no throw: bottle holder for babies on the go

www.nothrow.com

.....and we're back! after our self-imposed blogging vacation, little dictators is back online just in time to save you from having to pick up that sippy cup your adorable child just threw on the ground for the 115th time.

the no throw is a thick velcro strap with one end that securely fits around your child's sippy cup or bottle. the other end has a leash-style handle, allowing itself to be looped around your tot's stroller, high chair, car seat or whatever stationary seating arrangement they have decided upon for 5 minutes.

the no throw's double ended sturdy design will keep your child's cup of choice at arm's length, no matter how hard they try to fling it across the room. and believe me, they'll try.

i'll admit: i got this as a baby shower present from my friend maire, who assured me that it would come in handy. i was doubtful. and i was wrong. it's a lifesaver.

the no throw is available in most walgreens stores, as well as online at amazon and many other locations. it's an inexpensive way to save your sanity. after all, the cost of one no throw strap is significantly less than it would cost to go to therapy after muttering "no... i won't pick up the bottle! don't throw your bottle again!" in your sleep for weeks.

p.s. a mom friend of mine pointed out that the no throw can double as a stroller leash. a great solution, since i live in hilly san francisco and have nightmares about runaway strollers. simply loop one end of the no throw to the stroller handlebar, the other around your wrist and you're good to go!

kids organic: healthier ideas for frozen meals

www.kidsorganic.com

it's the end of a long day. you've built block buildings and knocked them over. you've pushed toy cars all over the house. you've been to the park - twice. you've sung "the wheels on the bus" no less than 700 times.

now all you have to do is make it through dinner and you're home free! what to do when you're exhausted but you still want to feed your child a healthy, well-balanced, organic meal?

shopping at whole foods the other week i stumbled upon kids organic frozen meals. kids organic meals are healthy, well-rounded meals for your tiny tot that provide all the nutrition your children need - with none of the work.

made from locally produced ingredients and served in go-green packaging, kids organic helps ensure that even tired mommies can give their children what they want. each meal is made of all natural and organic ingredients - no translation needed when reading the ingredient list. they're even nutritionally balanced according to the fda's latest food pyramid.

meals are chock full of fiber, minimally processed and come in a variety of kid-friendly options, including macaroni & cheese and baked chicken stars. each entree is accompanied by a fresh vegetable medley and a "dessert" of organic fruit, brown sugar and oatmeal.

kids organic frozen meals microwave in a mere 3 minutes using their revolutionary steam cooking process. let cool for two minutes and voilà! from freezer to table in five minutes flat.

not only are they easy, they're tasty, too. the baked chicken stars got my son to eat chicken - for the first time ever. if that's not an endorsement, i don't know what is. their environmentally-friendly minimal packaging is a huge plus as well. kids organic meals are also healthy enough so that you don't have to feel guilty when snacking on your child's leftovers. not that you would do that, of course.

boobie tuesday! kellymom.com - breastfeeding and parenting support

www.kellymom.com

did you know they have breastfeeding classes? until i was pregnant, neither did i. but at 8 months pregnant, i dragged my husband to day one and made him sit in on a breastfeeding class with me. think it's intuitive? i've got news for you: it's not.

when i had questions and couldn't get a hold of the ten million people i called (lactation consultant, obgyn, my son's pedatrician, new mom friends, anyone with a pulse) i would resolve myself to looking up information online. and that's when i found kellymom.com.

kellymom was founded by kelly bonyata, an international board certified lactation consultant and member of the international lactation consultant association. she has been helping mothers and babies breastfeed for over ten years and keeps up-to-date with the latest research and studies so that you have as much information as possible.

website sections cover basics from getting started to common breastfeeding concerns to nursing a preemie to supply and let-down issues. kellymom also touches on everyone's favorite "is this safe when breastfeeding?" so that you can figure out everything from caffeine to alcohol to (finally) dyeing your hair.

there's even additional information on mom & baby nutrition, parenting, postpartum depression, starting solids, fussy babies and finding local breastfeeding support.

kellymom.com is a "must" for new moms who now have help only a click away. there's a reason they've been around for ten years! tell a friend - kellymom will become your new favorite site. make that second favorite.

boobie tuesday! the first years milk storage organizer

www.babiesrus.com

ah, the many joys of breastfeeding: the super-sexy nursing bras, the many easy-access shirts you'll be wearing for the first year or so, the giant boobs. while all these things may sound great to your husband, they sound less awesome to new moms. (sorry, guys - but you'll just have to take my word for it.)

oh, and did i forget to mention your new best friend, the breast pump? you'll be seeing this handsome fellow on a daily basis. if you play your cards right, maybe even multiple times a day. and now you're the lucky lady with a freezerful of milk.

i made the clever but not fascinating discovery that if i put each bag down flat on a box of eggo waffles, they would freeze flat enough to take up less space and be able to stack one on top of the other. and when things started to get out of control, i commandeered the ice cube storage tray to keep track of my supply.

wandering around babies r us, however, i discovered a much better idea. the first years milk storage organizer is specifically designed for this very purpose. made for your freezer, the organizer keeps milk upright in a spring-loaded drawer. all you have to do is put bags in the back of the drawer for an easy first-in/first out. no more guessing which is the newest or rooting around among the lean cuisines to find the freshest milk for your baby!

the first years milk storage organizer comes with a cover to keep milk separate from other frostbitten, foil-wrapped items and is also dishwasher safe. don't like their freezer bags? the organizer works with most brands of milk storage bags (we like lansinoh).

disclaimer: although we have personally tested 99% of the items we post, this is something we haven't owned... but wish we had. any feedback from owners would be great! good luck and happy storage.

puppy pacifier clips by north american bear co.

www.hunkydoryonline.com

ah, pacifiers. a mother's best friend and worst enemy. when cole was a colicky baby, i remember pulling his pediatrician aside and asking in a whispered panic, "how soon can we give him the pacifier?"

then, of course, after a few months of that, i started thinking, "crap - now i'm going to have a 5 year old with a pacifier." for the record, we went off it cold turkey at 6 months and never looked back. but while we had it, man, was it a lifesaver.

the worst part about the necessary evil of the "paci" was how often it would end up thrown on the floor, in the dirt, at the dog or in a mud puddle - you name it. which would leave me or my husband scrambling to find a clean one buried at the bottom of the diaper bag. better yet, i'd be driving in the car on a long journey only to have my son spit out the paci into the depths of the car seat. now how am i supposed to find it with one hand while stopped at a stop sign?

north american bear company, maker of many snuggly soft toys for wee ones, brings us these great puppy pacifier clips. they have brought their popular ollie dachshund (obviously a favorite in our home) and turned him into baby's best friend. in four adorable styles - golden lab, grey schnauzer, brown & white terrier and, of course, ollie dachshund - north american bear company will make sure that your pacifier's not going anywhere.

each baby-safe plush pooch has a sturdy clip on the side to attach securely to baby's clothes while the other end of the gingham check ribbon loops around the pacifier with a strong velcro closure. the puppy is soft and lightweight enough to not bother baby and even gives him a friend to hang out with... or munch on. besides, why settle for an ugly plastic pacifier clip when you can have a loyal and trusted friend guard it for you?

the petit appetit cookbook - organic recipes for little ones

www.petitappetit.com
www.amazon.com: The Petit Appetit Cookbook: Easy, Organic Recipes to Nurture Your Baby and Toddler

when i was younger and visiting family in savannah for the summer, my parents would send my cousin and me to the local day camp to keep us busy. we'd flop around in the pool and beat the crap out of each other in dodgeball and then, come afternoon, it was snack time.

i remember clearly that first day - we were presented red, ripe, juicy slices of watermelon at snack time. "sweet!" i remember thinking. "watermelon is AWESOME! this camp rules."

day two: snack time again. and what did we get? watermelon... again! could i be any luckier?

day three: snack time once more. "guess what we're getting?" smiled my counselors with the utmost sincerity, "watermelon! hooray!"

wait a minute. this was not what i signed up for.

and neither did my son. however, like my poor misguided camp counselors, i find myself feeding him the same things every single day. bananas are easy! you love bananas! waffle? yes, please! how about for every meal? it's time to change up my repertoire.

from my trusted mommy friend nicole comes the petit appetit cookbook. mother of 3 1/2 year old brayden, she has had her experience with picky eaters and knows of what she speaks. so i'll let her tell you:

"the petit appetit cookbook is by far the best organic cookbook for kids that i have ever found, intended for children four months and up. i didn't discover it until brayden was about a year old, and it was just about the time we were both getting bored with the same old purees and finger foods.

we have tried most of the recipes in the last couple of years and have found them simple, flavorful, wholesome and interesting enough for parents, too. the book lists all nutritional information on the sidebar of each page, along with reference icons for no-sugar added, vegan, wheat-free, gluten-free and vegetarian recipes. some of brayden's favorites include "heart-y yogurt pancakes," "mom's meatloaf with red pepper puree," "baby ginger carrots," and "baked chicken bites." (all healthier versions of foods we normally eat - although actually this is one of the few meatloaf recipes i will tolerate! the author also calls refers to the meatloaf recipe as "beef cakes" since meatloaf has such an old-fashioned and slightly gross connotation).

we made the "celebration cupcakes" for brayden's first birthday (a recipe adapted from the children wtih diabetes website that uses half the sugar of most other cupcake recipes), and we still make the "mini apple banana bran muffins" regularly. the recipes are divided up by age-appropriateness and the book also includes multiple appendixes in the back for handy notes, like a food introduction record and toddler food diary.

there are no pictures or frills in this book, but in my opinion its attractive cover and clean layout make it a nice gift for new parents. "

so there you have it! go pick up your copy of the petit appetit cookbook today.

*thanks to niki for the suggestion and write up!

bebe au lait, a.k.a. hooter hiders

www.bebeaulait.com

bebe au lait nursing covers, née "hooter hiders" are a breastfeeding mom's best friend. apparently the sassy original name was met with less-than-enthusiastic customer response, so now it's same product, new marketing. (i'll admit, my mom thought the term "hooter hiders" was gross, but my mom is a genteel southern lady. most of the time.)

this is a great present for your new mom friend who's convinced (like i was) that she's never, ever going to breastfeed in public. i carried this thing around in my diaper bag for weeks without using it, pretending that i'm also a genteel southern lady who would never do such a thing. then i remembered two things: 1) i was raised in northern california and 2) i have no shame.

even if you may secretly love your gigantic new-mom boobs, you probably don't want to share them with the public at large. bebe au lait nursing covers are generously sized aprons that are not only big enough to cover up baby, but will ensure that you won't be flashing your neighbors during brunch at the world's smallest topless revue.

the neck straps are secure and adjustable, there's a small discreet terrycloth pocket for clean-ups and the rigid neckline allows you and only you to see what baby's up to. having the top bow out for eye contact with baby in addition to being machine washable are two of bebe au lait's greatest qualities. they even have a new "simple" line made of organic linen and cotton. no wonder they've won so many awards!

bebe au lait's nursing apron is the easiest way to discreetly breastfeed while you're out and about, and for some reason, dads really push the public breastfeeding. so if your husband won't shut up about how it's "not a big deal," use one of these and discover it really isn't. just don't tell him i told you so.

crocodile creek lunch boxes

www.crocodilecreek.com

as the long weekend continues, you're probably taking your little one to all sorts of exciting places. or at least maybe out to eat once. (come on..... your spouse is home. live dangerously! leave the house!)

if, like me, you've been using the medela bottle storage bag to cart your child's lunch around, then, like me, you're also finding it woefully inadequate. it was all well and good before my son was eating "real" food and i just needed to throw a bottle or two in there, but now i definitely need something bigger. and cuter.

crocodile creek, maker of many cute things for your children, includes these great little lunch boxes among their fabulous products. the lunch boxes are the perfect size for fitting a sippy cup, a bib, a few spoons, a package of wet wipes, some cheerios and/or puffs and two small jars of baby food, at least in my experience. there's an outside pocket to stash either dirty spoons, a packet of crackers or other mystery items in and a sturdy handle to carry everything around.

crocodile creek lunch boxes come in tons of great patterns, from dinosaurs for your little dinosaur to beautiful butterflies for your little princess. the lunch boxes are phthalate and PVC free and have lead-free linings in addition to conforming to FDA and us/european safety standards. what more could you ask for? you got it! the whole thing can be hand washed with mild soap and a soft cloth. (sorry, they are amazing, but they don't wash themselves.

boobie tuesday! BornFree bottles

www.newbornfree.com

if you've heard about the dangers of certain plastics for your baby but the thought of using glass bottles makes you feel like a 1950s housewife, then let me introduce you to BornFree.

BornFree makes bottles, cups and accessories for your little one that are free of Bisphenol-A (BPA), Phthalates and PVC - all the things that the news tells you to be worried about. they were one of the first companies to do so.

not only are BornFree's products BPA-free, they also have a new innovative air vent that helps prevent ear infections and (supposedly) eliminate colic symptoms - although i have to be honest with you, having had a colicky baby, i don't think a bottle is going to be your cure. (try some valium instead. i kid! i kid! please don't write me angry letters.)

BornFree makes bottles, training cups and drinking cups so that your little one can be safe and BPA-free well past their first birthday. still not good enough for you? how about this: BornFree is giving away a year's supply of BornFree bottles to babies born on father's day - june 15, 2008! the offer is limited to the first 1000 entrants, so hurry up and get your free bottles, you lucky babies!

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!

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.

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.

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!

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! lansinoh breastmilk storage bags

www.lansinoh.com

what's in your freezer? ice cubes? vodka? lean cuisine mac n'cheese? how about breastmilk?

odds are these days it's the latter, with a high possibility of the second-to-latter. (i'll say a 50/50 chance for the ice cubes and 3% chance for the vodka, unless it's been in there for 1+ years.)

if you got the medela pump-in-style like me (which i recommend), you probably also gravitated towards the medela milk storage bags..... at first. but after a few tries, i discovered that the bag shape was weird and they didn't work for me the way i wanted them to. i got a sample of lansinoh's breastmilk storage bags for free when i bought their nursing pads, so i figured what the hell, i'd try them out.

the lansinoh storage bags are far superior to other brands. they're 100% Bisphenol-A (BPA) free, have a double zipper enclosure (think sturdy ziploc bags), they have an easy write-on tab for the date. they can be laid flat in your freezer for optimal storage and subsequent thawing.

in fact, we like lansinoh's breastmilk storage bags so much that we're awarding them with our little dictators seal of approval - something we reserve for products we feel stand out in their field. woo hoo!

lansinoh bags can be found at target, among other places, so store away!

ziploc zip'n steam bags

www.ziploc.com/steamerbags

so you, too, have ventured into the world of making your own baby food. time to spend all your money at whole foods on organic produce, bring said produce home to rinse, steam, chop and puree and then serve to your little dictator.

rather than dragging every last pan out of the cupboard to cook and subsequently clean, try using ziploc zip'n steam bags instead.

ziploc zip'n steam bags are easy to use with no cleanup whatsoever. simply chop the veggies, fruit, or other baby-friendly produce, toss them in the bag and then throw the bag in the microwave for a few minutes. voilà!

when you're done, no pots or pans to scrub, just throw away they empty bag and you're done! now you have at least one thing that will make your life as a parent easier.

baby cubes

www.babycubes.com

yes! my kitchen is a disaster, pureed peaches are flying everywhere, my husband is sneakily eating the organic plums i'm trying to save for my child but i am making my own baby food. woot! now..... where does it go?

baby cubes are the best. they're individual plastic cubes with lids attached, perfect for homemade baby food. they come with their own little tray to pop in the freezer and can hold up to 70ml of food.

baby cubes are dishwasher, freezer and microwave safe, so no more transferring food from the ice cube tray to a separate microwave safe bowl and back into another plastic baby-proof bowl. best of all, they're the perfect portion size, so you can carry them around wherever you need to go!

oh, and did i mention that they're free of phthalates or bisphenol a (bpa)? just one more reason to love baby cubes.

skip hop bottle dryer

www.skiphop.com

it's hard pretending you're still a hipster when you have baby bottles, nipples and sippy cups drying all over your kitchen counter.

at least with the skip hop drying rack, you can look slightly cooler than you might otherwise.

the skip hop drying rack has a modern design and comes with a bottle brush that actually works, meaning room for lots of bottles that are shiny and clean.

because you and i know that you're not just a mom, you're a decorating master. and it's nice to know that you're enhancing the look of your kitchen when you're not washing those millions and millions and millions of baby bottles.

munchkin stay-put suction bowls

www.munchkin.com

if you're starting solids, like me, you know it can be a fun but very, very, very messy experience. and if your son, like mine, managed to pick up his bowl of cereal, spill it all over the place and bop himself in the head all in one fell swoop, you'll appreciate these bowls.

munchkin's stay-put suction bowl will literally stick to the tray of your high chair, theoretically protecting you and your little one from flying sweet potatoes. they also come with handy-dandy lids to store any remaining treats from lunch. believe me, there's no guarantee that you'll emerge unscathed, but these will help you come close.

earth's best organic baby food

www.earthsbest.com

when we starting feeding cole "real" food, i was so excited! i was also an idiot. when his doctor told me that he should start with rice cereal, i actually asked her if she meant "...like rice crispies?" (leave me alone. i've never done this before.)

then, of course, i decided that i was going to make my own baby food! all the time! i would practically grow the vegetables myself! it would be great! yeah, that wasn't going to happen. don't get me wrong - i'm perfectly capable of mashing a banana up with a fork, but half the time i don't prepare things on time or don't have anything in the house other than a mostly-eaten box of fig newtons.

enter earth's best. they make organic baby food that's affordable and easy. their rice cereal is whole grain, so even if your dinner consists of two spoonfuls of frosting and some leftover chinese food (um, hypothetically speaking, of course), your baby can have healthy delicious meals.

jarred baby food is organic as well, and categorized into three stages for different textures and food combinations suitable for babies of every age. earth's best can be found almost everywhere, from whole foods to safeway, so you have no excuse not to stock up. now, where's that frosting...