Welcome to the Smart Mommies March edition! In every edition of the smart mommies newsletter, we cover one of the following categories: Health and Wellbeing, Environmental Issues, Crafts and Literacy, for pregnant moms, mothers who have babies, mothers who have toddlers, mothers who have preschoolers, and mothers of kids ages 5-12. We also have a Reader's Smart Mommy Quote Of The Month. If you have a quote or a tip you'd like to include in an upcoming adition, please send it to: smart.mommies@gmail.com.

Please enjoy this month's newsletter and have a great day, Mommies!!

Good health is important for both children AND parents. I know it is so easy to get in the habit of giving your kids easy food that is not always so healthy or to forget about your own nutrition when worrying about what your kids are eating, but it can be easy and fun to eat nutritiously in your home if you learn to do it right!

For Pregnant Moms

It is important to eat healthy while you are pregnant- eat lots of fruits and vegetables and stay away from caffeine, sugar, and processed foods. http://www.babyfit.com/ is a really great, free website that hosts a community of pregnant ladies working to be healthy moms with healthy babies. the site has healthy recipes, fitness programs, message boards, groups, all kinds of awesome stuff!

Babies

If you are breastfeeding, it is important to eat healthy, just like you did when you were pregnant. There are a few important things to keep in mind: don't just listen to what other people tell you, listen to your body. You need to drink about 2-3 litres of water a day while you are breastfeeding (you should be drinking about 2 litres, anyway, believe it or not!), and don't bother with the milk. People tend to think they need to consume a lot of dairy while breastfeeding, but this is a myth, it is water that you need a lot of, dairy is just extra fat. If you do love dairy, eat the very low fat versions, and limit your servings to 1-2 per day. http://www.babyfit.com/ has great stuff for new mommies, not just pregnant ones, so it is not too late to check it out.

Toddlers

Sometimes it can be tricky with toddlers to get them to eat their vegetables!! Now that they are bigger and can eat a variety of foods, sometimes they don't want to eat the healthy stuff- they realize there are other options and get picky!! What ever you do, don't back down. Don't let food become a power struggle, especially at this age, because if you let them win now, they will keep fighting you as thy age. Set down the law to make nutritous meals and snacks, and don't make exeptions. Fruits are a good, healthy choice for toddlers- apples, oranges and bananas are great hits, just make sure you caut them into pieces that are managable but not to small that they may inhale them. Sweet potatoes are always a good standby. They are one of the most nutritious foods in nature and they are easy to make. Your child probably ate sweet potatoes as a baby, and believe it or not, will still like them now if he liked them then. To make a mashed sweet potato, you can microwave a sweet potato on a microwavable plate for 5 minutes, then flip it over and microwave for 8 minutes. take it out, let it cool to the touch, cut it open lengthwise, scoop out the mushy insides into a bowl and msh them up more with a potsto masher if you need to. You can add a little butter or margarine and some cinnamon and splenda if you want, but most kids will eat them without all that stuff added.

Preschoolers

Having trouble finding time to exercise? When your kids are preschool age, you can work out with them! Some fun exercises you can do together? Put on the music and boogie down with your kid- really shake it for half an hour, they will love that you are playing with them and you will get a mean 30 minutes of cardio. Some other ideas? How about a game of tag? If it is nice outside, go out and play soccer. Watch what your kid likes to do and do it with them! Does your preschooler like to run around the house? Run with him! Chase him around or get him to chase you. There are also lots of exercise videos out there that you can do with your preschooler, some even designed for kids. Check out your local library for their dvd titles.

Children Ages 5-12

If you are having trouble getting your kid to eat their veggies, try roasting them, pureeing them and putting them into other foods. No, seriously, it works!! The book, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. You can find some of her recipes online, such as Macaroni and cheese with Cauliflower at http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/recipes/200710/food_20071008_mac.jhtml

Also, when it comes to your kids' health, a good site to bookmark is http://www.kidshealth.org/, it is easy to use and covers a wide range of issues from general health to behavior problems to first aid.

Have the cutest baby in the world? Need to show him or her off? Enter his or her picture in the Baby Stages Pampers Photo Contest at: http://photocontest.babystages.ca/en/

"Don't worry right now about being firm with your kids. Be the parent. Take that toy away if you need to. I quizzed my 16-year old the other day, and he couldn't remember anything that I did when he was little that I have felt guilty about for years!" -Sue, mom of 2 grown children and 1 teen