Babies Gotta Have It

So Tuesday afternoon I took a swing by the International Playthings Media Playdate event.  International Playthings is responsible for some of the hottest brands in toys for babies and beyond–they are behind Taggies (which you know I love-check out my video of the My Taggies Rocker), Yookidoo, GOTZ dolls, Calico Critters, Tomy, iPlay and more. These guys are some of the funnest folks in toys and I always look forward to seeing what they have to offer.  So I went, and I got so much more than I bargained for!  Keep reading to discover the super amazing thing that this generous company did for the holidays.  But first, take take a gander at some of my fave new toys they are offering (keep in mind, these toys are so brand new they’re not available yet–so have your kids save their Christmas money and gift cards and look for them in the New Year!):

The Early Years Baby Tea Party!  So cute!  A plush tea set for your baby girl complete with a crinkly croissant and a cupcake!  How cute is that? This would make such a unique and wonderful baby gift!

The Early Years Rocket Baby Play Set That little green alien is absolutely the most adorable!  I love this baby boy plush toy set so much!

The Wild Science Hyperlauncher Ball Factory Ok this is for kids ages 8 and up, but I couldn’t resist. You can make your own super balls!  And then launch them!  My nephew would LOVE this!

The Wild Science Beautiful Blob Slime Factory For girls who like gloop!  There are lots of us out there!  Make crystals! Make slimy blue glass worms and more!  For ages 10 and up!  And the grown-ups who love them!

I don’t have a photo of them but the ant and worm farms they are coming out with are so next generation it’s amazing! Just look for them in the stores.  Like habitrails for bugs!

Calico Critters Country Tree House Complete with trap doors, water slides and bridges.  This is so delicious and so fun!  Did I mention it has a hot tub and a gazebo? For ages three and up.  Sign me up!

Now here’s the awesome thing this company did! So I love these toys and International Playthings.  I was about to leave the media day and head over to the theater where I’m working, and I happened to mention that we’re doing a toy drive…oh yeah, you know where this is going.  The wonderful wardrobe union who take such good care of actors and their costumes sponsors a holiday toy drive every year.  This year all the toys are benefiting Housing Works and going to HIV positive homeless children. So I happen to mention this toy drive… and the representatives from International Playthings  just up and give me a huge box full of the most adorable Calico Critters Christmas sets called “Calico Christmas” to contribute to the toy drive.   Did I mention the box was huge?  It was!  So thank you so much International Playthings!  For making this a very merry and bright holiday for so many children!

And call me when the ant farms hit the stores!

Oh yeah…and they gave me one Calico Christmas set to GIVE AWAY! Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Calico Critters Calico Christmas Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Check out the Calico Critters at International Playthings.  Come back and share one Calico Critters play set or product you’d love to try besides the ones featured in this post!  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.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste):  I just entered to win a Calico Critters Christmas Toy Set @BabiesGottaHavT.  Enter today! http://tinyurl.com/ybg8fkb
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

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 Thursday December 17th and ends on Saturday December 26nd at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Sunday December 27th,  Random.org will select the winner,  and 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!

Disclosure: International Playthings gave me a huge box of toys for charity (just cuz they’re nice), a Calico Christmas set for my child and one  for the winner of this giveaway.  I was not compensated in any way for writing this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Update!  We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result:  100″  Congratulations Snowflake07 (Audra) Thanks so much to everyone who entered!  Happy New Year!

Kids love music. Music turns long winter afternoons indoors into dance parties.  I’ve been lucky enough to have been sent some amazing music to preview in the last few months and I just want to share a few titles that are worth looking up this holiday season and beyond!

Mama Doni’s “Chanukah Fever” Happy Chanukah Everyone!  Okay, this CD is a hoot!  The Little Bean and I have been dancing to this upbeat, funny, and festive CD since we got it a few weeks ago.  Who is Mama Doni?  She’s a Montclair, NJ mama of two who has written and recorded the most hilarious and fun music for Chanukah!  Her music has been called “Wacky Jewish Indie-rock for kids,” and she herself compared to Weird Al Yankovic (for the hilarious and surprisingly insightful lyrics) and Sarah Silverman (but much cleaner and only the parts of her show where she innocently sings her heart out) by KIWI Magazine.  I think she’s a trip, and her music would make a wonderful Chanukah gift or addition to this year’s Chanukah party.  Watch the hilarious kids music video “Funky Gold Menorah” on the homepage of her super fun website!  Enjoy!

“Rockin’ Rollin and Ridin’” With Rebecca Frezza and Big Truck If you loved the music of the 80’s you and your kids will rock out together to “Rockin’ Rollin’ and Ridin’”.  Rebecca Frezza is another Mama from Montclair (maybe I should think  about movin’ to Jersey too!) who, with her seven piece band, Big Truck, has written and released a fun, boppin’ CD for kids that will have you and your kids dancing around the family room in no time!  The pop sound of some of the songs is mixed with Big Truck’s signature bluesy rock sound and a fun song called “Hey-O” featuring Roscoe Orman (Sesame Street’s ‘Gordon”).  “Hey-O” is a catchy song that you and your kids will be singing along with at the very first hearing!  No joke!  Though my toddler loves the music, it’s really designed for elementary-school aged kids who are too old for preschool music but too young for mainstream  adult “pop” music.  I’d say she’s totally hit that mark with this CD.  Click here to sample a few of the tunes on this CD, and here to buy it just in time for the holidays!  You’ll be glad you did.

Bari Koral “Rock and Roll Garden” Okay so this is one you won’t be able to get until January 14th.  But we got a sneak listen to “Rock and Roll Garden”, and the Little Bean absolutely loves it and frequently requests it by name (totally adorable when she does, by the way).  Bari Koral has been compared to Jewel, Nora Jones and Joan Osborne.  This kinda seals it for me.  Her voice is butter.  Oh, and she was featured in the New York Times.  That’s not uncool.  She released three albums for grown-ups before beginning an amazing and very successful journey into Family Music.  Check out her website to hear a sample of her tunes (click on the little recorder icon on the right side of the home page) and links to purchase all of her other albums on Amazon.  While you’re at it,   Preorder “Rock and Roll Garden” today!

“Trying Funny Stuff” New DVD from The Jimmies No discussion of kids music would be complete without a mention of my gal Ashley Albert and the amazing Jimmies!  I love love love this group and so will your kids.  Click here to hear a sample of their tunes and invite me over to hear my two year old sing along with them. My elementary age neices and nephews love them.  And so do the kids across the country who hear them on xm kids.  How awesome is that?  This DVD contains six hilarious music videos, a 45 minute concert performance, sing-along tracks, “Behind the Scenes” featurettes, and an audio CD of the concert.  The music videos are fantastic–beautifully done, fun, and funny.  And even better, sure you can order the DVD on their site, but you can also just walk into Barnes and Noble…and BUY IT!  I love love love this as a holiday gift for the kids in your life.  Totally unique.  Totally affordable.  Totally fun.

So do it guys!  Get your kids some new music for Chanukah and Christmas!  It’s the holidays!  Rock on!

Disclaimer, I was sent each of these CDs and DVDs to review at no cost. The opinions expressed are entirely my own and were not approved or read by any of the groups involved before posting.

I am Wendy.  And my toddler is a sugar freak.  She comes by it honestly. My mother considers chocolate to be one of the major food groups.  When I was little I used to sneak spoonfuls of confectioners sugar from the box on the lazy susan by the sink.  My little Bean comes from a long line of gals who can handle their sucrose.

I’m not sure that any amount of “organic blah de blah” or “all-natural bibble snobble” can fight this penchant for sweets.  I didn’t give the Bean any refined sugar for a very very long time.  And I still really avoid it.  But that kid can put down a Magnolia cupcake with the best of them.  There’s a part of me that’s a little proud.

And now it’s the holidays.  My mother is “cutting back” on the cookies this year.  Only baking the favorites.  One favorite.  For each of the grown-ups.  That makes eight different kinds of cookies.  Cutting back?  Yeah, the Bean is going to be bouncing off the walls at Granny’s house.

All this to say, oral hygeine is going to be a big part of our December.  If you’re anything like us, you have great intentions of good, thorough toothbrushing and minimal sugar intake…but moderate success.  Fortunately for us, Oral-B is there to offer suggestions, tips and great products to get us through this sweet sweet time.

Check out Oral-B’s website for some really practical Holiday Oral Care Tips for Kids.  This useful page doesn’t deny the fact that at this time of year, your kids are gonna munch on some sweeties.  Instead, it offers guidelines and suggestions for moderating the damage that stuff can do to your wee ones’ smiles.  I love this one: “Dairy acts as a buffer to the acids produced by oral bacteria, decreasing the possibility of tooth decay. So consider serving your children milk or cheese with holiday candies and treats.”  A cookie just isn’t the same without a glass of milk.  For all kinds of reasons, it turns out!

Oral-B offers wonderful guidance for infant and toddler oral care (as well as a neat, new Scrapblog site called Smile-Stages, where you can upload and share photos of your baby beauty’s ever changing smile).  They divide your child’s oral development into “stages” and offer tips for good dental health and appropriate products for each stage.  Honestly, I was using Oral-B toothbrushes and toothpastes for the Bean before I was offered the chance to review and give them away.  The toothbrushes have cute Sesame Street and Winnie the Pooh characters that I really respond to on them (as does she). The infant toothpaste was easy to find at my local drug store, and clearly packaged so that I knew I was getting the right product for her at each age.

So you have all the best intentions in the world,  a little stool in front of the sink, and your toddler looks like she’d rather have a root canal than stand there and brush her teeth?  Try some of these suggestions from Oral-B:

• Brush your teeth with your child!  You’ll be setting a good example for your child, and kids like to copy grown ups like Mama and Daddy.
• Sing your child’s favorite song or play a song from their favorite CD for the two minutes while you’re brushing your teeth.  You can stop brushing when the song ends!
• Recite a favorite nursery rhyme while your child is brushing.  They are finished when the rhyme is finished!
• And of course, a favorite character on the toothbrush and toothpaste definitely helps make brushing fun!

Why not consider sticking a toothbrush in your kids’ stockings along with the snowman peeps and candy canes!  When you do finally get around to making that first pediatric dental appointment (that should happen by age 1…gulp) you’ll be glad you did.

And thanks to the generous folks at Oral-B, one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader will win a bundle that includes all of the Oral-B Stages toothbrushes and pastes!  Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Oral-B Smile-Stages Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Leave a comment on this post saying who you’d give these toothbrushes to!  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.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste):  I just entered to win a full set of Oral-B Stages toothbrushes and pastes @BabiesGottaHavT.  Enter today! http://tinyurl.com/yzjhnaa
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

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 December 7th and ends on Wednesday December 16th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Thursday December 17th,  Random.org will select the winner,  and 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!

Disclosure: Oral-B provided me with toothbrushes and toothpaste to review.  Oral-B is providing the prize package for the winner of this giveaway.  I was not compensated in any way for the writing of this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Update!  We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result:  44″.  Congratulations Sandra!  Thanks to everyone who entered!  Happy Holidays!

My friend Laurie from prenatal yoga is a chemical engineer.  One afternoon during a playdate in the park we started talking about bottles and BPA and all that. Here’s what she said:

“I’m a chemical engineer.  Plastic creeps me out.  I’m using glass bottles.”

Even two years ago when I was breastfeeding my baby and pumping at night, glass bottles weren’t easy to come by.  In fact, they were hard enough to find that despite Laurie’s warning, I went with BPA free plastic bottles.  And I felt good with that choice.  But amazing sites like Sprout Baby are now making it easy to find all kinds of green and eco-friendly products for baby,  including the next generation of BPA free glass bottles.

Check out my video from April of 2008 and Sprout Baby’s informative post for clear and sobering information regarding BPA and its potential risks to your infant’s health.  Scary stuff.  But the really good news is that the product selection for BPA and polycarbonate free feeding is just getting bigger and bigger and more and more cool!

Sprout Baby sent me two of their way cool new glass bottles to check out and I gotta say, I love them.  The Wee Go Glass Baby Bottle pictured at left is just plain awesome.   This neat bottle comes with a silicone sleeve (available in six fun colors on Sprout Baby) which is free of plastics and 100%  non-toxic.  Of course, everyone is concerned about glass bottles falling to the ground and breaking.  This protective sleeve helps prevent that outcome and also keeps the bottle from crashing into your iPhone in your diaper bag.  And get this, you can boil and dishwash the bottle and the sleeve…together!  This super tactile sleeve makes it easier to hold the bottle and also just feels cool–a sensation that won’t be lost on your infant.  The nipple is also silicone and non-toxic, and the plastic ring, plug and cap contain no polycarbonates and are food grade, FDA approved and recyclable.  Oh and they’re comitted to minimal packaging too.  What you see is pretty much what you get. Woo Hoo!

So the plastic bottles I did end up using were made by the company Born Free, and they worked really well for us.  Now, Born Free also has glass bottles available with their unique smooth flow valve that helps reduce colic and ear infections.  If your baby has these problems, I’d definitely check out this bottle.  The Born Free valve system worked really well for my baby and we didn’t have colic or ear infection problems at all.  According to their literature, this valve system is also good for breast fed babies who are being introduced to bottle feeding, because the steady flow of liquid it provides is very similar to breast feeding.  Born Free also offers silicone sleeves for added protection and grip-ability.

And..thanks to the generous folks at Sprout Baby, one lucky Babies Gotta Have It reader will win one of each of these bottles–Bottles of Joy!  Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Sprout Baby Bottles of Joy Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Swing by Sprout Baby and browse their wonderful selection of eco-friendly and green baby products.  Come back and tell me which product other than the glass bottles you’d like to try.  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 eight entries per person.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste):  Creeped out by BPA? Win glass Bottles of Joy from @SproutBabyClub & @BabiesGottaHavT! http://tinyurl.com/ykn6ryk
• Follow Sprout Baby on Twitter - just click here!
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

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 Sunday December 6th and ends on Wednesday December 16th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Thursday December 17th,  Random.org will select the winner,  and 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!

Disclosure: Sprout Baby provided me with two bottles to review and two bottles for the winner of this giveaway.  I was not compensated in any way for this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

UPDATE!  We have a winner!  Random.org says “Result:  36″.  Congratulations Sarah!  Thanks so much to everyone who entered!

From time to time lately I look at my dear but irascible twenty-eight month old and miss the snuggly bundle of blankets and gugrling that she was two years ago at this time…

And then I remember the puke.  The copious, voluminous, fountains of egested breast milk that sweet beautiful baby could be.  And even worse, the public puke. Right on your good Anthropologie tee that still looks hot even with the baby weight.  I remember my friend Sarah quoting her pediatrician.  “Spitting up is totally normal.  It isn’t a medical problem.  It’s a laundry problem.”  And when you’re out and about in the world it’s a fashion problem, and a disposal problem.  Sure you can wipe it up with a burp cloth, but then where do you put the sopping stinky cloth?  In your cute new diaper bag?

So the clever couple behind Ready Go Baby decided to address this laundry problem in a really creative and cute way…with a kickin’ name that makes me giggle every time I see it.  Mamas with playgroup upchuck crises–I give you The Puke Purse.

Made in Canada from 100% cotton, the Puke Purse is a cute and reversible towel that is designed to contain your baby’s mess.  When the puke happens, as it inevitably will, simply put your  hand inside the puke purse and wipe up the glop.  Then grab the little ribbon inside the towel, pull it out (thereby turning the purse inside out), close it, and seal with velcro. Voila.  You can drop it in your diaper bag and the mess will stay nicely contained until you get home and toss the whole thing in the washing machine.

Genius.  I totally wish I had one two years ago.

This would make such a great stocking stuffer for the Mama in your life!  And thanks to Colin and Nancy, the mom and dad who developed, own and run Ready Go Baby, I’ve got two to offer!  Win a Puke Purse in either the Pink Butterflies Pattern or Duckies Pattern the Want to enter?  Read on!

To Enter the Puke Purse Giveaway

• MANDATORY ENTRY #1: Swing by Ready Go Baby and browse their selection of baby products.  Come back and tell me which product other than the Puke Purse you’d like to try.  ALSO, tell me if you’d like to win the Duckies or Butterflies pattern!  Two winners will be chosen!  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 eight entries per person.

• Follow me on Twitter (click the birdy button on the left to do so easily) and Tweet this giveaway (I’ve even made it easy for you, just cut and paste):  Got a messy baby? Win a Puke Purse from @BabiesGottaHavT! http://tinyurl.com/ykfscoo
• Follow Ready Go Baby on Twitter - just click here!
• Blog this giveaway (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)
• Subscribe to my blog using the button on the left
• Grab my button and put in on your blog or website! Button code is in the right sidebar. Leave the link in your entry.
• Become a Fan of Babies Gotta Have It on Facebook–just click the link on the left sidebar!
• Email your friends about the giveaway and link to the giveaway post! cc me in the message (babiesgottahaveit@gmail.com)–I promise I will not spam you or your friends. Cross my heart

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 Wednesday December 2nd and ends on Saturday December 12th at 11:59 Eastern Standard Time. On Sunday December 13th,  Random.org will select the winner (I’ll keep running the numbers and the first person choosing each pattern will win), and 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!

Disclosure: Ready Go Baby has provided the puke purses to give away to the winner.  I was not compensated in any way for this post. All views and opinions with regard to the product or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

UPDATE!  We have two winners!  Random.org says “Result:  50” and  “Result:  37” .  Congratulations NGS and Kristen Long! Thanks to everyone who entered!