April 25, 2010
This week’s topic: Shower Gift Ideas
The gift that every mother needs but does not know it…yet!
The Fisher-Price Soothing Motions Glider
A co-worker of mine told me about this item when I was pregnant and I thought “Sure, I’ll add it to the registry and see if we get it!” Well, we did and I have to say I could not have lived without this item. Why? I had a c-section and it was almost impossible for me to bend. This piece has a large base that can be put on any sturdy table and it made it possible for me to lift SBG out of the glider easily. The back and forth motion kept SBG happy for hours. The other plus was that the first few nights at home she slept in it. Even though her bassinet was tiny it was still a big space for someone who was used to being in a nice secure tight area for 9 months. The Motion Glider was a great transition piece (I cried when she grew out of it). Currently, I have only been able to find it online at www.babiesrus.com.
Shower-themed gift ideas
I love getting a baby shower invitation in the mail because my mind starts turning of what ideas I can put together for the very special Mama-to-be. Here are just a few of my own ideas. Two items I always include are baby mittens (mittens for Mama’s kitten!) and at least one book for baby.
**-BTW, if you use any of these ideas please email me photos and I will gladly post them on my blog! rainprint2003@yahoo.com
-Holiday Baby Clothes: A fun gift to give is one that includes holiday-themed outfits, bibs, socks, onesies, and picture frames; anything that says “Baby’s 1st…” I remember trying to find every holiday outfit for SBG at the last minute, even bibs to mark her first holiday, but I quickly found that there is enough to worry about during the holidays. Do your Mama-to-be a favor and give the new mom one less thing to put on her future holiday to-do lists.
-College/University Outfits: It is a given; if you went to college with me you are getting a St. Vincent College baby item at your shower! Even get one for dad’s Alma mater too. These always get a great crowd reaction!
-Rock ‘n Roll Baby: Nothing gets more “oooh’s and ahh’s” at a shower than the gift that is “different.” A great company called RockaBye Baby (http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/) takes songs from popular artists and turns them into lullabies. I actually bought the Nirvana CD for my husband to give to him on the day of our shower. Get one (or 2) of these CD’s of the mom and dad’s favorite group, and make it perfect with a onesie or bib with the band logo.
-Picture Basket: Fill a basket with picture frames and photo albums of all sizes. Add a gift certificate to a portrait session, give a gift certificate to an online photo company for Mama to purchase photos of her new baby at no charge, or purchase a gift certificate to www.babyhomepages.net; this is a website where Mama and Dad can create their own website for their family. I am a huge fan and member. We started ours for SBG while I was pregnant and it is such a treasure to have all those memories in one place.
-Diapers: Diapers are an essential item for any Mama. Buy Mama multiple packages of diapers in ALL sizes (it is always nice to have the next size up already on hand when you need them) and throw in some wipes too. You can wrap it up like a pyramid or put them in red wagon with a bow. That would surely get quite a crowd reaction.
It is always fun to know the gender when shopping for a shower gift:
Girl Theme: A fun idea for a Mama who is having a girl is to get super girly for the gift. Yes, pink dresses and outfits are a must, but also put in baby-girl’s first baby doll or Barbie, cute hats, bathing suits, pink sippy cups and bibs. But most of all, don’t forget the best part: HAIR ACCESSORIES! My absolute new favorite company is B-Crazi’s Bowtique. The customer service is excellent and the turnaround is fast. She does custom hair bows and her prices are reasonable. I found her at http://www.facebook.com/bcrazis and she was able to show me my bow before she mailed it. The day I received the bow I immediately ordered up another one!
Boy Theme: Blue onesies and socks, a fancy bowtie, bathing suit, soft Tonka truck toys, baseball caps, a cute Fedora, stuffed animal puppy, or a favorite sports team jersey.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
April 17, 2010
Hello and Welcome to my new Blog! I wanted to start this blog because I wanted to share some of my experiences with parents, siblings, grandparents, and anyone else who might need some advice on baby items, experience, and great baby gift-giving ideas! I am a proud mama of my incredible two-year-old daughter Charleston, who I will refer to as “sweet baby girl” (or SBG). I hope you enjoy our adventures and maybe we can help you out somehow along the way!
Practical baby items that also make great gifts.
Anytime, a friend of mine tells me the exciting news that they are expecting I always send them my “Must-List!” This is a list of great websites and baby items that I could not live without. It also includes just fun websites that I found during my 9-month journey with sweet baby girl. I send the “Must-List” to friends of mine who found out they have a sister or friend expecting, just in case they are looking for some great gift ideas.
My top two favorite sites are www.mom4life.com and www.babylegs.com. This is why: Mom4life.com is a website for moms solely made up of products that are made by moms. Plus, they have free shipping on all of their products! But more importantly, I love looking at this site to see the newest products out there because this site helps lend credibility to new mama products. I also appreciate all of the BPA-free and green products they list.
Two of my favorite items offered on Mom4life.com were Smart Mom Donut Shaped Teething Pendant and the Raz-Berry Teether by Razbaby.
The teething pendant was so incredible. It is a teether that is designed to look like jewelry and is attached to a rope necklace so mama can effortlessly keep the teether from being thrown or dropped onto the floor. Sweet baby girl started to use it when she was about 6 months old; I remember I picked my Christmas Eve outfit out to match my pendant. It was a great accessory but also kept sweet baby girl very happy.
Not only are the Raz-Berry teethers truly adorable and a shower gift hit, they are practical as well. Anytime new teeth started to come in for SBG I gave her the Raz-Berry teether and it would calm her down. A lot of drool, to be sure, but worth it to see her distracted from the pain. Even at two-years-old it still comes in handy. It is a great gift because it can be used at all different teething stages.
Now, my other top pick for practical use and an awesome baby gift idea are BabyLegs! Oh, I cannot rave about this product enough. They are great for both boys and girls and have multiple uses, which I have listed below. Sweet baby girl has eczema; anytime the “Itchies” started we would put on her BabyLegs on her arms and her legs to keep her from scratching, which would help ease the pain. Here were my other great uses for BabyLegs:
• Doctor’s office: You know how they make you change the baby out of their clothes and down to their diaper once you enter the examination room? I always pack a pair of BabyLegs for after her weight check to keep her warm in the doctor’s office. She always gets lots of compliments from the nurses and her doctor!
• Summer time: BabyLegs have these amazing leg warmers called BabyLegs Cool; they have 50+ UV protection and are made of a different material to keep your little one “cooler.” Not only do we use these on vacation to protect her fair skin from the sun but we also use them in the car on sunny days to protect her legs and arms from the sun and prevent sunburn while she is in her car seat.
• Cool weather: I use them under skirts or dresses in case the weather is not quite warm enough no matter what time of year. And sometimes I’ll even put them over her tights if there happens to be a certain look I want her to have. Especially with a holiday outfit.
• Diaper changes: This is especially helpful for us with an eczema breakout to prevent her from itching her legs or arms while having her diaper changed.
• Bathtime: They keep her warm after a bath before we put on her pajamas and they are quick and easy to get on and off.
• They just look great: A great and fun product for mama’s who want their babies to be stylish and at a reasonable price.
Practical baby items that also make great gifts.
Anytime, a friend of mine tells me the exciting news that they are expecting I always send them my “Must-List!” This is a list of great websites and baby items that I could not live without. It also includes just fun websites that I found during my 9-month journey with sweet baby girl. I send the “Must-List” to friends of mine who found out they have a sister or friend expecting, just in case they are looking for some great gift ideas.
My top two favorite sites are www.mom4life.com and www.babylegs.com. This is why: Mom4life.com is a website for moms solely made up of products that are made by moms. Plus, they have free shipping on all of their products! But more importantly, I love looking at this site to see the newest products out there because this site helps lend credibility to new mama products. I also appreciate all of the BPA-free and green products they list.
Two of my favorite items offered on Mom4life.com were Smart Mom Donut Shaped Teething Pendant and the Raz-Berry Teether by Razbaby.
The teething pendant was so incredible. It is a teether that is designed to look like jewelry and is attached to a rope necklace so mama can effortlessly keep the teether from being thrown or dropped onto the floor. Sweet baby girl started to use it when she was about 6 months old; I remember I picked my Christmas Eve outfit out to match my pendant. It was a great accessory but also kept sweet baby girl very happy.
Not only are the Raz-Berry teethers truly adorable and a shower gift hit, they are practical as well. Anytime new teeth started to come in for SBG I gave her the Raz-Berry teether and it would calm her down. A lot of drool, to be sure, but worth it to see her distracted from the pain. Even at two-years-old it still comes in handy. It is a great gift because it can be used at all different teething stages.
Now, my other top pick for practical use and an awesome baby gift idea are BabyLegs! Oh, I cannot rave about this product enough. They are great for both boys and girls and have multiple uses, which I have listed below. Sweet baby girl has eczema; anytime the “Itchies” started we would put on her BabyLegs on her arms and her legs to keep her from scratching, which would help ease the pain. Here were my other great uses for BabyLegs:
• Doctor’s office: You know how they make you change the baby out of their clothes and down to their diaper once you enter the examination room? I always pack a pair of BabyLegs for after her weight check to keep her warm in the doctor’s office. She always gets lots of compliments from the nurses and her doctor!
• Summer time: BabyLegs have these amazing leg warmers called BabyLegs Cool; they have 50+ UV protection and are made of a different material to keep your little one “cooler.” Not only do we use these on vacation to protect her fair skin from the sun but we also use them in the car on sunny days to protect her legs and arms from the sun and prevent sunburn while she is in her car seat.
• Cool weather: I use them under skirts or dresses in case the weather is not quite warm enough no matter what time of year. And sometimes I’ll even put them over her tights if there happens to be a certain look I want her to have. Especially with a holiday outfit.
• Diaper changes: This is especially helpful for us with an eczema breakout to prevent her from itching her legs or arms while having her diaper changed.
• Bathtime: They keep her warm after a bath before we put on her pajamas and they are quick and easy to get on and off.
• They just look great: A great and fun product for mama’s who want their babies to be stylish and at a reasonable price.
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