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Custom content created for the Playground Confidential blog between 2008 and 2017

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9 must-haves to get through a Canadian winter with baby

Huge thanks to The Baby Show for sponsoring this post and letting me share all my best Canadian baby advice.  And don’t miss the PROMO CODE at the end!

The sun is throwing little slivers of warmth our way, snow banks are shrinking and pedicures are being booked. You can almost smell the spring in the air. Not so fast! This winter might be on it’s way out, but another one will soon be on it’s way in. And your days of breastfeeding on picnic blankets in dappled shade, strolling along city streets for hours on end and changing diapers on park benches will be over.

Getting through a Canadian winter with a baby can be tough. On the one hand, it’s the perfect excuse to hibernate in your warm and cozy home and never, ever face the bitter cold. On the other hand, you will go crazy if you do that. Don’t go crazy.

It’s important to get out of the house, and there are all kinds of brilliant products that will help you do just that. Don’t forget to put these on your “must have” list.

1. Big, fat, snow-climbing stroller tires

If you live in Canada, you really want a stroller with inflatable rubber tires that can ride over the snow fairly easily. (Unless you live in Vancouver, in which case you already know not to talk about your winter weather with other Canadians.) Exactly how heavy-duty your winter stroller has to be depends on how much snow your area gets (and how quickly it gets cleared). Check out a few different models to see which will work best for you.

Image credit via Flickr cc license

2. A stroller cover

For a Canadian winter with baby

Image credit via Flickr cc license

Rain covers for your stroller make equally good windshields and help to keep baby toasty on cold winter walks. If your stroller model has one designed especially to fit, it’s worth getting. Otherwise, a generic, well-ventilated,  stroller cover will also do.

3. An infant car seat cover

Image courtesy well.ca

These are the best. They’re like a winter coat or sleeping bag that fits snuggly over your baby’s car seat, so you don’t have to worry about bundling them up for car trips. Babies are also safer and more secure in their car seats without bulky snowsuits, so win-win.

4. One-piece snow suit or bunting

Image credit via Flickr cc license

But when you do bundle them up for walks, nothing beats a one-snowsuit or bunting bag. Plop ’em in and zip them up. Yes, I wish they made these for adults, too. (Pro tip: Don’t leave your baby lying in the snow.)

5. Itty bitty hats and mitts

Image credit via Flickr cc license

Not only will these help keep baby toasty warm, they’re also some of the sweetest items ever designed. Go ahead and splurge on pretty knits now while they’re still young enough not to lose them.

6. Something extra for their footsies

Image credit via Flickr cc license

Whether it’s hand-knit baby booties made by great-aunt Jane or commercially made boots or slippers, you will need something extra to keep those itty bitty footsies warm on the coldest days.

7. A big-ass coat for baby wearing

Image courtesy dearbornbaby.com

My all-time favourite method of keeping a newborn warm on a cold winter day is simply to wear them and then zip up a giant, old coat around us both. (Baby will still need a hat, obvi.) There are now maternity coats on the market that are actually designed to accommodate baby wearing as well as a pregnant belly. I wish I’d known about those when I was pregnant the first time! You can also borrow or buy a winter coat a couple sizes larger than you usually wear.

8. Easy on and off boots for mom

 

I know many moms swear by those ultra-warm, fur-topped boots that lace halfway up your shins. They look good and keep you warm, after all. But when I’m trying to get out the door with babies and young children, I am all about warm boots you can step in or that zip up easily. Listen to me.

 9. Warm nursing tops

Layering gets tricky when you’re a nursing mom. Banish all pull-over sweaters to the back of your closet for now and make zip-up sweaters and cardigans your best friends. (It may be cold outside, but many indoor spaces are overheated. So you’ll want to be able to peel off layers as necessary.) There are also special nursing tops that provide easy-access opening for breastfeeding while keeping mom nice and warm.

 10. Tickets to The Baby Show

The Baby Show

Honestly, if you are overwhelmed by all the options on the market, The Baby Show in Toronto or Ottawa is one-stop shopping for all the the stuff you’ll need next winter (and some summer stuff too because they are not cruel.) You’ll get great tips on caring for yourself and your baby while scoring big-time on samples and giveaways from both local and national vendors. There’s a full line-up of expert speakers and you get hands-on demos of all kinds of products before deciding what to buy.

Ottawa dates: March 21 & 22  Tickets are $12 at the door ( and kids under 12 are free). SAVE $2 with promo code PGC2015 when you buy online.

Toronto dates: March 28 & 29 Tickets are $15 at the door ( and kids under 12 are free). SAVE $3 with promo code PGC2015 when you buy online.

Use the promo code for yourself, buy tickets for your sister or share it widely. It’s all good.

What am I missing? I’d love to hear about your wintery baby advice in the comments.

 This post is sponsored by The Baby Show. But I’ll take credit for all of the advice ;)

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I had no idea the Ontario College of Teachers was such a great resource for parents

This post is sponsored by the Ontario College of Teachers. Thank you, teachers!

On the first day of school, each September, crowds of parents and children gather in the schoolyard. At our school, they shuffle along, peering at class lists taped to the brick wall until they find their child’s name.

They breathe a collective sigh of relief. They are in the right spot. The child has found her class.

But it only lasts a moment.

“What have you heard about her?” they whisper to one another. Well, Isabella’s sister had her two years ago and there was a lot of homework. But Max’s mom says she heard that the kids really learn their stuff in her class.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about my cleaning habits and more

Thanks to Oxiclean for sponsoring this post and keeping my kids in clean shirts.

How to keep uniform shirts white?

 So how do I keep those shirts looking this good at the end of the year?

Let me tell you a story about the day I found out my son’s school was introducing a uniform. Oh, it was quite the day. I laughed, I cried, I wondered how in the world am I going to keep a four-year-old boy’s white shirt white?

I wasn’t going to, was the answer. I didn’t even come close. The uniform calls for either white or navy tops and after all the white shirts came out of the dryer with faded stains and a general dinginess, I wound up replacing most of them with navy blue ones. It was just a safer bet.

Then my daughter started school and a friend passed down some uniform clothes her girls had outgrown. There were sharp navy jumpers, nice cardigans, and BRIGHT, WHITE shirts.

“How on earth did you keep the white shirts so crisp and white?” I asked.

“OxiClean,” she said.

“Oh,” I said.

And then I went out and bought some.

It’s kind of like magic. I just toss a scoop or two into the barrel of the front-loading washing machine before adding a load of white, then add detergent and launder the clothes as usual. Okay, fine, I usually forget to add the scoop first and then wind up crouched down on the floor with half a load of dirty clothes on my lap while I scoop the OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover Powder under the remaining clothes and that method ALSO WORKS.

I have begun buying white shirts to add a little variety to my children’s navy on navy wardrobe and, thanks to the wonder of OxiClean, I even have some to hand down to my baby who is starting kindergarten next year. (How did that happen?!) White shirts, worn by actual children, are good enough to hand down. Can you even believe it?

But that is not all. No, that is not all.

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Holiday magic is passed down from one childhood to another so let’s try to do this right

A heartfelt thanks to Sears Canada for sponsoring this holiday post.

When I was a kid, we’d lay out our Christmas stockings on the back of the living room couch because we didn’t have a fireplace. We’d put out milk and cookies for Santa (but never a carrot for the reindeer!). Then my parents would tuck us into bed where I lay trembling with anticipation, sure that I’d be lying there awake all night long.

Of course, I would fall asleep eventually only to spring out of bed at the crack of dawn. My siblings and I would rush into the living room to see what Santa brought and then go bounding down the hall into my parents room to wake them up too.

“Mommy! Daddy! Santa brought me a She-Ra doll. Can you believe it?!”

My parents would stagger out of bed, bleary-eyed, and put on the kettle for tea as we pored over the contents of our stockings.

Santa’s presents were never wrapped in our home. They were laid out in front of our stockings, the sheer number of them already making an impression on me from across the room. Santa’s magic must have been real because there was no way my parents could ever afford to buy so many toys.

Finally, we’d settle in and take turns opening the wrapped gifts under the tree. Those were from my parents, grandparents and assorted other relatives. Eventually we started to wrap gifts for one another, too.

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I didn’t know holiday shopping could be this good

RBC Avion Holiday Boutique

Happy to be part of the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique Blogger Campaign with Mom Central Canada. This one’s sponsored.

What if I told you holiday shopping didn’t have to involve sweating half to death in your winter coat while you fight your way through crowds? Imagine if you didn’t have to lug all your purchases around the mall and across a vast frozen expanse of parking lot. And then picture arriving home with all of your gifts already wrapped.

No, I have not completely lost my mind. Nor am I trying to sell you on some sort of crazy expensive, luxury shopping experience enjoyed by Jennifer Lopez and Reese Witherspoon. I am talking about a holiday shopping service that is FREE to all RBC Avion Visa card holders.

I went to Yorkdale Shopping Centre last week for the opening of the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. An exclusive lounge just for Avioners? Why? Am I too good for the food court? The short answer is yes. NOBODY wants to deal with mad holiday crowds in the food court or anywhere else.

My experience began with me circling around a full parking lot, dreading the unavoidable trek to the mall through bitter winter winds. Except, no! If you have an Avion card, you get valet parking. All you have to do is drive over to the Holt Renfrew side of Yorkdale Shopping Centre and show the valet your Avion card and your parking will be taken care of just like that. I have never, ever, had valet parking before in my life and, let me tell you, a girl could get used to that kind of service.

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One true story and five reasons I’m addicted to the new LGG3 (plus giveaway!)

You can thank LG Canada and Mom Central Canada for this post, the giveaway and all the selfies I’m suddenly posting all over the place.

True story: when my son was born in 2006 I didn’t even have Facebook. Twitter was barely a thing and Instagram was yet a glint in some guy’s eye. I’d never heard of WordPress, I used a flip phone and I had to upload pictures from my digital camera to my computer using an actual cord.

At the same time, this was the golden age of blogging. New moms would cope with bitter isolation and anxiety by logging onto their computers late at night, during naps, while baby wearing or whenever they could. Some started their own blogs as outlets for raw and honest feelings and opinions. Others left comments, creating a new online community for moms. Still others of us, logged on day after to day just to read and to know that we were not alone.

There will always be a place for honest and timely long-form expression of our experiences — especially those of motherhood. But, to a large extent, social media and mobile technology have changed the way we connect. I love to wax nostalgic about the good old days when blogging was honest and real, before it became tainted with corporate greed and littered with sponsored posts. *Cough, cough.* I also talk about the dangers of tech taking over our lives. I worry about the lasting impact it has on my kids and how it affects our real one-on-one connections.
But, honestly? Mobile tech is more good than bad. That’s why we all have a phone fused to our hand, after all. Blogging was wonderful when I had my first two kids, but catching up with Twitter on my phone while nursing my third to sleep was a game changer. Ultimately, phones connect way more than they isolate. They make it possible for me to answer business emails while taking my kids to the park. They help keep track of a busy family’s schedule and they let me share pictures with all the important people in my life at the click of button.
And the better the tech gets, the less invasive it it. Snapping a couple quick pics with your phone is much easier than fumbling around in your bag for a camera. Quickly replying to an email from a park bench is way better than taking out your laptop. And we can put them away just as fast as whip them out. We have our phones out so much, not because we’re addicted to our phones, but because they are our cameras, day planners, computers, TVs, libraries, personal trainers, notepads and so much more.
Okay, fine. I MAY be a little bit addicted to this latest phone. The LG G3 is really blowing my mind. I didn’t even think I wanted a new phone until I tried this baby.
1. It’s so pretty.
LGG3 with case
Looks aren’t everything but good design is both stylish and functional and this phone delivers on both fronts. Love the rear power and volume buttons, the super high-res screen and the removable battery.

Continue reading “One true story and five reasons I’m addicted to the new LGG3 (plus giveaway!)”

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Can we all breathe a great big FINALLY for our health care going digital?

Big thanks to the Canada Health Infoway for sponsoring this post and, more importantly, bringing digital health technology to our health care.

digital health.jpg

If there’s one place we don’t want cutting edge technology, it’s in our doctor’s offices. Wait. What?

That doesn’t make any sense. And yet all the tech does seem a little weird at first, right? I remember the first time I brought my son in for his regular check-up and the doctor sat down in front of a laptop. She weighed him and measured his height. She listened to his breathing and looked into his eyes and ears. She asked if we had any concerns and then she sat down and started typing. It seemed strange.

It only took that one visit, though, for me to make the adjustment. Entering information into a computer isn’t really any different from making notes with a pen and paper once you get used to it. And it has already managed to save my behind!

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We ran for breast cancer and now my heart is swollen

Irene and I ran the 1K at this year’s Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run For The Cure. I am so grateful to have been a blog ambassador for the Run this year. THANK YOU to everyone who donated.

I almost forgot to tell you how the CIBC Run for The Cure went. And you must hear all about it because it was FANTASTIC.

First, Irene and I got to ride the subway downtown, just the two of us. One of Irene’s biggest fears about starting Grade One this year and doing full days for the first time was that she wouldn’t get enough time with me. (And now I’m getting all choked up thinking about how soon spending a Sunday morning with her mom is the last thing she’ll want to do. And wasn’t she just bouncing around in her Jolly Jumper, like, yesterday?)

How is the baby big enough to run an entire 1K?

How is this baby big enough to run an entire 1K?

We got off the subway at Museum station and got to walk through the U of T campus which is still one of my top five places in the world. I showed her Carr Hall, where my parents met in a Philosophy seminar in 1976, and where I myself took several classes. We walked across Queen’s Park and into the King’s College Circle where all the runners were gathered.

There were people decked out in tutus and tassels. There were people with pink extensions in their hair and pictures of their beloveds pinned to their backs. “I run for you.” There were speakers with moving stories and then a rock band to get us all moving as we lined up at our starting lines.

Irene was amazed. She looked around with big eyes and a bigger smile. “Look at them, Mama!” she said about a team decked out in crazy hats.

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Let’s do this thing

I am thrilled to be one of the blog ambassadors for this year’s Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run For The Cure. My daughter and I will be running the 1K in Toronto on October 5. You can donate to support our team here.

Okay, the pressure is on. We are down to the wire. The clock is winding down. There’s no time to spare. Do you catch my drift?

The CIBC Run For the Cure is THIS SUNDAY.

Here is where I had planned to be in terms of fundraising at this point:

Elaine gif

 

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The evolution of kiddie toothbrushing

A million thanks to Philips for sponsoring this post and finally putting some joy back into toothbrushing.

The evolution of kiddie toothbrushing

We brush our teeth at least twice a day every day of our lives and barely give it a second thought — until we become parents. Nobody told me about the toothbrushing fights. Nobody! It’s like a giant conspiracy of experienced parents who know they need to keep quiet or we’d all stop having babies altogether. It starts out innocently enough and then it gets real ugly, real fast.

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