Expecting (or wanting) another baby? This one's for you!

Nursing is one of the best decisions I made. No, this is not a post trying to talk you in to nursing...your decision is your decision. In fact, I didn't always love nursing. Initially it was a struggle for me with our first son. It took several weeks for me to actually enjoy it. Blame it on a bad latch, inexperience, or postpartum depression, the fact of the matter was, it hurt. Every day my mantra was "just one more day. You can do it just one more day." My nipples were cracked, bleeding, and so painful. I would wince in pain every time I thought of nursing and hold my breath for the first 10 seconds he would latch on. I used every cream and every pad available. My son would nurse every 2 hours for an hour. Yes, one hour. Finally, several weeks later, the pain went away. Once it went away it became my most favorite times of the day; a time that only I got to hold the baby. A time where he and I could make a connection that no one else would have.In fact, one of my most favorite memories is when he pulled off just to look up at me and smile.

When I was pregnant with our second son I was concerned that I wouldn't have a chance to make that same connection with the  new baby because I would have my attention divided. I had visions of my older son getting jealous that I was spending so much time with the new baby. And how was I possibly going to keep my boob on one and my eye on the other? Enter The Nursing Box.

Sorry for the crappy picture.

The Nursing Box (or whatever you decide to call yours) is something my mother in law used with her kids and I thought it sounded fantastic. It's a large box, or Rubbermaid, that you fill with all kinds of toys, games, books, movies, etc; anything that your older child/children will find entertaining while you nurse or feed your baby. This means you have entertainment at your feet for your older child(ren) and you can get quality time with your new baby.

I would suggest setting up a blanket on the floor by where you'll be nursing and establishing the following Nursing Box rules:

1. Have your child stay on the blanket (or designated area of your choosing) while the Nursing Box is out.
2. Only let your child play in the Nursing Box while Mommy is nursing (or bottling baby if you chose not to nurse). As soon as you're done, the box, and all the items inside, goes away until next time. There may be a few tears the first few times items are put away, but they will figure it out eventually. My older son actually looked forward to "nursing time. "

My friends put one together for me for my baby shower...what a neat gift to give a mommy having a subsequent pregnancy!

Budget Savvy Mommies--A great place to go to fill your box is the dollar store. Or, hit up some garage sales pre-baby (because let's be honest, once you  have your first, you no longer care about having all things new...used is just fine). Black Friday is another great day to score some deals on movies, games and toys!

Readers--How do you entertain older children while nursing/feeding a new baby?

Party Planning 101--Intro

I love to throw parties. Birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, Christmas parties, Halloween parties, Easter egg hunts, you name it, I love it.

One of my fondest memories from my childhood was of a birthday party I had. It was a Tea Party. All the girls dressed up in their frilly dresses with big poofy sleeves (it was the 80s) and we sipped tea out of my brand new tea set, and ate petite fours and other tiny foods that paired well with tea.  Ever since I have loved parties.

I love coming up with themes, foods to match with the theme, and party games that fit both child or adult personality. I spend hours pouring over idea books, websites, and magazines trying to get creative with decorations, and thinking of ways to make each party special for the individual. Now that I have kids, I pour this out in to their parties. Will they remember it when they get older? Probably not at this age, but it's all character building, right?

Here are some pictures of the "Bug" birthday I put on for my kids last year. My oldest was turning 3 and my "baby" was turning 1.

The picture below is of an ant...it's just hard to tell. I bought it in the summer thinking I could find a watermelon to put in it. I should have known it would be impossible to find a watermelon in December. I had to modify it last minute. It needed the melon to hold the head on but the only melon I could find was too small so I had to use the dish under it. 

Do you have any party ideas to share? Any fond memories of parties from when you were little? Any links to your blogs to share? 

Kid Books

I love kid books. A new tradition I've started is instead of buying a card for a baby shower, I now spend the money on a great book. If you think about it, a $5 card could buy a really cute board book. And what a great way to help begin or grow a book collection! My current favorite, granted it's usually more than $5, is


On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman. 

"On the night you were born,

the moon smiled with such wonder

that the stars peeked in to see you

and the night wind whispered,

life will never be the same.

Because there had never been anyone like you...

ever in the world."

...

"Heaven blew every trumpet 

and played every horn 

on the wonderful, marvelous

night you were born."

What books do you LOVE in your collection? If you were to recommend ONE book to another mom (or parent) to have in their book collection, what would you recommend?