This blog is sponsored by Boiron® and PTPA.
I’ve been a mother for almost 13 years now, and I’ve always blogged passionately about parenting.
The whole reason why I started my blog, originally called Dagmar’s momsense (making sense of motherhood) ten years ago, was to be a resource for moms about attachment parenting, breastfeeding, green and healthy living.
Since we bought our house, my focus has changed a bit and includes a lot of home decor and DIY projects, but I will always love writing about parenting and sharing what works for me and might work for other parents.
It takes a village, right?
I was recently asked about the three best tips I could share about parenting, the three best parenting hacks that might be small tips but make a big difference in making our lives as parents easier.
Here are my three tips that came to mind that made a big difference:
3 Parenting Hacks You Will Want to Know
1. Buy an Exercise Ball.
An exercise ball? Why, you ask.
It’ll be one of your best and least expensive purchases for your baby – trust me. And if you have been invited to a baby shower, it’s one of the best and least-expected gifts.
We have all been there — sometimes it seems to take forever before your baby falls asleep.
I have a tip for all you tired moms out there: get an exercise ball to bounce the baby to sleep instead of wearing a hole into your floor from walking up and down the room.
This was my foolproof method to get Landon to sleep when he was a baby. I would sit on the exercise ball and bounce Landon to sleep while he was lying with his head on my shoulder.
He usually was asleep after a few minutes and then I’d transfer him to bed.
My doula gave me this tip, and it saved me hours of holding my son while he was fighting sleep (I wasn’t a fan of the crying it out method).
If gas in the tummy is the reason for all the crying, holding the baby’s back to your stomach, pulling the upper legs gently toward your baby’s tummy while you bounce on the ball will also help get rid of the gas and quiet him or her down.
There is something about babies’ inner ear — bouncing them helps with that and calms them down. Try it!
2. Buy Shoe Organizers to Keep Track of Small Items and Toys
Shoe caddies, those over-the-door hanging shoe organizer that hang on the door, are your absolute best friend.
Get several of the see-through kind – at least one for the nursery and one for the car.
When the baby is little, it helps to have one hanging on the inside of the closet or on the side of the dresser for wipes and little toys that keeps the baby occupied while you change him or her.
If you use bottles, one in the kitchen might come in handy to keep track of the bottles and the tops.
Later on, when the child is older, a see-through shoe organizer in the kid’s room is so helpful to store toy cars, little figurines, or LEGOS that would otherwise be lying on the ground and hard to find.
I use one in Landon’s closet to keep track of little toys and items that would otherwise be so hard to keep track of.
Storing art supplies or school supplies is another way to repurpose shoe organizers, and it also saves you storage space.
Make yourself a helpful organizer for your car by cutting the organizer in half and attach it to the back of your front seat so you can either store essentials in an easy-to-find way in the pockets to avoid having items end up on the floor or under the seats.
You can add any little item that would otherwise roll around in the car, or create an activity station for your child with pens, paper, games, etc., that keep the kids busy in the car.
3. Buy Medicine That is Easy to Administer
When kids are sick or not feeling well because they are teething or have gas, the last thing they want to do is take their medicine.
It’s a fight every time to administer the correct dosage, and the last thing you want to worry about as a parent when your kid is sick is if they got the right dose of a medicine to get better.
It’s stressful to have to deal with a crying, screaming kid!
Boiron makes administering their medicines for kids so easy! Their products for teething, colic and gas, and colds all have a unique delivery system of medicine: just open the pre-measured, single-use liquid dose and squeeze the drops into the mouth of your child.
You don’t need to measure, there is no danger of spilling, the doses are hygienic, sterile, and (best of all!) there is no need for preservatives.
Boiron baby products I love:
You can find my posts and more info about why I love them here and here.
I recommend Boiron products so often to my friends and family (especially their Arnicare Gel — it helps my aching back so much!*)
Homeopathy has been around for over 200 years, so many millions of people have found it to work, and I’m one of them. Our family is a huge fan, and the fact that they make the dosing so easy is one of the big appeals.
Homeopathic medicine works with the body to help restore balance and relieve symptoms, which is a much gentler approach, and I hope you’ll give them a try if you haven’t already!*
You can also find more info here:
Instagram: @BoironUSA
Facebook: @BoironUSA
Pinterest: @BoironUSA
I hope these three parenting hacks will help you make parenting a little easier.
The opinions I have expressed are my own. I’m not a doctor — I’m simply sharing with you what works for me and my family.
*Claims based on traditional homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Not FDA evaluated.
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