Giraffe Nursery

Last November I wrote a post about elephant themed nurseries (here) and it was a hit.  I'm not always great a predicting which posts will get especially great readership and the Elephant Nursery post is an example of that.  Don't get me wrong, I found some pretty adorable nursery decor, but I didn't realize how many people are into elephants.

Today's post is part two (an unplanned sequel) of safari animal nursery decorating - Giraffes.  Below are my favorites that come from a variety of sources. There were truly too many items to include, so I had to leave a few out including Sophie.  I figured that if you're going with a giraffe theme for your nursery, then Sophie is a given that needs no plug.  Plus, she's already gotten far too much face time on this blog.  If you don't know who Sophie is, shame on you and click here.

Bedding set by Pottery Barn Kids ($19-$229)

1. "One day I will be tall like a" print (8x10") by Printed Inc. ($15)
2.  Personalized name print (9x13") by Leo Little Lion ($20)
3.  G is for Giraffe pring (8x10") by Delivered by Danielle ($14)

1.  Faux leather giraffe bookend (left) by Serena and Lily ($58)
2.  Ida the Giraffe bookend (right) by Zuny ($49)

Set of 2 security blankets by Aden + Anais ($20)

Set of 3 flannel swaddling blankets by Pottery Barn Kids ($34)

Minky baby blanket by KdBuggie Boutique & Designs ($35)

1.  Giraffe silhouette lamp by Giggle ($175)

2.  Nightlight by Jonathan Adler ($48)

3.  Head's Up Lamp by The Land of Nod ($199)

Animal print rug by Pottery Barn Kids ($149-$699)

Stuff People Google 37

Just yesterday, someone googled the word below.  I was stumped.  What does this word mean?  Why would this word bring anyone to Next Stop Baby?  So, I googled this word.  Turns out that I used this word in a post last October (here).  Also turns out that Next Stop Baby is the ONLY result on a google search of this word.  Tell me this (seriously, leave a comment) - why would someone google this word?  Why?  What was the idea or the typo behind this search? 

barkvelous 

Baby Crazed Grandparents

It's not just women of child-bearing age and desire that go baby crazy.  The parents of those women can go baby crazy as well.  And when a grandparent-to-be is baby crazy, it sort of blows all other forms of baby craze straight out of the pond.  Here's why: Grandparents are older than parents (you knew that) and it's well established law that the older a person gets the fewer rules he/she will follow and the fewer niceties he/she will extend.  Boundaries and limits are meaningless to old people.  Generally, old people don't give a shit.

She would totally cut you in line at the pharmacy
and elbow you if you put up a fight.
(image here)

When this free-for-all attitude combines with a severe desire to be a grandparent, the result is social inappropriateness at its worst.  I knew a woman who collected books for her unconceived grandchildren from the time her own child turned sixteen.  Yep, 16.  Mind you, I knew her child when he was around thirty, without kids and without a prospective baby mama in his life.  I know women who collect Christmas ornaments and clothes for their unconceived grandchildren.  And I know one woman who buys baby products (high chair, etc.) for her home for when her unconceived baby visits.  It was such a deep discount for such a quality product, she couldn't not buy it...

This sort of extreme baby craze can definitely knock the baby craze out of a lesser committed individual.  It's down right scary.  But, can this behavior be controlled and/or stopped?  Circle back to the beginning of the post.  The answer is no, no it cannot.  Grandparent aged folk are crazy by law.  The baby part is just a focus for that crazy.  There's nothing that can be done other than to ride out the socially inappropriate wave and remember that it comes from a place a deep, profound love.  Usually.

Who is the most baby crazed grandparent-wanna-be that you know?  Any good stories?  I'd love to hear about the baby crazed woman who bought her daughter ovulation test kits and prenatal vitamins?  Or baby crazed parents who consult their child's boss about whether he seemed like he would make a good father?

Houndstooth Everything...Before it's too Late

I had an amazing post idea about how the Republic presidential candidates are a lot like the men of the Jersey Shore.  Seriously.  Then, I remembered that I write a baby blog.  I found zero (reasonable) ways to connect the concept of "baby crazy" with the GOP primary elections.  And so, instead, I'm bringing you a post about houndstooth.  But, in case you were interested, here are the parallels...you can imagine the reasoning:

Vinny = Mitt Romney

Pauly D = Ron Paul

Ronnie = Rick Santorum

Situation = Newt Gingrich 

I've been in a houndstooth mood this winter.  It's a classic pattern, but can easily be incorporated into a modern motif.  It works for clothes, accessories, furniture and home decor...including toilet seats (here).  If I were a mood board, I would look like this:

images (here, here, here, here and here)

Or, maybe like this:

The tragedy is that houndstooth is a seasonal pattern - fall and winter appropriate.  So, before the spring is upon us...which I'm crossing my fingers is soon...here are some fabulous handmade, houndstooth gems from Etsy.

Onesie by Dread Pirate Design ($10)

Two bibs and burp cloth set by Vintage Kandy ($18)

Diaper clutch and wet bag by Bushy Tails ($15)

Black loafers by Ivory and Moss ($28) and
Brown loafers by Baby Love by Abbie ($15)

Grey blanket by Sew Wonderfully Made ($34)

Stuff People Google 36

Today's edition of Stuff People Google is maybe a fine question for google (maybe).  But it cracks me up that the searcher clicked on Next Stop Baby.  What post on this blog could possibly have answered this question?

does girls get their breasts in 5th grade?

The Blue Ivy Conspiracy

Next Stop Baby (the blog you are currently reading) is not a celebrity gossip blog.  I (the blogger) don't know any insider news about celebrities.  I don't live in California, much less Los Angeles.  I'm just hopelessly tacky with my obsession for all things celebrity.  It's common for me to through in a celebrity reference here or there.  And, once in a while, I dedicate an entire post to Teen Mom or Pregnant in Heels because they represent a crossover area of both celebrity and baby...so I feel like it's allowed. Today, is a bit of a crossover area as well - Blue Ivy Carter.  I got questions.

I was so excited when the news of Beyonce and Jay Z's baby girl, Blue Ivy, hit the celebrity gossip websites.  I was all over it.  I read about the crazy money that the super celeb couple spent on their hospital suite at Lenox Hill.  I read about the meaning behind Blue Ivy's unique name.  And, I read about all the other celebs' reactions to the fantastic news.  There was a lot to read.  

Then, I heard (note: I didn't read) a rumor that Beyonce didn't herself give birth to Blue Ivy.  Here is the full rumor, as I was told: Beyonce was never pregnant.  She didn't want to get pregnant herself and lose her figure and job opportunities along with it.  She faked the pregnancy because she didn't like the image of surrogacy.  She wore around a fake baby bump on her torso and some chicken cutlets in her bra to give the illusion.  At Lenox Hill Hospital, she and Jay Z had an entire floor to themselves and only those in the know and sworn to secrecy were allowed on the floor.

My immediate reaction to this tall tale?  Bullshit.  There's just no way.  First, I don't buy that someone, even an ego-centric, I-own-the-world type celebrity (not that I think Beyonce fits that definition), would go to those measures.  Do you agree?  Second, even if someone had the balls to try and pull of a scheme of that complexity, it wouldn't work.  The news would leak.  Someone would get their hands on those medical records and the whole, silly thing would be revealed.

She looks pregnant here and
I'm not sure how this could be faked.

I was going to scour the internet for all the evidence of this wild allegation, but I think pulling together a collection of fake pregnancy evidence would only dignify the rumor.  Plus, other websites have already done that!  (Like this one).

What do you think?  Have you heard this rumor?  I'm just not a conspiracy theorist.  I even believe that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are happily married....

The Banished Baby Bump

What word or term describes a pregnant woman's protruding midsection?

Baby bump.  

(That's what you guessed, right?)

Heidi Klum and Gwen Stefani had
some serious baby bumps circa 2008

Can you think of any commonly used synonyms for "baby bump"?  Protruding midsection (as I just wrote above)?  Definitely NO.  Pregnant belly?  I don't think so, though maybe.  The word "showing" is somewhat common - "is she showing?" or "I'm not showing yet", etc.  But, "showing" doesn't refer to the protruding midsection itself, it refers to the size of the protruding midsection (whether it's visible to the general public).  By and large, baby bump is the term.

Meanwhile, pregnancy and motherhood are pop-culture phenomenons.  I'm not sure when that became true.  Maybe when Demi Moore was pregnant and naked on the cover of Vanity Fair?  That's a total wild guess, but you can quote me.  But, whenever this pregnancy coolness trend started doesn't matter because I think we can all agree that it is here and now.  Just last year, Pregnant and Heels made Rosie Pope a pseudo celebrity and her maternity clothing line a must have for rich pregnant ladies.  Celebrity gossip websites feature "Bump Watch" columns that show photos of celebrity midsections that are suspected to be pregnant or known to be pregnant.  There are pregnancy books and websites and blogs (ahem...), all dedicated to the fondness and coolness of pregnancy.  Being pregnant is generally a hip thing to be these days.

With this hot pregnancy trend and the seeming fact that only one term describes a pregnant woman's protruding midsection, the words "baby bump", are overused everywhere.

Remember this?

According to Lake Superior State University, that needs to end.  Stat.  Every year, Lake Superior State University conducts a survey of the most misused, overused and generally useless words in the English language.  Every year the votes are tallied and a list of the twelve most voted for words is published.  The list is sort of a request to stop using the words.  More like a demand?  The newest list came out on January 1, 2012 and...you know where I'm going with this... BABY BUMP was number 2 on the list.

Here is the full list:

1. Amazing
2. Baby Bump
3. Shared Sacrifice
4. Occupy
5. Blowback
6. Man Cave
7. The New Normal
8. Pet Parent
9. Win the Future
10. Trickeration
11. Ginormous
12. Thank You In Advance

For the all the lists since 1976 (the original list) click here and for a witty NPR article on the newest list click here.

Do you agree is baby bump way overused?  What else, frankly, should we be saying if not baby bump!?  Anyone have a thesaurus?

Stuff People Google 35

This google search phrase is weird, but not that weird.  I can definitely imagine educational, scientific contexts in which one would google these words...yeah, definitely.  It also reminded me of one of the original Stuff People Google terms, also about an owl (here).

owl fetus

The Cutest Kid

I see kids every day.  Adorable, oozing with cuteness kids.  Once in a while I see an especially adorable one.  The type of child who you stare at, like a creep.  You try to resist commenting on the cuteness, but can't help yourself, "She is just so precious, I can't take it!  I had to say something!!!"  You go home thinking that you need a baby, stat.  That's not the type of kid I saw last week.  I saw the opposite type of kid.  He was a mess.  Just a friggin mess.

I was on my evening commute home via the notorious NYC subway.  The train car was stupidly packed, which somehow didn't stop a mother from pushing herself and a stroller into the crowd.  We, the commuters who can't stand mothers with their strollers, sighed loudly and blatantly rolled our eyes.  Why can't mothers with strollers choose non-commuter hours to travel on public transportation!? A question that I've asked before (here).

I was the lucky winner who was wedged between a metal pole and the stroller.  So, naturally, I checked out the little bugger who was making my trip home that much more aggravating.  He was not cute.  First, his outfit was a disaster and not in the mismatched-because-he-dressed-himself way.  More in the I-didn't-know-kids-clothes-could-be-so-ugly way and the that-shade-of-teal-is-making-me-nauseous way.  Next, he had thick pen marks all over one of his cheeks.  Shouldn't he be drawing with a Crayola marker and not a Papermate ballpoint?  Next, his hands were purple.  But it wasn't just the color that was a problem.  There was sticky, thick, crumbly, purple stuff caked all under his finger nails and in every wrinkle and crevice of his little hand.  Next, he was using these grubby, purple paws to eat cheddar bunnies.  There were cheddar bunnies everywhere - on his coat, on his teal sweatpants, in his mouth and nose, smeared on his chin...just everywhere.  The fluorescent orange of the bunny crumbs was mixing with the purple mystery goo to create a sticky rainbow nightmare.  Finally, he started to scream.

This doesn't really cover it.  There was PURPLE and so many bunny crumbs.
(images found here, here, here, here and here)

Go ahead, judge me.  Comment that I'm a total asshole for thinking the baby was an uncute mess and sharing that opinion with you.  I would too.

Thankfully I reached my stop before my ear drums suffered permanent damage.  As I walked down the platform and through the turnstile, I got a little sad.  It seemed clear to me that my guttural reaction to the purple-handed little boy was a sign that I'm probably not ready to have kids.  I mean, who thinks toddlers are gross?  As baby crazy as I may be, it seemed that the messy reality was not jiving with my parenthood aspirations.  Humph.

But the story doesn't end there because it was THEN that I saw the cutest kid.  She was probably 6-years-old, wearing a pink winter coat and sporting some lop-sided pigtails.  She was holding her mother's hand and vehemently yelling.  It was a mother/daughter battle for the ages.  And here's how it went:

Mother - "I told you to get yourself ready, but you continued to dawdle."
Daughter - "That's not true."
Mother - "That is true.  I saw you.  You were dawdling and you were supposed to be getting ready."
Daughter - "You don't know what I was doing!  Only I know what I was doing!  Only I am me!  ONLY I AM ME!!!"

I don't know that everyone would have loved that exchange, but I did.  I thought it was just the cutest response and that she was just the cutest kid.  I followed the pair down the sidewalk, holding back giggles and desperately wanting to interject and side with the pint-sized Johnny Cochran.

Cuteness is in the eye of the beholder.  My baby craze lives on...

Flower Power Baby Shower, Wow...er

Last week I received the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog in the mail.  It featured all things Spring, as in the season.  Spring!  Read that exclamation point as a "what the hell!" and not a "yay!".  The first official day of winter was less than three weeks ago.  It was damn near balmy the last week of December.  The long, icy haul that we typically face here in the tri-state area has only just begun.  So, dear publishers of the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, hold your horses.

I was annoyed, as I'm sure you've gathered.  But then, I was inspired (side note: I've spontaneously undertaken a glass half full attitude in 2012, it's nice).  It's a bit too early to prepare for spring decor, but it's not too early to start planning spring time baby showers.  In fact, I'm guessing that anyone who's hosting a March, April or May baby shower this year is already starting to brainstorm the theme and pull together the guest list.

Here are a few ideas to help your shower planning process.

Invitations

1. Sassy Photo Creations ($15 for the digital file)
2. Ta Love ($10 for the digital file)
3. Kindly Reply ($1.80-$1.40/each depending on quantity)

Decorations

Flower cupcake toppers by The Blissful Baker ($8 for 8 toppers)

1. Green mountain doily garland by Arts Delight ($9 for 6 foot strand)

2. Bird, flower, beehive garland by Paper Junkies ($18 for ~4 foot strand)

3. Pink and printed fan flower garland by Kelsey's Treasures ($7 for ~3.5 foot strand)

Favors

Daisy soap by Bubble City Soap ($1.50 each)

White chocolate tulip lollipops by Cocoa Confections ($24 for 24 lollipops)

Stuff People Google 34

It's a new year, as you may have realized.  While many things will change in this new year, some things will remain the same.  Today's edition of Stuff People Google is a reminder of that and an homage to the underlying theme of Next Stop Baby.

i want to stop being so baby crazy

I Did A Stupid Thing

NSB is kicking off the new year with a 

new guest blogger - Lia Capri.  She's a friend and a baby crazed confidant (on some days).  I'm delighted to share her relatable, witty perspective on deciding the right time to start a family.

Disclaimer: this post contains some graphic descriptions which  may make you question (further question?) your desire to procreate.  

First, a bit of background.  I've been with my husband for nearly 7 years, married for 2.  We are in love and quickly (too quickly) approaching 30.  We both love kids and want to have a family someday (maybe someday soon).  BUT none of our friends have had children and we've found one reason after another to put off trying.  "You can't be pregnant at Brian's wedding", "it would be a sin not to drink on our trip to Vegas", "let's wait to see if that transfer comes through with your job" and so the story goes.

But as the new year approaches (post written on December 30, 2011), I think of the greatest potential milestone I (we) could reach in 2012, a precious addition to our family (I'm speaking of a baby of course, not a pet or car).  And so I realize the excuses are no longer compelling and babymaking season is upon me.  Then, with curiosity and blissful ignorance of what is before me, I did a simple search on You Tube: Childbirth.

Pretty accurate portrayal of my expression watching the youtube videos

Oh the horror!  I will spare you the details of what I witnessed in the first video I watched (yes, this masochist watched more than one!) but I'll just say that there was a lot of blood, scissors, a very large infant head, and way too much butthole.  Fortunately the sound was not on in this video, which may have spared me additional trauma.

Now, excuse me while I reserve bottle service at the club in Vegas!

By Lia Capri

Baby Uncrazy

What is a term for being the opposite of baby crazy?  Baby Uncrazy or Baby Sane?  Baby Averse?

How about Baby Logical.

I was gifted two very funny, very Baby Logical books this holiday season:  "Babies Ruin Everything" and "The Baby is Disappointing"

Some would probably categorize these books as Baby Averse, but I'll stick with Baby Logical.  Here's a taste of this so-called logic from "The Baby is Disappointing":

This is from "Babies Ruin Everything, which is written from the perspective of an older sibling:

Both are truly hysterical.  They're conversation starters and take all of five minutes to read.  Both are written by Matthew Swanson, illustrated by Robbi Behr and published by Idiots' Books.  Here is the website for Idiots' Books, which is a cool, small teeny-tiny publishing company.  Because the publisher is so small, its awesome books can't be found in your neighborhood Barnes & Noble.  My gift giver found them at a boutique gift shop in Brooklyn.  If you don't live in Brooklyn, fear not, you can purchase them off the website (here it is, again).

While they may not be for everyone, even certain baby crazed ladies can appreciate the sarcasm of both books.  Subtle (and not so subtle) reminders that major life changes come along with those cooing bundles of joy is not a bad thing.

Happy 2012 to the Baby Crazy people, the Baby Logical people and Baby Crazy Yet Logical people...if they exist.