My friend Kate wrote a review of her favorite pump for us. Thanks, Kate!
I am a pumping queen. I pump every three hours, day and night. My pumping odyssey began in February when my son was born prematurely. Due to his premature birth and the calories it takes to suck, I was only allowed to breastfeed him twice a day for ten minutes each time during his stay in the NICU. I was struggling with my milk supply and so, during this time, I started pumping every two to three hours to establish my supply and produce enough to keep up with his feeds. After he was discharged, we never successfully transitioned from the bottle to the breast and so I continued pumping and bottle feeding.
I’ve used EVERY SINGLE Medela double-electric pump on the market. I’ve even burned through the motor on a hospital grade Medela Symphony pump. The Medela Freestyle is, hands down, the best Medela pump on the market. Originally, I had purchased the Medela Pump-in-Style Advanced, which was a great pump but it is in a large black tote, and was just not super portable. At nights, I used the Medela Symphony, which isn’t portable at all. Then the Freestyle was released. The Freestyle touts itself as Medela’s first hands-free, double-electric pump. It fits in the palm of your hand and is completely portable. All of this is true, and more. As it stands, I am writing this while pumping both breasts.
OK so I am totally intrigued by this company, check it out. How Fast They Grow, a mom-run company, is putting a digital twist on traditional scrapbooking. After the birth of her child four years ago, founder Cathy Bennett became disillusioned with the time-consuming nature of scrapbooking. So instead of sitting around and complaining about it like I would, she went and figured out a way to digitize the scrapbook.
How Fast They Grow allows parents to make lovely scrapbook pages on their computer in about 7 minutes and have them printed by HFTG. Just drag and drop your digital images into a cagillion different pre-designed templates, enter your own copy and boom, you’re done. You can even design and order just one printed page at a time. I like the idea of getting it done per event. Not as much pressure as sitting down with three rolls of printed pictures and no clue where to start.
OK, so I read about FlipClips over the weekend while reading my Martha Stewart magazine and I am totally going to make one.
FlipClips are individually crafted flipbooks, created using your own digital video. You start by uploading a video under 30 seconds in length. Next, choose a book size that meets your needs. Select a cover design, and add a title and Bob’s your uncle, you just made a book. The books are made from acid and lignin-free, heavy bond digital paper with industrial-strength binding. Their design team will even make you a custom cover.
The books start at $8.99 (what a superb gift for grandma for Mother’s Day). They even make books in greeting card format (shorter videos) that you can mail.
Now I have to go pour through the hours of Sy doing AMAZING THINGS like, you know, eating, walking, talking. Clearly she’s the first child to ever accomplish such great feats. I’ll review the product and process once I’ve received the completed book.
At Sy’s pre-school we have to label everything; shoes, jackets, cups, bags, you name it. I end up just taking a sharpie to most items because let’s face it, the clothes I send her to school in are certainly not the poshest of combos. And as usual, I’m lazy. But my friend Micky got one of the Mabel’s Labels combo packs for all of her daughter’s gear. She’s had them for a while (over six months) and the labels still look great. They are dishwasher and microwave safe, although Micky usually hand washes her daughter’s cups. They even have stickers for allergy alerts, which I like since my girl is allergic to eggs. Although I must admit, I was boggled by the statement that said the stickers were made in a “nut-free facility for your safety.” Are there a lot of sticker factories that have sideline businesses making peanut butter cups?
And for those of you complete neat freaks (oh, how I wish I were in that category), they even have a cord-management pack! Mompreneurs after my own heart.
OK, so check out these nifty carry-on, ride-able suitcases. My friend across the street has two daughters, four and six. They went on vacation recently and took their two Trunkis along with them. According to the site, Trunki is “the world’s first ride-on kid’s suitcase. Designed for family vacations, children can pack, sit-on and ride their own luggage, whilst parents can keep them in tow. Trunki’s light weight and durable design is hand luggage approved, with generous space inside for toys, games, books and spare clothes.”
A Trunki suitcase weighs less than 4 pounds and is made of the same hard plastic that adult suitcases are made of. It is 18” x 7.9” x 12” and has a five gallon capacity. The case comes in both blue and pink. I like that it has a soft rim built in to protect little fingers from being pinched.
Here’s what my pal had to say about them.
The Retract-A-Gate is hands-down the best gate ever. I’ve owned several different respected types of gates, so I feel I can make such a bold statement. Sure, safety is the No. 1 concern--and it meets all those requirements with flying colors--but the main reason why I love this gate is because it practically disappears and is so easy to operate.
Ed. Note: Since I don’t have a son, I begged my pal Andie to write this review. Thanks, Andie!
Name aside, this Peter Potty is pretty hilarious--I get laughs from friends and strangers who venture into my bathroom to discover a pint-sized urinal. “That’s the coolest potty I’ve ever seen!” is the usual response, especially if it’s a guy. Potty training, however, is no laughing matter. It’s a pain in the ass (pun unavoidable), especially when you have a little guy who gets too caught up in his playing to hear his inner bodily fluid warning siren. Enter the Peter Potty. In the middle of playing with Thomas trains? No problem--standing and aiming a penis into a potty is way cooler than pushing Thomas through a tunnel. Right in the middle of building a block tower? Never fear--the Peter Potty has a working flusher that operates from a refillable water reservoir.
A friend of mine received this all in one squirt baby feeder by Boon at her baby shower recently. Of course she hasn’t used it yet so I can’t twist her arm into reviewing it for me. I can’t tell if it’s a overly-designed uni-tasker or a lifesaver for travel feeding.
I just keep looking at the picture and thinking, would I use that? I never found it all that laborious to dip the spoon into Sy’s bowl of food to feed her when she was wee. Would it really be helpful on a plane or in the car? Of course, in today’s world of travel, you couldn’t fill it up until you were on the plane, and knowing my luck, we’d hit turbulence and I’d pour it in my lap in the process.
It’s not that expensive ($8.00), is made of BPA-free plastic and is dishwasher safe, which is good because I can’t imagine how I’d get it really clean with a sponge. I wonder how comfortable it is for the feeder to hold the large spoon handle and squeeze every time they need to feed the feedee? I guess I’ll have to wait for my friend’s report because I am just not at all tempted to buy this uni-tasker.
-Missy
I was checking out Martha Stewart: Crafts for their Valentine’s Day selection, but I found it underwhelming. So instead I took a little jaunt into the sale section. I think these little pirate flag food toppers would be perfect for a pirate themed birthday party. On sale along with a lot of cute Christmas craftiness.
Between all the houses Sy plays in and pees in, we’ve tried out about six little training type potties. We have two potty seats that fit over the big toilet (to be reviewed tomorrow) and two stand alone potties, both made by Baby Bjorn. One I like, the other one, not so much.
I do not like the Baby Bjorn Little Potty, I do not like it, Sam I am. It seems way too small for a kiddo to sit comfortably on. The kids always look all hunched and scrunched up, and their bottoms never look like they fit on the seat. Lots of time pee comes spraying out the front when one of the boys in our crew sits on it. If you potty train your little one at say, nine months, it’d probably fit them just fine. Maybe it’d be good on the road in emergencies, but I find this one to be messy, too small, and not worth the ten bucks. Clearly, I bought this one first. I keep it around for days when we have lots of kids playing here, but otherwise, it’s been banished to the bathroom closet.
The Baby Bjorn Potty Chair, however, is a much better mousetrap.
Potty training opens the door to yet more gear. Training potties, potty seats, fabulous pairs of Elmo underwear. So much for all that money saved on no more diapers, right? We have all the basics, but my favorite is the Primo potty folding seat. It’s exactly like what it sounds like it is, a folding portable potty seat. The white seat (yay! no Dora! no Backyardigans!) folds into quarters into a small little wedge. It slips into a purse or diaper bag no problem. I like to keep mine in a plastic bag since I am a total germ-phobe.
Our cousins just had a baby a few weeks ago. They were brave enough to haul him along to the family Christmas party. He was sleeping while we ate (brilliant child, letting his parents eat). They had the monitor with them, but they also had this totally nifty little device called Itzbeen. I can’t give this thing a proper review it since I’ve never used it, but I must say, we all thought it was one neat gadget!
The Itzbeen has four timers with little icon buttons: one for diapering, one for feeding, one for sleeping (or lack thereof) and one for miscellaneous (like administering medicine). It even has a little button on the bottom to remind you which side you fed your baby on last! My cousin set the timer for the last time she’d fed, diapered and gotten her new babe to sleep and got herself to the dinner table. The alarm went off when she needed to feed him again and off she went. It even has a soft light so you can see it in the dark. I wish I’d had one of these when Sy was wee! For $24.99, I think it’s a perfect shower gift.
Ahem. I was checking the price for this item on Amazon and looked at their “Better Together” section, you know, where they add an item that would make your purchase even MORE FABULOUS! Anyway, can you figure out what item with which they paired this? You guessed it: Breast Milk Alcohol Test 3 Pack. So, are they inferring that if you need a timer to remember when you last fed your kid, it’s because you’ve just downed an entire bottle of red wine while watching reruns of Oprah?
I’ll start reviewing products again in the new year, but I just can’t resist some after-Christmas bargains.
Just like buying a new car, I think this is the best time to buy a stroller, too. Most stores are making room for new 2008 models. Check your local shop or some good buys online. I noticed that the Maclaren Quest is on sale, as is the moderately priced Maclaren Volo (mostly mesh, lightweight, and under $100 on sale!).
The cool thing about having a website is I get to share groovy deals with all you readers. Here are some great sales for all the frenzied shopping we love to do on Black Friday.
The Discovery Channel Store is one of my favorites for cool, gadget-y toys. Come to think of it, it’s one of my favorite channels too, I mean, who doesn’t love Shark Week? I loved our ant habitat when we were little. This one, like most things these days, is a bit more advanced. How cool is blue nutrient rich gel? Is that just marketing speak for “sugar water”? Anyway, check out their Friday deal, 25% off with free shipping for purchases over $75.00.
For all of you shopping for the small tykes in your life, Babycenter is having a store wide sale (up to 40%) through the 25th of November.
Check out deals at Mini Boden and Amazon’s massive Black Friday sale after the jump.
I love the idea of making a gingerbread house, but the follow through is never as great. My pieces are poorly constructed, I eat the candy, the frosting dries too fast. I still try to make them every few years and enjoy it, but it never comes out quite as “Martha” as I’d hoped. Add a two year old who loves to make her own bread out of seven cups of flour and a bowl of water on the kitchen floor, and I just don’t see it in my holiday plans this year.
Enter the Twinkle Kids Gingerbread House Kit available only through Mahar Drygoods. The cake is made of wool felt over upholstery foam on a corrugated plastic cake plate. It has 70+ felt decorations, packaged in white cake box and tied with grosgrain ribbon and the whole shebang is handmade. My almost six year old niece would go nuts for this thing.
