Summer Vacation (Post-Baby)

Alison Gore — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 19:56:46 +0000

The two words teachers love the most are “Summer Vacation.” In fact, one of the reasons that I became a teacher was so I could enjoy two months of vacation from work. Every summer for the past 18 years I have gone to Harbor Springs, Michigan and had the best time. I could sleep in late, go play tennis, lounge at the beach and read fluffy books, and stay up with friends to the early morning hours. Well….things are a little different now with baby Henry joining me!

I wake up every morning by 6:30am, give Henry a bottle, take out the dog, play with the baby, feed the baby breakfast, change him and put him down for a nap. All before 9am! Then I have to make the decision if I’m going to go play tennis (while my saint of a mother watches the baby), take a nap, or be productive. Nine times out of 10, I choose to go back to sleep! Hey… It’s vacation after all!

When Henry wakes up I usually spend the next 45 minutes getting him ready to go to the beach. Swim diaper (please don’t poop!), sunscreen, rash guard-check! Beach toys, beach blanket, water, sun hat-check! Long gone are the days of meandering down the path with a magazine, beach towel, and sun screen. I feel like Mary Poppins. You’d be amazed at the things I’ve pulled out of my beach bag this summer!

FINALLY we make it down to the beach. It takes an army of at least 3 to get all the chairs, umbrellas, bags, coolers, baby, and other junk down to the beach. It’s quite an event! We are in walking distance to the beach, but the thought of having to trek back up to the house because I forgot something is unimaginable!

Me and Henry soaking up the sun

We sit down, Henry plays on the beach blanket for about 5 minutes before deciding he wants to crawl down to the water. Up I go! Following him around and wiping his face every time he decides the sand looks “good enough to eat!” Wipe, rinse, repeat! An hour later (if we make it that long) it’s time to take all the baby stuff back up so he can take his afternoon nap. At this point I’m exhausted and so very thankful I have my family there to help! I laugh at my unopened book laying in my beach bag. It leers at me like, “Ha! You thought you’d actually get to read me today?!”

Oh well…one look at my smiling baby’s face and I know all the hassle of packing and getting to and from the beach is worth it! Happy baby means a happy mommy!

Beach baby

(I really must give a shout out to my family, especially “Granny” for helping me all summer—I’ve managed to read a couple books and have some uninterrupted time at the beach!)

-Maureen is the LLD Chicago City Coordinator and a new mommy!

Keep your skin safe this summer!

Lindsay Bell — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:26:00 +0000

With summer in full swing, we really need to make sure we’re keeping our skin, and more importantly, the kids’, safe from the harsh rays of the sun while we’re out and about at the beach, park, or playing outside on the jungle gym. While reading through the Big City Moms Parenting Center, we stumbled across a really interesting article by a skin care expert. Take a couple minutes to read through the facts and advice that we think is so so important this time of year!

Did you know the skin of a newborn baby can be five times thinner than an adult’s? We had no idea! Because the skin is still developing at this stage in a baby’s life, it is not able to produce enough melanin (or our natural form of sun protection), and therefore is much more susceptible to sun damage. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents try to keep children younger than 6 months out of the sun completely. If you don’t have some article of clothing to cover as much of the skin as possible, parents can apply small amounts of sun screen to the face and other areas of the body. These days, companies have even created clothing that has built in UV protection! My Swim Baby has a ton of cute UV Protection Clothing on their website. We love this iPlay Tie Rash Guard & Swim Diaper! Visit My Baby Swim at www.myswimbaby.com!

Now when it comes time to pick a sunscreen, there are several things to keep in mind. First, you should decide if you want to go with the more typical, chemical sunscreens, or something more natural. With natural sunscreens, you’re keeping the chemicals to a minimum and still keeping your kids’ skin safe. Mineral-based sunscreens are a little different than chemical ones because the sunscreen creates a reflective layer on the surface of the skin, whereas with chemical sunscreens the ingredients work within the cells to prevent sun damage. After picking which type of sunscreen is for you and the kids make sure you select a product that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. The U.S. FDA does not require sunscreens to guard against UVA rays! Crazy, we know. Most experts suggest picking a sunscreen with an SPF higher than 35, which protects for 97% – 98% of harmful UV rays, but you can always go higher!

If you have a second, visit the Big City Moms website at bigcitymoms.com. You can learn about so many great events for families going on in the New York Area. Also, if you want more sun-safe information, the American Academy of Pediatrics at www.aap.org has tons of information!

Don’t forget to “Like” our new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LuckyLilDarlings

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Now, go have some fun in the sun!

New York Nanny Center » sun

Summer Vacation (Post-Baby)

Keep your skin safe this summer!