Picture Perfect

Something happens when a baby is born (well...of course... a lot happens... but one thing in particular that I feel like blogging about), seemingly normal people become photo obsessed. And so, I too must admit, "Hi, I'm Mommish, and I am a photoholic." My phone, computer, family room, facebook profile and dear family and friends' e-mails have been littered with photos of the Babish ("look he's walking," "look he's eating," "look, he can stare"). And of course it's only now that I'm realizing we'll have no wall/disk/album space left for #2 or #3 should they ever be. But yet they change so quickly during the first year that I do think it's pretty important to document these changes every few months or so... and while I'm semi- obsessed with photos, I know that some jobs are better left to the professionals.

But for those of you who know me, you know I also go by the name fru-gal, so I love to find a way to save the dough. And I wanted nice professional shots at least every few months of the first year of life. So, my plan was to do cheesy cheapy shots from a mall-front store at least a couple times during the year (we chose month four and month seven) and then once a year SPLURGE on the BEST professional I could find [read: do some google searching but realize there was no one out there better than the recommendation of my friend S, who must get some credit.]

For the mall-front shots I chose Portrait Innovations, which is a national chain. They offer a $9.95 special - where literally you pay only $9.95 and get tons of copies of one shot. For around $15 bucks more, you can also get plenty of copies of a second shot too. Being the type of place where props and wall drops are sort of pushed upon you, if you go in strong, you can end up with some simple pictures. We asked for a white background and had them shoot our family playing with the baby. You can never go wrong with naked shots too. And of course, anything can be turned into black and white. But yes, much to my disbelief, I do have some shots of my son, with a bucket of apples behind fake fall foliage that I think are just to die for....

For our once a year splurge, we chose photographer Audrey Woulard. Literally my jaw drops when I look at how she captured my son's bright blue eyes. Her shots are perfect compositions of light and color. Audrey does the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs and other commercial shots too. Now, she is hard to schedule (she books 6 to 8 weeks out on average) and she does not come cheap, but when we saw the pictures we knew that it was worth it. She shoots only in natural light which makes such a difference. She'll work on location, or, like us, you can chose to have her take photos in her loft in downtown Chicago. The loft is filled with modern furniture and toys and captures light beautifully. You can check out her out at www.alwphotography.com, or read her blog at www.audreywoulardblog.com. If you are exploring on her blog, check out Small Ones and you'll see some cute pics of the Babish (or should he now be the Toddlish?).

Say cheese! (or chsss if you are the Babish)

Don't be a Boob!

We've all heard the admonitions - Breast is best - for babies AND mommies. And then of course, every lactation consultant worth her weight in gold will tell you how both breasts are equally important. The Mommish knows firsthand about this second piece of advice, as I had to endure not one, but two painful bouts of mastitis in my "milk dud" (you know you have one too) within the first month of the Babish's precious life (at least I finally got to use that Lamaze breathing that never came into play during my labor...). And the Grammish, who is a nurse, mother of six and la leche peer counselor, loves to recant the anecdotal evidence of Hong Kong fishing women who only nurse on one side as custom. Among such women, there was found to be an increase in breast cancer on the side that was never used...Actually - just googled it - there was an actual study (And - the study indicates "that in postmenopausal women who have breast-fed unilaterally, the risk of cancer is significantly higher in the unsuckled breast, and that breast-feeding may help to protect the suckled breast against cancer.").

As if a new insecure mommy didn't have enough to worry about (and c'mon - at least it's more fun to talk about poop color)! So how, pray tell, you ask, are the sleep deprived mommies supposed to keep track of which side was fed off of last? [believe me, those first few weeks, I had enough trouble trying to remember if it had been 3 or 4 days since I had last showered and brushed my teeth...] Well, aside from relying solely on your NSP (nursing sensory perception, n., when a mommy has the innate knowledge of how much or how little her baby has nursed, which side was nursed off of last, or whether or not she really needs to pump and dump after half a glass of chardonnay. Note, NSP doesn't usually kick in until at least the 6th week post-partum), there are several gadgets on the market to help you keep track. I kept diligent notes the first few days - but this went by the wayside as soon as my son had surpassed his birthweight at his one week check-up. And I never really got into the pins or bracelets, as they were too bulky, bulging and just not my style.

Finally, (figures - just as I am about to begin planning my exit strategy - just don't mention it to the Babish yet) a new solution has hit the market. Enter the Booby Button - the cute, discreet and comfortable way to take the guess work out of keeping track of where your babe got their last meal. The diminutive clip can attach to a bra strap, tank top or sports bra - and you won't see or feel a thing. Insta-reminder for the sleep-deprived mommy in a fun and cheeky package. It makes a great gift for the nursing-mom-to-be. It comes in several adorable designs, including a personalized version. My personal fave design is the gas-pump... so fill'erup!


Check out http://www.boobybutton.com/


Note - to my wonderful mommy readers/friends who couldn't breastfeed or who chose not to breastfeed - don't beat yourself up. The most important part is doing what's right for your family, your sanity and your stress level... i.e. going with your gut and focusing on learning about and knowing your baby.

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/