Blog - Happy Little Tadpole

Posted on November 23, 2021November 23, 2021 by Sarah Conley — Leave a comment

Top 12 Tummy Time Toys by a New Mom

I had my baby last Spring, and I was one of those pregnant people that was asking people, “Do newborns really need toys?” And the answer is yes, yes they do. Newborns need specific types of toys that help them get engaged and develop their senses. One of the skills babies have to work on is tummy time, which is why it’s so helpful to have a couple strong tummy time toys to help your baby enjoy tummy time as much as possible.

Some babies really don’t like tummy time, and others don’t mind it so much. Regardless, supplying your baby with some fun, interactive tummy time toys will help you remember to do tummy time a few times each day, and will make it more fun for both you and baby!

In this article, I’m going to share my favorite tummy time toys separated by toy type. I’ll share my favorite tummy time mirrors, toys and books, activity mats, and pillows. First, I list my favorite choice for the category, then 1-3 other great options to consider, dependent on your preferences. Feel free to skip around to the tummy time toys that you’re most interested through the linked below. Afterwards, I’ll share some tips to help as well.

Posted on March 17, 2021November 23, 2021 by Sarah Conley — 7 Comments

Toddler Dress Up Clothes: Top Rated for 2021

Pretend play toys and dress up encourage children to use their imagination. Costumes facilitate children to take on new roles as a doctor, or a princess, or a superhero, or a king of the volcano lands. Dressing up in costumes gives children an outlet to use their imaginations, gain confidence, build social skills, as well as other skills. I believe that nurturing creativity in children will help them live an inspired life. In this article, we share a variety of top-rated pretend play dress-up costumes that encourage children to use their imaginations. Read on to see our favorite toddler dress–up costumes, divided into four different categories: career, princess, superhero, and open-ended.

2020 Update: In an effort to share only the highest-rated children’s costumes, we have reviewed the items shared in this post on January 27 2020 to make sure we are sharing only the highest-rated pretend play costumes and gear with you. We added a few new items as well.

Posted on July 13, 2020July 13, 2020 by Sarah Conley — 14 Comments

9 Pregnancy Books: Reviewed by a First Time Mom

As a new first-time mom, I aspired to consume as much pregnancy knowledge as I could from the moment I found out I was expecting. I wanted to do everything I could to help my baby develop properly and have a positive birth experience that ends with a healthy little one. And thats exactly what I did. I write this article now as a new mom to a happy, healthy baby girl.

In this article, I will share a review of the 9 pregnancy books I read during my pregnancy. I list the books in order from the book that was most helpful to least helpful to me. I hope that this list of best and worst pregnancy books will help other first-time moms find helpful pregnancy books. It may surprise you to learn that some of the most popular pregnancy books were actually my least favorite reads. For each book below, I include a summary of what to expect within its pages, along with information about its layout, a peek inside the book, and what I liked or disliked about it.

Posted on February 16, 2020July 13, 2020 by Sarah Conley — 15 Comments

My Pregnancy First Trimester Recap

Hooray! I’m having a baby! My husband and I couldn’t be more excited for this unexpected and welcomed miracle. We are so excited to be on the journey towards parenthood.

I hesitated at first in sharing this more personal news, however, this is part of the reason why I started this website, Happy Little Tadpole, in the first place. I knew I wanted to be a mom, and that my life would change and things like buying gifts for little ones wouldn’t just be something I do for my niece and nephews, but something I do for my own children, the mom’s I befriend, my friend’s children, and so on. You can learn more about why I started Happy Little Tadpole and what it’s all about in this blog post: The Creation of Happy Little Tadpole

This blog post is about how I found out I was pregnant, and my experience through my first trimester. In it, I share when I first learned I was pregnant, when my husband and I told our friends and family we were pregnant, how I felt during the first trimester, my food aversions and cravings, my first ultrasound, my first trimester must-haves, and more. I was in my first trimester in Fall of 2019. At the time of writing this, I’m in my third trimester (so close!).

Posted on February 10, 2020February 13, 2020 by Sarah Conley — 5 Comments

20 Children’s Books About Love

Reminding children how much they are loved is one thing you can never do too much. Besides telling children they are loved and showing your love for them in every which way, it’s important to put love into context for them, helping them understand what love is and how to give and receive it.

For Valentine’s Day this year, maybe instead of getting the little ones in your life chocolate or candy or toys that they probably have enough of already, share a new book with them about love, which is what Valentine’s Day truly celebrates. Not to mention, 90% of these books aren’t valentine’s day specific, so they are fitting year-round!

Posted on January 26, 2020February 13, 2020 by Sarah Conley — 18 Comments

Dinosaur Puzzles for Kids

A Prehistoric Compilation of Dinosaur Puzzles Organized by Piece Count

Find a list of the best dinosaur puzzles in this blog post with puzzles ranging from 3 pieces to 1000 pieces, in traditional jigsaw-puzzles to wooden block puzzles, floor puzzles, and mini puzzles too. The best part? All of the puzzles we share are under $20! Click on the following links to skip to the section that you are most interested in:
• Toddler Dinosaur Puzzles (Ages 1-5 years old)
• Young Children Dinosaur Puzzles (Ages 6-9 years old)
• Preteen and Adult Dinosaur Puzzles (Ages 10+)
• Dinosaur Books (Perfect for Pairing with a Puzzle)

Posted on November 25, 2019December 5, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 10 Comments

11 Best Wooden Dollhouses for Toddlers

Dollhouses make fantastic gifts for children. They are a staple piece to playrooms everywhere, alongside play kitchens and train sets. Wanting to ‘play house’ is something that nearly all children enjoy because it’s what they see their parents or guardians do day in and day out! There are many developmental benefits to the type of play that dollhouses encourage, primarily pretend play. Pretend play helps children develop their creativity, role playing abilities, and a variety of other skills as well.

Posted on September 29, 2019November 8, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 3 Comments

The Creation of Happy Little Tadpole

Hi there! Sarah here, creator of Happy Little Tadpole. Today’s blog post is a little bit different from the usual posts I have written so far. This post is probably a bit overdue. It’s for those of you who are curious as to why I started Happy Little Tadpole, what it‘s all about, how it works, and what it will hopefully become one day, read on!

Posted on August 11, 2019December 6, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 7 Comments

7 Cute Baby Board Book Sets

Find the cutest baby board book sets with easy with help from this list of seven very cute baby’s first library board book sets. We’ve looked through all of the board book sets for babies, and found our favorite sets which we share below. All of the sets are different, even if some are from the same publisher/author duo, like the Baby University Sets and the Mudpuppy Little Feminist and Little Traveler Book Sets. Not only do we share the book sets, but we also share a peek inside each book, so you can gain a better understanding of what to expect from each board book set!

So, without further adieu, scroll down to easily find a cute and worthwhile board book block set to gift to the expecting mother in your life, or the precious newborn you just can’t help buying little gifts for. The board books sets we share are great to gift for baby showers, 1-year-olds, and 2-year-olds.

Posted on August 5, 2019August 5, 2019 by Sarah Conley — 9 Comments

Wooden Puzzles for Toddlers

Puzzles are a rewarding, self-contained, educational activity that are fun to complete. Not only are they fun for toddlers to do, but they are also a fantastic developmental activity for little ones. They help toddlers improve recognition, logical thinking, patience, and hand-eye coordination. Completing puzzles is a self-affirming activity that can be both challenging, and rewarding, given the right puzzle size is given to the child in question, dependent on their age, abilities, and skills.

In this article, we share a variety of different wooden puzzles for toddlers, including wooden shape puzzles, Melissa and Doug hide and seek puzzles as well as Melissa and Doug lock puzzles, wooden peg puzzles, personalized name puzzles, Hape chunky alphabet puzzles, tegu magnetic puzzles, and more.

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A Prehistoric Compilation of Dinosaur Puzzles Organized by Piece Count

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