Monday, August 24, 2009

Let Me Tell You 'Bout The Birds and The Bees...

I have a favorite thing.

This is a link to my favorite thing, Aden and Anais muslin baby wraps.

I think these *might* be made by God.

Seriously, I think that God may have employed angels to weave blankets out of awesomeness and gypsy tears. THESE ARE THOSE BLANKETS!

They are soft, huge, and breathable. If Emmy was the kind of baby who was okay having a cover up when she was nursing, I'd have one surgically attached to my chest so that we'd never be without one.

When I first registered for a four pack, I'll admit it, I did it because I loved the adorable little patterns, bright red caterpillars, happy faced bees-the mod styles were just incredibly sweet...and different! They were unique...even if they were massed produced. So I got them at my shower, took them home, and washed them. Some how, in the washer, I think it might have been the gypsy tears, they got softer. And its been like that EVERYTIME I put them in laundry! The colors have never faded and the uses I've found them have grown and changed as Emery has grown and changed.

When we first brought Em home...I was nervous about everything. I was worried the baby was going to stop breathing, her belly button stub would never fall off and she'd have to go around with that little part of the chord attached to her forever. I worried about her crying, about her not crying, worried about her eating too little, worried about a zombie attack and how our original escape plan would have to shift to accommodate a small baby and her ginormous carseat.

Looking back, some of these fears are more founded than others.

One fear I had, one of the less crazy ones, was that Emery was going to get one of her blankets over her face and not be able to breath. Now I know that we're all supposed to put the babies in those little sacks and leave them in an empty crib and get video monitors, and spend all our time staring at the screen, making sure the baby doesn't hop out and choke themselves using a teddy bear and Hey Diddle Diddle lampshade.

But my husband wouldn't let me get a video moniter and Emmy couldn't STAND her sleepy sack and since she was born in February just leaving her sans blanket in an empty crib was not an option. Aden wraps helped this mother out. Even if she managed to wiggle out of my incredibly tight kung-fu type swaddle, it didn't matter. She was safe, she was happy, and I could get some sleep.

Now that she's older and has left behind my ninja baby origami skills, we use them as urp cloths, to cover babyseats in grocery stores, but them over the baby swings at the playground so when she licks the bucket seat she kinda maybe doesn't get a mouth full of pigeon poop. We have eight...I could use four more.

You can find Aden wraps pretty much anywhere as Babies R Us carries them, but if you're reading this and you live in Philadelphia, let me make a suggestion. Make your way down here to Fairmount and visit Ali's Wagon. A great children's store, the prices are comparable to any of the big name stores and Ali's isn't only a shop. Ali's Wagon is special and deserves someone going out of there way to say so. Begun by Jessie Menken and Nat Weston as an answer to Fairmount's "young and urban" parenting needs, the couple quickly put together a fantastic resource for us hip, sleep deprived, and throw-up stained folks here in Philly. Yes, Ali's Wagon is a store, but its so much more than just a place to pick up spare up clothes. Think of it as an all-in-one parenting emporium, with great house wares, kids clothing, and baby goods along with a rich and diverse parenting center.

Now, I know I've already flogged the greatness of Ali's on phillyist in my column so I'm going to drop it...only I after I say that even if you're NOT in Philly, they have an online ordering option.

If you know an expecting mom, please suggest that she register for a package or two. They aren't a common item and they certainly aren't on any of those "new mom checklists". I found them as a happy accident and want to pass along the fun. Not everyone is as attracted to bright colors or willing to register for something based solely on a love for bright green mod-styled apples.

This concludes my public service announcement.

No comments:

Post a Comment