Can You Come Out and Play?

These days, I've come to the sad realization that my son has co-opted my Ipod. So if you are like me and are looking for some new selections besides the ubiquitous Baby Beluga when crusing in the car (hybrid natch, to minimize fuel costs and emissions when the babish will only nap in the car), your ears perk up whenever you hear some catchy new kids tunes.

The newest kindermusik sensation comes straight from our lovely windy (read: icy, snowy, sleety and windy) city - Miss Aimee Leigh Cousino. My son and I have been devotees of her Mommy and Me class since he was 9 weeks old, and truth be told, I think I'm more excited about listening to her catchy tunes than he is (although he loves to chime in on her "ahas" :). With her debut CD, "Can You Come Out and Play," now available, we can get our Aimee fix more than once a week.

Her voice is smooth, her sound is a bluesy mix of original tunes and old standbys and her lyrics are just downright clever. And the too-cute kids' voices on the recording add such a fun element. My personal fave is the almost Celtic feeling "My Brother the Pirate," for its great chorus. My son goes crazy for "If All of the Raindrops," especially the new verses written by Aimee.

And the best part - we've booked her for junior's first birthday party - so we can all request our favorite tunes in person.

Hear more at her website: http://www.missaimeeligh.com/ and tell her I sent you!

Nuts over Allergies!

I know some of my friends would disagree, but I really don't think I'm an anal person... I just have to be careful when it comes to certain things. And one of them is baby bath and skin products. Now, the hubbish is even more anal than I am when it comes to baby hair and skin products! And why may you ask? No, he's not a metrosexual, even though he takes twice as long as me to get ready in the morning (those of you who know him can confirm this). You see, my husband has a nut allergy. That, coupled with the fact that the babish inherited my fair, sensitive skin has us checking ingredients on skincare lines more closely than an Olsen twin reading a tic-tac label (sorry - maybe I've been reading too much Perez lately).

You can imagine how excited I was when I came across the California Baby line of products. Highly rated on Skin Deep, the line touts itself as being free of many allergens, including tree nuts. I was such a fan I even started using the products on myself. Well you can imagine how freaked we were the other day when my son's skin got all blotchy and red. The grammish was in town visiting and she had just tried a new California Baby lotion. When we scrutinized the ingredients - we noticed that it contained coconut. While there is debate over whether coconut is a nut, seed, fruit or drupe (and Wikipedia is really little help here), my husband is still allergic to it, as are many others with tree nut allergies. So... after a quick dosing of Benadryl (ummm... can we try this more often, I just got my two best naps ever) my son's skin is back to its usual peaches and cream complexion. And the California Baby stuff is in the trash (the Hubbish even threw my secret stash in the trash because I'm still nursing and he doesn't want it on my skin or absorbed in my body - talk about anal!)

Back to the drawing board. Almost every natural and organic product uses some sort of coco derivative because it mimics the chemical emulsifiers... But on the other hand, we have wonderful sulfates, pthalates and parabens in our traditional lines... So if you see my son and he's a little stinky, don't blame us for our water-only bath and skincare regiman.

Fru-gal

I love to shop. What gal doesn't. But those who know me well know that the one thing I love more than shopping (in addition to the babish and the hubish, natch) is bargain shopping.

And what stores are the bargain bins for bargain shoppers? The sisters in saving - TJMaxx and Marshalls. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Tar-zhay too, but my motto has always been to never sacrifice quality for a deal - and if you really scout and scour, at these stores you can always find diamonds in the rough for the price of coal.

But because I have some friends and one brother who seem to think that these stores are a waste of time, I decided to post a little blog about some of the fabulous baby finds there. So if you are of the mindset that you'd rather not sift through racks and racks to maybe find that one designer cast-off, I would encourage you to take another look at the baby section. Most TJs and Marshalls have a wide selection of toys, books and baby gear that is easy to find and look through.

Here are some of my recent finds: 1) JJ Cole Bundle Me Urban - retails for $39.99 found on clearance for $22.00; 2) Peg Perego high chair - retails for $169.99 on sale for $129.99; 3) Maclaren Triumph stroller - retails for $179.99 on sale for $119.00; 4) Halo Sleepsack (various colors, styles and sizes, including organic cotton) - retails for $19.99 - marked at 12.99. My son's entire library of Eric Carle and Karen Katz books are from these stores too!

Of course, the find that really got me excited was an all wood kitchen set - on clearance for $40 bucks. But alas, even though it was in blue - the Hubbish vetoed it for the Babish... so if anyone is near the TJMaxx/Homegoods in Bloomingdale Illinois - you have yourself a great find.

Happy shopping.

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year! Like many other new parents, the Mommish is sitting on the couch watching Ryan GaycrestSeacrest and Dick Clark while the Hubbish and the Babish have long sinced checked out and bid adieu to 2007. And you know what, I'm loving every moment of it! Finally, I don't have to get dolled up, spend an exorbitant sum on an all-you-can-eat-and-drink fiasco (where I usually find nothing which I would normally choose to eat or drink) or deal with drunk revelers or a lack of transportation (public or otherwise) in my beloved northern (read: freeze your butt off) metropolis. And the best part - knowing that the reason that I chose to be home on this New Year's Eve is because 2007 was the greatest year of my life - it was the year in which I became Mommy!

So as we ring out 2007, I thought I'd post a link to the year's most popular baby names.

My son's first and middle names didn't make the top-10 - but I guessthink that was our goal - at least he's in the top 50. My name has NEVER been anywhere near the top 100, so I wanted him to have a somewhat common name. But, I also wanted him to be the only kid in his class with that name (isn't that what every Gen X parent wants?).

And for the preggos out there who still haven't picked a name (or anyone else bored with the TV on this fine New Year's Eve), some of my favorite baby name sites include the Baby Name Wizard (which now has a blog with name trend predictions), the Baby Name Inventor, and of course Babycenter.com, where its message boards allow people to post polls of their final name choices to get a popular vote opinion. Good Luck!

Just don't forget to also check those initials. [This is coming from a woman married to one B.S.]

It's Not Easy Being Green

Ok, Ok, I know you've all been bombarded with all the news about all of the toxic chemicals out there that are slowly killing our precious babes. And if you are like me, on the other side, you have the grandmas, the plastics industry and other well meaning friends of another generation pointing out how we all survived, so we must be over-reacting by spending our hard earned money on organic this and that.

Well, between worrying about the pesticides in our food; the PVC, phthalates and bispenol-a in our plastic... there doesn't leave much time to worry about all of the harmful chemicals in our beauty products, right?

When I first fell pregnant, I read an article in Fit Pregnancy about Parabens and Phthalates - two compounds in many U.S. beauty products (but banned in the E.U.). The article linked these two compounds to reproductive problems and in particular, pointed to a study where the results revealed that exposure to high levels could result in smaller male genitalia in a pregnant woman's offspring. Now, who knows how much exposure we really have through our shampoos and moistures, BUT, knowing that if I had a son, only 8 days into his life he already was going to have a "coming off party" (read: Bris), I decided that I needed to give him every other chance possible in that department.

Unfortunately, it's very tricky to find out whether or not products contain phthalates and parabens, as most cosmetic or beauty products simply contain the words "fragrance." But I came across a very helpful website that allows you to search cosmetic and beauty products (for adults and babes alike) for numerous potentially harmful chemicals. It's called the Cosmetic Safety Database - and if, like the Mommish, having a baby makes you want to not only reduce your post c-section tummy bulge, but also your family's chemical exposure - it's a must check!

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Boon or Bust

Ever since I started thinking about a baby registry, I was intrigued by Boon, Inc. Back then (all of a year and a half ago), the company really only had four items in its line - all related to the bath or bathroom. I had to have the Frog Pod, a cute frog shaped container for all of those fun toys that make bath time a wee bit easier for mom and dad.

So a few months ago when Boon came out with a high chair and some other feeding accessories, my curiosity was piqued again. I already had my high chair [and truth be told, I have to agree with the Hubbish's assessment of the Boon Flare and it's twins in uber-modern fashion and uber-expensive price tags, the Bloom Fresco highchair and the Fluerville Calla high chair - he calls them all affectionately and indescriminately the Nuni/Nooni chair - because he thinks they look like they belong in that Saturday Night Live skit] but some of the Boon feeding accessories looked so cool and innovative.

On vacation in Florida, I came across a few of the items at the local BRU. I decided upon the Fluid no-spill toddler cup [my bisphenol-a free search for sippy cups aside, this looked so cool and hey, the baby's water won't be heated in this, right? And it's a cloudy opaque plastic -so probablymaybe Ok?] and the Snack Ball - a neat ball shaped travel container for small treats.

We have been having so much fun with the snack ball. While it doesn't have the no-spill top of the Snack Trap, it has become one of my son's favorite toys. It also has a small enough top so that all of the Cheerios/Puffs/etc. don't come pouring out at once (that hasn't stopped the Babish from grabbing a handful though - but he likes his food, what can I say). And, unlike the Snack Trap, it takes a little longer for your Cheerios to go from fresh to stale in this container (again - type-B mommy shows her true colors, b/c I let the kid have the stale ones, and yes, I also eat the stale ones). It's also smaller than the pre-packaged travel containers or puffs and Cheerios, so easier on the diaper bag (and I can control portions and be sure the precious one doesn't ruin his appetite on a snack).

But alas, Boon did not get straight As on its report card from the Mommish. I have to give the Fluid cup a big thumbs down. A) the spout is just not vertical enough to give a baby something to really suck on (or teeth on) like the tall spout of almost every other sippy cup (and my son's beloved Born Free sippy cup has a very un-vertically challenged spout that is also a wonderful teether) and b) the kid just isn't a fan of the handles. It's a bust! So, maybe I'll try to fill it with hard small pasta and make a rattle or something... shaky, shaky...

You Broke it, You Buy It...

I always knew that with little boys you are always one sticky finger away from danger... I just never figured this would happen before my son's first birthday. A few days ago I found myself in a snowstorm in Chicago with my son sans stroller, baby food, toys or car (and car seat for that matter - thanks to grandma for getting lost on your way to pick us up from music class). I thought it would be a good idea to seek shelter in a local coffee shop. Big mistake. I had heard about some non-baby-friendly locales in my fair city - but I never realized how un-friendly some shopkeepers can be to moms with tots in tow (and this store was M-T, you'd think they would appreciate their single customer). So there I am trying to entertain myself and my son. I figure buying us some drinks would speed up our wait time. But as soon as I lifted junior near the counter he decided he wanted to touch, feel and explore the coffee samples. I tried to shift him to the other side of the counter and, of course, right as I'm trying to take the money out of my wallet, my son decided to test the laws of gravity (we have the next Isaac Newton on our hands). Before I can even turn my head I here a big crash - Z managed to knock over a glass canister filled with biscotti. Glass shards and biscotti littered the floor. Of course, the coffee shop owner came out fuming. I tried to explain that my son was only 9 months old and didn't yet understand gravity - but the store owner was already calling the Container Store to get the price on the canister. When he tried to make the Momish pay more than she knew was full-price, don't worry, I successfully managed to find said canister on the store's website on the crackberry, and juggle a coffee and a baby in a snowsuit! I would love to be witty or funny - but the whole experience made me so mad that someone could be so mean when the whole thing was an accident and I wasn't trying to shirk responsibility or anything.

$2.00 decaf Cafe au lait. $8.99 broken canister. $5.00 fifteen chocolate biscotti. Realizing your son is now a toddler and that even if boys will be boys, he needs to be protected from those people who can - gasp - be mean to babies (...and re-learning voo-doo).

Priceless.

And if you are ever on Broadway just north of Belmont - please boycott the small Greek coffee shop on the west side of the street just north of the intersection.