Baby Archives - Imperfect Homemaker

Coming Monday Morning!

on June 7, 2013

For those of you who are mothers or hope to be mothers, you’ll want to get in on this: $525 worth of mothering resources for 95% off!

This is a downloadable package designed to encourage and equip mothers to nurture their families (and themselves!) naturally.

The package includes the work of 32 well-known Ph.D.’s, fertility specialists, lactation consultants, natural health professionals, authors, and bloggers who are passionate about motherhood and caring for mothers.

Here’s a sneak peek at the resources that will be included:

(There will also be bonus products and free printables and ecourses included, which I haven’t listed here.)

Are you interested in healthy living, whether you’re a mom or not? Come join my Healthy Homemakers Facebook group, where we’ll share encouragement and accountability in our healthy living journeys!

Natural Fertility and Pregnancy

Unbound Birth by Jennifer Yarbrough of Unbound Birth ($2.99)
Fearless Birth by Kristen Burgess of Natural Birth and Baby Care ($17)
Nourishing Foods for Labor and Childbirth (article reprint) by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($2.99)
My Pregnancy Journey by Mindy of Simply Designs ($9.99)
Fertilise Yourself by Natalie Kringoudis of Melbourne Natural Fertility ($19.95)
Eat Your Way to Parenthood by Gabriela Rosa, MScM, BHSc, ND of Natural Fertility Breakthrough ($35)
Protecting Your Fertility: The Dangers of Conventional Pest Control and Natural Safe Alternatives by Gabriela Rosa, MScM, BHSc, ND of Natural Fertility Breakthrough ($35)
The Awful Truth About Cleaning Products and Fertility Revealed by Gabriela Rosa, MScM, BHSc, ND of Natural Fertility Breakthrough ($35)

Natural Baby and Toddler Care
Breastfeeding Simply by Pinky McKay, ICBLC of PinkyMcKay.com ($25)
First Bites by Hilary Bernstein of Accidentally Green ($9.99)
Breast to Bib by Kate Tietje of Modern Alternative Mama ($8.95)
Confessions of a Cloth Diaper Convert by Erin Odom of The Humbled Homemaker ($9.95)
Creative Ways to Calm Your Baby by Justyn Lang of Creative Christian Mama ($6.99)
EC Simplified: Infant Potty Training Made Easy by Andrea Olson, MA of Go Diaper Free ($30)
oh, crap. potty training by Jamie Glowacki of oh crap. potty training ($15)

Natural Health and Healing
Therapeutic Parenting for Children Who Are Healing from Trauma by Tova Krause Grindlay, CPC of Parent and Family Coaching ($4.99)
Herbal Nurturing by Michele Augur of Frugal Granola ($8.95)
Herbal Remedies for Children During the Cold and Flu Season by Rosalee de la Forêt of Herbal Remedies Advice ($20)
Mother’s Little Herbal Helper and Home Remedies by Natalie Vickery of The Family Herbalist ($12.50)
Questions to Ask Your Dentist by Will and Susan Revak of OraWellness ($29)
Tips and Tricks to Remineralize and Repair Your Teeth by Ramiel Nagel of CureToothDecay.com ($12.95)
The Thinking Parent’s Guide to Vaccines by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($2.99)
Finding Balance with Attachment Parenting by Andrea Olson, MA of AndreaOlson.com ($17)
Pain Redeemed by Natasha Metzler of NatashaMetzler.com ($4.99)
The Curative Kitchen (updated version) by Susan Smith Jones, Ph.D. of SusanSmithJones.com ($19.95)
Rebuild From Depression: A Nutrient Guide, The Digital Abridged Version by Amanda Rose, Ph.D. of Traditional Foods ($12.95)

Teaching Our Children
Real Food Kids: In the Kitchen plus 1 month access to select Real Food Kids eCourse videos by Wardeh Harmon of GNOWFGLINS & Jami Delgado of Eat Nourishing ($30)
Kids in Training: Life lessons that will help lead to productive, responsible and grateful kids! by Rebecca Dulgarian of Blue Cricket Designs ($7.95)
Life According to Me by Stephanie Dulgarian of Somewhat Simple ($5.95)
The Family Dinner Project by Rebecca Dulgarian & Stephanie Dulgarian ($9.95)
Easy Peasy Chores by Alina Joy Dubois of The Good Old Days Farm ($17.99)
Teaching Kids to Clean by Dana White of A Slob Comes Clean ($5)

Help for Busy Moms
Real {Fast} Food by Trina Holden of TrinaHolden.com ($6)
Crock On by Stacy Myers of Stacy Makes Cents ($5)
Creative Ways to Make Family Holiday Memories by Kit Singleton of Raising Small Souls ($25)

Non-Toxic and Natural Living
Natural Beauty Recipes by Katie of WellnessMama ($10)
Healthy Homemaking by Stephanie Langford of Keeper of the Home ($12.95)
Restocking the Pantry by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($9.99)
Accidentally Green by Hilary Bernstein of Accidentally Green ($2.99)
Clean, Naturally! by Kresha Faber of Nourishing Joy ($4.99)

Come back Monday morning to get in on this deal. One week only!

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Filed Under: Baby, Healthy Living

How to Keep a Baby Perfectly Quiet During School Hours

on September 25, 2012

Okay, so I wasn’t purposely letting him do this, but it sure kept him occupied for a long time! It worked a whole lot better than all the fancy independent activities for one year olds I’ve posted in the past!

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Filed Under: Baby, Homeschooling

15 (More) Independent Activities for One-Year-Olds

on September 5, 2012

My first post on 15 Independent Activities for One-Year-Olds has been the most popular post on Imperfect Homemaker. I figure there must be lots of other moms who are in the same boat that I am and need something that will occupy their little ones for a while! I decided to round up some more ideas for all of us that are age-appropriate for one-year-olds and can be done independently by the child.

Note: If you click a picture or the link under the pictures, you will be taken to the blog where these ideas originated from. If you’d like to pin a specific picture, please pin from the blog where the idea was originally posted.

Here goes!

1. Playing with balls of various textures

2. Exploring household articles

3. Sticky Table

4. Musical Pots

5. Cardboard box tunnel

6. Felt board play

7. Homemade Drum

8. Homemade Busy Board

9. Pom poms and cardboard tubes (if this activity is going to be unsupervised, I think it would be best to replicate this idea with larger sized balls that won’t fit into the child’s mouth.)

10. Connect Four (without the rules of course!)

11. Water Painting

12. Emptying baskets

13. Jars and lids

14. Homemade ball pit

15. Toys! There are lots of toys that you can buy that are educational, and you don’t have to take the time to make anything. Here’s my list of 10 toys for one-year olds.

What activities do you use for your little ones when you need them to play by themselves?

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Filed Under: Baby, Toddlers, Uncategorized

15 Independent Activities for One Year Olds

on June 26, 2012

I have been preparing for the coming homeschool year, and it dawned on me that I will have a one year old to keep busy during homeschool hours! He is a busy guy too – always into everything. I went on the hunt for some activities that will be safe for him to do without supervision. I’m hoping these will be exciting enough to him that he will keep himself occupied for a while. If the pictures are not self-explanatory, you can check out the link under each one to find tutorials on how to make these activities.

Make your own texture book

Peek-a-boo tray from shoebox lid

Baby Play Bottle

Buckle clipping toy

Treasure baskets

Tissue box stuffed with fabric squares

Nesting bowls

Muffin tin sorting

Putting balls through a tissue box

Velcro board

Tearing Paper

Playing with magnets

Placing objects in a large container

Tactile exploration cards

Pipe cleaners in a bottle

If you have any more great ideas for activities that would fit this age group, please let us know in the comments!

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Filed Under: Baby, Homeschooling, Toddlers

Girly Car Seat Canopy Tutorial

on March 14, 2011

I had a boutique car seat canopy when my little girl was a baby, and several of my friends absolutely loved it (I did too!) When I found out my friend was having a girl, I knew I had to make one for her! I found tutorials online, but none of them were quite what I was looking for. I wanted one that was similar to mine, with a peep-hole in the top. I also wanted it to be made from more material, creating more fullness and “girly flowiness”. I think I just invented a phrase, but that’s okay.So here’s what I came up with:

Supplies: 2 coordinating fabrics about 1 1/2 yards each, scissors, thread, sewing machine.

Fold fabric in half, and cut a piece 40 inches wide by 24 inches long. (When it’s unfolded it should be 48 inches long.) Cut both pieces of fabric to these measurements.

Round all four corners of both pieces of fabric. You’ll want to take off quite a bit. I actually couldn’t find a bowl large enough to trace, so I just eyeballed it. Then I matched the corner I had already cut to the other corners so they would all be the same.

Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and make 2 small cuts, about 15 inches from each end. Connect the slits, by cutting a half circle that goes down about 3 inches deep. Do this on both fabrics.

Next, cut 2 pieces of ribbon for the ties. They should be about 11 -12 inches long. If you’re like me and don’t have ribbon handy, you could just sew some out of your fabric scraps.

Now, it’s finally time to sew this thing together! Place fabric right sides together and sew all the way around the perimeter using a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Leave an opening to turn it right side out.

Clip the corners up to the seam and then turn right side out. Fold under the unstitched part and topstitch. Continue the topstitch all the way around. I used the edge of the presser foot as my guide.

Now comes the hardest part, and I forgot to take pictures! (Probably because it was hard.) So read closely…

Sew a gathering stitch around each circle in the middle of the carseat canopy. Gently gather each circle all the way around. Fold each circle inward and pin together. Make sure to pin the ties directly in the middle of the front and back sides. Topstitch all the way around. Once you’ve deciphered all that without any pictures, you’re finished! Maybe you can tell from the finished picture what the finished middle circle is supposed to look like.

Now you have a flowy, girly carseat canopy with a hole at the top so that baby has some air circulating and you can peek in to chuck on her without disturbing her should she be asleep.