March 31, 2017

First Easter Onesies

Disclaimer: All images belong to Disney®, Precious Moments® Peanuts®, and their respected owners. Images were found using Google Image Search. These were made for fun and are completely free. Do not sell. For personal use only.

You can print these out on iron-on transfer paper and then iron them onto onesies for your kid(s).

Preview

Download Here

For help with iron-on transfers, this post on Borealis Blog does a great job explaining how to do it!

March 24, 2017

How to Introduce Your Pets to Baby

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I want to start off this post by saying my pets are my babies. No matter what the outcome was when we brought home our newborn, getting rid of our pets was not an option. We would make it work, no matter what it took. Now with that being said, our pets took to our newborn within no time.

I read a lot online about how to introduce your pets to your new baby, but I think the best advice we got was in the birth class we took. Our instructor provided us information from this site: Family Paws Parent Education (FPPE). FPPE has a great Dog and Baby Safety sheet that you can print out here.

Here is a step by step of how we introduced our pets to our new baby.

Step 1

First, introduce your pet to an item of clothing or blanket that has been worn by the baby. This allows your pets the chance to familiarize themselves with the new scent.

What we did after bringing baby home was keep her in her bedroom. Our dog immediately started barking because she knew something was different. I laid a blanket and some items of clothing outside the door for our dog and cats to sniff.

Step 2

Let your pets come to you and baby. Do not force anything, let them take their time to get to know the newest member of the family.

The same night, after our dog had time to sniff the baby's belongings and calm down, we took the baby out of her bedroom and sat in the living room, allowing our dogs and cats to take their time to come to us while we were holding the baby.

Also, do not scold your pets for being curious and wanting to sniff your baby. You want to encourage them to interact with the baby. By yelling at or shooing them away, you are preventing them from ever bonding, and making the new baby seem like a scary thing rather than a good thing. If you want, you can reward your pets with treats for being calm around the baby.

Step 3

Whenever pets are in the same room as the baby, you or someone else needs to be present until you are confident in your pet's behavior.

We were afraid the cats might try to jump in our baby's pack n play, so we had bought netting to cover it to keep them out. We also purchased a bassinet that had a cover to keep them out as well.

After a few weeks, it became evident that the cats had no interest in either the pack n play or bassinet, and we gradually got lazy at using the netting and cover. I think it was a little over a month that we finally didn't use them at all and our girl is now almost three months, so soon she will be transitioning to the crib (which we plan to keep her room door closed, so that means checking that all the pets are out of the room before leaving.)

As for the dog, well she follows me everywhere so the dog and baby are never alone in the same room, but I have no concern that the dog would intentionally hurt the baby at this point. The worse she's done is lick baby's toes and wag her tail in baby's face while the baby was sitting in the bouncer. We have a very calm dog who is pretty much content with sleeping on the couch all day, though if you mention going on a walk, she becomes super excited, so if you have a high energy dog, you might not ever want to leave baby alone in the same room (FPPE recommends you shouldn't anyway).

I will admit that I have left the baby alone in a room with the cats, but because our cats have proven to show no interest in her. They ignore her and have never once attempted to jump in her bassinet or pack n play. They basically sniffed her the first couple of days and then lost interest, typical cats. If you have a more friendly cat or dog trapped in a cat body, then you might want to make sure if you do leave the baby alone, that they are in a room alone, without pets present.

~~~

And that's all there was to it! Our pets were pretty easy as I have heard some rough stories of jealous dogs. In many of these stories though it is because the owners neglect the dog due to the stress of taking care of a newborn. Plus many people have this crazy idea to get a puppy at the same time they are having a baby. A puppy is basically a newborn, so you are taking care of two babies!

Sometimes I think these people have never owned a dog before so they don't know what they are getting into. Puppies are cute, but a ton of work. We got our puppy when she was 7 months old and we still had to work on potty training, kennel training, and we had to deal with her chewing on things we didn't want her chewing on! Luckily she was easily trained in a month and her chewing was gone by her first birthday.

But I digress, if your dog is jealous, consider spending more time with your dog and doing things with your dog that include baby, like going on walks. I push our baby in the stroller while walking our dog at the same time. I get exercise, the dog gets attention and exercise, and baby gets a nice nap and fresh air. Everyone wins! If your dog likes fetch, you can hold your baby or use a baby carrier and throw a ball, Frisbee, or stick in the backyard or at the park. These are just a few ways you can give your dog attention while caring for your baby.

March 19, 2017

HighFive Easy Mattress Protector Giveaway!

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5 Winners Will Receive:

A HighFive Easy Mattress Protector / Waterproof Fitted Sheet!

A $155 TRV Giveaway!

Whether we like it or not, those bedtime diaper leaks do happen and it’s good to be prepared for when they do. Before learning of HighFive Easy, I always used a waterproof mattress protector on my daughter’s bed and then covered it with a fitted sheet. Now, with HighFive Easy to the rescue that’s not something I need to do anymore! HighFive Easy makes a 100% cotton crib mattress protector that is also a waterproof fitted sheet thanks to its TPU layer. TPU fabrics are made using a (slightly more expensive) heating process that “bakes in” the laminated waterproofing properties rather than using chemicals. Then the top layer of material was chosen, so that it was comfortable and breathable for your child.

Click here to read Love, Mrs. Mommy's full HighFive Easy review!

Open To US and must be 18+ to enter

Giveaway Dates ~ 3/20 12:01 AM EST through 4/12 11:59PM EST

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Disclosure: Love, Mrs. Mommy and all participating bloggers are not held responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill their prize obligations. Love, Mrs. Mommy received a HighFive Easy Mattress Protector at no cost to facilitate the above-mentioned review. This giveaway is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Facebook or any other social media site. The winner will be randomly drawn by Giveaway Tools and will be notified by email. Winner has 48 hours to reply before a replacement winner will be drawn. If you would like to participate in an event like this please contact LoveMrsMommy (at) gmail (dot) com.

March 18, 2017

Campbell's Well Yes! Soups Giveaway

Hosted by: Queen of Reviews, IMHO Views, Reviews & Giveaways, Tammie's Reviews, Giveaways & More, Deliciously Savvy, Before and After Baby & Love, Mrs. Mommy

Sponsor: Campbell's Soup

Prize: 1 Can of Each of the 9 Varieties of Campbell's Well Yes! Soups

Well Yes!^™ soups are crafted with care. Campbell's choose real nutritious ingredients to create delicious soups, without compromising on flavor. So say yes to the good stuff so you have what you need to say yes in the rest of your life.

Dates: 3/18-4/1

Open to: US Residents 18+

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Baskin Robbins $31 Gift Card Giveaway

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Sponsor: Baskin Robbins

Prize: Baskin Robbins $31 Gift Card

Named the top ice cream and frozen dessert franchise in the United States by Entrepreneur magazine’s 35th annual Franchise 500® ranking, Baskin-Robbins is the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops. Baskin-Robbins creates and markets innovative, premium ice cream, specialty frozen desserts and beverages, providing quality and value to consumers at nearly 7,300 retail shops in nearly 50 countries. Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by two ice cream enthusiasts whose passion led to the creation of more than 1,000 ice cream flavors and a wide variety of delicious treats.

Dates: 3/18-4/1

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March 17, 2017

Born Free Bottle Genius Review

Disclosure: I was not paid by Born Free to write this review. Item was a prize we won in a Giveaway and I loved it so much, I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions. Affiliate links are used in this post. Read full disclosure here.

A year ago we won this awesome formula maker called the Born Free Bottle Genius and after having used it for over two months now, I feel the need to share how awesome it is! (I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own.)

This little machine sits right next to our coffee maker. It makes getting a bottle ready quick and easy! There is no measuring out formula or water, as the machine does that for you. It is preprogrammed to do formula scoops of 8.6-9.0 grams, so Enfamil works great with it. However, you can also program it to do less, which wasn't complicated at all. We also use Similac (which is 8.2 - 8.3 grams per scoop).

The tank holds enough water to do eight 4oz bottles, which is about right from my experience. The tank will also flash blue when it is low and needs refilling. We usually try to avoid this because then you have to stop and fill the tank before you can finish making a bottle, which defeats the purpose of this device, which is making a quick bottle.

It comes with a stand you can place on the scale for shorter bottles (4-5 ounces). For taller bottles (8-9 ounces), you don't need the stand.

The only con we have discovered is that due to the steam being released so close to where the formula is dispensed, sometimes the formula clumps and it clogs the dispenser. The machine lets you know when this happens by beeping and flashing red. We have just made it a thing to check after every other bottle or so. You can easily clean it out with a toothpick though if in a hurry. The thing that is odd is that the manual warns you this can happen, so the company knows it is a problem, yet they didn't bother to find a solution before marketing it other than to have the user clean it periodically.

All the parts are easy to clean and wash, we usually wait till we go through a container of formula before cleaning it (or if changing to a different formula type/brand), so for us it is about every two weeks as we only supplement formula, if you are doing formula only, it claims it holds enough to do 2-3 days and you can only fit about half a container (~22 oz) of formula in it, so that would be 4-6 days to empty a container of formula,

Overall I highly would recommend investing in the Born Free Bottle Genius (retails for around $150) if you are formula feeding. It makes warm bottles in less than a minute, all you have to do is shake the bottle and feed your baby!

Kumfy Soft Nursing Pad Set Giveaway

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Womb to Walking
Kumfy Soft Nursing Pad Set Giveaway

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3/17 12am ~ 3/31 11:59pm
TRV $150

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The prize is 8 Pack of Nursing Pad w/ Bonus Washer bag for 10 of Amy & Aron's Real Life Reviews Readers! YAY!

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March 10, 2017

Why You Should Keep Your Relationship Off Facebook

During my pregnancy, I had joined a few mom groups on Facebook for women who had babies due in January, which are probably now parenting groups for moms that gave birth late December to early February. I ended up leaving all of these groups because I could not stand all the man hating.

These were groups where we could talk about our pregnancies and later a go to for parenting advice. However, what amazed me was how many of these women would complain about their spouses or partners.

I have seen certain family members do this in the past on Facebook as well, but not as often, so I never thought to do anything but unfollow those individuals. Now it is a big enough pet peeve that I decided to make a post with reasons why you should keep your relationship off of Facebook, or at least, the messy bits.

1. You are communicating with the wrong person.

A lot of women in these groups like to complain about how their husbands or boyfriends do not help out. I swear there is a new post every day that basically sounds like this: "My husband doesn't do anything!" Well, the obvious response to this is "Have you tried asking him?"

Many women are quick to bash their husbands on social media about how he never helps out, but the reality is, you are probably not even giving him a chance! I remember a couple weeks after having our baby, I was feeling super stressed and upset at my husband because it seemed like I was doing all the work, but I had the decency to not complain about it on social media. My husband noticed that I seemed more irritated than usual and actually confronted me and said: "I want to help, but I don't know what you need help with, just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Men are not psychic (I do not think anyone is for that matter). They can't help you if you do not ask, so instead of complaining on Facebook about how your husband does not seem to notice the mile high pile of dishes in the sink, get off your phone or computer, and simply ask: "Honey, could you please do the dishes?"

One thing I was bad at was just assuming that if I noticed something needed to be done, he would notice too, but that was not the case and was also wrong for me to make that assumption. I have now learned the importance of just asking and being direct. If you say something like "The garbage is looking full," that means nothing to him. If you want him to take out the garbage then ask! (and ask nicely). "Honey, could you please take out the garbage?" will get you what you want and save you from this entire mess!

My husband admitted that he will put things off if he feels he does not have to do it right away. For example, if I notice the garbage is full and mention this to him, he will look at it and think "I can fit more in there," and leave it for another day. I am not sure if this a common thing for men, but just goes to show that you have to let them know you want something done now, or they might try to put if of later.

Also, have you ever thought that maybe YOU are the problem? If you are not asking for help, then you are the one causing the problem. It is easy to blame your spouse, and even easier on social media where other women who are having relationship problems will gladly join you in your man hate (somehow all men end up being the same in these conversations).

However, none of them appear to ever give advice! So my advice to you is to get off of Facebook, figure out what the problem is, consider what YOU can do to change that problem, and then talk to your husband. Usually, it is as simple as just asking your partner to do something you want help with.
.
2. It only makes you look bad.

You may think you are making your partner look bad by complaining how he never does this or that, but in reality, when I see a post like that on Facebook, it is YOU that looks bad. I actually feel sorry for your partner because one, they probably have no idea how you feel, two, you are not even giving them a chance to tell their side of the story, and three you are embarrassing them publicly. Just think about how you would feel if your spouse was to make a post complaining about you.

Instead of coming off as the unsung hero, you come off as the grumpy housewife (to put it nicely) to those of us following you on Facebook, while your partner becomes the poor puppy that got hit by a car (you being the car).

Complaining about your husband on Facebook is not going to get him to stop doing whatever it is you want him to stop doing. You need to communicate to him how you feel and the both of you need to figure out a solution.

Another thing to keep in mind is that once you post it for the world to see, you can never take it back. Yes, you can delete your post, but your mom, grandpa, your best friend, etc. all now know you have relationship problems. They might also be more cautious to share things with you because they now know you will post anything on Facebook.

3. How would you feel if it were the other way around?

I think these women in the Facebook groups feel safe to bash their partners because one, we are all women (supposedly), and two, it is hidden from family and friends (if you have the Ovia parenting app, then it is completely anonymous, which is why I think the posts on there are way worse).

Since I am not "Facebook friends" with any of these women, I can't say if they do or do not post about their partners directly on their Facebook page, but either way, it is childish behavior.

I say childish because that is what a child does: they tattle on everything, "So and so ate the last cookie!" is pretty much the same as: "My husband never takes out the garbage!" You are basically whining to your mommy and daddy ("Facebook friends") about your partner when what you should be doing is sitting down with your partner and having a civil, adult conversation about your problems and how to solve them.

I do not think many of these women consider how they would feel if they found out their partners were doing the same to them. I know I would be upset if I found out my husband was telling his family and friends (or even strangers for that matter!) that I was a lousy wife who only watched Netflix all day (and no that is not what I do all day, but you get the idea). If he had a problem with something I was doing, I would rather him confront me so we can come up with a solution, not complain about it for the world to see. However, that's just me; maybe you don't mind if your significant other is out there complaining about you; that is your call. Just something to consider the next time you decide to post that nasty little status update about how your partner does nothing.

4. Your children will see it.

This doesn't apply to the Facebook groups, but I have personally witnessed this on my Facebook. (Also may not apply if you have kids too young for Facebook, but they will grow up, and Facebook is good about hanging onto past posts).

Some people really need to think "Do I want my children to see this?" before making posts on Facebook. I have even witnessed children of parents apologizing for what their parents posted! It just appalls me how people think it is okay to post their fights or arguments on Facebook as if they are trying to get people to take their side!

You would not fight in public, would you? So why fight on Facebook? I guess if you are one to fight in public, then this may not apply to you.

Either way, this is not a healthy relationship. Instead of taking your fight to the public or social media, you should be trying to work it out among yourselves, and if you can't, then get a counselor, therapist, or other qualified professional to help out, You should be working on fixing your relationship problems, not making them worse or ignoring them and just whining about them on Facebook.

Not only are you embarrassing yourselves with this childish behavior, but your children and other family members for that matter. Also, your kids will likely respect you less because of your immature behavior. They will tell you less because they fear you will post about them on social media and the last thing they need is their own mother or father complaining about how crappy they are to all their family and friends. So if you want to keep your child's respect, then respect your spouse and deal with problems inside the house, not on the internet or street for that matter.

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March 3, 2017

RockAbye "Cutest Rockers In The World" Giveaway!

The RockAbye "Cutest Rockers In The World" Giveaway! Ends 3/29 (Enter Today & Good Luck) @RockAbye

Deliciously Savvy is hosting a giveaway in which one lucky winner will receive a RockAbye Rocker of their choice. There are so many gorgeous styles to choose from, whether a boy or a girl... and they are just so adorable and timeless for sure! A true collectible. Enter Today & Good Luck!

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Deliciously Savvy did not receive any form of compensation for this giveaway other than receiving this above items in order to facilitate my review. Once winner is selected via the Giveaway Tools process, the product will be shipped. Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. No other blog associated with this giveaway is responsible for the product shipment. RockAbye will be providing the prize above to the winner and can take 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. Thank You for stopping by! Any Questions or Concerns email me at mcushing7 (at) hotmail (dot) com.