Babies are stinky, grubby and need constant attention.

The cosmetic stash in my apartment has quadrupled in size since my 9-month-old son Callum came along. Fatherhood has made me an expert on diaper cream, cleansers and baby shampoos — so when I stumbled upon the Desert Essence range, I had to share it with you.
The products are all natural and you can tell when you use them. There’s no sticky residue or  artificial smells.

I particularly love the cleanser. The foam dispenser is perfect for bathtime. It’s much easier to squirt bursts of foam onto your baby than squeeze greasy gel – and it washes away nicely, leaving Callum clean — even evaporating the ground-in goop and food that attaches itself to intrepid and fearless babies during a day spent crawling and exploring.

I’ve also been using the air freshener a lot. It eats away those nasty diaper odors beautifuly without masking the stink with an equally offensive smell.

And surface cleaner is a must for any household blessed with a baby. Keeping Callum’s highchair, play mat and favorite toys clean is a daily routine. We’re not clean freaks, by any means — but when you live in an apartment in the city, grot and grime follow you home and it’s important to keep nasty germs away from your baby’s mouth.

The Dessert Essence range also includes an excellent massage oil and diaper cream — must haves in every nursery!

Check out the full collection here — where you can buy online!

– Ian Garland

More on Baby Callum:

1. Ian Says: Baby Callum Is Six Months Old! Where Has The Time Gone?
2. Ian Says: ‘My Father’s Day Present Will Be A Smile, A Cuddle & A Dirty Diaper!’
3. Ian Says: ‘Baby Callum’s Sick For The First Time!’ Help!

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled nearly 2 million of the monitors, saying the electrical cords can be dangerous to your baby. Do you have one?

Another baby product has been deemed unsafe. Two million Summer Infant video baby monitors were recalled after they were linked to the strangulation deaths of two infants. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the electrical cords on these products can be dangerous when left to close to a baby’s crib. Learn how to keep your child safe!

Are babies safe in their own cribs?

Since 2004, seven children have strangled on cords placed too close to their cribs. According to the commission, a 10-month-old girl from Washington, D.C. died in March when she got tangled in the cord of a monitor placed on the top rail of her crib. In November, a 6-month-old boy from Conway, S.C. was strangled on an electrical cord of a monitor on the changing table attached to his crib. In Pittsburgh, a 20-month-old boy came close to dying after he was caught in a camera cord that was mounted on the wall.

Four infants die in Graco strollers

“I urge all parents and caregivers to put at least three feet between any video or audio baby monitor cords and a child in a crib,” Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum advises. “This simple step can save your child’s life.” More than 1.5 million of these monitors, representing more than 40 different models, have been recalled by Summer Infant. The company also will provide new warning labels and instructions about monitor placement on each item. The monitors were sold between 2003 and 2011 by retailers nationwide.

For more information on model numbers of recalled monitors, contact Summer Infant at 800-426-8627.

–Leigh Blickley

Get more HollyBaby news and gossip! Friend us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Subscribe to our Newsletter!

35 baby deaths a year happen because of these products. Is your child safe?

Although the Consumer Products Safety Commission was skeptical to believe the findings of Dr. Bradley Thach, a professor of pediatrics at Washington University who claimed crib bumpers were killing babies, the agency has now reversed their standpoint and decided to crack down on baby sleep products that are being blamed for infant injuries and deaths. Are you concerned for your baby’s safety?

Four infants die in Graco strollers

In an article in the The New York Times, sources say that the commission is cracking down on baby sleep products now that many cases of death and injury have been reported. Parents and caretakers target too much of their attention on defective baby products rather than what’s right in front of them — like pillows, bumpers and bedding that have cluttered their children’s cribs. A commission report noted that 531 infant deaths from 1992 to 2008 were associated with these sleep products, that’s 35 baby deaths a year!

Motherhood completely transformed these stars

Here is a list of the products that have caused most of these avoidable deaths:

1. Dr. Thach found that crib bumpers, the padding wrapped around the inside of a crib, caused  27 suffocation deaths during a 10 year period beginnging in 1995. “Because bumpers can cause death, we conclude that they should not be used,” he warned.
2. In September, the Food and Drug Administration cracked down on sleep positioners, which are typically used to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but caused the death of 12 babies in the last dozen years or so. The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association suggested that parents could continue using them, as long as they used them properly.
3. In October, the commission warned parents about baby monitor cords that caused the death of six babies since 2004, who strangled themselves on the wires.
4. In December, the commission banned drop-side cribs and asked that they be discarded from homes. The cribs were blamed for reportedly entrapping and killing at least 32 babies since 2000. This statistic helped to launch the “Safe Sleep” campaign which prioritzed the safety of baby sleep products.

All these findings have caused the commission to delve deeper and really focus on making baby sleep products safer and less hazardous to the health and life of infants. So HollyMoms, are you worried about these products? Or will you continue to use them?

–Leigh Blickley

Get more HollyBaby news and gossip! Friend
us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Hey HollyMoms, remember how we told you last week that Kendra Wilkinson and her husband Hank Baskett, 28, are planning on trying to give their 11-month-old son, Hank Baskett Jr. a little brother or sister next summer? Well, just in case you get invited to her baby shower, we have the perfect gift for you to bring along. The 25-year-old never leaves home without her Baby Kaed diaper bag!

Kendra hates being pregnant but really wants another baby

“It’s so funny because I used the same one for so long, and the company actually saw it in every picture, so they sent me a new one!” she tells People. She better keep that bag close now that baby Hank is walking!

No ‘Mom Pants’ for Kendra

And she’s already picked out their next vacation destination. “With the baby, I think my idea of a vacation would definitely be a Disney cruise. I can’t wait to do that with my men,” she says in the latest issue of the magazine.

Baby Hank is on the move

What baby products can’t you leave home without, HollyMoms?

–Amy L. Harper

Get more HollyBaby news and gossip! Friend us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter and Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Hey HollyMoms! Mustela and HollyBaby.com are giving you the chance to win a half-year’s supply of fantastic baby products!

Mustela, the skincare expert for babies and mothers-to-be, is giving one very lucky HollyBaby reader the chance to win some of the best skincare products out there in a Mustela Baby Gift Pack! Mustela offers maternity and baby skincare products, as well as sun protection creams and other essential skincare lotions! Click here to enter the giveaway!

Our Mustela Baby Gift Pack (which contains a six-month supply of skincare products) features:

• 12 packs of Cleansing & Soothing Wipes for diaper change
• 6 packs of Facial Cleansing Cloths
• 2 Vitamin Barrier Cream for diaper change
• 1 Bebe Shampoo
• 1 Dermo-Cleansing Gel for newborns
• 1 Hydra Bebe Body Lotion
• 2-in-1 Hair and Body Wash

For more info about these gentle, hypoallergenic products, go to mustelausa.com. The total value of the prize is $240 and the competition ends at midnight PST on Sunday, November 28.

Fill in the form below for your chance to win!

[gravityform id=25 name=MustelaGiveaway! description=false]