The Shopping Mama

BabyBonkies: The True Game Changer for Fussy Babies

by Laura on June 30th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Baby, Reviews

My boy Charlie is a champ when it comes to napping during the day, but 4 pm is the witching hour when he turns from a happy snoozy kiddo to a screaming cranky baby. He’s also a bit of a houdini when he’s at his most tired, managing to wriggle out of even the most tightly wrapped blankets. After all, he did manage to escape the industrial strength wrap of an infant body board during his first trip to the ER at just a few days old. When I received my two Babybonkie swaddlers in the mail, I laughed at the three strips of velcro that were meant to keep the wrap tightly closed. But not only did they stay tight around Charlie, he had his first sleep that lasted longer than 3 hours and he has always slept in excess of 4.5 hours whenever he’s been in a Babybonkie! If you are having trouble with a newborn who won’t stay asleep, this might be your ticket to some sleepy times of your own.

About Baby Bonkie

From the owner, Elise:

I started my company as a way for new parents to give their baby a dash of their own unique sense of fashion. I decided to manufacture a product that was easy and effortless to use. By wearing a Babybonkie, babies and their parents teach us all that good taste comes in many forms and great style is meant to be accessible to everyone. Having spent the bulk of my career in television advertising working for NBC and MTV, I understand the importance of building a brand to create a successful product. The branding of the Babybonkie is synonymous with not only good looks, but with the altruistic proposition of providing endless nights of peaceful sleep for parents and their infants. It didn’t take long before my products were being sold around the world. I cannot tell you the joy I get every time I receive an e-mail or a phone call from a parent who says that I saved the day, or actually the night, by providing them with this amazing product. Our retailers tell us that their customers say that the Babybonkie is simply the best present they have ever gotten or given. I would like to think I am helping parents, one sleeping baby at a time, with a really practical idea that just so happens to look great. I still look for someone who has a great sense of style where ever I go, but when I see a baby wearing a Bonkie, I know I don’t have to look any further.

Wrapped in Softness

The Baby Bonkie comes in a variety of stylish fabrics and each one is lined with a super soft “minkee” lining. They are definitely cozy warm, but unless you live in an extremely hot climate, a baby can be quite comfortable in a swaddle with either just one layer of clothing or just a diaper and no clothes at all. They are machine washable and dryable. Charlie has wide shoulders and the Baby Bonkie is definitely a tight fit around his upper half, but I believe it is that tight swaddle that gives babies comfort and helps them sleep longer. As he’s gotten a bit bigger in the last few weeks, I’ve found that the velcro is strong enough to keep him swaddled during his most restless sleeps, but can still be undone easily when Charlie is ready to wake up.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… These attractive wraps are roomy enough for baby’s legs to be comfortable but wrap tightly enough to keep your baby feeling secure and snug. I credit this product with allowing me to get almost-full nights of sleep, making a transition back to work much easier on both me and Charlie!

Not to Buy… There are less expensive swaddlers on the market, but none of them come in fabrics as pretty as these and I have yet to see one that has a lining as soft and luxurious as the Baby Bonkie.

Shop! Baby Bonkies are currently available at the Baby Bonkie website in 17 patterns for girls, boys, and unisex. You can also find them at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s New York, and other retailers nationwide.

Thursday Giveaway Linky

by Kate on June 30th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Giveaway Linky, Weekly Features

Happy Thursday! So sorry to be posting late… Packing up our house and preparing to move has me all confused about my days! So, here’s the Thursday Giveaway Linky – Better Late Than Never Edition.

Bye bye, stuff. See you in Alabama!

Don’t forget to head over to Baby Loving Mama and enter your giveaways on the weekly linky.

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Maternity Fashion Advice from Rosie Pope

by Kate on June 29th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Fashion & Beauty, Parenting, Shopping

Rosie Pope has teamed up with Pampers to spread the word about the summer’s exclusive Pampers Prints diapers. She stopped by the Baby Board Blogger Day a couple weeks ago to chat about diapers, the reality of reality tv, and provide some much needed maternity fashion advice. She was utterly charming and funny in person and I’m excited to share a brief clip of our chat.

Check out this quick video where Rosie dishes on her best fashion advice for expecting moms.

Maternity Fashion Advice

Rosie thinks maternity dresses often look better on pregnant bodies and you should choose a style to flatter your figure and show off your favorite feature. For example, if you have great legs, go for a shorter dress. If your arms are like Michelle Obama’s, pick a sleeveless dress. Wrap dresses look great on all figures and never seem to go out of style.

Maternity Fashion News

Rosie is working on a new line of affordable maternity clothes to be available at one of our favorite stores. (Think bullseye, people!) We can’t wait for the launch and will keep you updated.

Shop! For more maternity fashion check out Rosie Pope Maternity clothes.

Protect-a-Bub: Versatile sun protection for on-the-go little ones

by Laura on June 29th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Baby, On the Go, Reviews, Strollers

The best part about having a newborn is that they are easily portable. Charlie enjoys a good car ride in his Graco Snugride, or a walk with the Snugride and the snap ‘n’ go stroller. Once he’s bigger, we’ll transition from the snap ‘n’ go to our Baby Jogger City Mini. Both the Snugrider and the City Mini have their own sun shades, but they both only cover half of Charlie’s body. When it’s too hot to put a blanket over his legs, I worry about going outside in the sun knowing that he might have gotten my sensitive skin that burns instantly. I was excited to see a product that extends sun coverage over the entire seat of a stroller and can be used on any make or model. The Protect-a-Bub will work on both of our strollers and the bonus is that it folds up into a small bag that is easily stowed. Plus, the name is adorable!

About Protect-a-Bub

The year… 1997. The place… Down Under. The dilemma… an Australian mom, concerned about exposing her “bub” to the harsh Australian sun is unable to find adequate UV protection for her baby when they’re out and about with the stroller. The stroller canopy isn’t adequate, blankets draped over the canopy retain heat (when they don’t blow or slip off), and her pediatrician has recommended that she refrain from applying sunscreen to her baby’s sensitive skin. What’s a mom to do? The result… Protect-a-Bub is born.

Protect-a-Bub continues with its mission to provide kids with the best protection from the harmful rays of the sun. We constantly strive to create the most innovative, the most useful, and the most sun protective products for our kids so they can grow up enjoying the great outdoors… safely. Our product line includes universal stroller and jogger sunshades, car seat sunshades, all-weather shields for strollers and infant car seats, and an attach anywhere UV protective parasol.

Sun Protection for Every Size Kid or Stroller

Skin cancer is, of course, the first reason behind protecting our skin from sun exposure. But when it comes to little ones, there is also the fact that we just don’t want to see them endure the pain of a bad sunburn. Sunscreen can wear off throughout the day and even with the stroller sun shade fully extended, a child might end up with red knee caps and shins. The Protect a Bub essentially extends the coverage of the shade that comes with your stroller to ensure that every child is fully covered, but still able to interact and stay reasonably cool. The universal design of the shade allows it to be tied to almost any stroller, and it can be slid foward or back to create better visibility. The vented sides allow for air flow to keep your child cool on the hottest days. When not in use, the bendable frame of the shade makes it easy to either fold it up with the stroller or bend it into its original circular shape and store it in the Protect a Bub storage bag.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… This product is a great value because it can be used on multiple strollers. It is durable, easily stored during travel, and creates a nice cover for a kid of any size while still allowing for air circulation and comfort.

Not to Buy… I can’t think of a reason not to buy an item that might protect your little one from sun exposure and nasty sunburns!

Shop! The classic sunshade retails for approximately $45 and can be found at the Protect-a-Bub online store or at other national retailers, including Amazon. Protect-a-Bub also sells sunshades for car seats and tandem strollers as well as a great-looking all weather shade that protects baby from sun, bugs, rain, and snow. That might be our next purchase for Charlie!

Thanks to Protect-A-Bub for providing a sample for this review.

Cars 2 Review: It Went Off the Track and Annoyed This Mama

by Kate on June 29th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Life

As you know, we were all super excited for the release of Cars 2. In fact, both Monica and Shannon wrote posts about some of the fun (and many) Cars 2 licensed products. My own son watched Cars more times than I care to admit. He nearly had a heart attack when he had his picture taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater at Disney, went through a phase where he only called me “Sally” and only answered to “McQueen”, and for some reason still yells “Go Cars!” when he jumps in a pool. My son was literally counting down to opening weekend and, I admit, I was excited to see it as well. I loved the original movie, the story was great and the movie was appropriate for the target audience with plenty of action and character-driven plot to keep parents happy, too. Cars 2? Not so much.

I wasn’t going to post about the movie, but the more I’ve talked about it with friends and family the more annoyed I am. So here’s my beef: Cars 2 involves a rather complex spy / secret agent / oil politics plot line which has no place in a Pixar children’s movie. To satisfy the spy story line, cars are chased, blown up, and killed. To tell the spy story, most of the original characters from Cars are barely in the movie. As someone mentioned in our Facebook conversation about the movie, most of the original characters you love from Radiator Springs feel more like cameos and not characters in the movie. I missed Sally!

The animation in the movie is breathtaking. I loved the scenes from the World Grand Prix races, and wish we’d seen more of them. The movie could have achieved the same “Mater is goofy, but he’s still a good friend” lesson while focusing more on the races, keeping the action on the road and appropriate for kids. There was so much potential for storytelling involving the original characters that I really don’t understand why the writers went with a story that was too much. Too much violence, too complex, too political and too unrelated.

Think about the Toy Story movies compared to Cars and Cars 2. Toy Story continued to tell a character-driven story with essentially the same characters for three movies. The Cars franchise ran off the track with Cars 2 and we may not get back on if there’s a Cars 3. In fact, I would sooner leave my child alone with a case of chocolate milk, my credit card and a subscription to PartyBingo.com, than take him to see Cars 3. I can only imagine how they’ll “up the ante” for the 3rd installment.

Did you see Cars 2? What did you think?

Partum Me?! Streamlining Life

by Laura on June 28th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Partum Me

My first day back at work was yesterday. I never thought it would be harder on Charlie than on me, but I think it was! He’s home with my husband for two weeks before he starts daycare and he spent his first day without me crying and trying to nurse to no avail. When I arrived back at home, he spotted me and gave me the widest brightest smile I’ve ever seen on his little face. I must admit that his grin sort of made it worth leaving!

Yesterday was also my first day of trying to streamline my “getting ready” schedule in the morning, and the “cooking dinner and packing up for the next day” process at night. I bought an extra set of makeup to bring to the office. I figure the world can endure a makeup-less face until I get into work in order to shave 10 minutes off my morning routine. I’ve also started laying out my clothes and showering at night so that my only bathroom time in the AM is to put in contacts and fix my hair. I also try my best to make breakfast and lunch the night before so that I can just throw the ice packs into my breast milk cooler, grab my food, and head out the door. Once Charlie starts daycare, I hope to have his bag pre-packed each night and ready to go the next morning, too.

My big snag yesterday was dinner. When I came home, Charlie was snoozing, so I took the opportunity to get to work in the kitchen. I unpacked and washed pump parts and food containers, then made food for the next day and pre-packed my bag. By the time that was done, Charlie was up and happily ready to nurse, but once I sat down with him I didn’t want to get back up! Dinner was going to be Otsu, an easy-to-throw-together asian dish that we eat every time we get CSA cucumbers or cabbage, but I just couldn’t do it. I gave in to ordering chinese, but tried to make up for it by pre-making the sauce for the Otsu so that I could throw the dish together tonight. Lesson learned: make dinner first, hang out with child, and wait until the kiddo has settled down for the evening to pre-pack for the next day.

So to all my readers who work outside the home, or have kids who go off to daycare/school each day, or who just have busy busy lives: how do you streamline? What sorts of things to do you do to make getting out the door easier and to maximize time spent with your little ones?

SwimWays Swim Steps: Help Your Child Enjoy the Pool This Summer

by Kate on June 28th, 2011 | 5 Comments | Reviews, Toddler

As we prepare to move to steamy hot Alabama in the middle of the summer with no schools or camps or lessons to occupy our time, the only thing that brings me any amount of relief is knowing we are within walking distance of the neighborhood pool. I imagine we’ll be spending A LOT of time there but it can be a little overwhelming to care for two active kids when I’m outnumbered. I’m excited that this summer we’ll be armed with some great products for young swimmers from SwimWays. As a SwimWays Ambassador, we’ll be testing a variety of products from the Swim Steps program aimed at helping kids develop in the water no matter their skill level.

SwimWays Swim Steps Program

Ready to help your kids say hello to H2O? Start with SwimWays. When it comes to teaching children how to swim, we have more than 40 years experience creating swim training gear. We’ve developed all the tools you need to guide your kids to strong swimming skills, right from their very first splash.

Step 1: It’s my first time in the pool.
Step 2: I’m ready to paddle and splash.
Step 3: Teach me to swim so we can play together.
Step 4: I can do it—watch me go!

Both my kids have been in swim lessons for several years, so I was happy to see the broad range of products to assist kids in the pool from beginners to more experienced paddlers. I think my 2.5 year old daughter falls in Step 3 (though if you ask her, she’s a pro) and my 4.5 year old son is more of a beginning Step 4 swimmer.

Power Swimr

The Power Swimr is available in three sizes to fit kids from 20 pounds all the way up to 80 pounds. My daughter is splashing in the size Small for kids 20 to 35 pounds and it actually fits her and my son. Here’s the product description for her Power Swimr.

Small size features rounded design and shoulder straps that give confidence to the youngest swimmers.
Graduated flotation advances swimming ability at the child’s own pace.
Hidden pockets keep flotation pads secure.
Adjustable cords help create a snug fit and keep kids feeling confident.

You know that last part about helping kids to feel confident? Yes, well, it works. I put the Power Swimr on my daughter and she was off in the pool. I honestly sat on the side of the pool while she paddled around and waded her way from one edge of the pool to the other. Okay, so my husband was in the pool with her, but she could have cared less. Unlike a life preserver, when she accidentally rolled onto her back, my daughter was easily able to right herself and keep swimming along. She felt completely comfortable and so did I.

As my daughter continues to improve at actually swimming, we can remove some of the pads from the Power Swimr so that will be provide less flotation requiring her to do more of the “work.” It’s really a great product to provide some extra support for your child who’s not quite strong enough to swim laps on her own.

SwimWays Offers Pure Fun, Too

In addition to offering great tools to help your child feel comfortable and confident in the pool, SwimWays has some super fun pool toys your family will enjoy. My son could spend hours diving for the Toypedo Bandits. Everyone hanging out at the pool party loved the Rainbow Reef Fish that swims around the pool on its own. And my daughter loves cute little water friendly Fairy Tails doll.

Shop! SwimWays products are available in range of affordable prices from SwimWays and on Amazon. The Power Swimr is $22.99.

Thanks to SwimWays for providing sample products.

Dyson Air Multiplier Table Fan Review: Looks as Cool as It Feels

by Kate on June 27th, 2011 | 5 Comments | For Mama, Reviews, Spring Into Spring

Dyson, a brand known for its vacuums – like the Digital Slim DC35 and All Floors DC25 – is bringing innovative technology to a summer staple: the fan. That’s right, the clunky bladed fan has received a modern, sleek makeover from Dyson and the result is the super cool Dyson Air Multiplier.

Meet the Dyson AM01 Table Fan

Dyson AM01 10″ White/Silver – bladeless Dyson Air Multiplier™ table fan. With no fast-spinning blades, it’s safe easy to clean, and generates smooth air with no buffeting. Dimmer-switch power control, 90 degree oscillation and touch-tilt. In white and silver.

Dyson Air Multiplier Features

Safe: No fast-spinning blade.

Touch-tilt: Pivots on its own centre of gravity, staying put without clamping.

Easy to clean: No awkward grills or blades.

No choppy air: No blades chopping the air means airflow is smooth, with no unpleasant buffeting.

Dimmer-switch control: Precisely adjusts airflow power.

Air multiplier™ technology: An annular jet draws in surrounding air, multiplying it 15 times.

Dyson Table Fan Review

The Dyson AM01 10 inch table fan has occupied a place of importance on my bedside table since it arrived. The white fan is solid color white to match any decor, but has a distinctly modern feel. Like all Dyson products, the Air Multiplier is no average fan and uses cool technology to turn your expectations on its ear. The most notable and distinguishing feature is that the Dyson Air Multiplier is bladeless. So, really, I have no idea how the “fan” works, how it manages to blow cold air throughout the room, but it does. With young kids around, who have a tendency to put things in places they shouldn’t, I really like that there are no blades.

My husband loves to sleep with the white noise of a fan in the background and the Air Multiplier definitely produces noise. I was initially surprised by the volume of it, in fact. It’s not loud, but it’s definitely not quiet.

To Buy or Not to Buy

To Buy… The Dyson Air Multiplier is superbly cool. The style is unmatched and the air movement is stellar. I love the pivot and rotate and above all that it has no blades.

Or Not to Buy… The safety benefits of no blades are awesome, but the fan is rather heavy so it might be a risk for a child to pull down. And, of course, there’s the issue of the price tag. It’s steep and the fan is a definite investment.

Shop! Make a cool investment in the Dyson Air Multiplier Table Fan for $300 from our affiliate Amazon. The Air Multiplier collection also includes a Tower Fan and Pedestal Fan.

We received a sample product.