swissmiss

Our little Ella turned one a few weeks ago and I want to take a moment to point out the most practical, most useful products that got us through the first year:

Peapod Travel Bed. Dont’ know what we would have done and still do without this unbelievably lightweight travel bed. As a matter of fact, we still use it every day. Our nanny takes care of two little ones (Hello Julian!) and the little man sleeps in the Peapod every single day.

Oeuf Lounger: Another item we still use to this day. Ella *lived* in the Oeuf Lounger for a good portion of her early days. We remember the days bouncing her with our feet, so we can have dinner. Thank god for Oeuf! And ontop of being practical it’s just oh so designy!

Candeloo Nightlights: These cute little nightlights are perfect in the beginning when you want to change or feed your little one without waking her up entirely with full on lighting. We use them now for ‘ambiance’ lighting when we put Ella down. Personally, I think they are just so adorable. (I have to admit though that they don’t recharge as well anymore after a while. You can logon to the Candeloo website and get all kinds of advice on how to make the batteries work the longest. You can also get replacement bulbs and batteries)

Skip Hop Changing Pad Use it to this day… Love it.

Sleep Sheep Babies love to fall asleep with background noise. Something every parent learns shortly after the baby is born. The SleepSheep has been a steady companion in Ella’s life to this day. Both G and I even like to fall asleep to it’s wave or stream sounds.

Ergo Baby Carrier: G and I pretty much bought every carrier out there. The Ergo never appealed to me, to be honest, I always thought it looked too ‘granola’. When Ella was about 10months old, we finally gave in. What an awakening! The Ergo is BY FAR the best carrier we’ve seen. (and we’ve almost seen them all!) Ella seems to approve as well! Two baby thumbs up!

The Swiss Zewi Blanket. It’s basically a fitted sheet that has a sown in vest for the baby to zip into. The baby can sit up, turn, but not get out. I know, it sounds weird, but it works like a charm. Ella loves it. (As picture shows) This blanket allowed us to skip the crib alltogether.(Don’t think it’s available for sale in the US)

The swiss Kaengurooh Baby JoJo is a lifesaver for parents with a ‘colicky’ baby. Ella needed to be bounced for hours on end. There’s only so much bouncing on a yoga ball you can handle. My sister, living in Switzerland, heard about the BabyJojo and was told that the minute one uses this ‘baby hammock’ baby tend to stop screaming and actually slep peacefully. If only we would have gotten our hands on it earlier. It works wonders as it mimmicks the up and down movement the baby experiences in the belly. (The last time I checked they are not allowed to deliver to the US!)

Going back in time on this sunny tuesday morning. More intros to german TV Shows from the 70s to the 90s can be found here.

Designer Dan Clements created Wiegen, a refreshing take on the classic stroller. For more info visit worrell.com or check their Wiegen FlipBook (PDF).

Looks cool but I don’t think our little Ella would have been happy in this stroller for too long. She wanted to see out early on. But then again, every baby is different…

(Thanks Charlie)

Stripy baby slippers by kikebu.

By far my favorite kids related booth was Nume. (Even though nobody was there, hmmmm) Lovedlovedloved the simplicity of the kitchen and washing machine, made out of cardboard. WOW!

Also, love their Bed2. (Just discovered it on their site, didn’t see it at at the show)

Today was my first day at the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) here in NYC and I don’t think I’ll be able to go to sleep tonight. I am completely wired from all the amazing designs I’ve seen. One of the items that had me literally bounce (with Ella on my arm nonetheless) was the Roller Buggy. A multi functional baby carriage transformable into a scooter. Oh Ella, how much fun we both could have with this!

Cumulus: Finally some cool kids wall decals that are a little more on the abstract side. Love it!

Finally a cool version of a baby foot print set.

Everyone needs a holiday home.

Toypography, by Dainippon Type Organization (first seen at DesignTide 2006) is a toy of typography. Fragments of letters, that can be put together to either English or Japanese letters and characters. The thing about Toypography is, that Japanese expressions can be transformed into English expressions of the same meaning.

(thank you natasha!)

Top Ten Ways to Help Children Develop Healthy Habits

(via popwuping)

I about to burst from furniture-purchase-anticipation: We put in an order for the Argington Fundy Play Table. G and I completely fell in love with it when we saw it at Brooklyn Designs today.

The top surface is made of chalk board (love it! The table features two storage areas with slow closing safety hinges. The stainless steel legs are adjustable in height so it can grow with the kid. I kept looking at G saying that this would actually make a cool coffe table. Ella, watch out, we might have to fight over your Fundy once it gets here…

(The couple that runs Argington is truly delightful. Meeting the enthusastic designers behind a piece of furniture makes a purchase really special. Hat tip to Jenny and Argie Andrew!)

In the pocket baby seems to be a kids-chair-harness system for on the go. I don’t speak a word of swedish so I just go by the pictures… Looks cool!

Magnetic Kids are magnetic paper dolls, hand-drawn by Brooklyn based illustrator/animator Gaia Cornwall and printed on 30 mil magnetic paper. Currently, the line includes five Kids, four Pets and twelve different Outfits. Maia donates 10% of the net profits to charitable organizations that benefit children.

I would certainly have loved to play with these as a kid. Check them out at Magnetickids.com

I am all for minimal and collapsable furniture. I rejoiced when I discovered this spacesaving highchair!

Teach your kids food preparation with this peeling fruits set.

(via babygadget)