It turns out nurturing your young child may help them regulate stress
I am super intrigued by this article, Nurturing Moms May Boost Children’s Brain Growth. Researchers are positing that children with nurturing mothers may experience brain growth in the hippocampus, the area of the brain that processes memories and helps you deal with stress. So… nurturing mom = mellow kid? We’ll see.
DIY idea: make a mini biography for the baby in your life
The favorite little person in my life (not mine, but a friend’s) is turning one soon, and I really struggled with figuring out what to get a one-year-old. When it comes to gifting for people, I generally want my gift to be purposeful, pleasing, and personal.
What kind of gifts can atheist godparents give at a christening?
My husband’s sister has just had her first baby, and they’ve asked him to be godfather; they understand that he’s a staunch atheist and will not be part of his niece’s religious education. All of the complexities there aside for a moment, here’s my question: what do my husband and I give her as a christening gift?
Breastfeeding moms rejoice: drinking coffee isn’t going to mess up your baby’s sleep
I remember spending HOURS Googling many variations of “If I drink coffee will my breastfed baby be hopped up on caffeinie?” when my son was an infant. I’m not even exaggerating — hours and hours and hours. I was worried that my son would turn into a coffee-addicted person before his time (because face it: in our family, it’s bound to happen) and convinced that his less-than-stellar sleeping skills were because I drank coffee 8 hours before I nursed him.
10 baby traveling essentials you didn’t know you needed
I’m Australian, my husband is American, and we live in China with our one-year-old son, Xavier. In the last year we’ve traveled to Australia, the USA, Germany, China, and back to Australia — and we’ve amassed a ton of tips to help our fellow traveling families!
A handmade rainbow-and-clover-themed birthday party for a one-year-old
What do you do when your kidlet is born on St. Patrick’s day? Throw a rainbow-and-clover themed party! Complete with a unicorn piñata that’s about to get its head whacked off.
Do you have tips for gently teaching babies about household dangers?
I am a happy momma of an infant who is just under a year. My child is at the point where he is gaining self mobility, and as many infants do, curiosity. As the curiosity develops, certain unsafe practices such as touching outlets, getting into cords, and hitting anyone who tries to stop the child are also developing. I have been trying the redirection method, but I’ve been having very minimal success with it.
Where do you draw the line when blogging about your family?
Cat recently wrote a fascinating piece on Offbeat Home called My door is open: why I’m pretty public online about my home. In it she discusses the transparency with which she blogs about where she lives and what she does. Cat’s digital reach in the home-focused community is pretty far — she runs two websites (the other being Hipster Housewife) about homes, and tweets many, many details about her life every single day. In fact, within another month or so I might have her whole TV schedule worked out. (I KID! Kind of.)