Parenting: How do I capture you?

Most parents I know feel a compulsive need to capture everything their child does. From the tiny (their 1,413th smile today) to the gigantic (first step), all MUST be documented and then spread to loved ones with the most urgent of emails. For example, today I watched as my baby who was sitting for the very first time by himself (ok, so 'sit' is being used liberally to describe a half-lean, half-hunch yoga pose) hit his face on the floor because I wanted to capture a photo to share with the family. And yes, I am mom enough to admit it. With all this sharing, the question becomes 'what is the best way to share?'

The answer is obvious: I don't know.

What I do know is what has worked for my family. So here it is.
1) I keep a folder on my desktop with a folder for each device I capture photos on. 'Phone' 'Camera' 'Fancy Camera.' I upload and save every photo here.
2) I share this larger folder with my husband and each set of grandparents every 4 months or so. This keeps a back up on a number of different machines in a number of different area codes.
3) I back up this folder on a server once a month.
4) I created a youtube channel to share videos easily.
5) I created a google plus account for my family where I keep an album a month. I upload the best photos about twice a month and share the link to the album with close friends and family.

It may not work for you, but knowing what another Mom is doing can help you to make the decision that is best for you.

Eating: Food Food Food

This website does a great job of listing all the different foods your baby will need to conquer in their first year. Alberta Health Services, and other nutritionalists, disagree with a number of the comments made (see your local government documentation for more detail). Based on the discrepancies I know about, I am hesitant to trust all of the nutritional information listed, but it does provide a handy check-list and a great start on how to cook each vegetable. At any rate, it is a resource I am presenting for your educated review.

Homemade Baby Food Recipes

Eating: Pumpkin for Your Pumpkin

Moms/mom blogs/mom websites like you to think that 'baby food' recipes are complicated or require a special touch or seasoning, or whatever other complicated foodie word they can chuck at you. They aren't. You take food that you would eat, like say pumpkin, then you overcook it and puree the leftovers. Wham. Done.

Here is how you roast a pumpkin (works for squash too). Oh She Glows Just roast, puree, freeze, warm up, serve. The end. And you are welcome.

Eating: Am I really ready for this?

Once you've decided the time has come to introduce solids, you're going to have tons of questions about what you will need to help the little one... What do I buy? What do I need? Seriously, do I need that? This checklist does a great job of breaking down the products needed for introducing solids.

Baby Zone Solid Transition Checklist

Eating: Am I ready for this?

You've just settled into a comfortable nursing/bottling/bottleandnurse routine when all of a sudden the nurse hands you the "Staring Solids" brochure and smiles. Yikes! Now what? When will the time of reckoning come? Here are a couple of great resources for figuring out whether "The Age of Solids' has come to your house.

Healthy Children: Switching to Solid Foods: This is a great resource from the American Academy of Pediatrics which includes a checklist.

Alberta Health Services Starting Solids: Another great starter resource from a medical institution.

Me Time: What DOES a fox say?

When the little one needs a distraction, or is asleep and you need something to do, this video is sure to please. It also posits a most interesting question, what does the fox say?

Playing: A Whole Calendar of Fun

Ever wonder, 'how am I going to keep a baby happy for a whole day?' Wonder no more! This calendar includes excellent examples of age appropriate games to play with your young one. Use some of them, use none of them, who cares! There are 365 activities to choose from that won't send you running to the nearest toy store.

Alberta Health Services Infant Activity Calendar

Welcome

Welcome to "Mom Group For One," a blog set up to help you get all the benefits of a mom group without all the... ummm... non-benefits. Each post is about a topic near and dear to parents' lives. The list includes: reading, playing, eating, sleeping, parenting, and 'me time.' Check here for links to helpful sites, articles, advice, and whatever other miscellaneous parenting information can help keep us sane, wonderful, healthy parents.