We hope transitions to school and September schedules go well and that you continue to find helpful resources at My Little Buddha–we’ve got lots of good posts on starting preschool in the Library under Preschooler (which help for toddlers too!).

Please feel free to check in with us and we will keep you posted on our latest news. We are so grateful to share this time with you exploring the world of raising young kids.

As always, thanks for reading!

Each issue features a young animal on the cover, a simple story, a maze, some questions and answers and a matching game. Often there are cards to cut out of different animals. The square magazine is just right for small hands, and kids enjoy reading the pages over and over again.

The National Geographic Little Kids site is a bit thin on the magazine description. They’ve developed Little Kids for ages 3-6. We also subscribe to their National Geographic Kids magazine which is great for the early grade years.

butter LONDON’s colors are so good we have to pass them on.

And then we start talking about the Anti-Aging Mist. Spray that on and then dab on the oil–we are rejuvenated. We can walk to the kitchen and make breakfast for small children. We might even whip up french toast.

MVO products are organic, natural and well formulated. EWG lists their sunscreens as some of the best. The Anti-Aging Oil (we’ve graduated to the Anti-Aging Oil+) and Mist are our favorites, worth trying out their other products too.

rms beauty

Celebrity make-up artist Rose-Marie Swift created rms beauty and includes information about skincare as well as the ingredients in her organic, mineral products. A great line, really thought out and so easy to apply.

It’s official, we created a market and the products are here!

Today the questions for the safer sunscreen shopper concern application, scent and staying power: which is easy to apply and how white will it look, will my kids be okay with the smell, is it too slimy, and is it well mixed or will we notice that sometimes we get red faces even when reapplied in a timely manner?

We’ve learned these are personal questions best resolved by trial and error–we might love Badger and someone else finds it too white and cakey. Sometimes we dabble with new products, otherwise we stick to what’s become the usual. Our sunscreens of 2011 include California Baby lotion and stick, TruKid Sunny Days stick and Marie Veronique Kid Safe Screen, and we remain big fans of Epicuren Zinc Oxide Sunscreen SPF 20 for adult faces.

The SafeMama Sunscreen Cheat Sheet offers the easiest to use sunscreen lists and safer sunscreen information.

“[T]he mandatory crib standards will: (1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; (2) make mattress supports stronger; (3) make crib hardware more durable; and (4) make safety testing more rigorous.”

The rules start rolling out in June with crib manufacturers and retailers, and allow 2 years for compliance by child care centers, hotels and other facilities providing cribs:

“Effective June 2011, cribs manufactured, sold, or leased in the United States must comply with the new federal standards. Effective 24 months after the rule is published, child care facilities, such as family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, and places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, must have compliant cribs in their facilities.”

The CPSC believes that most drop side cribs are less safe than fixed side cribs and lists manufacturers issuing recalls and providing immobilizers for drop sides. They also created a Questions & Answers page to explain the regulations in more detail.

Safer cribs are a great thing, the only challenge will be reaching over the rail to get older babies and toddlers out of the cribs when the mattresses are at the lowest settings. Be careful of your lower back!

Encouraging women to “Speak Up When You’re Down”, PSI works with health care providers and states to create and support education and treatment programs. The PSI site is a great resource for women too, offering free live chats with an expert every week. We also find thoughtful insights and helpful links at the blog Postpartum Progress.

Part of the challenge with maternal depression is women may feel uncertain about asking for help, and friends and family may not realize when a mom needs support. Living in LA after the birth of one of my kids, I remember feeling particularly overwhelmed one day as I sat nursing the baby on the couch. I looked out the window to see Brooke Shields pushing a stroller past, smiling and laughing with a friend. In that moment I wanted to be her, outside on a sunny day, happy. Months later when Shields shared her experience with postpartum depression, which was happening right around the time she walked past my living room window, I thought about the unyielding emotional range of motherhood. And how much we can help each other by sharing our stories.

We prepare a fun fruit–berries, mangoes, kiwi–or a regular fruit in a new way–oranges cut and arranged, sliced bananas floating in milk with agave dripped on top. Thawed organic frozen fruit is also a big hit, like eating peaches before summer. We put the fruit in small dishes or bowls, or special dessert dishes if we have them, and leave them on the kitchen counter. After the kids finish dinner and clear their plates, they find their dessert and bring it to the table. Part of the excitement is not knowing what will be served and that the fruit is separated from their meal as dessert.

For toddlers and preschoolers, we might add a wheat-free flower cookie (Healthy Times Maple Arrowroot Cookies) or biscuit (Maple Teething Biscuits) some nights.

Rear Facing Car Seat Until Age 2: The AAP now recommends that children remain rear facing in car seats until 2 years old. The rear facing car seat protects a child’s head and neck from flying forward in a crash. Children are 75 percent less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in the rear facing position.

Booster Seat Until 4 feet 9 inches tall and 8-12 years old: Children under this height need to use a booster seat for the seat belt to fit properly across their lap and shoulder. For us, the booster update is the more challenging change as our school age kids have friends who don’t use boosters and they wonder why they must when others do not. We took out the tape measure to see how tall they are, then read the new AAP announcement with them and explained that we decided to follow the guidelines.

The AAP also recommends that children ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old, a concept we’re introducing now since 12 years old has been the much looked forward to demarcation line.

More helpful info on car seats: AAP Car Seat Guidelines and Healthier and Safer Car Seats.