Mommies With Style

I started this post on Saturday the 31st, got about halfway through and needed to leave to go to dinner at my in-laws.  I figured I’d finish the post on Sunday.  Luckily, the bag had already been packed.  By 12:30am I was on my way to the hospital.  The little one was on her way…3 weeks early!  So I can honestly tell you that the items I’ve listed below were actually used while I was at the hospital.

It’s taken a month, but I finally think that my bag is completely packed and ready to go to the hospital.  Initially I was unsure where to even start, so I asked a few friends, searched online and even got a list from my doctor.  I’m certain that I’ve overpacked, but I’d rather be prepared.  I wanted to share a few special items that I’ve packed to make the delivery and our hospital stay a little more special.

From my brief overnight stay at the hospital earlier in my pregnancy, I quickly learned how uncomfortable the beds and pillows are.  So, I knew right off the bat that I had to definitely have some pillows packed.  At this point in my pregnancy I’m used to sleeping with a minimum of five pillows, though I knew lugging that many with me to the hospital was out of the question.  Luckily, Utterly Yours has created a pregnancy pillow that supports both your stomach and lower back (doing the work of two pillows) in one small cube.  When opened it forms two wedges; one made of memory foam that conforms to your belly and the other made of a high density foam to support the back.  Each wedge is covered in a different, stylish fabric to coordinate with any bedroom.  And it’s compact design makes it super easy to take to the hospital for some relief both during and after delivery (the cover is machine washable).  The Utterly Yours pregnancy pillow is available in small, medium and large sizes and can be purchased directly on their website starting at $39.95.

I’ve put together an iPod playlist of some of my favorite songs as well as some soothing music to play during the laboring process.  I have no idea if any of this will sound good to me or if I’ll even want noise at all, but either way I’m prepared.  Included on my playlist are songs from “Stork Tunes” and “Music for Mother and Baby” CDs.  Stork Tunes, a compilation CD consisting of soothing music by Norah Jones, Billy Joel and other top artists celebrates motherhood and helps women relax while preparing for and giving birth.  Proceeds from the sale of the CD will fund March of Dimes efforts to give every baby a healthy start in life.  “Music for Mother and Baby” was composed by Andreas, a father who used his experience with babies to create this soothing and relaxing music.  The songs were written to help create a peaceful environment in which the baby could sleep.  As a side note – during labor and delivery I had no desire to listen to music, but was glad I had it ready just in case.

I know that with a new baby comes a new routine, a new schedule, and a great deal of organization.  I packed Baby’s First Journal to help me get started on the right foot from day one.  Baby’s First Journal will allow me to track all the essential information about my baby’s day-to-day progress from feedings to diaper changes, sleep habits and doctor’s visits.  It includes three months of logging pages and is designed to easily fit into any diaper bag.  I know I’ll be thankful to have all this information right at my fingertips.  Baby’s First Journal can be purchased on the Glow Baby website for $15.99 and comes in green, pink, and blue.  Use coupon code: mommies and receive 20% off your purchase.

No one expects to be stylish during a hospital stay, especially after giving birth.  There is, however, a great way to stand out from those other new moms and look a little less frumpy in all those mommy/baby photos.  More than Maternity offers customized hopsital gowns in a variety of beautiful fabric designs that are sure to brighten up your hospital stay.  Gowns are made from 100% cotton and fully snap up the back as well as down each shoulder for full coverage and nursing ease.  Why would you want to slip on that ratty old hospital-issued gown when you could have one custom designed just for you?!  You can purchase a More than Maternity gown on their website.  Prices start at $59.00.  Mention Mommies with Style in the message to seller section and receive free shipping.  I wore my More than Maternity gown my second day in the hospital and received compliments from all of my nurses and doctors.  It definitely made me feel much more presentable than the raggedy hospital gown I was given! And I didn’t forget  baby either.  I’ve packed my Tweetle Bug Boutique “I’m Not a Boy” newborn hat collection in case we do have a baby girl.  The hats are handmade from newborn hospital hat material keeping the nursery look with a new stylish flare.  The collection comes as a set of three – one with a bow, one with a poppy and one with a violet.  This way no one will mistake our little baby girl for a boy!  Hats can be purchased individually from Tweetle Bug Boutique’s website from $11.99-$14.99 or as a set for $30.00.  We were blessed with a little girl who was lucky enough to have all three “I’m Not a Boy” hats to wear during her stay at the hospital.  In the photo above, she is wearing the Genevieve hat with a poppy flower and I’m wearing my More than Maternity gown.

Packing your bag for the hospital can be overwhelming, and for those moms-to-be who already have enough stress there is a solution to your packing troubles!  Baby Time Bags offers several hospital bags already packed with everything you could need for your hospital stay.  There is no worrying if you forgot a toothbrush or a pair of flip-flops for the shower – Baby Time Bags has you covered.  The bbBasic includes mints, socks, a headband, flip flops, lip balm, a clock, mouthwash, nursing pads, slippers, a reference guide, pen and journal, organic lotion and body wash, plus so much more.  The bbLuxe contains all the practical items of the Basic bag plus some extra special goodies including a robe, hand massager, shampoo, massage oil, and Thank You notes.  Or you can indulge with the bbPreme bag that offers a going home outfit for the baby, a hospital gown, a nursing gown, and a labor ball.  The bags cost $125-$350 and make an excellent baby shower gift.  Use coupon code MWS10 to receive 10% off your online purchase.

Samples of the above products were provided for review on Mommies with Style.

Little’s been wearing this adorable design lately. Upon seeing it, her aunt commented “she should wear it around old ladies who want to touch her face.” Of course, once I reminded her that the purpose of “respect” was to be respectful of the earth, she commented, “wait, aren’t all natural things supposed to be green?” Well, not anymore!

Green Sproutlets’ line is bright, colorful and cheerful. Most of their girls clothing includes the bright pink shown here and the circles pattern. And the boy’s clothing substitutes the pink with blue. I just love the look because its so different from the natural and greens that you see on most organic clothing.

I love organic and bamboo clothing. They’re so soft, thicker and hold up so well, there’s definitely a difference between “natural” clothing and “regular”.

Between now and February 28, 2010, receive a free 3-pack Bamboo terry washcloth in natural color with a minimum purchase of $50 or more. No code required.

My 4 year old son suddenly got very fashion conscious this year — about his winter hat! I had picked up a cute hot pink Kitty Cat Hat from Target for my daughter and my son wanted it for himself. We were lucky enough to test out the funky tide blue fish hat ($7.50) and mittens ($7.50) from The Children’s Place. The quality was good and the whimsical hat made us both laugh!Features include polyester fleece, appliques and embroidery, long side flaps which totally cover little ears.

The Children’s Place offers a bunch of other animal hats and mittens, for sizes 6 months up to 4T: a lion hat and mittens, a pink kitten hat (out of stock), and a Monkey hat (out of stock) and mittens. We also liked the monkey hat and mittens so much that we braved the mall, after Thanksgiving, to buy the monkey hat and mittens (which are now sold out online – call your local store to see if it’s in stock).

For the babies, choose the Furry Friends Hat line ($7.50) for ages newborn to- 12 months.

The Children’s Place provided a sample blue fish hat and mittens for review purposes.

I love giving original, thoughtful gifts to a friend when they have a new baby and I have a few mainstays on my list.

However, my latest find will be added to the top of my list from now on! Mitetees carries a line of awesome tees that will have your friends oohing and ahhing over them! Mitetees sent me their Production tee that I thought was so adorable and unique that it went straight to the top of my list for new baby gifts to give!

 The tee I love has my husband’s last name and my maiden name on it with a 2nd edition phrase, for our 2nd child. For example if my maiden name was Smith and my husband’s last name was Jones, the tee would read “a Smith & Jones production”, 2nd edition. I have several girlfriends that are always calling me to see what unique baby gifts I can recommend. I sent a bunch of them to the Mitetees site and they couldn’t wait to start ordering gifts! The tees come in 4 different colors and sizes 3-6 months-6T. They are available in a onesie and short or long sleeve tees. Use code MWS09 to save $4 off your order through December 31, 2009.

I don’t know about you, but I always have a tough time shopping for the men in my life.  If you’re struggling to find a gift for an expectant dad this holiday season, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Kalencom Daddy Diaper Bags – The “man bag” has been given a bad rap.  But when it comes down to it, a new dad planning any type of excursion with his newborn baby needs some way of transporting all the necessities.  Kalencom has some great daddy diaper bags that look like something he’d carry his laptop in.  In fact, unless you opened the bag and saw the contents, no one would ever know it was a diaper bag.  My daddy-to-be will be sporting Kalencom’s Urban Sling when our little one arrives next year…and he’s kind of excited about it!  Kalencom is offering a special 15% off discount for the next week.  Just enter coupon code STYLE4MOM at checkout.

+ECO Clima Control – For the gadget guy in your life, Oregon Scientific’s +ECO Clima Control would make a great gift.  This environment-friendly, weather-monitoring clock converts solar energy into its source of power.  The sleek design of this “weather station” is made up mostly of a large LCD display showing time and date, outside temperature and humidity, inside temperature and humidity for up to three separate rooms, and (my favorite) the weather forecast for the next 12-24 hours.  This device is extremely convenient for a variety of reasons.  1) It doesn’t need to be plugged in.  2) I know the outside temperature without stepping outside.  3) I can plan how to dress myself (and the baby) for the day based on the forecast.  4) I’ll be able to always know the exact temperature in the nursery without opening the door.  That’s a definite plus!  The +ECO Clima Control retails for $119.99 and comes with the base unit which is a sensor, an outside sensor as well as one additional sensor for another room. 

What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’s Guide to the First Three Trimesters - Most guys appreciate a good laugh.  And I’m pretty certain that all guys would prefer some good comedy over reading an informational guide to pregnancy.  What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’s Guide to the First Three Trimesters isn’t going to give dads-to-be much medical information or the science behind what’s going on inside your body.  It does however provide a very entertaining and often times jaw-dropping guide to pregnancy… for the baby.  Written by The Daily Show’s producer David Javerbaum, this book opens with a foreward by the Stork and answers such pressing questions as, “My mother just took a sip of white wine.  Am I going to end up looking like some Chernobyl baby now?” and “I know I live in mommy, but am I in one of her nicer neighborhoods?”  Sprinkled with totally irrelevant charts, statistics and photos of Antonio Banderas (strange, I know), this book is a hilarious and quick read – though only for those with a great sense of humor.

Rebel Ink Baby - New dads love trying to make their kids look cool.  And for those of you who have seen “The Hangover”, Carlos is all I can picture as I’m writing this.  This year, if there’s an expectant dad on your gift-giving list, help him out with a newborn onesie from Rebel Ink Baby.  Their collection of classic black and white onesies and tees sport sassy expressions like, “Beastie Babies – Fight for Your Right to Potty”, “For Those About to Walk, We Salute You”, and “Party Tonight My Crib 3am”.  Rebel Ink Baby’s stylish tees are 100% super soft cotton and available in a short-sleeved snapsuit or a long-sleeved tee and come in sizes 0-24 months and toddler tee sizes 2T-5T.  There are also pants, hats and pacifiers to match!  Unleash your baby’s (or daddy’s) inner rocker today!  Enter code MOM15 at checkout to receive 15% off.  Offer is good through 2/28/10.

These companies provided samples of their products for review on MWS.

Fireplaces are lit, hot chocolate is being sipped… its time to bundle up. Winter coats are heavy, and the price is often heavier. So if you’re looking for a baby bunting, be it for this year or even in the future, click on over to REI where they have White Sierra Baby Buntings on sale for only $18.93. 

We all know how baby’s squirm, and how hard it is to  get them and all their layers of warm clothes into a bunting. White Sierra’s buntings have a double zip: a zipper on each side of the neck zipping down almost to the toes which  makes it so much easier to get baby in and out than the buntings that single zip up the center.  Made of warm, fleecey polyesterin a cute plaid pattern, its available in blue or pink, sizes 0-6 months – 24 months. And it has hand and foot mittens that flip back to expose those tiny fingers and toes (necessary, mind you, if your child is addicted to her thumb.)

Make sure you buy today, November 30, as its REI’s final day of free shipping, no coupon necessary.

White Sierra provided a sample baby bunting for this review.

When a baby lives in onesies, of course mom is always searching for something a little different. A few that catch our attention enough to pass on:

Peek-a-Belly: How many times are you just dying to tickle or give a kissy to baby’s belly, but that darn onesie is in the way? Peek-a-Bellies make it possible. They’re a regular fitting onesie made with two overlapping front panels that pull open at the belly for kissing and tickling. A patch of designer fabric secures the opening with velcro.

My Bibzy: Here’s a onesie every drooler’s mom will appreciate, it has a bib built-in. A regular onesie (available in many colors) with a waterproof bib sewn on the front, keeping baby dry(er). The bib is created of two layers: the outer layer is terry and the inner is a waterproof poly/vinyl (called Procare). So now when baby drools, she’ll drool not directly onto the cotton shirt, but onto the bib, keeping her warm and protected.

All three companies featured in this post sent samples of their shirts for review on Mommies with Style.

I recently got to try out a variety of products from Inktastic, a great website that allows you to create your own customized clothing and products for you and your kids. From tee-shirts, to bibs, to aprons, mousepads, hats, gifts, and more, Inktastic has a great product selection at awesome prices.

Some of the fun products I got to create include matching long-sleeved tee shirts for my boys that say “He Did it” with an arrow pointing at each other (love it! See pic to the right), a mouse pad of my kids (great quality with a nice bright glossy picture), and an apron with my son’s picture and name on it, which he loves and is the perfect size for him. It was easy to create the products online, and I got them within a matter of days. The best part is the extremely affordable pricing of all of these items.

My other favorite items include these adorable baby camo caps (I love the green with the name in orange!) and youth baseball tee shirts. But there are so many items to choose from… you can select images from their online database or upload your own. Add a name or saying on the front, back, or both. The options are endless!

Enjoy the sale prices Inktastic is offering right now and create some special holiday gifts for friends and family.

Last month I shared that little A is wearing lots of legwarmers from Zootie Patootie. They even sent samples to me that were red and white, which you know she’s wearing to cheer on the Phillies this week in the World Series!

Here’s your chance to win one of two three-packs of Zootie Patootie Legwarmers. Just share with us what ghost, goblin or goon your child will be this week for Halloween in the comments section below. We’ll draw two winners next week using random.org and then contact you via your e-mail, so make sure you include a valid e-mail address when you complete the form. When you win, you’ll let us know if you want a boy pack or a girl pack.

Zootie Patootie legwarmers make great gifts and you’ll love using them on your baby’s legs.  Enter now!

Thanks to Zootie Patootie for providing samples and giveaway products.

Silly Souls, aka Baby Gags, recently introduced a new line of unique baby shoes. Totally glitzy and eye-catching, even a newborn can be a dancing queen when she crowns her toes with their pearlized shoes. And little future Mick Jaggers will love kickin’ and screamin’ with the new Rock Star baby shoes in silver.

Made of PU Athletic leather (ie no animal products) with rubber soles at the heel and forefoot, these shoes aren’t made for walkin’ but sure are made for giftin’ in the cute lunch-box style boxes.