Hi everyone!

Today marks the one year anniversary of BabyLuxe {daily}! I can hardly believe a whole year has gone by since that one quiet night that I started blogging about my favorite baby products, just because I had nothing better to do with my time… A year ago I was in the midst of my {delayed} baby blues, potty training, preparing Colin for preschool, weaning Alex from nursing & starting him on solids. I guess it’s safe to say I was slightly bored & was looking for some sort of exciting new venture to embark upon. I never imagined the response that I would get from our many, many loyal and devoted readers & for that, I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart!

So to celebrate this occasion, I have decided to revisit those first few weeks & pay special tribute to the “top 5″ products that truly inspired me to start writing BabyLuxe! At the end of this feature, I have an exciting poll that I would love your feedback on, and to say thank you, we are hosting some amazing giveaways; the feature products themselves!

Here now, in no particular order, are my all-time favorite, cannot live without, private label, baby products!

Swaddle Designs : To this day, we would be lost without our Ultimate Receiving Blanket, by Swaddle Designs! Alex was swaddled in his blanket morning, noon and night, right up until he was about six months old. I suppose maybe that is why he was {and still is} one of the best sleepers ever, a tie with my first son… Yes, my darling 18 month old STILL takes a morning and afternoon nap for me, 4-5 hours total, and goes to bed at 7:30 pm without a peep, only to sleep a full 12 hours most nights. I truly attribute these sleep habits to his Ultimate Receiving Blanket keeping him tight & cozy as an infant, and providing continuous security to him as he breezes easily through toddlerhood.

Bebe Au Lait : Some of you may recognize this as the Hooter Hider. Whichever you call it, this is one of those must-have baby products that no nursing mother should go without, not to mention it is the original nursing cover! Aside from being a beautiful accessory to your nursing self, it also provides just the right amount of privacy that you and baby need while you nurse. I loved being able to conveniently nurse Alex wherever we happened to be, and not feel as though I was being offensive in any way to innocent {& sometimes naive} bystanders. I have proudly passed my beloved Bebe Au Lait along to my favorite nursing mommy friends & relatives, so that they too could experience the joys of convenient & stylish nursing!

Phil & Ted’s : If you’re on your second {third, fourth or fifth} child, then you certainly know the feeling of dread & anxiety that comes with choosing a “double” stroller! Well, all I can say is that you simply must talk to the knowledgeable women at Let’s Go Strolling! They will give it to you straight up, complete with all the details and answers you could ever ask for, free of charge! I worked with Melissa on my stroller choice, and she steered me in the direction of one of my best purchase decisions to-date; a Phil & Ted’s E3 with Toddler kit! While the E3 is no longer available, it has been replaced with something even better; the Phil & Ted’s Sport Buggy with Toddler Seat. I won’t go into all the details here, but I will tell you one thing: while there is no one perfect double stroller out there, I have heard from countless moms & experts, and agree myself, this is by far the best option available! You can see the complete line of Phil & Ted’s products at Let’s Go Strolling!

Hotslings : Never one to consider myself an “attachment” parent, my Hotsling was the one exception! I am saddened to think that Alex is most definitely too big to be “slung” & I may never again experience the joy that my Hotsling once brought to me. He’d nap in there, shop in there, occasionally eat in there & he even witnessed numerous diaper changes from that bird’s eye view {of his brother, obviously}. My Hotsling was truly my sanity saver, above everything else that came my way in those early months of life with two! As I sit here & watch my partner Dana try out and review all the fabulous new baby wearing contraptions on the market, all I long for are the days that Alex would just hang out with me, in the kangaroo carry position, going wherever I went, all day long…

baby star : Both of my kids were pukers, plain and simple. There were never enough burp cloths in sight & I never went anywhere without one, ever. So it was always nice to tote along something that, while practical, was also adorable & easy on my baby’s little faces! The best place that I have found to carry that “perfect” burp cloth, is baby star! They use the basic cloth diaper burp cloths, and then add an impressive wow factor with their luxurious poodle & diamond fabric down the center & their signature designs along the edges. The diaper burps are super absorbent & super cute!

So by now you must be wondering about our readers’ poll & the exciting giveaways we’re offering! After spending the past few days reflecting on this past year, and all of the wonderful baby products that have inspired me to publish this {daily} editorial, I start to wonder, is there room in our life for one more? One more baby, that is… After all, how else could I keep up with the momentum of BabyLuxe, if there aren’t any more babies to test the luxuries on??? I suppose that would be poor justification for bringing another baby into the world… Maybe so, but like my partner Dana said, until we decide that we absolutely do not want any more, there is always that possibility. The time is nearing that I feel the need to make this life-changing decision. I just turned 30, and if we’re going to have one more go at it, I’d prefer to get it over with before I hit 31! Though I have been saying {& truly felt} “No” for the past 6 months, it seems like there may be a little voice inside my head trying to tell me something else. Or maybe I am just crazy. What are your thoughts on going from 2 to 3, what are my chances of getting “my girl” if we do this one more time, will I lose my mind, can we stand to be like to be outnumbered by children, what about the middle-child syndrome {will Alex suffer}? Thoughts, insights, suggestions… I’m taking {and considering} them all!

Everyone that posts a comment with regards to this question {AND a comment on your favorite “top 5″ product}, will be entered into this fabulous giveaway! Currently, we have three prizes: The Ultimate Receiving Blanket, a Bebe Au Lait & a gift certificate to Let’s Go Strolling! We are hoping to add two more prizes by our other “top 5″ designers, but we’re still waiting on confirmation.

UPDATE – we now have a Hotsling & baby star burp cloths to give away as well! Winner’s choice!

Additional ways to get bonus entries – 1 for each:

- Subscribe to our daily email!

- Blog about our giveaway!

- Share this giveaway post using any of the links below {kirtsy, twitter, stumbleupon, facebook. digg it, etc…}

- FOR ANY OF THESE OPTIONS, BE SURE TO SEND US THE LINK {sarah@babyluxedaily.com} SO WE CAN ENTER YOUR NAME THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TIMES!

Thanks so much for your sincere comments & feedback! Contest ends in one week, on July 24th! Good luck to all!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 8:27 am and is filed under BABYELAN. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.