Baby Loves. Edition: The 2nd Time Around

I was stopped twice in 10 minutes at the mall yesterday by other moms asking about baby products.  I’ve been meaning to write a post with my favorite baby products the second time around for awhile now and that was a good reminder to get it done!  I won’t waste anymore time with intros, but instead I’ll link to my favorite products the first time around with Hadley…

Favorite Baby Products 0-3 Months

Favorite Baby Products 3-6 Months

Favorite Baby Products 6-9 Months

Just about all of those items (minus the strollers) would still make my list this time (and a couple of them earned a second mention!). 

1. Monitor: If you have more than one child, a monitor with the ability to add a camera is a great option.  We originally had a Motorola one which I loved, but after going through 2 in 2 years, we switched brands.  I like this Summer Infant one (not quite as much as the Motorola one) and have had good luck with it so far!

2. Teether: In my experience, most babies start to show signs of teething around 4 months.  I never really found anything Hadley liked chewing on, but I found these Lifefactory ones for Harper and she LOVES them.  They are light enough for her to hold, soft enough that it doesn’t hurt if she hits herself in the face with, and hard enough to feel good on her gums.  And you can freeze them!

3. Angel Dear Lovey/Blankie: I learned with Hadley that these are not just any old lovey.  Something about them makes them superior to other loveys in a baby’s eyes.  **TIP: I’d suggest buying the “Pair & a Spare” or “Cuddle Twins” sets that you can find on Amazon.**

4. Paci Clip: I bought a bunch of these from The Posh Tots on Etsy when Hadley was born and they are still my favorite. **TIP: The ribbon end makes these universal, so you can use them for any pacifier**

5. Wubbanub: These help the pacifier stay in baby’s mouth, and are also just incredibly cute!

6. Baby Carrier: I have used the K’Tan probably every other day since Harper was born.  It’s really similar to the Moby (but easier/quicker to get on), which is also great.  The other one I have heard great things about is the Ergo.  I haven’t used it, but if I were buying another one, that’s the next one I’d get.

7. Woombie: I bought this on a whim for Harper and ended up rush-ordering 3 more because we loved it so much.  So much easier than any swaddle blanket, and no busting out of it in the middle of the night!  The 2-way zipper is also great for middle of the night diaper changes.

8. Rock & Play: I was lucky enough to borrow this from a good friend this time around.  Harper slept in it for probably the first 3 months of her life.  It still floats around the house from room to room as a place for her to hang out when I’m cooking or cleaning.

9. Double Stroller: There are a million options out there for this, but I LOVE my City Select.  So many different seat configurations, easy to fold and a HUGE basket on the bottom.

10. Wipeable changing pad and diaper clutch: The one shown is a random picture I found online, but my favorite combination is a wet bag like this (http://www.etsy.com/listing/60829627/wet-bag-with-waterproof-lining-and?ref=sr_gallery_6&ga_search_query=wet+bag&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all) and this set from Couture Mama on Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/listing/119016799/the-couture-mama-diaper-bag-set-in-aqua?ref=shop_home_active 

11. ComoTomo Bottles: Hadley refused to take a bottle past about 4 1/2 months, so I was determined to find a bottle that Harper liked from the beginning.  After doing a lot of research, ComoTomo bottles appeared to be the most similar to breastfeeding, so I thought I’d give them a try.  They are the BEST bottles I’ve tried (and we tried a bunch with Hadley).  SUPER easy to clean and Harper never gulps with them like she does with other bottles.  They’re made out of silicone and are bacteria resistant, shatterproof, scratch Resistant, dishwasher Safe and leak-proof. **TIP: Don’t bother buying the 5oz ounce ones – go straight for the 8oz ones.  You’ll only use the 5oz for a couple months, then you’ll have to go buy bigger ones. And they aren’t exactly cheap.**

12. Infant Seat & Canopy: The Chicco Keyfit was on my list with Hadley and I added it again because we’re using it again for Harper.  It’s so easy to install and clean and looks brand new almost 3 years later.  I ordered a carseat canopy from Oh Sew Cute Designs on Etsy, but you can search Etsy and find thousands of them!  I loved having it to be able to keep Harper covered up in the winter and keep big sister’s hands away!

I think that’s all I’ve got!  What items could you not live without?

Shutterfly Christmas!

How are we almost halfway through November already?  Thanksgiving will be here before we know it and then it’ll be December!  With December, comes Christmas preparations!  Time to get the Christmas tree and lights out of the attic and “deck the halls!”  In addition to that, it’s time to order our Christmas cards!  Last year, I participated in Shutterfly’s blogger Christmas card promotion and loved our cards that I got – for free!  Lucky for me, Shutterfly is offering another promotion to bloggers this year!  They have some beautiful designs too – check them out here!  We had family photos taken by a friend of mine from college who is a photographer now, and I cannot WAIT to get them back so I can pick out our card design! 

I love this design…

And this one, too!  Beautiful! (I guess it doesn’t hurt that it’s a beautiful family in the pictures… hopefully we got some good ones, too!)

They also have some great gift ideas.  I’m thinking some grandparents might like a photo book of their granddaughter’s first Christmas!  I might have to order one for myself, too! 

They have a lot of other stationary cards to choose from, too, if Christmas cards aren’t your cup of tea.  I just love getting a card in the mail – of any kind! 

Happy shopping!

Sharing Some Love…

Just a quick post to let you all know about a great giveaway going on!  Ally of Little Bears Designs is having a custom designed card (Christmas or other) GIVEAWAY! Go check out her new website: http://www.littlebearsdesigns.com!  You can see details of the giveaway on her blog: www.davidandally.blogspot.com.  Check it out! (But don’t enter, because that makes my chances of winning go down…) ;)

Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Amy from live.laugh.love...and libbi! for winning the giveaway from Oh Sew Cute Designs!   I used random.org to enter in the total number of entries and had it calculate which number entry would win. 

Amy posted the following:

Amy said...

i "liked oh sew cute designs on facebook.....
i would choose the "cute girl letter initial appliqued onesie" if i won - precious!!

5/25/11 2:01 PM

Amy – be on the lookout for an email from me (or send me one) to claim your prize! 

Giveaway extended…

Because blogger was being a bit wacky all weekend long, I decided to extend the giveaway one more day!  Head on over and enter for your chance to win!  All entries must be in by 9pm (central time) tomorrow night! 

http://brittanyandmattcoleman.blogspot.com/2011/05/quick-review-giveaway.html

Quick Review & Giveaway!

So I’ve been talking about this for awhile now; I figured I’d better get my act together and get it up! I've never done a giveaway before, but I'm excited to share this one with y'all!

I discovered Amanda from Oh Sew Cute Designs when I was just searching through Etsy vendors one day.  I really wanted some car seat strap covers, but I was having a tough time finding designs that I liked (I might be a little bit picky and extremely indecisive). 
I liked her shop, so I contacted her and within the hour I had a response back about making some custom ones for me! 
{sidenote: I know a lot of people out there are weary of adding anything to a car seat for safety reasons.  I’m the same way, but since our car seat came with strap covers, I just didn’t like them, I really wasn’t too worried about that.  They don’t change the way anything sits or buckles, and they are so much softer and easier to clean!}
Here are a couple pictures of the ones she made for me…  (excuse the poor quality of the pictures, these were taken with my phone.)

These are the same set – they are reversible, which I LOVE! 

Here’s a quick picture of the other set I got.  I actually use these about the same amount as the others, but for whatever reason didn’t have any pictures so I took a quick one before our walk today.  I especially love these in her “big girl stroller” because the adjustment thingamajigs and clips to attach to the back are right up by her ears and this keeps the straps nice and soft for her sweet little face!
 

(They had just come out of the wash, and the pink side wasn’t quite dry.)

Which brings me to my next point, I love love love that I can just take these off and pop them in the wash.  Hadley spits up a lot, and now that we are teething she is like a water faucet that is constantly leaking.  I can’t imagine how gross our car seat straps and stroller straps would be without these!  LOVE.

In addition to these, Amanda has a ton of other cute things in her shop…

With Hadley about to start solids, a couple of these are next on my list…

They have laminated cotton on the inside so you can just wipe them clean!  These would be great to re-use for a bigger kids lunch box, too! 

And I love these appliqued turkey shirts that she makes.  The only reason I haven’t bought one yet is because I can’t decide what size to get!  Hadley is in 9 month sleepers already and she’s not even 5 months old.  That makes it tough to predict future sizes!  She does all kinds of other applique shirts, too.

She also makes cute little keychain fobs :


Sippy straps…

And burp cloths!  These would make a perfect gift for a shower!
AND, she is great to work with.  So, have I sold you on her shop, yet? 
{sidenote: I’m not being compensated in any way to promote this stuff, I just really liked her shop, and thought it would be fun to offer something to one of my readers!}
Here’s where the giveaway comes in.  Amanda has graciously offered to let one winner choose one item in her shop for free!  All you have to do is enter! 
Here’s how to enter:
1. Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know that you are a follower.
2. Check out her shop and “Like” Oh Sew Cute Designs on facebook and leave a separate comment here letting me know you did and what you would choose if you won!
And that’s it!  Since we’ve got a holiday weekend coming up, I’ll leave the giveaway open for ONE WEEK, so you have until May 31st to enter! 
**Make sure you leave an email address when you comment so that I have a way to contact you if you win!**
Linking up to:




Edit:  I realize the "follow" button hasn't been working properly on blogger the past day or so.  You are still welcome to leave a comment to enter the giveaway and you can come back to check if the follow button is working later! Thanks!