Out of the Ordinary Ways to Use Dryer Sheets

In the giveaway for the Purex Crystals Dryer Sheets, I asked readers to tell me their uses for dryer sheets. I was so impressed with the responses, I wanted to share with everyone! I had no idea the crazy ways you can use dryer sheets.

 

5 Myths About Extended Rear-facing

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I’m a big supporter of extended rear-facing. Charlie just turned 3 and he is still rear-facing. He is about 39 inches tall and weighs about 34 lbs.

The car seat we have for Charlie is the Graco My Ride 65. We have 2 of them, one for Mommy’s car (a Dodge Journey) and one for Daddy’s car (a Ford Focus). We love them because Charlie has plenty of room and padding, plus he has two cup holders (snacks, small toys, cup, etc). Our favorite thing about this car seat is that Charlie can rear-face until he is 40 lbs. When he reaches that point, we’ll flip him around to forward-facing, where this car seat can accommodate up to 65 lbs.

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a new policy statement that children should rear-face until 2 years of age.

1. They’ll Break Their Legs

Even if this were true, I’d much rather have broken legs than a broken neck or back. I’ve heard this saying many times: “Broken leg, cast it. Broken neck, casket”. The thing is though, it’s really not any more true for rear-facing kids than it is if they are forward facing. In 2007, Crash Test data found that the rate of lower extremity injuries in rear-facing children was 1 per 1000 children and the rates for forward facing kids are within similar ranges.

Our Favorite Bedtime Books

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We read (at least 1 book) to Charlie every night. I think it is very important to develop a love of reading in a child from the beginning. For Charlie’s baby shower, everyone brought us a book. Some of these were included and some we picked up along the way.

The Going-To-Bed Book – Sandra Boynton

Disney Bedtime Favorites (Storybook Collection)

Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown

I’ll See You in the Morning – Mike Jolley

Time for Bed – Mem Fox

On the Night You Were Born – Nancy Tillman

10 Ways Toddlers Can Help With Baby

Charlie loves to help out with his brother! We try to make him feel as though we need his help, but don’t pressure him into helping. Make sure not to rush your toddler while they are helping or they might resent you or the baby. From the beginning, we made sure Charlie knew that Owen loved him and loves when Charlie helps. Though toddlers might not be able to completely do a task on their own yet, they can certainly get involved and feel important in taking care of their new baby sibling.

January Smiles

I can't believe January is over already! How did that happen?

Here's a quick 5 things that made me smile this January:

1. I finally started a blog!

2. My birthday's in January, so that always makes me smile.

3. It snowed! And we actually got to play in it for a few minutes before it was too cold!