Baby Gear

I love simple, fun board books as much as my children do. I love the sturdiness of board books for toddlers too!
This is why I find the Hippo board books by Jane Yolen so Great. Each book: One Hippo Hops, Sad, Mad and Glad hippos and Hip Hippos are written with playful rhymes. They teach about the world of numbers, colors and feelings.
The illustrations are beautiful and the simplicity of the story. Each edition has been designed to appeal to the imagination of infants and toddlers.
geared for children ages 0-4 years old these make great gifts. Check all of these great books out on amazon.

children’s books, books for kids, reading to kids, building a library for children, board books, toddler books

Ok, you have the baby, the clothes, the diapers and the gear. Now what? What do you do with the baby day after day? Stay at home mothers know what I am talking about. The monotony and “groundhog day” type of life can really get to you. It did to me, especially because I didn’t live near any of my friends or family.

This new book from Gymboree (you know the kiddie play place people) will really help you out. Play & Learn 1001 fun activities for your baby and child is a new book with a ton of great ideas, fun activities and a terrific resource for all parents. With age appropriate ideas for children and parents like watch fish in a fish tank for 0+ months to make your own lotto for 5+ year olds it is filled with fun things to do.
These activities are not just to fill your day, it builds skills and fosters a desire to learn. This book isn’t out yet, but you can pre-order yours today for $16.47!

SAHM, babies, kids, infants, rainy day activities, Gymboree, Gymboree Play & Learn book, activity books for kids, keeping kids active

There are not many things I needed this pregnancy. I saved all the twin’s old things and gear and besides a few things that couldn’t be saved, I have most everything I need. One thing I didn’t have last pregnancy and I wish I did, was a pregnancy planner. I had so many doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds and testing plus I was working full time, it would have come in very handy. I got one now though, and I couldn’t love it more.

The nice people at Braelynbountybug.com sent me one of their terrific pregnancy planners for my pregnancy. The prego planner is loaded with great tools and is organizing heaven for a person like me. It has a twelve month undated calendar, space for all of your doctor’s business cards, space for notes you need to make for yourself, and space for all of the information you need for forty weeks of pregnancy.
I especially love the sections, they have sections for all of your OB/Midwife information, pediatrician, labor and delivery including a space for notes from your birthing class. They also have a handy checklist of everything you need for your little one’s arrival, and even a space for you to write down what gifts you received and from whom. It even has a pocket in the back which I love for all of my lab forms that I have to carry around until my appointments!

The planner comes in three different styles and is only $38.00. I can’t think of any way I could improve this product! You may want to also check out their tot tags. I think this is an amazing resource for all expecting moms and I will be using it even for the first few moments of the baby’s life with pediatrician appointments, checkups etc. I will suggest this for all newly pregnant moms.

pregnancy, pregnancy planner, prego planner, infants, new moms, new mom gifts, expecting moms, expectant moms, planners, planners for moms

What do babies love? Babies love to put things in their mouth, to look at themselves or other babies and to explore. That makes anything that can fit into their mouth or has pictures on it a great gift for any baby or toddler. Actually my kids are four and a half and they love to look at themselves as many times as they can a day.

That is why these custom books from mycustomstory.com makes a great gift. My Custom Story creates custom photo board books with photos of your child on every page. There are eleven story lines to choose from or customize your own.
Because we moved an hour away from all of my family and friends when I had the babies, we wanted to make sure they still recognized their family, so I bought one of these photo albums, filled it with pictures of family members and they loved them and still look at it. My Custom Story books are even better because they are board books that kids love.

They have fourteen storylines like adoption story, Christmas story, counting story, favorite things story and goodnight story. What a great way to announce your pregnancy to family, with announce pregnancy story! Don’t like any of the custom stories, then create your own book.
They are so easy to make too. Just pick out which book you would like, pay for it via the online checkout. Then email or mail the pictures you want to use. They will send you a proof and you will have the chance to make changes to the photos, text, font, colors, etc. After you approve the proof you will receive the book in about one week.

What a great gift for your baby or for your family!

baby books, board books, custom board books, custom books, custom photo albums, baby gifts, baby announcements, my custom story

There are so many great children’s books out there now. We love getting some new ones to read before bedtime. Of course as an adult, you always have your favorites, maybe it is classics, favorites from your childhood or ones your children could hear over and over.
My children and I love all of Eric Carle’s books. I read all of them to my kids every week and I couldn’t believe it when I found stuffed animals from Kids Preferred in some of our favorite characters.

This Polar bear is so cute and from his book “Polar Bear, Polar Bear what do you see?’. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is my most favorite of all Eric Carle’s books and they make the stuffed animal just as cute as the illustrations in the book.
They also make Cuddly Brown Bear in mother and baby versions from “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You Hear?” , the elephant from “Do you want to be my friend?”, the ladybug from “the Grouchy Ladybug”.

Some of the toys are very children and infant safe with fabric eyes and no removable parts. They each are $16.64.
They also have many other toys that children of all ages would love. They make everything from puzzles, soft books, sound blocks and stacking blocks.

These are all perfect gifts along with the books (to encourage the love of reading even in the smallest children!) for children for all ages and new babies.

We always read to our children, I believe a love of reading starts young. My kids have a ton of books and love to look at the books by themselves as well as read them with us. Their favorite books are some of my favorites too, by Eric Carle.

If you are looking for a gift for a new baby or for a baby shower, I suggest getting the baby some books and Eric Carle’s Very Little Library is a great start to any baby’s collection. It comes with The Very Hungry Catepillar, The Very Lonely Firefly and The Very Busy Spider. Three great books that my kids still love.

What are your favorite child book’s? Remember, commenting on this site or any 451 press site during the month of August could win you $300.00!

books, children’s books, Eric Carle, baby gifts, baby shower

So what did you get baby for Valentine’s Day? How about a good book?

Baby made a valentine for Mommy. Where could it be? Is it behind the lamp? No, those are pretty, sparkly flowers! It’s a shiny, glittering delight as you lift the sturdy flaps to help Baby find her very special valentine. This is the description from the book, Where is Baby’s Valentine. It is an adorable introduction for baby to the world of Valentines.

Another option is My Fuzzy Valentine. It’s Valentine’s Day and Elmo’s received an anonymous valentine. Who could have sent it? He checks with all of his friends and finds the answer right back where he started looking—at home! Kids will love touching the fuzzy flocking on every spread!

Or perhaps you can break out that old favorite (at least in my house), Guess How Much I Love You. In this book a young rabbit named Little Nutbrown Hare thinks he’s found a way to measure the boundaries of love. In a heartwarming twist on the “I-can-do-anything-you-can-do-better” theme, Little Nutbrown Hare goes through a series of declarations regarding the breadth of his love for Big Nutbrown Hare. But even when his feelings stretch as long as his arms, or as high as his hops, Little Nutbrown Hare is fondly one-upped by the elder rabbit’s more expansive love. Children and parents will love snuggling up for this one.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and baby!

Baby, Valentine’s Day, Books

I recently found a wonderful book entitled “Nature Babies - Natural Knits and Organic Crafts for Moms, Babies, and a Better World“. This book was wonderful and such a rare treat! Any mom that loves to craft and will love it.

Basically it introduces and gives instructions for numerous fiber arts and crafts projects. All of the projects incorporate natural or and/or organic materials such as wool, organic sherpa fleece, organic cotton, etc. Some of the projects included in this book include a hemp stroller tote, nursing shawls, baby hats, clothing, robes, and sweaters, hot water bottle covers, wool play toys, organic baby dolls, baby mobiles, and so much more. It has complete instructions, templates, a techniques guide, and a listing of places to get all of the materials you will need. The BEST part about this book was the full page color pictures of the crafts and some pretty adorable child models. It made me want to start crafting the second I put the book down!

This book would be an excellent holiday gift or even the basis for you to make handmade holdiay gifts for the moms and babies in your life.

Nature Babies: Natural Knits and Organic Crafts for Moms, Babies, and a Better World offers a wonderful, holistic approach to caring for our babies, ourselves, and our planet. Author Tara Jon Manning has created the ultimate guide to treating babies and mommies to the joys of nature and the pleasure of crafting. Explore how to combine handcraft and gift making with the philosophy of “living lightly.” Practice the adage “reduce, reuse, recycle” while creating handcrafted, one-of-a-kind treasures. The inspired designs are supplemented by information about holistic approaches to raising baby and the stewardship of your baby’s world.

Natural Babies, Crafts, Organic, Knitting