Check if you have a Foam company in your area. I recently reupholstered a love seat and I replaced the foam inserts on the seat cushions. I found a store near my home (Southern Calif.) that has many choices and will custom cut the foam to the size and thickness you want. I wanted something very firm so I ordered the "Q41" (2.8 density, 41 firmness). You could even go with a lower than 41 firmness for a crib mattress. To get an online price quote and to learn about various foam types... open the A-1 link below, pick on the Foam link at the top. Next, pick on the square shape. Then, it will ask you to select 1. dimensions you want, 2. how the foam will be used (in your case "mattress") 3. select foam type.... just below #3 in small print, you will pick on "Click here to learn more about choosing the right foam for you". Here they tell you about various cushion/foam firmness and density and the numerical system used to rate a foam's firmness. It will also have a chart for various foam types and typical uses including mattress applications. I noticed that they can send you 10" x 10" samples. What you pay for the samples is applicable to any future order. In my case, I was able to feel all the samples in the store. -Laurie Here is a link that might be useful: A-1 Foam & Fabrics

We adopted a husky while I was pregnant. We had her for 5 months before DS was born, during which time she grew very attached to me. We also have a cat (well, at 25 lbs, he may be a second dog) who can be a little mean. Luckily, so far everything has worked out. We were a bit concerned because she had been abused, but she is absolutely wonderful with him. We did the things you've mentioned -- sent a blanket home, had DH carry DS into the house, etc. She was curious about him the first day home, but she was PISSED at me for having left her for 2 days. Luckily she didn't do anything but give me the cold shoulder for a while. DS is now 19 months old, and our dog is still wonderful with him. She's a little protective, actually -- she'll get between the stroller and someone who approaches us on the street; she gets upset if he cries, or she'll look at me like if it were her kid, she'd get to that crib faster than me! Food may be another big issue, especially if your dog is used to table scraps. Try putting your hand in/around the bowl when the dog's eating to see how she responds. If she's the least bit snappy, you may have to feed her when the baby naps, especially after baby is mobile. One of DS's favorite haunts when he started to crawl was the dog bowls -- to splash or check out the food (we try to empty the dish if she doesn't finish b/c the food can be a choking hazard in addition to being downright gross). And our DS also loves to feed the dog from his chair, so if that's something that's going to annoy you, make sure you don't let the dog or the baby develop that habit after you start on solid foods. For us, the problem began with cheerios at about 8 or 9 months. I've tried to make it a point to integrate the dog and the baby. We have a jogging stroller, and most days I'll take both of them on hour long walks. I think it helps the dog to just see DS as an addition to her life, rather than competition. We practice petting gently. When DS was old enough to sit up & reach for the animals, we would take his hand, help him pet them, and say gentle. Now if he gets a little rough, all we have to do is tell him to be gentle. That's pretty much all I can think of. We've got great pictures of DS crawling all over the animals and giving them hugs. Congrats.

I did a search above for "baby crib garden gates" and several posts came up if you'd like to do the same. There are so many that it's hard to check which one has what you're looking for. If not in these forums, you might check out the "HGTV.com" website and do a search in that website for the garden gate. Good luck.

All of us alive now lived through unsafe practices, but that doesn't mean they are safe. Car seats, in particular, reduce the risk of death by 71% in infants under a year old. You can be the safest driver in the world and it won't matter if somebody else slams into your car and the force of physics throws your child out of your arms and into the windshield. Since the recommendation, based on studies has suggested putting babies to sleep on their back without blankets and bumpers, SIDS rates have dropped dramatically. I'm sure some of those moms in the 50s- 80s whose babies died from SIDS wish they could go back and do it the "modern" way, even if others around them laughed. Drop side cribs were outlawed after years of recalls and over 30 children dying because the side came detached at the base and suffocated or strangled infants. My oldest 2 daughters were in drop side cribs, when the recall and ban happened and the company sent me repair kits to switch the beds to fixed side. With my next two, yes, it was slightly more of a pain but I wouldn't go back to drop side. Even my mom realized the issue and she and I took a saw to her old drop side from the 90s that she had kept for keeping grandbabies and threw it in the trash so no one else would try to use it. She has given me a hard time about modern parenting safety until I reminded her that she was an early adopter of car seats, before they were required and I'm sure she got chastized by her family for it. I sure do wish they still had merry-go-rounds on the playground though!