Baby Verse - Free Printable

I made a card for a new baby a while back and promised I'd post the verse that I included with the card as a free printable. Well, here it is!

Frozen Fruit & Veggie Yogurt Dots

My daughter, who is one and a half, loves these food pouches.  Since it's summer I came up with a way to help her cool down while enjoying one of her favorite treats.  And since you can choose varieties of food pouches with fruits and vegetables, I like them over popsicles, which are typically just fruit.

I decided on a pouch with sweet potato, blueberry, millet and greek yogurt.

How To Make A Baby Card From A Gift Bag

I've always enjoyed making homemade cards.  I was in need of a card for a new baby and decided to make the card using a gift bag.  

I still have an abundance of baby girl themed gift bags from my baby shower for my little Peanut.  I can't believe my baby shower was almost two years ago!

Here's how to make your own card from a gift bag.

Breastfeeding A Toddler - 10 Tips, Tricks & Experiences

While pregnant with Peanut, I was looking forward to nursing her.  I knew that this was not a guarantee, as breastfeeding often comes with complications and doesn't work for every mother.  But I have been blessed with a smooth and successful breastfeeding experience.

And now I find myself nursing my toddler!  (The term extended breastfeeding refers to breastfeeding your baby after their first birthday.)  I had no idea what to expect in my breastfeeding journey when I started, but I have sure learned a lot these past 18 months!

Here are my 10 tips, tricks and experiences to nursing a toddler:

5 Tips for Using Cloth Baby Wipes

I gave up baby wipes back when my little one was about 5 weeks old.  Here are 5 tips to a smooth transition away from baby wipes to cloth wipes if you are looking to save money or reduce the chemicals your baby is exposed to.

Back when Peanut was a newborn her doctor suggested organic and natural brand wipes that used less chemicals, since most of the chemicals in baby wipes have not been tested for long term effects.

I thought I had just the answer when my sister-in-law gave me a recipe for homemade wipes using paper towels, baby shampoo and water, but before I could use the whole batch they got moldy.

Gross and no thank you!

And then when my little Peanut was 5 weeks old she developed a diaper rash. I was instructed by the doctor to not use baby wipes while we treated the rash. She told me just to use a wash cloth and water.

So I gave up the wipes and never looked back.

Here are 5 tips for going baby wipe free and transitioning to cloth baby wipes, based on my experiences:

Second Hand Clothing ROCKS! Here's Why...

When my little girl was 4-months-old, a friend told me about the Just Between Friends consignment sale in our town.  She raved about how there were the best deals there and how cute the clothes were and on and on.  I decided to check it out and now know that second hand clothing is the best!

The Just Between Friends sale is held in the spring and fall here in our town.  This last sale was my third shopping trip. Find out my shopping tips for the sale here.

Including tax on my most recent trip I bought 27 items for just under $60.00.  That is just over $2.00 an item.  Some consignors sell their clothing in sets and this can work out to a better deal than if they were sold individually. 

Here are a few of my purchases that were sold in sets.

Mother's Day Free Printable

This is my second Mother's Day. I found this Mother's Day craft and I just love how it uses traced cutouts of both the hands and feet.

I can't get enough of documenting my little Peanut's growth. This is a perfect project for a sentimental sap like me!

Below is a free printable of the verse and flower frame for this craft so you can make this to remember your little one's cute fingers and toes. Just right click and save it, then open it up and print!

10 Breastfeeding Tips, Tricks and Experiences

As a first-time mom, to my now 18-month-old, I knew I wanted to breastfeed. I didn't know much else about breastfeeding, just that as long as my body and the baby cooperated, that was the way I wanted to feed her.

Looking back at the last year and a half I realize how many tips and tricks I have learned.

I hope my experiences can help and be an encouragement for someone who may be where I was just a short time ago.

Co-Sleeping - Shhhh. The Baby's Sleeping (...in our bed, *gasp*!)

I don't remember specifically discussing co-sleeping with my husband before our daughter was born, but since our first days of parenting we have become extremely familiar with the co-sleeping discussion.

When we began our parenting journey, we had a lot of preconceived ideas about how things were going to be, as I'm sure most new parents do.  Things typically don't turn out the way we think they will.

Yes, it's true. Our 18-month-old baby sleeps in our bed.

We didn't start out on our parenting journey thinking, "Let's be one of THOSE couples. Let's share our bed with our baby! Yay!"

She didn't always sleep in our bed either. But let me tell you how this bed sharing arrangement came to be.

A Child's Prayer - Free Printable

"Father in heaven, hear my prayer..." This prayer is one I would say before falling asleep as a child.  Here it is as a handy printable!  I am going to print it out as an 8 x 10 photo and frame it for my little Peanut's room.

 

This is a prayer my parents taught me when I was little.  I would say it before falling asleep every night. I look forward to teaching it to Peanut as she gets older.

This would be a great gift in a frame for a new baby or as a gift for a toddler.  I love receiving things like this as gifts.  They last so much longer than clothes and toys.

Have you seen this chart for Reducing Ingredients?  It would make a nice gift for a house warming party or as part of a wedding gift.

What are your favorite gifts to give for milestone events?  I'm always looking for ideas that are fun and memorable.

Let me know how you use this printable, I'd love to see it and post it here to share with others too!


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Diaper Genie (Free!) Bag Option

I have a Diaper Genie and I love the way it locks in the stinkies. Although I don't love the price of the refill bag cartridges.  If you are like me and love to save money while still enjoying little luxuries, like a stink-free living space, then read on to learn how I came up with a free way to use my Diaper Genie, without having to buy refill bags!

Up until now I have been using my Diaper Genie for only the soiled diapers and using a flip top can lined with a plastic grocery bag for the wet diapers.

But summer is on its way and the heat of summer brings out the stinkies, even in the just wet diapers.

So I came up with a plan. I decided that if I could get a plastic grocery bag to work in my Diaper Genie, then I could eliminate the smell altogether and not spend an arm and a leg to do it.