“Honey, do you think Dr. Ferber is still alive?” I ask my husband as I look at my 7-month-old son sleeping peacefully in his crib. “Not sure, why? Do you want to send him a thank-you card?” he joked, sensing where I was going with this. I looked him dead in the eye and said: “I’m ready to sign over the deed to the house and include him in my will. Whatever that man wants, he gets.” I’m kidding … kind of.

If you’ve ever been faced with the task of packing a kid to go away to sleepaway camp, then you already know it can be a bit overwhelming. Let’s get real — kids aren’t the best at putting their outfits together, and they can be notorious for wearing the same clothes over and over again, which is kinda gross. But I came up with this super easy, crazy effective method for packing and organizing my son’s things when I send him off to camp.

Even though it’s such a relief to finally be rid of diapers, potty training can be, well, a bit of a nightmare, especially if you have a kid who is resistant to making the change. Trust me, I dreaded it as much as you when it was time to train my son, but it turned out to be so much easier than I expected. I used the “3-day potty training” method, and let me tell you — it worked like a charm.

Babies need a lot of stuff — just ask any mom who’s packing for her first road trip. Clothes, toys, a safe place to sit, eat and bathe, but walk into any baby store and you’ll be overwhelmed by all the things you never knew you needed. While there is a lot worth adding to the registry, there are also plenty of items to leave off. Why? Because you’ll never, ever need them. Trust us. Save your hard-earned money by skipping out on these unnecessary purchases: 1.

Let’s face it — laundry can be a pain. You’re literally never done. After all, the clothes you’re wearing right now will be thrown in the hamper in a matter of hours, kickstarting the pile all over again. Luckily, we have a few tips to make your life easier in this department. If you’ve ever felt the pain of folding the laundry only to end up with a pile of mismatched socks, this hack’s for you! Keep a mesh bag on hand to toss all dirty socks into when washing.

My little guy cried a lot — and it was due to a myriad of reasons. All of them were "normal" enough: acid reflux, constipation, being a baby. Logically, I knew that what he was doing was normal — he had no other way of communication — but every time that kid cried, I felt a pang of panic. And when he wasn't crying, I sat there in fear of his next outburst, because each one signified to me that I was failing.

Sometimes we need a little encouragement to get through the challenging days of mom life. Here are four mantras you should keep on repeat for when you need that extra boost of confidence. “I can do anything, but I can’t do everything.” And you know what? That’s OK. Healthy, even. Just accept it and move on. “I am not a bad mom. I am a good mom having a bad day.” Even the best moms have the worst days, and you are definitely not alone.

We all know that flying with little kids is difficult, to put it mildly. Back when my son was 2, I learned the hard way that you can never be too prepared -- even when the flight is a short one. We were flying from DC to Jacksonville, Florida, and I was so excited when we boarded because the two of us had been upgraded to first class.

Every seasoned mom will tell you there’s no point in wasting money on toys for a baby — and they’re absolutely right. Especially when your kitchen is filled with tons of things they’ll enjoy playing with just as much, if not more than, that $20 light up stacking toy they can’t actually figure out. The humble wooden spoon is a mind-boggler.

In case you missed the memo, all moms need to remember this one simple truth, in order to take care of anybody else, we first need to take care of ourselves. But here’s another truth, ain’t nobody got time for that! Since it’s unlikely that you’ll be making it to the spa anytime soon, here’s a list of simple self-care tips that can be done in 5 minutes or less. Because sometimes that’s all the time we get. Try a minimalist makeup look.