Rookie Moms

Looking for a cheap gift for a baby or kid? We had a little gift exchange with some other families and I had to buy something for a 2 year old girl for less than $10. I was pretty pleased with what I came up with, and think this is a great gift for pretty much any kid, including babies.

To make a “treasure box”, buy a gift box or one of these cute pressboard suitcases, and a pack of alphabet stickers, available at Target, scrapbook stores, or if you are fancy, The Paper Source.

Use the stickers to put the recipient’s name on the box. I like to add “treasures” but if the child’s name has too many S’s or E’s, you won’t have the right letters left over after you’ve spelled the name.

Depending on budget, put some treats in the box, or leave it empty. For a young toddler, I like small plastic animals or bath toys. For a big girl, crayons and stickers. For my 24 year old sister, I would leave it empty so that she can put her souvenirs from Florence inside.

The faux vintage lunch box I used in this picture cost $5.99 at my local independent toy store.

Early sitters need practice with balance. For Holden, I sit him down in Dwarf Land (pictured) and scatter rattles, toys, and other objects in a circle around him, the baby-sitter, and see what happens.

Watch closely to prevent any embarrassing facial bruises. I either create a “circle of safety” with my arms or pad the area with good-sized pillows.

Kendra from ShoppingForTwo sent this suggestion to us last year.

She wrote: Keep yourself and your baby snuggly warm this winter by making your own baby carrier. I learned how to make this just a week before my baby was born and not only is this the most comfortable baby carrier, but it’s also the least expensive. I made two carriers for about $16.

Take a trip down to the fabric store and pick out five yards of either woven cotton (you will need to hem the edges to keep from unraveling) or fleece (no need to sew at all). Cut the five yards in half horizontally, so you end up with a 20″ by 5 yards piece of material. Then follow the instructions at wearyourbaby.com to learn how to wrap your baby.

Kendra wrote that her baby instantly falls asleep when he’s wrapped up which makes running errands or taking a walk more peaceful. “I wish I had found out about this when my older son was a baby, it would have made life so much easier!”

Heather secretly made me a wrap just like Kendra’s as a Happy Pregnancy present. I wore it proudly when Scarlett was tiny.

Nataly, the CEO and co-founder of Workitmom.com, an online community for working moms, sent me this one.

Oh, the big plans many of us make before having kids:

• I’m going to make my own baby food.
• I’m never letting my child sleep in a swing or drive her around in a car to make her stop crying.
• I’m never going to raise my voice at my child, let her watch TV so that I can get a break, or let her play with her food at the restaurant so I can finish my meal.

Right. Find us a mom who sticks to all her big plans and we’ll have to put her in a museum–you know it doesn’t happen. What happens is reality hits and we all realize that we will do a whole lot of things to maintain our sanity that we thought we’d never do.

So how about turning this into a fun activity by keeping a list of Things I Swore I’d Never Do as a Parent? Every time you do something that wasn’t part of your big pre-baby plans, give yourself kudos for being a real mom and write it down. Keep your list going as your baby gets older and if you’re really crafty, you can even add photos (say, of your ultra-happy baby eating fast food or sleeping in a swing?)

Be a good friend and share the fun with a few of your mom friends. Bring your list to your next get-together and encourage them to create their own. Then you can all share your real-mom moments and some laughs.

[Photo from rebellin.net]