Hello all, I just wanted to congratulate Kelly on her big news today. She is now officially a Lactation Counselor! We all know she has tons of knowledge and has helped so many women begin and continue their journey into breastfeeding, but now she gets to put those couple of extra letters after her name. I am so thankful to be working with such an amazing business partner and friend. Congratulations!
Archive for January, 2007
That was fast…
Consumer Union, the nonprofit organization that publishes Consumer Reports issued a statement on January 18th, withdrawing their report on infant car seats. They will be doing some further side-impact testing and then revising their report accordingly. They are working with NHTSA to evaluate their testing processes. Click here to read the statement. http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/campaignkidscarsandsafety/004169.html
How many days ago did I open it?
Have you ever said that, or heard “honey, is this still good?” Days ago makes a digital day counter for sauces, salsas and more. In the Bellani case, the more is breast milk and baby food. This is a neat little device that uses a suction cup to attach to almost any smooth surface. All you do is press a button to set the timer, and the count down begins. No more wondering how fresh it is, with a quick look you have the answer. Don’t worry, we got it.
The Toolbox…handy and quite stylish
Recently we turned our basement into a playroom. I was at home with our two children recently, one of them is O (almost 2 and no clear sight of potty training in the near future). I have this nice little wicker basket which I keep diapers, wipes, and diaper rash cream in for the first floor to save myself the trip upstairs repeatedly with a toddler who toddles on the steps. During my second trip down to the playroom to change a diaper, I dropped two diapers over the railing. That was when it hit me, the key is the handle. My little wicker basket doesn’t have one. It also doesn’t have cool compartments to keep the diaper rash cream in, because I dig for it each time I need it. Hence, the Toolbox by Skip Hop.
Skip Hop creates products that are smarter, more innovative solutions that combine advanced functionality and modern design. The result is a variety of exciting essentials that make day-to-day living easier for today’s moms and dads. We here at Bellani strive to find products that are useful, functional and of course stylish. Kelly kept trying to convince me that this was a great item to have. After her experience with a surgery and having a newborn she needed to be able to have everything in one place at her bedside, and by the couch. She couldn’t walk from the living room to the baby’s nursery. Also, it has been pointed out to us that it can be a great first aid kit container after the toddler days are over, although my children would probably just make it into a new toy for the house!
- Shannon
Congratulations award for the day…
We must stop and say a warm congratulations to our Itsy Bitsy Yoga instructor, Lisa. She and her sister have been working for quite some time on an amazing book, called More Than One. As every mother of more than one child knows there needs to be more support for new mothers having a second, third or fourth child.
Their book was just picked up by Meadowbrook Press! Congratulations Lisa. Bellani has a shelf waiting just for the book, and a beautiful biography and headshot!
Can someone tell me…
why someone would steal two plants from our store? We placed two plants outside to get a little sun and someone took them.
We are very confused…
kelly
The Evolution of Mom’s Style
Ok, so some will say I have this obsession with diaper bags. Kelly would definitely say that it is an addiction of mine. I beg to differ as I again search the internet for new styles and designers. I then realize that yes, maybe I do have a problem. But, as I pick out the next line to carry, I am engulfed with is feeling of excitement. There are so many to choose from, how do you even begin to decide which one to carry.
I’m not quite sure if you can decide on one for the length of time you will be carrying it. I’ve carried, sometimes hideous, diaper bags for the last five years. I think back to my PC (pre-child) days and I would go through purses at the clip of one every few months. So why is it that we expect families to choose one diaper bag. Granted, I have friends that have taken excellent care of their bags, and still wear their bellbottoms, but I for one need some variety. Check out your diaper bag style.
Thank goodness that diaper bags have grown from Winnie the Pooh to our elegant current selection. Thank goodness I didn’t have to give up my sense of style as soon as my two pink lines arrived.
I find myself staring at the wall of (PPB) Petunia Pickle Bottoms admiring the original, oh so-stylish boxy design. So why did I want to have this one particular diaper bag? For starters they are gorgeous, but looking past that, they are extremely functional. I saw a mom come into the store with her 4 month old in a sling in front of her, and her (PPB) on her back. She looked so balanced and put together. I started to inspect every aspect of the bag. I love the fact that it has a changing pad attached and all you do is unzip and fold down. The diapers and wipes are stored right at your finger tips. As another mom lays her 3 week old on the plush, soft changing pad, I think what happens if you need to wash it. As the inspection continues I notice the Velcro on the underside. Not only can you take the pad off to wash it, when your child is too big to fit on it anymore, you can take it off and never know it was there. What a great idea.
I am a little disappointed that my children are getting older and I no longer need to be carrying a diaper bag. I tried to convince myself all the things I could use it for, then I thought, this is a good time for me to pull out all those pocketbook that have been put away, just sitting there waiting to be used again. So if you come into the store, toting the Petunia Pickle Bottom, don’t mind if I just stare.
Car Seats Fail the New Crash Tests
Car seats are considered safe based on front crash tests at 30 mph. It is important to note that Consumer Reports went beyond the current federal safety standards for rear-facing infant car seats for seat performance in a collision. Consumer Reports simulated front impacts of 35 mph and side impacts of 38 mph (the same standards used for car safety testing). The results in this more stringent environment were dramatic, with 10 of the 12 seats either twisting too far or coming out of their bases.
Consumer Reports’ testing also showed serious failings in seats secured by the LATCH system. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) itself calls the LATCH system confusing and Consumer Reports notes that the NHTSA is planning a public hearing on the system later this year.
It is important to note that the seats listed in “The Bad” category passed when used with a seat belt, and not with the LATCH system.
Here’s how the seats fared in Consumer Reports’ tests:
The Good
Baby Trend Flex-Loc Adjustable Back
Graco Snugride with EPS
The Bad
Chicco KeyFit
Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP
Compass I410
Evenflo Embrace
Britax Companion
Graco SafeSeat
Safety 1st Designer
Combi Centre ST
Evenflo Discovery
Eddie Bauer Comfort
Potty training….Bellani style!
Ok, so I can’t take many more days of diapers in my house, unless they are on a little one. So how do we go about this in our family? Okay, so I really just ran out of diapers, and just didn’t have the energy to puchase any more. I already had the little girl underwear I purchased months ago. I told A that we aren’t using diapers any more and she would have to use the potty. Ever since she has been potty-trained of course…
Yeah, right!
So, we had our trials and tribulations. What I found the hardest was my little girl could not pull down those jeans with the size adjusters inside at any decent speed. I looked around Bellani, and said what can I do to help this situation? I took a pair of BabyLegs home and voila! A know walks around in underwear and BabyLegs, to make a quick trip to the potty we simply pull our underwear down now, and just a simple pull back up. Why weren’t these around when I was training C?
Of course, let’s see how long this holds up.
