Parenting - Parenting Healthy

Postpartum Periods Can Be Abnormal and Midol Can Help

Many women experience changes in their postpartum periods that differ from their normal menstrual cycles. Whether it’s more bloating or increased pain, your monthly cycle is likely to return acting a bit different than you remembered it.

Midol® can help keep a postpartum period from interrupting your new Mom routine.

Midol’s job is to solely relieve menstrual symptoms including cramps, fatigue, headache, bloating and other aches and pains that are caused by menstruation.

3 main ingredients get to work as soon as you take your Midol – acetaminophen to relieve pain, caffeine to help reduce bloating and fatigue, and antihistamine to help alleviate water retention.

Your body has been through a lot and emotionally you are tired – a good tired! Let Midol help you out so you can focus on all the new good in your home. Available at most retailers nationwide.

Comment: Samples were sent for feature. Opinions are my own

Giveaways, Infant Toddler Products, Parenting

The Most Overrated and Underrated Baby Products, Parent Survey & Giveaway

August 16, 2019September 3, 2019 Erin Sluka

Have you viewed or had to create a baby registry lately? There is a lot out there! So many toys, bath products, bottles, bedding and more to choose from and all like to make their unique claims of ‘best’, ‘safest’, ‘number 1’ and how do you know what you’ll really need or not need?

Offers.com knows about shopping as well as deals and trends and they recently used Google Surveys to ask actual parents how they shop. We also asked which baby products they’ve deemed overrated — and underrated.

Starting with the most overrated and underrated products there were 5-6 listed in each category. The top overrated product came as the wipe warmer. I am not surprised, are you? I had one gifted to me when my son was born and I think I used it once then just realized I will have many opened wipe bags in almost every room I will be grabbing for as I need and I never would intentionally go grab my wipes from the one warmer.

The most underrated baby product came in as the white noise machine. I use white noise, all 3 of our boys ages 11-27 (still) use white noise and it does wonders for baby too. Trapping the white noise eliminates outside noise and I feel is a must in every nursery. What To Expect found that the top-rated white noise machine is the Marpac Dohm Elite that is available at Target.

More survey answers were, which items made up the majority of your baby registry and the top answer was practical items (such as diapers). The top store parents used to register with was Target and Pampers won as top diaper brand.

Now about spending! 21% of parents surveyed say that having kids has caused them to shop less often to control finances. The majority also saying they are only willing to spend under $100 a month on baby food and diapers. The last category was a fun one, asking parents that if they had extra funds to use anywhere for baby the majority say they would spend it on clothing.

What do you think? I feel this is accurate and in line from what I see. If I am surprised by any answer it may be the last one. My initial thought would be that most parents would want the extra money for techy products like higer quality baby monitors, etc.

With white noise machines being the underrated product that tells me it makes the most practical gift. The Marpac Dohm Elite that is rated top machine from Target by What to Expect is one you may recognize from when you were young because it has been around for 50 years. This is why having this be a top-rated machine makes it very desirable. No animal sounds, no lights just an effective white noise. It is reviewed to drown out almost all sounds! You can adjust the tone and volume and it rushes air naturally so it is an inconsistent, never looping sound that is so soothing that you’ll find yourself wanting one in the master once this one heads to the nursery!

View the entire parent survey here.

The Giveaway

1 lucky reader will win the top-rated Marpac Dohm EliteWhite Noise Machine and a $50 Target gift card courtesy of Offers.com.

College Bound, Healthy Living, Parenting

Finally, The College Student First Aid Kit with Mom-Approved Items

August 12, 2019August 9, 2019 Erin Sluka

With one son back home after 4 years at College and continuing online, we have an 11 year old on his heels. I learned a lot as a College parent. I bought many things that turned out unnecessary and then there were the things I never thought of that became an instant need.

We spend about 18 years cooking for them, caring for them, cleaning scrapes, spooning medicine and now who will have eyes on them? Who will make sure they can take care of themselves? No one will! This is it and all you can do is send them off with the right tools and let them be little adults now. I bought a shallow tote on our son’s first year. It was low enough to slip under his dorm bed. In it were band-aids, medicine, Kleenex and all he’d need with a label that read -‘when you get sick’. It was the best I could leave him with.

Had I known about The College Student First Aid Kit that would have been so much better! Even a shallow tote took up too much room in that small space. The College Student First Aid Kit has everything but the kitchen sink (and the good brands too) in a small box. It was created by Beth Palmer Stewart, a Nurse practitioner with over 25 years of experience working with children, adolescents and young adults.

She also became a college Mom who quickly realized the struggle of finding first aid kits to leave with her student that wasn’t full of generic brands and wasn’t missing crucial items. She went to great lengths to research the best possible kits bundled into convenient sizes for dorm spaces and every student needs one as they head off to their new life.

I remember our son saying things like “..there is a student store if I need anything” or “…a Walmart is right down the street”. What they don’t realize is that when sickness hits you, that is one long drive to the store when you don’t feel like leaving your bed. Also, the student store was so far across campus and they lived at the bottom of campus hill and in the snow that town got, winter ailments were horrible if you needed to walk or find a parking space near that store. They need to have these essentials in the room and ready to go.

There are 3 sizes of kits to choose from. The most thorough is the Premium Plus Kit. With over 50 different medications, ointments, creams, drops, tools, and wound care items they will be taken care of just fine, Mom and Dad! Don’t worry. Before you know it 4 years have passed and you’ll be a pro at this. Visit College First Aid Kit to keep them prepared.

Parenting

Things That Should Never Be Done With A Newborn Baby

June 22, 2019July 20, 2020 Erin Sluka

There are so many challenges that appear when you become a parent. This is a time when you are really happy, when all you want to do is celebrate the birth of a new baby and do things right. Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done.

There are countless mistakes parents make when raising a newborn baby. However, the following are not always known and should be.

Allowing Anyone To Kiss The Baby

As a parent, it is highly fulfilling to see people that are doting around the newborn. Babies are lovable and cute so people should really enjoy them, right? Wrong.

People can appear to be completely healthy but it is possible they carry around some diseases, like Herpes Simplex Virus. This is completely invisible and there are now outward signs. The baby can end up infected, which is definitely not what you want to see happen.

Having The Baby Sleep On The Tummy

It is important to be careful with the sleeping habits of the baby. Most mothers these days know that babies should not sleep on their tummies because it can be fatal. Those that sleep on the stomach are at a high risk of ending up dead because of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). That is because they end up rebreathing carbon dioxide, which cuts off oxygen supply.

Overdressing The Baby

Many parents think it is the right choice to put more clothes on the baby. This is especially the case when the weather is cold. It is important to keep the child warm and safe but over-bundling is a very bad idea. The baby should be dressed just like you dress yourself.

The problem with overdressing is that the body of the baby ends up overheating. He/she ends up with higher temperatures than what would be uncomfortable. It is even possible it can lead to SIDS since there is lower space available for movement. This is fatal or just harmful for the baby.

Forget A Doctor’s Appointment

You should never miss a doctor’s appointment, even if it seems as being a really simple thing. The problem when you miss the appointment is that you can miss out on baby development stages or physical exam monitoring. Also, after a pediatrician appointment is missed, you can easily end up missing another one. In order for a follow up to happen, the initial checkup has to be done. This is especially the case when referring to immunizations.

Use Crib Bumpers

There are crib bedding sets and cribs that have bumpers. These are cushiony, firm linings that are there to keep the child safe. At first glance, this is a great safety precaution but bumpers can easily hurt the child. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, babies can actually end up trapped in the bumpers. Even fresh air flow can be cut off for the baby crib.

Ignoring The Child When Crying

If you allow the baby to keep crying there is a risk that brain development problems will appear. If the child keeps crying without attention or pause, stress levels are heightened. Stress rise leads to various different problems. Also, as the baby grows, he/she gets used to neglect and less attention, which is definitely not what you want the baby to feel.