droolicious : sleeping

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag: And I Thought They Felt Cozy On The Outside

Chris Ford — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:00:00 GMT

April Fool's Day has come and gone, and in it's wake we might just have the coolest kid's product I've ever seen. Too bad it's fake (for now at least).

Apparently every April Fool's Day online nerd product purveyor ThinkGeek comes out with a list of fake products, and at the top of the list this year was this fake sleeping bag for kids in the shape of a Tauntaun from The Empire Strikes Back. For those that don't remember (and at the risk of letting my geek-flag fly) - the Tauntaun is what Han Solo puts the nearly frozen Luke Skywalker in to keep him warm over night. While they're on the ice planet Hoth. After the Tauntaun dies from exhaustion. Before the Empire finds them.

Well, this idea has had such a tremendous positive response, ThinkGeek is now taking names from interested buyers in the hopes that they can one day bring this to market. I for one am sure hoping they do.

(Oh, and if you haven't noticed yet, check out the pattern of the lining).

Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, ThinkGeek.com (via The Consumerist).

Sleep Tight Sale: 20% Off Nap Mat

Lisa Mulcahy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:28:00 GMT

Ahh, my favorite part of the day, nap time. I cherish it and don’t know what I’m going to do when my toddler decides it’s time to toss in the towel on naps. But for now, it’s my slice of heaven everyday.

Since my son has made a habit out of pulling all my couch cushions onto the floor to rest his head I think this nap mat, $64 from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, might be right up his alley. It’s so much cushier than traditional nap mats and the fabric slips right off the pillows so they can be easily washed. Get it now while it’s still 20% off.

Reduce SIDS Risk With Temperature Monitoring

Lisa Mulcahy — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:30:00 GMT

It’s amazing that I survived infancy with the way my mother used to bundle me up at night. Not only did I don a zip-up sleeper, but fleece pajamas and blanket to boot. All the while, the heat was pumping in the house. But, apparently this was what mothers in the 70s did. Now the experts agree that temperature control may play a role in reducing the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

If you have a dial thermostat (instead of digital) like me, it may be hard to tell exactly what temperature it is in any given room. Grobag’s Egg Room Thermometer, $24.99, allows you to keep a close eye on temperature. It glows yellow if the room is within recommended guidelines (61-67°F). If the room temperature is outside this range, the Grobag egg acts as a visual reminder for you to take action to cool or heat the room, or to adjust the baby’s bedding or clothing. Bonus use: it also doubles as a nightlight.

New BPA-free Orthodontic Pacifier

Lisa Mulcahy — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:58:00 GMT

My son was never one for pacifiers, they always seemed to end up at the bottom of the crib. Maybe if he had this BPA-free, day-to-night number, things would have been different.

BornFree has just launched its new orthodontic product line by unveiling the BornFree BPA-Free Pacifier for Day and Night Use, $7.99 for two. Made from materials that are 100% free of Bisphenol-A, Phthalates and PVC, The BornFree Pacifier for Day and Night Use features a flexible handle and provides improvements on traditional pacifiers by offering a BPA-free product combined with advances such as the orthodontic collapsible nipple and a breathable shield.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Sound Sleep For Babies

Chris Ford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:23:00 GMT

One of the more interesting product demos I saw at ABC was from a company called SoundScience. They make a CD to help babies sleep, but unlike "lullaby CDs" this one concentrates on the low frequencies infants were used to in the womb. And unlike other "womb sounds" products, they also add some ambient music in there so parents don't go crazy too.

The basic idea is that babies react to higher pitched sounds when they are awake and learning, but when it's time to relax and go to sleep, high pitched noises like a lullaby only keep the baby awake and upset. I stood there and listened to SoundSleep while the creator was talking about it, and while it didn't put me to sleep, when he turned it off abruptly there was this feeling that something was missing. It's hard to describe, but it definitely convinced me that there is something to it.

On their web site there are tons of product testimonials, and they describe it all in much more detail. But twenty-five bucks seems like a pretty low price for a shot to get your infant asleep.

Sound Sleep for Babies from Sound Science, $24.95 from SoundScience.us.

ABC Kids Expo 2008: Bloom Alma Collapsable Mini Crib

Chris Ford — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:37:00 GMT

Like I mentioned before, Bloom had a lot of cool stuff at ABC, not the least of which was the "Alma," a collapsable mini crib or bassinet. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture above, but the Alma is a crib that, when you take the mattress out, folds up into a much smaller footprint. It's not exactly portable, but it could easily be tucked away into a closet.

The Mini Crib / Bassinet is designed for babies 0 - 12 months and even has a plastic rail for chewing babies. The ability for it to fold up is what's really cool about it, and it would be perfect in a home where space is an issue, or even a place where the baby sleeps part-time (i.e. Grandma and Grandpa's). It is a custom size though, so you'll have to buy the mattress from Bloom too. The frame will cost $450, and the simple mattress for $80, and coil mattress for $160.

It's not available yet, but you can still check out the Bloom web site at BloomBaby.com

Pigeon Perch-able Night Light

Chris Ford — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:13:00 GMT

In my house we're kind of a little pigeon crazy (thanks to Mo Willems), so maybe that's the reason I'm noticing all of this pigeon related kids stuff all of a sudden. To wit: the Pigeon Perch-able Light by Ed Carpenter.

Available in pink, orange, black or white, the pigeon night light has a wooden clothespin for feet for easy perching. And it's not like a normal night light that you plug into directly to the socket - it has a cord with a plug.

Oh, and it's "Designed by Ed Carpenter for Thorsten Van Elten." When you see something like that on a web site, it's a safe bet that it will cost you.

The Pigeon Perch-able Light by Ed Carpenter for Thorsten Van Elten, $105 from SpunkySprout.com.

Hot for Cots

Lisa Mulcahy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:10:00 GMT

Since the invention of the ubiquitous Aero Bed I feel like old-fashioned cots have fallen out of favor. But really they are quite handy for kid sleepovers, camping or simply a night on the lawn looking at the stars. Until I saw this one, I didn’t think there was such a thing as a modern looking cot.

Most cots are reminiscent of something you would find at a second-hand army navy store next to the hunting knives and canteens or, on a more mainstream level, the camping aisle at Wal-Mart. Either way, not appealing. This lily pad cot, $195, from Hable Construction just might change the “cot” image for good. I can see the branding campaign now, “Dump Your (Air) Pump, Cots are Cool.”

Casablanca Cribs in Jennifer Lopez's Nursery

Chris Ford — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:30:00 GMT

Last week I mentioned the prams Jennifer Lopez has for her new twins, but there are other baby products to gawk at in the People Magazine article too. For instance, the matching "Casablanca Cribs" in the nursery. Even though the picture in People makes it look like neither child has ever spent a moment of their lives in the cribs, this time I'm finding it kind of difficult to make fun of them.

Well, maybe not so difficult.

The Casablanca Premier crib is adjustable, meets all the US safety requirements and has a drop front gate that's integrated into the "scroll bar." And if a big, vintage-looking metal crib with a lot of ornate scrolls matches your design style, then you could do a lot worse than the Casablanca Premiere. I do however think it's a little weird that J-Lo has the same crib featured in Stuart Little II (Stuart Little Two??) but hey, maybe she's a big fan of mediocre kid's movie sequels.

The Casablanca Premier is available as a custom order in burnished gold, silver or satin white for $950 from Petit Tresor.

14 Days of Nursery: Growing Crib for Changing Spaces

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:01:00 GMT

I'll be the first to admit there's something off-putting about this Stokke Sleepi Crib (pictured here in its "Mini" version), and that's not just the $1,150 price tag. But if you're strapped for space and also need a bed that's going to grow with your baby through the big-kid years, maybe you wouldn't mind sacrificing warm-fuzzy design for functional minimalism. Plus, you know, the thing does come with a drapery rod, so you can hang a piece of fabric over it and re-enact your own final scene in Rosemary's Baby, only with Ray and Charles Eames in place of Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes, or, you know, whatever.

As your little one grows, so does the Sleepi: The adjustable mattress position (four heights in total), expandable frame and removable center railing accommodate sizes ranging from baby to toddler to junior kiddo, and it even has a life beyond that, as you can separate it into chairs when it's officially time to invest in a bigger bed. All of which kind of puts that price tag into better perspective, as you're looking at roughly $287.50 per growth stage -- probably not far from what you'd spend at IKEA when you factor in all the stage-by-stage purchases and inevitable breakage. (Or maybe it's just my kids who snap IKEA furniture like so many Bruce Lee practice boards.)

Stage two: bigger baby:

Stage three -- toddler:

Stage four -- one chair to seat them all:

Sleep Well: Nume Bed With English Wool Mattress

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:55:00 GMT

Besides the price (£575.50, or roughly $1,150 in U.S. currency), there's very little about this minimalist-chic bed by Nume that I'd like to change. OK, so the corners aren't exactly toddler-friendly, but those can be covered until you're out of the walking-hazard years.

The bed itself is fashioned from lightly grooved multilayer birch and finished with a water-based sealant, and the design (which, to me, looks a bit like a desktop inbox) is meant to conjure feelings of helming your own little ship -- one with sides that prevent you from slipping overboard. I have no idea what it feels like to sleep on a pure-English-wool mattress, as the bed also features, but it sounds good enough to make me want to hit the hay right now.

Available from Little Fashion Gallery, which ships worldwide; break out the currency converter to determine delivery costs for your region.

Droolworthy: Go Mama Go Snug & Tug Swaddlers

Mir — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:58:00 GMT

If you failed Swaddling 101 (lord knows I did; no matter how I wrapped my baby, his arms were free and flinging around in no time), the Snug & Tug Swaddling Blanket from Go Mama Go is the answer to your prayers. Not only is there a pouch into which you place the baby (no more runaway feet!), but the shape leaves no doubt as to the proper wrapping method, and the velcro secures the whole shebang so that even Houdini would stay tightly wrapped. Genius! It's an award-winner with good reason.

Order from the manufacturer; two sizes, five colors; $34.95 for one or $60 for two.

Hang Your Kid in a Culla Belly Co-Sleeper

Mir — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:04:00 GMT

I couldn't figure it out, at first, of what this Culla Belly co-sleeper (see it here, but unless you read Italian I'm not sure how to find out availability or price) reminded me. A breadbox? Well, yes, sort of. One of these hanging booster seats? Hmm, a little. Wait! I know! Once your baby outgrows it as a co-sleeper, you can hang it on the window and plant some flowers in it!

[Hat tip: Babygadget]