A Gift That Kids Won’t Outgrow

I can’t believe that Christmas is in just 59 days. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Katie’s first birthday and sweltering in New York’s long, hot summer. Now we’rebraving a nor’easter and wearing coats.

Earlier today, my sister-in-law sent me a text sharing that with a huge sigh of relief she’d just finished wrapping the last of her Christmas gifts. Come again? With 59 days left until Christmas, Becca has already purchased and wrapped all her gifts. This not only made me feel 100% behind, but also made me realize that Bo and I have to sit down and finalize Katie’s wish list. Making a Christmas list for Katie is especially hard since we live in New York City. Our family of three lives in a 1,500 square foot apartment. Up until recently, our place felt spacious. But, recently, it’s feels more like a tornado of chaos than a spacious, Brooklyn brownstone apartment.

In fact, as soon as Katie goes down for a nap or to sleep at night, Bo and I both take five minutes to put away all of her toys and restore order. At sixteen months of age, Katie loves nothing more than dragging her favorite toy of the hour into every room or dumping her blocks all over. Needless to say, while we’ve started to introduce the concept of putting our toys away, she definitely hasn’t mastered cleaning up after herself.

Even though today during a fun play date with friends, Katie played with multiple toys that she doesn’t have, it’s hard for us to imagine adding more things to our space. While we will of course ask for a few gifts, we are hoping to put more gifts towards something she won’t outgrow – a NY-529. Thanks to Momtrends and Vanguard, I had the opportunity to learn more about the NY 529 plan. Since we’ve only discovered 529 plans recently, I figured this was something you guys would appreciate as well.

NY 529 facts

Here are a few facts about 529 plans, so you can figure out whether this is something you need or if you want to ask family members to donate money to it in lieu of gifts this holiday season.

  • What the heck is a 529 plan? 
    • A 529 is an investment account that people can use for higher-education savings. They are often sponsored by states and some, like New York, provide tax benefits. Your earnings grow federally tax-deferred and qualified withdrawals are tax-free*.  The money in the 529 can be used for multiple types of higher education including college, graduate school, vocational school and anything that is school related, beyond tuition.  In New York the tax is deferred and New York State taxpayers benefit from a tax deduction.
  • How do people contribute to a 529? 
    • You can either directly deposit their checks or cash to the 529 or you can give them a gift code. There some websites and companies that provide gift coupons or links that help people easily donate or gift contributions during the holiday season.
  • What is the minimum amount of money needed to open a 529? 
    • Unlike certain savings accounts, you only need $1 to open a 529. In addition, there are no monthly or yearly contribution requirements. In fact, you can contribute as little or, nearly, as much as you’d like over the lifetime of the 529.  In fact, in New York, the contribution limit, in aggregate to one person’s 529 account is $520,000.
  • Can my child have more than one? 
    • Yup, your child can have countless 529 accounts if that’s what you want. They just need to be registered under his or her legal name.

NY 529 Facts

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Compensation was provided by NY529 via Momtrends.  As always, all words and opinions are my own. 

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One Thing We’re Doing to Help Keep Katie Healthy This Flu Season

Most mornings, while Katie is eating breakfast, I sip my coffee and take a few supplements and vitamins, before eating my own breakfast. During cold and flu season, I try to make a more conscious effort to remember my vitamins as I swear it helps keep me healthy, or is a darn good placebo.  The combination of a prenatal vitamin, fiber supplement and a probiotic helps me have the energy I need to keep up with Katie, work and the demands of life. While my vitamin habit started 30 years ago or so, when I chewed a Flintstones vitamin daily, I only added a probiotic to my regimen earlier this year. After a tough cold and flu season last year, due in part to my travel schedule and the germs that Katie brings home each day, I saw my doctor way too often. A few weeks ago, when I visited her for my annual checkup, she recommended a few changes, including the probiotic, to help me stay healthier this year – especially with an upcoming trip to China.

 

Even though I’ve become familiar with probiotics over the past few months, until last week’s Mom’s Night Out event,  I had no idea that there are probiotics specially designed for babies and toddlers. It makes sense that similar to her mom, Katie’s immune and digestive systems can benefit from probiotics.  Based on your feedback after last week’s Instagram story, it turns out that many of you not only know about child probiotics, but also swear by them as a way to help your children stay health. Am I the only one who has been living under a rock? Did you know about child probiotics?  

microbiome infographic

Similar to other aisles in our local drugstore, I find the healthcare aisle, especially the child health aisle, to be confusing and overwhelming.  It’s hard to tell the difference between products and understand what is homeopathic, appropriate dosing and age recommendations. Luckily, since Culturelle® Baby Probiotics is the #1 pediatrican recommended brand, it is easy to navigate. They offer a comprehensive line of probiotic products designed to help build a strong foundation for your baby’s healthy growth and development, regardless their age. During last week’s event I had the chance to learn a great deal about their baby items, which are designed specifically for children 0-24 months old.

Culturelle Baby Probiotics

  • Culturelle Baby Calm + Comfort Probiotic + Chamomile Drops is designed for babies ages 0-12 months and helps reduce fussiness and crying due to upset digestive tracts.   The probiotic, LactobacilliusGG, restores the natural balance of good bacteria in babies digestive tract.  I love that the probiotic can be dispensed directly into a bottle of formula or breastmilk, in case you have a hard time getting your baby to swallow medicine.  If your baby has a lot of fussiness during these early months, make sure to talk to your pediatrician. When Katie was young, we had to burp a number of times and use Dr. Brown bottles to help with her stomach issues.
  • Culturelle Baby Grow + Thrive Probiotics + Vitamin D Drops is designed for both babies 0-12 months and toddlers 12-24 months. After talking with our pediatrician on Monday, during Katie’s flu shot visit, this is the probiotic that we’ve started giving her.  The packets help support digestion and nutrient absorption as she enjoys new foods and helps keeps her immune system strong as she interacts with children at the playground and around the neighborhood on a daily basis. If you’ve ever watched toddlers play together, you know that they spread SO many germs! Heck, just today I tried to explain to Katie why she can’t use another child’s pacifier when she sees it in their stroller! Luckily, the packet is easily mixed in her daily yogurt or milk, which makes it easy to give her without any extra fuss.

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Culturelle but, as always, all opinions are my own. Please make sure to consult your pediatrician or doctor before making any supplement changes. 

 

† Based on a 2016 survey among pediatricians recommending a kids probiotic brand

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease

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Moms Night Out with Momtrends and Parents Magazine

Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Momtrends, a terrific blogging network based in New York that brings together a number of like-minded moms for partnership and blogging opportunities. It has introduced me to many, wonderful new friends in the area as well as trusted brands. They do a wonderful job ensuring that any partnership or event is one that is beneficial for not only the brands but also busy moms. Their annual event, Mom’s Night Out, has quickly become a night I look forward to each year. The event is an interactive and enjoyable way for a number of local mom bloggers to learn about the latest and greatest from brands while relaxing and enjoying a glass of wine, pampering and time to catch up with other like-minded women from the brands, Momtrends, Parents Magazine and fellow influencers.

This year’s event, which was once again hosted by Momtrends and Parents Magazine, took place in the gorgeous Meredith Headquarters in Manhattan’s Financial District, just a quick subway ride from Brooklyn. As soon as I walked through the door, I knew it was going to be a fun evening. I was offered wine and appetizers, while some one else invited me to come over and enjoy a hand massage.

Each of the sponsoring brands, feature an activity that attendees can enjoy, while having the opportunity to interact with and learn more about the products.  This year there were four brand partners, some of which are already household favorites and others that I only discovered during the event: Boiron USA, Culturelle, JCPenney’s Peyton & Parker Collection, and VTech.

After enjoying a glass of wine, I headed directly over to the VTech area, where I was able to enjoy a ten minute hand massage before learning more about their most popular toys for children Katie’s age.  This came at a perfect time as just last week Bo and I started to realize that Katie has outgrown a number of her toys. After we spent an hour sorting through her play areas, we realized that she could benefit from some toys that are more appropriate for 18 months to 2 years old. Katie has a number of VTech toys including an activity cube and this adorable elephant, but after interacting with their play area, I’m excited to add some of their holiday wish list favorites to Katie’s Christmas list including the sports center, 100 Words Book and Cutie Paws Puppy Stroller! Their Holiday Gift Guide is full of fun learning toys that kids and parents alike will love!

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk with a brand specialist as I find children’s toys to be overwhelming. It’s so hard to figure out which toys are actually appropriate and properly stimulating for each age. If you have kids, do you have any tips for finding the best toys at each stage? 

My eye was immediately drawn to the cozy holiday decor from the Peyton & Parker™ collection, exclusively at JCPenney.  This brand’s collection, which was designed entirely by their in-house design team at JCPenney,  launched last week exclusively in JCPenney stores and on their website. It is filled with cozy mix & match clothes and decor for the holiday season. The tablescape was a mix of plaid and rustic details while the clothing included more traditional stripes and plaids with some sparkly, fun pops of color. We had the opportunity to explore the clothing range while planning a “picture perfect wardrobe” for our family. I put together a Mommy & Me look that included a striped turtleneck and plaid vest for mom and a cute plaid dress and furry vest for the daughter. These affordable pieces would be perfect for our upcoming holiday photo shoot, yet versatile enough to wear throughout the winter months.

Peyton & Parker family outfit

 

My next stop was the delicious Boiron Smoothie Bar, where I was treated to a gorgeous green smoothie, packed with immunity boosting foods! In case you’re not familiar with Boiron USA, they are a company that specializes in homeopathic medicines, providing family-friendly products that work without causing drowsiness or drug interaction. In fact, we’ve loved using their products with Katie as many of them are able to be used for children as young as six months old. They are best known for their top-selling flu medicine Oscillococcinum. Their baby & children’s line features Children’s Coldcalm Liquid Doses (multi-symptom cold relief for children 6 months and up) and Children’s Chestal Honey Syrup (relieves all types of coughs).

Last but not least I had the opportunity to pack a diaper bag with all the must-have essentials, thanks to Culturelle® Baby Probiotics.  I packed one of their co-ed style diaper bags with diapers, wipes, diaper cream, snacks, blankets and, of course, Culturelle® Baby Probiotics.  This bag will be the perfect gift for our friends who just recently announced that they are expecting their first child.  Did you know that Culturelle has a baby line?  The #1 Pediatrician Recommended Brand†, Culturelle Baby Probiotics is a line of probioitic products created to help build a strong foundation for baby’s healthy growth and development. When I shared images of the brand on Instagram Stories, many of you said that your family loves Culturelle and believe it’s been a key factor in keeping your kids healthy!

Thank you so much MomTrends and Parents Magazine for such a wonderful night!

 

Disclaimer: While this is a sponsored post in partnership with Momtrends, all thoughts and opinions are my own.  Some of the photos in this post are courtesy of https://suzannecohenphotography.com/

† Based on a 2016 survey among pediatricians recommending a kids probiotic brand

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease

 

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