Although this mentions the award for good grades – I am going to use this with my little one as a general reward system. Doing good deeds, cleaning toys, being helpful, being kind, sharing etc. The photo above used foil to make a top but you can easily use a container with lid and carefully cut slits in the top to hold the popsicle sticks. The canister could also be wrapped in fabric.
A growing family is a family that everyone wants. Your spouse and you may have enough space in your studio apartment or a small house, but with the baby on the way, everything changes. Your family will become bigger and you will need significantly more space for your family and all of your things. That is why you should consider moving into a new house. However, there is always a question of whether you should buy it, build it or adjust your existing one.
Building a Home
Building a new bigger home from scratch seems like a good idea. You can make your own plan and organization of rooms, their number and size, and everything will be as you please. More importantly, it will correspond to the needs of your family. However, this can be a stressful process, since it involves plenty of time and money, and if you are pregnant this will put too much stress on you. Luckily, babies don’t need as much space at the beginning. For a first few months, you can place the crib in your master bedroom, which gives you more time to build your bigger home. Also, if you plan to build your own home and fulfill all the needs of your growing family, it is best to start planning and building much before your family starts growing.
Buying It
Since building a new home for the big family takes time and is somewhat stressful, sometimes it is better to buy a house. It is faster than building and you can easily make some changes if needed. However, even though this option is faster, it is not as easy as it looks. When searching for a new home to purchase, you should make sure it is close to parks, good schools, family entertainment and, if possible, your relatives. Commuting too far is time and money consuming and it takes away the free time you can spend with your family. Do your research, talk to real estate agents, search websites such as Lifull for your area and find a home that meets your needs. If you can find a house that can satisfy all these requirements and some other that you need, buy it. If not, you can always start planning building a new home, and in the meantime you can rent a house that meets the requirements.
Making a Few Adjustments
The home you already have may just be enough for a bigger family; it may only need a few adjustments. If there is a baby on the way, you can always consider adding a nursery to your home. However, home additions are not as easy to build. There are plenty of laws to follow, you have to check if your city allows such additions, you should consider your budget as well and it will require hiring a professional. All that can be costly and it will stress you out; and that is not that good for the baby. There is also an option of upgrading your home a bit so it would be safe for the baby. However, all that remodelling will be messy and the comfort of your home will be disturbed for a little while. On the bright side, you don’t have to undergo the troubles of moving to another place.
The decision is entirely up to you. Before making any major decisions about the new home, make sure to consider all the advantages and disadvantages of all the options. Is your budget big enough, do you have time to build a new house, is the new neighborhood friendly and how far is it from your work and school? Having all that in mind, it will be much easier to make a decision; and whatever you do, you do it for the family, so be thorough.
Babies and infants have very sensitive skin, and in order to protect them, they should be dressed in the proper fabrics. Knowing which materials are safe for your little ones will also help you shop for other necessities, including bedding and blankets and such.
When searching for baby clothes and essentials, not only is it important that you find warm, yet breathable fabrics, but you also need understand which ones don’t pose any threats like allergies, choking hazards and toxins. Because babies love to chew on their clothes, textiles like silk are best avoided as the processes used to finish them tend to leave toxic residues in the fabric.
So what specifically should you be on the lookout for when checking out baby labels? Get to know the fabrics below to make shopping for you children a hassle-free experience:
Terry Knit
Knit fabrics are a popular choice for infant clothing, and the towel-soft feel against a baby’s skin is perfect for providing maximum comfort. It has also been recommended as that fabric choice for the summer or warmer climate in general since terry knits are breathable. The breath-ability of textiles is especially important to infants in warm weather, as experts say that they should be dressed in one layer of light clothing to keep your baby cool.
Faux Sheepskin
Although sheepskin is perfect for keeping your baby or infant warm on those cold winter days and cool in the summer, some have had allergic reactions to it. Faux fur is safer to work with, as many companies manufacture blankets and outerwear lined with the faux fur suited for kids of any age. If you’re looking for faux sheepskin mats to lay your newborn on, they’re only recommended up until your baby learns how to roll over, as the mat becomes their chew toy
Cotton and Cotton/Polyester Blends
For clothes in general, you can never go wrong with cotton since it is gentle on your baby’s skin and is the most common material found in everyday baby apparel. But the issue with organic varieties is that it can shrink up to 10% if the first wash is using heat. Busy parents tend to go for cotton and polyester blends as the mix of natural and synthetic fibers prevents the clothes from shrinking and wrinkling. It is also fast drying and tends to be cheaper than clothes made out of 100% cotton.
Bamboo
Another all natural fabric you may be interested in is bamboo, which is thermal regulating, hypoallergenic, as well as antibacterial.
Remember that comfort and safety takes precedence over the visual appeal of baby clothes.
Written by Hazel Lorelei
Exclusive for countryandvictoriantimes.com
What a great chart to show various chores even young children can do.
Source: http://www.flandersfamily.info
Interaction with baby is so very important – but so is trying to get healthy and get your body back right? I am not sure who to credit this picture to but I had to share it – it really is a simple, creative and cool way to make baby happy to to make mamma happy as well. There is several different exercises like this that can be done – and daddy can do them as well.
Country & Victorian Times 