Do you ever cringe looking at your baby in a very distorted head positioning?  I do.  My little baby girl loves to be in her Orbit car seat.  However, whenever I look at her, her neck looks like it is straining and her head is so tilted to where it looks very uncomfortable.  Her Orbit carseat has a infant insert for the head, however, she always seems to get her head out of it.  Now that she is a little bigger, it is too small for her head.  Plus, I want something that will actually be comfortable for my baby and keep her head in a vertical position.  When I went to the ABC Kids Show in September, I came across Baby Elephant Ears.  From what I could see, it was very cute in design and the concept was quite creative.

After countless times of seeing my baby super uncomfortable in the head area, I thought about my brief encounter with Baby Elephant Ears at the show.  I remember that is was a head support pillow that supported the baby’s cranial-spinal development.  As a parent, having my baby develop properly is at the top of my list.  I had to try out the pillow.

Baby Elephant Ears in Grass Menagerie

Alicia, a mother and the mind behind Baby Elephant Ears, graciously sent me one to use on my precious baby girl.  As soon as it arrived, I was super anxious and excited to try it out on my baby.  Would it be all that it claims to do? Or will I be disappointed again?  I placed the Baby Elephant Ears inside the carseat and put my daughter in it.  I immediately noticed that it positioned my daughter’s neck straight and the pillow enveloped her neck and head. I did a mini-clap because of the people around me, but I was super excited inside.

The biggest test of them all?  Looking at my daughter, after she falls asleep for a good 20 minutes.  Usually, this is when her head moves around and goes into weird contorted positions.  After I went to pick up my other daughter at pre-school, I went to check on my baby.  I opened up her paparazzi shield, to discover…that her head was still in place and that she looked very comfortable and content.  It passed the biggest test of them all!

I love that you can also use the pillow in the stroller, swing, the floor, pretty much everywhere and anywhere.  It doesn’t have any straps or clips that can become a safety issue.  More importantly, it encourages healthy development and strong posture which is the building block and foundation to other developmental milestones.  Knowing that my child has good head and neck support for a healthy alignment, is very important to me.

Baby Elephant Ears is really cute, functional, and very easy to use.  You can throw in your diaper bag with your other essentials and when you clean it, just throw it in the washer.  It’s made with designer fabrics and also has organic fabric selections, using eco-conscious corn-fiber fill.  These would be excellent as a gift or for your own child and they also have matching blankets.  For more info visit their site here.

For my readers: 10% off with code REVIEW09

(Disclosure: Product was provided free of charge for review purposes and does not affect my views or feedback of the product.  This review is based solely on my personal opinion and experience and results may vary person to person.)

Tis the holiday season and so many gifts to buy, but don’t know exactly what to buy?  Well, PTPA Media gathered a list of PTPA winners to make it easier on you.  If you are not exactly sure about what to get for that special child in your life, click here.

Oh and don’t forget about the mommas and poppas out there, they definitely deserve a great Christmas gift too.  I mean without the parents, there would be no kids.  So if you are on the fence about what to get for that special mom or dad in your life, take a look at this list.

Remember, these are Parent Tested Parent Approved.  Just because your a last minute shopper doesn’t mean you can’t get something really great!

So over the weekend, I went to get my daughter’s haircut.  All of the places near me on the westside literally had 1 star and some said if they could, give them negative stars.  With all the little horror stories I read, I couldn’t put my daughter’s hair into someone’s inexperienced hands.  I will say that no two experiences are alike, and sometimes it comes down to, will you take a chance or risk?  Knowing that my daughter thinks that stylists will cut her up (I’m talking like Hannibal Lecter), I couldn’t take a chance on going somewhere that could lead to years of traumatizing thoughts.

I went onto Yelp, Citysearch, Lilaguide, and Citymommy to read all the ratings, experiences, etc.  There were three that I could possibly venture out to.  Two were in the valley, and one in the Palisades.  I decided that we would make the drive out to Encino to make a visit to Carmen’s Kids & Co. . Since it was Saturday, there was absolutely no traffic and I was there in 20 minutes (I could never do that on a weekday).

My daughter fell asleep in the car, and I knew that if I woke her up, all hell would break loose.  But I did it anyways because there was no way I would sit in the parking lot for a couple hours to have her finish her nap.  Plus, I had my baby in the back too.  Once I woke her up, she was not having it.  She did not want to move, let alone get a haircut.

Completely attached to my leg, we entered Carmen’s Kids & Co..  Carmen immediately tended to us and tried to get my daughter to be comfortable.  He showed her toys, made some popcorn, and tried to strike up a conversation with her.  Even after all his efforts, my daughter could not snap out of her sleep mode, and pretty much wanted to be left alone (which was totally out of character for her).

Once it was her turn, Gladys who was her stylist, gave her some toys and put on Alice in Wonderland (her pick!).  After that, she did a 360.  She became the happy-go-lucky girl that I know.  Gladys asked me what I was thinking in terms of length and style and after we discussed it, she started working her magic.  By the end of the cut, my daughter was comfortable and happy, and I was pleased with her new do.  Gladys added some finishing touches on her by putting in some braids, and making her look like the little princess that she is.

If you live in the valley or like me, live on the westside and want your child’s hair in good hands, I highly suggest going to Carmen’s Kids & Co..  The owner (Carmen) and stylist (Gladys) were very nice, the service was great, and my daughter left happy.  The cuts were $22, but I mentioned Citymommy and got $4 off, which made it $18.  With a $5 tip, the total came out to be $23.  Not bad at all!

Carmen’s Kids & Co.

17213 Ventura Blvd
Encino, CA 91316
(818) 501-4472

Note: This is soley based on my personal experience and opinion and results may vary person to person.