The Please Touch Museum’s “Expectant Parents Bootcamp” was previewed by Donna Ellenbogen, MSW, of Family Wellness Solutions in NYC, who will be one of the expert speakers. Many of the awesome brands that will be there with tables or who contributed to our swag bag and raffle giveaways are featured. Check it out! – click HERE!
This is a fun new mommy gift! Babies love to grab and chew everything in sight, so many moms take a hiatus from wearing jewelry while they have a baby. Teething Bling® from Smart Mom Jewelry is the original teething jewelry with pendants and bangles that look great and safe for curious babies to handle and chew. They’re made of FDA approved materials that teethers are made of, all non-toxic, phthalate, BPA, PVC, latex and lead free. All pendants come with a breakaway clasp as an added safety measure.
pediped® Originals® $32 and up
Pedipeds are a great first shoe for infants and they remain the best choice as children begin walking on their own. The soles were specially designed to closely mimic barefoot walking; They are soft and flexible and allow children to grip the floor when taking those early steps and developing their stride. Unlike those crazy chunky heavy flat soles that cause babies to walk like Frankenstein J The pediped® Originals® collection is available in sizes 0-24 months and you can find their super cute designs in tons of stores or online.
Aden & Anais Swaddle 4-pack $49.99
Mothers have swaddled babies forever. It’s a gentle and effective way to soothe and calm baby. Studies have shown that swaddled babies sleep more peacefully by preventing spontaneous movements (called reflex motion) which continually wake them through the night; swaddled infants stay in REM sleep. Which means Mom and Dad get more sleep, too! The muslin material lets air circulate, so overheating isn’t as much of a concern. Aden & Anais have great prints and organic options as well. Love!
Joovy Room Play Yard $269.99
The Joovy Play Yard is designed to be a full-featured nursery center- it’s a bassinet, changing station and playard all in one. It’s super convenient and multi-purpose to have at Grandma’s, on a trip or in a room in your home. The nylon fabric is super strong, durable and stain resistant. It’s got a full-size bassinet that holds an infant up to 15 pounds and the removable changing table supports a baby up to 25 pounds. The parent organizer is the biggest available on a playard with nine compartments that hold up to 9 lbs. of nursery items (again, perfect on at a vacation home where you’ll have all your diapering items, maybe toys and clothing.) Room also has some bells and whistles: a built-in MP3 (iPod) jack for you to play a personal playlist or the integrated music with sleep mode as well as a built-in nightlight positioned to work inside the bassinet!
Baby Cargo Ultra lightweight Stroller 300 Series $179
Unfortunately we ran out of time before I could feature the brand new Baby Cargo stroller line! Baby Cargo is made for parents on the go- it’s made for travel around neighborhood or hoping on a plane or train and heading out of town! It weighs under 16 pounds and has a great shoulder strap for carrying it. Baby Cargo strollers’ design was inspired by fashion and interior design. Someone said the colors and mod design makes them think of West Elm. It’s super easy to fold and has great storage pockets. You can come kick the tires at Please Touch on 1/21- they’ll be there showcasing their line to Philly parents!
Philadelphia’s first & premier baby planner, Shannon Choe, founder of Premier Baby Concierge shared some “last minute” holiday gift ideas for the whole family. As of airtime, all of these were available for Holiday delivery- but deadlines vary, so move quick!
Don’t make it all about the bump or babe! Pamper the new mom or mom-to-be on your list with a gift certificate to a local spa. This is one gift card that doesn’t say, “I wasn’t sure what to get you!” If you’re in Philly, I suggest the Tommi Lifestyle Boutique. My wedding photographer, Tom Wong, and his wife Nikki are the founders of this new one-of-a-kind spot offering services for wedding and non-wedding clients: photography (including maternity photos!), salon & spa services, even cosmetic dentistry, all under one roof! Their new 7th & Chestnut location is beautiful and tranquil. www.tommistudio.com
The Go Gaga Slide ($118) is a really unique, unisex bag that will appeal to the diaper bag toting set, as well as anyone who buckles under the pressure of an ill-fitting strap! Introducing the patent-pending Urban Sherpa Strap designed to distribute weight over your shoulder and back. The Slide also sports a very practical insulated bottle pocket that fits adult water bottles or baby bottles and is easily accessible with one hand. Comes with the Stuff Sack (great “wet bag”) and Nomad Changing Pad. The Urban Sherpa Strap alone is a great stocking stuffer at $28 for anyone on your list! Shop at www.diapers.com and use the code: GOGAGASAVE to save 10%.
Wooden toysfor all the girls and boys on your list! With all of the concern around plastics, BPA and lead paint, you can’t go wrong with wood toys and teethers. They’re natural and durable. HABA of Germany has long been the name in great developmental wooden toys and can be found on www.amazon.com. We love their tagline: “Inventive Playthings for Inquisitive Minds.”
Little Passports is a great gift for the big bro and sis on your list! ($11.95 and up). This award-winning, educational gift introduces the child to a new country each month through goodies, letters, souvenirs, stickers delivered by mail and paired with online games. It’s a gift that starts with a special Little Passports suitcase and stimulates all year long!
A great gift for those far or near! Send a Recordable Storybook from Hallmark($29.95)! With three holiday titles and twelve every day titles available, these books are super easy to record, and more importantly, to set and save from accidental erase (hello little fingers!). From grandkids to grandparents, far away relatives to baby, parents to child, these books are great keepsakes and a great way to share a story all year long, even when loved ones can’t be there.
Our suggestion for teaching kids about being thankful and a time-saving Thank You note solution: Print Art Kids notecards. Every year we do an assembly-line production of handprint thank you notes so the family can have this keepsake and to start the conversation about the importance of being appreciative of gifts and expressing thanks. This year, we can send one such creation to Print Art Kids to create custom thank you notecards. They can turn any artwork or photograph into custom note- or postcards, return address labels, note pads, etc.! There are no limitations to artwork: glitter? googly eyes? oversized paper? No problem, just take a digital photo! Bonus: they use earth friendly products and recycled paper.
This was a very special show for expectant and new parents with lots of great info and giveaways galore! The audience was full of expectant moms and PBC founder and regular 10! Show contributor, Shannon Choe, was thrilled to be part of all the action!
Shannon picked some of her favorite products to share, knowing that one lucky home viewer would win it ALL! Here they are:
1. Hot Mama Gowns $119- Be camera and visitor ready with these beautiful organic gowns that are designed for breastfeeding. Sizes 2 to 22.
2. Storksak’s Jamie Expresso unisex diaper bag. This is a great leather bag that mom or dad would be happy to carry! It’s a great shape and has an insulated pocket in addition to other exterior pockets, and the interior can be wiped-clean. An awesome laptop bag for after baby! www.SaksFifthAvenue.com $210
3. Flip Slide HD This is an awesome HD video camera that takes up to 4 hours of HD footage and can store a max of 12 hours! It is ridiculously user-friendly when it comes to taping, taking still photos, viewing on screen and uploading to share on Facebook, etc. Use within two seconds out of the box! Grandmom will thank you! $279.99
4. Apple Park toys- We love these 100% all natural, organic plush Picnic Pals, wrist rattles, etc. What a great first toy to “shower” mom and baby with! $12-48
5. Dapple products- Natural dish liquid and toy cleaner wipes & spray to natural enough to use on baby’s items, but tough enough to remove grime! Great green items to introduce the new mom to! $5.99-6.99
6. Baeba babycook - Unfortunately time ran short and we couldn’t do the Baeba cook justice on the 10! Show! We LOVE this one-of-a-kind baby food making counter top appliance! Making baby food is really easy and the Baeba cook is so great because this one appliance blends, steams, defrosts and reheats. It’s the perfect size and can cook meat, veggies and fruit in under 15 minutes all while retaining all of the nutritional value! Not to mention it’s cute. $149.99
7. Book- Feeding Baby Green by Dr. Greene- A great comprehensive nutritional guide about how the food we while pregnant and baby eats effect his health during his lifetime. Dr. Greene is so knowledgeable and communicates the research behind the theories, the numbers, the foods, all without preaching- he lets the info speak for itself and leaves mom to make her own choices. That’s my kind of teacher! $11.53
8. Britax B ready stroller- This stroller is simply amazing! It can transform from a single- child to a double or twin system, taking baby seats or bassinetts (to a total of 14 different configurations!) and not only that- it does so EASILY! Check out this video to see for yourself: http://www.britaxusa.com/strollers/b-ready/videos And of course, it’s a Britax, so they’ve thought everything out from canopy to under carriage storage to cup holder- and best of all: We LOVE that you can adjust the harness with a slide versus re-threading the whole darned seat. Love! $499.99
A HUGE thanks to all of these companies that send their products for feature and giveaway to one lucky home viewer!
Thanks also to The 10! Show for the opportunity to reach all of these excited, expectant moms! I was able to send my favorite baby proofing item- Socket Lockits, with my PBC logo, no less!- home with each mama in their baby shower swag bag, along with a special coupon for Baby Proofing Assessment and/or Car Seat Safety Inspection (I am proud to be a CPS Certified Tech – aka car seat tech).
The Please Touch Museum’s “Expectant Parents Bootcamp” was previewed by Donna Ellenbogen, MSW, of Family Wellness Solutions in NYC, who will be one of the expert speakers. Many of the awesome brands that will be there with tables or who contributed to our swag bag and raffle giveaways are featured. Check it out! – click HERE! 
