I am so excited to introduce a new guest blogger, Tracy.  Tracy has a sweet 7 month old baby daughter delivered by our very own Dr. Biter, and she has been coming into Babies by the Sea since she was pregnant.  Tracy is also a writer, and after our chat about blogging last week, she sent me this awesome little write up about a toy she bought for her baby.

During my last trip to Cardiff, I stopped in Babies by the Sea to see what was new. It’s only been a few days, but I’ve fallen in love with the new item we got. It’s a stacker made by My First Green Toys, and it just might be the perfect toy.

Last week I was washing off the brightly colored painted rings from a stacker that my daughter had been playing with. The paint started chipping off after just a couple rinses, totally grossing me out. Of course they had to be thrown in the garbage so my baby doesn’t start digesting paint chips.

My new stacker is made from 100% recycled milk jugs and made in the USA. They are totally safe for baby’s mouth, for rinsing off, and even for soaking. There is no BPA, PVC, or phthalates (a chemical used to soften plastic). The pieces can stack any which way whatsoever, even upside down, and there is no middle bar sticking out, which normally would make me worried to leave my daughter unattended.

If you really want to get creative, you can put little snacks in the tray area of the pieces (I was in a bind this morning and was happy I had them with me) and there was even a total surprise that my daughter discovered all on her own. When she is playing with them and putting them up to her mouth, the toy will make a whistling sound when she breathes into it! Not a loud annoying whistle, but the ever so faint and thrilling-to-a-baby kind of whistle. What a score.

She’s only seven months old so she doesn’t know how to stack them up yet, but she loves the bright colors, banging them together, and watching me take it apart and put it back together. I know this toy will grow with her. And true to good baby form, she is even interested in playing with the box, which is of course also made entirely from recycled materials.

Olive is learning how to crawl, and we love to stack them up in a big pile to inspire her. Oh and if you were wondering, we also got that cute blue bow at Babies by the Sea too.

Thank you, Tracy and Olive!  If you'd like to be a contributor to our blog, with your birth story or another idea, email marlo@babiesbythesea.com.