Babies

I was recently contacted by the wonderful store owner at The Eczema Company and thought that their great products would be very helpful to moms who struggle with keeping eczema at bay with their children. The owners are a family with a child who suffers from eczema and they started the business as a way to help other parents that struggle with the same challenges of childhood eczema. My four year old daughter has very sensitive skin, though she has never had recurring eczema, thankfully. About a month ago she was complaining about itching on the back of her legs, this was before the warm weather hit and she was wearing pants. At bedtime when she was changing into her pajamas and complaining about the itching I saw the dry, red, crusty patches on the back of her thighs, knees, and calves. I've never dealt with anything like that, so I was surprised. She has had rashes before from foods she ate (mostly sweets with additives), but nothing like this. After some reading and looking at photos I was convinced it's classic eczema. I still don't know what triggered it, but I'm sure it was something she ate when we visit grandparents and I couldn't pinpoint one thing since while there she has consumed everything from GMOs to food coloring, preservatives, and the usual allergens (nuts, eggs, wheat, dairy, soy, etc). The Eczema Company sent us some wonderful items to review that I cannot praise enough! First, the amazing Calendulis Natural Eczema Cream from Homeopathie Quebec, it is nothing short of incredible. Until it arrived, I was applying a natural balm that we had on hand for soothing dry skin/irritation and it didn't seem to do much for my daughter. The eczema on her legs didn't budge and I really hoped the Caledulis Cream would work better. When it arrived we applied it right away, a thin coat in the evening with merino wool pajamas she wears to sleep. She finally slept well and the itching didn't bother her, in the morning the dry, red patches were significantly clearer and in two days all the inflammation was gone with twice daily application! Don't just take my word for it, read all the other awesome Calendulis Cream reviews from parents whose children had major eczema flare ups. At $18.75 for just over an ounce, it's not cheap, but as others will agree, it's a price worth paying for clearing up eczema and minimizing the need for driving to doctor's visits and getting prescriptions for chemical based creams that don't always work. It also comes in a large tub of 4.2 ounces for $46.75. For a child with sensitive skin or sensory issues, finding clothing that they do not complain about wearing can be a challenge. Baby E has a slight problem with tags and seams on some clothing. She prefers everything that's soft and super comfy to wear, so she was really excited about the Dundies Elastic Free Underwear ($10.89, below). We got the size 4/5 and they are perfect on 4 year old Baby E - though she is small for her age and still wears a lot of size 3T clothing. I would say you can size up for these undies if your child is average or bigger than average for his/her age. They shrink just a tiny bit in the wash.For Baby T we received the small (3-5 years old) Soft Seamless Unisex Boxer Brief ($10.89, above). Since he is potty learning this summer, I thought that would be great for him. I love that they are organic cotton, with just a little nylon and spandex to make them stretchy. They are also perfect for children on the autism spectrum. Baby T is 18 months but wears a lot of 2T clothing and these briefs actually fit him well but Baby E stole them from him and wears them for now! They fit her like little bike shorts and they are actually a perfect solution for little girls who like to wear dresses to the playground and need something under the dress for modesty. They are soooooo stretchy! I'm pretty sure they would fit me if I tried to pull them on! ? If you are a parent of a child with allergies and/or eczema, you may find a lot of helpf

Before I knew if Big T was a boy I browsed Pinterest for style ideas for little baby boys. I love boutique-style clothing for my daughter and I wanted my son to be able to look just as adorable in snazzy clothing. I came across this tutorial to make a cardigan onesie. And while they are SO adorable, the directions made me a little anxious. Mostly the part of dealing with knit fabrics, all the buttons holes and whatnot. I figured there must be a simpler way to get the same look and that’s what I set out to do. I am not the craftiest person in the world, and I like to make things as easy as possible. Not only did I figure out a fool-proof way to get the job done, and make a cardigan-style onesie that goes on line a regular onesie–Over the head so you don’t have to mess with all those extra buttons. And the best part is it only cost a whopping $2 to make this thing–If you shop like I do. Sure beats the price tags you’ll find searching Etsy for similar styles. I went to one of our local children’s resale shop–Once Upon a Child. They have TONS of onesies, only $1 each. I picked up as many cute styles as I could find, mostly aiming for the striped or bright solid colors. I also went with mostly short-sleeved styles for now because come on, Texas is freggin HOT. Then, instead of messing with cutting and attaching stretchy knit fabric, I decided to use bias tape. I found some from this Etsy shop. She let me split up the colors and yardage, so I got 1 yard each of 11 different colors for $11. I already had buttons and thread, plus scrap fabric for the bow ties, and I was good to go. Want to make your own? I’ll walk you through it. First, here’s what you’ll need: Onesie Scissors Pins 1yd Bias tape–I like the double fold 1/2in tape Coordinating thread And a sewing machine to attach the bias tape Buttons Step 1 (pictured below) Create a point at the center of the onesie, parallel to the under-arm area of the sleeve. That’s going to be the point of the v-neck. Using a straight-edge, draw the lines of the V up to the shoulders. Then draw a line down the center of the onesie. Step 2 (pictured below) Cut along your lines. Then cut the onesie trim around the collar area. Step 3 (pictured below) Open your bias tape and slide the cut edge of the onesie inside to the center fold of the tape. Pin. Note: You don’t need to go completely around the onesie with the bias tape because we’ll overlap where the V connects. Step 4 (pictured below) Sew the bias tape onto the onesie. I stitch all the way around to connect it, starting at the bottom. Then when I get to the opposite side of the straight line, I top stitch the other side of the bias tape, closing the onesie again. Step 5 (pictured below) Add buttons. You can do this carefully using a hot glue gun, or stitch them on with needle and thread. Step 6 Spice it up with a coordinating onesie and/or bow tie (super easy tutorial for those coming soon!) Using different colors and embellishments could totally girlie it up, but my girl is too big for onesies now so these are all for my little guy. Like the tutorial? Have any questions? Leave them in the comments section. And please share with your friends! The post Cardigan onesie tutorial appeared first on Baby Making Machine.

Yesterday was a day for finding. I found my smile. I found my strength. I found my lighter side. I found friends and neighbors on our local shopping street. I found time and good coffee. I found a great new book. I found the ability to say no and an opportunity to say yes. I found one image I had forgotten about and a reason to use it. I found patience more than once. I found a childhood memory at the grocery store and the willpower not to buy it. I found organic & natural face wash that did not cost a fortune. I found wisdom in a group of blogging allies and clarity in one comment. I found new connections and strengthened old ones. And at the end of that strangely special day, I found an injured bird on my doorstep.  In that moment, I found meaning. For some reason that bird took shelter on my stoop. She found me. I am not a bird friendly person. I like them when they are flying. High above me. I was forced past my own issues with feathers and tiny bones to rescue this little one. Get on her level, pick her up and keep her safe. We took her to a vet last night so that she would not be alone, in pain and cold if this was the end of her life. Some people have said that a live bird at your door is a sign. That it is the spirit of a loved one that passed over coming back for a visit. I am sure that in this earthly life, I will not know the answer to that. If that is true, I hope I passed the test. Doesn’t really matter though because in that moment, the bird’s life was as valuable as any other living thing…even if no one was watching. There are just some days that feel more raw to me than others…. Like I am closer to something more…something bigger. I did not question why, I was just glad to recognize the things happening to and around me. I made sure that I took the time to appreciate them. Like an emotional squirrel, I gathered these little wisdoms and stored them in my heart for when the rains eventually return. And they will. Yesterday I found small graces. Has that happened to you? Have you ever felt like the veil was very thin and you were close to something great? I love those stories, so if you have one, please share.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of NETFLIX. Before we got married, my husband was a big tv watcher. He couldn’t believe I didn’t have cable or even basic television in my home to watch shows daily. I said “I don’t need those, I have Netflix“. After we got married, he [...]You just finished reading My Children Watch Netflix Kids (and Nothing Else) #NetflixKids! Consider leaving a comment!This post is written by Penelope Guzman from Penelope's Oasis. If you are not currently reading this via e-mail or an RSS feed directly from Penelope's Oasis, then this post has been stolen or scraped. Stolen content can be reported here .

Throughout the month of May, receive 30% off Maclaren's entire collection of diaper bags. Besides buying online, you can also take advantage of this offer at one of their showroom stores in NYC and Norwalk, CT. Excludes the BMW bag.

Love America? Then you will love this room! This American Pride room from Country Living shows country pride in many details.  The state-pennant artwork from Neiman Marcus is an eye-catcher and also the working traffic light. Add stars, add stripes, and your country room is in process of becoming something wonderful! Reminds me of a country fair! The post American Pride Kids Bedroom appeared first on Design Dazzle.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Comfort and Harmony. All opinions are 100% mine. I have a secret when it comes to trying to balance this mom of two thing, and it’s having my hands free. I wear my little guy in a wrap (I love mine by Sugar Sweet Baby) about 50% of the time at home and 99% of the time when we’re out. I haven’t mastered nursing him in the wrap just yet… We still need to work on that, but I recently discovered another awesome way to have my hands free while feeding him at home. I was trying to do my daughter’s hair before bed, which can be a process at times. Big T was getting fussy and tired, but I needed to finish with Lil’ J before she went to bed with crazy wet hair. Her patience doesn’t always last long when I’m doing her curls so I didn’t want to take a break to feed him before finishing. Just then I noticed my nursing pillow… BINGO! I plopped him on there, got him latched on, and had my hands free to finish my daughter’s hair. I felt like a supermom. So here’s the thing. The funny thing about babies and baby gear is there are so many places you can set a baby. They sell swings; fancy Mamaroos, bouncy seats, moses baskets, Bumbo chairs… And the list goes on. We sold off and gave away all of our baby stuff after Lil’ J was older, it just took up too much space. I was hesitant to get anything this time around for fear of the same thing—Having so much stuff I’ll rarely use. So when I was contacted to review the Mombo nursing pillow, I was hesitant to accept because it’s one more thing I may or may not need. I have a Boppy but I didn’t have a real nursing pillow, so I thought “what the heck” I’d give it a try. I was also intrigued by the little vibration panel it has inside. When it arrived I was a little disappointed batteries weren’t included, but lucky me, I had an extra C battery in my office drawer. I set it up and propped my little guy in it. There’s a soft side for lounging and if you flip it over, the other side is firm. I posted a photo on Instagram and people have been asking me how it compares to the popular Boppy pillow. I promised to share my honest opinion so here we go… He doesn’t seem to really care for the vibration feature. I thought he’d love it since he has it on his bouncy chair and seems to like that, but I noticed when I laid my head on it, it was a bit strong. I could see myself getting a headache from that, so maybe that’s how he felt. It’s also pretty sensitive to turn on and off. It accidently gets pushed easily. Like I mentioned, I didn’t have a nursing pillow and I didn’t really use anything to prop him on while feeding him, but when I realized I could use it and have my hands free when I was in a pinch, I fell in love. It is a bit of a tight squeeze opening it up around my waist. I think the firm side makes it not as easy and I’m not sure how easy it would be for a heavier sized person to use it, but that’s something to note. Other than that, it’s beautiful, and a nice quality build. I love the alternating firmness on each side. When I nurse him on it he almost always falls asleep. And if I need to pee, I can set him in there for a minute while my daughter adores him, and not have to worry about him falling out. Speaking of my daughter again, she of course always wants to hold him, and the pillow works perfectly for wrapping around her, and letting him sit propped up in her arms. I captured this video, which pretty much sells it for me, and for her… And for her hair. You can find the Mombo pillow at Babies ‘R Us for $24.99. Then there are several of cute covers you could choose for it, some with taggies. For more information about the Monbo pillow you can follow Comfort & Harmony on Twitter or like Comfort & Harmo

It's a fact that moms-to-be look forward to sandal season both to try the latest styles in spring shoes and summer fashions as well as for reasons of comfort.

Parents of girls (especially only girls), answer me this….do girls play-fight like this, or is it a boy thing? (I know my sister and I fought like this growing up, but it wasn’t pretend like here!) While I have you here, do you mind clicking on the Top Mommy Blogs button on the right? I’m at #32 right now, which is pretty pathetic. Only takes a second! The post Boys. appeared first on pyjammy's triplets.

Brent and I decided early on that we wanted to get Arlo a sandbox for his second birthday, as he and Everly always enjoy playing in the ones at our local parks. Late last month, I spent some time researching options online looking for one that would fit our needs. For aesthetic reasons, I wanted a wooden sandbox since it would be in our front yard. I also wanted something that would keep Arlo shaded and I kept thinking that if it was mobile, it would be nice not to have to kill what little grass we have (and the green weeds that we like to pretend is grass). I really loved the design of the Badger Basket Sandbox  because it features a lid that covers the entire box but plays double duty as it folds up into two bench seats. I looked at a lot of different models, but the functionality and price ($119) for this cedar model was my favorite. We purchased the kit to build our own and sent mama the dimensions and asked her if she could design a way to make it mobile. She drove down to Raleigh for Arlo’s birthday party and when she showed me what she had made, I was absolutely thrilled. Her design has five wheels and a long tow rope so that we can move it around the yard. She painted the base bright red to give it some color. She put the sandbox kit together and then attached it to the base with L brackets. Before we added the sand, we drilled holes in the platform base, and then added a layer of mesh outdoor gardening fabric so that water could drain through, but the sand would stay put if it rained. (Mama and her finished sandbox) The result was a beautiful sandbox that can be wheeled around to shady parts of the yard as the day progresses that won’t destroy the ground cover underneath. It’s heavy with the sand, but it works great! At Arlo’s dinosaur party on Saturday (a post to come on that tomorrow!) we filled it full of plastic dinosaurs and dino skeletons and it was a huge hit with the kids in attendance as they practiced being little paleontologists. Some of them stayed put for thirty minutes or more as they happily dug! The only downside is that now I’ve got to learn to come to terms with the layer of sand that I’ve found in the house since it arrived! My mom can build anything out of wood. Our house is full of tables and shelves and bowls and even cupcake stands that she has made based off a simple photo or idea I sent her way. She’s like my own personal Bob Vila! I was just so proud of this that I wanted to share it on my blog. Happy Monday! Love, M