Gender Reveal Parties are Blowing up!

 Boy or Girl?

Every where I look, be it a blog, facebook, magazines, or even television , I am seeing the popular new trend of gender reveal parties.  Heres how it works. At the couples 20 week ultrasound, the technician is asked to write down the gender of the baby, put it in an envelope and seal it.  The envelope is then given to a family member or baker who will make the cake and die the inside of the cake the corresponding color to reveal the sex of the baby. The couple cuts open the cake, and at last everyone gets to know the gender of the child.

At first, I rolled my eyes at this idea. Gathering people for this seemed odd.  But then, I thought back to when we found out the gender of our first child and how fun it would have been to share the experience with our friends and family.  It is a moment you remember forever,  so why not have a party to celebrate!   All the games and wives tails can be played out at this party, just like at a baby shower, but made more fun by finding out the answer as soon as the cake is cut into.  I say yes to gender reveal parties!  Now I just have to get invited to one! Would you have a gender reveal party?  Have you been to one? Let us hear about it...

The Bunky Bed!

Why didn't this bed exist when I was a kid? Sleepovers would have been so much more fun! Sorry to say that Real Baby can't gets it hands on this bed, but thought it was so cool, that we needed to share!


The Bunky bunk bed, conceived by designer Marc Newson for Magis, an Italian furniture company, uses just four different pieces that can be easily stacked one on top of each other. You could move this bunk bed around the room to keep your kid happy, especially if he or she is waiting for one of his or her best friends for a sleepover. The Bunky is a modular design that will also let you use each of the two available beds as single beds, and the four pieces part of the Bunky are all built from rotational-moulded polyethylene. The surface presents no sharp edges, it’s easy to clean and each bed comes with perforations under the mattress that let the air flow for good ventilation

The  Luxo collection from Bloom

Luxo sleep baby bed is a beautifully designed cot bed that allows your baby to sleep in style from newborn up to 5 years old 

luxo’s gently curved ends cocoon sleeping baby & have been intentionally designed to promote air flow – extremely important for baby’s safety 

equipped with fixed side rails, luxo has an adjustable mattress height for use in bassinet position & easy access to baby 

luxo boasts no-tools rapid assembly, & its patented design allows folding for storage when not in use (between babies) 

crafted in birch wood from sustainable sources & with stainless steel detailing luxo brings a little luxury to the nursery for your little one

I love JJ Cole products. They are thoughtful, well designed, practical and not to spendy. The nursing cover featured in this video is a perfect example .  Check out this nursery full of JJ cole.

Music benefits everyone, especially Children

• Growing Up, Growing Musically

  When I was very little I remember hearing rythm in music. I would see it as colors when I closed my eyes. I still do to this day. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I constructed drum kits out of kitchen utensils, pots and pans, and stacks of magazines all throughout my earliest years. It was fun and  empowering, and my mother encouraged it, even though the racket I was making must have been intolerable.  I encourage my children to listen, to sing, to dance, and to play music whenever and wherever they can.  Here is some information I found that  may encourage you to get your children moving to the beat of their own drum.
  Research shows that kids who are actively involved in music (who play it or sing it regularly):
  • do better in reading and math when they start school
  • are better able to focus and control their bodies
  • play better with others and have higher self-esteem
  
  
  You've probably noticed that your preschooler can keep a steady beat. You can help your child practice this skill by encouraging listening for beats — and determining if they're steady or not — in everyday objects. For example, point out the noise a kitchen clock makes and ask your child if it is a steady beat; then ask if a sound like a car horn or a dog barking has a steady beat. Practice clapping or tapping the beats to favorite songs and encourage your child to copy you.

  Let's Dance

  The simplest thing you can do is put on music and dance with your child. Vary the rhythms and tempo of your body with the music. Practice "copy dancing" where you invite your child to imitate your movements and then let him or her lead as you follow.
  You also can make the musical experience more visual through movement and a few props. Scarves can show ascending and descending pitches — raise the scarves up over your heads as you sing up the scale and then drop them down the floor as you go down. Or have your child walk on tiptoes when you listen to high, quiet music, and stomp his or her feet to louder, slower music.
  Combining music and movement helps preschoolers learn to control their bodies. They learn to move fast to fast music, and more slowly to slow tunes. They also can learn the hand movements and simple dance moves that go along with rhymes and songs. Learning physical control is an important developmental step and can help build concentration skills and self-control later on.

  Time for Instruments?

  Although some music-instruction programs are geared to preschoolers, most kids at this age will enjoy a more casual introduction to musical instruments. Provide a rhythm stick or a set of bells to hold in each hand and encourage your child to keep the beat while you listen to a song.
  Here are some ways to give kids opportunities to be musical:
  • Sing or listen to music in the car, while you're doing chores, and while your child is playing. Keep a basket of musical instruments where kids can get them. Consider buying a kid-friendly CD player your child can operate and keep in his or her room.
  • Make sure your child's preschool offers chances to sing and play simple instruments, to move to music, and to create music. Ask the teacher what songs they regularly sing so that you can sing them at home.
  • Enroll your child in a preschool music class. If you don't know where to begin, ask the music department at your local college for suggestions.
  • For a special treat, take your child to live musical performances, especially ones designed for preschoolers. Museums, libraries, and bookstores often host performances by children's-music artists. Outdoor concerts are also a good bet for preschoolers because they can dance and move around without disturbing anyone.
  And after you've seen a concert together, encourage your child to give a performance for your family at home. He or she can even cut out construction paper tickets and get dressed for the occasion. At showtime, take your seat and get ready for a great show!

Diaper Dude!

 We love this versitile bag!  The Eco-Friendly Messenger II from Diaper Dude is made of recycled PET material (plastic water bottles) rewoven into durable polyester and offers the same great features you find in all Diaper Dude bags-messenger style.

**25 plastic water bottles(16 oz size) are used to make the diaper dude eco bag!  Find it Here at Real Baby.

        

We’ve never seen a parent vibrate like a bouncy seat or swing like a swing. But we’ve seen thousands of parents scoop their little ones up in their arms and bounce and sway. And that’s what the mamaRoo does.  It moves like you do. Find it HERE at Real Baby

Five unique motions:

The mamaRoo bounces up and down and sways from side to side, just like parents do when comforting their babies.

• 

  Car Ride

  A figure eight on its side
• 

  KangaRoo

  Lots of up-and-down, less side-to-side
• 

  Tree Swing

  High on the sides, low in the middle
• 

  Rock-A-Bye

  Low on the sides, high in the middle
• 

  Ocean Wave

  Around in a big circle

Perhaps preschool should be about discovery and not learning?

I remember being tested for kindergarten. I really do. My mother brought me to a large brick building and left me alone in a room with a stranger.  I was told to perform certain tasks, such as, put the pegs in their corresponding holes, name some shapes and colors, draw inside the lines, etc.  I am happy to say I passed, and at a bit of a young age, was able to join the ranks at my local Kindergarten.  My learning experience at a young age was vastly different than that of my children.  Mine was very regimented. My old world Catholic schooling meant that I was taught and told, with very little room to explore.  The word rote comes to mind. I write this because I just found a fascinating article and study about the way we teach our children at a young age.  The research states that teaching children more and more, at ever younger ages, may just backfire.   Read the article HERE.

Six Carrying Positions: The Lillebaby! Great For Travel: Light weight and small enough to fit All-In-One-Carrier: With six carrying positions the líllébaby EveryWear offers all-in-one carrying from newborn to toddler and is truly the only carrier you'll ever need. Comfortable: Ergonomically designed - the EveryWear distributes weight on the hips making it comfortable for the wearer at each stage of the child's growth. Ergonomic: A patented, adjustable seat makes the EveryWear comfortable and ergonomically correct in each position as it grows with your child. True Hip Carry: With a convenient, removable strap the EveryWear is the only carrier on the market that converts to a "true" hip carrier.  in a diaper bag  Available in various colors and styles to suit any taste.

Great Baby Shower for a great cause! Tonight!

The Colorado Women's Bar association is throwing a Baby Shower this evening at the Corner Office at 1401 Curtis Street to benefit underprivileged women and children. The event runs from 6-8PM. Bring a baby shower gift to donate and enjoy complimentary food, happy hour priced drinks, complimentary self parking at The Curtis Hotel... and the company of friends and colleagues. All donations and proceeds will benefit Family Star, The Gathering Place, and WeeCycle. 
Real Baby is proud to support this event with donations that include:
Moby Wrap
Chicco KeyFit Infant Car Seat
Ergo Baby System – Carrier & Pouch
2 Jellycat Dolls
and a $25 Real Baby Gift Card
The recipients include: WeeCycle, Family Star, and the Gathering Place
Thanks to the CWBA for putting together such a great event for a great cause!