Gosh it has been a busy few days. Got home late Monday after an eternity on the train (where again Via Rail exceeded expectations with early boarding and economy class coaches...steward provided Sash with a blanket and pillow..and confused her by calling her pumpkin a few times...to which she replied.."I not pumkin. I Sasha!"). Took the subway home and stopped by the Sushi resto round the corner for some takeaway. Sash had a grand old time playing with her new found toys so it took us ages to put her to bed. The next morning we woke up rather disoriented, wondering where we were. It felt great being back in familiar surroundings!
Random thoughts about train travel:
I find it disturbing to hear the train whistle going off mid-travel. My initial thoughts: Is the train engineer warning someone off the tracks? Another train maybe? But a split second later I recall D telling me that it is a legal requirement for the engineer to toot the horn/whistle near every crossing. But does this stop me from worrying? Of course not. So during the 7 hour ride from QC to Toronto, I must have freaked out for 35 split seconds in total...
Unlike in planes, people tend to want to chat more. It may just be Canadians, but random strangers from 3 seats away would strike up conversations. Makes you long for the headphones used in planes mainly to avoid conversation with others...
We have spent the last few days running mundane errands like sending off the dry cleaning, stocking up the freezer and fridge, buying more flowers and plants to experiment with, starting a mini herb garden etc. And oh yes, making arrangements for yet another visit to Montreal in a few weeks for a conference. Yup, we are going there again. This time we will need a babysitter for Sash as both D and I will be presenting papers in the same session so I have been contacting the hotel and conference organisers to sort this out and carry out the necessary background checks. We will be driving this time as we need to stop by Kingston on the way back for another conference so at least we don't need to book tickets etc. Did I mention that Spring/Summer is conference season??
Since we arrived home, no less than 5 people, from my trusty neighbours to the check out girl at my local fruits and veggie shop, have encouraged me to take advantage of the Canadian Avent recall of BPA bottles. You see, after being criticized (or shall we say dragged through the mud) by consumers for their position with regards to the use of BPA in bottles, Avent has relented and offered to refund parents for Avent bottles returned to various stores, such as ToysRUs. The extent of their recall is amazing, full refunds even without receipts. So this morning I dug up my Avent bottles, which luckily I had not chucked out, and returned them for a credit of nearly 50 bucks. Full refund, no questions asked. I wonder what Avent will do with these hundreds and thousands of bottles returned throughout Canada (everyone is sending back their bottles!). They will not be introducing BPA free bottles until late Summer while I think (I am not sure whether it is a legal requirement or due to customer demand), Canadian stores are only stocking BPA-free plastic or glass bottles. As I was returning all 8 of my Avent bottles, there were many other parents using their refunds to purchase the BornFree or glass bottles. I wonder how Avent will recover from this? The funny thing is, design wise, I found Avent to be superior to the much more expensive bottles. It is a shame that their brand name is now associated (at least with the Mums that I come in contact with) with dangerous bottles and corporate arrogance. But I suppose the damage will only be contained in Canada as I read somewhere that the UK has only just started publicising this issue. In Malaysia, it seemed like business as normal. Perhaps the Canadian government is paranoid...but I am not one to complain because with the refund, I bought Sash a playset comprising a sandpit/pool with a picnic table and umbrella. I figure that will just about make up for the unnecessary hormones in her body. So if you are in Canada, dig up those bottles...
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4 comments:
I agree about what you said about Avent bottles, loved them since my 10 year old used them. How I wish Avent would do the refunds here in good ol Malaysia! Currently using MAM bottles with Avent nipples (even though they are not a perfect fit) as my 21 month daughter refused refused the MAM ones. Only after I bought 6 of those did I find Bfree bottles sold in a shop I would not frequent. Did Sash take to the Bfree ones easily? My daughter's milk intake has gone down considerably. But then again after reading your posts , Sash's pretty reasilient! Thanks.
Amy ( a usually silent reader)
Hi Amy. Sasha is taking to the Bfree bottles, but then I use Avent nipples. I am not really a fan as their lids dont stay on as tight and the colic free insert thing is a bit of a hassle to take off everytime I microwave her milk...but I guess an extra second or two is about it. I am however trying to get her off the bottle so in a way I wish I had your problem...Also, I was so paranoid about the colic thing that I used 4different types of bottles when she was little, figuring that at least 1 type should work. She has used Madela, Playtex, Avent and DrBrown (which were really hell to clean)..and I liked Avent the best. Ah well, all good things must come to an end I guess..
My son was on the bottle til 4. By that time, it was easy to negotiate. It is Malaysia kan.. it's normal to see the older kids on the bottle. I don't know how they are in Canada but a friend of mine in the UK had a social worker come to the house because the teacher reported that her 3 year old was still on the bottle! Will be waiting for BPA free Avent as I will be buying them.
I find the cultural relativity regarding childcare/development fascinating. Here, you are asked to start kids on solids by 6 months, and they have to be on whole milk by 1 and off the bottle by 2, and even earlier. I am constantly being told that window of opportunity of potty training Sash is about to pass..and people say this like she will be in diapers until age 18 unless I get her trained by 2.5. Sigh...the pressure. But yes, you are pretty much a criminally negligent Mum here unless you follow all the baby books/experts.
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