May 21, 2012

Wall Candy Arts: The Only Time It’s Okay To Let Your Kids Draw on the Walls

We’ve been a fan of Wall Candy Arts for years now.  We have several of their chalkboards from them in our basement that the kids love to draw on.  Here’s what neat about Wall Candy Arts – these are stickers.  They peel right off of paper and onto your walls.

Even better, there’s no damage or pulling to your paint or wallpaper when you want to remove these.  We’ve tested it out several times!  (Chalk also wipes right off the walls with a damp paper towel!)

A couple of months ago, Wall Candy Arts send us this Baby Elephant and we finally put it up in Cole’s room – he loves it.  Both kids have been spending a good hour decorating the elephant every night before bed.  They peel the chicks on and off the walls and it’s a nice non-electronic toy that I love having in the house.

You can get the Baby Elephant set for $39.20 at WallCandyArts.com.  Check out the array of other products available at WallCandyArts.com – they offer murals and other stickers you can use for decorating the walls.

25% off Lamaze Baby Toys

My boys loved Lamaze baby toys when they were infants.

Check out this great sale at Amazon for 25% off or more on Lamaze baby items.

Baby Einstein Discovery Kits: Kid Friendly TV! (with Giveaway)

I had heard of the Baby Einstein in the past, but had yet to ever seen a video. I knew that they were videos with fun sounds and colors, and I was extremely excited to try out a video for myself once my little boy was here. I was even more excited to find out that Baby Einstein has come out with what they call Discovery Kits, which are innovative new interactive experiences to help parents introduce babies to the beautiful music, nature and animals for which the company’s products are known. It all sounds pretty good to me!

Each Discovery kit ($19.99)  features a DVD, a music CD and a picture book or Discovery Cards. Each element complements the others. The new kits encourage parents to take what they and their child have seen on screen, in the book or on the discovery cards, or listened to on the CD and apply it to baby’s every day life. They were created to grow with babies and are organized in a way that offers three distinct levels of discovery: Experience, Explore, and Expression. With my baby being a newborn, we started out with the experience level: Baby Mozart.

The Baby Mozart DVD is great! My little guy is still very young, but once I put him down in front of the TV to watch the DVD his eyes lit up with all the vibrant colors. The soundtrack to the DVD complements it perfectly, and the Mozart music is a great way to stimulate your little one. I am not a big believer in plopping your child down in front of the TV, but I have heard how important it is to stimulate your child’s developing brain, and I think this DVD is a great way to do that!

Now for something fun! Baby Einstein is giving away a Discovery kit for one of our readers!

The Wild Safari Discovery kit is a Level 2 (explore) kit. This kit will bring your child deep into the jungle, Savannah, and forest. The winner will be drawn on Sunday, February 5th! That’s 1 week away! Even if this doesn’t work for your child, it would make for a wonderful gift.  Here’s how you enter!

1: Leave a comment letting me know what level of kit would work best for you.

2: Follow @mommieswstyle on Twitter and leave a comment letting us know that you follow

3: Follow @babyeinstein on Twitter and leave a comment letting us know that you follow

4: Tweet about this giveaway and come back to leave the link of your tweet

It’s that easy! Each comment will act as an entry. Even if you don’t win this giveaway I promise these new kits are great for any child, and the fact that they offer different levels for different ages will allow the Baby Einstein brand to grow with your family.

I was provided with a Baby Einstein Discover Kit for the purposes of this review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Infantino’s Fold & Go Bouncer — Have Baby, Take This Bouncer With You!

Image and video hosting by TinyPicWhat’s not to like about Infantino’s Fold & Go Bouncer?  This full-featured bouncer folds up flat and is ideal for using in different rooms, being stored in a closet or for traveling (it will easily fit in a suitcase).

Suitable for babies up to 25 lbs, it offers soothing vibrations, nature sounds, a heartbeat sound, 3 melodies and a volume control. The babes will love the comfy seat, and padded head support. It offers a 3 point harness and has a toy bar with detachable (not electronic) toys.

The baby’s own natural movement provides gentle bouncing action. It uses 3 AAA batteries and has a machine washable seat cover (which comes in handy if your baby spits up on it!).
Image and video hosting by TinyPic

You have to put the bouncer together- but that is pretty easy to do. It was really easy to take this to Thanksgiving dinner, so my baby had a place to sit. The only thing I would change is the color scheme —  I wish the seat base and the patterns were a little cuter.


Diapers.com: Beyond Baby Care & a #Giveaway for $200 Gift Certificate

My youngest child has been out of diapers for over a year now so buying diapers and shopping somewhere like Diapers.com has not been on my radar. Until recently, when I received a note about participating in a campaign for Diapers.com to purchase and use the site for more than diapers.

More than diapers at Diapers.com?  I was curious to see how the site had grown since my last child potty trained and was pleasantly surprised at how much their offering had expanded since the last time I ordered.

I placed a big order for several products, none of which was diapers!  I got toys for my kids for Christmas, clothes and skin care products for my kids.  In searching for various products, I was able to find everything I was looking for.  Check out the array of Legos they offer!  (My kids are so into Legos right now, I was impressed with their selection.)

I also ordered this adorable Tea Collection Lion Double Decker Tee.  Then I was out of hand soap so I hopped over to body care and ordered several bottles of Burts Beeds Hand Soap.  Bottom line being that their offering has moved beyond diapers and their prices are competitive.  (Free shipping over $49!)

Just to give you an example the vast assortment of products you can buy for your family’s needs, check out this random assortment of products you can buy on Diapers.com:

Bravado Designs Nursing Tank - $49

Fisher Price IxL Learning System - $89.99

Basq Cucumber Tea Eye Gel - $24

3-pack of EPT Pregnancy Stick Tests - $13.99

Lego City Seaplane - $9.49

Shipping is free when your order is over $49 and no joke, my order came in a day and a half. They promise 1-2 day shipping and I placed my order late one night. It came not the next day but early the following morning; roughly 36 hours.

Giveaway: One lucky reader from Mommies with Style will win a $200 gift certificate to Diapers.com!  Comment below to enter.

This giveaway ends after Sunday, December 12th – one winner will be selected at random after that time.

Disclosure:  I was given compensated and given a credit to spend at Diapers.com to facilitate this post.

My Blankee: The Soft and Luxurious Baby Blanket

Even though I am 30 I have this weird obsession with all things extremely soft, and that includes blankets and stuffed animals (yes, this 30 year old likes stuffed animals). When we started getting ready for our new addition I was on the hunt for the softest blanket. As a matter of fact, I still have the Pooh Blanket that was in my crib when I was born, so I want to give our little one some great blanket options to choose from to make his decision for his favorite. One blanket I was excited to try was My Blankee , which is a luxury brand of receiving blanket. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

With tons of blankets to choose from I had a heck of a time deciding which one I wanted for our little man. They have tons of patterns and styles, but in the end I chose the Tigger Velour Blanket ($40) in baby blue. This blanket is 100% Microfiber Polyester, Hypoallergenic, machine washable (because what mom has time to dry clean blankets??), and made in the USA! The blanket is so soft, and I love the silky edges. It also will be nice and warm for the winter months we having coming. Definitely something to think about when having a winter baby.

Celebrities also love My Blankee! I mean if it’s good enough for Jennifer Lopez and Gwen Stefani, then I think our little guy will like it just fine.

I am doing my best not to steal this blanket for myself. It’s kind of a joke in our house that I want all of his soft stuffed animals and blankets. The instructions DO say for the mother to sleep with the blanket to give it her scent…I think that’s a perfect idea! I will be sure to give that a try!

I was provided with a My Blankee for the purposes of this review. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Big City Moms’ Biggest Baby Shower

Image and video hosting by TinyPicBig City Moms recently partnered with TheBump.com, to throw their Biggest Baby Shower on November 2nd in NYC. Over 400 expecting attendees had access to new products, gear, fashion and must-haves for babies, children and parenting.  Over 80 featured brands were there, including Delta Juvenile Products, Bugaboo, Duane Reade, BornFree, Skip*Hop and more.

The event also showcased a Dream Nursery exhibition, a Spa corner, and seminars led by Carley Roney, editor-in-chief of TheBump.com on surviving NYC mommyhood, and Dr. Alan Greene, author of Feeding Baby Green, as well as from Cord Blood Registry. A percentage of sales was donated KIDS, and Healthy Child, Healthy World, and the Max Cure Foundation.

Standouts included Lansinoh’s electric Affinity Breast Pump (the milk NEVER will back up into the tubing), Britax ‘s Image and video hosting by TinyPicfabulous B Ready Stroller (that can take a second seat) and Next Generation Convertible Car Seats, phil and teds’ Nest Baby Bed, Delta Juvenile’s Products’ new eco friendly storage line, Belabumbum Maternity’s delicious maternity and nursing pajamas, and Glamourmom’s gorgeous nursing and maternity tanks.

Magnificent Baby showed off their fabulous magnetic baby clothes, we’re huge fans of their new Whales pattern, which comes in boy, girl and unisex versions. We loved iCandy’s Peach Blossom Stroller — You can have two seats and it folds up so compactly – take off the seats and you can even swing the chassis over your shoulder   Companies also represented were UppaBaby, Dapple Baby, Plum Organics, BabyJogger, Think King, Simplesse, Buy Buy Baby, Babies R Us and many more.

Click here to see more photos from the event.

Writer received complimentary admission and a media gift bag. Photos supplied by Big City Moms and Magnificent Baby.

Giveaway: Simple, custom decor from Danielson Designs!

I recently came across an awesome company called Danielson Designs, whose custom design studio allows you to make gorgeous gifts and items for your home that are well-priced and made super-fast!

Custom items include picture frames, signs for your home, plaques, monograms, and more. You can search the site by item, or by occasion, which gives great gift ideas for an anniversary, birthday, graduation, new baby, friendship, romance, family, and more.

Designing your items is easy and completed in three simple steps, and every item ships within 48 hours! Check out this video demo to see how it all works!

I created a gorgeous picture frame for my parent’s anniversary. The gift arrived packaged in natural raffia and was beautifully presented. I love that the picture frame was personalized with my parents names and the year of their anniversary. And the best part about it was I created it online, got to see what it would look like before ordering, and then received it within a matter of days!

Want a chance to design your own Danielson Designs custom piece? Enter our giveaway below by leaving us a comment of your favorite Danielson piece and you will be entered to win any item on the site for $39.95 (or less) plus free shipping! Contest ends Oct 1st.

Place an order and save $10 using code MOMMIESWS. This is a great coupon code since many of the items are less than $40, so this can save you 25% or more! Enjoy shopping this great site!

Great Trade-In Event at Babies R Us & Toys R Us

Through Sunday, September 19th, Babies R Us and Toys R ť Us stores are holding their Great Trade-In event providing their customers with the opportunity to trade-in any used car seats, strollers, cribs, bassinets, travel systems, play yards, toddler beds or high chairs in exchange for a 25% off savings on the purchase of a new baby item, in any of the product categories from select manufacturers. Participating brands are: Britax, Babi Italia, Baby Cache, Baby Trend, Bergamo, Bertini, Carter, Chicco, Contours by Kolcraft, Cosco, Delta, Eddie Bauer, Evenflo, Graco, Jeep, Little Tikes, Safety 1st, Sorelle and Step2.

The Great Trade-Inť event places an emphasis on specific baby products, that due to safety concerns, may not be the best candidates to be handed down or resold. Beyond recalls, certain older and used baby items can be potentially unsafe for a variety of reasons, including damage or lack of compliance with recent advances in product safety standards.

You don’t need to have purchased the item you want to trade-in from TRU or BRU and no receipt is required. You can bring in multiple items and you will be given one 25% off discount for each item traded in. The discount must be used that day on another item from the participating categories and manufacturers. Trade-In items and purchased items can be from different categories.

Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad

Image and video hosting by TinyPicTo me, a contoured changing pad is a must-have in a nursery. I recently received the Summer Infant Contoured Changing Pad ($22) to test out. Since I am using on a dresser top (instead of the changing table I used for my other two kids), I like that it can easily be attached to the back of the dresser. Just use the included 1/2″ wood screw to secure the changing pad to the dresser top. It includes a restraint strap and it can be easily wiped down or be covered with a changing pad cover.

Thank you to Summer Infant for providing a product sample for review purposes.

Skip Hop Day to Night Baby Log

Image and video hosting by TinyPicI had my baby a week ago and just came home earlier this week. We’ve been using Skip Hop’s Day to Night Baby Log ($39) to keep track of feeding, changing and sleeping. We love that there is a place to record doctor’s visits and baby gifts. The best part? The Time Capsule, which lets you display the current time and date, has a timer, and also lights up (great for recording your data at 3 am!). You can record your data for up to 6 months. This is a great baby shower gift/essential for your registry.

Thank you to Skip Hop for providing a product sample.

Newborn Neccessities: Floor Play

Even newborn babies love to play…or at least love to watch you try to play with them!  And the safest place to lay them to play is usually the floor.  Throwing a blanket on the floor for a baby works just fine, but for something a little more fun and comfy there’s Bestever’s baby mats.  Gianna has spent hours happily rolling around on her Bestever giraffe mat.  That’s why I’m topping off my top ten list of newborn neccessities with Bestever’s baby mats.

Made from snuggly, soft fabric, the Bestever mats are perfect for getting in that extra tummy time.  Of course since the giraffe is so soft and silky, Gianna tries to eat it every time she is on her belly. I learned pretty quickly that the mats are machine washable.  And they wash really well.  After the mat air dries I fluff out the plush fabric and it looks brand new.

The mats are offered in a variety of animals, including monkeys, bears, frogs and cats and are all 31″ long.  Bestever mats can be purchased directly from their site on Amazon.com or Toys ‘R Us for between $40 and $50.  These mats make great shower gifts, but could also be given as birthday gifts.  Toddlers could easily use a Bestever floor mat for watching TV, coloring, or any other floor activity.  And they’re just so darn cute!

A product sample was provided for review on Mommies with Style.

Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer by Summer Infant

Looking for a great bouncer seat for your babe? Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer by Summer Infant ($59.99) has a comfortably round seat for baby and features 4 melodies, 2 nature sounds, a womb sound and soothing vibrations. The soft toy bar includes 3 toys (which are removable). Suitable for newborns (there’s an adjustable newborn head support) and babies up to 25 pounds. The seat removes easily for cleaning too!

I actually preferred the lack of electronic toys on the bouncer and it was a breeze to set up. My newborn arrives in a few weeks and I know he’s going to love this bouncer! I know I will too — hopefully it will soothe the baby enough so I can play with his siblings (or make dinner).

Exclusively at Babies R Us - You can get this bouncer for free if you purchase two items from the Carter Collection.

Thank you to Summer Infant for providing samples for review purposes.

34 Weeks Pregnant: Packing for the Hospital

I’m 34 weeks pregnant with my third child and it’s time to make sure I’m ready for my third hospital stay! My first child came ten days early and I wasn’t ready, so I made it a priority to pack last week. Most of it is packed in a huge tote from Destination Maternity ($34.99), designed by Heidi Klum – unfortunately no longer available on their site. The exclusive tote bag, printed in Heidi’s hand-painted signature floral, includes items that Heidi picked herself, including: black cozy socks, a hair scrunchy–also printed in heidi’s signature floral, toothbrush/toothpaste and a congratulatory tee, awarding you with a gold medal exclaiming, ”
I did it”.  The bag also contains a hand-written letter and checklist from Heidi of what she suggests to also pack in your hospital bag.

I added to her suggestions with the following items (cause I’m not a supermodel, but a product reviewer):

  • Luna Lullaby’s Bosom Buddy Nursing Pillow – in my opinion, this is the BEST. NURSING.PILLOW EVER!
  • Hat for the baby, aden & anais muslin swaddling blanket – click here to see my recent review, outfit for baby to go home in (provided by my mother)
  • 1 bottle of Mamatini – a great-tasting, doctor-designed organic herbal tea bottled drink for nursing moms. Get free shipping on your first order with promo code SHIPFREE.
  • Gownies Hospital Gown – click here for my recent review
  • Aimee Nursing Nightgown (which I reviewed for another site 2 1/2 years ago. Such a great nursing nightgown and it’s sexy too!)
  • Sleepmask
  • Motherhood Maternity Nursing Nightgown and robe – Faux wrap style, print no longer available, but here’s a similar nightgown and robe ($24.99).
  • Fuzzy slippers
  • Binsi Labor and Birth Apparel’s Go Go Top ($38) – snaps open on the side, perfect for wearing under a hospital gown or nightgown. Click here to see my original review, from 2007.
  • Bravado Original Nursing Bra in Double Plus ($35) – I sleep in one of these every night, pregnant or not.
  • Underwear (still in larger size from Target and Motherhood Maternity) – pre-preg underwear will happen, just not yet.
  • Sensitive baby wipes (can’t stand the dry wipes they have in the hospital)
  • Changing Pad (from Ju Ju Be’s Be Light Diaper Bag, click here to read my review from last summer)
  • Sleepmask
  • Small tubes of Triple Paste and Aquaphor.
  • NUK Pacifiers and pacifier clips – click here for my recent review
  • Toiletries for me
  • Toiletries for baby – sensitive skin baby wash, washcloths,
  • Outfit for me to go home in (Sleeveless Pull Over Double Opening Nursing Tank ($16.98) from Motherhood Maternity and maternity capris – do not think you’ll be wearing pre-pregnancy clothes home from the hospital. Don’t even pack maternity jeans).
  • Small gifts for my4 1/2 year old son and 2 1/2 year old daughter

Disclosure: For this pregnancy series, thank you to Luna Lullaby for providing the Bosom Buddy, Baby Be Mine for providing the Gownies Hospital Gown, Mamatini for providing a sample of their Mamatini tea, NUK USA for providing pacifiers and a pacifier clip. Everything from Motherhood Maternity was purchased by myself, except Heidi  Klum’s Tote, which was provided by Destination Maternity. Items reviewed previously have been linked to past reviews.

Newborn Neccessities: Snuggly, Silky Blankets

People love buying anything soft for a newborn baby – clothes, stuffed animals, blankets – and having a baby in the dead of winter in the midst of record-breaking snowstorms certainly made me appreciate all the warm, snuggly gifts.  I don’t think a day went by in the month of February where I wasn’t using at least two baby blankets at a time: one wrapped around Gianna and the other wrapped around me!  While the spring and summer months have brought us beautiful weather as well as some record-breaking temperatures, Gianna still loves cuddling in her thick, plush blankets; the more snuggly the better.  Right now she has two favorites: her Luv My Woobie blanket and her Little Giraffe blanket.  They both have silky, satin edges that are always in her mouth.  That’s why snuggly, silky baby blankets are #7 on my list of newborn neccessities.

Gianna has the Brooklyn infant blanket from Luv My Woobie – a 36×29″ chocolate brown and pink flowered blanket.  The patterned front is made of cotton and the back is a pale pink paisley chenille with a small velcro pocket perfect for storing a pacifier.  The whole blanket is framed in a fuschia satin trim – Gianna’s favorite part.  She’s at the age where everything has started to go in her mouth, and her Woobie is no exception.  She loves to suck on the satin edges.  Even at 5-months, Gianna can be wrapped in this large blanket.  Recently, I’ve been using it to keep her warm in the air conditioning while she’s nursing.  We take the Woobie with us wherever we go, though Luv My Woobie sells smaller, travel size blankets better suited for this purpose as well.  The Woobie infant blankets can be purchased at Luv My Woobie’s site and prices start at $64.00.  Enter code JUL15 at checkout and receive 15% off .

When the Woobie is in the wash, Gianna also has the soft, snuggly Little Giraffe blanket to keep her warm (it also has the satin edges to put in her mouth).  She has a pale yellow Luxe blanket - a 29×35″ blanket made with Luxe fabric with a shiny, satin trim.  She loves snuggling with it and I love that it has kept is plushness even after several washes.  I also think it’s fun that several celebrity babies carry a Little Giraffe like Gianna’s, including Suri Cruise.  Little Giraffe blankets can be purchased at high-end retailers such as Nordstrom’s or from a variety of boutiques and online stores with prices starting at about $50.

Newborn Neccessities: No Change Changing Pad

After the initial shock of the cold winter months, baby Gianna has learned to love getting her diaper changed.  Changing time has turned into play time.  And given the opportunity, she’ll laugh, kick and giggle for half an hour…as long as she’s naked.  Of course I love keeping her happy and playing, but “naked time” presents me with two challenges.  The first is that I want her someplace safe; somewhere that I don’t have to stand over her watching that she doesn’t roll.  The second is that there tends to be messy accidents when the diaper is off.  The Bottom’s Up Baby Gear changing pad has solved both of these problems for me. 

That is why it’s #6 on my list of Newborn Neccessities.

When used as originally intended – covering a changing pad that sits on a changing table or dresser - it’s an ingenius idea.  In my household, the way I use it makes it one of the most visited surfaces in the house.  My Bottom’s Up Baby Gear changing pad cover is covering a changing pad, but that pad sits on the floor in the middle of my family room.  I never planned on having a changing pad on the floor.

When Gianna came early, I was still waiting on my husband to paint our changing table.  As the weeks dragged on I needed a place to change the baby in the family room, so the pad that was supposed to be used on the table became a fixture on our floor.  The baby began loving her time spent on the floor on her changing pad, so lucky for my husband, that changing table never needed painting!

The patented design of the Bottom’s Up Baby Gear changing pad cover makes clean-up a breeze for all of those “naked baby” accidents, too.  The cover is constructed with two parts: the plush top half to keep baby’s head comfy and the vinyl bottom half that can quickly be wiped clean with a baby wipe or disinfectant.  These pieces zipper together so it’s easy to throw the minky top into the wash when it’s seen a little too much changing action.  The best part is that you can order a changing pad cover to match your decor.  You choose both the color of the top fabric (9 color choices) as well as the bottom vinyl half (white or brown).  If you order two tops to go with your one bottom piece, you’ll never have to wait for the laundry to be done to use your changing pad.

It’s a more efficient and less messy solution to changing diapers…and “naked baby” time!

The Bottom’s Up Baby Gear changing pad can be ordered online for $39.98.  It makes a great baby shower gift and ships already gift-wrapped, so no need to worry about the wrapping!

A sample was provided for review on Mommies with Style.