We’re excited to share the latest episode of our Moms on Call parenting podcast, all about babies and toddlers!
Babies require so much stuff, or at least it seems that way, from the furniture to the clothes to all the feeding supplies and diapers, which can add up fast. So one of the best things about having a second or third or fourth kid is we might not have to buy quite as much stuff because we already have it in the house, but are there some things that can’t be used for our little ones? Today on the podcast, we discuss what you need to check to figure out what can be used as a hand-me-down. Plus, we love a good sound machine, but is there a point where you need to wean them off? We tell you the science behind why a sound machine is something you can keep forever. Welcome to the Moms on Call podcast. We are so glad you are here.
Intro: Whoever said babies and toddlers don’t come with an instruction manual never met the Moms on Call. For nearly 20 years, Jennifer Walker and Laura Hunter have helped over half a million families navigate parenthood with their best-selling books, online courses, apps, and network of certified consultants. And now they have this podcast to talk directly with you. Ask your questions at 888-234-7979. Welcome to the Moms on Call podcast with Jennifer Walker and Laura Hunter.
Hand-me-downs dos & don'ts
Caller 1: Hi, Moms. My name is Allie, and I am calling from Nevada, and our family loves your books. They helped get our oldest son, now four, on a great sleeping routine. He is awesome. We are about to have our second kid, and we would like to know what things you guys recommend buying new and what things we could recycle or use from our first child. We wondered about some big ones: crib mattresses, an infant car seat, and maybe fish crib sheets like the bouncers and the activity tables. Do we need to figure out outdated things, or do those kinds of things expire? Any recommendations on what we can reuse and what we need to rush out to buy brand new would be great. Thanks.
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: First of all, congratulations. Oh my gosh, we are so excited. We would love to welcome that new little one to the Moms on Call family. That is so much fun. I love it. You are looking through all the things you have had in the basement or had stored and are wondering what you can and cannot use. One of the first things I would do is go to cpsc.gov and look up some of the items you have to ensure that there are no recalls on any items you have.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: The Consumer Product Safety Commission keeps track of everything that has ever been recalled. You can look at what has been recalled and enter different products to see if they have been recalled. You can also get on an email list, and they will send you an updated list of products that have been recalled.
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: That is great to have so that you can double-check everything. So let's start with car seats. Car seats sometimes go out of date just because of the safety features. So according to which one you have, the specific website for your car seat will be able to help. The other thing is making sure that it was never in an accident. If it was in an accident at all, then that has to be replaced.
Car Seats and Crib Mattresses
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: We also want to ensure the car seat works well. And all your items are still buckling correctly, and the straps are working correctly. Please make sure there are no cracks as well. You have to inspect those things. Let's talk about Crib Mattresses. It is one of those things that they started upping the game on around four or five years ago. We want to make sure that your mattress has yet to be recalled, and we want to make sure that it is still nice and firm. So you can use that if it is still nice and firm, not on that recall list as long as it is five years of age or less. Look for the Moms on Call Sleep and Grow Crib Mattress now out!
With the car seat, you want to ensure that all of the components are still working well, that there are no accidents, and that it has not been recalled. For the crib mattress, please make sure that it is less than five years old.
Bringing Home a Baby with a Toddler at Home
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: We always say this at Moms on Call: when you bring home a baby, you bring home the best thing that ever happened to your toddler. And sometimes, we treat it like we are bringing home a disease. Yes, because we can't spend all our time and attention on the toddler anymore, how can we possibly have room for another human being? And the truth is that bringing a baby home helps your toddler to recognize what families do. They work together to serve the youngest and weakest members. And if our perspective is we are bringing home the best thing that ever happened to us, then your toddler will follow suit. What is that phrase we hear people always say? Can we bring this baby back to the hospital?
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: Babies take more time, and that is okay. Say, "I look forward to playing with you later," and then give them little jobs.
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: Oh, they love the jobs. Yes, whether or not they are super excited, especially at four, he will embrace helping you, at least in the beginning.
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: It is really helpful. Could you get the baby wipes I left halfway across the living room now that I am sitting on the couch? Oh, they love it. They love to feel a part of what you are doing. So remember, you are bringing home a baby, the best thing that ever happened to you guys, and not a disease. And we are going to treat it that way. We will tell the truth. It will be more time-consuming, and it will be an excellent addition. So congratulations.
The Science Behind the Sound Machine
Caller 2: Hi, Jennifer and Laura. This is Jessica from Marietta, Georgia. I know you guys are fans of the Sound Machine for babies, and we have used ours with both of our kids since birth. Their oldest will be five soon. My husband and I wonder when we can wean him off this thing. Do we ever wean him off? And if we are supposed to, how do we do it? He sleeps excellently and always has. So is it one of those? If it is not broken, then do not fix it, type of situations. I know they have sound machines for adults now. So have we just set our kids up to depend on sound machines for life? What are the next steps as kids get older? We are still determining what we are doing.
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: Now, Laura, you and I have both had this incredible opportunity to walk into the homes of thousands of families, and we have partnered with all kinds of pilots, anesthetists, and people you want to sleep through the night. Oh, for sure, please. But also, do you remember when you went to see the sleep specialist as an adult?
The Sleep Doc Said What?
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: He was one of the top three sleep docs in the country, is very well known, and has done lots and lots of research. And I was going through my spill of, oh, we use this sound machine, and after about a year old, you can start turning it down and taking it away. And he was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, no. Do not ever tell parents to take it away. And I was like, yeah, but people do not want to be addicted to it. And he was like, no, no, no. He says it is not about being addicted to the sound machine. He said sleep quality is so much better with a quality white noise sound machine at a cellular level that everybody should use one forever.
And so it is a personal preference at this age, at five years of age, if he is turning it on and wants to sleep with that, it is perfectly fine for him to do. Your next kid at 18 months old may be like they do not want it anymore and want to turn it off, which is okay too. So at this age or this point, it is just personal preference.
Laura Hunter/Jennifer Walker: If you want to end the sound machine, we recommend turning it down. Yes. So you turn it down a bit, and then they don't even have it after three nights. They don't even know it. What do we do if we are out of town and forget it? One of the most beautiful things about White Noise is that we can replicate things that help our kids know when sleep time is. So kids learn by association and routine, and so we are going to keep the routine intact, but when we also have that association when we go out of town, I mean, there is a Walmart or a Target where you can grab one if you need to, you can use your phone.
