Mommy Must Have: Moby Wrap Giveaway

Moby Wrap was one of my favorite must-haves for Stella. During the first six weeks, the Moby Wrap was the only thing that would calm Stella down during her crying hours. It was a life saver for this haute mom! I have used it at festivals, baseball games, Disneyland.  It also allowed me to carry Stella after she turned one with ease, giving me some extra support. You can bet that I will be dusting mine off for baby #2!

Moby Wrap, an award-winning baby carrier, was receommended to me by a fellow haute mom. It is a long piece of breathable cotton that you wrap around yourself (or the wearer) to create a warm, safe environment for your baby. It is light weight and easy to take along or stow away. Moby Wrap is made for babies to 35 lbs and is machine washable. It is one of the most comfortable carriers on the market because you can wrap it to your individual body shape. There are no staps, hoops, belts, or buckles to mess with. Some people may think it is too difficult to wrap but Moby Wrap provides an easy instruction booklet for the intitial wrap and all of the baby holds. I have even used the nursing hold to nurse Stella in public! The best part is that it is very affordable!

I have tried a number of different carriers and this is my favorite. Moby Wrap has generously offered to give one of our readers a chance to try this great mommy must have! One lucky haute mom will win a solid color Moby Wrap Original of their choice!



To enter simply follow this blog and and then head on over to Moby Wrap and tell me your favorite wrap color! Please leave me one comment when you have done both of these things. This is required and must be complete before you do any of the extra entries!Extra Entries - leave one comment telling me you have done each of these.

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This giveaway will end Friday, April 6th at 9 p.m. (PST). The lucky winner will be chosen by Random.org. Good luck!

Haute Mom Dilemma #33 ~ Discovering the Real Stella

We have had our little bundle of joy for almost ten months and it has been an amazing and bumpy ride. There is so much you learn about yourself as well as your marriage when a new addition joins the family. And to think we used to fight over matters with our dog. Geez!

Stella has become quite the little character and everyone comments on her personality. For those of you that know hubby and me, it is no surprise to find that she is a little spitfire with a bow. Her dramatic tendencies (from hubby) and her stubbornness (my fault) have really come into play when watching her with her daily tasks.

We have started using a “stern” tone with her when she is heading for disaster and this has been absolutely hilarious and almost unbelievable at the same time. Just the other night, she was looking at a pop-up book. Yes, I didn’t learn after the black eye incident and gave her another book to look at just days later. She was enthralled with the pop-ups and began to get a little rough with her book. We went right back to the excited throwing her arms up and down (with the book in hand, mind you). I gave out a warning call to get her attention and used a “stern” tone mostly because she has started to ignore me when she is “busy” and she looked up and me and my brother who was sitting in the room. I shook my head “no”, which she knows as well, although I am kicking myself for allowing her to understand what that means, and out came the bottom lip. Not only did I get the lip, but I also got the immediate crocodile tears, one out of each eye, just for effect. My brother and I looked at each other and almost died. Stella then proceeded to look down at the book, bottom lip out in full form, and close her eyes as though she was wishing me out of the room. DRAMA.

I just looked back at some of my old posts and saw the pouty lip picture from when she was four or five months old. I should have known then. Never the less, I love watching her personality blossom before my eyes. I predict this to only be cute for a few more years, as such qualities will surely make a handful of a teenager.

I have all these toys but I want THE BOX!

Haute Mom Dilemma #31 ~ Bringing Baby

Now that Stella is just about nine months old we have gotten to the point where we are taking her with us to most places. The usual shopping and restaurant experiences can be done without a hitch and hubby and I are venturing on to more daring outings. This weekend we are going skiing for the first time in two years and I can’t wait to get into my ski outfits. Yup, I said outfits.

The most recent grand outing was to the Farmers Insurance Open, which is a golf tournament that is held in San Diego. This is one of those tournaments that’s worth going to even though golf can be a total snoozefest to watch if you are not a fan. The ladies are dressed in the most non-golf course friendly outfits and all the big dogs play, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods (dirtbag), you name it. I had questioned my sanity in bringing Stella considering golf is one of the QUIETEST sports on earth and we had to park 15 miles away and shuttle in. There was to be no quick getaway car in case of emergency.

We got down to the tournament, which was a little over an hour away and things went without a hitch. The stroller, diaper bag, Stella’s mood, and the weather were all aligned perfectly. It was an amazing family day.

This got me thinking…what places are truly “kid friendly”? I thought it may be inappropriate to bring a baby to a professional golf tournament. After looking up details, I learned that they actually do a lot to accommodate kids. What about things like wine tasting? I know people that bring their kids to wineries and then I have others say how inappropriate it is. Concerts? Plays? Movie theaters? I am not saying I would bring Stella to any of these but I would be lying if I said I had never thought about it. When does bringing baby cross the line?

 

Thirsty girl

View of the fairway

Tuckered out

Enjoying the fun

Haute Mom Dilemma #30 ~ Sick Mommy Sick Baby

When I started writing this blog and talking about dilemmas, my good mommy friend Alyssa suggested I write about being sick and having to take care of a baby.  I knew it would be quite the thing to write about but haven't written about it because I haven't experienced it...until now. I started feeling sick on Friday but thought I could tough it out and then Stella had a fever by Saturday.  Fastforward to today and we are both home sick, with a sick nanny home too.  Nothing like sharing germs.  I hope hubby doesn't get sick on top of it.  I don't have enough time or space to list all the reasons why that would be a bad thing. 

So getting the rest and relaxation you need when you are down for the count is almost impossible when you are taking care of your children at the same time.  Add sick to that part of the list and you now have a fussy baby who isn't sleeping well either.  I am sure when Stella gets older, staying in bed and watching movies will be a great remedy but for now, I just have a needy, cranky baby on my hands.  But, how sweet are they even when they aren't feeling well?  Bless her heart, and cough, and runny nose.

She's still smiling even with a 101 degree fever.

Haute Mom Dilemma #28 ~ Haute Mom Gets an F

Oh my gosh....ugh.  It happened.  Yep, it finally happened.  That moment in time with your little one that you pray will never happen but you know it will someday.  Stella hit her head.  BAD.  Not one of those "Oh, you're ok!" bumps but an all out "Are you going to have a concussion, brace yourself mom" bump.  I feel TERRIBLE.  Especially because it happened on my watch, and I was really watching her too, not half watching her, half watching Housewives of Beverly Hills.  Speaking of that...

Stella is learning to crawl and has totally mastered the backwards crawl but hasn't quite mastered the forward crawl.  When Stella sees something she wants in front of her, she kinda just leaps and flattens her body forward instead of crawling.  She was playing near her crib and decided she wanted a block next to the crib.  I watched her slowly bend towards it and thought nothing of it.  Then she pulled a move on me and did one of her leap and flatten moves right into the CORNER of the crib leg.  OH MY GOD!  I thought I was going to die.  The poor baby sucked in her breath before letting out the biggest scream. I started crying. A large lump was not far behind.  I can't post a picture because I feel too bad.

Darn that crib.  I feel so sad for Stella who has a big old knot on her head.  The pit in my stomach caused by guilt is even bigger.  I am replaying it over in my mind, wondering if I could have prevented it.  Thank goodness my husband didn't make me feel worse but just shrugged it off and explained that these things will happen.  I am giving myself an F for the day and am grounding myself for the night too.

Haute Mom Dilemma #22 ~ Attention All Shoppers!



Stella enjoying our seats with daddy.

I must say that I really have ventured out since my earlier Haute Mom Dilemma posts.  I recall being a brand new mom, nervous to bring my baby girl out in the world where germs and judgement waited.  Since then, I have taken Stella to a number of different places that have helped me be more comfortable with handling my bundle of joy in public.  I accomplished a 5K charity walk, took Stella to two MLB baseball games, Oktoberfest, and on Monday night, took Stella to her first NBA game!  She has loved each and every one of those things and has even fallen asleep in the loudest of times
.  

Clippes beat the Hornets 99-95!



 The one thing that I still have a difficult time with is taking her shopping and I'm thinking I need some serious help since Black Friday and holiday shopping is right around the corner.  So help me out here.  The issue I have is how one can sprout enough hands to hold baby (or push baby in the stroller) and push your cart, hold items to purchase, carry your bags, etc. There must be a magical product that is out there that I am missing, and no, do not tell me it is my hubby.  I'm not a fan of shopping with hubby sometimes...as I am sure many of you know what I am talking about.

Last week I went to Target and Trader Joe's all in one day and I felt like Stella and I should win a mother/daughter award.  I wore Stella (in my Ergo) into Target and was able to push the cart around with no problem but the whole checking out, paying thing was kind of difficult because she was in the way of getting things out of my cart.  I also haven't figured out the whole packing everything in the car thing.  I don't like leaving her in the car while I unload bags and return shopping carts but I also don't feel safe with her sitting in the cart while I unload in the middle of the parking lot.  Which is the lesser of two evils?
I swear, I think only moms think this way, or maybe crazy ones like me.  I'm sure I will be posting on my first Black Friday experience should I choose to participate.

Here is to Stella's first Thanksgiving tomorrow and wishng all of you a safe and happy one with all of your loved ones!

Haute Mom Dilemma #21 ~ Sick Party of One

I've gone 6 months with a happy, fun, HEALTHY baby so to my surprise, Stella had a 102 degree fever early Wednesday morning. I knew one day Stella would fall ill but hoped I wouldn't be having to put the nurse outfit on anytime soon. You can't prepare yourself for that tug in your heart when the little one isn't feeling well, can you?

Stella had her 6 month well visit appointment on Tuesday and received her last set of vaccines for the next three months. She is never a happy camper after these visits (why should she be) but this one seemed a little worse. I knew it was going to be a doozy the moment I saw our nurse. Bless her heart for trying, she didn't seem to have graduated on the top of her nursing program if you know what I mean. She also moved about as quickly as a sloth. Then I found out she would be returning to give Stella her shots...great. After a PAINFUL (physically and mentally) round of shots, that seemed like it took longer than my visit to the DMV the other day, Stella was hysterical. Not the usual crying of dislike but hysterical like she maybe will have night terrors about this with the nurse as the dark shadow. I knew it would be time to batten down the hatches.

Stella seemed to be content the rest of the afternoon, and I left for work that evening feeling confident that maybe the doctor's visit had been the worst of it. I later put her to bed in a mood slightly more sour than usual but figured maybe the night with dad babysitting had been a little irritating for her. About an hour later Stella woke up and could not be consoled. She didn't want to be held, she didn't want to nurse, she just wanted to cry. I finally got her back to sleep to only be faced with the same thing about two hours later. It was then when I realized she had a fever. My friend told me that when Stella had her first true fever I would know and this couldn't have been more true. I pressed her hot little body against mine while my husband took her temperature. It was 102. I made my first middle of the night call to our pediatrician only to be told to give her some Tylenol and blame the shots, or her teething. We decided to put Stella in bed with us and with fear that my hubby was going to smother her in the middle of the night, I made him go sleep in her room. At least he got some sleep that night while Stella and I had our first mommy-baby up all night slumber party. Can we just talk about the things that are on in the wee hours of TV land...

Having made it through the night, I was relieved to see that the fever had gone down by morning. I felt like I had gotten my first initiation of the many nights in the future where I will stay awake to care for my baby girl. I do wonder if I did what I should have done by giving her Tylenol. I am not a medicine taker myself but don't know if my own philosophy should be applied to my 6 month old. I also now wonder if I should have followed an alternate schedule for her vaccines or if a fever would have happened either way. Any thoughts haute moms?

Haute Mom Dilemma #17 ~ In the Heat of the Fight

For any of you other haute moms out there who read the gossip mags, divorce seems to be a common headline lately. Some of our long standing couples have been calling it splitsville, which is always a reminder that it takes more than money and nannies to make a marriage work. We all know that marriage is tough and that arguments happen.

The hubby and I got into one of our more heated arguments the other day. This was one of our first since Stella was born. In the past, I must admit that we would sometimes fight so loudly that our dog would shake. The dog is slightly more neurotic than she should be but that is no excuse. This was one of those fights. My hubby and I are both strong-willed and stubborn which is the perfect recipe for those loud, blown out fights.

We started arguing about a very common topic, money. Money then turned into everything under the sun including who does the dishes more (I do, of course). The thing that is the most troublesome is that Stella was awake and in my hubby's arms during the fight. I had to ask him to stop shouting while he was holding her. He stopped, but not right away. It broke my heart to watch Stella furrow her little brow and look back and forth at us wondering what was happening. She didn't cry but her eyes started to tear up. My dog was shaking.

I had to take Stella and remove myself from the room to stop the fight. For us, time alone helps us cool down until we can talk about things. I felt extremely guilty and sad that this had just happened. Not because of our fight but because we had just subjected Stella to this kind of environment.

So here is the dilemma. We are both stubborn people and get heated very easily. We are going to argue. How can I avoid this from happening? I remember my parents fighting and I can't say that it scarred me, but we all know that this isn't a healthy situation for children to be in. I am going to assume that since my dog can sense tension and anger, my little baby can. She was exteremely clingy and fussy the rest of the day.

What are some tactics that we can use when we are in the heat of the moment to prevent this from happening? Will having a rule of not fighting in front of the baby be enough? Does this happen to every couple, or are we shaping up to be bad parents? I know the dynamics of my husband and I. We have such a hard time stepping away from a fight when we are heated. I hope that our love and dedication to our baby will see that any argument can wait until there is a more appropriate way for us to discuss things.

Haute Mom Dilemma #16 ~ Enough Mom to Go Around

As I sit here, waiting for my hubby to get home, I take a look around at how my life has changed since my first baby arrived. There are now swings and toys on the floor, flip flops rest where my Christian Laboutins used to, and sweat pants have replaced my skinny Taverniti jeans. A realization comes over me as I look over to who is sleeping next to me on the couch and that realization is that I had a child before Stella arrived. My first child is one that is sweet, timid, loyal, and an all around lover. My first child is needy, clingy, sensitive, and a mama's girl. My first child's name is Sierra, and she is our dog.

We got Sierra out of the pound over five years ago. We adopted her because my husband and I were at that point in our relationship where we were ready to be parents, but not quite that ready. The day we brought her home, we realized what a time commitment having a new dog would be. Soon we found out just how sweet our little baby was and relished in the joy of her greeting us when we got home from work or pouncing on us as though she hadn't seen us in years. I quickly changed my rule of "no dogs in our bed" when I realized how much she loved to snuggle...with me. In fact, we had to upgrade to a king size bed to fit our newest family member. I became so tied to Sierra I would cry when we went out of town. We went everywhere together - she was attached to my hip. I wondered if I could love anything more.

Well, I found out the answer to that this past May. Sierra was a practice period for what we have now. I look at Sierra, asleep on the couch next to me and feel a pang of guilt in my heart. Our poor dog has had to move over for something new. Sierra loyally follows me around the house, helps me change diapers, looks longingly at me when I snuggle with Stella. Every night she waits patiently on my side of the bed and snuggles in no matter what time it may be. She is such a good big sister; she took her older sibling protective role early in my pregnancy. She even knew the day the baby was coming; she perched on my big belly the evening my contractions began. I feel so bad knowing that she is probably starved for attention. I told my hubby the other day that we needed to get a babysitter and take Sierra out for some alone time. Just like we would an older sibling.

Isn't it amazing how your life and your priorities change? You start with these loving, loyal pets that quickly get swept to the side when the kids come. There is truly nothing more loyal than a family pet and I have to remember to try everyday to give Sierra some love and attention. We have been so that fortunate there have been no issues with Stella. Sierra is sweet, loving, and protective with her. I just need to remember that with all the craziness in our house, there is still one more person that needs a little love. I know there is enough of me to go around. And enough of you too. Go give your pets some lovin'.

Hours before my contractions!

Haute Mom Dilemma #8 ~ Financing Baby

Money always seems to ba a sore issue among couples. In fact, it is one of the main things that couples fight about. I know at my house, money always seems to be an issue. I love the lifestyle that I have with dining out 6-7 nights a week, going to concerts, and shopping but becoming a mom has not been so haute on my Gucci wallet. There are so many endless things to buy and I am not just talking about the daily items like diapers. Stella is three months old and I spent over $200 at Babies R Us yesterday purchasing clothes that she will grow out of in a month along with other things. It seems every time she hits a growth spurt or monthly birthday there is something else that I think she needs! Not having time to cook means the dining out bill is really growing and now I am starting to go back to work and have nanny costs to save for. Unlike many of my friends, I do not have family close by that I can leave Stella with so except for a few close friends, when Sean and I want a night on the town, we will have to pay sitter fees as well. I know there are many great discount sites out there from which us moms can purchase fun items for baby at a discount. There are also many things that can be done to lower costs, such as making your own baby food instead of buying jar. What else is there? I know you saavy moms out there have learned lots of great things so please share the sites. the tricks of the trades, etc. with me! I have a daughter so I already need to start saving for her wedding!

On a brighter note. I mentioned POSHmommy in one of my last blogs and they have generously given all of you followers a 10% off code so that you can purchase your own POSHmommy jewelry or gifts for other haute moms! Let me know what you buy!
1. Sign on to POSHmommy http://www.poshmommyjewelry.com/
2. Select your jewelry
3. Enter code "mizkel10" at checkout!
The code expires Oct. 23, 2010 so have fun!