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A few weeks ago, I gave Megan the thrill (or the scare) of being recognized in real life from her work on her web site, Jumping Monkeys. I spotted her in the park, and her unique combination of children (twin boys and an older girl) made me think that she was indeed the person I thought she resembled, although I had only seen her in a few pictures on Flickr. So of course I did feel like a stalker when I approached her, but when I introduced myself, she didn't seem frightened by my menacing five feet zero inch stature, ...

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Shelly, the founder of My Spoiled Rotten Baby, wrote to me with her story, and it seemed appropriate for the Rookie Moms audience. After delivering her son via cesarean birth, she decided that moms needed a little more support than she received during her birth experience. She started teaching childbirth education at a prestigious hospital in her area, and spent a lot of time as a labor and postpartum doula. Eventually, as her personal situation changed, she was no longer able to be in an on-call situation. The desire to stay in the 'new Mom/ baby' industry was strong enough ...

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While baby is still small enough for the infant carrier, take advantage of your relative “freedom” to get your toenails done. In the East Bay, we have Cure Spa that offers special service to mommies (like access to a baby swing).

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Rookie mom, Emily, suggested hitting the drive-in movie as a great baby-on-board date night. The last time I went to a drive-in I was driving cross-country with my pal, Rachel, and we actually watched the movie Twister (in which a drive-in theater is decimated by a tornado). I only wish the drive-ins near Berkeley were still operating! Emily tells us about taking her two-month old to the movies: This is perfect for my baby - she falls asleep on the drive there, sleeps through most of the movie, and when she wakes up (and cries), no one can hear her, and I ...

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I hope the person behind Friends With a Fish is not offended by my stealing her idea. I'm sure she does a more artful job than the rest of us untrained photographers could do. But I think I might try this myself anyway. Those favorite baby clothes that you are saving for something (you don't know what and let's face it, you're never going to make that quilt and neither is your mother) can be memorialized yet another way. Take a close up photo of the fabric using the macro setting on your camera (that little tulip icon). Print and frame. See ...

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There is a lovely knitting shop in Oakland that invites us to come and knit with other moms, babies and moms-to-be. If you are a local to this area, check out Article Pract on Thursdays at 10.30. Sarah in Portland wrote, "Mabel's has long offered a knitting with babies hour on Mondays (1 to 3 p.m. I think), although I've most often gone with my babies at odd times and, often, found other babies there." Abundant Yarn & Dyeworks, also in Portland, has "clubs" -- one is expectant moms, etc. They don't have a specific time for babies now, either, but they ...

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By now your baby is actually cute, right? Consider getting notecards or something commemorative for the grandparents from ofoto.com or Shutterfly. Notecards make great thank you notes, invitations, or announcements. Also, if you've been emailing jpegs to all your friends and family, quit it already and set up some albums you can share. "Yes, your baby is the most beautiful ever, but quit clogging my in-box," they're thinking. Get stickers or a deck of playing cards made at walgreens.com Make a custom basketball hoop or license plate at Winkflash.com Find pillowcases or candy tins at Snapfish.com These sites have many interesting ways to ...

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When you go for walks through the neighborhood, pick up take-out or delivery menus from restaurants you pass by. Try to keep 5 or 10 menus on hand for places you really like. A tip I read on parenthacks is to have the working parent(s) keep the menus at the workplace. Place a phone call for takeout from work, and pick it up on the way home. A tip I learned from my husband is to simply program the number in your cell phone. In my phone, Ruen Pair comes right before Ryan and after Ross.

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Andrea, who is a rookie mom to baby Ben and makes jewelry in delicious colors, blogs at Superhero Journal.com. She wrote this delightful post this week. After my post about friendship, my friend Kalah shared something that I loved. She said, “When you’re feeling most isolated, remember that you can always bring the party to [...]

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You already know that the library is a fun place to take baby, but did you realize how it can be a money saver and a sanity saver too? You can stop by the local library and bring home board books, big kid books, learning-to-sign dvd's, and video rentals for grown-ups (often free for a week or so!) all at the same place. With so many unavoidable parenting expenses, it's nice to go some place where it's all free! And air conditioned. :-) In case Alec is being closely watched by the government, they now know he has a penchant for ...

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Let's face it: Before this kid was born, you had no idea that babies were so clueless about how to relax. Well, now you know. Your new roommate would like nothing more than to get back in the confines of the womb and forget this whole "birth" thing ever happened. If there is one piece of advice I would give new mothers in their baby's first month of life, it is to watch The Happiest Baby On The Block. Due to the convincing presentation on DVD of Dr. Harvey Karp, we are both big believers in the 5 S’s of ...

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Today we went to Piedmont for a birthday brunch and found ourselves with 20 minutes to kill and a dirty diaper to deal with. Magically, I looked up to find that we were standing in front of Lucciola, a children's bookstore. It was the type of place that Meg Ryan would have had in You've Got Mail, if only she lived in Oakland instead of New York City. The bathroom is open to customers and has a changing table. There is a story time room behind the main bookshelf shopping area that has a mural on the wall. Julian immediately ...

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We asked Christie Mellor, author of Three-Martini Family Vacation to suggest an activity for rookie moms. Put the fun back in some of your routine outings by “going hunting” with your baby or preschooler as defined by Christie: You want to spend a nice morning with your baby, but you need to sneak in [...]

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Becky is a rookie mom in Boston who has lots of ideas for keeping herself and baby Nick busy. She is a city mama who does not have room in her condo for a full-on nursery, but confesses that she is addicted to the site Javis Davis. This company allows you to select from something like 500 fabrics to design your kiddie's crib bedding. Since Becky is a future twin-aunt, she has been satisfying her latent nesting instincts by planning bedding for her sister's new babies. If you are of the school of thought that a newborn can sleep in a ...

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Yes, your emotions are on a roller coaster; now your baby can be too. My friend Jeanine makes herself into a human roller coaster for baby Pepper. This is how to do it yourself: Lie on your back Curl your legs up with baby on your shins (on her tummy) Rock on your back to make yourself into a human amusement ride (sort of like airplane, but fully supported so you are less likely to get barfed on) Just in case, smart moms keep their mouths closed!

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Visiting your partner at work is something to look forward to for all involved. It's probably feasible for most professions, but feel free to let me know if you are someone for whom this suggestion is ridiculous. (If your partner works at home or does not work... go visit a friend or your old coworkers.) I assumed I would do this all the time while I was on maternity leave, but it only happened once. Therefore, I now see it as a major outing. I suppose it depends entirely on the commute. The day I drove over the bridge and went ...

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Jacqui publishes Red Tricycle, a newsletter and website dedicated to finding the cool stuff for kid-focused people in Seattle. She shares with us some of her favorite activities for moms and new babies around the city as inspired by her own son, James Hudson: Day One: Downtown You can't come to Seattle to without checking out the attractions. Shoot for mid-week, early morning/afternoon visits to Pike Place Market and Seattle Center to avoid the crowds. Olympic Sculpture Park is the latest & great Seattle attraction (always open). Very easy to navigate with a stroller. Pike Place Market - would definitely use a baby ...

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We're always on your case to do what you want to do and reconnect with your languishing personal interests. It's sort of our thing. What about trying something completely different? Take your toddler berry picking. I've heard raves from moms bold enough to try it. Then, make some homemade jam to go with that peanut-butter substitute you feel comfortable serving spread between impossibly-whole wheat bread. > Compelling jam story and "recipe" by megnut > That Friends episode, The One with the Jam (Let Monica's jam plan inspire you) > Mighty Foods spotlight on the Strawberry > KidsOffTheCouch Cherries Jubilee Adventure (for older kids, here's ...

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Or "get smarter" I found this list of 100 words Every High School Graduate Should Know and I felt a little stoopid. Apparently, it is quite normal to not know all the words (despite the title of the list) but rather something to aspire to. I'm printing out the list and trying to learn a couple here and there. My computer has a dictionary, after all, and I spend enough time here. The editors of the American Heritage® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know. "The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, ...

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