The best part of my job?
C’mon, it’s looking at all the cute little baby things everyday! My theory is that anything is cute if it is tiny. This weekend was the ABC Kids Expo in Louisville, KY, as in the Derby and the Sluggers (and according to Expo rumors it was also home to Pauly D on Friday night, can you believe I missed him?). My boss Michaele and I packed up Friday and headed out on this year’s adventure.
There were a lot of great things to see, here is a brief rundown of my favorite stuff:
Nuk’s Line of Annabel Karmel Food Prep was pretty impressive. New this year is a steamer/food processor. (I could not find where this is available yet, but it should be coming soon). Annabel Karmel has really been on the forefront of the natural baby food trend and this line looks very nice. How many moms out there would like to make their own baby food? If you have an opinion I would love to hear it.
The most innovative thing I saw at the show was the grow up cup from Sassy:
It is a spill proof cup that your baby can drink from at any angle, there is no spout. it is a pretty nice transition to a regular cup, in my opinion. If you like them on Facebook you can receive a BOGO coupon for these at BRU. See link here.
Pacifiers really suck! (LOL at myself) This year many of other brands are coming out with their own version of the “Soothie” The one piece all silicone pacifier. My personal fav is the gumdrop line from TOMY (First Years).
These have sold well for us and are given to Moms in several hospitals. Plus I think they are a bit more aesthetically pleasing compared to a Soothie.
One thing that won my personal award for “Greatest Grandparent Item” was a 3 stage high chair from Evenflo (also could not find this on the market yet). It converts from a regular high chair, to one that is lower to the ground, then it converts again to a toddler table and chair. Great for Grandma’s house says this baby retailer!
Finally, have you seen these:
They are handy dandy (pardon my pun) little magnets that you smack onto the side of your car. They are available in several patterns and keeps your kids safe in dangerous parking lots. Kids know that they need to put their hand on the magnet and wait there safely until mom can buckle them in. Great for moms with kids of multiple ages. So Simple and Clever, two of my favorite things!
My other favs included pretty much all of the bedding from Kidsline (Carters), including a crib set that was full of adorable rockets and monkeys in space helmets. I was also digging a lot of the gear at Dorel (Cosco and Safety First). there was a new tandem stroller as well as a new car seat that had built in fans on the side to keep the kiddies nice and cool.
