Why does this matter? Well, when the baby is strapped into the safety harness, there is nothing to keep baby’s bottom on the nap nanny. Gravity, yes. But imagine a wiggly baby. Imagine a baby lifting her mid-section high in the air doing a baby back bend. Then, imagine said acrobatic baby toppling over out of the side of the Nap Nanny, still buckled in. Head down, feet up, Nap Nanny on top of baby. I know because this happened to us.

At first I thought my baby was just supremely agile and active so while I stopped using it, I didn’t think it was as dangerous as it turned out to be. See, other babies did the same thing and unfortunately one died because of it. That baby was in a crib sleeping in the Nap Nanny and you might think that the mother who did this had a screw loose but be not quick to judge! I, myself, placed the Nap Nanny in the crib before I knew of this problem. Of course I did…the baby was having sleep problems.

The baby sleeps in the crib (unfortunately I can’t use my beloved floor bed for baby #2 because of safety reasons). There is a sibling running around, so where else should baby go other than in the Nap Nanny sitting in the crib? Yes, yes, it doesn’t quite look right and my reptilian brain sensed some danger, so I stopped doing it. But I did do it. So I can see how that poor mother used the Nap Nanny in unsanctioned ways.

I will say that the makers of the Nap Nanny have since fixed the problem by attaching Velcro to the underside of the fabric in the seat, securing it. That is supposed to keep baby’s bottom sufficiently in place. I thought I had a first generation product with no velcro…because if I saw velcro putting it together, you’d think I’d use the velcro. Come to find out I HAD velcro straps but they aren’t as user friendly as you’d think.

Actually, there are plastic D-rings on the foam insert and velcro straps (small!) on the fabric. After the recall, I investigated my nap nanny further and found these. SOOO, naturally, I velcro-ed the fabric in place. I’ll tell you what happened…

My baby did the SAME THING AS BEFORE!

Those straps are crap. They don’t keep the baby firmly in the seat any more than not using the velcro straps. Now, admittedly you may discount my experience because I had the velcro straps in the first place and didn’t use them because I didn’t read the instructions fully enough to know that I was supposed to use them. But I’m a rushed, sleep deprived mama and I’m certain I’m not alone. If I could mis-use this thing, it could happen and did happen, to just about any one else.

The moral of the story is that I’m not going to replace my Nap Nanny with a new one. I’m getting rid of it. Why? Because the company – who is doing the recall voluntarily – is a cheapskate. They are offering $80 toward the purchase of a new Nap Nanny if you have an old one. $80 off a $130 product that is defective…couldn’t they do better?

If you need more information about the recall, here is the company’s information page about the recall.

I decided to sleep train the baby to solve our sleep problems. It is so difficult to sleep train an infant with sleep problems, but it’s well worth it. Now, we all are sleeping just fine. And, safe, might I add.

Oh, and I’m taking this recall as a lesson. I, personally, found the product to be defective but instead of reporting it, I simply stopped using it. What will I do next time? Speak up! There are so many stories of recalls and unsafe products out there, we really all have to drive defensively through life, don’t you think? I mean, it works for safety on the roads, why couldn’t it work off the road?

Wouldn’t you know it – the braid is back. Not in the old way (trends never come back exactly as they appeared before) but in a sexier, bed head sort of way.

Apparently you can get the look by spraying surf spray in your hair (Bumble and Bumble makes a good one) that mimics a day at the beach feel so that your hair is messier and stickier. All you do is spray from tip to end and then loosely braid. It’s the new new thing.

That and big hair. Oh so 80s!

photo credit: Kennedy Garrett

It’s kinda strange that a shop that touts being “Forever 21″ would come out with a line of maternity clothes, but they did! They call it “Love 21 Maternity” and the line features the same stylish, inexpensive clothes as their non-preggo collection.

Unfortunately for me, I learned of Love 21 Maternity about a year too late. But, now that I know, I’m letting you know, so you I can live vicariously through your shopping spree.

If you’re pregnant or about to become pregnant, you have to have to have to check this out. While they don’t have the most styles to choose from, they make up for that with their ridiculously low prices.

Forever 21′s maternity shirts – like the one up top – are stylin’. While horizontal stripes may shout out, “hey, look how wide I am,” I think they work with a baby bump. Hell, I’ve even got a few horizontal striped shirts for my post baby self, wide body be damned.

I love these boot-cut jeans for $13!!! Sure, for this price the jeans might not last long, but you don’t need them to. Believe it or not, the pregnancy does end, so why pay a lot for pants you won’t need in a few months?

Hope you find some great looking clothes for your belly!

So, I won’t be getting this Design Within Reach Teak swing for my little one any time soon. But I can let my cluttered mind loose for a second, dreaming of the cool breeze as I carelessly float back and forth in my mind.

Oh, wait, I thought the swing was for the kids…my bad.

On a recent looky-lou open house tour (it’s a favorite past time of my husband’s and mine, much to the dismay of the realtors we meed), we found our dream house. Everything was as if it was made for us – like having a sleek loft shoehorned into a regular house. Lots of clean, modern lines. Lots of windows.

And – you’ll love this – in the kids’s room, the owners cut out a portion of the dividing wall and created a super long area for the kids to play. What, pray tell, did they have where the wall once stood? A swing. That’s right. A real swing, hung from the ceiling so the lucky kids could swing back and forth, from one room to the next.

I wish we could live in that house!

Come to find out exercising doesn’t fully counter the effects (think diabetes, heart disease, etc) of time spent sitting down in front of a computer, a steering wheel, or a TV. Apparently all activity is not equal, according to a recent article in the New York Times.

You know, I hate to hear about studies like this. Being a mom of a toddler and an infant who is quickly trying to crawl, I do feel like I get tons of activity all day long. On occasion, I find time to go to the gym, but mostly I just drop at the end of a day feeling worn out. So while I may get more low-intensity activity than my husband (he uses a computer all day long), I think that he’s in better shape than I am.

Let me just back up and say “low-activity” doesn’t quite describe running after children all day!

So back to being active vs. sitting…It’s funny, this New York Times article is specific enough to make you think, but too general as to make any real assertions. Food for thought, as it were.

God what I wouldn’t give to sit down all day and then top that off with a good work out.
photo credit: mikebaird

No? Well, lemme tell ya.

It’s called Flanimals Pop-Up“>Flanimals Pop-Up and when I opened it, it scared the B-Jesus outta my 2 year old. I shouldn’t have laughed. See, Flanimals is a pop-up book and for those of you (myself included) who don’t know how jarring pop-up books can be, well, having something big and purple with fangs and beady eyes jump out of the middle of the book when you open it could be a tad scary. Maybe I should have waited a few years.

But, me being me, I couldn’t because I love Ricky Gervais’s sense of humor. With this book he doesn’t disappoint.

Flanimals are useless and pointless and have unpronounce-able names like Mernimbler (the freaky purple pop-up). Gervais is totally sarcastic and makes the most ridiculous of arguments regarding Flanimal evolution. For instance, he talks about how one Flanimal believes that a weird creature called Grob (who lives in the sky) created all living Flanimals in a day. Mental!

I highly recommend this book to all parents. Younger kids, maybe not so much…there would be a lot of explaining to do. Of course, you could always set your kid on the path to TV fame (and therapy!) by reading him the book…there is that.

Thanks to Candlewick, the publisher of Flanimals, for sending a review copy.

So, there she is boring holes into my hands with her eyes and her arm slowly moves from its usual dangling position, straight as a board, and lands on the bottle. Kinda like that claw grasper thingy some infomercial used to sell to help little old ladies reach light bulbs in the ceiling. She looked up and me as if to say, “Whoa. Did. You. See. That?”

Now she can’t get enough of grabbing things. So much so we’ve nicknamed her “Ms. Grabby Hands.”

However, put a doll in her hands and she’ll lose interest in no time. Once she’s grabbed it she doesn’t know what to do with it. It’s too much for her. Not so for my older daughter who is all about care-taking and being a good mommy to her dolls. She dresses them, puts them to bed, gives them time-outs. You know – all the mommy stuff. It’s so funny to me the developmental differences and how each girl plays with the same toys so differently.

So, I thought I’d brush up on my understanding of what toys are good for infants, toddlers, and “big girls.” Here’s what I’ve discovered:

0-12 months: Because the brain is developing neural pathways, toys that facilitate gross and fine motor skills are best. Mirrors (unbreakable, obviously), mobiles, soft stacking blocks (to knock over), instruments meant to be pounded – all things that stand up to and promote flailing, pounding, mouthing and grasping. Think about introducing all different types of textures, smells, sounds and sights. I personally like to find new textures from nature and tend toward wooden toys over plastic ones, but you get the idea.

12-24 months: Children understand a little about the laws of nature (like gravity and such). They are walking and talking, or somewhere along the continuum from immobile to mobile. For them, cause and effect is huge! Toys that test that theory are perfect. Also, they are getting control of their bodies, so toys that help refine their motor skills are really good for this age.

Toys might take the shape of real household objects like doors and drawers, seeing as opening and closing provides endless entertainment – beware of little fingers getting smushed though. Other good household type toys: small brooms and dustpans, little vacuums or telephones, too. Kids this age like to mimic what they see Mom and Dad doing (this is true for almost any age, to be honest). Pushing and pulling (toys AND people unfortunately) is fun, too, so look for toys that direct that energy toward toys and away from people.

24-36 months: Power. Control. This is the time when the child likes to feel powerful, likes to exert control over her world, so toys like dolls that can be dressed and undressed, small stuffed animals or trains with tracks are great. Stories also begin to take shape here – both listening to and telling stories. And, since a child between 2 and 3 is really getting control of his body, more complex instruments, crayons and markers (unfortunately, given the potential mess they make), and buttoning, lacing or zipping toys really fascinate.

Hope this helps. If you find yourself in need of a toy, think about where that kid is in terms of brain and body development and you’ll know just what to get. Or, more likely, you’ll know what NOT to get and then you can go from there.

photo credits: top – Guillermо, middle – César Rincón, bottom – pajp

The researchers did think that there could, in fact, be a correlation between the traits in the parents that caused infertility and the increased cancer risk in their progeny. However, the risks are still very low.

The study is pretty interesting. While I didn’t have to turn to IVF (a friend once lovingly described me as a “fertile Myrtle”), I have many friends who were blessed with kids after having trouble conceiving a la mother nature. That’s why the study caught my eye. If you didn’t see the article, here is a link to the AP story.

photo credit: maessive

I got the tips from TLC’s website when I secretly went to see what was new on “What Not To Wear.” Love that show! Anyway, I didn’t find any pearls of wisdom except how to create a good summer make-up look.

First: skin, skin, skin. Take care of your skin. Look for SPF. Moisturize and stay out of the direct sun if possible (think hats if you can’t find shade). Sounds a bit ridiculous, I know, but in the long run staying out of the sun is truly the best way to keep your skin looking young.

Interestingly, a sunny complexion looks healthy and young, despite how damaging real sun exposure is. Solution: bronzer. Apply it lightly during the day. Oh, and skip the eyeshadow and put bronzer on your lids (also lightly). It’ll look natural and offer a face-contouring shadow at your eyes.

As for mascara, go for waterproof. This is something I never think to do, but should do as I regularly have raccoon eyes.

And lips: SPF again. A little shimmer, a little color. Make them look kissable. Sheer is better during the day.

Always check your make-up in daylight!

Easy peasy.

photo credit: aussiegall

According to the article, having children is work; work that most parents don’t actually like doing for the most part. Apparently, moms – especially middle class moms – toil over their children in an effort to give them every advantage and find this effort excruciating. OK, so maybe excruciating is my word.

I soooo identified with this article. I mean, I love my two children and that should go without saying. But having children is an extremely difficult, all day, all night, endless chore existence. With splashes of nirvana mixed in.

Since I fall i to the “waited till later to have kids” camp, I especially was interested when the author talked about what older parents experience and expect. Coming from a professional background predisposes one to consider parenting in a right-way and wrong- way mentality.

That can be utterly confusing, says Alex Barzvi of NYU’s medical school, because “there are a lot of things that parents can do to nurture social and cognitive development. There are right and wrong ways to discipline a child. But you can’t fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others and constantly concluding you’re doing the wrong thing.”

Touche.

As a stay-at-home mom, I will say it’s a way harder job than anything I’ve ever done before. And better. I can’t quite put my finger on why it’s so much more exhausting, maybe because I’m pretty much all-in (or want to be or think I need to be all-in) 24/7. No real breaks. That’s the brutal part. But rewarding in ways I can’t say or I’d sound silly.

One thing I think is missing from the discussion is the impact of extended family and how helpful (or not) they can be. All parents need help and in today’s world we’re more apt to buy that help than be given that help from family. Hence, the overall feelings of isolation and being overwhelmed that I think lead to unhappiness. So there’s that.

Is the evolutionary pull toward procreating necessarily entwined with the human quest for happiness? Apparently not. Apparently we humans suck at knowing what will “actually” make us happy. Go figure.

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography

You know, those stylists who make the rooms look so usable AND adorable in the catalogs? Well, they are the teachers for the decorating classes. Pretty cool, huh? I think so. I mean, I love looking at the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs even if I would personally choose about less than a third of the things they fill a room with. The photos give me ideas – good ideas – on how I can arrange my kids’ rooms.

I think we’ll head to the one near us. How bout you? If you do go and learn anything cool, I’d be all ears!

photo credit: Pottery Barn