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Motherhood, Sponsored
Modern Parenthood: 3 Best Apps for Moms
- 12:18 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
This is a sponsored post. As always, all opinions shared are my own.

Parents these days! We’re busy and always have a phone in our hand to document our kids’ entire childhood or get guidance on Pinterest. We get judged so much for how differently we approach parenting from previous generations. At heart, we want to do our best for our children and to find ways to simplify our parenting journey. As a millennial mom, my smartphone is naturally part of my life, and I try my best to use it to make parenting a little better. What good is technology if it doesn’t improve the quality of our lives, right? There are so many apps now that it’s annoying to download app after app, investing time in using them to realize they’re not a fit for our lifestyle as parents. To make it easier for you, I wanted to share my must-have apps for modern moms, the three best apps for moms that I use the most and love.

Aysa

Ever saw a rash or bump on our child’s skin and wondered what the heck it was? I usually wonder if I should bring my child in to see the doctor, worrying that even if it looks like no big deal, it might be. It’s hard to make that judgment call since I’m not a professional. So I was happy to discover Aysa, an iPhone app that makes the judgment call for me, anytime and anywhere.

I wish Aysa existed when my firstborn had her first bout of baby acne and cradle cap, or when her doctor prescribed antibiotics and she broke out with a diaper rash. Aysa as a guidance tool let us mamas know what to do about 200 common skin conditions. I trust the judgment of Aysa because dermatologists develop it with the expertise of over 47,000 doctors.

I used it recently when I spotted a red mark on the baby’s cheek. I simply took a photo of the affected area in the app, answered the follow-up questions and instantly learned it was nothing to worry about. It’s easy to use and saves me the trouble of making a doctors appointment, sometimes taking three kids with me, just to be told it’s nothing to worry about.

Cozi

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know by now that I am a fan of the Cozi app. I’ve been using it for the past seven years, and it helps me to stay organized. I use the shared calendar feature for my kids’ activities, appointments as well as my own. My husband and I have a shared account, so we both can add and edit it easily. My favorite thing about this app is the shopping list feature. Whenever I go shopping, I can adjust easily my list to the layout of the store and I love that I can cross things off my list. You can even add to the list using Alexa. Cozi will literally help you get your whole life together in just one app. I haven’t used it for meal planning yet, but I plan to start doing so in 2019. That’s one area of my life I need to tighten up.

Calm

I know we’re all sick of hearing about the thousand ways we need to practice self-care and wellness, but it’s essential when raising little ones. Ensuring that my mind is balanced allows me to make the best decisions for my family and it puts me in a better frame of mind to take care of my children. I love using the Calm app because of the reminders to take a breather. I have it synced to my Apple watch, and there are times when I would be feeling stressed and get an alert to take a few deep breaths.

Let me know your favorite apps in the comments!
Children's Books, Sponsored
Teaching Children to Give Back During the Holidays
- 12:19 am
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
This post is sponsored by Zonderkidz. As always, all opinions are my own.

While many parents love to brag about how well their kids are doing academically (there’s nothing wrong with that) I’m more proud of how kind my children are. My kids never miss an opportunity to help someone else, especially children who are younger than them — even before they had a baby sister. I think it’s essential that as a community we look out for each other more and I recognize that my power to change this lies in raising my three children with an understanding that there is joy in giving to others. Sometimes just trying to explain this to children can be hard, so I wanted to offer a few ideas to teach kids the joy of giving:

Gratitude Practices

As I mentioned back in September, gratitude is a big part of my family self-care regimen. Every night at bedtime, we share one thing that day we’re thankful for and one thing that made us happy. I started this gratitude practice with the kids to ensure that they grow up with a focus on the positivity in their lives and a habit of counting their blessings on a daily basis. Appreciating what they have makes it easy for them to give back to others.

Read books about giving.

If you ever want to teach a child a lesson, a storybook is one of the best methods to drive the point home. The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving book is perfect for encouraging children during the holidays. The book follows the Berenstain Bears cubs, Brother and Sister, as they prepare for their Christmas Eve pageant and shop for each other. They’re initially just thinking of themselves, but on Christmas Day, they feel the spirit and experience the joy of giving instead of receiving.

If your children, like mine, are preparing to participate in Christmas concerts at school or church, they will be able to relate to the story. They might even be inspired by the Berenstain cubs who chose to give their money to the less fortunate instead of spending it on themselves. My favorite line from the book is when Brother says: “We receive an awful lot, so it’s time we gave some of it back” which is true for so many of our kids. You can get the book for your family’s library here.

Donate Together

My kids are tall, and they’re growing fast, and it feels like I constantly have to buy them new pants as their ankles become visible quickly. I always ask them to help me pack clothes they’ve grown out of to donate so that they become used to giving back. Sometimes my older daughter would say she doesn’t want to stain a cute outfit because she wants another kid to get it. Toys are harder as they get attached but I’m working on helping them to let go and give back especially this season, but I’ve noticed that they like to go with me and put the toys in the baskets. It gives them so much joy.

How do you teach your kids to give back during the holidays?
Baby, Lifestyle, Motherhood, New Mom, Pregnancy, Sponsored
Diaper Bag Checklist: Baby Essentials
- 5:48 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
Thank you BJ’s Wholesale Club for sponsoring this post. As always, all opinions are my own.

A few years ago, when my son was still a baby, I took him and my older daughter to their cousin’s birthday party. At the time, I had a baby and a three-year-old, so there was never a dull moment. After finally getting them both and myself dressed we were running late, so I skipped checking my diaper bag before dashing out the door. When I got to the party, I discovered I had no diapers in my diaper bag, major mom fail. I felt embarrassed to have a big diaper bag with no diapers. The host even joked about it, but fortunately, she had a few diapers on hand, and although they were a little small, they worked for the moment. Since that day, I check my diaper bag daily, and I shop in bulk at BJ’s Wholesale Club for all of my baby essentials to ensure I never run out. With the upcoming holidays, I know most of us are going to be out more than usual with our babies, so I wanted to share a diaper bag checklist of baby essentials you need on the go:

Diapers

It’s called a diaper bag for a reason, this is the most critical thing in the diaper bag, and if you forget it at home, it may be the most expensive to buy on the go. On the days that the baby goes to her swimming lessons, I pack swim diapers too.

Diaper Cream

As I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of Boudreaux Butt Paste, it works well on my baby’s skin, and I keep it in her diaper bag for changes on the go. To prevent rashes, I’m a strong believer in creating a barrier between baby’s skin and the diaper, and the Boudreaux diaper cream is quite effective.

Snacks

My baby girl loves Sprout Organic Snacks, the cheese and broccoli curls are her favorite, and even my son loves them too. These are new at BJ’s Wholesale Club and timely for her as she transitions into a toddler.

Baby Wipes

My rule of thumb is always to keep a packet of wipes that are at least half full. It’s helped me, and I’ve also been able to rescue other moms who needed wipes especially at the playground. I’ve never purchased wipes individually since becoming a mom. They’re much cheaper in bulk.

Baby Wash

While her baby wash is mainly kept in her diaper bag to use for her shower at the pool after swimming, it’s come in handy before after an accident to clean her up. We recently discovered Honest Baby Shampoo and Body Wash, and I love that it’s lightweight, free of harsh chemicals and smells sweet on my baby girl.

Above is my full list everything in my diaper bag. You can download a copy here and print it if that’s more convenient for you. If you need to stock up on baby essentials, don’t waste time or money buying products individually. You will never run out of necessities again with a BJ’s Wholesale Club membership. I use the BJ’s mobile app for the BJ’s Add-To-Card coupon feature, and I love that they are automatically applied to my bill, unlike other stores that require extra steps for saved coupons. Besides baby products, I purchase clothes, groceries, electronics, gifts during the holidays and my husband swears that by filling up our gas tank at BJ’s Gas®.

What are your diaper bag essentials?