Favorite Baby Care Products

The market for baby shampoo is insane. Before having a kid, I thought that there was one type of baby shampoo. You know the traditional Johnson & Johnson yellow bottle? If you’re anything like me, you figure out what works best through trial and error. I have to be somewhat careful with the types of products I use. Because Ellie was lucky enough to inherit .5% of my genes (look at her, she is 99.5% her dad), she has a touch of eczema. Certain products can aggravate her eczema which is a pain in the butt to stay on top of.

Through my trial and error as well as recommendations from family/friends, here is a list of baby care products I am loving right now. Love to hear if you have anything else you are slathering on your little minion(s)!

~Karen

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Being a Mom During the Holidays

I love the holidays. I have always loved the holidays. I love decorating. I love thinking of just the right gift for every person on my list. I love Thanksgiving. I love to cook and to try out new recipes and to be in the kitchen with my favorite people in the world. The list could go on and on. My love for this time of year has not changed since becoming a parent, it may have even grown now that I have a little one I get to incorporate into all of these wonderful family traditions. What has changed though is the increased amount of pressure I feel to make the holidays perfect for those around me. While I know I don’t need to be making 13 different kinds of cookies each year, 6 would suffice, I just can’t seem to let some things go (but I need to). That being said, I am committing to do some things that decrease the pressure I have felt in recent years, while at the same time keeping the holiday cheer ever so present in my life.

Welcome!

Hi there! We’re new(ish) moms and when we were going through our pregnancies and new mommyhood we realized no matter how many books we read or googling we did we weren’t prepped for how weird and hard things could be. Morning sickness, weird pains (before and after birth!), breastfeeding, and feeling like we were going crazy – why didn’t anyone talk about this stuff more? Well here we are. Let’s talk about it.

Kristin & Karen

p.s. check out our intro posts here & here!

 

Budgeting & Baby

Congrats on your pregnancy! What an exciting time for you and your family. Now is the time you are probably chit chatting with your gal pals about your due date, how you plan to decorate your nursery, and all the other things we all talk about during pregnancy. I bet finances are not even close to the forefront of your mind as you buy the 15th adorable newborn onesie you found at Target (don’t worry, been there). Well, friend, let me be the cog in the wheel and inform you that growing your family WILL have a massive impact on your budget – no matter what your income looks like. Yeah yeah, you are thinking, “duh. Obviously this is the case.” It certainly is, friend. Here are a few big changes that I noticed that I was not expecting (or simply ignored until it slapped me in the face):

Child care: Planning to go back to work? Expect quality child care to take up a huge portion of your paycheck. Not going back to work (you go girl!) – this takes a hit on the front end with loss of income.

Diapers/diaper supplies: Yes, babies require A LOT of diapers. Unless you plan to go the cloth diaper route, this gets expensive. Not only that, it might take some experimenting for you to find the best diaper and diapering products for your baby. Some babies have allergies to certain diapers/products (like mine).

Medical Expenses: This, of course, depends on your medical coverage and many other factors (i.e., type of birth, number of nights stay, baby needs). Both my kids had jaundice and required phototherapy. Thankfully my insurance covered most of this, but had it not, this would have been an $800+ out of pocket charge.

These are just a few examples of costs associated with having baby. As you are well aware, there are many many many more. Thankfully there are a lot of products out there that can assist you in planning. If you do not have a budget created, that is an excellent first step. While you are in your planning stages of pregnancy, take some time and sit down with your partner to figure out where your finances are at. There are a million budgeting tools out there, just Google it. Once you have that budget established, begin to think about what adjustments will be necessary to accommodate your new bundle of joy. Believe me, by taking some budgeting steps, it will help you ease your mind in the long run and I promise, reduce future arguments with your partner.

Just getting started? Here are some tools that can help you on your way!

Building a Budget – NerdWallet provides tools to guide you through creating a budget

Mint.com – an oldie but a goodie; people use this app to track their spending and create a budget

Good ol’ Excel – Microsoft Excel (and Google sheets) has some decent budgeting templates

There are about million different apps and ways to budget. These are just a few that I have used in the past. It really just depends on your style and unique needs. Best of luck and happy tracking!

~Karen

Screen time? Yep.

We all start off motherhood with the same idea – my perfect baby will never see a screen until at least 2 (or something like that). They will be content all the time to play with only wooden toys which inspire independent, imaginative play.

Ha.

Fostering Learning Through Chores

I can be a bit of a perfectionist. Well, not just a bit… at times it takes over my life (especially when my parents are due at my house in an hour). There, I said it. Zach probably just gasped, not out of surprise that I am a perfectionist… more-so because I ACTUALLY owned up to it. My Type A plays out in many ways, both at home and at work. At home, I like things to be in order, neat, and spotless which is laughable when you have a toddler and two big dogs. The bathroom and kitchen are my most anxiety-inducing areas that are never clean enough. My perfectionism paired with a curious toddler can lead to entire days just following her around. As Ellie started walking/doing somersaults, I quickly learned that I need to work alongside her rather than chasing after her with a rag in hand. Picking up and cleaning not only plays into her natural curiosity, it also helps me feel productive in keeping my life moderately organized. Here are some of the little things that Zach and I do to foster learning and responsibility through housework with Ellie.

Oh wait, I used to have hobbies.

Hi, internet. It’s Kristin. It’s been a long holiday season, but I finally have my shit together enough to write again. I’ve been thinking a lot about new year’s resolutions since everyone is sharing theirs all over online. Now, I stopped doing “official” resolutions a long time ago because frankly, who can honestly say they’ve kept theirs? But this year I realized that I do need to set a few goals for myself for nothing but to keep myself sane. As a new(ish) parent it’s so easy to have your whole self sucked into your kid’s world 24/7 and let everything else fade away. For me, that means that things I used to really enjoy doing during my downtime have been seriously neglected. Yep, I used to have hobbies. Now my “hobby” is screen time after Finn goes to bed to try to help me unwind after my day. So…here are my 2019 goals for myself:

Lessons on Loss

This week, our post is a heavy topic we feel necessary to bring to light, albeit heartbreaking. A friend of the Where’s My Epidural moms has been gracious enough to share her miscarriage story. This, as we all can understand, is an extremely sensitive topic and for that reason our friend will remain anonymous. If you have ever or do ever face this and need assistance, the Pregnancy and Postpartum Support website might be helpful. This resource is specifically for Minnesota, if you reside elsewhere, check online to see if there is another support group.

Toddler Mealtime Escapades

Is your kid a decent eater who will eat literally anything you put in front of them or do you have the kid who will only eat chicken nuggets, but only that one specific brand from a co-op four states away? We all know that feeding your toddler can be rough, especially because their palate can change like the wind. One day they LOVE apples and can’t get enough of them, the next day apples are being thrown across the room (thank goodness for my built in floor cleaners, AKA the dogs). The minute I find something Ellie loves and pretty much buy stock in that company, the next thing I know she is turning her nose up at it. Well, EXCUSE ME, Queen of England! For this post, I thought I’d list out a few of my go-to meals and snacks. As I have mentioned many times, my bar is set really low. I don’t typically get home on time to be like Julia Child in the kitchen… and let’s be real, even if I did, I still wouldn’t put the time into cooking.

Let’s Talk About Size Baby

Hi! It’s me, Karen. It’s been awhile. My apologies for ghosting you. I am sure you have been missing my parenting insights (and flops). Well, I am back. If you celebrate, my hope is that you had a wonderful holiday season. After talking to my sister-in-law for a while the other day on clothing sizes for our toddlers (her little gal is just a couple months older than Ellie), I thought a little rant about baby and toddler clothing would be prudent as you sort through the clothes your kid(s) received as gifts.

Our Favorite Books (right now)

Both Karen and I are pretty avid readers, so it’s natural that we want our kids to be too! The best way to do that? Give them access to lots of books! Here are a few of our favorites right now (Don’t see yours here? Let us know what they are!)

Finn’s (and Kristin’s) Favorites

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Finn has been reading this book for months and months and still isn’t sick of it. It follows a little boy as he explores the freshly fallen snow in his city neighborhood.

Because I’m Your Dad by Ahmet Zappa

This is the book I got Kris for Father’s Day. It’s so sweet – it features a monster dad and kid (not gender-specific), with the dad telling their child all the things they’ll do “because I’m your dad”. Highlights include always having cool Halloween costumes and skipping school so they can get a hot dog in New York City.

Stella Brings the Family by Miriam B. Schiffer

A story about a little girl who has to figure out what to do when she is supposed to do when she is told to bring her mom in for Mother’s Day – but she only has two dads at home!

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

The classic story I grew up reading featuring a mischevious (and helpful! He cleans!) mouse who will ask you for everything and anything after giving him a cookie for a snack.

Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin

Did you know dragons LOVE tacos but HATE spicy salsa? What happens when you give them tacos with salsa? Let’s find out!

Poke-A-Dot Books by ikids

This series of books is brilliant for little ones who have busy hands. They feature plastic “dots” that they can poke to make a clicking noise on every page!

Elliot’s (and Karen’s) Favorites

Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton

In our household, you really cannot go wrong with any Sandra Boynton book. The rhyming is so stinkin’ catching (yes, I often am rehearsing them in my head while at work)! I once had a speech pathologist tell me that these books were some of their top picks. Barnyard Dance has been one of our favorites since Ellie was tiny. Sometimes I even give it a “hoe-down” spin.

Ladybug Girl Gives Thanks by David Soman & Jacky Davis

Again, this entire series is a household favorite. Lulu is this awesome little girl whose superhero alter-ego is the star of this series. I chose this specific book as we have a few seasonal books we throw into the nightly mix. With Thankgiving upon us, we read this one every night.

Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth

This is much like most other counting books but the ladybugs are these cute little raised bugs on each page. Ellie loves to help turn the pages and feel the little ladybugs. At the end of the book she likes to point out all the animals for me to tell her what each of them are. As a note, Ellie likes this one so much she stands on it… the binding is starting to go. I just consider it well-loved.

First 100 Words by Roger Priddy

The combination of bright colors and simple pictures are really eye catching for Ellie. She loves to point out the various images and try to repeat the words after I say them to her. While there is not necessarily a story throughout this book per se, this is a great learning tool for any kid in the early stages of language development (albeit, boring for mom or dad).

Never Touch a Spider! by Make Believe Ideas Ltd.

Spoiler alert – your kid will touch the spider. This books are top notch in the sensory books department. Each page has a fun design molded into it and Ellie loves to flip through and feel the funky designs. The story is really cute and gives a fun spin to bugs.