Pregnant mothers and their partners are typically voracious readers who devour everything from What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Baby Bargains in order to prepare for the arrival of their new babies. In addition to books and magazines, the internet offers a wealth of extra information for savvy parents-to-be. Check out these fantastic sites for extra tips on pregnancy, the health of your newborn and the products you need to stay on top of your parental duties:

• If you love all the great money-saving tips in Baby Bargains, check out the book’s online blog, aptly named the Baby Bargains Book Blog, for even more updates on recalls, product reviews and important industry news.
• The classic pregnancy guide What to Expect When You’re Expecting has also migrated to the web with a fantastic site that offers a week-by-week pregnancy calendar, opportunities to participate in community forums and fun contests for future parents.
• Ever-popular and always on top of the latest trends in all things baby-related, BabyCenter offers a wealth of articles on a variety of pregnancy topics. You can also sign up for their newsletter to get weekly email updates about the growth of your baby in the womb!
• Parents.com also features great info for future parents. Currently, the site’s slide show features common pregnancy fears, great ideas for a beautiful nursery and fun holiday tips!
• If you want to stay current on the health topics affecting your new baby for the first five years of his or her life, bookmark the American Academy of Pediatrics. This renowned medical site offers great info on all the most important health topics for infants and their parents.

Keeping your kids together when you go out may seem like a nightmare-imagine big crowds and little kids. Kate Gosselin from Jon and Kate Plus 8 used special rings (Lakeshore Learning) to get her kids together during 4th of July and some moms are now using leashes (Amazon.com)and velcroed straps (Perfectlysafe.com) made just for kids. Some teachers use the walking rings them to keep their students together during field trips. Check out “Safety Craft for Teachers” for information on how you can make your own.

Last month I posted a topic on social networking sites for moms, which sparked a lot of conversation! Well, that got us wondering about about information sites.  So, where you do go to get the latest tips & advice from other moms or parent resources?

Below is a list of just some of the sites that we regularly read at Tiny Prints…

* Lil’Sugar on PopSugar features celebrity news, news items, ideas and tips.  It is regularly updated, and I often find myself on this site several times a day to read about the latest tidbits that BabySugar (a mom-to-be to her second child) has to say.

* If you love Daily Candy, then you would probably love Daily Candy Kids! This site publishes one national and six regional kids newsletters a week that is chock full of product recommendations and tips for the stylish mom.  The “everywhere” edition comes out every Thursday.

* Parents.com is the home portal to some of our favorite magazines: American Baby, Parents, and Family Circle.  This site offers tons of recipes and seasonal ideas for your home, as well as tips & advice for parents with topics categorized by age (babies, toddler, big kids, teen, etc).

* You may get your daily dose of scandalous celebrity gossip from sites like Perez Hilton, but we get our daily dose of news and updates on our favorite celebrity parents from Celebrity Baby Blog. 

* We love checking out the beautiful photographs and uncensored musings of The Pioneer Woman.  This city girl who lives in a country receives hundreds of comments a day, which means we aren’t the only ones that love this blog!

If you have other recommendations, as well, leave a comment and let us know!

Being a new mom is hard without support from family, friends and even in some cases co-workers. My friend who recently had a baby said that her boss and co-workers came every day the first week after she gave birth to provide meals for her and her husband. Since not all of us are lucky enough to have that kind of support, here are a few other ways new moms can reach out to get advice, share their experiences and feel supported by other mothers out there.

1) Check out Meetup.com, an online network of local groups coming together to share their similar interests and hobbies. You can also do a search for social groups for moms in your area. Bay Area Moms of 2007/2008, for example, holds several get togethers for stay-at-home moms such as gabbing over coffee or taking the strollers out for a walk. Out & About Mamas in Union City offer playgroups for the kids and space for pregnant moms to get advice.

2) Moms Club is a support group for stay-at-home moms that has local chapters. The club does everything from helping children in the community to fun get togethers.

3) If you want to find other parents out there who you can connect with in your area, check out the online parenting network Raising Them.

An article entitled, “Support Groups for New Moms“ expresses the importance of networking explaining that research has shown that spending time with peers decreases the likelihood of getting postpartum depression. Getting support is not only vital but can be fun. There are a number of new support groups for parents and new moms sprouting out everywhere. Check out groups in your area.

When researching fresh designs and cool styles for traveling, I discovered a lot of adorable travel gear for kids and new moms. Here are a few modern ones that will are sure to make traveling fun!

Photos from top: Kate Spade Classic Noel Henry baby bag, O Yikes Slingback Diaper Bag from Go-Baby, Pottery Barn Kids Personalized Terry Travel Bag, Sammie’s by Samsonite “Funny Face” Collection from Macy’s, Li’l Lewis Gorilla neck pillow and Maw Maw Panda luggage tag.

Surprise the kids and new moms in your life with unique gifts that are perfect for the summer season.

Cocoa Crayon has a variety of cool designers such as Bink Link, who created the Blueberry and Candy Necklace above, used to clip binky to baby. They also carry items from DwellStudio such as their transportation travel case and stroller blanket so you can travel with style. Dwell’s stylish Transportation design matches perfectly with their Beep Beep thank you cards sold at Tiny Prints.

The adorable Owl pouch and Paradise aluminum water bottle from Chloe in Style comes in handy for adventurous afternoons of shopping, playing and picnicking.

And Kate Quinn Organics Sun Hat and Random Nicole Elephant Organic Elephant Tank from Wild Dill are made of100% organic cotton, and will keep kids cool in the summer heat.

With a variety of options to chose from, you have no excuse to go sans gift this season!

One of the girls in our office just discovered lots of great popsicle recipes in the current issue of Parents magazine, and we thought this would be a great follow up on Brandi’s post from earlier this week.

The article featured fun Popsicle flavors, including banana split, mint chocolate chip sandwiches and root beer float.  To see these recipes, go to Parents.com.