Featuring Baby! Helpful Mommy Advice and Nursery Name Art

The Battle Of The Bottom

2009-07-31T11:46:00.002-04:00

AH...the battle of the wills, the need for autonomy and independence showers over any logical train of thought...thus introduces the 'battle of the bottom'....diaper changing fits that is. Figuring out how to get my one year old to lay still long enough for a diaper change is one of the biggest challenges I face on a day to day basis. He hates it! I have recently changed the 'battlefield' location from the changing table to the floor for safety reasons. He flips, he turns, wriggles and cries. It's as if getting a diaper change is the end of the world! I understand that, at this age, sitting still long enough to get anything accomplished is a task within itself and the urge and need to continue discovering and exploring the world takes a back seat to nothing. I am running out of ways to redirect and occupy his attention. (open to suggestions LOL)
We will get through this challenge, and I'm sure there will be more up ahead.

He said 'DUCK'!!

2009-07-21T12:46:00.002-04:00

No way! My one year old just crawled up to me with his little rubby ducky toy and said 'A Du'... He has made sounds before that have resembled words, but only immediately after he hears them. He did this entirely on his own. Pretty soon he will be parrotting everything he hears! It's so exciting to hear him start communicating with words. He definitely understands more than he can say, I think it's amazing how babies pick up the human language in just a few short years. Their brains are like little sponges, just saoking up all the knowledge they can take in. They can learn pretty much anything. That's why it's so important to instill good values into them at an early age. I once heard that people's characters are shaped more in the first few years of life than any other time. Even though we can't remember the first few years of our lives, I believe our subcouncious always keeps a record of what we were exposed to.

3 Different Ways To Offer My Designs

2009-07-21T11:25:00.007-04:00

I opened my Etsy shop about a month ago, and I have to admit I have been slow at adding new items. Since I only have about 5 birth announcement name print designs completed, my shop isn't going to look full anytime soon. At first, I planned on only offering my designs in a frame as a wall hanging. But not everyone will want to hang their print on a wall. So I have decided to offer each of my designs in 3 different ways.

The first is, as stated above, the name print in an 8x10 glass format frame hung by braided ribbon and jute with a pretty bow on top. (As seen below)

Click On Photo Above To See This Wall Hanging On Etsy.com

This same baby name print is also available unframed, as just the print, as pictured below.

Click On Photo Above To See This Wall Hanging On Etsy.com

And finally, this same name print will be offered as a high resolution JPEG file, emailed to my customer for them to print at home or their local printing lab. (I recommend Costco printing labs for quality color)

I hope offering a variety of choices to my customers will help them feel more comfortable buying from me. That first sale will be very exciting! I know people are always skeptical from buying online from a new seller, so I hope by offering lower priced versions of my wall hangings (the print and the JPEG), it will entice buyers to take that leap and purchase a name print for their baby, or a friend's baby from the Etsy shop Featuring BABY!

Check out my shop to see all the great baby name art designs! Oh BTW, we always offer FREE SHIPPING to anywhere in the United States!

Baby Name Print Made To Match Max Crib Bedding GREAT SHOWER GIFT

2009-07-20T23:27:00.004-04:00

Click Here To See It In On Etsy.com

Celebrate your new bundle of joy with this nursery baby name print!
This 8x10 unframed birth announcement name print is made to coordinate with the popular crib bedding Max.

This eye catching design looks great with any nursery bedding with coordinating colors and makes a wonderful baby shower gift! The combination of traditional polka dots and stripes is showcased in the modern color scheme of blue with chocolate and caramel brown tones.

Your print will be professionally printed with baby's first name in lower case letters, date of birth, weight and length, and will go nicely with any frame.

Check out www.FeaturingBaby.etsy.com for more baby name print designs!

Just Listed Baby Name Print Made To Match Maya Crib Bedding GREAT SHOWER GIFT

2009-07-20T21:14:00.009-04:00

Click Here To See It In On Etsy.com

Celebrate your new bundle of joy with this nursery baby name print!
This 8x10 unframed birth announcement name print is made to coordinate with the popular crib bedding Maya.

This eye catching design looks great with any nursery bedding with coordinating colors and makes a wonderful baby shower gift! The combination of traditional polka dots and stripes is showcased in the modern color scheme of pink with chocolate and caramel brown tones.

Your print will be professionally printed with baby's first name in lower case letters, date of birth, weight and length, and will go nicely with any frame.

Check out www.FeaturingBaby.etsy.com for more baby name print designs!

Technorati Confirmation Code

2009-07-17T11:24:00.001-04:00

dyiavephtz

Textured Double Sided Baby Flash Cards

2009-07-15T22:33:00.006-04:00

Click The Image To Find Out More

These baby flash cards are really neat, and they have helped Domynik alot with word association. He is such a smart kid! I showed him a couple flashcards in the morning and by evening he could point them out for me when I asked him. They are a really fun learning tool because they are textured, so not only did Dom like to look at them (and of course put them in his mouth) he liked to feel all the different textures on each flash card. They are double sided and the back of each card has an interacive activity for parents to help their little ones learn. There are probably lots of different flash cards out there for babies, these are just the ones we ran across and we really like them. I included an image link at the top of this post for more information on how and where to get them.

Just Listed Baby Name Print Made To Match Blue Blue Blullseye Crib Bedding GREAT SHOWER GIFT

2009-07-15T22:10:00.007-04:00

Click Here To See It In On Etsy.com

I am so excited, I just listed this birth announcement name print in my Etsy shop tonight! This 8x10 unframed birth announcement name print is made to coordinate with the popular crib bedding Blue Bullseye.

This eye catching design looks great with any nursery bedding with coordinating colors and makes a wonderful baby shower gift! The combination of traditional circles and stripes is showcased in the modern color scheme of dark chocolate brown, white, light orange, blue and tan, and looks great in either a boy or girl's nursery.

The print is professionally printed with baby's first name in lower case letters, date of birth, weight and length, and will go nicely with any frame. (The framed and hung with a ribbon version is here)

Check out www.FeaturingBaby.etsy.com for more baby name print designs!

Starting Cow's Milk

2009-07-15T12:14:00.002-04:00

I am so excited that we will finally cut the formula costs. We have been using Similac Alimentum since birth (along with some breast milk) and this last calculation shows we have been spending nearly $300.00 a month just on the Alimentum! The stuff seriously breaks the bank. But since Dom just turned 1, we are off to try him on all kind of new things, the first being vitamin D organic whole milk. I hope he does well on it, and hope he doesn't show any signs of milk allergy. This is a whole new phase of babyhood for both him and us!

Our Trip To The Zoo

2009-07-13T15:56:00.001-04:00

We went to the Pittsburgh Zoo the other
day. It was Domynik's first trip to see all the animals. He loved seeing the lions and tigers and all the fish, but one animal display in particular caught his eye. These gorillas! They were crazy! The group pictured congregated and formed some kind of gang against some of the other gorillas. And they actually all strutted over and started fighting. It was nuts. I have never seen anything like it at the zoo before! It was definitely the most entertaining trip to the zoo I have ever had.

Dommy got to pet a sheep for the first time. He sees them in his books all the time, but he has never seen one in real life. He was thrilled!

He absolutely loved watching the fishies swim around. They had some big fish there, look at the size of that head! That's mommy and daddy in the reflection of the glass.

It's really awesome watching your baby experience all these new things for the first time. I can't wait to go back to the zoo!

First Time IN The Shopping Cart! He's Getting So Big...

2009-07-13T15:47:00.000-04:00

I am so proud of my little buckeroo! Today was his first time in a shopping cart! I usually carry him in a mei tei wrap when I grocery shop, but today, I think he was trying to tell me he is too old for the wrap, LOL. When he started to figit, I thought, I am going to try it, and I put him in the cart, and it was a success. Dom is a smaller baby, only in the 5% for his weight class, so I always thought he would swim in a shopping cart seat, like his whole body would come out of one of the leg holes, but he proved me wrong. I am so glad I tried it because now shopping will be so much easier. Now I just have to get one of those cart covers, as I found myself obsessing over all the germs that were laying on the cart bars. If I find a good cover, I will blog about it in the 'Mommy Must Haves' section. My baby is becoming a toddler....sigh....

Are All Etsy Sellers Professional Photographer On The Side?

2009-07-13T11:35:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I only have 2 items in my Etsy shop. I am cutting myself some slack though because my shop has just opened, and I am still trying to figure out the best way to photograph my nursery wall hangings. They are hard to photograph because they are in an 8x10 glass format frame, and it's hard not to end up with a glare from the glass. Even if the flash is turned off. It seems that all the photos on Etsy are so nice! I had to wonder, when I first began my Etsy journey, if all the sellers were also professional photographers on the side! Most sellers' photos are so nice and angled and cropped with beautiful backgrounds. And the items look so sparkly and clean. How am I supposed to get my photos to look like that? No clue. I bought some white foam board for my background, stuck a push pin in the board to hang my nursery wall hangings, then shot some photos. But it's hard to take 'angled and cropped' photos of my wall hangings and still be able to identify them as a wall hanging. They are so beautiful in person, I just hope I can find a way to do them justice! To check out these nursery name art wall hangings, check out www.FeaturingBaby.etsy.com. And if any of you have any suggestions on how to artistically photograph these wall hangings, I would welcome your comments!

Overland Limited Jogging Stroller...Helped Me Lose Lots Of Baby Weight!

2009-07-12T23:14:00.000-04:00

I hate to admit it, but I gained 60 pounds when I was pregnant with Dom. (Yep, she said SIXTY!) I am only 5'2", so that weight showed up on me fast. And can I just say, it is SO much easier to put weight on than it is to lose it. My oh my, it's been an entire year since I gave birth and I am still not back down to prepregnancy weight. I have been dieting daily and exercising every chance I get. I seem to be able to lose weight faster if I cut out all white flour and refined sugar. I haven't cut out carbs altogther because personally, my body needs carbs for energy, and I need all the energy I can get taking care of baby! Cutting out foods with preservatives and lots of sodium has also helped, and of course exercise. Since Dom has gotten a bit older, he seems to enjoy being in his stroller. I am taking advantage of that with the great jogging stroller my aunt got me for my baby shower. This thing has TRULY been a life saver. Not only am I able to get out in the sunshine and jog around my neighborhood, but I can do so knowing that he is safe and in a sturdy piece of equipment. With the Overland Limited Jogging Stroller, I can actually run along side of the stroller while Dommy looks up at me. It is so cute seeing his hair blowing in the wind, and he absolutely loves when we 'go fast'. And I have lost a lot of weight jogging., which is ironic because I was never a jogger before. But, turns out jogging is actually lots of fun and it's a natural way to destress!

Dr. Brown's Bottles.....My Baby's Cure For Gas And Reflux!

2009-07-12T22:35:00.000-04:00

I have to blog about these bottles, because I think every bottle feeding mom should at least be aware that there are really great air tight bottles out there that help tremendously with baby's gas and reflux!
I have the whole Dr. Brown's bottle set, and even though they come with many parts, I love them and wouldn't trade them for anything! They have been the absolute best bottle for little Dom. When we made the switch to Dr. Brown's Bottles, he no longer experienced excessive gas and his reflux was virtually eliminated. I am so thankful someone recommended them to me, and I would recommend them to any new bottle feeding mom whose baby is experiencing gas pains while eating.

I Love Etsy Forums Too!

2009-07-12T16:43:00.001-04:00

I have to say that as a new 'Etsian' I am very impressed with their discussion forums. The very first thing I noticed, after all the great useful advice I receive every time I post, is the overall tone of the posters on Etsy. They are SO nice and most actually take the time to check out your Etsy shop and comment on your work. Before I decided to go with the shop name Featuring Baby! , I asked the Etsy community their thoughts and opinions on that name, along with few others I had come up with at the time. I went with Featuring Baby! in the end because so many posters said that was their fav. It really helps to know what the online community thinks of your work, after all, they will hopefully be your buyers! Kudos to the Etsy community, and thanks guys for all your good advice. You are all very pleasant to work with! And super fast in response too!

I Love Parenting Forums!

2009-07-12T16:36:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to chime in real quick and give a big shout out to some of the great parenting discussion forums here on the web. They are oh so helpful and reassuring. One really great one is the Mothering Dot Community where it is free to join and you can find great natural parenting advice. Domynik just had a double ear infection and someone of that site recommended (actually a few posters gave success testimonies) about Garlic Mullein Ear oil as a natural remedy. I think it's working! There are tons of great support communities all over the web. My suggestion to all new moms is find one you are compatible with and post post post! You'll quickly realize you are never alone in whatever your concerns are.
"-)

Introducing the Featuring Baby! Blog

2009-07-12T12:07:00.000-04:00

Hi. My name is April. I am a wife, a stay at home mom, and an entrepreneur. My little boy, Domynik, just turned 1 last week, and my husband and I are so excited that he is starting to walk! He is the pride and joy of our lives and we are so blessed to have him. I started this blog because I want to share my mommy experiences with the world, as I think it is one of the hardest, most challenging, exhausting, yet thrilling, adventurous, and beautiful experiences there is to be had in life. I am still very new and very inexperienced in being a parent, and I think the best way to learn is to live it, and to learn from other's experiences. If you are a new parent, a new grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, or simply someone who would like to follow the days in a life of an entrepreneur mommy, stick around! Hopefully you will find this blog to be uplifting and interesting, and I welcome comments at any time.
In addition to keeping you updated on life with baby, I will also be sharing my entrepreneurial experiences. I recently opened an Etsy shop called 'Featuring Baby!' that carries beautiful personlized nursery name art wall hangings for baby's room. They are offered as hanging baby name frames, or simply prints. They make great baby shower gifts so if you know someone who is expecting or you personally have just had a baby, check out www.FeaturingBaby.etsy.com.
Well, Domynik is waking up from his first nap of the day, so I better run and get him some lunch.
Looking forward to meeting everyone!
April