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.
We had some family pictures taken by A.B.C’s expert photographer, Danie Smallwood at Echo Park. Despite the heat and a subject who won’t sit still for a nanosecond, she got some great shots. She even put a few of them together in a collage so I could have some gifts for the relatives.
My family: clarkfamily.jpg clarkfamily.jpg
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.
Play:Where is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz: This is the book that started it all. Peanut does not sit still. Ever. He barely makes it through dinner in his high chair, before it is time for him to be on the go again. Therefore, I imagined it would be quite a while before he would sit and listen to a book. But, a few months ago, we received this book as a gift and we have not stopped reading together ever since. He enjoys all flap books, but this one and the Gossie series by Olivier Dunrea are his (and our) favorites. Another favorite of ours is Hug by Jez Alborough. Watching him clap with excitement when Mommy comes to give Bobo a hug is one of the highlights of my day. He could listen to the rhymes in Just like Mommy and Just like Daddy by Cecilia Johansson for hours.
Jumperoo: The rain forest jumperoo is the official toy of my play group. All of the babies love it and most own one. Peanut started jumping at about 4 months. At 13 months, he doesn’t spend too much time in it anymore. But, when he does, he has a blast.
Chicco Baby Activity Walker: This has been a long time favorite. Peanut runs with it, walks with it and is clearly proud of himself when he hits the jackpot and gets the shape in the correct hole.
Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Home: Peanut can play with this for hours. He loves fitting the key into the door and putting the mail in the mailbox (and taking it out again and again). We bought it at Toys R Us. Check out the reviews on their site and you will see Peanut is not alone in his obsession.
Music table: We have two. He loves them both. We have the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn table and the Learn and Groove Music table. Both from Toys R Us.
Scotty Cameron Putter: Just like his daddy, Peanut already appears to loves all things golf. I do not recommend giving a baby a putter, ofcourse.
Equipment:Bob Revolution stroller: In a previous post, I complained about the Bob Ironman stroller (still HATE it). But, since I am such a Stroller Strides fanatic (www.strollerstrides.com), I needed a good walking stroller. The Maclaren Quest is good, but Peanut would get antsy and start standing up just a few minutes into class. I gave in and bought yet another stroller, the Bob Revolution. We all love it. It moves so easily, even with just one hand (something the Maclaren and the Ironman can not do). It is comfortable for Peanut who actually sits rather than stands in it. I take it just about everywhere. You can fit tons of packages under the carriage. I no longer carry a diaper bag and fit everything in the stroller itself. My complaints: (and I can not imagine a stroller that would not warrant a few) it is heavy to get in and out of the car. Also, it is large and, occasionally, I have some trouble in stores with it. Overall, I am thrilled that I added the Bob Revolution to my ridiculously large stroller collection.
JJ Cole Urban Bundle Me Toddler: I get comments about this almost on a daily basis. We keep it attached to the Bob Revolution stroller. It is comfy and cozy for Peanut. It is as if he is traveling in a sleeping bag. We do not need to put him in a huge winter jacket, just a light coat and zip up the Bundle Me. The best part is that it collects all stray toys that would have otherwise been thrown over the side of the stroller and lost. I love that when he eats his Healthy Times Teddy Puff’s from the snack trap, the excess puffs are contained inside the Bundle Me rather than following us like a trail of bread crumbs. For infants, I still prefer the baby polar fleece that zips on the outside of the infant car seat (see prior entry, The Buying Guide). I would not use the Bundle Me in a car seat for safety reasons.
Diaper Genie 2: We tried many diaper pails and have found this one to be the best. Easy to use and contains the stink. We first tried the Diaper Champ, but we found that it was too difficult to close. After you put the diaper in the pail, you turn the handle to flip the diaper into the bottom. We found the handle to be extremely difficult to turn, even when the pail was empty. There were times when I thought my husband would throw the thing out of Peanut’s 3rd story window. Next, we used a regular garbage can. Easy to open and economical, but we needed to take the trash out everyday, or else. Also, for some reason, Peanut was fascinated by the plain white trash can and, if allowed to, would spend hours trying to knock it over. The Diaper Genie 2 was our last and final pail. You do need to buy special garbage bags, but they are easy to install and dispose of. As long as we take the trash out every few days, there is no smell.
Everything else:California Baby Shampoo and Body Wash: No nut butters. No parabans. No sodium laurel sulfates. And, smells wonderful. No need for anything else.
Healthy Times Baby Food: This is the only jar organic baby food I have found that is not processed in a facility that also processes nuts. We used Earth’s Best for a year before I learned that they process nuts on the same equipment used to make the baby food (they do say that they clean the equipment in between). But, knowing what I do now about food allergies, I only give Peanut Healthy Times. The flavors sound great, too (such as Aloha Mango Chicken and Pumpkin Pie). And, Peanut seems to enjoy them. It is sold at Whole Foods, but, for the more exotic flavors, try their website, www.healthytimes.com
Numi Organic Black Vanilla Decaf Tea: I first tried this tea back in October at the Green festival in D.C. I threw caution to the wind and bought a box without even tasting it. Vanilla anything tempts me, but add the intriguing black vanilla and I am sold. 2 months later I am a full-on addict. I buy them by the 6 pack through Amazon. I try to limit myself to 1 day. It is hard. I mix it with Silk soy milk and a drop of brown rice syrup. I am sure more normal people would like it with milk and honey or just plain. So good!
Snowstorms: I am craving the first snow storm of the season. Do we really get snowstorms in Virginia? The real ones; where the snow is measured by the foot rather than by measly little inches. I love how everything slows down during the storm. You simply can not do anything. You are forced to relax. Make soup, read a book, drink tea (see above) and relax and snuggle by the fire. On any ordinary day, I find it very hard to relax. It is impossible for me to sit and chill out. But, during a storm, I let everything go; every worry, every item on my never ending to-do list is ignored and I am happy. I anticipate the program interrupting breaking news- another quarter of an inch marks off the ruler of the freezing newscaster who jokes she wants to be inside where it is warm. I look forward to sharing snow days with my son. Building snowmen and forts and trying to get that last bit of snow out of our mittens.
Stroller Strides: I am a big fan of stroller strides. I get a great workout. I hang out with fellow moms. Peanut sees his friends. When the weather is warm, he gains the freedom to roam Lubber Run park with his pals. I like that I have little excuse to miss class because the workout is as hard as I make it. On the days that I am simply exhausted from staying up late with Peanut, I start by just going through the motions. By the end of class, I find that I am pushing myself. Sticking with stroller strides has made a huge difference in my weight loss. I am so glad that I make the time for stroller strides.
Television: I don’t watch much, but I am very passionate about the shows I never miss:
The Amazing Race: CBS Sunday nights at 8pm. I love the Amazing Race because it allows me to feel as though I have traveled the world without leaving home. So far this season, I have seen Burkina Faso, the Netherlands and Lithuania. I have watched contestants teach and learn language from school children in western Africa. Yeah, the teams can be annoying when they bicker and it can be so nerve-wracking when the teams are vying for space on the last flight that sometimes I have to leave the room. But, it is such an exciting hour of television. I actually applied to be a contestant once. Well, twice. Odd, since I am scared to do most things they do on the show- skydive, rappel down sky-scrapers, traipse through bat caves, walk through rat infested caves; oh and fly. Can’t imagine why I didn’t get picked.
The Closer: It is a summer show, but TBS often repeats it during the year. I love the characters and the writing. The relationships between the characters are extremely realistic. The characters seem like real people. Thankfully, the always perfect Fritz was finally brought down to earth recently. Kyra Sedgewick is amazing as Brenda Leigh Johnston. The baseball eipsode is a classic. Thank you. Thank you very much.
The Young and the Restless: Try not to hold it against me. I have been watching this soap on and off since 1988. Between 1988-2006 not much changed. I would miss entire semesters worth of shows in college, but no problem, I never had to tape an episode. Ashley was in the same fight with Victor she was in 4 months earlier. In 2006 when I became pregnant and decided that I must watch a soap opera, I started setting my dvr. I watched each episode in its entirety. Good thing since the head writer had been replaced with one who wants an action-packed soap. Now, each week there is another dead body, life-changing discovery, jail sentence or person and/or his twin arriving in Genoa City back from the dead. As ridiculous and awful as it is, I can not miss a moment. I allow Peanut to watch the opening credits with me. He loves the song and is immediately entranced. Lucky, for him, his doctor says no television.
Boots: Can one ever have too many pairs? I have a closet full of tall black boots, short tan ones and every shade of brown. Sometimes, I just open the closet to admire them. More often than I care to admit, the sexy black boots are skipped over for the comfy beat-up UGGS. Don’t get me wrong, I love shoes in general. As a kid, I was so excited whenever I got a new pair, I slept with them. Not on my feet, but on my pillow, next to my head as if they were an invited guest. But, boots; they hold a special place in my heart. Right now I have my eye on a pair of short Black UGGS size 6. So 2005, I know. But, why bother with another pair I won’t wear?
The New York Rangers: I love watching all hockey, but the NYR are my boys. There was a time, pre-Peanut, when I could tell you the full name, position, hometown and stats of every player to wear blue. Now, I am lucky to remember to watch the games. I still love good hockey talk.
Alexander McCall Smith: I have read just about all of this prolific author’s books. My current favorite is the Isabelle Dalhousie series. I won’t tell you more until after you read them. Hate to spoil the fun.
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.
