Wordless Wednesday... Mommy needs a vacation!

On days like today, I need to flashback to vacations past! Deep breaths and dreams of Curacao!

A Life Changing Experience -- Childbirth

Few moments in life are as pivotal or emotional as the one when a woman first finds out that she is expecting a baby. The only moment that can top that one is that day when she gives birth to her newborn. Forty weeks of pregnancy may seem to fly by in the blink of an eye, but there is plenty of time to prepare yourself for delivery day and brining home your baby.

One of the first things a woman can do to prepare for welcoming home her new baby is buy and install a federally approved rear facing infant car seat. Hospitals require women bring their car seats in for inspection prior to departing with the baby so they can check the seat and make sure it is safe enough for baby. If you’ve installed the car seat yourself, but are worried that it’s not done properly, call your local police station for help as someone there should be trained to properly install them.

Decorating a space or room in your home for a nursery is another step that is fun and satisfies an expecting mother's nesting needs. Putting together a crib and filling a dresser with baby clothes will sure to help a mother feel truly ready to bring their baby home.

Another great preparation tip for expecting women is to create a birth plan. A birth plan is where you can outline how you’d like your delivery day to go. Your plan is not set in stone, so remember to be flexible and that the medical team has your best interest in mind if something doesn’t go the way you envisioned it. Speak to your doctor about the different pain management assistance that is available through your hospital to find out what options you're comfortable with. You should also speak to your doctor about optional procedures such as circumcision and cord blood banking that you may be interested in. Cord blood banking is the collection and preservation of the baby’s umbilical cord blood. Families choose to save their babies cord blood because the stem cells found within could potentially be used in the treatment of certain medical conditions, for the child or possibly a sibling.

On the day of delivery there is going to be a lot going on in the hospital room, and having some small comforts of home may help a woman feel more relaxed during her labor. When packing your bag for the hospital, think of not only bringing clothes for yourself and your newborn to go home in, but think of things to have during labor to help you stay relaxed. Maybe you have some music you’d like to play or a favorite book to read while you wait for your labor to progress. Anything that will help you stay relaxed and prepared for delivery is what you should pack.

Delivery day is a day full of excitement and a little nerves, but do your best to stay calm and relaxed as possible; childbirth is a natural process for a woman and with a great medical and support team around you, you can be sure that you are in good hands and can get ready for the excitement of motherhood.

"This article was written by Katie Moore. Katie is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche.  If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact her via twitter @moorekm26."

Wordless Wednesday... Why children aren't allowed tattoos

My morning so far...

So far, I've had a nice, quiet morning (yeah right, when does that happen when you have 3 kids??) I got the older ones up for school and dropped them off, did a load of dishes, skipped my morning walk (my friend that I walk with and I are both not feeling well today), watched 2 episodes of Special Agent Oso, played dolls, colored, spun around, made breakfast, and read books.

Lots and lots of books, at least 3 times each! The little one has learned our number one rule of reading: If you bring one of us a book, we will stop what we are doing and read to you. Besides reading a lot ourselves, this is an awesome way to encourage kids to be interested in reading. However, it does sometimes get old, especially when your toddler only loves 4 or 5 books! I'm sure every parent out there has been there before. For now I just enjoy reading those books and hope that she adds a few new ones to spice it up!

Free Mrs. Dash Sample on FB!

Head to Facebook to get 4 free sample packets of Mrs. Dash Original Blend! They're giving away samples to 30,000 people a day, so if they run out today, check tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday... Slime does NOT go in hair!

This was so not fun!

Bare Bottom Dilemma...

So we've been having problems with our 20-month old's naps (yes, it HAS been that long since I posted, sorry guys!) When I go in to get her up from her naps I find this...

Yes, that's her empty diaper (which means there's a toddler with a bare bottom in the crib also), which often means changing all the bedding after she's wet the bed!

The problem here is that this happens off and on, so we never know how to plan for it. She'll go several days where she takes it off every naptime/bedtime and then weeks where she doesn't do it at all.

So what do we do? Yes, I know supervision will keep her from taking off her diaper, but she won't go down to sleep if I'm in the room (and I do keep her from removing it the rest of the day).

We've turned her diaper around backwards. It works, although she's more likely to leak since diapers aren't meant to be worn backwards. Plus it chafes. Plus sometimes she does still slide out of them. She's wiggly like that.

We've bought plastic training diaper covers. They work reasonably well, although the smallest size I can find is a 2T, which is huge on her. She hates the crinkling and walks around like a sumo wrestler (it's hilarious though!). Again she can still remove them.

Both of those ideas DO currently work, although who knows how long they will continue to work?

What's left? Duct tape? I know it's supposed to work well but the idea of duct taping my toddler into her diapers doesn't sit well with me, although I do know people who have done it.

So what do I do? We're working on potty training but she's not all that interested at the moment.

Any ideas folks?

Wordless Wednesday

Angry Bird Cupcakes