Fact Checking - Baby Style

In celebration and acknowledgement of the upcoming presidential elections, I thought it was fitting to do some fact checking.  No, I'm not going to reveal the truth behind Governor Romney's plan for reforming the federal tax code or expose what really happened at the US Embassy in Syria.  What I will do is throw out some interesting baby facts for us to ponder.  Let's get this party started (click on answers to see the source of my info):


Average weight and length of baby at 40 weeks - 7 lbs 10.08 ounces and 20.16 inches

Original Gerber Baby - Ann Turner Cook

Ann Turner Cook in December 1996

US State with the most births - California

US State with the highest birth rate (number of births compared to number of women) - Utah

Top selling baby toy on Amazon.com - Sophie the Giraffe, obvy

What's So Great About Sophie?

Doctor who delivered the most babies (arguably) - Dr. Walter "Papa Doc" Watson, practice in Augusta, GA, delivered 18,000+ babies, still delivering at age 100

Year that TLC's A Baby Story premiered - 1998

Highest amount of money paid for photo of celebrity baby - $11 million was allegedly paid by People Magazine for photos of Brangelina's twins (Vivienne and Knox)

The Money Shot

Busiest Labor and Delivery Hospital in US (arguably) - Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, TX

Best selling baby book (through 2000) - The Poky Little Puppy

Now in it's 65th edition!!!

Number of children fathered by Eddie Murphy - 8 (Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, Bella, Christian, Eric, Angel)

Amount of money Jay Z and Beyonce spent on Swarovski encrusted baby shoes for Blue Ivy - $800

Designed by Ruthie Davis

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Holiday Gift Countdown - Days 15 and 16

Today's (and tomorrows) choice holiday gifts are a cell phone teether and a remote control teether.  These eco-friendly toys are handcrafted by 3 Princesses Engraving, a Canadian based Etsy shop.  Both can be personalized and both retail for $12.  It's never too soon to introduce your child to technology, I suppose.

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Holiday Gift Countdown - Day 9

Christmas is 16 days away and Hanukkah is a mere 11 days away.  Where has the year gone?  There's still plenty of some time to order gifts online and even more time to shop in store.  So get on it.  Here's another idea for the baby (or babies) in your life: Chan Pie Gnon.  You've met Sophie...now meet her friends, chan pie gnon (in blue, pink and yellow).  They're made of the same natural rubber as Sophie, but shaped like mushrooms.  They retail for as little as $12.89 on Amazon.com.  

(COME BACK AT 12 NOON FOR TODAY'S EDITION OF STUFF PEOPLE GOOGLE!)

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Orange You Excited to Decorate a Gender Neutral Nursery?

Another gender neutral color (other than yellow...and green...which is the new yellow) is orange.  Maybe orange will become the new green?  Orange and turquoise is a trendy color combination, but a little too modern and loud for my taste.  I prefer bringing the orange down with white, cream and tans.

1. Macaroni pumpkin crib bedding set by Nurseryworks ($330-$340)
2. Orange slice pillow by Winter Petals ($39)
3. Chunky baby blanket by How Cute Are You? ($25)
4. Owl coin bank by Z Gallerie ($12.95)
5. Orange dandelion photograph by Carl Christensen ($15)

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Elephant Nursery

Elephants are clearly not as trendy as owls in the world of babies and nurseries.  But they are definitely just as cute, right?  Maybe even cuter?  

In addition to being adorable, elephants can also be cool, contemporary and mature.  I'm always interested in decor themes that can transcend nursery boundaries into adult design because I live in a small apartment.  A strong theme in a small apartment can over take the entire space.  Picking a theme that works for a whole space (nursery, bedroom, living room and even kitchen) is especially important when it's small.  Imagine 800 square feet full of leopard print from rug to pendant lamp.  Scary.  Elephants, on the other hand, could work.  In moderation.

Elephants work for babies.

via amazon.com

Elephants work for grownups.

by Z Gallerie

Some ideas for a baby boy's elephant themed nursery.

1. Elephant print by Pumpkin and Butterfly ($18)

2. Elephant lamp by Uncommon Goods ($20)

3. Plush striped elephant by The Land of Nod ($16.95)

4. Eli's elephant nursery bedding by Pottery Barn Kids ($24.50 - $99)

5. Elephant clock by Uncommon Goods ($29.99)

Some ideas for a baby girl's elephant themed nursery.

1. Elephant print by Galerie Anais ($14)

2. Elephant and balloon pillow by Tailorbird Designs (25 euro)

3. Stuffed toy elephant by Rabbits Moon ($38.50)

4. Pink and gray elephant crib bedding set by Carter's ($137)

5. Elephant baby blanket by Kiki Kiddos ($55)

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Gray and Yellow Nursery

You probably already knew that yellow + gray = hot right now.  

From wedding trends...

via Brides.com

to handbags...

by Chloe

to home decor...

by Crate and Barrel

It's a modern color combination that is neither too feminine nor masculine.  It's bright and fun, yet neutral - nearly any third (or fourth) color could be easily added to the mix.  So, why not use it for a nursery?  Here are some ideas.  

Sticks Pewter bedding (below) by Oilo and sold at Layla Grace ($399 for full set)

1. Houndstooth gray and yellow fabric storage basket by The Spotted Barn ($18)

2. Organic fabric basket by B*Lota Handmade ($26)

1. Giraffe Print (11" x 14") by The Pink Pagoda ($30)
2. Bunting (9') by Fresh Squeezed Baby ($32)
3. Love You Baby print by Adair Designs ($8)

This yellow and gray felt birdie mobile (below) is made by Love Felt XOXO ($39).  Head to the Etsy shop and check out the elephant mobile that's also in yellow and gray.

What color combinations are you seeing everywhere that would work well in a nursery?

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An Apartment Baby

I live in a small space.  A small New York space (versus a small Canton, Ohio space).  When I someday transition from baby crazy to baby mama I will have to fit my baby into this small space.  I will also have to fit the baby's things into this small space.  Cue the suspenseful music...

 

I couldn't find any suspenseful music, but I did find the original movie trailer for Scream.  

The thought of making room for a crib in my teeny tiny apartment makes my brain hurt.  Square peg.  Round hole.  Impossible.  And, the crib is just one thing.  There are many other things that will need to find homes in my apartment too - bottles, clothes, diapers and some tons of other stuff...I don't know what exactly that other stuff is, but I know there's tons.

The round hole symbolizes my apartment and
the square hole symbolizes the baby stuff.  Deep.
(image here)

So, what does an apartment dweller do when she has a baby?  Where does all the baby stuff go?  WHERE?

Without the pressure of an impending due date, it's a good time to consider this dilemma.  My standard method of problem solving is to separate the things I can control from the things I can't control, then focus on the things I can control.  In this problem, I can't control the size of my apartment.  Unless, of course, I move.  Assuming that's not a feasible option (because it's not), let's continue.  The baby stuff is something I can control both in terms of how much and how big.  Thus, I'm going to focus on the baby stuff.  Step one: complete.

Step two: what is the baby stuff?  I've come full circle in a mere two paragraphs, one of which was only three short questions.  Hmmm.  My method for learning things about pregnancy and childbirth is consulting wikipedia and urbandictionary.com.  Unlike my problem solving method, this method is bad.  It failed just yesterday (read this and then this for the humorous details).

And so, I'm turning to YOU - What are the best baby stuff?  I'm not talking great, I'm talking BEST. What are things that were absolutely essential to the first year of your little one's life?  Give me your Top 5.

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The Second and Third Gifts Were DOGtastic

The first gift was DINOmyte.  The second and the third gifts were DOGtastic, which isn't an actual word but sounded much better than BARKvelous (marvelous) or PUPational (sensational).  What am I talking about?  The gifts that I brought to a first birthday party.

I'll give a brief history of the first birthday party of which I'm referring:

1) Here, I pondered over what gift to bring.
2) Here, I pondered over what food to bring.
3) Here, I revealed the first gift that I brought.
4) TODAY, I'm revealing the second and third gifts.

Now that you're caught up, the second and the third gifts were from The Black Dog.  The Black Dog is a tavern that has become exceptionally successful at marketing it's apparel.  So much so that there are entire stores, separate and apart from the tavern itself, that sell The Black Dog sweatshirts and hats and dog collars.  I can't explain why the tavern is so great or why the apparel is so trendy because I don't know.  What I do know, is that it's indigenous to Martha's Vineyard where I recently visited.  A-ha!  Now all this rambling is making sense, sort of.

I like getting gifts for people while I'm on vacation.  Not I-brought-you-something-back-from-my-vacation gifts.  Though sometimes cool and unique, those type gifts are more often cheap and lame (for example, a t-shirt that reads "My mom went to Las Vegas and all I got was this crappy t-shirt").  I like getting real gifts (birthday, wedding, house warming, etc.) while on vacation.  Real gifts offer a bigger budget and vacation gifts offer one-of-a-kind status - a dogtastic fantastic combination.

Hence, while on my vacation to Martha's Vineyard, I bought a couple gifts from The Black Dog for my upcoming first birthday party - a sweatshirt and a stuffed animal.  I'll concede that The Black Dog products aren't quite one-of-a-kind, but certainly unusual enough for a 1-year-old from Brooklyn.  And, the stuff is so cute and comfy, perfect for fall.  I had been inspired by this jacket (below) from The Nutmeg Tree to give a gift of warm clothing.

by The Nutmeg Tree and 15% off
with the coupon code TATORTOT

Here is a cute sweater from The Black Dog.  This isn't what I got, but it's the only large image I could find for your viewing pleasure.  My purchase was the traditional sweatshirt, in pink.  Of course.

via The Black Dog

And, at last, I couldn't leave The Black Dog store without purchasing a black dog (stuffed not live, fake not real).  Head to The Black Dog website (here) to check out all the great stuff, including some stuffed, fake dogs. 

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The First Gift Was DINOmyte

Last weekend, I attended my first 1st birthday party.  It was a blast, a blast in an apple juice glass...Jersey Shore anyone?  There was cake and singing and lots of clapping.

And now, the answer you've all been waiting for...the gift.  Remember my quest to find the perfect 1st birthday gift?  If not, click here to refresh your memory and then forget about all those options because I didn't go with any of them.  They were all great, but the winning choices were even better.  That's right, choices - three gifts.  Each different and each awesome.

This is the first gift.  You know I love dinosaurs (for more on that click here and here).  

via Amazon.com

Not only is the book about dinosaurs but it's touchy feely.  Not touchy feely in the prom night sense, but in the tactile sense.  Each page features a different dinosaur with a different texture - rough, soft, slippery, etc.  One year olds are all about their sense of touch.  They are learning about and fascinated by the way different objects feel against their skin.  And, with this book, they will also learn about and be fascinated by dinosaurs.  Double bonus.  

Stay tuned (next week) for gifts two and three.

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Something's Fishy With This Nursery

Enough with all the owls.  Yes, everyone loves them.  Everyone wants to have owl themed baby showers and owl themed nurseries and owl themed lives.  They're great, but let's not leave out the rest of the animal kingdom.  Today, it's all about the fishies.  I recognize that fish aren't the cutest or cuddliest of creatures.  Perhaps lions or sheep would have been a more logical choice to follow the trendy owl?  Oh well.  I went with fish and I am so smitten with each of these lovely products.

1. Fresh fish pillow by Mimi Kirchner ($75)

2. Red carp screen printed mini pillow by minimonos ($33)

3. Goldfish pillow by Little Korboose ($25)

This fantastic light switch ($12) cover is made by Turn Me On Art (ha!).  These are trout, yes?  Mixing realistic fish decor with whimsical and cartoonish fish decor is great for creating a cohesive feel without the matchy matchy effect.

This wooden teether ($12) by Little Sapling Toys is eco-friendly (naturally anti-bacterial, non-allergenic, and non-toxic) .  When it's not drool covered and in use, it would be a perfect bit of art for the bookshelf.  Enjoy a 10% discount on your purchase with the coupon code "NEXTSTOP10" (valid between 9/19/11 and 10/10/11).  

Three Eggs makes this Under the Sea hanging mobile ($98).  Each mobile is made to order and the colors can be customized, check out the Etsy shop for all the options.

This fish shaped key/coat/thing hook is made by TR Woodworks.  There are fifteen color choices to paint the piece of reclaimed wood - again, eco-friendly, love it.

Below are two beautiful and different fish prints.  The first is by Gallerie Anais ($14) and the second is by Nella Designs ($15).  

by Gallerie Anais

by Nella Designs

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What's So Great About Sophie?

Sophie the Giraffe is THE most popular baby toy.  EVER.

I have no proof of this (none whatsoever), but I'm making a very educated guess that she's in the top 10.  I spot this damn giraffe everywhere.  She's in the hands of nearly every baby I see, drool covered and dopey looking.  I swear I see her every day.  Sometimes more than once a day (I live in a highly baby populated neighborhood).  If Sophie the Giraffe were to rob me, I would have no problem describing her in perfect detail to the assigned detective and if she were in a line up with several other like sized rubber giraffes, I would have no problem pointing her out.  I could identify those rosy cheeks and that showy pose anywhere.

Have you seen her?  Do you know who I'm talking about?  

Sophie.
She's been around the block
in a stroller or two...

Little known facts about Sophie the Giraffe:

• She's French (Sophie La Girafe)
• She's 50 (Born in 1961)
• She competes with Freddie the Firefly for top teether, but there really is no competition

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