Filed under: Baby Gift Ideas, Celebrity Moms, Registering | Tags: amazon, baby earth, baby gifts, baby items, baby shower gift, baby shower presents, celebrity babies, cheeky monkey, elegant child, harlow madden, isla fischer, land of nod, naomi watts, new baby, nicole richie, PVC free toys, sophie the giraffe
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A celebrity “must-have”, this is one of my picks for a great baby-shower gift around $20. Sophie the Giraffe is perfect for babies 0-12+ months, but is a must-have for the little prince or princess when the first signs of teething appear. Because little Sophie the Giraffe is made of 100% natural rubber (phthalates free) and food paint, the little one can squeeze and chew their way into complete harmony (and be safe doing so). This is much better than them chomping on the rails of their crib and having poor mommy needing to replace it four months in. (yes, true story… ) Anyway, I got off track. Back to Sophie…
The cutest part of it all… Little Sophie makes a happy sound when her body is squeezed. Say it with me everyone… ooohhhhhhhh aaahhhhhhhh.
So, now you may be thinking, why is this toy so great? Well, I’m here to tell you why everyone LOVES Sophie the Giraffe… It helps to stimulate the little lamb chops senses. Really is what I bet you are thinking now, but trust me. Read on, my dears… read on…
•Sight: At 3 months, a baby’s eyesight is still limited and the little munchkin can only make out high contrasts. The dark/light, attention-catching spots all over Sophie’s body provide visual stimulation and it soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object for the little one.
•Hearing: A squeaker keeps baby amused and stimulates their hearing, then down the road, helps them to understand the link between cause and effect. Just make sure your dog doesn’t think it’s his new chew toy.
•Taste: Sophie the Giraffe is made of 100% natural rubber and food paint and is completely safe to chew, similar to a feeding bottle. (Why don’t they have an adult version of this for stressful days at work?)
•Touch: Touch is the first means the little one has of communicating with the outside world. Sophie’s soft feel stimulates physiological and emotional response that soothe baby and promote healthy growth and well-being.
•Smell: The scent of natural rubber from the Hevea tree makes little Sophie easy for the little bambino to identify amid all their other toys. Meaning, this one won’t stink like all the others!
•Easy to grip: Perfect for the little munchkins small hands! Sophie is very light, and her long legs and neck are easy for baby to grip. And let’s face it, we’d rather have ol’ junior gripping this than our Tiffany bracelet!
**TIP** If gifting Sophie the Giraffe to a little boy… make sure and change the name to Sammy or something. You don’t want to give the kid a complex!
Sophie can be found on the following websites:
Filed under: Baby Gift Ideas, Registering, Tips | Tags: a color of his own, amazon, baby bibs, baby board books, baby einstein, baby registry, baby shower gift, baby shower presents, baby teethers, baby toys, bumbo seat, crub to floor mirror, fisher price, goodnight moon, halo sleep sack, land of nod, new baby, new baby gift ideas, ocean seahorse, rainforest jumperoo, sleep sack, soothe and glow seahorse, sophie the giraffe, take along tunes, target, the very hungry caterpillar, tips on registering for baby, tips when registering, what to register for baby
I’m sure by now you guys are starting to get a little sick of me talking about the “needs” for your baby… that’s why I took a couple of days hiatus from this topic! But, we must get back… there is so much to do (registry-wise) and so little time! Here is my latest list on what you should have for your baby for that 3-6 month age:
- Bumbo Seat: a great little invention for babies when they are starting to learn how to sit up once they can support their own neck. It’s comfy for baby and easy for you to clean off all of their spit-up! Ranges in price from $34.99 – $39.99 at Target and Babies R’ Us. You can add-on the play tray as well for around $10.
- Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Soothe & Glow Seahorse : Sometimes your little munchkin will need a little help falling asleep… Here’s when this comes into play! Playing lullabies and sounds of the ocean, this also doubles as a nightlight. After five minutes the music fades, lights dim, and hopefully, baby will be asleep! ($13.99 at Babies R’ Us)
- Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes : this helped keep my sanity on a trip to Florida! With lights and 7 classical songs, your baby is going to be enthralled with this little take along toy. It’s a staple in our diaper bag. Definitely worth the $9.99!
- Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo: I’m sure most Jumperoo’s will do, but this one is a personal favorite… can’t really go wrong with Fisher-Price. And besides, it has a really cute theme! Use this when baby can hold head on it’s own, but can not walk yet.
- Bibs, bibs and more bibs: This is the age where the drool is free-flowing and fierce! Be prepared and have a large selection of bibs ready. My favorites have fun sayings on them like, “If you think I’m cute, you should see my daddy” and “My Mom is Hot!” Just in case anyone didn’t already notice how attractive you are…
- Shopping cart liner: Perfect for when you are out shopping with your little one. Prevents all of those lovely germs by covering up the bottom and sides of the shopping cart. Also works in most high chairs as well.
- Sleep sacks: By this age, your little ones will probably hate being swaddled. Try a sleep sack… this keeps them warm but still allows them to move around a bit. Our favorite is the HALO SleepSack from Babies R’ Us, around $15.99.
- Board books: Now is the time you should be reading to your child. A few of our favorites include: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon and A Color of His Own. www.landofnod.com carries all of these and even offers free shipping!
- Teethers: Babies start teething around the 4-6 month age, so better stock up on anything and everything that is going to soothe your little prince or princess. This is also where baby Tylenol comes into play! Ice cubes do the trick sometimes, but it’s highly unlikely you are going to travel with a freezer glued to your side. Sophie the Giraffe is a personal favorite of mine.
- Crib and Floor Mirror: We all love looking at our little love bugs, but surprisingly, they like looking at themselves too (although they can’t comprehend it is themselves they are looking at, at this stage). Crib-to-floor mirrors are perfect for this stage: angling towards baby and attaching easily to the crib with fabric ties. Our favorite is the Fisher-Price Crib-To-Floor Lion Mirror. This product also comes with a kick-stand so that baby can play with the mirror on the floor as well.
**Remember, these also make great gifts!
Items available at the following:
Filed under: Baby Gift Ideas, Registering, Tips | Tags: babies r' us, baby registry, baby toys, crib bedding, crib bedding sets, diaper champ, diaper genie, gerber cloth diapers, mommy wears heels, registry tips
Yes, I am still rambling on and on about registering for your little one… but let’s face it, it’s a big job and with all the items out there now-a-days for a baby, you are going to need all the help you can get! Who doesn’t get confused the first time they step into a Babies R’ Us? I know the hubby and I did. Anyway, here are a few other odd and end registering tips:
1. Register for toys for 6 months + and beyond. It might seem a little pointless at the time, but will come in handy later on when you are searching around your house for something to entertain the little one so you can watch ‘The Hills’. So what if you have to store them in your basement for a while… trust me, you’ll thank me later.
2. Same thing goes for clothes and sleepers. Register for 6, 9 and 12 months. I learned the hard way… I didn’t register for many clothing items and got about 30 outfits for 0-3 months. Our son was in 6 month clothes at 3 months and I had to buy everything new!
**TIP** if the gift giver was nice enough to include a gift receipt, you can exchange the item for a larger size and alleviate this problem.
3. Gerber cloth diapers make the BEST burp cloths. Super absorbent and the best part—the more you wash them, the softer they become. Regular burp cloths tend to be small in size and are always falling off your shoulder when you are burping the little one.
4. I personally like the Diaper Genie best, but to each is own. I have heard nice things about the Diaper Champ as well. Just make sure you have one of these contraptions… no one wants to smell that when they come over to visit! Everything doesn’t smell like roses…
5. Make sure to buy a couple sets of fitted crib sheets. Your baby is going to throw up quite often and you don’t want to be without an extra set of sheets while one is in the wash. To be honest, I am not a fan of the crib bedding sets (even though everything is so cute and matchy-matchy) because they only come with one sheet. If you do chose to go the route of a bedding set, make sure to buy an extra, plain sheet that will match your adorable bedding purchase for when you have one in the wash.
Filed under: Registering, Tips | Tags: baby items, baby registry, baby wipes, bottle sterilizer, mommy wears heels, new baby, pregnancy, sleep positioner, tips on registering for baby, wipe warmer
Back to the whole registering thing from yesterday…
Everyone has their “must-haves” list but I’ve never come across a list of “don’t needs”! So of course, I’m gonna give you one! Here is my list for the 5 things you won’t need that people tell you, you do!
1. Wipes Warmer: This is about as pointless as they come… you don’t have time to wait for wipes to warm up! The kid needs to be changed for pete’s sake!
2. Bottle Sterilizer: The dishwasher does the trick just as well. Our parents didn’t have one of these contraptions and we all turned out just fine. We got one at my baby shower and have never used it. If you really think it’s a necessity, you can have mine!
3. Don’t get a wipes case, unless it fits the entire wipes pack. With a lot of cases out there, you need to take the wipes out individually from your larger, stay-at-home package and store them in the case. This causes the wipes to dry up in a matter of a couple of days. Just get a couple packs of travel wipes and you’ll be good to go.
4. Sleep positioner: The baby is going to move around and chances are, move right out of this thing. It’s non-sense.
5. Newborn mittens: Initially I thought this seemed like a great, logical idea… boy was I wrong! Our son had these off in about 2.2 seconds. Sure, he scratched himself a few times, but he tried so hard to get these darn mittens off, I think that’s where ½ of the scratches came from!
What do you guys think? Anything else you would like to add to this list… I LOVE comments!
Filed under: Baby Gift Ideas, Registering, Tips | Tags: babies r' us, baby registry, baby shower gift, boppy pillow, diaper dude, land of nod, mommy, must have for newborn, new baby gift ideas, pampers swaddlers, target, tips when registering
When my husband and I first started registering for items for our son, we were quite puzzled. There were so many different baby items and products out there, we had no idea what we really, truly needed. We ended up getting items we didn’t really need or still to this day have not used. So, here’s a little help in that department… here is my top 15 “Must Haves” for a new baby in the first 3 months:
1. The Boppy Pillow: this thing is a freaking lifesaver! Great for holding, feeding, lounging in bed with the hubby and about a million other things! Ours is from www.landofnod.com and they even gave me a free 1 year subscription to Parents Magazine with the purchase (or should I say, Erika’s purchase!).
2. Playtex Venti-Air bottles: Hands down the best bottles out there. The vents help to prevent gas and we all know, that’s a plus! Gassy Babies = Fussy Babies!
3. Soothie Brand Pacifiers: the ONLY ones my son will use. He spits out all the others and waits until we give him his Soothie! They also make great feeding bottles, but I have only been able to find them at Kohl’s.
4. Activity mat: Need for tummy time. (Your child will HATE tummy time at this age, but it’s a “must” according to pediatricians) Get something that has something for them to focus on, lights, mirror, etc. We love ours (Baby Einstein Neptune Ocean).
5. Swing: Probably the most needed item for a baby! Our son loves his and he is in it at least a couple of hours a day. He sleeps in it better than he does his crib!
6. Pack n’ Play: needed for anytime you are going to someone’s house that doesn’t have a child. This doubles as a crib and a little playpen. There have been times we used ours in our basement when we watched a movie. Take my advice, you don’t need one with all the bells and whistles… we made that mistake and ½ the parts are still sitting in the box!
7. Best diapers out there are the Pampers Swaddlers… HANDS down!
8. CD player: babies need music. It soothes them. Get one that attaches to the crib. We have one that even has a nightlight on one side.
9. Plain White Onsies: buy these in every size! They go under everything and will save you money in the sleeper department and the time in the laundry department.
10. Bordeaux Butt Paste: Bite the bullet and spend a little extra on this. Best out there by far! We have a massive tube on the changing table and smaller, 2 oz. size in each of our diaper bags. Knock on wood, our son has yet to get diaper rash!
11. Hooded towels: Babies get cold so easily coming out of the bath, this helps to keep them warm… and besides, they look adorable when all wrapped in one!
12: Bundle Me: Perfect for when its cold, goes right into the car seat and stroller. We sometimes wish we would have gotten two so we wouldn’t have to switch out depending on who has the kid!
13. AngelCare Movement Monitor: This monitor has an alarm go off when there is no movement in the crib for 20 seconds. I am beyond obsessed with it. Way better than a video monitor (which we also have for when our son gets older).
14. Swaddle Blankets: Bet at least two of these. Babies sleep better when they are swaddled and there are ones that are made specifically for this. They have velcro so they cant get out! And let’s face it… when baby sleeps, mommy sleeps!
15. Pacifier Pack: Attaches to the outside of a diaper bag so you don’t have to go digging through your bag when your kid is crying/screaming. No one in public wants to hear your kid cry… you want to be able to have the pacifier out in 2.2 seconds! Also helps to keep the thing clean, since it’s not rolling around a huge bag. Another Land of Nod purchase… thank you Alison!
** BONUS ** Daddy needs a diaper bag too. We all know that most men wouldn’t be caught dead with our trendy, oversized totes. Perfect time to get the diaper dude bag… this way, he doesn’t have an excuse not to take care of junior or your little princess while mommy has a spa day… or goes shoe shopping!
All of these products were purchased at the following stores:
Land of Nod: www.landofnod.com
Babies R’ Us: www.babiesrus.com
Target: www.target.com
