Mommies With Style

Another product we brought along on our trip was the GoPillow! My son and daughter loved the Go Pillow! so much that they actually fought over whose turn it was to have it! The GoPillow! is a portable pillow that has a built-in blanket tucked away inside. My kids loved snuggling with it on the airplane (of course taking turns), since it is super soft and cozy. The portable pillow consists of an inner core of soft, pliable cushion/foam and a soft outer fabric covering.

The Go Pillow! reminds me of a cylinder type pillow that you can place your hand on up to your elbow inside to securely cradle your child while feeding them. The built-in blanket tucks neatly inside, providing easy access to pull out while on the go to allow for mother and baby privacy while out in public breast feeding.

Besides being great for snuggling and breast feeding, it also makes a fabulous nap blanket since your child can rest their head on the pillow while lying on the blanket. Additionally, it makes for a nice place to change your child’s diaper. The GoPillow! is washable (we were thrilled since we took it on the plane) and is available in pink and blue. Check out the GoPillow! where you can see pictures of the fabulous ways it can be of use!  Receive a free breastfeeding guide with every purchase-no code required.

Everyone loves getting personalized baby gifts: parents give their kids for a reason–they love the name. And absolutely love celebrating a baby by seeing the name again and again. Want to send a bath or baby necessity personalized? Look no further than The Looking Glass. With cloth products for baby and child such as towels, sheets and blankets, its another great gift to give, and receive.

We received a sample towel made by Swaddle Designs, personalized by The Looking Glass. Loved that it wasn’t a plain, old, boring towel. It had a trendy pattern and color scheme, and the personalization looked great. Definitely filing this shop for future personalized purchases and gifts.

Many of our little ones are heading back to school this week or next (or for some of you, they may have already gone back… I am jealous!). For those that are going to nursery or day care programs, a morning or afternoon nap may be a part of your child’s day. Well, I recently got to try out an awesome product called the Royal NapMat, which is perfect for naps at day care, or also great for sleepovers, babysitters, or for lounging around the house.

This beautiful, functional, all-in-one product is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. It’s made of plush, designer, quilted fabric, and personalized if you choose with your child’s name. I love that it easily rolls up and secures with velcro, and has convenient carrying handles to make transport easy. I also love that it comes with a small fluffy pillow (case is attached, the pillow is removable) and a pocket on the outside, perfect for a small lovey. It also has a built-in blanket, made of a soft fleece!

My kids absolutely love lying in the NapMat (they actually fight over who gets to use it) while watching TV in our living room or basement. It keeps them warm and comfortable and it is the perfect size for both of them (my kids are 2 and almost 5, and my almost 5 year old is very tall and fits in there just fine!)

It’s important to note that the Royal NapMat is machine washable and is made in the USA of very high-quality, heavy-weight, designer fabrics. We have the blue crimson stripe, which is beautiful. Check out the full selection of fabrics and products, and learn more about how the NapMat works. If you plan to make a purchase, please put “MWS” in the personalization field and you will receive a 10% refund through PayPal (after your payment)!

Hard to believe one week ago I already had my precious little one in my arms. Of course, it wasn’t hard to fall in love instantly. And once we arrived home, we really fell in love with some great baby products… old and new.

Not for the baby, but I recently shared that I’d be using my Lori Greiner Weekender bag for my hospital bag. Would you believe that I didn’t just fit my going home clothes, her going home clothes, 2 hospital gowns, make up, face wash, undies and a few nursing tanks? I also fit a blanket from Inspired Crib Bedding (which I shared with baby while freezing in my hospital room) and a big bathrobe? All in this little bag.

Baby Bonkie: I came home and it was FREEZING in my house. (Okay, it was 70^… hormones.) So I instantly wanted to warm her up. Without hesitation I reached for a pink Baby Bonkie. She cuddled inside and rested peacefully… and warmly. The huz agreed that it has to be one of the most comfortable looking “blanket things” he’s ever seen.   Read my review here.

It was a hand-me-down from her big brother, but this one is loving the Fisher Price Baby Papasan Bouncer just as much as he did… if not more. It stays in my bathroom so that I’m guaranteed a good shower each day. And she’s SO comfortable that I”m sure she’d love it if I moved the bouncer from room to room.

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I’m nesting. I think we’ve all agreed that that’s happening around here. And one thing un-done at our home was my 3-year-old’s window. He had a shade, but nothing to complete it, make it look nice.

How excited was he when we recieved a navy tab-top valance from Carousel Designs last week? Seriously, he was jumping with excitement. Its a perfect look of casual elegance for a preschooler’s room. As with all of Carousel Design’s window treatments, its lined with a white backing, looking great from the outside (surprisingly, a liner often costs extra or isn’t included in pre-made window treatments elsewhere.)

Don’t need a valance? Or maybe you need a lot more in terms of bedding, design and accessories? There are so many options at  Design Carousel to get your baby’s room all matchy-matchy or to mix and match. Either way, it’ll be stunning and totally your style. I’m so impressed with the bedding choices, and the nursery decor just blows my mind. From classic to whimsical, you’ll find the looks you need.

Look, I don’t really need more baby bedding for this one. I have the PBK sailboat bedding that I still adore from 2003 (which has been used for 2 boys). And I have a gorgeous Skip Hop Vine Floral that’s been sitting around the guest room for over a year in case I should ever have a girl. So when a sample of Kenneth Brown’s Monkey Vine bedding arrived recently, I became surprisingly needy of new boy bedding.

Kenneth Brown is a leading celebrity designer in LA. Currently, he’s designing rooms for Soccer Star Mia Hamm and LA Dodgers first baseman Nomar Garciaparra, The Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Founder’s Room,  The Park Residence in Laguna Beach as well as other high profile clients. But even more important, he has a little one of his own, Harper, and he recently designed her room… so he has a great understanding of nursery design. (Read Brown’s baby room design tips here.)

His new signature line at Babies R Us combines modern shapes, southern colors and a tiny bit of cutesy (Monkey Vine, for example, focuses on  modern coordinating patterns of stripes, dots and vines, but has a super cute monkey popping out every now and then.) The soft sheets and fantastic firmness of the bumper make the entirely reasonably priced crib ensemble one to definitely consider for a baby’s room. I’m so impressed with the craftsmanship, and my kids love the monkey. Yesterday, in the midst of a playdate, 3-year-old decided it was time to get the baby’s room ready, so he found the Monkey Vine bedding and proceeded to open it and take it out. To say nothing of the fact that the crib is still in pieces in the basement, I asked where this bedding would go? He wanted to decorate the guest bed, currently in the future nursery.  Huh. I didn’t know 3-year-olds nest.

On a recent venture to Babies R Us, the boys were on a treasure hunt to “find the monkey”, in-other-words, I wanted to check out the rest of the line. If you’re familiar with Babies R Us’ store design, Kenneth Brown’s selection isn’t found on the “back wall”. Its over by the designer collections and, in the case of the Exton, PA, store, on an end cap. (Speaking of the store, if you need it, its a great time to get lots of baby gear and furiture on sale at BRU Exton right now. They had an over abundance of floor models stuffed into small areas).

That adorable monkey was featured on so many coordinating products you could really go monkey-wild. But it wasn’t in an obnoxious way. The soft yet modern colors and patterns dominated the fabrics, wall-art, and accessories. I’ll soon be adding the wall art, decals and lamp to my “boy” registry–no need to shop around for coordinates when its all so nicely done right in front of you!

Included in  the crib bedding package is a Nursery Design Guide with helpful suggestions from Kenneth Brown. The highlight of this guide, paint suggestions! Because even with my background in design one class in interior design at the local night school, paint suggestions aren’t just a desire for a nesting mom, they’re a splendid relief amongst a great deal of stress and confusion.

A few friends and I were recently discussing baby sleeping habits. My kids were big swaddlers and the huz swaddled them tightly. Really tightly. And they slept great. So, I didn’t “get” the point of a sack. Why not just continue using a swaddle blanket? Two words then occured to me: Kick out. Ahh, now I remember… it only takes a few weeks for even a tiny baby to grow enough to kick out of his swaddling blanket, but sacks (and items like the Baby Bonkie) keep kids in longer with hook & loop closures and bagged legs.

So when a friend explained the sack is for bigger kids… to allow for warmth and the comfort of “sorta swaddling” but room for growth and movement, it made more sense.

The Baby Bonkie is perfect for transitioning from a tight swaddle to a sack (or even regular pajamas.) Its a bag on the bottom (just slip the legs in as you lay baby down)which is tighter than a typical “bag” or ”sack”. Then tighten the chest/arm area with velcros to keep baby from nighttime startles and movement. (See the simple  instructions for use.) Available in gorgeous fabrics and lined in minkee (a super soft and warm fabric that I dream of being wrapped in), I can only imagine the pleasant dreams of  a little one sleeping in a baby bonkie.

When my first daughter was little, I spent a small fortune on her bedroom decor. I purchased an “heirloom” iron bunny bed, custom matching pastel linens, and had a a mural painted in her bedroom. It was gorgeous. Breathtaking and perfect. She hated it.
If only I’d met the ladies behind Engage Environments back then, I could have saved myself a ton of money and heartache.

In retrospect I should have seen the revolt coming. Because while my daughter’s room was gorgeous, it was not so much hers, as mine. Her beloved Teletubby dolls were too garish to be left out on her bed and thus banished to the closet. Her favorite blanket, nipped from my mom’s house, did not match the decor. By the time she was three she would not even sleep in her perfectly decorated room. She was over the bunnies she’d loved at two, she wanted rainbows. Or ponies. Or butterflies. It was hard to keep up. Still is! Every six months my kids seems to reinvent themselves and beg to redecorate.
Nowadays, as a mom of four I am now far more cautious about what I buy. I try and buy the simplest and best quality basics that will stand the test of time. I spend as little as possible on “specifics” – anything with a theme, color, style or motif that my kids are likely to tire of. I’m less about matching and more about coordinating. I don’t banish any beloved objects (within reason!) from the bedroom.
This is why I was so captivated by the entire “Backdrop Bedding” collection from Engage Environments. This is quite possibly smartest children’s decor company I have ever seen. Their products literally made me want to clap my hands!
Continue reading for details on the clever bedding accessories from Engage that will save your money, time and sanity

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With the release of the new Hannah Montana movie, your own little rock star can jam before bed with Little Jammies’ Hannah Montana pajamas and fleece blankets. She can have the best of both worlds and dream of taking the stage to perform for her very own fans!
Little Jammies carries a comprehensive collection of novelty pajamas for infants to teens and is unique from other pajama websites since they offer over 300+ styles of novelty sleepwear. Wow! From Curious George to Hannah Montana to High School Musical and Batman, you are sure to find a style that your kid with love! They are all flame resistant to meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sleepwear requirements.
I gave my daughter her new adorable jammies last night and she couldn’t have gotten ready for bed and into her pajamas any faster! It was amazing! It’s usually a struggle to get her ready for bed, but not last night. She was super excited to put them on and couldn’t wait to start dreaming about being a rock star.
Let your child’s sweet dreams begin! Enter code MOMMIESW at checkout to save 10% off any order over $25.00 until 4/30/09.

Already prepped to grace my baby’s crib, sheets and blankets by Bonn Bonn Baby combine the softness you want for your baby with an antimicrobial wicking fabric, designed to keep baby dry. They’ll be great for the inevitable accidents, babyhood through potty training.
Check out their simple and relieving products which include onesies, bibs and changing pad covers. With affordable prices already (like only $33.95 for a 3-item newborn gift pack), use code mommieswithstyle for 20% off until July 31st, 2009.