Babies Gotta Have It

…he would totally use the BOB Stroller Diaper Bag. This is a great messenger diaper bag that clips securely to any stroller. It’s cool for guys. Hip for girls. And really well made and practical.  And really, why should Mama get all the loot? A daddy diaper bag makes a thoughtful gift for a new dad!

Don’t have a jogging stroller to use this tricked out stroller diaper bag with?  Why not win one?  BOB is hosting a contest right now to win a brand new Stroller Strides Fitness Stroller?  To enter, just snap a pic of you in your very best workout get-up and send it to BOB! Here’s what they say on the contest page at the BOB site:

Hey new moms and moms-to-be, are you ready to get your workout on? Well here’s your chance to win a brand new Stroller Strides Fitness Stroller that’s going to get you rolling and encourage your health and wellness goals, big or small! Based on the BOB Revolution, this stroller comes with a Stroller Strides Fitness Kit and is a perfect companion for Stroller Strides class. To enter, send us a photo of you in your super sweet workout duds, the most creative submission will win! So, are you a spandex queen? Do you and baby match outfits? Show BOB your funky fashion, custom creation, or silly stylings when you’re getting fit!

A free jogging stroller? That’s something Baby, Mama and Daddy’s all gotta have!

Lately I’ve been feeling a little bit antsy about chemicals.  This week they figured out that the reason Upper West Siders periodically smell the odor of maple syrup wafting through the streets, is that some factory in New Jersey called Frutarom is processing fenugreek seeds to make food additives and the resulting odor is strong enough to make it to Manhattan.  This has been going on for years.  And all along I thought it was my heater. This flips me the heck out. If a food additive plant in New Jersey is shooting enough chemicals across the Hudson to make me crave French toast, what are all of the chemicals inside products made in New Jersey doing to me.  And more to the point, what are they doing to my baby!

I was so happy when the wonderful folks at Ely Organics offered me the chance to try out the Baby Bottom Mist from their Miessence Baby Range line of organic baby products. These products are certified organic to the highest international food standards! You could drink the baby bottom mist if you were so inclined.  But I have no idea why you’d do that, when you could spray it on your baby’s bottom instead. I’ve been using this fragrant mist regularly for a week.  My baby is teething now (those upper canines…ouch!) and you know what that does to baby’s little bottom.  After each diaper change I’ve been using a few spritzes of the Baby Bottom Mist followed by some corn starch powder, and I’ve been incredibly impressed with how it’s helped.  Her bottom has been clear and largely irritation-free all week, even given that nasty teething.  Miessence also offers a Baby Body Powder and a Baby Barrier Balm that can be used in conjunction with this spray.  All three together would make an incredibly lovely baby gift or baby shower gift.

So what’s so special about this Mist?  As they say on the Ely Organics site, these products are made with “ONLY certified organic herbs, No Phthalates, No Petroleum by-products, No Parabens, No Artificial Preservatives, No Fragrance or Dyes, No Synthetic surfactants, NEVER any animal testing.”

Ya Hoo!  Take that New Jersey!

p.s. I have to say, I have also tried the Miessence Rejuvenating Skin Conditioner and Rejuvenating Moisturizer on myself…I have crazy sensitive skin and I absolutely love it.  I’m hooked.  I just ordered both yesterday.

The idea that your brand new little sweet bean will one day have a runny nose or diaper rash or dry skin  is impossible to believe when you first bring her home from the hospital. But all cherished children, at one point or another, become snot-nosed kids. Even the most obsessively germaphobic behavior (see previous post on high chair covers) can’t prevent it.  Trust me.  I’ve tried.  Just when you think you’ve avoided the cold and flu season, whammo you discover your baby’s ear is plastered to the side of her head and it’s not yogurt back there. It’s infected eczema. Yup. This happened too.

So here now, is my list of baby’s medicine cabinet essentials.  A pretty container stocked with all of these items makes a unique and truly practical baby gift or baby shower gift. Let me say, I have more than these items in my cabinet.  These are the things that I have used the most.

1. A Digital Thermometer
2. Vaseline
3. Infants’ non-aspirin liquid pain reliever (tylenol or motrin). Do not administer to your baby without checking in with your doctor first.
4. Child-safe Sunscreen
5. Cotton Balls
6. Baby Nail Clippers
7. Nasal Aspirator
8. Baby Moisturizing Cream for Dry Skin
9. A Baby Cold Pack for Bumps and Boo Boos
10. Diaper Rash Cream
11. Super Soft Viva Paper Towels  and Warm Water - are all you need for diaper cleaning in the first few weeks.  Hold off on the wipes until your baby is a few weeks old to protect his skin from any irritation. (and no, Viva is not paying me anything for recommending this–they just work)
12. Tweezers for removing ticks and splinters.  And alcohol to clean the tweezers.  I actually haven’t had to use these yet (thank goodness) but I have seen them on lots of lists and it makes sense.

Keep all of these items way way out of your baby’s reach.  Be sure you measure all medications very carefully. And if you forget dosing or care instructions your doctor gives you do not be afraid to call her back!

And to get you started on building your own baby medicine cabinet supply, I am thrilled to offer the Braun ThermoScan ExacTemp Digital Ear Thermometer to one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader (thank you to the swell folks at Braun)!  Gone are the days of sitting with that old glass mercury thing poking into all that soft lumpy stuff under your tongue.  Now, I have heard lots of people discuss the inaccuracy of ear thermometers.  But this new, top of the line thermometer has a unique pre-warmed tip to improve measuring conditions and accuracy (keeps that otherwise cool tip from cooling off the baby’s ear and skewing the reading), as well as a guidance system to help ensure that you have it in correctly.  Braun asserts that this thermometer is more accurate than temple or rectal thermometers and is perfect for first time parents.

To Enter the Braun ThermoScan Ear Thermometer Giveaway:

• Leave me a comment with your favorite home remedy to cure colds.  Have I mentioned I’m a germaphobe?  I hate being sick.  Entering is that easy!

***Want an extra chance to win? Blog or twitter about this giveaway, leave me an additional comment letting me know you did (please include the url), and I’ll put your name in the hat twice! Not a blogger? Subscribe to my blog using the button to the right, leave me an additional comment, and you’re entered twice. Or, email a friend about the giveaway, cc me in the message at babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com (I promise I will not spam you or your friends - cross my heart) and you’ll have two entries. Make sure you include your email address with your entry.***

Giveaway open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway begins on Tuesday February 3rd and ends on Wednesday February 11th  at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Thursday February 12th, my baby girl will draw the winning name and I’ll email you immediately. It’s not a terribly scientific drawing, but I assure you it could not be more random. Thanks for entering!

I didn’t take a childbirth class.  Is this horrible of me to confess?  I didn’t.  Nor did I take any kind of formal breastfeeding or baby care class.  Now in my defense, childbirth classes in New York start at $400.  I am not exaggerating.  Even the ones given by the hospital.  This seemed like a lot of money to me. And honestly I was a little bit squeamish about them.  I really didn’t want to see videos of people pushing out babies.  I didn’t even want to see myself pushing out a baby.  Not only did I decline the mirror when I gave birth, and forbid any video cameras from being in a thirty foot radius, my glasses were halfway across the room on a shelf.  I can’t see my own belly button without my glasses on.  To prepare, I took prenatal yoga and read books.  My birth really went okay.  But a wee bit more knowledge would not have been a bad idea.

I recently had a chance to watch the Laugh and Learn About Childbirth DVD.  Now, I’m guessing that when I say “childbirth” the first word that comes to your mind is probably not “laughter.” I had a smooth birth, but I can’t say that there was much guffawing going on in that labor and delivery room.  I have considered sending the anesthesiologist who administered my epidural flowers every year on my baby’s birthday, but she was no Seinfeld.  But watching this DVD I found myself actually wishing I was pregnant again.  Even when Sheri Bayles, the genuinely funny and very personable Lamaze Educator and OB/Gyn nurse who conducts the video classes, talked about the difficult parts of childbirth, I got a little yen.  I had a pretty uncomfortable and yarfy pregnancy.  So this is saying something.

The “Laugh and Learn About Childbirth” DVD is divided into 6 classes and runs four hours and fifteen minutes.  It is comprehensive.  The video quality and editing are excellent, and the information is thorough, accessible, and practical.  Sheri discusses mucous plugs and pre-labor symptoms, for example, in the kind of detail that only an experienced OB/Gyn nurse (and Mom of twins) can offer.  She demystifies a LOT.  Several expectant couples participate in the series, and you really do feel like you’re right there with them.   I also really appreciated how Sheri included the husbands and partners in the discussion.  While she used diagrams and charts as visual aids, no videos of live births were included. And I was grateful.

Laugh and Learn also offers “Laugh and Learn About Breastfeeding” and “Laugh and Learn About Newborn and Baby Care.” Both also feature Sheri Bayles and are structured as classes with couples participating.  I don’t think the video qualtiy and editing are quite as good in these two, but they do offer lots of wonderful information.  The Breastfeeding DVD covers positions, burping, breastfeeding twins, schedules, obstacles, diet, pumping and bras, pads and nightgowns.  This offers a good overview of breastfeeding, but does not discuss latching on or the nuts and bolts of pumping in the same detail as other issues.  You will need to look elsewhere for that.  The Newborn Care DVD includes bathing, diaper change, dressing, swaddling and supplies in nice detail.  It is extremely useful to see the bathing, diapering and dressing done on video–these things are just much more difficult to understand from reading about them.

This 3 DVD Set runs $79.95.  If you just want to buy the Childbirth DVD, it will cost you $39.95.  Did I mention that childbirth classes in New York start at $400.  This is a seriously good buy.  And I can honestly say I wish I had seen them before my baby was born.

The really good news in all of this…the wonderful folks at Laugh and Learn have offered a 3 DVD set to one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader!  Want to enter? Read on!

To Enter the “Laugh and Learn 3 DVD Set” Giveaway:

• Head over to the Laugh and Learn Website, take a look around, and tell me one other product from the store you’d be interested in owning. It’s that easy!

***Want an extra chance to win? Blog or twitter about this giveaway, leave me an additional comment letting me know you did (please include the url), and I’ll put your name in the hat twice! Not a blogger? Subscribe to my blog using the button to the right, leave me an additional comment, and you’re entered twice. Or, email a friend about the giveaway, cc me in the message at babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com (I promise I will not spam you or your friends - cross my heart) and you’ll have two entries. Make sure you include your email address with your entry.***

Giveaway open to those with U.S. addresses. Giveaway begins on Wendesday January 21st and ends on Thursday January 29th  at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Friday January 30th, my baby girl will draw the winning name and I’ll email you immediately. It’s not a terribly scientific drawing, but I assure you it could not be more random. Thanks for entering!

We are so excited that this giveaway is being done as a part of the Bloggy Giveaways Winter Carnival! Beat the winter blues! Win free stuff! Read great blogs! Woo Hoo!

And the winner is…
#31 Karrie Lorene Wilson!  Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  I hope to return to my video drawings soon!  Have been away due to a death in the family but I’m back now and the baby is ready to pick some winners!

We just spent a glorious first birthday weekend with family on the beautiful Rhode Island coast. A Butterfly Birthday Party! A pinata that just wouldn’t crack (candy and therapy all rolled into one). Chocolate chip pancakes and coffee. Sunburn, ocean waves, humongous bubbles, and cousins! Who could ask for anything more?

Celebrate this milestone with me with a wonderful end-of-summer giveaway thanks to Heather at Zwei Baby! I discovered this Twin Mommy’s unbelievably charming and totally unique Play Dots when I was cruising Etsy for my post on play mats. Heather is a home-based mommy/designer with twin 3 1/2 year old boys. She workshops design ideas with her kids during the day, sews late into the night, and will soon be offering Zwei Baby products in several new shops! Check out her blog for updates as well as Etsy finds, crafts and more!

Just for you, Heather is offering a beautiful Quick Trip Diaper Organizer in pink or blue. When you just don’t feel like taking a diaper bag, tuck one of these clever clutches in your favorite bag and hit the town. These all-in-one changing pads and diaper/wipes holders are made out of the funnest and funkiest fabrics. No chickies and duckies here! This is a diaper organizer for grown-ups. The changing mat is lightly padded for your baby’s comfort, but not too bulky for your bag. The folded organizer measures 12″ by 7″ and snaps snugly closed. It holds several diapers and a travel wipes container in a roomy pouch. Cuz even if you only plan to be out 45 minutes, you still might need two diapers. You know what I mean?

UPDATE: Zwei Baby is now Bundled!  Check out their new Etsy shop for more wonderful bibs, wipes, burps, an diaper organizers.  They make baby gifts and baby shower gifts!

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

1. Just take a swing by Zwei Baby.
2. Come back, and leave me a comment naming your favorite item other than the ones featured in this giveaway. It’s that easy!

Want an extra chance to win? Blog or twitter about this giveaway, leave me an additional comment letting me know, and I’ll put your name in the hat twice! Not a blogger? Email a friend about the giveaway, cc me in the message at babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com (I promise I will not spam you or your friends - cross my heart) and you’ll have two entries. Make sure you include your email address with your entry.

Giveaway open to those with U.S. and Canadian mailing addresses. Giveaway begins on Monday August 11th and ends on Tuesday August 19th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. On Wednesday August 20th, the birthday girl will draw the winning name and I’ll email you immediately. Thanks for entering!

Thanks Heather! And Happy Birthday sweet baby girl! We love you!

So recently I was all on about the Skip Hop Diaper Bags. Skip Hop makes, among many others, canvas messenger diaper bags that clip to your stroller and are awesome. I have one. I got it for Christmas. Thank you again, honey.

Skip Hop also makes different bags. Neat bags. Trendy bags. Even bags for Target. Check them out.

Recently, thanks to a fantabulous blog giveaway (I’m telling you people, these blog giveaways are awesome!) at The Lil’ Mommy That Could, I won a stroller bag by Mollyanna.com and it arrived in the mail. It was like Christmas in July. And let me say, this bag is awesome too.

Where the Skip Hop Bag is canvas and cool, this one is fabric and gorgeous. So simple. So chic. Where the Skip Hop Bag takes you back to the first day of school with zippers and clips and keychain holders and many many pockets (totally fun, right?), the Mollyanna bag has just two simple snap closures, two pockets for diapers and wipes, and a big central pocket. Mine is “Dark Chocolate” with a gorgeous autumny contrasting fabric liner. It is beautifully made and I love it.

And best of all, these are on crazy sale right now. Like, way better than Target prices sale. Hey, it’s back to school time! Don’t you deserve a new bag too? And at these prices, lust is within reach. Sometimes baby’s gotta have it.

• Sorry Mom, you’re gonna have to take that pink thing back.  The days of diaper bags covered in little bunnies and duckies are long gone.  There are so many chic and practical baby diaper bags out there now that even Daddy will be willing to carry one!
• The Skip Hop Messenger Diaper Bag makes a wonderful baby gift. They cool and stylish, and I got mine at my friend Sarah’s neat little Upper West Side boutique called Roam. They don’t offer Skip Hop bags online but they have lots of other wonderful items for Mama and baby.  But if you’re not within striking distance of the UWS, check out your local Target for a great and affordable selection of Skip Hop diaper bags!