Review: Summer SwaddleMe Swaddler

Note: This is not a sponsored post. As always, all opinions here are my own.

My last post got me thinking about when my girls were so little, which led me to think about all the crap we had for them. We still have lots of crap now, but it is more like toy crap and less like baby supply crap. Back when our house was filled with baby supply crap, we spent SO MUCH time at Babies R Us. I am talking every week! Between diapers, wipes, Diaper Genie refills, baby gear, clothes and of course upgrading to bigger sizes of all those things, I swear the staff there recognized us.

It was on one of these trips to Babies R Us that I discovered the Summer SwaddleMe Swaddler. I think back then, the brand was Kiddopotamus, but it must have been bought out by the Summer company. When I saw it on the shelf, I am pretty sure I remember a golden light shining down on it and angels singing. A little preface:

In the hospital, the nurses showed us how to swaddle Josie with the hospital-issued receiving blankets. My husband Dan watched this process once, maybe twice, and was convinced he had it down. So was I. To make a long story short, if at that time we were to participate in a Swaddle-Off, I would have been soundly defeated every time. Dan was excellent at swaddling, which pissed me off to no end, because I sucked. It took me forever, Josie fussed most of that time, and when I was done I would stand up to admire my work and before I had returned to a fully vertical position, Josie would have busted out of her swaddle and given me a dry look that said, "Really, mom? Weak."

                                        FAIL

                                                       FAIL

                                               CLOSE ENOUGH

Meanwhile, Dan swaddled her in half the time with half the effort, she cooed sweetly during the process, and she was wrapped tighter than a burrito at a Mexican food truck (great, now I'm hungry). As much as I was happy for Dan that he could pull it off, I was also mad at him that I could not. Yep. Mad at him.

So when I saw that SwaddleMe swaddler on the Babies R Us shelf, it wasn't just a swaddler, it was an answer to my prayers. It was a great equalizer for me; my lack of prowess in the swaddling department would become a moot point with this bad boy, swaddling would no longer be a skill I could not use on my parenting resume and my status as "Competent Mom" would be restored. If the thing worked.

I bought just one, because they aren't too cheap and I wasn't sure if it would work. I chose the green cotton (retails for $12.99) and took it home with visions of me snatching the blue ribbon for parenting right out of Dan's hand. (I'm just a little competitive.)

The SwaddleMe did not disappoint! At first when I took it out of the package, I was like WTF because it's just a tangle of panels and velcro tabs. But thankfully (for the spatially-challenged like me), it comes with instructions. Yes, instructions. And yes, they helped. Once you have it laid out, even brains like mine can see how the baby goes in. Just a couple steps later -- voila -- bundled baby.

                             Beat THAT Dan

The fabric of the cotton is like a very soft, durable t-shirt, perfect for summer nighttimes. It comes in your standard colors -- pink, blue, green and white -- and a couple patterns, too. They also have an organic cotton line with various gender-neutral colors and patterns. At one time, we tried a lighter, flimsier fabric that they carried at the time, but it wasn't as good; I think the fabric was too light to really make the baby feel swaddled, and Josie wriggled around inside it and never settled down. (I haven't seen that fabric since they were bought out by the Summer company.) They also have a fleece line which we LOVED, since we lived in Boston at the time and it could get cold at night.

Caroline wasn't as keen on being swaddled as Josie was, but she liked the SwaddleMe sans arm confinement:

And as Josie grew bigger, she liked this variation, too:

So as you can see, we got a lot of mileage out of the Summer SwaddleMe blankets. I have bought them for friends who have had babies, and I saved our old ones in case we ever have another (somewhere, Dan just had a sudden, unexplained heart palpitation). Some babies of course can't tolerate a swaddle, but I have never met a baby who doesn't like a blanket when he or she is cold, so you could always use the SwaddleMe without arms, like we did with Caroline. It is a little expense up front to stock up on a few of these, but I can't exclaim enough about how it's so worth it... my kids were more comfortable which meant I was sleeping better, both because they were not waking up chilly and because I had peace of mind with regard to their safety, knowing the SwaddleMe would stay in place and not end up over their face like a traditional blanket can. Plus, Dan could no longer throw in my face the fact that I sucked at swaddling. Worth every penny.

I noticed that Summer is also now making the Summer SwaddlePod. This appears to be a zip-up, super tight and cozy swaddle system meant for newborns up to 10 lbs. I haven't seen these in person but they look pretty cool, too!

                   Now that baby looks happy! (image credit)

Bottom Line: thumbs way up for the Summer SwaddleMe!! Check them out on the Summer website, at Babies R Us or at Amazon -- they have a 2-pack of SwaddleMe swaddle blankets for $19.99 - a great deal!

Letters to My Daughters: True Love

My Little Girls,

I was just thinking about the days you were both born; not so much about the events of those days, but mainly about how small you were. You were both so tiny! I guess all babies are, but you both seemed SO insanely small. Josie, I remember sitting with Daddy on the couch the night we came home with you and we were just looking at you. All of a sudden I was just hit with the realization of what a huge responsibility we were about to undertake with you, not in a burdensome way at all, in an exciting way. And how you really can't be prepared, not truly. I mean, we bought you little clothes and you had a bassinet and a crib and lots of pacifiers and tons of diapers... all that stuff. But we felt so nervous! I recall saying to Daddy, "I can't believe they let us bring her home with us!"... meaning the nurses at the hospital. I was thinking of how they must love all the little babies and it must be hard to send them home with parents who may or may not do a good job, they'll never know. (And that is why I could never be a maternity nurse, I would hide the babies from people who were giving me bad parenting vibes. And then I would get fired.)

not my best look... still in the hospital!

Caroline, you were a lot bigger than Josie when you were born, but trust me, you seemed just as tiny. You were hilarious - Josie was so stoic, rarely cried (except when she was hungry!), she was really reserved. You, on the other hand, were expressive FROM DAY ONE. You made so many crazy faces and noises, I actually googled (that means, "looked up on the internet," in case they don't have Google anymore by the time you read this) -- I googled "my baby makes tons of faces" to see if it was normal. I never got an answer, but the more we got to know you, the more we realized that you just show how you feel, no matter what, and it was fine. And it was kind of beautiful. No, actually? It was really beautiful, and it still is.

Josie, everyone talked about how perfect you looked! Nannie (that was Daddy's grandma) talked a lot about how perfect your tiny ears were, and now you are three and they are still tiny! You had sweet pink cheeks and a tiny, cute little mouth. Daddy and I couldn't believe how small and quiet you were. I woke up and checked on you like 100 times a night. I remember I thought bringing a baby home would make our house kind of crazy, with a lot of scrambling around and lots of crying and screaming. In fact, you coming home made our house so very peaceful. Daddy and I were just very calm, even Stevie was calm! I do remember some frantic moments, mostly centered around my attempting to nurse you, but overall things seemed very quiet and nice. You were a great first baby for Daddy and I, because you were mostly pretty easy, which made us feel like we were doing a pretty good job.

Caroline, you challenged us a little more, mostly because you were very vocal about your needs and wants! But you were pretty easy, too, overall. You loved your baths and Stevie took to you right away -- she would lie next to you and would pick up her head and look at you every time you fussed. Sometimes she would put her chin in your lap. If we put you in your swing, she would go lie over there... she was very protective of you. You were easy to feed but boy were you tough to burp! We had to give you special drops of medicine to help your tummyaches after almost every bottle for a while there. You were also a big napper... you napped more than your sister did at that age.

Mostly though, I was thinking tonight about how, even though Daddy and I gave up a lot to have both of you, you girls have made our lives so much better. Right now, you are 2 and 3, and we have really fun, happy, good times, and sometimes we have rough times right now as you two navigate your way through learning how to behave and get along and still be your own people. But earlier, when you were just two tiny babies, Daddy and I were shocked at how much we loved you right away! We loved you more than anything we had ever loved before, and although we knew that we would love our kids, I think we were both taken aback a little at how MUCH we loved you and how instantaneous it was. Josie, we thought we had a pretty good life before you were born... Daddy and I went out a lot, heard lots of good music, had long talks late at night, went on fun trips... but all of that kind of faded to the background once we had you, because you were the new light in our life and brought us so much happiness! Caroline, Mommy was a little worried (being pretty inexperienced) about how we would show you as much love, because we loved Josie so much, it seemed like mathematically there wouldn't much room left in our hearts. But that was just needless worry, because guess what? Our hearts grew when you were born! And we loved you and were excited to have you in our lives just as much as your big sister!! Somehow our hearts, our hours in the day and our budget stretched just for you, and it felt like you had been there all along. Daddy and I had our little family, and we could not be any happier if we had tried.

So when you open my desk and dump out all the pens, when you color with chalk on the carpet, when you throw yourselves on the floor of the mall and scream because you don't want to hold hands, when you dump mandarin orange juice on the carpet, when you throw your toys at us because you don't like something we said... I will try my best to not be bothered by it too badly, because I will think of when you were teeny tiny babies and remember how much we wanted you both, how lucky we are to have you and how insanely much we love you! And we always will.

xoxo, Mommy

Headbands of Hope

Do you have a guilt problem? Man, I do. I can feel guilty over big things, small things, dumb things, ridiculous things, important things, things I cannot control, things I should be trying harder to control... and that's just in one day. I have first-world guilt, stay at home mom guilt, white person guilt, east coast guilt, my pantry is too full guilt, too much Bravo tv guilt, and lately I have been having a lot of 'my kids are too healthy ' guilt. Then I feel guilty about that, because I should never have any negative feelings about my girls being healthy... they deserve that and I am SO blessed to be able to say that. (And by the way, I never use words like "blessed," so this is really saying something.)

                                                (See? Blessed.)

But the thing is, every kid deserves that, and some of them don't have that good fortune right now. Lately I have been learning a lot about pediatric cancer (a general term), the families it affects and the children who are nothing less than insanely tough fighters. There are blogs and websites devoted to these kids that will bum the living hell out of you, and I speak from experience because I have spent, oh, 45 out of the last 60 nights reading them and crying and hating cancer more than I already did.

But they will also inspire you. I have noticed that all these kids seem to have at least one thing in common besides stupid cancer: hope. But it is different than the kind of hope we adults have, where fingers are crossed and prayers are said and we hope for the best but brace for the worst. These kids just have a bright outlook. They know they are sick, but they refuse to let it dampen their spirits. They have their low days, their down times and they get tired, but they are kids, and kids love life and live it to the fullest, and these kids do not let cancer take that away from them. So when I didn't sleep great, have too much on my to-do list, my kids are being bad, I am mad about something -- whatever -- I try and remember these kids and what I can learn from them. Mostly I just want them to get better. But sometimes I do allow them to teach me a lesson. Which is to shut the hell up and be happy, 'cause really, what do I have to complain about? (Other things too, but that one is the biggie.)

With that in mind, I recently read about this organization over on Runs for Cookies. Headbands of Hope is run by a gorgeous model woman named Jessica whose life was changed when she volunteered for the Make a Wish Foundation. She was moved by little girls fighting cancer and that, despite how tough they were, some of them were really troubled by losing their hair due to their aggressive chemotherapies. She had an idea to donate pretty, feminine headbands to girls who had lost their hair to their cancer treatments. She started Headbands of Hope to enable her to increase these donations, because, my friends -- for every headband you purchase from her site, she donates another one to a girl with cancer who could really use it and $1 to St. Baldrick's, a well-known children's cancer charity (they also help her distribute the donated headbands). I am thinking that a sweet little headband is more than just a fashion accessory for a girl who has lost her hair -- it probably represents a lot more... femininity, being able to focus on looking pretty and fashionable instead of focusing on being sick, regaining confidence, etc. So you get a pretty headband for you or any girl you know and you help out a little girl with cancer in the process! Talk about a win-win!

Let's talk fashion exclusively for a quick moment. Guys, these headbands are cute. They really are attractive and the flower/bow thing is definitely all the rage right now. They also have sparkly glitter stretch headbands that I really like, they are a little sportier but still feminine. I am not typically one to care about what's "in," but these are both stylish and on trend (as the trendsters say) and they have lots of patterns and colors to choose from. They are definitely a TON cuter than the ones I see in the stores. Plus, they have sizes that fit babies all the way to adults.

My only wish would be that Headbands of Hope be a nonprofit, which it is not. But regardless, I cannot think of a better way to show support and solidarity for girls with cancer, so I will be purchasing a couple of these cuties for my little girls, so two other cuties can get their headbands! I will let the girls choose which ones they want, but I am really hoping one of them chooses this one:

                                   source: Headbands for Hope

So pretty! Maybe I will turn into a headband-wearer!

Anyway, please take a moment to go check out Headbands of Hope and see if you can get a little shopping done for the girls and women-folk in your life, and brighten the day of a little girl with cancer at the same time!

Carter's Sale and Coupon

Carter's is having a sale right now --  40% off their entire store (online too)!

Plus, you can combine the sale with a Carter's coupon for 20% off any in-store purchase of $40 or more (excludes clearance and Doorbuster specials)! Coupon expires July 25, 2012.

Might be a good time to go see what they have for fall!

 

One Word Wednesdays

Braids.

Down By the River

What's fun, free and something that the dog can be in on, too? Playing in the river!

We live off the Rappahannock River, and in all our time here, we have never gotten over there to hang out. We think about it all the time, we drive by and see people tubing, sunbathing, cooking out, swimming, etc. but I don't know -- we just never have actually made it over there ourselves somehow.

Today we wanted our dog Stevie to be in on the fun since we feel like she is left out a lot lately. So the five of us headed down to a popular spot on the river and had at it. The girls instantly found rocks to throw and see how big of a splash they could make. My husband took Stevie off her leash and let her splash around, chasing rocks he threw. She was in heaven.

Until the lifeguard came over and ruined her fun by insisting she be leashed. It is hard to run through the water chasing a rock when you are tethered to a five-foot leash. I understand the kid was just doing his job, but almost no one was at the beach, and the couple people who were there were far away. Really, he couldn't have looked the other way for a few minutes? Ah well, at least she got a bit of time and some time outside the house.

The girls got soaked in their clothes -- I didn't pack any extras since I doubted they would even venture in ankle-deep. They kept squatting down to dig up rocks in the river bed, and before we knew it, their shorts were soaked. It was a lost cause so we just let them go for it. We decided to embrace the -- uh -- country-ness of it all and we let them ride home in only a diaper. Josie is really a nudist at heart (and Caroline's not much better) so they were really loving the breeze on the trip home.

The girls have talked about the river all afternoon, so we know we'll have to go back -- this time in bathing suits. Maybe we can find a secluded spot with no lifeguard to let the dog off the leash for a little bit. And maybe Mommy will even venture in past her toes (I have a thing about slimy river beds). Maybe.

Toddler and Preschool Lunch Ideas

                                         photo credit

I feel like we've been in a lunch rut lately. Josie eats a PB&J on whole wheat with either a yogurt or a banana every day. I mix it up a little more for Caroline, since she is a better eater, but both girls could use a little more variety and some exposure to new foods.

So, armed with pen and paper, off I went to the internet. After doing a quick Google search, I landed on lots of blogs with ideas for healthy toddler/preschool lunches. Well -- links to ideas. Then if I clicked on the link, it took me to a list of other links, and so on. I started to get annoyed. Seems like some mommies had a case of Lazy Blogger syndrome! In my frustration, I decided to create a post myself about healthy, budget friendly toddler lunch ideas -- ideas that shy away from most processed kiddie foods -- and post a list (not endless links) on my own blog! I am not reinventing the wheel here... just compiling a list of good ideas in one place.

So, without further ado, I present to you: LUNCH.

(Ok, maybe a teeny bit more "ado." In my search for ideas, I came to realize that there doesn't have to be an "entree" (like a sandwich) with a couple smaller sides. You can really mix it up tapas style and have lots of choices, but in smaller portions, on one plate, or you can combine everything into one dish. The key here for me was to open my mind as to what my kid's plate can look like.)

And now: LUNCH.

• The classic PB&J. Boring I know, but you can't NOT have it on this list. You can make it cute by cutting it into shapes, strips, or using a cute little contraption like this Munchkin 3 Piece Silly Sandwich Cutter Set.


• Veggies (think grape tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper etc.) and ranch or catalina dressing
  


• Veggies and hummus


• Cut-up pita bread or unsalted pretzels and hummus


• Fruit salad with yogurt dip


• Peanut butter and banana on whole wheat


• Veggie & Cream Cheese "Pizza"


• Cottage cheese w/ fruit


• Grilled cheese w/ ham (or turkey)
  


• Grilled cheese w/ tomato


• Cucumber and cream cheese on whole wheat toast, cut into bites


• Grilled chicken and cheese quesadilla (add some small veggies too!)


• Olives (yes, olives!) (but remember to remove the pits)


• Rainbow fruit on skewers (this is a HUGE hit at our house, but can get pricey)

       

                                                       photo credit

• Turkey and cheese roll-ups (just turkey, cheese, a tortilla and a thin spread of cream cheese or dressing


• Watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew cut out in letter shapes with this Ateco 26 Piece Alphabet Cutter Set


• Zucchini-Blueberry Muffins. These are VERY good.


• Grapes and cheese plate - try a couple varieties of each to broaden their palates!


• Trail mix - raisins or dried cranberries, chocolate chips, almond pieces, dried apples, banana chips, cheerios, goldfish crackers, etc.


• Macaroni and cheese with small pieces of lightly steamed broccoli mixed in


• Orzo and tomato sauce with spinach mixed in


• Veggie burgers (no bun) w/ ketchup for dipping


• String cheese cut into "coins"


• Chopped salad (romaine, hard boiled egg, cucumber, tomato, shredded cheese, small bites of broccoli all tossed lightly in salad dressing)


• Scrambled eggs w/ cheese (add in peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, etc.)


• Baked zucchini chips or sweet potato chips


• Tuna w/ diced cucumber and tomato in light mayo, served with whole wheat crackers


• Pickles, cheddar cheese cubes, whole wheat crackers


• Blueberries dipped in vanilla yogurt, then frozen on a cookie sheet


• Frozen grape halves (or quarters for littler ones)
  


• Deli turkey or ham, rolled up and sliced, with tomato and cucumber "salad"


• Whole wheat crackers with Laughing Cow cheese spread (or peanut butter) and yogurt


• Edamame (add a little pinch of salt if necessary)

Kids won't eat fruit in the raw? Try making them a smoothie to drink with yogurt or milk, frozen blueberries, bananas or strawberries. You can even add a handful of raw spinach leaves and I PROMISE YOU they will never taste them. Recipes abound on the internet but here is a popular one for a Banana Blueberry (shhh... Spinach) Smoothie.

Nut allergy (either in your child or his/her classroom)? Try soy butter, it's really pretty good.

Got a kid on the go? Just grab a leakproof, flat container with a snap-top lid and some reusable muffin liners (like these Casabella Silicone Muffin Cups) and you'll be good to go for your own Bento Box!

                                                                         photo credit

What else do you put in your toddler or preschooler's lunches?

Glow Stick Bath

It has been insanely hot outside these last several days, like stupid-hot. As a result, we haven't been able to hit any outdoor playgrounds, play for very long out back or go for a walk. The girls have been going a little stir-crazy, and so has their mom. We needed something to break up the monotony.

I saw this post from Play at Home Mom, a website devoted to some very hands-on learning play ideas. I really like the website a lot, but be prepared to get down and dirty -- it is not for the faint-at-heart! Many of their ideas involve paint, tarps, sand, water, food coloring, tarps and more tarps. But this idea was so easy and not messy at all, and thrilled our girls to no end.

GLOW STICK BATH

Ingredients:

• Glow Sticks


• Bath


• Kid(s)

(I got my glow sticks in the Target Dollar Spot, a pack of 2 for $1. Play at Home Mom claims though that you can get them even cheaper at the dollar store or Michaels.)

Step 1 - Bathe children as usual

Step 2 - Fire up the glow sticks

Step 3 - Throw them in the bath with children

Step 4 - Enjoy the fun and smiles

Both our girls really liked the Glow Stick Bath! You can totally put the glow sticks in before bathing your kids... Josie can be funny about these things, so we saved the glow sticks until the end in case she freaked out. At least that way, she would have already accomplished the 'cleanliness' portion of the bath. But she didn't freak at all, in fact she totally loved it! She was all about that blue glow stick, whereas Caroline was all about quantity -- she held on to the other 5 glow sticks like they were buried treasure she had discovered.

This made the bath portion of the night such a relaxed, cool experience for all of us. They held on to those glow sticks until it was time for bed. We put them in the freezer (the glow sticks, not the children) in the hopes that they would have a little glow left tomorrow. I can tell you one thing, if I can get those glow sticks at an even lower price, we'll be having Glow Stick Baths on the regular!

It also occurred to me that this might be a way to help kids overcome a fear of the dark. Neither of my girls have struggled with this (knock on wood) but we did turn all the lights out for them. There was plenty of light with 6 mini glow sticks that they could see everything that was going on. This might be one way to help a child with a fear of the dark adjust and be exposed to dark rooms.

Such a cool idea, cheap and SUPER easy with a big payoff... try it, you'll be glad you did!

Side note: make sure your child is always supervised with the glow sticks. Not sure what chemicals make them glow, but I am certain they don't belong in a child's mouth!

Baby and Kid Coupon Roundup

(I just wanted to use the word "roundup.")

There are some good coupons out right now pertaining to baby and kid stuff!

BABY

$1.00 off any BabyGanics Product

$3.00 off BabyGanics Loads of Love 3x Concentrated Laundry Detergent

$5.00 off Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny Seat

$5.00 off Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Table

$1.00 off 2 Gerber Organic baby food pouches

$1.00 off Huggies Little Swimmers Swim Diapers

$1.00 off any Banana Boat Sun Care (includes Baby formulas)

$2.00 off any 2 Playtex OrthoPro or Binky Pacifier

$2.00 off any Similac SIMPLYSMART Bottle (redeemable at Walmart)

$1.00 off Little Tummys Gripe Water or any Little Remedies Product (redeemable at Walmart)

 

KIDS

$3.00 off Thomas & Friends Talking Engine

$2.00 off WWE FlexForce Figure

$4.00 off Double Dare Snare or Hot Wheels track

$5.00 off two Polly Pocket items

$1.00 off any Banana Boat Sun Care (includes kids' formulas)

$1.00 off U.S.A. Kids Cups Product (redeemable at Walmart)

$1.00 off any Listerine Kid's Rinse or Reach Kid's Toothbrush

 

Remember, you can print 2 of each! You should be able to get some good deals out there with these coupons. Some examples:

>>Buy 5 Gerber Organic Baby 2nd Food Pouches (3.5 oz.) at Target ($1.49 each)

• use (2) $1.00/2 Gerber Organic Baby Food coupon


• stack with this Target B4G1 Free Gerber Organic Baby 2nd Food Pouches coupon

Pay just $.79 each!

 

>> Buy 1 Huggies Little Swimmers swim diapers (10-12 pk.) at Walgreens (on sale for $6.99 until July 7, 2012) 

• use $1/1 Huggies Little Swimmers coupon

Pay just $5.99 each!

Print 'em while they're hot!

(This post contains affiliate links. Please click here if you want to know what that means.)