table toppers

www.tabletopper.com

my friend rachel came to visit with her adorable 3 month old son and convinced me that yes, i do need to leave the house once in a while. so we packed up the boys and headed on down to my mostly-favorite baby-friendly eatery for lunch.

seeing as i live in the baby and puppy capitol of san francisco, it came as no surprise that there were seated parties with tiny tots all over the restaurant the minute we walked in. and what was this? children eating their cheerios and string cheese and hypoallergenic rice crackers off of clean-looking adhesive placemats instead of sticky sticky tables? amazing! i must investigate.

closer inspection revealed that these children were eating off of something called table toppers. table toppers are disposable, stick-in-place placemats for your little one to use on the go. no more tiny hands on dirty tables for you! table toppers provide a sanitary eating surface wherever you are by sticking in place to the table - and then can be disposed of after your meal. no muss, no fuss. it's a clean surface you can take with you in your diaper bag.

table toppers come in a variety of fun patterns to help keep your little one occupied while you try to actually eat something yourself. not only are their products bpa and phthalate free, but they've just come out with a new, eco-friendly biodegradable line! you can help keep your baby safe from germy tables while still protecting the environment from, well, you and your baby. time to go out for lunch!

consumer product safety commission e-mail list

https://www.cpsc.gov/

every night on the news it seems that there's a new and terrifying product recall that i've been blissfully unaware of. things like "caution! your baby's food is made of asbestos!" or "in the news today: bag o' broken glass deemed unsafe for toddlers."

yikes. how do people find out about all these things? i feel like i'm always a week too late and find out that the Baby Jackhammer at Home Kit™ (not for sale in stores) will put my son's eye out only after i've let him play with it already.

my cousin turned me on to the consumer product safety commission's e-mail list for baby products. you can get up to date information in one easy daily e-mail. simply click on the link above, enter your e-mail address and scroll down to select "only those recalls involving infant/child products (list name: child)" so that you don't get unwanted information. you'll receive updates on recalled products the minute it's available.

the cpsc has a strict privacy policy and promises not to give out your e-mail address, so there's no reason not to sign up. after all, if you can get the daily digest about what stupid thing speidi's doing today, you can help keep your little dictator safe.

our friend teensygreen on the radio!

http://www.modavox.com/voiceamerica/

stefani newman, our friend and creator of teensygreen (the blog that helps you and your kids "green" your lifestyle) is on VoiceAmerica RIGHT NOW! (9-10am PDT)

click on the above link to listen to stefani share her green tips for you and your family.

vivian sonnenberg, sleep consultant

www.viviansonnenberg.com

before i was pregnant, i had never heard the term "sleep consultant." then as my due date approached, i thought, "what kind of a moron hires a sleep consultant?"

answer: me.

my beautiful baby boy was a joy in the hospital. "see?" my husband and i would whisper gleefully to each other, "he's only 5 hours old and he's already the best sleeper ever! we are so lucky!" then we got home.

by the time he was 5 months old, my wonderful little man decided he only wanted to sleep for 90 minutes at a time. always. every night. and after about a month of these 1 1/2 hour "sleep" spurts, with my husband and i officially members of the living dead, we decided to hire our first (yes, first) sleep consultant. and after 6 weeks of working with her and having our only accomplishment be one four-hour stretch at the beginning of the night, we gave up and called vivian sonnenberg.

i had heard vivian's name passed around in mommy circles like some secret password and wondered why all these parents were so enamored of her. people warned, "your baby will have to cry!" and others sang "she saved my life!" and for us, both were true.

after hearing vivian's name for months, i finally gave up and called her. she paid us a house call and that night, cole only woke up ONCE. i think she drugged him. okay, probably not, but she does seem to have the magic baby touch. vivian sonnenberg has almost 20 years of experience working with babies and infants. trained as a nurse in argentina, vivian has been working with little ones of all ages to help them finally sleep and be happier, healthier babies..... not to mention with happier, healthier parents.

vivian's fee includes an initial meeting as well as two solid months of phone follow up, where she will call you almost every day to check in with you and offer periodic advice and support. she is based out of mill valley and will travel within the sf bay area. does she do phone consultations for people out of the area? unfortunately, i'm not sure. but i do know that she was worth every penny that we spent on her.

snack-trap cup

www.toysrus.com

your little one has reached an important milestone: that's right, he's eating cheerios. or puffs. or something else small that he can not only pick up, but also throw! all! over! the! place!!!

i'm convinced we're currently in danger of being banned from one of our favorite baby-friendly restaurants. on a recent outing, cole decided that the proper way to eat cheerios involved throwing ten on the floor for every one he ate. by the time we left, we were sitting on a virtual carpet of cheerios. funny, yes, but not necessarily worth the glares we got from the manager. (child-hating bastard. your restaurant is in noe valley. if you don't like kids, you're in the wrong neighborhood, buddy.)

ahem. getting back to the point, i realized we needed a better snack containment system than "put cheerios on table, let baby throw them on floor." wandering around babies r us my eyes locked in on the snack-trap, the original "anti-spill" snack cup. oooh - tell me more, snack-trap!

the snack-trap, taglined as "because kids spill things," is a brilliant invention. the perfect size to tote around town, the snack-trap cup had two handles for baby to grip and also and most importantly their patent-pending lid. its unique flexible slot design means that your baby's little hands can easily reach in but snacks are kept securely inside. our test run out yesterday showed that not all snack spillage was avoided completely, but it was an ENORMOUS improvement over everything else i've seen.

snack-trap's design even means baby can lift up the cup and turn it upside down without a barrage of gerber puffs falling on his head. because you know it's only a matter of time before he tries.

boobie tuesday! medela sleep nursing bra

www.amazon.com

hey, ladies. you're looking good. real good. you know what would be even sexier? medela's sleep nursing bra.

okay. maybe it's not hottest thing since la perla, but medela's sleep nursing bra is a necessity for nursing moms during those early months.

you're barely sleeping and the little sleep you have is interrupted by your tiny hungry baby. time to stumble out of bed, feed baby, fall asleep while feeding baby and then stumble back to bed. hopefully you remembered to put baby back in his crib at some point. can anything make it a little easier?

medela's sleep nursing bra is super comfy and lightweight with no annoying tags to bother you while you sleep. it's machine washable and pretty durable and you can pull it on right over your head. the smart pull-back design allows for easy feeding and also holds nursing pads in place while you sleep. the 95% cotton 5% spandex material is breathable and stretchy and perfect now that we're entering the warm summer nights. i'd buy three to rotate in your lounge-wear repertoire.

medela's sleep nursing bra is so comfortable that at least your bra won't keep you from sleeping at night... although your baby may.

alex toys "talk of the tub"

www.alextoys.us

as cole gets more and more aware of things, it seems he now demands to be entertained. no more lying on his back, staring at the ceiling - now there's always got to be something going on.

the nightly bath also is apparently not as fascinating as it used to be, despite all the awesome songs i sing and hilarious faces i make. i must not be as entertaining as i think i am. time for tub toys!

my mother-in-law got us this great little bath cell phone. alex toys makes an entire series of fun "rub a dub" tub toys for baby. we love "talk of the tub" - a little soft plastic cell phone that actually rings when wet. i don't know about your child, but mine is obsessed with phones. cell phones, cordless phones, television remote controls that look like phones - they're all fair game.

talk of the tub is cole's new favorite thing , since after all, he has lots of business calls to make from the bath before bedtime. what better way to multi task?

i play baby wear - sun & swim gear for baby

www.iplaybabywear.com

it's officially summer, and by my estimation, it has been no less than 700° here in san francisco lately. damn global warming.

we took cole for his first "swim" at my folks' place a few weeks ago during the last heat wave and realized a few things. firstly, he needed a swimsuit. secondly, he inherited his mother's glow-in-the-dark pale skin and would need some serious sun protection.

i play baby wear makes just what you need for baby's summer outings. their hats come in many different styles and are made of UPF 50+ sun protective fabric, perfect for protecting baby's delicate face and neck. the hats are lightweight and water-resistant and come in a number of prints, just in case the one you happened to pick out has been deemed "dorky" by your husband.

i play baby wear also makes one- and two-piece "sunsuits" to protect your baby during a day out at the beach. made of i play's UPF 50+ nylon/spandex material, the sunsuits help save your baby with sensitive skin from the sun's harmful rays.

we also got cole i play's "ultimate swim diaper" for when daddy helped him zip around in the pool. with the ultimate swim diaper, no other diaper is necessary. it looks like a little speedo, but has a waterproof layer to prevent leakage and a patent pending design that helps contain, um, "accidents" both in and out of the pool. no more worrying about baby at the beach! the ultimate swim diaper is built into i play's entire basic swimwear line, including trunks, board shorts, sunsuits, bikinis tanksuits and even little baby tankinis.

thanks to i play, now your little one can be stylish and safe during those 3 martini playdates by the pool. welcome to summer!

carter's super duper sale!

www.carters.com

i love carters. their clothes fulfill all of my requirements:

1) cute
2) cheap
3) hold up to multiple washings
4) easy sizing in 3 month increments for little ones

they make the best onesies and side-snap shirts for brand new babies (sorry, gerber, but your quality control sucks) and cole's closet is literally stocked with their footie pajamas. if only they came in adult size, i could wear them on weekends and..... oh, pardon me - i got distracted for a moment.

best of all, carter's stores have the most amazing sales if you can catch them - and you can!

shirts for $3.99? pj's for $5.99? two for one rompers? (because rompers are awesome, let me tell you!) and almost every thing in the store is on sale RIGHT NOW. that's right, time to stock up at carter's during what they appropriately call their super duper carter's sale.

warning: their website leaves, shall we say, a little bit to be desired. you're much better off going in person. so find a store near you with the carter's store locator and shop away!

kidco adhesive mount magnetic lock - no longer recommended!

www.amazon.com: Kidco Starter Lock Set

* updated!*

we've now had these locks for almost a month, and have to admit defeat. first i managed to misplace the "key" (and am still hearing crap about it, thank you very much), then a few of them broke. i can no longer endorse them as-is. the locks may work better once they are screwed in, but we're currently down to 3 out of 5 still functioning. just fyi!

my mom came over the other day to visit, and as she watched my now 10 1/2 month old son crawl after my dog at the speed of light, she turned to me and remarked, "he's going to be a bandit."

thanks, mom.

the worst part? i think she's right. i turned away this morning for what i swear was one millisecond and he was across the room and throwing miscellaneous tchotchkes off the third shelf of my bookcase. time to lock the drawers!

what to use..... something ugly? something i'll have to screw in to my nice cabinets? something that will pinch little fingers trying to reach inside? a ha.... found it! kidco, one of the leading makers of child safety products, has created these ingenious cabinet locks that install without using a single tool. with kidco's adhesive mount magnetic locks, there are no unsightly tell-tale locks on the outside of your kitchen doors - also known as the parental equivalent of the visible panty line.

using a sturdy adhesive, one half of the lock sticks securely to the door frame and the other to the inside of the cabinet - invisible to the naked eye. a strong magnet "key" is held up to the cabinet door to unlock. sounds too good to be true? nope - it actually works and is surprisingly strong. not only can my son pull himself up on the cabinet door (not that i'm advocating this) without it budging, but it also seemed pretty supportive of me giving it a few strong tugs - and although i hate to admit it, i weigh a good deal more than my son.

the only downside to kidco's adhesive mount magnetic locks? making sure you don't misplace the magnet key. we stick ours to the refrigerator after every use to make sure we still have full access to the tupperware cabinet. you know, to get out our baby's "toys."

boobie tuesday! pillow wars: boppy vs. my brest friend

www.boppy.com/
www.mybrestfriend.com/

when i was registering for my baby shower, one of the big debates i had was whether to get a boppy or a my brest friend. i never imagined the concern i would have trying to decide between two products that i'd never heard of before and had no idea what to do with.

after polling my friends, i registered for a boppy (which i got - thanks, jen!) and was all prepared to use it. until i got home from the hospital. two days later, my husband ran out and bought the my brest friend.

the boppy and the my brest friend are both breastfeeding support pillows. why do you need one of these, you may ask? try balancing a baby on your knee and keeping him at just the right height for nursing. for an hour. maybe more, if you're feeling dangerous. then try it again in the dark at 3:30 in the morning on two hours of sleep. now you understand.

the boppy (shown above) is a "c" shaped firm but puffy pillow that you can wrap around your waist or side for breastfeeding. it has a stretchy middle allowing it to conform to different body sizes and is soft enough for baby's head to rest on comfortably. it comes in a number of different fabrics and can even morph into its second life as support for your baby learning how to sit up. it's comfortable for mom to rest her arms on and lives on my sofa to this day.

the my brest friend nursing pillow (pictured right) is a flat, foam pillow that you can literally velcro or buckle around your waist to support baby while feeding. it's firm surface helps keep baby where you want him and it fits snugly so the pillow - and baby - don't slide around. a little pocket on the side can keep pacifiers or other necessities close at hand. it also comes in a number of fabrics as well as in an inflatable "travel" version to take with you wherever you may nurse.

long story short? i ended up using both of them. i thought the boppy was much easier when leaning back against a couch but the my brest friend was more helpful during feeds in the glider and especially in the middle of the night when, yes, i would fall asleep while feeding the baby.

got a vote one way or the other? please share in the comments!

new parent checklist by knock knock

www.knockknock.biz

okay, the baby's waking up.... we've got 2 1/2 hours before he has to be home for his next nap. and off we go!

now all we have to do is feed him, change him, put him in "outdoor" clothes, pack a meal, pack a bottle, pack a bib, some cheerios, a sun hat in case it's sunny, a warm hat in case it's cold, a hoodie, a lightweight hoodie, a fuzzy heavyweight hoodie, diapers, wipes, diaper cream, bags to put dirty diapers in, extra socks, a spoon to eat with, a spoon to play with, toys, toys for the car, toys for wherever we're going, pacifiers, a blanket, a book, burp cloths, oh, and of course your house keys.

i'll admit it - one time i got 45 minutes away from my house, baby and dog in the car, when i realized that i had left my diaper bag at home. in my open breezeway. with my housekeys inside it. visible to all passers-by. that's why the "new parent checklist" from knock knock is a great gift for new moms and dads.

the "new parent checklist" is as useful as it is funny. categories like "nether regions" (diapers, changing pad) and "food" (formula, bottles, breasts) help ensure that you'll bring everything for baby, while lists such as "from your old life" (keys, cell phone, sunglasses) and "seemingly obvious" (diaper bag, stroller, baby, brain) will make sure you've got all your bases covered.

while you're at it, take a peek at knock knock's other cool stuff like babysitter checklists (titled "don't kill the kids") and couple's doorknob signs (including "not tonight i've got a headache," "don't forget what you're trying to remember" and "i took money out of your wallet - thanks a lot."

now that you've got your new parent checklist, are you ready to go? great. we now have five minutes to go to the park and get back in time for our son's nap.

sassy "who loves baby?" photo album

www.amazon.com

my friend's mother in law lives out of town, and as my friend says, "she's desperately trying to imprint herself on my son. every time we see my mother in law, she leans over my son chanting 'it's your grandma! it's your grandma!' she is making me crazy."

save yourself from the it's-your-grandmas with this great product from sassy. the "who loves baby?" book is made of soft vinyl and designed to hold up to 6 pictures of family members or loved ones (or the family weiner dog) so that baby can learn who's who.

photos are safely ensconced in plastic to protect them from overeager droolers excited to see pictures of their daddies and the grip handle also serves as a teether. easy to clean pages mean that baby can drag "who loves baby?" to every mealtime and escape sparkly clean. what better and more delicious way to learn how popular you are?

philips LCD DECT digital baby monitor

Philips LCD DECT Digital Baby Monitor

if, like me, your baby's room is on another floor in the house, you're going to need a good baby monitor.

if, like me, you've stupidly chosen the Coldest Room in the Entire House for your baby's room, then it would be nice to know that your baby's not freezing at night.

and lastly, if, like me, you and your husband switch off on monitor duty and when it's your night you don't want to hear every teensy tiny itty bitty sighing noise that your baby makes - but still want the option to do so - then you need to get philips LCD digital baby monitor.

recommended to me by my neighbors, who carefully vet all their baby products, the philips baby monitor is excellent. the base in baby's room is not only highly sensitive, but can accurately measure the temperature. the handset allows you to remotely turn on music, talk to baby (if you dare) and display the temperature. you can adjust the sensitivity on the handset from "i want to hear every breath you take" to "i really only want to hear you if you're standing up in your crib and banging against the wall with your binky."

the philips baby monitor is amazing. you can turn the volume off, but set an alert to beep at you if baby gets too loud for comfort. you can set a temperature alarm, letting the monitor beep at you if baby's room gets too hot or cold according to temperatures you choose. it's crystal clear with a guaranteed no interference. and best of all, the range is up to 900 feet (yep, that's right!) or as i like to put it, far enough to put the monitor in your pocket and still walk your weiner dog halfway up the street. so go ahead! enjoy your (limited) freedom!

my dad rocks! (in a onesie)

www.amazon.com: Rebel Ink My Dad Rocks Body Suit

father's day is sunday! where did that come from? holy moley. time to get a present - and fast.

fortunately, rebel ink's "my dad rocks" onesie is here! let your little one show dad just how much he's loved before the teenage years when your kid can't bear to be seen with you.

amazon.com, my go-to site, has a bunch of cute onesies that if you play your cards right might be able to be delivered by saturday, like this one and this one. (of course, if they're not here in time, dad will still love it a few days later. and will probably dress your dictator in it for every subsequent family outing. consider yourself warned.)

p.s. san francisco moms: want to get this in time for sunday? rebel ink's "my dad rocks" onesie is available at little fish boutique in west portal. happy shopping!

the rookie mom's handbook

www.amazon.com

being a new mom is hard work. and not what a lot of us expect. (what? was it unrealistic to think that my son would put himself to bed every night?) sometimes moms wake up in the morning and think, "what the heck am i going to do today?"

the rookie mom's handbook has a list of 250 activities to do with - or without - your little dictator. designed exclusively for first-time moms, the handbook contains helpful tips like "7 reasons to leave the house each day, " which believe me - you may need at first.

the rookie mom's handbook is thoughtfully divided up into sections of what to do according to baby's age, from "taking baby steps" to " now we're cruising." suggestions range from getting in touch with mommy friends to venturing out to a baby-friendly movie.

as the authors say, sometimes as a new mom it's hard to think and you need to be told what to do. and they tell you.

teensygreen - think outside your playroom

www.teensygreen.com

okay, you're a mom. and you worry about the earth and too many chemicals and what the world's going to be like when your little one grows up, but you're not exactly ready to start wearing birkenstocks or make your child's toys out of dirt and leaves. welcome to teensygreen!

we love teensygreen! teensygreen was started by a mom like you and me who was looking for a greener alternative to all the plastics and waste that finds its way into our family's daily lives. (fortunately for me, stefani, the creator of teensygreen, still likes little dictators..... i think.)

teensygreen strives to bring eco-friendly products and services to help parents make greener decisions for their kids. want info on eco-educational outings like san francisco's own ferry plaza farmer's market? need to know what eco-friendly products you should take on your next trip to the beach? how about where to find organic baby clothes and slings? teensygreen's the site to point you in the right direction.

teensygreen is a great resource for moms looking to "greenify" their lives and make earth-friendly decisions for their kids. as stefani says, think outside your playroom! visit teensygreen!

baby gund fire truck playset

www.amazon.com: Baby Gund Fire Truck Playset


aunt mackenzie came to visit this weekend and brought some cool stuff that i'll be writing about all week! she also has perfect timing, because i was starting to panic about cole's lack of things to play with. (i know. i'm crazy. our son has a toy bin the size of the taj mahal.)

the baby gund fire truck playset is AWESOME. i had been secretly coveting it for months, and now it's here! the plush firetruck zips open at the top to reveal surpises inside. a water bucket! a fire hydrant! a tiny fireman! a little spotted dalmatian - that barks when you squeeze him!

so far, cole's favorite is the rattle-y water bucket with its shiny top, followed closely by the finger puppet fireman with his smiling face and sassy fireman's hat.

josie weiner dog's favorite is, not surprisingly, the dalmatian, which she has already tried to steal numerous times. nice try, weiner dog. this one's for your brother.

fire trucks not your thing? baby gund also makes a school bus playset with two children, a book and a pencil (all plush, of course) and a police car playset complete with barking dog, finger puppet policeman, crinkly flashlight and megaphone with squeaker. which hopefully will be your child's only brush with the law.

innobaby packin' SMART formula dispenser and snack case

www.amazon.com

now that cole's eating "real food" (if "real" food = cheerios, milk and smashed up peas), packing up for an outing is more, um, challenging than ever. and for my friends with formula-fed babies, schlepping around all that formula can be a real pain in the behind.

searching for a travel formula container for my friend, i came across innobaby's packin' smart formula dispenser and snack case. winner of iparenting media's best product 2007, the packin' smart case has five separate snap-together tiers in one convenient carry container.

innobaby's secure click design means no caps falling off, and the separate containers will ensure you can bring formula and finger foods without them ending up in one big pile of mush. each tier can hold up to 8 oz. of formula or 1/3 cup of tasty dried snacks. that's a lot of food for growing dictators. containers are even sized perfectly to store pacifiers in while you and your baby are out being fabulous.

the packin' SMART comes in a variety of sassy colors for those of you who pretend that how baby products look doesn't matter but secretly want things to look nice when they're trying to surreptitiously sneak cheerios to their tot at starbucks.

jj cole bundle me

www.jjcoleusa.com

welcome to another one of my absolute favorite baby shower gifts and winner of our little dictators seal of approval!

i am crazy about jj cole's bundle me. better than a blanket, the bundle me acts as a little sleeping bag that you can fasten into baby's car seat, stroller or jogger. soft velcro openings allow safety straps to come through and baby to be securely fastened in.

although we have some blankets that i love, for running out and about, the bundle me is the best bet. it zips up the sides to keep baby snuggly warm and there are no loose ends to get tied up in your stroller wheels or closed in the car door by accident. (um..... not that this has ever happened to me. recently.)

the bundle me comes in three great and different warmths. the original has a plush shearling lining and soft fleece exterior. the urban has a rain-proof quilted outside with soft microsuede inside. the lite, which was my baby shower gift to my friends with spring babies, has the soft thickness of a summer blanket with sassy stiching on the outside.

for some crazy reason, i waited until cole was a few months old before investing in the bundle me. i kept thinking, "why spend the money when we have 100 different blankets?" but i was oh so wrong. for heading outdoors or even in the car, the bundle me is far superior and well worth the money. which is why every new mom i know gets one from me as a present.

after all, as i always say: why blanket when you can bundle me?

free doughnut day!

www.krispykreme.com

happy friday, mommies!

you've worked hard. you made it all week by yourself, you fed your child and entertained him and even possibly managed to take a shower and eat a luna bar with your one free hand.

you deserve a reward! and apparently the good folks at krispy kreme agree with you. did you know that today is national doughnut day? (of course it is.) grab yourself a free glazed bit of deliciousness from your local krispy kreme. go ahead, you deserve it!

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.