Catching Up

It's been a while since I posted. We're now through the holiday season and into a New Year. (Happy New Year, by the way.) It's been a busy time for me. I'm sure it has been for you, too.

I spent some time updating the website tonight. I've 

• updated the events page to let you know about some of the parenting- and writing-related events I'll be involved with over the next few months. I have two other parenting-related events in the works and I'm in the process of developing my own parenting and writing workshops, which I will be offering both online and in small group workshops, starting later this year;
• shared my New Year's resolutions;
• posted the link to my Tumblr blog (where I've been mostly writing about writing); and
• added links to at least 30 more articles, including these recent ones about sleep, grief, and bonding with your baby.

I'm almost finished revising the Canadian edition of The Mother of All Baby Books. It will be available in bookstores in June. 

That's it from me. What's new with you?

- Ann

What Types of Gifts Do You Like to Give Other People's Kids?

Right now, I'm shopping for my nieces -- something I absolutely love to do. (I don't have any nephews, so I don't have the opportunity to shop for any boys, except for my own three.)

I'm going to be a bit cryptic here, because at least one of the people on my list is now old enough to use the Internet, and I don't want her to discover what she's receiving until the time is right. But I'd like to share my gift picks with you nonetheless. I hope you'll click through to see what I've picked and that you'll share some gift ideas of your own to help out other people who are trying to come up with gift ideas for other people's kids.

• For two young sisters (3 and 6): this and this.
• For a young preteen girl: this.
• For an almost-teen who is very well read: this.

Yes, there's a common theme in my gift picks. But what would you expect an aunt who is a writer to buy for her nieces? Something like this?

What I Learned at the BabyTime Show from My New Friend Diane

Location is everything, as the real estate agents tell us. And I certainly lucked out in terms of booth location at the Fall 2011 BabyTime Show. My "Ask Ann" kiosk was placed beside Diane Lai Group (an all-natural skin case products company), and Diane and I hit it off immediately, which made the show fly by. 

Diane isn't just a fun person to hang out with at a baby show, however. She's also incredibly knowledgeable about babies and skin care (by necessity, as it turns out). Her firstborn experienced such severe outbreaks of eczema that doctors were prescribing steroid creams to try to manage his symptoms. 

Diane was determined to get at the root causes of the problem (as opposed to treating the symptoms after the fact) so she started experimenting with ways of eliminating her son's skin woes.

She discovered that changing her family's laundry routines made a huge difference.

Her advice to other families who have babies with extremely sensitive skin? 

• Use half the recommended amount of laundry soap when you wash your baby's clothes; and choose an extra-gentle liquid (as opposed to powdered) formulation.
• Either hang your baby's clothes to dry or allow them to tumble dry in the dryer. Note: Don't use dryer sheets or fabric softners, she advises, as these products can be irritating to baby's skin.

Diane also went on the develop (with the help of an organic chemist) a line of products that are designed to meet the needs of people with highly sensitive skin. (I fall into this category myself and purchased one of Diane's creams at the show. I've been using it for two weeks and am loving it.)

I also love the fact that Diane's is a family-run company. Her husband supports her efforts 100 percent. (In fact, he was handing out promotional samples from a wheelchair at the show while his leg was on the mend from a hockey injury.) Is it any wonder I left the show with a feel-good glow? (And, for once, it wasn't because of my rosacea.)