The Mom Crowd

I received the most adorable personalized frame from Munchkin Designs! The owner, Lisa Komer is very talented and her products are unique, personal, and custom. Her products include picture frames (like the one I received), stationary (note cards, invitations, holiday cards, birth announcements, etc.), canvas art, albums, journals, artfolios, “birthday-in-a-box,” and she will soon be selling Big Sister/Big Brother gift sets. You can join her mailing list to be notified of all of her up and coming products.

The frame I received is great quality. I love the vibrant colors and love that it’s personalized. Darah loves it as well! Our frame arrived packaged very safely. My husband even commented on how much he liked the frame and mentioned that he liked that the glass was “real glass, and not that plasticky film that comes with most children’s frames.” Lisa’s follow-up on her orders is excellent. She sent me an email confirming that I received my order. These frames are a great way to accessorize your child’s room! They also would make excellent gifts for baby showers or birthday parties!

If you’ve read our blog for any amount of time, you probably have figured out that I’m all about anything that helps further medical research. Munchkin Designs tugged my heartstrings when I learned that 10% of all profits are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She has a very special card designed specifically to raise awareness and further research on blood cancers. Half of all purchases of these cards are donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through August 31, 2008.

If you’ve been reading our blog, you probably have also learned that I also am a sucker for discounts! Munchkin Designs is offering The Mom Crowd readers 15% off of all frame purchases. Her website is being redesigned and will soon be taking online orders. In the meantime, to receive your 15% discount, email your order to lisa@munchkindesigns.com with the discount code: MC2008. This discount is good through April 3, 2008!

I’m a very sentimental momma. I keep a journal for each of my kids. I plan to give them their journals on a special day when they’re older. I save all kinds of things from their early years (or months!), like the hat Eli wore home from the hospital, or the precious tiny socks Lucy wore in her first few weeks of life. When we got Lucy’s toybox for her first birthday, we picked out a special one that can turn into a “hope chest” for her later on. I even painted her name on the top in a fun, girly font. And not so long ago, I hung this shadow box on the wall in Lucy’s room. It contains a shirt I wore when I was about a year old, and a picture of me wearing it (these items were handed down to me from my mom when I got pregnant.)

Given my penchant for sentiment, saving special things, and personalizing objects for my kids, I was delighted to receive a piece of adorable babywear from Sew Cute to review. Their products are exactly the kind of items that keepsake-loving moms like myself would be interested in. Sew Cute’s site is chock-full of darling baby clothes and items that could easily fill your own child’s closet or make a great gift for a friend.

The clothing at Sew Cute comes in classic colors such as Bubblegum pink (as seen on my little model), Aqua blue, Marine black, and Christmas Snow white. You’ll find short- and long-sleeved tees, onesies, pants, hoodies, and the cutest knotted caps you’ll ever see on a baby. Hooded towels, bibs, and gift certificates are also available. Sizes run from newborn to six years. All items are personalized in a sweet font with the baby’s monogrammed initial or name.

Lucy is wearing the Personalized Long-Sleeved Tee. As soon as I slipped it on her, I was charmed by how cute she looked. It is soft, sweet, and captures her little-girl innocence completely. She was obviously comfortable in it. The shirt is high-quality, and the monogrammed feature is top-notch. I received the shirt less than two weeks after I placed my order, and I found Sew Cute’s service fast and friendly.

I can easily imagine this picture and Lucy’s shirt in a shadow box of its own for future generations to appreciate. If you are looking for a similar keepsake item for your family, be sure to check out Sew Cute!

• Sew Cute is offering The Mom Crowd readers a $5 gift certificate. To receive your $5 gift certificate you need to login and enter “The Mom Crowd” in the Referral field. There are many items on clearance for 40% off right now.

What items are you saving as keepsakes for your children?

My friend, Pete (the only male to ever comment on this site), is very excited about being a new dad. He enthusiastically jumped in and started changing diapers on day 1. He works for a small junior high and they recently had a diaper drive for him and one other teacher. The stack of diapers in his garage is about 8 ft wide and 4 ft high! Seriously. In this article Pete shares his first experiences with diapering.

Starting off with my credentials, I’ve been a father for exactly 4 weeks today, thus I’ve changed somewhere between two to three hundred diapers. My experience with diapering before becoming a parent was limited to a few isolated incidences of babysitting for a friend or my sisters. When it was time to clean up the dirty-deed, I simply used whatever diapers were supplied, never noticing their effectiveness or brand. In grocery stores, I undoubtedly walked past the disposable diaper aisle, but had never stopped to determine my “Brand” or even price range. Consequently, I did like the idea of environmentally friendly and exploring the world of cloth diapers…if the opportunity ever presented itself.

Well, the opportunity did present itself this year and I wanted to be prepared. A month before our son arrived there was a disposable sale at Babies R Us and I capitalized on it. I purchased 2 super-sized boxes of Newborn size and 2 mega-sized boxes of size 1 diapers. The cost per diaper was as low as 7 cents per diaper, which is significantly less when compared to some of the “Brand Name” diapers which can easily cost 25 cents per diaper. (And when you’re using 12+/- diapers a day, it makes a big difference). For what it is worth, my wife and I decided that we would postpone the use of cloth diapers until our son was at a stage where he was dirtying fewer diapers per day.

Now, about the four boxes of diapers. They were the cheapest in price I had researched, but would they get the job done? Since I had so many, I was determined that these would work! Unfortunately, our son was not just dirtying these diapers, but he was regularly wetting his clothes as well. The diapers frequently leaked liquids near his lower lumbar. The worst of it happened last Tuesday, when I changed his diaper six times between 6pm and midnight, and believe it or not, all six times the diapers had leaked and soiled his clothes. That was the night I decided to cut my losses and invest in the “Brand Name” diapers. Since making that decision exactly one week ago, I can honestly confirm that our son has never needed to a change of outfit due to his diaper leaking! Thus, as difficult as it is for my spend-thrift mind to admit it, my practical lesson learned here is that the “Brand Name” diapers are worth the extra expense. This same principle extends to Ice Cream brands as well.

Lessons learned – If I was a seasoned parent I would have more credibility for my these theorems, never-the-less, while I’m on the subject, I’ve included an extra paragraph with additional postulates.

1. Every child is different and things can change at each stage, so “Brand A” may be best now, but “Brand B” may be your best choice after future development.
2. Do not buy in bulk until you have “street tested” the brand and size to confirm it’s the way to go.
3. There is a significant amount of money spent each year on diapering, so one very practical way to help new parents is to start a “Diaper Drive”.

The leaking diapers that I purchased in bulk was the “Especially For Baby” brand from Babies R Us. Since then, I have used Huggies and Pampers. Both have worked out very well, but I especially liked the Pampers. My next brand to try out will be Luvs.

My son, Connor weaned from the bottle to the straw cup. I chose to transition him to the straw cup instead of the sippy cup for several reasons.

1. Straw cups were easier for him to hold because they don’t require tilting.
2. Straws are EXCELLENT for oral motor strengthening and speech development.
3. A sippy cup is just one more thing to have to wean from. He can use a straw until he’s an adult!
4. Sippy cups can contribute to speech problems and dental problems, so I wanted to avoid them if possible.

However, this isn’t my article on convincing you to use straw cups with your child. This is my article comparing the trillion different straw cups out there so you can choose the right one for your child! The one thing consistent in all straw cups on the market is leaking. I haven’t found one cup that is completely leak proof, but some are definitely better than others!

Munchkin’s 10 oz. Insulated Straw Cup – Mommy and Connor’s Pick!

Munchkin’s wins in our house as Mommy and Connor’s favorite straw cup on the market. This cup is durable and has lived through many of Connor’s throws. The straw is nice and soft and Connor really enjoys drinking from this cup. While it leaks (like every single straw cup on the shelves), I have found that it leaks the least out of all of the straw cups I’ve tried. The fact that it leaks minimally and is not too difficult to clean makes this straw cup my pick. The price is steep at $6.97 on Amazon.com, however I paid $4.99 at my local grocery store for mine. I love the Dora, Diego, and Backyardigan prints, but am not fond of the Spongebob Squarepants prints. I had to wait for a new shipment to come in to avoid buying the Spongebob print because he’s just a little too mature and obnoxious for my kids in my opinion.

Playtex Baby Einstein – Highly Recommended!

This is my second favorite of the lot. The reason I love this straw cup is cleaning time! The valve is a plug, so you can unplug the valve and clean the straw very easily. All of the other straws are attached to the valve and cleaning is a little more difficult…not impossible, but more difficult than this one! I also love the fun Baby Einstein prints that are age appropriate. This cup leaks more than the Munchkins, however if you make sure the lid’s not screwed too tight, the leaking will decrease. Overall, this is a great straw cup!

Take & Toss Straw Sippers – A Must-Try!

Obviously, the price is GREAT! For $2.99, you get five cups. That’s $0.60 per cup and you can’t beat that in the overpriced baby market we live in! There are no valves, so these cups make for easy cleaning. Even though there are no valves, the leaking is not as bad as I thought. They don’t leak any more than some of the other straw cups that have valves. The lids are very sensitive. If you press on the top of the cup, the contents will travel quickly up the straw. I’ve had a lot of counter messes when using this cup. The straws are not very soft. They are a thick plastic and Connor does not enjoy drinking from these cups. I do keep these cups in stock for extended day trips, friends who come to play, and as back-ups when I am way behind on my dishes.

Gerber Cool Twisties – Not very durable.

The price is not too steep at $3.95 per cup. The straw is nice and soft and Connor enjoyed drinking from this cup. I also like the fun space design on the cup. Cleaning this cup is not very difficult. While Connor loved this cup, and the price isn’t too bad, I can’t recommend it for a couple reasons. This cup can do some major leaking! Connor is in the stage of throwing things when he’s done (that’s another blog post!) and he has broken two of these cups. He throws all of his cups, but these have been the least durable. Overall, I’d probably not purchase this cup again due to the fact that they can be easily broken by throwing toddlers!

Luv n’ Care’s 2 Handle 8 oz. Cup – Don’t waste your money!

This cup is my least favorite. There are some good things about this cup that I’ll share with you. This is the only straw cup I’ve found that has handles and I love the short squatty shape in contrast to the long stretched shapes of the other cups. The price is GREAT at $3.99 per cup. I bought a two pack for $5.99 at Babies “R” Us. The straw is super soft and Connor really loved drinking from this cup. I also didn’t have too bad of a time with the leaking. While it has many good features, it has a couple problems that keep me from recommending this cup. The straw is three separate pieces. One of the pieces is incredibly small and it is very difficult to put together. It is also incredibly difficult to clean because there is a valve on both ends of the mouth piece. Once you take this straw cup apart, it is incredibly difficult to put back together. If the maker would correct these problems, this would be my favorite straw cup on the shelves.

Check out these links about straw cup drinking:

Mommy Speech Therapy’s take on straw cups over sippy cups

How To Teach a Child to Drink From a Straw

Sippy Cups Causing Too Many Cavities

DoesMommyLoveIt.com is hosting a group writing project asking readers to write about a family product that they cannot live with out. If you want to participate, you better hurry because the project ends on Sunday, February 24th.

My family product that I can not live without is my Brestfriend Pillow. During the first six months of my daughter’s life I used it a minimum of 6 times a day to nurse her. She eventually grew big enough that I didn’t need a pillow to hold her. I literally called my pillow “my BFF.” If I were going to a family member’s house, I would bring it with me and use it there. I tried another pillow (that shall remain nameless *cough* boppy) and it didn’t even compare. The Brestfriend pillow straps around you so it doesn’t require extra pillows to hold it up. Also, the top is flat so your baby doesn’t fall in between you and the pillow. The pillow is also sturdy enough to rest your wrists while you are nursing. The extra pocket was nice to carry my Purelan and pen and paper to write down when I nursed. Washing the pillow was easy, because the outside cover came off and could be cleaned in the washer.

Nursing was extremely difficult for my baby and I to learn. Once I started using the pillow, nursing became infinitely easier. We were both happy.

I love this product so much that I have since bought two more as gifts and loaned mine out as soon as I didn’t need it anymore. I also liked that I was able to support my local Lactation Center by making the purchase from their store. They were so kind and helpful to me, I was happy to give back to them in a small way.

I highly encourage anyone who is serious about nursing to invest in a Brestfriend Pillow.

Check out the other participants in the writing project:
Sharon M on Go-Go Kidz TravelMate

Missy on Clorox Disinfecting Wipes

Homeschool Diva on the book “Sentinel” by Landel Bilbrey