#MomLife

Tips for Going On a Camping Trip with a Baby

July 16, 2020 by Rachel 23 Comments

What’s more exciting than taking your toddler or baby on their first camping trip? It’s a great opportunity for the whole family to enjoy, have fun, and bond over a hot campfire and roast marshmallows. Camping also so happens to be one of the few ‘safe’ ways we can travel and explore right now. Whether you’ve just started camping, or you’re an expert, there are a few ways to make sure that everything runs smoothly. Here are my tried and true tips for going on a camping trip with a toddler or baby. Let’s make that camping trip with a baby a success!

Do Weather Research

When going on a camping trip with a toddler or baby, you need to be conscious about the weather. Young children are super vulnerable to weather conditions. It wouldn’t be fun to spend the camping trip huddled inside the tent. Doing some basic research will help you in the long run!

Do a Test Run

When you feel that you’re ready and everything has been prepared, do a camping test run in the backyard. That way you’ll be able to catch if there are any snags with the camping gear. It will also be a test run for your toddler or baby to spend the night in a tent.

Bring Familiar Toys

If your toddler or baby is uncomfortable, giving them with a familiar toy will make them happy and calm them down. Only take a couple of familiar and favorite things. By giving your child their favorite toy, you’ll be keeping them busy — and it will give you more time to prep the campsite!

Do Your Research on the Location

As any parent knows, kids (especially young ones) are naturally curious. So if they see wild berries, they might try to eat them. As soon as you get to the campsite, make sure to check for any harmful plants, like wild berries. If you do find any harmful plants, make sure to warn your toddler about them. In addition to warning them, you need to check up on what your toddler eats at all times. Especially if they have the tendency to wander off!

Choose a Campsite With Lots of Activities

Toddlers are filled with energy, so they need to be kept busy. If you only sit around the campsite all day, they’ll surely get bored quite fast- and naughty! When there are many activities at your campsite, your toddler will have a wonderful experience and they’ll definitely want to come back again the next year. It’s best to plan these activities in advance to avoid potential disagreements with family members once at the campsite.

Take a Mat for Crawlers

If you have a young child that’s still in the crawling stage, make it a priority to take a large enough mat for them. It will stop them from crawling in the dirt and potentially hurting their tiny hands. If you have a pack and play, that works as well!

Take a Headlamp

To avoid your little one getting scared at night, and to keep them calm while you move around the campsite- take a headlamp with. A fun headlamp would also be fun for them, as well as aid in reducing the anxiety that the darkness may cause.

Take Sunscreen and Bug Spray

You may be able to stand a sunburn, or a few mosquito bites- but your toddler or baby on the other hand may not. Especially if your child hasn’t had a sunburn or been bitten before. If they experience such a thing, it may cause them distress to a certain degree where they would end up avoiding camp. Young children are quite vulnerable to the sun’s rays, so take the necessary precautions like keeping your child in the shade. When you buy sunscreen and bug spray make sure that you buy the right ones- such as ones that are made with natural oils and don’t contain DEET.

Put the Electronics Away

Once you get to the campsite, put the electronics away. If you give your toddler or baby a cell phone or tablet to keep them busy, the whole purpose of going on a camping trip would be defeated. Only bring your camera along to snap photos during outdoors family time.

Pay Attention to Children Near the Campfire

It’s easy to assume that your child knows not to go near the campfire. But the truth is they don’t. If you’re not mindful of what your toddler or baby is doing when they’re by the campfire, don’t be surprised when you see them going straight for it! If you plan on having a fire, sit and tell your child that they can sit near it, but they remain seated in a designated spot. Of course, you still need to keep an eye on your child just the same.

PIN FOR LATER:

Tell me — what tips would you give to parents going camping with young children?!

Invest in their future on 529 Day!

May 25, 2020 by Rachel 29 Comments

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions herein are my own.

We have been on a roller coaster lately. Times of uncertainty have been upon us and our children are going through something that will forever change their lives. Their education has been transformed overnight. Parents are working harder than ever to keep up with working and schooling, whilst also planning for the future.

There isn’t just one way to educate

Education happens in so many ways. Over these last few months, I’ve come to not only appreciate my children’s educators even more, but I’ve also learned that education comes in so many forms. Playing outdoors, making kitchen science experiments, and even planting a garden are incredible ways of learning. My 7-year-old even took part in an online coding camp!

Education doesn’t stop at school

We all now know this (whether we wanted to or not!). Our children are always learning, always listening, and always growing. Literally every single part of their days are spent learning about the world around them. And it’s our job to help nurture the process of education.

Invest in your child’s future with Ohio’s 529 Plan

As an adult with a decent amount of student loan debt, I can attest to the fact that the cost of higher education can be daunting. Regardless of your child’s age, opening an account with Ohio’s 529 Plan right now is the perfect way to invest in their future education.

Ohio’s 529 Plan can be used across the country at both 2- and 4-year programs and technical schools. Using the College Saving Planner you can see how an investment of any amount today can truly help cover the cost of schooling later!

Your child doesn’t need to know what they want to be today. My son still says he wants to be a YouTuber. But tomorrow he may say he wants to be a video game engineer. And, heck! He’ll probably at some point say he wants to be an electrician. The point is, any financial investment in Ohio’s 529 Plan today will help him to be whatever his heart desires. He can use the funds for a 4-year school as an engineer, or he can use the funds towards a technical school to be an electrician.

You only need a few items to start the process of opening Ohio’s 529 Plan and you do not need to be a resident of the state of Ohio! In fact, if you are an out-of-state grandparent or relative of a child and would like to give the gift of education, this is a great way to start. You can open and contribute to the plan for the beneficiary of your choosing.

Ohio's 529 Plan - Invest with Confidence

What better time to make an investment in Ohio’s 529 Plan than on May 29th?!

May 29th, or “529 Day,” is a day to highlight the importance of higher education. Ohio’s 529 Plan has partnered with BlackRock Investments to host a webinar (which you can find here) to provide helpful tips on how to save and prepare for the future during a volatile market. The webinar is completely free and will provide you with all the tips to help you invest in your children’s future with confidence!

The benefits of investing in Ohio’s 529 Plan

Investing in Ohio’s 529 Plan means you’re accruing tax-free compound interest towards your future education expenses. You’ll also receive a tax deduction of up to $4,000 per year for each beneficiary. You can use this tool to see the real Cost of Waiting to see just how much your money can grow by investing in an Ohio’s 529 Plan versus a low-interest savings account.

But what about market turbulance?

Ohio’s 529 Plan has teamed up with BlackRock to discuss this very thing during a live webinar on May 28th. You can register for this webinar at no charge here.

Check out my video for information on how to get started!

Tell me — how many of you could use $250 to start your Ohio 529 Plan?!

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How To Save Money on Everyday Essentials

May 6, 2020 by Rachel 23 Comments

This post is sponsored by Optum Perks but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

It’s hard to believe that I have been “laid off” from my job for going on 7 weeks now. The job that, over the years, became my happy place — has been missing from my life for nearly two months. As things have changed rather dramatically for all of us, I’m finding new and inventive ways to pinch pennies.

Saving Money on Essentials Can Be Easy

I made a lot of changes in these last 7 weeks. Surprisingly, most of them were incredibly easy! Here’s what my family is doing to cut down on our every day expenses.

Shop at discount grocery retailers.

Going to the grocery store is unavoidable. For my family, we are making far fewer trips than before — but we’ve also made the decision to use grocers that offer off-brand or discounted groceries like ALDI and Save-a-Lot. We still are getting the same quality fresh foods, produce, and non-perishables, but we’re doing so at a much lower cost.

Cancelling Unnecessary Subscriptions.

There was a time when we had a cable TV subscription, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Honestly, we’ve never had that much time to watch TV. So we have trimmed up our TV subscription services by cancelling our live-television services and picking one of the online streaming services.

This can go for many types of subscriptions like a grocery delivery service, music streaming service, and even beauty boxes.

Using Optum Perks to Save on Prescription Refills.

Prescriptions are another ‘unavoidable’ cost, but there are brilliant ways of saving cash when it comes time to fill or refill! Savings reach up to 80% with no membership and no fees!+

Prescriptions saving is easy. You just search, find, and save without ever having to enter personal information or data in. Optum Perks can be used at over 64,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS. Once you find the prescription and pricing, you can decide if you’d like the free coupon to be delivered by text, email, or by printing it out.

These prescription coupons can be presented to your pharmacist whichever way is convenient for you. So whether you’re using the drive-thru or picking it up in-store, your pharmacy coupon will be honored. Truly. That’s it.

I’ve been really open about my struggles with mental health, particularly since having children. As many know, I’ve relied mostly on my Lexapro prescription for the last 5 years. Usually my refills cost upwards of $20. By using Optum Perks I’ve been able to fill it at the rate of $9.00! That’s an eleven dollar savings! While it may not seem like a lot, with a family of 5, every bit helps.

You can see for yourself by heading to Optum Perks today and finding out just how much you can be saving on the prescriptions you need for the whole family.

Putting Memberships on Hold.

If you look at the number of items that are auto-deducted from your account each month, what would you see? For me, it’s our family gym membership, zoo membership, and my auto-renew of my coffee card. While these memberships are handy and even affordable in times of employment, they can be detrimental to savings when going through financial hardship.

Most memberships will allow a ‘hold’ or ‘break’ for anywhere from one to 6-months. And it’s usually as simple as giving them a call or shooting their customer service team an email.

These Adjustments Do Not Have To Be Permanent

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in these last couple of months it’s that I am capable of much more than I previously thought I was. I’m the same girl who would grab coffee from Starbucks before work almost every day. But I don’t have to be. In fact, I’m amazed at how these small changes I’ve made in our spending have had such a tremendous impact on not only our pocketbooks, but our overall psychological well-being.

But knowing that at least some of what I’m doing right now is just temporary certainly helps. I may not stay away from my beloved coffee forever, but I can tell you that I will never go back to paying full-price for my prescriptions.

+Prices are subject to change over time

Tell me — what will you do with all of the money you save using Optum Perks?

5 Foods That Will Help You Sleep at Night

May 5, 2020 by Rachel 20 Comments

Sleep is essential for living a healthy life. Tossing and turning nonstop can lead to a variety of adverse health effects, such as an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure, among others. Sleeping disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnea, along with lifestyles that limit the amount of sleep you get per night, can cause you to feel groggy and irritable. Luckily, food might be your answer to catching some shuteye and sleeping peacefully at night. If you’re suffering from sleep deprivation, try one of these five foods below to help you get the rest your body deserves.

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Chocolate

What else is there to say? It’s sweet, delicious, and the best pick-me-up after a long day. While dark chocolate does contain caffeine, it also contains serotonin. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that’s responsible for helping you feel more relaxed and tired. If you’re counting sheep at night, try eating a chocolate sleep aid. Just make sure it’s dark chocolate and not milk chocolate! Milk chocolate doesn’t contain serotonin and can actually make you feel more awake.

Furthermore, dark chocolate has many attractive health benefits that make this the perfect treat to eat day and night. It is high in antioxidants, which aid in cognition and memory formation, and also help reduce the risk of heart disease! So eat the chocolate!

Chamomile

Herbal teas, such as chamomile, is a great drink to sip on before bedtime. Chamomile tea is proven to improve sleep quality. It contains apigenin, an antioxidant that is responsible for making you feel tired and can reduce insomnia. This study even found that those who drank chamomile tea before bedtime fell asleep 15 minutes faster than those who did not drink chamomile tea and reported fewer instances of waking up during the night.

Along with the ability to whisk you away and into a solemn slumber, chamomile offers many additional benefits, such as:

● Reduces symptoms of depression;

● Improves skin health;

● Boosts the immune system;

● and Reduces inflammation that leads to diseases like cancer and heart disease!

Turkey

The fourth Thursday in November is one of the best days of the year. Why? Because it’s Thanksgiving! This means endless mounds of food, desserts, drinks, and conversations with friends, family, and loved ones. As you may know, turkey is often the centerpiece of every Thanksgiving Day meal, which means you’ve probably experienced the after-effects of eating turkey.

Have you ever realized how tired you were after indulging in your Thanksgiving meal? Filled tummies with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans? That’s because turkey contains an amino acid called tryptophan, which causes the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin to increase in production. This increase in melatonin will make you feel more tired and will reduce the chances of you waking up in the middle of the night. So, before bed, try making turkey sandwiches or a turkey loaf for dinner!

Kiwi

One of nature’s greatest candies are kiwis. Kiwis are a delicious and nutritious fruit that are packed with healthy vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin K. Additionally, they’re a great food to have if you’re having trouble sleeping! Packed with serotonin (just like dark chocolate) they help regulate your sleep cycle. Kiwis are also full of antioxidants, such as carotenoids and Vitamin C, which help reduce inflammation and promote sleep.

Along with these sleep-aiding benefits, kiwis also:

● Improves digestion

● Lowers cholesterol

● Reduces inflammation

● Fights heart disease

● Clears out toxins

● Lowers blood pressure

Nuts

Tree nuts, such as walnuts and almonds, are also great foods to eat before bed to get some shuteye. Walnuts, in particular, are filled with the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin. Additionally, walnuts house healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids that convert to DHA, which aids in the production of the sleep-enhancing chemical serotonin. Along with that, walnuts provide over 19 vitamins and minerals, making them an extremely healthy nut to snack on.

Almonds, like walnuts, can also help you sleep at night. Almonds, too, are filled with melatonin, which will turn your brain’s lights off to help you drift away to dreamland, and provide 19 percent of your daily needs of magnesium, which is thought to improve sleep quality and reduce insomnia.

Time for bed

If you’re struggling to sleep at night, try eating one of these five foods. However, if insomnia or other sleep disorders are keeping you up at night, it’s always recommended to see a doctor or specialist who can provide professional treatment.

Freshful Tips for Mom Life!

February 13, 2020 by Rachel 26 Comments

This post is sponsored by Gerber. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found out I was pregnant with my first child nearly 8 years ago to this day. In that moment, I had a crystal clear version of the type of parent I would be.

My husband and I knew how we would parent. I was sure of how I would ‘make’ my children behave and I certainly knew what kind of disciplinary style I would use. I was dead set on breastfeeding and then making my own baby food with my top-of-the-market blender.

But then real-life happened. Parenting wasn’t as easy as it appeared to be. By some sort of miracle, I quickly understood that we are all just doing our best.

Making your life easier as a busy mom is crucial.

Accepting that certain concessions need to be made, as a mother, for the sake of you and your children, is crucial.

Real-Life Tips to Help You With Your Baby

I’m sharing some of my go-to tips and tricks for both new and seasoned moms.

Fed is Best

You’ve heard it over and over again — “Breast is best.” Heck, I heard it nonstop from doctors, nurses, and strangers, throughout each of my three pregnancies.

But the truth is, so much more than breastfeeding goes into breastfeeding. And it may just be that breastfeeding is testing your sanity. So don’t stress about something so trivial. Whether your child is breastfed, bottle-fed, or formula-fed, says nothing about you as a parent.

Babies Need Very Little

Based on ads and marketing, you would think you’re going to need to double the size of your house when welcoming in a new baby. That narrative is completely false.

Babies need so little. Know what they need? They need food (see above), love, diapers, and a safe space. Everything else is unnecessary.

Sure, other items can be helpful, but they really just take up space. I can count on two hands the amount of ‘bonus items’ that I used over and over again (even my first didn’t make it into his own crib or room for nearly a year).

Don’t stress if you don’t ‘have it all.’ Your baby will get everything they truly need.

Give yourself a break

This is something a new mom hears time and time again. And it’s easier said than done. But there are things that you can control and give yourself a little break.

First and foremost, you’re doing a good job. Sleep is minimal and the crying just won’t stop, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t doing a good job. Just survive this stage and know you’re a great parent.

Second, recognize now that everyone has been in this exact same position. Every one of us has felt like they are struggling to get by. Remember that every day for the rest of your parenting ‘career.’

Third, remove all expectations of what you expected to be like as a parent. Things are different now.

Perfect Moms Are Fake

Louder for the people in the back — Perfect moms are not real!

Sure, it would be awesome to have all of this time to make Pinterest-worthy pretty bento box lunches for our school-aged children and to puree our own baby food, but that’s just not realistic.

The reality is that our lives are much more chaotic. Stop focusing on the things you can do ‘from scratch,’ be it cookies for the preschool party, Valentine’s Day cards, and even baby food. These entrees are SO from Gerber are so convenient.

Look for trusted products like Gerber® Freshful Start™ to reduce the stress of mealtime

Mealtime equals chaos in my life. The school-aged kids are picky and the baby demands food now. Instead of making my own baby food, I looked to Gerber® Freshful Start™.

Gerber® Freshful Start™ offers high-quality, fresh tasting, cooked with love foods that are free of preservatives and GMOs! These always-organic baby and toddler foods are so fresh tasting they need to remain refrigerated.

This product line ranges from Homestyle Purees for the Sitter Stage to Veggie Entrees for toddlers. Both are prepared in minutes and make it easy for me when I’m dealing with the chaos of feeding a family of 5.

You can pick up the Gerber® Freshful Start™ line at your local Meijer store in the refrigerated section of the baby food aisle!

Because being the perfect mom is totally overrated. Be the mom that has happy, healthy, and well-fed children. Most of all remember this: We’re all just doing our best.

Why I’m Intermittent Fasting

January 30, 2020 by Rachel 34 Comments

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I recently shared a quick Instagram Story about how I’d begun Intermittent Fasting and it spurred a lot of questions, so I wanted to elaborate on why I decided to start intermittent fasting.

Intermittent Fasting, or as it’s commonly referred to, IF, is cycling between periods of eating and fasting (restricting food). I’ll further detail the form of IF I’m doing and why below.

What brought me to Intermittent Fasting

I wish this was an easy answer, but it isn’t. After years of near-abuse to my body by restricting calories and over-exercising, I got pregnant with my oldest child. When I returned to work full-time, I was able to semi-maintain some balance with food and exercise without going overboard. But I never got back to my pre-baby weight or jeans size.

Fast-forward to one job-loss and two additional babies later, and I have basically spent the last 4.5 years as some sort of baby incubator or feeding-machine. It took a toll on my body, physically and mentally. I tried Weight Watchers, with some success, but I was still tired of limited results and calorie-restricting.

During my time breastfeeding babies over the last few years, my husband would mention intermittent fasting. He had success doing an 16:8 fast (fasting for 16 hours and having an 8-hour eating window). I couldn’t participate because I knew that doing this was not conducive to my milk supply.

Well I am happy to say that I am completely finished breastfeeding and will not ever again be pregnant. Hooray! This whole ‘finished nursing’ thing is relatively new and came as quite a shock to me. But when I sat down and thought about it I realized that it meant I could finally get back to feeling like ME (physically, emotionally, and mentally).

Seeing results in-real-life

About a year ago my mom started her Intermittent Fasting journey. I’ll admit, I was an almost immediate naysayer. I told her she was starving herself and that this practice of over 18+ hours of fasting was detrimental to her health.

But I watched her flourish. She never had much (if any) weight to lose, but she did tone and seem much more full of energy than before. I watched her break her fasts and her diet (meaning food, not the typical term “diet”) seemed completely unrestricted. She navigated the holidays with ease and zero stress.

So I asked her for more information. And she invited me to join this Facebook group she belonged to. Then I was hooked.

Delay, Don’t Deny

The Facebook group “Delay, Don’t Deny: Intermittent Fasting Support,” is based on the book of the same name, by Gin Stephens. Upon approval into the group, I tried to absorb as much knowledge from the participants as possible. After a few days of reading testimonials and questions from other members, I decided to listen to the audiobook Delay, Don’t Deny. It answered every question I had about the process.

Note: Gin Stephens, whilst having her doctorate, is not a physician, nor is she a nutritionist. But she backs up her book with data from scientists and nutritionists and puts it into laymen’s terms for the rest of us. I would like to also note that I am not a physician nor a nutritionist. For questions regarding your health journey, please consult your physician.

The entire premise of the book is as follows: Calories in/calories out is not a successful way to maintain weight loss. Science shows that prolonged fasting will train the body to enter ketosis. Ketosis, or the metabolic process in which the body burns fat instead of glucose for energy, happens naturally and gives our bodies the training they need to develop sustainable eating habits.

This blew my mind. The science backs it up and I immediately felt free from all of the years I obsessed over calories-in, calories-out. Additionally, the idea of working out to ‘burn calories/earn food’ is basically discredited. Working out to be healthy, build muscle, or simply, for fun, is really the idea she explains in her book.

Clean Fasting

The idea is to do a Clean Fast, meaning that during the time you are fasting you are only consuming unflavored water or black coffee. No food or sugar-free drinks are ‘allowed’ during the fast because it will trigger your glucose and prevent your body from entering ketosis.

Breaking The Fast

Breaking your fast, or what Gin refers to as “opening your eating window,” happens at a time you deem right. During your ‘open window’ you shouldn’t deny yourself certain foods. Naturally, during appetite correction, your body will crave foods that are good for you. But if you want wine and french fries? Have wine and french fries! Diets don’t work because they require restricting ‘bad foods’ for long amounts of time.

This is a lifestyle change, not a diet

Another quick note regarding diets — If someone recommends a program you have to pay for (Keto Coffee, Faster Way To Fat Loss, Beachbody Shakes, or Herbalife Shakes), it is a gimmick. You don’t need any paid program to take control of your health and your eating.

After reading Gin’s book and fasting for two weeks now, I can say I’m committed to this lifestyle change. I haven’t had to give up the foods I love and I’m still getting almost immediate results. The scale is slowly moving in the direction I want it to, but I’m also experiencing increased mental clarity, clearer skin, and more restful sleep!

I know you may be saying “but it’s only been two weeks,” and you’re right. But for the first time in my adult life, I feel FREE. Free from diet culture, free from restrictive eating, and free from anxiety regarding health and weight loss. Everyday I witness the transformations of people in this Facebook group and it encourages me that I am on the right path.

I realize that this can seem completely foreign for many people. Heck, it was to me for a very long time! But I am so excited to continue this lifestyle. I promise to keep you updated!

Do you have any questions for me?! Want to know what my typical fast looks like?!