Baby Favorites

If you're a new mom, shopping for a baby shower, or going to be a mommy anytime in the future..here are some things you may want to think about getting to save your life!!!! I've listed the top 10 things I couldn't live without being a mom, at least a mom to a baby. These do not include the givens, diapers, wipes, food, but are definitely things you may want to look into.

In no specific order:

1. Diaper Genie II- especially now that she is eating solids, I don't think we could live without it. Plus it's so easy to take out and change the cartridges.









2. Purell Hand Sanitizer- for times when you could use a sink but there's none around. Love the stuff with aloe so your hands don't dry out too.









3. Baby carrier- any kind will do, I have Infantino. But this comes in handy for shopping, simple housework or just calming your baby down sometimes even putting them to sleep. Not so great for doing dishes or anything food related.








4. Burp cloths- Avery is the spit up queen, so this was and is still a must for us. We have them upstairs, downstairs, in the car, in the diaper bag, and still that's not enough. Easy to wash and handy for explosions.






5. Swing- I love love love the Fisher Price Papasan! It's so versatile you can rock two different ways, and Avery loves the mirror and animals. Unfortunately, the weight limit says 25lbs but Avery is topping it off at 17.5lbs. She is too big for the seat and when we put her in it creaks, probably not a great sign. But she has used it tons since birth, so I'd say we got our money's worth, if you don't have one and have a new baby put this on your registry!





6. Gas drops- these were a huge help. I use Little Tummies Gas Drops, I've also heard that their Gripe Water is a good one, we buy these in bulk :):)








7. At least 2 changing pad covers- of course changing pad covers are a must, but I love that I have two, when one is in the wash I can use the other, I don't have to wait for it to wash and dry, this definitely saves me time and is well worth it.

8. Pampers diapers- I was going to just put Swaddlers on here, but since then I've also used Cruisers and Baby Dry and love all of the Pamper Line diapers. They are great, as far as diapers go. They may be a little more expensive than some others, but I've not had one pee-pee leak period.

9. A good watch- not just any watch, a watch with a stopwatch feature is a must. I use mine to time feedings and also to see how long she is awake and sleeping. Even to this day I am using it to help me remember. Lord knows every mom has a lot of things on her mind already, why not help yourself out a little bit? The only thing is you have to remember to set the timer or else it's worthless. It's more sporty than fashionable but then again now you're a mommy. Sometimes fashion has to suffer when it comes to convenience.

10. One word: Boppy. I use this for lots of stuff. Mainly to feed Avery, it saves my back and gives her and I support. Whether your baby is formula-fed or breast-fed you can use this. We also used to prop Avery up with it when she was very small and then when she was learning to sit up alone used it as a cushion. The covers and Boppy are both washable and easy to travel with.



I hope these suggestions help you. I know there are tons more but these were the most important to me.

The Napping House

When my husband first brought The Napping House into our home, touting that it was one of his childhood favorites, I wondered if it would be current enough to be fun for my 2.5 year old to sit and listen to. (After all, it was published when I was just four years old!)

Well, the short answer to that is that she loves this book, and, secretly, so do I! The playful repetition in the book helps the reader to participate by joining along in the sing-songy lines and fuels opportunities for making animal and snoring noises along with the funny characters we meet in The Napping House.

The book begins with a rainy dreary night in a tired house. It opens with a plump, snoring granny and climaxes with a sleepy child, dog, cat, mouse, and flea all perched atop the granny in the silliest of positions, making readers and listeners alike giggle.

Each character gets it's own creative way to awaken the next. This wild sequence of events unfolds to a happy house where "no one now is napping."

My favorite part of this book is the illustrations. The New York Times awarded this book Best Illustrated Children's Book in 1984. Don Wood's playful images help children understand each part of the book from the yawning dog to the clawing cat. His depictions of this hilarious tale make the words on the page come to life. The images really convey the story of how everyone ended up in that small bed, bending with each addition, and how each fun character woke the other up in the silliest of fashions.

Audrey Wood and Don Wood have certainly created an imaginative piece of literature that you can read over and over again, each time inspiring laughter from your audience. I would highly recommend this book for kids of all ages.

Story Bird Designs

Occasionally I get lucky at drawings and contests, and recently I won a fun prize through a twitter retweet contest. Check out this beautiful handmade Glass Tile:

I was given the choice of all of the beautiful pendants and choose this one. I'm not sure what the designer had in mind for this piece but to me it symbolizes my life as a mommy. When I first became a mom I struggled with the fact that I thought I had lost "me", and was now "just" a mom. It took some great friends and some experience to realize that I could reinvent myself as both "me" and "mommy" combined. So there I am the tree who has the best of both worlds.

What's your favorite pendant??

There are so many different necklaces available on Story Bird Design's Etsy Site, go get yours now!
And if you're not yet following me on twitter, check out my page and become a fan! http://twitter.com/MommyBKnowsBest

Piggy Paint

Angel Kisses, Twinkle Toes, and Glass Slippers, that's what Piggy Paints are made from. Actually those are a few of the fun names of these wonderfully non-toxic, hypoallergenic nail polishes. Piggy paints are actually made from water, water-miscible acrylic resins and thickeners (well below 100 parts per million), and glycol ethers. 

Piggy Paint has received the Excellence Award from Safbaby.com and their seal of approval as an approved Vendor of Mom approved-child tested products!!

My least favorite part of nail painting are the fumes. Especially now that I'm pregnant I think the smells are ten times worse. When painting my daughter, little Miss A's nails, I was often overwhelmed by the scent of regular nail polishes and cringed when she would stick her fingers in her mouth only to have ingested some paint chips. I searched for a healthier option and like many was lead to try Piggy Paint, kid-friendly polishes.

When I got my bottle of Piggy Paint in Girls Rule! I noticed the pretty pink purple hue and the fun metallic pearl sheen. I knew Miss A would love the color too. Next, being curious, I put the opened bottle up to my super sniffer, (pregnant nose,) and was simply amazed to say the least.


The nail polish has very little smell and what smell it does have is not your typical nail polish smell rather more of a non-toxic children's paint smell. The polish remover was just as impressive if not more impressive with the lack of overwhelming chemical scent. A momma's dream!!

Avery was beyond excited to get her nails painted. The polish comes in a great sized bottle, not too large and bulky and not too small to hold onto. The polish went on very smoothly especially considering a very wiggly 2.5 year old. 

The end result, pretty piggies, excited little girl, and healthfully happy mommy. Oh and a new learned skill....

Want to know how to get yours? Be sure to visit http://www.piggypaint.com and use coupon code: BEST15L for 15% off anything on the Piggy Paint website including sale items. (Code expires December 15, 2009) Spend over $25 and domestic shipping is FREE! Follow PiggyPaint on twitter.com/piggypaint  & Facebook for secret sales and special offers! 

Friendly Chicken

For those of you who regularly frequent Chick-Fil-A with or without your families I don't have to tell you how amazing this fast food restaurant is. In my opinion, and until I am corrected, this is the top family fast food joint offering customer service, kid friendliness, and tasty food high above other fast food standards.

Chick-Fil-A is the only fast food restaurant where I'm greeted and my order is taken in a very polite manner. Occasionally I'll get a, "How are you," or a "Please pull up" at other ff restaurants but typically I'm just glad if I get a glum, "Can I take your order." 

Now aside from their friendliness this joint is amazing if you have kids. This is the only fast food that I know of that gives you disposable place mats, bendy straws, and allows the kids to trade their toy for ice cream. On several occasions when dining in we've had servers help by brining food to our table and even getting items like high chairs, and silverware for our table instead of staring at us while we struggle like most fast food restaurants. Just that in itself amazes me.

Also on the kid front I love that Chick-Fil-A is so involved in the community offering several activities monthly for families.  

Now while I'm not always in the mood for chicken, (sorry Chick-Fil-A cows,) when I am I do love their fried chicken and the fact that it's white meat. Maybe not the healthiest lunch but very tasty. I appreciate the reduced fat milk and fruit cup choices for the kids meals. 

I love Sunday's but I do have my sad moments when I realize that Chick-Fil-A is closed :(

So thank you Chick-Fil-A for being kid friendly, community friendly, tummy friendly, and just generally friendly! 

Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses

Being pregnant this time around I've had the weirdest cravings, maybe because I spend a good amount of my day-to-day in the grocery store, or maybe because this little one wants different things.

Little "Miss A" and I perused the Halloween Candy aisle to stock up our own pantry and fill our own bellies, sorry Trick-or-Treaters, your time will come. We stumbled upon several different kinds of holiday Hershey Kisses including, but not limited to, the Candy Corn and Carmel Apple but what intrigued me most for my recent preggo cravings was the Pumpkin Spice. Mmm sounded delish.

Once we got home and the car was unloaded, I was very excited to break into this bag and much on these creative holiday candies. In an attempt to show you the insides of the Pumpkin Spice Kiss check out this fun photo.

I assumed as most Hershey Kisses it would be chocolatey, my favorite! But instead it is more of a pumpkin white chocolate mixture. Now I love love love sweets and chocolate and again perhaps it's my maternity taste buds, but I found this treat by itself to be a little too sweet. I would suggest these to go best on top of sugar cookies or maybe in some hot cocoa or coffee to take the sugary "edge" off the sweet treat.

Overall, a tasty once and a while treat that can (Pumpkin) Spice up your desserts but not something I would snack on regularly, perhaps that's why it's a limited edition item.

Intelligender

I'm totally one of those moms who is super-planner-woman. When it comes to finding out the sex of my babies I'm not one to wait until their birth to find out. I totally applaud those mommas and think it's neat but SO not me. I need to know if I can buy girlie or boyish clothes, pick out a name, and make sure everything in general is set.

While our first sonogram technician was very clinical in letting us know our daughter was a girl we're still very excited to find out the sex of this baby that will join us in Spring of '10. In our talk about gender predicting using wives tales we've come across Intelligender. Maybe you've heard of it too.

This product is becoming increasingly popular and was recently featured in Parents magazine. Basically it's an affordable at home urine test that allows you to not only find out the gender of your unborn baby but also find it out earlier than a 2nd trimester gender ultrasound in which is usually given around week 18 to week 20.

Intelligender allows you to take this test as early as 10 weeks. For those parents who are extremely excited to find out the gender and just can't wait for the doctor's appointment this is a fun option. While results are not 100% they do stack up at 82%-90% accurate. I have a few friends who have had positive results.

In my very brief research of this product (as I'm hoping Intelligender will send me a sample to test my results,) I have found a number of complaints in regards to the test not being right. I have found however that in many of these cases the women are either taking the test before 10 weeks and also waiting longer for the results than listed in the instructions. I'm sure that not following the test exactly would give you mixed results.

Although I can wait for my ultrasound, (which I'm ever so excited about and thinking it's a boy,) it would be fun to test one of these out. Intelligender is sold in many retail drugstores. Check out http://intelligender.com/ if you're interested in finding out more about this product.