Why Hire A Baby Planner?

I was recently featured on The Expectant Mother's Guide with an editorial I wrote that answers this question, and more!

Baby Planners: What They Do and Why You Need One

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Whether you are nearing the end of your first, second, or even third trimester ―you’re well underway with getting ready for baby’s arrival! By now you’ve quickly come to find this joyous time can be somewhat overshadowed by a lot of unanswered questions, decisions, planning and preparation. As all of these thoughts whirl around in your head, you may begin feeling a little overwhelmed ―stop right now! Take a deep breath. You should know that you’re not alone in feeling this way.

Today’s society leaves expecting parents with so much pressure to make quite a lot of choices in a short period of time. Let’s face it ―nine months is not a lot of time to prepare for one of the biggest and most important milestones in your life.

There are so many sources of information for expecting parents ―an abundance of books, web sites, magazines, products, baby gear, brands and general information on pregnancy, baby and parenting. It can be exhausting to think about on top of already being tired from being pregnant!

As the days, weeks and months pass quickly, while your beautiful belly continues to grow, so does your to-do list.

So, where do you start? What should you read? Where do you register? What do you actually need for baby? What is a birth plan? What is a doula? How do decide what baby products you need? Do you need a midwife? When do you start looking for a pediatrician?

How are you to decipher it all? The answer that many have happily found is a Baby Planner.

What exactly is a Baby Planner?

A Baby Planner helps expecting parents navigate through the planning process to prepare for the arrival of baby and beyond. A Baby Planner is a complete resource of all those books, web sites and general information in one place. A Planner will provide you with guidance that is tailored to your personal needs, lifestyle and budget. A Baby Planner can also provide the most up-to-the-minute information on baby gear, furniture, nursery design, non-toxic/green baby care, childproofing and more.

Why Hire a Baby Planner?

A Baby Planner can check off many of the “to-dos” on your ever-expanding list by simply being there! Some have used the comparison that a Baby Planner does for parents what a Wedding Planner does for engaged couples. Many expecting parents are hiring a Baby Planner in order to get the right products, simplify the preparation process and to have all details taken care of from A to Z.

For example, think of all the things you accomplish on a daily basis: a long day of work, running errands, cooking dinner, exercising, cleaning, chores, etc. By the time the weekend comes around, you prefer to reserve that time for relaxing and doing things you enjoy, spending time with family and catching up on the news and favorite TV shows ― not agonizing over each of the 20 bottles that are available to register for or buy!

So now you may be asking yourself, “Why can’t my friends and family just help me?” The answer is, they will! A baby brings families close together regardless of the distance that divides them; however, not everyone is lucky enough to live near friends and family to have help on a regular basis. Baby Planners make it their first priority to stay informed of new products and trends in the industry. And while your sister may have used a certain stroller that she highly recommends and your mother-in-law never needed “silly things” such as a bouncy seat or a swing when raising her kids, it doesn’t mean their advice is relevant today (of course always appreciated, though).

The knowledge, experience and unbiased expertise that a Baby Planner provides can easily cut out multiple trips to the store or endless hours spent reading over reviews of products on the Internet. A Baby Planner allows for more time to focus on you and truly enjoying your pregnancy rather than worrying about which is the best car seat or stroller for your needs.

What do Baby Planners do?

A Baby Planner wears many hats for you as their client. One day they can be assembling your registry and recommending furniture choices for your nursery and the next day they can be arranging interviews for day cares, nannies or baby sitters. After baby is born, they can find you a lactation consultant, find diaper laundry services and set up a newborn photo session ―all while ordering, labeling and mailing out your birth announcements!

How can I determine if my family needs a Baby Planner?

Most Planners offer an initial consultation to see how they can work for you to accomplish your goals, ideas and overall vision for your pregnancy journey. A variety of packages and services will be presented to you with many of the services offered a la carte.  This allows your Planner to truly cater to what you need them to do and customize a plan that is a perfect fit.

Services can include, but are not limited to: providing individualized timelines and checklists, offering product recommendations, eco-friendly/green options, assistance with registry creation, child proofing, finding and connecting clients to medical professionals (pediatricians, doulas, lactation consultants, etc.), demonstrating products, nursery design, bed rest support, finding child care, concierge services and more.

Whether this is your first baby, you are expecting multiples, or you are expanding your family to baby number three (or more!); Baby Planning services are invaluable and extremely helpful in so many ways.

At the end of your nine months, you will have gone through one of life’s most amazing journeys.  Having a Baby Planner with you each step of the way can offer extra peace of mind when preparing for the arrival of your newborn.

Parenting Tip - Extras, extras!

One of my favorite things about being a Baby Planner & Consultant is that I get to share all of my experiences, knowledge, tricks and tips with parents. 

So, today I'd like to share one of my all-time favorite tips with you.  It is something that took me quite a few months of lugging around a way-overpacked-can't-zip-it-full diaper bag. 

And that was when I only had one baby! 

So, this favorite tip of mine is:

To have a bag of "extras" packed in your car. 

You'll have your regular diaper bag for regular day-to-day outings and you'll keep your usual stash of stuff in there.  So, why would you need this bag of extras? 

Hypothetically (of course) let's say you (or your husband, partner, or whoever) took that last diaper out of the bag and did not replace it.   

ACK! 
It's one of the biggest fears I think new parents have - not having what they need when they need it.  Well, it was one of my biggest fears.  I mean, sure, you can stop at any local store to pick up diapers, wipes, a pacifier or whatever you are out of. 

But face it - it's painful to pay top dollar for convenience when you have more at home! 

However, if it's in your car in that *magic* stash of the "extras" bag you have at all times - no more panics or wardrobe catastrophes - or pooptastrophes as I like to call them.  (Yes, those blowouts that no stain remover can save!)

So, here is what is in my "extras" bag in my car right now:

1. Four or five extras of the current size diaper/pull ups/ underwear my children are wearing.  KEY HERE IS CURRENT SIZE!  Every time you go up in the size of diaper, change out your "extras" stash! 
2. An extra bag or package of wipes.
3. Two spare changes of clothes for each child - again change as your child grows AND by the season!  Don't forget socks, too!
4. Extra snacks (packaged i.e. granola bars), juice box and bottled water.
5. Tissues and napkins.
6. Sunblock.
7. First aid items - band aids, antibiotic cream, alcohol wipes for boo-boos on the go.
8. Hand sanitizer for me and the kids - a kid-friendly kind and Purell for me - alcohol in kid sanitizer is a no-no!
9. Crayons, coloring books and a few random toys.
10. An extra hat and sweat shirt for each child.  Now that it's Spring here, it can be unexpectedly chilly or we could make an quick stop at the park - and either way, I'm prepared if I don't catch the weather forecast.
11. An extra outfit for myself. 
12. "Bribe" items - a few lollipops and two containers of mini M&Ms.  These are kept on-hand for my toddlers when I'm out and need to get something accomplished and they're just not in the mood to cooperate. 

Now that my kids are older, my "extras" bag is smaller.  That wasn't always the case.

Here are the items I used to keep in the bag when my kids were babies:

1. Extra pacifiers.
2. Pacifier wipes for cleaning if they fell or were dropped and was not near hot water.
3. More of a selection of toys - rattles, musical toys, soft books, etc.
4. More snacks and extra baby food based on current stage they were on - i.e. puffs, yogurt melts, a few extra spoons and containers of pureed baby food.
5. Extra diaper cream.
6. Extra burp cloths.
7. Extra bibs.
8. A light swaddle blanket - can be used for a burp cloth, extra changing pad if you forgot yours, a nursing cover, etc.
9. A heavier blanket.
10. More "extra" clothes/outfits - again changed seasonally and as their clothing sizes changed.

So, there you have it.  Genius?  I'd like to think so - but no, it's just common sense.  I see parents all the time with these gigantic, overflowing diaper bags they are struggling to stuff underneath the stroller in that tiny basket. Or worse, trying to carry a child (or two) with this monstrosity of a bag. 

So, do you have any other tips to make going out-and-about with baby easier?  Would love to hear them! 

Jacob & Isabella

What's in a name?  If you're looking for some inspiration, or names to avoid, you're in luck.

Today, the Social Security Administration released the top 10 boys and girls name for 2010.

Here they are!

:drumroll please:

Boys
  

1)  Jacob

 2) Ethan   

 3) Michael     

 4) Jayden     

 5) William    

 6) Alexander

 7) Noah     

 8) Daniel    

 9) Aiden     

 10) Anthony

Girls

 1) Isabella

2) Sophia

3) Emma

4) Olivia

 5) Ava

6) Emily

7) Abigail

8) Madison

9) Chloe

10) Mia

Here is the full press release from Social Security.

Tackling Toy Clutter

If you have a toddler (or in my case two toddlers) you have often wondered or said the following:

"Why does it look like Toys R Us threw up in my living room?"

"How can such a small person make such a huge mess?"

"Ugh!  I just cleaned in here! Why do I bother?"

You get the picture. 

A personal favorite quote of mine is: "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing." ~Phyllis Diller

Unfortunately, cleaning is a necessary evil.  I know I personally can't go to sleep at night knowing that there are dirty dishes in the sink (soaking pans are okay in my book).  

I literally will not be able to fall asleep if the play room is a mess and there are toys strewn about everywhere.  So, pretty much every night, without fail, I tidy up before I go to bed.  

Wait!  Before you think I'm a complete neat-freak and obsessive, I promise you, I'm not. 

I just can't stand walking downstairs first thing in the morning (un-caffeinated) to a huge mess!  And lord help someone if I happen to *step* on a random toy -ouch! 
That's the worst - you know!

After doing this for a few years now, I do not consider myself an organizational queen by any means, but I have picked up a few tips and tricks along the way. 

I feel it is my duty as a fellow Mommy, baby planner and human being to share my toy organization with you.  It has made cleaning up easier - and most importantly, my kids can HELP with the clean up process. 

Here is how I organize our toys:

1. Categorize your toys that you need containers for ex. balls, blocks, cars, etc.
2. Go to the local dollar store and pick out some colorful buckets and baskets.
3. Find some construction paper or index cards.  (I used old holiday cards I wasn't going to use and cut them in half)
4. Pick out a few crayons, markers and sharpies.
5. Grab a hole punch and some sort of string or some scotch tape.
6. Dig deep into that elementary school part of you and draw some pictures!

The the end result of the six steps above should look something along the lines of this:

Please ignore the horrible drawings! 
Art clearly was not my strong suit.

Ball basket

This three drawer was bought at a Target, but I actually had
this before we had our kids.



Cars and Little People 



Kitchen Accessories & Food
(Um, yes, those mini M&M's were
purchased as bribery for something!)



Full view of one set of shelves



Phones, Keys & Remotes
(As we all know, they always want the REAL one anyways)

Musical Instruments
(This is the Parents brand Bee Band - super cute!)
*Sorry, I could not get this picture to be centered
for some formatting reason! Grrr!

So, as you can see, everything has a place for the most part.  This not only allows the kids to help put things away as they are labeled with words AND pictures - it also helps when you have friends over, a play date or a party and people don't have to bother you every five seconds to find out what goes where! 

Genius.

Of course, I can't take credit for inventing this system - it's not original.  However, it works for us.  And that's really the key to parenting, isn't it?  Finding what works for YOU.

Don't forget to also periodically go through all those toys and pass them along to friends, organize toy swaps, sell at tag sales or place on Freecycle.  I frequently do all the above and also pass along toys to local charities.

This "system" for lack of a better word was not expensive to create, either.  You can even use containers, Rubbermaid storage bins (I used one for the kitchen toys) or whatever you have laying around.  But I do love the dollar store!

Do you have any toy organizing tips?  If you do, I'd love to hear them.

Are you aware?

May is Pregnancy Awareness Month!

Pregnancy Awareness has some great giveaways going on all month long to celebrate! 

So head on over there and check out their educational information and enter to win some great prizes from Seventh Generation and Plum Organics!  There are contests running all month long, too.

Go ahead and celebrate moms everywhere - new moms, expecting moms and all the future moms out there!  Pregnancy Awareness will feature this month-long campaign by focusing on their key initiatives of: 

1. Education
2. Exercise
3. Nutrition & Wellness
4. Nurture

Know someone who would enjoy this information?  Please feel free to share.

P.S. Mother's Day is May 8th!