An Announcement and a Giveaway via What To Expect- CLOSED

Congrats to our winner Diana C who said... 

I am emailing you right now! Please reply back quickly!!

photo credit: Meghan MacAskill Photography

If you missed my announcement on Facebook last week, I thought I'd share it here too! Our family is expecting a new addition this Fall. I am about 14 weeks along now and am feeling much less exhausted, so that is awesome. I am fortunate and don't get sick when I am pregnant, just tired! We are so excited about this new adventure for our family.

As a way to celebrate our announcement, we are partnering with WhattoExpect.com this week to share a special giveaway with you!

When I have been pregnant, especially during my first pregnancy, I was on What to Expect's website daily. Since then (4+ years ago) their site has been redesigned and it is chock full of even more resources. Up until recently I didn't realize that in addition to sharing loads of "what to expect when you're expecting" resources, it also shares information for parents of toddlers... my favorite sort of information right now!

Since there is almost a three year age gap between my kids, I have forgotten a lot about "what to expect" from toddlers. The website is a great place for reminders.

A few weeks ago What to Expect sent me a box full of books. The box contained three awesome ones:

1. What To Expect When You're Expecting
2. What To Expect The First Year
3. What To Expect The Second Year

1. What To Expect When You're Expecting is a book that I typically give brand new moms when I find out they are expecting (along with a some cute unisex onesies or bath hoodies). It sat on my bedside table for my entire first pregnancy and I got it out again with my second pregnancy. I'm glad to have a brand new one the third time around. 🙂 

This book answers tons of pregnancy questions and goes month by month through your pregnancy talking about what to expect from your baby, your body, and your doctor. It also covers topics that you might be wondering about. Each of my pregnancies has been entirely different, so I have loved this book because it shares so many different experiences. Reading through the first few chapters always makes me sooo grateful that I don't get morning sickness. I feel so bad for those of you that do!

This book also talks about life after the baby arrives... which is perfect, because as a new mom I kind of wanted to know what to expect. Now that I'm expecting again I need the book to remind me about what to expect too... I can barely remember anything! Does that happen to anyone else?

2. What To Expect The First Year goes month by month through your baby's first year of life. I loved this book when my son was born and totally forgot to pull it out the second time around. I have loved going back through it and wish I would've had it out as a reference this past year. Parents always talk about how there isn't a manual for how to be a parent... but this book comes pretty close in that regard for the first year. Any section regarding how to get your baby to sleep was utilized a lot in my book! I am also terrible at remembering first aid... and 1yr olds fall a lot as they start moving (at least mine do), so I love the first aid reminders and resuscitation techniques for babies and children. I haven't had to do infant CPR ever, but I am terrified that I will forget what to do if it happens. In addition to getting re-certified often, I like having this section of the book readily available for if I ever need it!

3. What To Expect The Second Year- This book is new to me and I LOVE IT! I have probably spent more time with this book in the past few weeks than any of the others above. My toddler has been experiencing a whole mess of emotions lately and there have been moments when I have held her and cried because I just haven't known what to do!

I love new parenting tools and instead of going month by month through your toddler's second year, this book is broken down into different topics based on typical things that you need to know about your  

child during ages 12 months-24 months. Sections cover topics like feeding, growth, body care, movement, sleeping, behavior, talking, socializing, developmental disabilities, traveling, and safety.

The section I have spent the most time in has been the one about behavior. I love the simple tips and strategies. There is a wonderful section on taming tantrums, which goes along perfectly with my recent Toddler Tantrums- Ways to Deal post. It is nice to realize that the challenges my daughter is having are normal and that I am actually responding to her in the right way.

I also love the simple reminders of ways to head off tantrums and catch them before they happen. These are a few of my favorite suggestions from the book (summarized)...

1) Keep a regular schedule

2) Don't let your toddler get overtired

3) Say "no" only when you have to 

4) Provide choice (we do this all the time and it works so well!)

5) Teach your child to vent and give them the words

6) Emphasize your child's good behavior

(What To Expect the Second Year by Heidi Murkoff,  p235-236)

So, now that you know more about these fabulous books, I am excited to share them with you! One lucky reader will win all three books!

1. What To Expect When You're Expecting
2. What To Expect The First Year
3. What To Expect The Second Year

If you don't win the books then you can still head on over to WhattoExpect.com and enjoy loads of free resources! Or stop by their Facebook or Twitter page and follow them.

Here's how you enter the giveaway:

Simply add a comment stating that you did each of the following:

(Please include your email address with each entry)

1. Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment with your email address below.

** Please remember to leave your email address with your entry. That is mandatory to enter into the giveaway.

2. Additional Entries:

- Follow Toddler Approved on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Pinterest (if you don't already)

- Follow What to Expect on Twitter and Facebook 

- Share your favorite article from over at WhattoExpect.com and post the link in your comment.

- Share this giveaway post on your blog, Twitter, Google+, or Pinterest page and then leave a comment to let us know.

- Let us know one thing you are hoping to learn from these books.

- Make a guess about whether I am having a boy or a girl and tell me your favorite baby name!

*** Please remember to leave a comment for each additional entry so that we can make sure to count it.

Entry Guidelines:

- This giveaway is open for entry from Monday, April 30th to Tuesday, May 8th at 11:59pm (PST).

- The random entry will be drawn on May 9th and announced on this post. I will notify the winner via email.

- The winner will need to reply to me within 72 hours of this announcement/email. If there is no response, a new winner will be drawn.

- See our Official Giveaway Rules for complete guidelines.

Thanks for celebrating this fun news with our family!

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You are providing your information to Toddler Approved and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for Toddler Approved.   

Disclaimer: The books reviewed in this post were given to me for free by WhattoExpect.com. All posts reflect my personal opinion and endorsement and are not swayed by compensation and/or free products. Please note that this post reflects my opinion and you might not share that same opinion.

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By the way, it is Screen Free Week this week. We are teaming up with Creative with Kids and Hands On: As We Grow to have screen free week together. We are each taking a few days off of blogging to be completely screen free and then we are setting goals to minimize our screen time on the other days. I will be completely offline on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Will you be participating in Screen Free week? How?