With 5 boys (6 if you include my husband..) Star Wars is a HUGE hit in our house. Though, truth be told, I loved Star Wars long before I had kids. Always a Leia fan, and a huge sucker for those Ewoks. (Wicket is life!!)
Naturally, this means we love anything related to Star Wars, especially Star Wars Day on May the 4th! I was thrilled when I received these fun printable activities for the new movie “Solo” to help celebrate this May!
I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much as we do! (Click on link below each photo to get saveable image)
[Note: This product was provided to me for this post. All opinions expressed are my own]
Let’s be real — Teething isn’t fun. The copious amounts of slobber and seemingly equal amount of tears is enough to have any drool covered, sleep deprived parent on a coffee induced search for just about every product out there that may bring some relief… ANY relief… to their otherwise happy little baby.
I’ve been there. With 6 kids.. I think I’ve tried almost everything that said “teething” on it.. most did nothing. Some worked alright.. but never have I found one I have appreciated as much as my newly found love — the Munch Mitt by Malarkey Kids.
Is it an affective teether? Yes. Does baby like it? Definitely.. Is it cute? Of course it is. But none of these things are what make me love it as much as I do. So, what is it exactly that has me crazy about Munch Mitt? It helps her eczema.
Now, I’m sure you’re sitting there, with one eye brown raised and your hand with a thoughtful grasp on your chin going “uhhh, how exactly does it *help* her eczema?”
No, this isn’t some miracle moisturizer that heals her eczema.. it obviously does nothing to treat eczema.. but what it does do is provide a barrier. This Munch Mitt gives her something else to chew on.
Saliva irritates the skin, as does going from slobbery wet to dry over and over again through the day. We treat most of her eczema prone skin with moisturizers and creams, but she’s a baby. Her hands are not somewhere I am comfortable putting topical ointments – especially with as often as she’s putting them in her mouth. So, her tiny little wrists and hands end up chapped, red, and covered in patches of eczema. That is, until I put this mitt on her hand. She immediately went straight to chewing on it, just as she would her bare hand — but when I removed it after about 15-20 minutes – her hand was dry. It wasn’t covered in saliva. She was happy, and her hand was protected. Win. Total win.
What else makes it a great tool for eczema prone babies? It’s a razer sharp finger nail barrier. She has eczema on her face.. her cheeks are possibly one of the worst areas she has it. Any time I put her in the car seat, she starts chewing on her hands, slobber sits on her cheeks, then they itch. She gets irritated with it’s itchiness and starts clawing at her face. Now we’ve got eczema and claw marks. Not awesome. This mitt, while it’s crinkling offered a distracting toy for her, and it’s silicon soothed her urge to chew on everything — this adorable little mitt also contained her slice and dice happy finger nails. Hooray!
If you’ve been on the fence about getting a Munch Mitt, hesitate no more! Go get it! I only wish I had found it sooner.
I’ve been babywearing for a long time. What began as a means of parental survival when our third baby was born, quickly became a passion. Eventually, I ended up with quite the extensive collection of carriers. I recently joked to my husband that I almost have enough carriers that I can wear a different carrier (be it style, print, brand, etc..) every week for an entire year.. He made the challenge, and so I will!
Introducing the Diaper Bag Confessions #whowhatwearweekly — Every Friday of 2018, I will post our weekly carrier on my Instagram. Who made it (spoiler alert- most of my collection is LÍLLÉbaby) – what it’s called – and a different carrier (be it a different style, color, print, or brand) every week for a year.
Im super excited to show you my carrier collection, have an excuse to grow it a little more, and answer any babywearing questions you might have! I’d love to have you follow along!
Raising five boys has definitely taught me a lot. I became very accustomed to “boy mom” life. Obviously, as a woman raising 5 future men… I have strived to instill values in them that I feel are important traits to make them not only good humans, but men of integrity who value the importance of women.
Thinking about how we raise our boys and the example my husband sets for our boys made me think about raising our baby girl. The differences, the priorities.. She’ll be a little girl in a boys world — which, I’m hoping, prepares her for being a woman in a man’s world.
I want her to grow up knowing that she is not weak. I hope that if her brothers tackle her (and they will!) — she gets up, brushes off her tutu, and pins them to the ground. Stand up for yourself, baby girl! On that same note — I also want her brother’s to know that it’s perfectly okay when she wins, and ONLY encourage her to try to do so! While I do want her brothers to feel protective and defensive of her, I also want them all to realize she needs to be confident enough to hold her own.
I want her to know that she deserves just as much respect and equality as her brothers, and she should not hesitate to go for it! At the same time, however, I want her to realize that she is not entitled to anything simply because she’s a girl – just as her brother’s must also understand that they aren’t more deserving of anything based on their anatomy.
I hope that having all of these brothers helps her realize that she has value much greater than her looks. As a girl, people will surely remark on her outward appearance – and I don’t want her to focus on that. Be them positive or negative comments. Strive for strength and confidence before beauty.
I hope she challenges and encourages her brothers to continue to grow their views of what “masculine” and “feminine” mean. Showing that she can pretend to be Darth Vader and they can sit down in pint sized chairs for tea parties and both are entirely acceptable!
My biggest hope for her? That she realizes that even though everyone keeps calling her “The Princess” (Ugh…) there are MANY variations of “Princess.” I hope that living with these boys is empowering for her. I want her to see that Queen Amidala battled right alongside the Jedi. Princess Leia became General Organa. Mulan saved her country. Merida challenged tradition and chose her own path. I want her to see that she is more than capable of conquering whatever she wants. She can be strong, be confident, be brave — and she can do it all in a crown if she wants to.
If you have been a reader of The Diaper Bag Confessions for a while, if you follow me on Instagram, or perhaps know me from my days as a babywearing group admin on Facebook — you know I am an avid babywearer. When you have five kids, you’ll do anything you can to free up a hand or two.. but especially when you have kids with special needs. I always wore my babies. It allowed me to shop easier, vacation simpler, and even do chores more efficiently. I really delved into it, though, when our 3rd baby was born and had physical impairments that delayed a lot of milestones. (He was hypotonic and had a muscle fatigue syndrome.) Babywearing became my “thing” very quickly. It is something I am passionate about, and it’s something I do well. (Have a fit question? Feel free to message me!)
With our two youngest kids, babywearing became a tool beyond just freeing up hands. It assisted with bonding in the most amazing way. Skin to skin time was crucial. One of the best ways to help a baby thrive early on is skin to skin time. Wrapping was my favorite way to facilitate this practice as much as possible. (The stretchy wrap pictured is the LÍLLÉbaby Tie-the-knot wrap) Even through the most basic activities. My woven ring sling was the best carrier when our baby was too small for other carriers. (Pictured is the Tekhni Wovens Adelphi Gothic Wrap Conversion Ring Sling) It allowed me to wear him close and safe. I will note.. I sought out the advice and safety opinions for wearing from the hospital staff before bringing our low birthweight baby home, as well as our pediatrician. This is important if you want to wear a baby that is small and especially if baby is a preemie. There are safety concerns you need to be mindful of.
Along with skin to skin, another benefit of wearing babies — especially newborns and medically fragile babies — comes the ability to help shield them from the affects of cold and flu season. I love the clip up neck support on the LÍLLÉbaby Complete (Pictured below! *aff link*) especially for this!! It puts a nice shield, of sorts, around baby’s head. This stops (most) people, especially strangers, from attempting to touch baby or get in their face. A nice little buffer. We almost always wear at the grocery store and the doctors office mostly for this reason!
Wearing baby also provides a safe space. It doesn’t take long for baby to realize the comfort and security of being worn against mom or dad’s body. Crowded places, loud and chaotic surroundings.. even family gatherings when you don’t want baby passed around. Baby is snuggled up to you and calmed from the chaos around them.
When doctors starting altering our baby’s diet, I found myself leaning on my carriers even more than I did before. Playing with his diet meant one huge thing for me — He was suddenly breastfeeding less than he was used to, and not nearly as much as I would have preferred. (It also resulted in an abrupt halt to our nursing journey in the end..) I longed for those snuggles. I found myself hooked up to a breast pump multiple times per day, mixing bottles frequently, and just getting frustrated. I wanted to feel that closeness that we had when we were nursing. Babywearing. Cheek to chest. Sleepy snuggles. Was it the same? No.. I can’t even pretend it was the same thing.. but I was something we were both needing. Craving, even. That bond never broke.
Then came our time in the hospital. I wore him throughout our stay. The staff was very supportive of it, complimenting me for my choice. One of the doctors even did her entire morning exam while he was in the carrier. As she walked in the room I said “Oh! I can take him out for you.” With a smile on her face she said “No. You leave him right there where he’s comfortable. There isn’t anything I need to do that requires him to be out, so you just leave him where he is.” Heart melted. You see, his world had just been rocked upside down. he now had a tube in his nose. His feedings were all clinical. It gave him what he was familiar with. He would lay his head down on my chest and quickly fall asleep. If you find yourself in the hospital with your infant or toddler, ask the staff if wearing is a possibility for you!
As the weeks with his tube progressed and our new normal began to shape, babywearing was our constant. His wraps. His SSC’s, his ring sling. His happy place. It also greatly helped me keep his graspy little fingers away from his tube. If you can’t reach it, you can’t pull it out.
Babywearing has given me so much. It has given me a passion, made my life easier as a mom of five, allowed me to continue the physical bond with my baby through his medical challenges, and helped keep my kids safe, healthy and comforted. For that, I feel blessed. I enjoy using my experience to help other parents. Embrace your circumstances and explore how wearing your baby can help you and your little one.
I just had baby number five. FIVE. I’m well seasoned in this mom game and newborns are like second nature to me at this point. I can translate cries easily and change diapers faster than Mark Zuckerburg. I know that newborns tend to want 3 things: Food, clean diapers, and to be cuddled. This is where swaddling comes in.
My previous two babies had an exaggerated Moro Reflex. I am going to guess many of you haven’t heard of a “Moro Reflex” but perhaps know it as a “startle reflex” — or perhaps you don’t know it as anything and just think your newborn is a particularly jumpy little human. The Moro Reflex is a reflex typically found in newborns – usually present until baby is around 3-5 months. It’s a natural response to the feeling of falling, or a sudden loss of support. Baby will flare their arms out, contract them back in, and fuss or cry.
Think about it, when you depend solely on someone else holding you and supporting you, and suddenly you feel like that support is gone, you’d panic a little too. This often happens while babies sleep, and frequently startles them awake. My boys would have this reaction if you even walked while holding them.. Just imagine what nights were like. Until our pediatrician recommended swaddling. It gives babies that feeling of security and combats that reflex action. I knew how to swaddle and did it sometimes, but it wasn’t something I was religious about. Especially at night. All that blanket wrapping and tucking, making sure baby was positioned correctly, things were snug but not TOO snug. Then the moment you aced it, baby would poop and you’d have to undo your efforts and start over again. We found a couple blanket options that were said to make all of this easier.. But they either didn’t fit right or they were just as inconvenient. However, swaddling was the best comfort for our babies when they were in that Moro Reflex stage. Well, that and the feeling of being held.
When baby number five came along, I got an email from Nested Bean asking if I’d be interested in trying one of their weighted swaddle blankets. The Zen Swaddle. I was familiar with the brand (hello: did I me ion I’m addicted to baby products?) but I’d never used it before. The idea intrigued me, but I wasn’t quite sure how it would work for us for a couple reasons. First, I had used Velcro swaddles before, and like I said.. Hadn’t had much luck with them. Second, my newest baby was a “small for gestational age” low birthweight baby. Surely these blankets would be much too big for him, at a little under 5 pounds. Knowing how our previous babies were, however — and the fact that I don’t judge one product on my experience with another — I decided to give them a try.
I have never been more happy with a decision. Ever. When it first arrived, my first observations were aesthetic. It was so cute! I mean, if you’re going to put an adorable squishy baby in something, it should at least be cute, right?!?
The next thing I noticed was the instructions for using it on a smaller baby. WHAT?! Yes!! I followed the directions and was amazed that it fit! Wonderfully. Snug where it needed to be snug, relaxed where it needed to be relaxed. A good, SAFE swaddle for my tiny little man! (Yes. As with all things baby related, there are safe and unsafe ways of swaddling.) I was very happy at this point.
The only thing better was when I got baby to sleep, set him down in his crib, and he slept there for two SOLID hours. I would be lying if I said I didn’t go in and check on him a million times. He’d never slept that long out of my arms since we brought him home!
The Zen swaddle has 3 sections of weighted beans. One on the chest, mimicking a hand resting on baby. Then one on each side of baby. They feel held and snuggled while swaddled. I imagine this is what contributed to his sudden willingness to sleep on his own for that duration of time! It also calms him down, even when I don’t necessarily need him to sleep. Wrap him up into a Zen swaddle burrito, give him his pacifier, and suddenly all is right in the world.
The fabric is so soft. The Velcro is STRONG. (My only advise is, don’t swaddle on something it can stick to. It will stick! Hahaha!!) It works for babies of a wide variety of sizes. It says 0-6 months.. It very likely will last most babies that duration of time! It’s one of my favorite baby staples. Likely a product I will include in baby shower gifts and recommend to new moms! “This! Go buy this! You’ll thank me later!!”
Note: Nested Bean provided me with a Zen Swaddle to review. My opinions are my own and I was not otherwise compensated.
I always swore I’d be a “house proof the baby, not baby proof the house” kind of parent. Honestly? This method worked for our first 3 kids. They were respectful of their boundaries and never pushed them. Then along came little boy number 4. Our daredevil, boundary pushing, toddler tornado. If he can climb it, he will. If he can open it, he will. If he can reach it, he’ll try to eat it. He is the reason why I immediately had to run to the store and buy cabinet locks. Why I had to move everything climbable away from our built-ins… And ultimately the reason we had to start looking at gates for our stairs.
There were two issues when it came to looking at stair gates. First, we have banisters. There aren’t a lot of options on the market that will work with a banister staircase. Second, there are so many ugly gates on the market! When gating your stairs, it’s typically in a place that is highly visible to all who come into your home.
I was asked if we would be interested in reviewing The Stair Barrier and, after looking at them, jumped on the opportunity. When it arrived we were definitely impressed by the quality and the style of it.
It was a little involved to mount. We have a wall-to-banister situation, so we had to drill into our wall to anchor the mounts in. Not a huge deal, because once it was done it was insanely secure.
It is a fabric gate, but it has metal supports inside the fabric to prevent any pushing and bending of the gate when it’s secured and securing it is actually very simple. You wrap the webbing around your banister side and then simply clip it in place.
There are a couple design enhancements that would be great.. Like a way to secure it once it’s rolled up and not in use (though, it rolls nicely and doesn’t fall) but that is a little detail that doesn’t effect my opinion of the product. It’s a gate worth having if you have banister staircases!
I am confident it will keep our little daredevil at bay!
Have you ever heard of The Stair Barrier? Do me a favor and go look at their site (https://www.thestairbarrier.com) and come back and tell me which is your favorite design!
Little baby shoes have always been a favorite of mine. Those tiny toes can get cold, dirty, you name it. A lot of shoes on the market for babies and toddlers aren’t really practical, though. Many have , some don’t stay on, some are too heavy for little legs. When moccasins came into style, I was thrilled. Light options to keep feet warm, stay on the foot, and look adorable while doing it — BUT they had to be quality. My kids are small and slow growing, they are also ALL boys, so we enjoy the ability to hand things down if possible. This means I look for shoes, particularly, that are well made, durable, and can be used for long periods of time. Enter in Freshly Picked.
I bought my first pair of Freshly Picked Moccs for our little one’s first birthday. He was gaining mobility but was still too small for most hard sole shoes. The quality leather and construction of the FP moccs allowed him to toddle around as he pleased, but still protect his little feet from the elements. They didn’t form holes or anything. Just cute indentations of toes and footprints in the sole. We were constantly being stopped and asked about his tiny little moccasins. The best part? They go with pretty much any outfit we put him in. Jeans? No problem. Casual clothes? Still work. Dressy clothes? Still no problem.
We have since gone on to own more pairs of FP moccs and I am not disappointed in the slightest. Many people are surprised I put them on my boys, but seriously, they might be the most gender neutral shoe out there. Most recently, we got the “Let it Go” moccs, they are an icy goldish/silverish/iridescent color and our little boy rocks them like no other! They also do a great job offering a wide variety of color options for all preferences.
I am SO in love with Freshly Picked and I can’t wait to buy some of the newborn crib moccs for our new baby boy on the way. (I might even get the newborn bringing home baby bundle! It’s too cute!!)
Our little boy has his variety of developmental delays and one of them has been his ability to self feed. He longs for independence. He wants to do things on his own. It’s something we are working on, but it’s been a process. A slow process.
Recently our friends at Stonyfield and OXO Tot sent us some amazing goodies. Age appropriate products that I was thrilled to put to use to assist him in his self-feeding development. We received a wide variety of products, but I’m going to feature our favorites here. The divided plate with removeable ring, the fork and spoon set, and the roll up bib and spoon set. We also can’t forget our little boy’s favorite meal accessory.. the Stonyfield Kids YoKids Squeeze pouch. Seriously, he would eat one at every meal if I let him!
I was so pleased with these OXO for products. Our little guy was actually able to maneuver the utensils and get food from plate to mouth. The deep grooves and the high curved lip of the divided bowl helped him succeed in getting food from plate to fork. The bib? I think I will be stocking up on these bibs. They caught everything his mouth didn’t, and it was sturdy enough that he could assert his independence and stick the fork straight into the pocked and continue eating everything he dropped. (He wastes nothing! I’m pretty sure he’s going to cost me a fortune in food bills when he reaches that teenage stage.) He was eating a deconstructed turkey taco and mandarin oranges, so the fact that he was able to feed himself any of it, let alone the majority of it, made me quite pleased with the products. The OXO Tot products are easy to clean and easy for toddlers to use. Exactly what we needed for a little boy who wants so badly to be independent but is struggling to do so. We will be added many, many more OXO Tot products to our cupboards. The mere fact that, since adding these products to the line up, our little one has grown even more determined to figure out how to use them? Win in my book.
Note: This post was sponsored by Stonyfield and OXO Tot. Products were provided to me for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.
As I’ve mentioned before, we are avid baby and toddler wearers. Especially with the PhiePhieMonster’s muscle fatigue, we do a lot of wearing. Our carriers tend to come around with us most places we go. I was recently asked how I carry them around, while still juggling all of my kids. When I explained that I roll them into a neatly contained ball and then throw them in my diaper bag, or just set them in the seat of the car.. they were surprised. So, I have made a nice little tutorial with photos showing how I do it.
The carriers I use the most are my Líllébaby Soft Structured Carriers (SSC), so that is what I have used to demonstrate this process. It also works with all of my other SSC’s, the only difference being that the Líllébaby carriers have a lumbar support that I leave on the waist belt, with other carriers, you will not have this piece. I hope this helps!
