Life with baby...simplified

WubbaWhat?

2010-02-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

I have my cousin to thank for this post's product - and it wouldn't be the first. She bought this item for my Maisie when she was first born. It's called a WubbaNub, and if Soothies brand binks are your choice, you gotta have one of these. If you use a Soothie, you know how they bounce. One simple drop of those rubber suckers on any hard surface and - poof! - it's gone. This is where I've been most thankful for the WubbaNub. The Soothie is permanently attached to a cute, bean-filled stuffed animal. You can choose from a variety of animals and they're all very lightweight and securely stitched. Naturally, you'll want to give it a good looking over once in a while, but that's true for anything. The other great thing about the WubbaNub is that they're sized and weighted just right for little ones to grab. My little gal loves to hold on to hers and swing it around. And when she's a bit older, I look forward to the WubbaNub helping her locate her binkie in her crib at night ... saving me the trip. An adorable product. Oh, and you just throw it right into the washing machine with baby's clothes to be washed with baby detergent. Air dry. Hassle free.

An ear full of miracle juice

2010-02-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

Have an infant? Then you may know the joys of ear infections. Have an infant in daycare? Then you NO DOUBT know the joys of ear infections. The little lady has been battling her first (1 week in daycare is all it took, people) for nearly 3 weeks now. We ran thru the cycle of antibiotics and she seemed to be doing better. Then came several loooooonnnnnggg nights. You know, those nights where they won't let you lay them down because the pressure on their ears is too painful so you (or your sweet husband in my case) spend the night sleeping in the recliner with the baby in your lap, her head intentionally supported in an upright position. It's the only way for anyone to get any sleep sometimes.

After a rough Sunday of an entire sleep-deprived family being snippy with each other (we were ALL VERY tired) we decided something had to be done. I remembered something I saw the day before and why I didn't just buy it then ... well, anyway. Da da da da-da! Hyland's Infant Earache Drops came to the rescue! These homeopathic drops were just what our little gal needed to get a decent night's sleep. We were so thankful! If only we'd known about thus stuff when our son was a babe! Oh, how we suffered! (But maybe it wasn't around then?)

Anyway, here's what they contain and what they do:
Belladonna for fever and inflamation
Calcarea Carbonica for throbbing, pulsing pain in ears
Chamomilla for restlessness or irratbility
Lycopodium for pain and congestion in ears
Pulsatilla for ear pain worse at night
Sulphur for ear pain with burning sensation

Yup, that about covers it! I really thought they'd be too good to be true. But, after seeing how they worked on Maisie, you can be sure my medicine cabinet will never be without Hyland's Infant Earache Drops until both kids are at least ... hmmmm ... 15 maybe?

This Ride-on Runs Circles Around the Others

2010-01-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

Kids love ride-on toys. We have several for our little boy, and he enjoys them all. But even he would agree that not one of them gives him the freedom of movement that the Wheely Bug by Prince Lionheart does. Unlike other ride-ons that just have wheels (scoff!), the Wheely Bug sits on casters. This means it can go forward, backward, side-to-side, and even spin around. How fun is that? With this ride-on you don't have to worry about your little one throwing those frustrated little temper tantrums because the toy won't turn when they want it to. This thing moves wonderfully. We loved it when Kitt was learning to walk. He loved pushing it around, and the handle has a nice, slip-resistant material on it. The Wheely Bug isn't just available as a bee, either. You can also get it as a ladybug, cow, mouse or tiger. Raaarrr. The only negative thing I've heard about the Wheely Bug is that the "small" version is pathetically small - as in, don't waste your time - just get the big one. So check it out. Rock and roll, babies.

Tick Tock and it Don't Stop ... Kitt From Going to Bed

2010-01-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

If you have a two-year-old, chances are you either have or will soon experience the child who refuses to go to bed. We recently went thru nine weeks of torture when our little boy started to resist bedtime. We didn't ignore the fact that this coincided with the arrival of his baby sister - we tried to be empathetic, yet firm. Nothing worked. He screamed for HOURS - we cried for hours.

Then, like an angel swooping in from the heavens (yes, I know I'm being dramatic, but this is about as profound as it really felt) my mom did some searching and came up with (cue heralding trumpets) My Tot Clock.
This thing has saved our lives! It does it all. And along with a solid, consistent bedtime routine this little timepiece can become a real time saver. Kitt has had the same bedtime routine since he was 2 months old, but his parents admittedly may have slacked on consistently dealing with bedtime resistance. No more. He loves My Tot Clock, and he even seems to respect our rules more.

So, what does this clock do, you ask? What makes it so awesome? How 'bout ... everything. You can totally personalize it to work for you and your kid. On the back are all kinds of buttons and settings. Obviously, we use it most for bedtime. You set the bedtime. When the clock hits that time, the face lights up blue (which you can dim or brighten AS YOU WISH) and the clock can read a bedtime story, play lullabies, emit white noise or any combination of the three. There is a separate volume for the story and the white noise and lullablies. I'm telling you - it's totally customizable. You can also set the wake time. If you're like us and had a kid who liked to get up at 5am, you'll love this feature too. We set the time (and be reasonable about it - no fair setting it for 10am) and if he gets up too early, we just say, "Your clock is still blue. You need to stay in bed until it turns yellow." And more often than not ... he does! Wow! There's even a good morning song - if you want it. You can set it for naps as well. We've also used the timeout feature in which the clock face turns a stern shade of red for however many minutes you (you guessed it) set it for. We love My Tot Clock! There are even more features, but maybe you should just check it out for yourself. $50 might seem a little steep, but when you're desperate, you'll try anything. In our opinion, it's worth every penny and more.

Long time no blog

2010-01-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well, readers (if there are any), I've been away a long time ... nearly a year! I guess life just got busy. It's a new year and I've got a new baby - a beautiful baby girl, Maisie - so I'm ready to get out there and rediscover the world of baby products. And with my 2-year-old son, Kittrick, I'm also enjoying the world of toddler products as well. The blog's got a new look and I'm all ready to roll, so I think I'll make it my New Year's resolution to post once a week (I'm setting my goals low). I should be able to find the time since every other night I'm a prisoner to the upstairs hallway until Kitt drifts off to sleep and I can slink down our creaky stairway to get 20 minutes with my husband before we call it a day. In fact, I think my first post will cover a product tied to the little guy's bedtime routine. Stay tuned, and sweet dreams.

Hat's Off to Cute Hats

2009-03-30T11:18:00.001-07:00

I'm pretty big on finding unique items for my baby. There's not a whole lot of fun in having him look just like everyone else. Even when it came time to purchase a winter hat, I wasn't satisfied with what I found in department stores. They were boring or ugly or featured Disney or other cartoon characters. He's 1 - he doesn't know who Dora or Diego are so why should he wear them on his hat? After several brick and mortar and online searches proved worthless, I went to the one place I can always find something unique. Etsy. com, once again, pulled through for me. After some carefully selected search terms I came across the vendor Once Upon a Hook. Working out of her pet- and smoke-free home in Brooklyn, this gal comes up with some truly adorable lids for your little one. Animals, flowers, berries, monsters, stripes and more, you can be sure no other kids at daycare will have a hat like these! I went with a simple color scheme and the hilarious curly cues for my son's hat. I get so many compliments on it wherever I go, and I tell everyone where I got it. Many inquirers are grown women wanting one for themselves. It can be thrown in the washing machine for easy cleaning, and it seems stretchy enough that it will last us several seasons at least. Definitely a great buy with a look and quality that's really unbeatable.

Just Say "NO" to the Nosefrida!

2009-03-30T11:11:00.001-07:00

If it's made in Sweden, it has to be good, right? The Nosefrida...oh, where to begin? I decided to give this unique nasal aspirator a try after reading all the great reviews on various websites and blogs. Everyone was raving about how effective it was. At $17, I think it's a pretty expensive booger extractor, but, hey, everyone else seems to love it! Once it arrived, I wasn't sure I could go through with it. You see, the way the Nosefrida works is you place the cylinder just outside of
baby's nostril. Then you put that flexible tube IN YOUR MOUTH. Yes, you read that correctly. You put it in your mouth and SUCK the snot! There is a filter between the cylinder and the tube so you can be sure nothing green reaches your lips. Ewww! This was a huge leap for me considering I gag and heave over just about anything. I guess when it's your baby, you just find the courage somewhere. I waited until he had a stuffy nose, whipped out the Nosefrida, put the cylinder in place, the tube in my mouth and sucked with all my might. Then I did it again.
I sucked until I almost passed out, but I couldn't get anything out of that little stuffy nose of his. Plus, he kept trying to put the cylinder in his mouth. This thing doesn't work. I even tried Saline to loosen up the stuff first. Sucked 'til I was blue in the face and the mucus hadn't budged. So, I pulled out my trusty bulb aspirator and out it all came. Baby could breathe clear again. My advice, when it comes to nasal aspirators - save yourself the $17 and take the hospital aspirator home with you. The one they use when baby is first born - that is the best aspirator you'll ever find. They're going to charge you for it anyway (probably more than $17, though!) so you might as well keep it. No other aspirators work as well as the one the pediatrician uses on your baby in his or her first minutes of life.

Stylin' Shoes for Adorable Feet

2008-11-03T07:06:00.001-08:00

When the temperatures started to drop I realized my baby's wardrobe was missing a critical staple...shoes! So, what to get? I did some research (as I do before buying anything, even diaper cream) and read that the best shoes for a little tyke like mine are something with a soft, flexible sole. Softer shoes let baby's foot develop naturally. They also make it easier for them to balance and "grip" the floor. My cousin mentioned a good source for soft-soled crib shoes that she found held up beautifully. Minitoes! (Minitoes is an Etsy vendor as well) These are handmade, soft-soled shoes available in an unbelievable selection of styles of colors. Now, you can find similar shoes in major department stores, but take my word for it, they won't hold up like the Minitoes. I have bought such shoes and they literally fell apart. Meanwhile, his Minitoes are still holding strong! The soft leather material is totally flexible and keep his little feet warm. He has no trouble getting around on these shoes, even on our hardwood floors. And perhaps best of all, they NEVER fall off! Never ever, I promise. You're sure to find a number of styles to love here. My only problem was choosing a pair! So I got them in brown too!

Dining Out with Your Little Darling

2008-09-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

There are lots of things to dread about dining out with a little one. Will he throw a temper tantrum and disrupt other customers? Will he like what you put in front of him or will he fling it on the unsuspecting, undeserving woman in the next booth? And who knows? Sometimes dining out with baby goes as smoothly as can be and everyone enjoys a lovely dinner. However this meal out goes, there's one thing you'll never have to worry about again, and that's the germs on the table your baby will be eating off of. Because finger foods are generally placed right on the table for baby to pick up, you want to know that surface is clean. With the Tiny Diner by Kiddopotamus, you know his cheerios aren't being tainted by whatever was left behind from those grey dish towels you see the bus boys using to wipe down all the tables. This handy rubber place mat has suction cups on the bottom so it stays securely in place on almost any surface. The tray on the front catches most of what your little one loses on the way to his mouth. When dinner is over, you fold the sides in, fold the top down and roll the whole thing up into the tray. Its rolled up form is very compact and can fit right into your purse - hopefully after you've already rinsed it off. The other thing I love about this product is that I'm not leaving a big mess for our poor server to have to clean up after we've left. The majority of the mess is contained in the Tiny Diner and we either dump the mess into the trash or I roll it up, stick it in a plastic bag and clean it when I get home. I'm sure your next waiter or waitress will appreciate this product as much as you do.

Gifts with a personal touch

2008-07-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

People LOVE personalized items these days. Consumers love knowing that their this or that is the only one like it. Your friends and family members who are expecting will love it too. Just imagine what a hit your gift would be at the baby shower when mom-to-be opens your onesie gift with baby's name already on it! Bray Bray's Closet is a lovely source for finding cute, personalized baby items that make wonderful shower gifts or gifts to welcome a new baby.
For an extremely reasonable price, you can purchase personalized onesies, burp cloths, bibs and more. There are also embellished burp cloths because if baby is going to barf, shouldn't it be on something cute? Seriously though, bookmark this site for the next time you need a baby gift. It will be your one-stop-shop for your next baby shower. Or buy something cute for your own little one!

Rub-a-dub-dub, I love this tub!

2008-06-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Bath time is my favorite time of the day. I love the nightly routine of putting my baby in his bath (which he LOVES) and washing the little dusting of hair on his round pumpkin head, squeezing soap in between those little toes. I attribute a large part of our bath time enjoyment to his Primo Euro Bath. This is the BEST baby bath tub you can buy! This is the largest baby bath you can buy which may actually turn some people off from it, but just think about how much more comfortable baby will be! This tub is perfectly molded to cradle babies 0 to 6 months in a reclined position. This molding keeps baby in place leaving both your hands free to bathe him or to play pat-a-cake. (of course, when I say "hands-free" that doesn't mean you can walk away! NEVER leave the baby alone in the tub.) The other great thing about the Primo Euro Bath is that once baby can sit up on his or her own, you simply move him to the other side which, again, is molded to suit a sitting baby. There are little trays for holding soap and shampoo bottles and a drain plug in the bottom. I am sure that bath time wouldn't be quite as wonderful if we didn't have the Euro Bath to look forward to each night.

Keeping it private

2008-06-12T19:38:00.001-07:00

If you're planning to nurse a good cover-up may be in order. You may quickly find that while receiving blankets get the job done, they're not always totally reliable when it comes to staying in place. Most of us want to know our cover is going to stay put when we're nursing on a bench in the mall - if you're up to that sort of thing. A product I used (but not at the mall - I wasn't brave enough!) was one of these great nursing cover-ups from BumbleBabyMommy on Etsy. This cover up is kind of like a big apron that goes around your neck and has an adjustable neck strap. Boning in the front holds it open right under your chin so you can see baby and baby can see you - but no one can see what baby is doing! Genius! Mine was an adorable yellow and white plaid with white embroidered flowers but she's got lots of other sweet prints as well.

Smart Bottle Accessories

2008-06-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

I went to a baby shower over the weekend and picking my gift was easy because savvy mom-to-be, Courtney, registered for my all-time-favorite baby item. The Avent Express Steam Sterilizer is the one baby item I have used EVERY SINGLE DAY since my son was born. Naturally, when I saw this item on her registry it was an easy choice. I hope she'll enjoy it as much as I have. This thing is so simple to use and gets those bottles clean in minutes. It's so much more efficient than running the dishwasher too. I do soak them in soapy water first, but still! You can even put your breast pump pieces in here. And I toss pacifiers in too for a quick, thorough cleaning. Be careful though - I have melted a medicine dropper or two. It does get pretty hot!

Here's another bottle accessory that I'll bet I would have used a lot too if I'd ever gotten around to buying one. An insulated bottle bag probably would come in handy considering my baby boy is SO picky about the temperature of his bottles. I could have put bottles of warm water in one of these babies to keep it at a palate-satisfying temp for longer periods of time. It's not too late - maybe I'll still order one. Diaperbags.com has these bottle bags in lots of cute colors and patterns not to mention TONS of adorable, fashionable diaper bags.

When did he....? How long ago did he....?

2008-06-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

These are questions tired, frazzled parents will ask again and again in those first few sleep-deprived weeks. There is an answer. It's called the Itzbeen. The simple push of a button (yes, that's really all you have to do) will count the minutes and hours since baby's last bottle, nap, or ... you know. My mom bought this for me during my first week home after she realized how completely out of touch I was. It was a lifesaver. We still use it to track baby's medicine dosing. This is one gadget I would recommend to any new mother.

This Aint Your Mother's Motherhood

2008-06-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

It's a good time to be a mom. Manufacturers seem to be understanding what it is that babies and parents need. If you haven't stepped inside a baby department lately, you'll probably be surprised to find all the great products available to new parents. When I was pregnant I had two baby showers where friends and family practically drowned me in gifts. One thing I heard occasionally was, "We didn't have that when I was a mother," or "You don't need that. I raised 4 children and never had one of those." Well, too bad, Grandma! It's here and I'm using it! It's too bad "they" didn't have "those" when you had your babies - your life might have been easier. Boppy Pillows, Bumbo Baby Sitters, and Baby Bjorn are all examples of things Grandma didn't have and, according to her, aren't necessary. I think Grandma is a little jealous. My plan for this blog is to post products that I come across that I feel might benefit some mother or child out there. If I see something, I'll share it, and invite you, whoever you are, to do the same.