glug - cool clothes for baby

www.glugcollection.com

with all the one year old's birthday parties we've got going on these days, i realized that i'm going to have to give a few cool gifts to give myself. yet sometimes, even i find myself at a loss for gifts.

so what to take to the birthday kids...... plastic toys? hmmm, they've got a lot of those. blocks? they've got those, too. how about clothes? but not the dorky little man sweater sets your mom's friend gets you. no, you want something that says, "i'm your cool aunt! i'm the one you'll call when your mom says you can't do stuff - and i'll say you can! because i'm cool!"

glug baby was founded by a husband and wife team who wanted clothes for their young daughter stylish enough for hip parents but still whimsical enough for tots. and they've totally succeeded.

glug baby makes great tees, dresses and skirts that are as comfortable as they are cute. they have a fresh, modern style that's perfect for your hipster child as they prepare for a life of trend setting. they have clever graphic designs for boys (monkey face, tiger head, giant ant) and girls (flirty bird, abstract dandelion, sassy owl).

we love all their designs, but my favorite is the little shirt with a picture of sf's ubiquitous sutro tower that says "local" underneath it. perfect for flaunting your child's native status when traveling around the city.

small audience - tees for tots

www.smallaudience.com

one of my closest girlfriends had a little boy back in march. but when she was pregnant, she didn't want to find out if she was having a boy or a girl... and one of her reasons was "i don't want people to get me all sorts of dorky baby blue or pink clothing."

i feel your pain.

thank goodness there are companies out there like small audience. based out of southern california, small audience makes vintage-inspired tops and hoodies for your sassy baby. all their shirts are hand-screened with clever designs like "i know the bouncer" (pictured) and "ice ice baby" with a picture of a soft-serve ice cream cone.

all of small audience's shirts are made of super soft cotton with a vintage wash to give your tot that old-school vibe. inside out hems and raw edged sleeves add to the comfort of most of their styles while a roomy fit ensures your baby will be at comfortable as he is cute.

small audience sizes start at 3/6 months and go all the way up to 4T, so there's no reason not to keep your child looking cool as they get bigger.... and cooler.
*thanks to danielle, jake and gil for the sweet shirt!

no added sugar - sassy clothes for tiny tots

www.noaddedsugar.co.uk

my son's first birthday is right around the corner, and i knew his coolest presents would come from my girlfriends.

a fedex arrived on my doorstep the other day, and the return address said "no added sugar" - and that the package was coming from london.

"well, that's interesting," i thought. "someone's sending me sugar-free candy from the united kingdom. how..... weird."

then i opened the package. inside was a sleek white box with a bunny-and-crossbones logo. (a good omen if there ever was one.) and packaged neatly inside bunny-printed tissue paper was the most awesome baby shirt i have ever seen. printed across the front was the sweet phrase "lock up your daughters" - with the word "lock" in gold sparkle, no less. awesome.

no added sugar makes edgy and sweet clothes for babies and little ones up to age 8. their silk screened designs come on buttery soft premium jersey cotton with a thick luxurious feel. the envelope neck makes for what no added sugar appropriately and accurately calls "no tears dressing."

no added sugar was created by a london mom who felt there was a distinct lack of cool baby clothes - so she ended up designing her own. eight years later, her designs are carried around the world in stores like harrod's and fred segal. while they have a fantastic online store front, those of us in la, new york, san francisco and a few other select us cities are lucky enough to buy their products in person.

we love our new shirt. now the only problem we have is deciding if it's appropriate or not for a one-year-old's first birthday party.
* many thanks to aunt jen & uncle mike for the awesome present!

baby gap triple-roll socks

www.gap.com

oh, baby socks. you are so cute and so challenging at the same time. i must have tried a million different kinds on my son only to find them strewn all over the floor because they just. won't. stay. on!

a few factors will be constantly working against you:

1. your baby is crawling and, now that he is mobile, can leave a trail of socks behind him;


2. your baby has discovered his feet and therefore has discovered that he can pull his socks off whenever he wants; and
   


3. your baby's friend has discovered your baby's feet and therefore has discovered that he can pull your baby's socks off whenever he wants.

how can you compete when the odds are against you? personal experience + advice from other mommies = baby gap triple-roll socks. when babies are little, we love trumpette's socks for their cute styles and magical ability to stay on, but they don't come sized for toddlers.

baby gap's triple-roll socks have accomplished the elusive trifecta: they're soft and comfortable, thick enough to keep baby feet warm but thin enough to wear under robeez and they actually stay on baby's feet. baby gap's socks also have non-skid lettering on the bottom for your toddlers beginning to cruise or - gasp - actually walk.

next up? robeez!

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!

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!

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!

trumpette baby socks

www.trumpette.com/

fact: baby socks do not stay on. but trumpette socks do.

have you seen little boys wearing socks that look like high tops? little girls wearing socks that look like mary janes? those are trumpette!

trumpette socks come in great patterns and bright colors. want socks that look like golf shoes or cowboy boots? looking for polka dots, stripes or even tiny argyle? trumpette socks are for you.

as we said: most baby socks fall off when they're little, and get pulled off when they're bigger. but trumpette socks seem to have the magic ability to stay where they belong - on tiny baby feet. not only that, but they'll stand up to the ten billion washings you'll put them through and still come out looking shiny and new.

* thanks to jen for reminding us about trumpette!

zutano cotton sherpa booties

http://www.comfykid.com/

zutano's fleecey sherpa booties are fantastic to keep little feeties warm. they come in a wide variety of colors, from moss to tangerine, and are great when baby socks keep falling off. which they will.

booties come in snuggly fleecey warmness and also lighter weight cotton booties in a ton of different sassy prints.

they're especially helpful for those 0-6 month old feet who can't quite fit into robeez but still want to stay warm when you're baby bjorn-ing them about town. (and yes, bjorn-ing is now a verb. you'll see.)