigger deal for the parents than it is for the baby. As my best friend said wisely:

"The first birthday is celebrating that you survived one year with a baby."

And its true. My son is not going to remember today, unfortunately. But I will. And later in his life I can show his pictures of what happened on his first birthday.

My boyfriend and I agonized about what to do for my son's first birthday. Should we throw a huge party and invite everybody we know? Or do a low key family event.

It was really a tough decision. In the end we compromised; today we are taking our son out to lunch with our close family. Next week we are having another tiny family party with a few of my son's friends and their moms.

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday goo-goohead!!!!!

For the Love of Coffee

Well folks, it's been a year. My son is turning one tomorrow and I am getting nostalgic. Many things have helped me survive throughout this year; my boyfriend, my incredibly supportive friends and family, even my cats and one more crucial thing...coffee.

Coffee, I love you very much. You got me through a very hard transition in my life; from bachelorette to mother. You are a loyal friend. When my son was waking up every three hours on the dot, you were there to help me survive.

You were there during the summer in your iced form. You were there during the winter season in your standard heated variety. But the most important thing is that you stayed true to me. You never let me down.

When I thought I might collapse from exhaustion and emotional upheaval you lifted me up and gave me the necessary energy to cope with my problems.

I want everyone to know, that you are safe to drink (in moderation) while breastfeeding

And thank goodness for that.

Thank you coffee. You are this mom's best friend.

My First Substitute Teaching Experience

Today I substitute taught at my old elementary school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I got up early, got ready, dropped my son off with my parents so that they could babysit, and took the subway uptown.

I got off the train and started walking uptown towards my old school. Who did I happen to see? Cynthia Nixon! For those of you that don't know who Cynthia Nixon is, she played Miranda on 'Sex and the City'. I smiled at her, she smiled back at the fact that I recognized her and we continued on our respective daily journeys.

What a nice start to the day!

I got to the school ten minutes early and it was really busy. I was trying to figure out what I was supposed to do and where I was supposed to go, but every time I went to ask the secretary the phone rang or she was accosted by another teacher or student needing her assistance.

Finally, I was handed my schedule for the day. I was placed in a different class each period: 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, respectively.

The first class were 3rd graders. I was told that I should supervise them while they 'read quietly'. They did neither of those two things. Every other minute I had to remind them that there was no talking and it was quiet reading time. They would comply for a while and then regress into talking. So finally, I bribed them.

"Okay. If you read quietly for ten minutes we can play a game." I said hopefully.

"Can we play 7up?"

"Sure." I said exhausted already from shhhing them.

It worked. When the teacher walked in we were playing our reward game of 7up.

She asked immediately "What round is this?"

"This is the first round!" Proclaimed a student

"First and last." She replied

Uh-oh. I thought, I'm in trouble...I was just trying to desperately to keep these kids happy.

My next stop, 4th grade. When I entered the classroom the teacher did not skip a beat, she was ready to update me on what these kids were supposed to be doing. As soon as she started talking I realized...I knew her! She was my old student teacher from the 5th grade and a good friend of my parents'!

I stopped her mid-sentence.
"Wait, a second. What's your name?" I asked her.
"Ruth." She replied.

Then I told her who I was and she screamed with delight. She recognized me immediately.

"I remember when you were in a stroller!" She said in disbelief.

We reminisced for a while and then she realized that she really had to go. She was late for her teacher's meeting. So I was left with Ruth's 4th grade class.

How bad could they be? I thought.

They, too, had a reading assignment. They were separated into reading groups. Each group was reading a different book. They had to read a portion of the book, discuss it, and then write their reactions in a reading journal.

Every minute or so, as predicted, I found myself shouting

"You're supposed to be reading! Not talking." And they would quiet down for a while and then resume their noise.

Then I heard a few boys yelling at each other at one table. So I went to see what the issue was.

"What's the problem here?" I asked
"He called me a bastard!" said boy A.
"Did you call him that?" I asked the boy B
"Yes." Admitted boy B
"That's not a very nice thing to say. How would you feel if he called you that?" I asked boy B.
"I wouldn't care!" Proclaimed boy B proudly.
"Well, he seems to care." I said pointing to boy A. "Tell him you're sorry." I instructed boy B.
"I'm sorry." Said boy B, laughing hysterically.
"It doesn't sound like you are very sorry." I said responding to his laughter.
"Okay, okay." He replied, calming down. "I'm sorry."
"He means it," Said boy A "He has a serious face on. It's okay."
Crisis averted.

Next was the 5th grade. After their student teacher taught a Social Studies lesson, I was assigned the task of handing out a workbook for them with questions to complete. I circulated around to each table to make sure they were doing their work.

There was one particular table that didn't seem to be doing very much work at all.

"Who are you?" one student asked me "Are you a new sub?"
"Yes, I am a sub."
"Are you new?" She asked again.
"I've been around forever." I joked with her.
"But how come I've never seen you before." She asked.
I changed the subject
"I used to go to this school." I remarked
"Really, how old are you?" another student asked,
"I'm not going to answer that." I replied.
"But, Mrs. Foster was my 5th grade teacher." I told them. Mrs. Foster is still a teacher at this particular school today.
"Wow!" They marveled.

"Okay, okay guys," interrupted the student teacher. "That's enough, get back to work."
Whew! She saved me from a personal inquisition!

Well....not quite.

I was making my rounds again, attempting to answer questions about 5th grade social studies, when one girl blurted out

"You have a tattoo."
"What does that have to do with the assignment?" I replied.
"But, did it hurt?" She asked.
"Again," I replied, "That has nothing to do with Westward Expansion in America."

The day was quite challenging. These kids are full of surprises and interminable questions. I have to say, that after spending the day with 8-11 year olds. Caring for a one year old seems like a cake walk.

The Developmental Milestone War

"Aww! Your son is so cute! How old is he?"

"A year."

"Really? He's big for a year. Is he walking?"

"No, no he's not walking yet."

"Oh, well my daughter was walking at 9 months. Just give him time he'll do it. Is he talking yet?"

"Yeah, he says 'mama' and 'dada' but he doesn't really know what they mean."

"Well, my daughter was talking at 11 months, he's going to get there...."

Sound familiar? What I have just recounted is a common phenomenon amongst parents; competition.

Human beings are inherently competitive. But that competition intensifies when it comes to our children. Because our children are extensions of ourselves.

So if another parent tells me that their child is talking at one year, I get anxious and defensive; its only natural. I'm thinking to myself:

Why isn't my son talking? Is there something wrong with him? Is there something wrong with me? What's going on?!

So what do I do? I bring up some other wonderful thing that he has started to do!

"Well, he just recently started pointing!! And that's early too! He's actually under a year. Usually kids don't start pointing until after they turn a year."

I know, its immature of me. But I need to feel secure about my son's development and my parenting skills. But I've noticed that I'm not alone. Many other parents are competitive with regard to their children.

However, I have noticed that this competition is not productive. For me, it makes me constantly question myself and my son.

The solution; be more mindful of when I compete with other parents. My competitive nature is not going to make my son do things any faster. Because at the end of the day, our kids do things at their own pace on their journey to becoming who they are.

Adiri Bottle Arrived

Just wanted to let you guys know that the Adiri bottle has arrived. It is a Stage 1 feeding bottle which means that the flow is slow.

I haven't sampled it yet, but plan on doing so soon.

Please check back here at oldschoolnewschoolmom.blogspot.com for my review of the Adiri bottle.

FuzziBunz Review

It's the review you all have been waiting for...

So those of you that have been following my blog know that I recently wrote to FuzziBunz to ask for a sample cloth diaper. Well, I received in the mail not only one, but two FuzziBunz one size fits all diapers.

The diapers are well made and of excellent quality.

The part of cloth diapering that really intimidated me was the washing. I knew that there were multiple steps involved in washing cloth diapers, but I didn't know what they were. But FuzziBunz makes it look easy. On their website they have simple direct washing instructions.

All one has to do is this:

1. Remove the soiled diaper insert

2. Dump any solid waste directly into the toilet and flush!

3. Do a cold rinse of the diaper and the insert with no detergent

4. Do a hot wash with a mild detergent safe for cloth diapering (like Seventh Generation free and clear or Seven Generation Baby)

5. **Optional*** If the washer you are using does not rinse with cold water after the hot wash, then you need to do another cold rinse cycle.

6. Finally, tumble dry the diaper(s) and insert(s) on a low or delicate setting.

DONE!

It sounds arduous at first glance, but it was really simple and didn't take me very long at all. In fact the cold rinse itself only takes like 15 minutes in my washer. There is an option on my washer to skip directly to the cold rinse instead of going through an entire wash cycle.

Fuzzi Bunz diapers are really impressive. They hold in the waste products extremely well, they stay on my son's little body excellently. All in all, bravo! They are an excellent product. I am so glad that FuzziBunz allowed me the chance to sample their product. And now that I have sampled their excellent cloth diapers, I have decided to purchase them.

For more information about FuzziBunz, visit their website