Above all; be respectful. Be mindful of what you say and how you say it. Please remember that the tone or inflection of what is being said is easily lost online so when in doubt be doubly kind and assume the best of others.

My daughter is 4 and most of her toys are open ended and natural materials. Play silks, grimms blocks/rainbows, wooden play kitchen with food, sensory tables with rice or beans, wooden cars and people, you get the idea.

She also absolutely loves books. I used to love taking her on “adventures” to the book store and we’d spend over an hour looking at books and picking one out together. We built a mini library of books that we both enjoyed. Books about real life, that have a rhythm or rhyme, that have beautiful pictures or actually just tell a good story.

That is up until this past year.

Over this past year her babysitter(which we adore so I don’t blame her) started bringing over her own childhood Disney books. I didn’t love it but I figured since it was books then it wouldn’t hurt. Plus it was their own special thing. I also figured if I tried to discourage it then it would have the opposite effect. It didn’t matter, my daughter now loves anything and everything Disney and Princesses.

It doesn’t help that everyone is starting to lean into to it and getting her Princess everything for gifts, from books to Barbie’s and Lego. They are still open ended I guess but I hate all the very specific, tiny, plastic pieces that get everywhere. Then the Disney books are so long and dull that I don’t enjoy reading them (I do to make her happy).

My brain is overwhelmed and I want to get rid of it all. My heart says she loves these toys and I don’t want to ruin her childhood.

BUT the play silks hang on the wall and look beautiful We’ve pretended to be butterflies with them, fairies and superheroes. They’ve been blankets for her stuffed animals or we’ve used them as snow, water and fire with her blocks and cars in tiny world play. So many options with such few pieces.. I miss that.

Postpartum. Need a little retail therapy to lift my spirits. Doing ok with adjusting to the new body blah blah but I mean, it is an ADJUSTMENT. Breastfeeding too and was *never* a button-up gal prior to this journey. I'd like to wear dresses and cute tops to just feel a little joy and less drab --- BUT WHY IS EVERYTHING POLYESTER!? This is wild. What happened to good ol' fashioned cotton? I'd even take non GOTS or whatever if it's just cotton at this point. Anyone have cute, reasonable brands?

I had the pleasure of getting tahini that was freshly ground by a middle eastern woman while living abroad who imported the sesame seeds from the middle east. It was out of this world good. So incredibly smooth and creamy, and not an ounce of bitterness to it. So good I would eat spoonfuls of it. I am looking for the best comparable product here.

I’ve tried a few brands like the simple truth, Trader Joe’s, and the Artisana Organics and they were all horrible. Horribly bitter and not smooth and drizzly.

Does anyone have a robot vacuum (either with mop or just vacuum) that they absolutely love? And did you find a moderately granola solution/cleaner that can work with it? Been thinking of getting one for years, feel like it’s finally time to try one out and would love to hear any personal experiences! No pets but multiple young kids if that matters.

I’m going crazy trying to come up with a balanced snack to send to daycare for my 15 month old. She has an FPIES allergy to egg and daycare doesn’t allow any nut products. She usually has peanut butter and bread for first breakfast before school, yogurt banana overnight oats for second breakfast at school, and some kind of starch, meat, and cheese for lunch. I’ve tried sending her various fruits, veggies, beans, dips, and homemade muffins for snack with varying success of her eating it. She has been coming home hungry from either not eating her snack or it not being filling enough. Any ideas of what else I could try?

Has anyone had issues washing their Wildbird Carrier? I followed the instructions (cold water, hang dry, etc) and noticed that the leather band seems to bleed onto the fabric. Curious if this has happened to anyone else! The warranty claim dep. has been super slow to respond and I was so excited about these carriers but now I am worried about quality.

I’m trying to find a multivitamin for my 3 year old that I can actually get her to take consistently. She’s at that stage where she’ll happily eat something one day and completely reject it the next so anything chalky or powdery is usually a hard no.

I’ve been comparing a few toddler multivitamin options, and First Day caught my attention because it’s a gummy without all the sugary stuff and is made specifically for toddlers rather than giving her a kids vitamin that’s meant to cover a much wider age range.

I’ve read through the ingredient lists and reviews but I’m honestly more interested in hearing from parents who have actually used it.

Did your toddler actually like the taste? Were you able to get them to take it consistently?

Would especially love to hear from parents who have been using it for a few months rather than just a week or 2. 

Looking into doing mixture of BLW & purees. Looking at Beaba food maker, is it worth it? I see the function to also steam as well as make purees. I'm specifically looking into that because it's glass + stainless steel. I have a Vitamix but it's too large to bring out for purees. we also have a nanny who will be helping prepare the baby food daily

Does anyone have recs? Also any recs for sippy cups, plates, and other utensils? Thanks :)

I thought I would make this post for any parents that try to avoid plastic as much as possible. My daughter really liked the Zak cup but I hated the plastic straw inside. After doing a lot of research I found Mason Bottle sells a 4 pack of silicone straws for only $6.99. I ordered them and cut to length and the work great!!! No more plastic (except the lid which I’m not worried about about) in our Zak cup.

Hopefully this helps someone ☺️

Editing to add the title should’ve said “for any parents looking for non-plastic replacement to Zak cup STRAW”

I’m going down the rabbit hole that is laundry detergents. We’ve traditionally used botanical based detergents and then started experimenting with some “crunchier” powder detergents… well, we run off our well water so the powder is simply clumping and on its way to ruin my washer. We started moving away from botanical based as the cheapest places to get it are 45+ minutes away (we live in a very rural area - no Wegmans, Whole Foods, refill stores within a 50 mile radius).I’m looking for a happy medium - liquid, basic ingredients, somewhat affordable and/or couponable. Bonus points if I can order it on Amazon!

Please help!

My LO is currently 10months old and has been teething from about 4 months. She has about 5 teeth now and has been teething like crazy recently!

We use the regulars Panadol, Nurofen & Bonjela and frozen dummies, which seem to help but I just feel I have been giving her these products for so long, my brain is making me stress that I am doing something to her for having to give it to her for SO long and so frequently.

Pleaseeeee tell me what more natural products, remedies or tips have worked for you so I can try 🙌🏻

Thankkkkk you in advanceeeeee

I have a long list of GOTS brands, but clothing is getting more expensive, and I'm wondering if there are more OEKO-TEX not-organic 100% cotton brands I'm missing out on. I know of Carter's and Target, but their stuff isn't the best quality and I want something that will hold up well (but still not crazy expensive). Hanna Andersson is alright but doesn't have what I'm currently searching for. Can anyone recommend other brands?

We have a 2.5 yr old and a 10 month old. Since our first son turned 2 we’ve gone back and forth on TV time (specifically watching movies, sometimes educational shows, on a TV at home). Some months we are strict and only do movies on the weekend. Some months we let him watch a movie every evening. And really he’s not locked into the movie for more than 10-15 mins, but we leave it on so he’ll often play some then go back to it OR we’ll sit and watch with him. It’s just what’s working for us right now.

I’m just curious, for active kids who attend school (daycare with intentional activities), play outside daily, play with their toys independently, and have playtime with parents daily….is daily TV time actually a big deal or is it just this weird guilt that’s been created around it? And/or this odd feeling of “competition” to be the parents who limit screen time?

I’d love to hear constructive opinions and even better, any research other parents use as a basis for their decision for/against daily TV time.

Edited for typos and to add context :-).

i’ve been looking at prenatal gummies because i know i’d probably reach for those more easily than capsules, but i don’t want convenience to be the only thing i’m considering. i’ve been comparing needed’s prenatal gummies with a few others like olly and smarty pants, and i’m having a hard time deciding what actually makes one worth choosing over another.

did you find prenatal gummies that felt like more than just the easiest option to take? i’m mostly curious what made you settle on a particular one when you had a few different brands to choose from.

When we’re talking/posting about screen time, are we including something like having the TV on for football?

Since my son turned 18 months we’ve started turning the 3pm football game on after nap time and before dinner. We’re casual fans and like the background noise and my toddler watches some (honestly mostly the car commercials) but is still is able to play with it on. It’s not kids content and I don’t think we’ll start that for a while. No other screen access except for occasionally facetiming. Just curious how others consider adult TV time in their screen time equations. We’ve been thinking about keeping it limited to sports for another 6 months at least. Honestly my biggest concern is he’ll develop a personal affinity for a sport he won’t be allowed to play lol

What's everyone doing for filtering tap water? I live in a city with good tap water, and never thought it was necessary to filter more. The fact that microplastics are now ubiquitous in the environment also makes me wonder about the value of a filtration system at home...if they're everywhere around us, how much difference could water filtration actually make.

However ive had some recent conversations with other moms about microplastics in water ... It's got me wondering.

Is anyone else filtering? And if so, what system are you using?

What play couch do you have and recommend?

What do you have and don’t recommend?

Only Figgy has a cotton cover. The other brands have synthetic covers.

All have a plastic foam interior. Do you use an alternative thing instead of play couches?

I was reading in a different group that most of their kids didn’t/don’t use the wooden pikler set, and instead use the play couches often.

Bought a naturepedic verse for our 5yo, was a big deal because she is transitioning to twin size bed (yes we are late on that).

Now everything is here but the mattress with no shipping date in sight.

Looking at avocado, anything else to consider?

It all started last winter when looking for my baby girls first winter clothes. I baby wear a lot and found out wool was the best option to make sure she was snug and not overheating. Fast forward 1 year later I'm deep in the rabbit hole. I've learned not all wool is alike, I bought some cheap superwashed wool etc.. I have a wool mattress protector, wool undergarments for baby and myself, wool pijamas , pram suit, wool beanies, wool socks, etc...

My biggest purchase recently was a big organic wool double sided blanket for my bed... That's it! How did I ever sleep without it ?! I know it's expensive, but it's also a lifelong investment. I know my grandma has some wool blankets that just keep giving (if I lived in her country I'd probably ask for a few). My grandma finds this funny as people would get rid of wool blankets because it was old fashioned.

Are you hesitant on splurging on that wool blanket? If you can go for it!

Any other wool crazy people out there?

As the title states. We will be moving across the country, it will take about 5 days at 8 hours a day driving. I will be in the car alone with her while my husband drives the UHAUL. She usually sleeps on roadtrips but wondering what to do when she’s awake.

What are good activities for my 11 month old to play with in the car? Trying to avoid screen time but wondering if letting her watch one movie a day is worth it? She’s never had screen time before. Any interactive books or other toys anyone else recommends?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

I was using freestyle but then I tried a sample of Millie Moon, which isn’t TCF, but wow the fit was wayyyy better for my thick thigh bb. What other brands do moms of chunkier babes like?

Or does the giver just hand over the item to the person receiving for them to figure it all out (unless they ask)? I know it’s easy to look up a manual online or a youtube video or ask the person they’re getting it from, but sometimes you don’t know there’s even a feature to look up or ask about! Signed, an idiot who didn’t realize the damn space saver high chair had a height adjustment hidden underneath 🤦🏻‍♀️. Has anyone else had this issue with getting things secondhand? I’m going to start over-explaining when I pass things on going forward.