Activities for Babies: Painting with Colored Potato Flakes

My 13-month-old is in THAT STAGE. You know the "Everything-In-The-Mouth" one.

It's meant that I haven't been able to do many Art Projects with the 3-year-old for the last few months (unless the baby is sleeping).

I finally decide to try out a simple, edible paint that BOTH girls can use.

Enter Instant Potato Flakes.

All you do is add water to some instant potatoes and some food dye.

The first batch turned out to be more of a play-dough material than paint.  Honestly, the 13-month-old only played with it for about 5 minutes. But, she was very engaged for those few minutes.

It was a MUCH big hit with the 3-year-old. She spent at least 3 hours enraptured with this new material.

I would definitely call that a hit! It's nice finding an activity that they can both to together. (The peace may only last 5 minutes....but....boy is it golden.)

My Favorite Birthing Books.

Preparing for Child-birth and Motherhood is over-whelming (in many, many different ways). People prepare differently. I like classes. So, I took several classes during my first Pregnancy.

I am a Reader. So, I read. Lots and lots of books.

These are the books that were the most helpful for me, during both my Pregnancies. I re-read some of them (it's amazing how much you forget, especially about newborn care and the specifics of Breastfeeding), before my 2nd daughter was born. 

Hope this is helpful!

Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year

by Susun S. Weed

(The book is clunky and obviously self-published many moons ago. But, if you can get past the formatting issues, etc.., this is THE BOOK on herbs and women during Pre-conception, Pregnancy and Post-partum. Susun Weed is kinda out-there, but she knows her stuff).

Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality

by Laura A. Jana and Jennifer Shu

(A terrific resource. I will definitely be re-reading this book. It's so easy to focus on getting STUFF ready for the baby and preparing for Child-birth that sometimes you forget that you will be developing a new skill set...changing diapers, burping. putting to sleep, etc...).

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: Updated With New Material

by Ina May Gaskin

(A classic. Ina May is THE most famous Midwife in the country. She and The Farm Midwives are amazing inspirations, from the mid-70s until the early 2000's...when the book was updated...their practice had a 2-3% C-Section).

Spiritual Midwifery

by Ina May Gaskin

(Another classic. This book was originally written in the 1970's and you can definitely tell. The words "heavy" and "psychedelic" are thrown around a lot. It's a collection of Birth Stories told by women who had their babies at the Farm. The last section has some interesting information for Midwives and folks interested in learning more about Child-birth. The photos and drawing are a hoot).

Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers

by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett

(This book was highly recommended to me by one of the Lactation Consultants at the phenomenal Breastfeeding Center of Greater Washington. It's my favorite book on breastfeeding.

Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation

by Pam England and Rob Horowitz

(I don't think I understood how much I had absorbed of this book until I began re-reading it. Pam England is a Certified Nurse Midwife and began a teaching a series of classes with her husband back in the 1990's. The book is a little on the hippy side but I think it does a fantastic job of helping mentally prepare for Childbirth. I also adore the Art Therapy element of Birthing From Within, which I think it's particularly helpful for second-time Mamas).

Journey into Motherhood: Writing Your Way into Self-Discovery

by Leslie Kirk Campbell

(This book is a wonderful resource for women who love to write and are about to become Mothers for the first-time. There are tons of writing prompts in the book for every stage of your pregnancy and the first few months after. It is a terrific book for helping a woman deal with the emotional and mental shift that occurs when you have a baby.)




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Learning How to Use a Spoon Video.

This one is for the Grandparents.

Yesterday, was the first day Anala Bears used a spoon.

Papa Bears HATES when the girls get messy. But, I think it's such an integral part of
Learning.

Having plenty of Sensory Experiences and the space to just practice new skills. I think it's so very important.

Plus, I'm the one cleaning up the kid.

I didn't get a good shot of her actually using the spoon properly. But, she did for a minute or two.

Did I mention this kid HATES bibs?