DadTrends » DIYFather.com

10 tips you must know to stay fit during pregnancy

community — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Stay fit during pregnancy (yes pregnant mums, you too! ).
Exercising in pregnancy is great for you and your baby, as long as you are sensible and follow some guidelines. Not only does exercising release endorphins which will make you feel great, it is also great to prepare your body for labour and birth. Many studies have shown that mothers who are fit generally have a far easier labour and delivery than mothers who are unfit. It doesn’t have to be a lot of exercise, but every little bit helps. Below are some tips for exercising while pregnant. Please note though, that for both yours and your baby’s safety, you should always consult your Lead Maternity Carer (LMC),or the medical professional overseeing your pregnancy if you are not in New Zealand, about what exercise is appropriate for you to do while pregnant.

Grow a dinosaur with your kids

stefan — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:55:38 +0000

Someone gave our little man a dinosaur egg for Christmas. The egg is part of a “growing pet” family of toys which you can put in water and over a few days develop from egg into a normal plastic toy. The actual toy is not that great (feels like a cheap rubbery model of a dinosaur with poor features and colouring). However the process of “hatching” and checking up on progress was great. It kept our son entertained for days with huge excitement building as the egg shell cracked and the head of the dinosaur appeared. So it’s a fantastic tool for building patience in your little ones You can get these eggs (for all sorts of animals) for about $5 in most toy stores or online.

Enjoy!

-Stef

Dog or baby – you decide

stefan — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:34:42 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered whether to have a baby or get a dog … here’s a direct comparison.

Devine

-Stef

The Money Game

scott — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:36:29 +0000

As a parent and someone who is interested in creating wealth, helping my little lady become financially savvy when she grows up is very important. I come from a wealthy family that “gave their children fish, rather than actually teaching them to fish”. So I thought it was timely now to teach my 4 year old girl Pyper about money and finances. We have started getting her used to money – she picks up bits of money that is either lying around in coins or someone might give her $5 here and there for a birthday. I firmly believe that parents who introduce the concept of “saving money” to their children early will be helping them in the long run. I recently came across an article that talked about practical steps parents could do to teach financial literacy to their children.

Delivery suite – signs help!

stefan — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:13:51 +0000

Not sure how many babies have been born in a car because the dads (or drivers) driving a mum in labour to the hospital got lost. Even if you manage to make it to the hospital in time it can take ages to find the right building and entrance. Let’s face it … if a male driver is involved he won’t ask for directions … so signs help. Loving this one which is the only of its kind I’ve ever seen (in Wellington, NZ). Why aren’t other hospitals using a sign like that!

Moms … print this out and position conveniently at traffic lights or entrances to your hospital

Enjoy,

Stef

Fussy eaters – a different strategy

stefan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 21:05:52 +0000

Dealing with “fussy eaters” is a constant struggle for many parents. There are lots of little tricks to encourage kids to eat (or eat up). So here’s another trick to add to the list – inspired by something my four-year-old said the other day. I got upset with him because he wouldn’t finish his plate. To me, wasting food or throwing away food (that is perfectly good to eat) is one of the worst things you can do in this life – it’s wrong on so many levels. As a result we feel strongly about educating our son that wasting food is not on.

So I told him that many children in the world have nothing to eat and die of starvation. His response: “well then we have to help them!”. Yup … and so I showed him pictures of starving children and what we are doing to help them. The result? He still didn’t eat up the plate at the time but he has done so several times in the following days, weeks and months. He is now much more aware of the desperate situation of other children and why we believe it is so important to not waste food. His empathy with others who are not as lucky as we are has definitely grown. So I figured showing him starving kids was a useful “reality check” for him and it has resulted in a change of behaviour and attitude. There’s lots of footage on starvation and hunger on the net if you want to do this as well. Here’s one example.

Another baby monitor for iOS devices

stefan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:14:08 +0000

Looks like smartphones are the new baby monitors – there are a number of super popular apps on pretty much all smartphone platforms that allow parents to use their phones as baby monitors. No surprises there … we all carry around smartphones these days so why not make use of them as baby monitors when we’re away from home (or even when at home). I’ve recently come across a very popular one called “Best Baby Monitor” (voted top 3 in parenting apps by babble.com) which is really easy to use and has a few features I haven’t seen anywhere else. So I thought it was worth a giving it a quick DIYFather app-titude test.

Christmas baking daddy style – 10 unusual cookie cutters

stefan — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:06:05 +0000

In many countries Christmas is a traditional time for cooking and baking. Cooking and baking with kids is of course a top activity and so here’s some inspirations to liven up the cookie cutting (see below for a super simple recipe that you can use to make cookie cutter cookies).

50 Foods Every Pregnant Woman Should Eat (updated)

community — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:38:09 +0000

Re-blogging this article which was originally posted by us in 2010 – particularly useful for Christmas (and other festivites like Easter, Thanksgiving, etc that involve lots of eating and drinking). The following list is based on nutritional guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA’s Food Pyramid), with specific boosts to certain nutrients (relevant for pregnant women) such as iron, folic acid, fiber, Vitamin C, protein, calcium, Vitamin A, magnesium, and a few others.

1. Iron Supplements
According to the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, normal, healthy pregnancy diets do not usually supply enough iron for the blood of both fetus and mother. Mayo Clinic recommends 27 milligrams a day for pregnant women.

2. Kidney Beans

The ultimate geek dad present for Christmas

stefan — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:35:25 +0000

If you’re still looking for an uber cool present for your geek son (geek hubby or geek dad) check out myrobotnation.com … the site lets you construct your own robot, then 3d print it and ship it to you. This is one of the first “create your own toy” sites that I’ve seen to make fully customizable collectables. Prices for 3d printing your own robot start from $17.99 (for a 2 inch robot) all the way to $169.99 (for a 6 inch robot). Unfortunately the robots are not suitable for young children (they are similar to ceramic collectibles and break easily). Still a pretty cool gift for family members with a geeky side!

Enjoy,

Stef