25 April 2016

Packing Your Maternity Hospital Bag

Preparing for your little bundle of joy's new arrival is an exciting time!  When it comes time to pack your bag for the hospital you want to ensure that you have everything you will need.  It can be overwhelming to know what to pack, especially if this is your first baby.  The following can help you get organized for the big day!  

The Bag

Depending on how much you are planning on bringing along, the size of your bag will definitely be a factor.  If you know ahead of time that you will be having a cesarean section then you know your stay will be a bit extended and you will want to pack some extra clothing and toiletries for yourself.  TheMotherDuck.com has a great hospital bag collection perfect to fit all your needs!  They come in a variety of sizes, colors, and patterns.  You can even order ones already packed with essentials you will need for your stay!
 
 
Packing for Mom

When prepping for your hospital stay having a comfy robe, gown, and slippers is always a nice addition to have.  I opted for my own hospital gown during each of my stays and it was a much nicer alternative to a hospital gown.  Slippers are also nice to have during your stay, especially if you have to walk around the hospital to help labor along.  Check out TheMotherDuck.com to see their line of hospital maternity wear essentials like slippers, robes, nursing pajamas, post partum underwear, and more.
 
In addition to clothing be sure to pack your basic toiletries such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, shampoo/conditioner, hair ties, makeup, and maxi pads.  Snacks for yourself as well as for dad are also going to be key.  Don't be left without power!  Be sure the camera and all tech cords like cell phone and laptop chargers are ready to go!  Also, have all important paperwork and documents packed and ready such as any hospital, social security, or insurance forms.  You may also want to bring your baby book along to document the big day! 


 
 Packing for Baby

Before you leave for the hospital be sure to have your infant car seat safely installed and ready to go so you can bring your new baby home safe and sound.  You will also want to have your little one's first outfit packed that they will be coming home in, as well as a couple different onesies and gowns.  It is also handy to pack a couple extra blankets for swaddling.  Some socks, booties, and a hat are also necessities to pack for your baby.  With all of these items packed you will be one step closer to being ready for your new bundle of joy to arrive!  
 


Have any other handy items that are must have's when packing for your hospital stay?  Leave your comments below!
 
 

17 April 2016

How to Spot a Bad Janitorial Service Company Before It's Too Late


For any business or organization a janitorial service company is a necessary expense, however if you don’t find the right janitorial service for your needs then choosing the wrong company may come at a much higher cost than you first anticipated. Therefore, it is best to foresee this and look out for some common signs of a bad janitorial service company, as this could save you a lot of unnecessary hassle and costs.

One of the first things to look out for when trying to spot a bad janitorial service company is their reputation. This may require a bit of research of your part, but it is well worth the cost and hassle of finding out the hard way. You may be able to ask around people and companies you know who have previous experiences with the companies and services that you are looking at using. Even a quick Google search may come up with some interesting feedback and reviews about the company; also reviews about services that you will not require are still relevant in order to assess if the company is reliable and trustworthy such as this one here
 
If you are unable to find any reviews online, and you don’t know of anyone who has had previous dealings with the janitorial company, then don’t hesitate to ask the janitorial company to supply some references. Firstly, if they are unable to provide you with references then that is a clear sign that they should be avoided. You may also want to check how long they have been operating for and how much industry knowledge and experience they have, and if they have many long standing customers. If the company has been operating for some time and doesn’t have long-term customers they are currently servicing, then this may be a sign that they have offered bad services in the past.

Another way to spot a bad janitorial service is to find out what kind of support services they would offer you. A good company will offer you around the clock support, including direct phone access in order to meet any extra requirements you may have out of office hours. Ideally, the company should have the ability to send their services to you as soon as you need them and in a timely manner. If a janitorial service does not offer this kind of support, then you may be putting your health and safety practices at risk. A company that is only able to send a task force for pre-arranged services within the cleaning schedule, and not when you need them in the case of emergencies, is a cleaning service to steer clear of. 
 
It often isn’t too hard to spot a bad janitorial company, but these simple tips should ensure that you are able to spot them straight away and save yourself and your business from a bad experience with such a company. Staying mindful of these ways in which to spot a bad janitorial service company will definitely help you and your business before it’s too late.



Disclosure:  This is a contributed post.

08 April 2016

What Do You Need To Buy For Your Toddler To Ensure Healthy Development

Most of us know that we are the most important person in our toddler’s life. We’re the ones responsible for ensuring their development is on track. There are lots of things to keep an eye on when it comes to our little ones. We need to know they are growing at the right pace, and that their weight is right. We also need to check they are meeting those developmental milestones. Things like potty training, walking, talking, and eating is on our minds. Fortunately, we’re not alone in all this. There are plenty of resources to help us get through it. And there are dozens of great toys to make life fun as they grow.

Gross Motor Skills
Toddlers are called toddlers because they haven’t yet refined their gross motor skills. They can't yet create that smooth, reliable walking action. There will be plenty of times they stumble and bump. This usually results in a few tears, but it’s rare they are genuinely hurt. After all, they still have the padding of their diaper to protect their backsides! If your child hasn’t yet mastered the art of walking or running, don’t fret.


Kids of this age are still not quite all in proportion to be well balanced for walking. However, there are plenty of things you can do to help the build the strength and balance they need. You can review some baby and toddler activity toys at www.thesmartconsumer.com that may be useful. Over time their legs will lengthen and they won’t be quite so top heavy. But for now, why not take lots of short walks? Toddler shoes rather than pram shoes are essential to protect their feet. Hold hands, and use a backpack harness so you can always be in contact with your child.

There will always be those two-year-olds that are zooming about on scooters and climbing the slide at the play park. Yours doesn’t have to reach that stage yet, so take your time. Provide a couple of ride-on toys that can help build their confidence. You can play games like fetch with their toys to encourage them to move about too. Your doctor or nursery nurse will be able to identify if there are any problems physically.

Fine Motor Skills
Some children are very good at seeing and picking up the tiniest objects on the floor. Playing with pretend sets of teacups or food helps them master the fine motor skills they will need. Let them have crayons and pencils for coloring in. You can also encourage them to try drawing shapes like zigzags, circles, and squares. Sticker books can provide hours of fun that will help refine those fine motor skills too.


Threading beads are something three-year-olds can really enjoy as an activity. However, your toddler could be just as happy popping large beads onto shoe laces. Popping shapes into the correct hole is another activity that helps a small child practice handling things. Pouring water from one container to another in the bathtub is also good for improving hand-eye coordination.

Mental Development
Toddlerhood is a tough time for any child and their parent too. Naps may be less frequent now. Some toddlers grow out of them all together. This means you lose those couple of hours of rest. And your toddler can get really tired long before their evening meal. This is one of the reasons toddlers can have tantrums. But they are also pushing their boundaries with you to see how much they can get away with. Be consistent, and they will soon learn what behaviors are unacceptable.


Numbers and letters of the alphabet will start to fascinate your little one. Singing songs to help them remember the order can be really good for a toddler. There are lots of toys that help with counting and sounding out the alphabet too. Some are apps for your tablet, others are standalone toys for your child to play with. The noisy ones are the best for your child to improve their speech with as well.

Getting Bigger
Your toddler will be changing every month. Some are ready for potty training, and others won’t be ready until they are past their 3rd birthday. Their physical proportions will change a lot, leaving the baby shape behind and becoming more like a little boy or girl. Walking will become more refined each day, and soon they’ll be running faster than you! You don’t need to rush and buy bicycles or scooters at this stage. However, they can be helpful in refining those movements all kids will need to perfect.




Because kids grow so fast at this age, it might be best to buy toys that have been preloved. It will save you a lot of money. After all, some kids skip stages, and others just never get on with certain activities while they’re still small enough to do them. If you have concerns they are falling behind some of their peers, buying a toy that helps with those activities can be beneficial.

It can be cheaper and more advantageous to spend time with other children at the park rather than buying lots of new toys. Sometimes, a child will learn more from watching others perform those tasks. A parent can’t provide education and training for everything on their own after all. Now your child has reached toddlerhood, it could be a good idea to arrange more playdates. You can look at http://www.manandbuggy.com/man-buggy/ten-reasons-for-sending-your-child-to-a-nursery if you’re considering a nursery or preschool environment. These places have far more facilities than we could possibly afford at home. And there are lots of other kids doing lots of new things to watch too!

Parents can only do so much. There are plenty of debates about how much a parent should be doing in preparation for formal education. It remains clear that toddlerhood should be a time for play and fun. Your little one may already be showing signs of ability and interest in academic tasks. Perhaps they like manipulating numbers or they're memorizing some words? Are they keen dancers or singers? This is the age for new experiences presented in fun ways. There’s no need to spend a fortune, but toys can often be the best way to learn new skills.







Disclosure:  This is a contributed post.





07 April 2016

Fostering Your Toddler's Creativity and Curiosity



Are you experiencing the dreaded ‘terrible twos’ phase with your toddler?

As if frequent temper tantrums aren’t enough, you must also be dealing with the constant barrage of “WHY” questions that are a sign of a healthy developing toddler brain.

Mommy, why do we have to eat?”

Why do I have to take a nap?”

Why is the sky blue?”

Why does my room smell like socks?”

Why. Why. Why.

Some days it feels like they never stop coming at you!

What many parents know is that, however ‘annoying’ these constant questions might seem, they are an important phase in toddler development.

A critical teaching moment.

One that should be handled with care, as it can impact the future of our sweet toddlers.

But what’s the most effective way of dealing with our toddler’s curious mind?

How do we ensure that we’re helping foster a sense of wonder and curiosity, while slowly introducing our toddlers to the “real world” with it’s real-world realities?

Answering her question directly with the hard truth will often lead to more questions.

Replying with a ‘half-truth’ and sugar-coating the answer might not be the most honest and trust-building approach.

Telling him to stop asking so many questions will diminish his sense of exploration and curiosity.

So what’s a mother to do?

I recently read a post written by Jen Epstein from tamethetantrum.com, where she attempts to help her 3,500 subscribers shed some light on exactly this age-old question.

My toddler asks ‘why’ to just about everything. What’s the best way to answer?”

After speaking with experienced parents, educators and toddler development experts, she shares the latest thinking on how to best tackle the situation.

Her post reveals 3 key steps that can help you keep your sanity during the ‘terrible twos’ while helping to foster your toddler’s creativity and curiosity.

You can find the post HERE.

Happy reading!

01 April 2016

4 Great Ways for A Stay At Home Mum To Earn From Home

A little extra cash can make a big difference for any family. Being able to earn during your downtime on a casual basis is a dream for many mums.

Fortunately, it can be a reality. There are numerous ways people can earn a little extra when they need it and we’re going to discuss some of them below. 

Become A Mystery Shopper - And Get Paid To Do Retail Therapy

Can you imagine getting paid to shop till you drop? Think it's too good to be true?

Nope, it's real! A mystery shopper gets paid to shop. All they have to do is pay attention to the details of the transaction, and, afterwards, write them down.

For companies that are responsible for marketing a service or product, such as bank, retail outlet or car dealerships, quality customer service is the best way to set them apart from competitors. They invest millions and millions in training frontline personnel and measuring the quality of the service. How do they do it? They use mystery shoppers to act like actual customers.

Mystery shoppers are simply people who are, in certain ways, similar to the typical customer of a business. They get recruited to visit an outlet and act like an actual customer, presenting problems, asking questions and buying products.

If you like the idea of being paid to shop, there's a guide to being a mystery shopper which will tell you all you need to know - how you can avoid scams, how to fit it in with your own commitments, and how much you're going to get paid.

Take Online Surveys

Working from home is easy, thanks to the internet and offers tremendous potential and benefit for stay at home mums. Sometimes all you need is to catch a few minutes here or there and you can fit in some time to earn. Many mums are finding new earning potential with online surveys.

Online survey sites provide mums with the opportunity to log on and earn. The surveys themselves cover a wide array of areas and most people will find one that fits in well with their experience – allowing them to provide valuable insight in return for rewards. 

Surveys sites such as Valued Opinions often provide credit which can be easily redeemed for gift vouchers. These sorts of online surveys are certainly something people can find the time to do in their down time and provides a little something extra for them to shop with. 

Assist an Online Tycoon - Become a Virtual Assistant

Becoming a virtual assistant (a VA for short) is much less daunting than it may appear. If you're a mum who hasn't worked for a while, do not worry if it appears that you'll need much experience and training to act as a virtual assistant for someone - this isn't the case. If you can do basic online tasks, such as making appointments, opening emails and responding to them, making Skype or phone calls, and providing basic customer service, you already have what it takes to be a great VA.

A VA's job is to relieve the person who employs you from mundane day-to-day activities, allowing them to dedicate more of their time to increasing revenue. You will either deal with customer issues on your own, or ask your employer about more complex issues. As you may suppose, this sort of work can be very enjoyable for individuals who enjoy interacting with people. Here is a good piece on the subject.
 
Providing Transcription Services

Usually, people first hear about the opportunity to be an online transcriptionist as they come across legal or medical transcription services. What they fail to realise, however, is that it requires specialist training to do this particular type of work.

However, general transcriptionists don't require any sort of specialised training - all one needs to do is type relatively fast (or your earnings will be quite low), and make sure they have proper grammar and spelling.

There is plenty of work available for a transcriptionist online. Internet marketers often create video and audio information products, for instance, and they often need to generate a written version of the audio or video recording. Those who record teleconferences, podcasts or webinars frequently need to produce written copies of their content to their audience as well.

All of the examples above would need to hire a transcriptionist.

Hourly rates for a transcriptionist are not sky high, but it is a very good way to earn a nice income. Transcription, after all, is something that anyone that is good with words and has a good ear can do.
All of these options provide a viable means to earn money from home for mums. If you have any other great ideas on how to do so, please comment below. 

This article has been written by a third party. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Research Now or its Valued Opinions® panel. The information is presented without warranty, express or implied.


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