The Friday Five

2. Pinwheel

Ever try to buy a gift for someone else’s kid? (If you answered no to that question you may be an a-hole, because really, never?) Assuming you have bought a child a gift once or twice, you know what a pain it is to have no clue what the kid might actually like. That’s how you end up buying yarn for an 8 year old who really wants a cell phone and Justin Bieber tickets.

Enter Pinwheel! It’s a new app and it’s totally free and guys, it’s awesome. You need to check this out. It lets you customize an ongoing wish list of things your child would like, it gives suggestions for gifts based on your stated preferences, and it keeps track of everything that’s been bought. It’s VERY well designed and pretty. I don’t know how much you care that it’s pretty, but it is. Looks aren’t the main draw, but they don’t hurt. Like with Diane Sawyer.

3. Sleep Baby Love

Susie Parker and other people that I can only assume are her husband and children.

I’m not sure how many of you saw the post I Think I’m the Problem about how I’m royally effing up Nolan’s napping schedule. One person who definitely saw it was Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant Susie Parker from Sleep Baby Love. Susie emailed me after reading that post and in the nicest way possible let me know that the schedule I had outlined for Nolan was idiotic. Of course she didn’t say this because she is so pleasant, but I could tell it was an idiotic schedule after talking through what an appropriate sleep schedule should look like with Susie.

I cannot state this strongly enough: If you are having trouble with your baby’s sleep habits, you should talk to Susie. She is incredibly friendly and helpful (like a less edgy version of Mary Poppins, minus the accent), she does not talk down to you even though you’re probably being an idiot like I was. And she knows her stuff!

I worked with Susie over the course of a few weeks, and throughout that time she helped me totally revamp Nolan’s sleep schedule. I kid you not, Nolan increased his overnight sleep by almost 2 hours after my first conversation with Susie. Of course that also highlights the fact that I was pretty badly botching his sleep, but still. She is a miracle worker. Check her out at Sleep Baby Love – she’s available for phone consults (she’s in Chicago but can work with you no matter where you live), ongoing support, and she can review your baby’s sleep habits via an online tracker that I used with Nolan. The results have been amazing for us! I especially liked that Susie would review the tracker and send me an email telling me how I could tweak things for better results. It seems like this shit should be obvious but it’s not. Help is needed. Susie’s your girl.

Oh, and check her out on Huffington Post as part of an article on how to deal with daylight savings time so that it doesn’t ruin your child’s sleep habits.

4.  “Wishes for Baby” Keepsake Book

My sister Catherine put together a “Wishes for Baby” keepsake book for Nolan’s first birthday. I loved it! It’s cute and thoughtful. Oh, and also kind of weird because my friends are a bunch of weirdos (no offense guys). So while some people left Nolan really heartfelt wishes for his future, others, well, not so much (see below). The result was cross-over between a heartfelt collection of warm wishes and a game of Mad Libs. But I have to say, I really love Mad Libs.

5.  Ella Alana Breast Pump Bags

Submitted by reader Julie Rhodes from Dallas, Texas

Julie: I had to return to work 6 weeks after having my son and I’m in sales, which means heavy travel, so pumping on the go is part of my everyday routine.  For some reason, there is a serious lack of manufacturers that produce attractive breast pump bags at an affordable price point. Then I discovered Ella Alana on Etsy – let me also preface this by saying I’m not a big Etsy fan. I’ve only purchased a couple of items from the site and had pretty bad experiences. Amy made my third experience a positive one.  She creates beautiful, well made breast pump bags to your specifications for a price that won’t break the bank, and ships everything very quickly. She also sells diaper bags, breast milk coolers, bibs, burp clothes, etc. Her work is amazing.

Julie and her bag, so happy together.

This bag changed my life!  I can’t express the gratitude for someone that can produce an item like this that can fill the needs of so many moms out there.  I got to pick my own fabric, lining, pocket options and it even has a laptop sleeve.  She basically reduced my bag load from 4 to 1 on a daily basis – no more ugly Medela vinyl “purse” and matching tacky cooler, plus laptop case, purse, lunch, etc.  She also gives you a choice of bag style that will coordinate with whatever brand pump you use, plus everything is handmade in Iowa – I mean, come on!  I try to give Amy kudos whenever I can, because I think what she’s doing is truly impressive – using her talent to create something to make mom-life easier and running her own business (while being a mom herself).  You can find her shop on Etsy and check out her Facebook page.

Good luck running the NYC marathon on Sunday to my little sister Cath!

Cath is the one who is a girl in this photo. Just to be clear.