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

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

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

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...

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?

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!

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!

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.