Decorating a Diaper Genie

It's baby week everyone! We spent the weekend getting the nursery ready for our little one's arrival and I did a quick DIY on one of my must-haves for any nursery- The Diaper Genie Elite. When it was my first rodeo, I didn't pay much attention to which diaper pail would be the best, just registered for one and called it a day. Ummmm, poor choice! It didn't last long in our house; it didn't keep the smell in, once her diapers were a larger size it filled up quickly, and then it broke! I made sure that this time around we got the best diaper pail to begin with.

Having great products can make a huge difference in taking care of a baby. Especially when it's your first time and you just buy everything. Luckily, I've learned what works for us and knew what to get for our second time around. The Elite is perfect at keeping the smell at bay with a carbon filter and how the bags are multilayer and are kept at the bottom part of the pail. Another feature I love is how easy it opens with its foot pedal! With our last disaster pail, the lid was such a hassle we ended up wrestling with it to go down. It was such a pain, the Diaper Genie is amazing!

A few weeks ago, I picked up the Diaper Genie Elite and a refill pack at Target with some wall decals to decorate it. I like how sleek the Diaper Genie Elite is, but I want to add a little bit of punch to the look. I've seen tons of cute DIYs and thought I'd extend our nursery theme to the pail as well. It's sleek look is the perfect palette to create something special.

After such a busy weekend getting everything ready, decorating the pail was a nice way to unwind. It was fun and I was excited to put it together. It would be such a cute gift to give a decorated pail as a shower gift too- you can literally decorate it any way you want to personalize it and have it match a nursery. I thought about doing different things to decorate it- markers, paint, fabric, etc. but I felt like I couldn't go wrong with wall decals. If I messed up, I could take them off with ease and place them again on the genie. I really like how it turned out, I love the 3D texture and the color combinations. 

Be sure to take advantage of the Diaper Genie “Mommy Time” Rewards Program!  Earn points to use towards great rewards for yourself every time you buy or register for Diaper Genie products. By enrolling in the Mommy Time Rewards Program, moms can take a little more ‘me’ time. Once enrolled, every time you register or purchase participating Diaper Genie products, you can earn points towards rewards for your favorite products and services. It's such a great program and so easy!

1. Buy: Purchase participating Diaper Genie products

2. Snap: Take a photo of your store receipt using your mobile phone or upload a photo of your receipt or baby registry from your desktop and create your own Mommy Time Rewards profile at www.MommyTimeRewards.com

3. Redeem: Log in to your Mommy Time Rewards account to redeem your points for eGift Card rewards. Mom can reward herself with her favorite products from participating retailers like Sephora and Zappos, or eGift Cards for massages, dining and more.

What are your nursery essentials? What products did you learn were best for you?

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Diaper Genie® but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PlaytexEssentials http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

What's On My Baby 2 Wish List

The nesting period is upon us, I've been making lists and checking them off and racking my brain about what we need and don't need for #2's arrival. Luckily, we have a ton of great stuff from Eleanor that we can use for our next little one (and any little ones after that!). A few weeks ago we went through the garage to kind of gather stuff up and all of it is still in pristine condition, even all of her newborn and 0-3 clothes. I didn't check the older sizing of clothes yet, but Ellie didn't really start playing hard and staining stuff until recently now that she's older and on the run. I've been trying to put together a list of items we would need for the second baby and have asked some of my mama friends what they needed and here's the list I have so far.

Take Home Outfit- Every baby needs a take home outfit that you put away for years and years to give them when they have their own children. I have all of Ellie's items, including her hospital bracelets, in a vaccuumed ziplock for her and will do the same for this little girl. I absolutely love this outfit, I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I found it half off last week and scooped it up in a hot second.

Blankets- I obviously had to buy the matching blanket set for the outfit too. It was a given.

Stuffed Animal- One of the first things I bought for Ellie was a soft, adorable bunny and I wanted to get Little 2 one as well. We used the stuffed animal for maternity pictures, and for monthly updates to show how fast Ellie had grown in comparison. She loves her bunny and we keep it in her room and I know it will be something we have forever. Matt has a couple of stuffed animals his mother kept and I think it's so precious to have something that was so important to you as a child. I just bought this one last week and I can't wait for it to come in!

Book- I love and collect so many books for the girls. When I had Ellie I brought a BabyLit Alice in Wonderland book as a guest book for our visitors to sign and it's one of my favorite mementos. I plan to do it again and always tell expectant mothers to bring something for guests to sign and write notes. I'm gonna stick with the BabyLit books and love this Secret Garden for our little girl.

Headbands and Bows- Baby girls needs a ton of headbands and bows, duh. You can never have too many! We have a ton of sets from Ellie, but I can't resist this adorable Grow With Me Set from Willow Crowns. Ellie and I already have the bottom lace one and now we can all be triplets when we wear them together!

Muslin Blankets- These are the best blankets ever, just muslin blankets in general, we used several brands with Ellie. They're perfect all year and now Ellie uses hers all the time for herself or her dolls. I love the colors and prints in this set, still feminine, but not pink. We have so much pink stuff, and I love it, but I want to incorporate some more color for both my girls. I've seen this set at BRU, but they don't have it online. Even though I had Ellie just two years ago, so many new prints and sets have come out!

Diaper Genie- In theory, I would love to have Ellie potty trained before the baby comes, but I'm not sure if we will. Plus, her diaper pail is broken and we would need a new one anyways. We have one by Munchkin and want to pick this one up instead, it seems to be a better one than ours after using it at a friend's home.

Sound Machine- Ellie still uses hers, mostly for a nightlight now, but if we have people over we put the white noise on to help block out sounds and keep a constant noise for her to sleep better. I like that this one has a timer so it's not on all night, which is a nice feature and it also has images it can project onto the ceiling which could be cool.

Double Stroller- This has been one thing that I haven't looked too much into because I'm dreading it. Two of my mama friends said to get a jogger because it's more lightweight and easier to push/use and I believe them! I used one for a walk we did in April and it was like pushing air on a dirt path. Matt and I are going to look for one soon. I linked to this one because it fits the carseat we have so I wouldn't have to wake the baby transitioning her from car to stroller and such.

Tote Bag- We have a monogrammed bag we use all.the.time for Ellie and I want to get another one for this little babe. I love that this tote comes in different sizes and strap lengths and I'm really digging the lavender shade. I also love anything that can be monogrammed of course. My favorite part is that it zips! Woohoo!

Those are my top ten items for baby 2, I'm sure I'm missing something so please help! Let me know what you guys used/needed with your second babies and what strollers you like best.What has been the biggest life saver when your additional children arrived? Thanks for any tips, tricks, and ideas!

Baby Must Haves: 10 Months

Oh my gosh. This post is so late! I'm working on 11 months must have post so that one won't be too late, next week for sure! We've been so crazy getting the house ready, moving, and I've been going back and forth between the new house and my in-laws while I wait for a transfer at work. Our schedule has been hectic and I've had this post half-written for a few weeks now.

This past month has been so much fun with Ellie, and I feel like I write that with every post, but it's the truth! She has so much personality and is a real joy to be around. Ellie waves all the time and loves to clap. She can also get off the couch and our bed on her own, which she thinks is the coolest thing. She has really deep belly laughs and loves to be tickled. She points at everything she wants and where she wants to go. She still babbles and talks all the time. We no longer eat any purees and have gone to complete finger foods. It's so nice to serve her what we have for dinner (unless it's spicy or has a lot of seasoning, then we feed her something else) and I've enjoyed packing a variety of lunches for her at daycare.

Here are some of our favorite items for this month/stage.

Small Doll- Matt's mother gave Ellie this adorable Cabbage Patch doll in her Christmas stocking and Ellie absolutely loves it. She is constantly giving it loves and kisses. She has a couple of other dolls, but this one is by far her favorite. They come in several different themes and I'm thinking about getting a second one as a back up even.

Playtex Training Cups: I love this set so much and it has been the best for Ellie. We have bought several different brands and types and this is the set we like best so far. It comes with one sippy cup and one straw cup and Ellie has mastered both. They don't leak whatsoever. It can be kind of tricky to get the handle on with the lid so we often leave the handles off (I think Ellie prefers that too since her bottles don't have handles). They also have easy lids that pop on and off to cover the mouthpiece, which I like.

Wooden Stacker
When I was decorating the nursery, I bought this stacker to add some color to her book shelf and now it’s one of her favorite toys! The bright colors, varying sizes, and different shapes help her motor skills and she has a blast knocking them all off and trying to stack them up. Who knew such a simple toy would bring such joy? I think this is a perfect gift for her age if you’re shopping for someone, I personally love wood toys, they really stand the test of time. My grandmother kept a small closet filled with toys from my dad’s childhood and some of the wooden toys were my favorite to play with.

Textured Ball
I bought a pink and purple version of this small ball for Ellie's Easter basket and we have had so much fun together. She really enjoys the texture the spikes offer her fingers (and of course her mouth) and we roll it back and forth while she just giggles. It's been a lot of fun for our family to play with.

Sleepytime Story & Lullabies: The Little Mermaid
Nana gave this to Ellie for Easter and it's really nice to have on long car rides when I want Ellie to nap or relax. The first part is the mermaid's story followed by four lullaby versions of the songs. I want to see if there are more Disney lullaby songs that we can purchase, we've really enjoyed this CD a lot.

What are some of your little one's favorite items?