Keep it Compact

Sometimes I like to play a fun game with myself, its called "How many items can I stuff into my diaper bag?" I have diapers, wipes, a change pad, half a dozen toys, change of clothes, my Flip cam, sunscreen, burp cloth, peneten cream, Mum Mums, two bottles of formula, a jar of snacks, kleenex, oh and my wallet! Yes my diaper bag is big and heavy, but at least I have back up for any situation.

Over the last few weeks, I have been trying to find a more compact bag that I can throw a few things into and go. I got a personalized knapsack when Frankie was born which I thought would be great for this, the problem is, it has no side pocket for a bottle and I cant chance the bottle leaking all over everything inside the bag. Then I saw the cutest knapsack that a friend of mine had. What did I do, I went out and bought it of course.

It is a great knapsack. It has a bottle holder on the side, a compartment in the front for the little stuff (ie. the Flip cam, pacifiers, Blackberry etc) and the main compartment is a great size. It can hold my diapers, change pad, wipes, a few toys, Mum Mums, a snack container, and ususally I can stuff his sippy cup in there ... not bad!! The absolute best part of this knapsack is that they make them look like cute animals (I got the doggy). When Frankie is older, he can use it for school.

Where to buy: BB Buggy or Lil Niblets (around $25)
Note: both stores do not carry all animals

T.
xo

PICABOO!!!!!!!!

No, I did not make a spelling error in the title, nor am I talking about the game you play with your baby. This is one of my absolute favorite companies in the world! PICABOO.

Online scrapbooking, a brilliant invention.

I have thousands of pictures just sitting on my computer and I hate printing them because I never know what to do with them (minus the ones that I frame). I was introduced to online scrapbooking by Picaboo and I was hooked. There are a million great features, here are a few of my faves:
- you can choose the size of the book
- you can choose your cover (you can choose different materials, a full image covering the front, having a window)
- you choose from thousands and thousands of background images (they are very easy to search so you dont get overwhelmed)
- a ton of different formats for placing the photos
- you can write comments around each image
- you can change the colour of the images (black and white, sepia etc)
- they always have monthly great deals!!!
- best of all GREAT QUALITY

I have made books to document Frankie growing. They are great to look back at and they make great presents. I have made multiple books for my parents documenting our vacations, I made one for a friend for her birthday with pics of us, they are great for anniversaries or even just brag books that your mother or mother-in-law can keep on them or at their house. I am attaching some pics of one of the books I have made (these pics are from my Blackberry, sorry they are a little grainy).

Thank you to our friends at Picaboo, they are offering all my visitors and followers 50% OFF your FIRST book with Picaboo - use code 1P50PO (note: the first "0" is the number and the second "O" is the letter). I promise you, you will NOT be disappointed

Website: http://www.picaboo.com/

Enjoy the memories
T.
xo

From Swaddle to Sleep Sack

Who isn't dreading the transition from the swaddle to the sleep sack. Sadly, you can't keep your baby in the swaddle forever. Trust me, if I could have, I would have, but Frankie broke out of that swaddle very quickly and he kept waking himself up. No matter how tight I made it, his little hand or leg was out of it by morning. I decided to rip off the bandaid, put him in the sleep sack and just deal with a few bad nights. I think I made a bigger deal about it in my head because the transition wasn't as bad as I thought. I remember looking at the monitor that first night when Frankie was sleeping and his arms and legs were spread wide open as if he had been waiting to be free from the swaddle all this time. Brace yourself for the funniest picture (of course I took a picture!)

Everyone has their preferences for these sorts of products, but I have to tell you, I loved the Perlimpinpin sleep sacks. They are extremely soft (made out of bamboo) and they aren't too thick or too thin. I have recommended this product to a friend of mine and she loves them, she even loaned me the larger size while they are out of stock.

Where to buy: Lil Niblets - $50-$60

T.
xo

It's Just that Simple

Don't you look at half the baby products out there and say to yourself "why didn't I think of that and make millions". If you haven't had that moment, well now you probably will!

Who knew such a small piece of plastic could make me soooo happy.
I can't even count how many times I have thrown a Mum Mum in my diaper bag and go to give it to Frankie when he is freaking out in the car and it's broken into small pieces, so now I keep boxes of them in my car as my solution. Not necessary anymore ... the other day when a girlfriend of mine was over, she pulled out this plastic case, opens it and pulls out whole Mum Mum. BRILLIANT!!

Where to Buy: Lil Niblets - $5

It's just that simple!
T.
xo

The Sound of Silence

The dreaded line "just wait"! When I was pregnant, I absolutely hated when people would say that to me when I expressed outloud that I was tired, so much so I made a very conscious effort to never say that to any of my friends. I never thought I would be saying this, but THEY WERE RIGHT.

The first few weeks weren't so bad and then at 4 weeks, Frankie cried and cried and cried. If he fell asleep, it was for a very short period of time and he would wake up crying, the crying didn't stop. I remember my mom coming over and walking Frankie around my house until 3am trying to get him to sleep and letting me get a few hours myself. At around 3 months he started sleeping better and longer (thanks to Wendy Goodman's advice), but to my detriment I was rocking him sleep and then transferring him to the crib (BAD IDEA). I was rocking Frankie for 45 minutes every night to get him to sleep and the minute I took him away from my body to transfer him, he would wake up crying and I would have to start all over again.

I was given the best advice from a friend ... CALL TRACEY!!! After spending countless hours on the internet looking up what people had to say about her (I read some amazing stories), I was sold. I instantly called and booked her to come over and do what she does best. No joke, after two days, he learned how to self soothe (with his blankie of course) and put himself to sleep ... no more rocking! Within a week or so, he was actually sleeping through the night. I wish you could have seen the smile on my face after waking up that first morning realizing he slept through the night. I don't know what she does, but whatever it is, it works.

My advice (for those of you who want it), if you are having similar issues, call Tracey! I recommend her to everyone who's baby isn't sleeping.

http://www.sleepdoula.com/
You can not put a price on sleep.
Sweet dreams
T.
xo

My, I mean Frankie's, Newest Toy

Yup, another toy! Frankie's friends have yet to see this one. All I have to say is Thank G-D for my sister. She has some of the BEST toys and the greatest part is, I get them when my nephew is done with them. This one I can not take the credit for finding ... this one I give all to my sister. This toy has every gadget imaginable on it. It has a million buttons to push, all sorts of parts that spin, a pop up animal, a little keyboard, and a clock with spinning, musical arms. I actually can now walk out of Frankie's sight path for 5 seconds without him crying (got to love the mommyitis phase).

It's 6 sides of endless entertainment.

Where to buy: Mastermind Toys - $40

Happy playing
xo
T.

Summer Time Essential

Aaahh my beloved outdoor essentials blanket!!! I feel like I cant go anywhere without it - no joke. I dont know about you, but Frankie likes to pick grass and eat it. No blanket that I could stuff into my exploding diaper bag was big enough to stop him from doing this, you can only say "no" so many times right?!

Last month I was at my friends kids birthday party which was outside (in a gorgeous backyard I might add) and a girlfriend of mine pulled out this amazing outdoor blanket for the kids to sit on (and us of course). I think everyone asked her where she got it and well, me being me, I took the first opportunity to run out and buy it. It doesnt leave my car and I bring it to all Frankie's playdates. The added bonus is that it is easy to clean and has a strap for easy carrying. Even though summer is ending, it will still be great for next summer. BEST SUMMER PURCHASE!

There is a reason they call it the "Essentials" Blanket

Note: comes in a whole bunch of different colours
Where to buy: Toys R Us

No more grass snacks
T.
xo

The Best Kind of Security

When you first have the baby you are told by, well, pretty much everyone not to put anything in the crib, so naturally I listened until the day I hired my beloved sleep doula, Tracey. She gave me the best advice to date: put a security blanket in your bra while you sleep so it picks up your smell and then give it to him. I started off giving him his blankie while he was playing in the crib and even played peek-a-boo with it putting it over his face so he would learn to take it off. Then came the day Tracey came over to sleep train him and she put the blankie in his crib. Me being my neuroitc self, I watched everything on the monitor and lo and behold he put the blankie over his face. Tracey immediately took it off and Frankie started crying, so she put it back in his hands, he put it over his face and passed out. I can't even begin to explain the attachment he now has to this blanket many months later, so what did I do, I went out and bought 4 more.

Note: they come in a few different styles, a pink bear, a monkey and a giraffe and best yet, you can also buy them in boxes of 3!

Where to buy: Indigo

T.

xo

Lights Out!

There have been a few products that I bought that helped Frankie sleep (including my amazing sleep doula which will be another post another time). The product below is one of my top favs:

The Gro Anywhere Blind: Silly me I spent an exorbitant amount of money on black out blinds for Frankie's nursery. Little did I know, the blinds would not be flush against the wall and therefore would let in a lot of light through the sides. I think this really affected Frankies naps and morning rising time as he saw light and realized that he didnt need to sleep (lucky me). I honestly considered buying black bristol board and taping it to the window ... then I found The Gro Anywhere Blind!!! I rush shipped the product from Calgary to my house and immediately put it on the window, shut the lights and OMG, Frankie's room was pitch black. I loved this product so much that I googled where I could find the product in Toronto and went immediately to buy another one for sleepovers (to be honest I kinda wanted to use it in my room). I swear Frankie's sleeping has been sooooo much better because of it - I HIGHLY recommend this product!!

Note: how the blind works is that it has suction cups around the perimeter of it, so you must have a window that doesnt have a screen!!

Where to buy: Becoming Maternity (they keep running out of them so call ahead to make sure they have stock)

Happy sleeping
T.
xo

Why?

As my bio states, I love to shop! Anything my son Frankie, shows interest in, I buy for him.You name it, I probably bought it and if I didn't buy it, I most likely purchased the wrong product and therefore borrowed the one I should have bought from a friend.

I truly love everything baby!!

Everyone knows that I enjoy helping, and with all my baby product knowledge (similar to my regular job), my friends told me I should start my own business helping new moms register, buying them the products they need at the beginning etc. Let's be honest, who would hire me?! I am just a first time mom who enjoys finding things my child loves and sharing it with everyone. With that, I decided to start a blog.

I, by no means am a writer, nor did I do well in English class, so please excuse my run on sentences, spelling errors, bad punctuation and poor grammer.

I hope you enjoy
T.
xo