16 Weeks.  SIXTEEN WEEKS!  I can’t believe that, in just a few days, Charlie will be exactly four months old.  He continues to entertain us with his ever-expanding vocabulary of facial expressions and coos.  Just this week, he’s started to take notice of our pets.  Our dog, Brooklyn, has been by his side since he was born, but is just now being rewarded with some attention from “his boy.”  We are sure that they will have a great relationship as Charlie grows, although Brooklyn might live to regret wanting attention from him as Charlie starts to become more  mobile and better at grabbing things, people, animals, etc.

It’s hard to believe that we have been parents for nearly four months.  As first timers, we have sought advice from a variety of sources.  I prefer to ask our most trusted friends whose parenting styles are most aligned with ours.  We also have a shelf full of books, but we rarely consult them.  The fact is, like most parents today, we turn to the internet when we have a question that we need to answer right away.  I have culled together a bunch of websites and blogs (in addition to The Shopping Mama, of course!) that I have found to be the most useful, or the most fun, when it comes to kids stuff.

Baby Center – I first got turned on to Baby Center when I signed up for their weekly pregnancy email.  You know, the one that tells you what fruit or vegetable currently matches the size of your fetus.  Pregnant women live for that weekly email.  It feels good to know that your gestating baby has gone from kumquat-size to japanese eggplant.  It ends up that Baby Center is a great resource for actual information about little ones and parenting, too.  I like it because it seems to be one of the less lecture-y sites out there, and it has advice for all types of moms.  It’s also very easily searchable, making it a snap to find the info you need in a pinch.

Mothering.com – This site might be on the crunchy side for some, but I especially love the forums.  Sure, there are a few moms who get a bit militant about certain things, especially breastfeeding and cloth diapering, but it’s easily searchable and chances are your question has already been answered and you can find a bunch of different opinions all in one place.  I found the online community at Mothering to be especially helpful and supportive when we were trying to conceive Charlie.  Since then, I have searched both the website and the forums for advice on everything from diapering to developmental milestones.

Ask Dr. Sears – Again, this site might be a little too touchy feely for some parents, especially since Dr. Sears is a big advocate of attachment parenting, but I have found a good deal of great advice on this site about nurturing a child, breastfeeding support, and baby wearing, among other things.  A lot of what I’ve read here is not necessarily instant solutions to an issue, but more like suggestions that you can put into practice for long term results.  I recently read this article about sleeping and it has helped me put things into perspective for Charlie and identify how we want to structure his time going forward.

Ohdeedoh – This kid-centered arm of the awesome Apartment Therapy blog is awesome if you are a city parent, or just someone who tries to be as socially conscious as possible and live a somewhat compact life.  They have lots of product reviews and how-to’s for everything from building custom kid’s rooms to great wooden toys.  My favorite features are the posts about cool and unique birthday party ideas and real people’s design ideas for their children’s bedrooms/nurseries.  They also have the occasional post where a reader asks a question about child-rearing and the readers give their answers in the comments.  Everything they do feels bright, modern, and inclusive.

Baby Cheapskate – This is a blog dedicated entirely to telling the world about upcoming and current discounts, sales, and deals both online and in stores.  It needs no further explanation other than to say it’s awesome.

This Lunch Rox – The woman who writes this blog is a dynamo.  Even though Charlie isn’t even on solid foods yet, I read this blog every. single. day. to see her latest creations.   If I can make lunches that are even half as awesome as what she makes, I’ll consider myself a rousing success.  She also includes alot of super healthy recipes that are meant to be substitutes for their higher calorie/sugar counterparts.  I’ve bookmarked a bunch that I hope to make even before Charlie is old enough to eat them.  I have to make my own lunch fun, too!

Nater Tot – Full disclosure: the author of this blog is a law school friend of mine so I’m a bit biased, but I love her honest (and wonderfully sarcastic) approach to parenting.  There is tons of helpful info in her posts about using sign language as an early developmental language tool and making your house as BPA free as possible.  She also writes some great breastfeeding articles over at Examiner.com.

What are your favorite websites/blogs about parenting and fun kid stuff?