Review of the Osprey Poco AG Plus Child Carrier, used for hiking and New York City living. It’s our must have baby/toddler item!
We bought a Osprey Poco AG Plus Carrier as an alternative to a stroller for urban life and for some traditional hiking. We wanted something with a good adjustable fit that was comfortable and could haul a lot of stuff and remain useful for a number of years. This review is with those things in mind.
Tips on how to treat a yeast diaper rash when Nystatin doesn’t work. You’ll see incredible results in 24 hours and it will be completely gone in 3 days. You’ll need Monistat 7, diaper rash cream, water wipes and a towel.
Since she was a baby my daughter has been prone to diaper rash. Even though we change her often, her sensitive skin sometimes can’t handle the littlest bit of moisture, and we end up with diaper rash. We’ve been working on combating diaper rash for a while now, but then there was a new enemy in town – Yeast Diaper Rash!
We treated our daughter’s yeast diaper rash with Monistat cream. We saw amazing results in 24 hours and it was completely gone in 3 days. I’m sharing this with you because I know how hard it can be to get rid of!
Collection of the best childrens tea sets for the modern home. Includes wooden, tin and eco friendly tea sets for kids and toddlers. All available on Amazon Prime!
My daughter was 18 months old when she started to ask me to fill up her tea cups with water, her with a smile and happily slurping it down (and then immediately asking for a refill). She saw Mom drinking tea every morning and afternoon, so when she wanted to be part of my daily rituals, I welcomed it. I’m pretty excited that in a few years I’ll finally have a tea house partner!
Check out my guide on how to throw a tea party!
For now though, tea parties exist in our house, usually on a cozy blanket or her play table. When I was searching for her first tea set, I wanted to get her something special that would last over time. In my heart, I hope that in 20 years, she finds her tea set hidden in storage and I get to tell her stories of how we used to have tea parties, together, with her stuffed animals, and they would just make my day!
EASY TO MAKE Apple, Pear and Banana Baby Food! This homemade baby food recipe makes 64 ounces of baby food for only $10! This simple puree uses fresh fruit that your baby will love! Follow this DIY on how to make it and info on freezer storage! This is my 7 month old’s favorite Stage 2 puree!
Ok, I can’t help it, I’m obsessed with making baby food. Did you think that this vegetable garden loving Mama wouldn’t be making baby food? I love to puree fruits and vegetables in the kitchen and watch Enceladus react to first tastes!
If you love cooking, then you understand the amazing feeling one gets when you serve friends or family a home cooked meal. When placing the food on the table in front of your family, you are essentially saying “I love you!”. So imagine my excitement when I’m cooking for my baby!
Easy to make Christmas Cookies to make with kids! This classic sugar cookies recipe only has 6 ingredients. I loved baking them with my 1 year old daughter!
Do you know what memory I hold most dear when I look back at my childhood? It’s baking sugar cookies around Christmas time with my Mom. We poured flour all over the kitchen table, the oven was on full blast, and Mom had this beautiful wooden rolling pin (which now lives in my kitchen!).
With a 1 year old, I decided it was never too early to start creating baking memories so we decided to bake some Christmas cookies.
Yes, that’s right. You can bake with a 1 year old. My advise? Take a deep breath and go with the flow. Yes, there will be spills. Yes, there might be egg shells in the batter. Yes, she might wear the bowl on her head. But all of that is ok.
I have a picky toddler and she loves this puree, so trust me – your baby is going to love this Butternut Squash Baby Food Recipe made with fruits and vegetables! And even better, it’s easy to make! This is a nutritious Stage 2 and Stage 3 puree for baby, or to serve to toddlers in pouches.
I love making homemade baby food for my daughter. In the beginning our favorite was Apple, Pear and Banana baby food. Then she loved these Sweet Potato Baby Cookies. Now it’s her new favorite snack – Butternut Squash puree mixed with lots of fruits and vegetables!
So there I was in the kitchen, eyeing up a beautiful butternut squash that a friend gave me. Sure, I could make butternut squash casserole, or roasted butternut squash soup, but instead I decided I was going to chop it up and make baby food with it. How’s that for a Mama loving their baby first?
Easy to make fruit puree pouches – perfect for baby and toddler! My daughter is anemic, so I came up with this Spinach Sweet Potato Fruit Pouch recipe to give her more Iron Rich foods! She loves these!
When we went to our 15 month old doctor’s appointment, we found out that Enceladus was anemic and that she needed more iron rich foods in her diet. She was drinking too much milk, which was causing iron not to be absorbed.
Iron Deficiency is fairly common with toddlers, especially when they drink a large amount of milk everyday. On average, doctors say toddlers shouldn’t have more than 24 ounces of milk, but even at 16 ounces of milk a day Enceladus was anemic.
Always being one to try to naturally cure things, I came up with this Spinach Sweet Potato Fruit Pouch, which helped her get her iron levels to where they needed to be!
Many of my readers loved my Butternut Squash baby food, Baby Pumpkin Pancakes and Sweet Potato Cookies, so I hope you love this recipe too!
Leafy dark greens are one of the best sources of iron, such as spinach or kale. If you wanted to substitute kale for spinach in this recipe, go for it! I find that spinach works for taste and in general, kids love it in fruit puree! Sweet Potatoes are a great iron rich food too, so that’s why I’m including both spinach and sweet potatoes!
Real Mom Review of the Lotus Travel Crib, the lightweight pack and play that makes flying and airports so easy! Great for toddlers and babies! Trust me you need this!
When we were looking for a “pack and play”, I found that none of them were fitting our needs. We wanted something light, easy to travel with, and honestly, I wanted something that matched our modern apartment aesthetic. What’s a girl got to do to get a travel crib that doesn’t have hideous prints on it?
Then I found the Guava Family Lotus Travel Crib. It was everything I wanted.
Yes, let’s get my favorite feature out of the way. If you’re going to travel with this, from airport to hotel, and everything in between, you can wear this in bookbag style. I can easily wear this and get through airport security while carrying a toddler, so you can too. 
Let’s make our parks safe for our kids! Learn more about how you can receive a $5,000 donation to make your community playing field organic! This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Stonyfield® FIELDS Initiative.
I’m back with more on StonyFIELD’s biggest mission! If you read my previous post, you’ll know Stonyfield wants to make every field in America organic by stopping the unsafe use of harmful pesticides on our kids playing fields and parks. Don’t you feel great knowing that some companies really care about you? That’s why we always buy Stonyfield yogurt!
We really do always buy Stonyfield yogurt, but that’s beside the point. The big point is that when I was made aware that playing fields and playgrounds were sprayed with pesticides I was pretty shocked. So shocked that I contacted my city council people that day asking them about the play areas that Enceladus frequents.
Thankfully, our usual playgrounds and parks in Brooklyn are safe, but unfortunately not everyone is so lucky. That’s why I really wanted to share this with you, from one mom to another.
If you follow me on social media, then you know the park is our weekend spot. Enceladus, literally drags us to the park, ready to play.
I am OBSESSED with this Baby Sleeping Bag that goes from sleep to play! It’s so smart and easy! This is a must have for babies and toddlers! This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ergobaby.
Hi! I’m back with another favorite baby product to share! This is one of my favorite fall products that I’m going to continue to love through winter and I think you are going to love it too!
Let me show you why this Ergobaby On-The-Move Sleeping Bag is the best. It can basically be summarized in 2 photos.
It goes from this:
To this:
GASP! I know, right?
Yes, that’s right! It goes from sleep to play, which means Enceladus can go from sleeping in her sleeping bag, to immediate playing when she wakes up! I love it!
Pumpkin Baby Pancakes Recipe for babies, toddlers and parents! This easy pancake recipe is great for baby led weaning for first foods! These pumpkin pancakes are healthy and nutritious! Serve for breakfast or dinner – freeze leftovers for busy mornings or daycare!
It’s September… so it’s officially pumpkin season! I mean ok, it’s 95 degrees here, but let’s pretend it feels like Fall, ok?
Because I look forward to pumpkin recipes so much, I wanted to be able to make my baby a pumpkin recipe – perfect for those chubby little fingers of hers! So many of you loved my baby led weaning cookies and baby led weaning muffins so I figured it was time to share the baby pancakes Enceladus is currently loving – Pumpkin Pancakes!
A short answer to a possible very long answer is that baby led weaning (or BLW as the Moms on the playground call it!) encourages your baby to feed themselves instead of eating purees from a spoon. We started Enceladus very early with baby led weaning, and there were some learning curves in the beginning (totally normal) but I really feel that feeding herself has not only made her more independent, but also more open to tasting EVERYTHING.
Seriously, there’s no food she won’t try. Put a food in front of her and watch her eat it!
Plus now she loves cooking with Mama in the kitchen…. even though it gets dangerous sometimes!
Let’s make our parks and playing fields organic! Learn more to make change locally to protect our children from pesticides! This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Stonyfield® FIELDS Initiative.
Rain or shine, we have a weekend event. It involves 2 parents, 1 baby, a swing set and a box of chalk. Do you know what time it is? It’s playground time!
Since Enceladus took her first swing on a swing set (in January!) she’s fallen in love with the playground at our local park. Now many months later, if we stroll by a playground, she immediately starts kicking her legs and pointing to it. Looks like it’s time for a pit stop!
Living in NYC, you work with what you have in regards to play spaces outside. We have beautiful parks (Fort Greene and Prospect Park are our favorites!), but we also have wonderful neighborhood playgrounds. Not only is it a place for little ones to run around and be kids, but it’s also a great place to meet your neighbors!
Support and laughter for parents who have babies and toddlers that only take short naps. This is a first hand experience on how I dealt with it.
Hello Sleeping Baby.
Or maybe I should say close to sleeping baby, because first you need your bottle of milk. Milk always makes you tired.
Sometimes milk will make you fall asleep. But usually, even though you’re exhausted, you will fight me for every single nap.
Ok, now you’re asleep. It’s time for Mom to work. I will do some house work. I will answer some work emails. I will treat myself to a hot lunch in the kitchen.
Full guide on bike riding with a baby! We started riding in NYC with our baby at 10 months old. Learn about the best baby bike seat, baby helmet and safety tips!
Are you looking to start bike riding with your baby (or toddler!) in the city? Then you’ve come to the right place!
Enceladus, 12 months old, ready for a bike ride!
Our daughter Enceladus started to ride around NYC at the age of 10 months with her Dad. She’s officially a pro and loves cruising the Brooklyn bike lanes.
I’m not sure Enceladus was even born yet and Matthew was already dreaming of weekend bike rides with her to Prospect Park.
Matthew is a avid city cyclist, who cycles everywhere. He cycles to Manhattan everyday for work, zipping and zapping through traffic, with stories to make nearly anyone feel a bit nervous. He’s confident on his bike, and that’s key here. If you aren’t confident riding in NYC by yourself, you probably don’t want to bike your baby around too.
Ergobaby 180 Reversible Stroller Review! This is a great stroller for city parents, with a giant sun canopy and easy to fold with 1 hand! This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Ergobaby but all opinions are 100% my own.
You know who are super warriors? City Moms! Being a city mom is tough, especially with lugging your baby and life around with you, from subway to sidewalk to home and everything in between.
That’s why I was so excited to host the Ergobaby Strollin In The Park Event in June to get to know other city moms and to support one of my favorite baby brands – Ergobaby! (You can watch the video here!)
(Don’t you love Enceladus giving the camera a point?)
Hey everybody – Happy Valentine’s Day!
I have a really special Valentine this year. In fact, it’s her first Valentine’s Day. Her name is Enceladus…. and I’m kinda in love with her!
Matthew and I are generally excited about holidays, especially Christmas and Halloween, so I knew when we had a child I was going to go a little Mama crazy with activities and dressing up! There’s just something in me that screams “I’M SO EXCITED TO DO ARTS & CRAFTS WITH MY BABY!”.
Change your shirt, put towels on the floor, wear a poncho – things are about to get messy. Enceladus started eating solids! This post is in partnership with buybuy BABY.
At our 4 month pediatrician visit, we got the go ahead to start solids when we were feeling ready for it, so at 5 months we decided to give it a try. After months of watching her Mom and Dad eat, Enceladus must have been practicing in her head, because on the first spoonful she reached out her hand, grabbed the spoon and shoved the pureed fruits into her mouth! Success!
(We use the Fisher-Price Deluxe Booster Seat because it attaches to a chair and saves room in our apartment!)
A complete schedule of a 3 month old baby, including sleeping and eating! This also lists achievements and other things we saw her do for the first time! This post is in partnership with buybuy BABY.
Hey everybody, I hope your week is off to a good start!
A few weeks ago, I thought I would document the day of our 3 month old. Before I had a baby, I thought I would be able to work during the day, or at least wipe my mouth filled with chocolate when the UPS man knocked at my door. How naive I was!
While preparing for a baby, or even now, I enjoyed reading other parent schedules. I don’t think we should ever compare our schedule to another family’s as everyone is different, but I always found it helpful and fun to prepare myself for the next few months!
(Enceladus, with her favorite toy (“Butter”) at 3 months old.)
Here is her 3 month schedule. (This was when she was 3 months, 4 weeks).
Review of the SNOO Bassinet from a mom who’s baby had colic for 12 weeks! We love the Snoo and it helped her so much to sleep through the night!
Have you heard of the SNOO bassinet? I like to describe it as the most modern, beautiful, amazing, life changing baby bassinet ever. If there’s one item we couldn’t live without (besides food and diapers) in Enceladus’s first 3 months it would be the SNOO. SNOO, I love you. I love you so much.
If you follow me me on social media or read back posts you will know that for the first 12 weeks Enceladus had a pretty severe case of colic. To be blunt, it was terrible for everyone involved and we went through a dark emotional time. At around the 12 week point we started to see the light and at 14 weeks I can safely say she conquered colic. WHEW! (For those parents dealing with colic, this article helped me SO much. I would read it in bed at night after bad days and it made me feel commodity with the author.)
During her 12 weeks with colic, we tried everything. Not only was she crying 8 hours a day but she would not nap during the day, it was a nonstop day of baby tears and anger from wake up to bed time. I googled everything to try to help her colic. We bought every product marketed as colic relief. You name a swaddle, gripe water, sleeper, rock and play, pacifier, bottle, formula, probiotics etc and I will tell you we tried it without much success. We saw the pediatrician multiple times and tried acid reflux medicine.
At around 9 weeks I was ready to cut off my pinky finger and give it up in a human sacrifice to solve her colic because it was heart breaking to witness. The one thing that kept us sane, and sleeping, during the 12 weeks of colic was the SNOO.
We took our 2 month old baby on a 11 hour road trip and survived! Here’s everything we brought with us and other tips to make it a success! This post is in partnership with buybuy BABY.
Next week Enceladus will turn 3 months old and she’s already a road trip expert! We took a road trip to North Carolina when I was 35 weeks pregnant so it’s no surprise she’s comfortable with long drives already! A few weeks ago we headed to Maine for a friend’s wedding and I fell in love… with Maine! It was my first time visiting and it is BEAUTIFUL! I’m not sure if we visited during peak season, but I couldn’t get over how beautiful the coast was. I’m already considering that this might need be our yearly vacation spot!
Seriously, isn’t it beautiful? I feel like every spot we went to had postcard worthy views!
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