The Parker Baby Co. Blog

Happy Friday!

Jessica AND Kirsten here! We started doing Friday Favorites every other(ish) Friday via email featuring a couple of Parker Baby items and a couple fun things for mom, too! They were really popular, so we decided to do a seasonal blog post that features even more items. Here are our Spring Friday Favorites! 

Parker Baby Favorites

Like every weekend we start off with Friday Favorites, you get FREE SHIPPING on our entire site through Sunday with code: FRIDAYFAVS

Gray/White Striped Cover 
Our 4 in 1 Multi-use Cover is essential, and probably our hardest working product. Use it as a car seat cover, nursing cover, grocery cart cover and wear as an infinity scarf. The Grey/White Striped Cover is perfect for spring. The pattern and fabric are light and breathable.

Diaper Backpack
It’s back in stock! This bag is perfect for the warmer seasons. Fill it up for days at the park with cool snacks or bottles in the outer insulated pockets and plenty of room in the main section for toys, diapers, an iPad and more! The front “mommy pocket” makes it easy with a key hook and phone slot.

Mommy Favorites

Lavender
Are you planting this spring? Flowers for the spring and summer is my Mother’s day gift every year. This year all I wanted was all the lavender plants! I planted two and check on them every day. What do you guys use your lavender plants for?

Madewell T-shirt Dress
Mamas and pregnant mamas, this casual dress is all I want to wear right now. Super comfy and flattering, easy to throw on with a hat (baseball or straw), converse tennies, sandals, heals, and goes great with our diaper bag :) It’s long enough where you can still chase toddlers and bend over to kiss scraped knees.

Magnolia Table
Y’all. This. Is. EVERYTHING. So fun for the summer. Especially if you are pregnant and not looking to count calories :) It’s very “country cooking”. Lots of buttermilk, salted butter, whipping cream, and sugar. SIGN ME UP.

Albion Swimwear 
I love all these suits and they are flattering for all body types! High waist, cute one pieces, and some have matching suits for your little girls.

Essie bon-boyage Nail Polish
This is the perfect, slightly unexpected spring nail polish. The mint color is feminine, fresh and not too girly.  

Patchology Masks
These are perfect for a quick refresh. They only take five minutes (but I leave on for longer) and makes you feel like you just got a facial without leaving the house. They smell amazing and this perfect three pack is only $25. 

What are your plans this weekend? Hope you are enjoying spring as much as we are! Don't forget, free shipping through Sunday with code: FRIDAYFAVS

XO
J+K

This past week, Sam and I took the three girls to Florida to visit my sister, brother in law and their two girls. Luckily we found a direct flight into Pensacola (about an hour and a half from where we were staying) but unluckily, the flight was with Frontier. This is about a three hour flight! Here is what I learned!

1. Arrive about 2 hours early (for big airports)

At security, I had the FULL pat down because one of the apple sauce packets I had in my bag tested positive in the ballistics test. This left Sam with all three kids! He's such a trooper, but it added about 20 minutes onto our time.

2. Check as much baggage as you can

It is worth every penny. We checked all of our bags except a backpack for each person. The twins even carried toddler backpacks. We pushed Greta in a stroller, which we checked at the gate and pushed all three car seats on a folding hand truck (dolly) held on by some bungee cords. We wanted the girls to be buckled in on the flight in their car seats and Greta was a lap child. We decided to keep her car seat with us to keep it from getting damaged and in case there wasn't a full flight (wishful thinking).

3. If you have older kids or multiple of car seats, rethink bringing their seats

It IS safer. But man, it was so much work lugging around three car seats, latching the car seats in and taking them off the plane, all while trying to wrangle three kids. I thought they would make the flight easier, but I think at three years old, they would be just fine in a normal seat and laying their heads on our laps when they need to sleep. Now if you have the money, it's worth buying a ticket for a squirmy one year old and taking the car seat on the plane. This is where buckling in would really come in handy. Greta was not okay being held and couldn't get comfortable.

4. SUCKERS

I brought the big tootsie pops for the kids. They do not get suckers much, so these were a HUGE treat and basically toddler pacifiers. Greta even got one when things got pretty desperate - don't worry, she was on my lap and under my watch the whole time she had it. Suckers, stickers, a show, and the no mess markers in a travel case made the flight easy peasy. For Greta, I had post-its, painters tape, colors, stickers and snacks.

5. Don't travel Frontier with kids unless you HAVE to

On the way home they had us all in separate seats all over the plane.... and would not help us out! Luckily, we were able to talk to some of the other passengers and work it out. No one wants to sit next to a three year old on a three hour flight. This was by far the most stressful part of the trip.

6. Have puke bags readily available

Eleanor can get motion sick pretty easily and I love these. I have them all over our house too. Super compact and easy to slip into your bag.

7. Keep calm

It's probably not going to go perfectly, but that’s okay. I kept telling myself "This is so good for them". The kids will feed off of you. When Sam and I started to get stressed, the kids felt it and would start acting out, but when we kept our cool they had more fun and listened better.

Flowers are blooming, fresh starts are beginning and babies are being born. Being baby-less, I feel like I am always on the shower committee - which I LOVE. I love beautiful things, so babies, expectant mothers and a gathering of strong women supporting one another is a great time.

These days, there is SO much inspiration for baby showers (hey, Pinterest), but I thought I would share a couple of thoughts I have gathered from attending and throwing many showers.

Pinterest is Great, Simple is Better.

Unless you have an unlimited budget and time, it may be hard to recreate everything you pin. While DIYing is awesome — have you ever seen those “Pinterest Fail” pages? — sometimes, it’s best to work within your means. Maybe pick one DIY project you can master and a couple of all-star recipes to make. Save the Pinterest board for overall inspiration.

Simple is a great focus for decor, timeline of events and even food! No need for a four course plated meal.

Example Brunch Baby Shower Menu:
Mimosa Bar, Coffee, Water
One Veggie Frittata
One Meat Frittata
Fruit Salad
Assorted bagels or bread
Decorated cookies
Done!

Themes and Decor

Don’t kill yourself over a strict theme. A baby is coming and it’s a celebration and time to shower the expecting mother, you don’t need elephants on every single plate, tablecloth and garland in order to do that. I like to keep in mind that although we are celebrating a baby on the way, this party is for adults.

I often save a chunk of my decor budget for flowers. You can pick them up the morning of and take minimal work compared to that paper mache giraffe you pinned. Whether we are expecting a bouncing baby boy or girl, flowers are totally appropriate and bring a sense of freshness and sophistication. Plus, giving an arrangement to the mom-to-be and grandmothers at the end of the day is a sweet touch! Check out my blog on easy floral arranging tips here!

A mimosa bar, beautiful cake and gorgeous food can really shine as decor with no extra cost! Display it beautifully on your nice serving dishes (you can always borrow from friends!) and in glass pitchers and you are well on your way. I have a couple of faux leaf garlands on hand for Christmas, birthday parties, Easter — you name it, and I can personalize those for an event! Add a colorful banner from Target to hang with the garland and you have a stunning entrance for a baby shower.

Timeline

Keep it moving. An appropriate timeline for a shower is about 3 hours. Many guests have busy weekends and multiple engagements. I always think it’s nice to do presents while the guests are served sweets or cake if there is one, especially if there are a lot of gifts to get through.

For games, I would check in with the mom-to-be, some moms don’t even want a game at their shower, which is fine… but if she does, game on! I would focus on a game that is simple, interactive and doesn’t take a lot of time or brain power.

Pinterest has millions of ideas here, but some of my favorite baby shower activities have been:
Who’s that baby?: Have guests bring in their own baby photos and pin them to a board
Diaper Changing Races: These are funny — perfect for a energetic crowd!
Notes/Prayers for baby: Set up a table where people can write sweet notes throughout the day

Example Baby Shower Timeline:
10AM: Arrival/Coffee/Mimosa Bar
10:30AM: Brunch is served
11:30AM: Game/Activity
12PM: Cake served, Gift opening
12:30PM-1PM: Good Byes

Favors

I don’t think anyone goes to baby showers thinking, “I can’t wait to get the party favor!” These are no longer expected so if there just isn’t enough budget or time, don’t sweat it. If you do have the capacity and dollars, something simple and useful is best. I like small candles, sweet treats (appropriate for adults ie: candied almonds) or plants/seeds.

How exciting it is to celebrate the arrival of a new life! The most important thing is that you are showering a loved one who is bringing a new human into this world and that is really special.

Check out some of my inspiration below!

Eucalyptus Garland, Hobby Lobby

Glass Carafe, Target 

How to Make a Perfect Frittata, bon appetit 

Colie's Pastries, Cookies can ship!

GIFTS

Our Diaper Caddy is perfect to fill full of goodies for the expecting mom. Functional and stylish! 

A gift card from Parker Baby is perfect to let mom choose! Now available!

How far along: 15 weeks almost 16!

Total weight gain: I have gained about 4 lbs, but my belly looks like I have gained about 20. I swear I wasn’t this big with the twins until about 20 weeks! My boobs are starting to fill more. No more pancake boobs from nursing 3 babes! YAY!

Maternity clothes:  I have started wearing some maternity jeans, the ones with the stretchy side panels from ASOS. They are perfect. I had to buy all new maternity pants because I had given all my maternity clothes away… I can still fit in some pre pregnancy jeans, but by the end of the day my belly hurts. Leggings are work out clothes are my jam.

Sleep: I have been sleeping ok! On Sunday I had a terrible terrible migraine and thanks to Sam, I slept from 6:30pm-7am while he handled the babes. But since then, I started watching The Handmaids Tale and have nightmares all night, but I cant stop watching!

Best moment this week:  The best moment from this week was on Sunday when I completed my first DRI TRI at Orange Theory. I’ve been working out 3-4 times a week at Orange and it was such an accomplishment for me. I am still running and doing all the things except any movement that requires me to lay on my back. Orange Theory has a walking, bike, and strider option for when I want to stop running. I am going to try to keep running as long as I can though!

I am also going out to dinner with my best friends tonight and I am SO FREAKING EXCITED.

Worst Moment this week: My migraine on Sunday…

Miss Anything: I really miss beer. The weather has been so beautiful and we have been grilling. I crave beer so badly when the sun is shining and Sam has country music blaring.

Cravings: GRAPEFRUIT. ALL THE GRAPEFRUIT. I have been getting a lot of crap about this because I put brown sugar on it and heat it up. I guess this is weird? I grew up doing it and it’s AMAZING.

Symptoms:  Not as many head aches, but I also got some medication for this. But mostly feeling great!

Looking forward to: Dinner with my girls tonight, doctors appointment next week, and going to the zoo with my bigs.

I love Easter! Not only because of the importance in my faith, but because it symbolizes the beginning of Spring and all things warm! I am doing Easter Baskets for the girls this year to celebrate and because they need a couple things for the warmer weather.

I bought these swimsuits from Mini Boden this year for all the girls. Ava and Eleanor are starting swimming lessons this month and I really LOVE these suits. I also got them a couple other things they will need for the warmer days (sunglasses, bubbles, chalk, and sunscreen). I also found these sticker books for church and for when we make the risky decision to go out to dinner as a family. I know they will get their fair share of candy at egg hunts at Grandma's, so I am skipping the sugar all together

I am pretty excited about how girly the twins are starting to act. They are always wanting to do makeup with me and are both very interested in accessories. I bought the girls these little travel blush brushes and some finishing powder for them to play with, and these AMAZING kids face masks that look like animals faces.

For Greta, along with her Mini Boden swimsuit, I got her some teethers. At 13 months of age, the girl still only has TWO teeth! I also included some sunglasses, Easter blocks, play necklaces, and toy shovels.

I recently gave the girls this book about Easter and what it is really all about! It does a GREAT job! Now I just have to be organized enough to remember to put it away and get it out every Easter...

It was so fun to start thinking about the warmer days and all the activities we are going to be starting this month. The girls haven’t stopped talking about swimming and riding bikes and Greta is OBSESSED with being outside and playing in the dirt.

I hope that besides all of these worldly gifts, the girls will learn this Easter that the real gift and miracle is the empty tomb, that Jesus suffered and died for all of us and has conquered death. Please Lord let them learn this above all else.