Ain't No Mom Jeans

Handmade Alternatives: Slings and Carriers

The list of items you need to buy for your baby is seemingly endless. As soon as I became pregnant, I was bombarded with ideas of things I must-have, will-need, or can't-live-without!! If you're like me, you can't buy anything without seriously over-analyzing the choice, and comparison shopping until the laptop battery dies. Or if you are already a mom with the knowlegde of what works best, you are always searching for the perfect version of your favorite item to give your future-mom friends.

Your local Babies'R'Us, Target or baby boutique is filled to the brim with the items on your shopping list. But...if you are the kind of woman that feels up to shopping outside the box, Etsy gives you a great opportunity to patronize small business owners, shop locally, find something original and show off an awesome handmade version of an otherwise mass produced, made in China item.

While I was on my epic search for a diaper bag, I ended up with an Etsy product that I LOVE, and my many previous experiences with Etsy sellers keep me coming back for more. Once I read the laundry list of baby items to search for, I knew I would be spending several hours (a day?) scouring Etsy's shops until everything was checked off. The results are a series of posts sharing the fruits of all my VERY hard work with you, with alternatives to popular slings and wraps kicking things off.

So if you were looking at a something like a Moby Wrap (pictured below left), sold here for $39.99 from Babies'R'Us, or a ring sling like the MayaWrap (pictured below right) from $59.58 on Amazon.com....

....then consider alternatives like these from Etsy sellers:

Found! Toddler Proof Cell Phone Cases (for iPhones, Blackberries and Others)

Raines and I visited my parents in Gulf Shores last month. The first day we spent on the beach, I made sure my cell phone was safely zippered into an inside pocket of my bag.  Upon unpacking that night, I opened up the zippered pocket to find that *someone* had carefully unzipped the pocket, filled it with sand, and then zipped it back up.

I can't imagine who.

Immediately after, the main button on my iPhone became very hard to push.  You could practically hear the grains of sand scraping against the underside of the button.  So upon our return, I took my iPhone to the Mac store.  I simply wanted them to open it up, blow out the sand, then return it in one piece. HA!

10% Strider PREbike Coupon Code Benefits WeeCycle

WeeCycle.  Weduce.  Weuse.  No, this post isn’t about the new trend in green baby babble.  I’m talking about WeeCycle, our hands-down fav chartiy, founded by two of Ain’t No Mom Jeans’ bffs  (they freaked when they found out Colorado has one of the fastest-growing rates of childhood poverty in the nation).  WeeCycle’s mission is to distribute new and gently used baby gear--bouncers, swings, car seats, cribs, highchairs, the things that really add up--to families in need, and now when you use the WeeCycle Strider PREbike coupon code, Strider Sports will donate 10% of your purchase price back to WeeCycle and give you free ground shipping to boot.

Toddler Gift Guide – Christmas & Holiday 2009

What to get the toddler who has everything?  Ideally something that inspires her budding sense of independence, captures the imagination, and challenges him to learn new skills, all while having fun. Here are our top-five picks for the season:

1.) Run/Balance Bike ($69.99 +)
What toddler wouldn’t squeal with delight at the sight of a shiny new bike under the tree?  I take intentional detours through Target specifically to avoid the bicycle section, but when we do stop to look at the shiny yumminess, it’s obvious that bicycle riding is a long way off for my little guy as even the tiniest bikes tower over (and threaten to topple on) him.  Not so with a run bike, the hottest new development in kids’ cycling.  Unlike tricycles and training wheels, run bikes teach the most critical component of bicycle riding first: balance, only without those pesky pedals that are always gumming things up.  Check out runbikes.com for both wooden and metal balance bikes, including LikeaBike ($192.00+), KaZAM ($99.00), Strider ($95.00) and Kettler ($110.00).

 

2.) Dress Up Box ($9.99 +)
Watching as the apple of your eye develops a sense of humor, self and imagination is an experience like no other, so foster your kiddo’s penchant for imaginary play with a dress up box.  There are a number of pre-fab dress up kit options out there that run around $100.00 - $150.00, but most tend towards professions or princesses, and, I feel, are too rigid and generic to be fun.  Check out this post on Martha Stewart for ideas on how to stock your dress up box with items you most likely have around your house or can pick up at Goodwill, throw in some fun career hats available from Amazon ($32.99) and a bunch of Waldorf-inspired play silks, fairy wings and soft swords ($9.99+) from Three Sisters Toys and you’re all set.

 

3.) The Learning Tower ($190.00)
I love love love the Learning Tower ($190.00) for kitchen and creative play.  This is truly one of the best tools for helping your child become independent and do it, whatever that is, for himself.  Not only can your little guy or gal safely help out whilst you whip up and burn a batch of cookies, s/he can also use The Learning Tower as an easel with the attachable, reversible dry erase/chalk board ($69.99), as a playhouse with the company’s playhouse kit ($34.99), or, again go Waldorf and throw a night sky silk scape or similar ($34.95) in the mix to make it even more fun.

4.) Sticky Fingers Kids Cooking Kits ($27.00 - $52.00)
Kiddos love to do things themselves, and nowhere is that more true than in the kitchen.  Case-in-point:  my picky eater will gobble virtually anything he’s had a hand in making and while it’s a tad freaky to watch him teeter atop our kitchen step ladder, the cold sweat is worth it when he chirps “Aye didit!” and then noshes happily on whatever we’ve made.  With the focus on getting kids to eat more wholesome foods in school and out, the more our babes are in the kitchen the better.  But how to scramble, stir and slice with the giant-like utensils found in the common household kitchen?   Enter Sticky Fingers kids cooking sets.  These high-quality utensils actually work, unlike play sets, so your honey bunch can get elbow-deep in the flour without frustration.

5.)  Hohner 1/2 Size Classical Guitar ($49.00)
I don't know a single child who isn’t fascinated by musical instruments of all shapes and sizes.  I’m not a musician and don’t have a strong interest in trying to make my boy a prodigy, but his all-out obsession ("Taaaar.  Tar tar tar.") with our otherwise un-played full size guitar made me think—why are we always pushing drums and not other instruments on babes when they can play them just as easily?  Save your sanity.  Skip the drum kit and get your dumpling an actual, tune-able guitar he can hold and strum, but save yourself some trouble: resist the temptation to go with the cheapest option.  Every kids’ guitar I’ve seen in stores like Target and Toy R Us is junk.  Junk junk junk (you can see where my boy wonder gets his emphatics from, no?).  If they’re 1/2 size, which is appropriate for small kids, they’re toy guitars that can’t even be tuned, or if they’re somewhat decent, they’re 3/4 size, which is more appropriate for the 6-and-up-set.  Whether or not your musical monkey ever takes a single lesson, this guitar will prove to be a toy with staying power because it's not actually a toy, so check out the Hohner 1/2 size classical guitar at Active Musician, which has nylon strings that are easy for little hands to strum, but skip the pick if you have wee ones under three about the house.

Happy holiday shopping, Mamas!

- M

Airplane Travel Made Easy - Ditch the Carseat for a CARES Harness

bump.  "Excuse me! Oops - so sorry! Oh my gosh - Raines, no kick!  So sorry about that!"

bump bump.  "Excuse me! Oops - so sorry! Yes, it IS hard to fit through."

bump.  "Was that your toe?  I'm so sorry!"

bump bump bump. "Oh!  I'm sorry.  Oops! Yes, I do have a laptop in this bag."

bump.  SIGH. 

Raines was in the Ergo, my diaper bag weighed about 50 lbs (it was stuffed full of dipaers, wipes, clothes, a laptop and various toys/dvds/non-messy art supplies), and I was attempting to wheel the car seat to the very BACK of the airplane, where the stewardess had so very helpfully assigned us two seats.  THANK YOU, UNITED.  And it turns out that while our car seat DOES indeed fit down the aisle of the plane, it only fits by INCHES.  THANK YOU BRITAX.  Or maybe, THANK YOU BOEING.  Not really sure who to blame for this one.  But one thing was clear:  never again would I bring a car seat on-board an airplane.

 Once at our destination, I ordered a CARES harness (pictured at left) and used it on the return trip home, as well as all on all of our subsequent trips.  Instead of wrestling the ridiculously heavy car seat down the aisle, the CARES harness weighs roughly 1 lb, and fits into a 6" stuff sack.  It's completely easy to install on the plane and Raines has spent many a flight snoozing in his harness. 

The only two downsides are that the harness isn't as comfy as his car seat, so we've tried to induce him to sleep by flying during naptimes or at 6AM.  Also, CARES is only for kiddos who are over a year old.  

This product is officially approved by the FAA as a car seat replacement on an airplane. It retails for $75.

So now, travel is easy.  I check the car seat with my luggage (virtually all airlines check it for free), throw the little man in the Ergo, and off we go!  Now the only thing I end up apologizing for is my singing.

ps.  To the dude in 16C on Frontier Flight 652 last week, I am especially sorry for the many, many, MANY renditions of the hokey-pokey you had to endure.  But trust me - it was still better than the alternative.

xo,

S

How to Score Cool Mom and Baby Gear on Ebay

I am, admittedly, an Ebay junkie.  While waiting for the birth of my son, I spent many hours on Ebay, trying to score some cool baby stuff.  I'd blame it on nesting, but my Ebay habit started long before my pregnancy.  At first, many of my purchases bombed.  There was the $50 plane ticket (to anywhere!!) that turned out to be a hoax.  (How did I not know that???).  And there was a host of ill-fitting dresses, uncomfortable shoes, and a purse that I just didn't need.  Or love.  I just got caught up in the bidding war.  BUT....over the years, I've learned a few things, gotten a little smarter, and managed to use Ebay to score some really great things for the babe.  My piece de resistance?  My super-cool, denim Bugaboo Frog stroller for $350, or maybe the 25 piece lot of Splendid baby clothes for $70.  Here's what I've learned: