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 →

Sleeping Through The Night: The SNOO Smart Bassinet (review)

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment
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Baby Sori is snug and well-rested!

Last week (March 2nd-March 9th) was National Sleep Awareness Week (not that we, as parents, need to be any more aware of the sleep that we are or are not getting). In honor of Sleep Awareness Week, I asked a good friend of mine, Qeyiana, who recently gave birth to her second child, if she would test out the SNOO Smart Bassinet, designed by renowned pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp, the patron saint behind the book The Happiest Baby On The Block. Continue reading →

The Truth About Self-Care

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ 2 Comments
Babydroppings
“And this teeny slice of the pie is Mommy’s free time.”

It’s been quite some time since I posted. Valerie and I optimistically took on this self-care challenge at the beginning of this year, hoping to lead by example and help parents (especially moms) everywhere learn how to prioritize their own health and well-being. I was so excited. I’ve been burning myself out trying to juggle school, the (multiple) sites I write for, my full-time job, my part-time job, planning an overseas trip, my kitchen renovation, and of course, my toddler.

In one organization that I’m affiliated with, they say that when you make a new commitment to something, what will inevitably start to happen in your life is that you will see all the things that no longer fit with who you want to be. It’s not that things are so wrong, it’s just that you’re seeing them in the light of the new determination that you’ve made. Continue reading →

You Can’t Afford NOT To Go

~ Allaya P. Cooks-Campbell ~ Leave a comment
Go on and take that bubble bath, already! Self care challenge #babydroppings
Go on and take that bubble bath, already!

Okay, folks. We’re almost one month into this self-care thing. How’s it going?

Yeah. I thought so. Me too.

It’s HARD to take care of yourself. It’s hard to prioritize your own care in a world that is constantly pulling on you in every direction. How can you afford to take the time to take care of yourself when you can barely hold it together at work? Continue reading →