Sun's Out

A week ago I came across a post from the instagram account Sweet Life And Fitness with a story about a mom whose daughter was suffering from Petit Mal seizures as a result of using a certain brand’s sunscreen. It absolute shook me. For a couple of reasons. One being that we use that brands products. Specifically their hand sanitizer. It was one of those brands I had given the identity as “safe”. So to hear that it might not be really through me for a loop. The other reasons is Jane Taylor has horrible dizzy spells as a result of her alternating torticollis as a baby. Her last dizzy spell was the worst one yet and has me really paying attention to the food we eat and what we are putting on our body. The post was a wake up call that I might need to take a little more time to pay attention to what we are using.

Since it is summer time I thought I would share with you the two brands we use for sunscreen in our household. This is coming from a girl who used to walk out into the Florida sun wearing SPF 8 with bronzer every single day and thought I was '“protecting my skin”. Let me just tell you as I have grown I wear nothing less than 30SPF every single day and my tan still looks just as good, and healthier too.

I get asked a lot what sunscreen I use on the girls. Y’all know a sunburn is no joke and I’m not about to let my little ones innocent skin suffer from that kind of pain. As long as I can grab them quick enough to actually put sunscreen on them before running outside. My favorite tool for quick apply is the Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Stick. It is so much easier to run this little stick over a squirmy baby or busy toddler’s face than trying to rub the sunscreen on them.

For my face I use the Countersun Daily Sheer Defense. It is lightweight, made for your face and I’m happy with the results I have seen from using it.

To protect all over we use a couple different products depending on what we have enough of in our home. We frequent the pool a lot in the summer and for four people sunscreen can run out fast. My first choice is the Countersun Mineral Sunscreen. We also use the Babo Botanicals Sunscreen Lotion and Babo Botanicals Sunscreen Spray. Babo Botanicals is great because it is on Amazon. And I am the mama who needs stuff to get here in two days with free shipping because its the eleventh hour we are about to run out.

Hope this helps when it comes to picking out your sunscreen for the summer!

Our Favorite Things: 3months-6months

When I started “Our Favorite Things” series I had every intention of doing more than just Lampley’s favorite things. To be honest, her’s are just easier to track and they change the most frequently. So before she gets any older I wanted to share the things we are loving from the 3 month to 6 month stage. It’s been such a fun couple of months with our littlest. Her personality is coming out, along with her voice and she is not afraid to use it. She has started to sit a little more each day on her own. And we have added in solids for 3 meals a day! We are loving growing with our Lampley girl!

Number One - Teething Toys

With Jane Taylor, teething wasn’t the end of the world. Honestly we didn’t really even notice when she got teeth until they were there. Lampley doesn’t have any teeth yet, but she has had several days were she is biting on a toy so hard that I am sure she is getting one. Lampley puts all the things in her mouth! Totally normal, but so different from Jane Taylor who never did! Sophie la Giraffe is her top pick. I also like this version of Sophie because it is much easier to clean.

Number Two - Angelcare Bath Tub

When we lived at the farm the sink (a literal farm sink) was big enough to put the Angelcare Bath Tub in and Lampley loved it. Angelcare is a nice, not super expensive option before she starts sitting up in the bath herself. Just last week I got brave enough to put both girls in the bath together and the Angelcare was just the right size to fit them both in the tub. We also love using this soap for Lampley and this bath set for Jane Taylor.

Number Three - Activity Walker

To help Lampley work on strengthening her muscles in sitting up, I have been propping her in front of this activity walker. It is engaging enough that she can sit there for a good amount of time. The wheels do not have any brakes on them so I prop up the walker in front of a chair or the couch so it doesn’t roll away from her when she is using it. Eventually she will be able to use it to help her learn to walk. I love that it can grow with her.

Number Four - Activity Jumper

We didn’t start using this gym with Lampley until she was closer to 6 months old. I might have tried to use it a little earlier but we didn’t have it with us when we were staying at the farm. But once we put her in there she loved it! I picked this jumper because it had enough engaging aspects without being over stimulating.

Number Five - Sit-Me Up Floor Seat

Lampley used this starting around 4months. It was great to give her a safe place to sit and learn a new view on her little world.She could sit up to look around instead of laying on a mat or being held. I will say of all her toys she used this one for the least amount of time. Probably only from 4 months to 5.

Number Six - 4moms HighChair

Another item that was handed down from her big sister. It’s easy to clean, easy to use. It can adjust to different heights - so we can lower it to meet the dining room table but raise it to use at our kitchen counter.

Number Seven - Sleeping Suits

Lampley started rolling over a lot earlier than I expected. So we took her out of the swaddle and moved her to a sleep sack but she was not ready for that much freedom with her arms. Our doctor suggest the Merlin Sleep Suit, which at first I was against because it was awful for Jane Taylor, but for Lampley it worked great. When she was ready we moved her to the Nested Bean suit. We use that along with the Burts Bee’s sleep suit and they seem to work great.

Number Eight - Pacifier

I know there is lots of opinions around using a pacifier. We use them. With Lampley because she was so little when she was born the Tommee Tippee Pacifier was the smallest we could find for her. Now she loves it and we will watch her search for it in the middle of the night. I also love this pacifier clip for the car & stroller

Number Nine - Uppa Baby Vista Stroller

Whenever people ask me what stroller to get I always say the Uppa Baby Vista. It has literally grown with our family. We got it when Jane Taylor was born and use it all the time. I would put Lampley in the bassinet when she was younger and Jane Taylor could sit in the rumble seat. Now Lampley sits in the rumble seat and Jane Taylor rides on the piggy back. It is so easy to use and we love it.

Number Ten - Nail Trimmer

This is one tool that I can’t say enough about. I love using it for Lampley’s little finger nails and I don’t have to worry about hurting her whenever it is time to trim her nails.

Items we are still using from the Our Favorite Things: Newborn to 3month post:

Play Mat; Baby Bjorn carrier. The Rohm, Bottles & Bottle Warmer, Baby Bouncer, Portable Diaper Caddy

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Someone Needed the Rain

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

The other day we were outside with our neighbors when rain started to fall out of no where. The sun was shining, not a dark cloud that we could see, but still a rain shower appeared. It started it out small and we all expected it not to last long. But of course, the rain only came harder, even as the sun kept shining.

The moms kept on talking, trying to hold out as long as possible before surrendering to the rain and going inside. The kids ran from under the playset into the garage and back to the playset screaming at the top of their lungs attempting to stay dry.

At one point Jane Taylor looked at me and said “Hey Mom! Can you just turn off the rain?”

To which I replied, “No girl. Only God can do that.”

I don’t typically wake up hoping for rain. But I am sure there are people out there who do. I heard on a podcast once “Somewhere there is a bride praying for sunshine and a farmer praying for rain.” Because it is true, God sent the rain because someone needed it. Someone’s plants need the rain to grow, a kid wants a reason to wear their new rainboots, a teacher desperately needed an indoor recess to get caught up on some grading, or someone just needs a reason to rest a little more.

It is odd to think that someone would want a rainstorm over sunshine. In life it would be grand if every day, every situation, was presented with sunshine. But that’s not how life works. We have days filled with sunshine so plentiful it almost doesn’t feel real. And we have days filled with a downpour of rain that is so hard you can’t believe it’s real.

But there is joy in the rain. Sometimes you see it in the middle of the storm. Sometimes you can’t find it until the rainbow appears after it’s over. But it is there.

So the next time you wake up and are greeted with a rain shower instead of sunshine just remember, someone out there needed the rain.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” - Psalm 16:11

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You know what else someone needs…

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Simply enter below by completing the rafflecopter. You’ll receive one entry per completion. This giveaway is open to the U.S. and Canada only and runs until 7/6. Winner will be announced here. Good Luck!

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