Style Lush

Reader help: The best booster seat?

By Manda

Now that my daughter is in her second year of preschool, she is having more play dates with her little friends and it is SO CUTE! She actually has one today after school and when I told her she was going to her friend's house (and the yogurt shop!) after school she nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement.

When we arranged the play date, the other mom said something magical to me: "And don't worry! We have an extra car seat!" I cannot tell you how awesome and convenient that is for me. My 4-year-old still rides in this five-point harness seat in my car (and she will for quite a while longer, as it's rated up to 70 pounds!), but it is a bit of a bear to get in and out of the car. Now that we have developed some deeper relationships at school and occasionally pick up other kids after school to help out other parents or to do play dates, I'd like to have an additional seat in OUR car so that I can return the favor. It would actually be a wise thing for us to have on hand so our daughter can hop in the car with her dad without having to move seats, and as we also have a 2-year-old and a baby on the way, an extra seat could be verrrry useful for us in the coming years.

 

 

And that's where YOU come in! What high-back booster seats do you recommend? I see them everywhere for a variety of prices and have no idea where to start. Consumer Reports recommends the Graco HighBack Turbo Booster (the one pictured above) for overall safety and price point, and I'm curious if anyone has this one and what your feedback is? If there's a better all-purpose one out there that you LOVE? Please shoot me a recommendation! Thanks!

(photo via ConsumerReports.org)

Nursery Tour

By Jen

I'm back! Now be honest, did you even notice I was gone? Pretend that you did, okay? Anyway, this is what I have been doing:

{All pictures in this post are mine.}

That's Ryan, he has crazy eyes. (No, really. Follow me on Instagram, I do a Crazy Eyes Picture of the Day because he really does have crazy eyes.)

Anyway, since this is my first post back from maternity leave, I thought I'd show you the new nursery.

Here's his dresser with a changing pad on top. I got the letters from a craft store and painted them myself. We are big fans of Eric Carle around here, so I used Hungry Caterpillar wall decals as accents around the nursery.

{Cute little frog basket for holding stuff was a gift from fellow Style Lusher Tara.}

Here's the corner of the room with the rocking chair. Ignore the frame with nothing in it. I'm still deciding what I want in there. (See probable future angsty what-shall-I-put-in-there post.)

I bought some cheap frames and framed a set of Eric Carle notecards that I bought at Kohls. The fourth picture of the little girl is a new baby card that my friend Angie sent me. She painted it herself and it is my daughter holding her new baby brother. I liked it so much that I framed it. Angie has her own Etsy shop if you'd like to see more of her work.

The crib has a Hungry Caterpillar crib sheet from Pottery Barn Kids. The crib rail teether is homemade from The Very Lonely Firefly fabric and the crib skirt is homemade from the Hungry Caterpillar butterfly colors fabric. Thanks, Mom! You can buy Eric Carle fabric of your own, online, here.

(Also, the colors are kind of messed up in this picture. It looks much better in person.)

Loyal Style Lush readers may recognize the tree wall decal from the post I wrote back in June.

{Emily! If you squint really hard, you can see the little wooden cars you sent me on the end table!}

This concludes your nursery tour. I'm excited to be back!

Reader help: Cute (and affordable) maternity clothes

By Manda

Welp, here we go again! I'm expecting our third baby this summer, and at 14 weeks pregnant I'm already starting to show. I can still fit into my regular jeans, although most of my shirts (with the exception of my long tank tops) are pulling in all the wrong places. I've gotten out my bin of maternity clothes and most of them are either worn out, the wrong season, or just plain out of style. Thankfully I got some new maternity clothes for Christmas, but I'm going to need to round things out as the months go on.

And so, this is where you come in, dear readers! Where are the best places to find cute maternity basics that I can wear the crap out of until July? My specifications are that they be cute, versatile, affordable and for heaven's sake comfortable. Also I'm a not a big fan of anything that gathers or ties under the bust (empire-waisted). EASY, huh?

Here are a few of the pieces I've found that I really like. All of them are from Old Navy.

Maternity Chevron-Striped Maxi Skirt

Maternity Side-Shirred Tunic

Maternity Long-Sleeve Scoop Neck Tee

Maternity Slub-Knit Tee

(And of course I had to throw in a new pair of shoes because, well, they'll be the only thing that fits for the next 6 months! And they're on sale!)

Where is your favorite place to shop for maternity clothes? Any tips for basics like jeans, tunics, and basics like t-shirts?

(Photos via OldNavy.com)

What I'm Buying for the Baby in the Family

By Rebecca

My own kids are 7 and 4, and while I love finding the perfect Lego set and My Little Pony toys for them, I have to admit that I reeeeeeeally miss buying baby stuff. And since my sister went ahead and did me the supreme favor of having a baby five months ago, I got the chance to do just that. Itch: scratched! So, here's what I'm getting for the baby in our family this year.

1) The cutest Robeez shoes ever. Do babies need shoes? Of course they don't! But you are made of stone if you can resist these. Lookit the tiny shoes! Here is where I tell you that when my kids were little, they had... way too many of these. And I miss them desperately. R.I.P., adorable fire truck shoes.

2) Stacking toys. Okay, so a five-month old baby won't be able to stack these just yet. But they're also good for chewing on and banging together, which he CAN do. And he'll grow into the stacking eventually, unless these roll under the sofa never to be seen again. Not that that happened to me, or anything. (It totally did.) 

3) Books. Reading to my kids is one of my all-time favorite things to do, so I've been stockpiling some of their early favorites to give to their baby cousin. Here are a few I've set aside:

• The Going to Bed Book (or anything by Sandra Boynton, really) 
• That's Not My Robot 
• Ten Little Ladybugs
• Curious George and the Puppies
• My First Truck Board Book 

If you were buying for a baby (yours or someone else's), what would you add?

(Photo credits: amazon.com)

 

Two Great Magazines for Preschoolers

by Lawyerish

My 2.5-year old has always been hugely into reading. Even between the nearby branch library and our neighborhood Barnes & Noble, we have trouble bringing in enough new, high quality reading material to keep her content. Enter two great magazine subscriptions geared toward preschoolers:

Ladybug is the younger version of the perennial kids' publication, Cricket. It features age-appropriate stories, games, artwork, and songs, and covers a wide range of topics. Some of the features are recurring, such as a comic strip about a family and their always-troublesome dog; while others are fresh each month. The magazine frequently includes stories about different countries or cultures -- for example, this month's issue had a lovely short, illustrated story about a Norwegian nisse, or elf, while last month had a story about a Native American basket weaver. I have found it to be very engaging; my daughter wants each issue read to her over and over again, even months later.

Only a couple of times have I found clinkers in an issue: once, they had a story about a girl who didn't want to go to school, and I ended up tearing it out so that we could keep the magazine but not have to read that (I didn't want my daughter to pick up on negative feelings about school, since she was just starting it herself). Other than that, I've been very impressed with the quality of the writing and art, and the diversity of the subjects.

For other ages of children, this same publisher puts out the following, according to its website: "BABYBUG®, for children ages 6 months to 3 years; LADYBUG®, for ages 3 to 6; SPIDER®, for ages 6 to 9, and CRICKET®, for ages 9-14. The company also publishes a line of nonfiction magazines devoted to the sciences, arts, and humanities: CLICK®, for ages 3 to 7, ASK®, for ages 7 to 10, and MUSE®, for ages 10 and up. CICADA®, a challenging and entertaining literary magazine for teens and young adults ages 14 and up was added in 1998."

The other magazine we've enjoyed a lot is High Five, which is the version of Highlights for the preschool set. High Five is a little less...literary, if I can use such a word for a children's publication, than Ladybug; but it's still very well done, and again my daughter is thrilled to receive it every month. It has more recurring characters, so there are familiar subjects in each issue, and it has activites such as craft suggestions, hidden pictures, and counting exercises to keep the kids learning. Sometimes the artwork is by familiar children's book illustrators, which is always fun to see as well. 

Either of these, or their sibling magazines, would make terrific gifts -- I recommend ordering them now, but also buying a current issue to put in a stocking or under a tree, since they tend to take about six weeks to send the first issue in the mail.

{Photo credits: highlights.com, ladybugmagkids.com}

In the trenches: Flying with a lap child and sibling

By Elisabeth

This past week, my family and I spent eight days in Oklahoma for the Thanksgiving holiday. That was probably the last time we'll fly with my youngest on my lap since his 2nd birthday is in April, but I wanted to share with you a secret trick I used to make our journey a little easier. (It's not fool-proof, but it's better than nothing.)

My middle child is 4 1/2 years old and can fly without any kind of harnessed car seat, BUT he is still young enough to be eligible for one, if needed. Well, in our case, I did use one for him, but just for the take-off and landing. (We used a 5-point harness Sunshine Kid booster*. Using just a booster seat would not work under airline guidelines.)

Once we were in the air and they announced we could use all portable electronic devices (HALLELUJAH!) I took him out of the car seat and placed my 19 month lap child in the beautiful and glorious apparatus. He was LOCKED in and not squirmy as all get out. I've got bruises to show for it!

What did I do with the other kid? Well, I gently shoved him in between my husband and me and made our row of three, a tight four. If he were younger, or less narrow in the hips? there would be more room for everybody involved. (Who am I kidding? My son and I shared a seat while my husband played a video on his IPad with plenty of room to let it all hang out. Plus, my 7 year old was sitting in the row beside us, on the aisle and made friends enough with his row mate, that he began playing on her phone after she offered it to him!)

Now, of course, my 2nd child wasn't in a seat belt while all of this is going on, but for the duration of the time my infant spent in the car seat, he watched a show quietly and fell asleep for 45 minutes.

When they announced we were on the descend, I switched the kids back to their original seating and all was right with the world.

It's the little things, I tell ya.

So, if you're traveling for the holidays or know someone who is, with two or more small children, including a lap baby, you might want to consider bringing that heavy, annoying car seat. It can save marriages.

 

{photo credit: me}

(*This photo was taken from another flight when we had purchased a seat for him. He slept for 30 minutes during the 5-hour flight and spent most of his time in our arms in the galley. Money well spent!)

Toni Top Revisited

by Hillary

I proclaimed my love for the Toni Top here and I still maintain that it's the best nursing top on the market. Even cooler? It's now available as a tunic and a dress.

I own the tunic and I love it. It's stylish, comfortable, and has all the awesome features of the Toni Top (easy access for nursing, no fussy snaps or buttons, etc.) Just like the original top, the material is stretchy enough that it can be comfortably worn throughout pregnancy and beyond.

Snugabell wants to offer Style Lush readers a discount on their site, Amazon.com and Amazon.ca - just enter the code TONISAVE on a minimum $56 order for 15% off the Toni Top line through December 7, 2012.

{Photo credit: amazon.com}

What's New In Baby Monitors These Days?

By A'Dell

I'm about to have my third child this January and our baby monitors are verrrrry tired and in need of replacment. They're about 5 years old (we have an audio-only AND a video) and have basically been turned on that entire time. The batteries are obviously shot and they need to be plugged in at all times. I seem to remember them both being kind of spendy and a quick look at Amazon tells me that this kind of thing is STILL spendy. 

My big problem with them over the years is that for as expensive as they were (especially the video one) they just didn't do a lot. The screen was small, the feed was crappy, the device was bulky. I often wondered how I had a slim iPhone with better capabilities than these stupid monitors, for not much more in price (and an iPhone also does a crapton more than just the camera/audio portion).

I've kind of been wondering about these IP cameras that are marketed for home security. I know a few people that are using them as baby monitors in tandem with apps on their phones. They seem to have WAY more features for LESS than what a lot of the other legit baby monitors on the market cost.

Foscam

This one has a two-way speaker (Can you imagine how awesome that would be at age 2 and 3? "GET BACK IN BED!"), remote tilt/pan, and I think you can even lift video and still photos off of it!

Anyone using this kind of thing to keep an eye on your kids? 

Cute Lamp for a Child's Room

by Lawyerish

The reading nook in my daughter's room has needed better lighting for ages now, so finally I bit the bullet and shopped around for a lamp to put on her low bookshelf. I didn't want something overly cutesy, since ideally it will stay in her room for years to come; but I also didn't want it to be a generic bedside table lamp. 

After much searching and consternation, I found the Lolli Living Spindle Base, which comes in an array of colors, and has a bunch of lovely shade options.

Check it:

I went with the white base and the blue zig-zag shade, and it looks way cute in her room (ignore the adorable goofball modeling her Halloween shirt):

(Photo credits: amazon.com and author's own)

Two Toilet Training Essentials

by Lawyerish

We recently went through (and are kind of still going through) the joyous process of potty training with our two-and-a-half year old daughter, and a couple of items have helped immensely.

The Prince Lionheart weePod toilet seat:

This adjustable toilet seat is smooth and soft and fits on both of our toilets (which are, for unknown reasons, different shapes).  It seems very comfortable for a child to sit on and feel secure; it doesn't move around at all, which is important since one doesn't need the added excitement of a shifty seat on top of everything else going on with a toddler in the bathroom. We went with this seat instead of training our child on a kid-potty and then having to transition to the adult-size toilet, and I think it's made the whole process go more smoothly -- the fewer variables involved, the better.  While this isn't a seat that I'd travel with, it does stash alongside our toilets easily, and my daughter has had no trouble making the leap to child seat-less public toilets after learning to feel safe on the big potty thanks to this seat.

iPlay Green Sprouts cotton training pants:

We have Pull-Ups on hand for naps and nighttime, but once my daughter seemed ready to venture out in public sans diaper, I wanted her (and me) to be able to tell if she had an accident, so that she would start to understand the sensation of being wet. Disposable diapers and Pull-Ups are so absorbent that it can be tough for a kid to know if she's wet or not. Nonetheless, I didn't want to have a deluge on our hands when accidents did occur.  I got these cotton training pants and they have been perfect.  They have a thin water-resistant lining sandwiched between two layers of thick organic cotton, so they're soft and gentle on delicate skin, and they hold back the flood, if you will -- but it's also clear to the child when they're wet.  A win all around.  

How about you -- did you rely on any great products to get you through potty training? 

{Photo credits:  diapers.com; iplaybabywear.com}