Ain't too proud to...bribe!

Our middle son, Benjamin (will be 3 in August), loves the potty. He has great bladder control. He, however, does not grasp the concept of actually USING the potty.

We are using the same technique we used to potty train our oldest son just before his 3rd birthday. A tried a true method in our home: bribery ;)

M&M's for peepee and a Hot Wheels car for poopoo.

However it isn't having the same affect on Benjamin. He tells me everyday he doesn't want to USE the potty, he just wants to sit on it. I figure if he sits there long enough, something will happen, right?

For now, we wait.

We aren't pushing him. We aren't worried that he'll still be wearing his Happy Heinys to his college graduation. He will, in his own time, figure out the potty deal.

How do you approach Potty Training/Learning in your house?

(Please, only friendly comments - let's encourage and build up!)

Newborn Grovia AIO Review!

I was able to purchase a Grovia Newborn AIO diaper for my baby girl that is going to be born the end of July sometime. I could not wait until then to try it out because it was so cute so I used my almost 4 month old niece for the review!

This is the cutest diaper you will ever see...in my opinion anyways :) The GroVia AIO Newborn diaper is made to fit a 4lb to 13lb newborn baby. No covers are needed its all set and ready to wear after the first initial washing that is. The liner is made of organic cotton and its so soft aginst babys bum.
This is the diaper on Audrey (my niece) just under 4 months old in this pic. She has some chunky thighs and legs and the fit was really good on her. I have it on the biggest rise on her and its on the second to last snap for closure.

This one you can see how good the fit was on her and around her little chubby legs. She weighs 15lbs here and its about to the max. The following picture is her laying on her tummy. I love the back elastic of the diaper so snug nothing will come out of the back of it.

This is by far one of the best diapers I have seen for newborns. I loved it so much I bought more for my new arrival coming end of July. This diaper was purchased at EcoMom for $14.95, very reasonable price for an AIO newborn diaper too. This particular print is called mod flower for a little girl. There are not many prints but the ones they do have are adorable. Go and check out the website!

My personal opinion is I LOVE THIS DIAPER!!! I have purchased 4 more of these and will use them until my little one grows out of them. Like mentioned earlier 15lbs is about the max weight that I would go if you have a chunky baby! The diaper worked awesome but shes getting bigger so after 2 hours it was pretty wet. Hope this review helped some of you wondering about newborn diapers! I will be testing out a lil joey soon as i get that in too so stay tuned for another newborn review!!!!

Gaga Baby Gear carseat covers and MORE!

I was so excited to open my mail the other day and find my carseat cover that I (Dana) have been waiting on for the new addition coming end of July! Its beautiful and I LOVE IT!
GaGa Baby Wear is where I got the cover from. I just happened to be looking at patterns to make my own car seat cover and came across this really cute PINK cover for a little girl that happens to be in my belly and fell in love!

The wonderful lady that made the car seat cover does much much more then just a car seat cover. She does stroller covers, diaper bags and accessories, and different gifts. Perfect for baby shower gifts. She does girls, boys and unisex covers! I have a peg perego car seat and she custom made this one to fit the seat for me. When I came across all of her items I was impressed not only with the cuteness of them but the price. She is very reasonable for the VERY detailed work she does!

I am in love with the cover and can not wait until my little one arrives so she can use it. Made of cotton and minky dot. So soft and so comfy and fit my seat exactly perfect! Go and check her out. She is doing a special right now if you order $300 or more in product you get a 10% discount!

-Dana

The "i-needa-name" Fun Outdoor Game!

I was driving past a church a few weekends ago and saw a slew of kids outside playing and the items they had in hand made me rush to the nearest dollar store and grab them up for my children.

Items Needed:
Beach Ball(s)
Pool Noodles (1 for each child, if you want, you can cut them in half*)

The total cost for this game was $6 - we bought 2 beach balls and 4 noodles. And I have lost count of the hours of fun that has been had since this purchase!

It's really simple.

Blow up the beach balls.

Hand each child a noodle.
Ignore my 4 year olds' outfit - he picks out his own clothes ;)

Toss the beach ball in an open area.
Set children loose!
I didn't even have to tell them to try to hit the ball, that's just what they did.
I thought about rigging up a goal, but at this point, they are just having a blast hitting the ball.

We have a different variation where I hit it as hard as I can and make them run and grab it before I can get to it (sadly, they usually win) ;)

We had a week of low-humidity here in North Carolina last week and we had too much fun playing this everyday!

Bonus: you can re-use all the items at the pool, lake or beach throughout the summer too!

*We chose not to cut our pool noodles as we would rather practice our light saber skills when not in use for the game! ;)

Nursing Bra Express: Lamaze Intimates Sleep Bra Review

When I started nursing my oldest son when he was born, I went and purchased a handful of nursing bras, only to hate them all. I quickly discovered nursing tanks from Target, and for the past 4 years have pretty much lived in them - breastfeeding, pregnant or none of the above. They are just so comfortable! I often thought about getting a sleep bra but just thought my nursing tank was good enough, so I just stuck with my tanks.

Recently, on a hunt for breastfeeding friendly clothing, I happened upon a fantastic online shop, Nursing Bra Express. Don't be fooled by the name, Nursing Bra Express has anything a nursing mama could need. They have Transitionwear (you know when you've still got the baby belly...and baby is...ahem, no longer a baby), Nursing Bras, Tanks and clothing, as well as a wide selection of slings and breastfeeding accessories. In addition to all the items they offer, they offer help! This was what really caught my eye about Nursing Bra Express. You can look on the left sidebar and see help for all sorts of breastfeeding hot topics, from bra purchasing to latching and engorgement. Not only that, but you can find easily your state laws regarding breastfeeding as well as a lactation consultant!

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to review a Lamaze Intimates Sleep Bra from Nursing Bra Express. And for about a month or so now, I've been kicking myself for not purchasing a sleep bra sooner. This sleep bra is bliss - you hardly know you're wearing it. The material is so soft, and it is sewn perfectly so that no edges are rubbing you. The front is so easy to move out of the way for nursing, and nursing pads stay in place perfectly.
I confess that I didn't like to wear it at night. I typically wear a tank top to bed, but having the tank and the sleep bra was a bit too much to work for my tired brain (I suppose I could have just worn the sleep bra, but I like to be a bit more covered!)

I also love that it doesn't have the gawdy hooks like the nursing tank, so if I wear it under a tank top, the hooks aren't sticking out.

If you're looking for a comfortable option for breastfeeding (I will totally wear it when Caedmon decides he is done too!) I would highly recommend checking out this Sleep Bra.

The Lamaze Intimates Sleep Bra comes in black or white and retails for $16.00.

Disclaimer: I received a Lamaze Intimates Sleep Bra in Black for review. All opinions are my own and you may have a different experience.