Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Keeping Your Home and Your Stuff Safe and Sound This Summer

· by · 1 Comment

I’m excited to announced that I’m part of the Live Secure Safety Squad for Master Lock! That means that throughout the year I will be bringing you great information (and great giveaways!) about products that can help you keep your home and your possessions safe and sound.

I think the timing of this campaign is excellent, because summer is an especially important time of year for us all to be mindful of safety. Our children are likely home more in the summer than they are during the school year. We might be doing things like opening up our windows at home to enjoy the wonderful weather outside. Perhaps we’ve got toys, a grill and other valuables sitting outside in our front or back yards. I’ll be showing you steps we take over the coming months to enjoy the weather, enjoy our yard, and still feel safe and secure (no more grills being stolen…lesson learned!). I’ll also share how to have more peace of mind about leaving your house if you are planning any vacations (we are hoping to take a trip to Atlanta sometime this summer).

Why is it so important to take a bit of time and think about such security issues? Well, everyone has different reasons. I happen to have 2. Want to know what they are?

They are my two little girls. They are my heart, beating outside of my chest. It is my job to do everything in my power to keep them safe and to create a safe environment in which they can thrive. If mommy is always stressed out/worried about the safety of our home and things, that anxiety will be known by my girls (children pick up on this type of thing quite easily). That’s one of the reasons that we decided to move away from Memphis, where crime and theft were much more of a price you just had to pay to live in the city. It was never a question of if anything would be stolen from you, but when. We made a major change by moving to a different city, but now I want to have a home that is as stress-free as possible. Part of making that happen includes taking the time to make some necessary precautions.

What about you? Do you live in a community with major theft problems? Any summer plans that will take you away from home and are making you a bit nervous? Any particular security needs you want me to talk about this year? 

CHIAVIE: A Drink For Warrior Women

· by · Leave a Comment

When I was in early labor with Layah (all 3 times, because yeah, I went into labor 3 different times before she was actually born!), I stayed at home for the early part (only went to the hospital the final time, actually). There were many reasons why I wanted to do early labor at home, including the fact that I wanted to be able to eat and drink.

That probably sounds like a silly reason for staying at the house, but being able to stay hydrated and get the energy my body really NEEDS during labor is important. And once you go to the hospital, NO MORE FOOD. And for most hospitals, only ice chips are allowed! Given the fact that my labor with Darah was 19 hours long, I wasn’t interested in being starving in addition to being exhausted from labor.

And I had a carefully selected drink in my refrigerator to help give me a major energy boost. This drink is not specifically designed for women in labor, by any means, but it’s definitely useful for when you are about to do the hardest work of your life!It’s called CHIA\VIE, and it is an all natural blend of chia seeds and fruit. Chia seeds are relatively new to me, but since discovering them, I’ve learned that they are one of the greatest superfoods in the entire world. The CHIA\VIE bottles state that a handful of chia seeds used to sustain Aztec warriors for an entire day. Woah!

Each drink has 2 servings of fruit and no sugar added. It also doesn’t require refrigeration. This was great, as it enabled me to take the drink with me to the hospital (why yes, I did sneak in a drink for myself!). I found the taste to be quite pleasant, and I’m certain that this drink helped me have the energy I needed to sustain the 24 hour labor. Yeah, you read that right…24 hours! So much for the idea that your second delivery will be much quicker than your first!

Each drink also has 2000 mg of Omega 3, as well as 600 mg of Omega 6 and 88 mg of Omega 9. If you are currently breastfeeding, know that the boost of Omega-3s in your system is a wonderful thing for you and your baby, as it promotes brain and heart health for both of you! Even if you aren’t currently pregnant or breastfeeding, if you are a mother than you are a warrior woman in your day-to-day life, of that I am certain! I love the idea of turning to the food source that warriors used to help sustain you!

Go to the CHIA\VIE website to find your nearest retailer!

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

 

Put Some Yum in Your Tum: Quaker Soft Baked Bars

· by · Leave a Comment

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Quaker Oats for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

As a nursing mama, I am HUNGRY quite frequently throughout the day. I need to keep some fuel in my tank throughout the day to make sure I don't get so hungry that I go eat half a bag of peanut m&m's (not that I've ever done that, especially not just last week, ahem). 

Quaker has just come out with a new product that perfectly meets my need for something yummy and sweet, but also nutritious. They are calledQuaker Soft Baked Bar. Each bar has 140 calories (so not too bad), 5g of fiber (always important to get your daily fiber intake, ladies!), and 6g of protein (something I definitely need more of in my diet). QSBB Yum Image high res.jpg

Not only are these bars a wholesome food, they also are delicious! With flavors like cinnamon pecan bread and banana nut bread, how can you resist? I know I personally make an excellent banana bread, but I've never heard of cinnamon pecan bread, so that would be the flavor I'd be the very most eager to try. It sounds yummy (I'm a big cinnamon fan!). It has even been suggested that you heat up your soft baked bar in the microwave for a warm and satisfying treat. I love that idea! 

Another way to eat these bars is as a breakfast snack. Maybe you are typically so busy in the morning that you skip breakfast altogether. I personally NEVER skip breakfast, but I have definitely experienced that extreme time crunch in the mornings that make finding something nutritious and balanced to eat a bit difficult. It would be great to have these bars in my pantry for those hairy days. 

I also wouldn't mind offering these to Darah as an afternoon snack. I could see the two of us splitting a bar! 

Visit Sponsor's Site

Why a Single Electric Breast Pump is My Choice: Tommee Tippee Breast Pump Review

· by · Leave a Comment

With Darah, I had a double electric breast pump. This was really necessary for me as I was working full-time, and needed the quickest way possible to pump while at work.

This time around, I work from home. I can breastfeed or pump any time I’d like! I’m choosing to breastfeed almost exclusively, which means that I’m not building up a supply of breast milk in the freezer as quickly as I did the first time around. But I’m still slowly working on that, and I’m going slowly because I’ve learned that if I’m pumping a lot in addition to always feeding the baby, I’m going to send my body the message that I need MORE milk, and then I’ll be producing more milk. Since Layah already seems to be a bit of a chunk putting on weight at a healthy but rapid clip, making even more milk is not something I really need to be doing at the moment.

The best times for me to pump are on those occasions where Layah doesn’t really eat a full “meal” at one feeding. Sometimes she just wants to drink from one breast and then go back to sleep. Other times she wants both breasts, but she feeds so quickly that I know she’s left a fair amount of milk behind. Those are the times when it’s great to break out my Tommee Tippee Single Electric Breast Pump System. The single electric pump is better for me than a double pump because I’m not having to pump to replace what a baby would be doing during a feeding. I simply need to collect a small amount, and often just from one breast. 

This pump system is simpler than the double-electric system I had before, and once again, I’m pleased with that change. It has just 3 settings for its pumping strength. As your baby’s suck increases over time, you can change the setting on your pump, as well. At this point, the first setting is still working great for me.

I’ve also found the silicone cup that goes around your breast to be more comfortable than what I had previously. After reading my manual, I learned that the product actually sends out massaging ripples to better mimic a baby’s feeding.

The kit also comes with bottles for feeding and a storage container for your milk, as well. It’s really nice to have all of these items included in one set; makes an excellent gift for an expecting mom, I think!

If you feel as though you would need a double electric pump in your situation, Tommee Tippee has you covered! They have just come out with the Double Electric Breast Pump System! Both products can be purchased at Babies R Us and Target, and the Single Electric Breast Pump System I’ve reviewed retails for $46.99.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

 

Spike Seasoning Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 78 Comments

When your food needs some extra flavor, do you normally reach for the table salt? I know I used to, but now I’ve got a few new alternatives sitting on my dining room table that make really great alternatives to salt. They are called Spike Seasonings, and Dr. Oz has recommended them to folks looking to improve their overall health and cut back on sodium intake. 

I actually noticed when my in-laws were visiting me in May that they reached for seasonings other than salt on a regular basis, and I realized that I’d never really even thought of doing that. I’ve been missing out on some great flavor options, as it turns out! Spike Seasonings provide many different ways to give your food a kick and to introduce some delicious tastes to your dinner plate.

I personally have really been enjoying the Vegit spice, which contains some interesting stuff like beet root powder and orange peel. The taste is excellent, too! I really like that on the Spike website, you can see exactly what spices are in each bottle. The Original seasoning has 39 different spices! Wow!

Spike Seasonings include 10 different great seasoning products, all reasonably priced at just $2.99 each. You can purchase them here!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win 4 bottles of Spike Seasonings (Original, Hot ‘n Spicy, Salt Free and Vegit).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Bluapple Saves Your Produce: Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 109 Comments

For the last 3 1/2 weeks of my pregnancy, I was on bed rest. One of the key areas that was affected was our ability to get dinner on the table. Fortunately, we had friends and church members step in to help us out, and we had very little cooking that we needed to do.

Unfortunately, I went to the grocery store the day before I got put on bed rest, so I had crisper drawers full of produce that were more or less forgotten about. About 2 weeks after I bought some romaine lettuce, I went downstairs just to throw it away, because I remembered that it was in there, and I just knew it was stinking up the entire refridgerator.

Much to my surprise, I discovered some lettuce that looked as though it had been purchased 2 or 3 days earlier, not 2 weeks before. I give all the credit to the Bluapple, which has a home in my crisper drawer and works very hard to keep all our produce fresh.


Here’s a basic rundown of why your produce goes bad so fast, and how the Bluapple helps out. Produce makes ethylene gas, which has the function of promoting uniform ripening. But when concentrated in a crisper drawer, the result is often that food over-ripens quickly, leaving you literally throwing away your money.

The Bluapple absorbs ethylene gas for up to 3 months in a crisper drawer, and helps keep your produce fresh much longer. It is definitely working in my crisper drawer, and it will work in yours, too!

You can purchase a set of Blueapples for $9.95 and a 12 month refill kit can also be purchased for $9.95.

Win it!: THREE lucky Stuff Parents Need readers will win a set of Bluapples!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Rubbermaid Clean & Dry Plunger Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

· by · 134 Comments

I’m going to go ahead and guess that when you think about a plunger, two words that do NOT come to mind are CLEAN and DRY. Plunging your toilet is a messy affair, and I don’t know about you, but I’m always confused about how best to clean the plunger after using it. Do I rinse it off in the tub (ew!)? Take it to the bathroom sink (double ew!)? Just put it back on the floor (triple ew!)? I typically rinse it, but is running water over it really enough to get rid of the nasty germs clinging to it? I seriously doubt it.

Rubbermaid, in all its clever-ness, has come out with a revolutionary new plunger that removes all of these problems while still effectively handling your plumbing issues. It’s called the Clean & Dry Plunger and it actually repels water from its surface, leaving you with a clean plunger after use (can you believe it?!). The special coating on the product is good for thousands of uses, too.

It is important to remember that oil from human hands can degrade the coating, so remember to always hold the plunger by the handle, only!

So…does all this sound just a bit too good to be true? Are you thinking that there’s no way it would really and truly repel liquids? Well then, check out this 18 second video and prepare to be amazed!

The Clean & Dry Plunger is available online for $12.99. The online shop also has a resource where you can find your nearest retail seller, as well!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win a Rubbermaid Clean & Dry Plunger!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my page.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Voice Your Opinion Now on the Environmental Impact of Appliances!

· by · Leave a Comment

Please enjoy this post brought to you by Appliances Online. As someone who bought 5 (yes, 5!) major home appliances in the last 6 weeks, this is a topic of great interest to me! 

 


Because we want a planet that’s actually still a relatively nice place to live when our children are older, it’s important that we take care of it now. Domestic appliances are a huge drain on resources because almost every home has at least one, and they are used multiple times a day.

Think about it, especially if you’re a parent. Just how many times is that washing machine used in a week? Or the dryer immediately afterwards? How often do you use the dishwasher to clean up after the kids? Over the years, the cost, both financially and economically can build up. It’s especially difficult recently due to advances in technology. This makes models of appliances much cheaper to buy, whilst in turn making their replacement parts much more expensive.

Many people aren’t aware of the full range of eco-information available to them from retailers and manufacturers. However, it’s important that people know more about things such as water consumption, or energy efficient classes of their appliances. For example, did you know that a dishwasher uses far less water than by hand washing? Many people still consider dishwashers to be an expensive luxury drain on resources.

Appliances Online want to help people improve the knowledge they are given regarding green appliance issues by creating the 2012 Green Survey. This survey is intended to give the public the opportunity to voice their concerns and opinions on domestic appliances and their environmental impact. The results will hopefully allow retails and manufacturers to see just what information is given and what changes people want in how that information is presented.

The survey is available globally, as this issue is not just for consumers, but for anyone who is interested in making the planet a little greener. It will run until Wednesday 6th June (and maybe a little longer is the need is there).

Halit Bozdogan is a writer for Appliances Online and will be a first time father in July. It’s a boy. He’s not sure what name he will have yet.

26 Days In: How Breastfeeding is Going

· by · 2 Comments

I was very dedicated to breastfeeding my first child. I assumed that after the initial physical pain of breastfeeding, everything would go super smoothly and we’d never have any issues. Unfortunately, we did have some troubles and I found myself supplementing close to half her daily food with formula by 6 months. By 10 months, Darah had weaned herself.

While I know it is too early to declare that we are going to be problem-free this time around, I will say that so far, things are going much smoother! And I think a fair amount of that success has to do with my approach to the process. Simply put, I’m much more relaxed about the whole thing this time around. I’m still keeping track of her feeding times like I did last time, but I’m not obsessing over whether or not she’s eating too frequently or not frequently enough. I just feed her when she seems to be hungry. Sometimes that’s every 1 1/2 hours….sometimes it’s every 4 1/2 hours. I can see with my own two eyes that she is growing like a weed, so I’m not getting all caught up in putting her on a schedule this time around.

I also discovered in the first week of feeding Layah that she has a very favorite way to nurse: laying down! That works for me, especially in the middle of the night! I suspect that I also have an overactive let down, and the laying down position helps with that because it is easy for Layah to just let the milk that she can’t drink quickly enough flow right out of her mouth.

Another thing I’ve done differently this time around is kept my resources for support close at hand. I went to a breastfeeding support group meeting when Layah was just 8 days old, and even though we weren’t having major problems, it was SO great to connect with other moms in the early weeks of breastfeeding. I’ve also been quick to consult kellymom.com when I do run into questions, as that is a very comprehensive site with some really terrific information.

Finally, I have made sure that I have the right clothes for comfortable breastfeeding, which is something that I did not have squared away when I was nursing Darah in the early weeks. One of my very favorite items is The Essential Nursing Tank from Bravado. There are many things to like about this particular nursing tank, but my absolute favorite is that it comes with a built-in bra, so you don’t have to wear a separate bra under your tank. HALLELUJAH! And these tanks come in specific sizes for different breast sizes, so it really and truly will fit you, even if you are a bit larger up top!

I also love the snap design on this tank. While it holds in place just fine on its own (I have never had it come undone on me!) it is also easy enough to unsnap with just one hand, which is a clever design for those of us with hungry, mad babies in the other hand!

I also really appreciate the length of the tank. I’m a short gal, so the top isn’t so long that its more like a nightgown, but it does completely cover my tummy, which makes me feel more secure. I’m definitely not at the stage with my post-baby body where I want my mid-section hanging out for the world to see!

While I held on to my nursing tank and didn’t use it until Layah was born, the material is stretchy, and designed to be usable during pregnancy, as well. So if you purchase this tank, you are sure to get LOTS of use out of it!

I personally am trying to decide which other colors I should purchase. I currently have the brown tank, and it is constantly being washed and re-worn. I could definitely use one or two more!

The Essential Nursing Tank by Bravado is available for $49.00 and comes in 9 beautiful colors that will help make your maternity and post-partum wardrobe super functional. It can be purchased here.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary product for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.