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Spring Cleaning: Tot Squad

Imagine if there were a company who would take apart your baby gear, clean it all, and reassemble it spick and span, shiny and new…? Well, we are here to tell you, your dreams have come true with Tot Squad! Tot Squad is a mobile service that offers baby gear cleaning, car seat installations and stroller repairs at different retail locations daily in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City and Washington DC; they also make house calls.

Tot Squad has traversed the globe seeking the best, non-toxic, baby-safe and mom-approved cleaning products around. Their sanitizing, but baby-safe cleaning process uses high powered vacuums, eco-friendly cleaning products from the Honest Company, commercial steamers and lots of elbow grease. They offer 4 cleaning packages to turn baby gear from dirty to divine. Tot Squad was founded by Jennifer Beall Saxton in 2010. She was inspired to start a business to help busy Millennial parents looking for work-life balance solutions.

Tot Squad has some Spring Cleaning tips to share with us:

If there is something especially dirty or stained with grease, my “go to” is blue Dawn dish soap combined with a lot of elbow grease. I like to scrub with a toothbrush which is thorough, yet gentle.
Most fabrics or cloth items should have a tag with the manufacturer’s washing instructions. If it doesn’t have a tag, spot cleaning with a mild detergent is the safest way to proceed. You can also launder many items on your washing machine’s gentle setting and hang them to dry.
With items where safety is a factor, I always recommend going to a professional. Taking apart and putting back together a car seat with all those parts and straps can be daunting, for example. The Tot Squad has been my go to cleaning service for every baby item I’ve passed along to friends and family. I also like to have them clean things before I pack them away. This helps prevent stains that show up over time (such as baby spit-up and breast milk) from later popping up.

You can find Tot Squad on their website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Spring Cleaning Baby Must-Haves

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It’s the first week of Spring and we will be honest: we thought it would never come. Though the “spring forward” time change can be challenging for parents, the sunny longer days to spend outside with your babe are welcome. Spring is also the season for cleaning, of course. When you become a parent, you’ll see that the amount of cleaning you have to do is directly proportionate to the age of your baby. Newborns not so much but by the time your child is a toddler, get ready for sticky finger prints, artwork in every crevice of your home and just general messes. Don’t be scared though – we are listing some of our favorite Spring Cleaning practical finds here:

Lorena Canals Machine Washable Rugs and Cushions

It’s no secret that Gugu Guru loves Lorena Canals‘ gorgeous, eco-friendly and totally MACHINE WASHABLE rugs and cushions. They’re available in a plethora of styles and colors to complement any decor but our favorite thing about these rugs hands-down is that from sippy cups spills to muddy prints and more, you can just throw Lorena Canals rugs and cushions in the washing machine for a spin and they’ll be good as new.

Lorena Canals products are super versatile for your wedding registry AND your baby registry. Our founder, Monica, explains why here:

Be sure to check out Lorena Canals’s new styles for Spring 2017.

Venta Airwasher 2-in-1 Humidifier & Air Purifier

We’ve talked about how the Venta Airwasher is great for sleep but it is also an essential for all around the year cleaning. The Airwasher humidifies dry room air while simultaneously purifying it by removing dust, pollen, pet dander, and other allergens. Clean air makes not only for better sleep but also a happy, healthy home.

UviCube

UviCube eliminates 99.9% of harmful bacteria on surfaces exposed to UV light so you can conveniently sanitize toys, mobile phones, remote controls, electronics and more. It also pulls double duty as storage, which is key for keeping an organized home. With the UviCube, you can dry and store baby bottles, pacifiers, cups and utensils in one convenient place.

Molly’s Suds

For baby’s laundry, we are huge fans of Molly’s Suds. Molly’s Suds offers Laundry Powder and other household products that are truly safe for humans. The company uses the purest of ingredients to formulate products without carcinogens or known human toxins.

Ubbi Diaper Pails

Spring Cleaning involves the sense of smell too – you want your home smelling fresh. That can often be no minor feat when you have a little one in your home. We find that Ubbi Diaper Pails are a preemptive strike against unwanted smells; they’re constructed with powder coated steel and rubber seals to lock odors in.

Baby Food Cubes With Nikki Dinki

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The wonderful chef, TV star, cookbook author and mama, Nikki Dinki, is back to share some baby food tips with us!

I’m a chef who loves her veggies—you will always find veggies as the entrée portion of my plate. In fact, my cookbook is titled Meat On The Side, and it’s all about vegetable-focused cooking.

However I didn’t always love my veggies. I didn’t even like my veggies. This might sound like an exaggeration, but I actually didn’t even eat a single veggie until I was 20 years old. Fittingly, I spent most of my life infamously known as “Picky Nikki”, a name my sister still teases me with.

So when it came to my daughter, Ivy, I wanted to make her own food as nutritious as possible, and at the same time empower her to hopefully never be called “Picky Ivy.”

In order to do this, I knew making my own baby food would be a step in the right direction. But with time flying faster than ever I didn’t want making my own baby food to be something that took over my life.

So after some thought and experimentation, I devised my Baby Cubes system.

Baby Cubes works like this: I freeze 1 ounce portions of different pureed fruits and veggies, such as broccoli, apples, or carrots. I also freeze 1 ounce portions of other healthy grains and proteins like oats, quinoa, edamame or ground chicken. Then when it’s time for Ivy to eat a nutritious meal, I combine four different cubes to create a perfectly balanced meal.

And because everything is frozen, I can vary the foods that are part of every meal. This means that at the end of the day, Ivy has not just eaten her veggies, but she’s eaten a variety of veggies—which is something I am always preaching as a chef and is key for Baby’s nutrition.

And speaking of Mommy, I have gotten into the habit of “stealing” her cubes to add nutrition and flavor to leftovers or store-bought meals of my own.

They also make for great smoothies! May I recommend combining a cube each of mango, raspberries, spinach and quinoa with a little yogurt? Yum!

Besides providing Ivy with great nutrition I love my Baby Cubes system because it allows you to make baby food only once a month. I do big batches and then freeze it all. Because I’m storing the food in the freezer instead of the fridge I don’t have to worry about the food going bad or the nutritional content slowly depleting as much over time.

Pictured: the BBox Snack Pack

And let’s all take a step back and remember that you don’t have to do it all. Seriously, moms need to give themselves a break. You don’t have to feed your baby homemade food at every meal, serving up some Baby Cubes for even just one meal a day is awesome! Or maybe start small by just freezing cubes of fruit to mix into their yogurt.

Whatever you can do is fantastic and another step in the right direction when it comes to helping your baby grow strong and healthy—and not having the word “Picky” attached to his or her name.

You can follow Nikki’s food adventures on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Making Mama’s Life Easier With BabyBjorn’s Bouncer Bliss

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We are so excited to announce that BabyBjorn, the Swedish family-owned company, has launched a new version of the beloved classic bouncer design from 1961 with a new look and style – Bouncer Bliss. Created as a tribute to the 1961 version, BabyBjorn realized how immensely popular and essential their bouncer was to families everywhere and wanted to update the style and design of the ever-popular baby bouncer.

As a new parent, we wish we could sit and stare at our sweet little baby all day, but there are bills to pay, dishes to do, and food to cook! The Bouncer Bliss makes a wonderfully safe and supportive space for baby to relax while in the same room as the rest of the family. It’s lightweight, so you can carry it from room-to-room, too.

Bouncer Bliss is available in three new looks – a luxurious, quilted cotton in several lavish colors, a soft, cozy 3D jersey, and a lightweight, comfortable mesh in lots of fresh, modern colors. The gentle rocking creates a sense of bliss and tranquility, not just at the beginning of a baby’s life, but later on as well. By having a safe space for baby to recline on the floor, it promotes interaction with other family members, especially siblings. Baby can sit face-to-face with their siblings for baby games and playtime.

The soft and natural rocking, completely powered by the baby, requires no batteries or cords. This encourages babies’ interaction with their sense of balance and motor skills, by rocking in response to their own movements. Because it doesn’t need to be plugged in, you can bring the bouncer all over the house easily, while traveling, or even just in the front yard for some sunshine. The BabyBjorn Bouncer Bliss makes a wonderful baby shower gift and is an essential item for every baby registry too.

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Unique and Wonderful Baby Shower Gifts!

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Let’s be honest, when you bring a gift to a baby shower, you’re going to want it to be the one gift where everyone stops and “ooohhhs” and “ahhhs” for just a little longer than everyone else’s gift. We understand, we get it. That’s why we rounded up some of our favorite baby shower gifts which are sure to impress.

-Sponsored Post-

Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs:

As a mom, you know how tricky breastfeeding can be sometimes, so why not bring along a gift which is sure to bring some peace to another new mama’s life? While breastfeeding is a wonderful journey, often it can be full of clogged ducts, mastitis, and soreness, so gift a new mom with Rachel’s Remedy Breastfeeding Relief Packs. Rachel’s Remedy breastfeeding relief packs are a brand new way to treat, soothe and relieve breastfeeding conditions. They offer FDA cleared, moist heat or cooling therapy.

Goodbody Goodmommy Multitasking Cardigan:

Looking for a perfect gift for a new mom? Give her the gift of style with the Goodbody Goodmommy Multitasking Cardigan! The beauty of this cardigan lies in the simplicity of its multi-functional design. Remembering an extra, bulky nursing cover can be an inconvenience. Slip this ultra soft modal jersey cardigan over any outfit, and have a nursing cover with you at all times. With it’s comfortable and very breathable fabric, and fitted arms, this cardigan covers everything you want or need it to, but still makes you feel put together and stylish. The cardigan is designed to be paired with everything from workout clothes to jeans or even a dress!

Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit:

Another amazing baby shower gift to give would be the gift of sleep – oh wait, since you can’t technically give sleep as a gift, why not gift mama-to-be with a way for baby to sleep better – with the Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit! The Magic Sleepsuit is designed for babies who are ready to transition from the swaddle, yet still need that cozy and contained feeling to aid in their sleep. Made with soft, comforting materials, the Magic Sleepsuit will give your baby the sense of security and warmth they need to sleep well through the night.

Baby Baazaar Nursery Items:

It’s always fun to give the gift of home decor, especially when it’s for decorating the nursery! If the mama-to-be is into global chic aesthetic and favors eco-friendly, fair trade practices – look no further than one of our latest discoveries: Baby Baazaar. Baby Baazaar’s aim is to bring hard-to find, eco-friendly children’s products to parents everywhere. The founder is originally from India, and she continues to be inspired by the unique aesthetics and handcrafting abilities of the artisans back home. Pictured above: Cotton giraffe quilt, canvas toy storage bins, wooden toy, tiger grip toy.

Thank you to Rachel’s Remedy, Goodbody Goodmommy, Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit and Baby Baazaar for making this sponsored post possible

Prairie Mama’s Baby Registry

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We’re so excited to be featuring a Prairie Mama’s Registry curated by the amazingly lovely Stephanie Janz (@pocketfulofacorns). This Canadian mama of five lives life simply in the Canadian prairies and is here to share her top baby picks for a prairie mama and baby.

As a mother of five you learn a few things on the way. One lesson I have learned is that it is easier to get by with less. Less clothes, less stuff in general. With your first you can be bombarded by all the “must have lists”. And most of them have way too many things on them. When I got pregnant with my fifth, I really wanted to keep things simple. I bought him a simple wardrobe. Actually, everything he owns fits into one drawer. Despite keeping his clothes simple I love baby shoes! Sweet N Swag have adorable shoes that are adorable, affordable, and stay on! I also have a weakness for bonnets. I have a beautiful linen one for him from @aibileenandbabygirl. It’s light weight, but keeps his head warm too.

I partnered up with Gugu Guru to come up with my “simple prairie life” registry. Let me break it down for you.

First you need a place to sleep your baby. Whether or not you co-sleep, you need somewhere to sleep your baby during the day. I have a simple Moses basket where he sleeps during the day, when he lets me put him down! At night he starts out in his bassinet, then usually end up with me. Later when he grows out of it, I have a super simple crib from IKEA. You really don’t need the fanciest crib. For sleeping I have always swaddled my babies. They feel secure and sleep better. So some great muslin swaddles are a must! Lulujo Baby have super soft muslin swaddles. I love them.

Second you need some way of transporting your baby. I use a Graco car seat that goes up to 35lbs. I like to rear face my babies as long as I can. In the prairies you need a stroller with big wheels. There aren’t many paved roads around where I live and you need to have something that you can actually push around. So a good jogging stroller is a must for our family.

I also love baby wearing. It’s a life saver when out and about. Also great for at home. I can get little jobs done and he will often nap on me too. Win win. On my ring sling, I usually have a soother clip attached to keep it handy, and clean for when he needs it. I have a leather braided one from @madelines.box.

So there you have it! It really is possible to live simply with babies and children. I have found that it makes life a more simpler and easier to keep up with. And I need all the time I can get spending it with my family!

Yoga Mama: Introducing the OMie Mat + Towel

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It’s no surprise that the Gugu Guru team are huge fans of yoga – it helps de-stress, helps postpartum health, and is a great way to introduce movement and body awareness to toddlers and kids. We also love when mamas pass down a passion of theirs to their children; when we came across the OMie Mat and Towel set, we knew we wanted to share it with all of our yoga loving mamas. Sami Fishbein, originally from Illinois, performed yoga next to her mama for her entire life. She saw how frustrating it was when the yoga towel would slip and slide all over the place, so she came up with an innovative idea.

The OMie Mat and Towel set use zippers to attach the yoga towel to the mat; the durable and lightweight mat is made from natural rubber, so it’s eco-friendly and nontoxic. Its nonslip design provides excellent traction through every Sun Salutation. The soft, absorbent microfiber towel gives you perfect grip, even when wet. Durable zippers quickly and easily secure it to the mat on both sides, so you can keep your focus on your practice. Plus, it is easy to roll up and throw in your bag (even your diaper bag) so you never have to worry about forgetting it for yoga class.

Our resident yoga mama, Cristina Meloy tried one out and said, “I’ve gone through hundreds of mats and this is a great one. It has amazing grip for non slip, it’s very long which I love and obviously being able to zip the towel/blanket feature is great. It has a very mild smell which most mats do, but this one is on the mild side.” If you know a yoga loving mama-to-be, indulge her in a new yoga mat for her baby shower! And, if you’re a mama-to-be, you can add this to your baby registry on Gugu Guru.

Use GURUGURU for a $20 promo code at OMie Yoga.

PS. Check out our post on prenatal yoga poses for the heart, mind, and self-esteem.

Toddler Tuesday: Re-Play Recycled (+giveaway!)

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By: Shana, Gugu Guru Director of Content Marketing

The transition from infant mom to toddler mom is a special one (hello, little Miss Independent), but not without its challenges (um… hello, Little Miss Independent). Toddlers have their own unique needs and oftentimes finding the right products and gear can be just as challenging as when they were newborns. In our new Toddler Tuesday feature, we will highlight all of our great finds for your toddler. First up is Re-Play Recycle, an eco-friendly brand of children’s tableware.

I first learned about Re-Play Recycled during “Moldy Sippy Cup Valve Gate.” My daughter was only a few months old at the time and had no need for a sippy cup, but being the Type A mom that I am, I wanted to be prepared for when the time came, so I made a mental note of the brand. I happened up Re-Play Recycled with their wonderfully colorful line of crafted in the USA feeding sets made from FDA-approved, food safe recycled plastic – specifically, milk jugs! They’re free of the things that make you go “ew,” like BPA, phthalates and PVC, and their sippy cups feature a single-piece silicone valve that is easy to clean and spill proof.

I was recently able to try out Re-Play Recycled and much to my delight, my daughter loves her new dishes and I love the bright color palette and durability. (I may or may not sometimes coordinate the plate color with her food.) The sippy cups are truly no-spill and can withstand being pounded repeatedly on the floor (don’t ask me how I know this). The plates survive the inevitable tumbles from high chair to floor and the utensils are the perfect size for little hands, with room to grow.

Re-Play Recycled is fun and functional and above all, it feels good to know that even the dishes that we use are helping to take care of the Earth for future generations.

Want to win a Toddler Feeding Set of your own, in your choice of color? Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DIY Lunch Bag Tutorial

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See Kate Sew partners with Gugu Guru once again to share a fantastic DIY tutorial. This time? A cute lunchbag for baby, toddler or even mama.

I’m so excited to be here today with a fun lunch bag pattern for you! This little pouch is perfect for stashing baby food containers, fruit and more! It’s also super easy to make! We had a blast making baby food with the Beaba Babycook. It was my first time making baby food and it was so easy! I guess I’ve been scared of making it myself before but now I’m excited to try all sorts of new flavor combinations for my 9-month-old!

Click over to SeeKateSew.com to read my review of the Beaba Babycook! I’m also sharing 4 baby food recipes that I made in the Babycook!

Ready to sew?

This cute little bag is perfect for stashing in your purse or diaper bag as you head out the door. The thick velvet fabric will give it a bit of insulation (as well as a luxe feel!) and the strawberries on the other side are just too cute! This project is great for an advanced beginner, there’s a zipper but it’s not too hard to install!

Materials:
1/3 yard velvet
1/3 yard quilting cotton, I’m using Cotton + Steel Yours Truly
1/3 yard fusible interfacing
one 12″ zipper

Instructions:

This is a basic zipper pouch pattern with a little twist!

1. Cut out 2 pattern pieces from the velvet and two from the strawberry fabric. Then cut 4 from the fusible interfacing.

2. Fuse the interfacing to the back of each fabric piece.

3. Lay the zipper face down on a strawberry fabric.

4. Place a velvet piece on top of the zipper, face down. Sew where line is shown below.

5. Fold pieces back and press well.

6. Lay the other side of the zipper on the second strawberry fabric piece face up. Then place the other velvet piece on top face down.

7. Stitch along the top.

8. Fold back and press.

9. Open the zipper and fold the fabrics over so all right sides are facing inward. Sew all the way around, leaving a 3″ opening in the lining. Clip the corners.

10. Turn the bag inside out and pinch the bottom corners, perpendicular to the side seam. Measure up 2.5″ and mark it. I used a pen, which is really a sewing “no-no”. Shh, don’t tell! 😉 Stitch over the line you created and repeat on the other side. This big pinch will give it the shape on the bottom to hold lots of baby food! Clip off the excess fabric and sew up the bottom opening with a ladder stitch.

Product Discovery: Snuza Pico Movement Monitor

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–Sponsored Post–

As a new parent, when you’re handed a tiny infant to take care of, it can feel very overwhelming! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a way to monitor your new little one while they’re sleeping, so you can rest easy and sleep too? Snuza, known for spearheading the innovation in one of the biggest trends in the marketplace right now, wearable tech for infants, has just released their Snuza Pico Movement Monitor, which is unlike anything else on the market. While some of the newer baby movement monitors are fitted beneath the baby’s mattress, Snuza monitors attach directly to a baby’s diaper and alarms if no abdominal movement is detected. This early detection provided by Snuza monitors offers a solution to help bring peace of mind to parents.

However, Snuza has recently revolutionized the monitor market with their Snuza Pico. The revolutionary new Snuza Pico is the first wearable baby movement monitor in the line that allows parents to directly connect to a smartphone or tablet via a Bluetooth App! The Pico attaches to your baby’s diaper and using a patented contactless sensor, monitors abdominal movement of your baby. By using this contactless sensor, the Pico does not need to touch your baby’s skin, which in turn reduces the amount of false alarms caused by loss of contact. If there is no abdominal movement detected after 15 seconds, the device will vibrate in an effort to rouse the child awake. After 20 seconds of no abdominal movement, the Pico will alarm. Parents can also select an optional movement rate warning, which alerts parents if baby’s abdomen moves less than eight times per minute.

The App, which is Apple and Android compatible, also monitors a baby’s abdominal movement, skin temperature, sleeping position (side, face-down, face up) and fall detector. It also features an on/off button and alerts parents if they become out of range. The Pico unit can be accessed by multiple smartphones so that parents and/or caregivers can monitor multiple Pico units from one or more smartphones. Snuza wearable movement monitors are made with hypo-allergenic, medical grade plastics and do not send or receive radio frequency signals. There are NO wires, cords, cables or sensor pads that could potentially harm baby. Weighing only 1oz, these monitors are the lightest of their kind on the market today.

For more information, check out the Snuza website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Thank you to Snuza for making great products to keep our babies safe and for also making this post possible.

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