A Great Shower Gift…

Or baptism gift, birthday gift, mother’s day gift…

Our store is full of amazing products which can make it difficult when choosing a gift to buy for an expecting Mom. Of course, you can stick with the registry and buy something that is specifically on the list or you can step out of the norm and get something with a little “theme.” Have I mentioned that I love themes? Some of my favorite shower gifts have included things I had asked for mixed with some product I had never even heard of. I especially liked getting things that I could use later on.

Here are some of my ideas (I have numbered them so that when you come into the store you can just say,”Give me #3 wrapped!”).

1.) The book – Itsy Bitsy Yoga by Helen Garabedian and tie a gift certificate on it for their first Itsy Bitsy Yoga class at Bellani Maternity.

2.) A bag of colorful building blocks and attach the book The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp on it!

3.) The Melissa and Doug Art Easel and the get them a gift certificate to use for their first Little Van Gogh class at Bellani!

4.) The Xylophone from Plan Toys and a gift certificate for their first Music Together Class!

Namaste,
Lisa

Teething…

Today at church I was talking with another mom. I watched her pleasant expression turn to horror as my daughter grabbed the pendant on my necklace and started chewing with a tour de force that only a teething baby can achieve. Rather than let her think I regularly let her chew up my jewelry, I let her know that my necklace is a teether, and a really cute one! Teething Bling! It’s brilliant. It looks like a beautiful stone disk (onyx, quartz, turquoise, moonstone, etc…) but it’s really made of food-grade, non-toxic silicone. Plus they’re phthalate, BPA, PVC and lead free and all pendants come with a breakaway clasp. Very cool. I’ve stopped wearing earrings, bracelets, necklaces…you name it. The accessorizer in me was on sabbatical. It was the PERFECT solution for my daughter, especially for church. It preoccupied her during the mass, and it spared the lapels on my jacket from being the next teething targets. Love it!
Amanda

Family & Politics – they never do mix

It is 6:30 am and I am softly being woken by my 5 year old wondering if he can start his day with a little T.V (P.S. I am usually awake at this time of day but I have been a bit under the weather). I roll over desperate for a little more sleep and tell him if he gets dressed for school I will let him enjoy a show. As I come to a bit more, I tell him that today is a special day and that he should wear red, white and blue to school. “Oh, yeah!” he replies happily as he skips off to his room. “We have a new president today!” I blink my eyes a bit more and see my 4 year old at my door. “Did you hear that Jake? Today is a special day.” I am interrupted. “I know Mom.” He heads back to his room as I hear him say one last time, “I wish John McCain won.” Maybe he spent a little too much time with his uncle I mumble to myself.

I am not inviting political conversations here, I simple mention this because…well, it was funny to hear him say and because I was thinking of using this blog to give you something to think about. Originally, I was going to insert a thought of the day type of thing, but yesterday in itself was thought provoking enough. I’ll just tell you what I was left thinking about.

In President Obama’s speech and in his actions, I heard that most things do not come easily and hard work requires strength, perseverance and a belief in yourself. It requires you to listen, take heed and then make tough choices. Now, I am not saying we are presidents, but you know what, motherhood is the closest thing to it.

Everyday we make tough choices. Are they sleeping too long? Are they sleeping too little? Should I snuggle them in bed? Is he too young for time-outs? How do I teach her to share? It all comes down to strength, perseverance, belief in our instincts, listening to a team (your family, friends here at Bellani, etc.) taking heed and doing what is right for your country…your family! Too bad my country (my family) is divided…ha, ha!

Namaste,
Lisa

Miracle on the Hudson and your child

All the 155 passengers and crew on US Airways Flight 1549 survived (thank goodness!) including 2 infants and at least two pre-schooled aged children. The story made me think about why I always purchase a seat for my infant on any flight and bring along a child safety seat. Parents spend hours researching a safety seat, reading reviews, and having a certified child safety tech validate the installation of their seat (in case you were wondering Kelly and Shannon can do this for you!). Yet many parents also leave their safety seat in the airport parking lot when boarding a plane for a trip.

I travel a lot with my children, JT and Zoe both took their first flights before they were two months old. Zoe had been on 6 roundtrips –including one international- by 1 year old, so I sort have this travel thing down. I won’t lie I find air travel with children one of the top 5 sweatiest experiences of parenthood, however here are my 4 top product recommendations that will help you navigate the airport gauntlet with ease:

1. A fully stocked diaper bag. One 5 hour delay had me eying other children in the airport till I spied one little one that matched my son’s diaper size! Lesson learned, plan for 3x the time of your trip. Also think extra clothes, snacks, toys, antibacterial wipes, chapstick, pacifiers, backup pacifiers, and the backup backup pacifier (ok daughter my has a binky problem…)

2. A car seat – if you are able to purchase seat for your child you will want to bring this directly to the gate. Your manual should have instructions on how to install the seat in an aircraft. My experience has been its easy and fairly straightforward. If you aren’t able to purchase a seat my advice is to bring the seat to the gate anyway. If the plane isn’t full the airline should allow you to bring it on the plane. If the plane is full you can simply gate check it. One of the best seat I have found is the Radian 65 and Radian 80. They are only one of the few that are FAA approved, fold and come with a carrying strap. Things that make it much easier when you are running for your flight.

3. A stroller assuming you will use it at your destination. I like bring something light an easy to fold. Most trips I reach for my G-lite but I also like the Quinny Zapp as it is the only stroller I know of that folds and fits in the overhead compartment of the airline. In the airport I actually use it to carry my car seat.

4. A baby carrier such as a Beco or Ergo. Why? Two words – hands free! Those airline aisle’s are not getting any wider and going down the row with a car seat, diaper bag and baby can be a tad challenging and the carrier makes it 10x easier!

One last thing…never trust a rental car company to give you a quality child safety seat! You have no idea about the history of the seat, date of manufacture, any possible recalls or if the seat was previously in an accident. So it is always best to bring your own seat on trips.
For more information on air travel with children see the FAA website

-Stacey

What’s going on with the CPSIA and how it affects you

I’m sure you have heard us at Bellani talking about the new changes in the lead law (CPSIA = Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act). Now, of course no one wants their child to have any exposure to lead. The implications of high levels of lead to can lead to many things including learning disabilities, anemia, growth problems and attention deficiency. There are companies out there, who unfortunately knew better but wanted to see their bottom line improve, and chose to ignore products that were being made with lead. Why? Costs less, looks great, more people to buy it. The problem: children getting sick. So instead of going after the big companies who are doing this, they have passed a law that will take effect February 10th that blankets any products that children under 12 will be using. Really. Everything including bibs, blankets, clothing, bottles, toys, diapers (including cloth), and sports banners (please tell me who puts these in their mouths?)…you get my point.

What does this have to do with you, the consumer and us, Bellani the retailer? We are headed to a retail world where everyone will be carrying the same products because the little guys can’t afford to pay for the testing. On average, let’s take a vendor that makes the most wonderful taggie blankets for us. She is a stay at home mom who loves to sew. For her to keep making these blankets for us (she lives in RI by the way), she would have to get every piece of string, yarn, fabric, pins, and anything else she uses to be tested. That is every color in every fabric. Each testing is about $1200. So for 1 blanket that used 3 different colors of ribbon, 3 colors of fabric and 2 colors of yarn, that is $9600 for one blanket where the profit margin is around $12. I think we can all do the math here.

We pride ourselves at Bellani to bring interesting, different and local products to our store. We carry many products that are mom (or Dad – thanks Burp Armor) made and we are very proud of that. When this law goes into effect on February 10th, any company that does not have this certificate will not be able to sell their product. There was a great article in Forbes magazine that explains it well.

We do believe all products should be made without chemicals or metals that could harm our children. However, there are ways to do that, and ways not to. If you believe there should be changes to amend the law, please let your senators and congressmen know.

We are working hard at Bellani to do all we can and will bring you any updated information. Please let us know your thoughts.
-Shannon

The Blog

Soon, we will be making some big changes to the blog. We all love blogging, and want to have a new name for the web address. Leave a comment with your clever, cool, or plain ideas and be entered to win a Sophie the Giraffe!

+kelly

Stork Craft Crib Recall

This recall involves Stork Craft Baby cribs. All cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between May 2000 and November 2008 are included in this recall. The cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm’s name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm’s insignia “storkcraft baby” is inscribed on the drop side teething rail of some cribs.

Check out the recall

The Thank You Debate…

It is on mind this morning so I thought I would get it all out on while blogging to the Bellani readers.

Some of you might have been present while we engaged on this debate last winter. It is the ‘Thank You Card’ dilemma. We discussed how people felt about them – if they write them and how they feel about receiving or not receiving them. Some, in that particular class had no issues with someone not sending a thank you card but most felt it to be proper etiquette.We had a couple laughs over thank you notes that were made with labels or ones that were even sent with no writing on them at all.

So where am I on all of this? I was raised with thank you notes and just last week I sat down with my 4 year old and had him tell me what he liked about each birthday gift while he signed his name. I guess I really didn’t need to do that according to the site I found. If you open you gift in front of someone, there is no need to send a thank you note. However if you open it alone, it is kind to send a note so the person knows you opened it and gulp, appreciated it. A role model (not related) in my son’s life did not send a thank you note for a gift my son had given him. He is still wondering if that person opened it and if they liked it. What do you think?

-Lisa

A new adventure…

It was inevitable. Someday I was going to have to go back to work. Just like no one could have prepared me for the overwhelming love that flooded me after the birth of my daughter, Cadence, no one could have prepared me for the emotion of the first day I had to leave my baby at home. Now, technically, I’ve been back at work for months. I’m a part time college music teacher. I started teaching again when Cady was 3 months, and she came with me. Her pleasant disposition made it easy for me to wear her in the Beco Carrier, or for her to roll around on blankets while I taught. She watches my students sing, and smiles. (she has a special preference for tenors) Now here I was, still with my diaper bag in tow to carry my pump, but no baby. I was fine until I kissed her on the forehead and said, “See you in a little bit!” I shut the front door and started to cry. There were a few of those “Oh nooo…don’t cry again” moments throughout the day, and I called to check on her several times, but the day did get easier.

When I decided it was time to start looking for work, who knew I would have the serendipitous fortune to find something in my own back yard at a place I LOVE and with such great people?!? I’ll be working part-time at both Bellani and Green Baby. Hopefully, I’ll also be teaching some classes by the spring. I am fortunate and very excited to join the Bellani Maternity Family. These ladies provided an incredible resource for me, from my Hypnobirthing Classes, to the weekly baby weight checks when Cady much preferred sleeping to eating. I look forward to learning LOTS of new things, and hopefully I’ll be able to make a difference for someone the way the ladies at Bellani did for me.

Amanda

Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Recall

Peg Perego Primo Viaggio’s made between JUL 01, 2007 – MAR 14, 2008 are subject to a non-safety related recall. For more information please click here to be brought the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations recall.