Sadly, Kay and I didn’t go to Chicago….but a bunch of you did and we want to hear from you.

To kick it off, some impressions from Amelia Sprout , Beth the Anti-Supermom  and Mom 101- on the craziness that was BlogHer ‘09.

Put down your thoughts in the comments section below, or just copy links to your blog posts.

Our guest blogger today is Missy a.k.a. Marketing Mama…

Like many parents, I was taught to introduce solids very slowly to my baby.

Start with cereals, then fruits and veggies. Wait two to three days between new foods to watch for an adverse reaction. I followed the rules carefully with both my children. With no history of food allergies in our family, I wasn’t very concerned with my first child, Alex. He loved solid foods and never had a negative reaction.

We had an entirely different experience with my 18-month old daughter, Avery.

Her food allergy story starts with a serious case of eczema. Our pediatrician put me on notice early on: food allergies are at the root of about 40% of all cases of children with mild to severe eczema. That made me nervous. When she was six months old, I began introducing solids. I followed the rules, and watched her closely for symptoms.

I later learned that although people can develop food allergies to anything, only eight foods are responsible for 90% of all food allergies in America: eggs, milk, soy, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts and almonds), fish and shellfish. I also learned (too late) that allergens can transfer to children through breast milk.

I started to worry about food allergies as we neared her first birthday. When she tried cow’s milk, and later ate cake at her first birthday party, she got really itchy, agitated and had red marks on her skin (now I know they were hives).

I gave her children’s Benadryl and were determined she get food allergy testing at her 12-month well-baby check.

With only one week until that appointment, I served Avery scrambled eggs (with milk) for dinner one evening, not realizing it was one of the most common food allergens. Within 2-3 minutes she became inconsolable, had red streaking and hives on her face and trunk. Her eyeballs turned pink. She was coughing. (more…)

Once again I am going to turn to Cribsheeters for some advice.
We have two road trips coming up this summer. One to Illinois (about 5.5 hours) and another “up North” (about 3.5 hours).
I realize that is NOTHING compared to May’s annual 48 hour round trip trans-Atlantic flights but those several hours through Wisconsin on I-94 have me wringing my hands. Construction slow downs, weekend traffic, and managing our way through the monsterous mecca known as the Tomah Kwik Trip.
It used to be fairly easy when they were babies - they’d sleep.
Now with a 3.5 year old Ben’s first potty-trained road trip and an alert and active 1.5 year old Vivian - what to do to keep them occupied?
We don’t want to invest in the dual screen DVD player just yet and they are too young for Mad Libs and Car Bingo.
And what about “emergencies?” I’m already imagining hearing a frantic “I gotta go potty!” as we’re stopped in gridlock traffic with no exit in sight.
Should we put Ben in a “pull-up” just in case? Have an empty Big Gulp container at the ready?

Advice from old pros out there? What do you do to keep your little ones busy and somewhat content in the back seat?

Hat tip to Ka-blogger Kara McGuire for this delightfully disturbing distraction of the day.
File this one under creepy but funny.
Man-Babies
Once again my officemates came a-running to see why I was laughing so hard.
Why not celebrate Father’s Day by making a Man-Baby pic for the dad in your life?
If your Photoshop skills are lacking - here is a tutorial.
How to make a man-baby in Photoshop

Once again asking advice of our Cribsheeters. I recently recieved a “Flat Stanley” in the mail from my niece, Grace, in Illinois. I am in need of a plan B. My first thought was to take him to the Walker Sculpture Garden for a classic Spoonbridge and Cherry shot. But alas, that’s temporarily just “Spoonbridge.” Not as much fun without the cherry on top.
Where should I take him around here? Where have you taken a Flat Stanley?
I need inspiration!

How Flat Stanley works click here.