my favorite baby and toddler science books

hi mamas and friends,
i am a children's book fanatic. i love buying books for my children and i love giving books for birthday and holiday gifts. one of my childhood dreams is to write and illustrate one, hopefully some day i will. since my husband is a scientist and my dad is a retired aerospace engineer, i wanted to expose my little ones to science books.

here are my some of my favorites to buy and give.

for the older toddlers, 3 and up
women in science - 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world by Rachel Ignotofsky - my four year old loves this book. we read about a scientist every night before bed. this is for older toddlers, but it's never too early to expose your daughters and sons to strong, intelligent women. highly recommend.

rosie revere, engineer by andrea beaty - a nice message in this book. you only fail if you quit. this is a little long for my toddler to sit through when she was 3 years, but i think she can probably sit through it now.  we haven't pulled this one back out in awhile since we rotate our books.

ada twist, scientist by andrea beaty -  I bought this one but haven't taken it out yet. Will probably gift this to my daughter for xmas this year.

i am jane goodall by brad meltzer -  we also read about jane goodall in the women in science just last night. she wasn't a traditional scientist, but she worked and lived with the chimpanzees to study them. my kids are fascinated by animals.

i am albert einstein by brad meltzer - brad meltzer has a whole series of books about inspiring heroes. albert einstein is one of them. he was a dreamer that thought in pictures instead of words. he went on to become one of the greatest scientists in history.

the girl who thought in pictures: the story of dr. temple grandin by Julia Finley Mosca - i have not yet read this book but it looks promising. its about a girl diagnosed with autism who became a scientist.

for younger tots:
baby loves aerospace engineering by ruth spiro: was so excited to discover this book since my dad is a retired aerospace engineer. my toddler loves this book, especially the birds and the rockets. he enjoys reading it and flapping his "wings".

baby loves quarks by ruth spiro: we have this one too. you learn about quarks, protons, electrons and atoms and molecules.

quantum physics for babies by chris ferrie - my daughter loved this book when she was very little. she learned about protons and neutrons and electrons. we should probably rotate it back into our current reads again to see how they like it now.

not science related but math:
introductory calculus for infants by Omi M. Inouye - this is a fun book for any math lover. 

Hope you enjoy this list. Let me know if you have any other favorites.

Cheers,
~Alice

The Ultimate Baby Essentials List Continued: Feeding Essentials

~Feeding Essentials~

Feeding typically starts between 4-6 months. But you can go ahead and register for these items when you are setting up your baby registry. :) 

~High chairs~

Feeding chair: We have the stokke tripp trapp – we like it. Emerson started sitting in it (with the baby seat) around 5 months and still sits in now with the baby seat at 21 months. When he's older, we can remove the baby seat and they can sit in it like a chair. 

Babyseat for the stokke tripp trapp 

Summer infant booster seat - we have this at my parents house (hand me down) and it was handy as well. It has a nice large tray and it's easy to clean and attach to the chair. 

Prince lionheart bebepod - we have this too and it worked well for melody but if your baby is on the chubbier side, it might not work as well. This is also easy to clean and easy to attach to a chair

~Bottle warmer and travel mug~

Zojirushi hot water dispenser - we loved using this instead of a bottle warmer necessary. It is so versatile - we use it for everything - including hot water, tea, instant coffee, instant noodles, and for warming the bottles. We would fill a big cup or bowl or mug with hot water and then put the bottle in it to warm. if you are on the go, you can store the water in this stainless steel drink holder as it stays warm for hours.

Zojirushi stainless steel drink holder that keeps milk cold or water hot for hours. we use this on day trips when melody need to drink milk. or to carry hot water when you want to warm the bottle. 

~Popsicle and ice cube molds~

Zoku mini pops mold - this is great for breast milk pops, milk pops, water pops with fruit, yogurt pops with fruit, the possibility are endless and the size is perfect for the little ones. they are perfect for a hot day and perfect for when you littles have fevers. 

Zoku quick pops mold - this is awesome for homemade popsicles. you can make them in under 10 minutes. awesome for the little kids as you know exactly what you are putting in them. and my daughter loves helping to make her own ice pops too. 

Ice cube molds - we have an array of fun ice cube molds. these are great for when you have hot soup, or want to make things a little more fun. we freeze water in them. I prefer the silicone ones as they are easier to pop ice cubes out.

Hello kitty ice cube mold

Mickey mouse ice cube tray

Toy story ice cube tray

~Bibs and baby bandanas~

We have found that the silicone bibs work best: I love the Make My Day silicone bibs. They work well, easy to roll up in your backpack, are easy to wash (don't smell after use) and are super cute too. if you use it in the stroller, you could actually store some snacks (like strawberries, or bunny crackers, etc.) in the bib pocket for them to eat themselves.

breakfast at tiffany's style bib - This is my favorite bib for girls - my four year old still wears it to eat when she wears nicer clothing or eats ice cream or messier foods)

tuxedo bib - this is my favorite one for boys . 

Bumkins baby bibs - we have a few of these as well. they work well and too but because they are soft, they don't catch as much of the food as the Make My Day bibs. We also noticed after awhile, they start to smell a bit. They do have some cute designs though. 

whales bib

Mickey bib

Minnie bib

Bandanas - these are great for drooling babies or to wipe runny noses and they look really cute too. 

Matimati baby bandanas

Copper pearl girls baby bandana set

Copper pearl cruise baby bandana set

~Pacifier ~

 Wubbanub – this would have been a lifesaver for m. I can’t tell you how many times in the middle of the night we had to find a pacifier and couldn’t find it. But em never used it even though we got it for him. So many cute animals to choose from:

penguin wubbanub pacifier

lion wubbanub pacifier

giraffe wubbanub pacifier

puppy wubbanub pacifier

~Pouches and feeding accessories~

Plum organics - prunes - unfortunately constipation is common, so we always have prune pouches on hand to provide to my 21 month old once a week. He's been eating these since 8 months. 

Chubchub pouch buddy - perfect to stick on top of your pouches to prevent spills. 

Munchkin snack catcher - great for car rides. We put cheerios, fruits, bunny crackers, etc. 

~Placemats~

Shutterfly has cute placemats if you want to add your own photos. They sometimes have free deals and you just pay for shipping.

I have seen those non-slip placemats plates but i haven't tried any. 

Modern-twist coloring placemat - we have this as well and it's a good placemat and is easy to wash. our markers dried out rather quickly though, but my kids like it even without coloring on it. only bad thing is that my toddler sometimes throws the whole thing on the floor.  

For restaurants, we love using disposable placemats. they don't always stick to the table super well, but most of the time, they work. We still wipe the table down but we also put a placemat on top. This way when the kids drop the food on the table, they can pick it back up and eat it. 
Minnie mouse disposable placemat
Winnie the pooh disposable placemat
Hello Kitty disposable placemat
Construction disposable placemat - we are currently using these. they are thicker than the Disney ones. 

~Teeth Brushing~

We started brushing our babies gums with gauze after nursing at night. They didn't always like it but we tried our best. After they got a little older, we started with the baby banana brush. 

You can start this around 4-6 months to get your babies used to having their gums brushed.

We loved the baby banana infant brush - this was easy and soft for my infant to use and started getting him used to brushing his teeth.

Radius toothbrush for toddlers - when they are a little older. i like these brushes because they are soft bristles so its easier to brush around the little teeth. 

For other nursing/bottle essentials, please reference my previous post here. 

Hope this helps! Feel free to comment on any essentials you would recommend.

Cheers,
~Alice

the ultimate baby items guide from a mama of 2: Part 1 - Strollers and Car seats

Hi everyone!
It's been almost 5 years since I've posted on my blog. Since then I've been busy learning to be a mama of two, one 4 year old girl and one 1.5 year old boy. I've decided to refocus my blogging efforts on my new realm of expertise - being a mama. Over the next few weeks, I will be posting my ultimate baby items guide, now that I am a mama of 2.

I am often asked to provide recommendations on my favorite baby products. Since I am the type to do extensive research and exhaust all options, I have listed here, my ultimate list of my favorite baby items. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
This is an extremely long list so i will be doing this in parts. Part 1 is stroller and car seats

Some general notes.
Baby bargains is a great resource – good safety ratings and reviews.

 Reference for safety of baby toiletries/sunscreen etc. ewg.org

 Register at Amazon, Target, PB kids. They give you a completion discount
so if you do want to purchase something you didn’t get, at least you get a
discount.

 Albee baby is tax free for those of us in California (located in NY). This is where we bought our stroller, car seats and other bigger items.

~Strollers~
Uppababy cruz stroller: for everyday stroller (disneyland too)
Melody is 4 and still loves to sit in it. Things we love about it besides how pretty it looks for a stroller - it's easy to fold up, has a huge basket, offers a smooth ride, has an adapter for a chicco carseat.

Uppababy vista - this is a larger stroller and offers a double stroller option. Those who want to have kids close in age often choose this one over the cruz.

Stroller accessories:
Stroller caddy for drinks – this fits great on the uppababy cruz. it's less expensive than the uppababy one. the caddy can hold two drinks although you might want to stuff some towels at the bottom because the drink pockets are very deep. it's very hard to steer stroller while holding drinks with no cupholder.

adapter for a chicco carseat - we used our uppababy cruz with the adapter for the carseat from the beginning. that way we saved money and didn't have to invest in another stroller.

piggyback skateboard - If you have a second baby, our toddler daughter loves to stand on the piggyback skateboard.

mommy hook - to hang your purse, milk bag, shopping bags, anything really. a good strong hook.

Lightweight Stroller:
Uppababy Gluxe Umbrella Stroller (lighter weight) –  – this is perfect for travelling and
side trips. It lays down pretty flat so when we took Melody to Taiwan (she was under 2), she napped very well in the stroller. It’s also lightweight and has a decent size basket for a lightweight
stroller.

Babyzen yoyo stroller - another lightweight option - haven't tried it but have heard great things.

Double strollers:
We just bought the Zoe double stroller today! So we haven't received it yet, but I will update once we start using it. We will be travelling abroad soon. This one is 16 pounds and looks rather easy to travel with and hopefully comfortable.

We have also looked at the uppababy glink but we haven't tested it out. Will need to report back on this one.

Uppababy vista also offers a double stroller option for an infant and a toddler.

~Car seat~
chicco keyfit 30 not convertible. You will get a convertible later. this is rated high for safety (baby bargains book) and it’s adaptable for the cruz stroller.
Go to local firestation and have them check your installation. Middle seat in the back is safest.

uppababy mesa - a lot of people like this car seat. I already had the chicco keyfit but otherwise I would likley have gone with this one.

~Convertible car seat~

Chicco nextfit we like. Straps are a bit easier to adjust. We also have maxi cosi 85 but we like the nextfit and the peg perego more.

We also have the peg perego viaggio – my 4 year old can now buckle herself in this carseat, so i like it much more. the straps, once you set it, are generally pretty easy to adjust and they don't get to twisted.

Alright, going to sleep while my babies sleep.

Let me know if there is any topics you would like me to post about first.

Will post more soon.
Cheers,
~Alice