Sweet Little Nursery

Friday, May 31, 2013

DIY Chore Chart

I just found this crazy DIY from the The Winthrop Chronicles that I think it's gonna help a lot of moms out there with keeping track of their kids chore. Click here on the link to see the full tutorial on how to build this cute chart.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Photo Apps to Create Great Birth Announcements

The camera capabilities in today’s smartphones easily rival many digital cameras. Add to those photo capabilities some of the best phone apps on the market and you can create awesome photos without much effort so you can produce one-of-a-kind birth announcements. Here are some great photo apps for your smartphone.

Vapp

Many parents say they wish they had extra hands when they have a newborn and this can be especially true when you are trying to take photos of a wiggling baby! Vapp is a voice-activated shutter photo app so you don’t have to worry about putting the baby in a position that won’t last and then attempt to adjust the camera and take the shot all at once. Vapp gives you complete voice-activated control of your smartphone’s photo taking process. If your baby is asleep, you can even adjust the volume sensitivity for the voice-activated commands so you can activate photo taking with a whisper.

Fast Camera

We have all seen professional photographers take rapid-fire shots so they don’t miss that one important split-second piece of action. Thanks to Fast Camera, we can take those fast photo shots as well with our smartphone. Fast Camera lets you capture up to 800 pictures a minute of live action and time lapse photos! This way you can go through all the photos taken and pick out that one perfect shot for your baby announcement.

Instagram

We are all familiar with the free photo app Instagram as a way to share photos and apply filters to take a good photo you shot of your newborn and make it great. For example, the Lux filter lets you adjust an underexposed photo or improve a photo that lacks contrast in one click. What many forget is that you can search for different photos posted in the Instragram app just like a photo search engine. Try doing a search for #newborn or #newbornphotography to see how others take photos of their newborn babies to jumpstart your creative photography ideas!

Meet our guest blogger: Rachael McAdams is a new member to the SAHM community and is loving every minute of it! Rachael has been a writer for years but has recently been delving into the mommy blogging world. She loves writing about various subjects, but especially enjoys providing advice to new moms. If you'd like to follow Rachael, you can find her at @livealittleNYC.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Starting a Soothing Bedtime Routine

Video: Starting a Soothing Bedtime Routine

Should we be starting some sort of bedtime routine?

A better night’s sleep always starts with a bedtime routine — and that’s true even for babies who aren’t yet ready to sleep through the night. Plus, setting up some simple sleep-time rituals now can help your little one develop healthy sleep habits later. Once your newborn has developed a fairly predictable sleep schedule — which usually happens by two months — it’s time to roll out the bedtime routine.

Here’s what to include:

Wind-down time
The more alert your baby becomes, the more quiet time he’ll need to get into the mood to snooze. He’ll settle down faster if you keep interactions low-key — think cuddles and coos instead of rounds of raspberries.

A bath
Even if your baby’s not exactly dirty, a warm, relaxing bath is the perfect segue to sleep — especially if you’ve spiked it with a soothing splash of lavender-scented baby wash.

A massage
Follow the bath with a gentle rubdown. Studies show that a bedtime massage can boost a baby’s production of melatonin — a sleep-inducing hormone.

The right ambiance
Dim the lights and turn on some soft music or white noise to summon the sandman. To make sure the room’s temperature perfect for sleep, check your baby’s back or the nape of his neck. Too sweaty? Remove a layer of clothing. Too chilly? Add one on.

A story or song
Snuggling over a book can be the start of a treasured nighttime tradition — and it’s never too early to start. Reading’s not winning your baby over yet? Sing a bedtime lullaby instead.

Sweet goodnights
After you fill your baby’s tummy tank, it’s time to put him down — preferably while he’s drowsy, but still awake, so he can drift off to dreamland on his own. Keep your goodbyes short, sweet, loving, and consistent — use the same phrase the same way each and every night. Pretty soon your parting words will become a reassuring signal to your baby that his busy day has come to a cozy end, and it’s time to sleep.

Source: whattoexpect.com

Friday, May 17, 2013

Marquee Letters DIY

I've seen this trend for a while in some nurseries, so I started to search for an easy DIY that I could share here with all of you, and I just found this incredible marquee Letter DIY on Grey Likes Nesting Blog that I loved, I hope you love as much as I did and have fun doing it. Just click on the link for a complete DIY tutorial.