Tips for Mommie

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Infant Rocker

I saw a product similar to this one being used at a center that cares for newborn babies. I asked them what it was and immediately bought it for use with my baby when he was a couple of weeks old. I couldn't find the exact product that i got, but the one to the right is very similar to what i had. if the baby is cranky and having a hard time falling asleep, you can buckle him into this rocker, and gently rock him. there are colorful products for him to look at, and when he's big enough, to reach. one of the peices might play music, and there is a switch to make it gently vibrate, which runs on batteries. i didn't use the vibrate option, but i did buckle him in, rock him, and play the tune from this. we used this for the first few months of his life. when he got a little bigger, i remember once putting him in it and setting it to vibrate, and he laughed and giggled so much- he thought the sensation was very funny. this is an infant seat that can be moved around easily, but you should move it to the room before you put the baby in.

Newborn Rock N Play Sleeper

I didn't notice this product until my baby was a few months old. I wish I had known about it earlier. I bought it at that point, and have since lent it to a family member for use with her baby. It is useful in many ways. You can easily fold and unfold it to move from room to room. you can put it next to your bed, so that you don't have to get up in middle of the night to take the baby out and put him back in. you can gently rock the baby by simply pushing it a little. it helps babies with reflux, because it keeps the baby on an incline, not completely flat. it has a removable pad so it can be cleaned easily, and the baby can be easily buckled in. this can be used for newborns, until the baby is old enough to pull himself up into a seating position.

Exersaucers

Exersaucers are great for children from about five months to walking age and even beyond. I received an exersaucer as a gift from a family member when my child was only a few weeks old. I put it away until my baby was about four months old, when i unwrapped it and placed him inside. at that time, he was clearly not yet ready for it, evidenced by the fact that he seemed to simply slouch over to the side. i immediately took him out, put the exersaucer on the side for about a month, and then tried again when he was about five months old. It was PERFECT for him ever since. over time he used it for various functions. at first, he would just sit in it and look around. we showed him the toys around him, which he took interest in, and eventually learned to play with. he started using his feet to dance, jump, turn around slowly and look around him. he enjoyed it so much! jumping and moving around in it. we used the little tray to put finger food  for him, which he would take, put in his mouth and eat. sometimes we would put his bottle or sippy cup there, which he would use to drink. when he was not sitting inside it, he would often crawl through the bottom of it to play, like a tunnel, and he would pull himself up on the sides to play with the toys and to take food to eat. even after he learned how to walk, he would often go there to play, or to get food from the tray. he is now 19 months old, and he walks and runs. we often put food for him on the exersaucer tray, and he often goes there to look for food to eat, or put down food for later. he plays around it and it is so useful! additionally, if we need to go to the bathroom for a minute and need to put him somewhere safe, we put him in the exersaucer, where we know he will be safe and entertained. all in all, it's a great product and so useful! i am so glad that i have it. this is my first child, and i did not know what to get beforehand, i'm so glad i got this. it's given him great support through his various stages and has been so useful, from five months old to nineteen months and counting.

What’s For Dinner? Menu Planning Tips for Busy Moms

Dinner is the last meal of the day and a time when families can get together and discuss their day. It is also a hectic meal for busy moms who are just getting off of work or who have been busy with other activities all day. If you are a busy mom or you know a busy mom, here are some menu planning tips to help make dinner meals easy and even fun.

1.    Schedule your meals a week in advance.  This is one of the most important planning tips for meals. Knowing what you are going to eat throughout the week means less chance that you will stop off at the closest fast food joint for a convenient, but unhealthy meal. Decide on the last day of the previous week (or let’s say Sunday for the sake of argument) what the menu will be for the following week. Create your shopping list from the list of ingredients to avoid buying what you don’t need at the grocery store.

2.    Look for bargains. Clip coupons, read advertising circulars and the like to decide where the best grocery to shop is for your menu items. If one ingredient is a common denominator in many meals, consider buying in bulk to save money. Common staples like milk, eggs, bread and sugar can be bought in bulk as well. Some stores will have double or triple coupon days when you can save even more. 

3.    Search online. After a while your family will get tired of chicken and rice every Thursday. You can get into a menu rut sometimes. Use the Internet to search for new and exciting recipes. Learn to put a twist on old recipes for a new taste.

4.    Have a leftover night. After preparing meals for five or six days, there is bound to be some food left over. Designate one night to be leftover night and let everyone mix and match for dinner. It saves mom from having to throw away any food.

5.    Cook your meals in advance. After deciding on a menu plan for the week, go ahead and fix as many meals as you can. Choose a day when the entire family can help like Sunday afternoon. Each person can take one meal and fix it for the following week. Once everything has cooled, store it in sealed containers or casserole dishes to be frozen until the night it is needed.

6.    Do prep work in advance. All of the meals can’t be cooked at once. Some foods just taste better freshly prepared. For them, so as much prep work in advance as you can. Enlist your kids to help chop (give them the kitchen shears instead) vegetables, dice cooked meat and mix together dry ingredients. The night of the meal, all that is needed is to add the wet ingredients and bake.

Meal time doesn’t have to be all on mom. The entire family can help with dinner so it is a relaxing meal for everyone.