Yes, I broke my elbow, sprained my ankle, dislocated my knee, and got into near death, car accidents. However, the scariest day of my life was when my daughter got a second degree burn on her chest. She was 2 months shy of being 2 years old. That particular day, I had made my hot green tea and left it on top of the counter, far away from where she could reach it. When I returned, she climbed up a chair and grabbed the cup. The second I said, “Nooooo,” she immediately dropped all the hot water onto her chest. She was in shock, and I was in mortified shock. Being a new mother, I didn’t know what to do. I just panicked and looked around for help. Of course, no one was around, and I had to figure things out. I started calling everyone, but no one answered. So then I went online to look for help, but everything was a big blur. My daughter was in a state of shock, so I tried to calm her down. I got a cold wet towel to put over the area. At first, her chest was red, then it progressed to a purple, and then her skin started to peel. I could see raw skin underneath. I immediately called my husband and he rushed over.

We took her to the ER and waited nearly 3 hours before they saw us. By the time it was our turn, the peeling of the skin got worse. When the doctor came over, she literally put an ointment on the chest and stuck a bandaid on top of it. She didn’t even take the time to clean off the wounded area. She suggested that we stay away from touching the area and as it starts healing, to put sunscreen on it. I stared at her in awe, and was pretty pis*ed. I couldn’t believe how they took care of the situation, like it was nothing. I just felt like we could have done a better job, by staying home.

After that happened, I told myself that I would have ointments, or healing creams readily available in my first aid kit. Just in case it happens again. Although, I pray it doesn’t. But as parents, we always have to be prepared. I try to buy everything holistic, homeopathic, or natural when it comes to skin, medication, etc. I went through a couple products that were effective, but I wasn’t sure if they were good enough for the “ER” moments. I did some research and came across Thera Wise, a company that makes Natural Bio Active Therapeutic Ointments. Having gone through the scare with my daughter, I was immediately drawn to their Bio Active Skin Healing Ointment, “SHO.” It aids in wound healing, reduces skin irritation and inflammation, and has antibacterial properties. It’s the natural alternative to corticosteroids, anti-itch and antibacterial ointment. If you look at their ingredient list, it’s all very natural. For me, that is very important.

Since a year had passed with my daughter’s accident, I didn’t try the ointment on her. However, my husband is a chef, and he always comes home with burns, skin irritations, and cuts, so I knew I could test it on my husband. The other day, he came home with a huge cut, so I thought it was perfect timing. I was excited to put the SHO ointment to the test. My husband couldn’t understand why I was so excited about his painful cut. I immediately took the ointment, out of the box, and put it on his cut. It went on smoothly and did not have any strong odor. I put it on again, once before he went to bed, and once when he woke up. When he came home that evening, the cut, was enclosed and healing. The ointment works! It will definitely go into my first aid kit. But I see the highly likelihood that my husband will be carrying it, in his back pocket.

Thera Wise carries three other ointments: HmR (Hemorrhoidal Ointment), VpR (Vaporizing Decongestant Rub), and Ac+ (Acne Ointment). For more information on their products, please go to: www.therawise.com.

(Disclosure: Products were provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the products.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

For my first pregnancy, I never took a hospital tour nor did I take a labor class. When people would ask me questions about the Labor & Delivery tours and birthing classes, I felt like a foreigner. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough and I was missing out on a whole array of things. When I did go to Labor & Delivery to deliver my daughter, I just did everything that was asked of me. I was breathing when I needed to, push when I had to, and filled out paperwork galore.

With this second pregnancy, I made sure I made my reservations for the tour ahead of time. My husband and I attended the informational tour yesterday. The OB nurse who was giving the tour went through everything that you would need to know from the time you go into labor to the time you get discharged from the hospital. She went into great details about when to come to the hospital, what to bring, visiting hours, etc…I found it to be very informative, but nothing I couldn’t learn on my own. My husband was falling asleep, which highly irritated me, but I completely understood why. We already had gone through the process before and it wasn’t anything new, except a couple things because it was a different hospital. There were a lot of new parents and very few second time around parents.

One thing I learned from the tour, was when to go into the hospital, to be admitted for delivery:

For first time mothers: Strong 90 second contractions every 5 minutes for 2 hours. (You time from the end of the first, to the start of the next).

Second time mothers: Strong 90 second contractions every 5 minutes for 1 hour. (You need to be about 4cm dilated to be admitted or they will send you home)

If your water breaks, come in immediately, you will be admitted.

Personally, I feel that the Labor & Delivery tours are great for new parents-to-be. For me, it was just interesting to see where I would be delivering and where I would be recovering. I liked reviewing information that I already knew and also hearing questions asked by other mothers and fathers. It was also great to see the staff at hand and how personable they were. If you have any questions about labor and delivery, I would highly suggest going on the tour.

Let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of exercise DVDs, CDs, videos, etc. I am a really hands on person and I would rather be in a studio with an equipment, or someone in front of me, directing my every move. When I was expecting my daughter, I received a lot of prenatal DVDs and post-natal DVDs, to try out. Of course, since they were gifts, I felt obligated to at least, turn them on and watch them for a brief exercise. I didn’t want to be asked, “How did you like it?”,and then have to lie to them, that the exercises were great. It’s not in myself, to lie like that. None of the workout DVDs caught my attention, and they just seemed too long and dragged out. I felt like I could do a better job inventing my own day to day routines.

Hope everyone had a delightful Memorial Day Weekend! Mine was not even close to being delightful. My whole family was sick. Remember my post from last week about going to the ER for my daughter? Well on top of her UTI, she caught a virus when she went into the ER. Needless to say, she has been a miserable camper. I was super excited that my husband was coming back from overseas because I missed him, but I thought he could help out around the house, especially with my daughter. Negative. He came back home with bad jet-lag, but he also caught the flu on the plane. Of course, I had to look up at the ceiling and say, “why me?”

Of course the mini-vacation I had planned over the weekend, never happened, and I was stuck home all last week and during the weekend, taking care of my daughter, my husband, and the household. At this time, any sort of help, sounds really appealing. I feel like I’m out in the mountains, all by myself. After having to carry my daughter around, and catering to my husband’s needs all week and weekend long, guess what happened? I woke up with dry throat, a cold, sniffles, and bad lower back pain. Being pregnant, I can’t really take anything, so now on top of taking care of everyone and everything, I have to deal with myself. Sometimes, I wonder how we do it all. Then, I think to myself, mothers are powerhouses.

We do it all, regardless of the situation, environment, etc. We make things happen and we don’t go down without a fight. I had very honest moments with myself all last week, dealing with the current situation that I am in. At times I felt so helpless, weak, defeated, sad, onset of depression happening, physically exhausted, emotionally drained, and other times, I felt empowered, strong-willed, a true warrior. All in all, I feel like an overworked She-Rah with a purpose. I will be happy once the whole family gets back to normal, as well as myself. Hopefully, no one had to go through what I had to go through, but then again, we all encounter daily challenges, in one way or another.

When I bought my first stroller, there were only a few things that I was set on. It had to be lightweight because there was no way, I would lug a 40 pounder, in and out of a car, up 25 flights of stairs, and back down. I wasn’t going to kill myself, end up with a herniated disc, and simply put myself through hell. Another thing I also looked at was how easy it would fold. I’ve seen parents, more times than less, detaching, attaching, reattaching, different components of their strollers. It just looked tedious, tiring, and frustrating. I wasn’t going to have the patience to go through that. The last and most important factor would be safety. I didn’t want to be going down the block, only to see parts coming off, or our child rolling down a hill. It would be every parents’ nightmare, and I’ve heard some really bad horror stories. If the stroller met those three criterias, it would be sold.

They offer the soft buggy cup and the mighty buggy hook. When a company offers two items, as their line of products, it says a lot. To me, it tells me that they really thought about the necessity of these two products, from usability to functionality. They probably are parents themselves or know of people who went through the same frustrations as myself, and came up with a product, that would take away those frustrations.

The soft buggy cup, acts as a cup holder and an “everything pocket,” that fits most strollers. So it’s pretty much an all in one holder, that can hold everything from your drink, to your diaper wipes. Not only that, it works on scooters, bicycles, wheelchairs, and beds. Wow! You can attach and detach with a simple velcro strap, so no more twisting and turning of a plastic cup holder. It’s super sturdy, keeps contents in place with a drawstring closure, and the soft material flattens when the stroller folds. It’s a no nonsense cup holder, that has all the bells and whistles, without the added bulk and the complicated instructionals. I love that it is multi-functional, easy to use, and is very sturdy. Everything I was looking for and more.

The mighty hook is the answer to my diaper bag hanging issues. I no longer have to loosely drape my bag over the stroller, knowing that it could fall without a moment’s notice. It is made of a sturdy lightweight aluminum hook that will not break. Also, it can be used to hook on everything and anything you want to hang from a stroller. I hooked on my purse, my keys, and my daughter’s lunch bag. They have a deep U shape which accomodates extra wide purse/bag handles, and the short hook, holds the bags close to the stroller (definitely a plus, if you live in a major city). Plus, the rubbery straps keep it from sliding around. Similar to the buggy cup, the hook is easy to attach with a velcro strap. I love that it’s functional, durable, and easy to use.

Are you pulling teeth with them everyday? Well, that’s me. My daughter hates brushing her teeth and she would rather sleep for months, without ever brushing. Most of the time, I have to take her to the bathroom and convince her that brushing is for princesses. Sometimes that works, while other times, she will run the other way. There are some days, I admit, she will not brush her teeth at all. I could be bribing her with chocolate cake, candy, and ice cream, and she’ll turn the other way, and shake her head no.

Every time she misses brushing her teeth, I feel like I’m a bad parent. I dread the day I have to go to her dental appointment, only to find out that her entire mouth is filled with cavities. I start to think of scenarios and drive myself crazy. This is all because she doesnt want to brush her teeth.

One day, we were back in the bathroom, and I had to put on my sales talk with her. I told her all the benefits of brushing her teeth, including a reward of a Spongebob toy. She hesitently looked up at me because she could never say no to Spongebob. She opened her mouth and I proceeded to brush her teeth, with some minty toothpaste. She said, “yuck!” She immediately grabbed my hand and pulled the brush out of her mouth. Of course, I was super-frusterated. I looked at her and asked her why she hated brushing her teeth. Her reply was simple, “it taste yucky.” And then, I had an “A-HA” moment. I realized she didn’t like the toothpaste on the toothbrush. It tasted pasty, artificial, and something she would never eat in a million years. Like anything else, I then went on a mission to find a kid-friendly toothpaste. Something that my daughter would love and be safe.

While on the hunt for the perfect toothpaste, I discovered Tanner’s Tasty Paste. A toothpaste that was developed by a doctor, for children. After working with children on a daily basis, the doctor learned what flavors responded best to children, when it came to toothpastes. With that in mind, came about the Tanner’s Tasty Paste. A paste that was developed for children and babies. The toothpaste does not contain saccharin, artificial colors, flavors, and most importantly, sodium lauryl sulfate (suspected in causing sores). Making the paste, a very safe one, as well. It comes in Banilla Bling, Cha Cha Chocolate, Blingside, and Baby Bling. All my daughter’s favorite ice cream flavors.

I was so excited to start using it, that I literally ripped opened the box, when I got it. I told my daughter that she would get to brush her teeth with chocolate. She gave me a weird look at first, because I had never offered chocolate and toothpaste together, in one sentence. Instead of sticking a toothbrush in her mouth immediately, I squirted a little paste onto my finger and had her taste it. She looked at me and said, “more.” I was ecstatic. Ever since that day, we have not looked back. I am proud to say, she is back on track, and well on her way to great dental hygiene. The only problem now is that she wants to brush her teeth, all the time. For more information, go to http://www.tannerstastypaste.com/, to make your child’s brushing experience, one that is enjoyable, tasty, and safe.

(Disclosure: Products were provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the products.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

These last couple of days have been so never-ending and tiring. I believe that I may have gotten in 3 hours of sleep total within the last 72 hours. I look like a walking zombie and my daughter wakes up every ten minutes crying for air. The antibiotics that she is taking is very strong, so she is dealing with that and everything else.

The good thing is that my husband is back from his trip and he will be home until next week, so hopefully, I will get some rest. The hardest thing is that my daughter does not go to anyone but me. So if anyone wants to help, she will not have it. I feel like she has become a permanent attachment to my leg. So not only do I have a heavy growing stomach, I now have a 35lb attachment to my leg.

Hopefully this week will go by quickly and my daughter is able to get back to normal. I’ll tell you, being a mother is definitely rewarding, but it comes with lots and lots of hard work.

When my daughter was an infant, my mother and I, had so many difficulties in trying to clean out her bottles. Time and time again, we were left with soap residue, milk odor, and not a complete sense of cleanliness. When you are a parent, you have sanitary concerns, especially when it comes to your newborn because they look so delicate and fragile. You want to make sure that you are doing everything in your power, to protect your child from any harm. Trying to be a conscious parent, I bought all natural laundry detergents for babies, as well as natural dish liquid. I liked the fact that my dish liquid was natural, green, and did not have any harmful chemicals in it. However, it was not doing it’s job in cleaning my bottles to a sanitary standard. I couldn’t find anything else, so we just went with it. If we couldn’t get rid of the residue, we just boiled the heck out of the bottles. Most people don’t have the time nor energy, to be standing in front of the stove, making sure that the bottles are being boiled, and not over-boiled. We managed to make it through that period, but it came with a lot of hard work.

After my daughter started to play with her toys and shared her toys, cleanliness became a major concern. Especially, when I saw her putting toys in her mouth, as well as other children, putting toys in their mouth. With germs here and there, it was hard to monitor and wash each individual toy, every time I saw a toy go into her mouth, or another child’s mouth. Of course, I had my mother, who was on a mission, to clean each and every toy. But had it been me, I wouldn’t have had the time or the energy to do that.

Being pregnant again, and having a toddler on my hands, I wanted to find something that could do the job, be safe, and green at the same time. I knew someone out there would understand my frustrations with cleaning products, and would have developed a product by now. To my excitement, I was able to find Dapple Baby, which was started by mothers who had similar experiences, as well as frustrations that I had encountered with my daughter. They devoted their entire line of products to babies, which in turn, makes it safe for adults as well. I tried out there Dapple Toy Cleanser Wipes and their Dapple Dish Liquid. Both those products had a list of simple ingredients, that are very natural, and free of phtalate, paraben, SLES, and dye. A definite “A-plus” in my book. They are frangranced with pure lavender essential oil, and are biodegradable. They do not test on animals and are certified to contain no detectable levels of dioxane. So pretty much, they covered their grounds, from A to Z, to ensure the safety of you and your baby.

We had some bottles of the past, stacked in our kitchen. Most of them still had the residues left from 2 years ago, and the odor still existed. We took the dish liquid, with warm to hot water, and washed it. My mom was skeptical at first. Her first experience with natural dish liquid, was not a pleasant one, when it came to cleaning. To our surprise, the residue came off, and this was from 2 years back. Immediately, we wanted to try out the toy wipes. We took some of her older toys and cleaned them off with the wipes, and it was as easy as 1-2-3. Knowing the convenience, safety, and reliability, I would get from using Dapple Baby Products, made me feel really confident, for the next baby to come.

Please visit Dapple Baby at http://www.dapplebaby.com/

(Disclosure: Products were provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the products.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

Wow! Where do I start? My daughter woke up yesterday morning telling me that her body was hot. I thought she was going to be fine, and just let her stay home from preschool. As the day progressed, her fever got worse and worse. Usually, she fights off everything, but this time, she did not look the same. As night hit, she progressively got worse, to the point that in the middle of the night, she got to the point of 105 degrees. Of course, I rushed her to the ER.

My own mother, took a cab, to my house to take my daughter to the ER. Since I am pregnant, and my husband is on a trip overseas, I needed major help. When we got there, they were very concerned with her high fever. They asked me multiple questions and ruled out the possibility of a cold or flu and a virus. The doctor spoke to me and asked me that she wanted to take a urine sample of her. When girls her age get high fevers like this one, usually it’s because they may have a urinary tract infection that is trying to spread in the body. She also ordered a chest x-ray, as well as a blood test.

I felt like I was going through a bad dream. I had so many people come up to me, asking me the same questions. After awhile, I wish they had left us alone because it was non-stop chaos. Needless to say, the urine sample, where they stuck a tube up her urinary opening, was not very pleasant. My daughter was screaming for her life, and I just wish it would be over with. That was followed by blood tests and chest x-ray, and to top it off, an IV for her.

The doctor came back with the results confirming that she had a urinary infection. I am glad we went to the ER and was able to find out the issue. Unlike our last visit, which is another story in itself. However, what I don’t like about hospitals is that, too many people come and ask the same questions. It’s almost like non-stop interrogation. Anyhow, we were discharged, which I am glad, because there is no better place than home. My daughter was given antibiotics and she feels a whole lot better.

I am glad that this is over with! It felt like a really bad nightmare.

I like to see my daughter tidy, neat, and clean looking. But as we know, kids will be kids, and mess is something that is unavoidable. Growing up with clean freak parents, I vowed that my kids would live a free form life. For them to have fun, be themselves, and not have to care too much about the mess. Of course, I want to see them presentable, and not look, as if they have been neglected. But at the same time, I want them to enjoy being a kid.

Fortunately, my neat freak mom, has been with us, helping out with my daughter. In turn, my daughter has inherited some neat freak tendencies. For example, if there is a tiny drop of water, paint, food, or anything of that matter, she will rip off her clothes within seconds. On good days, she will have two changes, but on her bad days, we will go through 6 or 7 changes. Just a week ago, we went to a restaurant, and she dropped some water, on her top and bottom. She literally stood up on her chair, and proceeded to take off all her clothes. My husband and I, very embarrassed, had to tell her that she was stuck wearing her clothes. Let me tell you, she was not happy, and on the verge of a major tantrum.

Being the mom that I am, I had to find something that would protect my daughter’s clothing, be super functional, and super stylish. I wanted something that was a mix of a bib, apron, and coverall. If I couldn’t find something like that, I was going to resort to purchasing fabric at Joanne Fabrics, and having my mom, make my concoction, on her sewing machine.

I literally went from store after store. I saw some aprons, some bibs, and some really ugly garbage bag looking things. After running around, and not finding anything close to my idea, I came back home and went online. Even my internet search, was not an easy one. I probably went to around a hundred sites, before I came across my find. My find being, Dilly Dally Chic. I literally went to their site, holding my breath, hoping and praying this would be my answer.

When their page finally opened, and I saw the first photos of their bibbies, I said, “yes, this is it!” This is exactly what I have been looking for. It was a bibbie that was super functional, super wearable, and super stylish. I was pretty excited about the selections they had. The bibbies had very vintage/modern looking prints (that are reversible) and came in four different sizes. It could be worn to do artwork, to eat, to do crafts, to cook, and the list is endless. My daughter actually slept in hers. Of course, she passed out after trying to bake a cake with me, but it was comfortable enough for her to lay down and sleep in it, without any hesitation.

What I love most about Dilly Dally Chic is that it’s not just a regular old bibbie. It’s a bibbie with a history and family tradition. I am one to love family heirlooms, and this has been passed down for three generations, starting with their Great Grandma Donna. It’s so special to know that my daughter gets to be a part of someone else’s family tradition. Wearing a piece of history, a bibbie with a story, is something truely special. Of course, with each generation, they updated their bibbies to fit the times.

I am so happy to introduce to you, Dilly Dally Chic bibbies. If you’re a mom like me, who doesn’t want the mess or the fuss, while having the combined functionality, and maintaining your child’s stylish looks, these bibbies are your answer. They have a double sided quilted fabric, to make them extra absorbent. Plus, there are 11 pattern choices, all being very cute, for either your little boy or girl. My daughter has the Sweat Pea pattern, and it is absolutely adorable and darling on her. Her bibbie being a size large, it has an added two pockets to the front, where she stores her markers, and some of her special toys in. She absolutely loves it and for the first time, she doesn’t mind if water drops on her. Mission Accomplished! Price: $35 ($4 extra for Large)

When you get a Dilly Dally Chic bibbie, you are not just getting a super bibbie. You get a piece of history, and a slice of the Dilly Dally Chic family tradition. Please visit Dilly Dally Chic at http://www.dillydallychic.com/

For my readers: 20% off for the entire week. Enter code: MOMMAS20

(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)