Shop local, buy on line.
Babyshere.com a local Arlington Virginia company that offers environmentally friendly baby announcements, shower invitations and thank-you cards on 100% recycled paper is working with Arlington Baby Community to sponsor a give-away. The winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate to Babyshere.com.
Send an email to Carolyn@arlingtonbabycommunity.com and include a valid email address to enter the lottery.
The winner will be announced on October 19, 2008.
Arlington Baby Community readers will save 15% off orders of Isabooties by using the coupon
code falltime08. The coupon code expires September 31, 2008.
IsaBooties are non slip footwear for babies. They are animal-free, formaldehyde-free, made in the USA, recyclable, printed with soy ink and are machine-washable. Oh, and they are adorable, too. Isabooties are created and designed by 2 mom who were local Arlington residents for many years.
As usual, Nanna and Pop-Pop came bearing gifts. Along with his new tricycle, Peanut loves his new Splash! book. It is made from natural renewable resources such as recycled paper and soy ink. The board book has bright pictures and just the right amount of words to hold his interest. It even has a handle allowing him to carry it around the house with him.
I can be a bit of a germ-phobe. Rumor has it that the last time my husband was sick, I sprayed him with antibacterial sanitizer. And, there are times when I want to give Peanut a good antibacterial hosing down such as after a trip to the park or a gym class. But, I don’t want to expose him to alcohol just yet.
In retrospect, a multi-level townhouse with a baby was, perhaps, not the best option. We put off installing gates as long as possible. We did not know which gates to buy and since we needed 5 of them, we wanted to get the right ones. For us, the right ones would be easy for us to install and use and hard for Peanut to master. We tried and rejected a few before we settled on Kidco Safeway Gate Model G20C.
First we tried the hands free gate. I loved the idea that I would simply step on a pedal and the gate would magically open. And, it was nice to open the gate with just my foot; but I did not find that this gate was truly hands free. While the gate opened by stepping (hard) on a pedal, it swung open and stayed there. It did not automatically close, so you did have to turn around and use your hand to close the gate. The gate is also very narrow and we needed to install an extension in order for it to fit. Some of our stairwells were too wide and even with the extension, the gate would not fit. And, you can only use one extension. Also, it is a pressure gate and did not seem too sturdy. The most annoying aspect of this gate is the width of the opening. The space you have to walk in through the gate is very narrow. I had a hard time maneuvering through it without hitting the side of the gate even when I was not carrying Peanut. And, I am a pretty small person. These gates were soon returned.
Next we tried the Dream Baby Extra Tall gate. These were rejected right out of the box. First, the gate is so narrow, we would have to install 2 extensions on either side of the gate to make it fit. Second, it is not just “extra” tall, it is enormous. I had wanted a taller gate since Peanut is tall and a climber, but this gate was ridiculously high and, therefore, a huge eyesore.
Our final attempt at finding the perfect gate was the Kidco Safeway Gate G20C. We installed these at the top and bottom of all stairs. They are not perfect, but they are the best in my opinion. The good: They have a very high safety rating. You push down a small knob on the side as you push the gate open. Easy for an adult, impossible for a baby. Even our very wild and enterprising son can not get master them. He can not open them, get under or over them or knock them over. They are wide enough to fit all of our stairwells. They are the right height; tall enough to prevent Peanut from trying to climb over them, but not so high that we feel like we are in jail. We installed them with the Kidco installation kits which is basically a piece of wood you install the gates to and then attach to the banister so that you do not have to drill into the banister. The bad: the gates were not that easy to install. It did take time.What I have learned is that there is no perfect gate, but we like the Kidco Safeway ones the best.
Our next home will be a ranch.
LOVE this line of cleaning products. Safe for baby, safe for the environment and safe for my tile and hardwood floors. And, makes my floors sparkle. I, honestly, don’t mind cleaning now. Well, most of the time.
I made sure everything Peaut ate was organic. I worried about lead in his toys. Then, one day it occured to me that all of Peanut’s silverware was made in China and most were made of plastic. Each time I fed him, I was exposing Peanut to chemicals I did not want him to have without realizing it.
On his birthday, Peanut received a fork and spoon set from his Grandma. The spoon and fork are shaped like a construction set and have large easy to grip handles ideal for Peanut to learn to feed himself. They are phtalate-free, PVC-free and made in Michigan. I had searched all over for silverware not made in China without potentially harmful chemicals.
The search is over. Let the construction begin.
When Peanut was 9 months old, we learned that we may have been poisoning him. The Avent bottles we grew to love contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) , an estrogen-like toxic compound that has been shown to cause harm to animals in laboratory tests.
We compromised and replaced some of the bottles with the Born Free bottles.
1. The miracle blanket. Most babies like to be swaddled. Since it is almost impossible to replicate the cozy swaddled blankets the nurses in the hospital mastered, I suggest buying a swaddling blanket. We loved the miracle blanket. We were hesitant to try it at first because it looks complicated. However, once we mastered it after a few attempts, it worked wonders. The baby will be cozy and SLEEP, GLORIOUS SLEEP. www.miracleblanket.com
2. Carters snap sleepers. We almost used nothing else the first three months. O.k., six months. They are soft and comfortable, and work day and night and in the beginning is there really much of a difference? Easy to put on and take-off. Inexpensive. Babies R’ Us often has deals on these. The Little Me brand are cute as well.
3. Snap and Go stroller. As far as I am concerned there is no need for any other stroller when your baby is still in his/her infant seat. Unfold the stroller, plop the infant seat in and go. It is light, easy to open and close and sturdy enough for most outings. Graco makes one for their car seat as well.
4. Bassinet. If you don’t want to put baby in the crib in his/her own room when he is days old, I would suggest a bassinet. The crib looks to big for the tiny baby and your bed may look way to big. We put the bassinet right next to our bed for the first 2 months. I suggest the Kolcraft easy reach bassinet beacuse the canopy is on the side allowing the easiest way to get baby in and out without waking him. It also plays music, has a vibrate setting and a mobile.
5. Bebe monitor. As soon as Peanut was born, I was scared that he would stop breathing the minute I took my eyes off of him and allowed myself to fall asleep. At the hospital, I had to send him to the nursery for a few hours to get sleep, hoping the nurses would watch over him. At home, we used the bebe monitor. It has a small mat that is placed under the mattress and detects if the baby stops breathing. It gave me peace of mind to sleep. Not that I did much of that, ofcouse. It worked wonderfully in the bassinet, but not so much in the crib. The base of our crib set the monitor off falsely. I would advise checking to make sure it works with your crib base board before you invest in one. But, for me it was worth the cost to allow me peace of mind for those 2 months in the bassinet. (Amazon now sells a base board to put under your crib to help stop false alarms).
6. Exersaucer. This is a great toy. Peanut started playing with his exersaucer when he was 4 months and loved it right away. At 9 months, he had less interest in it, but I would still recommend it. I think it helped him learn to stand. It kept him very busy. We have this one: The only problem that I have with it now is that it is made in China.
7. Pack and Play. You will get alot of use out of this. It is a bit of a pain to fold up and travel with it, but, it is worth it. Great for vacations and everyday use around the house. Many people have the one with the attached changing table. While that option would probably be best for us in our four story townhouse, I only like changing the baby on his changing table. I just can’t bring myself to change him anywhere else. Note: by 11 months, peanut has zero interest in being put in it.
8. Play Zone. I highly recommend having a baby safe playzone for baby to roam around without having to watch him/her like a hawk. Peanut loves to play with his toys and I get to have my morning coffee without worries. I have tried a few, but prefer this one. Be warned: it is very small. I added two extensions. Some people buy 2 playzones and put them together. Just one by itself is pretty useless if your baby likes to move. One of peanut’s favorite activities was throwing his toys over the edge and then trying to retrieve them through the bars. It is fun to be a spectator.
9. Play Mats. We have these all over our house. Some in the playzone, some around his crib for when peanut will inevitably climb out and some covering our hardwood floors. These are the thickest I have found. They are large 24’ mats without small and dirty pieces for the baby to pull off and put in his/her mouth.
10. Good rocker. you will spend hours in your rocker with your baby. Spend some time looking for a comfortable one. Try it out and have someone who is not pregnant try it as well. I would get an ottoman with a nursing stool, whether or not you nurse.
11. Old Navy ankle socks. They may not be the cutest baby socks around (those would be Trumpet socks www.trumpette.com ), but the Old Navy ankle socks are easy to get on and stay on without being uncomfortably tight. They are also inexpensive. I would suggest stocking up. www.oldnavy.com
12. Shopping Cart cover. We didn’t start to use this until Peanut was 9 months. It makes shopping so much easier. No more pushing the stroller and pulling the shopping cart behind us. I recommend the “clean and comfy shopping cart cover” from One Step Ahead. It buckles across the waist as well and has straps over the shoulders making it relatively secure. Peanut tries to get out, but so far has not been successful. http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=427758&cmSource=Search
13. A babysitter. Try to find someone you are comfortable with and have a few hours for yourself. It is very hard. But, I have fond the longer you wait, the harder it becomes to actually get a babysitter. www.babysitters.com and www.sittercity.com allow you to post a job or search for local babysitters. You can do a background check on the potential babysitter and check his/her references.
14. Baby polar fleece for the winter baby. Easy to put on and take off. So comfy, you will want one for yourself. And baby will look so adorable wrapped up in fleece. As an added bonus, it tastes delicious according to our Peanut. We had no problems with him acting fussy when he wore his baby polar fleece, he would just lick it and laugh to keep himself occupied. www.babypolargear.com Also, I highly recommend the Nuzzler car seat cover. It is a fleece cover to keep baby warm in the car seat. It is safer than most car seat covers because it only covers the top of the seat and does not fit under baby. Therefore, there is nothing between baby and the car seat which many safety experts believe is important.
15. Sophie the Giraffe. A super teething toy from France. Baby will be very happy to shove it in his./her mouth for hours as the teeth begin to sprout. Sophie is not easy to find and she can be pricey. Try . The only problem you might have is the dark day that falls should Sophie get lost or thrown out of the stroller. http://www.cheekymonkey.ca/sophiegiraffe.htm
16. Amazon Prime. They have a 3 month free trial. I tried it and kept it for the year. Free shipping on many items. As you can see, I am a huge Amazon fan. They have almost everything and it arrives at your doorstep in a day or 2.
