Just Jen

WubbaNub

We were at one of my shows when a couple with a little one wandered into my booth. I nearly tackled them when I spotted this little guy stuck in their sweet baby's mouth. I'd never seen a pacifier quite like it, but knew Andie had to have one! It's a Wubbanub - a Soothie brand pacifier (the one they give you at the hospital) actually sewn into the mouth of the bear. Jack ditched his pacifier at about 3 months, but Andie's bear is her best friend. From the start, she could easily get it in her mouth herself, and the weight of the bear is just enough to keep it from flying out onto the floor.

I just ordered Mr. Giraffe as a backup for when we can't find Mr. Bear - or when Mr. Bear is stinky and gross, in which case, you just toss him in the washer with the laundry and then let him air dry. There's lots of different animals to choose from if bears and giraffes aren't your thing. If you use a pacifier with your little one, this one will definitely keep you both happy!

Felt Flower Headband Tutorial

Lately, I've been wanting to make some headbands for my Andie, so I ordered some fold over elastic by-the-yard from Fabric Hound and some nice wool-blend felt in fun colors from BenzieBazaar on Etsy. It all came the other day, so I couldn't wait to get started! I thought it would be cute to do a variation of a yo-yo, but in felt. I am so happy with how it came out! Here's how I did it:

 

Felt Flower Headband Tutorial

Start out by cutting 2 circles from contrasting colors of felt, 1 large and 1 small. My large circle was about 4" across, and the smaller about 3 1/4", but you can make them as large or as small as you like. Small bowls, mugs and other circular objects are great to trace around. Fold in half and cut out a hole in the center of each circle, making a donut. Don't worry about making the inside circles perfect - it won't matter since they will be hidden completely. Be sure to save the donut hole from the large circle - you'll need it at the end!

Now, put a running stitch around the center of the large circle, keeping close to the edge. The size of your stitches will affect the ruffles (larger & fewer stitches = deeper ruffles, smaller and more stitches = more shallow ruffles)- mine were about 1/4" or so. Be sure to overlap the first stitch with your last.

Once you've stitched all the way around the center, GENTLY pull on the thread to collapse the felt and create the lovely ruffles! (Feel free to pause and admire your work. :) While holding the thread tight, put a knot as close as you can to the felt. This is a little tricky, but it is important to hold the thread as tight as you can to keep the hole in the center as small as possible. Don't worry if you end up with a small hole, though. You just want to avoid a big one. Repeat with the smaller felt donut.

Stack the smaller donut on top of the larger one, lining up the centers. Now, you can use hot glue at this point to attach the flower layers together, or you can stitch them together at the centers. If you do use glue, just use a small amount around the center holes so it doesn't show between the layers. It's important, though to keep the center holes clear, because you will need to stitch through them in the next step. Cut out a small circle (about nickel sized - large enough to cover the hole in the center of your ruffled donuts). Glue (or stitch, as shown below) the small circle you just cut on top of the two donuts.



Cut several tiny circles (if you're not tired of cutting circles by now, you should be :) to make the center detail of the flower. Using embroidery thread, knot the thread and come up through the center of the stacked donuts from the back of the flower. Spear one of your tiny circles, and send the needle back through the center of the flower close to same spot. Pull the thread through until the tiny circle is snug against the center, then repeat for the remaining tiny circles, clustering them close together.

Cut two leaf shapes (I used two different colors). Fold one of the leaves in half, and using a matching thread, stitch tight, small stitches down the spine of the leaf starting at the base and stopping about 3/4 of the way down. The idea is to create a slight crease.

Knot the thread and send the needle back under several of the stitches before cutting the thread to hide the tail. This will be the backside of the leaf.

You can stitch the second leaf in the same way, but I just left mine flat. Here is a view of the finished leaf:

Stack the leaves, staggering them slightly and hot glue them to the back of the flower near the center. Then cut your elastic to the desired size. I made mine 14" to fit an infant. Hot glue the ends of the elastic to the center of the back of the flower on top of the leaves. Finally, hot glue the donut hole (see - I told you that you'd need it!) to the center covering the edges of the elastic and leaves.



Ta-da! Now, go find a cute baby so you can admire your work!

Baby Sambas!

Heads up! Piperlime has a code for 20% off kids' shoes until Monday (enter code CUTE at checkout) plus FREE 3-5 day shipping! If Andie follows in her brother's footsteps, she'll be walking in the next few months and will actually need real shoes, so I decided to see what they had. I came across these baby Sambas and had to snag them. I wore a grown-up pair just like these all through my high school soccer days. Man, I made a lot of memories in those shoes! Never hurts to start planting those seeds early...cheerleading? Bah...

Andie, listen to your mom. All the cool chicks play SOCCER. :)

California Baby

I have long been a fan of California Baby's products, even more for what is not in them than what is. I did some research when Jack came along, and it seems that there's a lot of chemicals and such in baby washes and lotions that I just didn't feel comfortable putting on his skin. California Baby was the only product I could find that was truly natural and didn't contain any of these ingredients. It's a bit pricey, but at the time, it was worth it to me for the peace of mind. Besides, I found a little goes a long way. The same is true for their Calendula Cream. I had picked some up a while back to treat a mean diaper rash, and decided to try it out on Andie's persistent baby acne/heat rash. Now, the docs say the best thing to do is leave it alone and not apply any soaps or lotions, but I decided to try the cream anyway. Couldn't make it any worse...  Wouldn't you know, it looked significantly better after just a couple of applications! I was really impressed, so when I found a little spot of cradle cap yesterday, I decided to try it on that. Today - almost gone! This stuff is GREAT. It's just so rare these days to find a product that actually works that well and doesn't require a prescription from the doctor. You can find this miracle cream along with all of their other wonderful products here.

Baby Gear Favorites

 

Here are a few things that have made my life a little easier since Andie's arrival:

Dr. Brown's Formula Mixing Pitcher

This pitcher is a huge time saver! You can mix up to 32 oz of formula at once and eliminate the the hassle and mess of making one bottle at a time. The best part: no clumps of powder left in the bottle that didn't dissolve! I've seen them in most stores that carry the bottles, and also on Amazon here.

Grass Countertop Drying Rack

I registered for this because I thought it was cute - little did I know how useful it would be! I use the Dr. Brown's bottles, which have multiple parts, and this is perfect for holding everything upright to dry. The water drains into the bottom, which removes easily for cleaning. Get it at BuyBuy Baby.

Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddle Blankets

These blankets are a new favorite of mine! They are so lightweight and airy - perfect for use in the warmer months. The quality and texture are great, and they wash well. I just love using them! Get them at BuyBuy Baby.

SnugGlider Infant Car Seat Swing Frame

Instead of buying a full size swing which we really didn't have room for, we decided to get this travel swing. Our Graco car seat fits easily into the frame, so if the baby falls asleep in the car on the way home, we can put her right into the swing undisturbed where she can finish her nap. I love that it folds up flat for storage and easy travel in the car or from room to room. It has adjustable speed settings along with vibrations and sounds, though we really don't use those features. Get it on Amazon.

Old Navy Knee-Hi Socks

I'm throwing these in the mix mostly for fun, and for the cuteness factor, of course! Andie is hot natured like the rest of us in the family, so on days when we want to crank the AC but don't want to bundle her up too much, these knee-hi's do the trick. Plus, they'll look adorable with a little denim skirt come fall... Get them here.

Note: Online it says there are 2 pair in the package. I bought these in store, and there was only one pair in the package for the same price... Not sure what that's about, but thought I'd give a heads-up!

Amazon Mom

I shop on Amazon a lot anyway, so I was happy to find their Amazon Mom program. It's free to sign up, and you get special deals and offers on things like diapers and wipes. The best part: free Amazon Prime 2-day shipping on select items for one year! This is a service that normally cost $79 a year. Now, the Prime shipping does only apply to qualifying items for baby and family, but lets face it, isn't that where most of your money goes when you have little ones anyway? And for every $25 you spend on these items, you get the Prime shipping extended for one month! It's a great thing to take advantage of as a new mom. There have been several things I have ordered knowing they would be delivered to my door in a couple of days - beats trying to get the kids loaded up in the car to go to the store in this summer heat! With their Subscribe & Save program, you can save even more by having the items you use most frequently shipped automatically. Great deal - thank you Amazon!

 

Hurry! SALE ends tomorrow!

Don't miss our sale on all personalized tees and bags - ending tomorrow!

Click here to visit the shop.

Baby Names

Now that we know for sure we've got a little girl on the way, we've been trying to come to an agreement on a name. So far, we haven't come up with one that we both like. Not one. So, I've resorted to the many baby name sites out there, most of which are just a beating. Too many looong lists of names I'd never consider in hopes of finding one or two good possibilities. Just when I was about to give up, I stumbled on Nameberry.com. Names are organized into categories like: Coolest Names That Aren't Really Names, Names Sure to Shock Grandma, Names All Your Friends Will Think Are Cool, If You Like X, You'll Love..., Bad Girl Names, etc. The lists aren't endless like the other sites, so you don't tire during the search. And there's plenty of good ones there to choose from. But if we happen to find the perfect name in the "Werewolf Names" category, I'll never admit to it. :)

Tall as a giraffe

Yesterday the boys and I took advantage of the warm sunny afternoon and headed over to downtown McKinney. I ducked into one of my favorite shops, Ambrosia, and headed straight for their little baby section. I found this adorable board book that folds out into a growth chart.

I've been on the hunt for a growth chart for a while now. I love that this one folds up into a book, which will make it much easier to store as a keepsake when it's no longer on the wall. If you can't make it over to McKinney (and you should!), you can find it online here.

 

Come 'n get it!

I found this clever divided plate by Din Din, and I'm thinking it's a must for my little Jack. He's SO into anything with wheels right now, and it just might help him down a few extra peas at dinner time! The plate is stainless steel, so no need to worry about all the toxic stuff we find in plastic these days. Get it here.

Twilight Turtle

 
I love love this night light! The Twilight Turtle's body is like a stuffed animal, but the shell is hard plastic and perforated with little stars that project onto the ceiling and walls in a dark room when lit. We have so much fun pointing out the "Mmmm" and "Arrs" (that's Jack for moon and stars :). It says the stars are grouped into actual constellations - I'll take their word for it. I didn't pay that much attention in my college astronomy class, but I was able to pick out the Big Dipper (and may or may not have gotten a little over-excited when I finally found it). It projects in 3 different colors and has a 45 min. auto shut-off so you don't have to worry about turning it off after the little one falls asleep. 

It also comes as a sea turtle and an adorable ladybug, which we bought for my BFF's little sweetie who had a birthday last week. Happy Birthday, Avery!