Best Loved Baby.com

We all had a great time at the ABC expo in Las Vegas. We looked at and got to try so many new or just ”new to us” products. Since our second Best Loved Baby location will be opening in just a month in a birthing inn in Port Orchard Washington we thought now would be a great time to bring in a line or two of nursing bras. I am excited to announce that we should have Bravado! Designs nursing bras and tanks in stock in just two weeks.

 I LOVE my Body Silk Seamless Nursing Bra. It’s the only bra I wore while nursing my last baby and to be quite honest I wear it all the time now. It’s super comfortable. I love the removable molded foam pads. I absolutely hate it when my nursing pads(or worse, nipples) show through my bra. This bra solves that problem while maintaining it’s comfortable functionality. Bravado! is wonderful.

We are in the process of checking out a couple other brands of nursing bras and tanks. So stay tuned. We hope to bring in another line or two in coming months. We like to thoroughly test products ourselves first so we can confidently recommend them to our customers.

If you’re new to the world of cloth diapering you might be feeling a little overwhelmed. There are so many different styles, options, and cool new innovations out there. How will you ever know which ones are right for you?

All diapers have to be closed some way. Whether it’s a prefold with a Snappi, or a fitted or AIO with either snaps or hook and loop. Today I wanted to talk a little about the pros and cons of these two types of closures.

Hook and loop tape has changed the world of cloth diapering. Instead of those urban legends and scary stories we’ve all heard about the babysitter and diaper pins a cloth diaper can now be used without fear of injury. Hook and loop is extremely quick to use and offers unlimited adjustability. I know quite often dads and babysitters are a little less fearful to try a diaper with this kind of closure. There are a few drawbacks though. Over time hook and loop tends to collect lint and debris which lessens it’s “stickability”. You also need to make sure to secure hook and loop to it’s fold back tabs before washing or you’ll end up with a huge wad of diapers all stuck together. Not a fun mess to undo. For me the biggest drawback is it’s ease of use. That doesn’t make sense, you say. Well if it’s quick and easy for me to take on and off it’s also quick and easy for my eighteen month old to take on and off. Indeed my little guy is often found with bare buns these days, proud of his accomplishment.

Some of my favorite diapers and covers with hook and loop are of course the BumGenius 3.0 and pretty much everything that Thirsties makes.

Snaps are put to good use on cloth diapers. They are the key ingredient used to make most one-size diapers, one size. Snaps are extremely durable. In my personal use I find that snap diapers and covers tend to last a little longer than their hook and loop counterparts. Snaps sometimes can pose a problem for those lacking dexterity and for those suffering with arthritis in their hands as they do require a little pressure to secure. They are also a little more difficult for busy toddlers to remove on their own. Which for me is a huge plus.

Some of my favorite snap diapers are Kissaluvs, and the new BumGenius Organic One-Size with snaps. Also Knickernappies makes a great snap diaper and have just come out with a one-size pocket diaper that I am in LOVE with. We should be getting those in soon.

On a side note, all of us Best Loved Baby gals are headed to Las Vegas in a couple of weeks for ABC Kids Expo. We’re excited to see all the new products out there. In the coming months we hope to bring some new things into the shop. Stay tuned.

Bronwyn Judd

Save Handmade Toys From the CPSIA
Are you aware that Congress has passed legislation (HR4040) that threatens the existence of handmade natural children’s items?  Because of the plethora of toxic Chinese imports that made it into the hands of our children, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008.  Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and update their molds to include batch labels.

Congress simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public’s trust. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade toys will no longer be legal in the US.  Thriving small businesses are crucial to the financial health of our nation. Let’s amend the CPSIA so that all businesses large and small are able to comply and survive! Please visit the handmadetoyalliance.org and let your voice be heard!

We are slowly getting everything up and running on our new site. We just opened our new store as well and are so excited for all the extra space, a classroom area, and all the parking. We will be adding more products in the next couple weeks so check back to see what will be up and coming at Best Loved Baby. In the mean time you can contact us over the phone with any questions or stop by our store if you are in the neighborhood and would like a hands on look at some of our products! If you would like to leave us any notes or give us feedback, you can leave a comment here. Please give us another couple weeks to work out the kinks, but if you see anything, you can let us know!! Thanks!! Also, we are delighted to introduce some of our best loved babies!!

Here is little Parley!

Here is little Ephraim!

Here is little Finn!

More soon to come… please stay tuned!