rich frog pull toys

http://www.bambinomountain.com/

help! i need a gift for a birthday party/baby shower/first visit to a new mom friend! i want to take something cute, but not something too cute. and it should be well made, but not cost a fortune.

oh, and i'd also like something that's cool, with bright colors and personality, but not something that they're going to get from everyone. i will not be the bringer of baby's 17th blanket! i will be original!

oooh - found it! rich frog, how i love you. you make such cute, fun toys for babies from newborn up to toddlers. i love your bath toys just like everyone else does, but what i really love are your velour pull toys. rich frog, you make such creative pull toys, the likes of which i've never seen before. lovingly stiched out of soft velour with sweet smiles sewn on, you have everything from a pull duck and family to a frog, cow, pony and even dinosaur and friends like the one shown here!

hmmm. maybe i don't need to take a present to my friend. maybe instead i'll just pick up this rich frog pull velour puppy for my own son. who'll know, except all the people reading this? uh, oh.....

baby mum-mum crackers

www.mummums.com/

starting your baby on solids, or "real food" is pretty exciting. or at least what passes for excitement when you have a baby.

at cole's 9 month doctor's appointment, his pediatrician suggested letting him learn to feed himself more. "let him try a spoon or a cup," she said.

now i'm adventurous, but not that adventurous. we had one afernoon of the Great Spoon Wrestling Match that ended up with both of us covered head to toe in mashed peas. so i thought we'd try something a little simpler.

one of the girls in my mom's group said her daughter loved these "baby mum-mum" crackers. i thought that was the worst name i'd ever heard. and not something i'd feel comfortable asking the grocer for out loud in front of hip childless singletons shopping for espresso and ennui.

but i was wrong! baby mum-mum crackers are rice based, gluten-, egg- and nut-free and melt easily in your little one's mouth. (and on their clothes, but that's another story.) they come individually wrapped two-to-a-package so you can cart them everywhere they go. baby mum-mum crackers are also just the right size for your little one to hold and feed himself.

a perfect "first cracker" for your little one AND no mashed peas in your hair? i'm sold, and so is my son. available at a number of stores nationwide including whole foods and mollie stone's. (for my san francisco mommies: i know for a fact they can be found at the mollie stone/tower market in diamond heights!)

boobie tuesday! the nursing mother's companion

http://www.amazon.com/

another boobie tuesday = more nursing help for you!

today's help comes from kathleen huggins, registered nurse, certified lactation consultant and early childhood care specialist. "the nursing mother's companion" is a great resource for the new mom since, as kathleen huggins says, "breastfeeding may be natural, but it's not always instinctive."

truer words were never spoken!

since not everyone has a lactation consultant they can keep on call, "the nursing mother's companion" provides indispensable help for new moms who need a little advice on nursing. huggins provides tips at every stage of the game to help you out, for example, "what do i do when my child starts teething?" ouch.

one of the most useful parts is the unique drug index in the back of the book, helping advise you as to what drugs are safe to take while you're nursing. (here's a hint: tylenol is okay. crack cocaine is not.)

overall, "the nursing mother's companion" is a great gift for new moms and a good refresher for moms nursing the second time around.

monday mommysaver: infantino giggle ball toy set

www.target.com

a sassy trio of fun toys for your little one in one convenient package? and all for less than $15? yes! infantino's giggle ball toy set is a wonderful gift for someone.... or your own little one.

three little toys offer three different ways of keeping your baby happy and busy. the crab rattle and giggle ball are for 3+ months and the bendy bug is for 6+ months. each makes different rattling sounds and captivates your baby with moving or wiggling parts.

the giggle ball has sliding beads and different textured surfaces for baby to explore. the bendy bug has moving rings, makes a soft rattling sound when shaken and has (according to my son) delicious antennae. the crab rattle with its wiggly legs and mirrored ball hands still travels with us in the car.

overall, infantino's giggle ball toy set offers a lot of bang for the buck, so now you can afford those tiny prada shoes your baby so desperately needs.

happiest baby on the block by harvey karp

www.amazon.com

when i was pregnant and visiting my parents, their across the street neighbor came by to say hello and congratulations. she also happens to be an ob nurse.

"that's such great news! congratulations!" was the first thing she said.

"have you read 'happiest baby on the block'?" was the second.

she was the first, but she wouldn't be the last to recommend "the happiest baby on the block." i heard about this book from friends, family and even in my "newborn care" class.

people speak about harvey karp in reverential, hushed tones, and i was determined to figure out why. then i realized: it's because he is a god.

harvey karp, md, was one of the leading doctors to usher back in a generation of swaddled babies. calling the first three months of your baby's life "the fourth trimester" (accurately, i believe), dr. karp and "the happiest baby on the block" will help you to calm your little one using the 5 S's technique. i was advised to watch the dvd in addition to/instead of reading the book, which was a great suggestion, as it's one thing to read about these techniques and another to see them in action.

i'll admit, i was doubtful. and as if to punish for me for my doubt, my first born son was incredibly colicky. he cried so much one day as a newborn i called my husband at work and begged him to come home. we did get some relief, however, from the happiest baby on the block. whether playing white noise and shushing at a million decibels in my son's ear, wrapping him up tightly like a burrito or rocking him back and forth, the happiest baby on the block's tips at least helped my crying child not be the unhappiest baby on the block.

and for that, i am grateful. but not as grateful as i am that he is now sleeping through the night.

oswald

www.noggin.com

i don't know about you, but nothing cheers me up like a blue octopus with a pet weiner dog. i stumbled upon oswald a few months back while trying to find some little-person-friendly programming on noggin, nickelodeon's youngest-skewing channel.

oswald is a gentle octopus voiced by fred savage (yes, that fred savage) who lives in whimsical town called big city with his pet hot dog, weenie. now, for those of you who think i only started watching this show because it has some semblance of a weiner dog in it..... you're right. but i fell in love watching the very first episode.

oswald is sweet without being cloying (sorry, wonderpets, but you drive me crazy) and teaches without being preachy (ugh, franklin, you are whiny macwhinestein). not only is oswald cute and friendly, but he also helps model positive responses to conflict, presents teamwork and working together and demonstrates characters taking turns and being polite.

now i'm not advocating television for tiny babies, but sometimes when cole gets hit with a case of the grumples, oswald is literally the only thing that will cheer him up - and i have to admit, i love watching it, too. the clever drawings (a bakery shaped like a giant cake) and tongue-in-cheek characters (a snowman drives the town ice cream truck) make it something i actually look forward to.

added bonus: think some of the characters on oswald sound familiar? henry, a persnickety penguin who's oswald's best friend is voiced by david lander, best known as laverne & shirley's squiggy. how could you not want to watch now? oswald and weenie and squiggy, oh my!

babycenter

www.babycenter.com

my son is ten months old today! wow, that went fast. the last few months have been filled with so many milestones (crawling, teething, pulling up to stand, waving) that i have no idea what to expect next.

good thing there's babycenter. babycenter is a wealth of resources for moms and moms-to-be, with advice from getting pregnant all the way up to taking care of your "big kid." there are tons of articles by doctors and q&a sections on everything from breastfeeding to discipline.

my favorite part of babycenter is the timeline they provide for you and your growing baby. whether you're pregnant and want to know how your baby's developing in utero or a proud parent curious to know what to prepare for next, the babycenter timeline is both cool and helpful.

a simple sign-up with either your due date or child's birthday will automatically tell you what to expect from your little one in the upcoming weeks. example: i logged in this morning to the message, "cole is 10 months week 1: this week, watch out for flying sippy cups!" babycenter can send weekly emails for the first two years about baby’s development, and then periodically as baby reaches bigger milestones.

as my friend lisa says, "It was great to have as a working mom – with less time to read. This helped me look for cues around key developmental stages (i.e., ready for a cup, to use a fork, how to deal with stranger anxiety, sleep problems, you name it)."

well, i'm off to read about developing good speech patterns while dodging sippy cups. wish me luck.

*thanks to lisa for the heads-up!

music together

www.musictogether.com

when cole was born, all my mom friends kept telling me about music together. "you have to go to the classes!" they chorused, "it's so much fun!"

"um... okay," i replied cautiously. i wasn't so sure. the only places i really sing are in the shower and in the car and i wasn't sure if i wanted to subject a room full of strangers to my grammatically incorrect version of "frère jacques."

as cole got a little older, i realized that maybe i didn't know as many children's songs as i thought i did. and that i ended up repeating only the chorus of the few songs i did know. and perhaps my son was tired of me singing the tootsie roll commercial theme song. and most of the children's music cd's made me want to pull my hair out. so i gave in.

i'm so glad i did! music together is an internationally known early childhood music program that offers music classes for kids from babies all the way up through kindergarteners and the grown-ups who serve them. classes are mixed ages and offer sing-a-longs, instruments to play, rhythm chants and, if your instructor is as nice as ours, a guitar for your little ones to touch and explore. you'll also get two cd's of fun music to take home so you can force your child to listen to your off-key rendition of the songs they just learned.

classes are offered nationwide - go to the music together website to find a class near you! soon, you too will know more than one song to sing to your child. ready? join in! oh, the world looks mighty good to me, 'cause tootsie rolls are all i see.....

boobie tuesday: lilypadz

www.lilypadz.com

my best friend got married 8 weeks after my baby boy was born and my first thought was, "holy crap, how am i going to get my giant boobs into my matron-of-honor gown?"

my second thought was, "how am i going to handle not feeding my son for 6+ hours of picture taking, ceremony participating and reception dancing without springing a leak and totally embarrassing myself?"

answer: lilypadz. lilypadz call themselves "the alternative to traditional nursing pads" and that they are. lilypadz are made of silicone and have a unique, tacky lining so they adhere directly to your skin. they literally stop leakage by applying gentle pressure so you don't have to worry about unsightly leak marks all over your bridesmaid dress or other article of clothing.

lilypadz are safe to use overnight - you can even go swimming with them. with proper use and care, one pair of lilypadz can last you up to two months. so you have no excuse for not springing for a pair.

* thanks to rachel for the lilypadz reminder!

no post today.....

.....sorry, kids, but we're all a little under the weather here at casa little dictator.

posts will be back up tomorrow!

little noses stuffy nose kit

www.walgreens.com

bad news: it's not too late in the season for your baby to catch his or her first cold. we managed to make it 6 months cold-free, and then the sniffles arrived. i blame it on cole's doctor (a doctor!) who swore he was "no longer contagious." bastard.

we've managed to make it most of cole's almost-10-months without any major illnesses, but the sniffles are once again rearing their ugly head. and, naturally, since my son likes to stick his fingers in my mouth and fishhook me, i've got them, too.

so the only thing to do now is wait, drink tea (for me) and use little noses (for him). little noses saline drops and aspirator kit is the easy way to help your snuffy little baby feel better. the saline drops help loosen up stuffy little noses and the nasal aspirator will help suck out any yuckies, assuming your baby lets you get close enough to do so.

the little noses stuffy nose kit also came in particularly handy when we came home from the hospital and paid $9.99 to the emergency help line to report that our newborn sounded stuffy, only to have them tell us "newborns are stuffy." um, thanks.

bookplates from bookplate ink

www.bookplateink.com

my mother studied early childhood education, and as a result always gives books as baby presents at showers and birthday parties. now, naturally, so do i.

but as babies get older and amass a larger library, it's nice to personalize things either for your own collection or to help keep track of "library loans" to friends.

bookplate ink makes custom bookplates to put on the inside of your little one's books (or yours!). many of their black and white designs may look familiar - they use classic, hard-to-find 1930s designs from the Antioch Bookplate Company. bookplate ink also carries whimsical color bookplates in many different styles. we love the japanese woodblock inspired waves (shown) for something cool and a little different.

bookplate ink will also make custom bookplates exactly to your liking - that's right, you can submit your own artwork and work with their designers to get exactly what you want. if you're looking for a unique shower gift or something to give your future academic, personalized bookplates are the way to go.

a public apology to my husband

some of you may have read my post about "porn for new moms," and one of the people that read that post was my husband.

my husband, who promptly wrote me an e-mail saying, "You already have 'a good looking man smiling and holding babies and writing thank-you notes and folding laundry.' Why the *sigh*?"

i apologize.

he is right.

my husband is a great father, always reading books out loud and walking the dog at night and folding the laundry and buying kiehl's baby wash for our little dictator and, quite frankly, doing much more housekeeping than i personally care to do.

so here's to you, honey. i'm sorry. and please consider this your father's day present. :)

i love my daddy lion by baby gund

www.lullabylane.com

father's day is coming up just around the corner, and what better way to say "happy father's day" than this little lion from baby gund.

the hugs and kisses collection from baby gund has soft plushy toys with different representations of family love on them.... a giraffe with "i love my grandpa," a hippo with "i love my grandma," a pink elephant with "i love my mommy" and, of course, the "i love my daddy" lion.

the collection also comes with matching rattles for each animal, so that you can expand your little family.

all features are sewn on and baby-safe, and i predict your husband will love it just as much as your baby does.

good night, gorilla by peggy rathmann

www.amazon.com

board books are great for little ones who are learning to appreciate being read their favorite stories, and "good night, gorilla" is one of my absolute favorites.

almost every baby i know has a copy of "good night, gorilla" in their baby book arsenal. peggy rathman has come up with a wonderful story about a gorilla who sneakily helps his fellow animals out of their cages to go sleep in the zookeeper's house.

rathmann's whimsical illustrations and amazing attention to detail will keep your little one captivated, as they discover the stuffed babar in the elephant's cage, the toy ernie in the armadillo's home and the little mouse that drags a banana throughout the entire book for the gorilla.

cole's favorite part is when the zookeeper's wife discovers the gorilla in her bed. rathmann's rendering of her shock and surprise is fantastic - he laughs every single time we see it. "good night, gorilla" is an absolute must for your baby's library.

mommy's helper Safe-Plate™

www.amazon.com

it's so exciting when your little one starts to crawl! one day they're just sitting quietly, the next they're zooming across the floor. and trying to pull up on things. and discovering outlets.

before you run out and spend $1,500 for a baby proofer to come to your house (oh yeah, they'll charge you that much), get a few basics down pat. put cords out of sight, move that sharp-edged coffee table and get new outlet covers.

mommy's helper makes the safe-plate, an electric outlet plate that screws into place easily with just one screw. spring loaded sliding doors mean it's easy for you to plug something in, but snap shut when not in use. the safe-plate outlets stay closed tight when you don't need them and keep prying fingers safe.

make this one thing you can cross off of your baby proofing list - pick up a batch of safe-plates and get to installing!

boobie tuesday! motherlove nipple cream

www.motherlove.com

things i never thought i'd say, especially with any frequency:
1. poopy diapies
2. breast pump
3. boobie tuesday
4. nipple cream

how one's life changes after having a baby....... things will never be the same.

in the meantime, you still need some extra tlc while you're breastfeeding, especially if you're having a hard time. a difficult latch often leads to tender, sore nipples and that lansinoh cream, while effective, feels like rubber cement.

motherlove makes organic, natural herbal products that support breastfeeding. motherlove was founded in 1990 to provide new moms with herbal personal care and supplements specifically designed for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

the motherlove nipple cream is formulated especially for sore, cracked nursing nipples and unlike lanolin, has a smooth, creamy feel. its all natural ingredients, including olive oil and shea butter, mean it's safe for ingestion and doesn't have to be washed off prior to breastfeeding.

added bonus: when you no longer need to use the nipple cream for its intended purpose, i've discovered that it makes an excellent cuticle cream! no need for leftovers to go to waste and definitely earns our little dictators seal of approval.

porn for new moms

www.amazon.com

do you ever wish your husband would tell you how sexy you look in your sweatpants?

what if he said something like, "don't worry, honey. your mother and i will take wonderful care of the baby while you and your girlfriends are at the spa."

either you've stepped into a parallel universe or you're reading "porn for new moms." at least three of my girlfriends have told me about this book and i wish i'd come up with the idea myself!

if you don't find this book entertaining, you obviously don't have children. because otherwise there's no way you wouldn't appreciate it. pages of good looking men smiling and holding babies and writing thank-you notes and folding laundry. *sigh*

maybe you're imaging your shirtless spouse drawing a warm bubble bath for you and offering a glass of wine while murmuring, "I poured your bath, and here's a glass of Chardonnay. And don't worry - even if it gets into the breastmilk, it'll just help him fall asleep later."

yeah, you're definitely in a parallel universe.

aden + anais muslin baby wraps

www.adenandanais.com

i don't know about where you live, but here in foggy san francisco it has been uncharacteristically, scorchingly, stiflingly hot. (okay, it's all relative, but trust me: in a city with no air conditioning, it's pretty effing hot.)

it's this type of heat that causes me to call every mom friend i know and have the following conversation:

me: it's so hot.
mom friend: blaaaargh. i'm melting my baby.
me: me too. what is your baby wearing to sleep?
mf: i have NO idea. it's soooooo haaaaaaawwwt.
me: ugh. my baby is going to melt in the middle of the night. haaaaaawt.

and so on.

aden + anais baby wraps are made of lightweight cotton muslin. their unique fabric is both light and stretchy, snuggly and soft. aden + anais wraps are also large enough to actually swaddle your baby when they're bigger than 4 days old, unlike some other swaddle blankets.

aden + anais' wide assortment of wraps and blankets provide moms with something for every occasion - a summer coverup for babies on the go, a breathable summer swaddle, an airy sunshade for tykes in their strollers.....it's the perfect addition to your overflowing "on-the-go" kit for warm weather outings.

thanks to debbie and little asher for the heads up!

via toy box sale - ends sunday 5/18!

www.viatoybox.com

you may remember how much i love via toy boxes from one of my very first posts, and now, they're having a sale!

you can save up to 30% off AND get free shipping from via toy box if you order by tomorrow.

via toy boxes are beautifully constructed, well made storage for your little one's room with mix n'match fronts in different colors and shapes. they can be arranged in any way you like. want shelves for books? more shelves? how about round openings for stuffed animals? perhaps more boxes with doors so you can hide miscellaneous toys or the ones that make endless noise? done!

we never fail to get compliments on the via toy boxes we have in cole's room. they're cute, easy to put together and best of all, made of renewable materials. so really, you're doing wonderful things for the earth when you purchase via toy boxes for your child.