Books for Toddlers - Sandra Boynton

My little one is 15 months old. Finding a good toddler book for him is not always easy. Some books are too wordy, some too long, and others not interesting enough. So when I find a great book at the library I do a little happy dance and add it to my list of books I love.

Today I'm sharing part of this list with you, by starting with one of my favorite toddler authors.  Sandra Boynton is a well published author I grew up loving as a child. I was super excited to introduce her to Baby K. The fun illustrations, catchy rhymes and silly characters grip you from the very beginning.  I love Sandra Boynton, but not all her books are created equal. Yes I do play favorites. Baby K does as well. I can't even tell you how many times I have read these books in the last year.

Our Top Ten Sandra Boynton Books

• The Going-To-Bed Book - Perfect for the bedtime routine.
• Moo Baa La La La - Great for introducing animal names and sounds.
• Blue Hat, Green Hat - My son loves the silly turkey in this book. It is also great for introducing colors and clothing items.
• Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs! - Playful dinosaurs teach all about opposites, colors, and more.
• Opposites - Great to introduce opposite vocabulary.
• A to Z - Explore the alphabet with active animals.
• What's Wrong, Little Pookie? - Pookie is crying. Can mother figure out what is wrong?
• Belly Button Book - Baby K loves his belly button.
• Pajama Time! - Another great book for bed time.
• Birthday Monsters! - An entertaining book book about birthdays!

Do you have a favorite Boynton book?

Pictures credit belongs to: http://childrensbooksguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/the-going-to-bed-book-main.jpg, http://childrensbooksguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/book_ohmyohmyohmydinosaurs.jpg, http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/2940000953495_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG, http://images.betterworldbooks.com/067/Blue-Hat-Green-Hat-Boynton-Sandra-9780671493202.jpg, http://cache1.bdcdn.net/assets/images/book/large/9780/6714/9780671449032.jpg, http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/98/17/c7/9817c72b32d8de5e47d02101fe2aa66d.jpg, http://yourbooksworld.com/images/Childrens/whats-wrong-little-pookie.jpg, http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/09/78/07/61/13/0978076113799_500X500.jpg, http://images.betterworldbooks.com/076/Pajama-Time-9780761119753.jpg, https://d3hgnfpzeohxco.cloudfront.net/images/bau/97815630/9781563054433/0/0/plain/birthday-monsters.jpg

My Two Cents on Delivery

There are a million bloggers with their own ideas on advice for soon to be new mothers. Having recently joined the ranks of "Mothers" I thought I would add my two cents.

Things to bring with you when you are in labor:

• A nice big towel
• Quality toilet paper
• Snacks (I loved sucking on mints and chewing gum.)
• Joke Book or Comedy CD
• Book/Magazine/Movie
• Map of nearby restaurants 
• Robe 
• Slippers/socks

Things you will want later:

• Baby book (Or a nice piece of paper for baby's first foot print) 
• Camera to take shots of visitors
• An eye mask (The nurses come in way too often!)
• Onesies in multiple sizes (Sometimes the baby is a lot bigger or smaller than anticipated.)
• A big bag to put all the stuff they give you 

Things to remember: 

• You choose who you let into the room
• Don't stress the small stuff
• Trust your instincts and the doctors medical training
• Be patient
• Report anything unusual
• Rest when you can 
• Write down what happened as soon as possible. (Sleep deprivation does a number on your memory.)

Having a baby is a wonderful experience. Good luck to you.

Think of anything else I missed? Leave a comment and I will add it to the list.

Baby Food Basics

As a new mother I am learning a lot every day. Baby K is now 6 months old. I can't believe how the time has flown or how quickly he is growing. While he is still small for his age he loves food. He frequently tries to grab mine or anything else he can reach.

After sensing his growing interest in food and frustration with nursing we started him on cereal. Once his body had adjusted to that we introduced more variety. Since his doctor has given us the go ahead we are slowly introducing new items to his diet.  Baby K now loves applesauce, pears, yams, bananas, and avocado. (Please avoid strawberries and honey for the first year.)

My two biggest resources have been other mothers and a book. Hardly surprising since I know a lot of women with babies and I love to read. Cooking for Baby by Lisa Barnes has been very helpful as I have started making Baby K's food. I feel so accomplished feeding Baby K something I made by myself.* I know it was made with organic produce, has no added sugars or fillers, and tastes delicious.

You actually don't need anything fancy to make baby food. Though to be honest I did need to buy a steamer. I know. I know. What real cook doesn't have a steamer? One who was afraid of vegetables until just a couple of years ago and is slowly adding new ones to the menu. My husband had to show me how to use my steamer. :) It's a good thing I have him around.

The Tools:
Steamer*
Good pot with a lid
Blender
Containers

• Steam your lovely produce. Organic if you can manage. I understand that it can be expensive. 
• Blend it into a lovely puree.
• Place into a container. It will last in the fridge for about three days or the freezer for 3 months.

I generally use a large Snapware in the fridge and dish it into smaller bowls when feeding K. I've been using these Ziploc containers for on the go feedings. But they tend to leak with the runnier foods like applesauce or pears. I might need to invest in the Ziploc Twist & Lock kind. I'm still looking into good alternatives for freezing food. Anyone out there have any good recommendations?

*I am not an expert on baby food. Please consult a doctor if you have any concerns.

**A steamer is great for holding in all the great nutrients your baby needs. Not all produce can be steamed. Some like hard squashes and sweet potatoes should be cooked in your oven. If you don't have a steamer you can use a crockpot with a small amount of water.

Diaper Diva - Pampers

Yesterday I wrote a post about getting the most out of your diaper purchases. I mentioned Amazon Mom and Huggies Rewards.

Today I want to fill you in on Pampers Loyalty Program.  It is called Gifts to Grow.  You can find codes inside your packages of diapers and wipes and Pampers shares free codes fairly often.  I started my account long before I had a baby and just entered in free codes whenever I ran across them. (Freebies2Deals helped me accumulate most of my points.)

Pampers recently shared a code on their twitter account for President's Day. Make sure you enter it in before 12 (CT) on 2/24/13.  FBPRE20W93DAY13

I am currently debating on which Shutterfly offer I want to use all my points. What are you saving  your points for?

Diaper Diva - Huggies

If you have a little one in diapers than you know the struggle of trying to find the best deal. I recommend Amazon Mom. It helps save us a ton of money and I don't have to lug a huge box home from the store. Which is nice because I inevitably try to get everything inside at once and it ends up that I drop something 80% of the time. You think I would learn.

Another thing you can do to get the most bang for your buck is to sign up for the loyalty programs and turn in your codes. Both Huggies and Pampers have a program that gives you small rewards for choosing their products.

Huggies program is called Huggies Enjoy the Ride. Each time you buy a Huggies product look for the small code written on the sticker (usually found inside the package.) Log into your account and type in the code. The points add up slowly but you feel so satisfied when you turn them in for a fun reward.  I'm aiming for one of these two rewards. I still have a long way to go, but I get so excited whenever I get a new code.

Codes can be found in packages of diapers and wipes, online at their site, and sometimes from their twitter and facebook feeds. Don't have an account yet? Type your email into the comments below and I will send you an invitation. Just for signing up through me you get an extra 10 points.

Newest Adventure

My husband and I have started the new adventure of Parenthood. With all the family visiting and the adjustment to less sleep blogging got put on the back burner. Don't worry. I will be back. Until then, Happy Holidays!