PaigeLauren Baby Luxury Infant Clothing Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 10/26)

Oct 19,2011 / By Maria / 6 Comments

Last month, I posted about the PaigeLauren Baby Fall/Winter collection, and I promised you a review/giveaway during the Virtual Baby shower. Well, here it is!!

I knew PaigeLauren Baby (PLb) products were a luxury line, but I was still surprised by how nice they really are. I received the PaigeLauren Baby classic longsleeve bodysuit in Ruby (red) from the fall/winter collection. The collection is also available in amethyst (purple), emerald (green), quartz (pink), sapphire (blue) and slate (gray).

I received a size 0-3 months, which fits 21-23.5 inches and 10-12 pounds. The collection is also available in newborn size up to size 18-24 months.

The bodysuit is made of 50% micro modal and 50% supima jersey. It is absolutely buttery soft, and definitely what I’d want next to my baby’s skin. Though it’s super soft, it’s also a substantial weight; it’s not paper thin like some baby clothing.

The bodysuit snaps with nickel and lead free colored snaps.

It has lap sleeves for easy dressing, and contrast stitching at the arm, leg and neck openings. The bodysuit retails for $28. The matching footsie pants are $24. Prices for the fall/winter collection range from $13 for a classic cap to $46 for a footsie romper. Their products are amazing and would be a great splurge for a special event, holiday photos, or a very nice gift! Check their sale section regularly for some great steals while they last.

~~Giveaway: One winner will receive one PaigeLauren Baby item of his/her choice (ARV up to $46) Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

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GoGreen Champ Cloth Diapers & Adapt-a-Snaps Giveaway (CLOSED 10/25)

Oct 18,2011 / By Maria / 13 Comments

GoGreen Diapers sells affordable pocket cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories

I first posted my GoGreen Champ Diaper Review in January followed by a GoGreen standard diaper review and a comparison of the GoGreen standard diaper to the Champ diaper the following month. Check out those posts if you want all the details on each type of diaper, along with measurements and lots of photos!

The GoGreen Champ diaper has snap closures, 4 rise settings, a front and rear pocket opening (the inserts agitate out!) and double gussets. They have both hip and crossover snaps, to fit small babies with no wing droop. The Champs are estimated to fit 7-40 pounds, come with a 3-layer microfiber insert, and retail for $15.95 each.

I also was one of the first to try the adapt-a snap, which allows you to turn a snap diaper into a Velcro diaper! View my GoGreen adapt-a-snap review for detailed photos, plus demos of the adapt-a-snap on several diapers!

The adapt-a-snaps are available in 3-packs for $16.99 (white) or $17.49 (black.)

~~Giveaway: GoGreen is offering one of my readers two Champ pocket diapers and two adapt-a-snaps in his/her choice of color. (ARV $43.56) Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

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Baby Products Virtual Baby Shower Event

Carousel Designs Custom Baby Bedding Designer!

Oct 18,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

This next post isn’t sponsored, it’s just a super awesome ~~time suck~~ thing I stumbled on and had to share!

I happened upon Carousel Designs (a.k.a. babybedding.com) when I was doing my zillionth google image search for crib bedding. When my son was born, I bought him his own crib bedding set, and I wanted the same for this baby. I know many will say it’s a waste of money but hey, everyone is allowed a small indulgence that makes them happy, right?

Anyhoo, I knew pretty much what I was looking for, and as is always my luck, it didn’t seem to exist. I started clicking on images that looked even sort of close, to get a better look. When I clicked on one, it took me to the listing on babybedding.com. I almost clicked off, but then I saw the custom tab at the top.

Nursery bedding designer? Uhm, yes please?! Luckily, I found this after my kids were in bed, but I am not going to tell you how much time I spent playing around with it! I will tell you that it was punctuated by a lot of “OMG, this is so awesome!” and “holy cow this rocks!” I may or may not have told my hubby at one point that I wanted a divorce so I could marry the bedding designer, ha ha.

No really, maybe I’m weird but this was so.much.fun. You can choose a fabric category (by color, or pattern like animal, dot, gingham etc.) and once you select one you like, you can elect to only see fabrics that match! It will even warn you if say, the brown you selected for your bed skirt may not match the brown you selected for your comforter.

You can customize like crazy, down to the length, style and trim on your bed skirt.

You can even customize the color of the crib, color/type of flooring and wall/trim paint, so you can really get a good idea of what the bedding would look like in your room.

Additionally awesome is that most fabrics are available by the yard, so if you are crafty, you’re pretty much free to make anything your little heart desires to match your custom bedding set. (They do have nursery decor available, but it may not necessarily be just what you’re looking for!)

Also super awesome? They have fabric swatches available for 50 cents each. Why is that awesome? Well, not only can you see and touch the fabrics, look for things that match, see if they match things you already have etc., but Carousel Designs will send you a coupon code to use on your next order of $75 or more, equal to the cost of your swatch order!

OK, so I haven’t actually ordered one of their custom products. But I will say, they have a ton of available fabrics, including organic fabrics, and the quality of the fabric samples I bought was excellent.

Price? Yeah, it’s not cheap, but I didn’t expect it to be. Pricing depends on the options and fabrics you choose, but my creations were around $99-$139 for a comforter, $99-$114 for a bed skirt and $19-$37 (high price is for sateen fabric) for a sheet. The MSRP of the crib set I bought for my son was $265.99 (granted, I paid around $50 on Ebay since I’m ~~cheap~~ frugal!) but all I actually used from the set was the bed skirt and comforter (and when DH lowered the mattress all the way down, he said the skirt no longer worked.) Not just that but man, that stuff was/is cheap with a capital c. The Carousel Designs fabric isn’t even in the same neighborhood, it’s like comparing Wal Mart to Saks Fifth Avenue. I was really flabbergasted when I saw how expensive most crib sets really were!

So anyway, we really haven’t had to buy much for the new baby, so this is going to be my one and only splurge. A bed skirt and comforter (and maybe a sheet.) I thought I knew what I wanted, but once I started playing around, we decided to wait to order until after the baby is born, so we can get something gender specific!

Here are some of the designs I put together (I know some of them are icky, but it’s really easy to save & work on them later!)

If you’re not into the custom designing, they have tons of crib bedding in stock. You can even browse those and use them for inspiration/find things to tweak in the designer! Best of all, they have individual pieces available a la carte, so you’re not stuck with a huge set if all you want is a bed skirt or something!

I can’t wait to order ours and I will definitely post an update/pics when I do!

FTC compliance: I did not receive product or any other compensation for this post, and all opinions are my own.

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Itzbeen Pocket Nanny / Baby Care Timer – Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 10/24)

Oct 17,2011 / By Maria / 8 Comments

The Itzbeen Baby Care Timer is one of those things that made me go “it’s a what?” then “whoa, this is awesome!” shortly followed by “why didn’t I think of that?” and “why didn’t they have this when I had my first baby?!”

In a nutshell, the Itzbeen is a pocket nanny that makes up for the short term memory loss that you may have, thanks to the life-with-a-newborn fog you’re living in.

At it’s simplest, the Itzbeen allows you to push a button for diaper, food, sleep/awake or misc, and it starts a stopwatch. Say you can’t remember when you changed the last diaper, just take a peek. Even now, with a 2-year old, I find myself looking at which diaper my son has on, and trying to remember what I was doing when I put it on him, and what time that may have been! Even worse is if my husband changed the last one! Fortunately with cloth, I can tell it was changed, since it looks different, LOL.

All you (or your significant other) have to do is press the button, and the clock starts ticking. This handy dandy lock switch on the side prevents you from accidentally re-setting them. The other side has an alarm mute button, but I haven’t gotten to that feature yet!

The back cover slides off easily for you to insert three AAA batteries, then you’re ready to go. The itzbeen even has a digital clock built right in, and it’s easy to set.

Forgive me for the terrible pictures, but lights off/no flash was the only way I could show you the night light/flash light feature (goes off automatically after 7 minutes), and the back light.

So when you’re ready to start the “stopwatch” you just press the appropriate button, and the colon flashes, to let you know that it is timing. There are options for feeding, diapering, awake/asleep and misc. There’s also a L/R slide switch towards the bottom to keep track of which side the baby nursed on last!

This next feature is what I think makes this super awesome. The stopwatch/counting feature is nice if you want to glance and see how long it’s been (i.e. should we change him before we go to Grandma’s?) Still, that’s a lot of remembering to look. But wait, there’s more! (Would I be great on an infomercial or what?)

You can sent reminder alarms in 30 minute to 24 hour intervals. So not only can you time when you last fed/changed baby etc., but you can set a timer to remind you when it’s been 2 1/2 hours since the last diaper change, feeding etc. The alarm will go off for 30 seconds, and you just press the lighted button to acknowledge it, and begin the timer again.

I think this would be an awesome gift for any new parent, especially if they have twins!! The Itzbeen is available in white, pink, blue and green, so you can have one for each child with no confusion. When your children are older, you could use it to track when medication was taken and when it needs to be taken again, or even to track TV or computer time!

The Itzbeen is available at many online and brick & mortar stores, or you can buy online directly from Itzbeen.

You can also find Itzbeen on Facebook and Itzbeen on Twitter.

~~Giveaway: One winner will receive an Itzbeen pocket nanny of their own! (ARV $24.99) Entries go in the Rafflecopter form.~~

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Green Babies Shampoo & Wash Review & Bubble Bath Giveaway (CLOSED 10/21)

Oct 14,2011 / By Maria / 3 Comments

Green Babies sells organic cotton clothing, accessories, bedding, wooden toys and the Green Babies Body Care line!

I received a full size Baby Me Shampoo & Wash and a sample packet of the Lotion Potion Moisturizer.

The Shampoo & Body Wash does not contain synthetic fragrances, phthalates, parabens, sulfates or petrochemicals. It’s also vegan, hypo-allergenic, tear free, and never tested on animals. The bottle is made with a minimum of 50% recycled material!

INGREDIENTS: Water, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine°, Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Benzoin (Styrax Benzoin) Gum, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil, Carum Carvi (Caraway) Seed Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru) Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Rose Flower Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Dipteryx Odorata (Tonka Beans) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Fruit Extract, Viola Odorata (Violet) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate+, Sodium Benzoate+

*Certified organic ingredient, °Derived from Coconut, +Food grade preservative

It has a “Sweet Baby Scent” which I love. There are no synthetic fragrances in the wash, the scent comes from the ingredients! It lathered well, rinsed easily and didn’t irritate my son’s skin. A 12 oz bottle retails for $10.99.

The Lotion Potion Moisturizer is the same story! No synthetic fragrances, phthalates, parabens, sulfates or petrochemicals. Vegan, hypo-allergenic, tear free, and never tested on animals, bottle made with a minimum of 50% recycled material.

INGREDIENTS: Water, Cetearyl Alcohol°, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Flower Extract*, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Benzoin (Styrax Benzoin) Gum, Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang) Flower Oil, Carum Carvi (Caraway) Seed Oil, Cedarwood Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Peru Balsam) Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium) Flower Oil, Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli) Oil, Rose Flower Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Dipteryx Odorata (Tonka Beans) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Fruit Extract, Viola Odorata (Violet) Extract, Vegetable Oil*, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Polysorbate 60, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate+, Sodium Benzoate+

*Certified organic ingredient, °Derived from Coconut, +Food grade preservative

The Sweet Baby scent is light and pleasant. What I liked best about the lotion potion moisturizer is how quickly and thoroughly is absorbs into skin. My son has some sensory issues and he freaks.out when I try to put lotion on him. He will occasionally ask me to put a tiny dot of lotion on his hands, but when I try to put anything on the dry, irritated skin on his arms and legs, you’d think I had put bugs on him or something.

I put some of the Green Babies lotion on him and as usual, he said “Take it off! Take it off Mommy!!” I rubbed my hands on his arms & legs where I had applied the lotion, and pretended to rub it on my own arms instead. Then I told him it was all gone, that I had put it on myself instead. The lotion had already absorbed into his skin, and it just felt soft, but not slimy or greasy. He rubbed his leg, seemed satisfied, and moved on. Phew!! An 8 ounce bottle retails for $8.99.