Parenting Children

When it came to getting maternity or nursing bras, I was clueless. When do I buy them, when I am pregnant or after my milk comes in? What size do I get? As my belly expanded, I decided I needed to find some new bras stat, plus I wanted some nursing bras ready for when I gave birth. Today I am going to help you out with all of your pregnancy/post partum bra needs!

Most women will need 3-4 nursing bras. Many woman have increased breast size during pregnancy so you will need bras in a larger size then you normally wear. I have three nursing bras and two sports/tank nursing bras that I wear at night. You should buy them when you no longer fit into your regular bras, which for most women is during the last trimester.
Remember that underwire may interfere with your milk ducts so it is best not to wear an underwire nursing bra at least for the first few days after your milk comes in.

Most women will experience increased breast size during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The size change will vary from woman to woman, but generally it will increase at least one bra and one cup size. If you would like to measure yourself at home before going shopping, measure around the chest, just under the arms, above the bust. This measurement is your bra band size. Then measure snugly around the fullest point of the bust, then below the breasts, the difference between the two equals your cup size. If the difference is 1″ then your cup size is A, 2″ is B, 3″ is C and so on.

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Dinner time or meal time can be hectic for any family. Getting kids to eat, getting everyone to sit down together and keeping children from fooling around are all hard tasks for my family. Today I am going to share with you some great tips for keeping mealtime sane and fun.

Make a placemat out of old mats. Cut them to size and cover with clear contact paper. This is great to get kids learning about our country or our world while waiting for dinner.

If your child has a friend over have them play “restaurant” and let them make their own snack. One of them can place their order and the other can “cook”. Little sandwiches or fruit skewers would be great.

Introduce new foods with ones your kids already like and call them “extras”. Make sure they try one new food a week.

At dinner ask everyone for their “news”. Go around and tell your favorite part of the day or if something exciting happened that day. Make sure you listen to your children’s day. Make sure they listen to you also, listening to each other is an important skill to learn.

Be creative. Let your children chose what they want in their burrito, salad or sandwich, even if it does not sound good to you.

Teach manners at the table by using them. Tell them why it is important to say “please” and “thank you”.

What tips or tricks do you have for dinner time with your family?

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I was so happy when I finally didn’t have to carry a diaper bag anymore. No more lugging around a huge, heavy bag where I could never find what I was looking for. This time around I am more organized, and I only have to pack for one baby which is a lot easier! Here is a checklist for what you should carry for your new little one:

Diapers- of course! You probably want to stick on the safe side and carry at least 5 of these.

Wipes- again, you want to err on the side of caution. I always carry a lot for dirty diapers as well as sticky hands and faces.
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In honor of Earth Day we are trying to become more environmentally friendly in our home every day and we are stepping it up a notch today. We do what we can in this house and every month we are trying to do a little more. Educating our kids on Earth Day is one of the things we are doing. Here are some ideas for what you can do with your kids today:

When they are brushing their teeth, teach them to turn off the water while they are brushing. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Sense program, Americans use an average of 170 gallons of water per day. Saving water will help your pocketbook too.

Plant a tree today. Teach your children to respect and preserve the wilderness and wildlife. Buy a bird feeder and bird bath, plant flowers that butterflies like and plant some organic vegetables or fruit. Don’t use pesticides on your lawn or garden.

Visit your local farm or recycling center and teach your kids where their food comes from and where their garbage goes. Make sure you recycle in your home and let your kids help you.

Learn online, check out www.localharvest.org, ams.usda.gov., epa.gov or fishandwildlife.org.
Also check out this website for Earth Day coloring pages.

Finally, get outdoors! Go hiking, camping or to a park. The best motivations for protecting the planet is to enjoy it. What is a better time than Earth Day?

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Sometimes I just get bored with sandwiches. Sometimes I just don’t have deli meats or bread in the house. (Hey, cut me some slack I just had a baby!) My kids get bored with sandwiches every day too, so I try to be creative and unique with lunches, or dinners for that matter, and give my kids variety and it gives them an opportunity to try new foods too! Here are some of our favorite ideas:

Veggies and dip. Put string beans in a hallowed out pepper, bake some pita to make your own pita “chips” and if your kids hate raw veggies cook and cool them first.
DIP
1 greek plain yogurt (7oz)
1 garlic clove, pressed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2C mayo
1 tablespoon dill and mint chopped
1/2 cucumber
1 teaspoon lemon juice

To make:
Grate the peeled and seeded cucumber and squeeze dry in paper towel and add to bowl
Add the rest of the ingredients and combine
Serve with veggies

Try chicken salad or egg salad in a lettuce leaf instead of bread
Try hummus or guacamole (two of my kids favorites) instead of dips
Go pick your own at a local farm, your kids will be more likely to eat the veggies if they see where they are grown and pick them themselves!
Don’t forget about edamame, kids love these and you can even buy them chelled in teh frozen section of your grocery store

What are your favorite substitutes for sandwiches or traditional lunches?

kids, healthy kids, healthy lunches, feeding kids, parenitng, parenting children, kids health

This year we are dyeing eggs early because I can go into labor at any time and if I do not, I have a c-section scheduled for March 18th. I want to participate with them so we will do it this weekend. I always try to stay away from too much candy and junk for Easter. This year will be no different and we are trying to keep our Easter “green”. Here are some alternatives to candy and junk and some tips to be more Earth friendly for your Easter.

Say no to plastic grass. Grow your own. This is easy and looks great in a basket or for a table centerpiece. I have seen edible grass in Target that you can use as an alternative. Have your kids color or paint some paper and shred it for their baskets.

Use natural dyes for eggs. Boil your eggs in water with vinegar and one of these ingredients below, then let simmer for at least 15 minutes:

Purple grape juice (for lavender)
Red cabbage (for blue)
Spinach (for green)
Carrot tops, orange peels or lemon peels (for yellow)
Yellow onion skins (for orange)
Beets or cranberries (for pink)
Red onion skins (for red)

Skip the candy. If you have to use plastic eggs (we use the same ones every year) fill them with coins, almonds or raisins. Or you can just hide the dyed eggs.

Skip the toys. Instead maybe buy books, puzzles, outdoor chalk, phthalate free bath toys (bunnies or ducks are perfect) or bubbles (you can even make the bubbles yourself).

Here are some more ideas for Easter and Easter craft ideas. What do you give your children in their Easter baskets?

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Now that my kids are older and they receive money as gifts, it is not as easy as just putting it into their banks. Now they would like to spend it. I can understand that, so sometimes we let them take 40% of their money and use it to buy whatever they want. Sometimes it is a fruit and cheese platter from Starbucks and sometimes it is a small toy. We are figuring out how to let them manage money as they get older. Here are some tips we like that you may want to use with your kids.

Gift Cards- Kids can learn to buy exactly what they want when they get a gift card. They can save them up to make a bigger purchase and my kids feel like a big deal with their “credit cards”.

Fun Money- When kids are older then give them fun money. This is a budget with say $20, to do what they want to with their friends or with you on a weekend. The $20 has to pay for their activity, food, arcade whatever. Then kids will learn how much a movie and popcorn really costs.

Earn it- Let them ear their money buy giving them an allowance. Give them chores to do every day or buy the weeks end and pay them a fair wage. Either let them do whatever they want with that money (but they have to save all of their birthday and holiday money) or make them save some and save some.

Get a new piggy bank- This one has four chambers, one for each of the four money management choices a child should be taught. They are SAVE, SPEND, DONATE, and INVEST.

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Making baby food may take a little more effort then just buying cans at the grocery store but more and more parents are doing it. Although it is not for everyone, making your own baby food can be simple and is great for your baby. You have control over the ingredients, it won’t have preservatives and the texture can be just what your baby likes.

Are you ready to make baby food? OK here it goes, remember when using fruits and vegetables, always wash and remove the skin. use organic whenever possible. Steam or boil food until it is soft and mushy, you do not need any seasonings or salt. If you are making this for the whole family, put aside and flavor some for the older members of your family.

You can mash the food in a blender, food processor or baby food mill and play with the texture to see what your baby likes and dislikes. Start with pureed food when you introduce your baby to solid foods (after 4 months or when your pediatrician tells you) and slowly move towards mashed or small pieces of food when baby learns to chew food. You can make these ahead of time and freeze them!
Make as much as you would like, then place into sanitized ice-cube trays to freeze. Once the food is frozen, pop them out and store in freezer containers and label. These will last for up to three months frozen!

Tell me, do you make your own baby food? If you buy jarred baby food which brand do you prefer?

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Wondering what else you can do to celebrate Valentine’s Day with your family or make it more special for your children. You can make it more then just a Hallmark holiday. Here are some ideas for some mid week Valentine’s fun for everyone:

-Wear all red or pink. Dress everyone in head to toe in the colors of love.

-Eat only red foods! Spaghetti and sauce, tomatoes, red velvet cake, apples, pomegranates, red peppers with dip, shirley temples and champagne with grenadine, etc

-Write love notes on napkins. Write little notes about how much you love your child or your spouse and send them off to school or work with them, or put them around the dinner table.

-Eat by candlelight. You can have a nice special dinner with your whole family not just your husband.

-Eat only finger foods. Tea sandwiches, crudite, mini quiche, shrimp cocktail or mini burgers. Melt some chocolate for dessert and have everyone dip in their favorite fruits like strawberries, pineapple or grapes, marshmallows, graham crackers or even their fingers in!

-Make rice krispie treats for your kids but use strawberry marshmallows instead of plain ones, so they will be pink!

-Give everyone Valentines tattoos.

I think January and February is the worst time of year in New Jersey for having kids. There is not much to do with them outside because the weather is cold (but not a sign of snow here yet!) enough to force you to stay inside but cabin fever is rampant. My kids are bored and I don’t blame them. We try and go to indoor play places and do outdoor things as much as we can but it is hard this time of year and expensive. Here are some great games to combat cabin fever and some you can do when you are in a restaurant or waiting room.

I Spy- take turns looking around the space you are in and pick one thing. Give the other people clues and let them guess what you picked.

Memory- everyone looks at the same room/space/area for 30 seconds and try to memorize everything you see, the color of the pictures, the shoes/dirt etc. Then everyone writes down what they remember, the person with the longest accurate list wins!

Scavenger Hunt- give your kids some index cards and ask them to write or draw pictures of some things they might see on an upcoming car trip. During a car ride give them the cards and then they can match what they see with the cards. The person with the most matches win.

Feather Keep it Up- Each person has to keep the feather over their head by blowing it. Whoever keeps it up the longest wins. You can do this with a balloon too.

Obstacle Course- Make your own! Jump over pillows, have to put a small puzzle together, have to recite a list of cousins names, crab crawl through the kitchen, carry a plastic egg on a spoon, the possibilities are endless.

Keep Outdoor Toys In- When my kids were 2 they received scooters as a gift. I let them keep it inside the house until the following summer. they scooted around the house all day every day and the wheels were rubber so no tearing up my floors. Do this with other ride ons.

Card Games- There are so many. Teach your kids new ones or go for old favorites like memory, old maid, crazy 8s or go fish. This is also great for when a storm knocks the power out.

What are your favorite things to do with kids to beat the boredom?

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I think the best and worst part of parenting is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. Everyone has their own ideas about what is best for their family or their children. I love that parenting should be a community thing, advice from other mothers I have met, aunts, family members and my own mother, have been invaluable. Here are some tips I have for other mothers on parenting:

Make time to create a photo album. You will not experience these memories again, so take the time, even 15 minutes per week to make a photo album or scrapbook.

Show your Kids you are in love. Kiss your partner, tell him you love him in front of your kids. Let them see your love. I wouldn’t shelter kids from all disagreements you may have either, let them see how you can argue and but let them see you make up too.

Never let hitting be ok. Hitting, biting and aggression can be normal in toddlers. Never let him hit you and make sure they always know it is not ok to hurt someone else.

Watch what you say. Even the youngest children can pick up bad word from you and you never know when or where they will repeat them!

Make sleep easier for both of you. Put your child to bed awake as soon as possible,. That teaches your child to self soothe and is important if you don’t want to rock your child to sleep until they are 6. Also try letting them sleep in different places, this will help you if you ever want to leave the house overnight.

Trust your instincts. Whether it is with picking a day care provider, letting your kids ride the bus or go for her first sleep over, trust what you feel is best. You are the one who knows your child best. If you feel strange about leaving your child with someone, don’t leave them, even if you feel silly for being overprotective.

What are your best parenting tips or parenting ideals you live by?

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I have some tips and tricks for Halloween with your kids this year. We also want to keep kids safe this time of year especially those that are old enough to trick or treat alone so we will also talk about safety.

Don’t want to give out candy for Halloween? How about giving out juice boxes or kid sized waters? Try stickers or other craft items and if you have any leftovers put them into your child’s craft box for a rainy day. The other thing I have seen lately, which I love, is the mini playdoh containers. Although the older kids may rather have candy!
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We are all aware how expensive it can be to have children. For some reason they keep needing new clothes and want to be fed 3-4 times a day! That is why keeping a food budget can be a great idea.
Here are some ideas on how to keep your grocery list down while still feeding your family healthy foods. Of course, some of these ideas may have to be adapted for your larger, or smaller family.

Use coupons.

Shop flyers first. Maybe your graocry has great sales on the meat you need but target or walmart has great deals on the paper goods you have to buy. Making a seperate trip may work in your favor if these stores are close to you.

Do not eat out. Or only eat out on special occasions. Make a pizza at home or find your favorite chinese recipes online.

Buy in season produce and vegetables. You can always buy canned fruit, which can be rinsed of the sugary water it is packed in.

Drink water. Ditch sodas and sugary energy drinks.

Plan your weekly meals ahead of time. That way you know exactly what to get at the store and if you leave your kids at home you will be less likely to buy impulse purchases.

Try these two great web sites to help you plan meals for your family. How to feed yourself for $15 a week has some good ideas, as well as $45 emergency menu for 4-6 people who has great menu ideas as well as a shopping list for these sample menus.

Do you have any tips or tricks to keep your weekly food bill down?

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If my sometimes picky children are having trouble eating what is on their plates, I try this trick: I say “please don’t eat me R!” or “Oh no, I don’t want to be eaten please. Save the broccoli!”

My ventriloquist skills need some work but it is enough to get some laughs and defiant bites of food. This trick works 80% of the time.

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Looking for something to put all of those markers or crayons in? Sometimes those cardboard boxes they come in just do not cut it. We take our old wipes container (we still keep them in the house for quick clean up of the hands and dirty feet) and put them in there! We even rip out the plastic tear through for the wipes and the hole is perfect size for little hands to reach in, but opening the top works well too.
I also have used the plastic take out containers from Chinese food for markers or crayons! You can even write on the outside what it contains for easy access when put away.

I bought plastic containers with colored lids on sale at Pottery Barn Kids last year. The lids match the color of my kids rooms and they are perfect for barrettes and pony tail holders. I can see what is inside of the container without opening it and fishing through.
You can also hang a ribbon however fancy or not, on the inside of your daughter’s closet, then clip barrettes there. Easy access and you can see what matches with what in her closet!

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