Guest Feature: Become a Super-Parent with These Top Apps

Guest Feature: Become a Super-Parent with These Top Apps

by earnestmomblog ♥ 1 Comment

Photo by Pixabay

3wild3free is honored to have Leslie Campos, from https://wellparents.com/ to share more brilliant tips for parents and navigating the apps that are available to help a mother out!

Let’s face it: Parenting is hard work. And if you’re a new parent, no matter how many preparations you make, you’ll still face the unexpected when it comes to caring for your new baby. That’s because babies don’t come with a manual. The good news, though, is that technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, and smartphones provide apps that can help make life with a new baby a bit easier to navigate. 

Top Apps That Make Caring for Your Baby Easier

When you’re searching for baby-caring apps, you’re best off trying singular-function ones instead of all-in-one apps. Since you’ll be spending a lot of your time caring for your baby, you want easy-to-use apps that are available when you need them. The following apps are a great place to start.

WebMD Baby

With the WebMD Baby app, you’ll get access to trusted, physician-approved health and wellness information at your fingertips. With this app, you can also track important baby information and milestones. It’s a baby book, a place to ask a pediatrician for advice, a way to track your baby’s growth and development so that you can keep them on schedule, and more. Track feedings, nursing, sleep, and diaper changes as well. 

Baby Monitor 3G

Baby Monitor 3G is a unique monitoring app that uses your devices to keep you aware of your baby while they are in the other room. In the baby’s room, you’ll place a smart device or laptop that will monitor your baby and transmit audio and video via Wi-Fi or cellular connection to your device, where you’ll see a live, real-time feed of your child so that you can monitor them remotely and attend to them should the need arise. Setup is quick and easy, and you can even use it across different platforms. There’s also an activity log to track sleeping patterns. The app is secure and reliable, and the next logical step in baby-monitoring solutions.

Day One

If you’re a journal lover who likes to track every detail of your life, the Day One app is perfect for simplifying the important aspects of your life. Keep a workout log, gratitude journal, food diary, baby journal, or anything that needs writing down. You can add photos to your entries, and a passcode to protect your journal so it stays private. You can even dictate your entries! It’s the perfect way to keep track of your daily life in a simple, easy-to-use format.

Baby Sign and Learn Lite

This app may not seem useful at first, but sign language is a baby’s first language. Before your child can speak, they still need to communicate their needs and wants to you. Mostly, they’ll do it through crying, but eventually, their little brains can understand hand gestures. Baby Sign and Learn Lite is the free version and a great starter app for teaching and learning simple signs that you’ll need most, like “more,” “eat,” “please,” and “milk.” Using this app and practicing with your child will help both of you close the communication gap, which can lead to a happier baby whose needs are met quicker.

Redfin App

Last but not least, using an app to look for a new, bigger home for your expanding family will help make the process a little easier. While it won’t replace working with a real estate agent, something like the Redfin app can help you get the process rolling without leaving your baby’s side. Not only can you use different filters to narrow the scope of your search, but you can also take a peek inside homes using the app’s virtual walkthrough feature. Once you have an idea of what you’re looking for, you can get in contact with a Realtor to guide you through the rest of the home-buying process.

When you’re new to navigating parenthood, life can throw a lot of curveballs, but it doesn’t have to be so difficult. No matter what you choose, your smartphone can be another tool in your parenting adventure, and there’s an app for just about everything.

Guest Feature: You’re Beautiful, Baby! Self-Care Tips For Breastfeeding Moms

Guest Feature: You’re Beautiful, Baby! Self-Care Tips For Breastfeeding Moms

by earnestmomblog ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

3wild3free is honored to have Leslie Campos, from https://wellparents.com/ to share some brilliant tips for taking care of mama during those nursing years.

Scientific studies show that breastfeeding a baby provides numerous benefits to both mother and child. Breastfed babies get important nutrients from their mothers that can bolster their immune systems and protect against disease. 

According to the American Heart Association, moms can also reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer by nursing. Additionally, breastfeeding eliminates the need for purchasing formula and cleaning bottles, and it can help you get back to pre-pregnancy weight faster than bottle-feeding. 

Of course, sharing your body with a little human can be taxing, so self-care during this time is crucial to ensuring a positive experience for both you and your child.

Getting Prepared

While breastfeeding is a natural and instinctive act, some women benefit from the help of a lactation coach, who is trained to help them along the way. This type of specialist can provide tips on common issues and concerns and offer advice on how to effectively get through the first few days of nursing and into a regular routine. 

Your OB/GYN, midwife or doula can likely refer you to a coach, or you may find one available on the obstetrics team where you deliver your baby. You can also refer to resources like La Leche League, which helps new mothers get accustomed to breastfeeding and provides support, encouragement, and resources.

Practical Concerns

First-time nursing mothers often feel like they’re “on call” for their babies 24/7. As such, it’s important to ensure you’re staying well-hydrated and eating plenty of healthy, nutrient-rich foods. According to Nursing Moms, breastfeeding burns up to 100 calories per “meal.” You’ll also need adequate sleep, so enlist the help of your partner wherever possible. 

Special amenities that may help you be more comfortable during this time include a lap pillow specially designed to aid in comfortable nursing, creams and ointments to protect against chafing and soreness, and an all-purpose nursing blanket or cover in the event you want on-the-spot privacy when nursing outside of your home.​

Dressing Comfortably

Fortunately for new moms, there are a number of comfortable and stylish clothing options available that not only look and feel great on a postpartum body, but also make it much easier to discreetly breastfeed in public or at home. In addition to everyday clothing, take care to dress in such a way that makes you feel confident and beautiful,  which can go a long way toward boosting your self-esteem. 

It’s a lot of work being a new mom, and to retain your sense of self, select clothing that fits well and makes you feel good. That might mean a comfy yet stylish nursing top, a flirty nightgown, or a pair of yoga pants that are both attractive and practical.

Prioritizing Self-Care

According to the Office on Women’s Health, it can take some time for new moms and babies to get in sync with nursing. Be patient with yourself and your child if the process requires a bit of adjustment. You’ll soon come to recognize your baby’s patterns and hunger signals, and your body will start to adjust and produce milk in the volume your baby needs. Create a quiet space in the early days where the two of you can calmly and patiently work together until you get into a comfortable routine.

Breastfeeding your new baby can be a wonderful bonding experience with tremendous health benefits for both of you. Taking care of yourself during this special time should include paying attention to your own needs. Dedicating time to self-care and looking and feeling your personal best can work wonders for your mental and emotional health!

For more valuable parenting tips, look no further than 3 wild 3 free.

Photo by Pixabay

And Bless All of Those in the Battles.

And Bless All of Those in the Battles.

by earnestmomblog ♥ 1 Comment

Today was November 11th, in Canada it was Rememberance Day and here in the US, Veteran’s Day. Our homeschool focus was on Flander’s Fields and poppies. Growing up in Canada poppies were a regular thing every November – toss a loonie or two into the can at Tim’s and get your poppy for the month (my fellow canucks, you get me here). To my children this was a whole new world.

We took the time from our read aloud morning time to listen to Flander’s Fields (we used the recording here, by Leonard Cohen), then watched this historical video for the kids about how poppies were chosen, when they started being used for Remembrance Day and how they help so many today. We followed with this beautiful short animation released by BBC a few years back about the war from the animal’s perspective. To end it we waited until 11:00 am and had our two moments of silence while we viewed the Royal Canadian Legion’s Two Minutes of Silence video that allowed us to see the faces of many who were fallen, wounded and survived the past wars.

I was a bit nervous at first, worried that they may not fully understand or even take it seriously because, well, I am mom and sometimes mom just does weird stuff! They were so engaged, interested and then to see the faces of service men and women on the video as we sat in perfect silence for two minutes, they were moved. They immediately wanted to start making their own poppies (which we were not prepared for but will be done another day since poppies keep popping up all over our home learning journey – maybe in water color, but I digress), they also wanted to know more. We listened to another rendition of Flander’s Fields, looked up images of Flander’s Fields and then researched how poppies grow and why they would grow after battles. Our poppy adventure took us “off course” for the day, but I followed the natural instincts of my children’s interests and we learned so much together.

Tonight as I tucked my middle little into bed, ended her prayers with “and God, please bless all of those in the battles, now and before.” I was shocked, she was actually absorbing what we were learning! In this home school gig – I am constantly being amazed. There is no “behind,” we are where we are, there is no “off track,” because we are exactly where this journey is leading us. We are engaged, joyful and interested in what we are learning every day. I did not know it could be like this, I did not know how blessed home schooling could truly be!