I have a 5 week old here and am loving our Fisher Price Cradle n Swing. It sits nice and high for ease of reaching baby and swings side-to-side or front-to-back. It has held up well through our first and now the second baby. My only regrets is that it doesn't plug into the wall, so it eats through D batteries. I also have the matching vibrating chair which I keep in the kitchen for when I am prepping dinner during his fussy hour and my husband isn't home yet. I love to wear my baby in a carrier, but not in the kitchen when I am cooking and using sharp utensils. If you are planning on nursing, you might want to consider some reusable nursing pads (lots of sellers on etsy). They are soooo comfy and easy enough to toss in the laundry. I also recommend Undercover Mama tanks or a homemade version (I have a few of both). Congratulations! :)

I am sorry about the links not working! They suggest using a mixture of washing soda, borax, and calgon to soak your laundry (you can do this in a bathtub or sink...fill with hot water, add mixture and laundry, let it soak until water has cooled) and then wash with just water. Follow up with a bleach soak to get rid of anything that has come to the surface so you don't get the stink again and then wash normally with detergent. Adding a second rinse to your washing regimen would add minerals back into your material, so don't worry about it. Using a detergent with water softeners built in, like a powder laundry detergent is supposed to be better. Bacteria can build up when minerals do, hence the stink. I can't find anything that explains the why and how behind all of this, but following and hoping someone else can explain.

I have been reading about laundry and stink as I prepare cloth diapers for another baby. The idea behind diapers leaking and smelling seems to be mineral buildup in the fabric over time, many times from hard water. I have been reading this website a lot in hopes of avoiding the stink: http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com. I stripped all of our towels using this method http://www.fluffloveuniversity.com/troubleshooting/solving-stinky-diaper-problems/how-to-strip-your-cloth-diapers/ and it has really improved the smell and absorbency. How to apply this idea to non washable items escapes me at this point.

Yes! The writing is skippable...use the tiles, magnetic letters, draw with your finger in salt or shaving cream, or even draw in the air. :)

A little late with the Saxon review (so happy to read that OPGTR is working well!), but just for future reference the Saxon Phonics program is great from what I have seen. I haven't used it personally, but the three schools I taught at used it K-2nd grade and it was awesome to see the kids develop into fantastic readers. I have a couple of friends that use it as well for their homeschool and just thrive. I was considering it too until I inherited a copy of Phonics Pathways that comes with lots of advice only a phone call away. :) Hope you don't have to switch, though, and things continue with OPGTR!

Thank you to both of you, this is what I needed to hear. :) We have a couple of the Kumon books already and enjoy them, so we will continue on without the official prewriting material.

Has anyone used the ABC 123 Just for Me! Handwriting Readiness workbook by Zaner-Bloser? Is it worth it the price tag? My DS is turning 5 in December so I am planning more of a pre-k year this year and more of a full K next year (using the K level handwriting workbook) and wondering if this could be of use. He enjoys to do little dot-to-dots and mazes and I can get loads of those cheap in the preschool workbooks they sell everywhere. Just wondering if this would add anything worthwhile. TIA for any insight!

My DS is 4.5 right now and we are planning: Bible time and memory with daddy MUS primer Phonics Pathways BFIAR (with manual and no obsessive lap booking) and lots of reading pre-writing with mazes and dot-to-dots type books (which he LOVES) and cutting/gluing skills maybe piano...he is begging and I teach piano, so we will start to mess with that. Lots of work with First Steps in Music regardless.

Shaving Cream is fun and cheap, I agree with Anna's Mom! Also cheap and easy to find is oatmeal, if you want to throw another texture in there. My son loves to pull all of his trucks into the table or build with his duplos with the given material; you don't need a lot of extra props or tools to make it a great experience. Have fun!

This is more appropriate for high schoolers, but "The Homesteader" by Oscar Micheaux. He was a lone African American homesteader in South Dakota. I learned about him when moving within a couple of miles from his homestead. It is listed on Project Gutenberg. He later became a filmmaker and directed a film with the same title about his experiences.

Hello! I am a mom of a 4 year old little boy and teach piano lessons out of my home in the afternoons. I am a new member, but I have been stalking the boards for the past few months and figured that I had better just make it official. :)