If you’re at the end of your pregnancy, you’re probably looking forward to your maternity leave. Huge, heavy and bloated, squeezing into office-appropriate clothes and shoes is not much fun. Your nesting instincts have likely kicked in by now, so you would like nothing more than to stay home and prepare for the new baby.

Many women who are able to take 12 weeks of paid maternity leave use two of them before the baby is born, while many others work until the very last minute so that they can spend as much time as possible with their newborn.

While a maternity leave is pretty much a necessity – you do need time to recuperate and to adjust after giving birth, and while many moms choose to extend it, others quickly feel trapped and isolated and can’t wait to go back to the stimulating, grownup environment of an office.

Whatever your personal feelings are about being home with your baby for a few months, the following tips should help you make the most of your maternity leave while keeping your sanity!

1. Prior to leaving, make the transition for coworkers as smooth as possible. Many expectant moms create a detailed handbook that details unfinished projects, including contact info. While this is a lot of work, it will help alleviate some of your own worries – and guilt – about taking time off. Remember that your leave can start earlier than your due date even if you had planned on working until the very last day, either because the baby arrives early or because of medical issues.

2. Don’t plan on getting any office work done for the first month after giving birth. Most moms agree that caring for a newborn is the hardest job they have ever had – much harder than any office job. Even if you’re eager to transition back to work as soon as possible, don’t plan on accomplishing anything other than recuperating and taking care of your newborn for at least four weeks.

3. Take care of yourself. Easier said than done, for sure, but this should be a priority. It’s interesting that so many new moms report that they’re just not able to take a daily shower during those first few weeks – the baby is so demanding that they sometimes reach the end of the day still wearing their pajamas. I felt like that with my first baby, but with the second, I knew better than that. Taking a daily shower and taking care of myself were a priority, and I knew that leaving the baby in her crib for a few minutes, where she is safe (albeit unhappy), while I’m taking a shower and getting dressed, is not the end of the world. You ARE entitled to take care of your own needs, and in fact, you will be a better, more patient mom if you do.

4. Stay in touch. While no one at the office should expect you to be constantly available during your maternity leave, it’s a good idea to check your email and voicemail daily just so that you’re in touch with the office and your inbox doesn’t get out of control. Many moms feel that the single hour they take each day for reading work email actually helps them keep their sanity and feel like grownups. It’s a welcome break from the daily chaos of dealing with a newborn.

5. Most importantly: give yourself a break! Don’t be hard on yourself and accept that it is going to take time – usually several months – before you get used to your new life. Feelings of sadness and depression are very normal, so give yourself time to get over them, while being alert to any possibility that you might have postpartum depression – this is very normal too, but needs to be addressed medically.

Phoot by Surlygirl

February 14, 2010 will mark the start of the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.

Chinese New Year is a major Chinese holiday and is typically celebrated with large family gatherings, gift giving, eating of symbolic foods and the display of decorations, all meant to bring good luck for the New Year and to celebrate the arrival of spring.

During Chinese New Year children receive a red envelope containing money as a gift from older family members. Red is considered a lucky color by the Chinese. It is also believed that the red envelope has positive energy that protects people from evil, and that it will bring luck to the giver and to the recipient.

One of my favorite Chinese New Year crafts is making a homemade red envelope and decorating it with Chinese good luck symbols.

Instructions are simple:

Print out this envelope template from Crafty Templates onto red paper. Enlarge the image prior to printing to get a bigger envelope. Alternatively, you can trace and copy this template onto thick red paper such as construction paper. Cut it out.

Fold the left, right and bottom flaps and tape together with a clear tape, or glue together. Leave the upper flap open. Later, you will tuck this flap inside to close the envelope.

Use a thin paintbrush dipped in gold paint, or a gold pen, to draw a good-luck Chinese character on the front of the envelope.

After the paint has dried, place a bill inside the envelope and seal it.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Photo by Silly Jilly

When my first daughter was born, my husband’s workplace sent us a large, pink flower arrangement accompanied by a big white stuffed bear.

I remember this gift not so much because I treasured it for months, but mainly because we have photos of me sitting, tired and frazzled, next to the dining room table where we placed the arrangement.

The flowers survived for a couple of days – I was too tired and busy to properly trim them and take care of them – and the bear had to be tossed because a tag attached to it clearly said “small parts, not for children under 3.”

Was it an unthoughtful gift? In a way it was, because I had no use for the flowers and no time to care for them; and the stuffed bear wasn’t an appropriate gift for a newborn. I can’t say that I was unhappy with the gift though – it wasn’t inexpensive, and it showed that they cared enough to acknowledge the big event.

However, I would certainly have preferred a more useful gift.

The main problem when getting baby gifts for staff or for coworkers is that you can’t get too personal. In many cases, you don’t really know the person all that well, and you also have the constraint of keeping the gift appropriate, so “fun” or “naughty” gifts are out of the question.

But going for the standard flower arrangement, with or without a stuffed animal, with or without a box of chocolates, is the easy way out. How about getting the new mom a more useful gift?

A few ideas for useful and thoughtful coworker baby gifts:

1. Gift cards. If this is a corporate gift for a staff member, or if a few coworkers combine their gifts to purchase a single card, this can be a great new baby gift, because it is very practical and it enables the new parents to buy whatever they need, or want, for the new baby. The main drawback of a gift card is that it lacks flare and style – it’s just a notch above giving cash.

2. Baby clothes. Newborns go through so many clothes, that a gift of baby clothes is always appreciated. If you don’t want to settle for a boring, uninspired gift of baby clothing, go with Baby Bunch – their baby clothes gifts are beautifully arranged into baby clothes bouquets and baby clothes gift baskets. Gorgeous, practical and always appropriate, this is one of my favorite baby shower gifts these days.

3. Gift Baskets. I like to give a spa gift basket for the new mom. Moms never fail to be ecstatic about getting a pampering gift for themselves for a change, especially during a time in their life when the baby takes precedence and their own needs become less important.

Personally, I would avoid sending flowers to a coworker or to a staff member who just had a baby. Sure, it’s an “easy” solution, but it’s one of the most banal gifts you can possibly give.

Photo by roxeteer

Snow is magical, especially for kids. While grownups often think about snow in terms of the many inconveniences it causes us, kids look at snow and see something beautiful, pure and inviting – something that often means snow days and fun play and hot chocolate when you go inside. Magic!

Snowflakes are magical too. They come in many different shapes and sizes and are often symmetrical. This symmetry of the snowflake crystal has inspired one of the simplest yet most enjoyable winter crafts: creating paper snowflakes.

Creating paper snowflakes with your kids is simple. Even young children can do it with almost no help, which is a big bonus, because the less help they need from you, the more they are going to enjoy the craft.

6 Simple Steps for Making Paper Snowflakes

1. Cut a circle out of plain white paper. Printer paper is fine.

2. Fold the circle in half.

3. Fold in half again.

4. Fold one more time, creating a cone shape, and press down well to make the cone as flat as possible.

5. Cut shapes on the sides and on the top, leaving the bottom side of the cone intact. We simply cut small triangles on all sides, spacing them out evenly, but you can cut far more elaborate shapes to get many different interesting patterns.

6. Carefully unfold the paper to reveal your paper snowflake masterpiece! This is the most exciting part of this craft.

The snowflake in the photo was made by my 8-year-old with absolutely no help from me. Younger children might need a bit more help, but as you can see, this is the type of craft that both kids and parents love – kids because they can work independently and create many different surprising shapes; and adults because it’s a mess-free craft.

Becoming a grandparent for the first time is no doubt one of life’s most precious experiences. There’s something about being a grandparent, as opposed to being a parent, that really frees you to enjoy the new baby.

Maybe it’s the rich life experience that helps you put things in perspective, or maybe it’s the fact that you don’t have the huge, daunting responsibility of actually raising the child. Whatever it is, many first-time grandparents report that the depth of emotions they have felt when becoming grandparents for the first time was just as intense as when becoming parents, but that there was a lot less stress and worry and significantly more joy.

It’s no coincidence then that as parents grow older, they often start nagging their kids about “giving them a grandchild.” While many young adults feel that it’s selfish on the part of their parents to put that kind of pressure on them, another way to look at it is that many parents are simply worried that by the time they finally become grandparents, they would be too old to enjoy their grandchild – or to be of much help to the young parents.

Indeed, as the average age for marriage slowly creeps up, so does the average age for having children. If previous generations had kids at around 20, that meant you could expect to become a grandparent around the age of 40. But today, many couples are nearly 40 when they have their first child. If their kids will do as they did, they’re not likely to see a grandchild until they’re almost 80.

While there are many advantages to delaying parenting, including emotional maturity and financial stability, the prospect of never enjoying grandparenthood is disturbing to many, simply because most of us realize that being a grandparent is lots of fun. From lavishing gorgeous baby gifts on the new mother, to helping the young parents, to spoiling the grandchildren with toys and candy – being a grandparent is truly a joyous time in one’s life.

Of course, grandparenthood has its own set of challenges too. The biggest one is probably the constant need to balance between helping the young parents, and interfering or meddling. The last thing you want to do is to give unwanted advice. Sure, you’re experienced in child rearing – after all, you’ve raised your own kids – but each generation seems to come up with its own set of parenting beliefs and rules, which are always very different than what the previous generation had done, and of course the new generation always believes they are doing it so much better – so the young parents will never listen to your “old fashioned” advice anyway.

Another common challenge is indulging the grandchildren while respecting the parents’ boundaries. So, if the parents only allow a certain amounts of sweets, you probably want to respect that, or at least to ask the parents’ permission before handing your grandchildren an extra sweet. Same goes for gifts – many parents are trying to teach their kids responsible consumption and need to specifically ask the grandparents to limit the amount of gifts they send to the grandchildren for Christmas. Our advice to you? respect their wishes and maybe find another way to give, such as starting a savings account or donating to a worthy cause in your grandchildren’s names and giving them the certificates.

Being a grandparent is one of the most wonderful experiences that life has to offer. Enjoy every minute of it! As you know all too well, kids grow up incredibly fast.

Photo by Qole Pejorian

Winter is absolutely the best time for doing crafts with your kids.

Dreary weather, nothing much to do outside, long gloomy afternoons… even if you’re super busy (and hey, we all are!) try to do a weekly craft with your kids. It shouldn’t take longer than an hour, and will provide you with a wonderful bonding experience.

One of my favorite winter crafts is making a cereal box snowman. It’s a great way to use empty cereal boxes, and there’s a lot of room for creativity and imagination. Preparation is simple: fill the box with dry beans to give it weight and keep it stable; seal it with tape; wrap the box with white gift wrap; then use colorful construction paper, markers and your imagination to turn the box into a snowman!

This project is especially fun if you have a few empty cereal boxes, so that each kid gets to make their own snowman.

I would hate to give too many instructions on how to do this craft, because I truly believe that it’s all about creativity and imagination, but a few hints include:

♦ To make the carrot nose, cut a triangle from an orange-colored construction paper and glue it to the front of the box.

♦ To make a scarf, glue a long strip of construction paper to the bottom of the box, wrapping it. use scissors to fringe the ends. Or tie an old scarf around the bottom of the box!

♦ You can use either construction paper pieces or markers for the eyes.

Whatever you do, remember: the end result is not as important as the process. Happy crafting!

Photo by Carissa GoodNCrazy

I love doing crafts with my kids, especially in the winter. Cooped up inside the house, those long afternoons need to be filled with SOMETHING, and so help me God, that “something” is NOT going to be television.

It’s not that I don’t allow my kids to ever watch TV. On the contrary, they watch TV almost every day, but we limit their “screen time,” which includes television, video games and computer, to no more than two hours each day. The rest of the time, I expect them to play freely, using their ridiculously large collection of toys and their imagination. But I also love creating and crafting with my kids and make it a point to create something together at least once a week.

Here are a few tried and true tips for successful crafting with kids.

1. Relax! Crafting with kids does not need to be stressful or elaborate. On the contrary – you’ll find that with just a few basic supplies in the house you can create all kinds of fun stuff. Most kids don’t have high expectations when it comes to doing crafts – they simply enjoy the process. Adjust your own expectations accordingly.

2. Don’t be a perfectionist. Before you even start, you must promise me to let go of your perfectionism. If you’re like me, you are a perfectionist and you like the things you create to look nice. But when crafting with kids, things tend to get messy and disorderly and, well, not perfect. If you try to make things “perfect,” your project would turn from family fun into a nightmare!

3. Don’t mind the mess. This is always a good idea when spending time with kids, and it’s especially true when it comes to doing crafts with kids. Let’s face it – kids don’t share our standards of cleanliness and orderliness. There’s no use fighting it – expect them to respect a few basic rules (such as not setting the house on fire or drawing with permanent markers on the walls), but other than that, accept that when you have kids in your life, things are going to get messy.

4. The end result is not as important as the process. This is a big one. Us adults tend to place a lot of emphasis on the final product, but when you craft with your kids, the focus should definitely be on spending time together and having fun. The end result is not nearly as important as quality time spent together.

5. “Crafting” can mean many things. When you look for crafting projects, don’t limit yourself to things that can be done with scissors and glue. Baking, for example, is certainly a craft, and so is cooking. I love baking with my kids – it’s such a great project for a long weekend afternoon.

6. Allow your kids to pick the craft. Letting them be in charge will make this so much more fun for them. If you worry that they might pick a project that’s too hard or requires a special trip to the craft supplies store, give them a couple of options based on what you’re willing to do and let them decide between those options.

7. Let your kids work as independently as possible. Unless each of you makes their own creation, your job is essentially to supervise, not to create. You should be there and help when they need help, but try to avoid taking over and doing things for your kids that they can do by themselves.

Crafting with kids provides you with a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time together. There are many different projects you can do together. We are excited to announce that starting this week, this blog will feature a weekly craft project. We’re looking forward to inspiring and to being inspired!

Photo by terren

Last year, I was invited to six (SIX!) baby showers. Must have been something in the water.

This is not the case every year of course, but I do find myself invited to at lease one annual baby shower, and the question is always – how do I make sure my baby shower gift is unique, useful, and affordable?

Sometimes it seems as though when it comes to baby gifts, you must choose between “beautiful” and “practical.” Well, I refuse to do that! I want my gift to an expectant mom, whose life is going to dramatically change soon, to look nice, but I insist on my gift being helpful too – something that won’t just sit there accumulating dust and creating clutter, but an item that she would actually use.

Especially in the current economy, practical baby gifts make a lot of sense. I’ve got absolutely nothing against Tiffany silver rattles or baby spoons! But personally, I won’t buy them as new baby gifts, simply because they don’t pass the “practical” test.

So what did I end up buying for those baby showers last year? Here is my guide to fabulously practical baby gifts.

1. House cleaning. If the expectant parents don’t have a cleaning service, a gift certificate from a professional cleaning service is a wonderful gift. Since cleaning services are typically expensive, you can either join together with a few other friends to buy this gift, or you can simply give a certificate in any amount you’re comfortable with, that goes towards whatever the gift recipients will spend.

2. Baby clothes. As an experienced mom, I can assure you that baby can never have too many onesies! The speed at which new babies go through clothes is quite amazing indeed – in fact, with a newborn, almost every diaper change also means a full clothing change. Add to that spitting, burping and – yes – the occasional vomiting, and you can see why baby clothes – especially when beautifully presented in a baby clothes bouquet – make a wonderful baby shower gift.

3. Babysitting. If you know the parents-to-be well, give them a homemade certificate where you pledge to babysit for them a few times during the first year. Be sure to follow up after baby is born! Even if you just spend a few hours in their home, allowing the new mother to sleep, this is one of the best, most thoughtful new baby gifts you can possibly come up with.

4. Diapers or a Diaper Service. Diapers are a major expense during the first year after a baby is born. A case of disposable diapers, or a coupon to a cloth diaper service, is an extremely practical and useful baby shower gift. My only problem with this gift is that it’s hard to beautifully wrap. But I included it here anyway, because it is SO practical, it’s absolutely worth mentioning.

While I think that all of the above ideas make thoughtful, practical new baby gifts, my absolute favorite is baby bouquets, because they combine aesthetics with practicality. When you give an expectant mom a gorgeous baby gift basket, then see her face light up as she realizes that the beautiful basket contains high quality clothes for her baby, you know that you have succeeded in the seemingly impossible task of buying a unique baby gift that is adorable, affordable, AND practical!

This is the third and final article in the series, The Recession and Our Family.

Your sister or best friend is expecting her first child.  You’re responsible for throwing the baby shower but are strapped for cash in this economy.  How do you throw an affordable baby shower while still keeping it special?   Here are some ideas on how to host a baby shower on the cheap:

Invitations

The invitations are an easy area to cut back on when planning a baby shower.  Almost everyone has email these days – even Grammy.  Send an E-Vite or for anyone who isn’t web savvy on the guest list, invite them over the phone.

Have a Potluck

Divvy up the cost of food by having a potluck.  Be sure to coordinate with guests about who is bringing what so you don’t end up with five different variations of Seven Layer Dip.  Set a theme for the food, either by region (Italian, Mediterranean) or find out what the mom or couple to be’s (if you are having a co-ed baby shower) favorite family and friend’s recipes are.  Set a budget per dish so no one spends too much.

Skip the Favors

Guests can do without that baby carriage candle or chocolate bar.  Show your appreciation of their presence at the shower with some thoughtfully prepared words during the celebration or a thank you email a few days later.   Your gratitude will shine through, probably even more than with a traditional baby shower favor.

Choose Free Games

There are plenty of free baby shower games to keep the crowd entertained.  Here are two of our favorites:

• Guess The Baby: Ask each guest to bring a photograph of themselves as a baby.  Hang the photos on a string and then give everyone a scrap piece of paper and something to write their guess of who is in each photo.
• Baby Features: Moms or Dads?  Before the party, make a list of different features the baby could inherit from their parents, from physical characteristics to personality traits: eyes, cheeks, ears, toes, sense of humor, work ethic, etc.  During the shower, have each guest guess which features the mom-to-be will hope the baby will inherit from mom or dad.  After everyone has “voted,” have mom read aloud her answers.

Cheap Baby Shower Gifts

Gifts can be one of the biggest expenses at a baby shower.  Shop our affordable baby gifts section for baby gifts that are economical but will still stand out from the crowd.  Our best sellers: baby sock bouquets, cupcake baby onesies and baby pajamas, all priced under $20.

Have additional cheap baby shower ideas? Do tell!

From food to baby clothing in recent years, the term “organic” has drawn a great deal of attention.  As increasing numbers of people in this country, and around the world, emphasize the importance of sustainable practices, they expect the same of the companies and industries with which they do business.

With world population numbers continuing to grow and resources becoming scarcer, sustainability – a hallmark of organic farming- is more important than ever before.   For many people, though, the term “organic” is little more than a buzzword and more education is needed as to what exactly goes into making cotton organic.

The cotton in organic cotton baby clothes is farmed with the aim of eliminating the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and genetically engineered seed while at the same time maximizing soil and plant health.   Strict regulation is applied to all organic cotton sold in the United States, regardless of where it was grown.  There are currently three integral processes that distinguish generic cotton from the organic cotton used in organic cotton baby clothes.

1. No toxic pesticides.  Cotton bolls attract bugs, like Lygus, which can devastate cotton crops.  Traditionally, bugs that threatened cotton were combated aggressively with pesticides.  Progressive practices, such as introducing other insects that prey on the Lygus, have proven a viable alternative to toxic pesticides.
2. No synthetic fertilizers.   Farmers have long understood that crop rotation makes for healthy, fertile soil.  Instead of relying on synthetic fertilizers, organic cotton farmers rotate crops and plant buffer crops that attract predatory insects on their farms throughout the year.
3. Certification.  Organic cotton must meet the strict requirements set forth in the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS).

Cotton has been grown and used by humans for over 2,500 years, with cultivation processes evolving slowly over time. The cultivation of organic cotton continues to grow worldwide, establishing modern organic processes as yet another step in the evolution of cotton farming.

While there is still more cotton grown through traditional than organic methods, the continuing growth of organic cotton farming is likely to make more people aware of organic farming practices in the coming years.  We’re proud to bring you organic cotton baby clothes and gifts as part of this growing movement.

For more information about organic cotton check these valuable resources:

Global Organic Textile Standards
Sustainable Cotton
Green Basics – Organic Cotton
Wikipedia – Organic Cotton

For an educational look at how organic cotton farming can help communities, enjoy this video.