When was the last time you played a board game? It’s probably been a while! What’s your favorite game? #Life and #Monopoly were definitely some of our favorites. (Although the amount of children you can have sometimes get way out of control and pretty much everyone knows that monopoly can be the longest game in history).
Maybe you already play board games together as a family, but if you don’t this is a great opportunity to introduce your kids to a fun way of learning! Board games mean quality time together as you teach your children valuable skills like following rules, taking turns, winning/losing graciously and in this case – spelling.
If your kids are younger, look for ways to make the game appropriate for their age level. Instead of playing with random letters, start out with one word and work together to use all of the tiles to spell additional words. Break out a dictionary – yes a real and actual book dictionary – and use it to look up and spell words together.
So, your little one is rolling over, scooting around and maybe even crawling. She’s very interested in the world around her and she’s depending on you to learn each and every day! Toys can be expensive and often don’t actually “teach” your little one anything.
Instead, skip the toys and check around your house for simple ways to create sensory activities for baby. Sensory activities are things that stimulate your little one’s senses of sight, touch, sound, smell and hearing.
Reading
Our number one favorite sensory activity is reading! Children’s books often have bright and colorful pictures that will keep baby’s attention. Plus, listening to your voice is one of the best ways that baby can learn. Be sure to use different voices for different characters and put emphasis on emotions.
Mess-free Finger Paint
Go to your local craft store and pick up some small bottles of brightly colors paint – any kind will do! Squirt a few different colors into a Ziploc bag and seal it. Baby can squeeze and squish the bag while mixing the colors and watching them change. Worried about baby finding away to open a bag? Just add some duct tape to seal it tight.
Jiggle-y Jell-O
This one gets messy, but it’s SO FUN! Get a shower curtain liner and spread it out on the floor. Dump some Jell-O in the middle and let baby lay in it, roll in it, grab it, squeeze it and even eat it! Even thought baby will definitely need a bath after this activity, cleanup otherwise is a breeze because you can fold up the liner and throw it away or rinse it with the water hose and keep it for next time.
Rice Play
This can get messy, so keep it in a confined area if possible or on a tile or hardwood floor where the rice is easy to sweep up. This is also an activity you’ll want to supervise in case your little one likes to put everything in her mouth. You can use dry rice or cooked rice (if you’re brave!) in a bowl for her to squish and feel. Add other small items or toys in the rice for baby to find.
Twinkle Twinkle
You can probably find a string of holiday lights in a storage bin somewhere in your house. It’s time to break them out and use them for more than the holidays! Put the string of lights into a mason jar and plug them in. This is another activity you’ll need ot supervise, but this is especially fun if your lights are multicolored or if they twinkle.
Pin Board
Think of a time before Pinterest. Find a corkboard or similar and secure items for baby to play with. Check out your local hardware store for knobs, handles and switches you can secure to the board. Then add some ribbons, shower curtain rings, small mirrors and even macaroni to the board for more fun.
Shake, Shake!
Use toilet paper or paper towel rolls to make shakers with different ingredients – rice, beans, sand and beads are a few of our favorite. Or mix-and-match different items for even more unique sounds! Seal each end with tape and let baby shake away!
No matter how you play with your little one, you’re investing in their development. By introducing new sounds, shapes and interesting feelings, you’re teaching about the world around them.
ChangePal Product Review
As parents, we’re always on the hunt for the next greatest baby product. With all the “gear” on the market promising to make your life as a parent easier, it can be difficult to determine what really works like it promises.
One of our goals with the Pregnant Pauses blog is to help simplify your life – and that means seeking out the best baby gear on the market to share with you. We know (from experience!) that simplifying “life on the go” is one of the biggest struggles moms have.
Download a free infant safety checklist.
The safety of your baby is critical. We spend a lot of time caring for our little ones and there are a million things to do before they arrive on the planet. However, falls rank as the number one cause of non-fatal accidents for infants, followed by burns. Leaving their carrier on a high table without side rails, not putting safety gates on stairs.
Additional information on infant safety can be found at womenshealth.gov . Check with your physician and other healthcare providers for more information and resources on infant safety.
When it comes to being healthy, every small change you make can add up to be a huge difference for your health. We like to think of healthy changes in two ways: there are things that you can remove from your life or diet to make positive changes, and there are things you can add to make improvements.
And when it comes to making positive changes, we like healthy habits that are easy to add and stick to. Two of our favorites are body brushing and taking a detox bath once a week. Each one takes very little time, but the health benefits add up quickly! Include these in your routine and you’re sure to see positive changes in as little as a week after introducing them. Plus – they’re great for the whole family!
Once upon a time, ringing in the New Year meant parties, confetti, champagne toasts and excitedly counting down until the clock struck midnight. Now that you’re a mom, those may seem like distant memories that won’t be in your future for a long time to come.
In fact, you may be glad to trade those parties for a few extra hours of precious sleep if you have an infant. But that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate. Ringing in the New Year may look a little different now, but it doesn’t have to be less special. We have some ideas to help make the 2019 New Year your most special one yet!
When it comes to babies, some people would say there’s no specific time that is best to have one. I would have to disagree. Maybe I’m biased, but having a baby during the holiday season was actually pretty spectacular, in my opinion. There was never going to be a cozier and more family-oriented time to bring new life into the world.
Traveling is for Fools
Did you ever notice all the movies that showcase traveling during the holiday season include never-ending traffic jams and massive catastrophes? Home Alone. Need I say more? Seriously, there are plenty of movies that bring to life that home for the holidays feeling without actually showing you everyone traveling home for the holidays. Cue, The Family Stone. That’s because no one wants to see the long lines at the airport, the meltdown over lost luggage, or the arguments couples get into on Christmas Eve when driving eight hours each way to see distant family members. I digress… traveling is the worst and perhaps only bad part of Christmas.
Enter, a newborn baby. There will never be another Christmas when you have a better excuse to stay home. Not only do you get to exempt yourself from traveling out of state to Grandma’s house for the yuletide event, but everyone also collectively understands that you just had a baby and need alone time to bond. So no one is going to try to come stay at your house this Christmas, either. Is it sounding good to you yet?
Use Code LOVE2018 to get 25% off your purchase for Black Friday 2018! The code is good for for the entire Black Friday weekend.
As you prepare to shop for Black Friday this week, don’t forget to shop for yourself, too! You probably feel a little like Santa Claus, with a shopping list that you’ve already checked twice making sure you haven’t forgotten anyone. You’ve looked through all of the sale ads and making sure you’re getting the best deals.
Well, we want to reward you for your selflessness and commitment to doing for others. At Pregnant Pauses, we believe that you can’t pour from an empty cup, and we want to help you fill yours up this holiday season. If you’re pregnant or looking to have a baby in the near future, our Pregnant Pauses exercise program is one of the best ways you can invest in yourself.
Whether you’re hosting a meal at your house, visiting local relatives and friends or traveling, Thanksgiving can be stressful when you have young children. From the interruption of schedules to dealing with picky eaters and everything in between, we have some tips to help you survive this holiday with your sanity intact!
The best way to prepare for Thanksgiving (or any holiday!) is to plan ahead. Know what time you need to get places, how long you’ll need to plan for travel, etc. If your little one has a specific naptime, try to accommodate by leaving earlier or later – just let your hosts know ahead of time. Most family and friends will understand!
Halloween can be a very fun, festive time of the year. It’s like a kick-off for the holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza and then the New Year just around the corner.
If you have a baby or toddler, you may be excited but tentative to participate in Halloween activities. We have five tips for a fun, stress-free and most importantly safe Halloween.
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