You know the drill: The night before the first day of school, you dutifully set out your child’s outfit and all of her necessities (and if you’re one of those parents who is not loving this later-than-usual start to the new school year, you may have picked out your essentials weeks ago!). No matter when you began your preparations, a child-sized backpack is sure to be on your list. My quest was to find something that was not only the right size for my kindergartner’s small frame, but one that she could easily locate in a sea of similar looking styles hanging in the coat closet. The new line of Skip Hop Zoo Packs are not only whimsical in their design, but just enough of [&hellip
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You know you are officially pregnant the moment you’ve realized you can no longer button up your favorite pair of jeans–no matter how hard you try. And if you’re anything like I am, a good pair is one you treasure and hold on to until that last thread is practically irreparable. When maternity jeans just won’t do, you can invest in Denim Therapy, a service that enables you to hang on to your beloved jeans through those nine months and still be able to wear them once you are back to your pre-pregnancy self. Using a special thread selection process, each pair of jeans is stitched with expandable side inseams to accommodate growing bellies. Then once you’re ready to wear your old blues again, they [&hellip
Wasn’t it just yesterday that you mastered your baby’s car seat installation? And now your pediatrician has given you the OK for her to ride facing forward, which means breaking out the instruction manual. (Too bad the seat doesn’t come with built-in GPS for locating that misplaced guide…)If you had your hands on the Combi Zeus 360, this wouldn’t even be an issue. This convertible car seat is designed to rotate 360 degrees without requiring you to re-install it. With so much attention as of late on keeping toddlers rear-facing as long as possible, this car seat accommodates rear-facing babies up to 33 lbs. (and up to 40 lbs. for forward-facing), so you can breathe a little more easily that your child is staying safe [&hellip
I can hardly believe how often we lose my 15-month-old’s socks–and that I can’t even blame it on our washer/dryer, which seems responsible for usurping all the grown-up ones in our home! Much to my chagrin, my exploratory toddler has decorated the floor of one too many grocery stores and our local library with her missing socks. Well, we’ll be having no more Cinderella of socks (that’s off, one on) in this house, thanks to Stay With Me socks , which proudly live up to their name. Even the most determined toddler can’t wrestle these stay-put socks off her tootsies; a simple Velcro strap around the ankle keeps them in place, no matter how much your little one tries to remove them. And as your [&hellip
After a hectic day with two young children, I’m all for enjoying a cup of tea. A well-deserved treat, hot (or iced, if you’re still enjoying this blissful summer weather like I am) tea is not only a great way to unwind, but it has tons of health benefits. I particularly like the new line of teas from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea–especially its Pink Superberry Tea for Women’s Health. This blend is teeming with antioxidants and vitamins, plus it’s a real palate-pleaser, available in a delicious assortment of berry flavors. If you like to know you are supporting a good cause, you’ll feel good that 70 cents of each sale from the Pink line of teas goes directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation this October. [&hellip
Breastfeeding your baby is one of the many choices you make as a new mom, and for many, one you may struggle with before you get the hang of it. I decided to bottle-feed both my daughters, but the mom friends who nursed their babies have shared their stories of both the upside–the tremendous bonding–and the downside (soreness, intense commitment and oh, the soreness). When I heard about the Shower Hug, a product designed to give some extra support and comfort to nursing moms, I wondered if it might make a difference. I can remember that even just after giving birth, I was a bit anxious when showering for the first time; the soothing spray that felt so wonderful on my back while pregnant was [&hellip
No matter how organized a mom you consider yourself, I know I can become quite incensed when I can’t seem to get to the bottom of my bag to retrieve some crayons for my daughter. Even when I remember coloring books and other gear to keep her occupied while we’re dining out, those pesky crayons are always tough to unearth from my sea of used tissues, chewing gum wrappers and the like. That’s why I really like the Art-To-Go-Roll . It’s a roll-up cotton holder with 14 soft pockets that hold all the art essentials–plenty of space for crayons, markers, colored pencils or your little artist’s medium of choice. The spacious pockets make it simpler for little fingers to retrieve and return their art supplies [&hellip
Once you’ve passed the milestone of getting your child to sleep through the night, you must contend with the pitter-patter of little footsteps that come in to greet you a lot sooner than you’d like (yes, the words “weekend” and “sleep in” aren’t part of a kid’s vocabulary). If you’ve got an early bird living under your roof, you might try putting the Good Nite Lite in her bedroom. This is a great way to show pre-readers that it’s not quite time to start the day, even if they think otherwise. The lite can pre-set with a wake-up time, almost like a mini alarm clock minus the sound. When it’s time to wake, the face of this nightlight will change from an illuminated moon to [&hellip
Still haven’t mastered the act of closing your baby’s stroller with easy maneuvering? Don’t feel bad; I still have trouble–and I’m on my second child. What makes it especially tricky this time of year is when you’re wearing sandals or open-toed shoes, and you feel as though you’ve dented your foot. Ouch! The Britax Blink Stroller aims to make this experience a little less painful. Thus umbrella stroller has a fold-and-release feature that lets you collapse the stroller without scuffing your shoes in the process. Amen to that. While some strollers skimp on storage space, Britax offers plenty of room to tuck in those essentials; I know I’m always trying to get my hands on that bag of Cheerios to calm a crying toddler. Blink [&hellip
I don’t think there’s a more telltale sign of summer than seeing a child joyfully enjoying an ice cream (or ice pop) on a hot day. Conjure up the image, if you will, of a smiling, stained face, dripping with a grape, orange–pick your favorite flavor–juice down his chin. It’s one of those childhood memories most of us have experienced and now savor as adults. Naturally, it’s why I’m perturbed by another one of these products aimed at parents that errs on the side of caution by robbing kids of the simple bliss of enjoying an ice cream. Pop Pals Ice Pop Holders are billed as an insulated pop holder designed to keep hands warm and ice pops cold. But are they truly necessary? For [&hellip