Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Avoid Daycares Near a Major Road

Posted by theboat On December 31, 2019 2 comments
I've talked with a lot of people who don't realize this so it seems worth posting in case anyone is unaware. Spending large amounts of time near a major road is very bad for your health.
This page has a large amount of information that is easy to understand and I recommend reading it if you have any questions

The rough summary though is that vehicle pollution is known to be associated with asthma, general respiratory illness, leukemia, heart disease, and dementia. With diseases like asthma, it is most strongly associated when children are very young (under 2). The state of California at least does not even allow schools to be built within 500 feet of a freeway.

There are always trade-offs to be made when picking a daycare, school, house, etc., but this one is often the easiest to avoid. Try to find a daycare away from major roads.

One other note...long commutes are similarly bad, and non-electric school buses in particular are awful. The bus stops often. The pollution is worst when accelerating/starting, the pollution is quite toxic, and kids at the stop and in the bus while at the stop are exposed to high levels of it. This is not talked about often for whatever reason, but please research this and try to avoid using a school bus with your children and/or petition your city for electric school buses.


Sunday, November 18, 2018

Just check out the plot. I realized we go to the candy store about once a week now so he can pick out the specific gummy bear flavors he wants, and it showed up very clearly in mint's trend plot.

Saturday, January 6, 2018

How Expensive Is A Baby? - 2 Year Update

Posted by theboat On January 06, 2018 10 comments
What is the two-year cost of ownership for a baby?

Sunday, December 17, 2017

Does A Baby Make Me Happy?

Posted by theboat On December 17, 2017 6 comments
I've written a lot about the costs, stress increases, etc. associated with having a baby. I haven't really written much about the positives. I don't know how to do that well, but I attempt it here. How does a baby affect your happiness?

baby happiness


Friday, December 1, 2017

How Does The Baby Affect Stress?

Posted by theboat On December 01, 2017 39 comments
Having a baby changes your life. Everyone knows this. What I haven't really seen though is a really accurate picture of how it affects your stress level. I probably can't provide that picture either for many reasons, but here is my attempt at capturing some obvious and some non-obvious ways that a baby affects our stress levels.



Sunday, November 26, 2017

Putting A Car Seat In A Sports Car

Posted by theboat On November 26, 2017 84 comments
I drive a Subaru BRZ. For anyone unfamiliar, this is a very small, 2-door sports car. Is it possible to use with a car seat?


Saturday, November 11, 2017

Babyproofing A Tile Floor

Posted by theboat On November 11, 2017 35 comments
I was really stressed about having a baby in a house with all tile floors. In this post I walk through how we babyproofed and how successful it was.


Saturday, November 4, 2017

Travelling With A Toddler

Posted by theboat On November 04, 2017 15 comments
How does a toddler affect travel? We've stayed in seven different hotels in the past three months with a toddler, and I learned a few things that I didn't expect.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Daycare Costs Go Down Over Time

Posted by theboat On September 24, 2017 8 comments
Something I wasn't aware of with daycare was a pleasant surprise...the costs go down as the baby ages.

cost of daycare goes down over time

Sunday, September 17, 2017

How Does The Baby Affect Grocery Spending?

Posted by theboat On September 17, 2017 16 comments
I'd guessed that we'd spend more at the grocery store with a baby since he has to eat, wear diapers, etc. I've broken down exactly how much our spending has changed.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

My exercise habits definitely changed with a baby, and they've continued to change as he's gotten older...

exercise after a baby

Friday, August 18, 2017

I generally cook most of the family's non-breakfast meals on Sunday afternoons and have done this for a while. Now that we have a toddler, this means I have to cook things that all of us will eat and that can be difficult since I'm picky, my wife is Indonesian, and our toddler is a toddler. Below I've laid out a few simple recipes that have worked well for us.
calories and nutritional info for taco meat and salsa recipe