Top Helpful Parenting Debates Before Having Baby For the First Time {Guest Post}

This post is brought to you by ShrewdMommy.com.

Having baby is one of the best experiences in one’s life, not to mention its significant effects on the whole society.

Nevertheless, for couples, the decision of having baby might be complicated as it will make some heated debates, regarding every aspect of life. Let’s find out what you need to discuss with your partner before having a baby!

Top Parenting Debates Before Baby

The Right Time

The Right Time (Photo credit: via foter.com)

It is a crucial question to ask both of you, including yourself. Some people think that they are ready to have a baby, while in fact, they are not.

It is not all about a financial issue or biological clocks. Couples have to take everything consideration before deciding to have a baby. And there should be a checklist.

Ask yourself whether you can sacrifice some other important things, such as your interests, sports, classes, in life to take care of a baby. Do you want to spend all holidays and vacations together? Does a baby affect your career life?

Answering these questions honestly enables you to understand yourself and your partner better. Then, both of you can come up with a shared decision more easily.

Whose Duties

Who will be responsible for baby duties? This question was underestimated in the past as women were claimed to do everything.

Nevertheless, along with the progress in gender equality, it has become a heated debate, not only on the personal level but the social level as well.

Couples are now believed to share the baby duties together, such as changing diapers. This is also a way to deepen their relationship.

If you discuss this with your partner soon, the likelihood is that you can avoid helpless arguments later when you already have kids. It also protects your relationships from being affected negatively.

Choosing Name

Choosing Baby Name (Photo credit: via foter.com)

This is one of the most important and difficult parts when you are going to have a baby. In the past, our grandparents could easily name us after numbers or celebrities. Meanwhile, nowadays we pay more attention to meaning.

The name has to be suitable, regarding spelling, your family name, meaning and your baby as well.

While many people prefer long names with several syllables, some easily pick up the name of one syllable. For example, some common one syllable boy names are Paul, Luke, Tom, Tim…, with which you probably know at least one person in your life.

You do not want your child to blame you for an unsuitable name later. Therefore, this is also one of the most controversial issues between parents.

Religion

If you both come from the same religion, then it is no longer a heated debate anymore. However, couples from different faiths often have to face a serious question: which religion do they teach their baby?

The ideal answer is that this discussion should be handled before you are married. It will prevent any strong debates later because both of us reach agreements already.

Some couples take part in more than one religion, and of course, they can let their children do so. They believe that the decision should be the children’s.

Besides, you can totally prefer a certain faith and teach your baby. You just need to be consistent with your choice and happy about it from then.

The key is that you should always respect and believe in your baby, regardless of their chosen religion.

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding (Photo credit: OhKyleL via foter.com)

Breastfeeding is one of the most important baby duties, and of course, women are in charge. However, some women are not comfortable or even not capable of breastfeeding because of their health conditions.

Thus, it is also another heated debate that any wife should discuss with their husband.

Undeniably, breast milk is the best source of nutrients for baby during the first months. This has been confirmed by many reliable studies and experts in the world.

It not only strengthens the bonds between mother and baby but also has significant effects on the baby’s brain and health.

Even though the formula is very popular nowadays and the market is full of choices, you should consider this issue seriously. It will affect your baby's health directly.

If you are not comfortable with feeding baby in public, storage bags are an ideal choice.

Spanking

Before having a baby, you have to discuss very thoroughly on discipline and how to educate your child. It is crucial if you prevent your baby from being too naughty or even worse in their later life.

And among the most controversial issues of discipline, spanking seems to gain much attention. According to many experts, spanking has unwanted impacts, and it is a feasible cause for violence and mental disorders.

However, if spanking is used in the right way, such as spanking camp, it will be effective to educate your child.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, there are many important factors to consider before pregnancy. Your health condition might not be the most important problem to take care of.

To prepare the best for the baby’s future, you have to know these discussions and be honest about everything.

Author bio:

Emma is the founder of ShrewdMommy, where she and associates blog about pregnancy advice, parenting insights, tips for mommy. Those experiences will somehow help you in your search for questions about pregnancy and baby tips. You can find her on Twitter and Facebook!

How to Prioritize Your Family Emergency Preparedness Preparations

I have no doubt that with all of the natural disasters that have hit recently that you have your family's emergency preparedness status on your mind. As you sit down to think about and plan out what you need to do for emergency preparedness, it quickly becomes overwhelming. There is so much to do that time and money are both very real limits on what can be accomplished right away. There is an order of priorities when it comes to emergency preparedness, so let's discuss what those are.

Each year, we review our emergency preparedness in early October and early April--so every six months. We make goals for the next six months and review what we already have completed to be sure everything is still up to date. As you approach your plan, think of it in shorter increments like this, also. Don't get it all today (unless you have plenty of money to do so). Make attainable 6 month goals. 

First: Emergency Supply Kit

Your first priority needs to be a 72 Emergency Supply Kit for each member of your family. You need enough supplies that you could survive for three days without any assistance from anyone or anything if you were cut off from modern civilization today. I think at times we find this a hard thing to believe could happen, but with the recent disasters, we all have seen or even experienced that this can be true. 

Be prepared for this kit to need to be taken out of your home. It needs to be portable. Because of the nature of "emergencies," you won't know for sure if you will need to take it out of your home or not. Maybe you will be in your home and use it from there. In case not, you want to have the kits in something portable. 

Like I said, I review emergency preparedness every six months, and I tend to write about the things on my mind, so I have some posts on several of these topics I will refer you to.

As you approach your kits, you can either build them up slowly over time or you can just buy a pre-made kit and then build on that. 

• 72 Hour Kits
• 72 Hour Kit Food
• 72 Hour Kit Tips
• 72 Hour Kit Free Printables
• See also this article from the CDC on Emergency Kits

Also, don't overlook the need for emergency supplies in your vehicle: Emergency Kits for the Vehicle.

Most areas have common natural disasters and weather impacts. This page will help you focus on being prepared for the disasters that can strike you. 

Second: Have a Water Supply

When I think about surviving with nothing, I know water is top priority. You obviously need water to drink for survival. You also need it for cooking and for hygiene. 

In your 72 hour emergency kit, you should have three days of water. That is why the kit comes before water. If you build your kit slowly, focus on water needs first. Once your kit is completed, store more water in your home if you have the space. For lots of help on this, see my post: Storing Water for Emergencies

In an emergency, when people have some time to prepare, the water is quickly cleared out of every store. Do not wait until  a hurricane is coming your way to head to the store and stock up on water. Have supplies in your home at all times. Then you are guaranteed to have it, even if the store is out when you get there. 

Third: Make a Plan

Good news! Making a plan is free. While I have this third, because it is free, it can be focused on while working on gathering the supplies above. When I was in college, I took a natural disasters class. In that class, I had to make a plan as an assignment. Where would I go if an emergency came up? What would I do if the roads out of my town were all blocked off for some reason? How would I get in touch with family?

This was an eye-opening exercise. Now that I have children, having a disaster plan is even more important. One thing we do well is practice in case of house fire. We need to do practices for other types of emergencies. We do our practices every six months while we are thinking about emergency preparedness. 

Here are two helpful articles on making a plan:

• Make a Plan from the CDC
• Make a Plan from ready.gov

Fourth: Build Up a Food Storage

If you have the space in your home, build up a food storage for emergencies. We aim for a 1-2 year supply of items. This is listed last because you want to focus on the immediate emergency needs first. 

Having a food storage is financially very beneficial. It is of course handy for the unforeseen events that can hit your budget--a job loss, a medical emergency that brings bills, etc. It is also helpful for cutting your weekly grocery bill down. I tend to only buy things if they are on sale. So when pasta goes on crazy sale for less than one dollar per bag, I load up. I look like a crazy lady who really, really likes pasta (I mean, I do, but that is beside the point). I have gotten many weird looks and even questions from cashiers. But I rarely, if ever, pay full price for pasta. I don't even pay "eh" sale prices. I only pay killer sale prices. I do that with all non-perishables. I also do it with some perishables. When sour cream is on sale, for example, I buy as much as I think I will need before the expiration date is up. For more, see Emergency Preparedness: Food Storage.

If you are feeling a little anxious with the natural disasters that have happened as of late, hopefully this gives you some guidance as you work to get your family prepared in case you face a natural disaster in the future. 

• 72 Hour Kits
• 72 Hour Kit Food
• 72 Hour Kit Tips
• 72 Hour Kit Free Printables
• Emergency Preparedness Binder
• Emergency Preparedness: Food Preserving
• Teaching Children Fire Safety
• Emergency Preparedness: Food Storage
• Emergency Prepardness: Lifefolio

• Emergency Kits for the Vehicle

• Storing Water for Emergencies

How To Help Your Child Have a Good School Year

"The novelty has worn off, mom." My seventh grader confessed to me the the other day. "The novelty of school?" I inquired. He nodded in affirmation. 

Even if your child enters the school year with full excitement, you are likely to find yourself at some point in the year faced with a child who has lost that spark and excitement. This can come for a number of reasons, and for some it is a one day thing while for others, it is an every day thing. 

Whether you are facing uncertainty before the school year begins, a few weeks or months into it, or you simply want to prevent these feelings from coming up, I have some ideas for you to help your child have a good school year this year. These tips are applicable no matter if you send your child to school or homeschool. This works for all children in all circumstances. 

1. Help your child talk about the exciting things about school. I don't want you ignoring your child's concerns or brushing off novelty wearing off. You can't sweep those things under the rug. There is power in focusing on the positive, though. Always look for the good for your child to focus on and anticipate. 
2. Give your child opportunities. There are many things you can do outside of school to help your child in school. These may be surprising. Take your child on trips. Let your child have pets. Help your child play with other children. These things help your child gain experience and responsibility in varied areas so they can more confidently face what school requires of them.
3. Help your child improve language skills. Talk with your child. Not at your child. When your child doesn't know what a word means, explain it. If you don't know, look it up. Teach your child how to find answers. Listen to your child and care about what he/she has to tell you. Make sure you are in a place when your child comes home that you can actually pay attention and listen about the day. Encourage good language skills (speaking clearly, using words and grammar correctly, etc.). But be smart about it. If you correct every phrase your child says, she might stop saying phrases. 
4. Teach your child to be responsible. I talked above about how a pet can help with that. Require your child to pick up after himself. Expect him to take good care of his things. Teach your child how to work independently in life (hello Independent Playtime!). Have your child finish tasks that she starts. See How to Raise Independent and Responsible Children for more. 
5. Have routines and respect them. Your child will not do well at school if she is super tired. Have a bedtime. Have a time she wakes up in the morning. These things were very important when she was a baby, and they are important now! They help establish sleep rhythms in your child. 
6. Read to your child. The current recommendation is 20 minutes a day. Bedtime is an obvious time to get this in. If 20 minutes seems overwhelming at bedtime, which is understandable if you have several kids or a baby to get in bed, do one picture book at bedtime for the routine and find a time earlier in the day to read for 15 minutes. Reading to your child does so much good. Two simple but important things is to build vocabulary and also to plant a love of books in your child. 
7. Foster a love of books. Speaking of loving books, reading each day isn't the only thing to teach your child to love to read. Own as many books as you can afford and you can store. Make use of public libraries and the school library to keep a variety of books in the home. Vary the difficulty levels of books you read with your child. Give books as gifts. I have several book lists on this blog, from board books to picture books to chapter books. I can help you out!
8. Do not compare children. This is easier said than done. Do not think about how far ahead or how far behind your child seems in relation to other siblings or other students in the classroom. Yes, you want to be aware of how you can help your child--whether he is excelling or needing extra help. Find ways to gain this knowledge without comparing your child's progress. 

Related Posts:

• 4 Ways To Build Excitement About Going Back To School

• 5 Benefits of Helping in Class
• Great Books for Back to School
• Test Anxiety Tips for Children
• Thriving and Surviving the Morning Rush
• When to Do Homework?
• A Simple Way to Teach a Love for Reading
• Building Vocabulary in Children
• Face Out Bookshelves {Ideas and Tutorial}
• Read 30 Minutes a Day
• Simple Ways to Ensure Your Child Loves Books
• Teaching Children to Love to Read
• 10 Great Winter Picture Books
• 15 Chapter Books for Girls
• 15 Must-Own Picture Books
• 20 Fantasy Books for Middle Readers
• 22 Chapter Books for PreTeens {Ages 8-12}
• BabyLit Board Books {Friday Finds}
• Best Board Books to Own
• Chapter Books for Boys
• Gateway Chapter Books for Beginners
• Great Books for Back to School
• Great Picture Books for Boys
• Great Picture Books for Girls

• Should You Bail Your Child Out?

• How to Raise Independent and Responsible Children

Travel Tips for New York City with Children

The most surprising discovery for me in New York City was how kind the people were. We had heard tales and read stories about how downright rude New Yorkers were, so we went fully braced to meet the rudest people you could ever imagine.

While I saw my fair share of impatience among the drivers of the city (come on, if you are twenty cars back, you won't move forward the instant a light turns green. No need to lay on the horn), the people at most indifferent, and frequently kind. 

We never got weird looks for having kids, much less four of them. I can't say this for every place we have visited. We never got lectured or even passive-aggressively berated for stopping on a sidewalk or in the middle of a busy subway station (though we had fully discussed with our children our sidewalk rules: two by two and never stop). We did get a lot of compliments on our children, though.

We rode the subway all over for a week, and there are only two times we got onto a crowded subway and didn't have people give up seats for our family. Both of those times, it would have been literally impossible to do so (the train was so crowded we couldn't have gotten to a seat--there was no musical chairs possible). 

We had kind people visit with us on buses and subways to offer us advice and their "must-sees" and eateries around the city. We had people approach us as we exited a subway station and ask us if they could help direct us on which way to go (most exit to different corners of the block).

New York was a great place to go with children.

There were people everywhere. Everything is fast. The people move fast, the vehicles move fast. When we laded at JFK and waited outside the airport for our Uber to come, I clucked my tongue at how quickly the shuttle drivers were flying by. Humans adapt quickly, though. When we got home, I rolled my eyes at how slowly the shuttle drivers were driving here at the airport. Ha! We also felt strangely alone as we landed in the middle of the night and the parking lot was empty. It was so odd to not be completely surrounded by people. 

There is a lot of walking required around NYC, and strollers are usually just inconvenient. So I highly recommend waiting until you can go stroller-free to get the most enjoyment out of your trip. 

We packed a lot in our eight days in New York City. Here is our itinerary along with any comments or tips I have on certain places. 

1-Go to a MusicalA must-do in New York City is a musical. We saw Wicked on the first day we were in the city. Everyone in the family loved it. McKenna asked if we could go to a musical every day (I wish! $$$)

2-Visit Times Square
Times Square can be a fast visit with children. When we got there, Brayden asked, "Why is this place famous???" We found ourselves in Times Square almost every day, so you probably don't need to play a special visit there. Be aware it is always very crowded, especially on weekends. If you have kids who wander or you can't be sure can stick with the family, you might want to skip this one or stay on the outskirts.

3-Go to Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum
This was one of Brayden and Nate's very favorite things we did the whole time.

4-Go on a Boat Tour
One of my favorite things we did was a Circle Line Boat Tour. With our ticket, we got free tickets to Intrepid, so if you decide to go on a boat tour, check out their upgrades. We did the tour that circles the entire island of Manhattan. We did this on our second day, and it was a great way to start off the visit. It helped us have some bearing as we traveled the rest of the city. We were also able to be introduced to some potential places worth visiting that we hadn't heard of before.

5-Walk the High Line
The High Line is very close to Circle Line Boat Tour. Now...this was cool considering where it was. It was a neat thing in the middle of the city. However, I live in a place with much more impressive walking paths, so this is a nice thing to do with kids, but didn't live up to the hype for us.

6-Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
This was a walk we loved. We loved it so much that we did it a second time. We went from Manhattan to Brooklyn one day and from Brooklyn to Manhattan another day. I like the Brooklyn to Manhattan best. On the bridge, they had fruit vendors and also artists selling drawings and photographs. We bought all of these things.

 

7-Visit Brooklyn and Eat at Juniors
Each burough of New York is different from the next. There is a park at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge. We had also been told about the restaurant Juniors by a Brooklyn native the day before. Amazing! Best cheesecake ever. We went back a second day so we could enjoy it again. There is one of these on Times Square, so you don't have to go to Brooklyn for it.

8-Take in a Game
There are a lot of sports teams in New York City. We went to a Yankees game while we were there.

9-Visit St. Patrick's Cathedral
The cathedral was a neat place to visit.

10-Play at Central Park
We played at Central Park two different days. We toured as much of it as possible. We would spend an hour at one playground, then walk to the next one, and so forth. We would stop at attractions along the way. Even with our two days, there was so much we didn't see. The kids loved being in Central Park. It was a relief from the noises and smells of the city. Plus they had fun playing an  being kids.

We made a list of all of the things we wanted to see and the playgrounds we wanted to try out. Then we looked them up on Google Maps and planned out our visit. There was a lot of walking, but Google Maps was super helpful in navigating Central Park efficiently. Here is the list of things we saw:

• Robert Bendeim Playground
• Ancient Playground (this was the favorite of the kids overall and it is right next to the Met)
• Belvedere Castle
• Turtle Pond
• Great Lawn
• East 72 Street Playground
• Bethesda Fountain (this is a MUST. It is beautiful and there is so much going on here).
• Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater
• The Ramble (a little forest-trail in Central Park)
• Diana Ross Playground
• Billy Johnson Playground
• Hans Christen Anderson Statue
• Conservatory Water
• Alice and Wonderland Statue
• Heckscher Playground
• Gapstow Bridge
• Adventure Playground (this was the favorite of the older kids. Brinley didn't particularly love it)

11-Go to Coney Island
We ended up with an extra day to fill, and decided to go check out Coney Island. We ate Nathan's hot dogs and let the kids play on the sand for a bit. Coney Island is in Brooklyn. It was about an hour subway ride for us from Manhattan, but a lot of it is above ground through Brookly, so you get to see a lot of that borough.

12-Ride the Staten Island Ferry
I didn't think we needed to do this since we had ridden a boat tour and would be riding a ferry to get to Liberty Island. With our extra time, we decided to ride the ferry. It was so great! I enjoyed it a whole lot. It was a different experience than the other boat/ferry rides we had.

13-Visit the 9/11 Memorial
A visit to the 9/11 Memorial is a must. We chose to not do the museum since we had little kids. They wouldn't have appreciated it and I wasn't sure by this point in our trip they would still have self control to be quiet like they needed to.

14-Visit the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Battery Park
You must visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island! Make sure you get tickets months in advance. There are height requirements for the crown, and you can only get 4 per family, but the pedestal is worth it. Right now, only the pedastal and crown tickets will get you into the museum at the Statue of Liberty. The crown tickets sell out months in advance, so don't delay. Pedestal you can get closer to your visit. If you purchase online beforehand, you get to skip a lot of long lines at security. So worth it! These things need to be all in one day with nothing else planned for the day. Get your tickets for as early as you can so you have plenty of time to enjoy each island and also enjoy the World War II Memorials at Battery Park.

15-Visit One World Observatory
We had a hard time choosing which building to go to the top of in New York City. Your three options are The Empire State Building, The Rockefeller Center, and One World Observatory. Everything you read says to avoid the Empire State Building, but this building is so iconic it couldn't just be crossed off our list without consideration. In the end, we went with One World Conservatory. It is hard to pass up the current tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. We visited the other two buildings, but didn't go to the top. One World was a great visit. We did it on our last day, and we were really happy we did. It was a fun way to look at all of the places we had been on our trip. When you get in the elevator to go up, pay attention! The ride up is impressive in and of itself.

16-Sight Seeing
There are so many things you can just see in New York City. You probably won't have time to fully visit and go inside every place you would like to in New York. We went by and saw several locations. We went by Lincoln Square, Radio City Music Hall, the Rock, the Empire State Building, the LDS Temple, and Chinatown, to name a few.

A Note on Transportation

New York City is not the place to rent a car. Plan on either doing taxis, ubers (or something similar), or the bus/subway system. Oh, and of course walking a lot.

We primarily did the subway and bus system with a healthy amount of walking (literally, it was healthy). Again, Google Maps comes through big time on helping you with the public transportation. They have a variety of options for how to pay to ride. We went with the seven day unlimited pass. So we were able to ride any bus and any subway for one flat rate. We were always comfortable riding on these. Our children quickly got the hang of entering and exiting as well as standing while riding if needed. 

We did have some rules that I think helped it be smooth for us. One is that I entered every subway first, followed by the kids, and lastly, Nate entered. That way, if not everyone made it on, we wouldn't have kids left alone. We never had issue, though. We also had a plan that if we did get separated, the people on the subway would simply exit at the next stop and wait for the people left behind to come along. Then we would all get back on a train together. Again, we never had an issue. We could have if we had tried really hard to fit into overcrowded cars. If it was super crowded, however, we just waited for the next one. This only happened a couple of times all week long. We also had the rule that there was no staring at people around them. 

If you fly in, I highly recommend the Uber for getting to and from the airport. We took an Uber from the airport into the city, but decided to take the subway back to the airport since we were so familiar with it by then. Ummm...bad decision and one we wouldn't replicate if given the option. We had to make station transfer, and there were no escalators nor elevators at either station, so we had a lot of baggage carrying to do. Some stations are brutally hot, and both of these were. So we were literally dripping in sweat. Then the line to get to JFK was super crowded. It was also running slow that day. So we waited for 20 minutes for the first train to come, but it was too crowded. Then another 15 for the next, and we were able to get on, but it was standing room only. Super full. Everyone was going to the airport. The ride was over an hour long. So we stood for an hour. With all of our luggage...it was an experience, but just get an Uber. To do the subway, you have to take the air train at the end, which isn't free even with the public transportation pass. So just go with the Uber. 

This was such a fun trip! It was so different from our normal lives that it was culturally rich, beyond just the richness of the locations we went to. There are people everywhere. If you have introverts in your family, help them be mentally prepared for this. There were moments--always during rush hour, that Brayden was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people. There was a lot of noise and a lot of smells--not always good. Despite that, even the introverts had a good time. By the end, ?Brinley declared she didn't want to go home, she wanted to live there. I hope you have a great time!

What You Should Pack in Your Hospital Bag for Delivering a Baby

I was ready. When I research something, I don't turn to one source only. Oh no. I was taught better than that. You need multiple sources to verify your point, and that standard that was drilled in my head over and over again in college has carried on and into my every day life.

My hospital packing list was no different. 

I wasn't going to read one person's list and leave it at that. 

Nope. I would look at many. I would find out what was common. I would carefully consider things that only made it to one list. I would read books. I would be as prepared as possible, because that is how I roll and there was no way I was rolling into labor with a nagging "what if I forgot something" in the back of my head.

I was over-prepared, and that was okay. I prefer that to the opposite.

But I amended my list over the years and through my deliveries. I want to be prepared, but there is no reason to pack things I would never use just to have to unpack them when I got home. Simplify.

And with any good list comes some caveats.

There are some things that will depend. 

Brayden and Kaitlyn both had short labors. I didn't need anything "to do" with me because I didn't have time for it.

McKenna's was twice as long, and we would have liked some things we had packed with Brayden but since banished from our list. Now, this was waaaayyy back in the day before we carried around computers in our pockets, so "entertainment" probably doesn't even need to be packed like it was then. Never-the-less, the takeaway is that your perfect list will vary based on how long your labor is. And unless you have having a planed cesarean, you don't have much way of knowing how long you will be in that hospital room before the baby arrives. 

Another important point is that your list will vary based on what your hospital offers. What my hospital automatically provides won't necessarily be true of your hospital. So ask around, crowd-source, with people who have recently delivered at your hospital. 

On to the list!

Nurture Shock Book {Blog Index}

• Book Recommendation: Nurture Shock
• Building Positive Self- Esteem
• The Importance of Free Play Time {and ideas for fitting it in}
• Praise Effort, Not Results

• Why Kids Lie (and what to do about it)

PreTeen Blog Index

• 9 Things to Know About Having Older Children
• 20 Fantasy Books for Middle Readers
• 22 Chapter Books for PreTeens {Ages 8-12}
• 45 Questions to Get Your Child Talking
• Deodorant and Children
• How to Correct Your Preteen
• How to Establish Safe Media Standards For Your Family
• Independent Playtime for the School-Aged Child
• Preteen Boy Gifts
• Preteen Girl Gifts
• Reading Aloud to Preteens
• Sleep Needs and Difficulties for 7-12 Year Olds

Hair-Bow Subscription Giveaway {Plus a Discount Code}

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love doing my girls' hair. When I was a little girl, I loved doing my dolls' hair, and now I have real-live "dolls" to practice on. We have a lot of fun with hair at our house. And it is a good thing I like it, because it is a lot of time spent doing hair!

My love for doing hair is why I am so excited about this new, stylish bow subscription that has been set up by Little Poppy Co. I am excited to try out my subscription! With this company, you get three new bows delivered to your house each month. It reminds me of Stitch Fix, but with bows. How cool is that? 

With the launch of this new service, Little Poppy Co is giving away a free three-month subscription to one of you! You can enter below. If you don't win, you can use this promo code to get 50% off your first month's subscription so you can try it out! The code is VALERIE50

Go to Little Poppy Co to order!

Wouldn't this be a cute birthday or Christmas gift?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ENTRY RULES 

• You must enter the giveaway to have an entry.

• You must fulfill the rules of each entry for each entry to count. If I see the entry is not valid (did not meet entry requirements), I will disqualify your entry. I check each winning entry to make sure it was valid.

• Entries will be accepted until 12:00 midnight September 22, 2017.

• The winner will be randomly selected through Rafflecopter.

• The winner will be announced sometime after the winner is chosen. I will email the winner.

• Once the winner is announced, you have one week to respond. Be sure to check back and/or check your email. The only thing worse than not winning is to win but not realize it in time.

• I will not use your email address for any purpose other than contacting you if you are the winner (and FYI, I don't have access to the email addresses except for the winner's).

The 5 Best Things About Doing Babywise with Twins (and the 3 hardest!) {Guest Post}

by Caitlin Rogers

"I don't know how you do it" is a comment I get quite often, from strangers in the checkout line to my closest friends. My son had just turned two when my twins were born, and many days I wonder the same thing; "how am I going to do this today?" While we have our chaotic, exhausting, messy moments, life isn't as stressful as it could be because of Babywise. Doing Babywise with twins is what keeps me sane and puts a little bit of order in our otherwise orderless life. As I was writing this post, I thought it only fair to not only include the 5 best things about doing Babywise with twins, but also the hardest things, because it is not all rainbows and sunshine! This post contains affiliate links.

The Best Things about Doing Babywise With Twins

1. Schedule

I repeat. Schedule, schedule, schedule!!! When you have your babies on a schedule, you know when they are going to be hungry and when they are going to be tired. Knowing when my twins were going to be napping allowed me to spend time with my son and plan activities during their nap. We would leave right at nap time, and when we arrived at our destination I would simply put their car seats in the Double Snap-N-Go and be home in time for them to eat. I absolutely could not feed them in public when they were infants. It took an immense amount of concentration to feed them due to their reflux and prematurity, and with a 2-year-old running around, it just was a bad idea. (You can read about how I got my twins on the same schedule here and about our breast/bottle feeding journey here.)

2. Self-Soothing

Unless you are Spiderman, it is not possible to rock two babies to sleep and then put them in their cribs at the same time. A Babywise baby learns to self-soothe and will happily drift off to sleep on their own.

3. Easier for Babysitters

Because of numbers 1 and 2, Babywise babies are a dream for babysitters. You can tell them when the baby will be hungry, tired, etc. A quick nighttime routine and they are down for the night without hours and hours of rocking! I probably wouldn't have anyone to watch my 3 littles if we didn't do Babywise with them.

4. Less Likely to Wake Each Other

You are probably wondering how on earth doing Babywise with twins means that they are less likely to wake each other. Since they are on the same schedule, they go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time. If they were staggered, one baby would wake up at a different time, therefore waking the other baby. That just sounds like a nightmare to me!

5. Independent Play

I'm gonna be honest, this is one thing with Babywise that I didn't start with my twins that I really regret. We are in the midst of moving and once we are all settled I'm going to start. Here's why: by the end of the day, the girls are really cranky and sick of each other. They fight, pick at each other, and steal each other's toys. Independent play is good for so many reasons, but it is especially beneficial for twins who need a break from each other.

The Hardest Things About Doing Babywise with Twins

For me, personally, the hardest things about Babywise don't even exist. Things that Babywise flows so well with my personality and our family dynamic, but being open minded, I can see how it could clash with a different family.

1. Doing Babywise with Twins is 3 Times the Work

I tell people frequently that having twins isn't twice as hard as one baby, but three times as hard. Babywise is hard work in the beginning. Babywise with twins is no exception! I occasionally heard grumblings from my husband begging me to switch to a 4-hour schedule before they were sleeping through the night or to let them continue napping instead of waking them to feed them. The best advice I can give you for this is to remember the big picture. The big picture is happy, well-rested babies that sleep through the night! Our twins were 14 weeks (only 6 weeks adjusted!!) when they started sleeping through the night. Was it hard work to stick with Babywise? Yes. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

2. Schedule

I know I put this as one of the best reasons, but it also can make things tricky to get out of the house and stay on schedule! Once the babies are a little older and don't nap on the go very well, but still nap frequently throughout the day, it's hard to get out and about. I just remind myself that it's just a season and seasons don't last forever. Your outings may be more infrequent than you'd like but it is worth it for the gift of sleep to you and your babies.

3. Getting off schedule = Two Screaming Babies

As much as you try to avoid it, sometimes your kids are going to get off schedule. In my experience, a child that is on a schedule is well rested, happy, and generally easy to manage. Mess with this child's schedule, and that all goes out the window! You will have a tired, cranky, difficult child. As life with twins goes, something that is difficult for a singleton is three times as hard with twins. If you get one baby off schedule and cranky, it's not the end of the world. If you get your twins off schedule, you'll have two screaming babies, and I can tell you from experience, there is pretty much nothing harder in the world than trying to console two overtired babies. Did you find another part of doing Babywise with twins that was hard that I didn't mention? Let me know in the comments!

Caitlin is a stay at home mom to 1.5 year old identical twin girls and a 3.5 year old little boy.  Her blog is an authentic, judgement free zone with advice on twins, parenting, and a little bit of health and beauty thrown in the mix.  You can find her at www.rogerspartyof5.com. 

Related Posts on this blog:

• Babywise and Twins
• Babywise and Twins: the newborn days
• Babywise Tips for Newborn Twins 
• Preterm Babies and Babywise 
• Five Tips for Getting Twins on a Schedule 

• Tips to get solid twin naps {Guest Post}