Category Archives: Moms & Dads

Moms…how to find joy in the chaos of life!

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anchor

Do you know the secret to being a “successful” or a “good” mother?

Certainly such a question is one that all moms ask themselves now and then, perhaps in different ways.

Is it really all that difficult to be mom?

It seems the world is on overload but in the recent past we have experienced events that have truly given us pause to think about what is most important about being a mom to children of any age.

In my eyes, moms are anchors and when something threatens that anchor we feel adrift in a uncertain sometimes dark sea.

How do we stay anchored for our kids?

for me it is doing the little things…

making lunch for my granddaughter,

blowing bubbles with her rather than continuing to write a grocery list or blog post….

making the beds…

planning and preparing dinner so that we can share a few moments eating and enjoying each other’s company…

reading books…playing games…drawing pictures…even if I am a pathetic artist…grandchildren don’t see our mistakes.

and when I need some “me’ time…I take it…maybe it is a Chai from Starbucks

maybe it is a conversation with a friend…

Yesterday, at the Boston Marathon, we saw how life can change in a split second as two bombs exploded at the finish line.

Runners were doing something they loved…running…they were moms, dads, brothers, sisters, friends all trying to just cross the finish line…

Today and in the tomorrows, let’s try to stop and “smell the roses” as we go about our lives before we cross our finish line…

Moms…Find Out How You Can Have More!

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Have I ever told you how much I wish I had the internet when I was raising my own family!

I was living in Florida when my kids were infants and I can’t say how much I missed NYC where I had lived in and near for most of my life.

Florida was like being in exile for this native New Yorker and there was nothing like “More Than Milk” available in 1980.

So I am inspired by moms like the ones, who are inspiring and helping other moms by giving them an “avenue for personal growth”.

More than Milk helps moms to get involved with organizations and other moms while bringing along their babies and kids…what an opportunity! I

f you are a mom and are looking for a unique opportunity to interact with other moms head on over to More Than Milk!

  Welcome to More Than Milk.

Mission

To provide Moms with an avenue for personal growth, inspiration, and social giving as Moms generate “more than milk” to talk about with friends and family through kid-friendly volunteer experiences. By connecting Moms with deserving charities, we provide organizations with heightened awareness in the community, financial support, and energetic and talented volunteers.

Our Goals

  • To build a connection between Moms and inspirational organizations
  • To make charitable giving and philanthropy a way of life for Moms and their families
  • To create “Mom-friendly” (bring your babies & kids) volunteer activities
  • To spread the missions of charitable organizations to Moms, friends and the next generation

via About More Than Milk | More Than Milk.

Do you know how to stop your child’s tantrum?

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Tantrum

If you understand your child’s brain it just may help you deal with your child’s tantrums.

Dr. Siegel is a renowned physician, who has done much research on the brain. In this video he shares what is going on in a child’s brain when he is having a tantrum. By understanding the brain and tantrums it just might help a parent or grandparent deal with their own reaction to a temper tantrum.

How you react to the child who is having a tantrum may actually lengthen or shorten the duration of the “meltdown”

Now what parent would not want to shorten a tantrum?

Watch this video to learn how!

http://www.kidsinthehouse.com/video/how-stop-tantrums-understanding-brain

via How to stop tantrums by understanding the brain | KidsInTheHouse.com.

Fashion Made Easy…How to Dress your Child for a Special Occasion!

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In your Easter Bonnet...Dress!

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Easter really crept up fast at our house and we had not really thought about our little one’s outfit.

Borrow Baby Couture came to our rescue…

I shopped online on Wednesday.

Friday…the box arrived at my door.

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 Inside was one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever laid eyes on…

Versace knows design, color and fabric for little girls

and

Borrow Baby Couture offers these gorgeous fashions at a fraction of the cost if you were to actually purchase the same dress.

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It was lovely from the back

and

Simply elegant from the front.

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Our little one felt sweet and special in her Borrow Baby Couture.

She even knows that it is a one time wear and then it goes back to the wonderful “lady” at BBC…who will send her another dress for Mother’s Day….our next Holiday.

Hopefully, I will plan ahead as it is just a little over a month away but if not, I know that Borrow Baby Couture will be there to help.

 

Disclaimer:

This was a sponsored post.Thank you Borrow Baby Couture!

Foolproof Easter!

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via “Nessas Family Kitchen” blog

Life is short.  Eat dessert first.-Jacques Torres 

This is going to be our Easter Dessert. It is from one of my favorite Irish Blogs- Nessas Family Kitchen.

So head on over to her blog and see her beautiful photos and recipes. The photo above is her Easter cake.

Lemon Frosted Easter Cake

I always find that cake is well suited to every occasion. This lemon frosted cake makes a perfect Easter treat, as yellow themed goods seem to fit nicely with an Easter theme. It’s basically a madeira cake which is smothered with a creamy lemon topping and filled with lemon curd; perfect to enjoy with a cup of tea anytime.

http://nessasfamilykitchen.blogspot.com

After dessert, here are my picks for the rest of Easter.

Easy is my motto for all holidays. Easy does not imply not made with love and delicious…it simply means that I can enjoy the holiday with my family. 

Cool Mom Picks

Some great suggestions from Cool Mom Picks for Easter Brunch!

Quick Brunch Recipes ….and by that I mean 30 minute ones, are always good even if you are not having anyone over for Easter…here are a few from Cool Mom.

Allrecipes

Allrecipes is my go to website for quick, easy and delicious favorites. Easter is a sweet spring holiday and these Jelly Doughnut Cupcakes are right up my alley if you know what I mean.

Although I love breakfast sometimes I prefer the European approach which is to indulge in something sweet with a really good cup of coffee!

 

 

The Upside of Post Partum Depression!

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Is there an upside to postpartum depression?

I am not so sure, but perhaps it was the case for Susan Benjamin Feingold, a psychologist who, herself, experienced postpartum depression over 20 years ago.

For those experiencing this sometimes devastating disorder it could be an opportunity for a  “new beginning” if the mom gets the appropriate help.

Twenty years ago, as we know, this disorder was not taken very seriously and was mostly known as the “baby blues” and was mostly left untreated. It was felt that “baby blues” was hormonal and self limiting. So when the postpartum period was over in about six weeks after delivery the baby blues would go away with it.

We now know, postpartum depression is more complicated and serious than the “baby blues”.

Personally, I like Ms. Feingold’s approach. As a clinical psychologist, “she encourages women to view postpartum depression as they would any other difficult time in life that would provide an opportunity for personal growth and transformation.”

Stigma is still attached to mental conditions and postpartum depression is not immune to this stigmatizing. After all, what is wrong with a mom who cannot find joy and happiness in her newborn?

Hopelessness can follow the delivery of a baby for various reasons and whether or not it is stimulated by a change in hormones does not diminish the seriousness of postpartum depression.

With the proper professional help moms suffering from this disorder can actually have a very good outcome. They can make changes and perhaps as they put the pieces of their life back together they will have learned that they are stronger and better for the experience.

The medical journal JAMA  Psychiatry reports that, 1 in 7 women suffers from PPD.

The largest study to date shows that as many as 1 in every 7 women suffers postpartum depression. And the study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, finds that among women followed for a year after delivery, some 22 percent had been depressed.

The study also recommends that all pregnant women and new mothers be screened for depression.

via Postpartum Depression Affects 1 In 7 Mothers : Shots – Health News : NPR.

According to Feingold, PPD symptoms fall into four areas or clusters.

  • depression cluster- overall lack of joy, loss of appetite, desire to sleep all the time, feeling of hopelessness 
  • anxiety cluster- insomnia, racing thoughts, worry, tension headaches
  • panic disorder-panic attacks, which mimic a heart attack
  • associated obsessive thoughts such as hurting the baby- feeling that something is going to happen to their baby

Feingold also mentions in her new book that women who successfully work through their postpartum depression sometimes then begin to work on other pre-existing symptoms and improve the overall quality of their lives as women and mothers.

It sounds like Feingold’s approach to postpartum depression and its treatment could be just the answer for many of the moms who suffer from this disorder. It could be the “new beginning” leading to the “happy ending”.

Feingold has written a new book, “Happy Endings, New Beginnings: Navigating Postpartum Disorders,” that offers advice, including when to seek medical help. But it also encourages women to view postpartum depression as they would any other difficult times in their lives that would give them an opportunity for personal growth and transformation.

via Book looks at upside of postpartum depression – chicagotribune.com.

 

Smiling Little Girl

 

When to Feed Your Baby Solids

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Did you feed your baby solid food way too early?

True confession ….I did.

When my first child was born, my aunt, ( who knew everything), insisted that I feed my infant some rice cereal so that she would sleep through the night. She insisted my baby was hungry all the time. While that may have been true, I knew better. But never the less I succumbed to the stupor of being a new mom and tried feeding my newborn a few spoonfuls of cereal to encourage a longer night’s sleep. Aren’t all new moms sleep deprived?

Even though I was formula feeding, my husband did not do the middle of the night feedings since he had to get up for work the next morning so I was desperate when it came to some long stretches of sleep and I thought perhaps my aunt was right.

Well, needless to say my dear aunt was not correct and my efforts to feed a “newborn” were frustrating, time consuming and fruitless when it came to lengthening my baby’s sleep time. Mind you, she was a good sleeper by all measurements, I simply wanted to rush her to sleep through the night. After a few days of attempting solids, I gave up and went back to nothing but formula for the next 6 months. She slept through the night when she was ready at 8 weeks of age.

So now, when I read that moms are still trying to feed solids, mostly cereal, to their infants at a very early age…

I do not judge.

From the statistics, this practice is done by moms that are still influenced by their moms and grand moms. It is an erroneous practice handed down from generation to generation and it probably will not soon end because simply, moms and grand moms are more influential in some cultures than baby’s pediatrician.

After all would your mom steer you wrong?

Feeding Baby

 

While many pediatricians are sympathetic to the difficulties parents face feeding their child nothing but breast milk or formula for six months, they say little good can come from feeding solid food to a child before he or she is physically ready.

“When a baby is ready to start eating food, he will put his hands in his mouth, and you will see him actually making chewing motions,” said Dr. T J Gold, a pediatrician with Tribeca Pediatrics in Brooklyn. “At 2, 3 months, they can’t even hold their heads up well, and they can’t sit,” making it difficult, if not dangerous, to put solid food in their mouths.

They also have yet to develop the proper gut bacteria that allow them to process solid food safely, potentially leading to gastroenteritis and diarrhea, Dr. Gold said. The early introduction of solid foods has also been linked to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, eczema and celiac disease.

 

Related Posts:

Baby Nutrition Important New Facts

 

What do you know about Kids and Depression?

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One of today’s headlines included news that depressed kids are at risk for heart disease later in life. As a healthcare professional this is not really new to me but the fact that a study found this correlation is meaningful.

 

The findings suggest that the consequences of childhood depression reach beyond the emotional realm and can lead to long-term physical health problems. This makes early intervention — both to treat the depression and to encourage healthy habits, possibly preventing future heart problems — even more important.

An estimated 2 percent of school-aged children, those between 6 and 12 years old, appear to have a major depression at any given time. That widely cited statistic comes from a study published in 2000 in American Family Physician, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

“I think the clinical implication of this finding is that if we know a child is experiencing depression, we can pay special, close attention to cardiovascular risk factors and try to deal with those things as early as possible,” Carney said in an interview, “and then be able to prevent the onset of heart disease over time.”

via Depressed Kids Risk Heart Disease Later – Heart Health Center – Everyday Health.

This is an important finding for the future health of our children and of course it is important for their current health.

If your child exhibits signs and symptoms of depression it is crucial that you are able to recognize them and then speak to your physician about what you are seeing.

No one wants to think that their own child or grandchild could actually be “depressed” at a young age but they can. Closing your eyes to it will not make depression go away it might even make it worse.

Signs and symptoms of depression in children include:

Irritability or anger.

Continuous feelings of sadness and hopelessness.

Social withdrawal.

Increased sensitivity to rejection.

Changes in appetite — either increased or decreased.

Changes in sleep — sleeplessness or excessive sleep.

Vocal outbursts or crying.

Difficulty concentrating.

Fatigue and low energy.

Physical complaints (such as stomachaches, headaches) that don’t respond to treatment.

Reduced ability to function during events and activities at home or with friends, in school, extracurricular activities, and in other hobbies or interests.

Feelings of worthlessness or guilt.

Impaired thinking or concentration.

Thoughts of death or suicide

via Depression in Children: Symptoms and Common Types of Child Depression.

Although I have read that depression is not common in children younger than 12 years of age, as a clinician I have seen some very troubling depressive behavior in younger children.

Depression is treatable, but only if you seek help for it.

So, if you have questions about yourself or your child please check with your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room.

Troubling Toddler Behavior, Kids Snacks, Pizza Nite…Weekend Reading

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Toddler behavior can be very challenging. I love Janet Lansbury’s take on what to do and how to deal with this developmental stage. Although following her advice may not be easy to follow,
it certainly sounds worth it in the long term.

What do you think…how do you deal with problem toddler behavior?

We’re big. They’re tiny. They’re just learning our rules and expectations for appropriate behavior. They have a developmental need to express their will, and they have very little (if any) impulse control. With these complicated, powerful dynamics in play, why would we take our toddler’s hitting, biting, resistance or refusal to cooperate personally?

Kids all need snacks and it is sometimes hard to pick nutritious ones in this on-the-go environment we live in.

Yogurt is a wonderful, tasty choice for snacks and lunch box treats…I freeze the yogurt squeezes and they are perfect at lunchtime after thawing.

What are some of your secrets snacks for your kids and grandkids?

How to Manage On-The-Go Snacking for Kids

Posted by Elizabeth • March 14th, 2013

Saying that Jill Castle, MS, RD, LDN knows a thing or two about childhood nutrition would be quite the understatement. Jill is a pediatric nutrition expert, and in her 20 years of knowledge and experience with kids, she’s tackled everything from helping families with picky eaters to designing specialized diets for medical problems. Add on the fact that she’s also a mother of 4, it’s safe to say she knows healthy eating, knows kids, and she DEFINITELY knows what it’s like to be busy.

Okay, its Friday and pizza is another family favorite. Why not make your own with this easy and tasty recipe from Mom a la Mode. I’ll be over at 6 !

I thought you might like the recipe so you can also enjoy this pizza physically, in the comfort of your own home.  What’s a better supper on a Friday than fresh, homemade pizza…and maybe a glass (or two!) of Chianti??