Baby Bunching

kodak party in da house!

Cara recently took part in a Kodak Gallery house party hosted by her mom and scored fifty 40% off coupons for Kodak Gallery orders (including prints, which were recently lowered to 9 cents a print)!  Because the holidays are coming up and there’s nothing a Baby Buncher loves more than to plaster the faces of her precious darlings all over her holiday cards (and mugs, and mouse pads, and photo books, etc.), thought we’d share them with you.  To get one (which is good for your entire order), here’s what you have to do:

• Tweet and either link back to one of our posts or to us (@babybuncher or @babybuncher2)
• If you’re not on Twitter, blog or Facebook the term and link back to us
• Email us when you’ve done it.  This part, while an extra step that kind of sucks, is critical because we only have 50 coupon codes so we’re sending them to the first 50 Bunchers we hear from.  The easiest way for us to time stamp these is with an email.

If you’re one of the first 50, we’ll send you an email with your 40% off coupon code.  They expire on December 1, so tackle this quickly so you have plenty of time to peruse the offerings and get your order in.

Happy shopping and be sure to save one of your holiday cards for us – we’d love to see your Bunch all dolled up!

snack & play tray giveaway: making your car trips just a little bit more fun

As we wrap up car week, we have noted that the car and car seats seem to be a necessary evil for many people. While it's so important to be safe when getting to and from point A and point B, it's also important for everyone to stay sane. There are tons of great car accessories on the market to keep babies, toddlers and preschoolers occupied. Between the two of us, we've run through them all at one point or another--snack traps, dangle toys, books, mirrors, etc. But when we saw this accessory--the Snack & Play Travel Tray--featured at Daily Candy a few months back, we were sure this was a winning Baby Bunching product.

So what is so fabulous about this product?

1) We love the whole concept of a collapsible tray which you can pack for an airplane journey, car ride or shove in the basket of your stroller. It's made of foam so it's light to take and store.

2) We love the idea of a tray. Linda used to profess that a tray attached to the stroller would have kept her kid so much happier (since her stroller didn't have one). This would have been a perfect add-on. The Snack & Play is perfect for toddlers who want to keep snacks in front of them, arrange them in fun lines and circles and eventually drop them on the ground. Hey, we're no fools. As kids get older, it's great for coloring, reading, mini games (as kids get older) or keeping sippy cups/lovies from rolling onto the floor.

3) It's adjustable. This is awesome because it will fit most car seats or strollers in some way. We love this for the airplane because if you've traveled with a kid and a carseat you know that no tray table is coming down with most of the car seats nowadays. It's a tight squeeze any way you look at it.

4) You can hose it down. Every product Baby Bunching endorses must be easy to wash and/or hose down. This one says to wipe down with damp cloth, but I'm guessing hosing it down would work, too, since glued on Goldfish were pretty much standard during the first two years.

So you love this product now, too? Really, how can you not?

We have one to giveaway to a lucky winner. Please go check out their website, and 1) leave a message here about why you need this wonderful car accessory for your Bunch. If you really super love it, we will add your name in an extra time if you 2) either go tweet this giveaway or post to your wall on Facebook (please come back and tell us if you posted to Facebook as we have no way of tracking that!). So you have double the chances to win. Please, please, please make sure you leave a way for us to contact you here (email address). You can't win if we can't contact you.

Congratulations to Marla for being our winner!

baby bunching attire: polarn o. pyret giveaway

There are very few children's clothing companies which I can strongly endorse as 'perfect' for Baby Bunchers. In case you haven't noticed, kids wear out their clothes. Oh sure, in the early days, before the nasty smelling spit up or the entry of all food orange, you might be able to salvage some attire. However, let me assure you once your kids are into mud and dirt, it's really all over for kids' clothes. I have VERY few things I have been able to hang onto for other kids past the age of 9 months, even with Oxy Clean.

So can I just tell you how I squealed with joy when I found out my favorite Swedish clothing company--Polarn O. Pyret--was making its entry into the US market. My love of all things Swedish is WAY obvious to most. I get that.

Here are the details on this new-to-America clothing line. You can always tell Polarn O. Pyret clothes by the stripes. (Just so you know, I refer to them as "POP.") In Sweden everything PO.P is either navy blue or red with white stripes. All their major items: hats, boots, coats, snow suits, rain pants (can I tell you how fabulous the rain pants are) are all recognizable by the stripes. It's the primary symbol and identity carrier of the brand, and prompts an instant sense of recognition among customers. Every kid in Alex's preschool had a matching PO.P hat of either red or blue. Do you see where I'm going with this?

They have other adorable items as well which are somewhere in the range of H&M cuteness (but better quality) and Hanna Andersson quality (not as bright). Their motto is: quality + function + design = for the playful! Unlikes stores like Baby Gap, Pumpkin Patch and Old Navy their clothes are simple, graphical and UNISEX. Yes, that's right, they are unisex. So for all you Baby Bunchers out there this is HUGE. You have a baby, you pass it along to the next and in red or blue it suits both kids. Buy the red if you don't know what you're having so you're covered either way!

I think it was PO.P that taught me it's OK to buy unisex, especially for your big ticket items like coats, boots, hats, snow suits, etc. But what about shirts, onesies, pants? Yes, they have those too. The best part about them is that you can wash them over and over again and they don't fade, shrink or fall apart like all my Target and Old Navy stuff. My daughter is currently wearing a navy blue dress (now it's a long shirt) for the THIRD year! It still looks as good as it did the day I bought it. C'mon ladies. Three years? That's amazing.

So to celebrate this special occasion, the wonderful people at Polarn O. Pyret are giving away two of their baby outfits to try to draw you in. Don't worry, you will be. All you have to do is leave a comment here about what you look for most in kids' clothing AND go and sign up for PO.P+ which will automatically give you a 15% discount on what you buy. So either way, you win something! We'll let you know our winners (we'll be pick two) on May 1. If you want to comment about the clothes, please do.

giveaway winner

Thanks to Random.org we have two winners for the Clip n Feed Nursing Cover: Krystyn and Rachel O.  

We really enjoyed reading the stories. Funny how everyone's best one was on an airplane. Perhaps that warrants its own post. Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting.

moby wrap winner

Thanks to everyone for entering the Moby Wrap giveaway courtsey of La Stella Blu. We enjoyed reading all the babywearing stories and tips. The winner was chosen by random.org and the winner is Alison Barjaktarovich.

Also, a big thank you to everyone as today we hit 10,000 page hits today! Not too bad for only having the Website up since mid-August. Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting.

moby wrap giveaway

In honor of the fact that it is International Babywearing Week and the recent brouhaha caused by the Motrin babywearing ad, we're giving away a Moby Wrap, courtesy of La Stella Blu.

If you've never tried the Moby, you've got to. It's like magic. As I said in an earlier post on Moby vs. Bjorn, it does take a few minutes to get into. If you're like me and you're not good an envisioning how things work or assembling stuff, it will be a challenge for you to get it "just right." Please do not practice putting it on while your baby is freaking out waiting for you to figure it out.

But boy, oh boy, once you've got it on, your little one will just snuggle right up and either a) promptly sack out or b) enjoy the view (whether it's of the outside world or your boobs, depending on which way you put the carrier on). It's made of soft, stretchy fabric so the best part is that you won't need any Motrin!  It's kind to mom's back and soft and comfy for baby. Mine was a baby shower gift and I thank the girls who gave it to me daily.

Post a comment on whether babywearing works or doesn't work for you and why by Tuesday 11/25 to enter the random drawing to win your own!

sling giveaways

We've added a new features to the right of our site with links to giveaways (we think Baby Bunching moms might be interested in) at other sites. Two Baby Bunching sites Adventures in Babywearing and Rookiemoms.com are giving away slings. Baby Bunching will be giving away a Moby wrap later this month.

it became 'our song': a CD giveaway

My son was two weeks old. I remember pacing the dimly lit nursery--the noisy room air conditioner barely audible. Alex was screaming and no one--not me, my husband nor my mom--could settle him. I ran and grabbed a CD a fellow Baby Bunching mom had given to me as a baby gift. She assured me it was one of the better baby music CDs out there, and as I put it in the CD player I prayed it would work.

He continued to scream and I started to cry. Until the song "It's Alright" came on, and its cricket sounds in the background finally calmed him down. It was like magic. He stopped. I don't know if it was the song or the way the song made me feel as I held him. But I stopped crying and he stopped crying and that become "our song."

I carried Sara Hickman's "Newborn" CD around the world with me--twice--when Alex was little. When I couldn't find a CD player, I would sing the songs. (This included a 6-hour plane ride.) Instantly he'd calm down. The entire CD is filled with sweet renditions of classic songs and some of Sara's own. We loved the CD so much that for Alex's first birthday, we bought her second children CD "Toddler," which was equally as beautiful for young kids. We actually listened to it in the car yesterday.

As soon as Anna made her appearance, I introduced her to the CD hoping this would again be the magical CD. And it was! She loved the songs but didn't make a connection with one particular song like Alex did, which was fine. I loved the idea that he and I had "our song." For her first year, we would listen to it as I nursed her late at night, and it still had some magical quality to it. Anna's song came around later and even at the age of three, I'm still singing it to her.

Because I'm so fond of the CD, Sara Hickman and I are giving away both the "Newborn" and "Toddler "CDs as a special Baby Bunching package. It makes a great gift for Baby Bunching moms since each child gets his own CD. A onesie with the child's name is included with the CD and will be sent from her directly. Here's what you have to do: Tell us about a special song you have with your child or one you had with your mom. I'll take responses by Nov. 3 and randomly pick a winner.

and we have a winner...

for the "Sleep is for the Weak" giveaway. Thanks, Deena, (who has an 8-week old and 16-month old) for the great sleep advice.

No, my baby is still not sleeping, but I I did try many of the tips offered up and picked the one that got me closest.  I did not pick the one that involves me holding the baby for six months.  Sorry, Stimey.  (But I did pick a solution that involves a hint of Ferberizing, so don't think I totally discounted your advice.)

Update:  A week ago, baby was so tired he was just falling to pieces.  He was such a mess that we finally decided it would be mean NOT to let him fuss until he finally went to sleep (soothing and reassuring him every 10 minutes or less, of course).  Once he finally knocked out, he slept for 5 hours, got up and ate, and slept for another 5 hours.  Then ran like clockwork for the next 3 days - would wake, eat, play for about an hour and a half, then sleep for a couple of hours, going two five hour stretches at night.  YAY!  Problem solved, right?

Enter Visiting Grandmother.  She wanted to hold him 24 hours a day since she lives far away and only gets to see him every few months.  Which was super, as long as she was providing free babysitting for all three kids while my husband and I happily vacated the premises for date nights.  But now that she is gone and we are stuck with a de-conditioned, non-sleeping baby (again), it kinda sucks.

Back to square one.  Ugh.

write about "a first"

Yes, in fact, we're having another giveaway. But rather than posting the rules on here, please head over to Linda's blog for the instructions. But here's the quick data dump. We'll give away a copy of Writing Motherhood to those who would like to do a little bit of writing. The catch is you have to actually write and post on YOUR blog. Come back here or here on Sept. 22 and post the link in the comment section. The author of Wring Motherhood, Lisa Garrigues, will be strolling about to read your posts. And we'll give away a copy of the book as well. By the way, it's a great book for those who really love to write, but need a little extra inspiration.

Write about a first: the first day of kindergarten, the first day of college, the first grandchild. Or simply begin with the writing start "the first time" and write down the first thing that comes to mind. I'll give extra credit to those who can write about a baby bunching first. The first time you lost your mind. The first time you cried. The first time you felt you just couldn't do this. The first time you realized your kids were best friends. The first time you figured out that you really could do this.