Pottery Barn has a new (or maybe only new to me?) category called “Modern Baby,” which features baby furniture and decor — but sleeker, updated, and, well, modern. They have some beautiful pieces that I would honestly love to furnish an adult bedroom with! I’m not in the market to re-furnish my son’s room, but one affordable update I could make is with crib sheets. These sheets are in collaboration with West Elm, which brings some of that adult sophistication for a child’s crib. (You can find the entire West Elm x Pottery Barn Kids collection here.) When I was first choosing my son’s sheets, I went with the standard baby patterns of elephants, stars, and vehicles, but these are definitely geared more towards the parents’ enjoyment. While your child is too young to care, why not? The sheets are $24 at Pottery Barn Kids. Organic Striped Geo Crib Fitted Sheet
This post contains affiliate links and CorporetteMoms may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Dentist says
When do you bring your baby/child to his/her first dentist appt? We need to decide whether to get dental coverage for my 12 month old for next year. She has 4 teeth so far…neglected to ask the dr at our last checkup.
Thanks!
Cb says
I brought him in at 12 months which is recommended in the UK. But they just had him sit on my lap and took a look at his mouth. It really seemed to be to get him comfortable (they told me I could just bring him to my appointment) and remind parents of the importance of brushing teeth and avoiding bottles in bed. Dental care for children is free here but I can’t imagine your regular dentist would charge for this.
Anonymous says
Dental care is the furthest thing from free here in the US and I can absolutely imagine my regular dentist charging for this :( Boo to extremely expensive dentistry and the fact that about 40% of people do not have dental insurance to help cover the cost.
Anon in NYC says
I brought my kid to the dentist at age 2, but I think we had dental insurance for her starting at around age 1 (whenever the first open enrollment period was after she started getting teeth).
Anonymous says
Under the Affordable Care Act, pediatric dental is a required benefit for kids’ health insurance, so you might want to check your policy. When I asked around at my office, most people with little kids did not purchase separate dental for them until they needed coverage for orthodontics.
Anonymous says
I think it may only cover preventative dental care like cleanings. That should be fine for the first few years in most cases. The cavity-getting genes are horrendous in my family, so I would add separate dental insurance at least by age 4 in my case.
Anonymous says
Most folks say 1 year. We were around 12-18 months. I don’t remember exactly anymore. Our pediatrician was pretty hyper about it. Our dentist is super laid back, though, which is nice.
octagon says
Personal philosophy: when kids have teeth, they should have dental insurance. I had a traumatic fall that cracked a tooth as a young child and required lots of dental insurance. My kid isn’t me, of course, but did seem to inherit my clumsiness and I want insurance just in case.
anon says
We did it at 2. The only thing the dentist did was count teeth. :)
I agree the point is to get them used to it. I wish we had gotten a book about going to the dentist in advance (we now have the Mercer Meyer one, but there are lots).
Katarina says
I did at 3, which is when my pediatrician recommended it. He did count teeth before that as part of regular check ups. Before that, they won’t really sit for a full exam. Dental insurance covers the cleanings 100% usually, but only provides a discount on other dental care, so to me it did not seem important to be covered earlier. Now I have a family plan for dental insurance, so they are insured at birth, but I still wait for 3 years unless there is an issue.
Flyers says
What kids shows can you download from Amazon? Flying solo for the first time with a new walker and very nervous…
GCA says
All the Amazon Prime originals and I think the PBS kids shows can be downloaded – we have definitely downloaded episodes of Stinky & Dirty, Tumble Leaf, and Daniel Tiger.
How old is kiddo? When kid 1 was just walking (around 12-15 months) he didn’t have the attention span for entire shows, so we did lots of walking up and down the plane, looking out the window, ice in a plastic cup, crinkly things, and snacks. (There are loads of threads elsewhere here for how to occupy littles during plane flights!)
Anonymous says
At that age we had better luck with videos of kid playing or family members pictures to flip through. Kid loved seeing herself in videos and they could be watched with the sound off because headphones were a pain.
Annie says
We’ve done sesame street and daniel tiger but at that age there are these animated song videos that may be best (not sure what search terms will get you them) but it’s just song after song in a row and it definitely holds my two year old’s attention for the longest amount of time. Otherwise second videos of the kid him/herself probably being most effective at that age.
Anon in NYC says
Yes, this. Look for Pink Fong. Side note – there is a Pink Fong Spotify playlist, so you can listen to Baby Shark to your hearts content. Other than that, I agree that videos of kid / family will be very captivating.
And, OP, when I flew with my kid at around 15/16 months (when she was a relatively new walker), I found most passengers to be pretty nice about us walking the aisles (and her touching them – because she definitely touched people while she was steadying herself).
Anon says
Prime has Daniel Tiger and Pete the Cat and Creative Galaxy.
How long is the flight? The key is to pack a kid-size backpack full of activities for the little one. Those SkipHop animal ones work well for a new walker-age. You can stick a couple baggies of snacks in the front pocket (goldfish, animal crackers, fruit snacks, and cheerios). (And wipes!) In the main compartment, have some activities. Grab some of those Magic Ink coloring books from Target dollar spot. A bucket of slime. A baggie of a couple Little People. A little jar of playdough with a mini-cookie cutter. Some books. Some vehicle figurines from Imaginext or Toob and a roll of painters tape to make a track. And a stuffed animal – one of those Buster buckle toys is cool because it also has a zipper pocket to hide another toy.
And my personal favorite – an empty shaker parmesan can, with pipe cleaners. Let the kid practice sticking the pipe cleaners through the holes in the top, then empty and do it again. You can get a good 20 min out of this game.
You stick the backpack under their seat and just pull out one activity at a time. When the drink cart comes by, you ask for two empty cups and one piece of ice. (Trust me, they love pouring the ice back and forth and then when it melts they pour that back and forth, and then they try to drink the water. So much time wasted!)
Pack a couple extra activities in your bag for the flight back to keep it exciting and new. Maybe a WaterWow book and a couple different Little People with a car or a playset.
Oh, and don’t forget the headphones. You just may get lucky and have a kid who defies all personality and wants to sit and watch the free kids movie on the seat back screen for the entire flight. My son did this at 18 months and I was so shocked I didn’t know what to do with myself.
Anonymous says
Not sure exactly what age, but around 13-14 months, the only “show” that worked for us was Baby Einstein. We had a few on the iPad – not sure if they came from Amazon, Netflix, or YouTube. Agree that videos of herself worked well. Also, my child LOVES it when we just turn on the camera and use it as a mirror so she can see herself in the iPad and make silly faces. I’m guessing you could get some mileage out of that.
H13 says
You’ve gotten lots of good advice. I will echo asking for extra cups from the flight attendant. I don’t know why but that bought us lots of time. (I’m totally stealing the ice trick from above for our next flight.) We also have used the masking tape trick. You can buy these sticky wax strips that are fun to peel and unpeel. We’ve also had some luck with games on the ipad or phone. They can’t really play them but they can interact a bit. Good luck! And don’t forget to wipe down the seat, arms, tray, walls, etc. with a Clorox wipe when you first get on the plane.
lsw says
I don’t know if you have Netflix, but I learned you can download certain things for viewing offline. We DLd a few episodes of Chuggington for my son’s first plane trip.
Someone on here recommended two apps that my son absolutely loved. One was “itsy bitsy spider” by Duck Duck Moose (free) and Toca Town (low cost). We got a lot of mileage out of those on the flights.
HSAL says
Has anyone shipped b-milk back from Puerto Rico? I’ve reached out to Milk Stork and Fedex but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll be traveling next year and wanted to make sure “anywhere in the US’ actually includes PR.
HSAL says
Follow-up – Milk Stork doesn’t include PR, and they use Fedex shipment so we’ll see about Fedex.
Anonymous says
How/if do you say something if you a friend shared a photo of their kid in an unsafe situation? A friend posted a photo of her 10 month old (who can stand and is starting to walk) standing up in his crib. There’s a super low mobile and the crib mattress is on the highest (newborn) setting. It made me gasp, but I don’t want to be Thst Mom.
Anonymous says
If it’s not a borderline judgment call but actually shockingly unsafe, I would reach out to her privately and in as non-judgy a way as possible. Personally, I’ve made some bad calls that my mom has called me out for and I’ve been glad for the reality check. I would have been happy to have a friend do the same, knowing they have my best interest and the best interest of my kids at heart.
Anon says
I mean, it’s not THAT unsafe. Are you close enough to text her or Message her? Don’t comment on the picture for everyone to see, but you could say something like “Xavier is soooooo cute, I can’t believe he’s getting that big! Just wanted to say, that picture looked almost like my house right before Xander flipped out of his crib! He was fine, but it scared the living daylights out of me at 2am. We had to lower the crib mattress almost to the floor to stop him from escaping. I know advice is worth what you pay for but wanted to give you a heads up of what might be coming. Feel free to ignore me!”
Otherwise don’t say anything. That story above is true about my kids btw – both flipped out of their cribs around one year (I didn’t learn my lesson I guess) and then both were climbing out by 18 months. They were always fine. Scared me way more than it hurt them.
Anonymous says
I posted a photo of my kid standing up in their crib when the mattress was on the newborn setting with the caption “Guess we should lower the mattress tonight!” so it’s quite possible your friend realizes she needs to do that but just didn’t say so.
AwayEmily says
I think it’s fine if you preface it by saying something like “I am 99% certain you already know this but in the very small chance you don’t I just wanted to say….”
You might also throw in an anecdote like Anonymous 9:31 (even if it’s not strictly true) about how you’ve been corrected before.
Anonymous says
If you’re not sure how to bring it up, you’re not close enough to say anything. And, TBH, someone else probably will.
Anonymous says
Don’t say anything!!!! Get a grip.
Knope says
If you actually talk to this person I’d probably say something like “I saw that picture of Joe – he is getting so big! Has he tried climbing out of the crib yet? My kid tried making a jump for it around his age” or something like that. If you don’t talk to the person, leave it alone.
Anonanonanon says
^This. Even if my kid didn’t actually do that, that’s how I’d approach it. Only if it was someone I’d talk to anyway.
More Sleep Would Be Nice says
Happy Friday. Talk to me about your plans with the LOs to adjust to daylight savings. I’m hoping to get DS (almost 1) into bed earlier tonight and tomorrow which is going to be tough since he’s down by 7:15 PM anyway.
For the ladies who provided commiseration/advice, he’s been sleeping until 6 these past few days. Today he slept until 6:45! And has been waking up just hanging and making noise. I know it won’t always be this way but wow it’s NICE :)
Cb says
Our clocks changed this week and we just winged it – we’ve had some early wake ups but nothing horrific. A friend shifted meal times and naps 30 minutes later to help him adjust.
Moms Solo says
I’m bad at daylight savings time math but don’t we want to push them going to sleep a little later? LO goes to bed a 7:00 p.m. normally. The new 7:00 p.m. will be the old 8:00 p.m. So I’ve been moving back is bed time to like 7:30 this week and not getting him out of his crib until 7:30 a.m. in hopes he won’t wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 6 a.m. Sunday. This is our first fall back where I’ve wanted to keep the schedule the same so all advice welcome.
OP says
Oh maybe? I am also bad at this math.
AwayEmily says
I have no advice; we already have kids who naturally go to bed early and wake up early so this is always a living nightmare. We usually adjust AFTER the time change rather than before, just because I am too lazy to do think about it before I have to and I hate making my kids stay up later when they are clearly exhausted.
We use the OK to wake clock with the toddler so that helps a little with the morning — I change it in 15 minute increments.
Anonymous says
I agree adjusting after is easier, mostly because daycare/preschool adjust after. We do 15 minute increments at a time every few days. I’d say to plan for it to take two weeks and be pleasantly surprised if it takes less time.
anon says
Glad to hear adjusting after isn’t the Worst Idea In The World. I have no idea how I would shift bedtime later in advance anyway as preschool nap time is fixed, and my kids can barely make it to 7:30 bedtime as it is.
OP says
+1 – DS is already ready to sleep by 7 PM
Seafinch says
Fingers crossed – but you might get away scott free. We never do anything and have never suffered any issues, whatsoever. Three kids :)
Anonymous says
I’m the weirdo who’s been looking forward to ending daylight savings time. My kiddo has gotten on this really weird late-shifted schedule where she’s not going down until 10 pm or later and then sleeping in. So I’m really excited to adjust us forward by an hour. She’ll probably just naturally shift back on her own but it will be nice for a week or so.
Anonymous says
Best source for gender neutral baby clothes? I’m a gifted not a mom so hit me with your fave absurdly expensive European brands as long as they don’t just want to sell me a sad grey onesie.
Anonymous says
I’m a gifter. Obvi, not gifted :)
AwayEmily says
I love both this question and how it is asked.
Boden makes some very giftable multi-packs. Hanna Andersson also has adorable gender neutral stuff.
Anonymous says
Expensive but not absurdly so — I love Hannah Andersson pjs for babies.
Anonymous says
Burt’s Bees has some good stuff. However, it is mostly grey. But I really like grey ;)
AnotherAnon says
+1 to both HA and Burt’s Bees.
EB says
Same. When my son was itty bitty I thought he looked adorably cute in burts bees and HA.
What is the name of that brand that is kind of slinky material? It is escaping me right now. I’ll come back if I remember, but a friend bought us a great flooty PJ from there. That is definitely boutique brand.
BPS says
I love Monica & Andy’s prints. Bought DS one of their summer prints which he wore…twice and now it probably won’t fit and the weather is cool. I think their bundles would make a lovely gift to a new mum/baby.
Anoner says
Polarn o. Pret is a swedish fancy brand. jo jo maman bebe. Mini boden. And second the rec of hanna anderson pjs! (Ps def butchered these brand names but you will get it)
BabyPumpkin says
Janie and Jack. It’s marketed by gender but much of the clothing is gender neutral. My son was given the pumpkin sweater (which is EXTREMELY cute) and could do for either sex. (It also washes well.)
AIMS says
Favorite expensive European brand with lots of gender neutral options: Jacadi. I also love Petite Bateau onesies :)
If you happen to be in NYC, Jacadi has several stores. Babesta is another shop in Tribeca with some super cute options. They have a webs&te, too. Also, if you just want to buy a ridiculously soft pajama or romper, check Roller Rabbit. Some neutral prints and so, so soft.
Agree re: Hanna Anderson & Boden. Tea Collection also has some cute gender neutral stuff.
crib flipping says
Funny that the poster above mentioned kids flipping out of the crib, because my son did that at 5:30 am this morning (fun!). Guess who will be converting to a toddler bed tonight? I’m super worried that he will just climb out and not sleep, especially at naptime, if he has the option. Also worried he will harass his sister (they share a room). Any advice or success stories to share?!
Anonymous says
We added 1*6 boards around the inside at the bottem of the crib and dropped the mattress to the floor. Kid wasn’t ready to be in a toddler bed yet.
Anon says
I’m that poster from above. I obviously didn’t handle it well because I didn’t learn my lesson with the second kid.
But we just kept lowering the crib mattress until they could climb out (it was on the floor at one point). But at 18 months, the gig was up. We put them straight into twin beds. With my first, she climbed out of the crib two nights in a row so I did an immediate order of a twin bed from Target (platform bed with drawers underneath) and one of those bed railings that has straps under the mattress. As soon as it arrived, we made a huge deal about being a Big Girl now. We went to Target and let her pick out her new bedding. Pushed it against a corner of the room and put the railing on the other side so only the foot of the bed was “open”. (Although she picked out a whole bedding set, she slept on top of the comforter so we didn’t need to try to remake with the railing in place. Set a rule that since she was a Big Girl, she can now have a flashlight (the Boon Gleam) and board books and a few stuffed animals in her bed, so she doesn’t have to sleep but she has to stay in the bed. (The books and animals gave us something to take away if she wasn’t listening.) There was a saying we repeated every night. Something like “Good night DD! It’s bedtime, so what do you need to do? Lay down, be quiet, and stay in bed. See you in the morning!”
It took a week or two of reinforcing – when we heard her out of bed, we came back. First time, we just put her back in bed and reminded her of the rules. Second time, she lost a stuffed animal. Next time, another stuffed animal…. and on and on. One time she was left with only her comforter, not even a pillow, before she finally fell asleep. But it worked.
Anonanonanon says
My first had a crib with a changing table attached. At the lowest setting he would climb out and I’d find him crouched on the changing table like a gargoyle. I changed it to a toddler bed, and he climbed out of that but into the other bed I had in the room. I decided to take that bed off the frame and just have the boxspring and mattress on the floor, and that worked perfectly for us.
Sarabeth says
There will probably be an adjustment period, but both kids will figure it out. The most important thing is to make sure the rest of the room is really well childproofed, so that he’s safe while he’s figuring it out – even if you can see him on a monitor, you don’t want to have to be going in every 5 minutes to redirect him away from the bookcase/changing table/other potential hazard.
Wearable Blanket says
What’s the biggest wearable blanket you’ve run across? My daughter is outgrowing her XL sleepsack, and I’m really hesitant to move to a blanket. I’m considering asking my MIL to make her one…
Anonymous says
My 4.5 year old still wears the Halo Early Walker Sleepsack in XL, and she’s in the 95th percentile for height.
http://www.halosleep.com/halo-sleepsack-early-walker-micro-fleece-owl/
Anonanonanon says
Thank you for this!!! My daughter isn’t walking yet (8 months) but is “>99th percentile” in height and won’t fit in sleep sacks anymore. Just ordered one of these in Large!
Anonymous says
Fwiw, my 2 year old daughter just outgrew the XL Halo sleepsack and the XL early walker is the exact same size. Both go to 40″/36 lbs. I think you’re right that a Large should fit any 8 month old, and you’ll have some time to use the XL too, but there’s no difference in size between the sleep sack and the early walker thing, at least in the Halo brand. So if you prefer sleepsacks, might as well just get one of those.
Anonymous says
I think the early walker sleepsack has more room for tall kids, as compared with an ordinary sleepsack, because it has openings for feet. So although the length may be the same, it can accommodate a taller child because it does not have to contain feet/ankles.
Anonymous says
That’s very surprising to me – my XL got too snug for my kids liking around her second birthday (and she’s only ~90th percentile in height). Halo does make toddler sleep sacks that are supposed to go up to 46″ (the XL is only 40″) but we just transitioned to a regular blanket when she outgrew the XL.
Anon says
25 weeks pregnant. Can’t seem to stay asleep on my left side at all. Its killing my hips and if I wake up to go to the bathroom or in the morning I am find I went back to sleeping on my back. We have only a full size bed so I don’t want to get a huge pregnancy pillow – don’t think there would be room for it, my husband and I. Any ideas for smaller pillows? Thanks!
Anonymous says
I use the Boppy wedge and really like it. I am 36 weeks and never got the full pregnancy pillow. I get way too hot at night to want to cuddly with a huge body pillow.
As for sleeping positions– my doctor said if I wake up on my back it’s not that big of a deal and to just roll back to my side. I absolutely have to alternate sides in order to deal with hip pain, so the whole left side only thing was unrealistic for me. According to my doc, the concern about sleeping on your back and cutting off circulation to your baby is real, but it will wake you up with your body feeling numb/tingly before it really affects the baby.