Mom Blog and Baby Blog | Baby Bunching

baby bunching bests

We've been busy on the web this week. We have found a few things that you might want to read about. Enjoy!

Heather at Rookie Moms has announced she's having Baby #3. Have a look at their site as they are still doing the 52-Week Rookie Mom with lots of great ideas.

Melisa at Lil Bee has the right spirit for her new Baby Bunching role. She's a fashion guru and her photography will always bring a smile to your face.

Kristen at Motherhood Uncensored is doing a 'be a better spouse' challenge with lots of great tips. And while we're loving all of them, we do want to give her a thumbs up for finishing a half-marathon about nine months since her fourth baby was born.

We Baby Bunchers are always looking for a quick clean-up fix. Oh Dee Doh has 10 Things you can Tidy in less than 10 minutes.

baby bunching bests

Just a few things from the week.....

Rookie Moms has yet another Challenge this week that you will NOT want to miss. This is MUST DO for all Baby Bunchers. Yes, do this now. This weekend if you can.

Lil Bee has some ideas on an interim wardrobe. She is a true fashionista so you won't want to miss these tips.

A interesting article that has certainly stirred up all kinds of debate. What do you think?

And Babble's Best Double Strollers from 2010.

baby bunching bests

Just a little web reading the past week or so. Catching up. We hope you all have a fabulous weekend as it's the last one before the holiday chaos officially commences.

A few thoughts about breastfeeding in public.

A beautiful reflection on unconditional love.

These seemingly healthy snacks may not be. Do a check on yours.

Love the idea of an outdoor birthday party, even in the winter.

Certainly a clever way to disguise your toddler's potty.

As we've said all along, you need your mommy mentors.

your top 10 baby bunching questions

Every Wednesday we like to run a Baby Bunching Q/A from one of our readers. We have noticed that many of you have a lot of the same questions. The reason for this? Well, we always have new people coming onto the site as they join us fellow Bunchers.

In an effort to help our readers, we've put together the Top 10 Baby Bunching Questions from our weekly Q/As. We hope you will find this useful. (Please note that many of the comments from people also provide great suggestions, but at the end of each post are other posts related to the topic.) If you have other comments/tips to these posts, please comment within the actual post.

1) How do I prepare my toddler for new baby's arrival?

2) What's the best strategy for room sharing?

3) How do I transition my baby into a big boy/girl bed?

4) What recommendations to you have for syncing up naps?

5) What do you do with a toddler while you're trying to settle the baby?

6) How do you get everyone to bed?

7) What are some tips for potty training a toddler while keeping an eye on the baby? See also the Potty Training series: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

8) Do you have some tips on helping my kids learn to take turns? 

9) How do other Baby Bunchers manage grocery shopping with everyone?

10) Knowing what you know now, would you still Baby Bunch?

(If you have a Baby Bunching questions, let us know and we'll be sure to post yours next week.)

baby bunching bests

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you. We hope you find some fun things to do with your kids. Enjoy the beginning of summer.

Here are a few favs from the past few weeks.

One of our favorite Baby Bunchers (and FIRL) Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring is over at DC Metro Moms writing about the "Do-Lot" and "Do-Little" Volunteer Moms. Whatever side you're on, it's a great read and reminder to chip in when you can.

Heather at Rookie Moms introduces her readers to a great concept--putting your babysitter on a retainer. Great idea, huh? As a side note, I have Baby Buncher friend (4 kids under 6) who does this every Saturday night. This means she and her husband have a standing date night every week. On the weeks she doesn't use the sitter, she loans her out to others who might. But at least the opportunity is there.

Jenny who writes at Andrew's Family is ready for her big trip to Seattle. (Remember she asked about car seat logistics when traveling.) Check out the awesome goody bags she made for everyone for the journey. Great job.

Caitlin who writes at A Hen and Two (now Three) Chicks is at Sprout for Parents writing about her To Do List during the day. I love this post as it reminds us that our To Do list should also include (perhaps even celebrate) all the things we did Do by the end of the day, even if that means it wasn't cleaning the house, running errands or laundry.

Jean at Stimeyland (also a FIRL) has a great post (that only Stimey could tell) on her son's bathroom issues and doctor visit.

Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing is doing some spring cleaning. The photo of her little black dresses made me smile as my closet and Cara's, I know, look the same. It's my mini tribute to opening weekend of Sex and the City 2. Keep the dresses, Steph.

Alisha at Weesher Weesh had a great post about her trip to the grocery store. Haven't we all been there before?

Seen a great post or wrote one, let us know and we'll add you in. We try to read your blogs as much as we can. (Remember we're parenting, too). Sometimes it's only every few weeks so if we missed something great, please let us know.

baby bunching bests

We haven't run these in a while, but we had a few come up over the past weeks. Enjoy.

Kids starting school soon? Baby Buncher Ticia(FIRL) sent this to Linda. A cute compilation about School Daze.

Katie at How We Roll has a great post about getting back into running after Baby #2.

Mrs. Notouching at Diaper Monologues has moved into her new place while she sets up for Baby #2. In case you haven't figured it out from our blog. We hate moving.

Mandie at Bringing Up Bug & Bee had a post about her great Monday which included a fabulous "2U2" playdate. You rocked that day, Mandie!  

Looking for a great Mother's Day gift at a decent price? Just ordered this last week from Cozy Blue, after seeing it on Cool Mom Picks, for a gift and when it arrived, I was delighted. Great gift. Great price. One of a kind. Perfect for Baby Bunching moms who have little time to shop.

baby bunching bests

Here are some of our favs this week:

Mamameah of Stay Where your Hands Are is simplifying her life and eliminating things she doesn't need. Even better, I'm inspired by her Wireless Wednesday where she does no TV, no computer, no cell phone to spend time as a family. (Wow!)

Cynthia at Chicago Moms Blog talks about guilt. She's carved out some time with her two toddlers to start her own business, but feels guilty for one reason or another. Cynthia, both of us have been there.

Amalah at AlphaMom is giving advice for traveling (by air) with two young kids. We've touched on this a few times here, but we can all use this advice....she's got some good tidbits!

Alisha at Weesher Weesh claims that Sunday is not her day of rest.

Sandy at Baby Baby talks about the ideal age gap between siblings. She has some advice, tips and hints; and we give those two thumbs up.

Becky at Two under Two (plus Two) says everyone has an opinion about her four kids so close in age. Any Baby Buncher can agree with you...no matter how many we have in our Bunch. Raise your hand if you've heard the phrase "you have your hands fun?"

 

 

baby bunching bests

We are excited about all the contributors who have agreed to write. Each Monday we've scheduled a new article from one of our very own Baby Bunching readers with topics on money, pregnancy, working, discipline, etc. Just a reminder, if you haven't yet entered to win Kristen Chase's new book Mominatrix, you have until Sunday to enter the giveaway. There aren't too many entries so you have a good chance!  

Additionally, we're surveying our readers to get a better idea of who you are and what you like/dislike about the site. We'd love if you could take our five-minute survey.

Here are a few bests from the past two weeks:

Jamie Grayson, resident gear guy at Stroller Traffic, wrote a very informative article about baby carriers. If you looking to buy a carrier to tote your tot, this post is worth the read.

Annie at Little Running Feet struggles with Saturday. She's in school half the day and then she and hubby change hands for the afternoon and evening. She ends up looking forward to Monday.

Sierra at Mom on the Run makes brunch with her Bunch. In an attempt to get her family to the table together, she has discovered breakfast is the best way to go.

Brian over at Life of Dad has a funny post about the 9 steps dads go through when buying a minivan. With all our minivan talk, including an upcoming guest post on this, we thought you (and your spouse) might enjoy this read.

Nicole at Planning with Kids gives a little perspective to when kids should start school. While her kids are all just about the Baby Bunching range, she does give some good insight for those who are pondering the start of Kindergarten for their kids.

baby bunching bests

We know we haven't been great about doing these. It's not that we don't love to read because we do. We both find with our Bunches, traveling husbands, part-time work and daily "needs" from everyone that getting around to rounding up the best posts takes some time. Be patient with us.

But here are a few:

Katie at Sticky Feet has a post about Mommy Guilt and balancing the needs of her three (including a set of twins.)

Natalie from Naddy's Blog is playing with the routine a bit to fit it all in. She wants to know how your daily routine is?

Whitney from Rookie Moms has a great (and quick) suggestion for photographing your Bunch.

Casey from Half As Good as You is going dye free in her house. While this post isn't necessarily about Baby Bunching, I do applaud her effort to change her lifestyle from one dye-free household to another. (Our household is dye-free for other reasons.) But it's inspiring to read about when a family has to make a major change like this.

Jessica at A Parent in Silver Spring is over at DC Metro Moms talking about going back to work. Jess is a FIRL and one of the funniest people I know. She has managed to capture very much how both Cara and I feel about our working from home part-time. Good luck!

time change: falling back into a different routine

We're over at the Washington Times Communities this week talking about the recent time change and what we love and hate about it being dark so early. Ok, we know Day Light Savings ended a few weeks ago now, but we're still adjusting. Are you? Let us know how.