Archive for the 'How-to' Category

7 Easy Tips for Organizing Your Babies Closet

Published
by
shopmom
on January 21, 2009
in How-to and Infants/Newborns
. 0 Comments

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One of the best kept secrets about motherhood is that keeping your children’s closet organized is a never ending task. In fact at times I feel like a professional closet organizer coming to talk at our childbirth class might have been a helpful thing. Between the changing season, changing sizes, and frequent gifts of clothes, keeping control over your babies closet is difficult. Here are 7 easy tips to help you tame the closet clutter.

1. Stock Up
Buy an ample amount of child sized hangers - you may only have a couple dozen things to hang now, but before long those extra clothes will accumulate and its best to have those extra small hangers on hand now so you don’t end up with messy piles later.

2. Donate/Hand-me-Downs
There are going to be some clothes that you’ll definitely want to save, either for a future sibling or for someone else you know. And then there will be some that you’ll be glad to donate. Make you life easier and your babies closet neater by designating two spots as the ‘Donate’ and ‘Hand me Down’ spot now. You can either use bins or shopping bags for this.

3. Plan for the Next Size Up
If you are pregnant now, I recommend buying at least 4 bins, baskets or boxes (case boxes that diapers come in are a great free option) and labeling them as ‘Newborn’, ‘0-3 Months’, ‘3-6 Months and ‘6-12 Months.’ You will be receiving many clothing gifts as well as doing some shopping yourself and this is a great way to keep them organized. It is also a great system to have in place for outgrown clothes that you may save for a future baby. As your baby grows you can relabel them as ‘2T/Summer’, ‘2T/Winter’ etc.

4. Color Code Your Hangers
Use colored tape to code your hangers. This is handy if you have more hanging space than box storage space. Red could mean ‘current size’, blue could mean ‘next size up’, green ‘two sizes up’.

5. Put Seasonal Things By the Door
If you are tight on closet space, a great space saver is to place a large decorative basket by your front door for seasonal clothing. I keep one by my door filled with scarves, jackets and hats for my little ones for winter and in the summer I swap it out with a basket full of sunhats and light jackets. This not only is convenient, but takes a lot of clutter out of your babies closet as well.

6. Corral the Socks
If you think it is hard to keep track of your socks in the dryer, wait until you have to wash a load full of micro socks. Infant socks are always going missing. If you hang a zip-up mesh lingerie bag on a hook in your babies closet for putting dirty socks in, you’ll be able to keep them all contained and won’t lose a single one.

7. Marking Sock Sizes
I have two small guys socks to keep track of and it’s easy to mix up the sizes. Its especially difficult when you have a lot of the same color socks. Try marking the toe of each size sock with a different color dot of permanent marker. Use the color of the rainbow as your guide. Red (0-6 months), Orange (6-12 months), Yellow, Green, Blue . . . you get the picture.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What has helped you to keep your babies closet organized?

Make Your Own Playdough

Published
by
shopmom
on January 18, 2009
in How-to, Recipes and handmade
. 0 Comments

playdough

You may be asking yourself, ‘Why would I ever make playdough when it’s so darn cheap to buy?’ That’s true, but it is even cheaper to make and if your toddler puts everything into his mouth like mine does, you’ll want to make sure that it is completely safe and free of chemicals and toxins. This recipe is not only a cheap way to make playdough, but its all natural, easy and keeps for about 6 months. Give it a try one of these cold, rainy winter days.

Here’s the recipe:
1/2 c. salt
1 c. flour
1 Tb. cream of tartar
1 Tb. oil
1 c. water
food coloring

Combine ingredients in a pot and heat gently while stirring. When it reaches a good playdough-like consistency take it off the stove and let it cool. At this point I divided it into fourths and kneaded in the food coloring. However you could add the food coloring in while it is in the pot and stir well. It keeps 6 months if you keep it in tupperware. Don’t refrigerate.

10 Tips on How to Function After a Nearly Sleepless Night

Published
by
shopmom
on December 3, 2008
in How-to
. 5 Comments

I may not know much, but I do know about sleepless nights. I wish that I could fill you up on blog post after blog post on how to get your baby to sleep through the night, really I do. But I was never one for having babies who slept well, so I’ve become very good at functioning after months upon months of interrupted nights. It took both of my boys about a year and a half until they were reliably sleeping through the night, so that gives me at least three solid years of experience to which I can write these tips for you. These 10 tips of how to function after a nearly sleepless night will help you get through your days relatively smoothly. If you have a tip you’d like to add, please leave me a comment.

  1. Get yourself out of bed and into a shower. A shower will wake you up a bit and get the sleepy feeling off of you. Place your baby in a nearby bouncy chair or in a crib with a few safe toys while you take this little 5-10 minute break.
  2. Switch to a peppermint soap or shampoo. The fragrance and tingling feel of peppermint on the skin is great at waking up the senses. I like Dr. Bronners Peppermint Soap.
  3. Put on a cute, but comfortable outfit a bit of makeup and earrings. You don’t need to get yourself to made up, but putting yourself together helps you to feel more energetic. Staying in your pjs will only make you feel like a tired, frumpy new mom.
  4. Eat a filling breakfast with protein. If you are too out of energy to cook an egg, try a piece of toast with peanut butter on top and maybe a little yogurt with fruit. This first meal will give you the calories and boost that you need to get through your day.
  5. Drink coffee, but only one small cup. I know there is some controversy about drinking coffee when tired and especially while breastfeeding. But I found one small cup or half a cup helped to revive me. Any more would be harmful for my milk supply and made me feel sluggish.
  6. Breath some fresh air. Take your baby on a short stroll around the block. The purpose of this isn’t for exercise, just to get your blood flowing and to get some fresh air in your lungs. It will do you a world of good, trust me.
  7. Talk to a good friend. Give a good friend or family member a call for a few moments. Even a short talk can remind you that you are not alone in the world and will put a smile on your face.
  8. Know that you can’t get everything done today. Realize that this is going to be a slow day and you won’t get everything done. And that is okay. The reality of having a baby is that things need to get thrown on the back burner from time to time. you are raising a child, that along with keeping yourself happy are what’s most important.
  9. Snuggle with your baby. Give your baby extra cuddle time today. Remind yourself how much you love him and why a few sleepless nights (or three years worth!) are worth it.
  10. Sleep when your baby sleeps. There is a reason everyone says this, because it works. Now stop reading and go take your nap, mama!

10 Simple Steps to a Great Holiday Photo

Published
by
shopmom
on November 13, 2008
in How-to, Online Coupon Codes and Winter Holidays
. 0 Comments


Now is the time of year when families across the world get out their cameras to attempt to take the perfect holiday photo. It’s always a struggle, isn’t it? To get everyone facing the camera, smiling, to get the lighting right, to not have red eye? It’s enough to get to you give up on the whole concept of making up holiday cards in the first place. But don’t despair, here are 10 simple steps to getting your family photos looking great.

  1. Make Sure Everyone is Fed & Well Rested

    There is absolutely no use trying to take pictures when the family is crabby and hungry, it is only going to be asking for trouble. So try picture taking after breakfast or after naptime. Everyone should be relatively happy, well rested, clean and full from a hearty breakfast or snack.

  2. Turn off the Flash

    Turning off the flash on your camera will do two things. It will eliminate red eye and will give your faces a more natural look. This will mean that you will either have to go outside or stand by a window. Before you take your photo, search out the lightest room in your house, open all the window coverings and hold your photo session there. If the photo still comes out too dark or fuzzy it is time to head outside.

  3. Stand in the Shade

    I spend my entire childhood being told to stand facing the sun when I had my picture taken. Its a miracle that I even have my eyesight for all of the squinting I did. This is not only unpleasant for the person getting their picture taken, but I’ve found that pictures taken in full sun either come out overexposed or with funky shadows. So I’ve discovered that standing in full shade is the best spot. Because you are outside, it is light enough where you don’t need a flash, yet the solid shade provides an even tone over your face to result in a beautiful picture.

  4. Put Baby in the Car Seat

    When babies are too young to sit up by themselves, it can be challenging to find a good spot to prop them up. Try lining their removable infant car seat with your favorite blanket and place it outside in full shade. This will give them a nice seat to sit in and give them a pretty background too.

  5. Get Down at Their Eye Level

    If the main subject of your holiday card is your little one, make sure you bend down to get at their level. Doing this will really help capture their true facial expressions and help engage the viewer. That said….

  6. Try Shooting from Different Angles

    If your baby is very tiny, try laying them down on the ground and shooting from directly above them. Place something near them to illustrate just how tiny and precious they are. Or decorate their surrounding with some seasonal decor.

  7. Wrapping Paper Background

    Have you ever noticed the cute backgrounds they use in the parenting magazines? Why not hang up a festive piece of wrapping paper on a brightly lit wall and have your little one sit or stand in front of that? Or if you are taking a family photo, why not use a holiday bed sheet strung on a clothesline for a background like this?

  8. Use a Summertime Photo

    Why battle for the perfect ‘festive’ themed photo when you have a perfect family beach photo from June? Remember your friends and family want to see you happy and smiling in your card and they won’t mind a bit if your photo is six months old.

  9. Go Black and White

    If the colors just aren’t right in your photo, use your photo editor to convert the photo to black and white. While many professional photographers might not agree, to use amateurs a lot of photo sins can be erased once you take out the color.

  10. If All Else Fails…

    Go for a photo collage card. If you somehow can’t manage to get a photo of everyone looking handsome and happy at one time, try a photo collage card to get everyone’s smiling face into one page.

Now, where should you order your holiday photos? Snapfish (where you can get November Promotion 15% off holiday cards + 50 FREE 4×6 prints to new customers!) and Tiny Prints are my two favorites. To see a round up of all the online photo card prices, check out The Mother Load.

How about you, do you have any holiday photo taking tips? Or care to link to your holiday card photo?

How to Wear Your Baby

Published
by
shopmom
on November 6, 2008
in Baby Wearing and How-to
. 8 Comments

“It’s like people have evolved to not have arms!” That was my moms opinion after our trip through a big box baby store at the beginning of my first pregnancy. We both couldn’t believe all of the contraptions invented to hold babies when the best baby holding gadget are our own two arms. I’m not downplaying the existence of bouncy chairs and infant swings by any means. Those things allowed me to take showers, carry a load of laundry to the washing machine and all sorts of other things to keep my life in functioning order. However its just so important to hold your baby!

Research has shown that babies who are held and carried as much as possible during their first year of life get all of their ‘touch needs’ well met and are much less clingy and overly dependent. They also cry much less and grow up to become happier, more social, independent and even more intelligent than babies who were left in these so called baby holding contraptions. Isn’t that interesting? I personally liked how peaceful my baby was when I wore him in our wrap and how he’d fall asleep so naturally in it.

When my oldest was born, four years ago, I only knew about the Baby Bjorn, but I rarely used it because it put such a strain on my shoulders and back. Then I tried one of those huge backpack carriers from an outdoor store and that wasn’t much better. Not only was it not comfortable, but the darn thing was so big and bulky.

When I was 38 weeks pregnant with my second son I did a little research on babywearing and a whole new world opened up to me. I learned that I wasn’t the only mom fed up with the Bjorn and there were a vast amount of more comfortable options for wearing your baby.

Here are my three favorite ways to wear a baby. The fantastic part about all three of these carriers is that you can wear your baby on your front or on your back!

The Wrap

This is the first method I tried and the most comfortable. This is the type I read about when I was at the end of my pregnancy and I was so excited about it, I immediately ran to the fabric store to make one. For $16 and an hour spent hemming, I had two wraps! That’s $8 per wrap! This was without a doubt the most comfortable way to wear your baby. It does take a little more time to put on than the next two I’m about to tell you about, but it’s worth the effort if you are about to go on a walk or out shopping or somewhere where you need to hold your baby for a long time. It holds the baby tight to your body without feeling restricting. I would wear him in the forward cross wrap position and my son would instantly fall asleep in it when he was an infant and sometimes I’d honestly forget I was even wearing him. As he got older I tried out the different types of ways to carry him both on my side and on my back.

The Mei Tai

After my son got to be about six months old, I made a mei tai, also known as an asian baby carrier or a.b.c. This automatically became my next favorite baby carrier. While its not quite as comfortable as the Wrap, its faster to put on. You can easily wear your baby on your front or back. To this day, at two plus years old, this is my favorite way to get around the Farmers Market or stores with narrow aisles.


The Ergo Carrier

I didn’t have the fortune to try one of these until about a year ago. Its modeled after a Mei Tai, but clips together instead of ties, so its even easier to put on. I like it when I first tried it, but became sold on it when my four year old decided on our weekly walk that he wasn’t going to walk another step. Luckly my girlfriend who I was walking with, offered to let me use her Ergo. I ended up carrying my 4 year old five blocks in that Ergo carrier. And, it was actually very comfortable! I would recommend this carrier to anyone. It is expensive, but capable of carrying many children for many years.

Since I learned how to wear my baby my life became so much easier. I was able to snuggle and bond with my baby while having two hands free. A win-win situation! The best part is that I didn’t have to lug around bulky strollers and car seat contraptions everywhere we went. I could just fold up the soft cotton carrier and put it into our glove compartment. After more than two years of wearing my baby, I can tell you that just as the study says he is an independant little boy, who loves to socialize with his friends. And maybe it is just mothers pride, but he is pretty darn intelligent, if you ask me.

Here’s a few other moms who wear there babies:

Do you wear your baby? Send me a link to your baby wearing blog post and I’ll add you on!