It's day two of my month long baby series and we've got another set of prizes, games, and fabulous baby products.

Sleepy Wrap: For the first 6 months of my baby's lives, they are "attached" to me. We breastfeed and co-sleep. I wear my babies until they start becoming mobile. It's part of the attachment process and I feel like it helps secure our bond. Babywearing has a number of benefits for both mom and baby (maybe I'll write a post one day). I much prefer to cozily wrap my babies and keep them warm and secure. There are a TON of wraps, slings, carriers, etc. on the market. Choosing one can be overwhelming. Sleepy Wrap is a versatile wrap that can be worn several different ways, for several different stages of your child's early life. Once you master the art of tying it, you'll love it!

Mutsy Grow-Up: I consider myself to be rather trendy and in-the-know about the latest in products and companies. Both my husband and I like modern designs. So having Mutsy's Grow-Up chair in our home fits right in with our decor style. No need for a high chair since you can fasten this chair safely to a regular chair (handy and definitely a space saver). And you child will get many years of use out of it since it's appropriate for children up to the age of 4. The bright colors are perfect for stimulating babies and tots!

Aden and Anais: The company's muslin swaddle wraps are my absolute fav. They keep baby warm and cozy without overheating him/her. They're super soft and bigger than average swaddle blankets, making it less likely that a baby will unwrap him/herself. Plus, they come in stylish modern prints for boys and girls. Once your baby no longer wants to be swaddled, you can use their sleeping bags which are made from the same cotton muslin you'll find in their wraps. They are also designed to reduce the incidence of SIDS.

Pediped: The BEST thing for babies and toddlers who are learning to walk is to go barefoot. However, that is a concept that is impractical for most families. I would much prefer to have shoes protecting my baby's feet. Flexibility, support, and comfort are the most important things to look for in a shoe. Pediped offers all three at highly affordable prices. And, their shoes are adorable! The company offers three collections: Originals, Flex, and Couture.

SmartKnitKIDS: And while we're on the subject of feet, I'll introduce you to a company who makes seamless socks to offer your child the most comfortable fit. How many times have you taken off your child's socks only to see their soft skin imprinted with sock seams? SmartKnitKIDS offers 100% seamless socks and a form-fitting design so there are no lumps or bumps. They truly offer a perfectly comfortable fit.

Are you ready for another game?

I'm almost 35 weeks and I finally have a picture of my pregnant belly (covered of course!). I've taken the liberty of measuring my belly with toilet paper squares (apparently that is what you do when you're 8 1/2 months pregnant). So, your job is to guess how many squares it will take to go around the largest part of my belly (the center). Easy right? Remember...leave your answer in the comment section along with your prize choices (in order of preference).

Prizes for Game #2:

$25 Gift Certificate to Happy Panda Baby

Weil Baby Gift Set

Classic Sleepy Wrap

For more fabulous maternity and baby shower gift ideas, please visit the baby shower site.

Entries for this giveaway will close on December 17, 2009 at 10 PM PST. Please note that entries for all baby shower giveaways are different than my normal entry methods. One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

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Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

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Disclosure: I did not receive compensation for this review. I did receive a product, courtesy of the company in order to facilitate my review.

In less than six weeks (um...anyone counting?), my husband, son, and I will meet our baby girl. I CAN'T WAIT! Today, someone asked me if I was in the "Get the baby out" stage!" of my pregnancy. I'm almost to that point. Ask me again in 2 weeks! : )

It's finally here...my first online baby shower. I feel really special to have some amazing friends put on this incredible event! Thank you Amanda, Kailani, Shannon, and Tanya for taking so much time to make this incredibly special. And a HUGE thank you to the most amazingly generous sponsors. This is just one (of many) posts where I get to tell you about some of THE most fabulous maternity and baby companies around. Because this is our second (despite the fact that she's a girl and we have a little boy at home), we really didn't need much. I am not one to require that everything be pink and I am definitely using things we have from my son (like his co-sleeper, swing, car seat, and bouncer). I simply don't see a need to purchase these items new when they're in such excellent shape. But I digressed.

For the ENTIRE month of December (or until this baby is born...hehe) I will be providing you with individual, detailed reviews of each and every company that made this shower so special. But today...today I kick off the shower with a. giveaways and b. a brief overview of these incredible companies. Please be sure to stop by all month long (I promise it will be worth it). So, without further ado....

Baby Emi Jewelry: For as long as I could remember, I wanted a little girl. I wanted a daughter so that I could have the kind of relationship with her that I have with my mother. Of course, there is something about little girls that compels us to dress them in tutus, put bows in their hair, and put jewelry on them. The Sterling Silver Jingle Bells Anklet (Baby) we received is adorable, quaint, and encourages babies to move their legs. I can't wait for our baby girl to wear this (pics to come!).

Baby Banz: All babies and tots need protection from the sun's harmful rays. It's best to start protecting them early so they get accustomed to wearing hats and sunglasses. Their wrap-around sunglasses offer 100% UV protective lenses. They're also stylish and moderately priced. Be sure to check out their entire line of sunglasses, hats, and UV protective clothing.

PassionSpice: Ok ladies...no pictures here (hehe!). But in all honesty, I just wrote a post about beauty during pregnancy. Pregnancy is one of those awkward times in a woman's life where she may not feel great about her changing body. If you've ever seen the maternity and nursing lingerie at other stores, then you know it's somewhat archaic in appearance. Just because we're moms, doesn't mean we have to give up our femininity. I plan on losing this baby weight when she's born and getting back into shape! PassionSpice offers tasteful, gorgeous (seriously!) lingerie for the pregnant and nursing woman.

Happy Panda: I recently told you about Pamela's incredibly stunning diaper cakes. Not only does she exert her creativity into making incredibly gorgeous (and might I add useful) diaper cakes that can be used as centerpieces or baby shower decor, she also has an entire site dedicated to outfitting the "bigger baby." And most of her items have that adorable little panda on them...her trademark!

WeilBaby: When my son was a baby, there were only two (at least from what I knew at the time) companies offering BPA-free baby bottles. It's been almost 2 1/2 years and I'm so proud of all of the companies who have either stepped up to ensure their products are BPA-Free. To be honest, I'm not sure which bottle our daughter is going to take. But I'll definitely be trying the bottles from WeilBaby. They feature an AirWave venting system proven to reduce colic. Plus, they have a one-piece vent that makes it easy to clean (even in the middle of the night!). Stay tuned for my full review since I must wait until she's here to give you the full 411!

Babies love to be swaddled. I know that because a. I'm a mom and b. I'm a NICU nurse. There is a lot of discussion about how to swaddle, how long to swaddle, and if you should swaddle...particularly in light of SIDS. According to my pediatrician many newborns sleep longer when swaddled tightly. There is a also a safe way to swaddle (meaning avoiding loose blankets). One of the things we do is swaddle our babies from the axilla down (in other words, leaving the arms exposed) and ensure that it's nice and tight. In order to do that, we need a larger type of blanket like those from Aden + Anais. I first learned about their muslin wraps when my son was a baby. He was born in the summer and I knew that most of the blankets we received were too warm and too small to swaddle him safely. I looked at these in a boutique and knew that they were perfect for my summer baby.

One of my pediatrician's recommendations is to also use cotton blankets for swaddling. Babies can overheat (especially if you also dress them in footed onesies and such) which is a risk factor for SIDS. Muslin is a light, breathable fabric that is used in Aden + Anais wraps. The fabric allows air to flow through the material, thereby allowing a baby's body temperature to adjust naturally while still ensuring warmth. I used these with my son because he only slept well when swaddled.

So how do you wrap a baby? The site has a really good description (although I've long ago perfected the fine art of wrapping a baby).

The muslin wraps are perfect for swaddling because they're bigger than most blankets on the market. They allow a baby to be wrapped securely without worrying the wrap will come undone and the fear of loose blankets. And one more reason why I like these wraps? They're big enough to provide some coverage during nursing! Check out all the other uses for Aden + Anais' muslin wraps.

Once your baby gets to the point where they don't want to be swaddled anymore, I like to use sleep sacks or wearable blankets. New for Aden + Anais are their muslin sleeping bags. They're made from 100% cotton muslin (just like their wraps), feature an inverted zipper for easy diaper changes, and are quilted to provide cushion and warmth. They're soft, breathable and eliminate the worries of loose blankets...especially when babies start to move and roll over. Just put them over your baby's pj's in place of blankets. My son used wearable blankets when he started to move and roll over. It's recommended that these be used when a baby is 3 months old or older.

Also new to Aden + Anais are their line of Burpy Bibs (which aren't even on the site yet!). Again, they're made from the same soft breathable muslin (four layers to be exact) as their wraps and sleeping bags. They're also versatile since you can use them as both a burp cloth and a bib. They're big (just like their muslin wraps) and you convert them to a bib by snapping them together. Let's just hope our little girl likes bibs more than our son!

Lastly, co-founder Raegan Moya-Jones just released a book about swaddling called Swaddle Love. With much concern and fear over SIDS, parents are turning away from swaddling, not recognizing the tremendous benefits it offers to newborns. If you want to get any sleep at all, I highly suggest you think about swaddling your baby...just do it safely! The book is beautifully illustrated and highly informative.

Because I am a huge advocate for safe sleep, I'll leave you with some tips on safe sleeping:

1. Always put your baby to sleep on his/her back

2. Do not overheat baby (either via heat in the home or by dressing too heavily)

3. Always put your baby in a safe place to sleep (i.e. a crib or bassinet) (My opinions on co-sleeping, which we did with my sonm will be reserved for another post).

4. Breastfeed, if possible

5. Consider using a pacifier at bedtime

6. Do not smoke or allow anyone to smoke near your baby

7. Do not put stuffed animals, loose blankets, etc. in sleep space

8. Consider a wearable blanket

We can't have a baby shower without cake right? Before you start drooling over chocolate (um...because that's what I am doing!), this is no ordinary cake. In fact, this is the type of cake you WANT to have because it doesn't have anything in it that will crash your diet.

Diaper Cakes are a chic, unique way to shower the mom-to-be with a gift that she'll actually use. They also look gorgeous on tables as centerpieces. Two of my very good friends threw me a baby shower for my son and made mini diaper cakes for the tables. From speaking to them, it takes a LOT of time, effort, and creativity to make just one diaper cake.

Pamela at Happy Panda sent me a stunning Pretty in Pink diaper cake for my shower. I remember early on when she first launched her company and how unique the idea was (and still is) to offer clothing for babies that don't fit the conventional store-bought sizes. Her brand exists to "help dress bigger babies." My son has ALWAYS worn a size bigger than his age. He's almost 2 1/2 and already wearing some 3T outfits. She offers a design system that helps you find a better fit when you shop by your child's age. Her clothing is designed with environmentally safe fabrics and inks and the best part is that they don't have itchy, annoying tags on them!

Pamela's business has grown tremendously and her boutique now offers diaper cakes. Each diaper cake features 70-75 Pampers Swaddlers in size 1 and 2, a PaciPlushie of your choice, a Happy Panda tagless gift set in size 0-3 months, a Fabulous Design lap t, pants, and hat, travel-sized Johnson's products (baby lotion, baby powder, baby wash, baby shampoo), Desitin diaper rash cream, and 4 Germ X packets. By looking at the cake you wouldn't even know all of that is in there because she does an amazing job of making it look like a cake. But once you open it up, all sorts of surprises start coming out!

What's great about her diaper cakes is that you can customize them in so many ways. From the ribbon colors to the outfits and PaciPlushie, you'll find that whether the gender of the baby is known or not, you'll still be able to give a gift that's personal and unique to the mama-to-be. Right now she's offering a Happy Panda Holiday diaper cake complete with an adorable red or green snappy (onesie).

I truly appreciate gifts that are both lovely in appearance and functional. And that is exactly what a diaper cake is. The PaciPlushie is perfect for babies who a. need to soothe themselves and b. keep losing or dropping them. They're also just adorable. You already know about Pamela's super cute and practical clothing. And diapers....those will last at least a week! Pampers Swaddlers are super soft and smell good. And....they're comfy for new babes (my son used them until he grew out of them). Do you want to know the best part of the entire diaper cake? The Germ X packets! Just say Boo to the Swine Flu (and I'm only half joking!).

Diaper cakes run approximately $110 to $124 and are value priced (especially if you add up the cost of purchasing all of those items individually).

Pamela, thank you! Your diaper cake looks good enough to eat! Actually...I'm going to be sad to unwrap it.

Pamela has been very generous to many of us bloggers. She has thrown many a Cyber Baby Shower and she is just a fabulous woman!

Hey everyone! Add the button and help get the party started! Were all so excited for Caryn & Jason!

They jsut found out that they are expecting a GIRL!!! We can't wait to met baby Cate



<a href="http://caryn-baby-shower.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f214/MommyMandy/carynshower.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

Shannon from The Mommy-Files Tanya from Mommy Goggles and Amanda from Mommy Mandy are so excited to congratulate Caryn & Jason from Rockin' Mama.

They are expecting their second baby and due January 10th 2010!

Here is where we will be throwing them the ultimate baby shower yet!