… Stephen Saunders.

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Our next giveaway is a $50 Gift Card to Amazon.com

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About the product: One (1) $50 Gift Card to Amazon.com

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How can I win? Write in your own blog how you chose the name of your baby. You must also mention this giveaway and link back to the url (http://gagazine.com/50-amazon-gift-card-giveaway/) of this giveaway in your post. When you link back to this giveaway page, we will be notified that you have entered.

Am I the winner? If you are the winner, your name will be announced in the Winner’s Announcements category on April 7th, 2008. I will also comment on your blog post that you have won. You will then have to provide us your email so we can send you the prize. You have 3 days to respond to confirm your email address. Otherwise, you will forfeit your prize and I will select another winner.

When will this giveaway end? The winner will be announced on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 9:00 pm PST.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Please go here to participate in our next giveaway.

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This week’s drawing winner goes to teaserman of Vancouver, WA. You can visit teaserman’s Journal at http://journals.gagazine.com/teaserman.

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Those small baby food jars keep piling up, don’t they? I bet you don’t want to toss them in the trash because they are too darn cute to throw away. And you probably don’t want to recycle them either because you think you’ll have use for them someday, somehow. Many people don’t think about it, but those little glass jars are great when it comes to organizing your home. Also, it’s great for arts and crafts. Here are just a few ideas.

1. Store loose herbs and spices.
2. If you’re a tea drinker, you can use them to store loose tea leaves. It will stay fresh when you screw on the lids tightly.
3. If you’re a crafter, you can organize your buttons, pins, beads, or other small crafty items.
4. Your husband can use them to organize nails, screws, nuts and bolts in his work area.
5. They’re great for storing salad dressing when you want to bring a homemade salad to work and need to separate the dressing from the salad. On the same token, they are great to store flax seeds or granola when you want to add them to your yogurt.
6. You can make mini snowglobes as a giveaway. Add water to the jars - you can tint them different colors with a dab or food coloring if you want. Add some glitter or confetti to the water. Hot glue some figurines or other small objects to the lid. Let dry. Hot glue the lid to the jar. Shake the jar to make sure no water is dripping. If it leaks, re-glue the lid so that water will no longer drip. You can decorate the lids by painting them and adding a ribbon.

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This week’s drawing winner, again, goes to juicyfruit of Westminster, CA. You can visit juicyfruit’s Journal at http://journals.gagazine.com/juicyfruit.

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Potty training time can be very difficult for parents and their toddlers alike. While different children will always have different reactions to potty training, your child can experience apprehension, fear, and even anger at potty training time. There are many different studies on the subject of potty training. In this article you will learn the facts about potty training—the facts that are backed up by experts and researchers that have studied potty training methods and progress.

When you’re ready to start potty training your toddler, you need all the tools and resources you can get. Not having the proper resources can leave you lost and wondering.

In fact, that’s what happened to Sherry Clark. Sherry felt pressured by her in-laws to toilet train her daughter Cheyenne before she turned three years old. The problem was that Cheyenne didn’t display any signs of being ready to toilet train, and Sherry’s family sort of left her to make her own decisions. “I really felt like I was doing a terrible job as a parent, because Cheyenne didn’t want anything to do with potty training. In fact, I probably prolonged the process because I pushed her into training when she clearly wasn’t ready,” says Sherry. According to child specialist Theresa Cornwell, Sherry may be exactly right. “Toilet training depends on the parent and the child. Both have to be ready and prepared for the changes. Forcing a child to use the toilet may only stunt her progress.”

Sherry decided to simply wait and let Cheyenne come to terms with using the toilet before she tried to train her again. In just a few months, Sherry tried again and was successful. In fact, the actual training time went very quickly and with very few incidents.

Here are some of the best-known ways to toilet train your toddler.

Do Not Panic

Often, parents can think there is something wrong with their child because he or she is 3 or 4 years old and they aren’t potty trained. Children develop differently, and some children may simply be late bloomers. This is most definitely not a reason to believe there is something wrong with your child. The child’s gender may even have something to do with it. In fact, researchers have found that girls are easier to toilet train than boys are. There are many reasons that this is true, including the fact that girls comprehend language earlier than boys and may therefore understand your teachings more quickly than a boy would.

One of the biggest messages that experts try to get parents to understand is that you shouldn’t panic. If your child is a late bloomer, it doesn’t mean there is something wrong with him or her at all.

Use Consistency

One of the most important things a parent can do when toilet training their toddler is to be consistent. This is the fastest way to teach your child how to use the toilet. For example, as soon as your child wakes up in the morning, take them to the bathroom.

Offer a small prize for using the potty. One thing that many parents do is to place a clear jar in the bathroom with small treats and cheap toys. The child sees this and knows that if he or she successfully uses the toilet, they will get one. Continue this every morning without fail so that your child becomes accustomed to and familiar with the process.

Another way that you can use consistency is to inform other caretakers of the potty-training plan. If your child just loves spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, and does so frequently, let Grandma and Grandpa in on the plan. This way, even if you’re not there, the same process will be followed, which should put the child at ease. If each different caretaker uses different methods to help your child use the toilet, it can get very confusing. By simply discussing the methods you’re using with any other caretakers, you can speed up the training time and keep things consistent.

When is Your Child Ready?

Although each child develops differently, experts agree there are a few things to look for that will signal your child is ready to begin toilet training. Since they will not be able to learn how to use the toilet until the muscles of their bladder and bottom are fully developed, you will want to look for the following:

• Your child can go several hours without emptying his or her bladder.
• Your child goes all night without wetting his or her diaper.
• Your child is mature enough to listen and understand what you say, as well as to communicate with you. This way, they can communicate the fact that they need to use the bathroom.
• Your child is starting to notice that when he or she eliminates in his or her diaper, it is dirty. They may not like the fact that they are dirty.

Any or all of these signs may tell you that your child is ready to begin potty training, and there are a few other things you will want to keep in mind when you are toilet training your toddler. Praise is the best method, and experts agree that a child should never be scolded for accidents. This could make them develop a complex about using the potty.

In fact, a study was done in which the researchers asked parents to praise their children and speak of defecation in a positive way to them. This study was published in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine. The researchers found that when parents spoke positively about defecation, the child was less likely to want to hide during the process and responded better to toilet training. It can be difficult to potty train your child, but with consistency and praise, you can soon say goodbye to diapers!

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About the product: Valued at $12.99, this CD contains one dozen lullabies to soothe your baby to sleep.

1. Air on a G String
2. Canon in D
3. Come Together
4. Concerto for Violin and Oboe
5. Delicate Dreams
6. Fur Elise
7. Innocence
8. Morning Mood
9. Nocturne Es Dur
10. Skyward Glance
11. Supernova
12. Well Tempered Bach

Are you eligible? You must have a valid email and U.S. mailing address.

How can I win? Leave a comment below and tell me how you soothe your crying/fussy baby to sleep. I will pick a random commentor as the winner.

Am I the winner? If you are the winner, your name will be announced in the Winner’s Announcements category on March 31, 2008. I will also notify you via email to obtain your mailing address so that I can mail you the CD. You will then have 3 days to respond to confirm your mailing address. Otherwise, you will forfeit your prize and I will select another winner.

When will this giveaway end? Winners will be announced on Monday, March 31, 2008.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

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This is a great game. As a fifth grader, it really makes you think - makes you use a little bit of logic. I remember playing it in the fifth grade. Our teacher would give the winner a small bag of candy to take home.

Of course this game can be played by younger children, but because it involves some logic skills, it might be better for older kids.

Number of players required:
One person to be a “deer” or any animal you want. You also need a group of people to be the “hunters.” The more hunters, the merrier. My fifth grade class had 25 students or so.

Object of game:
For the group to correctly guess the three numbers in the right order (or to get three Bulls Eye).

Supplies needed:
Paper, pencil, and a large blackboard and chalk or large whiteboard and dry erase marker.

Rules of Game:
The “deer” picks three numbers ranging from 0 - 9 and write it down on a sheet of paper. Do not let any of the “hunters” see it. This is only in case the hunters requests to see the paper after the game is over to verify the winner. Or in case the deer forgets which numbers he chose.

The first hunter picks three numbers. If one of the numbers picked by the hunter is in the same place as one of the numbers picked by the deer, then there is one Bulls Eye. If the hunter picks a number that is picked by the deer but is in a different order, then there is one Hit. If none of the numbers is picked by the deer, then there is a Miss.

If the first number is a B (Bulls Eye), he does not have to tell the hunters that the first number is a Bulls Eye. He just has to tell them that there is a Bulls Eye. It is the hunter’s job to figure out which number is the Bulls Eye (or which number is the same number in the same location).

Unless the first hunter picks three Bulls Eyes, then the next hunter gets to pick the next three numbers. The game continues until there are three Bulls Eyes. The person who guesses three Bulls Eyes wins the game.

Example:

Deer picks 345 and writes that number down on a sheet of paper and puts it in his pocket.

Hunter #1 picks: 123

Deer writes on the blackboard: HMM (for Hit, Miss, Miss). In this case, the 3 is correct but is in the wrong location. Therefore, it’s a Hit. Notice that the Deer does NOT have to write MMH. This will be too obvious. It is the hunter’s job to figure out which number is a Hit.

Hunter #2 picks: 198

Deer writes on blackboard: MMM. This should also tell the hunters to eliminate 1 as the correct number and that either 2 or 3 is the Hit number (from Hunter #1 above).

Hunter #3 picks: 430

Deer writes on blackboard: HMH. (Remember, the Deer can write the H, M, or B in any order).

Hunter #4 picks: 463

Deer writes on blackboard: MBH. At this point, the hunters should be able to deduce that 3 and 4 are the correct number and one of then is in the correct location.

Hunter #5 picks: 347

Deer writers: BMB

Hunter #6 picks: 345

Deer writes: BBB

The bag of candy goes to Hunter #6!

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This week’s drawing winner goes to juicyfruit of Westminster, CA. You can visit juicyfruit’s Journal at http://journals.gagazine.com/juicyfruit.

Please email us to confirm your mailing address and we will rush you the $10 gift card to Babies R Us.

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Breastfeeding does many wonderful things for our children, and it is absolutely the best choice for infants. Eventually, it will be time to wean your toddler from breastfeeding. Either you will feel it is time or your baby will, and there are several things to look for.

Often, a baby is ready to be weaned if he or she is not satisfied with the breast milk. The baby will be fussy and continue to act hungry after the feeding. The feedings usually increase at this point and become very frequent. The mother will typically suffer at this time as the child starts to bite or becomes rougher with the feedings.

Slower Is Better

Researchers have found that babies who are weaned very quickly can become distressed. This may result in your child becoming needier and more attached to you, demanding feedings more frequently, or even displaying physical symptoms of upset such as constipation and allergic reactions. Child Specialist Patricia Ray agrees with this point. “Your child has become so accustomed to having that time for bonding as well as feeding. Often, the problem lies more in missing the closeness than having anything to do with the breast milk. By gradually decreasing the feedings along with providing extra time for bonding, you can really ensure that the child continues to feel secure.”

The mother will also typically have issues, such as engorgement and pain. It has been shown that gradual weaning is much easier with a better transition period and a smoother switch from breast to solid foods.

One important thing you can do that will make the gradual weaning better is to replace the breastfeeding times with cuddling and closeness with your child. Since breastfeeding is such a great time for bonding, often the child will miss the close moments with you. Having close, quiet time with you will help them feel more secure and ensure they are getting the affection and time they need.

What Age is the Best for Weaning?

As with anything else, children develop at different speeds. Experts agree that babies and toddlers are usually ready to make the transition to solid foods anywhere from 9 to 15 months. However, it can be earlier or later, depending upon your child. Don’t panic if your 15-month-old child still isn’t eating solid foods all the time. He or she may be eating solid foods and supplementing that with breastfeeding. The key is to watch for the signs mentioned above so you can tell whether your child is ready or not.

Tips for Weaning Your Toddler from Breastfeeding

Everyone can tell you a different story about how they weaned their child from breastfeeding, and you have probably heard many different stories from family members or friends. That doesn’t mean their methods will work for you. You will need to work at your child’s pace and your own pace. Stopping breastfeeding abruptly isn’t a good idea, either, and should be avoided if possible.

Some mothers are perfectly comfortable breastfeeding until the child has outgrown the need for it. This is called ‘baby-led’ weaning. It is not unusual for toddlers up to four years old to breastfeed. If you and your child are comfortable, so be it. Remember to take your time, and do not set a particular time for your child to be weaned. This would be like setting a time for them to sit up or walk.

Don’t give in to pressure from your family or friends about the ‘proper time’ to breastfeed. Some people think you should breastfeed for as long as possible, while others feel the baby should be weaned at nine months or a year. Use your own judgment because you and your baby are what is important, and ensuring that you are comfortable weaning your child should be first priority.

Simply remember that every child and mother is different. What works for some may not work for you. If you attempt to wean your child and feel as if it is not working or perhaps it’s not the proper time, you can try again in three months, or six months. Don’t force the issue simply because ‘Aunt Becky’ thinks your child should be weaned. Utilize the knowledge you have of your child along with helpful advice from experts. The happiness and health of you and your baby depend upon you making your own decisions regarding breastfeeding.

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