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Spooky
MAGAZINE
ThanksgivingTraditions
THANKFUL
Arts & CraftsHALLOWEEN
Teaching KidsTOBE
What Should Your Baby Shower Theme Be?
What’s the Most Unexpected Part About Being a Parent?
QUIZ! BIG
BIBB BABBLE
How to Prevent Daylight Saving Time Change from Ruining Your Child’s Sleep
Loss of One Baby’s Life
ENTER THE
GIVEAWAY
WIN EVERYTHI
NG
YOU SEE: PG 87
SAVES ANOTHER
Throw a
HalloweenBash
Stories Shared by Eight Families
We first want to thank you so much for taking the time to read the fall issue of BIBB Magazine. The outpouring of positive feedback for our new magazine has been amazing. We are so grate-ful to you as a loyal reader! We pride ourselves in growing organically through word-of-mouth; please show your support by liking us on Facebook and sharing with friends and family.
While overseas visiting my in-laws this summer, my husband and I got quite a surprise! We're pregnant! I've worked with over 100 baby and kids brands over the years and now it's my time to experience motherhood...words cannot describe how excited I am. It's truly magical.
If you have any 2nd or 3rd trimester pregnancy tips, please share on our Facebook page or send me an email. Would love to hear from you!
I recently subscribed to an amazing daily email that counts down to my due date and shares the What, Why and How's of baby, wellbeing, fitness, food and beauty while pregnant. It's been so empowering I just had to share. It's called Baby2body. It's truly the first all-in-one resource where I can get everything in one place. They even have weekly emails for new moms with kids 0 to 2 years old!
AsideAside from weeks of day long morning sickness, pregnancy is beautiful and now that I'm past the sickness I will enjoy each day of the process until our baby comes in April.
This issue is full of editorial articles, our BIBB catalog starting on page 87 where you get exclu-sive deals and click to shop, BIBB Interviews that share the inspirational stories behind amazing brands, BIBB Babble where three moms weigh in on a parenting topic, a fun BIBB Quiz, and more!
Enjoy our fall issue and make sure to enter the giveaway where you win everything you see in the catalog section!
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The end of the year is a joyous time for most, with fall and winter holidays that bring families together with tons of treats and goodies. We often look forward to Thanksgiving where we get to feast on turkey,turkey, mashed potatoes, and other classic foods. But Thanksgiving is about more than just gathering with family and friends around the table to enjoy a delicious, home-cooked meal. It’s a day toto reflect on all of the good things we have in life and ex-
press our gratitude. Young chil-dren may not understand the concept of being thankful at first; it’s up to us as parents to teach kids what it means. (Showing kids through actions is even better!) The holidays areare a great time to teach kids gratitude and how to be thank-ful. Here are ideas how to do just that:
When it’s time to tuck your child into bed, teach him to count his blessings by recalling things and people that he is grateful for each day – even if it’s a little thing – and talking about why he is grateful for them.them. You can show him how you can be thankful for having a friend at school, a sibling to play with, or a family pet.
This fun arts & crafts project can be done by the whole family and can be placed in the living
Counting your blessings is something you can make part of your daily bedtime routine.
Teaching Kids How to Be Thankfulby Karen Barski, Owner and Inventor of the Woombie Baby Swaddle
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room or dining room when finished. Everyone will receive colored construction paper leaves to write down things they are thankful for. Then you will use the leaves to decorate a paper tree.
Every time someone passes by the Thankful Tree, they will remember things to be thankful for.
Soup kitchens are extra busy around the holidays, but you can volunteer at one any time during the year. You can get your kids involved by having them collect canned foods to donate to the kitchen and they can even help with serving meals to the hungry.
WhenWhen they see that others are not so fortunate to get a warm meal every day, they may start to un-derstand why they should be thankful for having food to eat and place to live in.
Children always look up to their parents and follow what they say and do. Teaching by example means always saying thank you to your children and reminding them to do the same.
MakeMake a point of saying “please” and “thank you” around the house and around others. You can thank your children for doing their chores, holding open the door, and even for giving hugs!
Grab a corkboard, some magazines, and tape and gather the family to create a Grateful Collage. Flip through magazines and cut out images of things your family is grateful for – food, pets, sports, com-puters, friends, clothes, etc. – and tape them onto your board.
Add some family photos for the finishing touch. Now everyone who sees your Grateful Collage will know all of the things your family is grateful for.
When you do things for others, you are re-minded of how thankful you are for having people around you who do things for you. We like to call these random acts of kind-ness.
Get your kids involved by having them help out at home, visit elderly neighbors, make cards for hospital patients, and more.
They’ll feel good about doing good for others and realize how appreciative they should be for their health and for having loved ones who care for them as well.
Children are always growing out of their clothes and toys, and when they get new things, they toss the old ones away.
TeachTeach your children about giving to the less fortunate and how there are other chil-dren in need who can really use those clothes and toys because their families cannot afford to purchase new things.things.
They might even be excited to help out by choosing what toy to give away to a new home.
Karen has been an RN for 20 years, and has worked in many different nursing roles. As a Certified Infant Care Specialist, Karen counsels thousands of families yearly on a multitude of issues re-latinglating to pregnancy and in-fancy. Also, as a mother of five, she has invaluable expe-rience and tips to share.
Since 2007, Karen’s company, KB Designs, has invented a line of signature baby swaddle products that have helped parents easily transition their new babies from womb to home. There are multiple de-signssigns and sizes so that babies can enjoy the comfort and se-curity of the Woombie up until the time they begin to roll.
Each product has been cre-ated and designed by Karen because of a need she identi-fied in her life with her five children. With convenience, safety, and fashion in mind, KB Designs has helped over a million babies and counting!
Become a CertifiedSleep Consultant
How to Prevent the Daylight Saving Time Change from Ruining Your Child’s Sleep
by Nicole Johnson, Founder and President of The Baby Sleep Site®
It may seem a little early to be talking about the end of Day-light Saving Time - it doesn’t officially end until November 1, after all. However, in my years spent working with tired families across the globe,globe, I’ve learned a thing or two about how time change affects baby and toddler sleep, and for most parents, preparing early for a time change is key.
The first option is to do noth-ing. For example, let’s say your baby is waking at 7 a.m. and going to bed at 7 p.m. After the time change, 6 a.m. will “feel” like 7 a.m. to your baby, but keep him in bed until 7 a.m. to
reinforce a 7 a.m. wake up time. Similarly, he may seem sleepy and ready for bed at 6 p.m., but do your best to keep him awake and put him to bed at 7 p.m. For babies or toddlers who are not sensitive to being overtiredovertired or go with the flow, this is a fine strategy and
3 Ways to Keep The Time Change from Destroying Your Child’s Sleep Schedule
It’s easier thanyou think!
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within a day or two, he will be all set and re-settle into the same schedule.
The second option is to slowly change your baby or toddler’s schedule over the course of a few days before the time changes. To start, put your baby or toddler to bed 15 min-utes later than normal in hopes thatthat he wakes up 15 minutes later in the morning (I can’t promise that will happen be-cause of our internal clocks, but it does work for many). Also, offer him naps 15 min-utes later. Keep putting him to
bed 15 minutes later each night until the night of the time change. By the time the clock changes, you would have shift-ed his schedule by 1 hour, the clock will change, and you will be back to your normal sched-ule. Unfortunately, this option can have a bad rippling effect on babies or toddlers who are sensitive to becoming over-tired, possibly leading to crankiness, early morning wake-up, night-wakings and short naps.
The third option is to stick to the regular schedule leading
up to the time change and once the time changes, be flexible and alter the sched-ule only as much as your child can handle. If your child is on a 7 am - 7 pm nighttime schedule, for instance, on the firstfirst night, you may only get to a 6:30 p.m. bedtime, and she will go to bed earlier than normal (clock-wise). How-ever, after a few days, she should re-settle into her normal schedule. Unfortunately, this option is really hard on those with babies or toddlers who are already waking up too early. If that’s
the case for you, you may want to consider shifting your baby or toddler’s sched-ule in the 3 weeks leading up to the time change and, again, a week after the time change (if you do not like the 5 a.m. wake-up).wake-up).
While the time change can bring a few days of schedule havoc, most good sleepers will return to their usual schedules pretty easily. If your child struggles with sleeping through the night andand napping consistently, however, you may want to consider sleep coaching once the time change has passed.
For more information about sleep coaching and for tons of free sleep coaching resourc-es, visit The Baby Sleep Site.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT
WRITTEN BY
The Baby Sleep Site
Nicole Johnson
Zipadee-Zip &Flying Squirrel
THE
FinnLearn More >
The hospitalization rate for children aged 0-4 has been as high as 54.6 per 100,000 popu-lation in recent years. This year’s flu season, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), may find us near these 20122012 numbers. Aside from vac-cines, what can a parent do to help prevent the flu and other bacteria from making their chil-dren sick?
The CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. People should begin getting vaccinated soon after fluflu vaccine becomes available, if possible by October, to ensure that as many people as possible are protected before flu season begins.
Make sure your children are ac-tively and frequently washing their hands with warm soap and water – and that you teach them to sneeze into their elbow rather than outwardly.
Choose indoor play areas that are consistently disinfected. Elephant Armor is a disinfect-ing system used by restaurants and other indoor play areas that kills measles, MRSA, the flu, rotavirus, and even HIV withinwithin minutes yet is so non-toxic you can ingest it. www.GetElephantArmor.com for more info.
Consistently keep nose free of germs and other ick using a nettipot for older kids and
adults, and a nasal aspirator like Baby Comfy Nose www.BabyComfyCare.com which will keep airways clear and a bit cleaner.
Take your vitamins, your pro-biotics, and dose the children with immune boosting things like Sambucol that contains high doses of naturally found anti-oxidants that kids love.
There is no foolproof way to prevent all colds and flu, but if you are vigilant about keep-ing yourself and your children healthy, the better off you will be in fighting the ick. Keep those hands clean and away fromfrom little noses and mouths, get your vitamins and other supplements, and be mindful of where they are playing.
5 Ways to Help Prevent Cold/Flu in Kids This Seasonby Amanda Vega, Juvenile Product Expert, Founder of 3 Peas Baby Product Marketing & mom of two
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A million happy babiescan’t be wrong
16-Award Winning Baby Swaddle
Safe Super Easy Effective Foolproof Breathable Won’t Unravel
13
The Mom Behind the BrandsKatie Wallace is a mom-entre-preneur, marketing director of several kids’ brands, and the
founder of mommyscene.com, a network of moms sharing ideas,
tips, and life experiences.
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Katie Wallace is the mom blog-ger and inventor behind Mommy Scene, the Green Scene Mom Awards, Yummi Pouch, and Revelae – a brand new kid-focused online store. She and her husband, Andy, havehave been working on design-ing and developing kid prod-ucts since 2012, after the birth of their first daughter. Since then, they have created Yummi Pouch Snacktime Solutions, Sudsy Dough Moldable Soap, sensory Discover Boxes and a line of baby Cozy Sleepers & Blanket Pouches.
Before starting these ventures, Katie was a graphic designer in Seattle for five years. She worked with companies large and small to help them develop
their branding strategies – de-signing websites, logos, email campaigns, and packaging. She even worked a few years as a newspaper reporter, writing press releases and covering social events. Katie’s many pro-fessional experiences really came together when she and her husband launched their own company.
The original ideas for their products always came from a need experienced within their own family. Yummi Pouch was born after they recognized a niche for eco-friendly reusable food pouches that could be filledfilled with homemade baby food for their own daughter. Then, Katie created and per-fected her recipe for Sudsy
Dough to help her daughter enjoy taking baths; essentially making a moldable, eco-friendly soap dough (after about 10 recipe variations) that she could play with in the bath while also learning how to wash herself. Katie empha-sized moisturizing and natural ingredients to make Sudsy Dough fun and beneficial for little ones. Recently, the hus-band and wife duo designed a line of Cozy Sleepers and Blanket Pouches because they found it challenging to keep their second daughter warm during winter nights.
The Wallaces design all their
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Mommy Scene
own products; often at the kitchen table cutting up pre-existing items and crafting prototypes, or designing and finalizing their own illustrated prints for new products late at night. Andy is the productsourcing expert who manages all the production details, while Katie does all the graph-ic design, logo creation, and packaging design.
The products often start with an idea that turns into a pro-totype that is used with their own kids and may be given to friends to get feedback. They also research products that already exist to identify niches.niches. With experience, they can quickly identify if a prod-uct idea has the potential to reach and resonate with their target market of young fami-lies.
will be so fun and I am making adjustments to take some time off and figure out what commit-ments we can make for the new year,” says Katie.
TheThe kids also love being in-volved in the business; the plan is to raise them with an entre-preneurial spirit – recognizing that they can accomplish any-thing they set their minds to.
Learn more about the family’s products at www.revelae.com. Visit www.mommyscene.com to connect with Katie!
To get the word out about their products, Katie and Andy have worked with hundreds of mom blogs. Katie shares, “Mom blogs really are the grass roots of marketing, since we’ve found that our customers es-peciallypecially value word-of-mouth referrals and reviews by fellow parents.”
Their first product, Yummi Pouch, won a Red Tricycle Award in 2013 and has been featured by The Bump, Parents.com, and Huffington Post Canada.
ForFor the Wallaces, juggling work and family life is the big-gest challenge they experi-ence. “I unexpectedly found out this year we are expecting our third child in December – a boy to add to two girls – which
Healthier babies today and a beer environment tomorrow!
Learn More >
When Stephanie and Brett Parker discovered they were going to appear on the hit show, Shark Tank, they knew their lives would change, but they never imagined the ex-perience would also change other lives as well. other lives as well.
The Parkers are the founders of Sleeping Baby and inven-tors of the award-winning Zipadee-Zip sleep garment for children and infants. Their
flooded with support, but an email from expecting mother, Kelly Blumenthal, stood out above the rest.
KellyKelly conveyed her devastata-tion when she discovered she was pregnant with a boy who had little chance due to poten-tially terminal heart defects. Doctors reccomended the Blu-menthal family terminate the pregnancy based on the sever-ity of the baby’s condition and his inevitable fate.
But after watching Stephanie share her story on Shark Tank, Kelly was renewed with a sense of purpose to see her little one survive and gave him a chance.
amazing story of building a mil-lion-dollar brand from only $700 in savings caught the at-tention of Shark Tank produc-ers and the Parkers were se-lected to appear on the pre-miere of the 2014/2015 Shark Tank season. When the Park-ers appeared on Shark Tank, they shared the heartbreaking loss of their child and how their customers helped them heal in a unique way. To the Parkers’ surprise, they were
by Tasha Mayberry, Editor-in-Chief
An inspiring story
The Loss of One Baby's LifeKeeps Another Baby Alive
19
Kelly wrote, “I saw you on Shark Tank and all of a sudden, I was just filled with strength, valida-tion and purpose. Hearing you and seeing you say it right in front of me made my heart stop. What am I doing?! I am going to fullfull term with Finn because I be-lieve in him and I believe there is a higher power and a bigger reason for all of this. I need to have more faith and stop being scared. I WILL enjoy this preg-nancy and the time I have with Finn. I will be braver by loving with reckless abandonment. Knowing what may or may not happen does not change how much love I have for him. THANK YOU for bringing me peace and for reminding me to cherishcherish and love and to not be scared because everything truly DOES happen for a reason."
Stephanie shared Kelly’s story on the Zipadee-Zip Facebook page and their Sleeping Baby fans surrounded the family with an overwhelming supply of prayers and support during the pregnancy. The result was nothingnothing short of miraculous. Baby Finn was born on January 2nd, 2015. ‘Finn’ means 'little warrior' and, true to his name, he began to fight! Finn has had heart surgery and multiple other surgeries but he contin-ues to improve and has truly beaten all odds and is alive and well and finally home from the hospital! He is full of life and happiness and has affected more lives than anyone ever
Kelly wrote, “I saw you on Shark Tank and all of a sudden, I was just filled with strength, valida-tion and purpose. Hearing you and seeing you say it right in front of me made my heart stop. What am I doing?! I am going to fullfull term with Finn because I be-lieve in him and I believe there is a higher power and a bigger reason for all of this. I need to have more faith and stop being scared. I WILL enjoy this preg-nancy and the time I have with Finn. I will be braver by loving
with reckless abandonment. Knowing what may or may not happen does not change how much love I have for him. THANK YOU for bringing me peace and for reminding me to cherish and love and to not bebe scared because every-thing truly DOES happen for a reason."
Kelly and Finn
Stephanie shared Kelly’s story on the Zipadee-Zip Facebook page and their Sleeping Baby fans surround-ed the family with an over-whelming supply of prayers and support during the pregnancy. The result was nothing short of miraculous. Baby Finn was born on January 2nd, 2015. ‘Finn’ means 'little warrior' and, true to his name, he began to fight! Finn has had heart surgery and mul-tiple other surgeries but he continues to improve and has truly beaten all odds and is alive and well and finally home from the hospital! He is full of life and happiness and has affected more lives than anyone ever thought possible. anyone ever thought possible.
Kelly made the most of her time in the hospital with Finn and went out of her way to help the families in the hospi-tal and in her community that are going through similar struggles.
During Finn’s extended hospi-tal stay, the Parkers frequent-ly heard about how grateful the Blumenthals were for the support they received from the Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House (RMH) makes it possible for families like Finn’s to stay close to their little ones during some of the most diffi-cult days of their little lives. Inspired by Finn’s strength and the incredible support thatthat the RMH was to the
family, Stephanie designed the “Finn” Zipadee-Zip print to help raise money for this amazing organization and family! 10% of sales are donat-ed to help support the RMH and one dollar from each sale alsoalso goes to help pay the Blu-menthal family’s mounting hospital bills. The “Finn” Zipadee-Zip and the “Finn” Flying Squirrel Toddler PJ are also available to purchase for donation. Kelly will personally deliver any donated item to families in need.
Stephanie Parker recently paid a surprise visit to baby Finn in the hospital to deliver the very first Finn Zipadee-Zip and Flying Squirrel PJ in person. The Blumenthals couldn’t have been more thrilledthrilled to finally meet each other in person for the first time. The Parkers captured it in this heart-warming, tear-jerker of a video.
“Our Sleeping Baby business is so much bigger than just the Zipadee-Zip,” says Stephanie, who marvels at how their little sleep invention has done so much more than improve sleep.
“This“This is what it’s all about,” she says, “helping families in a ‘big picture’ kind of way! We feel like this business has been such an incredible gift from God and it is a great honor to be able to help others however wewe can! I hope people are in-
spired by this story to focus on the incredible amount of light that can come as a result of life’s darkest moments. I would encourage people to not be afraid of sharing their struggles because you never know who it might impact.”might impact.”
When it was time to transi-tion their baby from swad-dling, the Parkers tried every product and trick they could find and nothing worked to get their baby to fall and stay asleep.
Desperate and determined, Stephanie created the Zipadee-Zip , a zip-up wear-able blanket that makes babies feel warm and cozy, but affords them the room to move around.
To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. (with a little help from their appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank).
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Sleeping Baby
AS SEEN ON
BY
The sleep yourfamily deserves.
A Pediatric Sleep Consultant can help you and your child get the rest you need.
FREE Q&A on Facebook, Wednesday 8-9 PM CST: facebook.com/babysleep101
Certified Pediatric SleepConsultant, Joleen Dilk Salyn.
Sign up for FREE guide >
babysleep101.com
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Protect your lile onefrom the elements.
Learn More >
Looking to have a crafty Halloween? Check out theseawesome crafts by our friends at Handmade Charlotte.
Get more mileage out of your pumpkins with this decorating technique.
FolkArt Home Décor Chalk PaintHandmade Charlotte StencilsPaint daubersSponge brushesMini pie pumpkinsPainter’s tape
1. Clean and dry the pumpkin and wrap the stem with tape. Plan your design and begin painting. Apply two coats.2. After the paint has dried, apply the 2. After the paint has dried, apply the stencil. Lay your stencil flat over the pumpkin and apply paint in small dabs with your dauber. 3. For a striped pumpkin, use painter’s tape to create stripes. Let paint to dry before removing tape.
HALLOWEENArts & Crafts
The Mini PaintedPumpkin Patch
Supplies
How To
1
Click here for full instrucons >
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Surprise balls have been around since the 1950’s. Now they’ve been mummified!
Paper CupMod PodgeScissors
Candy of your choiceGauze
Googly eyes
1. Cut four even slats 2 inches deep into white 6 oz paper cup. Fill cup
with candy of choice. Fold in the slats to hold the candy. If necessary, you can secure with a little bit of tape.2. Using gauze, wrap the cups verti2. Using gauze, wrap the cups verti-cally and then horizontally. Every
third layer add a swipe of Mod Podge to secure gauze and keep a round shape. Then, glue on the eyes.
HALLOWEENArts & Crafts
CRAFTS BY
Handmade Charlotte offers a daily dose of DIY projects, crafts, recipes, inspiring family spaces, and design inspiration to help families create un-forgettable moments. Named one of the Top 50 Design Blogs for Moms by Babble.com, the site has been featured in Martha Stewart Living, Better Homes and Gardens, HGTV, and more.
Mummy SurpriseBall Favors
Supplies
How To
2
Click here for full instrucons >
Visit Handmade Charloe >
Adorn your door with some-thing extra special this year.
Big-Boned Al printable templateBlack construction paper8.5-in. by 11-in. paper, whiteCraft knifeGlue stickTwine (we used black & white)2 orange beads2 orange beadsHole punchCommand Outdoor Light Clips
1. Cut out the bones of the template and glue them to the black construction paper (leaving a black border).2. Assemble the bones using the hole punch and jumbo brads. 3. Use Command Outdoor Light Clips to assem3. Use Command Outdoor Light Clips to assem-ble the pulley system that will bring Big-Boned Al to life. Secure one light clip upside down at the very top of the door frame. Place two clips a few inches away from the middle clip on both sides of the door frame. Then place two more clips on the door frame level with the door knob on both sides. Place another light clip on knob on both sides. Place another light clip on the back of the skeleton’s head. Tie twine around this clip and hang from the clip at the top of the door frame.4. Run twine from through both of the light clips secured to the sides of the door frame and attach it at the skeleton’s elbow.5. Run twine through both of the light clips se-cured to the sides of the door frame and attach it at the skeleton’s elbow. Tie an orange bead at the end of the twine to anchor them and make a cute little handle for the kiddos to grab.
DIY Trick-or-Treater Greeter
Supplies
How To
See more awesome crafts at
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3
Click here for full instrucons >
Chalk PaintedPumpkinsYou can transform your up-cycled goods into beautiful “junktique” pumpkins with just a few simple materials!
Empty cans and/or glass bottlesPumpkin stemsFolkArt Home Decor Chalk PaintFolkArt Chalk PaintbrushMod Podge Ultra Matte ChalkScissors, Glue gunFabric, cardstock, wire stemsFabric, cardstock, wire stems
1. Select your chalk paint colors. After your paint dries, coat your pumpkin base with Mod Podge Ultra Matte Chalk.2. Hot glue a pumpkin stem to your painted can. Set the pumpkin base aside.3. Choose the fabric for your pumpkin 3. Choose the fabric for your pumpkin leaves. Coat the back of your fabric with a hefty layer of Mod Podge and adhere to your cardstock. Then, coat the top of your fabric with another layer of Mod Podge to give your fabric the same finish as the pumpkin. 4. Once it’s dry, fold the cardstock in half 4. Once it’s dry, fold the cardstock in half and begin cutting the pumpkin leaf shape.5. Hot glue your pumpkin leaves onto the 5. Hot glue your pumpkin leaves onto the pumpkin. Style the leaves by creasing them. Wrap your floral stem wire around a thin, round surface (like a pencil) to create a tendril and glue in place.6. Style with real pumpkins of varying 6. Style with real pumpkins of varying sizes for a festive centerpiece or style on your front porch stoop for a welcoming decorative ensemble!
Supplies
How To
4
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As moms, we're short on time, sleep, energy and money. Most fitness tips and maga-zine articles aren't written for moms. It would be great to have an hour or two every day to go to the gym or take a pop-ularular new exercise class, but that's not doable or realistic for most of us moms. It's frus-trating. Most moms get so frustrated and think if they can't exercise like they did before baby, what's the point in doing anything at all. I get it.
Exercising when you have a baby is different, there's no de-nying that. It's also very doable when done correctly, very ef-fective. Here are five fitness tips every mom can do...
This is such an easy win for moms but also one of the things most moms don't do. When I say carry your baby I mean in your arms, without the use of a baby carrier or stroller. I know I
know, that's not always possible. But there are many times when it is possible.
CarryingCarrying your baby in your arms burns 20% more calories than wearing baby in a carrier and even more than pushing her in a stroller.
Most moms see their babies as a barrier to exercising, but I'd like to argue that your baby is the
Fitness Tips Every Mom Can Do
5
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by Jennifer Johnson, creator of Baby Strong Workout cards
know, that's not always possible. But there are many times when it is possible.
CarryingCarrying your baby in your arms burns 20% more calories than wearing baby in a carrier and even more than pushing her in a stroller.
perfect workout partner.
WhenWhen my son was little he never let me put him down, even to do a quick workout. So I worked out with him, holding him and using him as my weight. He loved it and I was blown away by the results.
That'sThat's what Baby Strong Workout is all about - fun, doable and effective exercises you do with your baby. Start moving with your baby at BabyStrongWorkout.com
The minute babies become mobile they're unstoppable. They do a lot of "exercises" throughout the day that are ef-fortless for them, but hard for us adults.
Crawling and squatting are just two of the many examples of exercises kids do a lot. Spend some time observing your baby/toddler/child and mimic his movements. Crawl next to him when he crawls. Squat wheneverwhenever he squats. You'll be surprised at how difficult it is and how much movement you'll add to your day without ever stepping foot in a gym.
cise in while doing them? For example, every time you change a diaper, do 10 squats holding your baby. Or when you're brushing your teeth bal-ance on one leg. Or do 10 push ups against the countertop whenever you open the fridge.whenever you open the fridge.
Instead of just walking around the house like you normally do, mix things up sometimes. Pick a day where you'll do walking
lunges as you move through-out the house instead of walk-ing. Do side step squats an-other day. Have fun and incor-porate exercises that will challenge your muscles. The options are endless.
Jennifer Johnson is a health, fitness, and nu-trition enthusiast and personal trainer special-izing in pre- and post-natal exercise. She works one-on-one with moms and leads group workshops and classes. She’s the inventor of Baby Strong Workout, an exercise system for new moms that incorpo-rates your baby in every single exercise.
There are a lot of tasks that we do regularly throughout the day. Why not get some exer-
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Baby Strong Workout
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A mom shouldn’t have to choose.
Fun, effective and inexpensive workouts for moms of all sizes, shapes and fitness levels to feel strong, healthy, happy and confident.
No classes, gyms, or special equipment.
Learn More >
When bullying hits close to home, parents should look for the following signs:
If you think your child is being bullied, here are a few tips:
Torn or damaged clothes, backpacks, books, etc. Unexplained cuts and bruises.Constant stomachaches/headaches/illnesses that affect their school attendanceAfraid to go to school, ride the bus, attend after schoolactivities, or participate in sports or recessChange in sleeping or eating habitsChange in sleeping or eating habitsLow self-esteem, extreme anxiety, and worrying
CLICK HERE TO VISIT
Diane Lang’s Website
Make sure your child knows to tell an adult immediately.Tell your child to never show the bully your emotions - this gives the buly power.Spend lots of time with friends. Don’t let the bully catch your child alone. There is strength in numbers.Teach your child to say firmly "No" or "Stop" with direct Teach your child to say firmly "No" or "Stop" with direct eye contact and standing tall. Then walk away from bully.Never retaliate.
We have been dealing with bul-lying for decades. It's a difficult problem that just won't go away. The first place to start for parents is to know what bully-ing is and the different types.
Bullying is when a group or in-dividual pick(s) on a person or group. The bully has more power either in terms of physi-cal strength or social status.
Bullying couldn't exist without victims. Bullies look for people who lack confidence and radi-ate fear. There are different types of bullying.
Relational Relational - Gossip, rumor spreading, excluding victims from activities
Physical - Kicking, hitting, punching, pushing, etc.
Verbal - Name calling, insult-ing, teasing, racial remarks
Cyber - Bullying using technol-ogy such as: email, smart phones, texting, social media
by Diane Lang, Positive Living Expert and Life Coach
Diane Lang is a Positive Living Expert and life coach, a na-tionally recognized speaker, happiness author, educator, therapist and media expert. Lang offers expertise on a vari-ety of health and wellness topics about creating balance and finding happiness through positive living as well as multiple mental health, lifestyle and parenting needs.
Bullying:Signs to Look forand What to Do
Kelly and Finn
When traveling with your family this winter, make sure you have all of the essentials to keep kids comfortable and happy so your trip will be a breeze.
You can avoid most temper tantrums with the right snacks, clothes, and entertain-ment. Check out our guide for must have winter travel products:
by BIBB staff Pick up everything you need for a safe and comfy winter getaway
Must Have Winter Travel Products12
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BuddyTag is a child safety device that helps parents in keeping their precious children safe. It has out-of-range alert to help pre-vent losing your child; water safety alert to help prevent acciden-tal drowning; panic alarm for your child to alert you when in a threatening situation; personal ID to help reunite a lost child with the parents. BuddyTag uses Bluetooth, NOT GPS .
Pello is a luxe floor pillow for a child's ever-changing needs. It’s donut-shape with raised edges, ultra-soft plush brushed poly and cotton fabrics and a padded center that benefits a child at all stages of development. It is machine-washable, durable and por-table. It has two side handles enabling it to be folded in half for portability. Each Pello includes a pocket to hold baby items.
ZoomKIT is a portable travel table that works with car seats, boosters, strollers or stand alone. Fill it with your child’s special toys or one of our activity inserts. With a global patent-pending design, ZoomKIT gives your child a sense of place in your fast-paced lifestyle.
BuddyTag
pello
ZoomKIT
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babySTAT and kidSTATS are kits designed for infants and kids to prepare you for common baby and child disasters. With easy-to-follow instructions and “red flags” for when to seek medical attention, they contain everything you need to stay calm as a parent. Each kit contains several full-size, latex, BPA free and hospital-grade products plus an emergency contact card.
babySTAT/kidSTAT 4
Baby will never drop paci again! PullyPalz are interactive and entertaining pacifier holders designed to be developmentally beneficial and helpful to parents. They hold most pacifiers and attach to baby carriers, bouncers, and more. It keeps a pacifier within baby’s reach using something similar to a pulley system.
PullyPalz5
The Minkey is a unique winter combination garment for babies and toddlers that combines hat, scarf, and gloves in one product. The Minkey is easy to use and goes great under any jacket, snow-suit, or west and children have plenty of comfort and movement while wearing The Minkey and stay warm and dry where it is im-portant while out in the cold.
The Minkey6
The Zipadee-Zip wearable blanket is loved by sleep experts, pe-diatricians and parents everywhere! It provides a womb-like envi-ronment but full range of movement to roll over and wiggle around safely and freely. It has become known as THE swaddle transition solution. The slight resistance in the arm-span helps soothe the startle reflex and will often work when other products fail. Even with the enclosure it provides, babies can pick up and put in their pacifier or play with a toy while wearing it.
Zipadee-Zip7
Baby Comfy Gummi teething jewelry is unique because of the deeply textured surface that massages baby’s gums. Babies will grab what is available and that is often jewelry that hangs around a parent’s neck, so why not wear something that baby can safely chew on? Chewing on the special, textured surface of Baby Comfy Gummi relieves teething discomfort.
Baby Comfy Gummi 8
nuSpin Kids’ innovative straw cups make hydration healthy, easy, and fun for kids.The Sip & Spin straw cup is especially fun, a pin-wheel spins when your child sips to motivate hydration. The Zoomi straw cup has only 3 parts to simplify healthy hydration. They use valve-free silicone straws because they are the best choice for dental health, speech development, hygiene, and food safety. They use premium materials and manufacturing processes. The cups are easy to drink from, simple to clean, and durable.The cups are easy to drink from, simple to clean, and durable.
nuSpin Kids Straw Cups9
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Songs With My Name are licensed children's personalized CDs featuring characters from Disney (Mickey and Friends), Sesame Street (Elmo), VeggieTales (Bob and Larry), The Wiggles and more. The characters all sing and speak the child's name up to 80 times in each CD. The music is designed to help kids learn, gain self-confidence, improve social skills, and inspire imagination.
Songs With My Name10
The Squeasy Snacker™ is the most versatile reusable food pouch on the market. It was designed by parents for parents to provide easy feeding on-the-go™. It is the only food pouch that offers the patent pending 2-in-1 removable NO SPILL INSERT™ for no spill or free flow. It not only works great for purees, smoothies, apple-sauce, yogurt, pudding, etc., but it also prevents spills when serv-ing water and juice unlike other food pouches.
Squeasy Gear11
Baby Elephant Ears is a baby headrest support pillow providing spinal/neck alignment and comfort - offered in diverse prints and organics, ethically manufactured, and made with sustain-able materials.
Baby Elephant Ears 12
A MONTHLY BOX OFAdventure
LEARN MORE >
Each month a surprise theme, every month a smile.
Each box comes complete with the supplies and instructions for two activities, a snack, a book, fun facts, and other cool extras. Perfect for ages 6 to 11. Tons of learning!
MarchTheme
AMELIA
EARHART
Invitaons1
SpookyTHROW A
HALLOWEENBASH
When planning a party, the first step is to send out invita-tions! Do you want them to be spooky, whimsical, or horror themed? First decide on the theme for your party, and then create invitations to match.match.
Handmade invitations are the most creative and beautiful cards, but also quite time-consuming. Start these well in advance so you have enough time to make them all and hand them out before the party.
Use a free template for a coffin-shaped box that you can print on black or purple paper. Customize your invitation wording to fit perfectly inside of the coffin lid. Fill the coffin with some candy treats and spooky spiders and then hand them out!
Whether you’re planning a cute and friendly party for the kids or a ghoulish fright-fest for your friends, you need some clever ideas to give your party a boost. Check out some of these cool ideas:
For a modern and classy invitation, custom-ize these printable invitations with your party details and choose a pattern to use for the back. The elegant design will wow your guests! All you need is card stock, orange envelopes, and stickers to decorate.
Unique Coffin Invitation Modern Party
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SpookyDécor 2
Nothing sets the mood for your party more than some cool and creepy decorations! These you can either pur-chase at a party store, or create yourself from some items around the house.
Whether you’re planning a cute and friendly party for the kids or a ghoulish fright-fest for your friends, you need some clever ideas to give your party a boost. Check out some of these cool ideas:
For a modern and classy invitation, custom-ize these printable invitations with your party details and choose a pattern to use for the back. The elegant design will wow your guests! All you need is card stock, orange envelopes, and stickers to decorate.
With some tape and scissors, transform ordinary trash bags into spider webs, just like how you would make a snowflake. Get the kids to help and tape your spider webs together to
form a banner
Modern Party
Trash BagSpider Webs
No party is complete without a banner or bunting and this one is made super easy with a free printable template. You’ll need purple and orange card stock to print the individual letters and then some string
to hang them together.to hang them together.
Halloween Bunting
A party needs holders for utensils, straws, candy, etc. Make them cute or creepy!
All you need are jars, paper or paint, glue, ribbons, stickers, googly eyes, etc. Get creative and grab small objects from
around the house.around the house.
DIY Mason Jars
Food3
SpookyTHROW A
HALLOWEEN(cont.)BASH
The food at your Halloween party is where you can really shine, in both presentation and taste! There are tons of ideas out there for amazing looking finger foods and des-serts that both kids and adults willwill enjoy. Try to have a mix of sweet and savory without overloading on desserts, es-pecially if kids will be going home with candy in their treat bags.
Super easy and super adorable! Make some simple vanilla pudding and mix in green food dye to get your green Frank-en-pudding. Pour into small, clear cups with faces drawn on. Add some crushed cookies to the top for your finishing touch.
Frankenstein Pudding
Deviled eggs are easy to make. For the spider décor, take black olives, slice them in half lengthwise and use one half for the body and the other half for the legs. Arrange them on top of the deviled eggs and now you have spider eggs!
Spider Deviled Eggs
Make your own homemade cheese pizza! Cut red peppers into triangular nail shapes and slice your pizza into finger-sized strips. Place the red pepper pieces onto the ends of the strips to create your fingers and you’re done!
Pizza Fingers
Games4What’s a party without any
games?!
Draw a cute or scary ghost on a large piece of black poster board. Cut out pieces of construction paper that say “Boo!” on them. Spin each player 3 times and let them try to pin the
“Boo!” closest to the ghost’s mouth.
Pin the Boo on the Ghost
Make a platform out of a colored foam board for the game base. Create black witch hats out of
construction paper and glue them down to the board. Add some col-orful buckles to decorate your hats. Use pool diving rings for
your ring toss.your ring toss.
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Witch’s Hat Ring Toss
Some paper towel rolls dec-orated with googly eyes and black electrical tape will become your bowling pins for this game. Then you will need a foam pumpkin with
three finger holes carved out to be your bowling ball. Each to be your bowling ball. Each guest can take turns trying to knock down as many pins as they can and you don’t
have to worry about anyone getting hurt or any damage being done to the house.
“Boo” Bowling
Party Favors3
SpookyTHROW A
HALLOWEEN(cont.)BASH
Don’t let your guests go home empty handed!
Give them some unique party favors to leave with so the fun doesn’t end once they get home.
Quick and simple to make, you’ll need matchboxes, scrapbook paper, glue, markers, and hole-punchers to make these monster mouths. Cut pieces of paper to cover the matchbox. Use craft scissors to cut zigzags or scallop edges on strips of paper for the monster’s mouth. Glue these to the monster’s mouth. Glue these to the bottom edge of the box. Punch out paper circles for eyes and use markers to draw details like eyebrows or eye-lashes. Add small candies to the box. When you slide it open, you’ll see a monster mouth filled with candy!
This favor is an activ-ity kit that kids can take with them to play at home. Get some plastic contain-ers or boxes to fill with all the necessary materials. Print out a “Slime Kit” label with instructions to put on the boxes. In every box place some glue, a plastic baggie with a few teaspoons of Borax, another of Borax, another empty plastic baggie for storing the slime, and 2 plastic spoons. All the guests will need to have on hand is water, bowls, and food coloring.food coloring.
Confetti is fun for kids.You’ll need tubes, construction paper, and accent confetti. Fringe scissors will help save time while cutting the colored construction paper into tiny pieces. paper into tiny pieces. Mix these in with your accent confetti – like pumpkins and bats – and then stuff the con-fetti into tubes and seal
with a cork.
Matchbox Monster Mouth
Confetti Tubes
DIY Slime Kit
New Product Alert!
Cozy Sleepers
Coming in November
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Every time you play with your baby, you are engaging baby in learning and developing and having fun at the same time!
InIn between feeding, naptime, bath time, and diaper chang-ing, you should add in some play to exercise baby’s brain-power.
These simple activities may not seem like they’re doing much, but they all work to stimulate baby’s senses which in turn allows baby to grow and develop.
Tummy time is a crucial activ-ity to help babies develop upper body strength and neck strength so they can pick up their heads. As baby grows older, it will help with fine and gross motor development and getsgets baby ready to roll over, crawl, sit up and more. You can place baby on your chest or your lap or tummy so she can look up at you and then move to putting baby on the floor.
Many babies dislike tummy time at first so you can rub her back, sing to her, or hold a toy
in front of her to keep her en-gaged as you bond together.
To practice tummy time, we love Pello, a unique donut-shaped floor pillow that’s de-signed to meet your baby’s everchanging needs.
10 Ways to Engage Your Baby in Early Learning
by Julie Thompson, owner and inventorof PullyPalz
It’s never tooearly to learn!
mypello.com
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Play some children’s songs or classical music while doing chores around the house or during playtime and sing along. You’ll be having fun while exposing your child to new sounds and rhythms and thethe more you talk and sing to your child, the more you are helping your child develop language skills.
SongsWithMyName.com creates personalized songs with your child’s name - right in the music! They can hear their name sung by their fa-vorite characters.
Allowing baby to play with a va-riety of different textures is a very important aspect of sen-sory development. You can let baby feel his way through the different clothes in your closet and rub your soft sweater sleeve on his cheek. Grab swatches of different fabrics like silk, fleece, and terrycloth and describe the feelings of each of them to your baby as you rub them over her tummy, hands, and feet. You can also let babybaby play with her food to feel the texture of cereal or fruit as baby also practices her pincer grasp.
You can create your own baby obstacle course at home by get-ting your child to follow you and mimic your movements as you travel through the house. Show baby how to crawl over, under and around different items like pillowspillows and toys to help boost his motor skills. You can also lie on the floor and let baby climb on you and crawl around you to help with his coordination. Even putting on some music and having your own dance party
with baby can get baby to move and have fun at the same
time.
Make some funny faces, silly noises, crawl around, laugh, point, etc. all while baby is watching you and encourage him to follow your lead. Rub your stomach and then take baby's hand and make him rub hishis own tummy. When baby starts doing actions of his own, mimic everything that he does and when he realizes that you are copying his actions he will try to come up with more cre-ative movements.
It’s never too early to start reading to baby to help him learn and develop language skills. By the age of 8 months old, some infants can start to recognize word sequences in stories that they have heard multiplemultiple times. Babies also love seeing all the colorful, bright pictures in their books while listening to your soothing voice.
This little game involves asking baby, “Where’s your ____?” and insert the name of a body part as you point to or tickle that body part. So you will ask, “Where’s your tummy?” and then tickle baby’s tummy and say,say, “There’s your tummy!” Continue playing the game with all the different body parts.
songswithmyname.com
Infants love playing Peeka-boo and it’s not just a silly game to play. After baby is around 9 months, that is when he will develop object permanence. Baby knows that mom doesn’t disappear foreverforever just because he can’t
Kelly and Finn
see mom. Seeing mom disap-pear and then reappear mimics this new concept that baby just learned, which is why he finds it so amusing.
Get some safe toys for baby with lots of colors, shapes, and textures that you can dangle in front of or above baby. When baby reaches out for the toys, this helps him learn hand-eye coordination andand focusing on an object. The toys will also stimulate baby’s senses and encourage physi-cal movement and develop-ment. My product, PullyPalz, teaches hand-eye coordina-tion and improves left/right brain development (while keeping the pacifer in reach at all times.
Getting some fresh air and taking in all that nature has to offer is a great way to engage your baby. You can place baby on a blanket or play mat in a park, or bring a bouncer or play gym. You can also go for a walkwalk with baby and point out all the trees, leaves, birds, rock, insects and all the other sights and sounds that nature has to offer.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT
PullyPalz
Julie Thompson
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Learn More >
For your child’severchanging needs
Pello is a donut-shaped luxe floor pillow with raised edges, ultra-soft plush brushed poly and cotton fabrics and a padded center that benefits a child
at all stages of development.
sigikid is a family-owned company that goes way back. In fact, more than 150 years!
sigikid'ssigikid's parent company, H. Scharrer & Koch GmbH was created in 1856 in Bayreuth/Bavaria. Initially, the company manufactured glass beads for export around the world. In 1910, the com-pany (under the helm of Theo pany (under the helm of Theo Köhler, grandfather to the current owner) began to pro-duce toys made out of those
same glass beads.
InIn 1968, it was time for the next generation to take over and the trademarked “sigikid” was born under the Gottstein family, the clever combination of the founder’s first name (“Sigi,” short for Sigrid) and “kid”“kid” (referring to Axel, the first child born into the Gottstein family). Today, Axel runs the business at home in Germany and his sister, Eva, leads the push into the Americas.
The family knew that German toys of the time were stiff and clumsy. They weren’t child-friendly at all. They had to make a change. They wanted their toys to be more than play-things. They wanted to create toys that would inspire creativ-ity and imagination.
They came up with a line of long-lasting, adorable and sweet, soft toys for children that are designed to last for gen-erations (just like their family business).
Family Tradition Across Oceans
Using the mostwholesome and
important ingredients: Quality and Love.
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by BIBB staff
Co-owner Eva Frecea shares, “My parents were convinced that cuddling and playing is a fundamental need you never grow out of. That’s why we have a designer plush line called the BEASTS that are reallyreally more for adults than kids. Over the years, sigikid became the go-to brand in Europe for playfully different plush toys, dolls, rattles, music boxes, and organic baby toys from the highest quality materials with a focusfocus on imaginative, contem-porary design.”
Today the world is their home. They produce and sell high quality plush products world-wide. The brand offers several unique product lines with toys that delight audiences of all ages. sigikid is the perfect gift forfor birthdays, holidays, baby showers, and just because.
sigikid products are made to last. They have become known all over for their high standards of softness and durability, as well as their unique designs and creative products. They only
use the best materials and they are very careful about where they manufacture under their label.
TheyThey want to create toys that are handed down from gen-eration to generation, even through the roughest cud-dling. Everything is easy to care for and machine wash-able (even their organic line). The majority of sigikid prod-ucts are made in Romania in their own factory, a plant they remodeled from the ground up in the early 2000s to pre-cisely mirror their production standards in Germany.
The sigikid philosophy is simple: play isn’t just impor-tant; it’s absolutely necessary. They believe that in today’s world, many of our daily inter-actions are short-lived and quick-paced. We quickly forget how to play and enjoy our imaginations. They place all of their focus on making children happier and foster-ing a playful childhood.
All toys are designed to be more than just a means of en-tertainment. Their products are designed to enhance emo-tional, cognitive, and physical development. As a worldwide brand, they understand the importance of safety testing. All of their products comply with international toy stan-
20% OFFCode: BIBB20
CLICK HERE >
dards and are certified on a regular basis.
What’sWhat’s next for sigikid? They just wrapped up their 2015 USA Tour, where they trav-eled the entire country meet-ing current and new retailers. They’ll be exhibiting at this year’s ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas and gearing up for a busy holiday season. Check them out in our catalog and get 20% off with code BIBB20.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT
sigikid-usa.com
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Each year before we know it, summer has passed, fall ar-rives and then comes all the hustle and bustle of the holi-days! I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving and Christmas time. It's truly a time for giving, being grateful, and making lasting memories with family.
Growing up in a tight knit family in the small town of Windham, Maine, I have so many great memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Traditions we still do to this day! With a baby on the way, thisthis year is even more special as I feel truly blessed to have family that loves me as much as they do and soon our newest addition to the family will arrive.
We polled some parents asking what their most mem-orable Thanksgiving tradi-tions are. What are your tra-ditions for Thanksgiving? Share with us on the BIBB Magazine Facebook page with the hashtag #ThanksgivingTraditions.
For me, the most memorable traditions are gathering at my aunt's house for the most de-licious home cooked meal (there have been years we went out to a restaurant but
we always revert back to what is best - being in my aunt's comfy, warm home with amaz-ing food cooked exactly how we like!). Aside from the turkey and all the "fixins" - as Mainers say - being together aroundaround the long country table is just the best. We all catch up, laugh, and chatter fills the room.
We play football in the back-ground for those who want to occasionally peek at the game and the dessert spread is just the best. We kind of overdue it on the desserts and each year we say "We must not buy that manymany pies next year!" But each year the table is full of home-made pies from Cole Farms restaurant in Grey, Maine (the best homemade pies!). From rhubarb, to apple, squash, pumpkin, banana cream and chocolate cream -- we have pies galore!
Aside from being with family and the amazing food, we also play Turkey Trivia each year. I have been the moderator for over seven years now. Each Thanksgiving I pull together Thanksgiving and turkey re-latedlated questions and create a quiz with multiple choice an-swers. After we eat dinner this is the perfect way to let food settle before we dig into des-
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sert. The pencils come out and quizzes are passed around. From old to young everyone is so quiet taking their quiz.
AfterAfter everyone is done, I read the questions and answers aloud as family members shout their guesses to each hoping they are right. At the end we tally up the number of correct answers to determine that year'syear's winner. The prize is usu-ally a $30 gift card to local gro-cery store or gas card. We sometimes do a scratch ticket for 2nd place -- one year my mom won $100!
This simple game brings me so much joy - it's funny too be-cause a lot of the questions repeat but year after year family is still stumped.
Now that I've shared some of our family's most memorable traditions for Turkey Day, here are some more stories shared by other families:
Thanksgiving Traditions
Sarah Goodman,Wristy Buddy
by Tasha Mayberry, BIBB editor-in-chief
Kim Strong, Ciao! Baby
Cindy Perry,Pello
Karen Barski, Woombie
What’s your Thanksgiving tradition?Tell us on our Facebook pagewith #ThanksgivingTraditions
Mayte Landeros,Blue Baby Bum
SHOP >
Want to raise a healthy family?
Get non-toxic living tips,DIY recipes, productreviews and more
READ MORE >
Jennifer Johnson,Baby Strong Workout
Erica TurzakCloud Cover Baby
Helen Vallaeys,Snappy Pants
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Apple CrispIngredients
Instructions
Here are some of our favorite fall recipes, from our kitchen to yours. They’re perfect for chilly autumn days. Make sure to share with your friends and family!
BIBBFavoriterecipes
1.5 cups brown sugar1.5 tsp. cinnamon 1.5 tsp. nutmeg (ground fresh)2/3 cups soft butter (unsalted)
5 cups apples1 cup flour1.5 cups oats
Ingredients1 15 oz. can of pumpkin2 cups flour1 Tbls. Vanilla1 tsp. ginger1 tsp. cloves1 tsp. baking soda1 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup oil1 3/4 cup sugar2 cups flour2 eggs1 tsp. salt1 tsp. nutmeg1 tsp. cinnamon1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan. Peel the apples and slice small. Lay the apples in bottom of pan. Blend the other ingre-dients, stirring until crumbly. Pour topping on apples evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until apples are soft and top is brown.
Instructions
Filling
Mix all together in large bowl, stirring well. Plop 2 or 3 tablespoons for each Whoopie pie on cookie sheet. Cook 15-17 minutes. (Should be moist still).
Beat 4 tablespoons butter and 8oz. soft cream cheese in medium bowl. Mix in 2 cups confectioners sugar and a 1/2 tsp. of vanilla. Stir well. Put in fridge until Whoopie Pies are all cooled. Fill each to your liking. If filling is too hard to spread, soften by leaving out of fridge and stir, then fill.
Squash CarrotCurry Soup
Whole Wheat Pastaand Chicken Sausage
Ingredients
Ingredients
Instructions
Instructions
Here are some of our favorite fall recipes, from our ktichen to yours. They’re perfect for chilly autumn days. Make sure to share with your friends and family!
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recipes2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 1 onion chopped
1 Tablespoon curry powderSea Salt and Ground Pepper
1 lb carrots choppedHalf a butternut squash chopped into Half a butternut squash chopped into
1/2” cubes4 cups vegetable broth2 cups water - as needed
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg andcinnamon during the fall!
1 package chicken sausage 1 shallot, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped2 cups fresh broccoli, chopped1 package whole wheat pasta2 Tablespoons Grapeseed oil
3/4 cup vegetable broth3/4 cup vegetable broth1 Tablespoon organic buttery spread1/2 cup grated Go Veggie cheese (lactose-free) or regular Parmesan
Small bunch of fresh basilGround Black Pepper
Optional: 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat and saute the onions until tender and translucent. Stir in curry powder, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper (and any other spices you want). Add the chopped carrots and squash. Stir until the car-rots and squash are coated. Cook for 1-2 mins to let fla-vors release. Pour in vegetable broth and simmer until carrots and squash are soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer carrots and squash are soft, about 20 minutes. Transfer everything to blender and blend until smooth. Pour back into the pot and thin if needed to desired consis-tency with water. Top with some pine nuts and ground nutmeg and/or cinnamon. A couple fresh basil leaves go well on top as a garnish too.
Boil water with oil and salt. Remove casing from each sausage and cut into slices. Cook pasta in water, drain and return to pot. Heat grapeseed oil on medium heat, then add sausage, shallots and garlic, stirring often until sausage is brown on both sides (2-3 minutes). Add cherry toma-toes, cook for 1-2 minutes stirring occasionally. Break tomatoes. Add broth and broccoli, then Break tomatoes. Add broth and broccoli, then cover until broccoli is cooked to preference. Stir occasionally, but always recover (add broth if it’s disappearing). Add butter and cheese. Stir until everything is covered and melted. Blend contents with pasta in a mixing bowl, adding
more pepper, basil, butter, and cheese.
“Nothing fits the same,” and “I don’t have the time,” are common phrases for moth-ers who are feeling a little low on their mojo after childbirth.
Who can blame them? Taking a leap into mother-hood is a scary transition and you deserve to live in sweatpants for as long as you choose.
For these two stylish moms however, staying down too long wasn’t an option. In re-ality feeling beautiful on the outside can have a tremen-dous impact on how good you feel on the inside.
The two online influencers have shown us through their highly documented style blogs that being a mommy is more chic than it’s ever been. We sat down with them to find out how they maintain their glamour. maintain their glamour.
Erika is a happy wife and mommy to two beautiful young children. Mom and Wife are two jobs in them-selves, but she also runs a highly successful style blog called Lola Blue Style. There BatistaBatista documents her outfit of the day (OOTD), beauty routines and of course her journey as a mother. The petite shoe obsessed blogger
has grabbed the attention of thousands of viewers, subscrib-ers and followers on her social media platforms. Erika doesn’t always go glam, but she always makes sure her comfy sports attire is a fashion statement too.too.
Check out her blog at lolabluestyle.com. Here’s what Erika had to say about style.
Having a child to love and cherish for the rest of your days is an immeasurable blessing, but becoming a new mom has been known to send a few ladies into a vicious style rut.
Meet Erika Batista
Two Moms
Dressed to the Nines
Modern mommy chic. I love versatile pieces that I can use over and over in different ways. I love comfort but I love to still be in style.
I am obsessed with Christine from Hello Fashion Blog and Cara from CaraLoren.com.
They are mommies like me and always get their style right, they are such an inspiration.
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I always go for basic pieces. Blacks, beiges, grays are easy and super chic. You can look so put together with simple basic pieces as long as the fit is right
and the accessories are great. Invest in great stylish flat shoes or fab sneakers. They take any outfit to the next level.
Sunglasses! They give instant glam even when you have no makeup on!
Having a child to love and cherish for the rest of your days is an immeasurable blessing, but becoming a new mom has been known to send a few ladies into a vicious style rut.
FASHION
Dressed to the Nines
I do not. I am almost always in leggings and tees or sweat-shirts now that it's fall. I am constantly on the go so I have to be comfortable. Which is why I have opted for cute sneakers lately, I was never intointo sneakers. I owned the same pair for about 5 years and they look new! I have a pair of pink Nikes and gold sneakers from Target that I am obsessed with. Even if I am wearing black legging and a coolcool tee - the sneakers make me feel like a cool and chic mom. I add my sunnies and lip-stick and I am ready to go!
April couldn’t have chosen a better name for her blog Knocked Up and Fabulous. Gianossa is a working mom who “gave up on sweat pants and t-shirts during (her) second pregnancy…hasn’t lookedlooked back since!” she says. The stylish mom of two dished a bullet proof tip on getting ready in the morning and kicking a style rut. Check out her blog at www.knockedupfabulous.com.m. Here’s what the growing blogger had to say about her mommy chic style.
I found that keeping my closet filled with pieces that I love and ones that fit my body well helps! That way, no matter how little time I have to get ready, there's always something that makes me feel beautiful. feel beautiful.
I purge my clothes often to make sure that this happens. Plus, I like to put outfits to-gether when I'm putting laun-dry away. I keep these outfits hanging in a special area in my closet so I can just grab them and go!and go!
Relaxed glamour
Honestly, my son yes! He is so handsome and just cool. He is so laid back and has that style about him. My daughter is still so small, so I style her and I am loving it!
Of course, to an extent. I don't wear nearly as much heels as I used to. I couldn't live without heels before and now it's the opposite. I still wear heels on
the weekend and they give me a sex appeal I love. I wear much more comfortable clothes and now I love coordi-nating with my kids:)
Even though it's material, there's nothing like feeling fabulous in a super glam or super fab outfit! It's like you can take over the world! I love it. The confidence definitely rises when I am in a great OOTD.OOTD.
I am still building it. It's a 24 hour job. You are truly self made. I have been blogging for 3 1/2 years and it's a constant effort. I have two small kids so it's very hard to find the time but I do as much as I can. Blog-gingging makes me extremely happy. I love connecting to people around the world. But I love inspiring women and I love being inspired by women.
Meet April GiannosaTwo Moms
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Lola Blue Style
Dressed to the Nines
lolabluestyle.com
I love my vintage gold bangles. They look great with every-thing!
Start by treating yourself to a fresh hair cut and pick up a bright lip color! Gaining that confidence back after child-birth is the first step to getting out of a rut. A new do and some lipstick can work miracles for
If the kids and I are leaving the house to run errands or then I will. You never know who you'll run into when you're shopping for groceries or getting an oil change! Plus, there's some-thing motivating about getting dresseddressed for the day. I get it that people love to hang out in lounge gear when they have a day off, but that would just
make me too tired. I need a fun blouse and some red lip-stick at least!
My daughter has started finding her own style. She LOVES picking out her clothes and accessories each day. Her favorite is a monochromatic look. She's often head to toe in either pink,pink, purple, or blue! My little guy, he's 4 and could care less. He's usually in jeans and a t-shirt.
Oh, yes! Especially when the kids were younger and I'd have to be carrying them, or lugging around diaper bags, or even with nursing! I'd have to make sure that I wasn't wearing anything thatthat would scratch them. And I'd always steer clear of wearing white! But now that the kids are older, I'm able to wear what I like without restriction.
I think others often think that people who put effort into their look are shallow
any new mom!
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or self-centered. I like putting effort into my appearance be-cause it makes ME feel good! It's one thing that I can do for myself each day.
Plus, I think that it's important to show my kids that looking presentable each day is an-other way of how we should take care of ourselves. I talk with them lots about eating the right foods and exercising toto maintain a healthy body. How one dresses should be part of that care.
During my first pregnancy, I felt at such a loss with my body and style. An alien was basically growing inside me. Towards the end of pregnan-cy, nothing fit! I was stuck wearing my husband's clothes. clothes.
So when I got pregnant again, I started to look online for ma-ternity outfits and blogs, but there was nothing there at the time. I started Knocked Up Fabulous as a way to motivate myself, and potentially other moms-to-be,moms-to-be, to enjoy dressing a bump.
Seriel entrepreneur Holly Hurd gives you 12 assignments to create your own business. The book breaks down all of the necessary steps. You’ll create your idea and name, define your market, and learn how to share your product or service with the world to get your first sale. It's that easy.get your first sale. It's that easy.
Want to Start Your own Business?Learn the secret 12 week formula to turn your passion to profit! Not sure what your passion is? The book helps with this too!
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Knocked Up Fabulous
knockedupfabulous.com
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Q&A with New Mommy MediaBIBB interviewed Sunny Gault, Mommy-in-Charge
New Mommy Media is a net-work of podcasts for new and expecting parents. Our shows give tips and advice to new parents, educating and enter-taining them as they transi-tion into parenthood. Each episode features parents and experts chatting in a round-table format, like having an online support group avail-able anytime to meet parents’ busy schedules.
I knew very little about babies prior to having my own. So, when my husband and I got pregnant with our first child, I knew I had a lot to learn. I wanted to hear what experts had to say about pregnancy andand parenting, and I also wanted to hear real stories from parents who experienced it firsthand. And I wanted to actually hear them, not just read words on a piece of paper.
I wanted to feel like they were talking right to me, like I was part of the conversation.
We currently have five shows on the network: Preggie Pals for expecting parents; Newbies for newly postpartum moms; Parent Savers for parents with infants and toddlers; The Boob Group for breastfeeding and pumpingpumping moms; and Twin Talks for parents of multiples. Our
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New MommyMedia Shows
shows cover everything from conception to kindergarten.
We’ve released more than 450 episodes, so we’ve featured a lot of experts. The most common experts are Mid-wives, Doulas, OB/GYNs, Peri-natologists, Lactation Consul-tants, Childbirth Educators, Pediatricians and Psycholo-gists. But, each episode has dif-ferent needs, depending on the topic. We featured a “Sexolo-gist” on an episode about spic-ing up your marriage after kids. Oh, and we had a 16-year-old babysitter as our expert for an episode on babysitting dos and don’ts.
Our panelists need to have some sort of experience with the episode topic. So, if we’re doing an episode on babywear-ing, the moms and dads on the show need experience wearing their kids. Most of the panelists areare located in San Diego, where we record. But, we also invite listeners to join the con-versation via phone, skype and social media.
The same topics that trend on Facebook and Twitter are the same topics our listeners love to download. Hot button topics
such as vaccines, circumcision and breastfeeding in public are at the top of the list.
It’s tough because our episodes are only 30 minutes, so you can’t get in-depth with any topic, especially when it’s controversial. In those cases, we’ll create a series about the topic so we can go into more detail with multiple episodes. That also allows us to invite different experts on the show with varying opinions and perspectives, so the conversation is more balanced. Our shows don’t have an agenda. We’re not trying to convince you one way is better than another. We just give you the tools you need to make an informed decision for your family.an informed decision for your family.
Absolutely. We encourage it. We even have a team of experts who can answer any questions parents submit to the shows. These questions helps us determine what type of topics to discuss in future episodes, and if needed, what new podcasts to launch on our network.on our network.
Well, this is a dangerous question be-cause we primarily make money through advertising. So, saying one product is better than another isn’t the smartest business strategy for us. However, our listeners are specifi-cally looking for multi-use products.
They don’t mind spending more money for quality prod-ucts you can use in different ways, with multiple children. And if it’s compact and good for the environment, that’s even better!
We just launched The New Mommy Media Network App, which gives you instant access to all our podcasts through one app (that’s com-pletely free)! All of our shows also have their own individual appsapps as well, so those apps are my favorite. We actually review apps on our shows, and we compiled a list of our favorite pregnancy apps, which you can download here: http://www.newmommymedia.com/9-must-have-appsa.com/9-must-have-apps
It’s always been important for us to support smaller busi-nesses whenever possible, so we offer something for every-one regardless of budget. We do a lot of written and video product reviews. We also offer commercial spots, web-site ads, newsletter and social media promotions. But what makes us really unique is our ability to get advertisers di-rectly involved with the con-tent of our shows, so parents don’t feel like you’re trying to sell them something. Perhaps you’re a car seat manufactur-
er whose providing tips when installing car seats in your car? Or maybe you’re a cloth diaper company explaining the differ-ent between prefolds and pockets?
Sure! We’re always planning ways to grow our network and make it bigger and better. In addition to the five podcasts we currently produce, we’re also working with brands to create new co-branded pod-castscasts specifically for them and their customers. We partner together on the content, and then we handle all the produc-tion including promotion on The New Mommy Media Net-work. It’s a great option for companies who want their own show for branding pur-poses. After all, we already have a format that works and a built-in audience waiting for them. So it just makes sense!
Google “New Mommy Media”- that will help improve our SEO! Seriously though, you can listen to all our episodes through our website at http://www.newmommymedia.com. You can also see all our productproduct reviews and download more information about our other advertising opportuni-ties.
We wouldn’t miss it! Look for our bright yellow polo shirts! We’ll be broadcasting live on Periscope from the expo floor!You can watch us at:http://www.newmommymedia.com/abc.
Fiddle Diddles
Q&ABIBB interviewed Rachel Dehmer, Founder and Owner of Fiddle Diddles
LullaBelay™ is an adjustable strap system that safely se-cures an infant car seat to a shopping cart. It also comes with a protective cover that has zippered access to baby and a small bag to store it all in.
My passion is children. My desire was to build a business around where my heart truly is, working with and around chil-dren! So I thought about where there could possibly be a need in the children’s product indus-try since there are already so
many great items available for parents to utilize. I said a quick prayer, and almost immediate-ly I envisioned a shopping cart with an infant carrier safely se-cured to the lower portion of the cart. We sat on the idea for a while because my original design didn’t work. But after a neck injury and ultimately two neck surgeries forced me to resign from my 15-year career as a court reporter, this idea would not stop haunting me! SinceSince I was out of work, I put my time and energy into creat-ing LullaBelay™. While I had the “aha” moment, it was my awesome husband who came up with the strap system design.
LullaBelay™ solves the prob-lem of not having a safe place to put your infant carrier when you go shopping. Most shopping carts state right on the toddler seat that you should not place infant carri-ers in them. If you place your infant carrier up high in the toddler seat (whether your car seat “clicks” into the seat or you place them in a molded plastic seat with buckles, the cart is still very top heavy and aa tipping hazard). Every year
with
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First and foremost I’m a mom! I have an amazing 13-year-old boy who I couldn’t be more proud of to call my son. Being his mom is my favorite “job!” The 15 years previous to start-ing Fiddle Diddles I was a self-employed freelance court re-porter.
I love nursery rhymes. I have fond memories of my mother and grandmother singing them to me as a child, and I carried that tradition on with my son. So it seemed natural to take nursery rhymes and put a differ-entent spin on them! Fiddle Did-dles is obviously from “Hey Diddle Diddle.” Since we use carabiners as the main attach-ment piece to our strap system, I thought it would be cute to pick the mountaineering term, belay, to go along with the nurs-ery rhyme “Lullaby & Good-night,” hence LullaBelay was born!
Absolutely. The good old fash-ioned Golden Rule of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is extremely im-portant to me and I try my best to live that way. I also fully be-lieve in something Mother Teresa said, “We may never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” So true!!!
thousands of children suffer head injuries from falls from shopping carts. My friend’s eight-month-old baby fell out of his infant carrier and suf-fered a fractured skull when he was placed up high in the toddlertoddler seat of a shopping cart. It’s so dangerous! If you place the infant carrier in the basket of the cart, you have no room for items. LullaBelay™ can even help moms who enjoy wearing their baby. On daysdays when it’s too hot, too cold, rainy, snowy, or baby is simply sleeping, carry baby into the store in their infant carrier. Once you’re safely inside, attach infant carrier to cart with LullaBelay™, wear baby,baby, and now you have your entire cart open!
My first design was an “S” hook that simply hooked the infant carrier handle to the shopping cart handle. That design didn’t work and we shelfed the idea for quite a while. But on one cold Janu-aryary day here in Minnesota when this idea wouldn’t stop haunting me, and I was out of work and between neck sur-geries, I went around to nine different stores and took photos of their shopping carts from different angles. I didn’t know what I was trying to capture, but I just felt com-pelled to take the photos. Once I got home I showed my husband the pics, and within
about 15 minutes he said, “I’ve got it!” He realized the attach-ment point needed to be over the wheel base of the cart so that the cart would remain stable. So I pulled out the little sewing machine my mom had givengiven me for Christmas many years previous and taught myself how to sew. We started with a “V” shaped strap system made from poly webbing straps with all sorts of different hardware, then advanced to thethe “Y” shaped adjustable strap system with cam buckles and carabiners.
Phenomenal! Last year when we brought our hand-sewn prototypes to the Invention Connection at ABC Kids Expo 2014, we were giving our pitch to two moms. One of the moms stopped me mid-sentence and said,said, “You don’t need to go any further…I can see what it’s doing. This is genius! Why didn’t I think of this?” We have customers using it and they ab-solutely LOVE how much easier it’s made their shopping trips! A couple weeks ago we set up a booth at a local fair. LullaBelay stopped people in their tracks and we heard over and over again, “Where was this when my kids were babies!”
LullaBelay™ is an adjustable strap system that safely se-cures an infant car seat to a shopping cart. It also comes with a protective cover that has zippered access to baby and a small bag to store it all in.
They love it! I could not do this without my husband’s constant unwavering support. He is amazing, I am truly blessed. And my son LOVES to help out. He has spent countless hours
get done!
We love to camp! That’s our favorite. Also, we have some pretty decent hills in our back yard. In the winter we love to have a bonfire at night and do some “sundown” sledding!
Yes! We are in Booth #7230 (Baby Gear, 2nd Floor). Lulla-Belay will also be displayed in the New Product Showcase.
Passion, self-motivation, and hope!
www.fiddlediddles.com
helping with inventory, bring-ing boxes in, packing and ship-ping. He’s so positive and such a great help!
Wishing for more hours in a day to accomplish all that needs to
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Fiddle Diddles
Providing advice, inspiration andmotivation to new and nearly moms
Baby2Body is a digital plat-form that provides evi-dence-based and expert advice and guidance on a woman’s psychological well-being, nutrition, beauty, and insight into the growth and development of her baby during pregnancy and early motherhood. We are redefin-ing how women experience motherhood, how they
access information, and how they take action to live better for themselves and their chil-dren.
Baby2Body is everything I felt I wanted – or rather needed – as a new mom. It’s a lifelong ven-ture, not only inspired by my own experiences, but also that of every other woman I’ve met
along the way. I created the idea for Baby2Body 20 years ago as an exercise and wellbeing tool for women who wanted to safely maintain their fitness during pregnancy and then get their pre-baby body back quick-lyly after birth. Now, Baby2Body has been revitalized – Baby2Body 2.0 if you will – into a comprehensive experience for new and nearly moms who want to feel their absolute best and look amazing throughout moth-
Q&A with Baby2Body
BIBB interviewed Melinda Nicci, CEO
and Founder
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erhood and have a healthy baby.
We strongly believe happy moms make for healthy babies, so we’re flipping the scales to put the focus on the mother – educating and empowering her to live happier and healthier every day. We’re changing the wayway mothers access the infor-mation and answers they are searching for – by delivering right to her inbox on the day she needs it most. Our daily emails for pregnant women, and weekly emails for new moms, contain relevant and ac-tionable tips personalized to her; rather than bombarding women with masses of infor-mation, we tell them exactly what they need to know, when they need to know it.
being led me to pursuing my Masters in Sports Psychology – and I’ve been driven by those principles throughout my professional life. I’ve served as a fitness and well-being expert for numerous lifestylelifestyle publications, I co-authored a pregnancy book for DK publishers, and I served for several years as Senior Director in Global Group Innovation for con-sumer healthcare at Philips in Amsterdam. I’ve taken the knowledge from these pro-fessional and personal life ex-periences and channeled it into this amazing entrepre-neurial venture that is Baby2Body.
We cover five buckets of con-tent that are most pertinent to a woman during motherhood: psychological wellbeing, physi-cal fitness, nutrition, look and beauty, and of course – her baby. Our content covers a woman’swoman’s motherhood journey from day one of pregnancy through birth and until her child is three years old. The in-formation is delivered in a timely format so that each woman gets the information she needs on the exact day, or week, she needs it. We follow a
very structured format in our content delivery, so mothers know just what to expect; we tell her the ‘what, why, and how ‘for each topic – so she can feel informed and empowered to live better.
I am a lifelong advocate of healthy living. I am a qualified fitness trainer specializing in pre and post-natal exercise, and a sports psychologist – and as I mentioned earlier, I began Baby2Body in 1994 solely as a service-basedservice-based business, offer-ing fitness classes for pregnant women and new mothers. My deep-rooted passion for fitness and its intersection with well-
It’s like jumping off a ledge and right into the deep end, and it’s very, very deep, and there are no life preservers, nothing to grab on to. But you do it because you believe in your business more than any-thingthing – you know it will suc-ceed and you know it will make a meaningful difference in the lives of millions of people. So, what’s it like to start a business? Terrifying. Thrilling. Nerve-wracking. Incredible. Exhausting. But ulti-mately, this business repre-sents everything I love, and that’s why I do it. I started with an idea that I believed in and was passionate about. I did my research, and then I did some more – and then I went out to find like-minded individuals who could see my vision as clearly as I did; and I’ve been lucky enough to find amazing people who have helped me get Baby2Body to where it is today. where it is today.
I want to change the world for the better. I want to help women live better from baby to body – and the promise of that is what motivates me. Through my own experiences and extensive amounts of marketmarket research – I have iden-tified a woman’s most press-ing concerns throughout
out pregnancy and beyond. Baby2Body is setting out to address those unmet needs, revitalize how content is deliv-ered to make it more meaning-ful and actionable, and ulti-mately redefine how women experience motherhood.
Spare time is hard to come by when you have a start-up, but it’s so crucial to make the most of what time for yourself you do have. My spare time is spent with my kids and close friends and family – talking, laughing andand eating delicious, healthy meals. Also, I always make time for exercise; it’s the magic cure after a bad day or a bad week – it refocuses me and allows me to step outside of the whirl-wind life of running a start-up.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT
Baby2Body
Melinda NicciFounder and CEO
You can check out our website at Baby2Body.com. There you’ll find links to our Acad-emy (launching soon!), Shop, and Blog – as well as every-thing you need to know about
what we do, why we do it, and how we do it.
baby2body.com
A mom of two, a Sport Psy-chologist and an innovator in the world of health tech-nology – her passion for healthy living is the heart of our company. On weekends you’ll find Mel catching the latest episode of Suits, taking her beagle – named Bagel – for a walk or going to her local Virgin Active and hopping on her person-al favourite – the Woodway Curve.
TTPM is a consumer product review website that stands for Toys, Tots, Pets & More.
The company launched in 2008 with written toy reviews, which then evolved into in-depth, comprehensive video reviews.
At the time, no one else was of-fering this resource and TTPM continues to seek new ways to help consumers make in-formed buying decisions.
While the company originated under the banner of Time to Play Magazine, not only was it a very cumbersome name, we felt it no longer represented what it is we do and the expan-sion of our business beyond children’schildren’s product reviews into baby and pets. Our main focus today is on serving the needs of our visitors—from Toys to Tots to Pets & More. TTPM is more representative of that.
TTPM is comprised of a sea-soned editorial team that re-
views thousands of products each year. Jim Silver, our CEO, is recognized as one of the preeminent experts in toys and play with more than 30 years working in toys and play that have provided him withwith an inside track for indus-try trends, news, and analysis. Chris Byrne, aka The Toy Guy, is our Content Director, is another 30-plus-year toy veteran who has held a vari-ety of positions covering marketing, media, operations, product development, and creative. He is regularly sourced by the investment community for insights into all aspects of the toy and chil-dren's products industries. I
Q&A withTTPMBIBB interviewed Bob Glaser, EVP/GM Toys & Baby Productsat TTPM
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serve as the EVP of Toys & Baby Products while Andy Krinner serves as EVP/GM Pet Products.
To clarify, TTPM is strictly a website, not a physical publi-cation. Although our parent company aNb Media does publish the b2b publications TFE (Toys & Family Enter-tainment) and TFE Licensing.
While TTPM’s primary audi-ence is today’s millennial moms, our audience has di-versified in more recent years thanks in part to our own di-versified content. Our video reviews are bringing younger viewers into the fold to help them craft their own wish lists to share with mom and dad.
TTPM Baby is attracting new mom with tips for first-time stroller buyers, checklists for baby gift registry, and more. And TTPM Pets offers con-tent for pet parents.
As mentioned, while the com-pany originally focused strict-ly on children’s products in-cluding toys, video games, electronics, etc.
We’ve since expanded into Baby Gear and Toys and Pet Products, including dog and cat toys and pet gear.
We have a diverse team of re-viewers, who range in age, background, and expertise to take on the thousands of prod-ucts that come through our doors every year.
It must be an exemplary prod-uct that will bring the user back over and over again. For toys, this might be something as simple as bringing a new inno-vation to a time-proven play pattern, while for baby gear.
One of the great things about play is that it is non-exclusive; all children play in different ways with different products. And for children with special needs, play can be especially beneficial to that child’s physi-calcal and mental development as well. In our product reviews, we strive to be as comprehen-sive as possible in examining all “fun” factors of a toy and how it can be beneficial to that child’s development—from fine motor skills to language development and more. ight be something as simple as bringing a new inno-vation to a time-proven play pattern, while for baby gear.
bringing a new innovation to a time-proven play pattern, while for baby gear.
Each month our team takes a look-back at the top trending products on our website and recaps the qualities that not only made the toys popular among our visitors but also our team of reviewers.
TTPM Live is a weekly toy trivia game show hosted on Twitter every Wednesday at 1 PM EST. The show is a fast-paced trivia game, in which players race each other to answer trivia questions based on the toys we’ve re-viewed to win prizes.viewed to win prizes.
Visitors can visit TTPM.com and click on the Giveaways section to learn more about each of our giveaways and contests—from our monthly and daily give-aways to our weekly web show The Playdate, the Showdown Sweeps,Sweeps, and more. All visitors need to do to enter is sign up for a TTPM account.
More and more shoppers are going mobile. With the TTPM
Shop for Kids app, which is available across all iOS devices, shoppers can get live pricing from major retailers to com-pare prices, then click-through to purchase. A great benefit is how our app can save consum-ers money. Right now our app caters to the Apple consumer, who is more apt to be mobile. Android usage is increasing but Apple is the clear choice among our visitors/users.
We offer a full spectrum of ad-vertising opportunities from traditional digital ads to video promotions on social media, wallpaper ads, and sponsored in-depth video reviews hosted
on our home page. We connect the consumer to the retailer seamlessly. We are a buying portal for today’s consumer and driving retail sales through our reviews.
TTPM.com is just a click away, but for those interested in
weekly inside scoops on what’s happening in the in-dustry, head to anbmedia.com to subscribe to our weekly news blasts and subscribe to our free b2b publications.
Up next on our agenda, all eyes will be turned toward the New York International Toy Fair in February, where our entire team will take to the show floor for meetings with toy manufac-turers and filming sneak-peaks andand exclusives for our audi-ence.
“We don't stop playing with toys because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing with toys!” - George Bernard Shaw
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There’s no doubt that becoming a parent chang-es a person. It’s not just the lack of sleep. There’s something deep within us that changes when we become responsible for the safety and raising of another life. Even though there’s plenty of infor-mation out there, it’s impossible to know every-
thing. We’re forced to figure out a lot along the way. We asked three mom business owners what they found most unexpected about being a parent. If you have more to add to the discus-sion, post to our Facebook page with the hashtag #BIBBBabble.
What was the most unexpectedpart about being a parent?
We asked three mom business owners about how their lives changed when they became parents. Learn what they have to say.
Tell us what you think
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BIBB BABBLE 75
“For my husband and I, as for many parents, the adventure of par-enting has had many unexpected twists and turns. The six years of infertility, followed by two unexpected pregnancies will always be a source of joyful nostalgia. But if I were to comment on what is fore-most on our minds as parents today, what we are most stunned about, is just how quickly this adventure we call parenting of our young children winds down. It seems like yesterday, when we drove our six-week ‘preemie’ It seems like yesterday, when we drove our six-week ‘preemie’ home from the hospital. The smallest car seat was far too big for her! Now she drives my son, who is sounding more and more like a man, to the store and is dreaming of college. We welcome this pen-sive melancholy though. We consider it an appropriate and wel-come chapter in a book well written and take great joy in knowing that we never took a moment for granted and enjoyed every unexpected surprise. ”
“When I became a parent, I didn't realize how much I would love that little person. I didn't realize I could function on one hour of sleep! I took on another role as a mother and I didn't realize it would bring me more happiness than I could ever imagine.”
“When I found out that I was pregnant, I envisioned he would sleep through the night without a problem. I imagined long walks, lunch trips with him and my friends, and dinner dates with him and my husband. I thought this mom thing would be a breeze!
When I met my little guy, my heart melted. We were lucky to expeWhen I met my little guy, my heart melted. We were lucky to expe-rience it again with my youngest son. They were pefect, but they didn’t sleep through the night, and long walks or dining out meant the inevitable dirty diaper or crying spell. I loved the sweet times, but the unexpected reality was simple - being a mom was hard!
My boys are older, but you still worry. Like any family, we have had our challenges. Someone once told me to be a parent, but raise your children to be people you like. My boys still melt my heart with their little ways! The beginning was nothing like I expected, but in the end, I'd have it no other way!”
What should your
Whether it’s a boy or girl (or twins!), there are tons of ideas out there for your baby shower theme. Not sure which theme to go with? Take this quiz to find out which is the best match for you!
a. Pretty in Pink or Little Boy Blueb. Baby animals – it looks like a zoo!c. Chevron, stripes or other patternd. Designer label paradise
a. Your spouse/partnerb. Your in-lawsc. Your mother/sister/auntd. Your best friend
a. Pottery Barn Kidsb. Babies ‘R Usc. buybuy Babyd. Luxury baby boutique
How is baby’s nurserydecorated?
Who is planning thebaby shower?
Where will you registerfor gifts?
baby shower
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QUIZWhat should your
Whether it’s a boy or girl (or twins!), there are tons of ideas out there for your baby shower theme. Not sure which theme to go with? Take this quiz to find out which is the best match for you!
You should have a nautical themed baby shower filled with underwater decorations for a laidback, beach vibe. This hip shower theme is modern and works for boys and girls. Instead of your typical baby shower, expect this to be more of a casual get together with friends and family.
Your baby shower should revolve around a cute baby animal theme. Maybe it matches your nursery! You can’t go wrong with this theme which will have party guests “oohing” and “ahhing” over the adorable décor. Expect to see lots of zebra stripes, cheetah print, and monkeys everywhere.
You like to stick with the classics so polka dots are your best bet. You can’t wait for all the baby shower games, party favors, and yummy cake pops that will be at your party. Maybe you’ll even do a surprise gender reveal at the end of the baby shower!
No one knows how to throw a party like you do and your baby shower will be the talk of the town! You want only the best for your baby (and that means the most expensive, luxury baby gear) and you’re starting with the baby shower. Guests can expect hand-deliv-ered custom invitations, a 5-tier cake, glittering deco-rations, and maybe even a red carpet.
a. Kelly Clarksonb. Jennifer Garnerc. Kate Middletond. Kim Kardashian
a. Candy barb. Cake and ice creamc. Cake popsd. Assortment of cupcakes
Which celebrity momdo you admire?
Mostly A’s: Anchors Aweigh
Mostly B’s: Jungle Safari
Mostly C’s: Classic Polka Dots
Mostly D’s: Glitz & Glamour
ANSWER KEY
What dessert do youwant at the party?
baby shower
theme be?
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