In the world of mommy bloggers, Naomi Davis is America’s sweetheart.  She authors Rockstar Diaries (recently named “BEST FAMILY BLOG 2012″ by Apartment Therapy’s Homies Awards) and is known to the masses for her impeccable style, adorable family, and documenting her days spent with her daughter, Eleanor.  She is 36 weeks pregnant with baby number two, a boy, and took some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions on the timely subject of Mother’s Day.  We are thrilled to feature her in our first totStuff interview!

This will be your second year celebrating Mom’s Day as the guest of honor (and last year celebrating as a Mom of one), have you established any traditions (i.e. breakfast in bed, brunch out, etc.) to mark the occasion? 

Photo by Candice Stringham

Last year, as Mother’s Day weekend began, my husband said to me, “I decided that for Mother’s Day this year, we should celebrate all weekend with what you love most…food!”  Which is so true! And that is exactly what we did. We hit up all of my favorite restaurants, which means we might have eaten pizza 3 times that weekend. I’m sort of hoping we do something like that again this year… and every year after? I love food.

-          What has been the most profound change that you have noticed in yourself since becoming a mother?   

I am amazed every day at the love I have discovered in these past 15 months which I never really knew existed. Becoming a mother opens your heart up in ways you never imagined.  It’s absolutely painful and scary, but also the most rewarding kind of love… Every day it just keeps on growing…

-          What are the qualities/traditions that you cherish about your own mother and that you want to pass on to your children? 

My mother is the most selfless woman I know. She is the mother of 5 children and selflessly sacrificed so much to be in the home and raise us children.  I know that at any given moment she’d do absolutely anything for me. I’m grateful for her example. I hope to pass that onto Eleanor.

-          Can you name two things about parenting that are more difficult than you anticipated and two things that have been easier?  

Well for starters, being selfless with my time, body, energy and attention (say hello to a breastfeeding baby that never took a bottle!)…that can certainly feel difficult at times.  It was also much harder than I thought to say goodbye to that precious thing called sleeping uninterrupted through the night.  But a few things that have been easier than I imagined, one is traveling with a baby- it’s not as scary or difficult as many make it out to be. I’ve also noticed that when my baby girl looks up at me and smiles, anything that was difficult or frustrating or stressful is completely cancelled out by that beautiful face. While motherhood is hard, hard work, she definitely makes life easier all around.

-          How are you preparing to become a mom the second time around?  How do you feel differently about your pregnancy this time vs. when you were pregnant with Eleanor? 

It’s a funny thing, but sometimes I feel like this pregnancy has flown by because I am so preoccupied with my little Eleanor each day.  During my first pregnancy with Eleanor, I read countless books on the topic, took detailed notes each week about how I was feeling, what Eleanor was up to and had “baby” on my brain 24/7.  It hasn’t exactly been like that this time around… So at about 20 weeks with this pregnancy, I realized that I would need to make a more deliberate effort during the remainder of my pregnancy to really enjoy it and not let it be overshadowed by the fact that I already have a little one here.  Each little kick is still so special, each ultrasound, each doctor appointment.  There will never be another time where my baby boy is with me at every moment like he is during these first 9 months. It’s a very special time to bond together and I’m thankful for it.

-          If you could offer one piece of advice for first-time mommas out there, what would it be? 

Trust your own motherly instincts. There are countless opinions and books and ideas out there on how to raise your baby. While many of them are helpful, at the end of the day, you know yourself and your baby best. Trust your instincts. Also, never leave home without a bleach pen!

New Baby Products are blooming this spring!

We’ve just returned from a few days in Vegas checking out all the new baby products for families. You wouldn’t think that Vegas would be the locale for everything baby, but everyone in the independent specialty baby industry descended upon it to check out the latest products.  We saw some of our favorite designers and met some new ones who are just launching their new baby products.

One of tottini’s favorite new lines is guavakids which we have actually been carrying since they launched last fall.

The founders Lili and Linsey are super fun smart moms who have been longtime friends of each other.  Since having children of their own they have also decided to go into business together creating guavakids.  The guavakids mitts have been a nice addition to tottini; we love the modern and soft fabrics along with the functionality of the mitt actually staying on babies tiny hands.  Be on the watch for other new exciting products from guavakids this fall.

Clek is one of our favorite brands as they have been pushing the envelope in design and safety for car seats.  This year they are launching their latest car seat, the foonf.

Built to Keep Your Child Rear-Facing Longer foonf is rated up to 45 lbs. when installed rear-facing and engineered to protect in side-impact collision.

The clek foonf car seat includes:

• Structural Headrest with Deep Side Wings
• Energy-Absorbing Foam Layers
• Rigid Sub-Structure – reinforced by a steel and magnesium sub-structure
• Anti-Rebound Bar – In rear-facing mode, Foonf’s anti-rebound bar improves stability

The Clek foonf will be arriving this July at tottini.  Pre-order your foonf now as once they are sold out, more will not be available until the fall.

The new Zen Swaddle blanket by Nested Bean has been designed to simulate the light touch of a parent on a baby while swaddling to create a gentle calming effect.

Manasi Gangan is the founder of Nested Bean and has done much research with  the mission “to design a safe, beautiful, easy-to-use and affordable product that would simulate the security of maternal touch.”

tottini is thrilled to be one of the select retailers who will have the Zen Swaddle blanket launching this summer 2012.

Spanish company babyhome is now launching several new baby products for the modern home in the U.S.

Each product has a simple design that is sleek and modern in style, from the materials of brushed aluminum to the high quality breathable fabric in fun colors we approve of at tottini.  We have been in need of a great, easy to use guard rail for toddlers transitioning to a twin bed for the first time.  Now with the babyhome Side product you can have a functional product that is easy to install and in a fun color like orange or lime green.  We also fell in love with their new Dream bassinet which is light weight, comes in the same fun colors and with its innovative adjustable leg system it allows you to change from stationary to a rocker to wheels that allow Dream to be easily moved around the house.

Along with the Side and Dream, babyhome has designed a beautiful high chair named Eat.  The Eat will be the perfect solution for many families as it is a super light weight high chair that will easily transition from kitchen to dining room to closet as it folds up to store out of the way when needed.  As with all the babyhome products the fabric is easy to wipe clean or can be removed to wash when a little extra cleaning is needed.

The added bonus to the babyhome products is that they won’t break the bank with everything priced between 79.99 – 199.99.  babyhome has just started shipping its product in the U.S and tottini will be one of the first retailers to have it on display.  Watch for it to be available online and in store by the end of May 2012.

SnoozeShade was started in the UK by a mum, Cara Sayer, who found she had a need for her little one  to be able to easily sleep on the go.  She needed a cover that was breathable, that wouldn’t fall off her stroller or car seat and created a darkened cocoon so that the baby could easily sleep.  Babies are easily stimulated by what is going on around them and she found that her baby might wake up to a sound but she would go back to sleep easier if her daughter wasn’t distracted by what she saw when they were out shopping or strolling.  Cara also wanted the fabric to include SPF to keep harmful rays off her sleeping child.

The new baby products by SnoozeShade, the Original Stroller and Car Seat SnoozeShades will be available at tottini soon.  Just in time to get outside and enjoy the sun.

Founders, designers, parents of ZoLi, Chet and Julianne, have been dear friends of tottini since we first found them at a similar new baby products show just a few short years ago.  ZoLi is committed to creating safe and non-toxic baby products.  It all started with just a couple key products, like the Zoli On the Go snack dispenser and has grown to have products across feeding and care accessories like their Nasal Aspirator and Buzz B nail trimmer.  We love their fresh modern style and appreciate that they are passionate about the sustainability of their products.  We look forward to seeing other new baby products by ZoLi and their continued success in the baby products industry!

The coolest idea for a bottle goes to the new company called Mixie.  A couple dads from Portland have created a bottle which you can prep before you leave home and mix once you are ready to use.  The Mixie has a separate compartment for formula at the bottom, which once you are ready to use, just release the valve and shake to mix.

You’ll be able to meet Mixie at tottini soon!

Checking out all the new baby products while in Las Vegas is fun, but can be a little tiring with all the walking and being inside air conditioned buildings for days on end without seeing the light of day.  So after the show was complete and before our flight took us back to the beautifully green and rainy Pacific Northwest, we sat by the pool to enjoy a few moments of sun ourselves – with plenty of sunscreen to protect our pale Seattle skins!

tottini is always on the lookout for modern new baby products, so be sure to watch our Newest Arrivals section of our website for updates.

Inspired by Earth Day, expectant mom Tara Vorhes of the blog In This Instance discusses the ins and
outs of cloth diapering.

Blogger and Mom-to-be Tara Vorhes

From the day that you find out you are pregnant, there are a lot of decisions to be made.  Which car seat, bassinet, crib, or co-sleep during those early days, and if you are going to try baby wearing, which carrier or perhaps a sling are just a couple of the decisions that you find yourself dwelling over.  Another decision you might find yourself pondering is whether to use cloth diapers.

Cloth diapers all but left the modern family’s baby scene for a while but in recent years have been making a big comeback.   There are a lot of positives for cloth diapers and, lucky for us, they are a lot more user friendly than the cloth diapers of our parent’s generation.  Early in my pregnancy we decided on going the cloth diaper route.

For me, the positives simply outweighed any negative that I could come up with, but as with most parenting decisions, it helps when you are both on board with the choice.  Cloth diapers sound like a lot of work, and juggling both of our careers in addition to being first times parents’ makes convenience sound pretty nice.  There were a couple of factors we discussed which helped my husband commit to using cloth.

Leaving a smaller footprint.

Enter below to win this Cocalo Starter Set!

Reduce our baby’s exposure to chemicals.  When I read about the chemicals that are in disposable diapers it made them not worth the convenience.  Even many of the eco-friendly disposables contain traces of some chemicals.  The natural fibers of a cloth diaper were a clear winner for us.

Easier on the budget.  Let’s be honest, expenses for the baby add up rather quickly!  Cloth diapers will cost more upfront, but over the years a baby is in diapers will be significantly less than disposables.  It is estimated at thousands of dollars saved by using cloth!  And this is a cost savings that doesn’t hinder quality.  We can reallocate that cost savings to start the little one’s college fund!

Aren’t they extra work?  Cloth diapers get the reputation of being a lot of extra work which is less than ideal for busy, new parents that are sleep deprived as it is.  When we thought about it, the trip to the trash will take about as much time as it takes to start and change a load of wash.  The modern cloth diaper is also much easier to use than those from a couple decades ago, from all-in-ones to pocket diapers, they make changing a cloth diaper a snap.  Plus, you can save yourself those extra trips to the store to pick up diapers.

Cloth diapers are cute.  As an added bonus, there are some seriously cute cloth diapers out there!  How can you resist those tiny cute covers for their little bottoms!?

After our discussions about the positives related to cloth diapers, we were both on board with cloth diapering being the right direction for us.  Now I get to build up a stash of cute cloth diapers!  But oh my, there a lot of options and different types to select!

Here is what I found to be the popular types of cloth diapers:

Prefolds – Flat cloth diaper with absorbent padding.  These are inexpensive, are usually one-size fits all, and are multi-taskers, doing double duty as an extra layer in pockets or all-in-ones, a burp cloth, or even a dust rag once diaper duty is done.  You do need to use a cover, fold them to fit, and use pins or snappies to fasten them for preventing leaks.

Fitteds – These diapers resemble a disposable and are made of a variety of super absorbent and breathable fabrics.  They are very easy to use as they snap together, but they are not waterproof so do require a diaper cover.  Thirsties, Kissaluvs, Bummis, and BabyKicks have fitteds.

Diaper covers – These are the waterproof layer that wrap around the prefold on your baby and secure by snaps or Velcro.  Covers can be used a couple of times between washing if they are air dried between use.  Cocalo, Thirsties, and Bummis have diaper covers.

All-in-ones – These diapers are basically just like disposables but you wash and reuse them.  They are super convenient and easy to use, but are also the most expensive option.  GroVia, bumGenius, Kissaluvs, Rumparoos, and Swaddlebees have all-in-one diapers.

Pockets – These diapers have an opening in the cover for an insert or a prefold diaper which help to add absorbency.  Pockets have a reputation for being convenient and fast drying, but do require the cover to be washed after every use. bumGenius, BabyKicks, Bummis, and FuzziBunz both have pocket styles.

Hybrids – These diapers include a cloth diaper cover that is used with an insert, either a cloth insert or a biodegradable insert.  The main difference from a pocket diaper is that with a hybrid you put the liner between the cover and the baby for quick changing.  gDiapers, Cocalo, and GroVia have hybrid diapers.

And here are the major diaper accessories that you will hear about when looking at cloth diapers:

Snappies – A “y” shaped fastener used with prefolds and flat cloth diapers to help prevent from sticking yourself with a diaper pin.  They have little, grippy “teeth” that grasp the cloth.

Diaper sprayers – A sprayer that attaches to your toilet for easy diaper clean up.

Liners – Washable or flushable liners are a way to make diaper clean up easier and add absorbency.

Wet bags – A waterproof diaper bag that can be used when on the go or at home as they come in different sizes.  Wash with your diapers.  Try the Itzy Ritzy wetbags

Cloth diaper wipes – To be even more earth-friendly and economical you can use washable and reusable flannel cloth wipes.  Just toss them in the wash with your diapers.  Prince Lionheart Wipes Set made from bamboo.

{gdiapers in glacial blue, Cocalo ruffle diaper, Cocalo navy tile,  gdiapers in guppy green}

We are planning to start out with prefolds with diaper covers and all-in-ones.  The all-in-ones sound perfect for late night diaper changes and for quick changes when out doing errands.  By mixing in the prefolds with covers during the day we can hopefully keep some of the economical benefits in play.

How many should a well-stocked diaper stash include?  In my reading, I have found the suggestion to have enough diapers for 8-12 diaper changes a day for an infant.  So “how many” will depend on what type of diaper you plan on using, but roughly you will want around 24 cloth diapers so that you can do laundry every other day.  Since we are doing prefolds with covers, we will get about two dozen prefolds, six covers, and four to six all-in-ones.

Different brands have different fits, so my plan is to start with a few different brands and see what works for our little one.  So far we have selected Thirsties, Lil Joeys by Rumparoos, Kissa’s, and Bummis for the covers and all-in-ones and Real Nappies for the prefolds.  When it is time to move up a size, we can focus on the brands and types that work best for our family.

With Earth Day coming up, it is a natural time to think about how environmentally friendly our lifestyles are and what condition will we leave our planet for future generations.  Diapers are one place that we can make a big difference in minimizing our footprints as parents.  It is something to think about.  As I look ahead to bringing my baby home from the hospital, I can’t wait to share this beautiful planet with them and to teach them about leaving as small a footprint as possible in their life adventures.

Additional resources on cloth diapers:

Cloth Diapers: Cloth Diapers 101

The Great Cloth Diaper Change

The Real Diaper Association and Real Diaper Association Diaper Facts

Sage Diaper: Your Environment

Tara Vorhes is a corporate marketer by day and amateur photographer by night.  She lives in Chicago with her husband and two rescue dogs; their first baby is estimated to join the family in July.   Tara enjoys exploring new places, trying new foods, being outdoors, a good book, and finding the beauty in the simple and everyday moments.  She shares her adventures and photography on In This Instance.

Tell us what diapers you have chosen to use for your baby to be

entered to win the Cocalo Save the Planet Starter Set.

Update on Winner for the Cocalo Cloth Diaper Starter Set – May 1, 2012:

The tottini winner is Kat who was the 3rd person to comment on our blog post.  Congratulations to Kat!

Receive a FREE lullaby earth mattress with your purchase of two Nursery Furniture items ($160 Savings).

Purchase any two of the following nursery items to receive your free mattress:  Crib, Changing Table, Dresser, Rocker or Glider

or

Purchase any Crib and Receive your lullaby earth Mattress at 50% off

Offer Valid now through the end of April

When you purchase an orbit baby Stroller Travel System G2 from April 2 – 30, 2012.

tottini is happy to partner with Orbit Baby and ERGObaby, makers of ergonomic and versatile baby carriers.

To receive your free ERGObaby carrier:

• Purchase an Orbit Baby Stroller G2 in store from tottini, between April 2 and April 30, 2012.
• Receive your free ERGObaby carrier from tottini.  Available while supplies last, in the following styles only:  

Original: Black/Camel | Camel/Camel | Cranberry | Galaxy Grey | Mystic Purple | Organic Desert Bloom

Purchase your Orbit Stroller before the end of April to receive your free ERGObaby Carrier.

Why date? I’m already married or in a committed long-term relationship

PHOTO BY DIONE

As the mother of four little girls, four years old and younger, my average day looks something like this:

I am sitting on a stool in my kitchen holding my nursing baby with one arm, eating lunch with my free hand, all while singing a duet of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” (and pretty much any other song I can think of to keep my potty-training-2-year-old on the potty in the distant bathroom until I am free to come help her). In that same moment, I realize I needed to pick up my 4-year-old twins from preschool five minutes ago. GIRL, I so need a date night! I need some time to remember that both my husband and I have these other sides to us, sides that hold intelligent conversations and exist outside of our bottom-wiping, dinner-cooking, laundry-folding everyday existence.

As the daughter of a psychologist (who specializes in marriage and family), my head is filled with an array of statistics and little known facts about keeping your “love alive.” For example, the three reasons couples get married are; they talk like friends; they want to be exclusively intimate; and they have FUN together. It is so easy to overlook the last one when you’re mired down with a house to maintain, children to tend, and jobs to work. The list is endless! But if you take a moment to think about pre-marriage days with your partner, the time you spent together more than likely revolved around having fun together. This is one of the reasons you decide to spend the rest of your lives together. A regular date night is a great way to make time to recapture this part of your relationship after children join the family.

Whether you have four kids (like me) or just one, successful date nights require some preparation and planning. The key factor for making it happen for us, was putting it in the budget. Previous to planning dates into our finances, I would feel guilty about spending money on “fun” when the vacuum had just broken, or the dog needed more flea and tick medication. Now as soon as we are paid (monthly), we draw a set amount of cash, write ENTERTAINMENT big and bold on the envelope, and proceed to think of creative ways to spend it out on the town together.

Another critical element is a selection of babysitters. Truth be told, we have a FAVORITE babysitter, but have learned that we need more options than just our favorite because she has a life too and may not always be available when we need her. We force ourselves to spread out the care of our children over a handful of trusted caregivers, so our kids are familiar with more than one person. This translates to less drama when we head out the door. Since we live in the same town as my parents and the girls’ godparents, we also
have some free babysitting options, which we try not to overuse.

We’ve also learned that what we choose to do is important. Women generally connect through conversation and sharing information, while men generally bond through participating in shared activities. To have one of those really great dates, you need to make sure there is a bit of both (conversation and activity). If you want to really come out of your date with some increased connection with one another, try doing something that gets your blood pumping. A well-known study by Dutton and Aron (1974), showed that men who first did something that got their heart racing (in this case crossing a scary bridge), were even more attracted to an beautiful woman on the other side. So try some rock-climbing, rollercoaster riding, or zip-lines followed by a candlelight dinner to have one of those nights to remember.

Sky diving on a Friday night doesn’t always fit well into our four-hour date night window. We try to mix it up and keep it interesting by varying our activities and are always on the look out for new things to do that we have yet to try. Some of our favorites are a monthly Art Walk, one-hour cooking classes that include dinner with time for drinks at a second location, dinner parties with friends in our home (the activity is cooking the food together before our guests arrive), running a 5K race, a local beer-tasting event, an indie movie at our favorite little theater, eating crazy ethnic food we can’t pronounce, or dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant with dessert at a cozy place by the fireplace. This summer we want to rent a canoe and have a picnic. It is important to think about your shared interests and start brainstorming some ways to have FUN together. Every area has unique offerings. My town offers a “Mystery Date Night” program we still need to try. Check out local publications for upcoming events and start planning.

On really good dates, Alex and I have these precious moments where we realize we are talking like friends again. We haven’t mentioned who needs to do what for which child in for least 20 minutes. We actually talk about some hopes and dreams for the future and daydream about what exciting things may be in store for us in the next ten years. It takes us some serious down time to get to this place, but every time we do it feels amazing.

-Miriam Green

Miriam Green lives in a “house of estrogen” in the Midwest with her husband and their four little girls, where even the dog is female.  She is a licensed clinical social worker and graphic designer.  In her “spare” time she enjoys stalking Craigslist for deals on retro furniture, experimenting with new vegan recipes and trolling interior design blogs for inspiration to re-arrange her furniture yet again.

tottini:  Thanks for checking out our new blog series totStuff!  Please use the discount code “totstuff” for 10% off anytime during the month of March 2012.

tottini:  Less is More

I find “less is more” one of the more irritating (and often nonsensical) phrases, especially when it comes to children because let’s be honest, kids need A LOT of stuff. And yet, here I stand (er, sit, with one sleeping baby attached to my body and one sleeping baby in her bouncer at my feet) with my third and fourth children reevaluating my stance on minimalism when it comes to infant requirements.  With my son, Archer, I thought I needed EVERYTHING! Diaper pails and wipe warmers and lap pads, oh my!

With my daughter, Fable, I thought I needed ALMOST EVERYTHING: Diaper pails and wipe warmers and lap pads, never again! And now, with baby three and four, I’ve convinced myself that there are actually very few things one really, truly needs.

Truth be told, there are plenty of places to cut back as you shop and/or register for baby items. This in turn allows you to splurge on the important items while cutting back on the things you won’t miss, quality over quantity style.

Cut: Changing Table

Splurge: Crib

Changing tables, especially new ones, are expensive unless you’re opting for a cheaper model, which in my experience lasts about four months before breaking down.  This time around we bought a massive dresser found for $180 at the local swap meet and a curved changing pad (belted) so we could use the dresser for storage and the top for diapering. This way, once the girls grow out of needing a changing table they have a great dresser that we can hold onto indefinitely.

Cribs, on the other hand, are best bought new, mainly because safety standards change so quickly. For instance, Archer’s crib is apparently illegal (it has drop sides) so recycling his crib was out.

Investing in a high quality crib (I recommend the kind that double as toddler beds, more bang for your buck) is something you won’t regret, and now that you’ve saved money by not buying a changing table, you can invest in something sleek and modern. Hooray!

Some of my favorites:

Oeuf Sparrow:

babyletto Mercer Crib:

bloom Papa Crib:

Cut: Fancy Bedding.

Splurge: Crib Mattress

Crib bedding can be way expensive. Hundreds of dollars expensive. I splurged on bedding in the past but this time around chose to splurge on mattresses instead. Naturepedic makes (according to my research) the best mattress on the market. Organic, non-toxic, naturally derived sleepy-goodness.

Cut: Diaper Pail & Liners

Splurge: Baby Carrier

If you’ve already chosen cloth diapers (gDiapers come highly recommended!) you’re already ahead of me but if you do plan to diaper disposables, one of the few pro tips I can offer is to can the diaper pail. I registered for a diaper pail with my first child but after several months of use found it easier (and a lot more sanitary) to use disposable diaper bags  (biodegradable) and take all poopy diapers straight out to the trash… outside. Where they aren’t sitting next to a sleeping baby.

On the flip, I couldn’t survive without my trusty baby carriers and recommend every new mom purchase at least one. (I like to mix it up a bit in the baby-wearing department. I’m just crazy like that.)

My two favorites:

Ergo:

Baby Bjorn:

Cut: Infant Stroller System

Splurge: Car seats

When my son, Archer was a baby I had one of those humongous Graco travel systems, assuming it was the most practical way to roll around on the town. HA!  Now I know better. A universal carrier like the Safety 1st Clic it! is by far my #1 recommendation to new parents.

One, they’re cheap.

Two, they’re convenient.

Three, after six-months, you can upgrade to something more compact like an umbrella stroller.  See: Maclaren

And with all those hundreds of dollars saved, you can splurge on a plush car seat from either Chicco or Maxi-Cosi:

What are some of your “cut” versus “splurge” items? What couldn’t you live without as a new mom and alternately, what are some baby items you find most nonsensical when it comes to furnishing not only a nursery, but a newborn’s life?

We’d love to hear from you!  Leave a comment on this blog post about your must have nursery item to be entered to win a $100 tottini gift certificate!    Winner to be randomly selected on March 12th. 

Also, shop now through the end of March and receive 10% off your order with the coupon code “totstuff” (some brand restrictions do apply).

XO,

Rebecca Woolf & tottini

Rebecca Woolf of Girl’s Gone Child has been featured in the The New York Times, Time Magazine, Huffington Post, Angeleno and NPR, was recently named Blog of the Year by Babble.com and was a finalist for Lifetime Achievement in the 2011 Bloggies.

Added by tottini on March 12, 2012:

Thanks to everyone for commenting on your must have nursery items! 

The winner has been selected using www.random.org and Bonnie with entry #11 is the winner of a $100 tottini gift certificate.  Thanks to everyone for entering, please follow our totStuff blog for future guest bloggers and specials.

Today we are excited to announce our new parenting blog series, appropriately named by Rebecca Woolf of Girl’s Gone Child, tot Stuff!

tot Stuff will introduce you to bloggers from around the country, here they will give practical advice for families navigating infant and toddlerhood.  Each month we will have a different guest blogger discuss issues that we get asked by parents at tottini on a regular basis.  Our first tot Stuff guest blogger will be Rebecca Woolf this Monday, March 5th - don’t miss it as there will be a giveaway and tottini discount with her posting.

We founded tottini in Seattle in 2006 with a desire to offer modern nursery and children’s furniture and other products that we could only find online at the time.  It doesn’t seem long ago that we opened, but the other day we realized when we did open we both had children that were under the age of two!  We were fortunate enough to stay home with our kids prior to opening the store.  This turned out to be an asset in running the business as we had numerous customers that were new or expectant parents asking us for advice.   Along the way we became a very important part of our customers’ support network, this came with LOTS of questions about parenting and raising a family.  We realized that advice is a tricky thing since we both had very different children and different experiences – Melissa M had two rambunctious boys, and Melissa VF had a very precocious girl.  Now both our youngest kids are seven years old, and raising a newborn and even a toddler seems like a world ago.  So… we decided to tap into the minds of some great moms and dads across the country and have them share their experiences and offer practical advice (we use that term loosely!) on parenting and relationships.  Our goal is for our blog to support a variety of parental needs and questions; and to simply help new parents and parents entering different phases of child-rearing realize they are not alone on this crazy ride.  And by “crazy” we mean rewarding, frustrating, tiresome, joyous, and especially loving.  You get the picture…

tot Stuff will be documenting the universal highs and lows of parenting infants and toddlers.  Follow our blog to watch for tot Stuff postings and special offers!

iconic prints on their signature Skip Hop diaper bags and must-have accessories!

We have loved everything from Jonathan Adler for our homes and we are now in love with the new

fabric designs by Jonathan Adler for the Skip Hop Dash, Duo and Pronto diaper bags. 

From the geometric Nixon to the groovy Wave Multi, there’s a style for every mom.

The Jonathan Adler for Skip Hop Duo and Dash diaper bags include Adler’s groovy patterns,

plus a special coordinating laminated zip case and changing pad.

Each of the Jonathan Adler for Skip Hop diaper bags are now available at tottini.