Sleep much? Mount a baby safety gate and get your zzz’s.

Sick and tired of getting out of bed every hour just to put your toddler back in her bed? I know how you feel. For me, it started when my baby turned 2 ½ years old and kept climbing out of her crib. I figured it was time for her to move into her “Big Girl Room.” But, the transition didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. Every night, I had to sit at the doorway of her room until she fell asleep. Even though her room was baby-proofed and I knew that she would be safe, I couldn’t sleep if she was awake and free to roam the house. Plus, she kept hopping in and out of bed every few minutes looking for me. Three years later, the same thing happened with my middle child! I was miserable and sleep-deprived for weeks!

Now I ask myself, why didn’t I think to buy a gate for the doorway? Not sure… Gates were a safety product that I had always thought of for keeping my kids out of somewhere as opposed to keeping them in. But, it makes perfect sense. Moms discussing sleep issues of transitioning toddlers from crib to toddler bed always offer a gate as a solution. Blogs like this one http://bit.ly/toddlersleepproblems provide many suggestions on how to get your toddler to stay in bed. I guess you have to use trial and error to see what works best for each situation. But, in my opinion, a gate is a great place to start.

So, when our third child gets to be “that age,” I’ll be babyproofing his room and getting a gate for his bedroom door. There are so many products out there, but chances are I’ll get a tall gate that will prevent him from climbing over. Both Kidco www.kidco.com and Cardinal make baby safety gates that get excellent reviews. Many online merchants like One Step Ahead carry both brands; however, many don’t offer the extra personal touch that Kidproteq www.kidproteq.com does. Kidproteq’s personalized approach helps you buy the right safety product the first time. And, maybe this time around, I’ll finally be able to transition my baby to a bed without sacrificing my sleep!

Messy Marvin

How many times did I forget to bring a bib for my little ones? And, then, I ended up with ketchup stains on my kids’ favorite outfits. Snapt Bib Clips solve the problem of being out and not having a bib. This clip can turn a napkin, towel or cloth into a bib in seconds. This is a must-have for every diaper bag.

Girl Scout Meeting

Last week, my daughter had her first Girl Scout meeting where she made a “sit upon” A “sit upon” is a mat that the girls lace up with yarn and they use it for circle time, camping or at any other Girl Scout function. Anyway, my daughter had leftover yarn which she started to wrap around her finger… until her finger was completely covered and the tip started to turn blue! I noticed it and quickly unwrapped her finger. Thankfully, she was fine but that wasn’t exactly how I thought her Girl Scout experience would start… with a First Aid lesson.

Lunch Date

This week, I took my newborn to the mall for his 3 month old pictures. My 3 year old son was also in tow. So, I told my 3 year old that if he was good during the baby’s pictures, we’d have a special lunch date! He was excellent, even trying to make the baby smile! So, off we went to the Food Court for our special lunch. Unfortunately, I was so preoccupied with getting the pictures taken; I had forgotten to pack one of life’s necessities-The Table Topper. The Table Topper is a disposable placemat that covers the table when you are eating out. I did wipe the table with anti-bacterial wipes, but with it being cold and flu season and all the germs out there, I wish I would have had the Table Topper.

A Solution for the Child that Wanders

The fear of losing your child while out running errands is terrifying to me and likely every mom out there. So, when I heard about Joan Lunden’s Kinderkord, I was interested to say the least. Joan, with her husband Jeff, has 2 sets of twins. (And, I thought I had my hands full!) They found it difficult to keep track of the children when out in public places. So, they invented Kinderkord.

Kinderkord does not have the stigma that traditional leashes and harnesses do. Kinderkord is a nearly invisible, wrist to wrist connection which keeps your child within 2 feet of you. It doesn’t tangle so it can be used with multiple children and can attach to a stroller, belt or wrist. This is a must-have product for moms with young toddlers, moms with multiples or moms planning a trip to Disney (or anywhere for that matter.)

Real World

A teacher friend was amazed at an incident that happened at her school. At recess recently, she picked two kids to be captains and told them to choose teams. Can you believe that the kids didn’t know how to choose teams? These kids are your typical suburban kids that were involved with organized sports teams. But, when asked to play on their own, they didn't know how.

It is important for us, as parents, to remember we can’t protect our kids from everything. No one wants to be the last to be picked. But, if we are picked last one time, couldn’t it make us work harder to be better? Or could it remind us that we need to be nicer to our classmates? We can’t all be the “winner.” But, should we let everyone get a trophy just for showing up? Does this give our kids a false sense of entitlement? Will they expect that everyone that interviews for the big job will get one just because they participated? Opportunities like choosing teams give our kids the chance to learn social skills, negotiation skills and life skills. And, this will help them get ready for the “Real World.”

BPA Free?

When my sister in law asked me to help her register for baby products, I was more than happy to help. Certainly, a mom of three could give some advice on products you can’t live without, products that were a waste of money and products that were “nice-to-have’s” not “need-to-have’s.” But, as we started in the bottle aisle, I realized that things had changed since I had registered. Everything was being advertised as “BPA free.” What is that?

BPA stands for Bisphenol A which is an organic compound and considered, potentially, a hormone-disrupting chemical used to make some plastic products including baby bottles. This compound has been linked causing obesity, breast cancer, thyroid disorders and neurological issues. Recently, it has been noted that baby girls exposed to BPA while in the womb could have an increase in behavior problems. Therefore, it is important to check the plastics you use to make sure they are BPA free. Plastics that are recyclable #3 and #7 may not but could have BPA in them. Plastics 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 do not have BPA. For more information, check out www.bisphenolafree.org and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A.