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I never understood the importance of kick counting until I was introduced to the kickTrak kick counter. Doing a little research I found that an estimate of 26,000 stillbirths occur every year in the US. That was very disheartening to read. However, decreased fetal movement is associated with stillbirth as well as preterm labor and undetected growth problems. If a mother-to-be is able to keep a tab on her baby’s movement patterns, she can alert her healthcare provider of potential problems if she notices any drastic changes. Dr. Diep Nguyen, OB/GYN and kick tracking advocate, is dedicated to drastically reducing the number of yearly stillbirths which is why she has created the kickTrak kick counter.

Starting at 24-28 weeks into pregnancy, the kickTrak kick counter enables moms-to-be to document her baby’s kicks, turns, twists, swishes, jabs and rolls in daily sessions by inputing each movement as she feels them. Each session records ten movements. After the tenth movement is recorded, the kickTrak kick counter plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Healthy babies generally move ten times in less than two hours, with most completing ten movements in less than 30 minutes. Should mom-to-be notice any significant changes in her baby’s movements, she can alert her healthcare provider. I think every mom-to-be should have her very own kickTrak to support the well being of her baby. The device is affordable and very simple to use. I was fortunate enough to have a very active baby, so I completed my kickTrak sessions with ease!

To learn more about stillbirth prevention, visit BabyKick Alliance founded by Dr. Nguyen as well!

The winner of this giveaway is announced at the bottom of this post.

When it comes to internet passwords, what are your methods for keeping track of them? Sometimes it’s easy to use the same password for each account that you own. At times that is impossible. Sometimes your password won’t pass the security requirements because of repetitive characters, not enough characters, or not enough numbers. The list goes on. How frustrating is that? I tend to get out of these battles by tossing x’s in various spots of my passwords, but then this makes them hard to remember…

Quite a few websites provide garbled passwords when you sign up for accounts that you are unable to change. As of now, I still haven’t figured out how to change my StumbleUpon password. For a while I kept clicking “forgot password”. The same went for my domain registrar accounts. I wrote these passwords down on scraps and sticky notes, but of course I kept losing them each time I cleaned up my workspace.

The Internet Password Organizer is a useful way to safely and securely store all of your passwords. 122 reinforced tabbed pages provide instant access to login credentials. Each page is set up kind of like an address book but provides space to record web page, username, password, and notes. I like to use my Internet Password Organizer primarily to record my domain registrar and hosting accounts as well as affiliate program logins. As of late I’ve been forgetting my usernames to accounts since some of my account usernames were also created randomly. So Internet Password Organizer has helped me out with remembering my usernames as well.

Towards the back of the Internet Password Organizer there’s a bonus section that provides space for writing down internet service provider and home network information as well as software license information and additional notes pertaining to your computer. It would have helped if I had this book when I set up my mother’s home wireless network a few years ago. I wrote the details down on a piece of paper and now I don’t remember the network password needed to login. The password is stored on my laptop but if I get a new laptop or someone else needed to use their laptop in her house, they won’t be able to since I forgot the password. Eventually I’m going to have to reconfigure everything and this time write the password down in my Internet Password Organizer.

Interested in what the inside of an Internet Password Organizer looks like? Take a look inside. As a safety precaution I suggest that Internet Password Organizer be locked up in the home office for safe keeping.

April is National Autism Awareness Month. In honor of National Autism Awareness Month, Innovention Lab, Inc. will be donating $1 to Autism Speaks for each Internet Password Organizer purchased from internetpasswordorganizer.com. For every thousand books sold Innovention Lab, Inc will also donate an additional $1,000.

GIVEAWAY!: I have ONE (1) Internet Password Organizer up for grabs! Leave a comment on this post telling me how you and/or your family will benefit from using Internet Password Organizer. The giveaway will end and comments will be closed on April 24th 27th 2008 at 7PM CST.

And the winner is…

#42 Krista! Congratulations Krista! We’ll be getting in contact with you shortly. Thank you everyone for entering our giveaway! If you’d like to be included in future giveaways here on Mommy Daddy Blog, be sure to subscribe to our feed!

I remember reading on a mother’s blog about how she had taken her child to the doctor for a checkup. Since her child was not sick, she sat on the side designated for well patients in the waiting room. Shortly after, two women brought in a sick child and sat on the side designated for well patients. The sick child, who didn’t even belong in the well patient area, threw up all over the area and the women accompanying the sick child didn’t even attempt to clean up the mess. (If you were the mom who blogged about this, let me know!) Makes you think twice about sitting in the doctor’s office, doesn’t it?

I know that a lot of moms pack Lysol Disinfecting Wipes in their purses and diaper bags for this very reason. Lysol has made their Disinfecting Wipes even better. They are now made with Micro-Lock fibers, making them 50% stronger than leading disinfecting wipes. They can even tackle baked on grease. This is perfect for those who use them for quick cleaning jobs in the kitchen like I do.

In addition to Lysol improving their disinfecting wipes, they have come out with a new product, Lysol To Go Disinfectant Spray. Being the germaphobe that I am, I keep a tube in my purse along with hand sanitizer and everything but a raft. Lysol To Go is perfect for those on the go. Lysol To Go can be used on changing tables, play areas, exercise equipment, public telephones, public computers, toilet areas, faucets, sink areas, door knobs, light switches, and table tops. Of course the list can go on! Keep a tube in a purse, diaper bag, gym bag, or even coat pocket! For those wondering about the smell, Lysol to Go comes in a one of my favorite scents, Crisp Linen. It smells really good and isn’t overpowering!

Visit here to print out coupons for Lysol products!

Spring is here and it’s about time to start shopping for for the warmer days ahead. San Diego Hat Co. should be one of the stores on your shopping list! San Diego Hat Co. specializes in unique adult and children’s hats and accessories for all seasons that are sure to turn heads when worn! Take the children’s hats for example, you will find yourself wanting them all!

Isn’t this the cutest little crocheted train hat? It was hand crocheted by Linda Day of DayLee Designs. She works a small bead into her pattern in honor of her mother who taught her how to crochet. She is truly a talented designer. I love crocheted hats and I truly appreciate handmade items. DayLee Designs are exclusively available to San Diego Hat Co.. Jayden will be rocking his little train hat next Spring or sooner if we go on a warm vacation. He is going to be a little hottie! It’s mother’s instinct ;-).

GIVEAWAY!: You can win this cute sunflower hat for an infant GIRL in a size 6-12 Months! Just visit San Diego Hat Co. and comment here telling me what your favorite product is. Those who don’t follow the rules will be disqualified. A winner will be chosen using random.org on April 10th, 2008 5PM CST.

Comments are now closed and winners have been announced! Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter!

In the prenatal months, a baby’s brain is at its most receptive stage of learning. This would explain why pregnant women are constantly told to talk to, sing to, and play music to their bellies. When hearing the same sounds outside of the womb, babies tend to react to them positively. The sounds that they’ve heard inside of the womb help them relax once exposed to the world outside.

Daddy and I talk to my belly and in addition we use a product called BabyPlus. The BabyPlus is a device that introduces patterns of sound to a prenatal child. The BabyPlus is programmed with 16 one hour lessons that resemble the rhythm of a heart beating, a language that a baby recognizes best. The rhythms gradually increase when advancing to each new lesson. It is recommended that pregnant women start BabyPlus lessons at 18 weeks. At 18 weeks a mother should start on lesson one and should play each lesson for one hour twice a day for 7 days. After an hour has passed, BabyPlus will cut off automatically. BabyPlus comes with a chart which lists allow you to record your week of pregnancy, the day and times you had your lessons, and the baby’s response to the lessons. There is also a chart that tells you how many days to use BabyPlus according to the week of pregnancy you are in. So if you are past 18 weeks, you can still use BabyPlus!

Studies have shown that babies that have been exposed to BabyPlus prenatal curriculum are born more relaxed and alert. They are more responsive, interactive, and are ready to start observing the environment around them. Parents who have used BabyPlus have reported that their babies nurse more readily and self-soothe more easily. As they grow older they demonstrate earlier developmental milestones, have longer attention spans, and improved school readiness. Check out what parents have to say about BabyPlus.

BabyPlus can be compared to a prenatal vitamin. Prenatal vitamins encourage strong physical development and BabyPlus encourages strong, cognitive development. This being said, don’t expect BabyPlus to turn your baby into a genius; BabyPlus just simply strengthens the foundation for learning.

I started using BabyPlus at 24 weeks and I will admit to missing quite a few days due to being overwhelmed with business and tasks at home. Since I threw my BabyPlus schedule off so bad, I decided to start over because I wanted to do it RIGHT. I found that the best time to do BabyPlus lessons are while doing housework or exercising, that way the beating sounds are less distracting. It is said that babies inside of the womb may react while BabyPlus lessons are in session. Some babies will move to the rhythm of the beats and some may settle down as if they are observing the sounds. When I use BabyPlus, I don’t notice a significant change in Jayden’s movements. Jayden’s really frisky, so he twists and turns during BabyPlus lessons as he would when lessons aren’t in session.

This is my experience with BabyPlus thus far. I still have 6 weeks of pregnancy and 10 BabyPlus lessons to go. I don’t know if we’ll be able to determine the effect, if any, BabyPlus has on Jayden since he is our first child and we have nothing to compare it to. But of course we’ll be documenting all of Jayden’s developments here on Mommy Daddy Blog. So we’ll see!