Our Favorite Item for Newborn Babies

katie thriving

There is no doubt in my mind that Katie is thriving. She’ll be four months old on Friday and is growing like a weed. While we owe her happiness in great part to the support system we’ve had, we also attribute it to the fact that thankfully, our baby is a strong sleeper. But, she wouldn’t have slept nearly as soundly those first few months without one of our nursery essentials – a swaddle. In fact, we are so in love with swaddling that we are giving swaddle giftsets to all of our friends who are expecting babies!nursery

During the first three months of a babies life, they are actually in their fourth trimester of life. In fact, according to Harvey Karp, the author behind the book The Happiest Baby on The Block, all babies are born three months early. Swaddling, or tightly wrapping the baby in a muslin or cloth blanket, makes the baby feel secure and snug like they did in the womb. It decreases their startle reflex since their arms can’t wriggle around. In addition, it has been found that babies who are swaddled during sleep and fussy periods experience less anxiety and colic symptoms.

Until a few weeks ago, when Katie started rolling, we swaddled her for her naps and nightime sleep. In the beginning, we used the large, muslin square cloths but as she grew older, swaddles that provided assistance through zippers and velcro helped us keep her strong limbs swaddled.

That’s why SwaddleMe products are perfect for infants as depending on the style, they feature zippers or velcro to ensure the baby feels secure. They just introduced five new additions to their SwaddleMe line of safe sleep products for infants and man do I wish we’d had these a few months ago.

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While we used their SwaddleMe Original, their new innovative swaddles would have been so helpful especially as Katie entered month two and three, when she was starting to grow more mobile and we were trying to have her sleep in places other than her bassinet, such as the swing or car seat.

swaddle me kicksie and footsie

Their new SwaddleMe Kicksie is a legs-free swaddle which is perfect for warmer weather, such as the summer months and allows the baby to feel cozy in a 3-point harness such a swing. The snap bottom also makes diaper changing quick and hassle free, which is greatly appreciated during those middle of the night diaper sessions.   They also just launched the SwaddleMe Footsiea legs-free swaddle that features pajama-like footies which make it great for cooler weather or even homes with strong air conditioner.

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Like the Kicksie, the Footsie can also be used in a 3 point harness. This would have been SO helpful last month when when we flew down to Savannah, keeping her warm on the plane, or once she started discovering her feet and kicking them during her naps.

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In addition to these new swaddles, SwaddleMe has launched three new gift sets, which are perfect for every mom-to-be. In fact, I’ve already ordered a few of these since I have FIVE friends who are expecting babies this Spring. The Essentials Gift Set includes muslin blankets, bandana bibs, burp cloths and a SwaddleMe® Original Swaddle. The adorable Baby Bath Gift Set includes muslin and terry bath towels, washcloths and a cute hooded wrap. My favorite set, The Little Lovey Gift Set, includes not only the Original Swaddle and muslin blankets but also an adorable natural shape pacifier with a lovey attached!

This post is sponsored by Mom Trends, Meredith Corporation and Swaddle Me but as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you to MomTrends for the professional photographs.

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Mom’s Night Out

Sometimes you don’t know how much you need a night out until after it occurs. As you can imagine, I haven’t spent much time away from Katie recently, other than a quick manicure and a few errands. While I have a husband who often suggests I should take time for me, the mom guilt is very real. Anytime he says he’s happy to watch Katie, I always feel like I’d rather spend the time with them versus go get a manicure, massage, drinks with friends or take a nap.

Thanks to Momtrends, I spent two hours last week relaxing, meeting other mom bloggers, and toasting with bubbly while enjoying a night out and interacting with brands. It’s humorous to both Bo and me that it took a sponsored blog opportunity to get me out the door. Oh well, regardless of what finally convinced me to leave Katie with Bo for the evening, I have zero regrets even though I checked the NEST camera and texted him multiple times. In fact, he and Katie had such a wonderful evening, I’m tempted to enjoy more evenings out in the future.

The event, Mom’s Night Out 2.0, was an event organized and hosted by Momtrends and Meredith Publications (Parents, Fit Pregnancy, and FamilyFun magazines). For two hours, they hosted a lively group of NYC mom bloggers while providing the perfect opportunity to network and mingle with great brands (New Balance, Swaddle Me, Williamsburg, JIF and Munchkin) while sipping bubbly, enjoying hordourves as well as treats like foot massages and pampering!

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During the course of the event, we were able to not only mingle with brands but also interact with them through different events while catching up and getting to know other bloggers. It was so nice to meet and get to know so many different ladies while we talked about the woes of balancing life, children and the chaos that is New York City. Every person I met, including the brand representatives, were so welcoming to this new mom who was clearly away from my baby girl for the first time.

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I started the evening at the JIF table, where I was able to sample some of their delicious snacks as well as talk with the brand about their new campaign, Imagine If. We were each asked to write how we inspire our child on their boards which in turn, prompted some great conversations.

From there, I was able to learn about the Williamsburg region which includes Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown as well as the sights in that area. Growing up I visited Colonial Williamsburg twice but, it’s clear that in the past twenty years the area has grown and evolved a great deal. These days there is truly something for everyone ranging from craft breweries, spas, golf and of course, history.

Next, it was time to get a makeup touch-up from the experts at Glamsquad compliments of SwaddleMe. Their products, which help both baby and parents wake up feeling more refreshed, feature traditional swaddles, as well as more unique and innovative swaddles and products like the SwaddleMe Kicksie swaddle, which allows your baby to feel the comfort of a swaddle and the freedom to kick. Their new SwaddleMe® Footsie™ is a swaddle with pajama-like legs and footies, great for cooler weather and able to be used in a 3-point harness like our swing. I also loved checking out their 3 new gift sets, each of which would make great baby shower gifts for my friends who are expecting!  I’m going to talk more about our experience with these swaddles in a separate post, as they have been a game changer for Katie!

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They highlight of the evening was the New Balance station where we were treated to ten minute foot massages before sliding our feet into a new pair of New Balance Fresh Foam Arishi shoes. These stylish, breathable shoes provide all-day comfort whether you’re on the treadmill at the gym or running errands.

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Last but not least, Munchkin brand, gave us the opportunity to design our own lavendar and wildflower mason jar bouquets. These bouquets allowed each of us to bring freshness and beauty into our home.

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Thank you to Momtrends and these wonderful brands for treating me to a night of relaxation & laughter!

Your turn: What does your perfect night out include? 

This post is sponsored by Meredith Corp., Visit Williamsburg, New Balance, Swaddle Me, Jif, and Munchkin. While this is a sponsored post, as always, all opinions are my own.

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Our Favorite Items At The 2017 New York Baby Show

New York Baby Show

Last weekend, Bo and I had the opportunity to attend the 2017 New York Baby Show thanks to Momtrends. Each year Momtrends partners with the New York Baby Show to host an exclusive blogger and media lounge as well as provide information about the show to their members in advance. The information we received in advanced helped our first experience at the 2017 New York Baby Show feel less overwhelming since we knew which brands would be there and could map out a list of priority brands.

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With over 200 exhibitors and brands present, we spent more than three hours chatting with brand representatives, experiencing and interacting with products and listening to experts such as Dr. Harvey Karp, the author of Happiest Baby on The Block, share tips and tricks with attendees. I love that the event featured not only large brands such as Uppababy, Baby Bjorn, and Canon but also small, new-to-the market brand as well as local services.  We were even able to learn newborn and child photography tips from Jennifer Borget, the blogger and photographer behind the blog, Cherish 365! We were so impressed with her tips and tricks that we even purchased her Canon photography course, Child’s Play: Simple Tips for Photographing Children.

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Here are a few the items we fell in love with at the New York Baby Show.

Baby Tripster – As everybody knows from your experience with Tupperwares, one of the most annoying things is matching lids with containers. As far as we know, even most of the systems designed for toddlers and little ones have detachable lids. This system is designed with a hinged lid so that you’ll never have to match the lids nor worry about your little one throwing the lid on the street. In addition, it is the world’s first and only guaranteed leak-proof travel food container. They highlight using the containers with fruit and yogurt, but you can use for anything. Made out of dishwasher safe and shatterproof materials and also nest within each other for easy storage.

Baby Tripster

StorkSak AubreyAfter reading numerous reviews of various bags posed as “Dad Bags” and knowing that he prefers the look of a messenger bag over a backpack, this bag is a perfect option for Bo. Made out of canvas and leather, the bag looks like it could be a brief case or gym bag, but under the flap it has all the things you expect in a diaper bag such as changing pad, insulated bottle storage and wipe-clean interior.  The one he’s wearing below was our second favorite bag, the Sandy, which is super lightweight and looks like a chic gymbag while featuring all the bells and whistles of a diaper bag.

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Dadbag

Bare Air Free Baby BottlesChoosing baby bottles has been so overwhelming thus far. Every friend or website has a different “best recommendation” and at the end of the day, rumor has it, that our baby will decide which bottle she likes best. Every bottle has a different benefit that the brand highlights. But, before the New York Baby Show, we had not heard of a bottle that combines two important qualities – replicating the breast experience and reducing gas. Bare’s unique anti-colic technology delivers air-free milk while also allowing for babies to use the bottle in a natural, upright feeding position. The shallow perfe-latch nipple also minimizes nipple confusion and makes it easier for babies to switch back and forth between nipple and bottle.

 

This is a sponsored story via Momtrends. As always, all opinions regarding the New York Baby Show and featured brands are my own and are honest.

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