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| Not quite sure what my face is doing!?!? |
If you’re tired of buying the same old, same old for every baby shower and wonder what a cool but useful gift might be, here are some great ideas. I would love any and all of these!
1. Wee Gallery – Art Cards for Baby
Wee Gallery animals are made of high-contrast repeating patterns to stimulate visual development in infants.
The animals on these cards are designed to interest a baby differently at different stages. At birth he or she is fascinated by the details of the design and as he or she grows older he can point out the animal by name.
I fell in love with the swirly designs and can’t wait to get some for E!
I found out about Jellycat stuffed animals from my friend Kamrin whose daughter Keltin fell in love with one of the lions when she was teeny tiny.
Everett just got his first Jellycat (see below) and we call him Lyle the Crocodile. They are all SUPER SOFT and the company deems them the world’s “most sophisticated soft toys”. I just might agree. They are not only the softest around, but they offer the coolest types of animals; aardvarks, ostriches, and even flamingoes.
Waterproof nametag stickers are a must when you have a baby; especially when your itty bitty starts daycare! Obviously, if you don’t know the baby’s name before they are born this wouldn’t be a great shower gift, but this would be a great “Welcome to the World” gift for any new mom.
They are perfect for bottles and sippy cups and the round ones can even fit on a pacifier. Genius!
Everett’s came just the other day and we love them! We ordered ours from this Etsy shop and love the polka dots!
4. Citrus Lane
Give a gift that keeps on giving! Citrus Lane is a company that offers monthly gift boxes to little ones tailored to your baby’s age and stage. You can give one box, get a 3 month or 6 month gift “subscription”.
Every product that is included in each gift box has been recommended and reviewed by the Citrus Lane advisory board and community. No marketing gimmicks, no paid placements -- just real recommendations from real parents for products that solve real problems.
5. Personalized Board Book
With a lot of our family living so far away (Wisconsin) I fell in love with the idea of making a personalized board book for Everett to recognize family faces that weren’t nearby. When I started researching this possibility I found two different companies that seemed pretty worthwhile.
I haven’t started my own yet, but love the fact that My Custom Story offers gift certificates. Perfect for a mom-to-be to save for later!
So, after hearing the hilarious story from my friend Kamrin about their first trip to the pediatrician after her now 4 year old was born I had to post this. She recounts that they didn’t even take a diaper bag to the doctor’s office and had to ask for a diaper when they got there. I can imagine how that could happen with all of the craziness the first few days entail!
Our first trip to the pediatrician was when Everett was 4 days old. I was just proud that we got there on time with a diaper bag – too bad it didn’t have anything we really needed (except diapers) and I didn’t know where I had put anything inside of it. As E was peeing all over the examining table I was frantically looking in every pocket, pulling everything out to try to find whatever it was I was looking for. That’s when I knew that I had to get a better system ASAP.
I came home immediately and Googled “What’s in a diaper bag” and went from there. Since then, I have had great success with our trips out and about and am loving my diaper bag with only a one exception.
Pros:
Cons:
Here’s a look at my diaper bag:
Front pocket:
This is where I keep an extra change of clothes (onesie, pants, socks) as well as snacks for me. So far I haven’t needed more than one change of clothes, but I could fit a couple more in there, which I’m sure will happen soon!
Inside the bag:
Center space:
In the middle of the large center compartment I have my changing pad and wipes case (both from Etsy).
I would definitely recommend a portable changing pad. You never know where you’re going to have to change a diaper!
Small pocket #1:
DIAPERS! I read somewhere that you should have 1 diaper for every hour you will be away from home. I have 5 in there now just in case. I don’t ever want to be without them!
Small pocket #2:
This pocket contains quite a few items, some of which I have used, others I haven’t…yet.
Large Pocket:
The large pocket in the center compartment takes up one whole side of my diaper bag. I keep an extra bib, burp cloth (made by my Nana 
Side pocket:
This side pocket has come in very handy. It is insulated and great for breast milk in bottles or bottles with water ready to be mixed with formula. I always have one ready and waiting with the water filled to the correct ounce line. That way when you’re out and about you just pour in the powder and mix. Quick and easy.
Other essentials (that I thought of after I took all of these pictures):
Don’t forget to:
-Unload and restock your bag when you get home from an outing. Take the dirty clothes and diapers out (if there wasn’t a convenient place to throw it away) and add new ones.
-When your precious baby outgrows a certain size in clothes or diapers don’t forget to switch out your diaper bag stash. You wouldn’t want to have newborn clothes or diapers still in there for your 3 month old! Yikes!
-Wash out the dirty bottles and refill any bottle water/formula right away. You always want to have your diaper bag waiting on you, not the other way around.
I purchased my Babymel diaper bag from www.albeebaby.com and highly recommend not only the diaper bag but the website. Albee always seems to have great sales going on and shipped my diaper bag in 3 days with free shipping no less. Score!
Last weekend was a whirlwind of events filled with baby love. I (we) was not only showered once, but twice and received a plethora of baby gear. Mike and I are so blessed and can’t thank all of our friends and family enough.
Round 1: Yahoo for the Buck-a-roo!
The first of the showers was last Friday after work and was thrown by my friend and co-worker Kristana. She and her husband just recently moved into a cute house in historic Winter Park and she wanted to show it off…and boy did she!
She chose a cowboy theme and the decorations were adorable. Burlap, bandanas, mason jars and raffia; four of my favorite things!
The invitees included all of our co-workers/friends new and old. There were about 35+ people that attended and it was so great to get to celebrate and catch up with every single one of them.
The burlap and mason jars took me back to the décor of our wedding day <3. Love.
Luckily, Kristana had a beautiful back deck that was perfect for all of the drinking, eating, gift opening and mingling.
She thought of everything, even down to the table labels!
Gifts galore! So blessed!
After opening gifts in my flannel and cowboy boots for close to an hour (or longer?) I was exhausted…opening presents is a tough job 
We got tons of items off of our registry, and also an amazing array of books (each person was asked to bring one of their favorite childhood books). Leave it to a bunch of teachers to start the literacy early!
I can’t wait to start reading to Baby A and share my love of learning with him!
Love to all of you!!!
I also have to give a shout out to my friend Jane who saved this gift for last – check out the wrapping – so awesome!!!
Round 2: Chevron Celebration
The second shower of the weekend was with some of my best girl friends new and old at my friend Kamrin’s gorgeous home. She and my friend Milissa (both Rollins volleyball teammates) hosted the beautiful event with help in the decorating department from Kamrin’s mother-in-law, Shelly.
The chevron runners (made by Kam’s Aunt Peggy – thanks Peggy!) were my favorite touch and the light blue and yellow were absolutely spectacular. No details were left out – they thought of everything!
If the decorations weren’t amazing enough, the food was even better! All homemade and filled with love.
On the menu:
and the best darn Coconut Cake I’ve ever had…made from scratch (way to go Twink!).
My Aunt Janie, Nana (Baby A is due on her 85th birthday) and my mom even made the trip down. It was so great having them there!
After chatting and eating, the games (actually only one game) began. It was by far my favorite game I’ve ever played at a shower – so funny! The gist of the game was to see what our son would end up looking like. To start there was a picture of my face with cut outs of Mike’s features (mouth, chin, nose, eyes, hair, eyebrows).
Kamrin emailed Mike ahead of time with a list of questions and he emailed her back with his answers.
Questions included:
What do you hope your son inherits/doesn’t inherit from you?
What do you hope your son inherits/doesn’t inherit from Lane?
…and more that I don’t remember
As she asked me the questions, if I got it right, I kept my feature; if I answered incorrectly, Mike’s feature went on top of my feature.
The result?
Boy, oh boy. LOL.
The opening of the gifts was so much fun. I was in hysterics the entire time just laughing at the cards, onsies and the telling of old and new stories with some of my favorite girls (and thinking of the ones who couldn’t be there – we missed you Ferg, Nomo and Bueller!)
Then it was time for cake!!! Milissa (Twink) got to do the cutting honors after all of her hard work!
Thanks to my girls – love you all!!!
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