Month: September 2017

Posted in Crafts, Parenting Hacks

Toddler Friendly Paint Trays

Posted on by ottawaem

The Tiny Humans are quite the artists and craft time is a regular activity in our house. M and I have also found ourselves buying more and more craft beer in cans. How are these two things related?

I realized one day as I searched for a plastic lid to use as a make-shift paint tray that the little plastic trays many breweries use to hold a four or six pack of beer cans together are the perfect size for a dollop of craft paint. It’s easy to keep each colour contained or add several colours together to make that perfect “turtle green” or muddy brown.

Did I mention the trays are also great for corralling Easter eggs!
Posted in Parenting, Parenting Hacks, Travel Gear

Newborn Must Haves

Posted on by ottawaem


Frankly newborns don’t need much, something to wear, a source of food, some sort of diaper and somewhere to sleep is all they really need. The below list is more to help you get through those first few crazy weeks.

  1. E-reader- there is a lot of downtime/cuddletime with newborns, and you can only binge watch so much TV.  Being able to read a book with one hand is well handy 🙂 another benefit of an e-reader is that you can keep the room dim for night feedings.
  2. Baby carrier you feel comfortable using.
  3. LilyPadz-awesome for preventing those uncomfortable wet spots when out in public as well as protecting your baby’s sensitive new food sources.
  4. Milkies-put this in the other side of your bra when breast feeding and it collects the dribbles. With a bit of squeezing (don’t ask) I could collect a couple ounces per feed that M would use for a night time bottle or freeze for later.
  5. Everything blanket-still a fan favourite, not too thick and not too thin.
  6. Muslin swaddling cloths- so many uses, swaddling wrap, burp cloth, blanket, nursing cover, playmat etc.
  7. Good water bottle you can open with one hand
  8. Healthy snacks (stashed in key locations throughout the house)
  9. Burp cloths- you can buy fancy ones but I am a big fan of soft hand towels or wash cloths
  10. Nursing cover– personal preference but I found my girls would get distracted in public and it made me less anxious about breastfeeding in public
  11. Bag to tote around diapers, extra clothes etc.
  12. Eye mask and earplugs-You need sleep to function. Even if it’s only a 20 minute cat nap, take advantage of trusted adults who want one on one baby time and get some shut eye.