Monday, March 28, 2011

to swaddle or not to swaddle

We have tried alot of different swaddling techniques and tools and our little Houdini manages to get out of each one, some take longer than others though. part of the problem admittedly, is that we are too nice. We feel badly about doing it really tightly even thought we know intellectually that babies like it, even need it.

At first we were using blankets, but every nurse in the hospital showed us a different technique which meant we didn't get very good at any of them. Then we had this Miracle blanket -



Which was great, and we have friends who SWEAR by it, but again, we are softies who had a hard time wrapping him up tightly enough in it.

So we moved on to the Halo Sleepsack swaddle -





which did work for a good long while, until I caught him one night - while sleeping- struggling to get his arms out, and succeeding. We do still use it, and if he is really tired it's great, he doesn't seem to bother working his arms out, but if we velcro it a little too loose, he is out in about 2 minutes.

So now, we are on to this one -



I'm hoping it will hold him until he is rolling over - which actually looks like it will happen soon...whoa.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Figure 8 Maternity and Nursing

I'm still looking for good nursing tops, and Figure 8 is a fantastic site to use as a resource (for maternity clothes too!) like this Japanese Weekend top -



And they are always offering discounts and free shipping and free returns, too good to pass up!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Isabella Oliver Clearance

Isabella Oliver, hands down my favorite maternity line, just added a lot of pieces to their clearance section and the deals are so good, I'm considering stocking up for next time!

The wrap around top is on sale in certain colors -



In the blue shown and crimson red (the color I got and LOVE) it's marked down a whopping 50%!

The wrap dress (another pieces I LOVED wearing) is marked down 40% -



And there are so many more great deals where those come from. Pretty much all the great pieces from the site that I have blogged about are on sale. They also have nursing tops among them!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Nursing Tops

So I'm at the point where I'm just a little sick of always wearing nursing tanks and cardigans, although I've just gotten some great cardigans I need to post about. But I'm thinking it's time I get some actual nursing tops because as much as I enjoy wearing my regular tops again (what a nice feeling) baring my stomach when I nurse is not fun.  Even with my nursing cover something shows, it just can't cover all of me. So I'm looking around for my options, and I was thinking these are cute -






Thursday, March 17, 2011

a great maternity top

I saw a friend wearing this recently (thanks for the inspiration Megan!) and I am totally in love with it-





Is that weird? I mean that I love it so much? It just seems like the perfect tee, it's soft cotton (does anyone do it better than Spendid?) the right length, I love the sleeves and the narrow stripes and little pocket. It actually makes me miss maternity clothes!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Co-Sleeper Dilemma

Nate is only 3 months old, but is already outgrowing his bassinet. We aren't ready to move him to a crib yet, so for now he will move into a pack n' play. We didn't really know how this would work before, his sleeping arrangement I mean, and next time we will definitely get something bigger for the baby (our current bassinet was a hand-me-down). This is what I'm thinking -

The Arm's Reach Mini Co-Sleeper -

Arms Reach Mini Co-Sleeper In Natural


It doesn't convert to a play yard like some other others, we don't need that feature because we already have a pack n' play.

But it's also still kind of small, so there is the full size co-sleeper  (which does convert to a play yard so it's two things in one) -

Arms Reach Original Co-Sleeper In Natural



But they just aren't pretty, so if you want your co-sleeper to be an attractive piece of furniture they also make them in a sleigh style from wood -

Arms Reach Co-Sleeper In White Sleigh


While the first two co-sleepers have weight restrictions of 30-50 lbs, this last one, because it's made of solid wood, holds up to 500 lbs. Obviously you aren't going to have a 500 lb baby, but it's nice to know it's so solid that an older child pulling on it or jumping wouldn't be able to break it.

Mystrollers.com has some deals going on these days (in addition to free shipping) -
Take $5 off orders of $150 or more. Use code CODE5 at MyStrollers.com. Shop now and save!
Take $10 off orders of $300 or more. Use code CODE10 at MyStrollers.com. Shop now and save!
Take $25 off orders of $500 or more. Use code CODE25 at MyStrollers.com. Shop now and save!
Take 7% Off Everything at MyStrollers.com with code SPRING2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A New Necklace for a Treat

When you no longer have the body you used to, and don't really want to buy new clothes but still would like something new to make you feel nice, how about a gorgeous new necklace? That's what I've been thinking about recently anyway, this Alexis Bittar necklace would certainly do the trick -



It's a great pop of color, with interesting detail. The best part, you know it will always fit (which would make it the perfect gift)!

Monday, March 14, 2011

New Maternity Line

It's been a while, but I'm trying to make more of an effort to do things I want/need to do for myself. I'm sure all the moms reading this can relate. Somehow the days go by and very little that I wanted to do has been accomplished.

I thought I'd start back by writing about a new line of maternity clothes that look nice - Boden has added Maternity to their lineup! There aren't so many pieces, but the ones they have look very pretty and useful, like this drapey top -

Elegant Drapey Top


It comes in several colors, including a beautiful pink. That's definitely the color I would reach for, it's a great way to brighten up an outfit for Spring, particularly if you are sticking with basics for bottoms (like blue denim, black pants, etc). That was my philosophy for building a maternity wardrobe.

They also have this adorable basic tee -

Everyday Tee

It comes in basic colors as well as the super trendy navy/white stripe shown here. The tops aren't exactly cheap, but I found that buying cheap, while it sounds good, never worked out for me. I never liked the cheap pieces so I never wore them - they didn't hold up, didn't feel good on and just didn't look good.  I preferred to buy less stuff, but make sure they were good quality and looked good on me. And while it's true that by the end of the pregnancy you might be fantasizing of burning those pieces, you will have gotten a ton of wear out of them that makes them worth every penny.