How to Design a DIY Activity Center (Part 2)

I wanted to have an easy surface for kids as young as 8 months to play on. Tables with chairs are sometimes too complicated to navigate at first. I simply used a Closet Maid (available on Amazon) cabinet and laid it horizontally! An expansion idea is to put a cushion on it, and it can …

How to Design an expandable DIY PlaySpace (Part 1)

So many people have asked me this question, either in person or online. My general rule of thumb is that it is safe, but also expandable and adaptable as kids age. We started out at around 7 months old, when crawling really became a well-developed function... We saw the usual Pack-n-Plays, but they were so …

Why do moms “gatekeep” each other?

Okay ladies, can we all agree to stop "gatekeeping" each other? Gatekeeping is loosely defined as "the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something." Still confused? So for example, working adults casually say to a college kid, "Oh, you won't get it till you get a real job." Or a married woman …

Unnecessary baby registry items

THINGS NOT REALLY NECESSARY TO BUY People / lists often tell new moms to buy these things, but really, can be postponed or skipped entirely. Diaper bag. I know, I know. A billion people will fight me on this. And I have a diaper bag. Several actually. But I ended up never using any. Diaper …

Baby items people tell you NOT to get (but you should)

If you're a new mom, you're more than likely to scour either retailers' websites for baby registry recommendations (which is always an overestimate - i.e., getting way too much stuff than needed by 100-fold) or you search on Google for recommended lists from mommy blogs and parenting websites. I got the book "Baby Bargains" (on …