Babies Gotta Have It

Winter arrives, complete with snow, wind, and freezing temperatures.  If you have had to switch out your child’s entire sleeping wardrobe, to include thick, warm fleecy sleepwear, you are not alone.  But, if you purchase a Baby Merino Handmade Sleep Gown from New Zealand based company Poppet Baby Wear, you will not have this dilemma anymore.

The Baby Merino Sleep Gown is perfect for young babies.  It has a draw string tie at the bottom to allow for quick diaper changes in the middle of the night.  The sleep gown is handmade in New Zealand out of New Zealand Merino wool, which is made to breathe and keep baby warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  It automatically regulates the baby’s body heat to a safe and comfortable temperature throughout the day and night.

My little guy, MD, is a little too busy for this sleep gown anymore, because he wants to free his legs, and likes to chew on the draw string tie.  But, it works perfectly when paired with the Merino Kids sleep bag, previously reviewed here.  And, I can’t wait to try it out in the rustic cabins of Blackwater Falls State Park during our annual X-country skiing trip (they are freezing…I often sleep in long underwear, hat, and wool socks).  MD will be the warmest of the bunch!  Maybe I’ll even buy him this Merino Kids hat or the Poppet Baby Wear Hat to go with it!  Then, he will be warm all night long, instead of sweating while the fire burns hot, and then freezing once only embers remain!

These make perfect baby shower gifts!  You really can’t beat the quality, soft feel of the sleep gown (it really is one of the softest materials I’ve ever felt, and does not bother my children’s sensitive skin)!  Thank you to Poppet Baby Wear for sending me a Baby Merino Sleep Gown to try!

Babies Gotta Have It is an Amazon Associate.

Kristin is a former high school English teacher and show choir geek enjoying time as a stay-at-home mom to CW and new baby brother MD.

When the exuberant performers of Freckleface Strawberry The Musical sang their final song, and tapped their final tap dance, and took their final bows this afternoon, I found myself stealthily wiping a wee tear from my eye.  I was surprised, I have to say.  But it didn’t take too much for me to figure out why.

It’s not like I cry at every show I see just because I’m a performer.  They aren’t weddings.  Now weddings always get me.  But this particular show, faithfully based on the absolutely charming book by Julianne Moore (illustrated beautifully by LeUyen Pham) touched a chord.  I was 5′10″, redheaded, braces-ed, and bespectacled by about the age of 12.  As the new 7th Grader at Lewisburg Area Middle School, I was relentlessly called “Flame” by a group of nasty boys.  The bullying I faced was never severe or violent.  It was just regular old teasing.  If that exists.  And I was secure enough in my friends and my family (and my ability, honed in the playgrounds of Texas, to kick the ringleader of the bullying in the shins.  hard. okay violence definitely isn’t the answer but still, he was surprised when i did it.)  But the feeling of being different–too tall, too slump-shouldered, too funny-looking, too nerdy, persisted well into high school and even college when I annoyed my roommates by paging through fashion magazines and tallying how exponentially the blonde and brunette models outnumbered the redheads.  It took a long time for me to grown into my height.  And I still have to take pilates to fight the tall girl slump.

“Freckleface Strawberry The Musical” so beautifully addresses the way every kid feels different.  And at the end, when Strawberry grows up and gets married and has a family “just like everyone else,” I thought, “so did I.”  And as I snuggled my little Bean on my lap, that made me happy.

I first saw “Freckleface Strawberry The Musical” about a year ago at New World Stages, and it has transferred beautifully to the MMAC (Manhattan Movement and Arts Center).  Coming in at 75 minutes, the show is really really good.  Exuberantly performed by a talented group of young actors, creatively directed, and scored to the book in a clever and singable way, it’s great for kids ages 4 - 12.  The show also has some fun Lady Gaga references, a kooky teacher, and an enjoyable Godfather bit for Mama and Daddy as well– I definitely enjoyed myself the entire time.  You all know I’m a theater snob.  I like this show.

And I firmly stand behind the anti-bullying initiative that’s accompanying the run at MMAC and their call for kids to  “Love the Skin You’re In!” Additionally, they are presenting special anti-bullying awareness talkbacks after one performance each month (as well as some awesome tap and hopscotch pre-show workshops!) which are wonderful conversation-starters for you and your kids.  Bullying today seems even more of a problem than in the mid-eighties.  Maybe it’s just that the tragic consequences are playing out in the media in a way they never were years ago.  But the only way we as parents can address this problem is by talking with our kids, the bullies and the bullied, through those tough years.  Campaigns like the It’s Get Better Project and shows like “Freckleface Strawberry,” help.

Come to New York!  See theater with your kids!  Look beyond the big Broadway blockbusters and you’ll be surprised how many wonderful, more-affordable, incredibly-well-done shows there are for kids.  Use discount code MAMADRAMA (the great gals who sent me and the Bean to the show this afternoon) at the box office or when you call Telecharge or get discounted tickets online at BroadwayOffers.com. At $40 a ticket they are a heck of a lot cheaper than “Mary Poppins” and trust me, your kid will enjoy the show just as much! For more buzz on Freckleface Strawberry the Musical check out MamaDrama.com and Mama Drama on BroadwayWorld.com.  Enjoy the show!

I remember that feeling so well…you are wheeled out of the hospital with your new baby in your arms and then the orderly just turns around and leaves.  You.  Alone.  With your baby. “You mean they are just going to let me take it home?” Bring on the anxiety. Here, Kristin reviews an innovative new monitor from Babies Gotta Have It favorite, Tommee Tippee that goes a long way to calming those new baby nerves. Thanks so much Tommee Tippee for providing the monitor for review!

A sense of peace and a newborn do not really go hand in hand.  But, with the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Digital Video Sensor Pad Monitor you can sleep more peacefully knowing that your baby is safely sleeping in his crib.

This innovative video monitor allows parents to have a bit more peace of mind when they leave the nursery.  The key feature of the monitor is its unique sensor pad. Before set up, parents need to take the time to read the directions carefully (and there are a ton of them) so that they adjust the sensor mat to the best possible setting for their baby.  Designed to sit under the baby’s crib mattress, the pad monitors your child and sounds an alarm if no movement has been detected after 20 seconds. Most parents benefit from the sensor pad when their baby is a newborn. However, once the baby can move freely around the crib, parents can choose to remove the sensor pad and use the monitor as a stand-alone model.

Parents can also change the sensor-pad sensitivity levels if the mattress is thicker than the suggested amount.  Although I read many reviews of the sensor pad and people complained that they had many false alarms (one sounds on the parent unit and one on the baby unit), I did not have this experience.  I did forget to turn off the sensor pad once when I took MD out of the crib and the alarms went off then…they scared me nearly to death…but I felt better knowing it was definitely working and that I would be able to get to MD more quickly if he had a breathing problem during the night.

In fact, our nephew just had open-heart surgery and we highly recommended the Tommee Tippee monitor with the sensor pad.  He was having breathing problems when he first came back from the hospital, and we thought it would ease his parents’ minds to have a video monitor that responds to his movement in his room.  This monitor is ideal for parents of high-risk babies!

The monitor also has a great “talk-back” feature that you can use to talk to your baby from another room.  This has actually worked great for our 3-year-old son, CW, more than for our baby, but it is a great feature.  And we love being able to see our boys on the large screen!  We can tell if MD is really upset when he wakes up early from a nap, or if looks like he’ll fall back to sleep.  And, when we used the monitor in CW’s room, we were able to see if he was actually napping or not (and tell him to go to sleep using the speaker function)!  This is particularly nice when I am nursing MD and cannot go up to CW’s room to give him that “go back to sleep or else” glare!

My two favorite features of the monitor, though, are the adjustable baby night light on the monitor and the temperature sensor for the nursery!  This has been really helpful for us, as MD’s room tends to be the coolest room in our house.

Although the monitor states that it has automatic channel changing to decrease interference, we did have severe interference with our other video monitor (even though the other video monitor still worked, the TT monitor no longer transmitted the sounds CW was making).  So, if you have another video monitor, be aware that there could be interference between the two.

Overall, I highly recommend the the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Digital Video Sensor Mat Monitor (available at Toys R Us), and it will certainly give new parents a sense of peace when they bring their newborn home!

Kristin is a former high school English teacher and show choir geek enjoying time as a stay-at-home mom to CW and new baby brother MD.

Every January 1st, we all make renewed commitments to our bodies.  Heck I’m on day 8 of Gillian Michael’s “30 Day Shred” exercise videos, and I’m seriously considering joining a group of kick-ass Mamas from Bean’s preschool on their twice weekly spinning. I’m scared out of my gourd, but I’m considering it.  But what about our skin?  Mama Mio Skincare makes a strong case for investing as wholly in your skin fitness as you do in your physical fitness.  Or rather, considering skin fitness an integral part of whole-body fitness. I think I need to embrace this concept.

Fully 50% of my time every day this winter, has been spent managing my skincare issues. I’m sleeping in the dorkiest, white and blue cotton gloves from Duane Reade, concealing my hands which are slathered with Vaseline (yeah, you heard me, Vaseline).  Every night.  Bring the sexy on. When did I get to be so friggin sensitive?  And still, my mange (aka dishidrotic eczema) has my hands looking like I’m 103 years old–the crinkly texture of rice paper on the back, cracked and alligatored on the palms. And itchy. Itchy itchy itchy.

My typical wintertime face…well that’s no picnic either–blotchy and peely. Hivey sometimes.  Sallow others.

Not a pretty picture.

Way back in August, I got an email from the super cool folks at Mama Mio, offering me a chance to try their Skin Tight Toning Serum and then later, their Clean Slate Cleanser.  Mama Mio has a whole line of products designed to get your skin, and your whole body really, in shape.  The Mama Mio motto is “Fit Skin for Life.” I’m digging on that.

In theory I love all of this.  Let’s call a spade a spade, another birthday has just gone by, I’m spending more time than I would like plucking those silver hairs, and everything is starting to sag.  My skin as well.  I feel I should be doing more.  But with my incredible sensitivity, I’m afraid.  I’m afraid to try those fancy lotions and creams that promise everything from cellulite reduction to plumping.  Because more often than not, it seems, I end up with even more itchy bumps than I started with.  I am, to put it mildly, gun shy.

But I was feeling desperate.  And when Mama Mio wrote to me I went to their website and did some reading.  I read their Promises page, which includes a pledge to use “No Nasties” (”Every Mama Mio product is paraben free, petroleum free, phthalates free, sodium laureth and sodium lauryl sulphate free, colourant free, synthetic fragrance free and xenoestrogen free. If it is nasty, it is a no-no. Even our fragrances are natural.”) Their products are safe to use at all stages–from pregnancy to…well…what Mama Mio calls the “whole new phase of becoming women of wisdom (but still wanting to look good in a bikini).”  These chicks are cool.

But I was still afraid.  Afraid to try new skincare products in the early Fall when  I was doing a play and my skin was already so stressed out by the daily routine of makeup and cleansing. So I postponed and I delayed and finally I thought, I have got to try this stuff.  So I did.  I tried them.  Both.  I have given each a thorough try, with daily use over a period of several weeks.  And it is with a tremendous sigh of relief, and a quick inhale of excitement, that I report my skin did not rebel against Mama Mio.  In fact, it welcomed both products and is responding beautifully.  I so should have started using this stuff in September!

The Skin Tight Toning Serum feels wonderful.  I have been using it primarily on my neck where my skin is starting to do something I don’t even want to put words to it is so hideous.  I am so too young to have chicken neck.  But after using Skin Tight it definitely feels and looks better!  According to the site, “Skin Tight smoothes and retexurises uneven crepey skin think juicy grape not wrinkly raisin. It takes facial peel technology and applies it to the body. Its four stage action of exfoliation, skin tightening and massively nourishing moisturisation will combat crepey, slack, tired skin - anywhere you need it.”

The Clean Slate Aloe-Rich Cleanser is a dream. It smells so good, which is usually a tremendous red flag for me.  Typically I can’t use things that smell good.  They give me itchy bumps.  But not the Clean Slate Cleanser.  It leaves my skin feeling clean and fresh with no residue, and no itchy bumps.  I have had very few of those insulting geriatric pimples and even fewer of those irritating patches of hard, dry, flaky skin.  I love this stuff.

Do yourself a favor, and go to their impossibly cool site.  Read what they have to say for yourself.  Watch a video or two. Browse the amazing selection of products (I gotta say, I’m dying to try the Shrink to Fit Cellulite Cream and the Get Waisted Body Shaper). And try them with the confidence that they will not irritate your skin.  And that they’re safe.  And that they’re awesome.

Skin fitness.  That’s something Mama’s definitely gotta have.

Do you have an iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone?  Do you have a toddler who loves Thomas the Tank Engine, sings the songs, plays with trains, watches the shows, and reads the books?  Have you run out of patience with asking your busy toddler to play only his games on the iPad, only to find him playing Angry Birds again? If so, I have the best remedy for you.

HIT Entertainment and Callaway Digital Arts have announced the launch of Thomas and Friends: Engine Activities App on your iAccessory!  CW was so excited to see Thomas on the iPad!  He forgot all about Angry Birds, and has not stopped playing the Engine Activities since!

CW may love the app, but I think I love it even more.  It has puzzles, coloring pages, and matching games.  When the puzzle is complete, the trains tell a short story.  The matching games use auditory and visual clues to help your child tell the difference between the trains (which, I admit was more helpful to me than to CW who appears to have all the different engines memorized).  When your child has exhausted the engine activities that come with the app (”Pop Goes Thomas” and “Creaky Cranky”), you can purchase three other activities that all have puzzles, matching games, and coloring pages.

After we played all of the Engine Activities in the car over the holidays, we went back to the app store and bought two more Thomas Apps: Misty Island Rescue and Hero of the Rails, which both include puzzles, songs, stories (that are read aloud to your child with animation), videos, painting, matching, and connect-the-dots.  The apps range from $0.99 to $1.99, and your child will certainly get your money’s worth!  So, pull on in to the App Store Station and check out the Thomas & Friends apps today!

Thanks so much to HIT Entertainment and Callaway Digital Arts for sending Kristin this app to review!

Kristin is a former high school English teacher and show choir geek enjoying time as a stay-at-home mom to CW and new baby brother MD.

Babies Gotta Have It.  The Mission.

When I started this blog almost four years ago (WHAT? How is that even possible?) my goal was to create videos of me and my then adorable little tiny baby (WHAT? She is applying to kindergarten!) sharing the must-have baby items that Mamas wiser and more experienced than I had recommended/handed-down/gifted us.

Since then both my baby  and my blog have grown and changed.  I suppose growth is inevitable, and as time has passed I have expanded to write about toddler products, preschool products, New York for kids, and even the odd product that Mama’s gotta have.  I have taken on a wonderful contributing writer who has a new baby, and is the Mama of two boys, to offer a fresh perspective on today’s baby products.  I’m doing fewer videos lately, and I’m feeling a yen to get back to that actually.  I think my Baby Bean would love to be the voice of her own favorite baby, toddler and preschool items these days.  Perhaps Babies Gotta Have It is having a bit of an identity crisis.  Lately, I have had a yen to get back to the must-have baby products that were at the heart of the genesis of Babies Gotta Have It.   Then again, no matter how big she gets, she’s always your baby isn’t she?

So when Amazon.com approached me to share their new Baby Registry with my readers, I was delighted to do so.  I am an Amazon affiliate blogger, and I do believe in them as an online marketplace that offers a huge variety of items at an often very good price point.  When prospective parents are registering online for baby products (and apparently lots and lots of you do!) and looking to stock their nurseries with baby essentials, the Amazon Baby Registry is a fantastic place to begin.  Mamas and Daddies can easily create a registry and then Amazon guides you through a list of 15 registry essentials with sublists of top sellers to get you started.  Cool.  A nice supplement to my Baby Registry List. 

I am, however, equally committed to profiling and promoting small Mom and Dad run businesses that offer unique, sometimes handmade, often eco-friendly baby items.  It’s part of my mission here at Babies Gotta Have It to expose parents to the amazing variety of wonderful, quality baby products out there.  And the super-neat thing about the Amazon baby registry is that it’s a universal registry.  So when you find those organic cotton onesies with the adorable graphics from the small boutique online that you just can’t live without, you can add them to your Amazon registry with the  universal “add to registry” button.  Also, Amazon offers free 365-day returns–eligible baby products in new and unopened condition received within 365 days from date of delivery result in a full refund with no deduction for shipping.

When I registered, lo those many years ago, going to the big baby box store with the magic wand and swiping bar codes was the only option open to us.  How cool, now, that Amazon offers new parents the chance to choose from a nearly unlimited array of products at every price point.

Flexibility, ease, and economy in a baby registry.  That’s something Mama and Daddy just gotta have.

So here’s a cool thing!  To jumpstart your own preparation for baby, Amazon is offering one Babies Gotta Have It reader the chance to win an awesome Britax Baby Carrier - a $130 value!  Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Amazon Baby Registry Giveaway:

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Leave a comment on this post sharing one item you think is a must have for baby’s registry.  That’s it!  Entering is that easy!
  

***Want extra chances to win? After you have made your first entry as described above, do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of six entries per person.

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Must be 18 or older to win. Giveaway begins on Monday January 9th and ends on Monday January 23rd at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. Very soon after,  Random.org will select the winner I’ll email you immediately. After my daughter called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my daughter, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Babies Gotta Have It is an Amazon Associate.

Update!  We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result: 42″  Congratulations Betsy!  Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

Happy New Year! Here’s another terrific review from Kristin. Bon Apetit!

Have I mentioned how much I love Tommee Tippee products?  Because I do.  A ton.  They are BPA and phthalate-free and created with intelligence.  Clearly they have done their research (and talked to Moms).

Tommee Tippee recently sent me a number of feeding/weaning items to try with MD (thank you to Tommee Tippee for the items)!  MD refuses to take his milk from any form of bottle, but when I placed the pumped milk into the new Explora soft spout sippy cup, he was immediately intrigued.  And, willing!  Finally, after six months of random feeding pit stops and shortened dinners, we are able to feed MD while we are away from the house!  Now, I can feel free to get that haircut that I’ve been putting off for months (hmm, since last November actually).  Anyway, the Explora Sippy Cup is completely spill proof and perfect for six months and older

And, with the travel bottle warmer (and food warmer), I can warm up his milk (or his baby food) wherever we go!  This is truly the best thing ever!  There is a thermal thermos inside a large warming carafe that you can fill with hot water to warm your bottles or baby food jars.  No longer will we place a chilly bottle under the warm tap water in a rest area until it is lukewarm…or between our legs while in a traffic jam to “heat” it up.  The only downside to the warmer is the size…it does not fit inside my diaper bag…but, it easily stashes inside the car, and that’s good enough for me.  I recently tried this out on our trip home for the holidays, and the water was still boiling hot after four hours in the car!  Worked like a charm, especially when we hit traffic and could not get off the road for a quick feeding.

Other exciting products from Tommee Tippee include the weaning bowls, the Explora feeding spoons, and the Explora Easi-mat.  The weaning bowls, spoons, and mat are BPA and phthalate-free and dishwasher and microwave safe, so you can feed your baby without worrying about the chemicals.  The easi-mat attaches simply to the weaning bowls, so your baby cannot dislodge the bowl from the table.  This has proven to be perfect for MD, as he is so intrigued by the bowl and spoons, but does not have the control to keep from knocking things off his tray.  The mat keeps the bowl in place, even for the most ornery eater.  The spoons are for nine months and older, but MD loves to gum on them and I know they are safe for him to do so. He also loves to teethe on the “Chewther!”  It helps support oral development, and he loves to swing it back and forth as well.

Tommee Tippee has a ton of other great products including Explora weaning bowls with lids, heat-sensing weaning spoons, and a variety of “sippee” cups for all ages!  They make perfect baby shower gifts, and are great for new parents!

Are you a fan of Tommee Tippee too?  One Babies Gotta Have It reader will win a $100 gift pack of Tommee Tippee products including a 3 Pack of the Closer to Nature 5 ounce Baby Feeding Bottles, 2 Closer to Nature Insulated Bottle Bags, the Closer to Nature Breast Pad Starter Pack, A Chewther Teether, and a 2 Pack of Milk Feeding Bibs valued at over $100! Happy New Year!

Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Tommee Tippee Giveaway - Be sure to read these directions.  I’m getting a lot of incomplete entries!  Thanks!:

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: You know you have thought about it…drinking out of that sippy cup when you’re at the park and parched.  So here it is, my question for you this New Years.  It is two part–you  must answer both parts to qualify.  Part 1: Have you ever, for whatever reason, drunk out of a sippy cup?  Part 2: Whether you have or have no, if in the future you were inclined to drink from a sippy cup, what would you choose to partake of?  Entering is that easy!
  

***Want extra chances to win? After you have made your first entry as described above, do anything listed below and leave me additional comments for each one letting me know what you did!  Maximum of seven entries per person.

Your email address will remain private and not be shared with anyone. Giveaway only open to those with U.S.  addresses. Must be 18 or older to win. Giveaway begins on Friday January 6th and ends on Sunday January 22nd at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. Very soon after,  Random.org will select the winner I’ll email you immediately. After my daughter called Larry the Cable guy the last time she did a drawing, we have decided to take a little vacation from her choosing the winner. Random.org is in no way as cute and unpredictable as my daughter, but it is much more efficient and does not use any pieces of paper, even recycled ones. I am sure you will understand. Thanks for entering!

Babies Gotta Have It is an Amazon Associate.

Update!  We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result: 237″ Congratulations Jessica!  Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

Kristin is a former high school English teacher and show choir geek enjoying time as a stay-at-home mom to CW and new baby brother MD.

Wishing you all peace, joy and love this week and for the rest of the year.

-Wendy

This is the city of dreams.  It’s a city where, at the age of 40, a gal can make her Broadway debut.  Where you can decide on a whim to go to the opera…after dinner tonight.  Where you can get last minute tickets for a play on a snowy night and end up sitting next to a celebrity from a TV show with which you were obsessed, and discover the celebrity is a totally awesome dude.

Some of the beauty of New York City is serendipity.  The accidental meeting.  The random sighting.  The lucky break.

And some of it, you can just go out and make happen.  There are amazing resources here.  Amazing people.  Amazing stores!  And thanks to Mastercard, I took my little girl to FAO Schwarz early in the morning, before the store opened, for a chance to hop around on the Big Piano, for a tour of the store led by a real live FAO Schwarz toy soldier, and for a free for all at the candy bar–FAO Schweetz.

My daughter was entranced.  She instantly became besties with one of the other little girls and held her hand through the entire tour.  She ran back and forth on the piano.  She gaped at the giant stuffed animals.

And here’s the best part.  You can do this too.  Thanks to Mastercard , any Mastercard holder can attend Mastercard Priceless NY events.  Any Mastercard holder.  You are on the list.  A few of them are free.  Most are at a fee.  All of them are incredible.  Like touring FAO Schwarz before it opens.  Like experiencing an Eloise Tea at the Plaza Hotel. Like a pregame reception and a New Years Day Football Game at MetLife Stadium. Like Poncho Seats at Blue Man Group.

If you’re like me, you’re having an increasingly hard time finding holiday presents for your parents, grandparents…even your spouse.  We have a lot of what we need.  Our houses are crammed with stuff.  Nothing beats an experience as a present.  And when it’s a gift you can share with your loved one? Priceless.

Thanks to Mastercard for breakfast, a tour, a ton of candy and a gift card to jumpstart our holiday shopping at FAO Schwarz. All photos by Dennis Siano from the Mastercard Facebook Wall.

If your partner speaks just a little bit of Klingon…this is the stocking stuffer for him…I mean for your baby. Thanks to Think Geek for sending Kristin these awesome products to review!

Are you a Geek?  A “Trekkie?”  Or, do you know someone who is?  Then, Think Geek is the best shop for you!  If you just cannot live without a titanium spork or a Star Trek Enterprise Light-up Feeding System (for your baby), then you should head to the place where all the “Smart Masses” go!

Although we are not Trekkies here, we did enjoy the new movie, and our three-year-old son, CW, loves all things that fly and/or light up! So, when we received the Star Trek Enterprise Light-up Feeding System, he immediately decided he wanted to use it.  For months we have been fighting with him at dinnertime, begging and bargaining to get him to eat!  Enter the Enterprise and he was begging for more applesauce and rice so that he could use his spoon longer! Even though the spoon is for a younger child (over one year - the spoon is BPA and Phthlate Free), CW loves it and looks forward to using it every day!  Our six-month-old son was intrigued by the lights, but didn’t really know what to do with it! 

The Star Trek Enterprise Light-up Feeding System comes complete with three spoon inserts, a light-up Enterprise handle, and a light-up bib.  The bib and handle cannot be submerged in water, but can be wiped off with a wet cloth.  The spoon inserts are dishwasher safe, though.  They also sell an Illuminated Jet Bib Feeding System.

Think Geek has “toys” and books for both children and adults.  One of my friends received “Show Dad How” an illustrated guide to parenting, which may just be the funniest thing I have ever read (and this comes from an English major)!

Head over at Mach speed to catch their holiday sale, and to check out all their geeky-but-fun loot!

Kristin is a former high school English teacher and show choir geek enjoying time as a stay-at-home mom to CW and new baby brother MD.

Thanks!