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Baby Rabies

pregnancy & parenting

  • Start Here
    • About Baby Rabies
    • Baby Registry Top Picks
    • Favorite Pregnancy Apps
  • The Book
  • Pregnancy
    • Birth Stories
    • Perinatal Mood Disorders
  • Parenthood
    • Babies
    • Toddlers
    • School Age Kids
    • Parenting LOLZ
  • Photography
    • Photography

      6 Stunning Photos You Would Never Guess Were…

      February 11, 2019

      Photography

      Simple Tips For Editing Snow Photos On Your…

      December 13, 2018

      Photography

      I Wrote A Photography eBook And This Is…

      December 6, 2018

      Photography

      Creative Lighting Ideas To Help You Take Great…

      November 27, 2018

      Photography

      Learn How To Take And Edit Photos On…

      November 19, 2018

  • Reviews
    • Reviews

      The Answer To Last Minute Holiday Gifting For…

      December 19, 2018

      Reviews

      I Was Never A Barbie Girl Until Now

      October 1, 2018

      Reviews

      Finally! Jeans For My Jean-Averse Kids!

      August 22, 2018

      Reviews

      If Your Kid Loves Dump Trucks & Garbage…

      August 13, 2018

      Reviews

      Nobody Tell My Kids ABC Mouse Is Part…

      September 4, 2017

  • Subscribe

playgroup

Playgroup Week #15: Awesome Baby Gear For The First Few Months
Playgroup

Playgroup Week #15: Awesome Baby Gear For The First Few Months

by Désirée June 8, 2017
written by Désirée

We’re back with an other episode of the Baby Rabies Playgroup and this time I’m sharing some of my favorite baby gear. If you’ve been following my Instagram, you’ve seen almost everything on this list in that feed at least once or twice, because they’re all items I use ALL the time.

If you have any baby must-haves, let me know in the comments!

The list:

  • Ollie Swaddle (Wallace has already grown out of his but they are so soft and comfortable- plus amazing for taking pictures. You can also check out my swaddle roundup to see all of the types we’ve tried.)
  • B-Safe 35 carseat from Britax
  • Pacifier clip from Chompy Chic
  • A tag blanket (Great for entertaining babies in the car and larger ones can be used as a little blanket.)
  • Robeez boots
  • Nursing pillow from Bebe au Lait
  • A Milk Snob Cover (This can be used as a carseat cover, a nursing cover, a blanket- you name it. I love a piece that’s versatile.)
  • A nasal aspirator aka booger sucker (I’m 100% not in charge of this thing at our house.)
  • DockATot (A great idea for a group gift for a baby shower- I know this isn’t in everyone’s budget but I can say that we use it a LOT, so you’ll absolutely get your money’s worth.)

DockATot

Also, my favorite diaper bag combination has been my FEED bag with a Tote Savvy insert. You can use the insert to transform any bag or purse into a handy diaper bag, and it’s so easy to take the tote out when you just want to swap bags, without having to dig through it and reorganize. Super handy.

Thanks for watching this week’s episode!

 

A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 2, 2017 at 9:59am PST

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June 8, 2017 0 comment
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Playgroup Week #14: Parent Hacks
Playgroup

Playgroup Week #14: Parent Hacks

by Désirée May 5, 2017
written by Désirée

This week’s guest is someone I’ve been following online for YEARS. You probably know who Asha Dornfest is because Parent Hacks is a must-read for basically everyone. I’m super excited to have Ahsa on the show and I know you’re going to love the advice she shares here.

There are so many things I wish I had known when I was pregnant for the first time… or giving birth for the first time, so if you know someone who is in the thick of new parenthood, I hope you’ll share this episode with them.

Parent Hacks started off as a blog, evolved into a community, and is now a book (which makes an awesome shower gift for a few reasons that Asha mentions) which you can find almost anywhere.

I hope you enjoyed this episode! Next week we have something a little different happening for the Playgroup… keep reading!

I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who commented on and shared our big announcement video. If you haven’t watched it yet, you can find it right here.

We’ve had lots of questions, so I’ll be going live on the Happy Loud Life Facebook page on Tuesday at 10:30 am CST to share some of the answers that I do have! Click here to get a reminder about the live video on May 9.

Giveaway

Have you ever marked your child’s growth on a doorframe… and then had to move? It’s a bit heartbreaking. It’s like leaving a piece of their childhood behind. This week I’m excited to share a giveaway from White Loft, a fantastic company who has created heirloom quality pieces to help you carry that nostalgia with you to each new home, or share with family members.

 

We’re giving away two of their canvas growth charts so that you can start your own new traditions! (Plus, they look incredible in pictures. You’re going to LOVE them!)

Enter to win below, or take advantage of a 15% discount for all our readers with the code RABIES15 from now until May 15, 2017.

White Loft Giveaway

We’ll announce a winners next Tuesday! Thanks for watching!

White Loft Growth Charts

May 5, 2017 0 comment
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Playgroup Week #12: Organizing & Printing Your Photos
Playgroup

Playgroup Week #12: Organizing & Printing Your Photos

by Désirée April 18, 2017
written by Désirée

Some of the most common questions people ask me about photography, actually have to do with what happens AFTER I take the photos on my DSLR or iPhone. I think we’re all guilty of doing, well, NOTHING with our photos, right? Maybe we just post them to Instagram… or we just let them sit inside our devices and then we panic about the day our camera card corrupts or we run out of space on our smartphones.

I get lots of questions about how I organize and print my photos, but since I’m not a pro and I wanted to learn some tips too, I invited one of my blogging friends, Jennifer Borget of Cherish365 (previously Baby Making Machine) to share her photo-printing and organizing advice with us!

Watch the episode below to find out how Jennifer gets her photos out of her camera and into her home, learn how an app called MemoryWeb can ease the stress of organizing your photos online, and enter to win this week’s incredible giveaway. Scroll down… you do NOT want to miss this one!

 

Be sure to visit Jennifer’s blog at cherish365.com and you can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Giveaway

This week, we have a huge giveaway from MemoryWeb including: a Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR camera body, a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM standard lens, and a one year subscription to MemoryWeb including 1 terabyte storage, original file resolution, and best display & archival quality. This is the perfect prize pack for aspiring photographers and parents who can’t wait to up their photo game. Four runners up will also get a year long MemoryWeb subscription, and you have multiple options for entering. Good luck and thanks for watching!

MemoryWeb Photography Giveaway

April 18, 2017 21 comments
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Playgroup Week 11: Work, Family, And Life Balance
Playgroup

Playgroup Week 11: Work, Family, And Life Balance

by Désirée April 12, 2017
written by Désirée

Balance is hard. No matter how many kids you have, what work you do, or where you live, it’s never as simple as just balancing your time between everything that needs to happen in your life. Parenting, self care, chores, work, SLEEP… how do you make time for it all? How do you stay on top of the chaos?

Our guest for this week’s episode of the Baby Rabies Playgroup is Amiyrah Martin, a mom who started her blogging journey by sharing her family’s adventure in saying goodbye to debt. Her advice for budgeting both money and time are absolutely brilliant and I think you’re going to be really excited about what she has to say.

One of the coolest ideas that Amiyrah shared was her method of time management and how she structures her work and homeschool day. Watch the video above to learn more!

You can find Amiyrah at 4hatsandfrugal.com, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Giveaway

This week, we’re giving away three prize packs from our friends at Itzy Ritzy, with items such as their adorable mocs, a teething necklace, paci clip (modelled by Wallace below!), wet bag, and their awesome new Milk Boss Car Seat Cover.

 

A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Feb 8, 2017 at 8:37am PST

Itzy Ritzy Prize Pack Giveaway

April 12, 2017 3 comments
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Playgroup Week 10: Bouncing Back After Baby
Playgroup

Playgroup Week 10: Bouncing Back After Baby

by Désirée April 6, 2017
written by Désirée

There are a ton of resources out there for how to deal with baby stuff after you become a mom, especially for the first time, but there’s not a whole lot when it comes to moms caring for themselves post-baby.

In this week’s episode of the Baby Rabies Playgroup, my guest Jill Simonian, author of the brand new book, The FAB Mom’s Guide: How to Get Over the Bump & Bounce Back Fast After Baby, shares her advice on developing resilience in mind, body, and spirit.

Playgroup Week 10: Bouncing Back After Baby

She has a contagious positivity about parenting and I think you’re going to love what she has to say on the topic- including an anecdote about how Russell Brand changed the way she thought about being a first time mom. Whether you’re a first (or fourth!) time mom you’ll want to watch this episode.

Thanks so much to Jill Simonian who joined us on her book release day to share her advice!!

Giveaway

This week we’ve paired up with Jill and another amazing brand to bring you five chances to win. One winner will take home a copy of The FAB Mom’s Guide AND a Black Orchid Soy Candle from Bright Endeavors.

Playgroup Week 10: Bouncing Back After Baby

Bright Endeavors, based out of Chicago, is dedicated to helping young mothers. Here’s a little more about their cause:

Bright Endeavors is a social enterprise that employs young, often adolescent moms (many of which have never held a job nor had a role model to explain the importance of an education or a job) to hand craft sustainable soy candles with 100% of proceeds going back to the program. Bright Endeavors uses locally produced, non-genetically-modified soy wax for all of the candles, all fragrances are phthalate-free and they use cotton-core, paraffin-free wicks. The program also uses recycled glass containers.

To enter this week’s giveaway, use the widget below! We’ll announce the winners during next week’s Playgroup episode.

The Fab Mom + Bright Endeavors Giveaway

April 6, 2017 0 comment
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Edit Spring Photos With My Favorite Apps
Playgroup

Playgroup Week 9: How To Edit Spring Photos With My Favorite Apps

by Désirée March 28, 2017
written by Désirée

Edit Spring Photos With My Favorite Apps

A few weeks ago, I shared some of my tips and tricks for taking and editing photos on my iPhone. Since this topic is SO robust, I’m diving back in for today’s episode to show you how to editing your spring and Easter photos with some of my favorite apps.

Download the apps:

  • A Color Story (iTunes, Google Play)
  • Snapseed (iTunes, Google Play)
  • ReTouch (iTunes, Google Play)

Our special guest this week was Kelley Barnhardt from Peekawhoo, who is also offering up a really awesome giveaway. If you’ve been following me on Instagram for a while, you’ve probably seen pics of my kids with their Jellycat bunnies. We LOVE them. And you can win one!

Here’s Lowell with his sister’s bunny:

A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Apr 5, 2015 at 10:29am PDT

I’ve been using the #lololovesbunny (and now the #wallacelovesbunny) tag to share all his pictures if you want to see more. These bunnies are SO soft and I’m super excited for you to win some! (Also, scroll below the giveaway widget for a special discount code.)

A post shared by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 27, 2017 at 4:02pm PDT

The tradition continues!

Giveaway

Four lucky winners will get to snuggle a bunny from Peekawhoo! We are giving away 2 large and 2 medium monogrammed bunnies! Just enter below and I’ll announce the winners next week during the Playgroup.

Peekawho Giveaway

SPECIAL OFFER: Until March 31st, use the code BR20 at checkout to get 20% off all sizes of Jellycat bunnies and bunnies in baskets from Peekawhoo.

March 28, 2017 0 comment
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Playgroup Week 4: Shake Off The Mom Frump
ParenthoodPlaygroupVideos

Playgroup Week 4: Shake Off The Mom Frump

by Jill February 20, 2017
written by Jill

That Facebook Live Playgroup thing I wanted to do? Well, I’m doing it! And I’ve been doing it for the last 3 weeks, which is about 2 weeks more than I ever commit to most things. 2017 is looking like The Year Of Adulting for me.

If you haven’t had a chance to pop in, you can always catch up by watching the FB live episodes on my FB page.

I’m also going to embed the last few at the bottom of this post and will have a post go up here every week going forward with the previous week’s episode embedded in it. 

This week’s episode is all about shaking off the mom frump with my lovely, talented, gorgeous friend Tiffany Reese of Lookieboo. She’s a bad ass at body positivity and a makeup and hair goddess who also has 3 children and some great tricks for looking and feeling our best while managing parent life.

I try to bring you some awesome giveaways every week, and this week is no exception. I’ve got 3 of my favorite fashion staples lined up to gift to 6 winners.

1 $250 Stitch Fix credit
2 pair of BLANQI leggings (winners’ choice of maternity or high waist/nursing)
3 $30 credits to Nickel & Suede

Baby Rabies Playgroup Week 4 | BabyRabies.com

Playgroup #4 Giveaway

Catch up on the first few Playgroup episodes below!

February 20, 2017 0 comment
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Last Minute Invitation To My Online Playgroup!
Parenthood

Last Minute Invitation To My Online Playgroup!

by Jill January 30, 2017
written by Jill

Hey! So I know this is short notice, but want to come to my playgroup tomorrow morning? Listen, before you’re like, “Well, I don’t know if my baby is going to be napping, and I’m not in the mood to be dressed and have my teeth brushed by 10:30 (CST) in the morning and plus I DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE, JILL,”  let me just stop you right there because THIS is the best kind of playgroup ever. It’s on the internet. Live. On my Facebook page, to be specific.

Here’s the event details page! Be sure to go to Facebook.com/BabyRabiesBlog for the FB live video.

Join the Baby Rabies Playgroup on Facebook every Tuesday at 10:30 am CST | Facebook.com/BabyRabiesBlog

Nobody has to shower or brush their teeth, and I’m the only one that needs to be dressed. You don’t have to have a baby of a certain age. Expecting parents (not just moms!) and experienced parents are all welcome.

It’s going to be a test-run, the first of it’s kind for me, and hopefully of more to come. I don’t know exactly how it will run (though I have a rough outline of the schedule in my head), but we’ll hang out there for 30ish minutes. I’ll have Wallace with me if he’s not napping. He might be on my boob the whole time. Newborns are wildly unpredictable like that.

I figure tomorrow we’ll introduce ourselves and chat a bit about how we want them to run in the future and ideas for topics, guest speakers, and brands to collaborate with. I honestly don’t have a solid plan other than turning on my camera at 10:30 am CST and just.. talking. Hanging out. If you can’t make it to tune in live, DON’T WORRY! You can still watch the video and chime in in the comments at a time that works for you. We’ll pin it to the top of my FB page.

By next Tuesday, Feb. 7th, I think we’ll have a bit more of a structured approach, and I know for sure that on that day I will announce two winners of a couple rad prizes from Joovy.

Joovy Boob Baby Bottle Gift Set – $90 value We love these bottles! Joovy sent us the glass bottle gift set, and it’s what we’ve been using to bottle feed Wallace when my nipples need a break or when I’m away and he’s hanging with daddy.

5A8A0956Photo by Kelly White Photography

Joovy Zoom Ultralight 360 Jogging Stroller – $300 value We had to replace the jogging stroller we’ve had for 9 years and put major mileage on. It was made by a very popular jogging stroller brand, and I can tell you this Joovy stroller is every bit as rugged and easy to maneuver. It folds and looks even better.

RF_Blue_Z360__61537.1442005055.1280.1280

You don’t have to be present at the playgroup to win these prizes, but I will announce the winners during that time. Remember, nobody is winning these tomorrow. We’ll announce these winners NEXT Tuesday, Feb. 7th.

Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter to win. Comments on my FB page will not count. Hope to see you tomorrow!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

January 30, 2017 2 comments
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ParenthoodStuff

Have you ever had a mom crush?

by Jill April 1, 2010
written by Jill

Like, a platonic crush on another mom? And I guess this question really doesn’t apply to dads… or lesbians… you know, if it’s not platonic because that takes this topic to a whole ‘nother level that I’m not trying to uncover at this point.

So, yeah, have you ever, like, seen another mom out and about, caught yourself watching her, admiring her, her style, her confidence, her charming kids? And then she sees you staring at her and you have to look away really quick and you realize you look totally creepy. And then you might strike up a bit of small talk and you confirm your beliefs that she seems way cool. And you’re like, “So… come here often? Yeah, we usually make our way out here once a week. Usually Thursdays.” And then you have to leave the bounce house/park/Chick Fil A because, dammit, it’s freaking naptime, and you don’t want to hang around and look all needy and weird. And you get the vibe that maybe she thinks you might be cool or fun or funny, too. And then you’re just like, “Uh, yeah. See you… later.” And there’s sort of that moment where you think maybe you could, I don’t know, give her your number… or your email… or, well, no, not your blog.  But that’s WAY over the top and crazy. Right? And then you never see her again, and sometimes you wonder if she would have made a really great friend.

Don’t get me wrong. My life is FULL of really great friends. I just don’t have that many that live super close to me. I mean, I do have some that I’ve had the great fortune of meeting since moving to Dallas, which I am really grateful for, but it’s not like I’ve reached my maximum capacity for good friends. I think I still have room for more, especially those who can meet up on a weekday at 10 to gab while our toddlers tear apart the park. And every now and then I run across a mom who seems like a really awesome person, who I’d love to get to know more, but it never materializes.

For example, when I was pregnant with Kendall and working at Right Start in Virginia, there were two moms who came in quite frequently. They were just a few months ahead of me in their pregnancy, and we’d always chat for a long time while they were in the store. Unlike the awesome group of friends I have here in Dallas, I never had very many girlfriends up in VA, and I certainly didn’t know anyone who was pregnant at the time.  Before we found out we were moving to TX, I used to really worry about what sort of support group I’d have after Kendall was born. And I’d talk to these moms and think, wow, it would be so cool to hang out with them, but I just never knew how to take it to the next level (or if they would even want to).

I think that’s why I worked really hard to get out and meet other moms when we got here. I formed a tiny moms group within our HOA, and started meeting a lot of the gals I adored on TheBump.com’s message boards at various functions. It’s been wonderful getting to know all these ladies, it really has. But still, every now and then I talk to another mom and there seems to be that tiny spark, you know?

Or do you not know? Is this totally weird and just reeking of desperation?

Kendall will be 23 months old in 2 hours. Sigh.

April 1, 2010 34 comments
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