Have you given one too many of the same gift lately?  Feeling like you are in rut?  Has the expectant mother confided she already has one receiving blanket too many?  Well then you’ll be thrilled with the new offerings from Retrofit Baby.

Retrofit Babyhas taken personalized gifts to a galaxy where they have never been before.  Using retro-chic imagery, Retrofit Baby will take the name and personal details of any new baby (or new big brother/sister) and turn it into a personal design to adorn any onesie, t-shirt, or burp cloth. 

Using old-time milk bottle and soapbox label designs, you can turn any baby into an adorable branded “product.”  Not only will you love seeing baby in one-of-a kind clothing literally made just for them, older siblings will love identifying new baby’s name, city and other details on their clothing.  Plus you can personalize shirts for them as well with their new bragging rights as an older sibling. 

It’s not only the design that is retro on these onesies and burp clothes, the quality is also higher than what you usually find these days. I was amazed at how soft and thick both the onesies and burp clothes were.  These are not the thin little things that you get at Babies R’ Us that rip easily or get holes from too much use.  The Retrofit Baby products are made with soft thick cotton that you and baby will love having right up against your skin as well as personalized decals that will withstand all the washings you give it.

For a unique gift that is truly one-of-a-kind, check out the full selection online at RetrofitBaby.com.

I have to admit that I am a really picky drinker.  I don’t like sugary or too sweet drinks, I don’t like carbonated beverages, and I don’t like coffee or coffee flavors (I know I’m weird. . .).  So when I heard about a new drink for pregnant and new Moms, I was positive I wouldn’t like it.  However, in the spirit of growth & finding great new products for our blog readers, I tested the new Kiwi flavored Glow-Mama drink.

I loved it!  Not only did it not taste too sweet and not have fizz, but the taste was actually really light and refreshing.  I would have never imagined a Kiwi drink would taste good, not bitter, but the folks at Glow-Mama clearly know how to make a mix a yummy Kiwi drink.  Now you can drink your way to pre- and post-natal nutrition with the healthy vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients found in Kiwis and the new Glow-Mama.

So if you’re sick of plain water and looking for a tastier way to stay hydrated, you have to try the new Glow Mama  and you’ll get that 8 glasses of hydration much more happily!  (Try it now with free shipping!)

We were lucky enough to get a visit from “Mr. Valco” himself last week to show us the brand new Latitude stroller which should be arriving in high end stores like Let’s Go Strolling in May. 

The Latitude is the “do-it-all” lightweight stroller that everyone has been looking for.  Best of all - it fits everyone! The Valco Latitude will come in a single AND a double version which is very exciting for all of our customers who have been looking for the perfect lightweight double stroller!

Below we have compiled the top 10 reasons why we know YOU will love the Valco Latitude

10.  It stands folded for easy and compact storage

9.  It has full newborn recline and a generous Valco seatback to fit newborn through preschool aged children well

8. It has an adjustible footrest

7. It has a narrow wheelbase for easy manuerverability - the double measures less than 30″ wide

6. It has a height adjustible single handlebar for one-handed steering that fits everyone

5. It folds easily and compactly and can even lock closed

4. It has a generous basket to fit all your shopping when you are out and about

3. The single weighs 17lbs (really!) and the double weighs around 28lbs (exact weight not confirmed by Let’s Go Strolling yet)

2. The Valco Latitude Double will be carseat compatible on one side!!! (We know everyone will love this one)

1. It has all the fabulous Valco engineering and push with the thoughtful details customers have grown to love and expect from their Valco strollers and comes standard with a raincover, bumper bar, and stroller boot.

We know you will be as excited as we were to learn about Valco’s new mid-year release!  It is a fabulous Valco snack tray that can be used with the Valco Twin Trimode or the Single Valco Trimode.  Best of all, you can use two, count them 1, 2, on the Twin Trimode so you have one for each child.  No more fighting over who got more pretzels from the snack bag when each child has their own!  The only bad news is you can’t use them when the single or twin trimode toddler seat is on the stroller.

We know you’ll want at least one to increase the functionality of your favorite Valco Trimode stroller!

We are constantly being asked for the perfect stroller for New York City.  While of course there is no perfect stroller for every person, finding the right stroller for true living can pose a bigger challenge for many.  Recently New York Magazine rated 10 of the top contenders for best single stroller for New York City parents. 

Their ratings and specs are concise and to the point.  Best of all they catalog many of the urban living moments that many parents will recognize and sympathyze with (such as when a pregnant woman has to help you get your stroller onto the subway).   Overall I found their analyses to be pretty on target.  I would probably disagree most with the Orbit analysis since I have found it to have quite good one-handed steering but that is a small point.

Their big winner?  Depends what you want to be doing with your stroller?  For urban transportation, the Micralite Toro came out as a true favorite.   If you walking alot and pushing your little one over bumpy urban terrain, the Bugaboo Cameleon and Quinny Buzz seemed to be the victors in this category.  We wish they had also road-tested the Baby Jogger City Elite which as a great urban fold and air tires.

Definitely an article worth checking out for those looking for the perfect city stroller for one. . . we’re waiting for them to analyze good urban double strollers next!

 

Okay I admit in the beginning I was skeptical.  I thought how hard is it to remember when you last changed a diaper? Last fed your newborn. . . then I became a mom of three!  Now I was suddenly so tired I could no longer remember what all three of my kids’ names were, let alone how long it had been since I last fed the baby. 

Itzbeen timer to the rescue! 

This ingenius little device is the brainchild of similarly sleep-deprived parents and now it can be their savior.  With a new baby in the house, there is so much to remember, so much to do, and so little brain power with which to do it.  I love the Itzbeen timer because not only does it keep track of when my newborn last ate, or how long she has been sleeping, but I can set little alarm reminders so I never let her go too long without a feeding during the day (thus encouraging her to sleep longer at night.)  The reminder setting is very flexible and can either beep at you or silently flash it’s light so when you look over, you know it is time to wake the baby for a feeding yet again!

The Itzbeen timer comes with 4 timers (and optional alarms) that count up so you know how long it has been since your little one last fed, has his/her diaper changed, or has been sleeping.  The last one can be used for timing medication, your new exercise routine, even how long your toddler has been on their time-out! Equipped with a belt clip to easily take with you, the Itzbeen timer also has a helpful display backlight as well as a flashlight for nighttime use.  

I am truly grateful for and in love with this new device which can help parents everywhere to feel more sane and on top of their newborns earliest needs and beginning routines.  I highly recommend getting the Itzbeen timer BEFORE you have the baby so you can use it from the very beginning, especially nice if you are trying to get used to nursing a new baby and making sure they are fed enough.

The only addition I would love to see on the next generation is a counter - perfect for keeping track of how many wet diapers you have in the beginning or later for counting “Exactly how many times have I asked you to clean up this room?”

As every new mom knows, once you have children, they are always on your mind.  Whether you are remembering the cute hug they gave you that morning, or stewing over what you could possibly feed your picky eater for dinner that night, our children are our top priority and our biggest loves.  That’s why we love our current find, the Mommy Necklace.  It is a very simple and chic way to keep your children close to your heart, whether or not you are actually with them.  Not only is it the piece of jewelry I get the most comments and compliments on, it is also, understandably, my children’s favorite.

From a young age my second son “got” that I was wearing jewelry with his and his brother’s name on it.  He would often point to my necklace tag with his name, then smile and point to himself.  He loved that Mommy wore his name around her neck.

Recently I gave one to my sister-in-law as a birthday gift and she has started giving them as new mom/baby gifts.  It made me realize what a fabulous way it is to mark a new mom’s passage into parenthood. . . by helping them proudly display the name they just agonized over for 9 months!

We just had word that the nice folks at Mountain Buggy are looking for new mothers and mothers-to-be to blog on their new web site, to be introduced this spring. They are looking for women who are expecting their first child(ren) or just gave birth.  The goal is to follow the bloggers through their experiences and their adaption to life with a new baby.

Mountain Buggy has asked us to help them find Let’s Go Strolling customers with a yen for writing - and of course, a Mountain Buggy!  If you are a first time mom, or mom-to-be who has purchased your Mountain Buggy stroller from us and are interested in being a Blogger for Mountain Buggy, please email us at info@letsgostrolling.com so we can connect you with them!

And word on the street is that Mountain Buggy will be offering attractive incentives for bloggers. 

Sounds pretty good to me. . .

I must admit that mine is growing rather quickly. . . Okay I have a pretty big confession here, but my oldest son was 2 years 9 months when his baby brother was born and I’m not even pregnant in our current scrapbooks!  Oh, did I mention his “baby brother” is now 3!?! 

Enough confessional as I’m sure you get the drift - my family albums are woefully behind.  So when someone tipped me off to the How Fast They Grow online scrapbooking service, I was very intrigued.  It turns out that this site is the best invention for busy scrapbookers.  You do need to have the photos you want to use in digital format but after that it is magically easy.

How Fast They Grow calls themselves the “Home of the 7 Minute Scrapbook page.”  I am not that efficient yet, but I have been devoting about 20-30 minutes per night and can usually complete 2-3 scrapbook pages in that time.  When I was doing traditional paper scrapbooking and cutting my photos and designing pages, my average was closer to 30-40 minutes per page.  Quite a difference!  While the site is still increasing their page offerings, they do have a good selection already of pre-designed scrapbook pages that range from space for one special photo to a collage of up to 6 photos.  There are boy pages, girl pages, gender neutral pages and occasion pages including everything from Halloween and the 4th of July to Christmas and Easter Holidays.

I had given up on traditional scrapbooking because I just didn’t have the time anymore but this innovative website allows me some creative outlet for putting together my photos without all the time and physical space that my paper scrapbooking demands.  All you do is log on, upload your photos, pick a design layout and begin dragging and dropping your photos into place.  It couldn’t be simpler, even for the relatively computer unsavvy. 

Best of all, it’s free to design the album pages!  You can share your designed pages with friends and family anytime at no cost.  You only pay for the pages that you want to have professionally printed and sent to you.  It’s a great way to keep friends and family updated with your albums when visits aren’t possible.

Are there improvements that can be made?  I would love to have a bit more creative control and be able to merge the space for 2 photos into 1 larger one for a bigger shot.  Also it would be fun to be able to move the elements of the page around for a more idividualized look but I think that this method of scrapbooking is the wave of the future.  It’s time you got on board! 

Right now it couldn’t be easier.  Test drive How Fast They Grow Online Scrapbooking to create the best looking pages you’ve ever done and from now until Feb 15th, and use the special Let’s Go Strolling coupon “LetsGo” for 15% off your order.  There’s never been a better (and cheaper) time to get started catching up with all your photo albums!

 

Okay here are the current facts going forward:

Regal Lager, the US distributor of Phil and Ted’s Strollers has announced that it will no longer be selling the Orange/Charcoal or Charcoal/Black Sport Buggy Stroller colors.  For the moment they will still stock doubles kits in these colors however.  This means, when we run out, we run out folks, so if either one of these were the colors you had your heart set on - I suggest ordering now!  If you previously purchased these colors and think you will want in a toddler seat in the future that is matching, I encourage you to think about getting it sooner than later as there is no word how long Regal Lager will continue to stock the toddler seats in these two colors.

And then of course, the frequently asked question. . . when will the new Vibe and Dash strollers be out.  Although there were persistant rumors swirling around that January 2008 would be the release date, the latest date from Regal Lager suggests these beauties will not be realistically available in stores until the end of the March at the earliest.  For those of your with March/April due dates, keep in mind this date is not yet firm at this time.  If you are curious what the differences are between these Phil and Ted’s models.  Check out our previous blog entry “What the Heck is Going on with All Those Phil and Ted’s Strollers” which details the changes between the Sport, Dash and Vibe models.