MOMMY HACK: TRACK YOUR CHILD'S DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

If you're like me and are constantly googling "__ month old baby development" to figure out where your kid's skills should be at each month, then look no further because I have an awesome present for you.

A few weeks ago, I was chatting with one of my best friends who has a 10 month old and he told me about this bi-monthly questionnaire that tracks your kids development. His son goes to day-care on an air force base and gets these assessments every two months....the military is SO on it! He shared with this easy, family-friendly questionnaire, and I love it. Its called "Ages and Stages Questionnaires."

ASQ-3 is a questionnaire that is completed by the parent and it reliably identifies and tracks your child's development. It starts as young as one month old and goes all they way up to 5 1/2 years old.  It screens communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social skills.  The whole questionnaire for each month takes about 10-15 minutes to do and at the end you can tally up your child score to see how he/she is doing in each area. You can either print it out or save it to your smart device to document each month.  The reason why I love this so much is because it gives me a sense as to where my child's development is at in each of these areas.  I can show my pediatrician his progress and if there are area's that show some concern, I can ask my pediatrician for advice.  

This may sound very Type-A/Tiger mom-ish to do this but honestly its a great way to screen my kid at regular intervals and monitor his progress. In the event that my child will need help in a certain area, I can get help for him early - when it makes the biggest difference. OR if your child is advanced then you can look ahead to the months ahead to see what activities you can do to challenge them!

Click HERE for a link to the full FREE PDF file and save it as a favorite in your browser! Share this link with other friends who have kids too :)

MOMMY HACK: KEEPING THOSE WET WIPES...WET!

So you have a massive poopie blowout and the last thing you need is a DRY wet wipe. UGH! It happens, especially with those wipes that are in different parts of the house and aren't used as often. I learned a simple trick from a girlfriend of mine who is not only a mommy but an incredible makeup artist and stylist, Crystal Pancipanci.  She said all you have to do is....

BOOM! Yep, just store your packets upside down! All the moisture that usually sits on the bottom will now be absorbed by the top towel. So when you're ready to grab that wet wipe,  just flip it over and it will definitely have the moisture you need when it's time to clean your baby's bum. It's a makeup trick Crystal does with her makeup wipes when she's on set for a shoot and said it works just as well for your babies wipes. Thank you Crystal! If you have some awesome mommy hacks, please share! I would love to know :D Happy butts= happy baby.