New Born

  • Baby, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom, Sponsored

    How I Track My Baby’s Milestones

    This post is made possible with support from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program. All opinions are my own.

    Last week, my baby girl turned five months. I can’t believe she’s been here almost half of a year already and while I sometimes want to freeze time so I can kiss her chubby cheeks and snuggle her tiny body forever, watching her develop and reach new milestones is exciting. Before I became a mother, I thought that only milestones like smiling, sitting up and walking were significant. While those are big milestones, as a mom of three kids, I know better now, and I keep track of all her social, cognitive, movement and language milestones. I know this sounds overwhelming and maybe a bit intimidating but thanks to the free CDC’s Milestone Tracker app, I know which milestones to look out for, and I can track them in one place. This app makes all of her wellness checks go smoother than they did with my older kids and even reminds me when to schedule her pediatrician check-ups, which I need with my mom brain.

    How I Track My Baby's Milestones

    Recently we checked off two cool milestones that both her and our family is enjoying. She can now roll over in both directions and sit up. Whenever her siblings see her roll over they cheer and make so much noise that she laughs loud. Her little laugh is infectious, so this leads to lots of laughing. It’s amazing to see this little girl develop and I think now that my other kids much older, they’re as amazed as I am. I think none of us were ready for her sitting up so soon, but she loves it while we marvel at her. It’s a reminder to me that all kids are different as I note that all three of my kids reached that milestone at different times but within the same milestone window.

    How I Track My Baby's Milestones

    If you don’t have it yet, the free CDC Milestone Tracker app is available in both iOS and Android, and it tracks milestones from birth to 5 years. If your child ever misses a milestone; the app makes recommendations on when to act early and talk to your doctor which I think we all can agree will give us peace of mind. You can download it for iOS and Android to check milestones on the go.

    What milestone did your baby reach recently?

  • Baby, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom, Product Reviews, Sponsored

    6 Ways to Entertain a Baby

    This post is part of a paid partnership with BJ’s Wholesale Club. All opinions are based on my experience as a member.

    Now that she’s four months old, my baby girl is past the newborn stage, and she’s not sleeping as much as before. When she’s up, and her little eyes are always searching around whatever room she’s in looking for fun. We love this about her; it’s like she’s looking for the party. When I tell my friends that she’s always looking for the party they laugh, but it’s true, she loves to have a good time. So keeping this little girl happy and entertained is what we do these days. I remember the days when I was a first time mom and struggled to entertain my baby. I would bore her by singing the same songs over and over or just tickle her nonstop because I couldn’t think of anything else. Now, three kids later I’m confident and know some practical ways to keep my baby from getting bored. If you’re looking for ideas, here are six ways to entertain a baby based on my experience:

    Entertain a Baby

    While I can’t create a hard schedule, I know her daily routine, so I drop everything at certain times of the day and give her my undivided attention. Limited time means finding clever ways to get my work and errands completed while she’s sleeping. I work after she goes to bed at night, and I do online shopping or wholesale shopping for our home at BJ’s Wholesale Club. We joined BJ’s in May 2013 while I was pregnant with my son and we’ve been using it since to get everything from board books to groceries, diapers, wipes, baby wash, to cupcakes for class parties. Joining BJ’s was a good money move because we save on brands that we trust and have used for years as well as BJ’s exclusive Berkley Jensen line.  We save time too because we get everything in one store giving us more family time.

    Entertain a Baby

    Read to your baby.

    Entertain a Baby

    As most of you know by now, I love to read to my children. Cuddling up with a book is something we all enjoy. I read to the baby at least once a day and her big sister reads to her too. I shared some of our favorite books to read her here if you need ideas and you can also find a great selection of baby books at your local BJ’s club.

    Play in the Mirror.

    Babies love to stare at their image and your image in the mirror. It’s fascinating to them, and if you make funny faces in the mirror, you’re sure to get bonus giggles from your little one.

    Play Peekaboo.

    Entertain a Baby

    Peekaboo is an old favorite because babies love surprises. Sometimes when we play peekaboo with her, you could see astonishment in her little eyes.

    Listen to music.

    Babies enjoy music too! You may notice a change in your baby’s demeanor when music is on. I play lots of neo-soul during the day, and it seems to relax the baby.

    Entertain a Baby

    Make diaper changes fun.

    There is no other time you get the complete attention of your baby than during diaper changes so using that time as an opportunity to have some fun. My voice isn’t the smoothest, but I sing her songs and play with her while changing her and she always giggles. If singing isn’t your thing, a nursery rhyme, beatboxing or a poem will work just as well.  I try my best to make it a comfortable experience for her by using products like Berkley Jensen ultra sensitive wipes which I love because they’re fragrance-free and do not contain questionable ingredients like parabens, phthalates, dyes or alcohol. I started using BJ’s Wholesale Club Berkley Jensen diapers a few weeks ago, and I was surprised by how absorbent they are and how well they fit her little body.

    Entertain a Baby

    I hope you can have fun and create some beautiful memories and moments with your baby using these tips. Don’t worry, babies get tired fast so you wouldn’t have to do all six of these at one time. If you’re not already a member, sign up for BJ’s Wholesale Club here with my refer-a-link here so you can get a $25 gift card as my friend. If you enjoy couponing, BJ’s also accepts manufacturers coupons. Over the next year, I will be sharing more of our favorite BJ’s Wholesale Club items for babies and the family here on the blog and social media so stay tuned.

     

     What’s your favorite way to keep your baby entertained?

     

     

     

  • Fashion, Lifestyle, Mind and Soul, Motherhood, New Born, New Mom

    Self-Preservation and Motherhood

    What does self-preservation mean to you? Do you give it any thought? To me, self-preservation is protecting Adanna from depletion and loss of identity. Things that I am at risk for as a mother of 3 small children under 7. I’ve written a lot about self-care over the past year and my self-care journey. Alone time, journaling, spirituality, exercise, sleep, and therapy are some of my self-care practices and combined they serve self-preservation. They keep my cup filled, head leveled and feet planted firmly on the ground.

    So how do I maintain this? I started to view myself as another child and treat myself with the same gentle love that I treat my children. Just like I would find the time and energy to take good care of an additional child, I do that for myself. I try my best to turn the noise off to listen to myself and hear what my needs are from me and not from the world.

    self-preservation and motherhood
    Coat: Boohoo, Jeans: Zara, Sunglasses: Amazon Shoes: Target

    I’m also working on establishing boundaries, something admittedly I’ve been terrible at but is now necessary is for me. I’m an open book for the most part about my ups and my downs so when I feel the need to protect or keep something sacred. I need to be bold about that. It’s hard to establish new boundaries in old relationships but one thing that helps is recognizing that in many instances the people who I have no filter with or no boundaries have from day one established boundaries for me that I’ve always respected. I know that over time it might seem odd that I’m about to toss up those boundaries but I think they will eventually understand why this is important to me.

    I’ll keep you updated as I continue to feel my way through motherhood, self-care and meeting my goal of self-preservation.

    I would love to hear your thoughts on self-preservation and motherhood in the comment section below.