trick: try side sitting.

Some babies just don't like tummy time no matter how you try to entice them. With special toys, laying on your chest, with snazzy books, on a play mat. You can make it seem like the most fun activity in the whole wide world and still they fuss and whine and cry it out any time you put them on their stomach.

The goal of tummy time is to work the chest and arm muscles in preparation of crawling and it may seem like the only way, but it's not. Helping your baby side sit is another great way to build the muscles of the upper body and help them get ready to crawl. Plus it helps them learn to eventually transition from sitting to crawling on their own later down the road.

Seat baby in front of you facing you.

Turn baby's right leg so their knee is down in the center and their foot is pointing out to their right, just like the left one. Position baby's body towards their left and place their hands out in front of them to the side.

The further away from their body the hands (and the closer their face to the floor), the more strength needed to keep them stable. Start with them close to their body and progressively move them further away to build strength. 


This is usually more tolerated than tummy time and it is easier to distract baby in this position by reading stories or playing with toys. It is also easier to do small little sessions of side sitting without causing a total upset - if baby starts getting fussy, simply move them back to sitting. It is less of a total transition from being on their tummies.

Make sure to switch sides to build strength equally in both arms.

Happy sitting!

tip: stay cool in the pool.

It has been infernal here in beautiful Pacific Northwest this past week. I know other parts of the country and world suffer much greater heat than this all the time, but 94 in the shade? That's too much for fair-skinned rain-loving Seattlites like myself. Don't get me wrong, I like sun. My body just wasn't designed to take this much of it.

If I'm feeling faint, I can only imagine what my poor sweaty little boys are feeling. So how have we been managing? By taking the advice of another fellow mama.

We've been staying cool in the pool!

My soul hurt a little bit as we bought the cheap made-in-China pools at the toy store, but I don't know of any well-made baby pools or what type of store would sell them locally. If any of you know where to find one, please let me know!

Needless to say, they are a hit. They are dually amazing in providing fun water exploration activity and a way to stay cool. An added plus is how much they wear the babes out. Every time we have water time the following nap is quite a doozy. We have been doing this daily and probably will continue to do so until the cool weather returns. Thursday is the 4th of July, so when the rain comes back for the fireworks, maybe we'll take a break then! :)

tip: give baby a spoon.

Sometimes when you're first starting to experiment with solids it's hard to get food into baby's mouth. They want to play with the spoon, they want to play with your hands, they want to make spitting noises. This play is all good for baby's development.

Sometimes, however, you need to get that food in there. We personally want our own babes to both get at least a taste of each food we've prepared at every solid food meal because sometimes it can take ten or twelve tries before baby decides they like or dislike a certain food. If they don't want to eat it after that first taste we don't push it; it's never a good idea to force food on a baby. If baby knows that you're coming at them with a certain offender, though, sometimes you need a trick to get that first bite in there.

An easy fix: give baby a spoon of their own to play with. They have fun, they go to put it in their mouth and you slip in a bite of food along with it. It's minimally invasive and baby will tell you right away if they respond well to it or not. An added plus is the hand-eye coordination it works on, and pretty soon they'll start trying to feed themselves. And it's darn cute to boot!

(This is one of those things, like being in a high chair, that should always be supervised. It's amazing how far a baby can jam one of those tiny spoons in their mouth when you're not looking. We don't want any choking!)

Happy Spooning!

trick: calendula wash.

There are so many herbal infusions that are handy when it comes to taking care of babies, but probably one of the most useful is calendula. You probably know it better as marigold; in fact it may even be growing in your garden!

There are many varieties out there, but the one most commonly used for medicinal purposes is Calendula officinalis, or pot marigold. It should be in every mama's herbal first aid kit for sure - homeopathic pills; dried for use in infusions and poultices; and in the form of lotions, creams or oils. It is ideal anytime there is inflammation of the skin, bleeding, an open wound, bruising, strains, minor burns & scalds, and fungal infections.

One of the easiest and most effective ways of using calendula is as a wash or rinse to help heal any irritation of the skin. Lately we've been using this in our household on the babes any time we see the first signs of a diaper rash coming on, as well as under the double chin when the "neck cheese" (as a friend so perfectly described it!) has been fermenting too long and starts to form a rash.

The steps are very simple.

Take a small handful of dried calendula.

Pour boiling water over it and let it steep 10 minutes.

Dip a clean cloth in the infusion and apply to wherever is needed. It does not need to be rinsed off afterwards.

The infusion can be strained and kept in a sterile container for a few days to be used on cuts and bruises, rashes and skin irritations - seriously this can help with almost anything external! It can also be used as an antibacterial face wash - really helpful for oily or acne prone skin. Or similarly can be sprayed or dabbed on the face after washing as a cleansing antibacterial toner. Likewise it could be kept in a spray bottle next to a changing station to help prevent diaper rash.

Discard once the liquid starts getting cloudy.


Dried calendula is easily found in herbal shops and is pretty inexpensive. A few local shops here in Seattle that I really love and highly recommend are Rainbow Natural Remedies in Capitol Hill (on 15th across from the QFC) and Dandelion Botanical Company in Ballard (on Ballard Ave).

It is also one of the easiest herbs to cultivate at home in your very own garden, although if you plan on drying the flowers yourself care must be taken that they dry completely without growing any mold. The flowers or just the petals can be collected any time from early summer through early fall. They can be used immediately or dried. Dry them in a well-ventilated area in the shade and check for any discoloration, which would suggest molding.


Happy herbing!

trick: how to pit an avocado.

I know you love avocado. We all do. Especially my little monsters. But isn't it a pain to get the pit out?

Not anymore.

Et voilà!

Take that, avocado!

Bon appetit!

trick: deepening a neck stretch.

It's Mother's Day! Which can be filled with incredible joy as the little (or big) ones you created and raised celebrate you and shower you with love. It can also be filled with the stress of having to take care of little rascals on "your" day, plus the added stress of any travel and/or visiting with relatives. It can be a really wonderful but reeeeaaaally long day.

Which is why here at the end of it, as your little ones are finally falling asleep and you are finally getting a quiet moment to yourself, you should take a few minutes for a deep breath and a deep stretch.

Here's how to deepen a neck stretch. It feels amazing and only takes a minute. Do it while you're waiting for the milk to heat up, the baby to fall asleep, the dryer to finish, the water to boil, the email to load. Do it as many times as you want because it feels incredible and helps give you enough of a mini-break to run back to their aid when they wake up and start crying and still feel rejuvenated.

Start by simply stretching your neck: tilt your head to one side, trying to bring your ear down to your shoulder instead of your shoulder up to your ear.

You can use your hand to deepen the stretch if you like. Stay here long enough to take three deep breaths. Enjoy it. Switch sides and take three deep breaths with your other ear reaching down toward your other shoulder.

Next give yourself a little ear massage. Press the lobe of your ear between your fingers and give it a good rub; rub all along the ear from the lobe up to the very top; swipe your index finger along the inside of your ear as if you were trying to wipe water out; and run your fingers along the crease behind your ear. You can do each ear separately or you can do them at the same time, whatever feels better to you. Just make sure they both get a thorough rub-down.

Now for the crazy part. Tilt your head back over to that same neck stretch you started out with. Your head should tilt way more this time! It feels amazing! And it works like a charm every single time.

Hope this helps add a little joy to the end of an already joyful day! Happy Every Day, mama!

trick: getting baby to swallow.

I never in my life imagined I would need to know this trick, but it just so happened when Arlo was getting his tongue tie released that the doctor wanted to give him some baby Tylenol before the procedure and he wasn't having it. Why would he? He had only ever had breast milk up to this point and medicine is weird and sticky!

"Just blow on his face," the doctor said.

"Whaaa?"

I wasn't sure I had heard him correctly, but sure enough it made him swallow! It's a reflex babies have. It is effective and it is adorable.

Since that day we have used it to help them swallow gripe water, to help them swallow that last bit of milk left hanging out in their mouths, to help them swallow when they start coughing and to help them swallow when they are just tasting their first bit of solids but forget the next step. It works like a charm.

It is also an integral part of teaching a baby to swim. Before you dunk their head under the water, you first blow on their face and they suck in a huge breath and then hold it. We haven't tried it for that purpose yet, but we have given it a go for pure entertainment.

I would say that we're horrible and mean except that he loves it! Fun for the whole family! Like I said, pure entertainment!