Achieving personal, emotional and professional balance takes great commitment, a sense of humor and the ability to just "let it go".
The Daily Fuss is written by me, Jen Freeman, an attorney, writer and working mother of three.
Through my posts, I share my struggle to find balance by celebrating the small things, creating more than I consume and not taking myself too seriously.
To salute the purveyors of organic beeb foods, The Daily Fuss is giving away Happy Baby organic foods and snacks meal kits to three lucky fans. Happy Baby groups their delectable into stages.
Stage 1: Starting Solids
Stage 2: Simple Combos for 6+ Months
Stage 3: Meals for 7+ Months
Since I have no clue how old your beebs and tots are, please post your stage preference in your post. If you don't, I will hunt you down anyway, but I'd prefer you make it easy on me.
Meal kits will include the best and yummiest picks from Happy Baby for your particular peanut - a $40 value for each winner.
How do I win, you ask?
Leave a comment on this blog post telling us your kid(s) favorite foods and ways you try, as a responsible parent, to offer palate-building variety.
Or maybe you just serve taco pie and mac n cheese every night. We won't judge. In fact, that's a great reason to try something new.Be creative and share your fuss with us.
Here are the official rules for the giveaway:
1. Leave a comment on this blog post per the above instruction.
2. Yourofficial comment to this blog post during the specified time frame counts as an entry.
3. Three comments will be selected as winners.
4. Comments will be open until March 31, 2010 at 5PM Central.
5. Comments will each be assigned a number and winners will be chosen randomly using Random.org.
6. Winners will be announced on April 2, 2010.
7. The prize for each winner is a Happy Baby organic foods and snacks meal kit. Please specify Stage 1m 2 or 3. ($40 value each)
GOOD LUCK!
Please check back soon for The Daily Fuss Guide to prepared baby foods. Thanks for reading and if the mood strikes, please leave a comment and share your fuss with us.
We've created so much fuss over the Tummy Tub we decided to give one away and let you (and your wee ones) decide for yourselves whether this baby bather is all that it's cracked up to be. Read through this What the Fuss? follow up, leave a comment and be entered for a chance to win your very own Tummy Tub.
WHAT THE FUSS? FOLLOW UP
We tried the Tummy Tub and stand back in July, when Leighton was only eight weeks old. It wasn't the best experience and I said as much in What the Fuss? Tummy Tub. I was contacted by the Tummy Tub distributor for the US, Janis McKellar, who found my review to be entirely too harsh and thought that I should have reached out to her for more info. Not in the mood to argue the validity of my thoughtful opinion, I agreed to give the Tummy Tub another shot.
Leighton and I purchased a brand new, original Tummy Tub on Amazon for $42.70 plus shipping. I avoided the stand this time because it was too tippy for my little jumping bean. Plus, it cost another $50 and $100 for a tub situation is a bit much. So, I skipped it. If you want to buy it or a curious in any way, here it is.
Janis did have a compelling response to my remarks on the price:
Tummy Tubs are produced in Europe & Israel, as opposed to China. Everything is CPSIA compliant and has passed the highest safety standards.
Tummy Tub plastic is the highest quality available.
Standard infant tubs are often made of inferior quality plastic resulting in the purchase of more than one. Plus, standard tubs are only comfortable for a short period of time resulting in the purchase of a larger tub and/or toddler seat. The Tummy Tub can work for tots up to nearly two years of age.
Well-played Tummy Tub lady. I am never one to turn my nose up at products made from quality materials in fully developed countries. For the actual tub piece, $42.70 is not a bad price for a bathing device that goes from newborn to toddler.
Now, as far as utility, I will say that after using the Tummy Tub all week, I was often wet and it was hard to rinse Lei's head because I like to tip her back in the tub to avoid getting water in her eyes. As far as pooping in the tub, well ... she did that in the big tub this morning and admittedly, it would have been a hell of a lot easier to clean up if she had been in the Tummy Tub.
With regard to Leighton's Tummy Tub reviews they were mixed. When I first put her in it, she was interested and happy. But, I filled it up too high initially and had to "pause" her bath to remove some of the water. When I put her back in, she was mad at me, wouldn't sit down and abused me with a washcloth.
That's basically the story all week. If Lei was in a good mood, Tummy Tub time went fine. If she was cranky or tired ... not so much. See Happy Lei below.
In retrospect, I may have been a overly critical of the Tummy Tub in my initial review. This time around, Leighton found it rather enjoyable, for the most part. Plus, it's cute, conscientiously produced and a few readers commented that they love Tummy Tub. If the tub had a more practical stand, I would be inclined to try that too.
I think whether the Tummy Tub works for any family depends on both the parents and the child. As Janis remarked to me, "it boils down to what your priority is ... easy bathing experience for mom or dad or comfort for baby." For me, it's both, and baby's comfort comes first. However, If baby isn't comfortable it may not work out.
Leighton and I may shelve the Tummy Tub, but I will definitely pull it out for another adventure if and when baby number two comes along.
Why do I want this stuff? The snack dispenser is cute, cool and super duper handy - we take ours everywhere. And, we're dying to try the fork and spoon. We're hooked on the ergonomic design and plastic case to keep them clean when on the go.
Also, be sure to read The Daily Fuss posts on all things fabulous for feeding time.
Here are the official rules for the giveaway:
1. Leave a comment on this blog post telling us your favorite or least favorite thing about meal time. Do you eat out often or are you afraid to take the kids to a restaurant? Do you have a picky eater or does your wee tot gobble up everything in sight? Be creative and share your fuss with us.
2. Yourofficial comment to this blog post during the specified time frame counts as an entry. If you are a Facebook Fan of The Daily Fuss, your entry counts TWICE. Become a fan.
3. Two comments will be selected as winners. Please include your meal time tips and tricks.
4. Comments will be open until January 5, 2010 at 5PM Central.
5. Comments will each be assigned a number and winners will be chosen randomly using Random.org.
A big thank you to my readers for bearing with me through some experimentation. It's quite clear that you all like to win free stuff, and I make a concerted effort to select only those items that make life better for me and mine so that you and yours may enjoy them too. However, it occurred to me this morning that I have no clue how do handle these giveaway deals. So, I'm changing it up a bit.
Why do I want this stuff? After rubbing Leighton's nose raw, Ryan came home with Boogie Wipes - soft, disposable, saline cloths to wipe away snot and crusties. Lei complains far less when confronted with one of these. And, as I mentioned here, the Graco Aspirator is a battery powered device that magically sucks snot our your kid's nose. This is an invaluable item as it's no secret that the blue bulb of destruction we take home from the hospital doesn't work for anything.
Trust me. These are handy little stocking stuffers no parent should be without.
Here are the rules:
1. You must be 18 or older to win.
2. You must live in the US.
3. Your official comment posted to this Daily Fuss blog post during the specified time frame will count as an entry. If you are a Facebook Fan of The Daily Fuss, your entry counts TWICE. Become a fan.
4. Two comments will be selected as winners. Please include your "tips and tricks for surviving cold and flu season" in your comment even if your only contribution is that you are smart enough to live in a tropical climate.
5. Comments will be open until December 14, 2009 at 5PM Central.
6. Comments will each be assigned a number and winners will be chosen randomly using Random.org.
