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First Birthday Gift Ideas

July 23, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you choose to make a purchase using my link. It’s okay – I love all of these companies anyways, and you will too!

Time literally is flying this year. I actually forgot that my girl turned one almost 3 months ago! *cue tears* There seems to be an endless amount of toys for kids these das. Recently, I asked one of the Facebook mom groups I’m apart of what their most haves were and they did not dissappoint! Since our girl’s birthday was in the middle of a quarantine and a pandemic, we wanted toys that were interactive to help get any energy out.

SoftPlay Toddler Climber

Ever since our girl started walking, she has loved to climb things! This is a lifesaver. It’s soft and helps challenge heights for them. It’s not very high so if she does end up falling its not nearly as bas as it would be from the couch. This is 100% worth it and actually my top pick!

B. toys Toy Drum Set

Music has so many benefits for babies such as language development, understanding emotions, sensory enhancement, and brain activation. From the moment we put this out, she hasn’t stopped playing with it! I’s fun watching her understand the different sounds and volumes.

Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Stroll ‘N Trike

This thing is awesome because it grows with your child from 9 months old-5 years old! I love a toy that will go through multiple stages. The shade is important because it helps keep the shade out. We also love the cup holder for a drink during our cruises.

Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube

This sorting cube helps for with cognitive and motor skills. It’ll take some practice getting the right shape in each spot but it’s a winner once they get it. This can also be used as they get older to teach shapes and colors.

Melissa & Doug Rainbow Stacker Wooden Ring Educational Toy

Stacking toys help hand-eye coordination, cause and effect learning, as well as problem solving skills. We received this when she was 11 months old and by the time she was 12 months, she LOVED taking this apart and stacking them. She also loved that the rings were hard so we could clank them together.

Birthdays remain my favorite although now I feel like so much research goes into what things are appropriate for each age. These toys have been LIFE SAVERS and keep my little girl busy for endless time. Hoping your kiddo’s birthday is extra special with one of these gifts!

How LadyBossBlogger Helped Me Land My First Paid Partnership

May 20, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: Thank you LadyBossBlogger + Elaine Rau for sponsoring this post. There are affiliate links in the post below that I may make a commission from.

Photo Credit: Kimberley Asante Photography

Earlier this month, I shared with you that I started taking Lady Boss Blogger’s How To Start a Money Making Blog course. You can see my initial post here. Now that I have completed it, I wanted to share my results with you! Trust me, you’ll want to stick around until the end to get 40% off of How To Start a Money Making Blog course.

Results

I have been blogging for about 4 years which have all been self-taught via the internet. This means that many things have been overlooked purely out of my ignorance. Since staying at home, I have been searching for ways to make an income from my hobby of blogging. I can now happily say that Lady Boss Blogger’s How To Start a Money Making Blog helped me land my very first paid partnership! The most exciting part is that it is with a large company that we all use daily, Procter & Gamble. Elaine goes in-depth of how much to charge for your work which before I had no clue about.

When my first partnership company had reached out to me, I responded with my media kit. A media kit is key for anyone who treats this as a business. It shows what you are worth and what you have to offer to the prospective partner.

Course Features

Completing How To Start a Money Making Blog truly felt like I was being taught by a friend. Elaine breaks it down so that it’s easily retainable. Some key points she touches on are important for any blogger (new or old):

Creating a Target Audience + Ideal Client
Creating a Girl Gang of similar niched bloggers!
Email Marketing Strategies and how to capitalize on affiliate links within them.
Successfully pitching to brands.
Content Planning for your blog and social media.
Important terms that bloggers MUST know
Making your blog legally sound

Promo Code

Lady Boss Blogger courses are reasonably priced and backed with a 30-day guarantee! There is even a 6-month payment plan available to meet all needs and you can get 40% off ANY course with code: SHIEANN.

Giveaway Winner

Head over to my Instagram @firstcomesfamily.mama to see the winner of a free Lady Boss Blogger course!

Additional LadyBossBlogger Resources

7-Day Make Money Blogging

21-Day Build A Better Blog

5-Day Master Affiliate Marketing

3-Day Become An Instagram Influencer

A Mom Blogger’s Honest Review of a LadyBossBlogger Course

May 5, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

With all of the downtime I’ve had lately, I dove headfirst into LadyBossBlogger’s How to Start a Money Making Blog by Elaine Rau. It is the perfect time to put time and effort into this blog and bring a better experience for my readers. How to Start a Money Making Blog breaks it down so that the newest to the more seasoned bloggers can find rich information in it.

Although I have been blogging for 4 years, the amount of knowledge in this course made me realize how much I didn’t actually know. As embarrassing as it is to say, I actually haven’t made a profit from my blog yet. Surprising right? A lot of people assume that you make money if you have a domain and a blog. Wrong. So needless to say when I started learning exactly How to Start a Money Making Blog, I was ecstatic!

The course is broken down into 13 parts…

Discover Your “Why”
Find Your Niche
Claim Your Blog Domain
Create Your Target Audience
Design Your Brand
Set Up Email Marketing Strategy
Social Media Foundations
WordPress Basics
SEO Best Practices
Curate Strategic Content
How to Make Money Blogging
Legal Aspects
Promoting Your Brand + Blog

Don’t be fooled at how many topics there are, they are extremely dense with information. In fact, I’ve already gone through it and am planning to go back through it this week! It was like Elaine knew exactly where I was lacking and put it all in this course. Reading along was so easy and felt as if it came straight from a friend.

What I’ve Learned…

An email list is what will grow my blog and secure an audience.
Consistency is key!
Organizing Pinterest to help drive blog traffic.
Privacy Policy and disclosures are a must.
Focus on SEO and it will help in the long run.
What brands look for in a collaboration.
How to make my blog legal.

As a mom, having loads of content ready to post seems to be a weakness of mine just because I’m so busy. Elaine breaks down several different content planning softwares and hacks that I have been implementing. It’s already helped me feel prepared and ready to increase my engagement.

I can admit the legal side of blogging was a bit overwhelming at the beginning and something that I had NO CLUE about until completing How to Start a Money Making Blog. Tracking my income and expenses, registering my business (yup, I said this blog is my business), and abiding by FTC and Copyright laws are among the things that are now apart of my blogging workdays.

Promo Code

I have teamed up with LadyBossBlogger and Elaine to offer you a 40% off of ANY LadyBossBlogger Courses using my code: SHIEANN. She offers courses for any level of blogger or Instagrammer.

Giveaway

Now for the fun part, head over to my Instagram here to enter a giveaway for one lucky follower to access How to Start a Money Making Blog.

Giveaway rules are:

Follow me @firstcomesfamily.mama
Follow @ladybossblogger
Follow @elainerau
Like this photo and tag a friend in the comments!
Earn extra entries by tagging more friends

The contest will run from May 6, 2020 until May 20, 2020. The prize will be a @LadyBossBlogger course of your choice valued at $600. The giveaway winner must post a photo of themselves on their feed talking about winning the course in order to claim the prize – PROFILES MUST BE PUBLIC NOT PRIVATE. Please email ladybossblogger@gmaill.com your published link and state which course you’d like to win (can’t be a bundled course and limit one course per person). Must be 18+ years old to enter. Giveaway is available to contestants worldwide. Disclaimer: This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Instagram.

Additional Resources

3 DIY Activities for Babies

April 16, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I’ve been posting the DIY activities I’ve been doing with our 11 month old girl. With the influx of lockdowns in states across the country, we are home with our babies A LOT more. Now is the time to do all of those activities with your babies that you pinned months ago. Here are my 3 activities that we gave a go in the past week! These activities get their neurons firing and senses overloaded.

Keep in mind, the attention span is 3 to 5 minutes per year of age. So don’t be surprised if your little one only finds joy in these for a minute or so.

Mess Free Painting

You will need:

-Paper

-Gallon Baggies

-Paint (preferably washable)

-Packing tape (a strong tape)

Take a sheet of a paper and put dabs of paint all over it. Carefully place in a gallon bag and zip. Tape bag down flat on a high chair, table or the floor. Then let your babe “finger paint”, moving the colors around, feeling the texture and explaining each color. When finished, take out the paper of the bag and let dry!

Sensory Spagetti

Things you’ll need:

-1/2 box Spaghetti or any pasta

-Pot (for boiling spaghetti)

-Strainer

-Food Coloring

-Baggies

-Oil (vegetable/olive)

Okay, this has been our favorite. Cook spaghetti as you normally would but leave it a little more al dente so that it doesn’t mush. Strain pasta and let dry a little. Separate the pasta into baggies (as many colors as you’d like) and place 10-20 drops of food coloring with a 1/2 tbsp of oil into each bag and shake up! Once coloring is even on pasta, rinse and strain so theres no excess coloring on it. Lay on a pan with paper towels to dry and soak additional colorings. Then place in a tub/container and play! It’s fun to point out colors and let them feel the textures. Warning: they will probably eat it!!

Colored Bag Hanging

Things You’ll Need:

-Gallon Baggies

-Water

-Food Coloring

-Strong Tape (I used packing tape)

Fill each bag with about 3 cups of water. Place 5-10 drops of food coloring in each bag (as many colors as you’d like). Zip bags up and tape to a glass door or even the stove window! Babies will love squeezing and seeing the colors shine. Our girl loved this and we kept it up for a few days!

Sensory activities are a great way to introduce new things to your child. They help stimulate the brain and create nueron pathways to improve sensory processing. It may take a bit for time to gather these activities but I’m sure they’ll be a hit to keep our crazy kiddos busy!

Productive Things to Do While Staying Home

March 25, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

I’ve been a stay at home mom for almost one year and the thing I’ve struggled with most is how to be productive. It has taken me this long to actually get a routine and structure to get things done. Having an idea of what your day will look like helps have a mental to-do list opposed to sitting in jammies while your toddler runs around. Now I’m no expert on being productive but here are a few tips you can implement to get going!

Meal Plan for the Week

This takes about 20-30 minutes a week to actually write down meal ideas for the week. Nothing takes the stress out of your kid’s “What’s for dinner?” than having it laid out in front of you. I have been meal planning since I started home and it helps me feel less scattered throughout the week. I love this meal planner from Rifle Paper Co.

Choose One Chore a Day

The easiest way to keep up the never ending cycle of a messy home is to chose one chore a day. For example, Mondays are dusting, Tuesdays are the floors, Wednesdays are bathroom sinks, Thursdays are kids rooms, Fridays are the kitchen. You could even pick a room a day to clean instead!

Laundry Each Day

Depending on the size of your family, aim for a load of laundry each day! If it’s just you, then pick 2 days a week to do it. The key is to not let it sit in the basket for days after they’ve been dried. We all know it takes 7-10 business days to fold and put away laundry. So a load a day will help keep it manageable and easy to fold especially while watching a new episode of the Bachelor.

Change out of your PJs

Okay this one is hard for me! BUT, I feel most productive if I immediately get dressed for the day when I wake up. I’m more apt to do more things throughout the day if I get out of my comfy pants and oversized tee. It also helps me feel put together and not so drab.

Turn off the TV

I’m guilty of leaving the tv on with Friends or The New Girl on in the background while I scurry around the house. Then I catch myself glued to an episode for longer than anticipated and before I know it, my little one is up from her nap. Try blocking times out where you turn the TV off and turn on music instead.

Exercise in the Morning

This is the hardest to do because we all want to stay in our comfy pants and drink coffee on the couch in the morning. Gear up and hit the gym in the morning! It’s a fact that you have more energy to last the whole day when you move your body in the AM.

What is your favorite way to stay productive?! How do you get things done? Share with me below!

5 Things I wish DIDN’T put on my Baby Registry

March 23, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

The first thing you want to do after you find out you’re pregnant is shop. You create a baby registry on every site you know of: Target, Walmart, Babylist, and of course Amazon. They usually give a list of recommended items to register for, but do you really need them?! To be honest, there are a few things that I wish I didn’t register for just because people recommended it. I’m going to share the 5 items that I wish I didn’t put on my registry below!

Milestone Blanket

I registered for this gorgeous custom milestone blanket after seeing photos all over Instagram. After time went on, I actually ended up using this felt letter board that I used for my weekly pregnancy photos. It is also super trendy and instagrammable.

Binxy Baby Shopping Cart Hammock

These looked like such a fun concept for grocery carts since car seats these days don’t go in child seat in carts anymore (they used to in 90s). I used this thing like once and it was SO much work to set up, take her out of the car, put her in, etc. I did end up keeping it because I do think it’ll be beneficial for when we have another baby.

Car Seat Cover

Another trendy item that I added from influence from Instagram. The downfall is that we live in Florida and it gets to almost 100 degrees here in the summer! It is even warmer when these covers are used on car seats. I can see how this is helpful for nursing moms and perhaps strolling around grocery stores or cool weather.

Boppy Floral Stripe Nursing Pillow and Positioner - Pink - image 1 of 15 — Credit: Target

Boppy Pillow

Some people swear by these!! I however did not. It was way more uncomfortable using this. I ended up doing football hold for breastfeeding most times. We did use this as she was starting to sit up and would set it on the bed to hang out.

Power Nail File

I saw a mom using this on her little baby and it looked so easy! It was so nerve wracking at the thought of cutting my baby’s nails. This is honestly was way scary to use on her!! I ended up using the NailFrida and swear by it.

Now some of these items may be super helpful to you but I just didn’t see the need for them! I think when adding these, it was more of a want than a need. What items do you wish you didn’t put on your registry? Share with me below!

XOXO,

Shie

Old Navy Baby Boy Spring Haul

March 20, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

I can’t help but browse through Old Navy’s new spring finds for little boys. Old Navy has great quality and the trendiest baby clothes. I’ve rounded the cutest items for baby boys in the photo below. All you have to do is click on the item you like in the photo and it will take you directly to the item!

Happy Shopping!

Old Navy Baby Girl Spring Haul

March 20, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

Spring is here like it or not! I’ve gathered my favorite spring picks from Old Navy for baby girls! I love shopping at Old Navy because their products are affordable and great quality. Most of my girl’s wardrobe is from Old Navy, not gonna lie. LOL

Just click the item you want to see and it’ll take you directly to Old Navy’s page for it! Thanks for shopping!

5 Things to Do while Social Distancing with Babies

March 18, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

We all practice it at time, but now it’s for real.. social distancing with babies. Whether you have a newborn or a 11 month old, it can be tough to stay home every single day. It is extremely important that we limit our interactions with germs that could possibly spread COVID19. If you’re like me, not a day goes by without a trip to Target, the park or coffee shop. I bet you’re wondering, “What on earth can we do at home for 2 weeks straight?”. Let me show you some of the activities I plan to do with my 10 month old!

Puzzles

This is our first time introducing a puzzle to Vivian but I figured it could spark some new skills in her. We got some of the Melissa and Doug Sound Puzzles that you can find HERE. I thought it would be fun to teach her animal sounds while seeing animals.

Painting

Since babies literally put everything in there mouths, I put a piece of paper with a few drops of paint inside of a gallon size ziplock bag. Then I taped it to the highchair tray. This way she could feel the texture and “paint” a picture! Not too messy! We used this paint: Crayola Paint Pots Washable.

Light Up Bath

I’ve been seen these light up bath toys circulating on social media for kiddos. Give them a midday bath, turn the lights off, turn these toys on, and let them have some fun! They may like the different colors and playing in the water.

Lovevery Play Gym

The Lovevery Play Gym is perfect from Newborn – 2 years old. It offers Montessori themed education for the littlest babies. The Play Gym turns into a tent for older babies to who are on the move. You can get Free Shipping on a purchase over $75 HERE.

Jello Sensory Bin

Okay, gonna warn you it’s a little messy. Gather some plastic toys like these. Place them in a bin or pan (9×13 will do) then prepare a box of jello as you would normally. Mix jello and toys together and let sit. Once it is firm, babies will have a blast grabbing and feeling

Let’s be real, these activities don’t keep a baby occupied for hours on end but at least a few minutes will give you sanity. I’d love to hear of the activities you’re doing with your kiddos in these isolating times. Share in the comments of tag me on Instagram, @firstcomesfamily.mama!

A Mom’s Real Review of Dyper Bamboo Diapers

March 10, 2020 by firstcomesfamily Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: This product was received for free in return of my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you choose to make a purchase using my link. It’s okay – I love all of these companies anyways, and you will too!

Did you know that babies go through around 2,000 diapers in their first year of life? That’s A LOT of diapers! Have you ever thought about where they go after you toss them? Well, they go to the landfills where they take anywhere from 250-500 years to breakdown! INSANE. Finally, Dyper has released a line of compostable diapers that is an easy subscription based service.

Sizing

We chose the Mediums for Vivian as she is 19 pounds and 29 inches! These run a little slimmer than big brand diapers. Sizing goes by weight and uses traditional sizing as below:

Newborn (<10 lbs/4 kg) Diapers (260/Delivery)
Small (6-16 lbs/3-8 kg) Diapers (220/Delivery)
Medium (13-22 lbs/6-10 kg) Diapers (180/Delivery)
Large (20-31 lbs/9-14 kg) Diapers (140/Delivery)
Extra Large (28+ lbs/12+ kg) Diapers (100/Delivery)

What I loved:

Softness– Since they’re made from bamboo, they’re SO soft to the touch. Think organic bamboo onesies that are so silky, like that but a diaper!

Absorbency– It passed the overnight test for us! We had no leaks whatsoever, especially overnight. There wasn’t even a residue on the diaper which others like Hello Bello have. I was even expecting the pee smell like most eco-friendly diapers, but not these!

Wetness Indicator– For my husbands sake, we love when it shows the diaper is wet. Most green diaper companies don’t have a wetness indicator so this was surprising to see!

Free of Chemicals– They use biodegradable Chlorine-Free Wood pulp for the absorbent core. No latex, chlorine, PVC, TBT, antioxidants, perfumes, lotions, or phthalates. (most big-name diapers contain these)

What I Didn’t Love:

Size– These run a bit more narrow that a traditional Pampers as shown below.

Literally the only thing I didn’t care for but I could’ve easily sized up!

Wipes

Made from only 4 ingredients!!

Viscose From 100% Bamboo
Reverse Osmosis Purified Water
Glycerin
Aloe Extract

These are even better than the leading all natural wipe on the market. Being made from Viscose from 100% Bamboo makes them extremely soft, resembling their diapers. They do run smaller than a traditional wipe but the pure ingredients surely make up for it.

Dyper Wipes – Soft & Absorbent wipes with just 5 ingredients! Order Now and experience the ultimate baby wipes with no scents and harsh chemicals from GetDyper.com!

Subscription: How It Works

Dyper is a subscription based diaper service that you order directly from their website or app. For $68 a month, you get 4 weeks worth of diapers with free shipping! Don’t worry, they do the math to make sure you don’t run out. Even if you do, they have a SOS service that will deliver them in as little as 2 hours! WOW, even better than Amazon right?!

Add Ons: You can add 3 packs of 80 wipes for only $15 more! Which with those ingredients, it’s hard to pass that up. They also have a service where they take care of the composting which requires you to mail back your used diapers monthly for only $39!

Bottom Line

Order these right NOW! They cost similarly to the leading eco-friendly subscription diaper services PLUS they are actually good for the environment! Also, their SOS service is unlike anything else because who actually wants to pack up a baby and go to Target when you run out of diapers mid day?!

GetDyper.com Subscribe Now – Diapers for $68 per month. Never run out, never too many, Save the Bum and Save the earth. Subscribe NOW with GetDyper.com and never worry about diapers again.