If you’re in need of a quick parenting tip or a clever problem fix, check out www.parenthacks.com. These user-submitted tips cover areas including behavior, fashion, toys, and travel, and are categorized according to age group. They’re also searchable, so if you’re looking for something like “How to get my preschooler out the door faster,” then this is the site you’ve been searching for.
Everyone’s looking for a unique baby blanket. But with so many different baby blankets out there, it may be that the only way to make your child’s blankey truly unique is to knit it yourself. Making a baby blanket is a snap, and knitting can be soothing and pleasurable. Why not give it a shot?
All you’ll need is some yarn, a couple of needles and a bit of patience. This site features a plethora of adorable, unique designs, and also has instructions and a forum. Happy knitting!
As I've written about here before, our family business is running an ecommerce store called sleepytimestore.com. We started off selling baby blankets, mostly Little Giraffe and Coyuchi organic ones, but then we added a line of blankets called Barefoot Dreams--and that's when the entire trajectory of the business changed.
Anyway, I mentioned to Rich that my wife and I have an online (soon to be "real"!) store that sells high-end baby gifts by companies like Little Giraffe. He then told me about an associate of his who has a great baby information site and how he was going to contribute some articles to the site about his (Rich's) children's baby modeling. Both of Rich's daughters are baby models.
Well, I filed the conversation away--until this morning. I was surfing the 'Net, trying as always to learn more about babies, baby products and parenting, and I came across the site Rich had mentioned. Here it is: Baby Place: They call themselves "the starting point for information on pregnancy, birth and babies" for good reason. It's a great resource.
Just thought I'd pass it on.
Here's what prompted me to do it. I just came across a great blog. In fact, the blogger is just the sort of person I'd love to have writing for me (see the "calling all mom bloggers" post). Her post is, not surprisingly, about her discovery of the Barefoot Dreams line of clothes, blankets, and other goodies. Check it out here.
In case you're curious, here's what she wrote:
"This blog is for the ladies"
I could write a book about baby blankets. H and LC's baby blankets are one of those three or four things (right after BooBoo the dog, a few Mary Oliver and Rumi books, and our love letters) to grab if the house ever catches on fire. I shudder at the memory of one two-hour car daytrip with a 12-month-old H when we forgot to bring his blanky. Never again, believe me.
My babies simply NEED these things. They need them to sleep with most of all, but they also need them when they're sad orwhen they just want to get a little cozy. H has a way of wrapping his Little Giraffe blanket around his body and scrunching his shoulders up and down as a way to make a little nest, and one of LC's favorite pleas is for her "bink-ta." I was the same way. I finally gave my blanket up under intense pressure and an irresistible bribe (new bike) at the age of five. It was originally cotton with a silk border, I'm told, but all I remember of it is the silk because that's all that remained after about three years.
So it's partly the bittersweet body-memory of my dear blanky that inspired me to start a business around the Little Giraffe blankets my children love. (They both have the chenille ones with the silk border--blue for H and white for LC.) Our store is www.sleepytimestore.com--and I think it's a great source for baby blankets for gifts or especially for your own children. As I said, we carry a great selection of Little Giraffe blankets and a nice organic cotton baby blanket by Coyuchi, plus lots of other nursery bedding and crib sets. It's good to run a business that carries such a warm reminder of my own childhood. Come visit sometime.