Its been so long since I sang any kind of child’s song or lullaby, really it has been since I was little I’m sure of it! I loved them as a child and wanted to share them with my daughter. Of course, I couldn’t remember the words.
Happy to say that I have come across a good source for a few lyrics and, of course, wanted to share!
http://www.todaysparent.com/baby/tools/index.jsp?gclid=CJeXht-Lt6ICFRk7gwodykf05g
What were your favourite songs or lullaby when you were little and wanted to share with your children?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Homemade Baby Pancakes
My daughter has been getting picky with her food lately, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts. She no longer likes the baby cereals or pureed food with the exception of fruit. I want to continue to feed her the baby cereals but was stumped.
My cousin gave me the idea to make pancakes with the baby cereal. Great idea, I’ve made pancakes in the past and gave her some and she loves them. I found a recipe online and it look good but I like to take recipes and make them my own. The original recipe added some regular flour in as well so thought I would stick to the theme with my own.
Baby Cereal Pancakes
1/2 cup of flour (whole wheat or All-Purpose)
1/2 cup of baby cereal (I used Wheat Cereal – its the one my daughter does not like at all.)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar (granulated sugar or even Apple Sauce would work as well)
Optional – add 1 tsp of any spice such as cinnamon for something different
1 egg – beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup (4oz) Formula – I don’t know how well Breast milk will cook, I mainly used Formula because the wheat cereal needs milk added to it, also thought it would be better for baby’s nutritional needs to add some)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Mix all the dry ingredients in small to medium sized bowl, use a whisk to help with the mixing, if desired, I do find that the dry ingredients seem to mix better.
- In a larger bowl mix all liquid ingredients. Once all combined add in dry ingredients and stir until all blended in. Lumps are good to have in pancake batter if you have them, if you don’t no need to worry they will still turn out.
- When cooking make them about “silver dollar” sized, makes for a good size for portioning for baby.
- Instead of syrup try serving with pureed fruit of choice, makes a great substitute for syrup and baby gets in a serving of fruit at breakfast time.
- These pancakes are freeze friendly, and best way I find to warm them up either the next day or from the freezer is in the toaster.
This recipe passed with my food critic! Let me know how they turned out! Is there a recipe that you would like to share using baby cereal?
My cousin gave me the idea to make pancakes with the baby cereal. Great idea, I’ve made pancakes in the past and gave her some and she loves them. I found a recipe online and it look good but I like to take recipes and make them my own. The original recipe added some regular flour in as well so thought I would stick to the theme with my own.
Baby Cereal Pancakes
1/2 cup of flour (whole wheat or All-Purpose)
1/2 cup of baby cereal (I used Wheat Cereal – its the one my daughter does not like at all.)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar (granulated sugar or even Apple Sauce would work as well)
Optional – add 1 tsp of any spice such as cinnamon for something different
1 egg – beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup (4oz) Formula – I don’t know how well Breast milk will cook, I mainly used Formula because the wheat cereal needs milk added to it, also thought it would be better for baby’s nutritional needs to add some)
1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Mix all the dry ingredients in small to medium sized bowl, use a whisk to help with the mixing, if desired, I do find that the dry ingredients seem to mix better.
- In a larger bowl mix all liquid ingredients. Once all combined add in dry ingredients and stir until all blended in. Lumps are good to have in pancake batter if you have them, if you don’t no need to worry they will still turn out.
- When cooking make them about “silver dollar” sized, makes for a good size for portioning for baby.
- Instead of syrup try serving with pureed fruit of choice, makes a great substitute for syrup and baby gets in a serving of fruit at breakfast time.
- These pancakes are freeze friendly, and best way I find to warm them up either the next day or from the freezer is in the toaster.
This recipe passed with my food critic! Let me know how they turned out! Is there a recipe that you would like to share using baby cereal?
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Spring and Summer Months
The warm and hot days of spring and summer are among us. My daughter isn’t too fond of the warm weather when it comes to sleep time. I noticed that every time the temperature reaches above 20 Celsius (around 70 Fahrenheit) my daughter seems to have a harder time sleeping for her naps and bed time. I’ve tried cooler baths just before bed, cooling down the room before bed time with the fan, and letting her sleep in just her diaper. I feel like I’m out of ideas…
What do you do for your little one to keep them as comfortable as possible during the day, naptimes and bedtime?
Walking and the Weather
The easiest way for me to get in some exercise outside of my home right now is going out for walks. Walking is a great way to get some exercise and fresh air for both me and my daughter. Unfortunately, the weather can be predictable some days or just not great walking weather, either too hot or raining.
For days that were lightly raining I wanted to get outside with the baby, enjoy the rain and the fresh scent that the rain brings with it. Baby’s are not a fan of rain they like to be comfortable. Best way to keep dry is an umbrella for us but not so great for a baby in a stroller. I found this wonderful weather shield 
for these wet days. There’s a flap on each side that can be opened up to allow for better circulation or can be left shut for if you are outside and it really starts to come down. Either way allows for baby to remain dry, I love it because than I can continue to get outside for a little exercise; with the exception of thunderstorms and its just best that everyone stays inside. This weather shield is also great for cold and, or windy days. The instructions say that it can be used for sunny days but I’m concerned about how hot it would get under there.
Sunny days are definitely the best days to get outside for a walk with the baby. BUT with good weather 
comes bugs and a higher concentration of UV Rays. I found another type of weather shield
but is more like a mesh screening. It helps keeps bugs away from your darling daughter or son and helps to protect against the suns UV rays. I don't know how much I trust the UV protection but I also carry some sunscreen with me if we plan on being outside for longer periods. I like this item its great for all of the above, although it doesn’t provide shade to help keep the little one a bit cooler but that seems to be hard to do on days where its above 30 Celsius (or 90 Fahrenheit).
For days that were lightly raining I wanted to get outside with the baby, enjoy the rain and the fresh scent that the rain brings with it. Baby’s are not a fan of rain they like to be comfortable. Best way to keep dry is an umbrella for us but not so great for a baby in a stroller. I found this wonderful weather shield for these wet days. There’s a flap on each side that can be opened up to allow for better circulation or can be left shut for if you are outside and it really starts to come down. Either way allows for baby to remain dry, I love it because than I can continue to get outside for a little exercise; with the exception of thunderstorms and its just best that everyone stays inside. This weather shield is also great for cold and, or windy days. The instructions say that it can be used for sunny days but I’m concerned about how hot it would get under there.Sunny days are definitely the best days to get outside for a walk with the baby. BUT with good weather comes bugs and a higher concentration of UV Rays. I found another type of weather shield but is more like a mesh screening. It helps keeps bugs away from your darling daughter or son and helps to protect against the suns UV rays. I don't know how much I trust the UV protection but I also carry some sunscreen with me if we plan on being outside for longer periods. I like this item its great for all of the above, although it doesn’t provide shade to help keep the little one a bit cooler but that seems to be hard to do on days where its above 30 Celsius (or 90 Fahrenheit).Both of these weather shields I really like and I keep them in a bag at the bottom of the stroller for easy access. Also a great way to always make sure they’re with you when you really need them.
Is there anything you use for your walks with your little one(s) that you find helpful?
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Iron Rich Foods
I’m always wondering if the food I’m feeding my daughter is good enough. I’m always concerned mainly about the Iron content, is this Iron-Fortified or have enough iron in it, does it have to be an Iron-Fortified cereal.
Well I found a wonderful site that gives lots of good useful information about iron. Also a good list of iron rich foods.
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/nutrition/a/06_iron_foods.htm
Is there any other Iron rich foods that you would add to this list?
Well I found a wonderful site that gives lots of good useful information about iron. Also a good list of iron rich foods.
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/nutrition/a/06_iron_foods.htm
Is there any other Iron rich foods that you would add to this list?
Friday, June 4, 2010
Dirty Toys
Toys are definitely something that is hard to keep out of baby’s mouth and off the ground. It’s inevitable that your child’s toys will become dirty at one point or another.
Disinfecting toys, in my opinion, probably isn’t the best idea to do every single time you clean them. I feel that it does get rid of too many of the “good germs” but even though it does kill all the bad ones. A disinfectant probably isn’t the best idea because no matter how well you rinse the toys there will be some form of residue left behind. A residue on toys that your baby will put in his or her mouth…
My favourite way of cleaning my daughters toys is to fill up the sink or a bucket with hot water and adding in a little bit of dish soap and vinegar. My mother did this as well when me and my sister were little all the time, so its one of those tried and tested passed down family cleaning “secrets”. After soaking and/or scrubbing the toys soak in another bucket or sink filled with plain hot water and let air dry.
This way of cleaning is a lot more eco-friendly than harsh chemicals and also a lot more safe for baby, never mind the fact that’s its also a lot easier on the wallet in the long run. What’s your favourite method for cleaning your child’s toys?
Disinfecting toys, in my opinion, probably isn’t the best idea to do every single time you clean them. I feel that it does get rid of too many of the “good germs” but even though it does kill all the bad ones. A disinfectant probably isn’t the best idea because no matter how well you rinse the toys there will be some form of residue left behind. A residue on toys that your baby will put in his or her mouth…
My favourite way of cleaning my daughters toys is to fill up the sink or a bucket with hot water and adding in a little bit of dish soap and vinegar. My mother did this as well when me and my sister were little all the time, so its one of those tried and tested passed down family cleaning “secrets”. After soaking and/or scrubbing the toys soak in another bucket or sink filled with plain hot water and let air dry.
This way of cleaning is a lot more eco-friendly than harsh chemicals and also a lot more safe for baby, never mind the fact that’s its also a lot easier on the wallet in the long run. What’s your favourite method for cleaning your child’s toys?
Dinner Tonight
My girl, like most children, is a little picky at times with her food. I did find that she only seems to like to eat one type of food for only a one to no more than 2 meals, than its time for something new. Until I made my little one this Pumpkin Soup Recipe that I found in “Cooking for Baby
”.
I do enjoy cooking and frequently find new, different and amazing recipes to try but I rarely stick to the actual recipe. Making my own changes I found that the recipe than kind of becomes my own. Here’s the recipe that I made, my daughter enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it!
Pumpkin soup
Add pumpkin puree, apple puree, allspice and thyme. Once warmed thru add your broth of choice and the red lentils. Once soup is boiling bring down to a simmer. Cook until lentils are soft.
Puree soup with a hand blender
until you reach your desired consistency or one that your baby can handle. 
Store away remaining soup into your refrigerator for up to 3 days, this soup can also be frozen.
This is a great recipe and one that even the rest of the family enjoyed as well. I was also finding it hard to feed my daughter her infant cereals but now I’ve been able to mix a little of the rice or barley cereal in with the soup.
”. I do enjoy cooking and frequently find new, different and amazing recipes to try but I rarely stick to the actual recipe. Making my own changes I found that the recipe than kind of becomes my own. Here’s the recipe that I made, my daughter enjoyed it so much that I wanted to share it!
Pumpkin soup
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1/4 of an Onion, finely diced
- 1 grated Carrot
- 1 finely chopped Celery
- 1 Clove of Garlic
- 1 Cup Canned Pumpkin Puree
- 2 Tbsp Apple Puree or Applesauce
- 1/8 tsp Allspice
- 1/8 tsp dried Thyme
- 2 Cups low-sodium Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth works well too)
- 1/4 Cup Red Lentils (or small pasta like alphabets or stars)
Add pumpkin puree, apple puree, allspice and thyme. Once warmed thru add your broth of choice and the red lentils. Once soup is boiling bring down to a simmer. Cook until lentils are soft.
Puree soup with a hand blender until you reach your desired consistency or one that your baby can handle. Store away remaining soup into your refrigerator for up to 3 days, this soup can also be frozen. This is a great recipe and one that even the rest of the family enjoyed as well. I was also finding it hard to feed my daughter her infant cereals but now I’ve been able to mix a little of the rice or barley cereal in with the soup.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A Tot Tragedy close to Home
Front page on one of my local papers… “Tragedy for Tot” ( http://bit.ly/aKdm4R ). The tot was only 18 months and was run over by a car on the driveway to his home. Sadly, the tot died in the hospital.
First off, my deepest sympathies to the family for their loss of their son.
Saddened by this story, but what could’ve been down to prevent this? Of course, the whole, real story isn’t published and we probably won’t come know the whole story. Was there sufficient supervision? was my first thought and question. I can only speculate that there wasn’t, and no parent is prefect we all make our share of mistakes. From every tragedy there is a lesson to be learned. What are your thoughts on this story?
First off, my deepest sympathies to the family for their loss of their son.
Saddened by this story, but what could’ve been down to prevent this? Of course, the whole, real story isn’t published and we probably won’t come know the whole story. Was there sufficient supervision? was my first thought and question. I can only speculate that there wasn’t, and no parent is prefect we all make our share of mistakes. From every tragedy there is a lesson to be learned. What are your thoughts on this story?
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Road Trip Packing List
My previous post “First Road Trip” was all about our first family road trip to visit my grandparents. The trip went well and with everything I packed I don’t feel like my daughter missed anything with the exception of her own crib. We were gone for three (3) nights and 4 days. This is my list of things that I did pack for my little one:
One thing that we needed was an SUV or a Van for packing all her stuff plus ours, thankfully my parents were coming and they had lots of extra room in their car. We had everything we needed and like I mentioned my daughter didn’t seem to miss anything with the exception of her crib.
How was packing for your vacation with your little one (s) at hand? did you forget anything or over-pack?
- Diapers – I packed 10 per day and 2 per night, I actually kept track of the amount diapers that my daughter goes through per day for about five (5) days prior the trip to know how many I might need. Average six (6) per day and 1 per night, extra’s for the just in case, if I did run out I know I could’ve easily picked up another package at the store.
- 1 Package of wipes
- Bum Rash Cream
- 1 Bath Wash – I packed a head-to-toe wash so I wouldn’t have to pack Shampoo and a separate wash
- 1 small tube of Lotion
- 2 face clothes, 1 towel
- 6 Bibs, 6 clothes – I did a quick hand wash of these
- 3 pre-measured containers of baby mixed cereal, 1 package baby rice cereal – Breakfast is packed
- Enough pre-made fruit for 4 days – we usually feed our daughter what we eat as per her doctor, this has helped to make this trip a bit lighter to pack for
- 1 tin of formula – I packed a brand new tin and again if I ran out I could easily pick up another tin (I did only one (1) and had plenty leftover)
- 1 8oz bottle, 1 4oz bottle, 1 sippy cup – I washed each bottle after each use and the sippy cup was used for water
- 1 container (about a cup) of Cheerios – my daughter loves these and are the best snack for her
- 4 sleepers, 5 outfits – I packed an extra of each because you never know, the extra outfit came in handy. Also I mostly packed more sweat suit type outfits for her to be as comfortable as possible and out cute dress because we did plan to go out for dinner one night.
- 3 Blankets – 2 thinner receiving blankets and 1 thicker blanket for night time
- a few toys – just a couple of small toys to keep her occupied and also for chewing because she has been teething a lot more lately.
- Booster seat – her seat easily clips onto any chair
- Play Pen
- Stroller and car seat
- Tylenol, oral gel – all for teething and I am happy we did, what I forgot to mention in my previous post was that my girl was teething really badly on the way home, we had to find a safe place to pull over so I could give her some Tylenol and numbing gel to help keep her as comfortable as possible until we reached home.
One thing that we needed was an SUV or a Van for packing all her stuff plus ours, thankfully my parents were coming and they had lots of extra room in their car. We had everything we needed and like I mentioned my daughter didn’t seem to miss anything with the exception of her crib.
How was packing for your vacation with your little one (s) at hand? did you forget anything or over-pack?
First Road Trip
Finally off to visit my Grandparents so they can meet their great-grand-daughter. My daughter is their 3 great-grand-baby but like many great-grandparents, they were just as excited as if she was the first.
The road trip to my grandparents place is about a five and a half hours with short bathroom stops and a quick stop of a small bite to eat. My parents used to take this exact trip with me and my sister when we were little, so not much has changed with a new baby in house. My mom warned me… this trip will now take over seven (7) hours.
How can a trip that normally takes under six (6) hours now take over 7! Well, the short bathroom breaks now turns into short bathroom break, diaper change and feeding (bottle or food) for the baby. So as opposed to the stops taking about 15 minutes they now average about half an hour, if not longer. The longer breaks were actually not bad, it gave us all a little bit of extra time to stretch from sitting so long.
My daughter did really good for about 2/3’s of the way, all she did was nap. Once we reached to our last stop she was tired of napping, I could really tell she wanted to stay out of her car seat and play. So my mom sat in the back seat and played with my daughter to help keep her entertained for the remaining part of the trip. All I could hear from the back seat was baby babble, laughter and my mom talking to her. She remained awake for the last two (2) hours of the trip and I was thankful that someone was in the back seat with my daughter to help keep her entertained.
Our stay with my grandparents is mostly just hanging out and relaxing. We did just that with the exception of my daughter being the centre of the entertainment. My daughter took immediately to my grandparents as if she’s known them her whole life. It was a wonderful visit!
Nap time seemed to be ok, she just napped in her play pen for about an hour or two (2), so she wasn’t too out of sorts. Bedtime was a different story. She would go down initially for about a couple of hours than she was up and wanted to sleep in our bed.
We stayed by grandparents for about three (3) days and by the 3rd day my girl was ready to go home and be in her own bed. The road trip was the same on the way home with the last two (2) hours of the trip she was tired of napping and this time I sat in the back with her.
One thing that I feel we did need for the car ride was one of those window shades for kids. We ended up just using a blanket to cover up the window.
How was your first road trip with your little one? Happy Vacationing!
The road trip to my grandparents place is about a five and a half hours with short bathroom stops and a quick stop of a small bite to eat. My parents used to take this exact trip with me and my sister when we were little, so not much has changed with a new baby in house. My mom warned me… this trip will now take over seven (7) hours.
How can a trip that normally takes under six (6) hours now take over 7! Well, the short bathroom breaks now turns into short bathroom break, diaper change and feeding (bottle or food) for the baby. So as opposed to the stops taking about 15 minutes they now average about half an hour, if not longer. The longer breaks were actually not bad, it gave us all a little bit of extra time to stretch from sitting so long.
My daughter did really good for about 2/3’s of the way, all she did was nap. Once we reached to our last stop she was tired of napping, I could really tell she wanted to stay out of her car seat and play. So my mom sat in the back seat and played with my daughter to help keep her entertained for the remaining part of the trip. All I could hear from the back seat was baby babble, laughter and my mom talking to her. She remained awake for the last two (2) hours of the trip and I was thankful that someone was in the back seat with my daughter to help keep her entertained.
Our stay with my grandparents is mostly just hanging out and relaxing. We did just that with the exception of my daughter being the centre of the entertainment. My daughter took immediately to my grandparents as if she’s known them her whole life. It was a wonderful visit!
Nap time seemed to be ok, she just napped in her play pen for about an hour or two (2), so she wasn’t too out of sorts. Bedtime was a different story. She would go down initially for about a couple of hours than she was up and wanted to sleep in our bed.
We stayed by grandparents for about three (3) days and by the 3rd day my girl was ready to go home and be in her own bed. The road trip was the same on the way home with the last two (2) hours of the trip she was tired of napping and this time I sat in the back with her.
One thing that I feel we did need for the car ride was one of those window shades for kids. We ended up just using a blanket to cover up the window.
How was your first road trip with your little one? Happy Vacationing!
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