Eco-Friendly Baby Shower

Our friend Jennifer Berry of Earth911 turned us onto CelebrateGreen.net written by a a mother and daughter duo who have a passion for family celebrations and being good to the Earth. In this video, Corey and Lynn show us how to throw an eco-friendly (and very creative) baby shower. Check it out here for unique gifts, easy party decorations and special family traditions.

A few of my favorite ideas:

1. Each guest brings a bead for the mama-to-be. During the shower, the beads will come together to create a necklace, each piece representing a friend or family member.

2. Give each guest a bees wax candle to take home as a "door prize". When mama is in labor, or when the baby is born, everyone lights their candle and sends positive thoughts and warm wishes to the new baby all at the same time!

3. Wrap your gift in a receiving blanket instead of wrapping paper.

Read more here.

Positive Body Image During (and after) Pregnancy

Our friend Karly Randolph Pitman has joined us for Simple Self Care and Simple Self Love. Listen in to the shows and enjoy this article written by Karly. Perfect timing for me!

9 Ways to Create a Positive Body Image During (and After) Pregnancy

Pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding change more than just your daily life: they also change your body, and your body image. How can you love and embrace your pregnant and postpartum body? Here are 9 tips:

1. Don’t compare your pregnancy to another woman’s. Every pregnancy is different; every baby is different. Here are just some of the factors that will effect how much weight you gain during pregnancy, as well as how easily you’ll lose it after giving birth: The size of your baby. Your physical fitness. How much you exercise. Whether or not you have bedrest. Your age. Whether you have a vaginal birth or a c-section. The difficulty of your birth. Your baby’s temperament. Having a multiple birth. The time of year your baby is born. Your support system. How many other children you have. Whether or not you work outside the home. I can go on and on. My point? Have compassion for the unique circumstances that affect you and your body. Release the expectation that your experience – and body – should be like everyone else’s.

2. Don’t compare your current pregnancy with previous pregnancies. For the same reason, don’t think that every one of your pregnancies will be the same. In my last two pregnancies, I gained nearly the same amount of weight. And yet, while it took 8 months to lose the weight with my 1st son’s birth, it took me nearly 16 months to lose the weight with my 2nd son’s birth. Why? Because of a confluence of circumstances that were, for the most part, out of my control. Instead of criticizing myself for my lack of progress, I gave myself understanding: compassion that I was doing the best that I could, given my situation. This enabled me to relax about my slow weight loss, and accept that, while I may not like it, I didn’t have to fight it.

3. Don’t compare yourself to celebrities. The modern celebrity gives birth and slinks back into her skinny jeans a mere weeks later. Achieving this goal involves lots and lots and lots of work, a helping of good genes, and loads of support, everything from a nanny to a personal trainer to, perhaps, a tummy tuck. Celebrities make their living by their appearance, and live according to a different set of rules than the average woman. Where women get into trouble is when they think that these rules apply to them, and to their bodies. Give all women a break. Accept that a celebrity’s choices is her business, and that your choices are your business.

4. Give yourself time. I know you want to lose the weight as quickly as possible, but our bodies may be operating at a different time table. A reasonable expectation is 12 months to lose your baby weight: enough time so that you can lose the weight healthfully, without resorting to drastic measures, and yet meet your need for a trim, fit body that slips back into your clothes.

5. Take breastfeeding into account. I’ve nursed 4 babies, and have heard all the stories about how breastfeeding supposedly takes off baby weight. In my experience, this is a lie. Instead, your body tends to hoard fat as a new nursing mom, to ensure that your baby is getting proper nourishment. Over time, yes, nursing will shed pounds: but not in the first 3 months. So if you’re nursing, accept that you may hold onto an extra 5 or 10 pounds for a while.

6. Buy yourself an interim wardrobe. Wearing clothes that are too small will always make you feel fat. And yet, your size vacillates tremendously during pregnancy and after birth. Be kind to yourself, and buy yourself an interim wardrobe for those times when you’re too big for your normal clothes and too small for maternity clothes. This will boost your confidence and lessen the fat, frumpy feelings that accompany tight and schleppy clothes. A huge part of the reason why we want to get back into our normal size is to get out of our maternity clothes and into something pretty. Honor that need for beauty now, not in 6 months when the extra pounds are finally gone. You’ll have an easier time accepting the transition, and the time it takes to achieve your goal weight.

7. Groom yourself impeccably. While the demands of a new baby can be overwhelming, taking the time to get dressed, style your hair, and groom yourself can ease your anxiety about the extra weight. It may not be realistic to make time for this everyday, but if you have older children, friends, or a spouse who want to help, let them watch the baby while you indulge in your favorite beauty rituals. Make self-care a priority: the dishes and laundry can wait. Put yourself first, so you can willingly – rather than resentfully – tackle household chores.

8. Celebrate and enjoy each stage of your body. How sad that the greatest compliment you can give a pregnant woman is, “You don’t even look pregnant.” But pregnancy and the first months of new motherhood are a unique time in a woman’s life: cherish it. Enjoy it. In the grand scope of your life, 9 months of pregnancy and your baby’s infancy are a mere blip on the radar screen. Do you want to look back on your child’s infancy or your pregnancy and regret that you never enjoyed it, because you were obsessed with your body? Balance your need for a fit body with your need to live in the moment, and enjoy a fleeting time.

9. Reconnect with the woman underneath the mom. When you become a mom, everything changes, including your body. This can cause upheaval and transition, where you wonder, “Who am I?” as your life changes course. It’s easy to make our bodies the scapegoat of this discomfort. But do you miss your old body, or do you miss you? Find ways to connect with your prepregnant self, so that your body isn’t the only outlet for connection. What did you love before you became a mom? Painting? Discussing politics? Running? Make room for these activities so you don’t feel so lost. Indulging in something that
brings you joy creates continuity, a feeling of rootedness, so that you can integrate your old self in with your new self as a mother.

At The Shape of a Mother, you can read stories about real women’s bodies during pregnancy and after birth. I love this inspired site and recommend it to every mom.

Chewable: Keep Extras on Hand

Save time by stashing extras nearby so you are always prepared:

• tuck an extra cloth diaper or burp cloth around your sofa so you can clean up spit-ups or spills without running the kitchen

• stash a small pair of scissors high in your child's closet; they'll be out of reach but you can grab them quickly to snip tags from new clothes or get rid of hanging threads

• other items I stash in multiple rooms: fingernail clippers, lip balm, tissues, reading glasses and notepad and pen

Trees Make the Best Mobiles

I received this book when Aidan was born and it continues to be one of my favorites. Trees Make the Best Mobiles: Simple Ways to Raise Your Child in a Complex World.

What's it about?

Jessica Teich and Brandel France de Bravo help new parents - who barely have time to return a phone call or wash a sock- learn to do less, listen more, and spend focused, fruitful time with their children.

Practical and fun to read, Trees Make the Best Mobiles urges parents to treat every task-even diapering and feeding-as a chance to connect with their child, and gives calming advice about hot-button issues from pacifier use to temper tantrums.

Parents will be relieved to discover that they don't have to buy lots of stuff-a tree outside a baby's window can serve as a mobile-or shuttle kids from one activity to another. In fact, in today's hectic, high-speed world, children need less "stimulation" and more unhurried interaction with the people who matter most.

The authors call their approach "present parenting," because they believe being "present in the moment," without resentment or distraction, is the greatest present any parent can give.

Chewable: Easy Snack Cups

Keep a supply of biodegradable, cone-shaped coffee filters on hand - even if you don't have a coffee maker! These handy paper cups save you the need for washing snack plates and are perfect for carrying popcorn, pretzels, ice cream cones, popsicles and more.

OH BABY, Big Changes on the Way!

Our friend, Monica Ricci from our Big O: Organization Series, has the PERFECT article for me!

Organizing Your Life Through Your Pregnancy

Sugar and spice and everything nice; that’s what little girls are made of... Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails; that’s what little boys are made of. But before that new baby shows up, he might also be made of heartburn, swollen feet and strange cravings. You’re entering into a whole new chapter of your life, and isn’t it exciting? At the same time, it can be daunting, as well. How do you prepare and organize your environment so that you’re as ready as you’ll ever be when the little bundle arrives? I spoke with some honest-to-goodness brand new moms for the best, most current insight I could get. It’s fair to say that yes, experience is the best teacher, but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be your own experience to be valuable.

Click here to read the article!

Preserving Memories

Here are some great tips sent to me from our V&J Listener, Denise A.

• Don’t forget to take belly pictures every month to show your progress. Especially using now as a benchmark. Your stomach will never be the same again, so it’s a wistful picture to look back on.

• Same with once LBT (Little Baby Thornton) is born—pictures every week next to the same stuffed toy for the first couple months, then every month for the first year or two. Having the same point of reference will really show LBT’s growth. I wish I’d done that with my kids!

• I made the cutest scrapbook page for my son in the idea of a clock—a perimeter of circle pictures from newborn to 11 months and 1 year old in the middle. You can see the changes, but not as much as if they were all with the same setup at the exact month mark. At that point I was already 6 months pregnant with my daughter, so he doesn’t have too many pages after that! Lots to catch up on!!

• I make all digital books now (i.e., Shutterfly) but still have thousands of physical pictures to put in books. There’s never enough time, is there? I remember hearing you say you always have new artwork coming home. Take a picture of Aidan holding his art and then take a picture of the art itself. You can make a digital book to show not only the art, but his pride and age when he did it.

• I use Creative Memories software, but usually print with Artscow.com. They often offer 8x8 hardcover books for free with $8 shipping. I've made a bunch with them and the quality is great!

Thanks so much Denise! I love your ideas! In case you can't tell, Denise knows a few things about photography. Check out her site: www.PictureItDone.com!

Folate Yourself

One of the first things I thought of when I got pregnant was folic acid. (Second to being able to eat more food of course!) It's one of those vitamins I knew was important but didn't know why. Here's the lowdown.

1. Folate = a vitamin found naturally in many foods. Folate helps your body make new cells.

2. Folic Acid = the man-made form of folate. It can be taken in vitamin pills. It is also added to many grain products such as cereals, breads, pastas, white rice, cornmeals and flours.

Why do women need folate?

Folate helps keep your blood healthy. Not getting enough can cause a type of anemia. Having anemia means you have fewer healthy red blood cells than normal. This makes it hard for your blood to carry enough oxygen through out your body. For pregnant women, folate can help prevent some birth defects. For everyone, experts think that folate might also help prevent some cancers, Alzheimer's and hearing loss as you age.

How much do women need?

All women capable of pregnancy need 400-800 micrograms of folate each day, EVEN IF they are NOT planning to get pregnant.

Eat foods high in folate:

• beans and lentils

• peas (black-eyed peas, chickpeas, green peas) - mmmm, my hummus!

• juices (orange, tomato, grapefruit, pineapple)

• fruits (oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, avocado, papaya, raspberries)

• soymilk

• vegetables (green leafy veggies such as spinach, lettuce, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and chinese cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, artichokes, okra, corn, cauliflower, potato, beets, green onions, sweet red peppers)

• nuts and sunflower seeds

• peanuts and peanut butter

• liver and giblets (yeah, I'll get right on that!)

Parent Podcast Tip!

Podcast of the Day . . . Easy Pediatrics: Parent's Guide to Pediatric Visits. Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffee shows us how we can make the most of our doctor visits with tips for being prepared, communicating with our doctor and having a positive experience. Find out what pediatricians wished parents would do differently, how to deal with doctor jargon, when to use the internet for medical concerns and more. These are true confessions from a pediatrician that you don't want to miss!

Kids Can Do: Squishy Bags

What is Kids Can Do? We know that children often get the most joy from little things such as sifting through a bowl of dry macaroni or playing with empty cereal boxes. That's why we share our "kid ideas" on VickyandJen.com that are educational, practical and easy. They are made with common household materials that you may already have on hand and don’t require much preparation or expense. Here's one that is super easy and fun for the little ones!

Squishy Bags: In a sturdy freezer bag, put 1/2 cup corn syrup with a bit of food coloring. Blue, purple and green work best for a calming effect. Secure bag with packing tape along opening. Allow your little one to squish it around, mixing the color throughout. Talk to your child about how their body heat warms the bag. You can also use 1/2 cup of hair gel and food coloring.

5 Tips for New Parents

Dr. Greene is one of our favorite guests on VickyandJen.com's What Really Matters podcast! Listen to our past two Easy Pediatrics episodes to hear his expertise on allergies and feeding your children healthy foods (Feeding Baby Green), and read on for his top 5 tips for new parents.

Dr. Greene's Top 5 Tips for New Parents:

1. Get your home in order before the baby arrives: Clean, organize, and find a place to store all baby products, so they can be easily accessible.

2. Find the places that are open all night and who will deliver to your home – keep a running and accessible list of nearby pharmacies, grocery stores, etc. and have these numbers readily available.

3. Keeping your baby safe is important. Choosing products that are BPA- and toxic-chemical-free is a key part of protecting your baby. One way to help do this is to choose products from a company like BornFree, whose entire line of baby bottles, pacifiers, teethers, training cups, extra niples, etc., is free of BPA, phthalates, and other estrogens. You can purchase them easily at www.newbornfree.com, Whole Foods, and various outlets across the country. With each new choice, keep your baby's safety and health in mind.

4. Try and get on a good sleep schedule ahead of time to adjust to both your needs and your baby needs. Once the baby arrives, try to nap when the baby naps. Nursing helps with this (in addition to providing the very best food for your baby and improving your own health) by making you and your baby drowsy after feeds. When your baby is awake and not nursing, taking turns between parents, when possible, is a great way to ensure both parties are tending to the baby while taking care of their own health as well and getting as much rest as they possibly can.

5. Read up beforehand and don’t be afraid to ask your pediatrician questions even before the baby arrives in your home such as what to expect for feeding, sleeping and general care of your child.

About Dr. Alan Greene - As a father of four himself, Dr. Greene has devoted himself to freely giving real answers to parents' real questions -- from questions about those all too common childhood conditions to those that address the most rare childhood illnesses. He entered primary care pediatrics in January 1993. He is now a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, an Attending Pediatrician at Packard Children's Hospital, and a Senior Fellow at the University California San Francisco Center for the Health Professions. Dr. Greene is the author of Feeding Baby Green and Raising Baby Green.

Monster Swipers

Check out these cute things. These "Monster Swipers" are versatile and fun. They can be your little one's tissue, burp cloth, wash cloth, toy or lovey. I found them on Etsy - made with love by FrankandMe. She also makes "Toothey Monsters" to safely hold teeth for the Tooth Fairy.

Baby Updates

My first task at hand was to sign up for a personal baby update at BabyCenter.com. Week by week as baby grows, they email you relevant tips about your baby's development. I did it with Aidan and I found each update surprising and helpful - they made me smile to know what was going on inside. (Geesh, it's been 8 years. I need a refresher!) My favorite part was knowing how big the baby is. Right now, Little Baby Thornton (LBT) is the size of a blueberry with budding arms and legs.

Do You Need a LOVEY?

Minky Momma, a boutique on Etsy, makes this sweet and luxurious lovey made from a buttery soft minky fabric. I just gave one to Baby Henry and he's lucky he even got it! One feel and you'll want to get one for yourself!

Happy Family

Just a few days into our special news... and we're a very happy family. Our recent news certainly strengthened our family ties, but you don't need a new pregnancy for that. Look at this great article called Simple Secret of Happy Families. It's adapted from the book 100 Simple Secrets of Happy Families by David Niven. His tips are actually based on scientific research. I particularly like #10. Why is it that we take out our bad moods on the ones closest to us?

Simple Secret

Apparently, our secret wasn't very simple.

I explained how fun it would be to keep our little secret to ourselves. I explained why it was important to keep it hush, hush for a while (to let the baby grow since I'm only 1 month along.) My final words to Aidan after "pee stick" day, upon school drop-off : "Remember, it will be hard to keep it a secret but FUN!"

Here is the conversation after school. Dad: Aidan, did you tell anyone our secret? Aidan: I'm sorry Dad, I couldn't keep it in! Dad: Ok, who did ya tell? Aidan: Just Thad. Dad: Ok. Aidan: (long pause) And Jack. (long pause) And Connor. (long pause) And Nick. Vicky: Good grief, we HAVE TO call our parents.

My tip for the day: If it's a pretty important secret, don't tell your 8 year old!

The Pee Stick

Online reviews for First Response Early Result were good... I could have picked up a generic home pregnancy test at the grocery store for $3.50, but I didn't want to mess around. I needed to know and I needed to know NOW. Some reviewers say it's difficult to read, but I didn't think so. One line = not pregnant. Two lines = pregnant. See the double lines? Doug and I included Aidan from the beginning (well, not the beginning, beginning) but from "the test" part. I'll always remember Aidan's plea for pee .... "Mom, go pee! Mom, do you have to pee yet?, Come on Mom - pee!" It was worth the $14 spent. He's been requesting a baby brother or sister for the past year. On October 9th, he'll get his wish!