Baby Clothes: Kissy Kissy
OK, so after an “Essentials” post, let’s bounce to the far extreme and talk about overpriced but adorable baby clothes – hooray! I discovered Kissy Kissy (yes, terrible name) at … Continue reading
Nipple Confusion
Moms’ confusion, not babies’, that is! How do you know when to move your baby up to the next size nipple on your bottle of choice? Most bottle “systems” come … Continue reading
First Toys: The Teddy Bear
I still have Gloria, in case you were wondering. She was my first teddy bear, and, in a deeply subjective way, I love her. In a more objective way, I … Continue reading
High Chairs: Oxo Sprout
I’ve been meaning to post about high chairs for a little while. Since I can’t seem to get it together to write the longer overview of how I decided on … Continue reading
Parents’ Groups: San Francisco
I just – finally – pulled together a list of San Francisco parents’ groups for some pregnant friends of ours, so I thought I’d share the information for those of … Continue reading
Learning Tower
So your baby can stand up – yay! It’s a key step in evolution, so go you for getting your own personal little one to this billions-of-years-old milestone! One of … Continue reading
Gap Baby / Kids
Did you see Crazy, Stupid Love? You should. It was funny. It’s hard not to pull for Steve Carrell. Ryan Gosling (well, his character) takes Steve’s frumpy, middle-aged dad under … Continue reading
First Books
Babies can’t read. Just FYI. In case you weren’t sure. But you’ll receive a little stack of board books at your baby shower anyway. Kids’ books are really cute, some … Continue reading
Rocker / Glider
I bought a used glider rocker last weekend and the mom asked me how old Astrid was. When I said, “Eighteen months,” she said, “Why do you want a rocker?” … Continue reading
Music Boxes
I loved music boxes when I was a kid. The little machine inside – OK, yes, I broke one in half to see it – was like magic and the … Continue reading
Best Sand Toys!
When Astrid first took an interest in sand (other than eating it), she envied another child’s sand tower. I was thrilled and tracked one down in the off-season to get … Continue reading
Best Books: My Friends
I came across the board book of My Friends in the play area at the California Academy of Sciences and loved it. The pictures have little details for little eyes … Continue reading
First Toys: Sophie the Giraffe
See also A Word on Toys Sophie the Giraffe has been around for 50 years and is still sweet and effective. She’s a vanilla-scented, rubber teething toy from France with a … Continue reading
First Toys: “Transitional Object”
See also A Word on Toys A “transitional object” helps your baby transition from needing you all the time to wanting this object when you’re not around to, in the future, … Continue reading
Pimp My Car Seat
The infant car seat is a wonderful thing early on: your baby is small enough to snuggle in it and happy to snooze while you go from point A to … Continue reading
First Toys: Mobiles
See also A Word on Toys Mobiles are awesome. Period. Get at least one for your baby for above her crib. And maybe another one for above her play area. And … Continue reading
First Toys: Rattles
See also A Word on Toys The first interactive toys that will probably catch your baby’s attention are ones that make a small cause-and-effect noise, like a rattle or a crinkle. … Continue reading
First Toys: Mirrors
See also A Word on Toys Also in the staring category are mirrors. Astrid didn’t notice herself in a mirror until she was 3 1/2 months old despite all expert assertions … Continue reading
First Toys: Black and White
See also A Word on Toys Staring is big with infants. They can’t see very well at birth and won’t distinguish colors first thing, so fairly large black and white … Continue reading
Tips: When to stop swaddling
It would be great to feel 100% certain, but, like lots of parenting questions, when you stop swaddling your baby is going to be a judgment call on your part. … Continue reading
Diaper Bags: My Choice: Land’s End
You heard me: Land’s End. The preppie emporium of my Boston youth – well, second-string to L.L. Bean, but still – came through for me in my seemingly endless search … Continue reading
Diaper Bags: Kate Spade
I had a black, heavy nylon Kate Spade diaper bag as my primary bag for ages about ten years ago. It was great: the bottle pockets held my keys and … Continue reading
Diaper Bags: Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack
I was drawn to the Petunia Pickle Bottom bag/backpack even though it runs a cool $170 because a backpack seemed like a good idea for, say, getting through an airport … Continue reading
Diaper Bags: More Skip Hop
In addition to Skip Hop’s Duo Deluxe, I looked at a number of their other bags. – Skip Hop Duo Double Deluxe ($79 at Amazon). The giant older brother of my … Continue reading
Diaper Bags: Skip Hop Duo Deluxe
Let me just say right now that I’m an overpacker. I keep hoping I’ll skinny down what I feel like I need to take with me when I go out … Continue reading
Two Baby Medical Resource Books
One of the things I got a little obsessive about while I was pregnant was finding the right infant medical resource book to have at home. Here’s what I wanted: … Continue reading
Little Giraffe Chenille Blanket
To be clear up front, this is not a must-have and it’s a bit spendy for what it is, but it is a super nice-to-have. So when your rich friend’s … Continue reading
Nail Clippers
Cutting Astrid’s nails scared the bejesus out of me. Babies’ nails are so small and their fingertips are right there and you’re supposed to do it in the dark while … Continue reading
Fisher Price Music Box Record Player
I didn’t have a lot of mainstream toys when I was a kid. My parents were more “use your imagination/we walked uphill barefoot both ways” types, so Lincoln Logs and … Continue reading
Best First Book: I Am a Bunny
Everyone tells you to start a bedtime routine right away with your infant so that by the time s/he is old enough to notice that there is one, you’ll have … Continue reading
First Blocks
Just as Astrid hit the six and a half month mark, she seemed to lose interest in her previously popular rattles and toys. And a day later I got my … Continue reading
Mmm…shoes…
I’m finally willing to concede that Astrid needs some shoes. She got a bunch as gifts when she was born, but a.) most of them won’t fit her until next … Continue reading
Minimalist Mama Beginnings: Baby Registry Spreadsheet
Minimalist Mama started as a spreadsheet. For the whole story, check out the About page. Short version: Astrid is our first baby and when I looked around to see what … Continue reading
Diaper Bags: The Criteria
I’ve ordered and tried a bunch of different bags to replace my Skip Hop Duo Deluxe, but before I go there, I thought I’d offer a quick overview of what … Continue reading
Baby Bath Decor
To brighten things up for Astrid, I got her a set of these bright Tub Tattoos which you can affix to the near side of the tub so all your … Continue reading
Baby’s First Bath Toys
When we moved Astrid into the big tub, I felt like she was relaxed but bored, so I went hunting for some starter bath toys that wouldn’t make our only … Continue reading
Minimalista Mama 