Lucie was a fussy baby. I’m convinced she had colic along with her reflux. Nathan on the other hand wasn’t fussy, but his reflux was a hundred times worse. He could projectile vomit and did large spit ups 30 to 40 times a day. (I’m not exaggerating – we kept track for the doctors.)

One of the things I tried for Nathan’s reflux, but not Lucie’s colic was gripe water which is recommended for baby gas, along with colic. I gave up on it when I used it on Nathan since it didn’t help with reflux. However, I’m not sure why I never tried it with Lucie. Maybe if I had know about Colic Calm, I would have given it a try.

Colic Calm is a homeopathic gripe water that calms a fussy baby who has gas, colic, tummy pain, and they claim even even reflux. They also recommend it for teething.

Colic Calm gripe water contains NO alcohol, sugar, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), simethicone (another thing I tried), herbal oils or extracts, citric acid, or artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors. Also, there is NO wheat, gluten, soy, starch or dairy in our formula, which is very important when it comes to allergies.

The Best Book for the Fussy Baby’s Parents

I highly recommend The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer by Harvey Karp, MD. He gives parents strategies like swaddling, jiggling, holding sideways, swinging, and using white noise.

The Happiest Baby on the Block was a lifesaver for me. And I hope you find that with Colic Calm gripe water and Dr. Karp’s techniques you’ll have a very happy baby soon.

From Lobster Press comes Come on, Mom! It features 75 activities mothers and daughters can do together like making perfume or bread-dough clay to playing radio reporter or playing goofy golf. Each activity includes easy-to-follow instructions and a materials list if supplies are needed. This girls-only guide will create memories that will last. For girls ages 3 to 9 and their moms.

Not to fear, there’s a father/son version, too – Come on, Dad!: 75 Things for Fathers and Sons to Do Together. For boys ages 3 to 9 and their dads, sample activities include Personal Pizzas, Paper Air Force, Time Capsule, Family Story Collection, Math Olympics, Obstacle Race, Recycled City, Personal Place Mats, and Backyard Camp Out.

Not only are these books great for parents, they’ll be helpful for new stepparents, volunteers in big brother/big sister type programs, and babysitters.

I like how these books have their share of pretend play, physical activity, mental activities, and cooking. Speaking of cooking, another great activities to do with your kids on your next camping trip is to make Campfire Pies. Grilling dessert over the campfire? Sounds like wholesome family fun.

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Lobster Press is holding a snack contest to promote their book, YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition. This would be a great summer project to do indoors when it’s too hot outside to play. To enter just click here to email them your ultimate healthy “YUM SUMMER SNACK” idea for the chance to win a free copy of YUM and four other Lobster Press books of your choice!

You’ll need to include your name, age, and mailing address along with the description of your healthy snack. Include any special ingredients and preparation instructions, too. Also, you’ll need to tell the folks at Lobster Press why your snack rules!

The winning “YUM SUMMER SNACK” idea will be posted on the Lobster Press website and on the Lobster Press Blog.

Also, children will need their parents’ permission before submitting their entry! Contest is open to Canadian and U.S. residents up to age 18. No purchase required. One grand prize winner will be drawn at random from all entries received and contacted by email to chose the books in their prize pack. Limit one entry per person.

Please email Lobster Press if you have any questions.

More from Lobster Press

• Click here for some sample recipes from the book. (It’s a PDF file, so you’ll need Adobe Reader to view.)
• Read a review of YUM: Your Ultimate Manual for Good Nutrition on the Lobster Press blog – Feature: Delicious Summers with Healthy Meals.
• Summer Reading Suggestions from Lobster Press

Did you know that kids’ TV viewing spikes by 150% in the summer? Goodness knows my children’s has even though they are also busy with summer camps, karate, baseball, camping trips, sleep overs, and summer reading programs.

To combat the spike in TV viewing, the Smart Television Alliance has just announced the OutSmart the Summer Spike! campaign to raise awareness about the need for busy parents and caregivers to make smart viewing choices and to use technology to control what their children watch.

The Smart Television Alliance believes that if you’re in control of what’s on the screen, you can actually bring educational time to a long summer outside of the classroom. How do you go about doing this? First, start is by signing a petition to TV producers demanding more educational and age-appropriate programming for kids.

Also, look for Smart Television Alliance’s Summer TV Tips blog posts to find out how you can use your kids’ favorite shows as inspiration for learning, while the show is on, and after it’s over. (And while you’re over there, check out the post I wrote for them – Remote Control: It’s O.K., Mom Said We Can Watch TV.)

If you don’t feel like going to the Smart Television Alliance’s blog ever day, you can sign up for Smart News to get tips and other great information sent right to you.

The reason I started this blog was to promote family activities through books and cooking. But in reality it was about finding ways to bond with your children and to create family memories that they would cherish as they got older. Doing it with books and food was just one way I like to do that with my family.

However, there are other activities, like taking trips together. So as I prepare for another weekend of camping hell, I repeat what my husband said to me the other day, “Camping is not about you having a good time. It’s about creating memories for the children.”

And it’s true. Some of the fondest memories I have with my parents and sister are our vacations to the Florida Keys, and the road trips my mom took us on to Virginia and Montreal.

Memories and bonding – could your family use some? Well, maybe it’s time to think about taking a family vacation. Now I know money is tight. However, Beaches Resorts is holding a WonderFALL Celebration during the off-peak season months of September and October. Not only do you get to enjoy everything Beaches offers year-round, but you can SAVE up to 45% off published rates and get two Nights Free on stays of seven nights or more. 

Yes, I know the kids will be back in school. But you can take school work with you. After all, the first month or two of school is a refresher course on all the things the kids forgot over the summer. (This is what my son’s teachers told me. And another reason to get your kids to read, read, read this summer.) You have nothing to lose – only memories to gain.

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