Search Results for: blog creating your birth plan

Should You Create A Birth Plan?

Should you create a birth plan?  It can be a helpful tool for making your wishes known both to your healthcare provider and the labor & delivery staff, but it also seems a little silly to plan something like one’s labor: after all, if we could control it, we would all have easy births. When I first heard about birth plans, I decided that they weren’t for me.  I’m a very Type A person; I get stressed if even my silliest of plans get messed up, if they’re ones I’m excited about.  Trying to plan my baby’s birth, and everything … Continue reading →

Spice Up Your Halloween Layouts

Despite the miles in between Happy, happy Halloween! Not exactly Shakespeare, but it ties in well with my “Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun” page title. I’m rushing to put together a double page Halloween layout for my great aunt’s 90th birthday scrapbook. I’m in charge of creating half of the holiday-themed pages, while my sister-in-law has to come up with designs for the remaining holidays and major occasions, such my birthdays and family reunions. Right now I am working on Halloween. The layout has to include all of the youngest members of the family, as well as photos from … Continue reading →

Child’s Birthday Party Part 2

Yesterday I shared a number of tips on how you can save money on your child’s birthday party while still creating an event that they will remember always. We talked about the guest list and food. Now let us move on to other money saving ideas. Party Favors and Goodie Bags The party favors and goodie bags that are given out at most kids birthday parties are getting a little ridiculous, I think. You can easily spend a couple of hundred dollars on goodie bags, party favors and parting gifts. There are a couple of ways to save on this … Continue reading →

Party Planning as a Career

Are you organized and love a good time? Then becoming a party planner might be the perfect career for you. Think about the types of parties that you would be interested in planning. Do you want to focus on one particular type or could you expand your business to include all types such as office parties, birthday parties, corporate events and weddings. It’s important to establish from the beginning where your focus is going to be. Because the next step is determining what your startup costs are going to be. The more types of parties you want to plan, the … Continue reading →

Birthing Moms Go Glam for Facebook

I am not on Facebook, and don’t have any plans to create an account. This, of course, means I am out of the loop about certain events and incidents, especially since I have a number of friends who communicate exclusively via Facebook. Prime example: One of my childhood friends from Hawaii recently gave birth to a baby boy. Whereas I heard (via telephone) from another friend that my pal had a natural birth and the baby was in good health, I had no clue what Junior and his mom looked like post-birth because I was not able to view the … Continue reading →

Top Tips for Creating a Birth Plan

Today’s blog topic comes from Elizabeth Stein, a women’s health expert and certified nurse midwife of 25 years. She is also a patient advocate of patient empowerment, so she has put together a list of tips on how to create a birth plan to ensure a positive emotional experience for the mother-to-be, and to give her as much control over her birthing experience as possible. When Ms. Stein’s publicist contacted me to share this list, I just knew I had to share it with you. A birth plan can be a very valuable tool. To learn more about Elizabeth Stein, … Continue reading →

How Much Did You Spend on Your Child’s Last Birthday Party?

I know it wasn’t more than $360,000. We can’t all roll like Daddy Diddy, but as parents we do want to make our children happy, and celebrating a milestone like a birthday with a big party, often means digging deep. But how deep do you dig? My five-year-old is dreaming of a huge bash to commemorate her sixth year of life (which thankfully doesn’t happen for a few more months). She has been begging for a safari-themed party at our local children’s museum. For three hours, up to 20 kids can dine on lion-shaped cake, make toilet paper roll binoculars, … Continue reading →

Make Designer Birth Announcements at Home (Before the Birth)

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After you have a baby, your time is monopolized by feeding, burping, diaper changing and trying to catch up on sleep. Who has time for making birth announcements? It’s no wonder so many new moms resort to the photo kiosk at their local discount store. There’s nothing wrong with click and print announcements, but what if you want something with a little more flair and originality? With a little planning and creativity, you can make the birth announcements you’ve been dreaming of without cutting into your budget or your time as a new mommy. 1. Find Inspiration Find inspiration from … Continue reading →

Packing Your Bags for the Hospital

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Packing your bags for the hospital is a major milestone on your journey to the delivery room. Deciding what to bring can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never had a baby before. Since you’ll likely be spending a couple days there, it will be comforting to have some of your own personal items there with you to make it feel a little more like home. First of all, it’s a good idea to have your hospital bag packed about 4 weeks before you are scheduled to deliver. You could go into labor early or your due date might be … Continue reading →

Four Ways to Save Money on Birthday Cake

This week we are in the middle of trying to finalize plans for an upcoming birthday party for our two sons. Two boys with birthdays only a month apart means one party to save the relatives from traveling, but two separate cakes with different themes. All of that cake can add up in expense. Here are four different ways to save money on birthday cake. With these various options, you should be able to find your own great way to shave off some of the cost of the birthday cake. Buy a regular birthday cake but skip the special decorating. … Continue reading →