There are many choices of bras with little hooking flaps. How does a rookie mom decide? Allow me to help. With my 30+ months of breastfeeding experience and access to a dozen different kinds of bras, I have a few strong opinions for you.

At a bare minimum, you need three nursing bras. One to sleep in, one for daytime, and one that can do either in a pinch. Here are my personal guidelines on your nursing bra wardrobe:

1. The sleeping bra. The main job is to keep your breast pads in place. I like the Bravado basic thingie (top) and this bamboo one from bellabumbum (lower). The Bravado has more support but the bellabumbum is barely there and was perfect for the hospital.
   
2. The daytime bra. I like this one from Anita but wish that I didn’t buy white because it feels so culinary-school issue. It is comfortable and supportive. There’s also the DIY option nursing bra made from your favorite regular bra.
   
3. The specialty bra. Do you need a nursing bra for jogging or swimming? Maybe so. I got a Moving Comfort Fiona sports bra with velcro straps for use during and after my exercise class. Let’s just say that a regular sports bra is very inconvenient for breastfeeding. Picture it.
   
4. The sexy one. Whether you want to feel extra pretty during the day or on a date or if you still need to keep pads in place during business time, a sexy bra is a worthwhile purchase. I love this one from Cake. Also, our friend the mominatrix shared her favorites here.
5. The nursing tank. Ladies, I’m up in the air about tanks and shirts with such a singular focus to the extent that I wrote a nursing top smackdown about just them. In this context, let’s call them optional and move on.

Other hard-earned tips I have for you:

• Buy a soft-banded sleep bra before the baby comes around week 37 or so. But wait until about 4-5 weeks afterward to purchase the others. Get fit by a professional if possible. Here is a handy buying guide from consumerreports.org.
• Buying a bra online is tricky but possible. Many of the better websites will help you through the process and accept returns.
• White is boring and depressing. Nude is also boring and depressing but will show less under white tops. I prefer black and fun colors.
• Make sure to jump in your sports bra before purchase. After your six week appointment, of course.
• And, anything that can’t be opened and closed with just one hand is bullshit. Try the one-hand closure with each hand.

I’d love to hear what you think, either here or in our Facebook discussion.

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Disclosure: I received some Bravado bras as a gift but bought the rest. All opinions are mine. All pictured boobs are not mine.

Reprinted from the wayback machine cuz I’m super busy today.

Holden and I used to cook together a lot. Before his little brother Milo joined our family, Holden would stand by my side at the kitchen sink and crack eggs, stir with a whisk, or rip greens for a salad. Unfortunately, I must confess, I now put the two of them in front of a 25 minute kid show while I race to get dinner together most nights. So I was a perfect candidate for this lesson a few weeks ago.

Holden and Shayna cooking at Eat Real Fest

At the Oakland Eat Real Festival, an amazing event aimed at helping folks “put the food back into fast,” Holden cooked on stage as part of the children’s cooking demo. Along with 3 other children, he helped make “Scissor salsa salad” under the guidance of Shayna Marmar.

Shayna is a from-scratch cooking teacher-extraordinaire. She started Honeypie Cooking & Events in Oakland to bring fresh, seasonal, and delicious foods back into our kitchens.

Scissor Salsa Salad, all kid-made

As she was leading the children through food preparation, Shayna talked about eating fresh real whole foods as often as possible. We sat on hay bales as she encouraged us to get our children more involved in the creation of their meals. She has seen many parents who said their children hated veggies eat their words while their kids ate salad for the first time.

I emailed her after the event to find out if she had any tips for the Rookie Moms who want to cook more with children, and she told us to get out the safety scissors:

While safety scissors are not generally thought of as a cooking tool, they work great in helping kids of all ages cut various fruits and vegetables. Keep a pair in your kitchen drawer, specifically for cooking, and your child will instantly be able to assist with food preparation tasks without the use of a sharp knife.

Help your child along by cutting the fruits and vegetables into slices/strips beforehand. Foods that can be cut with safety scissors include tomatoes, bell peppers, apples, peaches, cabbage, and cucumbers, among others.

She offered a ton of great hacks for getting kids involved in cooking; here are a few other tips I picked up from the demo:

• Leave your perfectionism at the door; better that the food products are kid-made than perfect.
• Do rough cut prep in advance so kids can avoid a lot of waiting time as well as large knives on counters.
• Think about what foods can be torn by small hands: lettuce, herbs, bread…
• For safer cutting, have a pair of kids’ safety scissors dedicated for use on food (see above) or use a butter knife for other foods that won’t easily fit in the scissors.
• 

  Mashing out some tortillas

  Don’t have a rolling pin? Wash some tools from the play-doh kit or use a cleaned can. Let kids use their hands to pound out dough and smash out tortillas.

• During the final tasting, ask kids “what would you change next time? what would you add more/less of?” to get them thinking and engaged in the process. Holden said “more tomatoes,” a big boy said “more spicy,” the little girl said “just right,” and the big girl refused to taste it. (can’t please everyone!)

Taste test, hmmm more tomatoes please

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I want to thank Shayna for sharing her tips with us!

Shayna offers cooking classes & parties for older children, teens, adults, and families as well as workshops for teachers & parents highlighting tips & tricks for involving children in the process of preparing and eating wholesome and tasty foods.

She can also turn your next kids birthday party into a healthy cooking party, emphasizing fun in the kitchen. How brilliant is that?! She also blogs at Peas and Carrots 123.

I am constantly on the lookout for shortcuts in the kitchen. Delicious in two minutes with three ingredients? Now you’re talking. This easiest salmon in the world “recipe” is about 20 minutes from fridge to table; it is simple, hands-off, and delicious. I served it with pride to my picky (foodie) book club and routinely give it to my kids. Four-year old Milo will tell you that salmon is his favorite food.

The fish itself should start out cool or room temperature but NOT FROZEN (thawed from frozen is fine, I’m not snobby that way, just do it overnight in the fridge).

Ingredients:
Pretty piece of salmon, about 2 pounds (I like wild Alaskan)
Olive Oil, a few glugs
Any spice rub (Use sea salt and freshly ground pepper if you don’t have any)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Add olive oil to coat the bottom of glass baking dish.
3. Rub the fish with spice rub or lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper
4. Lay the fish on the oil, skin side down.
5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork

Done!

For a toddler, I cut up small pieces. For my big boys, they can tear it up on their own with forks. They like it with soy sauce or teriyaki sauce (and by teriyaki, I mean ketchup or maple syrup! Ick.) I will also add a starch, green vegetable and fruit.

Side dish suggestions:

• Quickie starch: I serve this Israeli couscous or rice.
• Zero-minute green vegetable: frozen peas, still frozen.
• Two-minute green vegetable: spinach barely wilted with a lemon wedge.
• Zero-minute fruit side dish: applesauce.
• Two minute fruit side dish: apple slices.

Related post: Easy ginger Indian salmon

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This simple recipe is presented as part of our Makin’ It series in which we share hands-on projects, crafts, kitchen shortcuts and other things that are made. We’re just getting started. This is week three.

Today Heather and I (and Sawyer) are headed for Chicago where we will be attending a Blogger Summit hosted by Kenmore. As my husband and I are actually in the market for a new range/oven/stove/whatever you want to call, you know, that big device that cooks food in the kitchen, I am extra interested in hearing about stoves/ovens/ranges/cooktops.

But, like any margarita lover, I won’t mind seeing a demo of a blender while we’re at it. With tequila in it. Okay? (My twitter friend Laura tells me that consumption of alcohol is critical to staying warm — and Chicago is a snowy 18 degrees currently.)

The question they’ve asked us, as a conversation starter, that I am now asking you is this one: Do you have any unusual, practical uses for your everyday appliances?

For example, our reader Elizabeth in Chicago told us on the Rookie Moms Facebook page that she leaves the oven light on as a nightlight in case anyone in her household wanders into the kitchen during the dark hours. Others warm up blankets and teddy bears in the dryer.

Myself, I just realized that the mac and cheese I usually take to potlucks to ensure my own child will eat SOMETHING could be made more enticing if I brought it in my slow cooker. Set it on potluck table plugged in to offer warm food. (Maybe everyone already knows that and I am a late bloomer when it comes to potluck protocol.)

Another blogger who will be attending, BusyDad, demonstrates using his stick mixer as a guitar accessory.

How about you? Do you have any appliance-related tricks up your sleeve? Do you store forks in your blender? Use your waffle iron to put cool patterns in your hair?

photo: TammyGreen

Omigod, once again I am totally serious and unsmiley in this Ragu video clip. What is my problem? I really am proud that I’m giving my kids the dinner experience I dreamed of as a kid. I am happy! I should be smiling when I describe it! Instead, I look like I’m discussing foreign policy.

Today we have THREE $100 gift cards to giveaway. Ragu is wrapping up their Mom’s The Word on Dinner campaign (a series of videos that I appeared in) and wants to celebrate by allowing you to splurge on something that will make you smile.

Here’s the deal: Comment below and tell us what you’d do with $100 that is related to FAMILY DINNER.

Enter only once. (Subsequent entries from the same email address will be deleted.)

On December 5, I will select three winners at random via computer. The three lucky winners will receive a $100 Amex Gift Card that can be used wherever American Express is accepted. Good luck!

I accepted the great stuffing challenge of 2011 because I love me some stuffing. I spent hours this weekend reading recipe websites and perfecting my stuffing recipe to use on the big day this Thursday.

NOT.

I do love stuffing, but who has time for hours in the kitchen in preparation for hours in the kitchen? With three little boys underfoot (two running and one crying to be held), not me.

So, I took some shortcuts. And tried a little riffing off the original Pepperidge Farm® bag recipe. This is what I came up with in twenty minutes including chopping:

INGREDIENTS:

• Handful of sliced mushrooms, rough-chopped
• TPSP of EVOO + TBSP of butter for sauteeing
• All the other ingredients on the package of the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned stuffing bag

STEPS to the quickie stuffing:

1. Heat butter and oil in saucepan over medium-high heat
2. Toss in mushrooms until not-so raw
3. Follow the other shortcut directions on the package of the Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned stuffing bag.

And YUM.

I made my practice stuffing this weekend so I could make a ton more on Thursday (in proportions to guarantee leftovers) without feeling too weird about it. The small recipe was just enough for four servings, which amounted to giving the boys a taste, Alec having a normal amount, and me downing an obscene three bowls.

If I have a sous-chef in the kitchen on Thursday, I will make this same stuffing AND cornbread stuffing with bacon and apples. I don’t mind being a little experimental as long as my favorite side dish is already at the table.

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Pepperidge Farm is compensating me for my time and ingredients to tackle the Stuffing Recipe Challenge.

I am a stuffing fiend. Turkey, meh. There, I said it.

Everything else (food, family, football etc.) ties for second place. Stuffing is the true star of the November holiday meal from where I sit. I eat several helpings of it at Thanksgiving dinner and hoard enough leftovers to eat huge scoops at lunch for a few days. Just thinking about its savory, bready goodness makes me happy.

When Pepperidge Farm® invited me to create an original stuffing recipe, I wanted to try. They gave me less than a week to perfect my recipe before sharing it here. In my experience, the herb seasoned stuffing blend with the traditional butter, celery, and onion is SUPER DELICIOUS already. So, I’m gonna need a little help to improve upon it. Whitney tells me she likes fruit in hers, but I don’t know if I can trust her on this one.

What do you like in your stuffing? Is there a secret ingredient? Or do you just follow the package directions and bliss out like me?

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Pepperidge Farm is compensating me for my time and secret ingredients to tackle the Stuffing Recipe Challenge. Win win. Because I seriously love the stuff.

[photos from Pepperidge Farm ]

Help me, friends. I have a screamy baby. And two other hungry children. Dinnertime is the worst. For all of us. Last week, when I found myself breastfeeding while trying to remove a 450 degree frittata from the oven, I knew I needed help. All my go-to dinners are suddenly too hard with a needy baby in my arms (too much stove, oven, or knives).

Our new morning routine involves all five of us piling into the minivan, then Sawyer and I drop off the preschooler, the commuter, the first grader, and then return home to have our baby-style day. And usually he’s screaming when we get home.

During the day, I use all my tricks to plan and prep as much as I can of dinner. Then around 4:30, Sawyer and I fetch the big boys from their respective schools. We return home around 5:30. Back in the day, the boys would watch their allotted 25 minutes of TV while I made dinner. Now, I spend that time nursing. Then 6:00 comes around and we’re no closer to dinner.

Having written this site for six years now, I have made a special effort at gaining and sharing tips about streamlinning the dinner-making process. Tips like declaring Monday crock pot night have seen me through the rookie year and two-under-two challenge.

But now.

OhMyGod.

I chopped veggies a day in advance, created the marinate during naptime, and used the crock pot to make a delicious brisket. By the time 6pm rolled around (after the scream-a-palooza-nurse-a-thon), all we had was a huge hunk of meat with not a veggie in sight. Should we just sit around with forks poking into a steaming crock pot in the middle of the table? Probably not.

I’m seriously wondering if I will ever be able to get dinner on the table again. Please share your easiest one dish meals, tricks, hacks, or tips to see me through the next few weeks (months?!)!

By the time you have a toddler, you probably know the best way to keep a small child occupied is to show them something they’ve never seen before (no, not TV).  And how about something that they can smoosh, squeeze, or secretly taste a tiny nibble of?  Even better!

In our not-so-recent blog blast, SusieJ generously imparted a bit of wisdom that must come only with being the mother of four boys.  Her amazing post regarding eating out with the whole family (especially for those of you who aren’t rookies, but are dragging a larger crew around with you) is packed with tips.  My favorite part, however, is the suggestion to ask the chef or waiter for some dough for your children to play with.  I’ve been to a Mexican restaurant where giving the kids tortilla dough is part of their schtick, and it’s just brilliant.  I’ve never thought to make this special request at a different restaurant before, and you can bet your sweet buns that I’m going to start.

The uncooked dough is smooshy and wonderful to touch, and guaranteed to keep kids busy making “doughnuts” and snakes. And if you want to get all Martha on me, you can even bake it when you get home.  Or just toss it and be grateful for a relatively peaceful meal.

When our kids were younger, Heather was a little bit obsessed with putting them to bed at each other’s houses in order to allow us to have nighttime plans with each other. We pulled this off quite a bit when we were rookie moms. With two kids each now, it’s not really worth the hassle; we’re more likely to suck it up and pay for a sitter. Back in the day, however, it was not uncommon for me and Ryan to bring a a Pack and Play to a dinner party and put our baby to bed in our friend’s bedrooms.

When Julian turned two, he started sleeping on a mat at his little preschool. This liberated us from the pack and play, so we’d just bring his jammies and his objects d’securitie (I just invented that expression) and put him to bed anywhere. He is a champion sleeper, so this worked well for us. We went to dinner parties and enjoyed adult company while respecting our kid’s bedtime. Win/Win.

When we left our friend’s houses, we’d carry our sleeping toddler to the car, snap him into his carseat and drive home. He’d usually wake up, look around and ride quietly home where he would fall asleep the second we put him in his crib. Like I said, champion sleeper, and believe me, my second child does not behave this way. So, for those who can pull it off, take advantage!!

Heather, the big advocate of this idea, was once featured in “Be frugal but totally cool,” an article about parents finding ways to use babysitters less. Unfortunately for us, they did not mention our book which includes at least three date night ideas that don’t require sitters. In the picture, she and Alec are entertaining their friends Jeffrey and Ha with a game night, while their kids sleep in their own beds.

Your 43rd weekly challenge is to either entertain at home after your child has gone to bed — or to pack it all up and go out to someone else’s home and execute the  famous  Half-Sleepover Move.

Have you done it?

Whitney passed along this mama tip to me and now I’m telling you; if your baby is starting to skip that 10pm feeding and you want to stretch those sleeping hours to ones that are more convenient, try the dream feed. She says it didn’t work for them, but we used the dream feed technique for several months (on two different babies) and are ready to try it again.

Pssst, the Baby Whisperer also recommends it if her word is worth more to you.

Now, it takes a very steady hand and I never tried it myself because I had the lucky job of pumping during feeding time (consequently, Alec is the pro in our house) but here’s the deal:

1. Warm the bottle
2. Feed the baby while he sleeps — you don’t even have to rouse him from the crib
3. Now, you go to bed and enjoy the extra ZZZZ’s

Basically, the sucking reflex is so strong that Holden could down a 4 oz bottle (and later almost 6 oz!) while still sleeping. I think Alec played video games on his phone with his free hand.

I hear that some people are able to do a full-on nursing session without waking the baby this way.

In the Ragu-sponsored video we are sharing this week, I chat with my blogging buddies Kim Tracy Prince and Renee Ross about leftovers.

Since I make two separate dinners for my family (adults vs kids), I don’t personally struggle with convincing my kids to eat leftovers. The kids are not eating what Ryan and I eat anyway. (If you are also in the Two-Dinner Club, please let me know so that I feel like less of a failure!)

Also? My children both WANT to eat the same thing a bunch of nights in a row. Scarlett is on a pupusa kick. This week, if she doesn’t get a bean and cheese pupusa on her plate, she will be pissed, no matter what else she’s already eaten. Julian would be happy if we made mac and cheese on Monday and fed the remainder to him every day for the rest of the week. Cheese pizza or pasta would be acceptable substitutes.

Do your kids like the same thing every night? Is that an option? Or is that the only option?

P.S. This video was part of a promotional series called Mom’s The Word on Dinner, put together by Ragu. (I know, I know, sometimes Dad is the word on dinner, but folks, that ship has already sailed.) See all the Ragu videos on their Facebook page.

P.S.2. Of course I do not make pupusas from scratch. I buy them pre-packaged in the refrigerated section of the fancy grocery store.