This is long overdue, but I must share with you our top 11 baby products that we used in 2011. Most of these items we received for review – thankfully! – or we may not have given them a whirl. Who knows for sure, right? What I can say is that these products are my favorites and I recommend them for anyone with a baby! Some of these are better suited for under 12 months old, while (most) others are still seeing plenty of use even today.

These are not listed in any particular order:
Read the rest of this entry »

Even though my daughter is walking now, she does still enjoy playing in her exersaucer now and again.  She likes to bounce in it and hear the toys shake.  An exersaucer was definitely on my baby gear wishlist!  We have a different Evenflo one which is well loved and enjoyed.  The Jump & Learn exersaucer looks even more fun if that is possible.  I love the frog – super cute, don’t you think? I thought one of you could use it for the holidays!
Read the rest of this entry »

The 12 Days of Gifts Galore giveaway event is coming up November 25th through December 6th. Be sure to come back then and enter to win a prize from this event sponsor!

Halo SleepSack

The Halo SleepSack is well known and a trusted brand for safer sleep options for babies.  Unfortunately the start of the wearable blanket is sad, it has been beneficial for numerous babies as it is the #1 choice of Us hospitals for safe sleep.  William Schmid began researching sleep environments after he and his wife lost their baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in 1991.  Three years later he worked to develop the original Halo SleepSack and offer safer sleep options for babies.  A percentage of sales goes towards SIDS research.

Read the rest of this entry »

Choosing baby gear is a daunting task, especially for new parents!  There is so much out there and a lot of factors to consider when making a decision.  I spent way too much time on my registry!  While in the store I looked at everything and scanned a ton of items.  Then while I was home, I’d scour reviews and adjust my registry…. though sometimes this led me to tears.  I really want this but someone said [insert negative review here]!  I swear picking out gear made me question my ability to parent at some points!  Once I let go of finding the perfect thing for each item we needed it went much smoother.

One of my top registry items was a playard of some sort.  They are handy for travel as well as for offering a safe space when mommy needs to step away from baby for a few.  While they aren’t a replacement for a crib, they are definitely a handy piece of baby gear.  When Rissa was first home, we used a playard with a bassinet in the living room while her regular bassinet was in our bedroom.  Those first two weeks she slept so much, as newborns do, that we needed handy places to lay her down.  I also wanted to keep her in sight!

The InGenuity™ Signature Edition SleepEasy™ Playard would have been helpful with the changing table area… but I’m getting ahead of myself!  We received this playard to review with the help of my newborn nephew!
Read the rest of this entry »

Darcy & Aerissa

Today at the Nursery, we want to take a moment to bring awareness to the dangers of RSV to premature babies.  Their lungs aren’t mature enough to fight this off and a lot of people aren’t aware of how serious this can be.  I didn’t know much about RSV until about 8 years ago when one of my nephews was born premature.  I still didn’t fully understand what RSV was at the time, but I remember having to wash my hands before holding him.  I also remember something stuck on their fridge about it.

Even though my own daughter was full term and considered healthy, I was not going to put her at risk.  It was advised by hospital staff that people wash/sanitize their hands before touching babies anyway, so I was a stickler in the early days.  I requested everyone to wash their hands before first handling Riss and after the first washing to use hand sanitizer.  Man, we had sanitizer in practically every room of the house!
Read the rest of this entry »

Child Passenger Safety Week

Child Passenger Safety Week (September 18-24) is an annual campaign to bring public attention to the importance of properly securing all children in appropriate car seats, booster seats or seat belts – every trip, every time. The campaign ends on September 24 with National Seat Check Saturday, when certified child passenger safety technicians will provide advice and hands-on car seat inspections nationwide for free.

I don’t know about you, but car seats scare me sometimes.  I worry that it’s installed properly and that my daughter is restrained properly.  Child safety is important – I wouldn’t want anything to happen to Rissa in the case of an accident!  Since my daughter’s safety is important, we had our car seat bases installed and checked at our local police station.  I’m glad we had them checked because they weren’t in right.  They weren’t in wrong, exactly, but the cop made them safer.  
Read the rest of this entry »

I am featured over at One Little Mister where I talk about family planning and spacing.  You know Baby #2 is on my mind!

Here’s an excerpt:

When to Try for Another Baby?

I know some people prefer to have their children a certain number of years apart.  Some like them spaced by 2 years, others 4.  We all know a few that seem to be born really close together and others who have siblings in varied ranges.  I used to entertain the idea of having my children 2-3 years apart.  My idea was to not have 2 in diapers at the same time, or at least not for very long.

That was before I had my daughter last year.

[Continue reading at One Little Mister]

Bath time.  In the newborn days it was not very fun at all because Rissa would get cold fast.  It didn’t matter how warm the water was it cooled off quick and most of her body was exposed to the air.  And in Wisconsin, baths and showers aren’t too fun in the winter even if you have the heat on!  I’d do my best to splash warm water over her but she didn’t like that much at first either.  Now she has fun playing in the tub, but it took a few months before that happened.

A fellow Wisconsin mama developed a solution to the cold, exposed baby in the tub: Bath Luve!

Read the rest of this entry »