Developmental Milestones

After about 10 years in the workforce I have grown accustom to reaching goals, competing, and the pressure to perform. Being a stay-at-home mom has created a whole new set of challenges. Thanks to our society, there is a great deal of pressure for your child to be the first to reach a developmental milestone. I will admit that at the beginning I was slightly obsessed with when my daughter should be hitting the milestones and how she fared compared to her peers. After driving myself crazy, I finally realized that my daughter is going to develop at her own rate.

It is a good idea to know approximately when your child should be reaching certain developmental milestones in case there is a problem, but as I have learned these should only be used as guidelines. Here are some websites that provide information on developmental milestones:

http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/abc/index.html
http://www.babycenter.com/baby-development
http://www.parents.com/baby/development/

My advice is to let your child develop at their own pace. Spend as much time playing with your child as possible and make everything a learning experience.

Gerber Coupons

About once a month Gerber sends me a packet in the mail that has coupons and information. The coupons are for formula, baby food, baby utensils/bowls, sippy cups, cereal, and more. They also send a great pamphlet geared toward my baby's age group that has information about nutrition, sample diets, and development. Click here if you would like to join their mailing list (just enter email address on right hand side and click "Sign Me Up").

Picky Eaters and Introducing Solids

My daughter started eating solids a couple weeks ago and so far we have fared well. She has eaten bananas, sweet potatoes, avocados, and pears. We are continuing to introduce a new food every 3 days. When talking to moms of 6-12 months old, I have found that I am one of the lucky few. Many moms have terribly picky eaters and don't know what to do. I have also found that many moms are now taking their children to eating specialists.

Here are some tips that I have found helpful when introducing solids:

• If your baby is breastfed, start with foods that have a sweet taste to them (similar to breast milk) like bananas, sweet potatoes, pears, apples, etc.
• Mix the food with either formula or breast milk, which will give the food a familiar taste.
• Make the puree very thin to start with so it has a consistency similar to formula or breast milk and gradually thicken.
• Let your baby put his hands in the food and "feed" himself.
• Know which foods are appropriate to introduce to your child. Check out Wholesome Baby Food for introduction charts.
• I am a big fan of making your own baby food. Not only does it save money, but the food has a nice fresh taste for your baby. Check out my older post for more details.
• If your child doesn't appear to like a food, try it again. In fact keep trying. Some babies take 8-10 times to like a food.

If you are a parent of a toddler here are some great sites to help with your picky eaters:

http://www.parents.com/preschoolers/eating-nutrition/picky-eaters/

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-handle-a-picky-eater_64302.bc

As always I welcome your comments and suggestions for how you have overcome a picky eater!

Baby Toys

In this day and age, there is so much pressure to have the newest and latest things. I was at a playdate today with my daughter and got to talking with the other moms about toys. I do not own a lot of toys for my daughter nor do I plan on buying many. It seems that many of the magazines and websites geared for children are always promoting the "best toys" for learning and development. In my opinion, it is time to get back to the basics. While there are some great toys out there that do aid development, a child can learn from something as simple as putting things in and taking things out of Tupperware containers.

Here are my ideas for savings money when it comes to buying toys:

• If you are going to buy a large toy (i.e. exersaucer, Jump-a-roo, etc.) try it from a friend first and make sure that your child likes it
• Buy only one or two large toys and supplement with smaller ones
• Instead of buying toys in stores, buy online. I have found that Amazon is usually cheaper than the chain stores.
• Buy toys used from sites like Craig's List or even better, borrow used toys from friends.
• Buy toys and clothes at thrift stores. Not only are they dirt cheap, but the money also usually goes to a good cause. (Thanks to the moms today for this idea)
• Lastly, don't spend loads of money buying toys. Let your child play with your Tupperware, pots and pans, remote controls, and spatulas. They will learn just as much from these things and you will save a ton of money (not to mention keep your house from getting cluttered).

Toot Toot TuTus

Do you have a little princess in your life? If you do, Toot Toot TuTus are perfect for you! Jessica Bennett is another one of my favorite moms that uses her talents to create great products for your little ones.

Jessica makes custom TuTus which are perfect for holidays and special occasions. They also make great gifts. Check out her website.

Just for our followers, Jessica is offering a $5.00 off coupon. When ordering, just mention that you are a follower of Being Mommy.

Toot Toot TuTus is also giving away a custom 2 color TuTu for one of our lucky followers. Drwaing will be held through October 15th. To be entered into the drawing you can do one of the following: Please leave one comment per entry.

1. Visit Jessica's website http://toottoottutus.blogspot.com/ and comment about your favorite design.
2. Become a follower of Being Mommy (if you are already a follower, leave a comment)
3. Grab my button (if you already have it, leave a comment with your blog's URL)
4. Have a friend become a follower (leave the name of your friend in the comment)
5. Become a Facebook fan of Being Mommy (if you are already a fan, leave me a comment.
   

Check out our other current giveaway.

Angela Hitt: Jewelry Designs For the Fashion Savvy and Bows!

This is our first official "Being Mommy" giveaway! Angela Hitt is a mom who is putting her talent to good use. She makes fun, creative, and affordable bows for the daughter, niece, or granddaughter in your life. That's not all...she also makes beautiful and fashionable jewelry for women and little girls. All of the products on her site would make great presents and it is never too early to start buying presents for Christmas.

Angela is graciously giving away a free hair bow to one of our lucky followers. Being entered into the drawing is easy. You may enter into the drawing by doing the following:

Please leave one comment per entry.

1. Visit Angela's website: http://angelahitt.com/ and comment about your favorite bow.
   
2. Become a follower of Being Mommy (leave a comment to tell me if you already follow)


3. Grab my button (leave a comment if you already have my button on your blog and your blog's URL)
   
4. Have a friend become a follower (leave the name of your friend in the comment)

I will accept entries until October 10th and a winner will be randomly selected on October 11th.

Fun Activities

I subscribe to several magazines and I am always finding great ideas for activities. The problem is that my 6 month old is definitely not ready to use scissors, glue or glitter. I don't want to keep the magazines for 5 years so I bought a 3 ring binder, page protectors, and dividers. I now tear the articles out the magazines, put them in page protectors, and organize them according to age group. As my daughter gets older, I will now have an organized book of activities for her to do!

Please share any great activities that you do with your children!