Good To Go Baby Gifts

Some of you are in a warm climate, but where I live the weather is setting records for low temperatures and for the amount of snow.  I was just reading the pointers from the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management for travel over the holidays.  All of these apply to those of us who are in cold climates but some can apply to those of you in warm climates.

The article states:

     Watch out for others. 

     Slow down. 

     Move over when people are on the shoulder. 

     Pay attention to how you are driving. 

     Be aware of the vehicles around you.

The article says to plan ahead:

     Keep an eye on the weather and check travel conditions before hitting the road.

     Be prepared to change travel plans as weather conditions warrant.

     Call 511 or visit the website TravelUSA.com for road conditions.

     Travel during the day.

     Use highly traveled roads and highways.

     Keep family and friends informed of your travel schedule and path.

     Dress in layers and make sure you have a hat, gloves or mittens, and boots on you or in the car.  A monogrammed baby gift like a baby sweatsuit is ideal for a baby to wear, as things can be worn under it and a coat can be worn over it.  The hood can be snuggly tied over the head.

Take a survival kit:

     A cell phone that is fully charged.

     Blankets, water, nonperishable food, a flashlight with new or fully charged batteries, a distress flag, a shovel.

     Sand bags are helpful if you have a rear wheel drive vehicle.

You young mothers are having a time finishing up your shopping with all of this ice, snow, and cold.  According to the calendar, it is not winter until December 21 but “Old Man Winter” doesn’t care about calendars.

When it is below zero the news said to stay out only 10 minutes at a time.  I’m not sure that a baby’s skin can even stand 10 minutes.  I was out shoveling snow when it was 14 below zero and came in to warm up after 10 minutes.

Today the temperatures are 14 above here and I will see young mothers out with their babies before the snow and wind starts again.  They need to remember to cover the baby with a baby blanket like the monogrammed baby blanket.  They need to move along quickly when outside but not so quickly that they slip on the ice.  They need to make sure that they do NOT get stuck in the snow as a baby could not be in a cold car very long.  Stay safe and keep your baby safe!

Where I live the temperature is around zero or below zero every day and night.  It really is frightful for our little ones.  However, it is next to impossible to to keep them in at all times.  I went shopping today in a large discount store and I saw a young mother with her two children. 

First of all, she parked close to the shopping cart corral.  She put a shopping cart next to her car and put the children in the shopping cart.  She covered them with two baby blankets (not their faces) and went quickly into the store.  She happened to be coming out at the same time I was.  She parked the shopping cart right next to her car and put both children in their car seats and strapped them in.  She again covered them with a blanket (NOT their faces!), put the shopping cart in the corral (which was right by her car), and was on her way.

This smart mother got her errands run, kept her children safe, and kept her children warm.  She had been using the washable personalized baby blanket.  It is just the right size to wrap around them without being in the way.  It is so soft and so warm and so washable. 

I remember when I was little and when our children were little and we received a new robe for Christmas.  We loved the feel of it, because in December it is cold here.  It was a gift that didn’t have to be a perfect size.  The robe was always purchased to be a little big and then was worn for several years.  I remember seeing pictures of me in a robe when it was to the floor and then pictures where it was to my knees.

The same can go for a baby bath robe.  A little one can wear the robe for a long time.  It can be used after a bath when they are very little and then just as a comfy robe as they are toddling around.  With no buttons, they can put it on and off by themselves.  Of course, the monogrammed baby bathrobe feels like luxury as the washable terry cloth is so soft.

I have a young mother who is purchasing a personalized baby bag for each of her three pre-school children.  She is using them to put the clothing, bibs, diapers, food, etc. that she takes to daycare.  It will be so easy to pack them the night before and grab all three of the bags (and all three of the children) and head to daycare before she heads to work. 

Each child has his/her own personalized baby bag and they will know which one is their own!  Even at an early age the little ones want to claim their own things.  The young mother is putting their first names on the bags and they will be able to use the personalized baby bag for many years to come.

I got an e-mail from a mother asking me what a swarovski crystal was as I have a swarovski crystal baby bracelet on my website.  I had to research the internet to find a definite answer.

The definition given was “Swarovski Crystal was first created by Daniel Swarovski in 1892 and is manufactured in Austria.  It is not a natural crystal, rather it is a glass containing about 32% lead oxide and is cut into very precise and beautiful shapes.  Swarovski Crystal….has great cutting techniques and, therefore, many consider them to be the highest quality.

I knew the swarovski crystal looked beautiful, but now I know why.

Today it is very cold here where we live.  They say it is more like January weather.  I am getting out the heavier sweaters as we are going to need them.  Coincidentally, an article was in our local paper about using layers to keep our children warm when they are outside. 

The article mentioned the importance of wearing a hat that covers all the way down over the ear lobes.  Just using a hood will not do, but a hood could be put on over the hat for even more protection.  Kids lose a lot of heat through their heads (So do we.)

While wearing a coat,  the baby or child needs to keep the neck warm, according to this article.  Most children do not want the coat zipped up that high and most hate to have a scarf tied on them.  A good cure for this is to have a sweater underneath the coat that keeps the neck warm.  A roll neck monogrammed baby sweater fits the bill as the neck is high but not so high that it bothers the baby or child.  This monogrammed baby gift is an ideal gift for Christmas and can be given to a boy or girl.

The article goes on to state that a baby or child needs gloves or mittens.  At one time they thought that mittens were better than gloves because they kept the fingers together.  That is not the case anymore, but mittens for babies is still the best bet because they are easier to put on. 

The article says that the feet need to be covered with some kid of bootie, heavy sock, shoe, or boot.  Any of these will do if they are heavy enough.  A sock and boot or shoe is the best.  Loose decorative socks can be saved for a warmer day!

It’s also a good idea to wrap a baby blanket around the little ones when you carry them.  That extra layer keeps them warm. 

I’m like many of you today as I am doing my holiday shopping on the computer.  I’ve had several requests this morning for a monogrammed baby gift and I have them.  One is ordering the luxury monogrammed baby bath robe, one is ordering the ultimate monogrammed baby sweatsuit, and one is ordering the roll neck monogrammed baby sweater.  I have the orders processed and the items will be on their way soon. 

It’s fun for me to place orders to get moving on my own shopping and it is fun to help others out.  You busy mothers and grandmothers can just sit by the computer and place the orders.  I have ordered more items this year on the computer than any year previous.  I remember that in the year 2000 my goal was to order a gift on the computer.  We have all come a long way, haven’t we?

I couldn’t stop laughing today in the store.  One mother had her monogrammed burp cloth with her and was trying to catch the “burps” from her little baby while trying to wipe the face of the older one, who was eating a snack, with the other monogrammed burp cloth.  All I could think was, “thank goodness the personalized burp cloth comes in a package with two in it.”

I asked her if I could help her and she said that she does this all of the time.  She was glad that she received several baby gifts with the monogrammed burp cloth because they are constantly in the wash.  She was so relaxed when she shopped with her little ones.  She told them what she was buying and let them look at the item.  She went on her way just like she does every day!  What a good mom.  Whoops, I just saw another burp that she caught!

I just got an e-mail from a young mother (She e-mailed in the middle of the night.) who just had their fourth little girl.  She is so busy (We won’t even go into the economy aspect.) that she is afraid she won’t get her holiday shopping done and have a personal touch to it.  Her three older girls love the new little baby but she knows that they also feel that they don’t get very much individual personal time. 

She is ordering the three personalized baby bracelets that are all different.  The one year old is receiving the Sterling Silver My First Identity Bracelet.  The two year old will get the pink My First Swarovski Crystal Baby Bracelet since she loves everything pink and the three year old will receive the Percious Pearls Personalized Baby Bracelet.

All of the bracelets fit up to four years old but I talked to the jeweler in our town and he said he could add links to the bracelets to make them bigger as they grow.  I’m sure most jewelers would be able to do that.  The three little girls will receive a personalized gift this year and the mother didn’t have to even leave her home.  

The mother is going to sit with them individually when they open their personalized baby bracelets to show them that she is always thinking about them even though she is so busy.  They are going to be the first gifts they open so they can wear them over the holidays.