Toys!

When we first started therapy for Ruby, I felt overwhelmed by the thought of picking out the *right* type of toys to help her advance in her gross and fine motor skills. We got rid of 99% of Eli and Maddux's baby toys, so we were starting from scratch anyway, might as well make sure we made our purchases count. I read blogs and reviews for hours on end about the pros and cons of most any toy you can think of for a 0-12month old. I'm sure I learned what most other parents of ANY child learns: to each their own. What works for some may not work for others, and Ruby is going to like and learn from what Ruby likes and learns from.

That being said, we've definitely found some tools that proved to be more beneficial for Ruby. I'll list them below and briefly give a reason. Hopefully this will help other new parents looking for a place to start.


LeapFrog Spin and Sing Alphabet

Ruby. Loves. This. I definitely credit this toy to Ruby's progress with reaching while in a prone position, and sitting in a kneeling or side-sitting position for longer than she would have without it. This toy is not too loud, has 3 settings of songs (though they all run together when your child plays with this toy on end, like Ruby does), and it's the perfect height to access while lying down or while sitting. PLUS, it's hard to knock over, so when Ruby was younger she could swipe at it with all of her might and it would stay upright for her.


Fisher Price 1-2-3 Crawl Along Snail
This is another of Ruby's all-time favorites. This snail moves as it 'sings', and she becomes mesmerized by it. The one thing that isn't great is it moves so much that it often ends up on the other side of the room when Ruby pushes it. This will come in handy once she starts crawling, but for now, Mommy ends up chasing it.


Therapy Chewy Tubes

We picked these up as soon as I noticed Ruby starting to gnaw on my fingers during her oral exercises. These tubes allow her to chomp down as hard as she'd like while she practices her chewing skills, and the different sizes and textures give her sensory therapy.


Vtech Move & Crawl Ball

This is becoming another favorite of Ruby's. This ball rolls around (on it's own) and signs and talks, but with a tolerable volume. (That is VERY important to Mommy's ears!) The ball continues to move as long as it is touched or pushed, but stops when it isn't played with. It moves in a circular pattern, so it ends up rolling away from Ruby and then back to her. She's gotten bonked on the head by it a few times, but it moves so gently that she's never minded. :)


Z-vib
I started using the Z-vibe with Ruby when she was about 3-months old. Before she would nurse, I would pop that gentle vibrating thing on her lips, then inside of her cheeks, and on her tongue for maybe two minutes total. This helps 'wake up' her oral muscles to more efficiently nurse.


Summer Infant Seat

Our Physical Therapist brought us this seat when Ruby was just a few months old. While we had a bumbo, it didn't seem to offer the right support for her when she was younger. This seat was shaped just different enough so that we could stuff a few burp cloths and wash clothes in there to make it work. Plus the spinnable 'tray' has fun things on there. I still use this with Ruby when I'm getting dinner prepped; now that she's big enough to not need any fillers, she works on her sitting while in there.


Honey Bear Straw Cup
We started Ruby with this as soon as we started offering her solids at five months. Most kids with low muscle tone are advised to use straws rather than traditional sippy cups, to help strengthen the muscles and gets them to focus their efforts in the right areas. When we first started, we put the straw on her tongue and squeezed the bear a little to let Ruby know that liquid would come through the straw. Then she figured it out and we were able to stop 'helping' her very soon after. For about a month, 90% of the liquid would fall back out of her mouth because once she stopped sucking, she would totally relax her lips and they would open. Now she's more of a pro and we only lose a few drops here and there.


Sweat Bands

This is our own invention. Our physical therapist started talking about hip helpers for Ruby right out of the gate. (Low muscle tone tends to make babies legs splay out wide, and their muscles learn to do things in a less than desirable way. Hip helpers keep their legs together which allows them to learn to move with their legs in proper alignment.) While she was not big enough for them yet, when she did tummy time, or back time, or bath time, or anytime she was not being held by us, we would wrap one of these around her upper thighs. Now that she's older and stronger, we have to twist them once or twice, to add some tension, but we still use them. Her hip-helpers are great, but between the stroller, upstairs, downstairs, and play dates, the sweat bands have served us better. We have at least a dozen of them scattered in different places so there is always one accessible.

Hair Clips, Headbands and Tutus; OH MY!

I posted about Sparkle and Charm Boutique a few months ago, but since then I've ordered more (girly!!) stuff, so I thought I'd share again. The new website is still under-construction so please be patient as photos are still being uploaded and kinks are being worked out.

As much as I try to get Maddie to wear barrettes or hair clips, she loves to pull them out and hand them to me, as if we are playing a game of mommy-clips-my-hair-and-I-unclip-it. Clips often get lost during this game, so I haven't had much of a chance for Max to wear the new clips I bought from Kathryn, but I am excited for that day to come. (Plus, the Sparkle and Charm clips do not pull her hair out, like the store-bought ones I have, making Maddie a much happier little girl.)

I recently purchased a handful of flower hair clips, mostly on the small side due to Maddie's lack of substantial hair. As usual, the craftsmanship and attention to detail in Sparkle and Charm's work is flawless. The clips are even cuter than the pictures on her site, and the clips stand up to Maddie's grabbing hands. Also, when I ordered the clips, Kathryn (Sparkle and Charm) contacted me suggesting an alternative base clip to the one she usually uses for the product I chose. (I do not know all of the proper clip/barrette lingo, but I believe we ended up with an 'alligator' clip, which holds better in Maddie's hair.) A few friends of mine have also ordered from Sparkle & Charm, so I've seen a variety of clips and I can attest that they are all of superior quality. Plus, they are easy on the wallet. And just like with Maddie's tutu, the turnaround time for my order was really quick.

As I mentioned in my previous post about Sparkle and Charm, Kathryn also makes custom tutus, which are gorgeous. If you or anyone you know has a small child (preferably a girl), this would be a great purchase. Who doesn't love a photo of little legs poking out from underneath yards of tulle?!?

Onslaught

I know I've commented on Dove's Real Beauty Campaign before, but as we gear up for school I thought it might be a good time to revisit their ideas on self esteem. Even for the most confident girls, the start of a new school year can bring out all types of insecurities, including those surrounding the concept of 'beauty'. Starting at a young age, girls are subjected to an insane amount of pressure regarding their physical appearance: watch MTV for five minutes and you'll no doubt see teenagers following each other's examples and leads when it comes to clothing, make-up and dieting as if they were all sheep, blindly accepting their peers' judgements as the gospel.

Dove has created the Self Esteem Fund to try and combat the mentality that a woman's beauty is only found when looking in the mirror through critical eyes. (Go to Dove.com to see other great ads by Dove.) To strengthen a young girl's sense of self, positive role models and 'real' examples of true beauty are necessary. It is my hope every day that Eli and Maddux do not look to others for validation on their road to finding pride and value in their strength and beauty. I want them to know that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and God made them perfect the way they are. No matter what anyone else tells them. Ever. They need to know that the pictures they see in magazines are manufactured and airbrushed and photo-shopped. They need to know that ads they see on TV and in the movies are not the prototype they are supposed to follow. They were designed to be them. The way they are. Glorious, beautiful them. Eli, with his special feet. Maddux, with her goofy, crooked grin. They do not need to lose weight, gain muscle, be tan, wear Prada, get a nose job, or wear colored contacts to be beautiful. They were beautifully made and I hope they know that every day of their lives.

Tutu Cute!!

ALERT! ALERT!! It appears I bought my daughter, my loud, rough and tough Mad Dog daughter, the frilliest item of girl clothing possible: a tutu! I assure you this is not just any tutu though. It is a custom made, red, white and blue tutu in honor of her birthday this week (which falls the day before July 4th). Kathryn over at Sparkle and Charm makes custom tutus, and she does a darn good job! I've known about her family for at least a year now, following their growth through adopted and foster children, and when I found out that she made custom items, I decided to check out her store.

Sparkle and Charm Boutique sells tutus and hair accessories of all shapes and sizes. Maddie's tutu was custom made (only two measurements needed) and it came with an adorable hair clip to match. Some might scoff at the $30 price tag for both, but if you could see the final product in person, you'd realize the amount of detail and work that went into this beautiful creation. Seriously. Not only does her tutu have three colors of oh-so soft tulle, it's also has satin ribbons, a belt-like chain of stars, and interspersed metallic stars attached to the tulle (and not with obvious superglue clumps that would appear if I were making the skirt). The tutu is definitely a work of art and when Maddux grows out of it, we will be hanging it somewhere to display rather than sticking it in storage somewhere. Thanks again, Kathryn!!

Product Review: Blurb

Unlike my last product review, I unfortunately did not receive any free 'incentive' to post my opinion this time. However, I cannot help myself because I am sold on this product: hook, line and sinker! Also, since many of my readers are bloggers and parents, this will hopefully be a post that will benefit others. (And hey, if Blurb decides to throw a free publication or two my way, it wouldn't be the end of the world!)

Last week I commented how much I've grown to love blogging for its memory-keeping purposes. ele5.com, then Confessions of Eli's Mom, and now The Tales of Eli & Maddux are what I rely on more than baby books to keep record of milestones. More importantly, my blogs provide the little details and corresponding pictures so I can remember these early days when my kids are grown. When Eli was younger (back in the ele5.com days), I had a hard time finding a publication service that was user-friendly for bloggers. Luckily blogging has taken off in the last year or so and publication companies have noticed. For the time being, I've chosen Blurb to print out my blogs. Not only do they have an easy-to-use website with free download-able software so your blog can be copied directly into your working 'document', but they print in color and allow pictures!! This is a huge plus for me since I love to include pictures (in case you hadn't noticed). You can choose from a wide selection of covers, which are color (even though I chose b&w) and pretty 'customizable'. The cost depends on your book size as well as number of pages. I've published two books so far, and even my larger one (all of 2006 and I blog LOTS) wasn't too expensive (less than $50).

To sum up, I'm posting this product review to inform those of you who blog that this service does exist and it's a great way to preserve your writing. Especially if you blog about your families.....unless you don't want them to know what you've been saying about them, of course.

Product Review: Luvs Bear Hug Stretch

A Luvs representative recently emailed me asking me if I'd be interested in doing a product review on my blog. As I've never done one, I wasn't quite sure what that entailed, but after a few emails back and forth it became clear. Would I be interested in receiving free stuff? YES!!!

When Eli was born we went back and forth (depending on what size he wore) between Pampers and Huggies, usually favoring the Pampers. We had too many leaks with store brands, and since I'm not a fan of cleaning up blow-outs or wet sheets, I have paid up for the name brand ever since. Our local store does not carry Luvs, so I've not had a chance to try them out before now. The new "Bear Hug Stretch" is not available in Maddux's size yet, so we could only try the product on Eli (thought they did send some size 3's for her, when she grows into them - BONUS!).

Enough background - on to the review! The side tabs do offer a great stretch; they are very comparable to Pampers in that respect. Eli tends to drink a lot of water in the afternoon, and again in his bath, so his overnight diaper often weighs about 8lbs when he wakes up in the morning. If/when I use a cheaper diaper, or even if/when I do not fasten it 'just so', Eli wakes up with a wet spot or two on his sleep sac. So far, no such occurrence while using the Luvs diaper. It appears their "Blue Leakguard Core" really does keep leaks in their place! Luvs advertises no sagging or bunching in their description of this diaper, which proved true. Eli is very active, so lots of running around can move the diaper out of the designated area. Again, so far this has not happened with Eli: the diaper stays put! Overall the diaper seemed to stand up pretty well to the Pampers I hold in such high esteem. I have not seen them in our local store yet, but as long as the cost was the same or cheaper than my Pampers, I would definitely use this new line of Luvs. Overall the diaper seemed to stand up pretty well to the Pampers I hold in such high esteem. Two Diaper Pins Up!