Teresa Simpson's BlogPosted by Teresa Simpson If you're like me, you are always on the lookout for ways to save money. With children, this task can be even more difficult. The following ideas are a few things that have helped my family to pinch a penny or two: If you have an idea for saving money, start a discussion and share your idea! Posted by Teresa Simpson Okay, I will confess. I keep imagining dressing up my seven month old son in his Halloween costume and taking him trick-or-treating. Now, this is silly, to say the least. He can't eat candy yet, nor would he get much out of the process! So I have been wondering when exactly is a child old enough to trick-or-treat? A friend offered this advice: "If he is old enough to say 'trick-or-treat,' 'please,' and 'thank you,' then he is old enough to trick-or-treat!" Sound advice from another mom. So I guess this year, my family and I will pass out candy to the other little goblins that come to our door. Posted by Teresa Simpson My son was 10 pounds when he was born and he is 23 pounds now that he is seven months old. While he is also long, it is still difficult to buy clothes for him that fit -- specifically pants like jeans or khakis that have zippers and snaps. In the last couple of weeks, I have had to return numerous pairs of pants to the stores at which I bought them because they were too tight on my son's tummy. Finally, though, I discovered that the baby pants at Target run a little larger in the waist. So if you have a baby who is pleasantly plump, you might want to try Target for those hard to fit clothes! Posted by Teresa Simpson As you may have read in my review of cloth diapers (http://infantstoddlers.suite101.com/article.cfm/cloth_diapers), I have recently begun using this method to cover my baby's bottom. I decided that this was one small way in which I could contribute to the family budget. While I do not necessarily regret the choice to switch from disposables, I do wish I had known a few things before I got started:
In spite of these lessons that had to be learned, my son and I are adjusting to this new system of diapering. Truth be told, he doesn't care what's on his bottom as long as it's soft and dry. Posted by Teresa Simpson Whenever I am out with my infant son, I find myself talking to him as if he were any other companion (sometimes even waiting for a response!). On one such expedition, I was chatting away as we meandered through the store, when a woman approached us. "I love how you talk to your baby," she said. "Oh," I said, "thank you." I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by how I talk to my baby. "I never really felt comfortable talking to my babies as if they were people," she went on. I considered pointing out to this woman that her babies probably were, in fact, people -- but I chose to refrain. I realized, however, that many adults really don't feel comfortable talking to babies -- nor do they know what to say to them. The fact is, babies do not need baby talk. It is better for them to be talked to like adults. This paves the way for their future language skills. So here are a few suggestions on things you can talk about when you find yourself baby-mute:
You get the idea. The goal here is that you talk -- about anything -- to your baby. |