When I was pregnant with M, finances were extremely tight, and I was very much on the lookout for free stuff for moms. There are so many brands out there that are trying to market to new moms, and one of the ways they market is by offering samples of their products for free. Not only is that a wonderful way to explore the various baby brands out there, and decide which you like, but you’ll also save some money on all those free stuff for babies.

I did the same with Y and Princess A (born 2016 and 2020) and I update this post as often as I find necessary so these should pretty much all be active today!

Table of contents:

• A few words of caution about free samples
• Free Baby Registry Boxes
• Free Stuff for Moms via free Sampling Clubs
• “Just pay shipping” Free Baby Essentials & Conveniences
• Free Stuff for Moms via Insurance Benefits or Child Safety Programs
• Community and Needs Based Baby Freebies
• Free Trial Memberships and More

A few words of caution about free samples

Some things are totally free, but some will require you to pay shipping. Often, it’s worth it, as the shipping is a fraction of the cost of purchasing that product.

Tip: Get those that you can really use, and skip the rest.

Avoid samples that say “when you complete offers” like fire! In my experience they are NOT legit, sometimes take you through so many hoops where you accidentally sign up for magazines, insurance, and whatnot. Some of them seriously seem to sell your info (but I could be wrong).

Most companies offer you a freebie because they hope you’ll like it enough to buy afterward. Indeed, I have chosen the brands of baby bottles I stick to based on free samples.

Many free stuff for moms are actually trials. Meaning, the company is giving you a chance to try the service before you buy it – and you might just want to continue! That means, once the trial period is over, it will charge you. ALL OF THOSE IN THIS LIST CAN BE CANCELED! I made sure! I wouldn’t share with you any kind of subscription service that can’t be canceled.

Tip: You can spot auto-renewed trials by the terminology – they are usually referred to as trials, not samples.

Another tip: when you order it, note when the renewal is. Set an alarm on your phone a few days before the renewal. Assess how much you liked the service, if it’s worth continuing. If not, cancel it. You won’t be charged. I’ve done this many times and it’s been fool-proof. I have yet to pay for a service I didn’t like.

Free Baby Registry Boxes

Oh glorious registries! These are my absolute favorites! I’ve gotten so many goodies in registry boxes and they’ve helped me figure out the right bottles and pacifiers for my babies, stockpile some basics, and try new things. Some have even come with swaddle blankets and bodysuits! Baby registry boxes usually come with a good mix of full size and samples and also help you with your first few weeks of needs.

Some registries have basic requirements before they send a box, noted below. Content varies so any images are just samples of what you might see in one of these boxes.

They also come with other perks, such as completion discounts, which can save you a LOT!

Amazon – My absolute favorite. You need to complete (as in put together, NOT purchase) 60% of the registry, and purchase $10 from it. I purchased an essential from the registry myself since I shop Amazon anyway. If you get only one of the free stuff for moms on this list, this should be the one!

Target – You’ll need to go in store to pick this one up but you can create the registry online first. You’ll get a QR code they’ll scan to give you your gift bag. You’ll also probably get some coupons to use. No requirements other than having a registry.

Walmart – just fill out a form and it’s shipped to your house.

Free Stuff for Moms via free Sampling Clubs

Free $10 Children’s Place Credit – Through their referral program! If you sign up through this link, you get $10 toward baby and kids’ clothing and accessories – that ship free!

Sign up with Similac – You can sign up for free samples of baby formula, plus they’ll also send you checks in the mail. Even if you plan to breastfeed, you’ll want to have a few cans handy just in case.

Sign up with Enfamil. Both clubs are very similar, and it’s a great way to see which formulas your baby takes.

Medela Moms Room – If you plan to breastfeed, join the Moms Room for a few samples (such as breast milk storage bags, sterilizing bags, etc).

Bump Club and Beyond Baby Bag – This one was similar to the registry freebies and so cool! Follow the instructions to claim your totally free baby samples.

Motherhood Preggie Perks – I haven’t received this one, but it seems to be Motherhood Maternity’s club, which gives you a welcome bag when you arrive. From my research, it seems to be a much more slimmed down version of the registry freebies with lots of coupons and a few samples.

Get a free $10 if you’re new to Rakuten. Rakuten is an online rebate website. If you shop through their links, you get rebates at various merchandisers. You also get a $10 bonus when you use them the first time. I use them ALL.THE.TIME. and have made quite a few nice payouts. This is possibly one of the best free stuff for moms (or anyone else) – I got a $10 Target gift card when I signed up, used it to buy diapers, AND got 2.5% back on the Children’s Place order I was anyway placing.

Tip: Install their web browser add-on to remind you to use them when you shop – they auto-load the best coupon code for that website too!

“Just pay shipping” Free Baby Essentials & Conveniences

Reminder: since you’re paying shipping, stick to those that are helpful to you and get incredible value!

Free Nanobebe sample pack: just pay under $5 S&H. I love this brand and used their products for Princess A.

Instructions for the rest of this section: Click on “shop now” and select the amount of the coupon value that you would like to your cart. I tried to list coupon value on each product/website. Once you have made your selection, you will automatically be directed to the shopping bag. Enter the promo code “PJBABY” and the coupon value will be deducted. These books make GREAT gifts too; selections dwindle quickly so get yours ASAP! *Remember, you can use the promo code “PJBABY” more than once, just open a new browser to do so!* *Offers valid while supplies last.

Belly button band for pregnancy – Promo Code PJBABY. Code has $40 value so you can get 2 belly button bands or one belly button body. I had these and they helped me get much more use out of my bottoms while pregnant and saved me so much $$! They are also great for postpartum until my old clothing fit again.

Breast pads – Promo code PJBABY. Code has $35 value. Reusable pads are so convenient (no peeling wrappers, etc), save money, and are greener. If you plan to breastfeed you’ll want these! They also helped keep me warm when I was having issues with vasospasm.

Baby leggings or bandana bibs – Promo Code PJBABY for a $50 value. At $10 each you can get 5.

Baby Board Books – Promo Code PJBABY for $40 off. Books are $8 each and perfect for establishing that first library, and for gifts.

Free Ruffle Buns – Promo Code PJBABY for $60 off. These are incredibly cute ruffled diaper covers for girls, including dressy options. They also have a line of non-ruffled ones for boys. You can get 3 for this value.

Free Custom Snappies Bodysuits – Promo Code PJBABY for $50 off. That works for two bodysuits – either their designs or create your own.

Free Car seat canopy – use code PJBABY for $50 off. For free, choose from jersey stretch covers, hanging canopies, muslin canopies, and more. Some items are pricier but you can still use the $50 off coupon for them.

Nursing Pillow– use code PJBABY for $40 off. That covers the cost of the print pillows, but you can upgrade to minky fabric for a few bucks.

I really wished I had this when I was breastfeeding M, but did not know about this freebie for moms. The cost of buying one in the store was too forbidding, so I did without. I used nursing pillows for Y and Princess A. They are a lifesaver.I highly recommend paying the shipping cost on this – it’s worth having!

Free Nursing cover – use code PJBABY for $35 off. Same story as above! I missed this so much with my first!

Free Baby Carrier – Code PJBABY for $40 credit. Get a free sling-style baby carrier for this value! They have wrap carriers too but those are $20 more.

Free Stuff for Moms via Insurance Benefits or Child Safety Programs

Free breast pump: As part of the Affordable Care Act, new moms can get a free breast pump via their insurance. I actually didn’t place an order from mine, until I learned that the Medela that I had and loved with M has an open system and is not safe to reuse (as bacteria and mold can build up inside and reach the baby.) So I finally ordered a new one via my insurance.

Car seats – Some insurance companies help with or provide a baby car seat. Contact yours to find out.

Free Window Safety Retrofit Kits: Window shade cords are a strangulation hazard, so if your home has corded shades, you can order free kits to fix it.

OTC card: Some insurances offer a free Over the Counter benefit. That’s a monthly budget that’s usable for certain items. You may be able to use it for lactation supplies, adult incontinence products (which are great for postpartum), diaper rash creams, and more. Reach out to your insurance (or google) to find out.

Community and Needs Based Baby Freebies

Having a baby is expensive for most people, but if you’re really struggling, the occasional sample might not be enough. Thankfully, there ARE community resources that can help you, and I’ve tried to include as many as I know about here.

Craigslist, Facebook local groups/marketplace: Many people are looking to purge old baby stuff. Hit up “give away” websites and you might even find someone charging $0 for their old baby gear! Meet up safely – here are some tips.

Some items shouldn’t be used second hand – such as cribs and car seats – unless you know and trust the person giving it to you.

Car seats: There are some income-based resources for free car seats which you can find here. If you receive WIC or SNAP benefits you are likely eligible. There may be additional requirements (such as owning a vehicle or attending a child passenger safety class). You can also ask at your local WIC offices about this.

Diaper Banks: If you are in need of diapers, find out if you have one near you or how you can access free diapers here.

Free Trial Memberships and More

Try Amazon Family for 30 days – free! You have all the benefits of Prime, plus extra discounts on things such as diapers. (You should definitely do this if you’re creating an Amazon registry, as it’s likely required for your gift box, plus you’ll get a larger completion discount.)

Free month of ABCmouse.com – Entertain you kids while educating them! I love this for keeping kids busy. This is also perfect for summer and winter break boredom – a productive activity to save mom’s sanity!

Free Kindle Unlimited Trial – When breastfeeding I read A LOT. Frankly, being incapacitated while recovering postpartum can be boring. Sign up for Kindle Unlimited’s free trial.

You can also give Audible Plus a try for free.

Want more? I put together a new list of freebies for women! Check it out…

Did I miss something? Which free stuff for moms did you get, or do you know of? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

The post 21 Free Stuff for moms and babies appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

I think most people don’t realize just how bad mom insomnia – or any insomnia – can get.

Last year, I learned the hard way after going over sixty hours without sleep, and found myself in a fast downward spiral. You can ready the whole story here, but meanwhile I’ll give you the rundown:

Nights 1-3: I slept 2-3 hours each night, just because I couldn’t fall asleep.

Night 4: I couldn’t fall asleep at all. At 4 AM I Amazon Primed (same day shipping) melatonin just in case.

Night 5: I relaxed before bed, lit an aromatherapy candle, took a warm shower, shut electronics 2 hours before bed, took melatonin etc etc etc. I went to bed early (big mistake as you’ll see). 

I was panicky all night, shaking with the physical pain of sleep deprivation, and couldn’t fall asleep at all. I tried bunking in the spare bed in the kids’ room, took ZzzQuil, did “brain dumps” on paper, and didn’t fall asleep. I tried fan on, fan off (both for temperature and white noise) and nothing worked.

Day 5: After over 48 hours with no sleep, I tried napping a number of times (my husband had to take a sick day because I couldn’t function at all). It didn’t work. I tried boring audiobooks, white noise, etc, and it didn’t work.

Night 6: and over sixty hours with no sleep…. Before bedtime, I literally thought I was going to have a heart attack, and die, and was ready to call Hatzalah – the Jewish volunteer emergency service. I was convinced not to (clearly I was incapable of thinking rationally).

My husband spoke to a local doctor (again, I hadn’t been rational enough to think about visiting my own doctor during the day) who recommended I take a larger dose of over-the-counter sleep aids (speak to a doctor regarding dosage if you try this) and read for some time in bed until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. This helped me drift off for an hour. I woke up and fell asleep for another hour. After which I fell asleep for four hours.

Day 7: I had slept six broken-up hours in the past three days, and roughly 12-15 total for the week, and was still trembling with the pain of it. I went to the doctor, who prescribed me prescription sleep aids (Ambien and when that wasn’t working for me some other stuff that really messed me up.)

Weeks 2-6: The problem is, I’m very sensitive to drugs, and I couldn’t drive the entire day after taking it, or I’d get completely hypnotized by the road. I couldn’t function, and walked around for over a month like a zombie on these meds. And they didn’t always help me sleep. I was traumatized by my bed and even tried things to change that (such as a pillow top mattress topper) but nothing worked.

Eventually I got help, as you’ll see in tip #1 below, but first –

The reason I’m resharing this background info is as follows:

• To show you where I’m coming from, what I tried, and the kind of distress that my mom insomnia caused.
• My best tips to fall asleep at night is not the same old same old you’ll be reading in every parenting and health magazine. Shut the phone. Make sure you’re comfortable. Duh.
• To show you how serious my mom insomnia was – so that if you’re dealing with something on that scale, I truly hope that this article is the one that helps you sleep better at night.
• Many, many mom insomnia tips don’t acknowledge the reality of mental health. Mental health needs to be included when talking about insomnia, and so I shared my background and the extremity of my situation, as it’s part of the mental health picture.

A note before I start: please, please, please do not consider this medical advice. These are things you can try when you’re desperate, however, I am not a doctor or medical professional. Always listen to your medical professional over advice you read online, on blogs, on parenting websites. Always call for help if you need it. The suicide hotline’s phone number is 1-800-273-8255 – please call immediately if you’re having thoughts of suicide, as extreme sleep deprivation can lead to this. You will see that I worked with a mental health professional to overcome my worst insomnia – I highly recommend doing this.

Why Mom Insomnia is a real issue that needs to be resolved fast:

Mom insomnia is a double-edged sword. It’s often caused by motherhood and then it seriously impacts motherhood. You can read this article my sister wrote on the one thing you need to be a better parent. Spoiler alert: it’s sleep.

To top it off, mom insomnia tends to cause a long chain of events that make parenting a formidable task. Sleep deprivation can cause:

• Our immune systems to weaken, and we all know that our kids aren’t giving us sick days any time soon…
• We don’t have the clear head to keep our cool, we lose our patience quickly and execute poor judgement in parenting. Last week, in a sleep-deprived moment, I told my kids they’re getting sandwiches for dinner for a week. And I had to follow through (but did so creatively – grilled chicken sandwiches, avocado paninis…)
• It can cause or exacerbate mental health issues such as depression, anxiety.
• In extreme cases, such as the story I shared above, it can cause serious dysfunction.
• In extreme cases, it can lead to thoughts of suicide. Please, please call the national suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 if you’re having such thoughts.

Tips to fall asleep at night when you’re struggling with mom insomnia:

These tips are longer term solutions that actually help tackle mom insomnia and the things that cause it. Please note: these tips are for people who are having trouble falling asleep. You have to actually go to sleep for these to work! I know some moms struggle with getting to bed – that’s not really what these tips are for.

1. Try CBTI – Get professional help:

Here’s where I continue my story, because going to a therapist after over a month of not really living was what really did the trick permanently.

The thing is, this may not be what you want to hear (and I’ll share some DIY tips afterward for those of you who aren’t dealing with mom insomnia in the extreme or can’t get professional help for whatever reason). But I’m compelled to share this first because cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is what helped me first and foremost.

If you can’t go to therapy, you can get this workbook and work through it. Ultimately, this is the process that we followed. It’s not cheap, but I got the workbook in addition to therapy and I can tell you that the workbook is a fraction of the cost of a single session.

The reason it’s still so much better to work this through with a therapist, is that beyond the scientific factors that CBTI deals with, each mom has her own things keeping her awake. For me, it was practice conversations, reviewing future days in my head – and I’ll tell you this: it was hard work getting out of these habits.

It was hard work. It was expensive.

But sleep is priceless.

And as we worked through it, we were also able to tackle the individual things that kept me awake, find ways to manage my stress, to make the time for breathers during the day.

After a few months, I was sleeping better than I had ever slept before.

[show_boutique_widget id=”796951″]

2. Establish a bedtime routine to work with your body’s circadian rhythm:

One of the things we did with the workbook was use their charts to see how much I was sleeping.

First, we cut back the time I spent in bed drastically. We figured out that I was naturally sleeping an average of five hours a night but spending closer to nine in bed.

We figured out a reasonable wake time, and moved my bedtime to five and a half hours before that.

That seems drastic, and counterproductive but… it worked. I didn’t sleep any more or any less, but I slept while I was in bed.

I went to bed at strictly the same time every night. My body began to associate my bed with sleep. My circadian rhythm was “reset” so to speak.

That means that when the clock hit a certain hour my body knew on its own that it was time to sleep and started to produce melatonin naturally to help me fall asleep.

Then, every other week, considering that I slept 85% of the time I was in bed averaged over a week (you can read more about sleep efficiency in the workbook) I moved my bedtime back by fifteen minutes. We used the charts in the book to track this.

At first I was really sleep deprived (but then again, not more so than before). Then a few months in, I was sleeping better than I had since I was a kid!

Eventually I “plateaued” and moving my bedtime further back started causing issues again. At that point, I gave myself a “bedtime range” – and I follow my body’s tired cues within that range.

3. Spend less time in bed not sleeping:

So here’s the thing with my previous tip: not only are you establishing a routine, but you’re also spending less time in bed not sleeping, creating an association.

The irony?

Our natural reaction when dealing with mom insomnia is to nap, or to call it a night earlier. We call it self-care, and mean well, but this can further exacerbate our mom insomnia!

What cured me was going to sleep drastically later! Instead of going to bed early, and spending the time twisting and turning, spending the next day trying to nap, and growing to hate the sight of my bed, I reduced the time I spent there.

And it really and truly was life-changing.

Part of that is using the bed (and even the bedroom) for sleep (and sex) only. No more reading or watching stuff in bed.

This was another big aspect of our original therapy. As I moved my bedtime back, any time I didn’t fall asleep quickly, I got out of bed, did something, and went back after fifteen minutes to half an hour to try again – instead of staying in bed and tossing and turning.

Granted, there were still some bad nights, but it’s a process, and after some time the process worked.

4. If you’re in a rut, switch up your bedtime routine

I tend to be inclined toward routines. If something worked once, I tend to turn it into a “ritual” (more on that later). 

These rituals (such as reading a single chapter from a certain author before bed) tended to associate the activity with the insomnia.

The best way to treat this was to do different things.

Sometimes I did cross-stitch or crochet (I made these crochet bows at that point.) Sometimes I read. Sometimes I watched something low-key with my phone’s blue light filter on. Sometimes I wrote or journaled. Sometimes I browsed social media, or built up my Amazon wishlist…

This leads me to a really cool trick I learned at that point:

5. Done list vs. to do list:

One tip I had read online during that fateful second night in a row with no sleep was to write down what’s on my brain.

The problem was I found that writing down a to do list just overwhelmed me with all the crazy amounts of stuff left undone.

So I flipped that.

And I started writing a “done list”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrltJsnDhMF/

It is really and truly a cathartic release, and instead of feeling like a task list to tackle, it feels like a pat on the back. A big glorious “congrats on everything you’ve accomplished today”.

And if you feel like you didn’t manage to do much?

You break down the tasks into as many little details as possible.

• Prepared lunch for the boys.
• Chopped tomatoes for the kids’ lunch.
• Made Baby Y a PB sandwich.
• Cut it in half.
• Gave the kids a random spontaneous hug.
• Asked M in detail about his day at school.

You get my drift.

It also gives you a chance to celebrate all you do as a mother.

6. Consider underlying causes:

Here’s a biggie, and one of the big reasons I encourage you to work through your mom insomnia with a mental health professional:

No matter how much I improved, I still kept on having setbacks. And almost all of them were related to rituals.

I won’t go into deeper detail, but I always knew I suffered from some degree of mental illness, but never really got help for it. At this point, I knew that enough was enough. I was done with neglecting my mental health.

So we went through the evaluations, etc, etc

And came back with a surprising diagnosis: I have OCD.

It’s hard for me to share this, because people have huge misconceptions about OCD. People use it incorrectly as an adjective, an adjective that does not describe me at all.

I may find the courage to write more about my diagnosis some day, but for now, I’m writing this, because I do believe that my OCD did play a role in my extreme mom insomnia. That second night that I wasn’t sleeping, there were compulsive behaviors in place, and while I was going through the CBTI routine, some of my setbacks were related to rituals, and stress caused by some of my OCD behaviors.

And working through CBT for OCD directly improved my sleep as well.

I’m sharing this now to tell you that there is no shame in getting help.

We are each created differently.

We each have our quirks, our strong points and our flaws. And there is hope. There is a way to overcome it, and once you do, life changes. Completely. You experience a peace of mind you’ve never known.

My name Menucha, means “rest” but in context it usually refers to “peace of mind” and “tranquility.” An inner rest.

My mother used to joke that she’s still waiting for me to live up to my name. And I finally got a taste of it. I finally felt vindicated for years of things that I had blamed myself for, an intense personality that I always hated. To have this diagnosis, and to be able to work through it, gave me moments of inner peace that I had never even dreamed of knowing.

Please. Get the help you need. It’s so worth it.

And on that note:

7. Treat yourself right:

I can’t swear that this is directly related to sleep, but I believe that making these self-care changes did help me.

• Eat solid meals
• Exercise
• Accomplish things during the day – even after a bad night. Try to craft something, organize a drawer, call a grandparent… something to make you feel like you’ve done something. Waiting the whole day for bedtime has proven to be counterproductive for me.
• Pace yourself – don’t work frenetically
• Take your vitamins
• Hydrate
• Listen to music
• Craft for the sake of crafting
• Try relaxing hobbies such as brush lettering, adult coloring (some of the things I do when I can’t fall asleep.)

8. Try not to catastrophize: you CAN function on no sleep

Another thing my therapist helped me manage was the panic related to not sleeping.

I learned that I can power through a day with less (or even no) sleep. It’s not fun.

But ultimately nothing will happen if I don’t sleep one night. After my extreme experience with mom insomnia, this was a huge mountain to climb, but I did it.

Today, my mom insomnia is far better than it’s ever been. My bad nights aren’t as bad, and they are much less frequent.

But even more so: my good nights are amazing, setting me up for a much better foundation, so that I can power through the harder days. I fall asleep sometimes within minutes (a previously unheard of occurrence) and usually within fifteen minutes. Before retraining myself, it took me at least an hour to fall asleep each night.

Case in point: it happened again, that I went over 60 hours without sleep, just a few months ago. This came directly following the clock change, where my circadian rhythm was thrown slightly off balance.

I was surprised that it affected me as such, however as part of my CBTI experience, I increased my sleep time by 15 minutes every two weeks. So it makes sense that a sudden hour jump would have an affect.

What happened?

It was painful, but not nearly as much so as the previous time, because I was much better rested to begin with! I was more relaxed in bed, even as I couldn’t sleep – my insomnia was purely scientific.

I also was in a better overall emotional state of mind, which helped me not catastrophize, and helped me deal with the extreme fatigue better.

And on night #3? I slept like I hadn’t slept in years.

Why I’m sharing my tips to fall asleep at night now:

I’ve had another series of bad nights now. It happens occasionally. I slept only 4-5 hours the past few nights.

And I remembered that my mom insomnia used to be so bad that this was the norm.

It was a tough day yesterday, when I started writing this, and I was reminded how mom insomnia can be depressing, lonely, and physically painful.

I remembered how when I first searched for “what happens when you don’t sleep for over two days” I found few-to-no personal stories or real resources.

And I wanted to share with you that you are not alone.

There is a cure. There is a way out.

And that you should please, please, do what you can to help yourself. Even if it means turning to others for financial assistance, for childcare help.

And if you simply can’t squeeze in the professional help, there are things that you can do to help yourself.

And I figured that if I wrote all this down and even one mother experienced just  one less bad night, everything I do every day maintaining this blog is worth it.

Are you dealing with mom insomnia? What are your best tips to fall asleep at night? Comment below!

The post Mom Insomnia: 8 Tips to Fall Asleep at Night appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

By “she”, I mean the sweet mother of the other toddler at the playground.

By me, I mean a socially anxious helicopter mom, who smiled at her earlier while my son was playing on the slide near her daughter, with me hovering nearby.

So what made her, a seemingly sweet fellow mom call the cops on me?

I’ll start from scratch.

I am a nervous mother. I tend to stand over my kids a bit too much. It stresses me out to take them out, but I’m working on it.

This Saturday, my husband and I took the kids to our local playground for the first time in a while. It was very full, which gets me nervous. But it was mostly people we knew, which was reassuring too.

While my husband sat and watched, out of the corner of his eye, chatting with a friend, I hovered over the kids.

As I was helping my 22 month old up the steps and down the slide, I met this sweet woman with a child my age and I smiled at her. I went to get something from the stroller and my husband invited me to sit next to him at the park bench.

“Nah,” I replied. “I need to watch the kids.”

“Watch from here”, the friend replied. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

My mind immediately traveled to 30 different scenarios, with  my son falling and breaking a bone being the least of them. He could run into the street while a car is zipping by. Someone could take him. Someone we know might feed him something he’s allergic to… But I kept quiet and sat down.

The second I sat down, Baby Y was out of the park and I chased him down quicker than I knew I could run.

But I knew with my heart and soul that my excessive hovering is not good for my kids. They need to run. They need to play. They need the illusion of freedom.

So I followed from a distance. And the entire time I worked on my anxiety.

“They’ll be okay. I can see them. If I lose sight of them for a moment, someone we know well will see them.”

“They won’t be going far. I can keep an eye on them without hovering. They’ll be okay. They’ll be fine. They won’t be fine if I limit them”.

I spoke to all my fears. I was struggling. I was working on myself. And I failed.

I was sitting and talking with a friend, while watching Baby Y run around in big circles through the empty areas of the park, making new friends with all the big kids.

M ran over to me and asked if he can go to a friend’s house. I stood up to find my husband and ask him what he thought, since we were supposed to be going home in a few minutes. I went over to the friend’s parent to confirm the invitation, and make sure that this wasn’t just the brainchild of the almost-six-year-old friend. It was, and the answer was no.

And a second later I was asking “Where’s Baby Y?!!” Only a couple of minutes had passed from when I was sitting on the bench chatting.

I didn’t see him. And then a moment later I did. He was with a few older kids – maybe ten years old or so, and they were talking to him. One of them was a child we know. I cracked up at how easily he makes friends… but then I realized something was wrong. One of the kids picked him up and started walking him towards us looking concerned.

And then a woman from the community came over to us and told her that another woman, the same one that I had “met” at the slide had just brought him in from the street and was calling the police to report negligence.

And then another woman, one that we know well, came and told us the same. And she suggested we leave the park and not wait for an encounter. We were planning on leaving then anyway, so we did.

Oh, to describe to you the panic.

“But I was being better! I was being a better mother!”

I am human. I got distracted for a moment by my other child. I even said no to a situation that I felt wasn’t supervised enough! I was trying! Trying to overcome my fears, my natural tendencies, so that I can be a better mother for my kids.

And here, I was proven wrong.

Oh, how I’m going to hover the next time we go to the park! And I SWEAR there will be a next time.

I was shaking the entire walk home. My son. He walked into the street. Something could have happened. Someone could have taken my sweet, sweet son. Okay, he’s more like the devil, but he is the love of my life. I could not survive without him. And that same woman that brought him back could easily have taken him.

Or possibly worse, he could have been killed by a speeding car. He could have been hurt, hurt badly.

“What’s the worst that could possibly happen?”

All the worsts that can possibly happen rushed around my brain, fast, spinning in circles.

And one of them did. She called the cops. She assumed negligence and called the police on me.

We heard the sirens from a few blocks away. We weren’t running. We were just going home on schedule. I wasn’t guilty. I was just human. And yet I was terrified.

I’m assuming that these cops get sanctimonious calls like this all the time. I mean, what did she tell them. “Parents weren’t watching kid, kid walked into the street”? Would the police do something about that if the parents are right there, had been watching, lapsed for a critical moment?

Yet, in the same way that I had imagined every terrible scenario that might happen at the park, the thought of my child being taken from me and put into a system where so many souls are lost sent my brain spinning.

Spinning with guilt. Spinning with regret. Spinning with self-judgement.

So why’d she call the cops? She has a kid that age! She should know how easy it is for a perfectly good mother to lose sight! Okay, her daughter seemed to be a sweet little angel,  a bit like my older child, not the monkey that is Baby Y.

But still, why did she call? Don’t fellow moms know what it’s like? Don’t we have each other’s backs?

I’d like to judge her favorably. I think she may have seen Y walking around for a while “on his own” with me watching from a safe distance, and wondered where this kid’s mom was. And when he went into the street, perhaps she thought that was proof that this baby was at the park himself.

I’d like to believe that.

But I can’t. She called the cops on me.

Me, the helicopter mom.

Me, the one who would never let anything happen to her child.

Me, the mom who wouldn’t let her older son play at a home where the parent was sleeping; the mom who never, ever lets her kids out of sight when playing outdoors. She called the cops on me.

And I still can’t believe it.

I know I need to bring you all some sort of conclusion. I know that I can’t leave this hanging. And while I work through the shock of the situation and the anxiety it brought, I wanted to share with you a few lessons I learned.

1. I made a mistake.

Yes, I know now that Baby Y still needs to be hovered over. If I had one hand on him, I wouldn’t forget that I was watching him, even with a small distraction, right? He’s not yet ready to not be hovered over. M, on the other hand, is ready for me to step back. I can learn to step back through him. When Baby Y is ready, I’ll step back there too.

2. We all do.

It’s hard to acknowledge our mistakes when they could have caused so much harm. Yet, there it was, an error in judgement. And it takes lots of self-reflection to acknowledge that an error in judgement does not make one a bad mother.

A bad mother is one who doesn’t even bother judging because she doesn’t care. I was trying to do what’s best for my kids, and I chose the wrong one of two options.

Here’s something I learned as a child. The ten people who were considered to have never sinned in Jewish tradition are NOT the leaders like Abraham and Moses. They were more  obscure people. That’s because when you DO THINGS, you are more prone to making mistakes. When you do great things with your life you’ll make some errors of judgement along the way, you’ll take risks and make mistakes. And being a good mother is doing a very great thing. Pat yourselves on the back, mamas!

3. I can’t do it alone.

There must be some sort of guardian angel assigned to each toddler to keep him or her alive. For real.

As much as the above two points help me to some extent with some form of self-forgiveness, I still can’t live down the fact that a moment of distraction, a simple mistake, could have cost my child his life! I think back to a story from my hometown of a toddler who was playing outside, supervised, and in a moment when the mother was preoccupied, walked into the busy street and was killed.

That could have been me. That could have been my baby.

And while I now know the kind of supervision that Baby Y needs, I also know that we can only try. We need to acknowledge that once we’ve done what we can, we need to leave it in G-d’s hands. We need to pray that we make the right decisions. We need to do all that we physically can. And then we need to realize that we are human and there is Someone up there who’s protecting our babies.

More like this:

• The one thing that’s preventing you from being a better parent
• 21 Perfect Elmo gifts for toddlers
• Food Allergies and your School: 7 reasons they’re so strict!
• Pregnant Women and Toddlers are Basically the Same
• 21 Ways to bond at bedtime

The post She called the cops on me appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

With M growing faster than a blue whale calf, I’ve been hunting for the best kids clothing stores online – because who’s got the time to shop in-store? I’ve put together this list and I hope you love it! If you’re looking for the best baby clothing brands and sites check this out instead. Disclosure: this post contains commissioned links.

As you can see, I’ve split this list into the best kids clothing stores online for YOUR needs: be it budget, dress, boutique, or designer clothing. I hope you love it!!

Bonus tip: Shop via Ebates for cash back on your purchases! You’ll also get a gift card or cash bonus from them the first time you shop through them. Install their browser extension and it’ll find coupon codes for you when you shop too, saving you even more! I use them almost every time I shop online.

Table of Contents:

• The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online on a Budget:
• The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for Dress Wear:
• The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for Boutique Clothes:
• The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for Designer Outfits and Gifts:
• What are your best kids clothing stores online? Do you usually shop kids clothes online or in store? Comment below to help a fellow mom!

The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online on a Budget

If you’re on a budget like I usually am, check out the best kids clothing stores online with the most competitive prices. Of course, you’ll find quality here too – at least good enough quality to last through two active brothers (my own sons…

Target:

Target is a favorite among myself and almost every other mom I speak to on the subject. They have primarily their own brands – such as Cat & Jack (my personal favorite) – as well as collaborative lines with national brands, such as OshKosh. You’ll also find licensed clothing with your kids’ favorite characters, and plenty of fun prints, with fewer sassy sayings.

Walmart:

While Walmart is often overlooked when it comes to the best kids clothing stores online, I personally love shopping there. Kids grow out of their clothing quickly, and I can often find cheap basics, especially pajamas there. I’ve found some amazing things at Walmart.com and always check in when I’m looking for something specific. They have a couple of new private labels with even more fashionable choices (look up their Wonder Nation line!)

The Children’s Place:

I’ve gotten amazing deals through Children’s Place, and a huge chunk of my kids’ clothing has been purchased there. They have free shipping every day and their online prices are often a fraction of their in-store prices. My favorite: their pants with adjustable waistbands! With a long ‘n skinny kid, it’s hard to find affordable pants that work for them, and The Children’s Place’s skinny pants are one of the few that work. Get a $10 credit here!

PatPat

I discovered this website with Baby A and got a little obsessed. They’re fashion-forward and so affordable. The quality isn’t the best, but they have decent customer service and how much wear does your kid get out of it anyway?

Get $10 off through the PatPat referral program!

The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for Dress Wear:

When it comes to the best kids clothing stores online for dress wear, much of it is seasonal. Around Christmas and Easter you’ll find that most of the stores have beautiful dress wear for kids available. However, if you need things in the “off-season”, these are some some of my best kids clothing stores online where you’ll always find great dress wear

Janie & Jack:

With a generous selection of blazers and vests for boys, as well as ruffly and lacy dresses for girls, this would be my first stop for dressy kids clothing online. Since they have plenty of choices, you’re more likely to find what you need, in the color and style that you want, at any time of the year. They even have a dedicated “special occasion” section for that really special event.

Returns ship free so you don’t need to worry about getting the size just right!

Zulily:

My absolute favorite limited-time deal site, Zulily has regular kids’ clothing deals, but my favorites are the dressy ones. It’s hit or miss, but when they have stuff it’s good, and usually very affordable.

Burlington Coat Factory:

Yes to shopping Burlinton-style deals online! They  have a dedicated section for boys’ dress wear under $25 as well as girls’ dressy dresses under $25.

If you want free returns, you’ll have to do it in-store but with these prices it may just be worth it.

The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for Boutique Clothes

If you’re looking for that special touch or style that comes with boutique shopping, these favorites will make you smile. Some of these best kids clothing stores online for boutique fashion are very small and privately owned and some are more established but still specialize purely in what they do, in their own unique way.

Zulily:

Yep, we’re back to Zulily, with limited-time deals – many of them from small, boutique brands! The deals are always changing, but I think you’ll have at least a few boutique brands there regularly.

Tea Collection:

Made in a unique style, with global influence, Tea Collection features beautiful outfits that are ethically sourced! They also feature adorable outfits for siblings to coordinate.

Jojo Maman Bebe:

A brand fit for a princess (literally – it’s been worn by Dutchess of Cambridge as well as Princess Charlotte). Since they have their unique style, it’s easy to match up a whole family here too. I absolutely love how they manage to keep things playful but stylish.

Etsy:

Oh, how I love Etsy! You can get just what you want, how you want it, all while supporting a small business, a fellow stay-at-home mom! Etsy sellers include a huge selection of boutique baby brands, and a very diverse set of options.

The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for Designer Outfits and Gifts

Whether you’re looking for an upscale gift for a special baby, or you personally want to dress your child in the best, here are some of the best places to buy designer kids clothes online.

Gilt – Gilt features daily deals on top notch brands including many boutique and designers. It’s easy to shop, has a huge assortment of brands and styles, incredible prices for what you’re getting, and is a favorite pick for me. From 7 for All Mankind to Little Marc Jacobs and Jacadi, you’ll find only the best there! They have free in-store returns too!

Saks 5th Avenue – Once again, find all the top brands in an easy-to-shop experience. They also have a beautiful selection of toys, kids’ decor, and baby gear – so you can go all the way!

What are your best kids clothing stores online? Do you usually shop kids clothes online or in store? Comment below to help a fellow mom!

Looking for more cool shopping resources? Check these out!

• Dad-to-be Gifts he’ll absolutely love!
• Elmo Toys for Toddlers
• Gift Ideas for Everyone
• Paw Patrol Gifts – 26 PAWsome Gifts for Preschoolers
• Subscription Boxes for Kids – 18 Favorites
• Big Sibling Gifts for when your new baby arrives
• 20 Amazing Gifts for Crafters
• DIY Gift box from scrapbook paper

The post The Best Kids Clothing Stores Online for every budget! appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of National Institute on Drug Abuse. All opinions are 100% mine.

Knowledge is power when it comes to protecting our not-so-little-anymore ones from the craziness out there. These facts about drugs help dispel common myths about drug use that are often perpetuated by the media, misleading parents and teens.

I’ve teamed up with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week® (NDAFW) to help SHATTER THE MYTHS^® and provide true science-based facts to replace them.  

Addiction and substance use is a very hard subject to talk about.

But it’s also a critical one.  

I’ll be honest with you, I thought I knew a lot more about drug use than I really did. A few people close to me have fallen prey to this disease. Some are still struggling with it and some have emerged but watching them deteriorate has had an everlasting effect on me. We can’t possibly be too prepared.    

To prepare me for writing this article, I took the National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge – a quick twelve question multiple-choice quiz. I was sure I’d score at least 80%. I didn’t. I scored 50% on the quiz – there are lots of things I thought I knew but didn’t.  

It kind of scares me, some of the things I learned just from that one quiz. It made me realize how harmful some substances that are so readily available can be. It made me realize the importance of sharing this message with you even more and spreading real drug and alcohol facts.  

7 Actual Scientific Facts About Drugs to shatter the myths now:

Get the Drugs: Shatter the Myths booklet and read through it thoroughly to learn the facts!

1. Marijuana isn’t as safe as you think.

Marijuana, which goes by a lot of different names, including weed, reefer, pot and Mary Jane, comes in different forms, and various strengths. Vaping it also delivers dangerous amounts of a potent chemical to the mind, and can be responsible for an increase in breathing issues and mental health problems. 

See more: Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know    

2. Cocaine WILL become an endless cycle

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that makes people feel good when they do something they enjoy. Cocaine causes a buildup of dopamine in the brain, causing a “high”- a feeling of intense pleasure and increased energy.

However, after the high wears off, the person will crash and feel tired or sad for days. This will lead to a craving for more cocaine to feel good again, leading to a vicious cycle. People who use cocaine are at high risk of heart attack or stroke, impaired judgment that can put them at risk for HIV, and losing touch with reality.     

3. MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly) is its own worst enemy

Because MDMA does not always break down in the body, it can interfere with its own metabolism. Simply put, this will cause harmful levels to build up in the body when it is taken multiple times in a short amount of time.

High levels of the drug in the bloodstream can increase the risk for seizures and affect the heart’s ability to beat normally.    

4. A standard alcoholic drink is less than you think

Drinking of any amount is not safe or legal for anyone under the age of 21. Unfortunately, many teens do drink, and they often drink “just a few”- just a few too many, which is quite dangerous. 

A standard drink of beer (about 5% alcohol) is only 12 ounces. A standard drink of wine (about 12% alcohol) is only 5 ounces. A shot of liquor (gin, rum, vodka, tequila or whiskey, about 40% alcohol) is only 1.5 ounces.     

5. Tobacco, and nicotine are far from “easy and harmless”

Teens often consider smoking purely for social reasons. Tobacco use is THE leading cause of disease, disability and death in the US. And it’s preventable!

About 1,300 deaths every single day are due to smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke. For every one person who dies from smoking, thirty more suffer from a serious, tobacco-related illness.     

6. Heroin use causes more than just a dry mouth 

Heroin, a highly addictive drug made from morphine, has a long list of symptoms, both short-term and long-term.

Short-term includes numb limbs, nausea, itching and becoming comatose. Longer term effects can include sleeping issues, heart infection, liver and kidney disease, depression and sexual problems.     

7. Methamphetamine (“Meth”) is incredibly hard to quit

Meth is a very addictive, stimulant drug. Stimulants are drugs that are mood boosters, but they have dangerous effects and its use easily leads to addiction.  Meth causes tolerance- tolerance is when a user needs more of it to keep the “high.”

When people try to quit using, they will likely experience withdrawal feelings which are quite uncomfortable and difficult to deal with. One of the withdrawal feelings is the strong craving to use more meth, which makes it so hard to stop using.   

6 Ways to approach this subject with your teen in a non-confrontational way:

I’m not that far-gone from my teenage years. I’ve also had a close relationship with many teens in more recent years, working with them in craft workshops, in summer camps, and in other settings.

All kids respond negatively to confrontation – multiply that by a thousand when it comes to teens.

Use the resources provided to navigate you around this complex situation and to help protect your kids.  

Please note: I have outlined just a tiny drop in the bucket of how to help your teen stay drug-free. Please refer here for in-depth, researched ways to help your child.    

1. Have them take the quiz:

As I mentioned, knowledge is power!

This will be the easiest test to take and will teach them simple facts that can serve as deterrents. Start conversations around the different points raised to open up discussion about it.  

2. Find a SHATTER THE MYTHS^® event designed for this purpose:

National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week^® (NDAFW)  is an annual week-long event to help dispel myths and educate.

Find a community event to educate your child.    

3. Use this resource for researched techniques:

Get educational materials written by people in the know. Check out the Family Checkup pamphlet for researched-based techniques to keep your teens drug-free.    

4. Keep lines of communication open:

Are you approachable? Can your child discuss relationship problems with you? Can you communicate calmly and clearly with your teen? Are you able to work through emotional conflicts with your child and come to a positive solution?

The Family Checkup mentioned above will help you navigate this complicated relationship. 

5. Be aware: Ensure that you know where your child is, who his or her friends are, and that you can communicate openly about these friendships.

The Family Checkup mentioned above features in-depth information on how to do this.

6. Encourage positive behaviors:

If your child is struggling in school, it’s up to you to find areas of success to encourage – whether it’s your child’s creativity, her kindness, his ability to pick up and try again…

Learn encouraging phrases. Make them believe in themselves.

While prevention is key, it’s also important to know What to do if your teen has a problem with drugs.   Once again, I encourage you to download the Family Checkup pamphlet here and read it!  

Drug and alcohol use is a problem in our communities – in your community. It does not discriminate. It is a discussion that we need to be having, and these resources help us have this discussion in the right way.  

Let’s stop this in its tracks. Share this post to help SHATTER THE MYTHS^® now!

The post Facts about Drugs and Drug Use you may not have known! appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

Sleep is not something that most of us associate with motherhood.

Sleep deprivation is.

Moms are notorious for walking around looking like zombies, doing absent-minded things. I had given up on really getting sleep long ago.

But I never realized how badly things could spiral downward. I never knew how low rock bottom really was.

Can I say that I HOPE that what I hit was indeed rock bottom? Because it was sheer torture, and leaves me dealing with the trauma and anxiety that it will happen again.

No, this post is not about to admonish you to get your zzz’s.

I’m not about to tell you to shut that phone two hours before bedtime, or to avoid caffeine after 2 PM.

Because at rock bottom, none of this helps.

At rock bottom, it’s about basic survival. It’s about making it to the next day.

At rock bottom, everything slides backwards and your kids don’t have a mom. At all.

What can happen when you don’t take care of yourself.

It’s hard to describe what I’ve been through because people don’t relate to “insomnia” as something very traumatic.

But I need to find a way to describe it, so that I can impress upon you the importance of caring for yourself.

Deliberate sleep deprivation is actually used as a form of torture. While the human body is adaptable, and can compensate for missing a day of sleep, going periods longer than 24 hours without sleep can cause things to start going haywire.

According to Psychology Today: “If a person is deprived of sleep for longer than that, several mental and physical problems begin to develop.”

For years, stress gave me trouble sleeping, but with a little bit of determination and a whole lotta caffeine, I was functional most days.

But then came a few days where I got shockingly little sleep.

And then right after that, I had a night with no sleep.

By the next night, 36 hours with no sleep, my limbs were heavy and hard to handle. But that night I couldn’t sleep again.

My heart was racing.

By the 48 hour mark, my limbs were on fire and felt like they were burning. At that point, you just want to die. I kept finding myself drifting and then suddenly catching myself like I was falling, and then I was wide awake again.

It would happen 20 times in a 20 minute span and was sheer torture. Physically and psychologically it was torture.

But during that day, with my husband home, the kids cared for, I still couldn’t sleep. In the end, I went well over 60 hours without catching a wink.

By night, I doubled down on melatonin and ZzzQuil and fell asleep for an hour before waking again. And then another hour. And then 4 hours. Needless to say, I went to my doctor – finally!

He prescribed medications that sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t, then switched it to something that didn’t work.

On these medications, I’d pass out for most of the night, and during the day I was a zombie. I was withdrawn and lifeless.

Then there was that Monday, when I was ready to snap back and get things done…

I had a follow-up doctor’s appointment to deal with Baby Y’s health issues that we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of. I had to cancel the first follow-up visit because my lack of sleep made it impossible to drive.

I thought I was fine to drive now that I was on the medications and mostly sleeping. I felt fine.

But what I hadn’t realized was that the hypnotic effect of the medications were still lingering, and they caused me to get totally hypnotized while driving. It took me 25 minutes of driving to realize there’s no way I’ll make it. I was shaking violently, on the verge of a panic attack, far from home, and realized there’s no way I’ll make it to the doctor.

My husband left work to fetch me, but he was close to an hour away…

I stepped out of the car with my son, and a kind woman who passed by asked me if I’m okay. I said no. She happened to be a nurse at a local rehab place, and invited me to wait inside, supervised. It was such a huge blessing.

That night, I tried a new medication which didn’t work.
The next night I got fed up.
Fed up with having to call in carpool favors because I couldn’t drive. Fed up with having to take advantage of others’ kindness.

Obviously, if this situation was simple, I’d have helped myself by now. All the things I had tried weren’t helping because they were the easy way out. I wasn’t taking care of myself like I REALLY needed to.

I was dealing now not only with the trauma of those 60+ hours straight of not sleeping, but the added trauma of driving.

I stopped taking the sleep medications. I slowly started sleeping again. I went two weeks sleeping every night, and then I regressed again.

And then I went through the same “sleep for a week, regress” cycle again. And again.

Eventually, I realized that I need to take care of myself. I need to get myself help.

I realized that if my child was going through this, it would be neglectful and possibly abusive of me to deprive him of the proper therapy and help that he really needs.

I realized that I was seriously neglecting myself.

What self-care really means:

“Self-care for moms is important”

“Take care of yourself, because if you don’t, who will?”

These are some of the inspiring statements you’ll read all over the place.

These are true statements that are designed to empower you to be just a little bit selfish, just a little bit of the time. And they are valuable pieces of advice.

But what does self-care really mean?

I learned the very hard way that self-care is not about squeezing in an hour before bedtime to watch your favorite show. It’s not about the occasional splurge, or compromise. It’s not about remembering to slap on some eyeliner once a week. I nailed all that down ages ago.

Self-care is about seeing to it that your basic needs are cared for.

We joke all the time that we “forgot to shower”.

I’ll laugh with a friend about how when I’m not pregnant, I see my doctor every ten years. Oh wait, I’m only married for eight…

We find humor in our diets of “whoops I should probably have some crackers for breakfast at 12PM.”

But it’s really not a joke.

Our kids need constant care because they can’t care for themselves.

We need the same amount of care except we’re capable of giving it to ourselves, so no one else will.

We also need to be “bathed” regularly.

We also need to be fed wholesome meals three times a day.

We also need a bedtime routine.

We also need daily outdoor, active time.

We also need to take our vitamins and get proper nutrition.

We NEED it. Not “should get” it. Not “can use” it. We NEED it and if we don’t get it we will collapse. And what good is a dysfunctional mom?

I learned the hard way that if it would be a necessity if my child would need it, it’s a necessity for me too.

I learned the hard way that it’s okay if my baby cries for ten minutes because he wants MY breakfast a minute after he ate his.

I learned the hard way that it’s okay if my son cries in his crib for two minutes while I refill my water bottle.

I learned the very very difficult way that my son will be fine if I don’t hear him whining for ten minutes if he wakes while I’m in the shower.

And it took a brutal slap-in-the-face to realize that my kids will not be okay without their mother. That if the above doesn’t happen, she’ll be reduced to a dazed, crying, traumatized remnant of herself, and THAT is what can have everlasting effects.

I am currently working through my sleep issues with a very competent therapist.

I wish I could say that my story is over, that I’m back to normal. This morning in particular was a nightmare, coming after a very difficult night.

But as we work through her techniques my bad nights are not as bad. My good days are much better. And my only regret is that I didn’t see her sooner.

So what’s my message for you in all of this?

Basic self-care for moms and the critical lesson in all of this

• Eat those meals. Cook them. You can afford half an hour 3 times a day. Brownies and coffee don’t count as breakfast.
• Take that multivitamin. Even if you’re not pregnant or breastfeeding. You’re taking it for yourself too, not just your baby.
• Visit the doctor after 48 hours of no sleep, don’t wait for the next day!!!
• If you’re in a rut, feeling anxious, visit a therapist before things blow up. If you’re dealing with extreme insomnia a cognitive behavioral therapist can help! This workbook helped me enormously.
  
• Visit your doctor. Visit your dentist. Don’t walk around in a blur for a whole year before getting  a correction on  your eyeglasses prescription. And if you’re struggling with depression, insomnia, or anything of the sort GET HELP before your kids need help too!
• Hug your babies a little tighter – you have no idea what they’d forgive you for.
• Never take for granted those around you. I can’t begin to tell you how many people stepped in and helped.
• Music is a necessity
• Go for that walk – you can’t afford NOT to. Cut your work day short by half an hour if you need to (if you’re self-employed), or walk during your lunch break and eat lunch over work.
• Don’t look at what others are doing. Everyone’s success looks totally different. Comparing yourself to other moms, or others in your industry is a recipe for disaster.
• If you’re a work-at-home mompreneur, cleaning help is NOT a luxury.

And of course, appreciate every last second of sleep you ever get.

Update: I wanted to address something some readers have been commenting about (mostly on social media shares of this article) – the guilt they feel when they read it.

Some people have been complaining that this article guilts them about something that they can’t help. That’s about as far from my goal as I wanted to be…

The point of “oversharing” and writing this post was to impress upon fellow moms the importance of self-care with the mindset that if something is important enough it somehow gets done.

I didn’t necessarily share tips on exactly how to do it when you’re struggling. Everyone’s struggle looks different. So I can’t really tell you exactly what your solution will be. I CAN tell you that the best way to find your solution is to reach out to those who are struggling in the same way.

I also wanted to impress on you that you should feel LESS guilty about the sacrifices that your family might make for self-care – whether it’s your child going to a sub-par day care while you go to an urgent doctor’s appointment, whether it means dipping into your kids’ college funds for your own therapy, or even if it means reaching out to charity organizations because even if you JUSTIFY the expense, if you’re drowning in debt it doesn’t help.

At the end of the day, self-care IS another chore on the list, and while I hate to burden my fellow moms with this, it’s 1000% necessary.

And it’s an investment too.

Had I gone to the therapist for the underlying issues that were keeping me awake at night before it escalated to this degree, I would have saved myself the 6-7 VERY expensive sessions that were dedicated just to getting me to sleep okay.

And I would have done it had I felt there was a way.

But I didn’t.

My house is flying, I’m behind on my work calendar, and my kids’ have frozen dinners too often. And this is before taking a few hours off a week.

I barely make it to carpool time with half the day’s tasks checked off so now you want me to also prepare myself proper meals?

Whatever your challenge is, it hurts me the most to hear about mothers who neglect serious medical issues (yes, this is what I’ve been hearing, these are the mothers who feel the most guilty when reading this!) because they are overwhelmed with parenting.

There needs to be another way.

You need to reach out for help if you can’t do it yourself.

Look for a reliable charity. Reach out to your synagogue or church. Don’t be afraid, don’t be guilty to ask for favors, to reach out. And I pray for you your solutions will come quickly.

Get the coloring page packet!

Through all this mess, one thing I took up again was coloring -for myself!

I love the idea of sitting down with some gel pens and these positive messages, and they’re an easy color – they don’t take forever to complete. When I was at my worst, I colored the page that says “It will work out even if not how I planned” and hung it near my work space.

You can get this top-rated coloring page packet on Etsy or right below:

Get your free coloring page!

Sign up for blog updates and new posts and get this inspiring coloring page for free: “Think of the mess like fairy dust – one day it will go away and take all of the magic with it”

Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription and download your freebie

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

Subscribe


We hate spam too and will never share your address. Unsubscribe at any time.
Powered by ConvertKit

The post The crazy thing that happens when you don’t take care of yourself first appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

One day, when we were chatting, she mentioned something that made me say “you need to write about this on Moms & Crafters”! And so, here goes. Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

People sometimes ask me if I would consider giving parenting classes, and I generally hesitate. I don’t think they need my classes; they have everything they need to be a great parent right there inside themselves.

Don’t get me wrong, I think parenting classes and books and workshops and anything that can give parents those helpful, often game-changing, tools to help them in their most vital of all trades are wonderful.

It’s just that if I were to ever give parenting classes they would take about ten minutes and involve exactly one tool:

GO TO SLEEP.

That is the beginning and end of it, in my experience.

The footnotes might include healthy eating, exercise and all manners of self-care, as well as practical tips and tips for getting the aforementioned sleep, which, if you have ever gone anywhere near mommyhood you would know is a whole lot harder than it sounds, but those three words would be the basic gist of it.

Hitting the Pillow: My Number One Parenting Tip

You see, I firmly believe that we are all incredibly intuitive and wise parents.

I believe that in any given parenting situation we know exactly what to do.

We know that when three-year-old Devil Debra paints a stunning mural with the full set of make-up we finally allowed ourselves to buy – all over the living room wall of course – the proper response is to remain firm and controlled, to gently remove her from the crime scene and give a natural consequence and all of the things they may have taught in parenting class.

So why do we instead morph into a creature more animal than human? Why do we sob or yell or rant or worse, reacting in ways we know, in the clarity and serenity of night, we will sorely regret and wonder if we’ve forever damaged our precious child?

It’s because we are so deep down, plain and simply bone tired.

It’s because that exhaustion that is our constant companion breaks down our control and wears down our motherly intuition, our ability for calm and rational thought in the face of mommy-crisis and allows our raw emotions to emerge unbidden and unwelcome.

It’s why we become irritable and uptight, snapping at the slightest provocation, acting toward our children in ways we know we shouldn’t.

It’s why we can’t be bothered to listen and empathize; it’s why we lose the battle of self-control because we have diverted all of our fighting resources toward fighting the battle against gravity our eyelids are perpetually waging.

We are just too tired.

For me it’s thanks to that factor that is supposed to be a mommy’s greatest blessing but has become this mommy’s greatest curse: working from home.

How wonderful, they say, and I said at first, that you can be home when your kids are home and then finish up on your own time, when your kids are asleep. It’s not so wonderful when the only “own time” I own is at 2-3-4 am.

After too many late nights spent working, I find that during all that wonderful time I have with my children, I may be there physically, but mentally and emotionally I am far away. I am irritable, prone to lashing out disproportionate to the “crime” committed,  and counting down the moments until I could get them all to bed and crash on the couch before my next late night work marathon.

For you, it may be something else that is causing your sleep deprivation, but the bottom line is that most of us are just plain too tired to parent in the most nurturing, loving, effective and intuitive way we are capable of parenting.

It’s our children who lose out, which is why, as I said, my number one tip for parents is to get enough sleep. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. You’ll be amazed at what you are capable of, at the depths of patience, insight and calmness you can access when your brain is focused and unmuddled.

How to Get Enough Sleep as a Parent:

It’s easier said than done of course! Which mommy has enough spare hours lying around that she can just simply decide to sleep more? Show me her; I’d love to meet her! Maybe she’ll have enough to spare for me too! It’s hard, but here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Awareness is key.

If you can’t acknowledge how much your parenting is dependent on your sleep level and other manners of self-care that invigorate you emotionally, you won’t have the motivation to make any changes. So first, recognize the importance of sleep.

2. The dishes can wait!

Resist the temptation to whip the house into shape once the little ones are in bed. Leave the mess and go to sleep. No child died from a sticky floor; plenty have died inside from a mommy who was too tired to modulate her words.

3. Naps are your friend!

Nap time is not just for little ones, and if I were elected President, I would sign into law mandatory nap times for every mother with children under the age of ten. It’s not always feasible, but do whatever it takes to help you get there. Power nap. Hire a babysitter if you can; it will be your wisest investment ever. Which brings us to our next tip:

4. Delegate.

Spouse? Relative? Cleaning Help? Takeout? Many of your household tasks can be done by others, but only you can ensure that your children’s Mommy can access her very best self every moment of her parenting career.

5. Keep a time log.

If you feel you simply don’t have time to sleep any more than you are already, spend a week keeping track of all of the time you spend every day. Go through that log with a fine tooth comb and weed out anything extraneous that is getting in the way of your beauty sleep.

You may need to unwind before heading to bed, but you may not realize that you are spending two hours watching a movie when you could suffice with a half hour episode. You never realized that those conversations with your BFF kept you on the phone for over an hour and that you spent a full 72 minutes mending Devil’s David’s torn pants.

6. Say No.

I don’t know about you, but one of the factors that keep me from getting a decent night’s sleep is all of those extra projects and responsibilities I take on, mostly because I don’t know how to say No.

Whether it’s volunteering, an extra freelancing job, or doing a favor for a neighbor or friend, carefully evaluate whether saying yes to this will negatively impact your own emotional health and your family’s well being.

It’s important to remind yourself that by saying No, you can be saying Yes to something far more important.

Don’t forget, until you start taking care of yourself, you can’t effectively take care of others!

Allow yourself to come first so that you can live up to your innate potential to be your children’s very best Mommy!

About the author:

Fradl Adams is the proud mother of four yummy girls. On the side, she works as a life coach in private practice, helping every Mommy find and nurture her true best self. She is also a poet and a writer. Her book, a compilation of inspiring Orthodox Jewish women, is available for purchase here.

[convertkit form=5126235]

Menucha’s notes: While this article strongly shares with you WHY you need to sleep, and some methods for getting to sleep earlier, there are case when it doesn’t help – when you seem to simply not have the ability to sleep. Not only that, but if you’re struggling with insomnia these tips are really not for you – and taking naps can harm you more than help you. You SHOULD speak to a professional.

I have been struggling with extreme insomnia lately, and have finally faced the fact that I need to take care of myself Fradl’s article is on point and timely for me. I’ve “allowed” myself the expense of therapy, and am currently working through CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) for insomnia.

My therapist is a highly qualified woman, and I am seeing near immediate success with her approach. We are working through this workbook together and I strongly encourage you to give it a try if you’re struggling with insomnia.

At the end of the day, you need to take care of yourself, because no one else will. If you are dealing with insomnia, ask around and find a therapist that can help you work through it – there is no shame in getting help for yourself. If you think that you may be dealing with something underlying causing the insomnia, such as anxiety or depression, you NEED to find a mental health professional that can help you ASAP. Don’t wait until you hit rock bottom. DO IT NOW.

Also, Baby Y really did get into my brand new nail polish that I splurged on, and spill it on my pretty new desk… Of course I lashed out. I’m tired.

The photo of M coloring on the wall with my lipstick, though, is staged. It’s an old lipstick and it’s really a big poster board taped onto the wall.

The post The one thing that’s preventing you from being a better parent appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

8 Toy Paw Patrol Gifts:

The truth is, kids do learn through play. While toy gifts are the easiest to find, there are also too many to choose from! I did the choosing for you and this is what I came up with:

1. A scooter with an inspiring message:

This three wheel scooter by Play Wheels is the perfect entry-level trike scooter for your preschooler! In the words of M (age four): “It even has a knapsack on it!” He was obviously referring to the accessory pouch on the front that says on it “Practice makes PAWfect”.

The frame is made of sturdy steel, and the wheels are large and manageable for the novice. The Play Wheels Paw Patrol 3-wheel scooter is one of my favorite Paw Patrol gifts for preschoolers.

2. The Paw Patrol Lookout Tower that has everyone raving: This kid-sized tower is one of the hottest Paw Patrol gifts this year and is full of pretend play opportunities.

3. Figurines for more hours of “Let’s play Paw Patrol”!: One thing I noticed with M and his Paw-Patrol obsessed friends is that it’s a THING to “play Paw Patrol”. Upgrade it with these cute figurines.

4. The V-Tech Treat Time Marshall is the perfect “electronic toy” pick because it’s educational too! There is a never-ending selection of electronic Paw Patrol gifts but this one wins because it also teaches phonics, among other things.

5. A more hands-on way to play Paw Patrol: This Dress Up set has enough for friends too, is easy for kids to put on on their own, and is sure to provide many hours of pretend play!

6. This epic Paw Patrol play table features everything a little Paw Patrol fan can dream of – so if you’re looking to go bit, this is it!

7. A classic skill-building toy that’s bound to be a hit: Get a set of wooden puzzles with their favorite characters. 

8. Turn the playroom into Paw Patrol playland with this cool play rug.  Kids will spend hours playing on any rug that has roads and paths of some sort. I love that it has the Paw Patrol lookout tower emblazoned on it for more excitement! 

10 Non-toy Paw Patrol Gifts:

I gave M a pack of Paw Patrol underwear and he was in seventh heaven. While I won’t necessarily recommend giving underwear as a gift, there are many other practical things that wouldn’t necessarily be welcomed by a kid as a fun, exciting present, but if it has Marshall on it… it’s the best thing ever!

9. The gift of PAWsome dreams: M loves the PAW Patrol body pillow and bedding set he was gifted. Give one or give them as a set.

10.  Gift some Bedroom furniture such as: Kids sleeper sofa Table and chairs Kids desk with storage Toy Organizer An entire bedroom filled with Paw Patrol furniture is like a dream come true! Even one piece for their bedroom will get a Paw Patrol obsessed child seeing stars! 

11. Clothing, clothing clothing – and accessories – that has to be the most practical gift ever, and kids love it too! M is obsessed with his Chase cap, which is available in a winter hat version too. Or go for some light-up sneakers,t-shirts, or a cozy and cute hoodie.

12. A cool Marshall watch makes the perfect gift for any young child learning the concept of time. Gifting a watch teaches responsibility; a Paw Patrol watch just makes it so much better! 

13. School gear such as Thermos  Lunch bag Backpack: There’s a certain pride a kid has when walking around with his favorite character all over his school stuff. Give one of these or all to make a certain little someone very happy!

14. Hooded blanket – It doesn’t get cozier than this! A kid can never have enough cozy blankets, and this is sure to be one he’ll use. 

15. An insanely cute pajama set – M was gifted a set of PJ’s for his birthday, and he loves it! He gets upset when I wash it… and gets into pajamas so nicely when it’s available for him.

16. Volume-limited headphones: With kids watching so much these days on personal devices, headphones seem like a great idea so that Mom and Dad don’t have to listen to the same movie on repeat for the billionth time. But headphones can be dangerous for delicate ears. Volume limited headphones are a great gift idea- everyone will love them! 

17. Banish the scary night time with a projecting night light: It projects images of all the Paw Patrol characters onto the ceiling, plus it has a handy dusk/dawn sensor. 

18. Oral hygiene set with electric toothbrush! Yes, you can give a toothbrush as a gift! Brushing your teeth doesn’t seem too bad when you get to see Marshall twice a day.

8 Favorite Paw Patrol Books and Entertainment Gifts:

There’s nothing like a good book – or some entertainment that’ll let Mom get her me-time in! These favorite picks were chosen because they’re totally PAWsome!

19. All Star Pups – It’s not all about watching Paw Patrol on screens. Bring Marshall and the rest of the gang to bedtime with this fun book!

20. The coloring kit that makes no mess: Kids love to color. You can’t go wrong with a new coloring book and markers, especially when they’ve got Paw Patrol characters – and bonus points: it only writes on the included paper!

21. Paw Patrol I’m Ready to Read: This is a great option for kids that can’t quite read yet. Keep them busy with this fun book that has animated voices that children can trigger themselves just by pushing a button. 

22. Phonics box set: And for kids that ARE learning how to read, this comprehensive box set makes phonics more fun!

23. The gift of epic PAW Patrol bathtimes: I’m always in search of new and exciting bath toys. Kids will definitely be willing to withstand bath time when they get their sights on this paint set!

24. Read and Play gift box: The more books the merrier! Reading should be fun for kids, and it doesn’t get more fun when you’ve got more than twelve books revolving around your favorite characters.

25. Art desk/coloring kit: Let their creativity go wild! This coloring kit features scenes and characters exclusively from Paw Patrol and the crayons are included. 

26. Look and find:  This is a fun one for siblings to enjoy together. It’s the perfect entertainment to bring along when there’ll be plenty of waiting or a long car ride. 

Got any favorite Paw Patrol gifts to recommend? Comment below!

The post Paw Patrol Gifts – 26 PAWsome Gifts for Preschoolers appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

When it comes to the holiday season, and never ending lists of people that you need to give to, cutting down that list by a dozen or so people can make all the difference!

It all really adds up, so if you can turn a gift for your sister, another for your brother-in-law, and then one for each of your four nieces into one fun family gift – why not? Or even if it’s just for the kids, and mom and dad get something just for them – you’ve sliced your list to 1/3 of the size.

Sometimes you’re looking to save a few dollars. Sometimes, the length of your gift list is simply overwhelming. And sometimes you just want to give something bigger and better. 

Whatever the reason, these family gift ideas are sure to be popular choices! 

Disclosure: I did receive some samples from brands for potential coverage. Some of the products on this list include those samples which I have tested and enjoyed, some I researched and liked what I saw, and some are products I purchased and received as gifts, love, and chose to feature.

Family gift ideas for families with young kids:

1. Swing set – get the kids active and outdoors with a brand new swing set. It doesn’t have to be super fancy, but bonus points if you help with the assembly.

2. Play kitchen – M loves his play kitchen – he plays with it for hours – but it’s a bit small for multiple children. This one from KidKraft is sturdier, bigger, and great for pretend play with other children. 

3. City Engineering & Design Building Kit – this fun STEM game features challenges for kids to work through.

This cool toy from Learning Resources features gears and bridges, ropes and flags, and even cones and construction workers! It will have siblings putting their heads together, inventing new things, and trying to figure out the included challenges.

It’s one of those toys that can be played with again and again, and it’s one of the most affordable family gift ideas.

4. Hanging crow’s nest – there’s nothing quite as fun as swinging from this hanging hammock chair! Place it in the family room to really delight your children.

5.  Play tepee – When Teepee Joy sent us this beautiful  play teepee, the kids were delighted! They love hiding out and reading in it. Even more so, they love getting cozy on the cushions and it really helps calm them down.

You can customize not only the print and combination you get, but also the size of your gift. Choose if you want to include a floor blanket and cushions or to stick to the teepee. You’ll also be supporting a small, local family-run business.

6. Magformers – these popular building toys are loved by just about everyone. A large set has plenty to go around. Your kids will also learn valuable STEM skills through play.

7. A super cool bookcase – Give a gift with value way beyond what you spend.

This bookcase allows kids to see which books they have and choose on their own. It gets both M and Baby Y reading much more, nurturing a love of books! It’s also super sturdy, easy to assemble, and hardly takes up any space in our tiny living/playroom.

8. A local children’s museum membership – when we took M to CMOM, he had the time of his life! A membership allows for unlimited visits…

 
[show_boutique_widget id=”658463″]
 

Family gift ideas for families with older kids and adults

9. A family cookbook helps preserve the memories shared over meals. It’s a great gift to give those cousins who you see only on the holidays…

10. An upgraded TV – if you really love them, get them a TV that’s bigger and better than the one they have now.

11. A family vacation – this will not only excite them, but also help them grow closer. Check Groupon for good deals.

12. A music system – this particular one connects via WiFi or Bluetooth. So, whoever is in the mood of jamming at the moment can stream directly from his phone, the playlist he wants! This was my husband’s last birthday present, and we are loving the sound.

13. A game table, such as this interchangeable air hockey/ table tennis one. Make sure you know what they have or like beforehand! Both of these get great use in my parents’ basement.

14. A full favorite TV series, such as Friends or Seinfeld – get them a collector’s set of a show you know they like watching together. Bonus: throw in some popcorn and hot chocolate to give them many great “movie nights” together!

 
[show_boutique_widget id=”658468″]
 

Family gift ideas for families of all ages:

15. A Soda Stream – My husband and I gave this to my at-home siblings and parents and they love it! 

16. Doodle A Droodle – a fun family game, perfect for game nights!

Just like the classic game “Pictionary”, this game is a fun family game for all ages. You get a “droodle” – or a doodle riddle, and you need to complete the picture!

You get points when you do a good job in interpreting your droodle. It’s the type of game that’s even more fun when played with people who aren’t necessarily artistic – and it’s sure to produce plenty of laughs.

It comes with everything you need to play, droodle cards, two dry erase markers with erasers, a dry erase board with a notch in the middle to fit the card, a salt timer, and of course instructions.

17. A robot – For the family that loves a little coding and planning, buy a robot that they can program to learn new tricks! This has no age limit (though it’s best for ages six and over) and I confess, even I’ve had fun with it.

18. A gaming console – for the family that loves video games, a console will absolutely delight. Bonus: throw in some games to use with it!

19. An outdoor hammock – nicer weather will soon arrive, and they will be arguing over who gets to use it!

20. A classic sled – rather seasonally appropriate, a classic sled feels so much more “mature” to use than a big one – but is good for all ages. Let’s admit it – we can never outgrow sledding! It also doubles as seasonal decor for the home.

21. Game Night in a Can – is perfect for the family that lives on game nights and loves laughing together!

And the best part is: it all fits into a can! Each card features a different game to play, and while you will need other materials to play, they’re very basic – like pen and paper.

You have a spinner built into the cap and everything stores really neatly. The games have a sense of humor to them, and it’s sure to garner plenty of giggles.

22. A huge trampoline – not only is it amazing exercise, but it’s amazing fun for all ages! This one has a hoop built in!

 
[show_boutique_widget id=”658474″]

Which family gift ideas do you have to suggest? Comment below!

This post was originally published November 2015

The post 22 Fantastic Family gift ideas appeared first on Moms and Crafters.

Some of these, as usual, represent our own well-loved possessions. Some are fun ideas that look easy enough to DIY in case you prefer DIY gifts. And some are the result of many hours of research, reading reviews, hearing suggestions from other moms.

I’ve included something for everyone: DIY of course, non-toy practical things, toys, and entertainment. Read on for plenty of Elmo love!

Of course, it doesn’t have to be Elmo. Some of these gift ideas do represent all of Sesame Street, but I did pick those that are more Elmo-ish, because no one can replace Elmo!

3 DIY Elmo Gifts for toddlers: 

DIY goes so much farther than things you buy -even if the initial supplies can seem to cost. Plus, they add a personal touch that you can’t get when you buy.

1. Elmo tee shirt – Why buy an Elmo tee if you can make one? I made this for M for his birthday party and it’s his new favorite. 

2. If you like to sew and have a machine, you an make this precious Elmo hooded towel by Crazy Little Projects. Bath time will be giggle hour!

3. Or, if you prefer to crochet, make these friendly Elmo inspired crochet  booties by Hopeful Honey. Make them bigger for your tot to wear as house slippers. 

7 Practical non-toy Elmo gifts for toddlers:

Toddlers have surprisingly low expectations. Buy a seven year old something practical, you’ll get stink-eye. Buy a toddler something practical, with her favorite character, and you’ll be a hero.

Update 3/14/19: We recently got to try the Sesame Street X TOMS collection and whoa, they are too cute for words – I had to add it to this list!! When my boys put them on they couldn’t stop dancing around in them… they never loved a pair of shoes so much.

Baby Y is wearing the absolute cutest Bert and Ernie shoes, and M is wearing these Elmo ones. My favorite Elmo pair for toddlers is this sneaker.

4. Munchkin Elmo tableware – Last Hanukkah, I bought M a different set of tableware and he was delighted. Buy your Elmo fan an Elmo themed set and you’ll be loved forever after. And it’s so cheap. (Note: different tableware combinations are available.)
 

5. Tots grow quickly, and sometimes it seems tat they can never have enough clothing! Choose from the many Elmo tees out there – this is my favorite. If you prefer, pick up some pajamas, or a full outfit.

6-7. Combine holiday or birthday gifts with something you’re planning on buying anyway! If your tot is still in a crib, an Elmo toddler bed is a great option. Elmo toddler bedding is great to go along, or if you have a convertible crib.

8. Another way to upgrade your tot’s room (or play room) – a mini  Elmo chair! 

9. If you’re planning on potty training soon, consider an Elmo potty as a holiday gift! That’s not cheating – your toddler will love it too much to think so! 

10. An Elmo mini backpack or an Elmo rolling suitcase from my favorite luggage company, Heys, are also great practical gifts that your toddler will want to use all the time.

7 Toy Elmo gifts for toddlers:

There’s nothing wrong with giving a toddler a toy – kids are made to play! There are thousands of Sesame Street and Elmo themed toys out there, and I chose some top picks to help you get through that. Update: I put together a dedicated guide of Elmo toys for toddler – including 2 year olds and under in case that’s what you want!

11. Sesame Street neighborhood play set – offer your tot a little bit of role play with his favorite characters, including Elmo and Cookie Monster. This set has rave reviews (as opposed to previous versions which seemed to lack in quality) although that comes at a price, since it’s an older version. It includes two figurines. You can add more characters if you want to upgrade the gift. 

12. I don’t know about yours, but my tot is OBSESSED with phones. As a matter of fact, whenever he plays with his toy phones, he says “call Elmo?” And he does just that. Elmo’s cell phone is a perfect gift for that phone+Elmo obsessed toddler. 

13. The Sesame Street Elmo’s On The Go letters are also super popular! Teach the alphabet with this fun game for the road – or even at home.

14. No one can resist smiling when Elmo giggles, so this Elmo motion activated giggle ball will make you and your tot smile! I love that it introduces a bit of physical activity. 

15. Pictured in the first image in this post, the Gund Elmo plush is M’s best friend! He sleeps with it nightly, kisses it, and has fun making Elmo voices with it. It’s soft and furry and a great quality plush. 

16. M received the LOL Elmo from his aunt for his birthday , and it has entertained him for hours. He keeps asking me “Want tickle Elmo, kay?” I don’t know why he asks – it’s not like he asks before he borrows my phone or tries jumping off the kitchen table…

Regardless, he loves this interactive toy – he loves tickling its belly to make it laugh, squeezing the “Dorothy” fish bowl to make it giggle, and laughing at the silly jokes. It has even helped with his language development as he loves mimicking what Elmo says. 

17. We just gave M this one for Hanukkah – the Big Hugs Elmo Plush! He absolutely loved it! The huge plush responds to your hugs and all you’ll want to do is hug it!

Books, Music and DVD Elmo gift ideas: 

Since Sesame Street IS entertainment, there are so many options out there for books, DVDs and even music CDs that it may seem impossible to navigate. But M has a nice selection, and these are going to be your Elmo fan’s favorites: 

18. This massive, giftable book is super-engaging. It has lots and lots of pages of entertainment. ABC and 1,2,3: A Sesame Street Treasury of Words and Numbers has M sitting and reading more than almost any other book. 

19. Another favorite of his is Elmo’s Big Lift-And-look Book. This lift the flap book is a favorite interactive book for toddlers of ours. Yes, he tore off the flaps, but it’s nothing that a little bit of tape can’t fix!

20. If you’re going to chooose a DVD as your gift, you might want to pick the Best of Elmo’s World collections – starring Elmo, of course! Your toddler will be in Elmo heaven!

21. Finally, “Potty time with Elmo”is great for your potty-training tot. You can bundle it with the potty I listed above, or just give it on its own. M loves reading the book, pressing the buttons, and mimicking the sounds they make. 

As you can see, the selection of Elmo gifts for toddlers is enormous – but I hope I’ve helped you find the right one!

Comment below if you have any Elmo gift ideas that I didn’t mention!

This post was originally published November 2015.

The post 21 Perfect Elmo gifts for toddlers appeared first on Moms and Crafters.