Brooke and EvieIn honor of Food Allergy & Asthma Awareness Week, I've invited Brooke to share her thoughts as a parent of a little daughter with severe food allergies. Feeding Beck is hard enough - I can't imagine also having to consider allergies. Thank you to Brooke for sharing her story so I'm more aware.
Ever since Matt Damon played that hard-to-catch ex-assassin Jason Bourne, I have wished for such specialized skills. It's awesome that he no sooner enters a room than he has observed every detail pertinent to his survival. Then he whoops up on everybody who's out to get him!
Unfortunately, since my daughter was diagnosed with three severe food allergies a year ago, I have had to hone those same skills.
Related: No baking! No mixing! Make baby's 1st birthday cake delicious & allergen-free
The mind of a Food Allergy Mom can be a hectic place. When she enters a room, she tries to maintain a look of ease and comfort for her child, be a good listener while greeting her friends, all
Blog Posts by Disney Baby
Confession of a "Food Allergy Mom": I Feel Isolated
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Thu, May 16, 2013 6:28 PM EDTName that Baby! 8 Ways to Find the Perfect Moniker for Your Little One
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Wed, May 15, 2013 4:23 PM EDT
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8 baby name brainstorming tips!Choosing a baby name can sometimes seem like a daunting task with so many factors swirling about. Will it stand the test of time? Is it too trendy? Too dated? Do the initials spell something embarrassing? The good news, of course, is that if you choose a meaningful name that embraces sentiment, purpose and character, the rest kind of all falls into place. Here's how!
1. Consult your family tree.
Do some digging into your family's heritage and you might uncover some surprisingly great names. (Hint: The 20's generation spawned a particularly adorable set of girl names like Hazel, Ida and Pearl!) Even better? You might uncover some family history gems or interesting facts about your ancestors - all the better to share with your baby someday!
2. Reminisce about your childhood.
What are some of you or your spouse's favorite childhood memories? A vacation to Europe? An afternoon spent with your favorite childhood book? Conjure up a few sentimental memories and brainstorm words that might7 Cutest Baby Photo Ideas for National Photography Month
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Wed, May 15, 2013 4:23 PM EDTEvery moment with baby is worth a thousand words, so it's important to capture every beautiful, funny, sweet moment you can! May is National Photography Month - so what better time to capture your baby's magical moments on camera?
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12 mom-tested tips for baby's first photo shoot
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Read More »from 7 Cutest Baby Photo Ideas for National Photography MonthTop 10 Beauty Boosts for Moms Who Only Have 5 Minutes
By Disney Baby | Beauty on Shine – Tue, May 14, 2013 6:22 PM EDT
Beauty boosts for busy momsWe are all busy mamas, whether we have a newborn, toddler, preschooler, one of each - it doesn't matter. The fact is we are always "on the go" and time is certainly of the essence. However, it's important to take a few (or more!) minutes for ourselves. Not only will we look better, but we will feel more confident and happy to take on the day with our little ones. Not always easy, I know, but certainly doable!
I know when I feel blah, the kids feel blah. So I try to incorporate a little beauty boost each morning to inject a some oomph to my day. Here are ten steps and makeup products that are quick and easy to use and leave you looking and feeling good!
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Top 10 Beauty Boosts For Busy Moms
1. Body Cream:
No one has much time to moisturize, but having an all over lotion like the TEN Hydration Body Cream makes it easier to get into the habit. The gentle smell is baby friendly and kind on your skin which can still be sensitive after giving birth - or you can make your ownNo More Mommy Guilt: 6 Ways I Deal with Time Apart from the Kids
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Tue, May 14, 2013 5:32 PM EDT
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Dealing with mommy guiltI've worked in some capacity almost the entire time I've been a mother. And with that work came some travel. When I left my old career and began blogging and writing part time last year, it allowed me to work from home, with very little travel. Ideal since we were having our third and final baby. However, as with many different professional fields, every now and then it becomes important to connect and network with your peers and I did just that this past weekend. I attended the Mom 2.0 Summit in South Orange County, and while I made the decision to come home every night after the conference instead of staying at the hotel, I still missed quite a lot with the kids, since I was gone for 12-15 hours each day. Here's a peek at just a few of the things I missed out on, and how I deal with that internal gut pull that is often responsible for "mommy guilt."
1. Mommy Guilt Is Only As Big As You Allow It To Be
As mothers, whether we work or stay home, home school or send to public school,12 Biggest Spiritual Lessons I've Learned from Being a Mom
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Mon, May 13, 2013 3:47 PM EDT
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Things that motherhood has given me...There's a beautiful quote from the spiritual leader Osho (also know as Rajneesh) that goes like this:
"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."
I love it for its profound, yet simple truth. Motherhood has transformed all that I am. The birth of my firstborn brought about a newness to life and to my role in this world. These are some of the things that motherhood has given me…
1. Hope for a Changed World
Maybe my role as a mother can change the world, even in small ways. I can show them to respect others. I can show them how to love others. I can show them how to take care of the environment. I can show them how to be a friend. Through them, maybe this world could be a better place.
2. A Grateful Heart
Each day I get to be a mother is a blessing that I give thanks to God over and over for. Motherhood has given me a grateful heart.
Related: 9 fun ways to help Dad bond13 Things I Wish I Could Say to My Daughter's Birth Mother
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Mon, May 13, 2013 3:47 PM EDT
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A message for my daughter's birth motherRarely a day goes by that I don't think about my children's birth mothers. They are close to my heart, and it is not lost on me that I am the lucky one. I am so grateful to both mothers for the choices they made and the deep love they carry for their children.
We are in touch with my daughter Elvie's family only via letter and progress report. If I could call her mother today, these are the things I would want to tell her.
1. The choice you made for Elvie was a brave and beautiful choice.
She lives because you allowed her to go where she could get the medical help she needs, even though that meant losing her.
2. I have loved your daughter fiercely from the beginning.
You chose what was best for her first, and I will honor that choice and fight for what's best for her every day.
Related: 6 deepest lessons I've learned through parenting
3. She is beloved and cherished by all of us.
We are so happy to have her in our family, overjoyed to spend each day with her.
4. She is a fighter.Prints Charming: 10 Sweet Mother-and-Baby Nursery Art Prints
By Disney Baby | At Home – Fri, May 10, 2013 2:00 PM EDTMother's Day is upon us! Celebrate the bond between mother and child with these beautiful art prints. Hung in Baby's nursery, they add a loving touch to existing décor. Any of these lovely prints will make a wonderful gift for current moms and mommies-to-be. Which one will you choose? By Amnah Ibrahim
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10 amazing-yet-easy DIY projects for your nursery
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13 clever ways to decorate the nursery on a budget
Read More »from Prints Charming: 10 Sweet Mother-and-Baby Nursery Art Prints3 Ways I Need to Take Care of Myself as a Mom
By Disney Baby | Team Mom – Thu, May 9, 2013 3:54 PM EDTHayden turns 8 months old tomorrow and I can't believe how fast it's going the third time around. Having 3 kids, especially 2 older kids with lots of activities, is keeping me more busy than I ever thought possible. Many days go by like a blur between taking care of baby, working, homework and cooking dinner, that some days I find myself standing for all my meals, and I can barely remember drinking a cup of water all day. I'd like to take better care of myself, because a healthy and happy momma makes for a healthy and happy family. Here are 3 simple things I can do to take better care of me, and I'm going to start tomorrow!
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Caffeine Fix
Caffeine Fix
It's really no surprise that caffeine is many a mom's best friend. And while I don't usually have more than 1-1.5 cups of coffee a day, I do find myself going to coffee first, before breakfast and water, first thing in the morning. Many times it's 11 am before I realize all I've had is coffee, and I haven't eaten a thing or taken one sip of water.When I was pregnant with my daughter, my husband and I discussed our timeline for having future children. At the time we both kind of decided that her first birthday would be a good time to start trying for baby #2. Well, Fern's first birthday has come and gone and now that she's 15 months old, I'm realizing that if we want our children to be close in age, we should probably start thinking about our plans for the next one. I don't want to make a decision based on an arbitrary time line of course, but I'm also not sure I'll ever feel fully "ready" to have another baby (I didn't the first time around), so I'm not sure the "when" really matters all that much. So I'm making a list of pros and cons and finding that there really are quite a few good reasons to have another baby - here are a few of them. By Lauren Hartmann
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10 reasons I'm grateful to be a mom
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