Little Capucine loved the caterpillar clutching toy that came with her mobile so much, we went looking for some similiar toys and found the Ibedoo rattle by Sigikid. It looked great - small size for easy grasping, interesting ears, cute face, a rattle inside, and cotton:

Pros: Cotton, a good rattle, ears!

Cons: Not narrow enough for easy grasping, only the tail tip is narrow.

Overall: This toy is a great example of why reviewing toys is so tricky. We were really ‘meh’ on this one for weeks…and then little Capucine became obsessed with it, it’s her absolute favorite toy. Those thin floppy little cotton antennae are good for many long minutes of sucking, chewing, and inspecting. The tags, the friendly face, the rattle - she loves it.

Tragically, this caterpillar abandoned ship at the Champs de Mars during a photo with the Eiffel tower. So now we have to buy another one. It’s in our store - probably should be at the top of the toy list at this point! - and you can get it right here.

I bought a Beco Butterfly carrier in July (at The Portable Baby), and I feel like it deserves a review. Here’s what it looks like (from the Beco website; our photos of mine are below):

I should say up front, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I’m hesitant to write up ‘cons’ because this product is truly a mix, and the ‘cons’ list always makes it sound like it is a dud. It would be accurate to say this carrier may work perfectly for you, and you will need to try it for a week to know. There ain’t no other way…as I’ve now learned.

Here’s Little Capucine, asleep (her arm should be above that strap but she tucks it under sometimes):

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When we were looking for a cosleeper, the first (and basically only) option we found was the Arm’s Reach cosleeper. Arm’s Reach is essentially the only player in the cosleeper market as far as I could tell, and all of my mama friends had one and recommended them. But as it turned out, none of their models worked for our european-style Ikea bed, which has no box spring and is only thirteen inches off the ground.

We weren’t too bummed about that, because looks-wise the Arm’s Reach is a very utilitarian-looking metal/plastic/nylon structure in the same vein as a Pack ‘n Play - you’ve probably seen one already, they are everywhere:

Say what you will for functionality, this is not one of those droolworthy baby items.

And then I happened to spot an ad in the back of a Mothering magazine for a wooden cosleeper called The Baby Bunk. (more…)

In our quest for grabbable toys, we tried out this mouse pair from toy super power Haba:

Pros: Cute fuzzy faces. Cotton. Tail is easily grabbable and makes the mouse fling around in an entertaining way. Rattle (in the pink one) is great.

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This teeny little butterfly by Sevi is a rattle with crinkly wings and an elastic band for slipping it over a baby’s wrist. It’s intended to move with the baby as they wave their arms around, so they discover their own hands:

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We bought this white dress by the Dutch children’s clothing company Imps & Elfs on an impulse, not knowing anything about the brand and sizing or quality. We found it on sale, but even so I bought it a size too large so it will fit for a long, long time, because it still wasn’t cheap! We didn’t have anything girley for Little Capucine when she arrived, not knowing if it was a boy or girl, so I lost my head a little when I saw it at Nonchalant Mom:

Now that we have it, she’s wearing it all the time (over pants and a onesie, it’s very summer-weight on it’s own). This is our review; we’re giving it a thumbs-up. The quality is excellent, and the details are lovely.

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We wanted a simple and soothing (as opposed to stimulating) mobile with a real music box, made in natural materials, for Little Capucine’s crib. It turns out wooden crib mobiles are pretty rare, we were only able to find a couple intended for crib use (as opposed to ceiling mobiles). From the ones we found, we ultimately bought one by Kaloo, a French stuffed-animal company that is widely available in the US. This is our review of the Liliblue mobile we bought; we’re giving it a thumbs-up.

The mobile in use in our baby room:

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