Jessica Alba Designing Eco-Friendly Diapers
Filed under: Baby Bath Time, Baby Gear, Baby Health, Baby Safety, Parenting, Premier Baby Stores
Celebrity-created or endorsed product lines are often vanity projects, even when it comes to babies. That’s not always the case, however, and Jessica Alba is a recent example of a star with a genuine vision. Not out to build her brand with handbags, clothing, or fragrances, Alba, who has been absent from films for the past few years, debuted Honest.com, a website for eco-friendly diapers, last week. Profiled by the New York Daily News, the Machete actress described her intentions and motivations for her first entrepreneurial endeavor.
Honest.com, the website for Alba’s The Honest Co., offers a line of nontoxic, environmentally friendly diapers, biodegradable wipes, and organic bath and skin care products. Unlike many eco baby products, which frequently are colored beige or green, The Honest Co.’s adds patterns.
Alba explained that, after receiving a rash from a baby-safe detergent, she researched the chemicals in it, only to find that many were, in fact, not organic. Further finding out that flame retardants are added to breast pillows, she sought out truly green baby products, which were difficult to come across. She said:
“It was exhausting. I had a baby, I was working. I didn’t have time to go everywhere. And I get it. Everything has a green leaf on it or brown or beige. I’m like, just because it’s eco why does it have to be brown, beige, or have a green leaf on it?”
The actress developed the brand of eco-diapers in response, determined to offer truly environmentally-friendly baby products that are both affordable and attractive. At the moment, the diapers and other baby products appear to only be available for purchase online.
Finding eco-friendly baby products is a difficult task, but more options can be found on the internet. DadaBabyBoutique.com has a large selection of green baby toys, supplies, and diaper bags, and Rattlecake’s eco diaper cakes are perfect as baby shower gifts.
Victoria Beckham Had a Pink, Posh Baby Shower
Filed under: Baby Bath Time, Baby Clothes, Baby Gear, Baby Showers, Baby Toys
The tabloids were a bit late on this one, but, as mentioned in recent news on Monday, Victoria Beckham had her baby shower on May 7 at the Hotel Le Petit Ermitage in Hollywood. According to celebrity blog Hollywood Life, the former Spice Girl and current fashion designer had a pink-themed baby shower and invited A-listers Eva Longoria, Nichole Richie, and Selma Blair. According to the Daily Mail, however, Beckham had insisted on a pink baby shower but local baby boutique Beginnings mentioned they saw invited celebrities choosing red baby gifts.
Even though the news is late (seriously, where was the paparazzi for this?), at least both the Daily Mail and Hollywood Life aren’t relying on anonymous sources.
If you’re reading this, you likely want to know the details of the shower, particularly the gifts. According to both pieces, the list of baby gifts at Beckham’s shower included:
• A Quinny Buzz Special Edition Stroller in pink
• A mamaRoo baby swing
• A Hoppop bath tub
• A Little Giraffe Luxe Blanket
• A Timi + Leslie diaper bag
• A custom-made stuffed giraffe by Melissa & Doug
• A Bonpoint clothing set
• An Orbit Baby Infant Stroller in Red
• A Bloom Alma Crib; and
• A Bloom Fresco high chair
The interest in celebrity babies has increased in recent years. Whether you attribute it to Suri Cruise’s fashion choices or Angelia Jolie’s gaggle of adopted children, you can easily see news about stars’ children taking up pages in tabloids and magazines. But celebrity baby products aren’t as far removed from your budget as, say, a pair of Louboutins or an Alexander McQueen purse. In fact, many baby boutiques carry some of the brands found at Victoria Beckham’s baby shower.
Find Quinny Buzz strollers and Timi and Leslie diaper bags at Baby and Me Boutique. Melizza & Doug baby toys and Little Giraffe baby furniture, bedding, and clothing are available through Hunky Dory.
Baby Aspen Introduces New Baby Products
Filed under: Baby Bath Time, Baby Clothes, Baby Gear, Baby Showers, Baby Toys, Premier Baby Stores
Many moderate to upscale baby boutiques carry Baby Aspen products. The brand is best known for its collections of Welcome to the World wagon gift sets, but the brand recently put out more baby gifts. Their press release gives more details about the new products, many of which appear to be animal-themed.
Several retailers carry baby gifts by Baby Aspen. Various products by this brand are found at Baby and Me Boutique, Dada Baby Boutique, and Designer Baby.
Baby Aspen is often a brand many go to for finding a baby shower gift – or any type of baby gift, for that matter. The brand has perfected the fun-but-practical baby gift: each present is made from soft cloth and contains a combination of toys and clothing. Animal themes are often common, allowing several Baby Aspen gift sets to be perfect unisex baby gifts. Gifts by the brand range from blankets and soft toys to bath clothes.
Finding the right baby gift can be difficult, especially with so many products from which to choose. In general, the present should be both fun and practical. After all, the parent should be able to get more than one use out of the gift. In general, toys and everyday clothing are common baby gifts. Stuffed animals, such as the plush toys carried by Baby Aspen, are often welcome, and ones with “educational” or “stimulation” colors – red, black, and white – serve a dual purpose.
If you can’t settle on just one item, a gift basket is a way to put all of your ideas together. Many baby gift baskets, such as the sets by Baby Aspen, combine a blanket, clothing, and toys – all items a child will use during its first year. Baby retailers may carry pre-made or their own put together baby gift baskets and sets.
How to Incorporate Reading with Your Baby
One activity parents are told to get involved with early on is reading. From helping a child learn new words to simple interaction, reading can be done even before a child is one years old. But, one issue facing many parents is, “How do I keep my child interested?” In this recent advice column, the writer compiles several perspectives from parents and experts in regards to reading with your child. In essence, as long as you have the age-appropriate reading material (don’t attempt reading The Odyssey to your infant, for example, and expect full attention), the benefits from reading are possible.
Ideally, when you’re reading with children under three years of age, the books should have large and colorful pictures and even interactive features, like hand puppets and pop-up drawings. In fact, some baby books are even designed with the red, black, and white color scheme designed for babies. The bright pictures and few pages covered in words allows children to be more interested in the story – no matter if you’re reading directly from the page or making one up. In fact, some books designed for babies and young children simply have this purpose: for you to interact with your child in creating a story only from pictures.
Aside from using interactive or colorful books, another option to get a child interested in reading – hearing the story and not simply ripping pages from a book – is making books seem like toys. A baby or child often has some toys in a crib, in the nursery, and for the bath, so why not do the same with books? Plastic books for bath time are carried by various baby product retailers, while soft cloth crib books can be placed along the outline of a child’s bed. In either instance, you can still interact with your child through the task of reading and creating a story.
Bath Toys
Sometimes, the only way to get a child to take a bath is to put toys in the tub. Traditionally, these were toys like rubber ducks and boats, which could be played with for hours until the parent had to take the child out of the bath. Other options included parents getting somewhat creative and making water toys out of sieves and strainers. Some non-traditional plastic toys are even used in the bath. But, even with more bath toy options now, all bath toys fall into the categories of being creative and also using fine motor skills. Playing with toys in the bath adds a new dimension to play that children don’t ordinarily experience.
Basic bath toys are still sold by various retailers, such as Genius Babies in the link above. These are both rubber ducks and boats, and most retain their traditional shapes. Boats, for example, are small and plastic and, in some cases, a set of boats can be attached together and taken through the water together. However, the purpose is creative play and children can use either of these plastic bath toys in whatever games they can think of involving toys and the water.
But bath toys, especially those for toddlers, sometimes allow more creativity and even interaction between the parent and the child. Two of these examples include rubber tub shapes which come in different shapes and can be stuck to the side of the bathtub and peeled off, much like Color Forms used to be nearly twenty years ago, minus the bathtub. Another interactive toy is bath puppets. These puppets, sold by Baby Einstein and other toy manufacturers, are in animal shapes and are made of a foam-like material. The material can be taken into the water and also used as a wash cloth, once your child is done playing with the puppet.