Fashion Forward Diaper Bags

by Kevin McLaughlin

For years motherhood meant sacrificing style for practicality. New moms reluctantly gave up their fashion sense when selecting diaper bags, baby slings and other accessories to accommodate newborn baby boys and baby girls. However modern day designers have taken important steps towards liberating new moms from clunky, awkward and bland diaper bags by presenting a whole new line of stylish, chic and convenient diaper totes and baby slings that let mom feel like a woman again.

Elegant, stylish and fun contemporary diaper bags let new moms maintain her keen fashion sense while still being practical. Petunia Picklebottom, Kate Spade and Skip Hop are just a few of the popular designers featuring a wide selection of diaper bag models to choose from including shoulder strap bags, boxy backpacks, travel totes and society satchels. These convenient diaper bags have all the interior space you need to hold bottles, baby wipes and other necessities while still preserving its designer integrity.

The Petunia Picklebottom line combines cutting edge contemporary style with functional form to produce a baby diaper bag flush with individual flair. Within the exquisite diaper bags are a great array of features that make caring for your baby a snap. Each bag includes multiple bottle holders, water resistant liner, a detachable dirty diaper pouch, handy key clips and a Petunia Picklebottom monogrammed wipes case.

Featuring luxuriously soft chenille fabric the Petunia Picklebottom baby diaper totes have a smooth texture that feels less like the clunky diaper bags of olden days and more like a hip carrying bag you'd see on cosmopolitan fashionistas. Petunia Picklebottom provides bold and daring colors and patterns to let moms express their own unique individuality with options including Pink Parfait, Green Tea, Sunset Dragon, Juniper Berry and Raspberry Fields among many others.

Today's moms are often on the go and handling a variety of tasks so diaper bag designers offer a terrific selection of bag styles to fit the scene. From high profile events and shopping sprees to short hikes and strolls through the park you can find a designer baby diaper bag to suit every occasion.

Kevin is a professional writer with over 20 years experience in publishing.

ChildProofing Your Home Doesn’t Have to be Hard

When you take your child out with you, you are naturally careful and keep him under close supervision. When the child is at home the natural tendency is to let the baby crawl while you go about your daily chores. What new parents fail to realize is that there are dangerous places within the house as well from which we need to protect children.

The Basic Questions You Need to Ask Yourself

Childproofing your home is a matter of common sense and you can prepare a plan simply by asking yourself some questions.

• What can the child get in to?

• Which are the places or areas that can harm the child?

• How can the child be protected from getting in harm’s way?

Things that appear obvious to you are not necessarily safe for the child. Take a round of the house like a child and bring yourself to crawl and you will be able to identify potentially dangerous areas and objects.

Areas around the Home That Require Your Special Attention

There are so many places in the home where kids can get into and harm themselves. Pay special attention to the following:

• Bathrooms
• Kitchen
• Laundry room
• Stairs
• Garage
• Door leading to outside
• Swimming Pool

Some Useful Child Proofing Suggestions

Safety Gates : Install child safety gates at the bottom as well as top of the stairs. Ensure that you use wall mounted gates for the top.

Safety Locks : Ensure that doors leading to all rooms have safety locks. See to it that door-knob covers or slide latches are out of reach of the child. When childproofing your home remember that children learn very quickly and will be able to open doors after seeing you do that a number of times.

Bathroom Door : Be more careful of the bathroom door. Wet bathrooms are slippery and your child can fall and get hurt. Keep the non-bathing area always dry for your as well as your child’s safety.

Garage and Laundry Rooms : The garage and the laundry room should always remain locked. You might have stored insecticides and garden supplies in the garage while the washing machine and dryer are potential hazardous equipments. Children are naturally inquisitive and like to explore things and always looking for new places to hide.

Pay attention to places that kids can get caught in : The first on the list are the pickets on stairs that may be too far apart and the child can get stuck in them. Next in line are low hanging cords like curtain and electric cords. Cover the gaps between pickets with a fine wire mesh and make sure that cords are high enough for the child to reach.

Electric Outlets : Cover all electric outlets with plastic covers that fit tight enough for preventing kids from pulling them off.

Your home is supposed to be safe place for your little one - Childproofing your home doesn’t have to be a difficult task and shouldn’t take too much of your time once you know the areas and things that have the potential to harm your child.

Photo Credit: Nate Grigg

Unique and Stylish Travel Bags For Moms with Babies

Traveling with the baby this holiday season? Here's a video featuring Michele Good of ChicTots.com sharing unique and stylish bags she's created to make it easier for moms to travel.  What mom doesn't want travel to be easy? 

Celebrate With Us! Baby Brella by DRIA Giveaway

It's giveaway time!  To celebrate the launch of the Baby Chic Blog, we thought it would be fitting to do a giveaway with a company whose product that we love, love, love. 

Baby Brella by DRIA is a baby product that not only is very chic and fashionable, it's multi-functional. 

Click here to learn more about the Baby Brella nursing poncho/blanket...

One lucky winner will win a Baby Brella nursing poncho in the pattern of their choice:


Giveaway Rules:

• To enter, you can either 1) Leave a comment with a parenting tip and/or 2) Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter with a link to this page
• If entering via comment, please email info [at] babychicblog [dot] com with "Baby Brella Giveaway" in the subject line so that I can contact you if you are the winner.  (Don't worry, I won't spam you or sell your email!)
• If entering via Twitter, make sure to reference "@babychicblog" (This notifies me of your tweet)
• 2 entries max per person
• Open to U.S. residents only
• Giveaway ends on Monday, November 30, 2009 at 11:59 PM PST. 

Why Organic Clothing For Your Baby Is Chic

Did you know...that a baby's skin is thinner, more fragile, and less oily than adults?

That's why it's important that you're aware of the type of clothing that your baby is wearing. Choosing organic clothing for your baby helps reduce the exposure of toxins to your baby's body. 

Besides, buying organic contributes to better working conditions for the people who manufacture the clothing.  Now, that's chic!

We like this organic cotton shirt & pants by Sage Creek Organics pictured here. Click on the photo to purchase at Saks.com.

Lose the Baby Fat: Workouts With Strollers

The Issue:  After the baby is born comes the process of getting rid of that extra weight you gained during pregnancy.   

The Solution:  Take your baby out on a morning jog in a sturdy baby jogger/stroller!  If you find yourself unmotivated to exercise, form a group with other mommies and jog together two or three times a week.

BabyEarth.com has a wide variety of baby joggers including this
Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller in red and black. 

Here are some great ideas for workouts with strollers...

Do you have a tip to share?

Video: Tips On How to Wash Baby Clothes

Babies have brought love...and loads of laundry into our lives!  Here is a video featuring Erin Sheppard, owner of Austin Baby and Austin Diaper Service, sharing tips on how to wash baby clothes...




I like the tip about using detergent that has less chemicals and fragrances.  I recommend Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent, made especially for babies.