So, I'm all for showcasing our wonderful blog readers, hence we took a family trip down Bridge Street to visit Hipster, "The Best Housewares Store in Philadelphia" (even though we're technically in Phoenixville). What you might not be aware of is that Hipster (the store deserves italics) has a really great little section devoted to "Hip Kids." Hey, your baby should be just as cool as you are!
The online store doesn't quite have all the neato products the actual store does. We couldn't resist getting Rockabye Baby: Lullabye Renditions of Weezer (and after you visit that website you are sooo going to want to buy the lullabye versions of your favorite inappropriate musical choices for children). We almost bought some metallic butterflies wall decor for the nursery, but since we're moving soon to a bigger place (babies may be tiny, but their stuff takes up a lot of space) we'll be back to Hipster after the move for those decorating needs.
Why should you visit Hipster (as if I haven't given you enough incentive)? In addition to being a store you can definitely get your stroller through, the owner was kind enough to let me use the restroom when I was nine months pregnant and desperate. I'm just saying.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Babies Love Wegman's!
The one daily chore that has taken on new significance since baby entered our lives is grocery shopping. No one likes to do this necessary evil (it's a step above the laudrymat), but we all must in order to survive. With baby in tow, the job just got that much harder. Not only do you have a stroller taking up your trunk space where the groceries used to fit, but now you must make two trips from car to house unless your baby is somehow carrying the groceries for you. I don't know about you, but I would balance a bag on my head if it meant getting everything inside in one trip!
So it was my quest to find a grocery store that catered to the family with a newborn, and hands down that grocery store is Wegman's in Collegeville right off of Rt. 422. Before you even get in the store, Wegman's is catering to you by providing designated parking spots for families. The downside is those spots are usually taken. The upside is these spots are conveniently located near the doors just like the primo handicapped spots cause let's face it, a baby is a kind of handicap to your normal functioning.
Next bonus is the grocery carts! The two tiered carts are perfect for optimal shopping and baby carrying. A car seat will nicely fit in the top tier and your groceries will fit in the lower tier. The carts are wide enough to fit TWO kids in the front (if you decided to have another...I'll let you know what I decide after I forget about the pain of labor.)
How does Wegman's stack up in my rating department?
Stroller Accessibility: 5 I actually saw people using strollers in Wegman's although, I'm not sure why when the carts were so perfectly designed.
Dirty Diaper Changing: 5 This is where Wegman's excels beyond any business other than Ikea (review pending). Each restroom has a private family restroom complete with baby changing station, toddler seat, and regular toilet. The whole family can do it's business in privacy. There are FIVE family restrooms in the store. You just can't beat that.
Family Friendly Atmosphere: 5 I think the toddler dining area with its miniature tables and chairs says it all. I saw seven little kids zoned out watching cartoons on the TV that Wegman's provides for their entertainment.
Nursing Possibilities: 5 I don't tend to think of nursing and grocery shopping being simpatico, but the Timber Room has a fireplace, some really cozy chairs, and a few hidden nooks to manage breastfeeding if you were so inclined. The other dining areas are large and you have space between diners that affords a certain privacy. The fact that you can even consider nursing in a grocery store (other than in your car in the parking lot) puts it at the top of the scale.
And if I might sing Wegman's praise just a little more, I also noticed that name brand diapers were a dollar cheaper at here than other local grocery stores. That gives me one extra dollar to buy the chocolate candy bar, I so rightly deserve after another night of no sleep!
So it was my quest to find a grocery store that catered to the family with a newborn, and hands down that grocery store is Wegman's in Collegeville right off of Rt. 422. Before you even get in the store, Wegman's is catering to you by providing designated parking spots for families. The downside is those spots are usually taken. The upside is these spots are conveniently located near the doors just like the primo handicapped spots cause let's face it, a baby is a kind of handicap to your normal functioning.
Next bonus is the grocery carts! The two tiered carts are perfect for optimal shopping and baby carrying. A car seat will nicely fit in the top tier and your groceries will fit in the lower tier. The carts are wide enough to fit TWO kids in the front (if you decided to have another...I'll let you know what I decide after I forget about the pain of labor.)
How does Wegman's stack up in my rating department?
Stroller Accessibility: 5 I actually saw people using strollers in Wegman's although, I'm not sure why when the carts were so perfectly designed.
Dirty Diaper Changing: 5 This is where Wegman's excels beyond any business other than Ikea (review pending). Each restroom has a private family restroom complete with baby changing station, toddler seat, and regular toilet. The whole family can do it's business in privacy. There are FIVE family restrooms in the store. You just can't beat that.
Family Friendly Atmosphere: 5 I think the toddler dining area with its miniature tables and chairs says it all. I saw seven little kids zoned out watching cartoons on the TV that Wegman's provides for their entertainment.
Nursing Possibilities: 5 I don't tend to think of nursing and grocery shopping being simpatico, but the Timber Room has a fireplace, some really cozy chairs, and a few hidden nooks to manage breastfeeding if you were so inclined. The other dining areas are large and you have space between diners that affords a certain privacy. The fact that you can even consider nursing in a grocery store (other than in your car in the parking lot) puts it at the top of the scale.
And if I might sing Wegman's praise just a little more, I also noticed that name brand diapers were a dollar cheaper at here than other local grocery stores. That gives me one extra dollar to buy the chocolate candy bar, I so rightly deserve after another night of no sleep!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Snow Day!! Or is it Spa Day??
Well, you're not going outside today and either am I. So instead of finding something to do in Phoenixville when it's buried in snow, how about finding something to do inside the home with the little one? I have just the activity: Baby Spa Day!
If I lived in Cary, North Carolina, I'd go to the Itsby Bitsy Baby Spa, but since I live here and am stuck indoors I'm just going to have to recreate it at home. First, you want to start with a little baby yoga. I use the book Itsby Bitsy Yoga, but check out this cute and quick video demonstrating some of the moves. I set baby down on her little blanket, and we get to work with a few sets of "tiny tugs," "belly breathers," and "chair" poses. The instructions assure me that these will help baby's digestion (she already poops a lot so I don't think that's an issue). It does (as the video promises) feel like a special bonding moment though. She smiles and giggles through the routine, and I do a few stretches too. I think she likes to watch me do poses as much as she likes to do them too.
So after our yoga routine, we move on to bathtime! My mother was awesome enough to buy us the Summer Infant Soothing Spa, but to be honest, we haven't used the jacuzzi feature yet. We just use the tub and put in a little Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Bath (it makes her smell like baby lavender).
The bath used to be a fussy, tearful mess, but I've adapted to make it more enjoyable for all involved. First, we put her towels and nightclothes in the dryer for ten minutes to get them toasty warm when she gets out. Second, we blowdry her hair immediately (the white noise and the warmth are instant fuss eliminators). Third, we incorperate baby massage into our towel off.
If you haven't yet tried baby massage, here's a video to guide you through the process. I don't use massage oil, but rather Mustela Body Lotion, and it works just fine. Your baby will be nice and chill afterwards and ready for one long, deep sleep.
So there you have it! Your snow day is tranformed into a spa day! Enjoy!
If I lived in Cary, North Carolina, I'd go to the Itsby Bitsy Baby Spa, but since I live here and am stuck indoors I'm just going to have to recreate it at home. First, you want to start with a little baby yoga. I use the book Itsby Bitsy Yoga, but check out this cute and quick video demonstrating some of the moves. I set baby down on her little blanket, and we get to work with a few sets of "tiny tugs," "belly breathers," and "chair" poses. The instructions assure me that these will help baby's digestion (she already poops a lot so I don't think that's an issue). It does (as the video promises) feel like a special bonding moment though. She smiles and giggles through the routine, and I do a few stretches too. I think she likes to watch me do poses as much as she likes to do them too.
So after our yoga routine, we move on to bathtime! My mother was awesome enough to buy us the Summer Infant Soothing Spa, but to be honest, we haven't used the jacuzzi feature yet. We just use the tub and put in a little Johnson and Johnson Bedtime Bath (it makes her smell like baby lavender).
The bath used to be a fussy, tearful mess, but I've adapted to make it more enjoyable for all involved. First, we put her towels and nightclothes in the dryer for ten minutes to get them toasty warm when she gets out. Second, we blowdry her hair immediately (the white noise and the warmth are instant fuss eliminators). Third, we incorperate baby massage into our towel off.
If you haven't yet tried baby massage, here's a video to guide you through the process. I don't use massage oil, but rather Mustela Body Lotion, and it works just fine. Your baby will be nice and chill afterwards and ready for one long, deep sleep.
So there you have it! Your snow day is tranformed into a spa day! Enjoy!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Baby Story Time at the Phoenixville Library
It took a lot of effort and coordination to get to Baby Story Time this morning at the Phoenixville Library, and I still managed to get there late. Apparently story time starts at 9:30am sharp. So I drug myself out of bed a half hour early to shower while the baby was still asleep, then dressed her, fed her, changed her diaper, bundled her up in her bear suit, got her into the car seat, and then into the car, scraped the ice of the windows, and drove the three blocks to the library. Why didn't I walk, you wonder? It was 6 degrees outside...I'm not that cruel. Why does leaving the house require so much work???
So we arrive at the children's reading room and several parents with their babies are gathered in a circle around a woman giving a stunning performance of children's book. I wondered how all these parents had managed to get there on time given the crazy amount of prep it takes to get a baby out of the house. I unbundled my little bear and plunked down between two babies and their parents. Callie was obviously the youngest baby there. Every other baby could sit and crawl unassisted. Callie could only stare ahead in wonder at the other tiny humans in the room. My neighboring parents said hello, and we exchanged baby ages.
If I thought baby story time would just be an animated librarian reading books, I was WRONG. After the book, the librarian passed out streamer wands, and we sang songs and waved our colorful wands. As if that wasn't stimulating enough, she got out a giant rainbow parachute that the babies could crawl over and under as we again sang songs about it. At this point I was more than impressed. But it gets better.
She read us one more book, and then we were given egg shakers....yes you heard me, egg shakers. I really wished Callie could have been able to grab it and shake it. The other babies were really diggin' the tiny maracas. We segwayed into a scarf song and were each showered with several colorful mesh scarves to play with. After a finishing round of "wheels on the bus" all the babies were nice and tired (Callie zonked out before I even got her back in the car seat). We packed up, and home we went! It's hard to believe baby story time was only a half hour long...but what a half hour it was!
I give Phoenixville Library's Baby Story Time a five star rating for being the best darn activity I've done with Callie yet. I will definitely be back next Monday...on time!
So we arrive at the children's reading room and several parents with their babies are gathered in a circle around a woman giving a stunning performance of children's book. I wondered how all these parents had managed to get there on time given the crazy amount of prep it takes to get a baby out of the house. I unbundled my little bear and plunked down between two babies and their parents. Callie was obviously the youngest baby there. Every other baby could sit and crawl unassisted. Callie could only stare ahead in wonder at the other tiny humans in the room. My neighboring parents said hello, and we exchanged baby ages.
If I thought baby story time would just be an animated librarian reading books, I was WRONG. After the book, the librarian passed out streamer wands, and we sang songs and waved our colorful wands. As if that wasn't stimulating enough, she got out a giant rainbow parachute that the babies could crawl over and under as we again sang songs about it. At this point I was more than impressed. But it gets better.
She read us one more book, and then we were given egg shakers....yes you heard me, egg shakers. I really wished Callie could have been able to grab it and shake it. The other babies were really diggin' the tiny maracas. We segwayed into a scarf song and were each showered with several colorful mesh scarves to play with. After a finishing round of "wheels on the bus" all the babies were nice and tired (Callie zonked out before I even got her back in the car seat). We packed up, and home we went! It's hard to believe baby story time was only a half hour long...but what a half hour it was!
I give Phoenixville Library's Baby Story Time a five star rating for being the best darn activity I've done with Callie yet. I will definitely be back next Monday...on time!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Restaurant Review: JC Fireside Bistro (formerly Bear Rock Cafe)
Every Sunday, my husband and I go out for brunch, but again baby friendliness always makes our establishment choices limited. As we were rattling off places we could go, my husband had an epiphany. "Why not Bear Rock Cafe?" he asked. It was perfect, except it's JC Fireside Bistro (I miss the old name, Bear Rock Cafe, which is why I wanted to eat there in the first place...We call our daughter "little bear"). If you haven't eaten there before, the food is ALWAYS quality and quickly served! But this isn't a review of the food, rather of the baby-friendliness of the establishment. Here goes:
Scale 1- 5, 1=poor, 5=awesome
Stroller Accessibility: 5 A very wide walk up counter aisle to order food at. Tables and booths are so spread out that you could easily get a twin stroller through that place!
Dirty Diaper Changing: 4 Both bathrooms have a wide handicap accessible stall with a changing table and that makes this place awesome. HOWEVER, the bathrooms are really cold making "open air accidents" a probability.
Family Friendly Environment: 5 While I rarely see kids in here Sunday afternoons, there are several high chairs available and the changing tables in the bathrooms indicate family-friendly. The crowd at JC's is laid back; and it accomodates large parties with extra long booths and tables. (You could easily get the car seat in the booth with you if they ran out of high chairs)
Nursing Possibilities: 5 Who wouldn't want to nurse on a cozy chair in front of their fireplace? I'm guessing since the Nursing Mothers Alliance meets there, they've tested to see if it's pro-boob. There are also some tables in the back by the bathrooms that are out of view of the restaurant if you wanted to be more discreet.
So there you have it! It's incredibly baby-friendly and just a hop, skip and a jump to the KOP mall (and Babies R Us)!
Scale 1- 5, 1=poor, 5=awesome
Stroller Accessibility: 5 A very wide walk up counter aisle to order food at. Tables and booths are so spread out that you could easily get a twin stroller through that place!
Dirty Diaper Changing: 4 Both bathrooms have a wide handicap accessible stall with a changing table and that makes this place awesome. HOWEVER, the bathrooms are really cold making "open air accidents" a probability.
Family Friendly Environment: 5 While I rarely see kids in here Sunday afternoons, there are several high chairs available and the changing tables in the bathrooms indicate family-friendly. The crowd at JC's is laid back; and it accomodates large parties with extra long booths and tables. (You could easily get the car seat in the booth with you if they ran out of high chairs)
Nursing Possibilities: 5 Who wouldn't want to nurse on a cozy chair in front of their fireplace? I'm guessing since the Nursing Mothers Alliance meets there, they've tested to see if it's pro-boob. There are also some tables in the back by the bathrooms that are out of view of the restaurant if you wanted to be more discreet.
So there you have it! It's incredibly baby-friendly and just a hop, skip and a jump to the KOP mall (and Babies R Us)!
Friday, January 21, 2011
New Events Alert!
Wanted to give my readers a heads up on all the upcoming events I will attend and review for our tiny tots:
Baby Story Time- Phoenixville Library on Monday Jan 24 @ 9:30am. Learn to read to your infant!
MOMs Club of Phoenixville Meeting: at Franklin Commons Bistro on Thurs. Feb 3 @ 9:30am
Family Fun Fair- Stepping Stones Education Center on Sat. Feb 5 from 10am-2pm. Games, crafts, face painting, food, and a silent auction.
Baby and Me Yoga: Spring Valley YMCA Fridays at 10:30am and 6pm.
Babies Night at the Colonial Theater: ongoing Mondays @ 6:30pm
Baby Story Time- Phoenixville Library on Monday Jan 24 @ 9:30am. Learn to read to your infant!
MOMs Club of Phoenixville Meeting: at Franklin Commons Bistro on Thurs. Feb 3 @ 9:30am
Family Fun Fair- Stepping Stones Education Center on Sat. Feb 5 from 10am-2pm. Games, crafts, face painting, food, and a silent auction.
Baby and Me Yoga: Spring Valley YMCA Fridays at 10:30am and 6pm.
Babies Night at the Colonial Theater: ongoing Mondays @ 6:30pm
The Things That I Used to Do....
The hardest part of becoming a parent so far has been trying to adapt an old life (free of diapers, strollers, and bottles) with a new life that includes all the above. One of my favorite loves of Phoenixville is it's coffee shops. Yesterday, my husband and I attempted to merge our love of a good latte with our love of our daughter.
After waiting three hours for our baby to eat, sleep, and poop we finally got her bundled up and ready to go to Artisan's Gallery and Cafe. Since we live in town, we decided to make this a stroller day and walked down a few blocks to the coffee shop. Of course, she falls asleep almost instantly once we hit the rocky terrain called a sidewalk. It's easy to take a sleeping baby around town.
Now I've debated how I should "review" businesses for new parents, and I'm going to base it on certain criteria that every parent needs to know on a scale of 1-5. (1 = poor and 5 = awesome)
Stroller Accessibility: 4 There are no stairs leading into the establishment, which is a bonus, but if it's packed with customers forget about getting the stroller to the counter past all the tables and chairs.
Dirty Diaper Changing (DDC): 4 While there is no changing table, the bathroom is a clean room with a lockable door. If you put a changing mat on the floor, you could change the baby in peace.
Family-Friendly Ambience: 3 The place doesn't scream "Welcome Babies," as clientelle tends to be the 20-something crowd connected to a laptop. I wouldn't take a toddler in as there are too many pieces of pottery to potentially break. But for a baby confined to a stroller or parents' arms, it's a not overly stimulating place to chill for a while.
Nursing Possibilities: 3 Now, I'm not big on public breastfeeding...I'll bring a bottle of milk before I whip out a boob, but if I absolutely had to nurse I would say that the space is a little small and intimate. There are some comfy chairs that would make nursing easier, but you might be sitting a mere foot away from a stranger with your nipple exposed. However, that person might be so engrossed in his/her laptop they'd never notice! There are not many places to descreetly "hide" and feed (like a back of the store table), but again the bathroom might work in a pinch if you don't mind sitting on the toilet.
Overall the experience at Artisan's was quite enjoyable. We enjoyed a little piece of our old lives combined with a little piece of our new one. Of course, our conversation wasn't as much about politics as it was about how cute our daughter is, but that's to be expected: we're new parents!
After waiting three hours for our baby to eat, sleep, and poop we finally got her bundled up and ready to go to Artisan's Gallery and Cafe. Since we live in town, we decided to make this a stroller day and walked down a few blocks to the coffee shop. Of course, she falls asleep almost instantly once we hit the rocky terrain called a sidewalk. It's easy to take a sleeping baby around town.
Now I've debated how I should "review" businesses for new parents, and I'm going to base it on certain criteria that every parent needs to know on a scale of 1-5. (1 = poor and 5 = awesome)
Stroller Accessibility: 4 There are no stairs leading into the establishment, which is a bonus, but if it's packed with customers forget about getting the stroller to the counter past all the tables and chairs.
Dirty Diaper Changing (DDC): 4 While there is no changing table, the bathroom is a clean room with a lockable door. If you put a changing mat on the floor, you could change the baby in peace.
Family-Friendly Ambience: 3 The place doesn't scream "Welcome Babies," as clientelle tends to be the 20-something crowd connected to a laptop. I wouldn't take a toddler in as there are too many pieces of pottery to potentially break. But for a baby confined to a stroller or parents' arms, it's a not overly stimulating place to chill for a while.
Nursing Possibilities: 3 Now, I'm not big on public breastfeeding...I'll bring a bottle of milk before I whip out a boob, but if I absolutely had to nurse I would say that the space is a little small and intimate. There are some comfy chairs that would make nursing easier, but you might be sitting a mere foot away from a stranger with your nipple exposed. However, that person might be so engrossed in his/her laptop they'd never notice! There are not many places to descreetly "hide" and feed (like a back of the store table), but again the bathroom might work in a pinch if you don't mind sitting on the toilet.
Overall the experience at Artisan's was quite enjoyable. We enjoyed a little piece of our old lives combined with a little piece of our new one. Of course, our conversation wasn't as much about politics as it was about how cute our daughter is, but that's to be expected: we're new parents!
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