Why We're Thankful For Diapers

Diapers have always been a luxury for us- something that we've never had to think twice about being able to provide for our kids. Did you know that one-in-three families struggle to provide diapers for their baby? Did you also know that there is a way that YOU can help? You can help diaper a baby in need when you buy Huggies® Diapers or Wipes.

As a part of their No Baby Unhugged program, from March 26 through April 29, any purchase of Huggies® diapers at Walgreens or Walgreens.com triggers a donation of a day’s worth of diapers to a family in need. With your help, Huggies® and Walgreens will donate 1.5 million diapers and 250,000 wipes nationwide to the National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN). Diapers are something we purchase anyway, so being able to give back like this is an amazing opportunity for us (and can be for you too!). 

To participate in this amazing program, simply click the link here: No Baby Unhugged Program.

with love,

kellie ♥

The Best Self-Feeding Snacks for Babies

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share a little bit about the self-feeding process I use/used with my kids. We started this with Ro at 6 months, and decided to do the same with Ev because of how successful we found it to be. We do a mix of babyled weaning and purees. As an occupational therapist, I like to incorporate the babyled weaning because it encourages fine motor skills and allows them to explore a variety of textures that they otherwise wouldn't if we did straight purees. I know that this can be a scary route for most parents to take, especially for fear of choking. I want to reassure you that as long as you are giving your child foods that will dissolve, watching them VERY closely, and trust that they will use their gag reflex to learn what they can and cannot swallow, it really is not as scary as it sounds. Both of my kids got the hang of it pretty quickly, and I like to think that they are pretty well rounded eaters because of it! This early in life, every single thing your child eats should play a meaningful role in their overall nutrition and learning to self feed. 

Now that Ev is pretty confident with her ability to bring foods to her mouth and mash them with her gums (she is now almost 8 months), we have moved her up to one of my favorite and easy brands to "snack" on. Gerber® offers nutritious snacks with good for you ingredients like whole grains, real fruit and yogurt, with no added bad stuff (no artificial flavors/no synthetic colors). Snacking smart with Gerber® encourages healthy eating patterns from a young age while the taste and variety keep her happy. Heck, even Ro still asks to snack on them from time to time!

Did you know:

• Little ones 8-24 months get about 25-30% of their daily calories from snacks.
• 1/3 of 8-24 month olds are not eating whole grains on a given day.
• 90% of 2 and 3 year olds fall short on MyPlate recommendations for whole grains.

If you haven't already, I highly encourage you to try or buy Gerber® Puffs, Yogurt Melts and Lil’ Crunchies. Andddd it's your lucky day because I have coupons for you! Just click HERE to get access to them. 

with love,

kellie ♥

Essential Oils 10+ DIY Roller & Spray Bottle Recipes

Hello! If you stumbled across this page, that means you are looking for some super quick, easy, and amazing recipes to make your own roller bottles and sprays with essential oils! I made all of these using primarily essential oils from the Young Living Starter Kit, with a few additional ones needed for some of the recipes. If you have questions about getting started with essential oils or are interested in ordering a starter kit, please feel free to send me a message via the 'contact' tab at the top of my website!

*Please keep in mind that the recipes in this post are intended for and diluted for ADULTS only. If you are interested in recipes for babies and children, I plan to do another post on that soon! 

Sprays

These are recipes for 1oz spray bottles. Fill the bottle with the witch hazel + distilled water after adding the essential oils.

Sleepy: 5 drops stress away + 4 drops lavender + 2 drops cedarwood + 1 tsp witch hazel + distilled water

Thieves: 15 drops thieves + 1 tsp witch hazel + 2oz distilled water

Purification: 5 drops purification + 5 drops lemon + 1 part witch hazel + 1 part distilled water

Roller Bottles

These are recipes for 10ml roller bottles. Fill the remainder of the bottle with the carrier oil of your choice after adding the essential oils (I used fractionated coconut oil for mine- link for the exact one is at the bottom of this post).

Tummy: 12 drops digize + 5 drops peppermint + carrier oil

Boo Boo: 15 drops lavender + 10 drops frankincense + 10 drops tea tree + witch hazel

Immunity: 20 drops thieves + 10 drops frankincense + 5 drops lemon + carrier oil

Muscle Rub: 6 drops frankincense + 6 drops panaway + 6 drops peppermint + 6 drops valor + carrier oil

Focus: 10 drops cedarwood + 10 drops lavender + 10 drops vetiver + carrier oil

Breathe: 15 drops RC + 10 drops purification + 10 drops stress away + carrier oil

Headache: 10 drops peppermint + 10 drops lavender + 10 drops panaway + carrier oil

Anxiety: 10 drops lavender + 10 drops stress away + 8 drops cedarwood + 5 drops valor + 5 drops vetiver + carrier oil

What I used and where to find it: 

The gold customized labels are from Etsy. Use code NICOLE10 for 10% off at checkout!

Disclaimer: The statements in this post are based upon my research and personal use of Young Living essential oils and have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Young Living products are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease.

Affiliate: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. 

with love,

kellie ♥