Aug 13, 2012 at 02:14 PM
@ Marc I have no idea. Bionic Bladder is beyond my experience. Try two diapers.
Big Wheels, Crayons & Bike Racing — Parents
Aug 13, 2012 at 03:09 PM
So the problem is fit (it leaks around the legs even with small amounts), or absorbency (it's totally soaked and heavy). For the former, you need to experiment with brands, and Pampers are the most popular. But baby's butt might be particular and even some wackadoo brand may fit best. But if your problem is the latter, you either need to change more often or you need to go up a size (even if baby isn't at the next weight range).
Aug 13, 2012 at 10:59 PM
You must be joking. You are not washing your own cloth diapers! Have you no concern for your child's future? At least take a moment to pity previous generations who didn't have disposable diapers and realize that the capacity of cloth diapers is WAY lower.
I second the "change more frequently" approach, which is what the eco-friendly parents would certainly have to do.
I second the "change more frequently" approach, which is what the eco-friendly parents would certainly have to do.
Jan 14, 2013 at 10:14 PM
Hey moms and dads,
It's about that time....baby carrying backpack recommendations? I've got the ergo on "backwards" with him now...and that's allowed me to do get some dinner ready...but...I don't think Peter is loving the situation.
thanks,
Marc
Jan 14, 2013 at 10:34 PM
Ergo all the way. There is a window where they are a little small for it, but he'll enjoy the "backpack" style well into his 3's
Jules
Jan 15, 2013 at 04:34 AM
Deuter Kidcomfort II. I was going to buy it, and then we got it as a gift. it weighs about 4kg, but it can take kids up to 20kg--not that you'd want to walk around with 50lbs on your back for long. We started putting Oscar in it when he was about six or seven months old, I think. He loved it. Now Madeleine loves it--that she digs it makes getting her out of the house easier. Just say the word "pack" and she'll get her socks and shoes.
May 20, 2013 at 12:40 AM
Who's next?
May 23, 2013 at 03:57 PM
Head up Sommervillians - if you're brining kids on Monday and want to collaborate on events/picnic games/strollers, etc let me know.
May 23, 2013 at 05:26 PM
We'll be there. But I'm bringing my kids.
The past few years, I've tried to park behind the Bank of America at the the intersection of N. Bridge and W. High streets. Pretty close to the staging area, BMX ramp area, a band, and around a few corners from the bouncy castle.
May 23, 2013 at 05:46 PM
Sounds good. We're going to skip the bouncy castles forever though...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/us/12bounce.html?ref=us
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/us/12bounce.html?ref=us
May 23, 2013 at 06:54 PM
No doubt the 10 minutes or so kids spend in them a few times a year is more dangerous than the other sources of lead in their lives. Is this like forsaking grilling while indulging in long-distance airline flights?
Here are sources of lead your kids could come across every day.
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/sources.htm
I looked into the suit. Filing a suit doesn't necessarily mean much. And there was an agreement afterwards. Looks like lead levels should be lower in new bouncy houses.
May 23, 2013 at 07:59 PM
@Mugwump I don't follow the grilling (charred food?) vs radiation the argument but I've never been a fan of "because one thing you do is dangerous you shouldn't do another" argument. Somebody should make an info graphic about it 
Grilling may be bad.
Flying may be bad.
Doing one doesn't negate the deleterious effects of the other.
Frankly I wonder if the risk of broken neck is worse than the lead in the bouncy castle - and if they'll be putting dates of manufacture on them
May 23, 2013 at 08:51 PM
I read somewhere that people are bad at risk.
May 24, 2013 at 01:59 AM
I see it every day. We all do. And I wonder if this concern is similar.Jeffrey White said:I read somewhere that people are bad at risk.
My point is that avoiding one exposure may be irrelevant when taken in the context of other exposures. Sure, less is better, but we're not filtering the air we breathe every second of the day. And the lead poisoning experts even make a similar point in the Times article.
Which is why I find the lead levels in bouncy castles a problematic concern. Yes, a group found lots of lead in batches of PVC material used in bouncy castles. Yes, lead is dangerous, particularly to children. That written, there was no causal link found, nor do they explain how exposure to PVC with elevated lead levels results in people breathing in lead. Does the lead in the PVC turn to dust that then gets breathed in? Does it rub into their skin when they bounce? When you consider the average kid's exposure time, are they actually facing any greater risk than breathing? And if the exposure is dangerous, doesn't the operator thereof deserve safety equipment? Couldn't testing operators reveal whether or not exposure really results in an increase in lead in the body?
Further, the group that made the report that lead to the suit announced there was an agreement to reduce lead levels. I can't find a story on the web from them checking on this, even though it was over two years ago. Ninja Jump now claims in their price list that their bouncy houses are lead free.
Not like Jules didn't make a rhetorical fallacy by appealing to fear.
May 24, 2013 at 02:15 AM
Jeffrey White said:I read somewhere that people are bad at risk.
I read a decent book on just that subject a couple of months back. Its called: The Science of Fear:Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't-- and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger (by Dan Gardner)
May 24, 2013 at 02:18 AM
@Nelix that's a good one. There is a lot of interesting behavioral psych on the subject.
May 24, 2013 at 02:37 PM
I think I read it in Nat Geo. Something about, yeah, we suck at risk, but sometimes we, like, discover Iceland.
May 28, 2013 at 02:24 PM
So I inspected the two bouncy houses at Somerville. They looked pretty new. Both were tagged and badged, inspected and certified by some official of the state of NJ.
I then found the proprietor. Both were Ninja Jump bouncy houses, the company named in the suit and the company that agreed to stop using lead-infused PVC in early 2011. One house was brand-new, in fact on it's maiden run. The other was from 2011. He said both were, according to Ninja Jump lead-free. And since he has to get them inspected and certified and insured, he doesn't think it's possible for any bouncy house operator working in NJ to still be using bouncy houses with lead-infused PVC.
May 28, 2013 at 02:54 PM
@JP
the one on the right for little kids had a 2008 manufacture date stamp.
The one on the left (for bigger kids) had a 2011 stamp.
The stamps were on the front side, lower right, about two feet square.
the one on the right for little kids had a 2008 manufacture date stamp.
The one on the left (for bigger kids) had a 2011 stamp.
The stamps were on the front side, lower right, about two feet square.
May 28, 2013 at 04:18 PM
it's not just about lead-infused PVC.
i was recently at a kids' birthday party, chatting with a friend when he relayed the following cautionary tale: another dad friend of his, the year before, was at a kids party at the 7th circle of hell known as BounceU. the dad was helping his toddler come down the 2-story PVC slide when he suffered a seemingly benign friction burn on his skin. he went home, washed it off, and went on with his day.
2-days later, he was in the hospital with a limb-and-life threatening staph infection caused, most likely, from bacteria on the slide itself. the doctor told him it wasn't the first time he'd seen this injury and this complication from the exact same play apparatus at BounceU.
And it makes sense - how many thousands of toddlers spit, spew, drool and ooze onto those things. how often are these giant rubberized petri dishes cleaned? um...yeah, right.
happy jumping.
May 28, 2013 at 04:21 PM
I've friction burned myself on that very PVC slide at Bounce U. That place should be popped.
May 28, 2013 at 04:23 PM
Nail guns at dawn?jim_nelson said:I've friction burned myself on that very PVC slide at Bounce U. That place should be popped.
May 28, 2013 at 04:29 PM
man, how much fun would that be.Jules said:Nail guns at dawn?jim_nelson said:I've friction burned myself on that very PVC slide at Bounce U. That place should be popped.
#occupybounceu
May 28, 2013 at 04:34 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cK2lVOueFE
May 28, 2013 at 08:45 PM
Jules,
What can I say? He lied? Or perhaps it was tested and found to be lead-free (the lead levels were high on "some" not all). Ninja Jump agreed to spend on testing and also offered to replace tainted bouncy houses.
May 28, 2013 at 10:48 PM
@Wump unless they swapped out the house on the right between when we visited and you did then yes - he lied to you. (Or I'm lying, take your pick )
)
May 29, 2013 at 02:48 AM
Man, so this is what goes on in the Family Man thread.
I came here thinking it would reinforce the idea that I could still race bikes if Maria gets pregnant but it turns out you guys just talk about bouncy castles.
May 29, 2013 at 11:46 AM
...and diapers
May 29, 2013 at 12:54 PM
May 29, 2013 at 01:03 PM
Lisa went up and read then too.