Not Just Yet!

Just when you thought it was safe to turn your one year old around in their car seat and face the brave new world for the first time, a new study drops and shatters your world!  New advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics based primarily on a 2007 University of Virginia study finding that children under the age of 2 are 75 percent less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in a crash if they are facing rear in their car seat.  Hold the phone! I was told the stead fast rule of one year or 20 lbs. was the magic formula for the safety of my child. The new study shows compelling evidence, and with the advent of larger car seats, with heavier weight limits, it seems that this is truly the way to go.   Some parents are taking the wait and see approach, and sticking with what their car seat manufacturer suggests, or are following the guidelines of their vehicle manual.  Either way, the best parent is a well informed parent. 

I hear the word milestones thrown around allot when people are talking about parenting.  It usually starts with a discussion about sleeping through the night, and moves through teeth, first word, crawling, walking, potty training, and on and on.  As my children have gotten older I have noticed that milestones turn into moments.  If you don't pay attention, the moment will rip past you before you have even opened your eyes. It's easier when there little.  They can't leave the house without you, actually they cant do anything without you. It is a captive singular audience.  You notice every gesture, every snot bubble, every new laugh and smile.  Today I would have a hard time telling you what my son wore to school. Hectic schedules of sports, after school programs, and plays are the norm now.  Last night I was paying attention and caught a glimpse of a moment. My son making us all laugh at dinner by delivering a punch line with perfect timing, delivery and sweetness.  He seemed proud of himself as we all repeated his gag line several times after, laughing harder each time.  He is finding his sense of humor and it is a beautiful thing.   I am writing this as a reminder to myself. Pay attention to the moments, because they are milestones.

Skip Hop Bowls And Plates Are At Real Baby!

Make mealtime ZOO time! Little ones will love having their very own plate, bowl and cup featuring their favorite ZOO character! Bright colors and whimsical faces make mealtime fun. 

Our ZOO TABLEWARE is durable melamine and dishwasher-safe. The collection is perfect for mixing and matching!

• Ideal for snacks, cereal and more
• Dimensions (inches): 5.5 wide x 5.5 high x 1.5 deep
• Ages: 6m+
• Signature Skip Hop ZOO characters
• Easy to Mix & Match
• Durable melamine BPA-free Phthalate-free
• Dishwasher-safe (top rack only)

We Love The Babycook!

Multi-Stage, Multi-Functional Cooking Options – Babycook steams, blends, reheats and defrosts all in one compact appliance. Makes an array of food from simple purees for baby's first meals up to steamed fish and rice the entire family can enjoy. The Babycook Book (sold separately) provides many options for quick, healthy meal preparation to introduce baby to a world of flavor.

Save Time – Spend more time with your family by conveniently and quickly preparing fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, legumes, and grains in under 15 minutes.

Save Money AND Be Healthy – Why spend excess money on processed baby food when baby can eat the same food as the rest of the family? Enjoy the satisfaction of providing your little ones nutritious, yet easily cooked, meals free of additives, fillers and preservatives.

Go Green – Improve your home's sustainability and be more environmentally friendly by eliminating the packaging of pre-processed baby foods.

Only the Best for Baby – The patented award winning Babycook is the original and longest standing product of its kind on the market. We use only the best materials to ensure that every meal is prepared perfectly and back our product with a one-year warranty.

Hoot!

A perfect match for any bookshelf! Our soft, weighted ZOO BOOKENDS are a sweet addition to any nursery or playroom décor! These adorable animals with friendly faces and textured details store your little one’s storybook in style!

• Soft faux leather (no animals have been harmed!)
• Weighted for sturdiness
• Sold as a set of two
• Makes the perfect gift!     

Black Market Breast Milk?

It's back in the news again. The buying and selling of breast milk has been a hot topic for years. Now with the ease of use of social networking sites and places like Craigslist, it has become much easier to find the precious commodity.  While the tradition of wet nurses dates back centuries, there's apparently been a four-fold increase in demand for human milk, fueled by adoptions and by the use of breast milk in the treatment protocols for certain infant diseases.  Milk banks charge $3/oz. for thoroughly tested, pasteurized breast milk, and usually require a prescription. For folks without the extra $2,400/month to spend on breast milk, pediatricians, nursing support groups, and lactation consultants sometimes act as go-betweens for parents and donors. Now you can buy on line on Craigslist locally or E Bay nationally or find a source through websites such as Only The Breast.  This of course may save you money, but at what cost.

The big risk, of course, is disease; many infections, including Staph and HIV, can be transmitted to a baby through breast milk.  Another risk is knowing the source of your breast milk, their diet and habits may put our child at risk.  The Debate will continue.

Hipster Dad!

Yes, you've seen him.  Carefully disheveled, i phone at the ready, laptop in messenger bag, pushing his baby in a Bugaboo.  His baby will be wearing a rock t shirt of one of his favorite bands from the eighties and wearing a sweet Goorin lid.  The Hipster Dad wants his baby to listen to the same music he does.  Hot Chip,  Phoenix, Broken Social Scene and, of course, Sonic Youth.   He never wears a suit and tie. Retro-inspired sneakers and vintage Levi’s are more his bag, and he doesn’t think he needs to change his lifestyle just because he has reproduced, and so his new baby becomes his best drinking buddy and live-show companion. The times and Dad's, they are a changing.

Start out your year with some hip new gear from Real Baby.  Shop online this month at Real Baby and enjoy free shipping on your order of $50 or more.  Enter coupon code: JANFREE at checkout.  Click Here to start shopping!  Happy New Year!

The Chicco Key Fit Thirty is at Real Baby

KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat, #1 Rated Infant Car Seat in America! 

Secures baby from 4 to 30 lbsEnergy-absorbing foam for improved side-impact protection

Removable newborn insert for smaller babies 

Thickly cushioned seat pad and five-point harness for maximum comfort

Spring-assisted level foot, bubble levels, and “Center-Pull” adjustment for easiest installation

The Mama Roo is at Real Baby!

Parents don't vibrate like bouncy seats or swing like swings. They bounce and sway, and that's what the mamaRoo does: it moves like you do. Our team used motion sensors to measure the movements of reals moms and dads as they soothed their babies, and replicated those motions in the mamaRoo. It's the only infant seat with five different motions, all modeled after the natural movements parents make to comfort their babies.

• Five unique motions based on real parental movements
• Built-in nature sounds and an MP3 hookup
• Three reversible toy balls patterned after classical artists
• Fabric is easy to remove and machine washable
• Seat reclines to any position
• Detects obstructions, won't run if recline is unlocked
• Suitable from birth to 25 pounds

Monte Design Grano Glider Recliner

Monte Design has trimmed all the bulk off the traditional recliner, yet kept all the comfort with this compact design...and made it glide too.

This grano glider recliner is so comfortable, you'll want to take all your naps in it. Enjoy the soothing glide, then recline and rest your feet on the pop-up foot stool. In the nursery or in the family room, you'll be so grateful for this clean-lined, sleek chair. Even the handle to pop up the foot rest is hidden between the seat and arm, allowing the profile to be uncluttered and simple.

Handmade in Canada.  Find it at Real Baby

Holiday Open House at Real Baby Denver!

• Friday, November 12th and Saturday, November 13th from 10:00 - 7:00 at the Denver location
• Complimentary Holiday gift wrap
• Free studio photo session from Bloom Portraits for all attendees
• Champagne and treats provided by Happy Cakes
• Present your receipt for a purchase of $100 or more from participating retailers to receive 15% off of your Real Baby purchase - strollers and special order items excluded. Inquire in-store for details.
• Enter to win is two VIP tickets to the Volunteers of America Holiday Fashion Show on December 4th - featuring winter fashions from Garbarini, Mariel and Lawrence Covell ($150) value.
• Get a start on your holiday shopping and help families in need. Real Baby will donate 10% of all event sales to Dolls for Daughters, an extraordinary organization providing new toys to girls and boys for the holidays. 
• Real Baby will also be accepting toy donations for Dolls for Daughters through December 1st. Toys must be new and in original packaging. If you're looking for the perfect donation we can help you find it here!

Bugaboo Celebrates One Year With Project (RED)

Bugaboo recently celebrated its one year anniversary of joining Project (RED), the big save-a-life-through-shopping program whereby companies create campaigns and products to raise money and awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS and other global health crises.

Bugaboo is the first (RED) participant company to pledge a portion of its total revenues [1%] to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria.

So if you want to make sure your $10 goes to support health programs for women and children in a half dozen developing African nations then purchase your Bugaboo soon!

Find your Bugaboo At Real Baby click here


bugaboo celebrates 1-year anniversary of (RED) partnership from bugaboo on Vimeo.

Real Baby Featured on Denver Ala Mode!

Our Event tonight was fantastic!  Thank you for all of you who attended and made it such a special night.  We cant wait to see you all again soon!

 Traveling Baby event this Friday, October 1st from 4:00 - 7:00 at our Boulder store location! - The first 10 people through the door get a Phil & Ted's gift bag - Receive valuable travel tips from Children's Hospital - Free Safety Inspection of your child's car seat and information on proper installation from a certified car seat professional - Get everything you need from travel cribs to travel high chairs - Enter to win a one night get-a-way for your family and friends at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, an exclusive Timi & Leslie Charlie bag or a Sleep Sheep on the Go Mention this post to receive 10% off of your purchase (out of stock items, furniture and strollers excluded).

The Kemby Sidekick is at Real Baby!

Enhance family living! And see eye-to-eye while you’re out and about with baby. With all the organizational elements you expect in a well-made diaper bag – plus innovative features to simplify your outings – the Sidekick is a must-have for families on the go.

FEATURES:

• Separate compartment for diapers and wipes
• Changing pad
• Baby-friendly fabric that easily wipes clean
• Exclusive, custom-designed patterns
• Double side pockets, roomy enough for bottles or sippy cups
• Cell phone pocket
• Key clip
• Plenty of easily accessed pockets for your essentials
• Insulated bottle/snack pouch

Wear it three ways: over the shoulder, across the shoulder or

on the waist

Designed for use by babies with good head control, weighing

up to 35 pounds

Dimensions: 12" high x 15" wide x 4" deep

 New Booster Seat Law For Colorado

As of  August 1st 2010 Colorado law states that all Children  between the ages of four to eight must be in a booster seat while in your vehicle.  Why eight? Studies have shown that children do not properly fit into a back seat of a car until somewhere between eight and 12 years old. Colorado lawmakers chose the age of eight as a minimum.

The new Colorado Child Passenger Safety Law goes into effect on Sunday, August 1st. A police officer will be able to administer a ticket if he pulls over a car and notices a child not in the appropriate child safety seat. There is a one-year educational period and only warnings will be issued to those violating the booster seat part of the law.

Parents need to explain to children that it is a safety issue and that it is not a matter of how mature they are. It's all about the size of the child and how he or she fits into the seat belt in the back seat of a car. The lap portion of a seat belt is absolutely critical to restraining the children.

Vera Fullaway of Colorado Child Passenger Safety says "If a child is not tall enough, the lap portion of the belt will slip over the hips and go into the abdominal area. Booster seats raise them up to the level of the seat belt so that the seat belt will fit them appropriately and the abdominal area will be guarded."

Fullaway says there are way too many accidents in Colorado where that lap belt has not protected a child because the boy or girl is not adequately secured. "We see anything as simple as hernia from one end of the abdomen to the other.. to injuring all the organs in the abdomen.. to as severe as severing the spinal cord somewhere in the abdominal level."

"We don't want to have children spend a lot of time in the hospital for surgeries. We want them to walk away from the crash and Belt Positioning Boosters are such a simple fix," Fullaway explained.

Fullaway also says the shoulder portion of a seat belt needs to fit across the child's collar bone and chest," Fullaway adds. "It should not cross their neck or be underneath the arms or behind the back."

Real Baby is Proud to be Chosen Top Baby Store for the Second Year in a Row!

We are happy to report that the readers of 5280 Magazine have, for the second year in a row,  chosen Real Baby as the Best Baby store in Denver for 2010! We are very proud to be chosen and will continue on with our great service, knowledgeable staff , and unique and helpful products for 2011! Thank you Denver.

        We Love the Lillebeby EveryWear Carrier!

The original líllébaby™ EveryWear™, now called the Style, is a versatile child carrier, featuring multiple sitting positions and all-in-one carrying (outward facing/inward facing, hip or back) from newborn to toddler. The contoured seat offers ergonomic sitting positions and promotes healthy spine development.

Made from wind/water repellant microfiber, the EveryWear Style is lightweight and compact, easily fitting into a diaper bag. It also features pockets for keys, cell phone, and diapers for parents' convenience.

The líllébaby EveryWear - the carrier you can wear every way, everywhere!

• Age: Front Inward Facing Carrier (7 to 25 pounds) (must use the infant cradle and harness for babies 7 to 15 pounds - sold separately) Front Outward Facing Carrier (when child is able to support head (about 4 months) to 25 pounds) Hip Carrier (15 to 43 pounds) Back Carrier (when child is able to sit independently (about 5 to 6 months) to 43 pounds)
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  Colors: Black, Chocolate, Red and Latte
  
  
• Material: Exterior and fill - 100% polyester microfiber Lining and Hood - 100% cotton jersey