Gearhead Mom

My Bum Book

My cousin just had her second baby (Congrats, Cuz!) and she’ll be reviewing My Bum Book, a cute little journal that helps you track daily feeds, diapers, wake time, sleep time and more. It’s a nice layout. Looking forward to the review!

Nosefrida: The Snotsucker

Reader Lindsay emailed me asking if I’d ever used the Nosefrida, a high-tech snot sucking mechanism for babies and toddlers. My five year old is a champion nose-blower, and my two year old likes to just smear his boogies all over the furniture, so I’ve never purchased one. But I have to admit, I was also quite curious. I put it out there to my parent pals and my friend Matt gladly wrote a paragraph for us on the wonder that is the Nosefrida. Thanks, Matty!

“For once…I’m supposed to suck at being a dad. A few years ago, I was given a little treat like this to help with my child’s constantly leaky nose. Traumatized by the idea of purposefully sucking out the goobers, I decided to put the little contraption in the medicine cabinet to be lost for eternity. Well, my day/night of reckoning came. In a late night act of desperation…I did it. But not without trying every other option. Saline drops? Check. Cold Humidifier? Check. Warm Humidifier? Check. Let them cry until eternity? A possibility, but no.

blankyclip: A Lovie’s Best Friend

Ed. Note: Adrienne from blankyclip asked GHM to review her new product, and I have to say I was a little bit sad when I realized my kids were too old to review it. How did they get so big already? So thanks to my friend Anne for reviewing it for us! Take it away, Anne.

I was given the opportunity as the mother of a fresh baby boy to review blankyclip, the “only plush toy that doubles as a loose tension clip, specifically designed to hold blankets onto strollers, bouncy seats, swings, etc.” I figured why not, as I had only recently realized that I misplaced my favorite Little Giraffe blanket and figured that it most likely fell off of my stroller or carseat. Before the clips came in the mail I checked out the website and while I thought they were cute and smart and seemed to be useful, honestly my first thought was, can I picture myself using these? Like, am I too “cool” to have a duckie or lamb or a teddy bear clip hanging off of my gear?

Because I am sooo cool.

Costume Swaddles

Loving these costume swaddles mentioned over at Coquette Maman. Hilarious!

My Baby’s Bathtub Is Primo Stuff

Baby G was not a fan of the small infant tub we had. Sy loved it when she was wee, he loathed it. Cried like a baby every time we put him in it. Turns out he was incensed that he had to be even slightly reclined, which makes sense since the kid has been sitting up since he was four months old. There are things to SEE out there, people. Mainly things like a big sister, whom he tracks like a border collie.

When I finally realized what the problem was, I pulled Sy’s old Primo EuroBath tub out and it’s been bathing bliss ever since.

Light Up Nail Clippers

Baby G scratched up his face like nobody’s business last night in his sleep. I wanted to cut his nails at O’Dark Thirty when he woke up, but the light was not bright enough in our room and I didn’t want to blind everyone so early in the morning. I thought about my cousin’s favorite baby gadget - the BebeSounds LiteUps Clippers with LED Light.

File under: why didn’t I think of that? A little set of clippers with their own flashlight! I saw one over the holidays when I was with my cousin, so I swooped it up. Of course, I got it home and it didn’t work. We took it back and the store swapped the batteries, but still no go. I would have gotten another one but I had purchased the last one in stock. My cousin, on the other hand, has had the same pair for a year and it works like a charm. She has had to replace the batteries only once.

Anyone else have a favorite gadget?

nkotb Is Not Size Discriminatory

Admit it. You loved nkotb. Who didn’t want to hang tough with Jordan or Danny? Anyway, Roger sent me this link so that even Baby G can represent. Not.

REPOST - The Learning Puppy: A Break-Up Story

Dear Learning Puppy,

I have some bad news for you. I think it’s time for you to move out. No, you are not going to be shoved in the back of the toy closet (again) only to be resurrected by Sy in a couple of months. I can’t take the break-up/make-up routine anymore! It’s more serious than that. I think it’s time you move to the consignment shop at the foot of the hill, because Puppy, it’s over. Do you hear me? O-V-E-R.  I no longer want to sing and play games with you. I don’t want to hug you. I’m tired of hearing about your YELLOW FOOT! I just want you and your blinking dog bone collar out of my home forever.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had some good times together. I’ll never forget the time I gently tapped your nose and you said to me, “RED NOSE!” I felt like you really meant what you said. But as the years have passed, your once-charming ways have become one dimensional, almost superficial. I mean, how deep can you be when you are only surface washable?

Becoming Blockheads

My aunt, my father’s only sister, unmarried and without children, wound up with five nieces and nephews, and is currently Great Auntie to six (going on seven) grand nieces and nephews.  Among her many cool attributes, Auntie C has distinguished herself as a very creative and personalized gift giver.  She’s the one who ordered us the home delivery subscription of organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers after our first daughter was born.  She has an uncanny ability to pick out books that match each relative’s interests and developmental stage.  In turn, she asks only that we make a donation to a worthy organization and let her know all about it. 
Last Christmas, Aunt C gave the parents of small children gift certificates to Maple Landmark Woodcraft, a folksy company that makes handmade wooden toys of the traditional variety. 

babysoy is babysoft

We are very lucky to be the recipients of at least four different sets of hand-me-downs in the Super Cute Boy Baby Clothing department.  Baby G has about 50 options each morning as Sy and I pick out his outfit. Lucky for Sy (she loves to do the selecting), G is a spitter-upper of epic proportions, so we change his clothes a LOT during the day. One of my favorite hand-me-down bibs is from babysoy, a company I’d never heard of before G’s arrival. It’s the softest damn piece of clothing I’ve ever felt. I try to keep it on him as long as possible (about two hours, given his spittyuppiness) because I love to feel it against my skin. I did some reading and found out that the entire line over at babysoy is made from soybean fiber. How cool is that? Eco-friendly, sustainable and soft as hell.

Dunno what soybean fiber is? Neither did I.  Soybean protein fiber is a sustainable and botanical textile fiber made from renewable and biodegradable natural resources - the leftover soybean pulp from tofu and soy milk production. Its 16 amino acids are healthy and nutritional for our skin. It is a green textile fiber that possesses the superiorities of many natural and synthesized fibers.

And like all totally bitchin companies out there, it was started by a MOM who wanted to do her daughter right in this world.

Flannel Wipes and a Thermos

Sy had such sensitive little skin when she was a newborn, wipes frequently made her rashes worse. After the Hazard Scale of Doom reminded me that wipes are not as non-toxic as I thought, I remembered what we used instead when Sy was a newborn: plain old baby wash clothes and a Thermos Vacuum-Insulated 2-qt. Beverage Pot with Pump Dispenser (the technical name) of warm water. The Thermos keeps the water warm all day long, so all you do is pump a little water on a cloth and clean that cute little bottom. Sy’s rashes appreciated the gentle touch. Once her skin toughened up, we went to wipes, but I think we probably did the Thermos method for at least three months.

This time around, we are using super soft flannel wipes instead of wash clothes. They come in packs of 15 wipes (which you go through so fast with a newborn), so I got two sets. I do laundry about every other day right now, so it’s no big deal to throw these in with the wash. The flannel wipes are soooo soft, just like a baby’s bottom. When I run out before laundry day, I just use one of the 3000 baby wash clothes we seem to have.

This method is clearly a little more labor intensive than wipes, but I think the benefit outweighs the (ever so slight) hassle.

Blue Penguin Burp Cloths

My friend BJ sent Baby G this totally rad skull and cross bones burp cloth from Blue Penguin. The cloths are 100% cotton terry and flannel and so very soft. Not to mention tragically hip, just like me.

Thanks, B!

Curious About Cloth Diapers? Never Fear, Babyworks Is Here!

This review just in from my pal AJ, mother of two, soon to be three (brave woman!). Thanks, AJ!

I embarked on the cloth diapering train to lessen the environmental impact we are making with our third kid on the way. We still don’t know what we will drive to fit three car seats, we have no idea how to pay for college for three…but, this seemed surmountable. The only flaw in my plan: I am trying out cloth diapering on my 37 lb, 21 month old boy who is old enough to complain, but not with actual words. He is the test project for G3, as we call the next installment baby.

I only know two girlfriends who use cloth diapers. When I queried my group of mom-pals after reading about Fuzzi Bunz on this site, I received some hilarious emails asking if that was something ‘special’ my husband and I were looking into.

Here is the answer for the curious and hesitant: Babyworks. This is a family owned company started by a mom of three, 18 years ago. They have an exhaustive downloadable catalog that covers everything from cloth diaper brands, cost breakdown as well as health, environmental and economic reasons for choosing cloth diaper systems. They have detailed instructions on how to handle your diapers at home, even specifics for those of us with front loading washers. You read this and you too will know the difference between Fuzzi Bunz and the ultimate Birdseye.

The best part is the Diapering Sample Kit. Each item in the kit is sold at it’s lowest discount price (e.g., the Bumkin is at the 6-or-more price), and each item is individually returnable. They choose the correct size of each product based on the weight and build of your baby (or newborn size if not here yet). The kit contains: 1 Fuzzi Bunz or Bum Genius pocket diaper with microterry insert, 1 Bumkin all in one, 1 Kissaluv fitted diaper, 1 Hemp Fleece Diaper Doubler, 3 Prefolds (1 Chinese, 1 Birdseye, 1 Hemp), 1 contour diaper, 1 Bummi Super Whisper Wrap, and 1 Poly Nikky or Niji diaper cover. As far as sizing goes, you can choose “Expecting/unknown size”, or within each weight range, choose petite (slim/smaller than average); “average”, or large (larger than average). They won’t send “girl” colors or prints unless requested. If you prefer girlier prints, all you have to do is call or email and they’ll be on it like ants on candy.

GHM Giveaway: Bawl Baby Burp Cloth

Today’s GHM Giveaway is from Bawl Baby, a Mom-Run company that at least makes spit-up a bit more fashionable. Bawl Baby’s “Ultimate Burpie” boasts extra length and width, keeping mom and dad in the same outfit for at least another few hours. Not only is this product decked out with posh fabrics, it is actually functional with its convenient pockets for toting everyday essentials, i.e., tissues, nursing pads, diapers, and even a safe place for pacifiers, all in one. It’d be a good one to hang over the side of your glider or sofa. Check out their line of groovy fabrics to choose from.

You can even customize the burp cloths to match your nursery.

Congratulations to winner Elise!

How To Enter:
Just enter a comment below, and make sure to enter your email so we can contact you when you win (it’s never shared, sold, rented, nor will others be able to view it). Contest ends Wednesday, 7/09/08 at 11:59 p.m. CST. See full GHM Giveaway rules here.

BPA-Free Teether Gift Set

My friend Lisa’s second daughter just about goes nuts for her little BPA-less giraffe teether. We often see them on walks, her daughter in the stroller gumming away happily on her giraffe. She got it over at the Soft Landing, a fantastic site committed to BPA, PVC and pthalate-free shopping and blogging. They focus on healthier feeding and teething options for kiddos.

The Soft Landing has cool BPA-free sampler sets for bottles, sippy cups, stainless steel drinking devices, teethers and feeding sets. Everything seems to be on sale right now, too! Good ideas for shower gifts! I know when Sy was wee and couldn’t breast feed for the first few months, I tried every bottle out there. A sampler would have been a great thing to bust out.

Make sure you check out their blog, too. They have an incredible amount of information on safer plastics.