Rookie Moms

3 cute dress substitutes for nursing or pumping moms

2012-05-16T17:33:38Z

When Whitney asked me to choose three dresses that would be good for nursing or pumping moms from the Shabby Apple collection, I told her that wearing a dress to nurse is bullshit. I routed her to the skirt department instead.

Even a wrap dress, which seems ideal for pulling boobs out, reveals way more than ~~my in-laws~~ the general public wants to see. A layering strategy is radically easier. Wear a nursing tank as the base layer with a matching shirt on top to maximize coverage and maybe — just maybe — smooth out all the midriff stuff (ps a regular tank top can be the base layer, but you’ll need to pull it down and the bra while leaving the top top up and it gets rather complicated!).

Here are my picks for skirts for mama:

For fancy red carpet occasions Hollywood Boulevard poofy tutu skirt (pictured above) or the equally audacious longer Academy Award skirt – pair with two layers of tight black tops to hide your muffin top; lift one, leave one.
Cute, high-waisted, wear a bright cardigan Crosswalk skirt.
This pattern looks like it hides spills, a sad byproduct of nursing or pumping… sigh… Land Ho! skirt

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Hey all, we are affiliates of Shabby Apple and buying a pretty skirt or dress from them is a nice way to support us in our efforts to bring you shiny happy content. Thanks!

2-minute puppet theater

2012-05-15T16:59:59Z

Did you know that you might have a puppet theater in your child’s room already?

Materials needed:

Crib
Sheet
Dolls or stuffed animals
Preschooler with a repertoire of songs
Any combination of parent, baby, and toddler to serve as audience

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We’re assembling a huge list of DIY projects for parents. Browse them all on our Makin’ It series page.

An unforgettable teacher

2012-05-14T21:50:41Z

Challenged by Hallmark to share a story of an inspiring teacher, I went blank. Though I have several fond memories of school, I can barely remember the teacher’s names — even those that I adored.

But I’m pretty sure that Facebook was invented to jog memories such as this; my former classmates were able to help me piece together one of my treasured I-never-thought-I’d-forget-it memories.

This morning, I sent out this request:

Umm, do you recall any details about our Olympics of the Mind trip? I think it was in 2nd or 3rd grade? With some teacher? About some topic? To some destination? I’m writing on a deadline…ha!

Thanks to their superior memories and quick research tactics (like reading old journals or asking their parents), my fellow Mind Olympians worked again as a team, and I now have a clearer memory of our most awesome teacher, Ms. Flanagan. She set me on a path of travel, creativity, and list-making and I’m sure she doesn’t even know it.

About a million years ago, a team of five third graders from my little town competed in the Olympics of the Mind against a whole heap of other grade school kids. We were in the Cruppets (abbreviation for Creative Puppets) division.

Me and my hazy memories

Our team wrote and performed a fantastically ridiculous quest about Benjamin Franklin being blasted into the future while flying his kite in a storm; he ended up in the eighties and discovered amazing things like the microwave oven and the modern-day post office. We also did several superfun brainstorming challenges. According to Brad’s old notes, I was very good at this.

It tickles me to learn this as Whitney and I are currently working as consultants to a few companies, specifically by facilitating brainstorms for them (not to meniton built this here website and our two books). Apparently, I have Ms. Flanagan to thank for my current job prospects.

We had two fearless parent coaches and one wonderful teacher to wrangle us as we wrote the script, designed the set and puppets (while whispering about boys and drinking pop), and prepared to conquer the world with our fantastic Mind Olympic feats.

Like the kids on Glee, we attended several competitions: District, Regionals, State, and World. That’s right! Unlike Glee, we skipped right over Nationals and kicked butt at the World Finals (Thanks Canada!) by coming in 4th place.

Since my mom was out of town, she couldn’t accompany me to New Jersey for the finals, so Ms. Flanagan took me instead. Ms. Flanagan was my Mr. Schuester. In addition to being our team’s mentor, she made it possible for me to see the world. We rode an airplane together on the outbound leg. And on the return trip, I rode an airplane BY MYSELF! What a thrill. Sure, I was scared but I was feeling so very capable having just placed in a worldwide competition of awesome.

I later discovered that Miss Flanagan went on to become principal and recently retired after 24 years in my elementary school. I’m sure she was the favorite of many.

Last week, in the midst of Holden’s birthday planning and the lead up to Mother’s Day was Teacher Appreciation Week. While it was a lot for me to juggle, I wanted to make sure to give thanks to the teachers in our lives who make such a difference with handwritten notes, cards, and a small gift. We cannot predict which teachers will set us on the unique path to our future.

So, here’s to remembering all those teachers and moments we swore we would never forget!

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This jaunt down my hazy memory lane was sponsored by Hallmark, who challenged me to remember because life is a special occasion moments!

Picture perfect Mother’s Day

2012-05-14T16:41:51Z

This lovely pic of me and my children spawned a new idea for great family photos: Have everyone make an angry face! Right?

Hope you had a Happy Mother’s Day!

A well-timed “momfographic” (sponsored)

2012-05-11T16:15:51Z

I forgot to take Julian to soccer practice yesterday and felt like a total failure when I looked at my phone at 6 pm and saw the alert, “Soccer 5:30″. So um, let’s just pretend that didn’t happen.

It was one of those times that I wondered when this child’s real mother was going to come get him. Yes, seven years after these photos were taken, I still have that feeling. Have you ever totally forgotten about a kid’s activity?

Ok, now back to the point: thanks to Diapers.com for sponsoring this post in conjunction with the BabyCenter blog network. Diapers.com pretty much sells everything a parent could ever want these days, from Hawaiian-print Huggies to Chuck Taylors for your bambino, but Heather narrowed in on a no-nonsense list of the most important items to have for a baby from the Diapers.com catalog and sent it to me.

diapers
wipes
desitin zinc cream (this stuff is the BEST)
diaper pail
bottle brush with nipple attachment
nursing pads (I buy a gajillion pack)
hooter hider
hands-free pumping bra
born free bottles (love)
nipple cream

How’d she do?

Here’s the “momfographic” that Diapers.com and BabyCenter produced for Mother’s Day. We want to know what you think. Does it reflect your opinions and habits? Or are you still wondering when the real mom is going to show up and take your place?

What’s the best advice your mom has given you?

2012-05-11T23:14:40Z

Thanks to Tout for sponsoring this post and encouraging me to share mom’s best advice. Visit the SELF + The Honest Co. + Tout contest on.self.com/MomKnows to share your mom’s best advice & enter to win $500 worth of The Honest Company product and a Maya Brenner Designs necklace valued at $200, plus have your Tout featured on SELF.com. For every response a donation will be made to Baby2Baby.

Over the years, my mom has given me a lot of advice. I wish I could easily put my finger on the very best but it all tends to swirl around me and through me. Some I listened to, some I ignored. If only she had had a blog, right? Then I could search for her guidance at just the right times.

Before I had my second baby, Whitney made me a terrific scrapbook of tips and advice from our mom friends with two or more babies. Including my own mother. Mixed in among my girlfriends’ suggestions to “let some things go” and “hold onto order even more tightly” was a little blast of advice from the seventies.

We lovingly call this piece of advice from my mom God bless the rocking chair (because that’s how it starts), but the nugget of wisdom I most appreciate is to spend one-on-one time with my children as often as possible.

I believe that the time we spend together doing what they want is a foundation for their happy childhood memories. Whether its playing a silly board game during naptime, building an epic fort, or creating a LEGO comic strip out of Q-tips, they will remember me as a mama who plays (at least I hope!).

As for the first part of her advice, I must make sure to get a cozy big glider for those snuggles before my children are too big to curl up with.

Related links:

What’s the best advice your mom ever gave you? And if you can think of something, go enter the contest!

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Thank you again to Tout for sponsoring this post. Wanna play along? Visit on.self.com/MomKnows to share the best advice you received from your mom. Reply directly via webcams at www.Tout.com, through Tout’s mobile app, on www.Facebook.com/TheHonestCompany and www.Self.com/health/mothers-day. Viewers can watch the entire stream of replies on the Tout widget on http://www.self.com and share favorites to Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages, as well as by email and SMS.

Stylish photo card giveaway!

2012-05-11T03:50:30Z

A gorgeous photo invitation lives long past the event in my keepsake box. And baby announcements? I like to keep them on the fridge for years. I know I’m not the only one; my friend Lori ties up all the photo cards she receives each holiday season with a pretty ribbon and then stores them together in a sentimental bundle.

Simply to Impress specializes in affordable and unique invitations and announcements to celebrate these milestones and more.

Here are a few adorable baby announcement pics to make me nostalgic for my eight month old’s youth.

Some of these birthday party invitation designs are fresh and modern like the superhot chevron pattern while others make the most of a stunning photograph.

Protip: Don’t have a single awesome picture? Choose a collage!

About that giveaway!

We are pleased to offer one lucky reader a $100 gift credit toward products on Simply to Impress. Use the comments to tell us your favorite card design on simplytoimpress.com. I’ll choose one winner from the comments on May 18, 2012. U.S. residents only. Here are a few more rules.

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Thanks to Simply to Impress for sponsoring our giveaway.

Mother’s day e-cards for lesbian moms and more

2012-05-10T16:48:36Z

If a cliched joke about mom doing all the laundry just isn’t going to cut it for sending your favorite mama a quick e-card on Mother’s Day, take a look at the progressive cards (albeit not very humorous) that non-profit organization Strong Families has put together on their MamasDay.org site.

For a straight woman, I have turned out to be quite a collector of lesbians in my life. My closest cousin; my college roommate; one of my best childhood friends; and three women in my first-time mom’s group are all women partnered with women. So these cards, highlighted for me by one of the mom’s group lesbian mamas (Hi Isobel!), resonated with me as a sweet way to acknowledge two-mom families.

The other cards in the collection are inclusive, reflecting families of color, immigrants, activists, and homebirth-related messaging.

They have also formatted a couple of the images specifically for use as Facebook cover images.

Chase down the Annie’s Organics truck

2012-05-08T19:46:28Z

Annie’s Organics (the people who bring you bunny crackers and mac and cheese) is a local-to-us company, based in Berkeley, CA. For the launch of their Organic Rising Crust Pizza, now found in the frozen aisle of Whole Foods, they’ve hired me and Heather to help out with marketing.

The Annie’s truck is traveling around the country — currently making it’s West Coast run — and stopping to give pizza samples along the way. It looks like this:

With the help of some bloggers there, we mobilized a gang of moms to mob the truck in Austin, Texas. Next week, we’ll be meeting up with this pizza-party-on-wheels at a Whole Foods in Los Altos, CA. (You are WELCOME to join us there, if you’re in the South Bay!)

What to expect:

A pick up truck with a live garden growing in the bed which kids are welcome to climb up and check out
Free pizza tasting
Games for kids
Opportunity to pose with the Annie’s mascot, Bernie the bunny (his rear end at least)

If you and your friends would like to chase down the Annie’s truck, check their website to see when it’s headed your way. The dates we currently know are:

5/14 – Redwood City, CA
5/15 – Los Altos, CA
5/16 – San Mateo, CA
5/17 – San Francisco, CA
5/20 – Novato, CA
5/23 – Sonoma, CA
5/24 – Napa, CA
5/26 – Berkeley, CA
5/27 – Oakland, CA
5/29 – San Ramon, CA
5/30 – Walnut Creek, CA

The trucks will be in place from 12 – 6 in most cases, so it’s a perfect destination to meet friends and supplement your lunch or dinner grocery run.

Makin’ it: Mickey Mouse Pancakes

2012-05-07T18:49:47Z

The following idea to make mealtime more fun is an excerpt from our new book Stuff Every Mom Should Know because we think every mom should be armed with such clever tricks up her sleeve.

Prepare pancake batter as usual, from scratch or from a box.
Using a small ladle or measuring cup, create one round pancake in the center of the griddle. This one will be Mickey’s head.
As soon as the edges of your first pancake have stopped expanding, place two smaller circles of batter on the griddle, on each side of the head, at 10 and 2 o’clock. These will be Mickey’s ears.
If the ears don’t reach the head on your first attempt, simply flip them as regular pancakes and try again.
When all the bubbles in the three circles have stopped popping, flip the entire shape.

Bonus points for serving fruit that a child can use to give Mickey eyes and a nose.

Pro tip: Use a turkey baster as a batter dispenser for even greater control. Heck, you may feel capable of adding a bow to make Minnie Mouse or something even more sophisticated.

Want to send a copy of Stuff Every Mom Should Know to a friend? Find it on Amazon.

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We’re assembling a huge list of DIY projects for parents. Browse them all on our Makin’ It series page.

10 things I learned from other parents

2012-05-04T18:27:26Z

I get nervous preaching about Stuff Every Mom Should Know because it subtly implies that I know everything that moms need to know. If anything, I frequently tap into my community of moms for their wisdom. Some days, I feel like I am crowd-surfing along on the outstretched arms of my support team.

Here are ten things I learned from other parents that may or may not be in my new book:

Never make a happy baby happier (our pediatrician).
A hands-free baby carrier is essential (Whitney).
Never wake a sleeping baby (Weissbluth).
Breastfeeding hurts (Whitney).
Say “yes” more often; be prepared to defend your “no” (Devra and Aviva).
It’s not failure, it’s research (Rachel and Andy).
The only way out is through (Meggan).
Bananas stain (Molly).
Kids are just as happy with the box as they are with the toy inside (my mom and dad).
Feed the meter (Karp).

Of course, as soon as I finish this list, I want to add more to it. I’m still learning on the job and trying to remember that no matter how messy my house or lame the birthday parties I throw, my kid just wants ME. In the meantime, big boy is still — and always will be — on the frontier of everything I know firsthand about parenting.

So, what have you learned from other moms that I need to know?

[photo via flickrby Bjørn Giesenbauer]

Tea Collection giveaway

2012-05-03T22:22:19Z

We are so pleased to have Tea Collection as a sponsor right now because who doesn’t love their clothes? The quality is excellent and the styles are so sweet, especially the wittle baby things.

Yesterday I was at my friend Chelly’s house and both of her girls were wearing Tea dresses, albeit her toddler is a bit chalk-stained (second photo below) and her preschooler (in fuschia above + below) was moving too fast for my camera phone. But I love those rich colors!

Did you know that Tea also has women’s apparel? You may remember Heather over the summer in her cute maternity outfit, rocking the scarf from Tea collection.

This week we are giving away a $150 credit to Tea Collection to one U.S. resident. The winner will be able to spend it at the Tea online store on any full-priced or sale items for baby, kids, or women. Woohoo!

When you see the form load below, simply enter to win. Earn a second entry by saying “Yes” to our weekly email newsletter. I’ll choose a winner on May 10, 2012.

a Rafflecopter giveaway