Luckily for me, I have a sister who threw a fabulous “sprinkle” for me and the newest member of our family.

Here are my 3 TIPS FOR PLANNING THE PERFECT BABY SHOWER OR “SPRINKLE”

1. Invite only the people you would truly enjoy spending time with.
Moms don’t get many weekend mornings or afternoons to hang out with girlfriends, so I wanted to make it count by not overwhelming myself having to chat with too many people. I wanted to be able to relax with my friends and enjoy the day.

2. Go for an easy, low-key menu.
I went for a brunch-style shower, breakfasty, food and sweets with the mimosas flowing, of course! (A tea party is another lovely idea if you’re into an afternoon celebration – tea sandwiches and scones a plenty.)

3. Don’t let the games interfere with the flow of the party.
You can have all sorts of shower fun with how having to stop the celebration to make diaper cakes – I wanted to have a more mellow guest-experience. A brilliant friend came up with the idea of writing wishes to the baby, and guessing what his name, birthdate, and weight would be. (I will admit that I did stop all the action open the gifts, because really – who doesn’t like to see teeny-tiny clothes and accessories?)

Finally:

Post-shower, don’t forget you need to organize your booty into returns, exchanges, and things to be washed and separated by size.

It’s a lot of work, but  if you’re in a nesty-mood like I am, you can tackle anything.

– Jessica

Wellness Village Pregnancy Support Gatherings, led by Dr. Alyssa Berlin, are weekly meetings that offer advice and insights to expectant Moms. Guest speakers run the gamut from OBs and doulas to nutritionists, chefs, Mom & Dad bloggers, and now us!

We’ll be talking about registry items and must-have baby products — and the must-nots, too.

It’s going to be a great, fun morning — and it’s only $10!

To RSVP on FACEBOOK — which automatically enters you into a weekly drawing to win a free prenatal massage — simply click here.

Three great “What To Expect” books — FREE!

When I was pregnant with my first, I did a LOT of homework. I read a LOT of childhood development books, I surfed a LOT of product review sites, I polled all of my friends for baby info … and it all started with me cracking open a copy of What to Expect When You’re Expecting, 4th Edition.

This book was a COMPLETE eye-opener. From indispensable pre-conception info to month-by-month breakdowns of baby’s development as well as the rock-and-roll adventure my own body was undertaking – ohhhhhh the GERD! Oooooohhhhh the hip pain! – What To Expect always had the answers I was looking for.

I’m a huge fan of this book – and I’m not the only one. The cover of the COMPLETELY NEW & REVISED copy we’re giving away this week claims it’s the #1 Bestselling Pregnancy Book, with over 16 million copies sold. This book is so popular they even made a movie of it.

I don’t think any pregnant person should be without it. And no pregnant-partner should be without it, either. If my husband had ever bothered to read it, we probably could have avoided the enormous fight we had when he claimed I was faking my morning sickness because it usually hit me at night. (It occurs to me now I should have thrown this book at him.)

So yes, you want this book.

AND THERE’S MORE!

(I’ve always wanted to say that. RIP, Billy Mays.)

Anyway:

Thanks to the folks over at What To Expect, not only are we giving away a copy of What To Expect When You’re Expecting – we’re bundling it with TWO MORE What To Expect books, too!

YOU COULD WIN:

• What to Expect When You’re Expecting, 4th Edition
  
• What to Expect Before You’re Expecting and
• What to Expect the First Year, Second Edition
  

JUST BY:

• Liking the MomciergeLA Facebook page

WITH EXTRA POINTS FOR:

• Following MomciergeLA on Twitter
• Tweeting about this giveway (up to once a day) and
• Following MomciergeLA on Pinterest

We’ll even make it super-easy for you – click through the GIVEAWAY WIDGET below, and GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last week, Jessica and I had the pleasure of attending Big City Mom’s “Biggest Baby Shower” event in Hollywood. We were there with The Pump Station and MomAngeles, meeting local parents (and parents-to-be) and getting a look at the newest products available for parents with small kids.

Biggest Baby Shower: You know it’s a party from the moment you arrive!

It was a great night.

The event was COMPLETELY sold out, and the hundreds of guests went home with HUGE swag bags and raffle prizes, offered by the vendors sponsoring the event. Seminars included panels featuring Corky Harvey, of The Pump Station, and our friend Lindsay Heller, The Nanny Doctor.

That said, it occurred to us that huge events like these can be a little overwhelming for expectant parents to navigate. With so many products on offer, it’s tough to make informed decisions about price, style, and above all: practicality.

So Jessica and I came up with MomciergeLA’s Top Tips for Attending Sponsored Events list:

1. Check that your entry fee is at least comparable in value to the swag, seminars, and raffle items on offers.
2. Check that you actually WANT the swag, seminars, or raffle items. Not all swag is created equal! Research the vendors before you buy a ticket – you don’t necessarily want to go home with a free stroller that might not fit your lifestyle.Who are the panelists? Do they offer expertise of true professional value?
3. Wear comfortable shoes and park as near to the venue as possible. You may be carrying a LOT of product home!
4. Pre-print small labels with your name, email, and address on them. With most vendors offering raffles, you have to enter all that info many many times over the course of an evening. Speed it up with stickers!

Our first “Only The Essentials” Class at The Pump Station & Nurtury Santa Monica

Last week, we debuted our “Only The Essentials” at The Pump Station and Nurtury in Santa Monica.

What a blast!

We pulled a TON of inventory from the store – reflecting the basic ESSENTIAL necessities we recommend for new parents — to share with our class attendees.

And wait: What’s that? STROLLERS? Did you notice STROLLERS in that photo?

We’re thrilled to announce that The Pump Station and Nurtury is going to start carrying a VERY CAREFULLY curated selection of strollers and car seats, all chosen to satisfy Wendy and Corky and MomciergeLA’s passion for providing new parents with the BEST in baby-safe and Mom-practical products.

But back to the class:

We set our displays around the basic events of every baby’s day – EAT, SLEEP, GET DRESSED, BATHE, TRAVEL.

As we moved from product to product, we talked about the benefits of each item, as well as the reasons we consider them ESSENTIALS, sharing knowledge from The Pump Station gurus, as well as our experience as moms of six – soon to be seven! – kids of our own.

And we laughed. A lot. The class was a great, casual, low-stress (we hope!) forum for  expectant parents to ask questions, and to debate the merits of other items they’d already registered for, or been gifted. Plus they got some cute little swag bags, and went home with BRAND NEW The Pump Station & Nurtury / MomciergeLA “Only The Essentials” Registry List, which is something special, if we do say so ourselves.

We had a great time sharing our knowledge, and getting to know our attendees, and we’re REALLY excited to be offering this class on a regular, monthly basis in both the Santa Monica and Hollywood stores.

Call your local store and sign up today!

Not local to LA? We also offer ONLINE REGISTRY REVIEW services. Learn more here.

Sarah’s over at Kristin’s Mommy Blog on 103.5 KOST FM today, talking about planning the perfect babymoon. It’s not rocket science, but still, if you’re a first time expectant parent, there are a few words of wisdom over there.

Plus, how else are you going to find out more about Naked House? Head on over there now.

Michele’s gorgeous nursery in Culver City.
That’s Jessica (27 weeks) & Michele (38 weeks), center.
Bottom right: Michele and Sarah assembling Michele’s Bloom Lounger.

We had a great morning over at Michele’s gorgeous apartment in Culver City today. We went over there to help her with Nursery Org & Turn-key Touches as a follow-up to the Registry Shopping Trip we took with her a few months ago.

Michele’s got great taste, as you can tell from the collage – her nursery was basically done, down to the great antiques and Etsy finds she’d styled in perfect vignettes all over the room. She didn’t need us for style advice. Michele’s got nesting down to an art, don’t you think?

All that nesting had kinda worn her out, though. As she put it:

This whole pregnancy has been decisions, decisions, decisions. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t even decide where to hang a hook.

Luckily, decisions happen to be our specialty. So we went over to her place to help with the final decision-making and organizing of the mountains of baby stuff she’d received at her THREE baby showers. (She’s adorable. You’d throw her a shower, too.)

Anyway, here’s a BEFORE  shot of all that shower swag:

Burp cloths and bibs and bottles, oh my!

And here’s what we did AFTER:

• We sorted through EVERYTHING she had and helped her decide what to keep, what to return, and what to exchange.
• We organized her dresser to make it the PERFECT changing station and dressing station for baby, since Michele’s amazing dresses and shoe collection are still in the nursery closet.
• And we came up with a lot of ideas to solve that problem!
• We pointed out what she still needed to make her nursery’s function match up to it’s amazing style: storage, storage, storage! Baskets baskets baskets! A LAUNDRY HAMPER!
• We built her great Bloom lounger.
  .

Wanna see how we did all this? Head over to our Pinterest boards for a closer look at Michele’s Nursery Org & Turn-Key Touches!

We are THRILLED to be featured on Stroller Traffic today! Head on over there to see the full story … it lays out our exciting partnership with the pre-eminent Mom Shop in LA, The Pump Station & Nurtury. We’re really happy to be teaming up with them after so many years of taking classes and shopping there ourselves!

Check out Jessica’s advice about coordinating holiday shopping for a large family on Mom.me today! 

why not temp fate with a acaption

The first thing you should know when shopping for a car seat is that you’re not really shopping for ONE carseat. You are shopping for TWO car seats, an infant car seat (aka “bucket seat,” for use with your infant) AND a convertible car seat (for when your kid gets too heavy/tall for the infant seat, which happens sometime between 9 – 18 months, depending on your kid).

So don’t get too crazy about buying the infant car seat with the most bells-and-whistles. This isn’t an investment buy.  You aren’t going to be using it that long, and honestly, even if you have other kids, most car seats are only rated for safe-use up to around 5 years anyway, so odds are you won’t be using your seat for more than two kids. Don’t go nuts with the research.

Buy the seat EVERYBODY buys: the Graco Snugride.

• It’s super easy to install with and without its base.
• Because it’s the industry leader, every other piece of baby gear out there that comes with a car seat adaptor will EASILY adapt to your Snugride.
• Graco offers TONS of colors and designs – there truly is a seat for every taste and most budgets.
• It comes in three sizes, so you can choose between the 22, the 30, and the 35. (The numbers refer to the weight limits each seat accommodates).

That said, I wouldn’t choose the 35. It is truly unlikely your kid is going to hit 35 pounds before he’s way outgrown the height limits on his infant seat. And honestly, you will stop wanting to haul your 35 pound child around in his carseat LONG before he’s 35 pounds, promise. By the time he’s somewhere closer to 20 pounds, you will throw in the towel on the bucket seat (so-called because you can snap it in and out of the car with ease, carrying baby undisturbed inside like you’re carrying him in a bucket) and move on to a great convertible seat like a Britax or a Radian.