Here’s a little trick I use when I need to get my house clean in a hurry.

It’s hard keeping the house clean with two little ones running around. Especially when one is in the stage of throwing food on the floor and the other one is constantly dumping the toy box all over the house. I also like to spend as much time with my kids as possible, so I want to spend as little time cleaning as I can.

To do this, I just set the timer on the stove to an hour, and get as much cleaning as I can done in that time frame. If I’m really stretched for time, I’ll only set it to 30 minutes. You can use your microwave to do this too.

If I don’t give myself a time limit, I’ll end up cleaning all day long! I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so it can take me a long time just to do the dishes. But when I set a timer, I’ll try and get it done as quickly as possible so I can move on to another task before the timer runs out.

Water is extremely important to your health, especially if you’re trying to get back into pre-pregnancy shape. The benefits to drinking water are many, but here are just a few.

By drinking the recommended 8 glasses a day, you’re also setting a good example for your kids to drink water as well. In fact, every time I sit down with a glass of water, my daughter asks for one too. I don’t forbid pop or juice, but she actually prefers water.

If you’re not drinking enough water each day, today is the perfect time to start. I’ve done up a handy checklist for you to print to help you get started. It will help you keep track of how many glasses you’re drinking a day, and after a couple weeks, it should be habit.

Did you know that your body doesn’t show signs of thirst until long after your body needs water? A lot of people actually mistake thirst for hunger. Once you start drinking more water, your natural thirst will start to come back quickly and you’ll also find that you’re eating fewer calories each day. Yes, you will have to pee more times a day at first, but that will also get back to normal in a short while.

You can download your water checklist here.

If your baby is 6 months or older but refuses to eat iron-fortified infant cereal, don’t worry. At that age, their tiny tummies can actually tolerate other foods like jarred baby food, or homemade baby food like pureed fruit, vegetables and meat.

If your baby doesn’t like cereal, try adding some slowcooked meat into a blender or food processor with a bit of the meat liquid and serve that to them. They’ll still receive iron from the meat, but the iron in vegetables isn’t absorbed as easily. They’ll need to eat a lot more veggies to get the same amount of iron in one serving of pureed meat.

It wasn’t until recently that we were told to feed our babies solids at 4 months of age. However, new recommendations state that we don’t need to start babies on solids until 6 months of age. Until then, formula or breastmilk provides all the nutrients that they need.

At 4 months, infant cereal would be all a little baby’s stomach could handle, but at 6 months, their digestive system is more developed and can digest more foods. That’s good news for you if they don’t like that yucky cereal.

Kids can accumulate so many toys that it can be overwhelming, especially during birthdays and holidays. To help avoid this problem, here are some easy tips to help you keep your kid’s room organized, even after birthdays and holidays.

The key to keeping any room organized is having ample storage. In this post, I’ll discuss a few different options to help keep the toys off the floor.

Some bedrooms don’t have closets, so you may want to buy shelves and bins. Shelves are great for storing things that you don’t want them to play with, like diapers, clothes and other baby or kid accessories. You can find all kinds of different colored bins to add to the decor of your child’s room that provide fun places to store toys.

Clear bins are great because they allow your child to see which toys are in which bins. Hopefully this will prevent all the toys from being scattered all over the floor in the search for one specific toy. Putting labels on them will help you out when you need to do a quick clean up.

Some kids can get quite a collection of stuffed animals going, but it can be hard to find a place to put them. When I was a kid, my mother sewed some string to the head of each animal and hung them up on my walls with push pins. If your child likes to play with them regularly, you can also purchase big Rubbermaid containers with lids at a very affordable price.

Under-the-bed storage is a great alternative for very small rooms. Toys that aren’t played with as often can be stored under here. It’s also a great place to store out of season clothes. Having storage under a child’s bed can also eliminate the opportunity for them to store garbage or important school documents where you’ll never find them.

You can also purchase plastic bins with several containers stacked vertically. Look for the kind with wheels and handles. This will make it easier to move it around when you’re cleaning. This will also help your child to learn organizational skills by keeping items separated in each bin. Legos in one bin, puzzles and games in another, and so on.

Another great storage option are cube ottomans. They come in a variety of colors and the lid flips over to become a tray. Not only does this provide another method of storage, but seating options as well. You can also find round ottomans to add some fun style to a room without compromising space.

Take your kids shopping with you and ask them to pick out some fun bins, baskets and other storage accessories. Getting them involved in organizing their own room will hopefully help them to keep it clean which will make your job a lot easier.

Another tip to keep the toys at bay is to get rid of older toys every time some new ones come in. There are plenty of organizations that accept donated toys, and this could give your child a very positive feeling that they’ve done something for someone else. Any toys that are broken should be thrown away.

One thing that can be hard to deal with is getting rid of toys that have sentimental value. What you have to remember is that every toy creates memories, but they will always be with you in your mind, not in the actual toy. You may want to keep a box stored away for really special toys that were gifts or that have a special story, but don’t let it become more than one box.

By keeping every toy and article of clothing your child has ever received, you’re passing on these tendencies to your child. It’s much easier to avoid developing the pack-rat habit than it is to break it. In the end you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll have a much cleaner and more organized kids room to show for it!

Baby Teething Remedies

Teething normally occurs in babies between the ages of six and nine months and can last for months at a time. Some common symptoms of teething include cranky moods, swollen gums, drooling, fever, diaper rash, and excessive biting on objects.

You should expect your baby to be fussy, as her gums are in an extremely tender state during the teething process. She might even refuse to eat or take her bottle if she is uncomfortable or in pain.

Here are some common baby teething remedies that will help ease your baby’s discomfort:

* Rub his gums with your finger. Remember to wash your hands before doing so.

* Soak one end of a clean bath cloth in water. Place the wet cloth in a refrigerator. Once chilled, let your baby bite or suck on the cold cloth.

* Chill a teething ring or teething toy in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Let your baby chew on the cold toy.

* Offer your baby a frozen banana (with adult supervision). Be sure to freeze the banana thoroughly before giving it to your baby. Cut the banana in half to make it easier for your baby to hold.

* Use an OTC (over the counter) teething gel. These gels are specially formulated to be safe for your baby. Read and follow the instructions on the package carefully before applying the gel to your baby’s gums.

* Administer Tylenol or Motrin, for pain and fever as recommended by your pediatrician. If your baby has trouble sleeping at night, consider giving them a dose of pain medication just before bedtime. If you’re unsure of what pain medications to give your baby, make sure to check with your pediatrician first.

Everyone has heard horror stories about flying with a baby that cries non-stop. It’s stressful for the other passengers, for the parents and most of all for the baby.

On a recent trip to Washington DC with my nearly 7 month old, I learned a few tricks that I thought might benefit other parents flying with a baby:

1. Plan your flight around baby’s schedule. If your little one has a melt down at 8pm every night like mine does, that’s not the best time to be boarding an airplane! Try choosing a departure time when baby will be awake and happy. Once on board you can make him or her comfortable and deal with any problems that come up.

2. Help baby pressurize his or her ears by encouraging swallowing. Whether this means nursing, fedding a bottle or using a sippy cup – swallowing is the best way to help your baby avoid uncomfortable ear pressure. The most important times are on take off and landing. 

3. Make sure you have a change of clothes. For baby and for you! There will undoubtedly be spitup and spills so make sure you have something handy so that when you land you can both have a clean, fresh outfit.

4. Take a fully stocked diaper bag as one of your carry on items. Not only will you be thankful to have all of your supplies if you need them, but if for some reason your luggage is not waiting for you when you land you’ll have everything you need for baby. 

4. If your baby’s bedtime occurs during the flight, try to keep your usual routine. Most babies take their normal bedtime routine as a cue that it’s time to settle down for the night. If you usually put baby into pajamas and then read a bedtime story, do the same thing on the plane.

5. Ask for help if you need it. Flight attendants are generally very good about helping passengers with babies. If you need someone to give you a hand with something, don’t be afraid to ask.

Halloween safety is an important issue at this time of year. As all the little ghosts and goblins prepare to take to the streets, make sure you share with them these important Halloween safety tips:

1 Be visible. Have them carry a flashlight, attach reflective tape to their costume or wear glow lightsticks as bracelets/necklaces. All of these will make them more visible to cars.

2. Stay on the sidewalks. With the excitement of the night, kids sometimes forget to stay on the sidewalk. Make sure you discuss with older children how important it is that they not walk on the road. 

3. Stick to neighbourhoods you know. If you’ll be taking your kids trick-or-treating you can take them only to houses that you know are safe. But make sure older kids are given strict instructions on what neighbourhoods they’re allowed to visit.

4. Know how to get help. If a child is ever in danger, make sure he or she knows to run to the nearest house with a light on. It’s also a good idea to make sure your child has a quarter to phone home if needed.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Cloth diapers are definitely less expensive in the long run than disposable ones. They’re also better for the environment, expose your baby to fewer chemicals and encourage children to toilet train earlier.

And surprisingly they’re not that much extra work!

The average child wears diapers for 2 1/2 years and goes through 6,500 diapers! Studies show that most families see a savings of $800 – $1600 when they use cloth rather than disposable.  

Although the upfront investment is higher, the ongoing costs are minimal. In fact cloth diapers do best when washed in vinegar (which is certainly affordable). Another cost saver is that cloth diapers can be reused for other children. 

The other alternative is to use a diaper service. With this option you can expect to pay almost as much as you would for disposables. But don’t forget, there are many other benefits of using cloth diapers.

Weaning your baby from the bottle can be a very stressful time for both your and your child. If you’re fortunate enough to be reading this before its time to wean your baby, you’ll hopefully have an easier time of taking away the bottle and moving to solid foods exclusively.

I am so grateful to my mother for giving me this tip when my daughter was first born. It worked so well that it took the stress and frustration right out of weaning. In fact, I hadn’t even realized that my daughter wasn’t drinking from a bottle until two days after she was fully weaned. She never fussed or asked for her bottle once during the transition from formula to solid food.

So, here’s my number one tip I received from my mother. Starting today, don’t let your baby hold the bottle. That’s it – that’s the magic formula. It worked wonders for me and if you start early enough, I know it can work wonders for you too. Here’s why:

By letting your baby hold and play with their own bottle, they associate it with things other than feeding. This isn’t a bad thing, but once you try and wean your baby from the bottle, they’ll miss it as a toy or source of comfort.

During the period from 6-12 months of age, your baby will gradually be eating more solids and drinking less formula or breastmilk. If they only use the bottle as a source of food, they won’t miss it once its time to wean because they’ll be eating plenty of solid foods to satisfy them.

I held my daughter’s bottle for her since day one. I had been dreading her first birthday because I assumed she would turn ornery every time she expected her bottle instead of solid food. To my surprise, she had transitioned from formula to solids so easy that I wasn’t even aware the weaning process was over. By using this tip, I hope you will have the same experience as well.

More tips for weaning your baby from the bottle.

My son has been teething for quite a few months now. Some days he can get quite fussy. When his little sister was younger, she would also get really fussy when she was cutting a new tooth.

The thing that worked best for me with my daughter was giving her a cold washcloth to chew on. This works really great for my son as well.

You can place a clean damp washcloth in a freezer bag, then keep it in the freezer or fridge. When your baby is having discomfort from teething, you can roll it up like a popsicle and just let them chew on it.

This little teething tip has worked better than all the others I’ve tried, and believe me, I’ve tried them all.

If this one doesn’t work so well on your own baby, I have some more teething remedies you can try here.