It's holiday gift season and if you're like me, it can be hard to think of creative gift ideas for a new mom, baby or toddler. The parents may not want to ask for things that they actually need for the baby and the baby may not need too much right now. The first few years of gift giving may seem impossible, but they are actually quite easy since the baby (or toddler) hasn't started asking for things yet. This post is sponsored by the Florida Prepaid College Board, through my role as a Believer Blogger. 10 Gift Ideas for a New Mom, Baby, or Toddler Florida Prepaid College Plan - Give the greatest gift you can provide to any child, the gift of education. A baby doesn't need much in the first few years, but they will be very grateful for this gift for years to come.You can start a college savings plan as soon as your child is born or anytime before they start college. The earlier you start, the less you’ll have to invest each month. Plans start as low as $46 a month. Open ... [ Read More ]
Innovative Infant and Toddler Swimwear by Bella Bare Wear
Problem? You are at the beach or pool and your baby or toddler needs a fresh diaper. You struggle pulling down the wet swim wear to find the soggy wet diaper filled with sand (and who knows what else). You get a fresh clean diaper on your baby then you wrestle with the wet swimwear to pull it back up - cussing the entire time! Solution! Bella Bare Wear snap-change swimwear. Yes, snap-change. As in there are snaps in the crotch to help make diaper changes easy without the hassle of pulling up and down a wet swimsuit. Watch this short video to see Bella Bare Ware in action. Ashley, the owner and designer of Bella Bare Wear, asked me to share her story with you and let you know that their Kickstarter campaign runs through February 28th. With your pledge of $30 you'll get one piece from the 2013 Bella Bare Wear collection (a swimsuit or cover-up) in the style and print of your choice. This includes shipping to you once the collection is complete. There are other ... [ Read More ]
Toddler Bedtime Battles
I mentioned briefly yesterday that Lil' B is having some bedtime battles. It's a combination of things but eventually (almost) every night she finds her way back to our room. With summer we got into a really relaxed routine and let her snuggle up to us more than we encouraged her to sleep in her big girl bed. It's not really a bad thing but the hubs and I have been kicked to the edges of our Queen size bed as she takes over the entire center portion. Not to mention all the bruises she gives us as she flops around. I think the problem actually goes beyond the obvious spoiled well loved tot so I called in the reinforcements, my eco-friends, for a few suggestions. I think there are a few reasons she's not sleeping well. 1) Yes, she may be a tad spoiled loved! 2) I think she's scared of the dark and/or of being alone. 3) She may be hearing night noises. 4) She may be overly stimulated in the evening. Our evenings are anything but relaxing. Depending on what our schedules ... [ Read More ]
My Friend Huggles – Mia and Lil B are BFF’s!
My daughter has a new BFF, Mia. Look at the smile on Lil' B's face as she met Mia for the first time. She hugged her and hugged her all night long. Mia is one of the new life-size (36" in height) character dolls from My Friend Huggles out of Canada. Mia is one of 6 dolls in the set of dolls who are as unique as their names. There is Lily, Kira, Sophia, Rubi, Bia, and Mia and they each have their own character trait that they represent. Mia's special virtue is "honesty." You can see on the special ribbon tag above that the virtue is explained for the child. I love the line "Saying I'm sorry is being brave." What a neat truth to teach to our children. I made sure that I read over these the virtue tag with Lil' B and talked with her about what it meant to be honest. We struggle with this one at 3.5 yrs old - she's always telling me "Brother hit me!" when he's in another room playing quietly all by himself. This last image is a picture of Mia's forever mark on her ... [ Read More ]
Toddlers & Nighttime Potty Training
Lil' B is now 3 years old (and about 5 months) and we have been potty trained for months now during the day - most of the time. Yes, we still have the occasional day accident like this past weekend when I was doing laundry. I went to her room to put away clothes and realized there were a pair of panties on the floor. Upon further investigation I realized they were wet (fun). Next up comes the search for 'the wet spot' in the house. Here is how the conversation went. Me: Bai, do you have panties on? Bai: Yep (lifts skirt to show me) Me: Did you pee pee? Bai: Yeah Me: Where? Bai: Over here (points to spot in kitchen) Me: (Observing that it's mostly dry) Did you clean it up? Bai: Yeah, with the towel (points to the kitchen towel sitting on the sink that I JUST finished wiping my hands on) Me: Oh (sarcastically) I see! (GROSS!!! Quickly rewashes hands after I toss the towel in the laundry!) Aside from those rare moments we're still wearing diapers at night! ... [ Read More ]
Happy 3rd Birthday Lil’ B
How is it possible that my Lil' B is actually turning THREE years old tomorrow? Just a few minutes after we introduced him to his baby sister for the first time. January 2009 First photo in a cloth diaper! bumGenius 3.0 - February 2009 January 2010 - 1st Birthday Yes, I made the tutto to match the top. January 2011 - 2nd Birthday Last picture as I kissed my tot goodnight on the eve of her 3rd birthday! (Photographic evidence that mommy needs a new iPhone with flash! Oh, and yes - she does have a fat lip from the weekend just in time for birthday photos!) Happy Birthday Lil' B! You'll always be my little baby! Remember how we said goodnight when she turned two? We officially gave up the boob (breastfeeding)! She never looked back but she does still remember that milk came from mommies boobies. She'll be happy to tell you all about it if you ask her. ***** OK - I'm going to go shed a few tears as I look through more photos. Oh, and I have a big surprise ... [ Read More ]
Toddler Room Remodel – Before
My Lil' B is almost 3 years old (Jan 4th) and she's still sleeping in her baby crib. This is the same (out of date and recalled) baby crib that her brother used over 8 years ago. She hasn't ever tried to escape (climb out) from the crib so I've never pushed for converting the crib to a toddler bed. (That plus I secretly want her to remain a baby because I refuse to accept that she's almost 3!!) Yesterday while the kids played I decided it was time to clean and organize her room. I'm dying to remodel her room but I have a few limitations: 1. Space - her room is not very large and it's also our guest bedroom. In addition to her crib, dresser, and bookshelf we also have a futon for when guests (usually one of the sets of grandparents) stay the night. We only have 3 rooms in this house so there is no official guest room. 2. Guest bed - the guest bed must stay in her room because there isn't another room to move it to. In addition the guest bed must hold two adults so a ... [ Read More ]
Breastfeeding – Weaning at Two
I'm sure it's no surprise to you but weaning at two is much different than weaning at one. When I weaned our son we had been planning an anniversary trip out of town for a long weekend and I had slowly weaned him over a week (hardly enough time to do it right) and then we went cold turkey! What I learned that weekend was a very painful lesson - weaning hurts. Over the next two to three days my breasts were very engorged and painful as the milk dried up. Fortunately it wasn't an emotionally painful experience for either of us. At one he couldn't really communicate well and couldn't verbalize his desire. He quickly took to his sippy cup (which we had already introduced) and we never looked back. I guess one (of the many) reasons I held off on weaning my daughter was because I remember how painful the weaning process was. With her we've been working on weaning the right way for over a year. We slowly reduced the frequency of feedings over the year and she usually only asked ... [ Read More ]
Breastfeeding – Day 730 (Our last day)
Well we made it to day 730 (2 years) yesterday breastfeeding Lil' B. We woke up yesterday on her birthday and went through our normal routine. I snuggled my baby one last time while breastfeeding her on her second birthday knowing that it would be our last time. When we finished our morning session I told her sweetly that it was her birthday and that she was a big girl now and that boobies were for babies. I asked if she wanted to 'kiss them goodbye' and she gave them both a sweet little peck and waved goodbye. This morning when we woke up I didn't say anything to her about milk or boobies. She asked me once while I was changing her diaper about the milk and I told her that I would be happy to pour her a big girl cup of milk if she liked. She said "OK" and that was the last she asked about milk today. It's been quite an emotional week with all the changes with day care and her birthday but I feel so much better that she didn't this change didn't upset her. We've gone a ... [ Read More ]
Another Cloth Diaper Convert
Last week I attended a double baby shower for two ladies that I met at church. They've heard me go on and on about how cute, how easy, and how much better cloth diapers are - but they still haven't made the commitment. I try not to guilt someone into trying cloth diapers but rather debunk the myths that exist about using cloth diapers to help better educate parents. I have a few friends with babies that still use disposables and I don't make them feel bad about their decision. I'm always showing off Lil' B's fluffy bum in hopes that they will give up their disposable addiction and join me in my mad addiction passion. Now you'd think that the perfect baby shower gift would be a cute new cloth diaper, right? Since cloth diapers are not a cheap investment (I try to stay around the $15-20 range) I don't buy cloth diapers for people who haven't made the commitment. I would be upset to see fluff sitting on a shelf NOT being used because a parent was scared to try them. Instead ... [ Read More ]