New Products for 2008

Now this next product, is the most original and the most useful one that I saw at the Market. One of the newest products in the USA market, is an innovative design out of Australia. Perfect for visiting, traveling and dining out, the Baby Beetle Chair is already popular overseas. Brought to us by Ozique, the Baby Beetle is a safe, durable fabric baby chair that fits over most dining and kitchen chairs. Machine washable, it folds up into a built-in drawstring bag and is small enough to store in a diaper bag or handbag. Available in four bright and festive colores: berry, ocean, lime and tangerine.

To learn more about this neat product, click here.

Los Mejores Diaper Bags

I have been buscando the perfect diaper bag for four years now. I think I have finally found it...but now I have to choose which one I like best. Rowdy has designed an excellent line of diaper bags. Each one comes with a water resistant, removable liner that is washable. They also include a changing pad and one insulated bottle holder. But the most exciting part is that each bag has a removable clutch purse that is easily and quickly removed when mamá is dropping off los niños at Abuelita's house or running other quick errands. Choose from four fashionable styles, some in various color schemes. A definite MUST for mamás with active lifestyles!

To check out these fabulous bags, click here.

To Market, al Mercado....

Hola, Amigas!
Sorry for the lack of posts - we have been muy ocupadas! This past weekend we were busy participating in the Dallas Gift Market. This weekend Latin Baby will be at the Dallas Women and Children's Apparel Market. There are so many awesome products on the market now and my next few posts will highlight some of them.

Folic Acid for Latinas

Well, as promised, I am dedicating the next few posts to pregnancy and breastfeeding. To start off, I'm providing you a link to one of the most important issues for pregnant Latinas, and that is the importance of getting enough folic acid. As a group, Latinas have the highest rates of neural tube defects during pregnancy. Many Latinas don't have access to proper health care during their pregnancies, and as a result most likely don't even know what Folic Acid is. But this vital nutrient is a type of B vitamin that helps with tissue growth and cell function. It helps prevent certain birth defects including spina bifida, a condition where the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth. As a result, newborns may suffer partial or complete paralysis in their legs and the exposed spinal cord is very susceptible to infection.

Good sources of folic acid include citrus fruits/juices, beans/legumes, and dark green leafy veggies, to name a few.

Since folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin that is excreted in the urine, it is hard to overdose on folic acid, so I strongly suggest that all of us Latinas take a multi-vitamin every day. Even if you buy some children's vitamins and pop one in your mouth with breakfast, that would be sufficient. And the other advantages of taking prenatal vitamins include longer, stronger nails, beautiful skin and healthy shiny, hair. You can't beat that!

So get out there, Ladies, and eat some folic acid!

For more information on folic acid, visit the March of Dimes web site here.

For more information on Latinas and pregnancy, check out the National Latina Health Network here.

"Gordito" Doesn't Mean Healthy...

It is no secret that the number of obese children in the U.S. has tripled in recent years. However, what alarms me (as a Latina mother) is that statistics show that Latino children are the most obese of all. I come from a family that loves to eat. In fact, mi 'buelita even opened her own restaurant in Dallas many years ago. It was a family-operated business. I think that many of us whose families originally came from areas that were not so - shall I say affluent? - have a deeply imbedded belief that a chubby baby is a well-fed one. Their mother is taking good care of them, keeping them properly nourished and lavished with love. I remember that whenever I finished a nice, big, "healthy" portion of food on my plate, my mamá would smile and say "Mi'ja está comiendo bien!" Of course, back then I would probably spend the rest of the afternoon or evening playing outside in my 'buelita's garden.

Times change. Lifestyles change. But sometimes our beliefs are a little slower to adapt.

Fortunately for us, Claudia González and Lourdes Alcañiz have a book and web site out to help us. "Gordito Doesn't Mean Healthy" gives us information, strategies and tools to prevent and manage obesity in our children. The web site has some valuable tools including a Body Mass Index Calculator to tell us if our children are overweight and a Latino Food Pyramid to help us make better food choices. The book offers healthy Latino menus for children - from newborns to adolescents.

To check out the English web site, click here.

To check out the Spanish web site, click aqui.

On a side note, I'd like to point out that, in general, breastfed babies tend to have less body fat. They are leaner, healthier and less likely to be overweight toddlers/children. Not to mention all the wonderful nutrients and immunities they get from breast milk, too. Perhaps my next few posts will be on the topic of nursing...

Día de los Reyes!

Well, after 4 trips to Best Buy and almost $400 poorer, I have finally repaired my computer which had a mild case of the "Lights Out" syndrome. Sorry to get behind on the posts, but así es la vida!

For those of you celebrating Día de los Reyes, here are a few links to some great sites with information on the holiday as well as some events in the San Francisco area....

For some great ideas on how to celebrate the holiday with your niños, click here. There are some nice family activities.

Also, check out this great site with some in-depth information on each of Los Reyes and a description of how to celebrate the day Puerto Rican-style from El Boricua, a monthly cultural magazine.

And lastly, here is a description and schedule for the Coro Hispano de San Francisco which is celebrating with six musical performances with music that spans 400 years from the areas of Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Wish I could go!!!

Start the New Year in Style...

I love these silk crib sheets by ProudTots. Made of 100% crepe silk, these flat sheets are the best natural fabric for kids bedding. It is naturally hypoallergenic, and thereby perfect for babies who may suffer from asthma or allergies. Silk also draws moisture away from the skin, and is resistant to mildew and odors. And, of course, it is great at insulating the body from cold and heat. These sheets are machine and hand washable - a very important requirement for any baby product!

ProudTots also carries silk duvet and pillow sets.

So support a Latina-owned company by checking out these and other ProudTot products by clicking here.

Prospero Año Nuevo...

Happy New Year, Amigas! I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday surrounded by loved ones. My family had a fantastic Christmas (with too many gifts for the kids from family and friends) and a nice, quiet New Year. We were all exhausted from the last two weeks that we had the best night's sleep anoche and awakened in excellent spirits. What a great omen for the coming year!

On the business side of things, it has been extremely busy (yea!) and Latin Baby has a lot of projects in the works for the next several months. The biggest is the Dallas Market in a few weeks. Retailers, if you are in the area, please stop by our booth (#21) in the KidsWorld Fair on the 8th floor of the Dallas World Trade Center. The Gift Show runs January 18th through 21st and I don't think it is too late to register.

We have many new products that we will be adding to the site, and the onesies (pictured above) are an example of the new layette line we are launching. The onesies are already available on-line, but the other items will probably not be listed until after Market.

I also have some important posts coming up over the next few days with product reviews, give aways and baby shower activities, so stay tuned!

We hope you will check back with us often so that you don't miss any of our new products.

Wishing you all a warm, peaceful, loving, joyous and successful New Year!

~Monica