Hi Bumpies! Today we’re talking maternity photo shoots. These days many pregnant women choose to get professional maternity pictures taken before their little one arrives. These photo shoots are a great way to remember that special time in your life… you know, the time before you had kids and actually had the time to do your hair and makeup!

When I was pregnant with my son I desperately wanted to get maternity pictures taken. However, money was tight and according to my husband, we just couldn’t swing the cost of a session. Shhhh… part of me thinks he just didn’t want to partake in the cliché poses I wanted to do.

When I was 34 weeks along I finally took matters in to my own hands. I grabbed my husband, tripod, camera and a few props and we headed to a local forest preserve. It was right about this time last year, so the foliage looked beautiful and the weather was perfect.

Considering we haven’t had any formal training or professional photography equipment, I think our photos turned out great! If you’re thinking of doing some maternity photos, whether taken by yourself or a professional, I highly recommend them. The photo shoot we did is one of my favorite memories from my pregnancy and I’m so thankful to have the pictures to cherish.

If you’re a DIYer like me, here are a few tips to help get the most out of your maternity pictures (or any other type of photo shoot you do).

• Try to take your photos between 30 and 36 weeks. You want to show off that bump! But if you wait too long, you risk going in to labor early or being too uncomfortable to enjoy the experience.
• Take your pictures outside! Places like forest preserves, parks and gardens make beautiful backgrounds. Autumn is probably the most beautiful time of year to take photos outside, so if you’re due in the next few months, you’ve hit the maternity photo shoot jackpot! If a nature-themed shoot isn’t your style, places like libraries, historic buildings and museums also make beautiful backdrops.
• If you do shoot outside, plan to take your photos during the “golden hour,” which is the couple hours before sunset. Shooting on an overcast day is ideal, but not always an option. If you end up shooting on a sunny day, position the sun behind you or to your side. Try using your camera’s flash to help even out the light.
• Don’t forget the props. Props can add a lot of visual interest to your photos and will help tell a more complete story. Some prop ideas include: baby shoes, a Baby on Board sign, books, ribbons, balloons, ultrasounds and wooden letters.
• You don’t need a fancy camera to get great results. I didn’t have a professional-grade camera when we took our photos. We used my Canon PowerShot G10 and tried shooting in a bunch of different scene modes to capture the best photo (I honestly don’t remember which setting we used to shoot the photo above with — sorry!). If you’re doing the photos alone or want to include your partner in a few, learn how to use the self-timer on your camera before you start shooting; it will save you time and frustration. I definitely recommend a tripod for those kind of shots, it’ll help you get the crispest image you can. You can also prop the camera on the hood of your car or a desk to get the perfect shot. But don’t be afraid to get creative with different camera positions and angles, too.
• Edit your photos after the shoot. Most professional photos are edited to give them a more polished look. I used actions in PhotoShop Elements to give my photos a vintage feel. If you don’t have a similar program on your computer, check out PicMonkey, Pixlr and Picasa, which are free online editing tools.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your camera and get clicking!

Would you ever do a DIY maternity photo shoot, or would you leave it to a professional photographer?

With the cold weather quickly approaching I’ve been thinking about how to dress my 10 month old son for bed. Last winter when he was still a teeny tiny baby, we layered on the clothes and swaddled him up to keep him warm at night. And let’s not forget our astronomically high heating bills.

Now that Harry is mobile, we can’t bundle him up as much this year. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against using blankets in the crib until baby’s first birthday, and even if I were comfortable using them my son tosses and turns so much he’d fling them off in a matter of minutes.

In efforts to keep your heating bills down, I thought I’d quickly share what my son is going to wear to sleep this winter.

Sleep Sacks

We’ve used Halo Sleepsacks since bringing Harry home from the hospital. They are awesome! We stopped using them over the summer and now that Harry cruises around his crib in the morning they seem like a tripping hazard. Fortunately the good people at Halo thought of situations like these: sleepsacks with leg holes!

I ordered this fleece sleepsack last week. I ordered the 12-18 month size thinking it would fit Harry, who’s in the 90^th percentile for height. Be warned, it’s huge. As in a good five inches taller than my baby. I thought that would be problematic, but since his feet are exposed and he needs to wear socks anyways, I just tucked the leg cuffs into his socks. Harry’s worn cotton two-piece PJs underneath the sleepsack and it’s worked perfectly so far!

If tucking the leg cuffs into baby’s socks doesn’t work for you it would be very easy to fold them inside the sleepsack and secure with a few stitches that can be removed when baby is taller.

Fleece Pajamas

I remember sleeping in fleece PJs as a kid. I also remember being pinched with the zipper a few times… ouch! Luckily for today’s babies and toddlers most fleece PJs have an extra piece of fabric behind the zipper to protect their delicate skin.

Fleece PJs are a great option for winter because they’re incredibly warm without adding much bulk. I’ve been putting a short-sleeved onesie underneath the PJs for extra warmth, and as it gets colder out I might put long sleeves and socks on him.

Between our two options Harry will be sleeping in style this winter! And hopefully he’ll be nice and warm, too!

What are  you putting your baby to sleep in this winter?

One of my first thoughts when I became pregnant was that I would finally be able to buy a Bumbo seat, those funny little pod-like chairs for infants. I’d seen my friends use them with their babies and thought they were adorable. We started using the seat with our son, Harry, when he was about two months old. He loved sitting upright and I liked putting him in it while I did dishes and other chores. It was also wonderful when we started giving him fruit in a mesh feeder. The Bumbo was one of the most used chairs in our house for few months there!

Before Harry was born I’d heard about babies getting injured in the seats. Everything I read said the injuries happened while the babies were sitting on an elevated surface, like a table or countertop. We only used the chair on the floor and I was never concerned that he’d topple out of it. We used the Bumbo until Harry was about six months old and sitting on his own.

Earlier this summer, Bumbo International voluntarily recalled their chairs for repair and rebranded them as Bumbo Floor Seats. They were recalled because of those injuries I’d read about while pregnant. The seats are now being sold with restraint belts to help prevent any further accidents.

What this all means is, if you already have a Bumbo, to safely use it, you’ll need to get a repair kit with a strap — the company will send you one for free (details here). Even though Harry is too big for his Bumbo now, I went ahead and ordered the kit. I wanted to make sure the seat was up to safety standards in case I decide to give it to a friend or use with a future baby.

I received the repair kit within a week of ordering it and went to work on the seat right away. The strap was incredibly easy to install and the kit included everything I needed except for a pen (to mark where to put the strap anchors). It took me less than 10 minutes to set up the Bumbo’s safety restraints. I also affixed the new, more detailed safety warning on the seat.

I put Harry in the chair to give the new straps a test drive. Since he’s so big now it was hard to gauge exactly how effective they are. To me, it seems like the adjustable straps will do a good job at keeping babies in the seats, but I think they might also give parents a false sense of security and Bumbo chairs will still be placed on elevated surfaces. If you’re looking to get your baby off the floor while you work around the house, try a high chair (some recline for very young babies), swing or the Fisher Price Rock n’ Play.

Remember, accidents do happen so don’t ever use a Bumbo on an elevated surface and always keep a watchful eye on your baby while using it.

What do you think about the Bumbo recall and the new Bumbo floor seat safety restraints?

Hello Bumpies! I am super excited about my first guest blog post. My name is Lindsey and I’m a SAHM to my ten month old son, Harry. When I’m not chasing after him I blog over at The Accidental Wallflower.

I thought I’d start out by blogging about something I’m really passionate about: cloth diapering!

Modern cloth diapers have been gaining momentum in the past few years and keep getting more popular. We thought about cloth diapering while I was pregnant but didn’t take the plunge until Harry was five months old  and some fellow Bumpies encouraged me to. I’ll admit it was a little rocky at first. There are so many different types of cloth diapers it took us about a month to find a system that worked for us.

Why are cloth diapers becoming so popular? Well, to start they are nothing like the cloth diapers our grandparents used. Diaper pins have been replaced with Velcro and snaps and breathable PUL (polyurethane laminate) material has taken the place of those awful plastic pants. Today’s cloth diapers work just like disposables, except they get thrown in the laundry instead of the trash. A full stash of reusable diapers will set you back anywhere from $200-500, a fraction of what disposables cost over the years. Cloth diapers aren’t full of chemicals like disposables and they produce a much smaller carbon footprint than their throwaway counterparts. Plus, they come in a wide variety of cute colors and prints.

A lot of new parents feel overwhelmed at the prospect of cloth diapering. With purchasing 20+ diapers at once, figuring out a laundry routine that works and the general stress that comes with being new parents, many moms and dads are hesitant to try them out. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Cloth diapering isn’t an all or nothing thing. I think everyone should try it out on a part-time basis at first. We started out by using four diapers a day. Gradually we worked up to keeping them on him full-time.

If you’re really curious about cloth diapering your baby, look in to a diaper trial. It’s the least stressful way of cutting that disposable diaper umbilical cord. With trials you get to try a few different styles with nearly no financial risk. If you don’t like the diapers, return them and get most of your money back. Jillian’s Drawers and Kelly’s Closet are two popular choices for diaper trials, but there are a bunch of different companies that offer similar programs.

If you have more cloth diaper questions, The Bump’s cloth diaper forum is a great resource. There are so many knowledgeable ladies on there just waiting to answer any questions you might have.

What kind of diapers do you use for your baby? Why do you like them best?