I remember all the worries of being a new mom and all those dangerous things that you should or shouldn’t give your baby. Many things I didn’t even know, some I thought should be avoided

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weren’t and others that I had no clue should were. Does this sound like you? Here’s a short list of 5 things you should avoid giving your baby at least until they are at least 3 years old.

Foods Babies Should Avoid: (in whole)
hot dogs
raw vegetables
raisins
nuts and seeds
whole grapes

Do you or have you ever given your baby these? Keep in mind that if you are giving them these items to make sure they are cut/diced/sliced up so your baby won’t choke on them. If you are giving it to them don’t leave them unattended. A few other items you might want to be careful of are peanut butter, candy that sticks (carmel, etc) and popcorn (because of the seeds). Can you think of some other food items that aren’t safe for your baby?

How many are you going or are about to go through the potty training stage? I have four kids so I know that this is

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one of those very trying stages and by trying I mean everything, stress and trying everything. Well, Pull-Ups understands those trials and they know we have our ups and downs moments and would like to help. How will they help you? Simple, they are not only doing this giveaway but they’ve created a reality video clip of 6 families going through the potty training stage.

Each of these families have gone through a different method, I have tried each but with Little A I did attempt the way Isa did it. Course he isn’t trained yet but I’m definitely going to try once again as I think he’s wanting to now, he does sit on his potty every day just to watch tv.

Now for the GIVEAWAY:

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Prize: The kit contains a package of Pull-Ups, a copy of Pull-Ups PTP Member Jen Singer’s new book, “Stop Second Guessing Yourself: The Toddler Years,” and other potty training resources. Oh the winner gets to pick pink or blue.

RULES: Head on over to the Potty Project and tell me which family sounds more like yours? Oh and one thing you are or have tried doing.

Deadline: July 2nd

With summer here…..just around the corner and kids getting out of school it only means one thing and that’s how to stay cool. One way is to have fun in the water, which kids love to do. Another is staying indoors with the air conditioner blowing or fans on. But my most favorite one of all is this……

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….eating ice cream. I swear this little boy knows just the right flavors to get too. Course he isn’t really picky but he tends to somehow end up with everyone’s flavor down his little tummy. This picture was taken one day before the older siblings got out of school, as you can see he was really enjoying it. Doesn’t it look good? Gotta love chocolate. Happy WW!

Can you believe it is Friday already? I bet many of you have weekend plans in honor of Memorial Day. How many of you will be traveling during the holiday or having a BBQ? We will definitely have a BBQ, in fact we did one just last night and plan another this Sunday. I can’t wait.

My own baby is going through the “Me” stage but not as the “it’s mine.” For example, I brought out two chairs and he claimed one, “Me” and sat in it. Another time he asked me something using “me” in reference to him. So apparently he has realized now that he is a little person and “me” is who he is. (Did that make any sense?)

As far as baby new stories go, I’m so happy to see that little Briant Rodriguez was not only found but alive and is back home with his parents and siblings. Sad news though about “Baby Angel” which was later discovered to have been murdered twice by his own mother. (shame)She suffocated him, revived him and decided no she did want him dead and did it again. Someone found the little boy buried in a playground.

So, it’s Friday and you don’t have to stay on topic you can chat about anything. Here are a few things to get you started just in case you think you have nothing to say:

-Officer Saves Baby Sea Lion:  He/she was found on the expressway and safely brought to a marine center.

-Baby used as Weapon:  An aunt uses her 2 month old nephew as a shield, tosses him at guards and runs off. Leaving him unconscious.

- Wordy Wednesday: I’ve been showing ya’ll the nest on my front porch, the birds finally flew out this week.

-  2nd baby dies from swine flu: Are you worried about it?

- 550 lb woman gives birth: I was shocked after reading most woman can’t get pregnant after a certain amount of weight. But more that the baby was only 4.4lbs.

We are heading out for a road trip, not exactly for pleasure but either way it’ll be long. Twelve hours in fact, with four children sitting behind us. Imagine now one being a 2-year-old and three other siblings. Of course I’m hoping that there is no fighting or too much grouchiness. So far it has been quiet, but we have another 10 hours left. EEEK! I say 10 due to the potty breaks and the I’m hungry when do we eat stops. Plus I count traffic in the city. So we’ll see when we actually get to our arrival. No one is really expecting us so I’m not worried about arriving on time. Check out this picture of Little A.

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Now tell me kids can’t get comfortable in the weirdest positions. By the way, he’s actually sitting upright and head laying down on a pillow his brother laid on him. He insisted his head was getting tired and looked like he needed one. Happy WW! Don’t forget to comment and leave your link.

With the holidays past, at least the ones for the kids we are now approaching Mother’s Day. For all you moms out there what is it you’d really like this Mother’s Day?

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- time to relax?
- scents like bath or candles for around the house?
- a vacation?

Or something simpler? Why not comment on this post to help all those others out there that don’t have a clue what to get Mom/wife. For all you men out there, what have you got HER in the past. Or what did you get your mom growing up?

Course this is Friday so it is also open chat. What’s on your weekend agenda? We are planning on going to the kite festival if it doesn’t rain. Any issues you have this week? Spill it!

Now I’ve seen a ton of those slings, pouches, etc for babies to be worn on mom and dad, but this one shocked me and is definitely different. It is called the Peekaru coat and mom/dad wears it and the baby is worn between mom/dad and the fleece.

There is a pouch in the front and a little hole in the front of the fleece so your baby can peek out and see what’s going on around him/her. In a way it looks uncomfortable but warm at the same time. Mom looks like she has no issue wearing baby like this and in all the pictures I’ve seen the baby looks to be smiling.

The neatest thing about this to me is that a mom came up with it when she got tired of leaving her jacket open in the cold. I can’t blame her, but to be inspired and make something so many will wear is great.

The Peekaru is for babies 3-12 months old, they come in a variety of colors and cost around $79.95. For those as curious as I was, there is a zippered neck and side to keep baby in plus a drawstring to make sure they are staying in. I always worry wearing slings/pouches that somehow my baby will slip out. But you don’t have to worry about that with the Peekaru.

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A baby girl fell over the weekend in a pond in North Brunswick and passed away. Neha Anand was only 17 months old when she wandered away from a group of children she’d been playing with and away from her mother. This precious little girl fell into a rention pond just a little ways from her home. It only took 5 minutes, that’s when her mom found her floating in the pond.

Little Neha was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, placed on life support but later died.

This is such a sad story, parents this can happen to just about any of us. It only takes a second and a child can wander off and get into trouble. Give your young one a hug tight.
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I know some of you have already guessed exactly what I was giving away but for those that didn’t hop on over to Lola et Moi and have a look around. Take a peek around and check out their gorgeous outfits.

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Isn’t that a cute dress? This dress will be given to one lucky reader, who will it be?  This dress is called a Lola folk print dress and it costs around $129.

Rules:
- head over to www.lolaetmoi.com and come back here to tell me what other outfit you like.
- leave a working email address so I can email you.

Extra Entries:
- twitter this giveaway and link it here
- stumbleupon this giveaway and link it here
- blog this and link it here.

Deadline:
April 24, 2009…I’ll announce the winner 8 p.m. Central time. Sorry but US only.

A waitress in Green Oak Township of Michigan saved a choking toddler at the beginning of April at TGIF Friday’s. In case you’ve ever debated on where you wanted to eat, I’d suggest this place where even the staff save lives.

Apparently the little girl, age 20 months, was dancing around with a handful of raisins that got lodged in the back of her throat. Thankfully a waitress named Stacy Gordon was nearby and came to the rescue. To add to this, Stacy is currently a medical assistant, so she got to try the things she’s been learning about. She’s also a 31-year-old mother, who went right to work on saving little Ava’s life.

“She didn’t hesitate, she swept out her mouth, and gave her thrusts until Ava started crying again.  The doctors say the actions Stacy took saved my daughter’s life,” said Marenda.

This is such a great story but I must ask, how many of you know how to do the Heimlich manuever if you needed to do it?

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