Five Pieces of Technology That I Rely On As a Parent

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

Five Tech Hacks That Make Parenting A Little Easier | babydroppings

Every parent in every generation has a different set of tools that they rely upon, and well, technology hasn’t always been kind parents in the 21st-century. Because of the prevalence that screens and other advances have in our lives, we’ve become arguably more disconnected from each other than ever before. However, I can’t pretend that it also hasn’t made my life easier in a lot of really small ways. I catch myself using the same little hacks over and over again to make life a bit more manageable, and they’ve become nearly indispensable in the way I raise my kids. So I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my top five tech-hacks that make parenting a tiny bit easier.

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Peace of Mind with Cord Blood Registry

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

I love a good sale, especially when it’s on something that my family really, really needs. So I had to pop online to share the amazing offer that’s going on for one of my favorite businesses, Cord Blood Registry.

Cord Blood Registry, or CBR, has been around for quite some time. They’re the oldest and most respected cord blood banking system around, with over 800,000 samples stored. When I had Phoenix, almost four years ago, they were really the only show in town. I had never heard of cord blood banking before, and once I understood what it was, I knew it was something I wanted to do for my newborn baby.

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My Daughter Made an Asshole Out of Me

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment
My Daughter Made an Asshole Out of Me | babydroppings
Photo courtesy of Damany Campbell Photography.

I am a naturally affectionate person, and I love my kids like you wouldn’t believe. I was the baby of my family—the youngest out of all my grandmother’s grandchildren—so I never grew up around really little kids (and definitely wasn’t in charge of caring for any of them). So when I had my daughter I was over the moon with affection and oxytocin. I wanted to snuggle her non-stop and smell her little baby head. I knew I would be firm, but gentle. I would listen to her. I would be compassionate and engaged.

As the saying goes…everyone’s a great parent until they have kids.

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Honestly, I’d Rather Starve Than Cook

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

Phoenix & Damany Cooking | babydroppings

Anyone who knows me knows that I do not cook. I just don’t. It’s ironic, really, because for a really really really long time I wanted to open a restaurant. I love and appreciate food, I really do. I’m just…lazy. Plus, I married someone who cooks really well, and if I look pathetic enough, he’ll mostly give in and feed me. Continue reading →

For the Love of All That Is Good, Keep Your Sick Kid at Home

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

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Mommy. Mommy. My head hurts. My knee hurts. My elbow. Mommy. I’m so sorry, Mommy. I don’t feel good. Mommy, it hurrrtttts! No, Mommy, I don’t want it! No, ohhh, my diaper…Mommy.

This has been our soundtrack. For weeks. Not days, weeks. Our little Phoenix came down with the flu a week after the New Year. Fine, we said. She’ll get sick. That’s what happens in school. You know little kids and their germs, right? I even blamed myself, because I had been unsure about whether to get her the flu shot due to all the controversy and some rather vehement opinions from the grandparents.

After two weeks at home, she was excited to go back to school, see her teachers and friends, and get back into her routine. For six days. By the end of the sixth day, she was running a temperature, and the next morning, we were back at the pediatrician. This time, the likely diagnosis is strep. Continue reading →

The 2018 New York Baby Show (Sponsored) (Guest)

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

NYBS 2018 | babydroppings

Okay, okay. I don’t exactly have a baby anymore–Phoenix is walking, talking and even potty training! That’s why I reached out to my friend Whitney and her lovely family to stop by the New York Baby Show. They’re perfectly adorable and were in the market for all the latest and greatest baby must-haves for their eight-month-old daughter.

Buyer’s remorse? It happens to the best of us, especially for new parents. You have that rabbit hole of the internet, your parents, your friends and even strangers giving you advice on how to raise your child. As a first time mom, I usually second guess if I have bought the right car seat, if there’s a better way to get her to sleep or if the food my baby is eating is the healthiest. This year’s New York Baby Show was the best place to get the scoop on the in’s and out’s of baby gear. Continue reading →

New York Baby Show 2018

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

New York Baby Show | babydroppings

So it’s that time of year again! If you’re an expecting parent and you’re anywhere in the greater NYC area, the @NewYorkBabyShow is the place to get the inside scoop on all the coolest gear for your little ones. You’d be shocked at how techy the baby gear can get–there’s new innovations in bottle design, space-age fabric for carriers, car seats that talk to you via a smartphone app, and strollers that charge your phone. Continue reading →

Diana

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

Image courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles.

I’m a mom now, so I could start this letter by saying how I have three little girls and how it’s so important for girls to see powerful female characters and all that. But even though that’s important, that’s not what I want to say. This letter is from me.

Growing up I knew about Wonder Woman. I just didn’t really care about Wonder Woman. She was beautiful and awesome, but constantly overshadowed by characters like Batman and Superman. She didn’t really seem to have her own thing going on–if I ever saw her, it was as a member of the Justice League, a pretty chauffeur in an invisible jet. She never saved the day. She wasn’t a crunch player. She wasn’t an MVP. She was a token female and I figured she had to be dating someone or they wouldn’t have let her in. The original live action Wonder Woman from the 1974 film, Lynda Carter, was pretty awesome, but she still didn’t inspire me. She was so dainty. Lynda Carter was unbelievably refined and beautiful, and I had skinned knees and oversized Pokémon t-shirts. Unfortunately, she just seemed like another standard of femaleness that I wouldn’t hit. Continue reading →

Happy Freakin’ Mother’s Day

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and I had no expectations. My husband and I have been arguing, money has been tight, and the schedule has been packed. I felt that there was no point in getting my hopes up that “it would be my day.” Being that my kid isn’t even two, I doubted I’d even get so much recognition as a macaroni necklace.

Mother’s Day is hard for all moms. It sucks to have people tell you that it’s all about you, when really, as soon as they say “Happy Mother’s Day” and throw their last-minute, everything-else-was-sold-out gift at you, they’re off the hook and it’s back to the same grind that you do every freaking day. It’s especially hard when your own mom isn’t around anymore. For the last nine years, Mother’s Day has been more about what I didn’t have than what I did. Continue reading →