Get Excited!

It’s time again for “The Great Trade-in Event” at Babies “R” Us’ Nationwide!

You can receive 25% off any new children’s product by trading-in any used product in any Babies”R”Us store location. That means you can get 25% off any new Graco crib, car seat, bassinet, stroller, travel system, playard, high chair, walker, swing, bouncer, entertainer or kid’s bed when you trade-in your older products. This is especially important if you happen to have an expired car seat. (Yes, car seats expire! Find out how to see if your Graco seat is expired here.) The best part of the whole event is there is no limit to the number of items you can trade-in.

And check the Babies “R” Us circular or e-mail newsletter for more great deals like 30% off the Graco FastAction™ Fold Stroller  with your trade-in purchase!

What gear will you be trading for this week?

Rewind 8 months…

We were in the thick of summer in Atlanta and I was 8 months pregnant with my first child. I was hot, tired, cranky and most noticeably, swollen. My body apparently had enough as well because I developed a hive-like rash on my skin (formally known as PUPPPs). I wore gloves on my hands at night to keep from scratching and only gained a minimal level of comfort from ice cold showers. I was reduced to flip flops (feet were too swollen for my regular shoes) and I could only bear to sit in the same place, position for an hour at a time. In the final weeks, I selfishly cried and pleaded at my appointments to be induced — to no avail. (For the record, I was eventually induced at 40 weeks and it was not fun).

Needless to say, I was miserable, not considering conceiving again and convinced the universe was punishing me for gloating on a pain free and enjoyable first and second trimester.

And then, the most special, memorable, AMAZING day came and Cameron was born (screaming at the top of his lungs – oh, what a wonderful sound). He was happy, healthy, adorable and perfect.

Fast forward to present day…

I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced pregnancy and Cameron’s birth. He’s, without a doubt, the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me. How rewarding it is to be his mom!

At 7 months, he’s crawling, albeit backwards and has a small, little peg of a tooth poking through his bottom gum. He’s babbling what I think sounds a lot like mama and I could just melt. I love him, uncontrollably.

I now find myself longing for another baby but feel compelled to hold out so Cameron isn’t cheated out of our undivided attention. And maybe we’re not ready since we’re barely managing our new busy schedules. But it wouldn’t feel right without a little chaos.

What do you guys think? How did you know when you were ready for bump #2?

Thanks to Melissa Jackson on our team here at Graco for this beautiful photo and post!!

#1 Does the upper level (aka the bassinet) go down to make it a full-size playard?  Yes. On virtually every playard available in the market today.

Here is a picture of a Graco playard in ‘bassinet mode’ and next to it is the same product in ‘playard mode’. Every manufacturer has their own way of accomplishing this, but in general the mattress is securely suspended mid-air for bassinet mode and you just move the mattress to the bottom for playard mode.

Bassinet Mode

Playard Mode

#2 Misconception: Changers are places for babies to sleep. This is not true!

Only Graco offers a Newborn Napper®, which is a dedicated spot for newborns to rest while you’re nearby. Changers on playards are not designed for a sleeping baby.

Finally, I’ll share one other tidbit. Not all playards are “Pack ‘n Play’s”. Graco developed and trademarked the first Pack ‘n Play playard in 1987, so only Graco can call their playards a “Pack ‘n Play®”.

What other questions would you like answered about Graco Pack ‘n Plays?

You can still snap in two Graco infant car seats into this double stroller but there are also so many other seating configurations to choose from. Your older child can sit on the bench seat or stand on the platform, while your little one can sit back and enjoy the front row seat. Another cool option is the “Face Time” stroller seat. You can make your little one laugh or show her the sights as you push the stroller. The best way to experience this stroller is to go instore and try it out with your kids, see more pictures online, or check out our video.

With all of these seating options, Graco did not forget out the convenience features that moms expect and love about Graco strollers. Like I mentioned before this stroller includes, the ability to use two Graco infant car seats in the stroller, a removable Face Time seat where you can spend some close up quality time with your baby, a reclining front seat that lies flat, a one-hand fold, and an extra-large storage basket that can be accessed by pulling up on the toddler bench seat–awesome, huh?

I wish I had this stroller when my girls were younger! I know PP would have loved the standing platform and Pinkie Pie (who is my eternal cuddler) would have loved the Face Time seat so she could be even closer to me. Our strollers keep getting better and better!

I pushed the sleep from my eyes, downed a cup of coffee and set-out to spend “quality” time with the little ones that I never get to see.

I was surprised at how quickly being 5 years old came back to me. Soon we were making up all sorts of games, and rules and safe zones. Then we had the brilliant idea of creating a barrier wall and a “safe cave”. It was full-on Star Wars chaos, all before 6:00am and breakfast.

Boys will be Boys

Do your kids already know all the  names of their favorite characters? Do they talk about it constantly? Share your stories.

Do you have a picture of your precious little one that you’d like featured in our ‘Babies, Bundles, and Bumps’ series?

Share it with us at blog@gracobaby.com, and you might see it featured here!

How do they do it?!

I honestly can barely get myself out of bed and ready in the morning.  So, over the next few weeks I’ll be featuring a different lovely lady that I have the pleasure to work beside.

First up!  Mrs. Desiree Wright.  Des is a textile CAD designer for Graco, but at heart, she is a full-blown creative junkie.  She is truly an amazing artist.  Not to mention she is a mom to 5 kids and has one of the most infectious laughs I have ever heard.  This is how she handles it all…

What’s your work schedule?

8:30 am-5:30 pm

How do you handle child care?

Either my husband or I drop off the two littlest ones (ages 21 months and 4 years) in the morning and my husband picks the girls up in the evening.  I chose a daycare that is right down the street, since I have to get my other children on the school bus.

Where do you work during the day? 

I work in an office.

What’s your favorite part of your work? 

Being creative…I am lucky enough to have a job that I desire to go to!  I made a passionate choice when I was a little girl that I would only work at a job if I love it and love what I do.  That was the number one factor that brought me here today and when I chose to have children…I would never leave my children to go to a job that didn’t put a smile on my face.

What do you like best about your current set-up?

I chose to move to Georgia for the family and work flexibility both in my career and my daycare.  In the past…I had absolutely no flexible schedule either way.  I managed to juggle daycare and work, but it was much more stressful.

What do you find difficult/tricky/comical about your current set-up?  What would you change if you had a magic wand? 

If I had a magic wand, I would turn my Toyota into an Invisible Jet like Wonder Woman and fly over all the traffic I get stuck in (both to and from work) and once that was complete, I would make one bus stop and one school stop instead of four, and I would appreciate if my son would stop getting detention in the morning before my day even begins.  Keep in mind…I have a high school-er, a middle school-er, an elementary child, a pre-K child and a baby….getting them all off to school/day care then jumping into the traffic to getting to work is definitely not the easiest part of the day.

What’s your favorite part of your home life?

Everything…I enjoy the chaos of my home life…from the noise in the morning till night.  I enjoy the sit down dinners of hearing about all their wonderful school days and what they did during the day since I am at work.  I enjoy the dancing, smiling, and I guess…just the “NON-QUIET” life I lead.  I appreciate just how lucky I am, even when all four of my girls get into a scream fest.

How does your partner contribute to managing the house/childcare? 

My partner is my husband David and he is the most laid-back, quiet person you have ever met.  He contributes 100% and I contribute 100%…there is no 50-50 with five kids, athletics and a full time job.  We all need to do teamwork.  Usually I do all the cooking and cleaning, but now my husband is learning to cook, so he helps, and we are cleaning  together since I have a larger house in Georgia than I did in the past.

Do you have time to yourself? What do you do with that time? 

Since I am an artist I always try to find time for myself to create…whether it be scrapbooking, magazine browsing or painting..the only down side is…I do not find time for myself until everything else is done, which means I am giving myself time at 11:00pm and later.  Also, I joined a tennis team to give myself a “set” time for myself to have.  I also try to go out on a late date with my husband once a month to give “us” some time together.  Those who know me well…tell me that I need more time for myself…and guess what..I will when my baby moves out..then I will get my toes done!

What advice would you give to other moms or first-time expectant parents about how to balance work and life? 

My advice is “You bring that wonderful bundle of joy into your life…not the other way around!”  When I travel, my babies travel, when my schedule changes they change along with me.  I guess, because of my busy life and even when I was a new mom of just one… I always went with the flow of Motherhood.  I have brought my kids everywhere and done everything with them and - guess what? They are fine!  I do believe in consistency…so even if you are busy..try and keep the same bedtime, bedtime stories…etc…and most of all communication.  My other advice is…don’t feel bad about working, the most important thing is making every free minute you do have with your kids count!

……..

Wow!  What a great first interview!  I am already excited to hear more and see how everyone does things differently.  Thank you, Des, for being so open and willing to share with everyone.

Let him cry and the tears will run down both of your faces.

Getting baby to sleep through the night is no easy task. You should know that our baby is pretty close to being perfect in the sense that he is very easy to take care of…. Except for sleeping through the night.

Poor little guy still gets up to eat, every morning around 3am. We feed him, bathe him, tuck him in, still every night we have broken sleep. Four days ago we started to do as the doctor recommended, we let him cry. Supposedly, babies will cry and then fall asleep. Over the course of a few days their little bodies get used to waiting to eat and they sleep through the night.

Well, after doing this for 4 nights in a row and sleeping only a hand full of hours, we are the ones who are crying. While this method may work for some, it isn’t for us. Not only did this method strike out, we are now more tired than we were before.

Parental instinct is telling me that he’s not ready yet… and neither are we.

If anyone out there has any ideas on how to get our baby to sleep sound through the night, we’re all tears (pun intended).
-DM

We’ve seen a lot of excitement around Graco’s Smart Seat™ All-in-One Car Seat. We’ve also seen a lot of questions! Here are some of the questions we’ve heard most frequently so far and the answers from the team here at Graco:

Will the Smart Seat fit my infant?

Yes. The Smart Seat is approved for children 5-100 lbs. Graco has conducted extensive testing to ensure that the seat offers a proper fit for both infants and toddlers. The Smart Seat also comes with an infant insert to help ensure the right fit for infants.

Does the Smart Seat fit into a stroller to become a travel system?

No, the Smart Seat is not designed to be a travel system, or to act as a carrier. The Smart Seat is designed to stay in your car and either move from rear-facing to forward-facing, or from car-to-car if you have an extra base. The base allows this seat to easily be installed one time so you don’t have to reinstall it every time you need to change the direction of the seat or move it to another car.

This seat seems pretty large and heavy…

Yes, the Smart Seat is heavy – both the seat and the base are steel reinforced for durability and strength.

When does the Smart Seat expire?

The Smart Seat expires 10 years after the manufacture date.

Can you talk more about the amount of recline that is recommended on the Smart Seat?

The amount of recline will depend on the pitch of the seats in your vehicle. When rear-facing, as long as the car seat is within the approved area of the level-indicator, the level of recline is acceptable. Typically, 2-3 recline positions are available in the rear facing mode while staying in the window of the level indicator. When your child turns forward-facing, all levels of recline are acceptable up to 40 lbs.

What other Smart Seat questions do you have? Let us know and we’ll answer them here!

Baby lost another tooth. This is still a pretty new event in our house, so Baby dancing around singing about her tooth can be considered pretty normal. She sings and dances about most things these days. But what came next, I wasn’t expecting.

Baby: “What’s the Tooth Fairy’s name?”
Me: “Ummmm…yeah…I’m not really sure. Why do you want to know?”
Baby: “Well, Poppy sent me a note from her that one time. Remember?”

Apparently my daughter has a memory like an elephant.

Straining what little Mommy Brain cells were working that evening, I struggled to recall what she was talking about. Then I vaguely remembered my dad sending her a note in the mail when she lost her first tooth. The Tooth Fairy delivered it to their house in Florida, so Poppy mailed it to her.

Super cute, right?
Except now, I no longer had the note.
It was stashed away somewhere, and I had absolutely NO IDEA what the Tooth Fairy’s name was on the note.

Then a thought popped into my head. I suggested Baby write the Tooth Fairy a nice note asking her name, since she couldn’t remember the original name either. Maybe she would leave a note in return like Elfie, our Elf on the Shelf, did over Christmas.

This idea thrilled Baby to no end. It made me pretty happy too, since I was now off the hook for finding the old note (in the next 8 hours).

Baby awoke the next morning to find $1.00 and a short note from the Tooth Fairy in her special tooth box. When she read the note aloud to all of us, and when she finished, her little nose crinkled and she squinted her eyes. I could tell she was thinking really hard. Darn it! She was really trying to remember if the names matched!

Finally, she read the name on the note aloud again and then exclaimed, “Mommy, it’s not the same as before! The other fairy was named, Toothie!”

Seriously?
Who is this kid?
She’s definitely too smart for me.

I then thoughtfully explained, how there are many Tooth Fairy helpers in the world, just like there are many Santa helpers in the malls at Christmas time. One fairy can certainly not visit all the children in the world when they lose teeth. This seemed to satisfy my daughter.

Whew!
Another childhood crisis averted, and amazingly enough, look what I found the following weekend cleaning up the desk area in the kitchen — yup, the note from Poppy.

What question has your child asked recently that sent you reeling for a quick and believable answer?

Gracie’s mom, Kate, and x-man’s mom, Deanna, love getting these two tykes together for playdates at their favorite park.

Do you have a picture of your precious little one that you’d like featured in our ‘Babies, Bundles, and Bumps’ series?

Share it with us at blog@gracobaby.com, and you might see it featured here!