Sleeping Should Be Easy

5 Tips to Stop the Pain After Breastfeeding

Woman dealing with breast pain after breastfeeding

Are you experiencing breast pain after breastfeeding or pumping? These tips will help you find breastfeeding pain relief. This can't be normal, I thought to myself. Once again, I found myself curled on my bed in a fetal position, with tears squeezing out of my eyes. The sharp, shooting pains that happened after breastfeeding—even after pumping—came once again. They felt like electric shocks coming and going, for at least 30 minutes after I nursed the twins. So much so that I wanted to quit breastfeeding altogether. This wasn't the first time, either. A few years earlier, I was a first-time mom eager to nurse, only to find breastfeeding much harder than I ever imagined. To keep myself motivated, I'd hop online every day to learn the benefits of breastfeeding, pushing … Read More...

How to Find a 3 Year Old Sleep Schedule That Works

preschooler

little boy sleeping using a 3 year old sleep schedule

Having trouble with your toddler’s bedtime routine, no naps, and sleep regression? Check out samples of a 3 year old sleep schedule and find one that works for you! Three year olds and sleep don't always mix. Naps are a hit or miss, and starting to get phased out for good. Bedtime is supposed to be at 7pm, but your child isn't asleep until 9pm, and even gets out of bed to come into your room. And of course, he's still up at the same early hour the next morning, no matter what. Nothing you've tried has worked to get him to sleep. Eliminating naps only leads to a meltdown in the afternoon, or passing out for a really early bedtime. Early mornings mean he's crabby from the start, even if he clearly needs another hour or so of more sleep. In short: the lack of sleep has … Read More...

Need a List of Old Fashioned Boy Names to Choose From? Our Top Picks

pregnancy

Little baby boy: list of old fashioned boy names

Looking for classic, throwback, and traditional names? Check out this list of old fashioned boy names that are ready for a comeback! Choosing a name for the baby starts off fun—you sort through name origins and try different first and middle name combinations. But after a while, you find yourself... overthinking the entire thing. "We still haven't chosen a name!" you vent to fellow moms. After all, it doesn't help when a name you love brings up unpleasant memories for your partner. Or when a first and middle name pairing ends up spelling the worst initials with your last name. You might even love a name, but hate the nickname. And sometimes, you avoid names because your relatives will likely botch it up or say a completely different version of it. That's when … Read More...

Newborn Not Sleeping? 9 Tricks to Help Your Baby (Finally!) Sleep

newborn

Worried about your newborn not sleeping enough during the day or at night (unless he’s held)? Learn 9 effective tips to try when your baby won’t sleep—a must-read for first-time moms! I thought I knew it all. I scoured parenting books, browsed through websites, attended childcare and CPR classes. Prepared myself for diaper changes and breastfeeding. I even knew I wouldn't know everything, but that didn't stop me from wanting to learn all I could. I was ready to have this baby! Except I wasn't. Not in a way that anyone who has yet to have a child of her own will ever know until the day she becomes a mother. The biggest culprit? Sleep deprivation. As a first-time mom, I found myself with a baby who wanted to be held 24/7. He'd easily fall asleep when he was in my … Read More...

Top Educational Activities for 3 Year Olds

learn and discover

Little girl playing with play dough and doing educational activities for 3 year olds

Looking for things to do with your child? Check out these learning and educational activities for 3 year olds, perfect for at home or outdoors. Like many moms, I wanted to engage with my 3 year old at home, providing him with activities that were not only fun but educational as well. I was that mom who collected leaves with her toddler and counted the steps on stairs we took. At the same time, I also understood that educational activities can get... over the top. We don't need to stress out about "teaching," so much as inspiring our kids' curiosity and desire to learn. You see, so many of us can feel like we're not doing enough educational activities, that we're somehow "behind" what other moms are doing with their kids. Or we assume that every moment spent should be a … Read More...

How to Burp a Sleeping Baby

newborn

It’s impossible to burp your baby when he’s asleep, right? Wrong! Learn exactly how to burp a sleeping baby using these effective techniques. We all know to burp a baby after feeding, but what do you do if the baby falls asleep? My baby burped easily (and loudly!) when he was awake (in fact, I often fed him after he woke up, not before sleep). But for bedtime and middle-of-the-night feedings, he'd fall straight to sleep, just as I wanted him to. But as you can imagine, getting a burp out of him was often impossible. I knew some babies don't need to get burped all the time, but burping helped him avoid being fussy and feeling uncomfortable. I could never figure out how to burp a sleeping baby and didn't even know if it was possible. Can I put my baby straight down if … Read More...

How to Discipline a 1 Year Old (Especially When Yours Ignores You)

behavior

how to discipline a 1 year old: little boy holding a phone

I wasn't exactly sure how to discipline a 1 year old. As a first-time mom, I didn't know what stage he was at developmentally, or how much "reasoning" he'd understand. For instance, he'd bang on the sliding glass doors, despite me telling him "no" sternly, face and all. In fact, he seemed to want to see my reaction, repeating the banging—and even think it funny when I once again reminded him that we don't bang on the doors. He was starting to get into a lot of things he shouldn't, despite constant reminders. I tried telling or showing him what he couldn't do, but I couldn't seem to find a way to get him to understand the word "no." And it wasn't just the doors, either. Hair pulling, throwing toys, and yanking on the blinds were just a few things he seemed to know he … Read More...

How to Establish a Solid 2 Year Old Bedtime

sleeping

Struggling with 2 year old bedtime battles? Learn what time your child should go to sleep, sample schedules to try, and how to avoid bedtime transition troubles right here. The two-year mark seems to come with its own bedtime challenge. You might have a "good sleeper"—even since infancy—but when at two years old, well... things changed. For one thing, it now takes her an hour to sleep, and that's with you staying in her room until she finally does. Perhaps she demands to sleep in your bed instead of hers. Or maybe she's in bed, but plays and keeps herself up until 10pm. It doesn't help when changes in your life—holidays, new house/baby/school, vacation—disrupt your routine. The worst part? Despite all these challenges with your 2 year old bedtime, she wakes up at 5:30 … Read More...

Sleeping Should Be Easy

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