My favourite things for newborn babies

I may not be Oprah (okay, I’m nowhere near like Oprah), but I have my own list of favourite things.  Specifically, for newborn babies.  With the holiday season upon us, and the birth of our second child around the corner, it got me in the mood for some shopping! Okay, I’m always in the mood for shopping, but more so now…

Here’s a list of my favourite items (along with some input from my other mommy friends) that I think every parent of a newborn should have:

1. Velcro swaddle.  Kyle was a great sleeper and I attribute this to the fact that we swaddled him consistently.  In fact, we kept swaddling him until he was 6 months old!  A bit longer than most people would like to admit to, but hey, it worked (for all of us). Another one recommended by my friend is the Miracle Blanket.

Imagine celebrating the holidays every month! Now you can, with the Baby Trunk {Review}

Opening Happiness Every Month is Baby Trunk’s tag line; and this perfectly describes their unique service.

Imagine receiving a package every month with 4 or 5 products from the best brands for your little one.  Each package is customized based on your child’s age (newborn to 3 years) and gender so they can be utilized immediately.  And who doesn’t love receiving packages in the mail.  I know I do, especially those that are surprises.  That’s how I felt when I received my first Baby Trunk package in late October.  I tore it open and found 5 items in the box that fell under the theme of “The Little Monster Box”.

The items include “Boo Bunny!” book, a race car (by Green Toys), a (organic) Giraffe Lovie Blanket, a Toy & Surface cleaner and packages of Organic Baby Food.  Total retail price of the five products is approximately $50.

Not only are these products organic and environmentally friendly, but they have all been selected and approved by mom’s, not endorsed by the companies that they are purchased from.  So you know you are receiving quality, useful products for your family.

With so many of our family and friends expecting their first (and some their second) baby, this makes for a unique and special gift idea.  I know I would love to receive it 😉 (hint, hint, wink, wink). I’ve already purchased one for a friend of mine.

Here’s how it works:

1. Go on Baby Trunk’s website (www.babytrunk.ca) and register

2. Choose a plan…. (added bonus, shipping is free!!!)

$35 / month

$105 / 3 months

$175 / 6 months (1 month is free)

$350 / 12 months (2 months are free)

3. Look forward to your Trunk delivery (or have a close family or friend anticipate the arrival of their amazing gift).

In order to receive the next Trunk in time for the holidays sign-up before December 12th, 2012.

Happy Holidays & Happy shopping 🙂

My favourite SPOT for personalized gifts; KidSpot. Review & Giveaway (open to all Canadians)

Growing-up, believe it or not, my name, MAYA, wasn’t very popular.  I always envied kids who were able to walk into any toy store and find their name all over various paraphernalia.  Whether it was a cup, lunch-bag, key-chains or pens, I wish I could get one with my name.

So when I had my son, KYLE, I was beyond excited to be able to purchase him various stuff with his name on it.  Perhaps I went over-board at times, but personalized gifts (to both give and receive) are some of my favourites.  Of course, I don’t buy it just for the sake of having my son’s name on everything ,but rather, I’m selective about what I buy.  Since selection, quality and customer service are important to me, I only purchase my personalized items from KidSpot – Unique Gifts For Babies & Kids (www.kids-spot.ca).  A local store in the GTA that also sells merchandise online (ships anywhere in Canada).  The best part is that the personalization is free with your purchase!  You can select the font and colour yourself; they even offer Hebrew letters.  Here’s some of my favourite items; some of which we received as gifts and some we purchased:

Last month we celebrated Kyle’s birthday.  Instead of the traditional dollar-store loot-bag items (which end up costing a fortune when all is said and done), I’ve opted for a more personalized loot-bag.  I purchased pencil-cases and had each one personalized with the kids’ names on it.  I filled each pencil-case with crayons, stickers and a few candy items and tied it to a colouring book.  To say the least, these loot bags were hits with both the parents and the children.  One of the parents told me that their son even slept with his pencil-case!!

Not only are these great and unique baby shower and birthday gifts, but they’re also great for the holidays.  And believe it or not, the holidays are just around the corner, and KidSpot has some great items for you entire family including personalized x-mas stockings.  They currently have an online promotion where you can receive 10% off your purchase (use code kidspot during checkout).  Also, one lucky reader will receive a $30 gift-card to use towards their purchase of any item offered at KidSpot.

To enter this contest, you need to do one of the followings.  The more you do, the more entries you will receive in the draw.  Kindly leave me a message at the end of this post to let me know which of the following activities you have completed.

1. Like KidSpot on Facebook

2. Like Mayahood on Facebook

3. Follow my blog on WordPress.  Click on the “follow” button and enter your e-mail address to receive my latest blog posts directly to your mailbox as soon as I publish them.

4. Share this giveaway on your Facebook page.  Copy and Paste the following sentences on your personal timeline: Great giveaway from KidSpot.  Enter here for your chance to win $30 towards a personalized gift: http://wp.me/p248bN-mw

5. Let me know (by leaving me a message at the bottom of this post) what you would want to buy from KidSpot (www.kids-spot.ca) if you won the $30.

Contest deadline is Friday, November 23rd.  Open to all residents in Canada.  Good-luck!

************ CONGRATULATIONS TO SHIRIT WHO WON THIS GIVEAWAY************

 

 

My 2 year old son only wears brand name clothes

Most people assume that if they have boys, they won’t run into the same issues that girls typically have.  Specifically, issues relating to clothes.  Well, not so and I have a two-year old boy to prove it.

Kyle has decided to show us his independence through his choice of clothes.  Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as the colour.  In fact, Kyle insists on wearing brand name clothes only.  Now, I’m not talking brand name like Hugo Boss, Louis Vitton or Lacoste.  I’m talking, Elmo, Thomas, Cars and smurfs.  Unless it’s one of those, he refuse to wear it.

The problem is, 80% of the clothes he owns, are not his brand of choice.  About a year ago, when I went to Joe Fresh, I found tons of great shirts for him size 2T (about a year out).  They were all on sale for approximately $3, so I couldn’t resist buying them, and smiling to myself about what a great super saver shopper I am.  Well, I couldn’t have been any more wrong!  I’m lucky if I’m able to persuade him to wear any of those shirts.

Some of the tactics that I’ve used include: “The Elmo shirt is itchy, mommy needs to wash it so you HAVE TO wear this one until the Elmo shirt is clean”.  Or, “look, there’s a backpack on this shirt, just like Dora.  Don’t you want to be like Dora?” and my all-time favourite “look at the _____ (fill in the blank with whatever animal is on the shirt).  Let’s go and try to find this ‘animal’ today”.  I’m usually lucky enough that these work, especially if he hasn’t spotted one of his favourite shirts.

I’ve even decided to go and purchase a few more of his brand name shirts, but then my husband keeps reminding me that we have a closet full of clothes that he’s never even wore.  He’s right, I can’t justify spending more money on 2-year-old clothes.  I just have to do laundry more often I guess!!  During a more recent shopping trip, I just let Kyle pick out the clothes. While they didn’t have any of his favourites, he did choose two. One had a cool dinosaur on it, and the other was of a bulldozer.  And since he picked it out, he hasn’t minded wearing them all that much.

Girl or boy, do your kids have any funny / frustrating phases like this one?  I’m sure that just like every other phase, this one is sure to pass.  But in the meantime, please share your secrets with me.  I’d love to hear 🙂