My son’s 1st birthday is in a couple weeks so I’ve been looking for cake recipes. I was looking for something that did not have a lot of sugar or eggs in it, and found these recipes at Wholesome Baby Food . Perhaps they will be helpful to you too!

Apple Spice Cake

As with any "non traditional" cake, the batter for this cake will not seem "right".

1/2 cup molasses
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-3/4 cup flour
1 tsp ginger

Mix the molasses and applesauce in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake in a nonstick 8 x 8-inch baking pan or one sprayed with a non-stick spray, in a 350° F for 30 to 45 minutes, or until it tests done. **The batter may be a bit dry and you may need to add more applesauce or a bit of water. Try adding 1/4 cup of applesauce first then gradually add a bit of water by tablespoon**

We have added a bit of pure cocoa (2 tablespoons) to make a chocolate flavor.

Applesauce Spice Cake

3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 1/2 cups ground almonds (optional)
2 Macintosh apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 inch square baking pan.

Beat the eggs until they drop like ribbons from the beaters. Continue beating and add the oil in a thin stream. Beat in the 1 cup applesauce and the 1 cup unsweetened apple juice concentrate then mix in the flour gradually until well blended. Add the baking soda, ground ginger, ground almonds and apples. Fold together until well mixed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F about 40 minutes or until the cake tests clean with a knife or toothpick. Cool completely before frosting.

I took baby Titus for his one year shots today. Hesitantly, I must say. Before I went, I did a little research about the shots that he would be getting. I haven’t always been so inquiring about his vaccines. Up until recently, I’ve always trusted what the doctors told me, and I took them at their word. Lately though, I have come to realize that these doctors don’t always know what they are talking about, and I have begun questioning them more.

When I was pregnant my ob told me that I had some kind of infection, and he prescribed me some med’s to take. After hearing story after story of doctors making mistakes, I had just begun taking my body, my health into my own hands. I had decided I was no longer just going to take whatever the doctor said to take without knowing what it was, and what the possible dangers/risks were first. So, I went and had the prescription filled, but before I took it, I did a little research. I was surprised to find that this particular medicine came with a warning: It had not been tested on pregnant women. Now, I don’t know if this would alarm you, but it was a huge concern to me! How is my doctor going to tell me that this is safe for me and my baby, if it has NEVER been tested?! I decided not to take it. The next time I went in to see the doc. I told him what I had read, and that I was not going to take it. He tried to reassure me that it was fine, but I was not moved. I asked him if there would be any complications if I did not take the prescription. He told me that the only problem would be that I could develop some discomfort (itching, etc.) If that was all I would have to deal with then bring it on! I’d much rather have that risk than the one of hurting my baby! I never did have any discomfort, or even any symptoms at all of an infection. And I guess it went away on its own, if it was even ever there.

This precautious mind-set has slowly crept into the arena of my children’s health. At first, I guess I felt like it was too risky to not follow all of the pediatrician’s advice. But I am now beginning to feel very strongly about following my own “Motherly Instincts” regarding their health. To give an example, when my daughter was about a year old she began having chronic ear infections. I was working in childcare, in the nursery with her, and she was constantly sick. Rounds and rounds of antibiotics later, her pediatrician recommended that we see a specialist. After a lengthy visit with this doctor, he recommended that we put tubes in her ears. Now, the thought of sedating my baby girl (and the risks that went along with that), and inserting these things into her ears did not make me feel comforted at all. Honestly, I was very uneasy about the whole idea. I gave it some thought and decided that I wanted to wait. I told the doctor that I was going to be quitting work in about a month, and staying at home with my daughter. I wanted to see if once I was at home with her she would stop getting ear infections. The doctor really wanted to do the surgery, but I insisted that I wanted to give it just a little longer. A month later I was at home with her, and you know, she never had another ear infection again!

So, back to the original discussion… I took Titus in for his shots, and declared to the nurse that I only wanted him to get two of the recommended four shots. I was kind of nervous about going against their recommendations. You never want to be “that mom”, you know, the crazy one who doesn’t know what she’s talking about, the ignorant one. But I truly did not feel comfortable injecting him with who-knows-what just because they say it’s okay. After some questioning, the nurse finally said, “Okay then, if you don’t want him to get these shots we’re going to need for you to sign a form stating that you have opted out of taking them.” I said fine, and signed away. One of the shots that I was semi-okay with was unavailable (the Hib), but he did get the MMR vaccine. The only reason I let him get this one is because we are going out of the country next month, and I felt he really needed it. I am concerned about the MMR with all of the recent controversy over it causing Autism. I did not give him the Chicken Pox vaccine, or Prevnar. After doing some reading, I feel they are unnecessary, and may even be risky. (I read a very interesting article about the safety of vaccines today, you can check it out HERE .)

You know, I feel at peace with my decision. I think I did the right thing. It’s so hard to know though! It’s so hard as mom’s because we want to do the best thing for our children. We don’t want to make any mistakes, especially when it comes to their health, their lives! It’s hard because we can’t really trust what the professionals are telling us. We have to learn to do some research ourselves.

I’ve been wondering what other mom’s are doing, and how they feel about this subject. I know it’s pretty controversial right now, and more and more Mothers are beginning to take more caution when it comes to their children’s vaccinations. I would love to hear from you mom’s out there.

Are you giving your children all of the recommended shots? Are there some that you are opting out of? Has your child had a bad reaction to an immunization, or do you know one who has? What are your thoughts?

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Wish This Was My Diaper Bag!

As moms, we have to be prepared for everything! If we are caught off guard in any unpredictable situation it could be miserable for everybody. Ever been out-and-about and have a newborn’s diaper explode while in the carseat, and it just so happens that this is the one time you forgot to pack a change of clothes, or worse, an extra diaper? Or have you ever been out shopping with your potty training toddler, and all of a sudden your child is standing in a puddle (yet it hasn’t rained for days!), and of coarse you forgot to bring a change of clothes for her?! We’ve all had a similar situation at one time or another. Not only can this be frustrating and embarrassing, but also expensive!

I remember this one time I was heading to the mall with my sweet 2 yr. old asleep in her carseat. All was fine. When I parked the car and went to get her out, however, I discovered that she had had an accident in her seat while sleeping. Of coarse I didn’t have a change of clothes for her. So, I put her in the stroller, and headed right for the kids clothing store to buy the cheapest thing I could find for her to wear. That money could have been saved had I been better prepared!

I thought it might be helpful to some of you for me to write a Diaper Bag Survival Guide. There is an art to organizing a diaper bag successfully.

There are 5 main categories to consider:

1. Diapering Necessities
2. Feeding Accessories
3. Health and Wellness
4. Entertainment
5. Mommy’s Stuff

There are also 5 stages of diaper bag packing:

1. Newborn
2. Walking Baby
3. Potty Training Toddler
4. Preschooler
5. Packing for Two (or more)

This post would be forever long if I tried to go through each stage and list every single item that should be packed in your diaper bag. Since I am at the Packing For Two stage (a 1 year old and a 4 year old), I will give you a peak inside my own diaper bag. It will cover most of the other stages, and I will add a few suggestions as well. Of coarse the amount of some things that you pack will depend on the length of your outing. For now I will assume we are packing for no longer than 4 hours.

Diapering Necessities

Diapers (4)

Travel Size Wipes

Diaper Cream

Changing Table Pad

Disposable Changing Table Covers (2)

Scented Diaper Bags (2)

An Extra Outfit (make sure it’s the right size, right season; put in a ziploc bag)

Disposable Washcloths (2)

For Potty Training Toddlers you will need a few different things: Extra change of undies and pants, a reward chart and stickers (if you are doing that), flushable wipes, and Potty Toppers (or a nice luxury- a travel potty seat). The disposable changing table pads come in really handy for messy newborn diapers especially. It’s a great way to protect your changing pad, or to use on a public changing table. They are also perfect for throwing in your purse if you don’t want to carry a huge diaper bag and changing pad. The disposable washcloths are for those unexpected blow-outs in public places. You know the kind; all the way up the back, down to their toes, covered in watery poop. All you can do is put them in the sink and scrub them down. The scented diaper bags are wonderful for throwing away a stinky diaper in someone else’s trash can (without feeling embarrassed about leaving such an awful, lingering odor), or if you need to keep the diaper in your diaper bag until you find a trash can.

Feeding Accessories

Disposable Placemats (2)

Disposable Bibs (2)

Spoons (2)

Hand Sanitizing Wipes

Snacks

Labeled Sippy Cups

These are things useful for walking baby/toddler age and older. For newborns don’t forget bottles, burp cloths, baby food, and any nursing accessories you may need (including something to cover up with). The placemats are wonderful for using at restaurants, especially when baby is too young to handle eating off of a very breakable plate, but you don’t want them eating directly off the dirty table. Most have a sticky tape you can peel off the back so that it sticks to the table. Very handy! Disposable Bibs are cool cause you don’t have to pack up a dirty bib (although you could), instead you just toss it when you’re done. Labeling sippy cups (or bottles) is a good idea when you have more than one cup, or your baby will be among other babies. Keren has a cute idea for making personalized rubber cup/bottle labels HERE.

A nice way to pack this stuff is to put the feeding accessories into a ziploc bag, like this:

Keeps it all together, and clean.

Health and Wellness

First Aid Kit

Tissues

Infant Pain Reliever

Teething Remedies

Any necessary medicine

Sunscreen

Sanitizing Wipes (none pictured here)

For newborns, you may also want to bring along a pair of nail clippers, a nasal aspirator and some saline drops. If there are any important medications which your child needs, make sure you pack some to have at all times. Also, if your child has a cold or allergies, bring along some relief for that as well. Your first aid kit should at least have Band-Aids, antiseptic wipes, and antibiotic ointment. Tylenol or Motrin is important to have at all times, cause you never know when you might wish you had some (maybe for you and baby!). Sanitizing wipes, like Clorox or Lysol, are nice to have for wiping down shopping carts, restaurant high chairs, and other germy things your kids will be touching. Keep sunscreen with you as well. You may just decide to make an impromptu stop at the park, and it’s important to keep your kids protected for the sun’s harmful rays. A lotion with bug repellent is an extra nice bonus. Avon Bug Guard is the best; I recommend it to everybody!

Entertainment

Babies:

Quiet and Noisy Toys

Small Board Books

Teethers

Links

Preschoolers:

Activity Books

Crayons or Markers

Small Toys

Magazine or Small Book

Stickers

Hairbands (1-2)

I really recommend having a few links in your bag for babies and toddlers. They are great to connect to sippy cups and toys when your child is in a shopping cart, high chair, or carseat. It’s an easy way to keep baby’s things off the floor. If you have a little girl with long hair, it’s a good idea to keep a few little hair bands in the bag, just in case the one she has in breaks, or if you need to pull her hair back to eat.

Mommy’s Stuff

Wallet

Keys

Cell Phone

Chapstick

Any Makeup you need

Hair band

Small Sewing Kit

Notepad

Pen

Calculator

Hand Sanitizer

Lotion

And, whatever else you may need. If you are beginning nursing, you might need nursing pads, and some lanolin. I like carrying a small sewing kit for a couple reasons. It seems like the times when I don’t have it are the times when somebody asks me if I have a safety pin. Also, I have torn a slit up the back of my skirt before, and was very glad that I had a needle and thread to fix my potentially embarrassing accident. Calculator for frugal shopping (of course!).

So, there you go. All that stuff placed strategically in your cute little diaper bag, and you are ready to go!

Here’s mine. Not very chic, but it does the job! And my husband isn’t embarrassed to carry it.

So, did I forget anything? Anybody have any suggestions for things that they can’t live without in their diaper bag?

You see it printed at the end of every section on childhood ailments in your baby manual …you also find it listed on all of the medicine bottles that you possess. Yes, that notorious phrase that you read when in need of pertinent information for caring for your little one: "Please consult your pediatrician"

Don’t you hate that? Well, I do. Nobody likes being a pest . Nobody likes calling the pediatrician in the middle of the night as he groggily answers the phone to say…"Uh…Hey Dr. ______, it’s me again. I hope this isn’t a bad time (*nervous laugh*). Um…my son is running a fever, so I was wondering how much Tylenol I should I give him. The bottle said to consult a pediatrician"…

This past week I was busily trying to keep my 8-month old’s high fever down. Well, after about two days of this high fever we took him to the doctor.

While there, his pediatrician gave me a VERY helpful little chart…something I’ve been wishing I had since the first time he got a fever!

The Medicine Measurement Chart!

Yep, this is the same info the doc will tell you in the middle of the night when you call him for help. What a blessing! My doc was so kind and said, "By the way, here’s a helpful little chart for your files. This is the info about infant baby medicine measurements that they’re talking about when you read the back of the bottle…just in case you were wondering" . Thank you, Doc! So, since there are many young mothers out there who could benefit, I thought I should link a copy for you. So, here you go!

Click on this link to download a copy: medicine-measurement-chart.pdf

I will be making copies of this, scanning it into my computer, and making sure that it’s filed away safe and sound for when future needs arise

Graphic from allposters.com

This past Christmas, we took our son on his first plane trip…and he had a very nervous mother. Not only was I reluctant about waking him up in the wee hours of the morning (4 am) to make the trip, but I was not looking forward to check-in lines, baggage claims, trying to make sure my son could slip in a few naps despite being overstimulated by the beeping baggage carts, and eardrum pressure.

Well, we planned ahead (using the tips I’ll give you below) and everything went fairly well (except for when my son demolished one of the magazines and left it’s remains in the aisle). Here are some tips to make traveling with your infant a smooth and enjoyable experience.

____

Baby Clothes

• Pack 1-2 outfits for each day you will be on your trip (if you don’t go through 1-2 outfits every day at home, you’re lucky - so be doubly prepared for a trip! Is it just me, or do all children have most of their major explosions when you’re out?)
• Organize each outfit in a re-sealable plastic bag so that you don’t have to dig through everything to find a matching sock.
• Use the empty re-sealable bags for dirty clothes.
• In your carry on bag, pack a whole day’s worth of supplies – not just enough for the flight. You never know what may happen (i.e. delays, lost baggage, etc.)
• Dress your baby in layers so that you can make adjustments to different temperatures (if plane is too hot, take of a layer, vice versa).
• Make sure that you have medicines and liquids packed properly. You may want to check with your airline on their guidelines for this. When we flew, we had to have all of our medicine in a 1-quart Ziploc bag.

Ear Drum Tips

• Feeding your baby or giving him a pacifier or something to drink during ascent and descent (descent is the most important) will help prevent some of the eardrum stretching.
• Giving your baby acetaminophen just before the flight can ease discomfort.
• I’ve heard about these things called earplanes -”air pressure regulating” ear plugs. I’m not sure how well babies do with these, but I’ve heard about mothers using them on their babies!

Car Seats

• Infants can sit in your lap during a flight if you do not want to purchase an extra seat.
• If you have not purchased a seat for your baby, the stewardesses may be able to sit you next to an empty seat where you can put a car seat (on every one of our flights the stewardesses sat us next to empty seats – BUT it was useless because we weren’t permitted to use the car seat that we brought – more about that next).
• Check with your airline about car seat regulations. We had checked our airline’s website about car seat regulations and ours was “A Ok!” according to the website. But when we got there, the stewardesses said it wasn’t FAA approved so we couldn’t’ use it. I called the airline before our return flight to see if there had been a mistake, and they said that the regulations had recently changed (and their website did not reflect that change yet) – no rear-facing car seats (this was January 08). So, there’s a tip for ya. You may want to double check that, though, before you fly.
• Car seats cannot be placed in exit rows and must be placed in adjoining window seats.

Other

• Bring a your baby’s birth certificate along - the airline may ask for it
• Bring a child carrier or sling because you can navigate the aisles easier with it
• Bring some toys for distraction
• You can check strollers and car seats at the gate. They will be available to you as soon as you get off the plane
• Check as much luggage as you can so that your hands are as free as possible
• Use a backpack for a diaper bag
• Be warned: going through security with your baby can be “exciting” (you have to fold up the stroller to put it through the x-ray machine, carry baby through metal detector, if anyone beeps, you’ll get patted down, etc.)
• Bring extra pacifiers (if your child likes them) - those little things tend to get lost!
• Allow plenty of time at the airport for check-in and connecting flights
• Get on the plane first and off the plane last - this’ll give you a better chance at getting help from the stewardesses
• Lastly, have relax and have fun!

My son has recently either picked up his first cold or his new tooth (yep - another milestone to announce ) is contributing to a pretty good amount of runnies from the nose. Either way, he’s been accumulating a lot of hard-to-get boogers lately and they’re pretty nasty (they even whistle). You know what I’m talking about - and they’re nye impossible to get out with your pinky or even the nasal aspirator-do-ma-hicky (poor little guy, I feel so bad when he can’t breath!).Well, when we went to his six month checkup yesterday, the nurse gave an unsolicited tip on how to get those crusties out, so I thought I’d share it with all of you other new mommas:

Use a (closed, yes, closed) safety pin - the rounded edge that’s away from the point. Does that make sense? Here’s a picture:

Obviously, you’ll only want to use it around the inner edges of the nose (don’t get any deeper!) and you must be very gentle. She didn’t mention this, but I’d like to add another tip for this tip: use a squirt or two of saline drops to soften the crusties because I can imagine that they can really hurt if they are yanked off!

Anyways, anyone ever tried this?

Oh, and I just read my wise sister’s blog and she wrote a post about being considerate of your child, and I think it would apply to trying to get the boogers out of your baby’s nose …so, get them out, but be sweet and gentle about it!

My husband I and recently began doing a “bedtime routine” with our son before putting him to down for the night. We felt that it would be a good way to give him a quiet time before bed to “wind down”, give my husband and I a sweet time for both of us to cuddle and kiss on him before bed, as well as to begin teaching him about spending some time each night in prayer before going to sleep. It’s pretty simple:

• Bath (every other night)
• Put him in “jammies”
• Nurse
• Rock on the glider (with lights turned down to set the sleep “mood”) and read a page out of God’s Wisdom for Little Boys, or one of the new books that I just bought: Tell me how much I love you or Counting Kisses.
• Mommy and Daddy pray with him
• Put him down to bed

We’ve really enjoyed doing this with him! It’s been such a warm time as a family and my husband and I love the opportunity to pray for him and “with” him. I look forward to doing this with a little pack of kids some day (Lord-willing!) gathered around Daddy as he “preaches” (he loves preaching ) to the little tykes during evening devotions.
Do you have a bedtime routine that you do with your child(ren)?

Graphics from allposters.com

My son loves his exersaucer. He really does. Well, the other day I decided to put some of his wooden balls in his exersaucer to play with. He began throwing the balls out of the exersaucer and onto the wooden floor and watched them roll across the room and around again (our floor is incredibly uneven, so it makes for a good show).

What a genius! He’s already studying Physics! Well, I’m thinking in terms of Microbiology and vivid (need I say, horrific!) images of dirt and bacteria attaching themselves to the balls as they roll across the floor are running through my mind. As soon as my son gets a hold of the balls again, into his mouth they’ll go.

Ever wondered about the best way to clean baby toys? Well, here are some answers!

Traditional Cleaning Methods:

1. Hot Water & Soap – just scrub ‘em down and dry ‘em off
2. Clorox bleach and hot water – hmmmm. Sounds toxic to me, but woman have been using this for years, so I figured I’d jot it down for you to ponder.
3. Put plastic toys (if you have them) in the dishwasher – top rack (make sure they’re not battery operated! )
4. Wash plush toys in the gentle cycle using hot water

Natural Cleaning Methods:

1. Hot Water & Soap – use a safe, natural, non-toxic soap like Free And Clear Dish Liquid
2. Wipe ‘em down - use a non-toxic surface cleaner, such as Sweet Pea Surface Cleanser or Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Surface Spray.
3. Wash with 1 part vinegar 1 part soapy water
4. Wash with 4 tablespoons of Baking Soda dissolved in 1 quart of warm water.
5. Wash plush toys in gentle cycle, using hot water and a non-toxic detergent like Mrs. Meyer’s Laundry Soap.
6. Hydrogen Peroxide does a good job of disinfecting

How often should toys be cleaned?

1. The no brainer answer – after they get soiled!
   
2. When the toys have been played with by other children – especially if they had runny noses or coughs!
3. When your child is getting over a cold or other illness
4. At least once a month – I’m going to try to make a point to clean all my son’s toys at least once a week!

Other Miscellaneous Tips:

1. If you are washing wooden toys, wash and dry them quickly. Allowing them to sit in water can cause them to swell and grain may rise to the surface.
2. Plush toys collect dust mites, so they need to be washed often. If they’re not machine washable, surface clean them with water and non-toxic detergent and let them air dry in the sun. For a final death-blow to dust mites, put the toy in a freezer bag and stick it in the freezer over night.
3. Children play on floors – so keep them clean! Take off your shoes while in the house, vacuum, sweep and mop regularly and if you can afford it, invest in a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
4. Cleaning Bath Toys – first of all (here I go getting on a platform) be VERY careful about bath toys. Most plastic bath toys contain PVC (more on this in a later post, I’m sure). Instead of a rubber ducky, we bought our son a wooden toy boat for the tub – he loves it! Anyways, to clean bath toys, mix one part vinegar to one part water. Squeeze water out of toys. Dunk the toys in the mix. Soak them for at least 2 minutes. Scrub them down, rinse them, then set them out to dry. Carefully examine them to make sure there isn’t any gunk anywhere on or in the toy. Store them somewhere dry and open. Bath toys should be cleaned at least every two weeks.

My son has a lot of hair. After a bath it goes afro. I’ve been wondering what to do about it, and since he’s such a little guy, I’ve been looking for gentle hair tamers. I did some research and found the following three products:

1.) Tangle Tamer by L’Oreal Kids

L’Oreal’s site describes this product as a “spray-on conditioning formula that detangles hair in a flash. It tackles the craziest knots and tames bed-head, leaving hair clean and shiny, all day! Tangle Tamer is perfect for all hair types.” It’s also Ophthalmologist-tested, gentle and tear-free. Sounds like it could do the job! This was the cheapest of the three.

2.) Mane-Event Natural Hair Gel by Baby Cakes

Described as “a very strong and effective holding herbal hair gel, this superb natural hair care hair gel styles your baby’s hair the way you want it!” It is an “all natural hair care product containing plant derived ingredients that are not damaging or drying to the hair”. Sounds nice! I love that it uses natural ingredients.

3.) Ultra Clean and Light Baby Hair Gel by Original Sprout

More along the lines of what I’m looking for, this product is made with organic ingredients and is free of fruit extracts and honey and hormone disrupters. It’s “nourishing emollients and gentle botanicals smooth frizzies, tame flyaways and support curls softly.” It is fragrance free and PH balanced. A little more pricey than the Tangle Tamer, but I like the looks of it! I’m going to have to save my pennies.