Sunblock Survey

For anyone that has seen Maia in person, you can attest to the fact that she seems to have inherited my fair skin. In fact, she's almost translucent. That being said, I am counting down the days until she turns the magical age of six months so she can begin wearing sunblock.

Despite my excitement growing as this day approaches, I haven't done much research on the topic. What sunblocks do you guys use? Any recommendations or ones to avoid?

Tie-Chair

As the mom of an 18 month old I found it so hard when I went to functions that no high chairs were available, such as restaurants, grandparent's houses or friends houses who do not have kids yet. It was so hard to be social-able let alone eat a meal holding a toddler that just wants to go-go on my lap. Luckily I have an amazingly smart sister-in-law who thought of the TIE-CHAIR. It converts any chair into a highchair.. so you can tie your on the-go toddler up and eat your meal in peace. It folds up tiny and fits easily into your diaper bag or purse. I don't leave home without mine anymore! She has picked out some really great fabrics for it, suitable for boys and girls! Check out the website www.tiechair.com

Eh - Not My Favorite Accessory

Since we recently got a second baby-friendly car, we went head and bought an extra infant seat base. We had do to some minor switch-a-roo and take the old base out of my car. Old base was black, the new one is silver and matches my interior better, so obviously we have to make the change, right? Anywho, while doing this switch-a-roo, we decided to finally install our car seat protector which we received as a shower gift.
Here's my thoughts - don't like it. It doesn't work in my CR-V. The problem is this - my car actually has latch hooks for a center seat installation, which is grrrreat. However, the seat is mildly off-center. With this super-wide seat protector, it covers up the other two passenger seat belt attachments. Grrrr. We had to un-install. I tried it in Jason's new little Subaru and it worked better... probably because the seat is installed on the side and we won't really have backseat passengers in that car. Maybe it will work better with a big girl car seat though - we're still using an infant seat for Maia.

Note: I had heard you are technically not supposed to use one of these seat protector things, at least according to the California State Highway Patrol. They supposedly allow the car seat to slide around more than it should. Well, here's a little tip - the patrolman who inspected our car seat prior to Maia's arrival has four kids and said he'd always used one. Though, he did have a great recommendation, which we used and now are still using in the CR-V. His recommendation was to just use that non-slip drawer liner underneath the seat. Turns out it's cheaper, safer and, as I now know, works better for me.

Bravo Bravado!

I am the first one to admit that it was the list of celebrity clientele which first attracted me to this brand... well, that and a hearty recommendation from Baby Bargains, which goes a long way to me! Regardless of how I found them - I love me some Bravado! Nursing bras. I didn't start wearing them until I started nursing, but, I swear, had I known about them while pregnant, I would have worn them the whole darn time!

I particularly love their original nursing bra and pretty much wear it 24/7. It does have an odd design and high back, so you should probably locate a dealer near you and try it on to make sure you like it before taking the plunge. That being said, a couple friends of mine have other versions of these bras and also love them. I found mine at a boutique based on their retailer search on their website, but Baby Center also sells them online (and sometimes has great sales!).

Now, as I look to returning to work, I'm just going to have to figure out the best work clothes for pumping during the day. Suggestions welcome!

Don't Leave Home Without It

Now that Maddie is 16 months old, it's gotten a lot easier to travel with her. We've taken several long car trips with her this summer and she's been a champ. However, one of our challenges on those long trips was taking milk with us and keeping it fresh for her in a sippy cup.

We were delighted when we found this Thermos brand sippy cup called Foogo:



This awesome sippy cup keeps cool beverages cold for up to 6 hours. Hooray! And, because it's not plastic, there's no worry about the harmful chemical, BPA.

So when you're little peanut is drinking milk from a sippy cup, we recommend that you hit the road with one of these!

YAY for Sleep 'n Play!

This inaugural post includes a little sharing and a little asking.

First, the sharing: I love Carter's Sleep 'n Play suits! I received this little wonders as a gift from Sara when Maia was born; she mentioned they were some of her favorites. I didn't appreciate how great they were until it warmed up a little this summer and I couldn't figure out what Maia should sleep in. Fleece sleepers were too warm, onesies were not warm enough. But these little cotton suits are perfect! Now, Maia is starting to outgrow the ones Sara originally sent me, so I recently shopped for some new ones. I saw Gerber and Circo also make similar suits (with the tab at the top of the zipper covering the closure).

Now, my question... as it cools off at night, I know we'll need to do more to keep Maia warm. My dilemma is this - she has taken to pulling any sort of blanket type object over her face. Should I be worried about this when she sleeps? I'm afraid she'll break out of a swaddle and then pull it over her face while she's in the crib. Also, I bought a sleep sack but she even managed to pull the extra fabric over her face once. Any thoughts??

The Idea

I know there are already a bunch of resources out there, but everytime I search for answers on the internet, I question whose advice I'm taking. So I ultimately find myself polling all of my mommy friends. I thought it might be nice to create a public space for my mommy friends where we can share what works for each of us, plus ask questions when we need a little advice or help.

Please share this with your mommy friends!! Also, please let me know if you'd like to be a blog author who can leave posts here as well.