Baby Must Haves: Poop & Primping

Number two in my series of unsolicited advice! This list focuses on poop and primping. You could not imagine how many grooming products you can buy for someone with so little hair. And the poop! Well if you haven't already, you better brace yourself. It's about to get real. (Really smelly that is.)

Welcome to Baby Must Haves: Poop & Primping edition!

Episencial Playful Wash - Get it in the giant pump and scrub your little smelly monster clean with this all natural body and hair wash.

Episencial Suggly Lotion - A soft lotion and simple way to choose a better, natural lotion for your kidlet.

Green Sprouts Wooden Hairbrush - I am a BIG fan of Green Sprouts hairbrush. The bristles are super soft! You can get this great brand at Whole Foods Market and Amazon among others.

Safety First Nail Clippers - It’s not brain surgery but it has about as much pressure when they are wiggly and you are trying not to clip their little skin. These have a great grip for tiny little clippers.

Fisher Price Whale of a Tub - We really enjoyed this bathtub available on Amazon or just about any Target. The support for the newborn was great and it transitioned well up to about 1. The little green piece comes out of the middle so they have more room to play as soon as they can sit independently.

Towels and Washclothes - urprisingly, they animal hooded towels are fantastic. Big enough to last into toddler phase and small enough to be effective. For washcloths, choose some soft, thin, and most importantly, have a few.

Huggies - You’ll find your own brand. Our kid just has a prominent tush and these covered him the best and felt soft. My pet peeve was diapers that felt like paper. How can that be comfy?

Target Up and Up Brand Baby Wipes - The non-scented and sensitive options are super soft and really well. And please, who isn’t looking for a reason to go to Target just one more time?!?

Diaper Dekor Plus - We really like this diaper pail because, and lets be frank, it holds the shit.  Poops smell and this one holds that stank in pretty well.  Bonus, I prefer to change a bag of diapers instead of what looks like a sausage a la Diaper Genie style.

A couple things you don’t need?
Newborn bathtubs. Seriously you can wash them in a sink or their baby bathtub just as easily.
Wipes warmer. I am convinced that all babies that get their tush dabbed with a warm wipe will end up in therapy with dependency issues at some point.

And now for a love note.
Amazon, how do I love you? Let me count the ways. I love you for your diaper pricing. I love you for your Amazon Mom program that opened me up to the world of Amazon Prime. I love you for all the Downton Abbey I was able to stream, for free, at my leisure. I love you for the two day shipping because lord knows it would take me three times as long to find half an hour to waste at Target. I love you for the ease and added discounts of Subscribe and Save. And mostly, I love you because diapers always arrive, when I need them, like magic. If Amazon was a man, my husband would have some serious competition. Join my fantasy land and sign up here.

 

 

Obsession: Drawer Decor!

Lets face it, I'm a total organizing nerd.  Give me a label maker and some tiny bins and I get all hot and bothered.  Even with the fairly massive amount of storage I am lucky enough to have, things can get sloppy.  Kitchen utensil drawers are one of the worst.  Odd sizes, combined with somewhat infrequent use makes me want to abolish them all, until of course I realize how often I use my peeler.  So what to do?  Enter Drawer Decor. 

These silcone drawer liners are A-MAH-ZING!  I love that you can cut them to size.  I love that they have a grid pattern.  (El Husbando is known for the saying "If it's not a right angle, it's a wrong angle."  And yes, I still married him.)  Best part of all, the little dividers they call Divitz, can be recongifured again, and again, and again.  I poured myself  glass of vino and got my organization on.  A total type-A happy hour and I know I'm not alone in this.  I ordered two starter kits and a couple of extra Divitz sets as I knew I was battling quantity in this area.  Alas, my bits and pieces are a well arranged, my glass is half empty and yes, I am a little hot and bothered.

And of course, you can purchase Drawer Decor on Amazon by clicking here. The hardest part is choosing the color!

Baby Must Haves: Sleepytime

As I look back on my first year in the mommyhood I realized that I have a slew of products I adore and some I loathe.  So consider this a total bombardment of unsolicited advice! 

 

Welcome to my Baby Must Haves: Sleepytime edition!

 

Oeuf Sparrow Crib – We adore this crib.  It assembled insanely easily, looks great and changes levels in minutes.  Look hard and you can totally find a deal like we did.  Floor model sale!

Bedding – You only need a fitted sheet so buy three and make sure they are soft.  Otherwise, pick the cutest things you can find.  I love the ones at Land of Nod.

Trend Lab Crib Rail Covers – If your tiny human decides that the crib is a tasty snack, protect your adorable baby furniture with these super soft fleece protectors. 

Waterproof Mattress pad - You can buy them almost anywhere, but I suggest having 2-3 so you don’t have to stress if one is in the wash and you are changing the bed . . . again.

Chico First Dream Crib Mobile - My son hated his room, or crib, or both. It's likely my fault. I resisted a mobile because it didn't really work with the decor and I didn't know if he'd really love it. Insert. All of a sudden my two month old son that would scream bloody murder when laid down loves his crib. You can actually lay him down awake and tired and this entertains then lulls him to sleep. Best part of all, the mobile has a sound detector that is perfectly sensitive. Coos are nothing but when he starts crying this kicks on and buys me a few more seconds to rub my eyes open and grab a bottle. It's even been known to get him back to sleep unaided! Very minor complaints, the projector started jerking a little but a light slap and it was back to normal for now. Oh, and it runs on batteries. In my book, the adjustment to sub-par wine for our new battery budget is easily accepted. This mobile bridged the "plastic, shiny, toys with lights and sounds" and "mommy really likes clean, mid-century/modern lines" line.

Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Color Video Monitor – Yes, you can hear a baby from the room next door but you sure can’t see what they are doing.  Even SuperMom needs a visual clue.  Think of the monitor as a sleep training tool.  It’s a useful tool, not over-parenting.

Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets – Super soft and adorable patterns.  We didn’t have a lot of luck with blanket swaddling, but they are perfect for throwing over the carseat in the early days and as a light summer blanket for a toddler.

Halo Sleep Sacks – Swaddling is not easy and it’s less awesome when you have baby Hulk.  We loved the Halo brand sleep sacks with the ability to include or exclude their arms.  Strong Velcro and a variety of fleece or light cotton, depending on the season and need.  Also, these are very easy to change in and out of a few times a night.

Cloud B Sound Machine Soother  - We got the monkey version as a gift and are still using it for naptimes/bedtime today.  It travels easily and plays a variety of sounds and music.  Not a must but a nice to have for sure.

Baby Shower: Sweet As Pi

I adore throwing parties for my friends and I love even more when I get to co-host with great people!  Lindsey and I have known Andrew and Shauni for years and we were so lucky to connect wihth Shauni's dear friend Amy to throw a shower for the fabulous couple to celebrate the impending arrival of cuteness, little lady James. 

Shauni and Andrew are some of my favorite people, probably because they are as gorgeous inside as they are out.  Shauni was planning a science themed nursery, a personal passion of her own.  Don't you love that?  I was swooning and full of ideas as soon as I heard the theme and colors scheme orange/coral and mint, which we knew we had to use as well.  I like to call this party "Pretty Nerdy".

I had been trying to work in a cute sign that said "Cute As Pi" but after a little discovery, found out that pie was in fact their favorite dessert.  Done and done!  Under a banner saying "Sweet As Pi 3.14" we had peach, apple and pecan pies fresh out of the oven, perfect for the comfort food-style of the afternoon. 

And seriously, how amazing is this piece of art?  Yep, Lindsey already had that in her dining room.  Obsessed!!!

The food was an amazing collaboration by amazing friends.  I have never met a group of ladies so willing to pitch in and collaborate.  They say it takes a village to raise a kid.  We say it helps to have a village of fabulous people to throw a shower in honor of that kid.  To keep the theme going, I made some cute little signs inspired by the periodic table.  (Taking some elemental liberties of course.  Like I remember anything from science class people.)

Pulled BBQ pork and chicken mini sandwiches, mac and cheese cupcakes, chopped salad, fresh fruit and veggies with some yummy dips plus fresh lemonade and a rather delicious lemonade beer cocktail made our bellies and hearts full!

With a mix of co-ed friends, colleagues and family we had to find some fun games/activities that weren't too cheesy, lady-centric and for this couple, totally original.  For this game, we asked all of the guests to bring their own baby picture.  After posting all of these super cute images along a fence, we had Shauni and Andrew compete against each other and guess who was who.  As you can imagine, one of our handsome friends was a total golden haired toe-head as a child and looked as pretty as any of the ladies. It was a riot! 

A truly perfect day for wonderful friends!  And funny enough, little lady James was born on 3.14, Pi Day!!! 

Holidays: Passover 2013 aka St. Pats-over

We got sloppy.  That would have been the theme in Passovers past.  My adorably wonderful and game-for-anything friends are a passionate group that really embrace the 4 glasses of wine during the Sedar, Jewish or not.

This year was slightly more tame given the rising number of toddlers crashing the party these days.  Still we set the table, sat back and toasted the day with the official honorary chugging of the first bottle of Maneschevitz.  (Yep, it's a thing and it actually made the Haggadah this year!)

Our 2013 Sedar was held early, on St. Patrick's Day actually.  We honor the spirit of Sedar but as many travel for the holidays there is rarely an opportunity to celebrate together.  Additionally, there are no concerns for those observing Passvover with an accidental (delicious) breadcrumb topping.

As a co-host of the 7th annual Glassman Gershon Sedar, I take great pride setting a huge, gorgeous table and insist that each year I kick it up a notch. This year was no different and since this shindig also took place on St. Patrick's Day I knew green had to be in the mix.

We set a long table for 30 with navy tablecloths and custom napkins I made from a selection of fabrics I found online. I adore, among many things, a bold, printed napkin and when looking for massive quantities without breaking the budget, making my own was the ideal choice.

Placed on top, we had our custom printed Haggadah. For placecards, I painted a river rocks from my local Lowe's in color blocks and personalized each for our guests. What's better than a dinner where you are forced to drink 4 glasses of wine? Getting a new pet rock of course!

Each year, we split the parts among our friends and give this amazing group of nutty people an outlet and some (an abundance of) creative freedom to really go for it.  We are always impressed but this year was even better than expected.  We got an infomercial-style pitch of the Super Saver Sedar Plate from Schlomo himself, a "Let My People Go" style rap to Thift Store by Macklemore and among others, a really smart baby Springer answering the four questions from the womb (we clearly spared no expense on technology). 

Our meal was really a massive contribution of potluck and convenience but it tasted delish.  Ordering rotisserie chickens is my go-to for the main dish for the last 2 years as brisket for 30 just isn't in my repertoire with a toddler running around.  We had some unbelievable latkes made in a cupcake pan.  No frying and thanks Pinterest for the how-to!  Yummy potatoes, roasted veggies, stupid good charoset and so much more. 

More than anything, it was a lovely day with lovely friends.  Passover is always the start of Spring and one of my favorite times of the year.  And in the Spirit of Spring cleaning, my co-host tossed a partial pot of matzo ball soup on my new entry rug so it got an early deep clean.  #SilverLining

And for a disclaimer, we find Passover to be a celebration of freedom and love of our friends and family. While we depart from the traditional Haggadah, some parts in rather bold fashion, the spirit of the content is there and our creativity is not meant to offend anyone.  This is likely one of the least offensive things I will post, so if you hate this, you  might just want to jump on this train as it's only getting better.