Playing with babies is so fun. Everything is magical to them. Show them a block and then hide it behind your back. They’ll be amazed! Pull a quarter out of their ear. Astonished! But have you ever seen adult twins interacting with babies? If not… you’re missing out! Dad Stephen Ratpojanakul, who is a twin … Read more
When you bring your newborn home for the first time, it’ll probably be a pretty big challenge getting him or her to sleep.
In fact, brand new babies usually only sleep for 2-4 hours at a time — if you’re lucky! There are tons of factors that can interrupt even those limited stretches of sleep.
So if your newborn baby hates the bassinet, the place they’re SUPPOSED to sleep at first, it can be really frustrating.
Once your kids reach a certain age, there’s a good chance they’ll want to get involved in organized sports.
And if they want to, you should let them! Participating in sports helps kids develop physically and emotionally while teaching valuable life skills.
(If you don’t let the competitiveness get out of hand, that is.)
There’s just one problem: Endless practices.
Our girls are in sports practice and swimming lessons around 4-5 days a week right now, for anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes at a time.
Usually, we’re expected to stick around. But between you and me… that gets a little boring. I like to watch practice when I can, but sometimes it feels like there might be other ways for me to use that time.
So I put together a list of fun things parents can do during sports practice!
(Other than screwing around on your phone, of course. All of the activities I’ve listed below have some kind of upside or positive effect on your well-being.)
When it comes to traveling with your baby or toddler, you’d be amazed at how much stuff one little person needs to bring on vacation.
You need to consider diapers, wipes, food, toys, clothing, bottles, strollers, car seats, and of course, something for your baby to sleep in.
If you’ll be staying in a hotel, many of them offer the option of renting a crib of some type in your room; other times you may be staying with relatives. If you are faced with the need to bring a bed for your baby on your trip, there are a few options such as travel cribs or pack ‘n plays.
In this article, I want to break down the differences between travel cribs vs. pack ‘n plays and help you decide which one is right for you; and it might be both!
So…what is the difference between travel cribs vs pack ‘n plays?
But what exactly are the baby essentials you’ll need for a newborn?
If you’re like me, you don’t want a lot of fluff and explanation, just a straightforward list of everything you could possibly need as a new or first-time mom or dad.
So if you’re looking for pictures of baby things to buy…
Here is (almost) everything you’ll need on your shopping list for a newborn baby, with helpful pictures for the visually-inclined (I’m looking at you, fellow dads!).
(If you’re reading this, you might not even have to imagine… You may be living it!)
In any case, it’s frighteningly common, and a huge headache for parents.
What should you do if you’re traveling and the airline loses your car seat? What if you arrive at your destination and the car seat is too damaged from the flight to use?
Taking care of babies and toddlers is so incredibly hard that it’s absolutely crucial that you find any way you can to make some time for yourself.
Some folks will encourage skipping showers when you’re alone with the baby, opting instead for wipes, dry shampoo, and extra deodorant so you never have to leave their side.
I say fooey!
Here are my best tips and advice for how to find time to shower when you’re alone with a newborn or toddler.
The first year or so of a baby’s life is a full-contact sport.
Parents will be VERY hands on, and baby will be on your hip almost all the time.
That makes it difficult to take care of basic tasks, especially self-care. This is why new parents are always tired, unshaved, unshowered, and generally struggling to keep it together.
But there are some activities you can’t skip, which begs the question:
How do you go to the bathroom with a baby? Any tips for using a public restroom when you’re alone with your baby?
Keeping the nursery SMELLING clean is another one entirely!
Chances are, once baby moves out of the bassinet and into his own room, the nursery will be ground zero for everything from sleeping to feeding to, yes, changing stinky diapers.
If you’re like a lot of parents, you’ll want to have some kind of receptacle, like a Diaper Genie, right there in the nursery to help with disposal.
So what do you do if baby’s room always smells like poop? Or pee? How do you keep the nursery smelling nice?