The Mom Crowd

Halloween has always been a favorite holiday around here. It has become more fun in the past years with little kids around to dress up and introduce the holiday traditions. Halloween parties are always fun, and more and more are happening that are really family friendly. Here are some fun ideas to liven up your own party or to take to a friend’s party to have some fun. These are all easy ideas that can be made with items on hand or some from your local dollar store.

Spider Ice Cubes

A great and easy favor is to buy the small spider rings that are everywhere during the Halloween season and make them into ice cubes! There are the tradition

al black ones, but I have also seen assortments of spider rings in many colors. I found a bag that had some purple, green and orange mixed in with the black! Use your imagination! There are often bags of goodies that you can find at the store, it doesn’t have to be limited to just the spider rings. Just make sure whatever favor you pick, you choose one that won’t get ruined being soaked in water.

The ice cubes are made in a regular ice cube tray you most likely already have. Just place one spider ring in each ice cube section and pour water over! To make it even more fun, I will often use the juice or punch that I plan to use at the party and make ice cubes out of that. So when the ice melts, instead of watering down your juice, it just adds to the flavor. There are many recipes floating around online, so use your creativity. But this is a great and easy way to add some fun to your party.

Ghost Lollipops

Another fun treat that you can use for a party or even trick-or-treaters is ghost lollipops! This is an easy craft that you can get kids involved in making. You just need some suckers from the store, some white fabric (or tissue paper), some ribbon, scissors and markers. The squares need to be big enough to cover the suckers to make their heads with enough leftover to make the body. You will tie your ribbon blow the head of the ghost and then add a face with the markers! This is an easy and fun craft that has been around since I was little.

Whatever your Halloween plans end up being, these are easy crafts that can be done with some cheap supplies. That is always a bonus when planning for a party, or for special treats to be handed out to trick or treaters. Even if you don’t have a party, it would be fun to make the ice cubes to have for a special Halloween dinner! These ideas can be used any time of year, just swap out the spiders for another fun prize and accessories can be added to the ghost lollipops to make them almost anything! Just remember to have fun!

Written By: Gena W., The Mom Crowd Contributor

Have you heard of the term “baby wearing”? Have you wondered exactly what it is all about? I remember when I first heard the term and I wondered myself, “um, ok”. Well after some research, it turns out it is a very beneficial thing to do for the new mom. Don’t be afraid to do it. Here are some reasons to begin your “baby wearing” experience with that beautiful new baby of yours.

 It’s Convenient

When you have your baby strapped to you it makes life a little bit easier. It frees your hands to do other things. For example, doing the dishes or folding laundry. Maybe you work from home and need to type. If you are out and about and need to do some errands you can put your baby in the carrier and actually push the shopping cart or hold your basket at the farmers market. More and more baby carriers also double as a blanket, nursing cover or even a changing pad. This definitely lightens the load and allows you to remain productive even when you have a newborn.

 Breastfeeding

When you have your child so close to your skin all the time this helps to promote breastfeeding. In some cases, which a few of the carriers I have seen you can even feed your baby in private while walking around. This is awesome, live your life and your baby is content also.

 Cognitive Development

Babies are extremely observant. When they are worn up right, they are right in the action and it keeps their wheels turning. It allows them to witness everything you do throughout your day. Whether you are cooking, folding laundry, taking a walk, or grocery shopping, your baby is constantly in observing mode and soaking it all in. Babies who are worn are also being constantly talked to by their parent or guardian versus a baby who is pushed around in a stroller and in front of the parent. This allows you to have more interaction with your child and in return creating a stronger bond. All of this encourages learning and brain stimulation in your baby.

 Postpartum

You might be experiencing all kinds of new feelings after you have your baby. There are several things that are probably on your mind one of them being getting back into shape. When you utilize baby wearing you are able to get those daily exercise workouts in. Wearing your baby will distribute their weight a little more evenly, allow you to go in places where you can not take a stroller, and even enable you to boost up your workout and burn more calories.

Some new moms even experience postpartum depression. When you are wearing your body it allows for you to get in those extra little snuggles and kisses that will help you to beat the depression. This allows you to bond even more with your baby without feeling burdened with life’s day to day tasks.

The benefits are endless, and here we have only named a few. So put that baby carrier on your registry, and begin your baby wearing. It’s all worth it!

When I came across this book, The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet By: Tina Ruggiero, I thought it was going to just be another book on how to make your own baby food. However, I was way off base, I absolutely LOVE this book for many reasons.

After reading just a few of the first pages and thumbing through the book I quickly realized how many actual recipes for baby food were possible to make. The author, Tina Ruggiero, does a phenomenal job in laying out the basics of homemade baby food, the different stages and what to feed your baby, toddler feeding, nutritional information about elements of food, special considerations for children, and in the very back is a feedback chart so you can document what your child liked and disliked.

Basics of Homemade Baby Food

In the first section, Tina equips you with all the knowledge you will need to successfully make homemade baby food.  She lays out a nice list of all the tools you will need to prepare all your foods. She has also put together a nice list of different foods to keep in your pantry for your children, and and extensive list on food safety tips.

Stages of feeding your child

The bulk of the book is broken up into different sections for the different stages you will go through with your child. There are recipes for six months, eight months, nine months, ten months, and eleven months, and she rounds out this section with twelve to twenty three months.

The recipes are compounded of different foods to incorporate into your child’s diet. It is not just a book on how to boil vegetables, blend them and freeze them. Tina has constructed her recipes in such a way that your baby will enjoy each food, and as the parent you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your baby actually likes their vegetables. She has recipes such as Pear Potato Puree, Apple a Day Oatmeal and Blueberry and Banana Breakfast.

The great thing about this book is that it covers a wide age range. I can use this book for my six month old, my two year old, and even my five year old loves the recipes. Such a versatile book, it is awesome.

Nutritional Information

This is a fantastic section to become familiar with. It takes you through the different components of things such as Fiber, Fat, Carbohydrates, and Proteins. It describes what it does, the different types of each nutrient, and the sources of where you can find it. What a great section to give parents knowledge of why each component of food is important in your growing baby’s health.

Special Considerations

Now a days kids can be extremely sensitive to many different things when it comes to food. In this section you will learn information and get a better understanding for lactose intolerant children, high risk children, fish and shellfish, teething and even choking.

I can’t recommend this book enough. I highly suggest if you are new to the world of making homemade baby food, then pick up this book and get to preparing these recipes. They are awesome and your baby will only thank you in the long run. Great Job Tina, for putting together such a great resources for families to feed their children in a healthy way.

To get your copy of this fabulous book CLICK HERE.

For other great articles on meal time for toddlers check out this article by The Mom Crowd’s Contributor, Tara.

When it came time for my son to start eating solids, I knew I was going to be a DIY mom.  There is something about knowing exactly what my infant is ingesting that put my mind at ease when it came to introducing new foods into his diet.  Any change for a mom and her infant can be a stressful time, I found this approach to be especially comforting during this transition.

I had been lucky enough to have been gifted a Magic Bullet for one of my wedding gifts, which certainly came in handy when embarking on my homemade babyfood endeavour.  Although, I did find that most veggies were easily mashed with a fork, for making applesauce, I couldn’t beat the Bullet.  Now they have the Baby Bullet which seems super convenient, but for the sake of saving money, do not bother with expensive gadgets, any blender will do the trick.

(more…)

The right mattress for your baby is a very important decision.  The process can be confusing, overwhelming and even a bit scary when you hear about “harmful chemicals” and other scary words.

Not only will a mattress help support your growing baby possibly up to age 3 or four, parents need to take into consideration that mattresses for babies need to be firm but comfortable.  Mattresses too soft can not only be a suffocation hazard, but also can increase the risk for SIDS.

Image credit: Image Source

You should consider not only how much the mattress costs, but also many other factors.  There are mattresses that come in all types from foam to spring coils, to organic materials.  Think about what is most important to you and make sure you take your time.  This was one of the first things I started looking at when I was pregnant because I knew it would take me a while to decide.

When searching for a baby mattress, it is important to start Comparing baby mattresses based on the following:

• material quality
• chemicals used in preparation
• size
• shape
• actual materials used
• price (if you need to be on a budget)

(more…)