Keep Organized after Baby-Baby's First Journal Review and Giveaway!

I was 21 years old when I had my son. He was ten pounds, five ounces, and 22 1/2 inches long. Three days later, when we were discharged, he measured 23 1/4 inches! He was a big boy- and still is- and keeping rack of his feeding schedule was rather difficult. I tried breastfeeding, but was very unsuccessful. I joked that he "came out looking for a steak." After the first few weeks of mostly formula, it was very apparent that he was not tolerating something. Whether it was the milk, or the milk protein, I had no idea.. but the pediatrician asked me to keep track of his feeding times, how often he spit up, how often he threw up, and for how long he cried. As a new, young mom, I found that it was extremely difficult, and I felt like he was feeding constantly. I tried using a spread sheet, I ended up with post-it's everywhere.. Nothing seemed to work.


I recently had the opportunity to review "Baby's First Journal" from GLOW BABY. This high quality, very well organized journal is the perfect book to help any new or first time mom keep track of all of the important details after the baby is born. From feeding time- on the breast or on the bottle- to how much sleep, or what type of diaper they had, Baby's First Journal allows mom to jot down the info she needs, while keeping it neat and organized. It's small enough (and flexible enough!) to put in a purse or a diaper bag for the mom on the go, or in a drawer on your changing table or nightstand. The note section allows you to add snippets of your day, thoughts and concerns, as well as milestones you don't want to forget to add to your baby book. It contains 3 months of logging pages, so you don't need to worry about running out of room, which makes it a helpful tool to bring with you to your pediatrician appointments.

Baby's First Journal was created by an amazing Canadian Mompreneur. The green and brown light-weight organizer came delicately wrapped in white and a blue-ish teal tissue paper, with the Glow Baby Logo right in the middle. The presentation makes gift giving that much easier! As an experienced mom, I recognized how incredibly useful this tool could have been with my first... and during the lack of "time" I had after my daughter was born three years later. Communication between my husband and I was very rare, as I was so sleep deprived from waking through the night with my daughter, and then super early in the morning with my son who needed constant attention- it was almost unbareable. A journal like this would have been great on those nights where my husband shook me out of the only deep sleep I was getting to see if she had already pooped because he thought she might be constipated because the last several diapers he changed were only pee-pee. OH, how I could have used this journal then!

Baby's First Journal is available in three colors, pink, blue, and green, which makes this journal a perfect gift for a new or first time mom. If you are expecting, or know someone who is, this would be a wonderfully unique gift- and something that the new mom would actually put to great use!

Want it?
Visit the GLOW BABY website to place your order now for Baby's First Journal (ISBN 978-0-9812572-2-8). They are only $14.99 CAD, ($13.59 in USD!) Be sure to let them know that you heard about Baby's First Journal here on 4BabyAndMom!

WIN IT!
Our friends at Glow Baby have offered one lucky reader their chance to win their own Baby's First Journal!

Here's How:
Visit Glow Baby online and check out the adorable, functional Baby's First Journal. Tell me WHO you want to win this Journal for, and WHY you think this would make the perfect gift/addition to your baby's routine!

Extra Entries:

• Become a FAN of 4BabyAndMom & GLOW BABY on Facebook. Please leave a note on both Facebook pages, and a comment here telling me you've become our fan!
• Subscribe via e-mail. Your email must validate or it will not count, & your comment will be deleted. Please include email in your comment.
• Follow 4BabyAndMom AND GLOW BABY on Twitter! Tweet about this review & giveaway. You may tweet something on your own or R/T: "Stay organized & say goodbye to feeding time woes w/ BABY'S FIRST JOURNAL! Enter to Win @4BabyAndMom http://bit.ly/RE3iS Ends 9/16" Leave the link to EACH tweet in your comment, please. (Up to 3x/day, please!)
• Grab our button and post it on your sidebar or blog roll. Please include link.
  
• Post about this giveaway on your blog or website! Please include a link to 4BabyAndMom in your blog post. Add the link to your post on your comment.
  
• Follow 4BabyAndMom on Blogger publicly
  
• Subscribe to our RSS feed
• Email at least 3 of your friends and CC 4BabyAndMom [at] gmail [dot] com
• Fave this post on Technorati and leave comment with your ID/link.

This giveaway is open to residents of US & Canada and will end on September 16th, at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. Special thanks to Lindsay from Glow Baby for sponsoring this review and giveaway, and for knowing that being a mom isn't always as easy as it looks!

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Back to School with Carolina Pad $50 Giveaway!

Shopping for notebooks and supplies this year, I realized that the designs came a LONG way from when I was in school. When I was a senior, I remember that trendy, funky patterns has just started to hit the market, but it was still just as cool to have your solid colored notebook you could doodle on. Among the most delightful of designs I discovered were those made by Carolina Pad.

Carolina Pad products are stylish and functional, affordable and practical.

From the company:

How It All Started: The Carolina Pad story begins in 1945 in Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s when Joseph K. Hall Jr. and several business associates managed to scrape up enough money and equipment to start up a school supply manufacturing company. Joe had been operating Hall & Morris, a school supply wholesale business in Belmont, North Carolina. The new company offered composition books, notebook paper, primary tablets, pencils, crayons, and other school supplies. A former teacher, principal, and coach, Joe was excited by the new company’s offerings. Carolina Pad continued to sell school supplies in the market formerly serviced by Hall & Morris. But since it was now in the manufacturing business, Carolina Pad had more products to sell. So to get an edge over larger, more established counterparts, Joe sold products directly to schools in the Carolinas and Virginia — often out of the back of his truck! Joe Retires the Truck By selling notebooks with more sheets at a lower price than his competitors, Carolina Pad was able to get a foothold in the market. Over the next few decades, Joe’s philosophy of quality and value placed Carolina Pad on the road to success. Though the company hit a few speed bumps along the way, the days of selling products out of the back of Joe’s truck were over. Thanks to brands like Fatboy, Carolina Pad grew beyond a regional company and began selling school supplies at a national level.

Carolina Pad's stylish office supplies and back to school products can now be found on the shelves of Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Staples, and is also available to purchase online. The new Sasquatch Brand from Carolina Pad are eco-friendly products perfect for the environmentalist fashionista.

Want it?
Order online, or visit one of the many retailers near you that carry the sweet designs from Carolina Pad. Not sure if there's a store near you that carries Carolina Pad? Click here to find a store near you now.

WIN IT!
Our friends at Carolina Pad have put together a $50 Prize Pack from their Kendall Kollection for one lucky reader just in time for the start of the new school year!!

Here's How:
Go visit Carolina Pad and their amazing selection of fashionable, savvy office supplies and while you're there sign up for their newsletter, so you never miss an announcement, sale or special promotion.

Extra Entries:

• Become a FAN of 4BabyAndMom and Carolina Pad on Facebook. Leave a message/comment on both walls, and then tell me here!
• Grab a Back to School Bash Button and add it to your sidebar (3 Extra Entries!)
  
• Subscribe via e-mail. Your email must validate or it will not count, & your comment will be deleted. Please include email in your comment.
  
• Follow 4BabyAndMom and Carolina Pad on Twitter and tweet about this review & giveaway. You may tweet something on your own or R/T: "Win $50 of Carolina Pad Office Supplies for Work or Back to School! @4BabyAndMom http://bit.ly/t8pcp #B2SBash @carolinapad" Leave the link to EACH tweet in your comment, please. (Up to 3x/day, please!)
• Post about this giveaway on your blog, website, or Facebook page! Please include a link to both 4BabyAndMom and Carolina Pad. Please leave the link to your post in your comment.
• Follow 4BabyAndMom on Blogger publicly
  
• Subscribe to our RSS feed
• Email at least 3 of your friends and CC 4BabyAndMom [at] gmail [dot] com
• Fave this post on Technorati and leave comment with your ID/link.

This giveaway is open to residents of US & Canada and will end on August 28th, at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. Special thanks to Carolina Pad for sponsoring this giveaway and for joining the Back to School Bash!

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