Motherhood: 6 Easy Toddler Activities for Halloween

How to Halloween During a Pandemic

Halloween is a lot of fun with kids around. This year, like everything else, the fun will be a little different.

Without trick or treating, many parents are looking for ways to mark the occasion with some creativity at home. 

But if you have a toddler, it goes without saying that you don't have a lot of free time.

So today I'm sharing 6 things you can do at home with your child to make Halloween special, despite the Pandemic.

1) Halloween Sensory Bin

With a tray, some dried beans/lentils and a few cups or spoons, this can be a fun activity that can keeps your toddler engaged for a long time. I went with red lentils, black lentils and black eyed beans to give this activity a Halloween vibe. If you have some small Halloween inspired items like pumpkin erasers (dollarstore) or rubber spiders, add them to the mix to up the spook-factor. 

Note: you will want to supervise this activity carefully but you can definitely drink a hot coffee while you do.

2) Pumpkin Washing

This is a Montessori activity and follows the idea of children doing purposeful work. With a real pumpkin, water, a sponge or brush and a little hand soap, you can make this a very engaging practical life lesson on washing.

3) Set up a Halloween Themed Reading Nook

With all the excitement of the day, you are going to need some down time. Work that in with a reading station with some Halloween themed books. 

4) Plan a Video Call With Friends/Family in Costume

Seeing friends and family dressed up in costume is a fun way to celebrate, bond and mark the occasion. This is also a safe and fun way for Grandparents to enjoy the festivities.

5) Candy Sorting 

In a bowl, place different types of treats or candy (only choose what you are comfortable with your child eating at the end and use multiples of the same). Work with your toddler to sort them into piles based on the colour of their wrapper, the size, shape etc. This is a great way to build some vocabulary - talk about colours, shapes and even tastes (sweet, crunchy etc).

Of course, everyone chooses a treat at the end.

6) Halloween Dance Party

This is a great way to burn some energy! Put on some Halloween tunes and have fun moving to the music. Adding scarves, glow sticks and costumes will make this activity even more exciting.

Note: make sure you do this in a large open space for safety

Hope these quick and easy ideas for Toddler play help you celebrate at home this year.

 Wishing everyone a safe and Happy Halloween!

Motherhood: Baby Favourites 0-3 Months

Baby Favourites 0-3 Months

Now that I have cleared the newborn phase of my little babe's life, I thought I would share some of the products that helped us most while our baby was in the 0-3 period. It's such a precious but crazy time and I know I appreciated all the advice and sharing that my mom friends did with me to help me through the transition.

Today I thought I'd write about some of my essentials for life with a baby that I found to be helpful to have around during the early days.

Of course, I loved having traditional items like Muslin blankets (a must), a stroller (we chose the Uppababy Vista and Mesa car seat ), burp cloths and bibs. They were so so helpful and if you want to see the items that were the best for our little family, I have linked them all in my Amazon Storefront to make it super easy to shop from.

Resources

My number one favourite book during this time was The Wonder Weeks. There is also an app you can make use of.

The theory behind the book is that all babies go through 10 fussy periods in their early years and that these phases are linked to developmental growth periods. By knowing what is going on developmentally, you can prepare yourself and support your child without getting frustrated or losing your cool!

Loved this book and highly recommend it.

Sleepers and Gowns

In the beginning, we used sleepers all day, because our babe was literally sleeping almost all day. I loved cotton one pieces with zippers and my favourites were from Burt's Bees, Carters and Baby Gap.

I really loved these Kimono style robes from Parade Organics. We still use these in the 3-6 month phase that we are in now. These robes make night-time diaper changes a breeze and also doubles as a bit of a sleep sack.

Toys

At this stage babies don't really need much to entertain them. But books are always a great thing to start collecting as they can grow with them.

For a 0-3 month old, I'd recommend books with high contrast, black and white pictures. As baby's eye-sight develops, high contrast really helps them to focus and build concentration. Small sized board books are great for baby to hold and to take with you on the go.

Colourful, soft toys with rattles, tags and mirrors are also a crowd-pleaser at this age!

                       

Having a place to lay baby down for tummy time is very helpful. We loved our Skip Hop Play Mat. Bonus- the Farmstand theme helped expose her to fruit and vegetables way before she was even ready to eat.

Sleep

For bedtime, we preferred the Halo Bassinet which was gifted to us. It was truly amazing- especially for me as I was recovering from a C-Section. The sides were made out of mesh so our baby felt comfortable as she could see us. We also loved that it was easy to get her out of bed for night feedings and changes.

We also absolutely loved the Snuggle Me Organic lounger. This was one of those products that I didn't know I needed at all. It was probably one of the best surprise gifts we received!

Our baby was super comfy and cozy lounging in this for short naps when we were watching her. This was a product I really didn't know I needed until I was in the Newborn stage and realized all she wanted was to feel close and secure.

These Sleep Sacks with the wrapped arms were so helpful too! They are made by Halo and we loved them to help transition her out of a swaddle and into a sleep sack. 

Feeding

For Feeding, I was lucky to be able to breast feed my baby and used a pump so dad could help with the bedtime feed. Our favourite bottles were the Como Tomo bottles - they had the most real look and feel as well as anti-colic valves to help the baby's tummy.

My pump of choice was the Medela Free Style. After some time, I learned that washing the parts was the most tedious part so I used one side of the set up for a morning pump session and the other side of the set up for an evening session. This helped me avoid washing both sides twice a day - which mostly saved my sanity! (lol- but not really.)


Hope this list of my favourite things for the 0-3 period and helps anyone doing some shopping or planning for a baby in their future. These are just some of the items that were helpful to us. If you want to see more of the items that were best for our little family, you can check out the links in my Amazon Storefront and shop away!

Motherhood: Tips for Getting Out of the House with an Infant

Leaving the House with a Baby

New moms will know, sometimes it takes awhile to get a groove going and to streamline certain aspects of life with a baby. Take going out for example- there's a lot more moving pieces then there used to be.

From getting the baby ready, feeding and changing them, to packing a bag and trying to figure out all the extra items you may need for your outing - the "getting ready" process can take forever!

I knew I had to figure out a way to make the process easier on myself otherwise I would just end up staying home all the time.

Here are my tips for getting out the door a little bit more quickly and efficiently with a baby (though I think some of these tips would work for parents of toddlers and school age children too).

Have a Catch All

We have a basket in our front foyer that we use to catch all of Liyana's miscellaneous going out items. Her diaper bag, a warm blanket, a muslin blanket, a sun hat  - all of these are housed in the same place. This cuts down on going up and down the stairs trying to find that one thing with a crying baby on your hip.
(If you want to know what baby items I usually take with me for an outing then you can read about my Diaper Bag Essentials here. )

Don't Unpack your Diaper Bag

I keep my Diaper Bag packed and ready for the most part. If there were no accidents that day, I just leave the same emergency outfits in the bag for the next outing. It really cuts down on time spent packing extra sets of clothes for the baby. I use a thin packing cube to contain the extra clothes so they fit nicely in my Diaper Bag.

Restock your Diapering Essentials At Night

When you come home from an outing or day trip, check to make sure you have enough diapers and wipes for the next time you will be going out. It's much easier to do this when you don't have a time crunch or when you need to get out the door quickly.

Have an Emergency Bag in the Car

I learned this one the hard way. I had just come back from vacation and the next morning we had a Mommy and Me dance class. I rushed out the door without checking my Diaper Bag and Liya picked that day to have a major blowout. Of course I had no extra clothes for her and it was rough. Luckily the other moms in the class came to my rescue and lent me a onesie for Liya to wear and we were good to go. Since then, I decided to keep a few extra things in a zippered bag in my car. In the kit I have an extra outfit (a long and short sleeved diaper shirt and pants - this will work if it's warm or cool) and extra diapers and wipes.

To see what else is in my emergency kit, you can watch here.

Buy Certain Things in Pairs

While I love the Minimalist approach, I find that with certain things, it's helpful to have pairs. Stroller fans, hair brushes, pacifier clips, nail clippers, car seat covers, sunglasses and sunhats are a few things that I'm enjoying having doubles of right now. For her car seat cover (also a nursing cover - I have this one) I found having two was helpful because I could wash one and still have one available for the next time we went out.

Other Tips

• Keep your stroller in the car
• Keep your stroller accessories with the stroller (mosquito net, rain shield , stroller caddy etc)
• Go easy on yourself and take your time to learn the basics. It took me a couple of outings and week by week I learned how to use a different piece of baby gear until I felt comfortable taking her out on my own
• Smile! It may take awhile but the more you practice, the easier leaving the house will be!

Hope these tips help to stream line your "getting out of the house" process so you can enjoy more outings with your little one!

Have any tips to share with me? Send me a message on Instagram @angeliesood I'd love to chat!