5 Tips on Selecting a Pregnancy Photographer

For our expecting readers, below are five tips from award-winning pregnancy and family photographer Jennifer Loomis on how to make the best choices when selecting a pregnancy photographer:

1) Look for Experience. The photographer should either have extensive experience in or specialize in pregnancy photography, in order to obtain the most flattering poses for a pregnant woman’s body.

2) Consider Artistry and Personality. Finding someone whose work you love and whom you want to work with is key to capturing beautiful images of your pregnancy. Also look for redundant images on the artist’s website which indicates a lack of creative artistry.

3) Ask for Referrals. If you weren’t personally referred by someone who has used the photographer and can recommend his or her work, ask for several referrals to contact. These may be already posted on the photographer’s website.

4) Start to Finish. Ask if the photographer will be thoroughly involved in the editing and photo selection process; this represents about one half of your cost. The photographer should expertly guide you to the best and most unique photos, plus offer suggestions for cropping and finishes.

5) Get Technical. Ask if the photographer uses film or digital. Jennifer Loomis recommends film, dark room prints have a superior archival quality over digital prints. Film is more expensive, but the quality and longevity is worth it, so you can pass the images down through the generations.
© Jennifer Loomis 2009

(Jennifer Loomis also has a new book out with Hugo Kugiya from Sentient Publications called Portraits of Pregnancy: The Birth of a Mother ($24.95). It has more than 50 portraits and stories from women on their journey to becoming mothers. She is based in Seattle but also has studios in New York and San Francisco. You can see her work at www.jenniferloomis.com.)

Twenty Five Ways to Be the Best Mom Ever

I’m happy to share with you the following list as compiled by Dr. Sharon Fried Buchalter. She is a clinical psychologist, life coach, public speaker, hypnotherapist and author. Two of her books, Children are People Too and New Parents are People Too have received many honors and awards. To find out more about her, visit her site.

“Smart Plans, Strong Words, A Clear Voice”
Twenty Five Ways to Be the Best Mom Ever

1) Listen attentively.

2) Let your child know you are always there for them.

3) Constructively guide your child, but do not demand that they do things.

4) Be your child’s coach and mentor.

5) Cheer your child on, through thick and thin.

6) Treat your child with respect.

7) Compliment your child’s smallest achievement.

8) Spend time being a child with your child.

9) Don’t be too harsh or critical.

10) Teach your child to be all he can be without doing things for him. Instead, teach him how to do it for himself

11) Love your children for who they are, not just for who you want themto be.

12) Spend the moments of the day letting your children know they are special.

13) Treat your children as you would expect to be treated.

14) Cherish time together with your children.

15) Never deny your children the most precious gift- your time and love

16) Keep a journal. Don’t keep emotions pent up inside. Moms go through a lot of emotions - pour them into a journal or find another way of expression that works for you. Consider it a time when you can have an open conversation with yourself.

17) Take time to smell the roses- literally. Very often we, as mothers, get caught up in our daily routines of errands, play dates, classes, etc. Take a break once in a while and take your child for a spontaneous walk, smell the flowers in the garden, point out the birds and planes in the sky. This is a great opportunity to relax with your child, experience new things and break up your everyday routine.

18) Make sure your child knows that you are always there to listen to his thoughts or concerns. Children may not always open up right away, but if he knows you’re there for him, he will come to you when he is ready and needs you.

19) Make sure the lines of communication are open between you, your child and his teachers. Be aware of what is going on in his life and at school. The more you know, the better.

20) Take time for YOU! Make some time every week to do something for yourself- take a bubble bath, read a book, take a jog or a swim. Whatever you enjoy; do it!

21) As moms, it’s easy to lose our identity as a woman. Try to make time for yourself to take a long shower, do your make-up, or whatever it takes to make you feel good. Just because you’re a mom doesn’t mean you can’t also feel like a woman.

22) Plan a date night! Be sure to schedule alone time with your spouse. It’s easy to put our relationship on the back burner when we have so much to focus on with our kids. It is, however, very important to keep the spark alive. Focus on your rekindling your relationship and remember what made you fall in love with each other.

23) Don’t feel guilty about spending some alone time. You love your kids- that is what is important. As long as they are cared for (by your spouse, a trusted babysitter, a grandparent), then they are in good hands.

24) Relinquish some control and allow yourself to let loose when you have the time to do so. You deserve it. A relaxed mom is a happy mom!

25) Love your child unconditionally. We all get frustrated; we all have our good days and bad days as parents- it’s natural. But no matter what, be sure your child knows that you love them unconditionally.

Six Tips on Teaching Kids Responsibility

I’m lucky. My mom taught me the importance of personal responsibility (by words and actions) since I was a little girl. As a divorced mom of five kids, I saw how she took responsibility for holding our family together – often working a couple of jobs at a time without complaint. As such, I try to teach this important quality to my kids by example.

As such, I’m happy to be able to share the following six recommendations to instill responsibility in children from Rick D. Niece, Ph.D., author of The Side-Yard Superhero and president of the University of the Ozarks. You can learn more about Rick D. Niece, Ph.D. and his various works at www.RickNiece.com.

1. Build Work Ethic
When I was nine-years old, I took over a newspaper route, a route I kept until I entered college. I was proud to be a miniature entrepreneur. My 72 customers waited anxiously for me to deliver their daily newspaper. My customers depended upon me, and if I let them down, I let myself down. That newspaper route helped me grow into being a responsible adult with a strong work ethic.

2. Assign Household Chores
Responsibility can begin at an early age. Assign children routine tasks to complete around the house. The following chores involve nothing unreasonable or barbaric: make the bed; tidy the bedroom; carry out the trash; empty the dishwasher; mow the yard; rake leaves; dust, sweep, and mop (not mope).

3. Encourage Saving Money
When children earn money, insist they save some of it. The savings can be for short-term purchases like video games and clothing, or toward long-term goals like summer camp and college. When children save their own money, it gives the purchase special meaning.

4. Adopt a Pet
When something depends upon us, we become responsible. Pets—from goldfish to golden retrievers, turtles to gerbils— require regular and reliable maintenance. But lessons of responsibility are not
learned if Mom or Dad becomes the one who cares for a neglected pet.

5. Foster Reflective Thinking
The power of reflective thinking dates back to Socrates. The concept is a simple one: the more we think, the better we learn. Children make good decisions and bad decisions. As adults, we can help them think about why they did what they did, and how the consequences affect them and others.

6. Model Values
We are children’s role models. We are models of honesty and truthfulness, examples of ethical behavior and integrity. We are the superheroes of ordinary life, and our heroics are as powerful and protective as our fictional counterparts. We teach that dishonesty and deception have unpleasant consequences, that unacceptable behavior is unacceptable. But we cannot be worthy examples if we do not model proper values ourselves. Be diligent. Children are watching.

(Do you have any other practical guidelines in regards to teaching your kids to be personally responsible?)

Around the Web

Helpful Websites
-MommyandMe.com: If you belong to a Mom’s playgroup or are looking for one, you’ll enjoy this site which has a lot of tools that helps groups stay connected and organized for FREE. If you set up a playgroup on their site, you’ll get a custom playgroup area, private group message boards, an events calendar with RSVP, file and photo sharing, personal messaging and more.

Mother’s Day Giveaways:
-The Mother’s Day Giveaway-a-Day: What can I say? Parenting.com leads the way when it comes to giving mom’s special treats! They have over $21,000 in giveaways this month in honor of moms, so be sure to bookmark their page. (And I was happy with the $1,000+ in giveaway items that I had lined up for Mom in the City readers in May…oh well, everyone does what they can…)

-Mother’s Day Giveaway 2009: 5 Minutes for Mom also has a great series of mom-focused giveaways running until Saturday, May 9th.

-Mother’s Day Giveaways: Mom Central also has several great Mother’s Day giveaways every day until May 8th.

Special Offer:
-ZeroWater Discount: I shared about ZeroWater on the Nine More Great Green Products post. Readers can download a discount coupon online to get $10 off at retail by going to www.zerowater.com/Shop/ and click on the promotion tab.

Kumon Books Are Innovative and Educational

As a mom, I’m constantly looking for fun and different ways to introduce learning skills to my two sons (ages 2 and 5). Recently, Kumon Publishing sent me several of their workbooks to review. (I was already familiar with the Kumon name, because I was familiar with their parent company’s popular after-school math and reading programs.)

I was sent three different sets of books (for ages 2 and up; ages 2-4; and ages 4-6). The workbooks are based on the Kumon Method, where educational concepts are introduced in a logical step-by-step approach that allows children to build on skill sets. The workbooks focus on math, reading and other basic skills (i.e. cutting, folding paper, coloring, etc.).

I like that the books are very sturdy – which was especially helpful when my toddler and preschooler were trying to grab them away from one another! The graphics are also bright and colorful. I also like how each workbook builds on the skill sets that each kid already has. Overall, the kids really enjoyed the workbooks. I know, because my “technique” is to leave educational books lying around in view of the kids. That way, they have access to them whenever they like. The boys constantly kept asking to do the activities in the various books.

In any event, if you have kids ages 2-7, you should visit their website www.kumonbooks.com for more information and to see what’s offered. (FYI: They also publish a Spanish-language workbook series of 8 titles.)