Ach! Growing Pains
by Karen on 2/02/12 | 8 Comment(s)
We thought we were golden with our 3.5 year old’s sleep pattern: um, yeah, right! We have had lots of middle-of-the-night wakeups from nightmares and now- growing pains. When our son wails from the pain, I get it. I had them too. But, what I don’t get is what they are and how to help [...]
10 Most Common Car Seat Installation Mistakes
by Karen on 1/30/12 | 4 Comment(s)
I know I’ve made about 4 of these car seat installation mistakes and I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone. In fact, I know I’m not: studies show that 82 percent or 9 out of 10 car seats are not installed and used correctly. Even more upsetting? Crashes are the leading cause of death for [...]
Allergies? You Might Want to Confirm
by Karen on 1/04/12 | 0 Comment(s)
If your child has allergies or you suspect they might, you should consider this insightful article about allergy testing that came out in the January issue of Pediatrics: Robert Wood of the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Scott Sicherer of Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York, warn that blood tests and skin-prick testing are not [...]
Cooking Classes for Brownstone Brooklyn Families
by Karen on 12/06/11 | 0 Comment(s)
Parents know that cooking balanced and healthy meals can be the last item on your “to do” list when bills and laundry beckon. There are local classes that help parents to learn simple recipes for the whole family, most notably by Debbie Koenig, and a new and unique cooking series begins this week. Setting the [...]
Avoiding Toxic Chemicals- Mount Sinai Workshop
by Karen on 11/29/11 | 0 Comment(s)
How do exposures in the womb and during early childhood put our children at risk for disease later in life? Join Mount Sinai’s Children’s Environmental Health Center (CEHC) for a half-day workshop that examines the environmental causes of some of the most common diseases: ADHD, autism, breast cancer, obesity and infertility. Learn how to keep [...]
Spinach Squares from Brooklyn’s Susie’s Supper Club
by Karen on 11/14/11 | 0 Comment(s)
One of my favorite gifts for new parents used to be the delivery of homemade meals from Brooklyn-based Susie’s Supper Club. They stopped delivery to Brooklyn and NYC to make their delish dishes accessible to the rest of the country with frozen versions of their kid-friendly best sellers. One of my absolute favorite recipes of [...]
50% Discount On My Fav Vitamins For My Fav Readers
by Karen on 11/09/11 | 0 Comment(s)
Last year I wrote about my triumph in finding the perfect multivitamin for my children. Yes, some go on a quest to find themselves, but my 3 year quest was to find the ideal kid’s vitamin! SmartyPants gummy is an all-in-one vitamin that has BOTH the Omega-3s and 100% of recommended daily vitamins. Forget that [...]
New Developments for Bija Kids
by Karen on 11/01/11 | 0 Comment(s)
I dropped by Bija Kids a few weeks ago to host one of our Meetups- and marveled at their new studio design with two open airy spaces that accommodate both yogis and kids. Lauren Maples, the owner of Bija Kids, mentioned that she was considering offering a drop-in playtime for the cold weather- and, she [...]
Childproofing Heating Pipes: How To and With What?
by Karen on 11/01/11 | 2 Comment(s)
Whether you live in Brooklyn or Portland, exposed heating pipes in older homes can give kids some nasty burns. The question is: how to do this effectively and also have it look nice? We opted for a clean-looking, minimal solution at our place: fiberglass shell pipe insulation. My husband and I went to the hardware [...]
Acetaminophen New Dosing Chart- and When to Use It
by Karen on 10/17/11 | 0 Comment(s)
Acetaminophen in concentrated infant drops will no longer be produced by manufacturers- and that’s a very good thing. There were dosing errors as people used concentrated infant drops on older children. It was easy to get it confused: if a child weighs twice as much as in infant, wouldn’t it make sense to give them [...]
Weekly Events: New Singalong, New Puppet Group, Discussion about ‘Mom Energy’ and More!
by Serena on 10/02/11 | 0 Comment(s)
Hooray for puppets! This week a new puppet (!) playgroup will be up and running. Held at the Clockwork Puppet Theater, this drop-in class will include music, interactive games and a puppet show with Minkie, the monkey. If you are wishing for more puppetry, check out Puppetonia & Baby Puppetonia, a show for kids with [...]
How To Deal With Constipation In Children
by Karen on 7/27/11 | 4 Comment(s)
Constipation?! Ah, yes, we have to talk about it. It’s a BIG issue in our household and drives me and my husband crazy. As if a 3 year old’s obsession with the word “poop” isn’t enough on this subject. Parent have to think about constipation from the beginning of their baby’s life. We document how [...]
Organic Crib Mattresses: What to Look for and Where to Find them
by Serena on 7/27/11 | 3 Comment(s)
As I mentioned in the first part of this series (we covered organic twin mattresses), non-organic mattresses in the U.S. are not exactly safe. They are actually dosed in highly toxic chemicals like polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE), mercury, boric acid, and formaldehyde! These mattresses can also harbor dust mites that trigger asthma and allergies. Learning [...]
Healthy Breakfast Options for Toddlers and Kids
by Serena on 7/25/11 | 0 Comment(s)
We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day…but it’s so hard to get them going early enough and without some issue (“no! not that dress!” , “I want to play for 10 more minutes”!), that actually getting a good breakfast in them is like running a marathon. To get my [...]
Brooklyn Wellness in the Park: A Community Event to Learn about Fitness and Support the Global Autism Project
by Serena on 7/20/11 | 0 Comment(s)
Try some free workouts, healthy food and learn how to stay (or get) fit this weekend- all for free- at the “Brooklyn Wellness in the Park.” The Global Autism Project has created this health event to bring members of the community (open to any age and body type) together to exercise and stay healthy throughout [...]
Healthy Finger Food Ideas for Toddlers and Babies
by Serena on 7/06/11 | 2 Comment(s)
It’s amazing how kids gobble up their bite-sized food and snacks- is it because of the size? We think so. Finger foods seem to be appealing to children since they can make them feel more independent by feeding themselves. Since a little one’s taste is constantly evolving it is important to focus on finger foods [...]
Which birth control now?
by Karen on 7/04/11 | 2 Comment(s)
My first visit to the OB/GYN after I gave birth was so anticlimatic. I wanted to talk about the labor and all its details, but my OB/GYN was only interested in asking “what are you going to use for birth control?” I had been out of the market for birth control for so long that [...]
Brooklyn: Let’s Get Physical! List of Summer Fitness Classes
by Serena on 7/04/11 | 3 Comment(s)
It’s pretty easy to let a fitness plan go south for the winter. Now that it’s nicer out we are inspirited to get moving in order to get more energy and shed some pounds. We recently discovered some fun classes in Brooklyn like Pilates, Zumba, stroller fitness and some boot camps to whip us into [...]
The Best All-Natural and Safe Insect Repellents
by Serena on 6/21/11 | 4 Comment(s)
We love the summer and the longer days full of adventure but there’s nothing worse than having that summer bubble POPPED by a bite. Summer means insects; gross ticks, biting flies, mosquitoes, and gnats! Always on the hunt for all-natural and safe products for our kids we complied a list of some of the least [...]
Big news for Bridge Park adventurers
by Karen on 6/13/11 | 0 Comment(s)
Brooklyn Bridge Park continues to impress with their range of free activities and amenities for Brooklynites. This summer they are offering ferry service on Fridays to Governor’s Island and points all along Brooklyn and the city, a craft night with Etsy Labs, bangers festival and free pilates classes weekly. For even more, read on down! [...]
Looking for a house cleaner? We got the scoop- with a discount!
by Karen on 4/26/11 | 3 Comment(s)
One argument my husband and I used to have on a weekly basis was: whose turn was it to take out the garbage?… or vacuum….?? or do the bottom-of-the-barrel job: clean the bathroom!? After a few months of this, we concluded that it wasn’t worth arguing about anymore and we decided to hire a house [...]
What are some “true” organic dairy products?
by Karen on 4/08/11 | 9 Comment(s)
Our book club just finished reading “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan. It touched off a lot of debate about what is truly “organic” and what isn’t. I wanted to learn more. One of my favorite “green” sites, A Fresh Squeeze, recommended The Cornucopia Institute for solid information on this topic. The Cornucopia Institute is [...]
No Shoes in the House?
by Karen on 4/05/11 | 23 Comment(s)
We have a “No Shoes” policy in our house. Most people “get” why we have it but I have friends that are totally irritated by it but silently de-shoe. When I see their annoyed reactions, I wonder, “Oh, should I just forget asking them?” But the idea of that gum, poop, lead, pesticides and spit [...]
A severed finger and now my list of recommendations
by Karen on 4/05/11 | 4 Comment(s)
Last summer, we were playing soccer with some friends at a local park when a 6 year-old bike rider, when faced with crashing into a bench versus my son, chose my son. I didn’t see or hear the crash. I was halfway across the soccer field feeding our infant daughter when I heard someone yelling [...]
What Does Asthma Look Like?
by Karen on 3/30/11 | 2 Comment(s)
I have asthma. Papa Tree has asthma. Usually it just occurs when we exercise- which means we haven’t had any asthma problems for the last 2 years! (that’s another story!) However, Willow had some wheezing episodes this winter. We have wondered if it might be the first sign of asthma. Dr. Gilgoff has some good [...]
