Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Part II

When London and Maddie were born, I adored their little baby selves, mesmerized by each stage of development they reached, watching them for hours to see what they would do next (smile at me? stick a tongue out? walk? throw something out of the stroller and watch me pick it up... again?). Rex was a loving dad, but having been there before with his older kids, he told me that our children would be much more interesting when they were a little older. Now that Maddie and London are seven and eight years old, I know exactly what Rex meant! Not that infants aren't soooo precious, but... now that I can really enjoy my kids -- on the beach, when I see them perform in their ballet recital, throwing a ball around the backyard, really getting good at tennis -- I wouldn't want to go back to those days of changing diapers and using a baby formula savings calculator to figure out how much our family could save on baby formula by skipping the big name advertisers and purchasing store brands at local retailers such as Sam's Club, Walmart, Kroger, Target, CVS, Walgreens and Babies R’ Us.

Our nanny brings her almost three year old son with her most days when she takes care of London and Maddie, and it is just a nightmare for the girls and me to toddler proof the house before he arrives. It is hard for me to imagine having to be on duty 24/7 to prevent choking on Barbie shoes or having an action figure flung into the big screen HDTV. But as I noted in my first Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes post, time really does fly. Enjoys those infants now because soon they'll be reading Sweet Valley High and crushing on their Annie's Playhouse camp counselor.

If you've got one of those sweet little babies and you choose or need to use infant formula, here's a recommendation from one who knows (I swore my babies would never get anything but the "real deal" but nursing five month old London was too much for me once I was pregnant with Maddie): Buy powdered formula. It costs less than concentrated liquid or liquid formula. All infant formula sold in the United States must meet the same basic nutrient requirements specified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, so if your baby likes store-brand formula, go ahead and buy it -- in the largest-size cans you can find.