Baby

Losing Baby Weight With Trim Healthy Mama Without Feeling Deprived

April 8, 2018 by Stacy Craft 12 Comments

Losing Baby Weight With Trim Healthy Mama – No Fuss Method

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Baby weight. It is so easy to put on and so hard to get off! (Can I get an AMEN?) My baby recently turned 5 months old and I still had a long long way to go in order to be able to get into anything besides my trusty ol’ sweatpants. I decided that it was time to get serious.

I started the Trim Healthy Mama plan about a year ago and quit. BUT I said it was time to get serious so I tried again. In my quest in losing baby weight with Trim Healthy Mama, I wanted to make it easy, no special ingredients, and conform as much to plan as I could.

I will share with you what worked for me and resulted in an 11 pound weight loss for me in just 3 weeks using Trim Healthy Mama.

Update June 2020 – Trim Healthy Mama helped me to lose all 60 lbs that I gained during pregnancy with my 2nd child!

Non-Purist Mama

What do I mean by that? If you are familiar with the plan, you know that the focus is on mostly non-processed, whole foods. I appreciate that and in an ideal world that would be wonderful.

However, I am a mom, work full time, write this blog, pretend to have a social life etc. and sometimes I just need some help. In the book (that I highly recommend that you read BEFORE starting), they talk about “Drive Thru Sues.”

These are women that use convenience foods on occasion to make choices that are mostly on plan & better than eating a big fat value meal from a fast food chain.

I’m probably mostly a non-purist because of my coffee. I am just not messing with my meticulously perfected formula of sugar and creamer to make my perfect cup of copy. (I did adjust my sugar but more on that below!).

Check out the other 5 THM things that I don’t do here.

No Special Ingredients

If you follow the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook pages or read the cookbooks, you will see lots of recipes with Special ingredients.

I chose to do my first 2 weeks without any special ingredients. Remember when I said that I quit THM once before? I attribute part of that to special ingredients. The special ingredients complicate the process for newbies in my humble opinion.

Also, I like to save money and one of the biggest complaints I hear on the Facebook pages is that this plan is too expensive.

The special ingredients, while sometimes nice to have, are what I find adds to the expense. So it is nice to know that you don’t have to have them to be successful.

What Happens if I Don’t Follow the Plan 100%?

One big thing that I like about the Trim Healthy Mama weight loss plan is that they preach about giving yourself grace.

If you don’t eat “on plan” they tell you to get back on plan in 3 hours and keep chugging along. I differ from the plan a little here because I make exceptions that are OK for me (remember that not a purist comment).

I explain this not to distract from the message of THM but to encourage someone that might think they could do some of the plan but not 100% comply and don’t want to start as a result.

When I first started, I was kind of scared to try it and not be 100% on plan. Terrified it would make me gain instead of lose. Here are some examples of where I vary from plan as a non-purist:

Coconut Sugar – I have previously had severe adverse reactions to sweeteners. Although Stevia is natural, I try to use it sparingly because it honestly just scares me. I use a very scant 1/2 teaspoon of coconut sugar in my coffee (Usually x 2 because being Mom = Coffee!)
Prepared Dressings – I do look for salad dressings that have a low sugar content but if it has an off plan oil or other ingredient it just doesn’t bother me (If you are a purist, just skip this paragraph!)
Protein – I don’t always eat a protein with every snack. I do agree with doing it but life happens and I just can’t always make it happen.
Prepared Sauces – I use regular soy sauce, worstershire sauce, prepared mayo etc. I just don’t have the time to make my own and I don’t want to invest the extra money into the ones that are on plan. I do always look for the best choice that is within my budget.
Shredded Cheese – sometimes the pre-shredded cheese is coated with potato starch to prevent it from clumping together. If you like to shred your own – go for it.

It is appropriate to mention that you should try to follow the plan as closely as possible when losing baby weight with Trim Healthy Mama. I do believe in the fuel separation method that the sisters created because it works.

However, an off plan oil as an example doesn’t bother me much especially if it is between eating a salad with one off plan ingredient salad dressing or eating a pound of street tacos.

I understand that some people follow the plan 100% to the tee and I respect that. But think that is why I quit the first time, because I tried to be perfect. I now choose to give myself grace and do what works for me. And it is paying off on the scale.

Have more THM questions? Check out this Trim Healthy Mama A to Z guide with tons of helpful information.

Losing Baby Weight With Trim Healthy Mama: My 2 Week Meal Diary Of What I Ate

Pounds Lost Week 1 – 4.8

Day 1:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); Vanilla Greek Yogurt (I don’t eat the 000 yogurt that most eat on plan & yes mine did have a small amount of added sugar); 5 strawberries, Cheese cubes, Salami

Lunch S Meal: Cream cheese & ham (regular deli ham) pickle roll ups, sweet peppers and premade guac, small handful of cashews

Dinner Off Plan/XO: Crockpot Salsa chicken, creamed corn, black eyed peas (couple of tablespoons), glass of Red wine, and a gourmet cupcake (totally NOT on plan).

*So in typical fashion, I start a diet on day 1 and eat a cupcake. My birthday was the day before and I went to my mom’s house for dinner. She had those huge, gourmet cupcakes as my treat – she didn’t know I had started a diet! Anyways, if someone buys me a $6 cupcake I am eating it! Grace and I started back 3 hours later.

Day 2:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); 2 boiled eggs (would be great to add some berries or veggies to this but I just didn’t have time)

Lunch S Meal: Mixed greens, black olives, cheddar cheese, kielbasa, Olive Garden Dressing (off plan)

Dinner S Meal: Cheesy Salsa chicken with Cauliflower rice

Snack E Meal: Applesauce pouch (should have added a protein)

Day 3:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); 2 egg omelet with cheese and ham

Lunch E Meal: White Northern Beans and Turkey Ham, bell pepper & applesauce

Dinner S Meal: Chicken Alfredo over zoodles

Day 4:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); omelet with cheese, ham and roasted bell pepper

Snack E Meal: Banana (should have added a protein)

Lunch S Meal: Leftover cheesy chicken with cauliflower rice

Snack S Meal: String cheese and 2 turkey meat sticks (probably not on plan but fit with low carb)

Dinner E Meal: Grilled Buffalo chicken, salad, small amount of cheese and guac, cup of black beans and half a banana

Day 5:

Breakfast S Meal:Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); Cheese slices and turkey meat sticks (not perfectly on plan but fit with low carb)

Lunch S Meal: smoked salmon, cashews, raspberries, blueberries

Dinner XO Meal: Taco Soup with cheese and sour cream; 2 Michelob Ultra (beer and taco soup kinda go together? Not on plan but I try to choose a lower carb beer if I choose to indulge)

Snack E Meal: Skinny Pop & Vitamin Zero Water (Not on plan)

*I was at a friends house for dinner and bunko so my dinner was a crossover. I love that you can eat what is served at an event and not completely fall off the wagon.

Day 6:

Breakfast S Meal:Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); Cheese and Bacon Omelet

Lunch FP: Grilled chicken salad with cucumbers, olives, small amount of cheese, Olive Garden Dressing (not on plan)

Snack S Meal: Cucumber, Salami and cheese “sandwiches”

Dinner XO Meal : Chili with Beans, Sour cream & cheese on top, Side of chicken sausage, 2 glasses of red wine

*I have no special occasion for the wine here. I just love wine. HA. Not on plan.

Day 7:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); 2 ham slices fried, scrambled eggs and berries

Lunch XO Meal: Meatloaf (scraped ketchup off), green beans, couple of spoonfuls of carrots, slaw (I was at my grandmother’s house so I didn’t control the meal but I made the best choices that I could)

Snack E Meal: String cheese and 1/2 banana

Dinner E Meal : Chili with beans over zoodles, 1/2 pear

Snack E Meal : Skinny pop (should have added protein)

Week 2

Pounds Lost Week 2 – 6.2

Day 8:

Breakfast E Meal:Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); overnight oats with berries (no sweeteners)

Lunch S Meal: chicken sausage and green beans (this is probably pretty close to a fuel pull because the fat in the sausage that I buy is low)

Dinner E Meal: Salsa Chicken, green beans, brown rice

Snack S Meal: Halo Top Icecream (personal choice)

Day 9:

Breakfast – Didn’t eat; Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan);

Lunch Off Plan – Lenny’s 7.5 inch sub with veggies and mayo; My husband picked us up lunch and I asked for a salad but they didn’t prepare it correctly. He had been out of town and I chose to give myself grace and eat the lunch my husband brought me.

Dinner E Meal: Chicken tacos with beans on low carb tortilla

Day 10:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan); Ham & Cheese omelet

Lunch S Meal: Salad with grilled chicken, cheese; Halo top

Snack E Meal: banana and string cheese

Dinner E meal: Grilled chicken, Carrots, Green peas

Day 11:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan), 2 Boiled eggs and 2 pieces of bacon

Lunch S Meal: Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Sushi Roll ups

Snack E Meal: Banana and light String cheese

Dinner E Meal: 2 grilled chicken tenderloins, sweet potato and baby spinach salad

Day 12:

Breakfast S Meal: Coffee with Coconut Sugar & Coffee Mate Creamer (off Plan), 2 Boiled eggs and 2 pieces of bacon

Lunch S Meal: Longhorn Steakhouse – Parmesan crusted chicken with broccoli and 3 chicken wings with ranch. None of this was likely perfectly on plan but I tried to make a choice that would put me in S territory.

Dinner S Meal: Leftovers from lunch and cheesy zucchini

Update:

My baby is now 12 months old (in non-mom talk that is 1 year but I am not ready to say that yet about my baby!) and I am still losing baby weight with trim healthy mama. My total weight loss with THM is 38lbs so far.

That brings my total postpartum weight loss to 60lbs. Wow. It is crazy to think that A. I gained that much with my pregnancy and B. that I have lost that much! I want to lose about 20 more give or take!

Losing baby weight with Trim Healthy Mama has been a great plan for me. I hope that sharing my interpretation of the plan in the way that I follow it will inspire someone to start.

Of course following it 100% perfectly is probably best but don’t let the need for perfection stop you. You can lose weight following the plan most of the time.

If you need some other Trim Healthy Mama meal ideas to get you started, check out my post with 6 THM lunches, a protein packed “S” Salad, 5 THM Lunches with Leftover Chicken, and a Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Sushi Roll.

Other popular Protecting Your Pennies recipes:

Low Carb (THM S) Microwave Egg Scramble

Salsa Verde Chicken with Cauliflower Rice (THM S)

Stimulate Your Baby’s Brain (With Things You’re Already Doing)

July 29, 2018 by Stacy Craft 5 Comments

You want to make sure your baby is given all the opportunities to learn and develop to their best, right? But if you spend 30 seconds on Pinterest looking at baby sensory play ideas you may quickly realize that you should have started on this project long before you were pregnant.

It is overwhelming and HELLO, you have an infant to care for, who has time for that!

Here you will find 8 ways to simulate your baby that won’t require days of prep. In fact, you are probably already doing all of these.

You just need to capitalize on those activities.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

My baby is 8 months old and I was thinking of sensory activities that would stimulate him the other day. I quickly pushed all the elaborate thoughts away when I considered that:

A. my sink was full of dishes and that needed to change quickly
B. I needed to shower
C. reminded myself that I am a good mom and deserve some grace (and don’t need some fancy sensory activity for an infant).

When I got to “C” it made me think about all the things that we are doing every day with our kids that our actually sensory activities. We just need to utilize the opportunity and focus on it.

BINGO! So now I don’t have to whip out the paint in a gallon ziplock bag and pray it doesn’t pop open anytime soon. I will just focus on the baby sensory play activities that we do in our daily routine and ensure that we are getting the most out of our day.

Stimulate Your Baby With Activities in Your Daily Routine

Just by being aware and focused, you can stimulate your baby throughout the day without fancy toys or over the top set ups.

You will still catch me creating an activity for my little one to occupy his time on a lazy Sunday.I just wanted to remind myself that you can be in the moment and engaging with your baby without being elaborate.

Meal Time

Meals and snacks are a great time to engage with your baby. I particularly like meal time because typically I sit down for a meal at the same time which means that I can really focus on the time together.

Here are some things to do during meal time to enhance the sensory experience and stimulate your baby:

How does the food taste? Does it taste sweet? Salty? Savory? (even if they can’t answer, still ask the question. You can provide an answer afterwards)
How does the food feel? Fruit is soft, Cheerios are crunchy and hard, pasta with sauce is kind of slimy. You get the idea!
What colors do you see? Use this opportunity to not only discuss the colors of the food but also name the item that they are eating. Red Strawberry, brown toast, green beans, white egg.
Here is a 10 second Prep Infant Finger Paint that is edible and you can incorporate during meal time.

Reading

Of course books are a great way to get your child ahead in education. Is is consistently proven that children that are regularly read to perform better (I’m not going to find a study but ya’ll know..).

Did you ever think of other sensory related engagement that you are providing when you read to your baby?

Baby in lap – If you are holding your little one while you read, you are providing a warm touch. Providing comfort and a sense of protection is a great way to stimulate your baby.
Touch & Feel Books – Some of our favorite books are the touch and feel board books. These are great ways to provide sensory engagement while reading to your child. Sandra Boynton is one of our favorite baby and kid book authors!

Outdoor Time

Spending time outside is so good for the soul. I really believe that babies can get “stir crazy” just like we do.

The change of scenery always seems to cheer my baby up if he is having a rough day. So break out the stroller and start your outdoor sensory expedition to stimulate your baby.

Take a Walk – Talk about the things that you see and tell your baby about them. Do you see the big tree with green leaves? Look at the duck swimming on the pond. Ducks make a noise like this, quack quack. The sun is really bright today. I’m glad I brought my sunglasses. Just talking to your kids using real words helps to improve their vocabulary.
Outdoor “feels” – Wind, Cold, Heat are all things that your little ones can feel when outdoors. Of course you will use caution to not expose them to extreme temperatures. I love to take our jumper outside and let our baby get some fresh air. He feels the breeze on his face, watches the trees sway, leaves float by, hears the birds singing.
Park Or Swingset – Once they can sit up, they can use the baby swing, both of my little ones have loved that. Depending on the type of “flooring” at the playground (assuming it isn’t something that could be a choking hazard), I will let a crawler move around the area.

Getting Ready for the Day/Baby Care

Clothing – Your blue jeans are stiff. Your PJ’s are very soft. Let’s put some socks on your feet to keep them warm.
Diaper Changes – I mean this one is kind of weird but it is an opportunity to engage the senses. You may even wish your nose couldn’t sense during this time! The wipes are cold (or if you are a good mom they might be warm.. haha I skipped on the warmer the second time around). The wipes package makes a crinkle sound. I usually say “Shoo Wee” when I take the diaper off and we both giggle. Talk about getting clean and ready to do your next activity.

Bath Time

Taking a bath could go under self care but it is such an awesome baby sensory play opportunity, I had to give it a little spotlight.

All the Feels – Warm water, soft washcloth, hands massaging shampoo in hair. It is a tub full of sensory experiences to stimulate your baby!
Splashing – Babies love splashing in the tub. Talk about the size of the splash. Did the splash make a sound? Did you get mommy all wet?
Introduce Toys – squirt toys are fun to use and you can help if your little one doesn’t have the hang of it yet. I also like alphabet foam letters to spell out words, teach letter recognition (when they are older).

Playtime with Toys

Thankfully the toy manufacturers have come up with plenty of toys to help teach our kids and keep them engaged in something (so that we might have time to shower or make a meal in semi-peace).

You don’t have to make your own playdough from organic figs or use a blade of grass to paint a replica of Eiffel Tower.

Just playing with your kids is a great way to help to stimulate your baby and their little brains.

Toys that Make Noise – Let me introduce you to Elmo in a Box. I have had this song in my head consistently for 4 years and counting. My son now absolutely adores it too, so it looks like I may end up with a decade of “Elmo’s got 5 crayons in a box” running through my head. It really is cute. I promise! Whatever toy you choose, those that make sounds are always a favorite.
Age appropriate baby puzzles – You may end up completing the puzzles for a while but you are introducing the ability to think critically and solve puzzles. Shape Sorters and bead mazes are good starter toys.

Car Rides

My little one usually rides with me to take his sister to school. The car is yet another spot that we can interact together.

Music – My 4 year old loves for us to sing in the car. Of course the baby can’t participate yet but hearing the music and instruments is just fine for now (I’m hoping he can drown out my voice and focus on the professional).
Discussion – I have a lot of one way discussions with the baby during car trips. Something that I heard a lot when my daughter was young from others was that I “spoke to her like an adult.” That doesn’t mean I am not nurturing or even silly at times, but I do typically speak to her in an adult manner. The same goes for this new little one. I detail out our plans for the day or really whatever is on my mind. I really believe that just talking to your kids enhances their future performance.
Windows Down – If you are lucky enough to live somewhere with nice weather, cracking the window in the car can be a nice sensory experience. The heat index has been >100 for the last week so we are currently enjoying the sensory activity of not melting by using the AC!

Playdates

Socialization – playing with other littles is great for kids of all ages. If you don’t have other kids or friends with kids of similar age, check to see what Mommy & Me activities your town offers. I have found great mommy and me activities at local libraries that are for kids as young as 6 months.

I hope this list helps to remind you of all the good things you are doing to stimulate your baby! Just remember to focus on the activity at hand and that baby sensory play doesn’t have to be fancy or formal.

#1 Beach Essentials for Baby (And It Is Not A Baby Pool)

June 25, 2018 by Stacy Craft 7 Comments

A beach trip with a baby is not exactly a relaxing mental image. Sand and little hands that go right into the mouth are enough to make any sane mama a little crazy.

We just got back from a vacation and there was 1 item that I could not have lived without on the beach! I have also compiled a list of other beach essentials for baby under 1 year old (and some that apply for preschool age too).

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Before you get to the beach, read my Road trip plan for on the road entertainment for kids.

#1 Must Have Beach Item For Baby

You know how you see things and think it is such a simple idea but you just didn’t think of it until it is too late? This is that kind of idea. I will give credit where it is due, my mom actually thought of this. So what is the big secret? We took our Pack N Play to the beach with us. Every day for our 7 day vacation.

My mom mentioned that we might want to consider taking it and I really did not want to at first. It seemed like a pain to drag out to the beach every day. But I am so glad I did.

We had multiple people walk by our tent and tell us that they wished they had brought their Pack N Play for their little ones. I used it every single time the baby was down at the beach.

Pack N Play for Naps

I would pack my portable changing mat and change him from his swim diaper into a dry diaper before nap. I laid a towel down for him but if you had a really young infant, you could bring a crib sheet to tuck in around the mattress for safety.

He would get a bottle then take his usual nap. Since we were under a tent, the ocean breeze kept him cool and the sound of the waves crashing against the beach was a great natural sound machine.

Pack N Play for Play

After nap, it was time for a little play time! My little one can sit unassisted so I would let him play in the sand a little. But as soon as the sandy fingers started heading for the mouth, we would rinse off in the ocean and head back to the trusty pack n play.

I brought some regular toys (not beach type toys) to play with in the pack n play. He had a great time playing and could put things in his mouth without me worrying about it. He also spent a lot of time standing up and watching people walk by and watching his sister play.

Pack N Play for Snacks

The beach and sand make me cringe. It never fails that when I eat something on the beach I crunch down on a big piece of gritty sand. I can only imagine that my kids are probably eating 25% sand when snacking on the beach! The Pack N Play helped with that for the baby.

I gave him a little bowl with some puffs or sometimes we would just set them on a towel for him. I always had a transitional sippy cup full of ice water for him to make sure that he was hydrated. One day I even took some fresh cut up strawberries in our cooler & put them in the Silicone Fruit Feeder for him (I like these better than the mesh version because they are easier to clean).

Other Top Beach Essentials for Baby

Baby Splash Pad/Pool

Ok, I said my #1 beach essential for baby was NOT a baby pool. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t something awesome to have with us.

With my first baby, I bought a baby pool that was way too big. It took 19 years to blow up, it was cumbersome to pack and it took 47 trips to the ocean and back to fill it up with water. This year, I found the ultimate baby pool for the beach!

This baby splash pool is so great for many reasons! It is inexpensive, has a built in back support seat if your baby is still a little wobbly, and a toy ring activity. It also takes no time to blow up (you won’t even need a pump) and with 1 or 2 sand buckets of water, you will be set. Seriously, it is so worth it.

We will use this at home in the back yard too so it was a double win!

10×10 Tent Canopy

You may not think about a tent making a beach essentials for baby list but having lots of shade at the beach is mandatory if you have a new baby! As a family, we all spent more time under the tent than out in the sun so it is a worthy beach item for us.

It also helps prevent your cooler from getting hot & any food or drinks that you brought from warming up.

Sand Bag Anchors

We were the family fishing our tent out of the ocean after a big gust of wind a few years ago. It wasn’t fun, it wasn’t pretty and we had to buy a new tent after the powerful ocean mangled ours to bits. This year we got smart and purchased these sand bags. They were super easy to set up and our tent was safe and sound.

Beach Wagon

We talked about how amazing our wagon was every single day. We used it when we arrived to the condo to unload our car because all the carts provided by the facility were being used. Hauling beach chairs, coolers, toys, and that oh so precious pack n play was much easier with our wagon!

I even saw a couple of people hauling their toddlers around in the wagons!

Other Primary Essentials

Of course you don’t want to forget your beach essentials. Baby Sunscreen (this is the only one that doesn’t break my kids out), beach towels, sand toys, tons of water & snacks.

This DIY Kid’s Beach first aid kit is also a must for infants, big kids or even adults at the beach.

I hope this list helps you when packing for your baby’s first trip to the beach. The additional beach essentials for baby helped us on our beach vacation. Hopefully they will make your trip easier too! What can you not live without on the beach?!

Educational Baby Shower Gift With A Unique Twist

April 13, 2018 by Stacy Craft 3 Comments

Giving holiday books is a great baby shower gift that is fun all year round and encourages the many benefits of reading to young kids.

I am in that season of my life where it seems like everyone is having a baby.

With babies come showers and finding the perfect gift. After your 8th baby shower in 2 months, you might be struggling with ideas on what to buy.

With this educational gender neutral baby shower gift, you will be giving a way for Mom to celebrate the baby all year long. The best part is that you can get it delivered right to your door (and not have to pack up your own kids and head to the store – win!).

If you are like me, the love that you have for Pinterest is indescribable. But with that, comes a certain acceptance. I just don’t have time to create some of the elaborate masterpieces on Pinterest – despite how much fun I have pinning them to my boards for one day.

I have come to terms with it (mostly). However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t like giving thoughtful and creative gifts. And if you want to see how to create another holiday inspired baby shower gift, click here.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Educational Gender Neutral Baby Shower Gift

Here I am going to show you one of my favorite ways to give an educational gender neutral baby shower gift that is also unique, creative and fun. I actually developed this idea from a gift that my friend’s mother in law likes to do with baby clothes. Since I’m a holiday lover and a book lover, this seemed like a great way to extend both of those to a friend expecting a new baby.

Holiday Board Book Set

Gifting books is a great way to give an educational item that provides quality bonding time between baby and the parent. I love to do a holiday set so that the gift is something that can be anticipated all year long creating fun memories. It is such a simple idea that is still creative and easy to purchase. In fact, I do it from my couch!

I like to do the following holidays but you can add more or subtract any that you don’t like or can’t find easily:

Valentine’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day

Easter

4th of July

Halloween

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Baby’s First Birthday

Links by Holiday

The absolute best part of this is that you can create this gift from the comfort of your own home! Amazon makes it so easy to find the holiday books all year long. Here are easy to use links for your educational gender neutral baby shower gift of board books by holiday.

Valentine’s Day:

llama llama I love You

Happy Valentine’s Day Mouse

St. Patrick’s Day:

The Itsy Bitsy Leprechaun

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Curious George

Easter:

Easter Touch & Feel Book

Happy Easter, Mouse

4th of July:

Corduroy’s Fourth of July

Happy Halloween:

Spooky Pookie

Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch

llama llama Trick or Treat

Happy Thanksgiving:

llama llama Gives Thanks

Bright Baby Happy Thanksgiving

Merry Christmas:

Christmas in the Manger

Merry Christmas Touch and Feel Book

Duck & Goose It’s Time for Christmas

First Birthday:

Birthday Monsters

Happy Birthday to You

Baby Touch & Feel Happy Birthday

Inexpensive & Unique Gift – Great for 2nd time Moms

You can easily keep this gift under $30 depending on how many books you include or even less if you do just a couple holidays. This is also a great choice for baby sprinkles (second, third or fourth time moms). You still want to get them a sweet present but they have every baby onesie, receiving blanket and bib known to man. I know in my house, books are always a welcome gift.

Free Printable Gift Tag

I have created a free simple gift tag that you can print for your board book gift. You can punch a hole at the top and simply attach it to a gift bag. For a fun no wrap option, just stack your books together, wrap some cute twine or ribbon around them to secure & attach the gift tag. Your educational gender neutral baby shower gift is now ready to gift to the proud parents and new baby.

What is your favorite holiday board book for baby?

Absolute Best Diaper Rash Cream

November 30, 2018 by Stacy Craft 12 Comments

Fix your child’s diaper rash quickly with one cream that you won’t find in the baby aisle!

Please note that this information should not be used as medical advice. If you are concerned about a medical condition, consult a medical doctor or other qualified healthcare professional.

As a new mom, I didn’t know what the best diaper rash cream would be best so I scanned a couple of tubes of goo for my baby registry and moved on to other things. Like probably clothes and big hair bows.

But with my second baby I got a little smarter. I consulted my good friend (who happens to also be an RN) and she gave me the best kept secret in diaper rash cream (and spoiler alert – the company doesn’t even market it for diaper rash)!

This cream is a diaper rash miracle worker. It literally erases minor rashes in sometimes just a few hours and more severe skin breakdown in a day or so.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Preventing Diaper Rash

So before we move on to the absolute best diaper rash cream ever, we should look at how to prevent it in the first place!

Frequent Diaper Changes

This sounds like such a no brainer but it is worth mentioning. Not all diaper rashes are the result of too few diaper changes. But if your baby is having rash issues increasing the number of changes may be appropriate. You want to try and keep them dry as much as possible.

If your infant or toddler is in a daycare setting, you may want to talk to the staff about possibly adding a diaper change for your child. If that is not possible, keep track of the number of diapers that you are sending and that are being used to ensure that the diapers are being changes the proper number of times.

Allow No Diaper Time

Letting your baby go without a diaper may sound like a nightmare. I like to time it out when you are pretty sure that they may not need to use the bathroom again soon, so immediately after a diaper change is a good time.

Find a place that is ok if an accident does occur (tile floor) and allow them to play without a diaper. This allows their skin to air out and can help with preventing further skin breakdown.

Bathe Them Daily

There is lots of conflicting information about this. In my experience, a daily bath helps to get them clean and helps to prevent diaper rash. If you are worried about their skin drying out or other skin conditions, just use water. You don’t have to bathe with soap, but simply rinsing in water (instead of a baby wipe) seems to have benefits with my kids.

How To Use Diaper Rash Cream

Mom Loves Best has a comprehensive guide that gives tons of great information about diaper rash cream treatment.

Find out where to put it, the frequency of application, and even some money saving tips on getting the most out of your cream. You can read the entire guide to make sure you are following the best practices for your baby.

This is a great resource for first time moms, babysitters or Dad’s that might not have a lot of experience with diaper changing and rash or skin breakdown that can occur in babies.

Absolute Best Diaper Rash Cream Treatment

Occasionally I will see a diaper rash cream recipe that mixes multiple creams together to make the ultimate remedy. Now I love a good homemade fix to a problem that I am having. But I have to admit that when I see this type of information I always think “if they just had the cream that I use they could save time and money.”

So I have decided to share the best diaper rash cream that you won’t find in the baby aisle! Drum roll please! (seriously, your life as it pertains to diaper rash is about to be changed!)

The best diaper rash cream that money can buy is called Resinol. I buy it for my son on Amazon. You can also find it at most drug stores (though sometimes you may have to ask the pharmacist).

How Resinol Works to Cure Diaper Rash

They key ingredient is Petrolatum and it works as a skin protectant. Here is information taken from uspharmacist.com regarding the use of petrolatum to treat diaper rash:

“Petrolatum (30%-100%) is the ideal diaper rash protectant. It is virtually nonallergenic, lacks an unpleasant odor, is easily removed from the skin, and is effective as a single ingredient without the potential for folliculitis or irritation.² It is the single active ingredient in Vaseline Petroleum Jelly and Vaseline Baby”

Resinol also contains a topical analgesic that will help to eliminate some of the pain associated with diaper rash. As a parent, it is nice to have a product that not only works to fix the issue but also helps to make your baby feel better.

Applying the Resinol

So by now you have your Resinol loaded up in your Amazon cart. My second piece of advice is to buy something that I once said was something totally not needed. But I stand corrected.

The BabyBum diaper cream brush will be your best friend while treating diaper rash with Resinol. The Resinol is thick and although it does wipe off easily, I find it nice to not have to get it all over my hands. Especially with a wiggly toddler, I can’t afford to have a handful of diaper cream!

With the babybum diaper cream brush, you just scoop up some Resinol, spread it on and then use a wipe to clean it off the silicone applicator. Clean and easy.

Cost

I am not sure how much Resinol costs at a drugstore because my purchases of this product have always been on Amazon. Here are my thoughts on the cost of the product compared to other diaper rash creams.

The 2 pack that I purchase works out to usually somewhere around $10 per 3.3 oz tub. It is more expensive than most of the other diaper rash products on the market. I think it is worth it because, it works. If my baby is sick and I know something that will make him feel better, I am willing to spend more to make that happen.

Also, the tub will last you a long time. One tub lasted me about 7 or 8 months. Which means it was just over a dollar a month in cost to keep my baby’s bum healthy and clear.

If you are having trouble with diaper rash in your infant, try the best diaper rash cream out there – Resinol. Just remember, you won’t find it in the baby aisle! Leave me a comment below if you try it.

And don’t forget to include some of this miracle cream in your next baby shower gift that you give! Here is a unique and educational holiday inspired baby shower gift to pin for your next shower.