Books, Music & DVD

I can think of a couple of ways off the top of my head for sharing your little “heartthrob” via the Summer Infant Deluxe Prenatal Heart Listening System. Not only can you listen to your baby’s wonderful heartbeat, you can also record it.  Once the heartbeat is recorded you can download it to your home computer and attach it to an email announcing your due date. When the baby is born and you start downloading all those digital pics to your computer, you’ll have a very unique soundtrack for baby’s first slide show.

But best of all, you have a personal way of connecting with baby in the womb. Just think, you could hear his/her little heartbeat each night before you go to sleep. How comforting that would be. It’s priced at $24.99 (sale) at Amazon.com.

The best of both worlds: this children’s First Meals cookbook was written by a Cordon Bleu chef and mom, Annabel Karmel. It has over 200 EASY, healthy recipes for children.

I never depended on ready-made meals out of a box, from a can, or from the frozen section, for my children’s meals…these were more like last resorts. I’m sure with a little more planning and time sheduling I could have done better, as we all could! Having a treasure-trove of easy and healthy kids meals readily available would be a big help.

It includes meals for lunch boxes, dinners, yummy treats and tips for food allergies and picky eaters. This hardcover book is 192 pages and costs $19.95 at OneStepAhead.com.

The Grow-a-Tree For Baby Gift Basket by One Spoiled Baby, is a great idea! Along with a Ginko Biloba Tree Growing Kit, the gift basket includes the book, “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. This special edition gift basket also includes: Baby’s First Bear, Keepsake Baby Rattle, and Travel Size Plush Baby’s Blanket.

This is a keepsake that will be a constant reminder of the precious gift of life! I wish I’d had the opportunity to plant a tree for my children. We might all be sitting under its branches at this very moment.

You can purchase the Grow-a-Tree For Baby Gift Basket for $85.00 at Onespoiledbaby.com.

As I started reading Chloe’s Windy Day to my 2 1/2 year old son, I thought it would be a little boring for him. However, I was surprised to learn that he was very interested in the board book. He liked the simple story since it was easy for him to remember and repeat, the bright pages, and the main character–a cat. He wanted to read it over and over, with me reading the words or with him trying to remember them.

I will be sure to keep my eye out for the rest of the Chloe Weather series by Annie Mitra; he will be delighted to receive them. They will make a perfect gift for your favorite little person’s next birthday or for that special newborn whose nursery library needs some expanding. Find yours at Amazon.com starting at $5.65.

Some men really want to be involved in the new baby experience but maybe they don’t know how to ask? Or what to ask? Well, it’s not just about changing diapers anymore. This 126 minute DVD covers topics from: “What you need to know about feeding, crying, sleeping and diapers” to “Making sense of your changing emotions and unexpected anxieties and fears.”

As experienced or as new moms, we tend to neglect our men.  With all the preparations and celebrations being pretty much oriented toward us, it’s easy to do. It might even be a good idea for you and your man to find time to watch this DVD together, alone. It would probably be a lot of fun, maybe even romantic.

Anyway, give your guy the time and attention he deserves and needs during this important and special time in your lives. It will be time well spent. Price: $19.95 at bambininbliss.com.

I was at the hospital recently in the Maternity waiting room with my sister. Her daughter was having her second child, a little baby girl. My sister was watching her grandson (the new big brother to be) and she had packed all kinds of things for him to do during the long wait.  His “activities” backpack was PACKED! In the waiting room with us was another grandmother with her two young grandchildren who were hopping and running around the room - no activity backpacks in sight.

I like this Travel Art Portfolio by Zookies because it’s lightweight, self-contained, and portable. This would have done nicely for both my sister’s grandson and the other children in the room.  You should always be prepared without overdoing it.  This neat portfolio would keep things to an easy minimum while still providing plenty of fun.  It’s completely refillable and priced at $28.00 at babysoyusa.com.  Don’t leave home without it!

Now I have done everything from mixing my own playdough to hanging butcher paper across a long hallway for coloring and painting to helping my children create a “zoo” in their rooms using their own rubber and stuffed animal toys. But sooner or later you run out of ideas.

It’s always good to have a BIG book of things to do with your kids. I like the subtitle of the Unplugged Play book:  No batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. It tells you right from the start that you don’t need batteries or plugs - which means you can probably do all of the activities using the every day household items lying around.

This book is user and pocket-book friendly fun for you and your children on those long,long, very long summer days at home! Price: $17.95 at pokkadots.com.

As a writer, I absolutely love books…and I want my children to love them too! Baby’s Double-Sided First Book is perfect for visual stimulation from birth to 6 months. It has one side that’s for babies 0-3 months and the other side is for 3-6 months.

The bright colors and fun shapes intrigue the child, making him lift his head for neck exercises as well as visual stimulation. It can be used in a bunch of different ways; Tiny Love recommends using the book as a bumper book in the stroller or carriage, tying it to the baby’s crib, or in an upright position on the floor.

You can check this book out at babyscholar.com. It goes for $11.99.

Sweet and soft with soothing sounds inside. That’s the Sleep Sheep promise. Just gazing at him makes me want to cuddle up under the covers. He’s designed right down to the last detail, with 4 sounds, adjustable volume, automatic turn-off function, and even a tab secured by Velcro for attaching him to the crib (on the outside for safety.)

One of his sounds is mama’s heartbeat, but the others sound soothing and lovely as well. Some babies, my son included, choose one stuffed friend and take it everywhere, relying on it for comfort and familiarity.

My advice is never allow the favorite friend to enter stores or public places (we almost had a nightmare on our hands when ours was lost in a big store) but take it everywhere else you go for that remembrance of home.

Selling for $21.50 at babymallonline.com, the Sleep Sheep by Cloud B is a great shower gift, new baby gift, or mama purchase.

What a perfect gift for new mommies and even we more experienced moms can appreciate learning a few new tricks! All babies need to feel snug and secure. You’d be surprised how wrapping can calm a crying baby.

Remember, they’ve been tucked away for nine months and the big new world can be quite overwhelming for them. You know, this would even be a great item for a baby shower! Have all the guests practice baby-wrapping on dolls and the winner takes takes the Baby-Gami book for a prize.

Reasonably priced at $16.95, you can order your Baby-Gami Baby Wrap for Beginners Book by Andrea Sarvady at polkadotwhale.com. Have fun!

By K & Co., the Sweet Pea Baby Boy Scrapbook comes ready to go. If you love the look of scrapbooks but just don’t have the time or patience to create one, just add your pictures to this color coordinated kit and your memories will be preserved in a lovely book.

Easier than spending your time searching through scrapbook stores, aisle after aisle, for the perfect coordinating pages and embellishments, this kit comes with 10 patterned papers and three packs of matching stickers (including words and icons.)

I like the soft blues and greens, very attractive to the eye, and the stitching around the outer cover. Its “sister” album is equally cute and perfect for your baby girl. The Sweet Pea Baby Boy Scrapbook would make a wonderful gift for that mama-to-be who aspires to be a scrapbooker but hasn’t found the tools to begin yet.

I spotted it at overstock.com for $36.99.

Geared toward parents who wish to give out grandparent gifts, the A is for Apple Brag Book is pleasing to the eye and isn’t going to break the bank. For $7.95, your new baby can give a gift to grandma and grandpa.

Inside are 12 double-sided photo pages, Acid-free and safe for all those precious memories, ready to be filled with adorable snapshots. Small enough to fit in a purse or maybe even the glove box, the brag book can be taken anywhere and shown off to anyone, just as it’s meant to be!

To accessorize the brag book, there are matching memory books available at thestylishchild.com as well. They make such cute sets, decorated with dots and gingham trim, that you might want to keep them for yourself.

This is a sweet little gift set which will surely please any mom-to-be or new mother as much as it will please her little one. The entire set is packaged in an environmentally responsible reusable cloth bag.

It includes a 4 ounce jar of organic Cheeky Baby Butter shea butter baby cream to pamper newborn skin as well as a copy of the popular board book Counting Kisses by Karen Katz. This set provides the beginning of a soothing bedtime routine for parents and babies. The shea butter is not tested on animals, so you can feel great about this gift any way that you look at it.

You can purchase the set on sale at amazon.com for $40.50.

I’m always in the market for storage ideas that are good looking and useful. With choices of blue, honey, or white, you can match the shelves to your nursery or play room décor easily. Hang them up high for storing precious or delicate books and toys or hang them within reach of children, perhaps over an art table or reading area.

I like the idea of hanging them above bean bag chairs and a circular rug to really finish off a play room. Perfect for making kids feel like they have a place all their own. Sold for $49.00 at landofnod.com, Bin There Done That Book Bins are a nice storage solution for the organized family.

When I got pregnant one of the first things I wanted to know was what products do I need and where is a book I can read great reviews of these products. Baby Bargains is that book. This book is fantastic and I’ve recommended it to several people.

It tells you exactly what you’re going to need, when to buy it, which one to buy and how much it will cost. What is even better about this book is it also tells you what you will not need.

Every single product I registered for and eventually bought myself was first checked out in this book. It is the book to keep in your purse the reviews are so good. Oprah even recommends it!

Most major book stores carry it for $15.95.