Discovering Music 11/12/2010

It’s simply amazing that in this day and age there are new discoveries to be made in music! There are still new melodies being made and classical masterpieces being uncovered. We are big fans of Bach’s classical melodies (as you already know) so we were absolutely fascinated when just 5 years ago an unknown Aria (a solo vocal piece with instrumental accompaniment) was discovered. The excitement around the discovery has been simply astounding and just goes to show what a key part of our lives music really is. Want to read more about this discovery? Check out NPR. We believe that music is one of the greatest gifts that you can give to your baby so we wanted to share a few tips for bringing musical experiences to some everyday activities.

Bubbles and Beats
Bath time can be an unknown feeling for your baby, in the beginning. Make the experience more soothing by playing the same music that she hears at nighttime. This will make bath time a calmer occasion filled with soothing melodies that she will experience rather than a foreign occurrence. As your baby gets older play really fun music that you just have to pop your head along to keep bath time as much fun as play time!

Hippin and Hoppin at Home
Turn laundry time, cooking time or anytime that you need to sit your little girl down into music time! Play upbeat music in the room that you are both in. Playing up-tempo music will keep your baby engaged and bopping along and will quickly become a fun together time tradition for you both. If your baby is old enough give a homemade instrument (you can get some tips here ). Step in and play a bar or two with her while you are working.

Lullaby Time
Bedtime can be the perfect chance for you to create an unbreakable bond with your little one. Rather than just popping on a CD or turning on the mobile, create a routine of mixing soft music with your own soft lullabies! Introducing soft music into your bedtime routine will create a soothing environment for both you and your baby. We have some additional tips here.

If you are looking for a musical discovery helper our new Baby Beethoven and Baby Mozart Discovery Kits are specially designed to be music to your little one’s ears! Remember that sharing music from day one is so simple, but so important to add calmness and routine to your baby’s new experiences. Plus discovering music now will become a beautiful tradition for you and your little one to share for years to come!

Discovering The Colors Of Fall With Your Baby 09/24/2010

Happy Fall everyone! Now is a wonderful time to bundle your baby up and head outdoors to explore all of the colors and new experiences that this season has to offer. Plan a strolling adventure with your little guy to discover all of the fun of fall together. You can get your him psyched for your adventure by looking at pictures of the season at home first. Watch Baby Monet- Discovering the seasons together. Describe the colorful leaves, new critters and sounds that you are about to experience. Prepare your little adventurer with his own special leaf sack to bring along and print a few photos of colored leaves and head on a mission to find leaves that match the photos.

Once you get outside of course the #1 thing to take advantage of are the beautiful autumn leaves. A natural rainbow to share with your little sidekick is right at your fingertips. As you walk hand in hand help your baby collect as many different colored and shaped leaves as you can find and save them to explore later at home. If he needs a hand bring along a sticky lint roller brush that he can use to roll on the ground and “magically” collect leaves. Keep your eye out for big pine cones as well. I’ll explain why later. If your baby is too young for his own adventure, not to worry you can still make your fall walk fun. Just grab his stroller and get ready to play tour guide. You can enjoy a relaxing walk and spend the afternoon explaining all of the new changes that are happening with the fall season.

If you want to stay close to home you can make your fall adventure productive and even more fun by getting your little guy’s help with raking. Head to your front yard and make the biggest pile that you can together. Let your inner child loose and jump in it together. Not only will you be having a blast, but you will be discovering new textures as well.

After your fall adventure go home and take time to explore each shape, color and texture of your collection together. Feel the scratchy texture and smooth lines on each leaf, you can show the similarities in the lines of the leaf with the lines on your palm. Look around your living room and grab examples of household items that match the bright red, yellow, and orange of the leaves. If your baby is old enough have him show off his stuff and tell you what color leaf you are exploring and pick out other examples around the house. Now you have a table full of leaves…what do you do? With a little creativity you and your baby are in for an afternoon of fun. Here are a couple quick ideas to bring the fall indoors with fun projects that you can do together.

Happy Leaves
You can use your toddler’s new collection as a canvas for painting. Lay out a mat and spread out the leaves. Grab 2 paint brushes along with non-toxic tempera paints (any color will do) and get painting. You and your little artist can paint faces or you can make a leaf extra special by personalizing with his name. Let dry overnight and you will have super special leaves to remember your day of fall adventure.

My Tree
Your toddler can make their own tree with their new leaves with a little help from you. Take a light colored sheet of construction paper and draw a tree trunk, try your best. You can then let your toddler pick leaves and tell you where he wants them to go. You take the lead and with non toxic glue stick them on the paper until you’ve made your toddler’s special tree.

Yummy Pine Cones
Tis the season to channel your inner Martha Stewart with fall crafts. While on your adventure you hopefully found a few nicely sized pine cones. When home set up a work place for you and your helper. Take the pine cones and spread peanut butter over them. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just try to get as much to stick as possible. Next, put out a shallow plate and spread birdseed across the plate. Let your toddler get a little messy as he rolls the pine cones in the seed. Voila easy bird feeder! Place the homemade feeders in a tree near a window where you and your lil guy can sit inside and see who’s coming along to nibble on your tasty treat.

Indoors and outdoors this fall there are so many fun ways for you and your baby to bond, be active and get discovering.

Happy Fall!

Guest Blogger Spotlight: Love at First Sight by Mommyfriend 09/21/2010

This month we welcome the fabulous Mommyfriend as our guest blogger. She is sharing a very relatable first for many parents, that first moment when you see your older child lock eyes and become instantly bonded with their little baby sibling. It’s a feeling of joy that is forever in your heart and we are so glad to share Mommyfriend’s experience.

Love at First Sight
By: Mommyfriend

The baby of our family, known as “Little BooBoo” will be turning 3 years old this month. As we prepare to celebrate him, I’m reminded of the day I became a believer in love at first sight.

From the moment we told our only son that he was about to become a big brother, he was ready. He was ready to be the big brother to a baby sister whom he decided would be named “Cinderella”. I asked him how he would feel if he ended up with a little brother instead and with a serious face and an even more serious tone, he muttered, “I would not be happy about that at all.”

When it came time to break the news to our son that a baby boy would be joining our family, he was notably disappointed; after all, he had big plans for Cinderella. He eventually admitted that he didn’t want a baby brother because he didn’t want to share his toys. He was an only child and big changes were coming; he could feel it.

That September we welcomed Little BooBoo into our family. As my eldest son walked cautiously into the delivery room, I noticed he looked different; taller, older. He spoke sweetly and softly while his baby brother slept. He took hold of his baby brother’s tiny hand and said, “You’re my brother now.” Little BooBoo kicked his little legs and woke, opening his bright eyes. My proud eldest noticed that his new brother looked just like him and began to tell him all about the swing in the backyard and the green bike he would let him ride. Sleepy Little BooBoo tried to focus as he responded to his big brother’s voice but he soon drifted back to sleep, after all, it had been a pretty exciting day.

In the early days of his infancy, Little BooBoo was always calmed by his big brother’s voice as he would talk to him about cartoons and dinosaurs. As he grew, he would eagerly focus on his big brother’s voice and attempt to mimic his speech. All that brotherly tender loving care led Little BooBoo to say his big brother’s name as his first word!

With each new milestone Little BooBoo reached, we all celebrated but none more than his big brother. It was as if each new discovery bridged the age gap between them that much more.

While Little BooBoo may not have been the Cinderella ending my eldest was hoping for, his baby brother proved to be the happily ever after he never expected. The story of Little BooBoo’s birth as baby brother remains a family favorite, told time and time again. But their story isn’t over yet, in fact it’s just beginning.

You can check out more by Mommyfriend at her blog. Share your children’s first meeting story with us on Facebook.

Playground Chatter: Soothing Babies Through Music 09/17/2010

We’ve recently heard from our community with their tips for dealing with baby’s tantrums and wanted to chime in with one of our top tips. We find that music is one of the most tried and true ways to soothe your baby’s mood at almost any time. Classical music specifically has been found extremely effective to calm a fussy baby. You probably remember Mozart, Beethoven and Bach from music class years ago but bet you never thought these guys would become your right hand men in calming your baby when you need help most.

Keep in mind that for nine months your baby was kept warm and peaceful in your womb. Now all of a sudden she’s out in this new, unknown world. Music can be key for easing the transition into this new life. Many genres, especially classical have steady beats that mimic your heartbeat and trigger a calming effect. In the middle of a tantrum play slow, soft classical music and you will notice your baby’s breathing to slow and become deeper. After a few minutes her overall attitude will begin to become more relaxed. She’ll be reacting to the steady pattern, rhythm and repetition of the song. It’s been said that babies can tell the difference between talking and singing so if you begin to sing along to the music that she is hearing your baby may be able to recognize that music is a special treat from you. And of course one of the simplest benefits that music brings is that when your baby is calming and that relaxing tune is playing you will start to find your stress level drop, so it’s a win win!

Music is a quick fix for calming tantrums, but is also a great for helping to establish a routine. If you take a few minutes every day to introduce your baby to music you will create a mood of serenity and set a routine that lets baby know that it’s relaxing time. You’ll notice over time that your baby will calm at the sound of the record as she’ll begin to associate peaceful times with the soft music. If you have a baby that is getting antsy at night this is a great technique to begin about an hour before bedtime. Your baby will begin to associate the soft chords with bedtime and drift off to sleep making nighttime a bit easier for you.

If you are looking for suggestions on what to play for your little one, we must say that we recommend our classical CDs and lullabies which we’ve crafted with the goal of calming and soothing your baby. The Baby Einstein Classical Music Collection is a collection of classical tunes from Bach, Beethoven and Mozart re-orchestrated for your little girl’s little ears. They are great to have handy in your baby’s room, in the car for those long trips and on your iPod for baby to have anywhere in the go.

So next time your baby seems fussy and there is no relief in sight try popping in a classical CD and enjoy the simple melodies and soft sounds together. Pretty soon you may find it’s a special treat for you too!

Together Time Tuesday: Celebrate National Read A Book Day 09/07/2010

Summer’s over, the kids are on their way back to school and it’s just you and your little one. What better way to spend a relaxing Together Time Tuesday than reading to your baby? Reading now will benefit you both in countless ways from creating a sweet bonding routine to engaging her curiosity and exposing her to words, sounds and colors. We have a few tips for making reading fun for both of you while planting the seeds for a future bookworm all from your comfy couch.

Put 100% into it
You see the biggest A-list actors transform themselves into wacky cartoon characters with voices that have your baby simply fascinated on the big screen. Take a cue and become your own cartoon alter ego at home. Get into character, find your quirky voice . . . dig deep. You know that you have one just dying to be let loose!  Be sure to switch up your wacky voices, use different volumes, and get as expressive as you can. Take a few dramatic pauses to keep your baby’s attention. This is a great activity that you can use to show your baby different emotions.

Make it a Family Affair
Reading can be a fun trip down memory lane for you and your family. Did you recently rediscover your favorite childhood book, the one your mom read to you, or the one that you read to your older children? What a perfect way to share something special to you with your baby! Gather your family around for story time and let everyone be involved. Ask your older children to show off their stuff as they read their favorite baby book to your little one, or let grandma step in and read to you and baby. You can all read a book together by taking different roles. It’s a fantastic way for your whole family to bond and baby to know how much she is really loved. It’s also important to note that babies love repetition, so you can each take turns reading that family favorite over and over.

Entice All of the Senses
If you are just beginning to build your baby library opt for books with brightly colored illustrations and interactive features. Your baby girl will love bright sparkly things from the beginning (that never changes). Anything that she can touch or new images to look at will keep her engaged longer and make your job a bit easier. Fellow parents really like the Baby Einstein Mirror Me and The Colors Flip Flap book. As you introduce books you will see that your baby will begin discovering these new books with all of her senses. Encourage her to grab the book, and feel the soft pages. Help her to look closely at the pictures by taking time to point at them and explain what is happening. If there are sounds in the book remember that repetition is a good thing, so even if you are tired of hearing that pig oink, make the sound one more time and she’ll be a happy camper. You may find your baby trying to see how books taste by sneaking a nibble. Keep an eye on her, but remember that this is her way of using all of her senses to figure out what these mysterious new things are.

Keep in mind that this reading thing is all new to your baby so read slowly and often and you will create a new activity sure to become one of your favorites for years to come!

Baby Einstein at the Click of your Mouse 09/01/2010

Hey moms and dads,

We wanted to let our new blog readers know that there’s even more Baby Einstein available online. Check out our official YouTube channel with your little one for clips of your favorite programs, fun videos, wacky puppets, tips and more. You can preview DVDs that you may not have seen yet and share videos with fellow parents to friends. So check it out and prepare for a few giggles out of you and baby!

Special Children, Special Discoveries 08/30/2010

We share your dedication to bringing a smile to your child’s face every day. Lucky for us we have awesome parents that are always giving us feedback to help guide us in what you want and need.

Recently we’ve been hearing quite a bit from parents of children with special needs. Of course, the issues and children’s ages vary, but we are always pleased to hear from parents that our products bring happiness to their child’s life. Your positive feedback made us want to share Baby Einstein with parents of a child with special needs who might not have explored our DVDs yet with their child. That’s when we thought, what better way than a sampler!

We are offering a free DVD sampler featuring a taste of 3 of our popular DVDs with almost 20 minutes of free content and expert advice. Parents can register for a copy now through December 31st. After you watch together we would love to hear from you. Your insight helps us create the best products possible for all children.

As always we promise to put your child first in everything that we do. We hope that this is one more way that we can work together to make sure that every child has a great experience with Baby Einstein.

Visit http://www.babyeinstein.com/specialdiscoveries for more information.

Guest Blogger Spotlight: A Year Of Firsts by Blue-Eyed Bride 08/23/2010

As we experience each first moment with our baby we realize how truly special the simple things in life are. We are excited that our dear friend Blue-Eyed Bride is joining us as our first Baby E guest blogger to share a recent fun first trip to the barber with her adorable son.

A Year of Firsts- by Blue-Eyed Bride

When our baby boy was first born, it was hard to imagine him doing anything other than sleeping and eating. Sure, I knew that someday he’d say his first word and take his first steps, but those days seemed such a long way away when we were in the middle of 2 a.m. feedings and diaper changes.

I did know, though, that I wanted to make sure that when those first moments happened, that I was there to see them, marvel over them, record them, and put them in his baby book.

Over the past 14 months, we have been so fortunate to witness all of his firsts. He took his first steps toward his teacher at The Little Gym. His first word was “daddy” and many more words have followed since then. His first trip to the beach was a month after his birthday and he couldn’t get enough of the ocean.

More recently, over the weekend in fact, we took him to get his first haircut. I had been dragging my feet on getting his hair cut because little boys don’t look like babies anymore after they get their hair cut. They look clean cut and like little men.

I had become so attached to the little curls at the top of his neck. And I was starting to get attached to the little mullet that was starting to grow down his neck. That was when my husband put his foot down and decided that it was time to get his haircut.

I decided to take him to my salon because I felt like I could have a little more say in the cut because I know and trust my stylist. I’m positive that I overpaid for the haircut, but that’s okay.

He sat in the adult chair on a little booster and he wore an adult-sized smock. His little blond head looked so tiny in the big black smock and I almost cried when he just sat there calmly looking around. He looked so small, but so grown up.

I fed him snacks to keep his attention and to help keep him still while my mom snapped photos. My husband couldn’t get away from work and I was thrilled that my mom came along to take pictures for us.

As soon as the hair on his forehead was trimmed, I saw this image of a growing boy, not a baby. His little face transformed in an instant and I wanted to cry. But I didn’t. Mostly because I was worried my stylist would think I had lost my mind.

Then his little curls on his neck were snipped off and he had a clean little boy haircut. We got the pictures and we even saved some of the hair from his curls to put in a little envelope in his baby book.

Each little “first” moment is a little bittersweet. I’m so proud of him and everything he can do. He can run, he can talk, he can throw the ball. He knows what we’re saying a lot of the time and responds to us. But each time something happens for the first time, I realize that it will never happen for the first time again. I’m just grateful that I’ve been fortunate enough to witness most of those sweet “first” moments that are most certainly more special to me than they are to him.

You can check out more by The Blue-Eyed Bride at her blog.

What has your most simple yet memorable first been with your baby this year?

Together Time Tuesday: Celebrate Smile Week: 08/10/2010

Its national smile week so there’s just one more reason (as if you needed one) to spend time making your little guy smile today. We have a few tips that are sure to get your little bug showing off that heart melting smile and make the most out of today’s together time.

Just the Two of Us

Of course you smile every time that you look into his eyes, but take a moment today to consciously smile at your baby and see if he will smile back. He’ll love the attention and will surely give you a big smile if you add in a few big pecks on the cheeks. Mix in a raspberry on his little belly for a guaranteed giggle. And you can always throw in a few silly faces. Don’t worry no one is looking but your baby

Show Time

You can take time today to sit with your baby and show off your acting chops. Grab his favorite colorful character, may we suggest the Teethe & Tug Dog & the Tummy Ticklers Bird and get into character. Try your best baby talk, make up a silly song or sing along to a soothing CD that you have lying around your home. The colors, sounds and time spent with just you two will have him smiling from ear to ear. Another tip: If you smile and show how much fun you are having as you are going along, he’s sure to take a cue.

Magic Mirror

If you have a mirror lying around that’s all you need for a smiling session. Grab and place a mirror at least an arm’s length away. Just seeing the movements will be sure to give him a smile but spend some extra time pointing to and identifying parts of his face in the mirror. Try to get him to stick out his tongue or wave to the baby in the mirror. While he might not realize what is really happening just yet, your baby will be smiling with fascination by his reflection. If you are looking for a little helper our Lights & Melodies Mirror is a great way to add fun lights and sounds to your mirror discovery together time. Oh, and don’t forget an oldie but goody; a game of mirror peek-a-boo will keep him giggling for a long while.

So whichever way that you choose, spend today gushing over your baby’s million dollar smile. And if you have a tip for making your baby smile that you want to share with fellow parents let us know here or over at our Facebook Page.

Flower Children of All Ages 07/22/2010

Ah, finally summertime is here. It’s a great time to get back outside and the perfect opportunity to introduce your little one to some really neat new sights & sounds.

Go, go garden!
Your garden is filled with colors and textures that will be brand new to your little sprout so bring him along for the adventure (and don’t be afraid to get a little dirty). Introduce him to new textures by sprinkling a handful of dirt on his hands or tickling his little arms & feet with a leaf. Let him smell the crisp scents of fresh herbs. Take some time to show and tell real examples of bright colors with a red tomato, yellow sunflower or anything in your garden. To make garden discovery even more fun for your toddler bring along Baby Einstein Nature Nesting Blocks. Together you can match the photos on the blocks with real examples of what he is seeing. Each relaxing gardening session time out can be filled with new experiences for your new little helper!

On the run.
You are probably itching to get back to old routines like your morning jog. Once your baby is about 6 months old, you can get back to business as usual bringing him along for double duty (provided your doctor gives you the okay to resume physical activity). Who says exercise has to be a solo activity? The stroller is as good a place as any to discover nature. As you run, explain what you see and pick up a few tactile natural toys along the way, like a shiny leaf, smooth stone or craggy piece of bark. From the woof of a puppy to the color of passing cars, use everything you experience as the chance to explain the wonderful world around you (and ask your little one questions about what he sees if he’s old enough to talk). We’re sure that watching him in total wonder is awesome motivation to put on those running sneaks!

Park playtime
A day in the park may require a little more prep, but can be a lovely relaxing day for both you and baby (and a new universe filled with fun stuff to explore together). From the rustling of tree branches to a scampering squirrel, everything outside is the opportunity to see him amazed by the beauty he sees and a great chance to snap his reaction, so have your camera handy.

Get up and out, mamas and papas! Take advantage of this summer to explore the beauty of nature with your baby and enjoy every minute. Happy trails!