giveaway of book for birth workers

Sheridan at Enjoy Birth reviewed the book Keep the Fires Burning: Conquering Stress and Burnout as a Mother-Baby Professional by Mickey Jones, and she is giving a way a free copy! The life of a birth worker can be very demanding, and this book sounds like a great resource.

Click here to read the review and enter the giveaway!

The Gift of Giving Life release date and giveaway

I am excited to learn that the release date for the book, The Gift of Giving Life, has been announced for November 1, 2011! Although I came into the project a little late in the process of its creation, I have submitted some content which may be used in it. I am very passionate about the subject matter of this book, and so excited to see its publishing becoming a reality. I will be meeting Felice Austin, the leader of the book project and writer of the blog, when I go to the Hypnobabies Instructor training this month--we are going to be roommates! I am excited to meet her in person and discuss our common interests. Click here to learn how you can enter to win a copy of the book!

MamAmor giveaway at Bellies and Babies

In honor of International Doula Month, Nicole at Bellies and Babies is giving away a MamAmor doll! MamAmor designs beautiful, handcrafted pregnancy, birthing, and breastfeeding dolls. The doll being given away is worth $145. If you win, you pay only the shipping to get her to you! Click here to enter the giveaway!

Two Quick Things

1. Rixa of Stand and Deliver had her baby! It's a girl! Part 1 of the birth story, including video of her catching her own baby, is up on her blog. Rixa uses the Hypnobabies program some, but adapts it to fit her own needs. She has said before that she doesn't use it to try to avoid feeling pain, but to instead embrace whatever sensations she experiences.

2. MamAmor dolls is having a giveaway! If you don't know about MamAmor, you should! They are handcrafted dolls that can be pregnant, give birth, and breastfeed. Check out the MamAmor Doll Shop to see some of the dolls and doll accessories. Also, see Rixa's review of the custom doll she ordered for her daughter as a gift to celebrate the birth of the new baby. Then go to the Doll Giveaway at the MamAmor Blog, and enter to win the contest to win this $135 doll for FREE (you only pay shipping!)

Making baby food is easy. Toddler food, not so much.

I have made baby food for both of my kids. I mostly did purees frozen in ice cube trays. The Wholesome Baby Food website has been my go-to resource for this. I have found it is pretty easy to make purees, but really struggled when my babies got old enough to not want purees but not quite old enough to always eat everything the rest of the family was eating (say we were having pork chops and a baby spinach salad for dinner--not exactly 11-month-old friendly). I often end up resorting to the expensive pre-made "todder food"--those sauce-less ravioli things are pretty neat, after all.

But I would love to have some resources for more homemade options for my son's current age. Especially because I'm pretty sure my son has problems digesting dairy. I'm not sure if it is a problem with the milk sugar (lactose) or the milk protein (casein) yet--still trying to figure that out (that matters because some dairy foods, such as cheese, do not contain lactose). Many commercial toddler meals contain dairy, so I have to check the labels, and it limits the selection for him.

I was intrigued back in December when I read Enjoy Birth's review of the book So Easy Toddler Food and thought it might be something our family could use sometime. This was before I discovered my son's dairy issues and before he decided he didn't want to be spoon-fed anymore. I forgot about the book at the time, but now I realize that I also think some of the info in the book would also be helpful for my 3-year-old, since food battles are pretty common with her. And I could use the recipes for both of my kids. I was excited to learn today that Enjoy Birth is having a giveaway of a free copy of the book. Click here to find out how you can enter the giveaway.

Giveaways for moms and birth workers

Sheridan at Enjoybirth is doing two giveaways on her blog. One is for birth workers and one is for moms. (Since I am both, I'm entering both giveaways).

For Moms: Tag*a*Long Giveaway

The Tag*a*Long is a handle you can attach to a stroller for a child to hold on to while you push the stroller. I think this is a great idea. We don't own a double stroller because when my son was smaller, I'd wear him in my wrap and my daughter would ride in the stroller. Now that they are bigger, I like to put my son in the stroller and have my daughter walk, but she needs something to hold on to so she doesn't wander and the Tag*a*Long would be perfect because if she holds onto the stroller itself she is in my way.

For Birth Workers: $25 Injoy Gift Certificate Giveaway

Injoy supplies birth and parenting educational materials, including videos and web-enhanced booklets. Many of the materials would be a great supplement to any childbirth education program or could be used as an informative resource for doulas or for healthcare providers.

If you are interested in either giveaway, check them out today!

How you can win a Baby Bond--the nursing cover that covers you and not your baby

I wrote before about how I usually don't cover my babies' heads while nursing them in public. I usually wear a nursing tank under my shirt and nurse from the bottom of the shirt, and then everything is covered, as you can see in this photo. However, this doesn't work with button up shirts, dresses, and some wrap-style tops. The Baby Bond is a sash-style cover perfect for remaining covered while nursing from the top of your shirt, and you don't have to cover up the baby's head!

Sheridan at EnjoyBirth is giving away a sample Baby Bond Flex that she reviewed. Click here to learn how you can win!

check out Candy Clips by B for cute and simple hair accessories

As you may have noticed, I always like to support my friends and family in their online business ventures. My cousin's wife (who's name actually became my maiden name when she married him, just spelled differently) just started an etsy shop called Candy Clips by B. Her clips are really cute, and they are mostly in solid colors that will go with all different outfits. Most of them can be worn by any age--her photos show the same sizes of clips being worn by her and her two year old daughter. She is having a giveaway on her blog to promote her shop.

Beanies With Love

A friend of mine is starting a business selling homemade crocheted beanies for kids. She is having a giveaway to help get her off the ground. Cold weather is just around the corner for us, so it's the perfect time to start buying some warm things for little ones! Visit Beanies With Love to enter the contest and see her samples! She takes requests for colors. My son would be adorable in a blue one to match his gorgeous blue eyes, and for my daughter, I'm thinking either lavender, pink, or fuchsia!

the Women in the Scriptures blog is having a giveaway

Visit Women in the Scriptures to see how you can enter to win some really cool prizes. The blogger, Heatherlady, is a collaborator on the book, The Gift of Giving Life. She is a mother and a doula. Her posts explore the lives of scriptural women in depth and she also writes quite a bit about birth.

"Little Lovies by Char" giveaway!

My cute cousin (who had her first baby a year ago via pitocin induction for PROM with no pain meds) just started her Etsy shop, Little Lovies by Char. She is having a giveaway to promote it. She currently has some adorable applique onesies for girls on her shop, and she will be adding matching headbands as well as some boy onesies that I'm sure will be just as cute as what she has so far. If you would like to enter the giveaway, visit her blog, The 3 O's. I love mama-grown businesses!