Founded in 2001 by Jessica Seinfeld, Baby Buggy focuses on providing New York City families in need with essential equipment, clothing and products for their infants and young children. To learn more, visit www.babybuggy.org.

From Saturday, May 9th – Tuesday, June 2nd, Pampers will match the total number of diapers collected during a Baby Buggy diaper drive (2:1).

If you live in NYC, you can drop off diapers at the following locations:

*Classic Kids Photography- 1182 Lexington Avenue

*Kidville -Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Park Slope, & Rockville, MD locations

*Citibabes- 52 Mercer Street , 3rd Floor

*Baby Buggy- 306 West 37th Street , 8th floor

If you don’t live nearby, you can still make online purchases/donations in two ways:

1. Make a financial donation to the drive.

or

2. Purchase diapers on the Baby Buggy registry at BabiesRUS.com. (Type in “Buggy” for last name, “Baby” for first name to access the registry online.)

As an added incentive to donate a pack of diapers, I’m going to give one generous Mom in the City reader a $50 Salon Wish Gift Certificate! (It can be used at over 4,000 salons nationwide for massages, facials, pedicures, hair styling, etc.)

To win, simply donate at least one bag of diapers (or make a financial donation) to Baby Buggy this month. After, indicate that you did so in the “Comments” section below.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an Editor Showcase featuring products and services geared towards moms. I came away with a lot of great new information. Several of the companies have already been featured on Mom in the City (i.e. Chelsea Piers, Exergen, Feld Entertainment, Munchkin and SitterCity.com). Below are seven other companies that especially stood out:

1. Art.com: My policy in my house is to not have anything so valuable that I’d have a “heart attack” if someone broke it/spilled something on it/etc. That’s why I like this company. I bought and have had one of their framed Seascape prints over my sofa for the last several years. While at the event, I saw the next print that I’m going to buy – Keep Calm and Carry On. The exact same print (at a much higher price!) had caught my eye in a recent House Beautiful magazine. I think that it is a great reminder in these current times. (It was originally designed by the British government during World War II.)


2. Diopsys Enfant Vision Testing System: This system is used to test the vision of children as young as 6 months. It does so by evaluating the child’s response to external stimulus. Basically, it uses technology to test what the child’s brain is seeing. This is great because normally kids couldn’t get their vision tested until they were old enough to verbalize their responses to traditional eye chart exams. Early testing can help identify and correct various eye conditions especially amblyopia (aka “lazy eye”). You can check their site to see if there are pediatricians in your area who offer the test.

3. Gerolymatos Inc.: I like when best-selling products from other countries become available in the United States. That’s the case with two of this company’s products: Breathe Again and EARinse. The two rinses are made from pure seawater from the coast of St. Malo, France and Breathe Again even comes in a pediatric version. (These rinses are especially great now since spring season is when many allergy symptoms are at their peak!)


4. iaxisi’s Shoulder Pillow: Sometimes the simple things are the best. That’s what I thought when I tried out this shoulder pillow/cushion. Designed and developed by an engineer/dad of four, this pillow is contoured and ergonomically designed to fit most shoulders while providing head and neck support for children 6 months+. The foam pillow cushion is covered with a pillowcase made of soft 100% cotton material. (You can buy additional pillowcases in a variety of patterns.)

5. Mentholatum® for Kids Topical Cherry Scented Rub: I have a hard time when my kids have colds – especially when their coughs keep them up all night. I don’t give them cough medicines because of FDA warnings, so I was really excited when I learned about this product. It is the only FDA-Accepted topical rub for the temporary relief of coughs for ages 2 and up. It is not ingested, but it helps relieve kids’ coughs when the vapors are inhaled after being applied topically to the throat and chest. Suffice it to say, this product has been added to my medicine cabinet.

6. popchips: After reading Oprah’s interview with Michelle Obama, I started thinking about reducing the foods that I eat with artificial ingredients. So, I’ve been on the lookout for tasty, natural foods. I can hardly believe that something as yummy and flavorful as popchips is all-natural! The chips are popped (not fried or baked) and have less than half the fat of regular potato chips. Yes!

7. Tasty Bite: Being the foodie that I am, I had to contain myself from eating up all of the Indian food samples at this table. Everything was so good! Later, at home, I cooked my own “Indian meal”. I warmed up their Madras Lentils (lentils and red kidney beans in a creamy sauce) and used their Satay Partay Simmer Sauce (a peanuts, lemongrass and coconut sauce) as a chicken marinade. I added some white rice and a side salad for a wonderful family meal. What’s especially great about this line is that it’s all natural and vegetarian. You can add meat if you like though. In any event, I definitely will be using their products in the future to add some variety to my weekly meal plans. (My “picky eater” husband was very happy with his meal…)

(Sama Baby Organics was also a standout, but I’m working on doing something special with that company later this month. Baby Buggy was another organization that caught my interest. They are going to be my “Charity of the Month” for May, so I’ll share more about them then.)