Green Gift Guide!

GREEN GIFTS UNDER $25










GREEN GIFTS UNDER $50








GREEN GIFTS UNDER $75








GREEN GIFTS UNDER $100






GREEN GIFTS UNDER $200






GREEN GIFTS UNDER $500






We weeded through our collection to pull out some of our favourite green/organic items that make awesome gifts. Best of all - we've got stuff in all prices ranges. So shop our guide and do right by the planet!


UNDER $25
1. Chan, Pie and Gnon by Vulli These mushroom inspired teething/squeek toys are made of natural rubber and food based paints.

2. Nuts & Bolts by Plan Toys Are made of sustainable and non-toxic wood and materials. These little guys are great for developing both imagination and motor skills.

3. Peppa's Sloppy Dolls Ok, just trust us on this one. These things are like stuffed bunnies but with no stuffing - they are totally flat. That may seem weird to you but babies go crazy for them - no lie! They clutch them, suck on their ears and heads and they won't part with them when they are older. They are also fair trade, non-toxic and made with sustainable materials.


UNDER $50
1. Dancing Alligator by Plan Toys You can't go wrong with a wooden pull toy! Made of sustainable, non-toxic materials - it's great as decor in a newborn baby's room or as a fun toy for toddlers.

2. Wean Cubes by Wean Green Finally, GLASS baby cubes! These are perfect for storing your pureed food for baby. Single portion sizes, measuring lines, freezable and heatable. Easier on the environment AND no leeching toxins in baby's food.

3. Zoo Babies Onesies So beautifully illustrated and packaged - these onesies are a ready-made gift! They are made of ultra soft certified organic cotton and are fully fair trade and sweat shop free!


UNDER $75
1. Bamboo swaddling wraps by Aden & Anais These blankets are the ultimate swaddlers - seriously, there is none better. Now in Bamboo!

2. Bowling Buddies by The Playful World We love this company because they think beyond 'green' and are committed to all aspects of sustainability. They are incredibly socially aware and they create these beautiful products using fair trade practices and providing jobs (with great work conditions) to people in under privileged communities.

3. First Toy Set by Babybot This set comes with 3 'green' toys designed for multiple stages of a child's development (newborn, toddler & kid!) It comes beautifully packaged in a sturdy, reusable box with a gift sleeve and tag. This is not live on our site yet but it IS available for purchase! You want it? E-mail us at info@babybot.com!


UNDER $100
1. Receiving Blankets (set of 3) by Petunia Pickle Bottom These organic swadding/receiving blankets come in some of the most beautiful patterns we've seen. Organic doesn't have to be beige and boring!

2. Mini Poofs by Zid Zid Kids What the heck is a poof anyway? It's pretty much the coolest decor item ever. It's an ottoman, a cushion, a stool, a toy - anything goes! Made with recycled cotton and materials in a variety of quirky designs.



UNDER $200
1. Baby Carriers by Beco These organic cotton carriers are for newborns up to 45 lbs (that's like 3 or 4 years old!) It can do both front and back carry positions and it's got lumbar support so it doesn't hurt the back!

2. Diaper Bags by Rickshaw Bagworks These gorgeous diaper bags are made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic beverage bottles and is reusable as a laptop bag when it's done the diaper duties. And, you cannot kill this bag. You can't, it's impossible. I think they may have even bomb tested this bag (and the bag won) but that can't be confirmed at this time.


UNDER $500
1. Coral Bird Crib Set by Super Natural Baby This sophisticated, modern crib bedding is made of 100% cotton and water based inks. And like all Super Natural Baby products - the life of the bumper is extended so it's reusable as a floor mat or bench cushion.

2. Hushamok Baby Hammock This elegant organic Hammock fits with the modern decor of any room in the house and it is so great for soothing and rocking baby to sleep. Not everyone has the budget for a $450 baby gift but that's where Gramma & Grampa come in!

Canadian Made!

Inspired by Canada day - here is a mini-collection of some of our favourite products created by Canucks!

1. Monster Factory - these monsters are crowd pleasers when given as a shower gift or anytime really! Each monster has it's own quirky personality - sometimes they are highly OCD and some are ADOS (attention deficit 'ooh shiny'!)

2. Wean Green's Glass Baby Cubes are a world's first in glass baby food storage. No leaching toxins, single serving sizes, measuring lines, heatable & freezable!

3. Age Design's HiLo chair - is a classic for Canada! We love this high chair as designers because of it's beauty, design and clean silhouette. We love this chair as parents because it's so darn easy to clean!

4. When Pigs Fly - The dynamic writer/illustrator duo inspire each other with words or with imagery. Both books are beautifully illustrated, well written and kids love them!

5. Mally Leather Bibs - these bibs will save your life! No laundry, no food stains, just wipe and you're done!

6. Zoo Babies Organic Onesies - super soft, breathable cotton with beautifully illustrated designs by Vanja Kragulj.

7. Grumpy Bird Books - by Canada's own Jeremy Tankard. These books are great for kids AND babies. Newborns love the bold colour and pattern in these books - they are mesmerized by them.

It's a good day to buy Canadian eh?

Real Room: Modern Owl Themed Nursery

We have been a long time fan of the Silly Owl crib bedding by Litto Kids. We were so stoked to find this gorgeous nursery that was designed specifically around this bedding! The nursery feature was written by one of our favourite bloggers - Esther of Buymodernbaby.com . If you don't follow Esther's blogs & tweets already - you should! She's got the skinny on everything (seriously, EVERYTHING!) in the modern baby space. Read her article on Maygan's Silly Owl Nursery below!




Real Room: Modern Owl Themed Nursery

I love it when I find great examples of the products featured on buymodernbaby used in real nurseries. I was so excited when I saw the room Maygan designed for her little boy. She explains her design process saying, “For our son’s nursery I wanted to create a fun, creative space that was warm and modern. I stumbled upon the wonderful bedding, fell in love, and the rest of the nursery took shape.”



The bedding is Silly Owl from Litto Kids and you can see how this is the basis for the rest of the design choices. The dresser and crib are from DwellStudio for Target’s Silver Lake Collection.

I love the wall decal growth chart from Willow Creek Signs’s etsy shop. I have featured wall decal growth charts before and this one is perfect in this room! I also adore the little owls up on the display shelves (which are from Target).



The opposite side of the room features Maygan’s baby clothes framed in shadow boxes as well as a painting done by her sister to highlight the design in the crib bedding. Personal touches like this make the room part of your home and part of your family and history. Here I have to mention the beautiful maternity photos. Maygan made the frames for those photos herself and they make a dramatic statement.



I like to use the crib blanket over the rocker as well and the little owl blanket looks like the perfect lovey!



Finally, the mobile tops off the owl and the color theme perfectly. Maygan made this herself! One of the owls on the shelf above the wall decals is a larger stuffed version of the mobile owls– also handmade by Maygan.

You can see more of Maygan’s creative work (she’s a graphic designer) at MontzDesign.com. Thanks so much Maygan for letting us “visit” this inspiring nursery!


Get a Silly Owls Crib bedding of your very own here.
And, thanks for the post Esther! Thanks for the inspiration Maygan!

Green & Groovy!

Chapter One Organics has created some of the most beautiful sleepwear we've come across. It's rich, colourful, modern and sooooo incredibly soft! The rompers are light, breathable and perfect for summer time sleep or play.

The Earthluxe line features rompers made with - you guessed it - earthy colours and a graphic leaf or seed pod on the front. The Groovy line is psychedelic baby! But with a tasteful, modern spin.

When you see these rompers in real life - you will be hooked! There is nothing that comes close to the quality and style of these fabrics and patterns. Just one of these rompers rolled up with a ribbon makes a great shower gift.

Chapter One Organics as a company is committed to more than just the environment. They are committed to all aspects of sustainability including providing fair labour practices and producing toxin free clothing for your child.

And, thank you Chapter One Organics for realizing that organic can be colourful and beautiful!

Pattern Showdown!

The spring/summer season inspires gorgeous patterns in fashion, decor, and accessories. Baby and kids style is no different. Many of our favourite brands have brought it this season with exciting, fresh new patterns in diaper bags, carriers, baby books, etc. On the flip side, some of our favourite brands have not upped their game - they are resting on their proven patterns or they have introduced new patterns that aren't that awesome.

Here is Babybot's pattern scorecard:

A+
The top of the pack is easily Petunia Pickle Bottom. PPB designers absolutely dominate the pattern playing field. Every year PPB has a gorgeous collection of patterns that are somehow even better than the previous year's patterns. How do they do it? PPB is clearly influenced by high fashion, seasonal trends, and personal style. They bring an elevated aesthetic to everything they design and they don't feel that mom should have to dumb down their style simply because they are a mom. From diaper bags to onesies and swaddling wraps - Petunia pickle bottom's patterns are beautiful, fresh and second to none.

A
There are a couple of brands who are killing it this season and are giving Petunia Pickle Bottom a good race!

1. Beco baby carriers are known for their incredibly ergonomic design but they also have major cache due to their eye-catching and organic (yes!) cotton fabrics and prints. This year, they came out with several new prints that introduce colour and hipness to the baby carrier world. They have topped their patterns from last season (although we miss the ultra hip deer argyle pattern!) and they remain uncontested as the most beautiful baby carriers out there!

2. Rag & Bone Book Bindery has created new patterns for their baby books and brag books. It is extremely difficult to find style centric, modern baby books but thankfully Rag & Bone has many options to choose from! These books are all impeccably made and the choice of cover styles will appeal to diverse aesthetic tastes.

3. Olli & Lime from the UK consistently offers a clean, simple aesthetic to their bedding and decor stylings. This year, they complimented their George and Billie lines (which are still extremely stylish and relevant) with their gorgeous new 'Charlie' line. They keep it neutral, fresh and avoid, pink, blue & frilly at all costs. Lovin' it! (Babybot will be adding the charlie line very soon - stay tuned!)

B+
Our B-list is strong and have great showings in the pattern space. They got shut out of the A group because they haven't really upped the game with their patterns and have been resting a bit on their proven lines.

Skip Hop is our only B+ of the group because their patterns are still chic and we love affordable style! The graphic impact of their pattern collection can't be denied and they are stand outs in the diaper bag space.

B
1. Litto Kids baby bedding patterns are intricate, beautiful and whimsical. The colour choices are warm and rich and every detail of this bedding has been considered - it is refined! Litto Kids offers some of the most unique and interesting bedding out there and we love that it's not over-played. These patterns are a couple years old but they still stand up among today's crib bedding options.

2. Ok, we gotta talk about Dwell Studio. No one is saying it but everyone is thinking it...what the heck happened? Dwell came out with new patterns last fall and aside from the lovely 'Owls' pattern (ranked in our B category) the new patterns were not nearly as modern and fresh as some of the styles they dumped. They thankfully kept some of their proven patterns like Transportation which also ranks in our B category.

C-
Some of Dwell's new patterns fall into the C category for several reasons. The Paper Dolls pattern has potential but the pastel palette just doesn't say modern. The Sparrow pattern is floral, ornate and busy. It's more classic which may have been the intent but classic is not what Dwell Studio is known for. Compared to Gio Lemon (which was dropped as a crib bedding pattern) these new girl patterns aren't nearly as fresh and modern.

Looking at Dwell's patterns as a whole - it's a solid C ranking on our scale. The pattern collection is not cohesive, there is a huge hole left by the loss of Motif Robin and the modern, graphic appeal that has differentiated Dwell for so long is just missing. Dwell Studio's home collection is stellar so we have high hopes for their next pattern refresh for baby & kids.

New Product Find - Mimijumi

It looks like one, it feels like one, it contains the same good stuff as one - only it's not attached to mom! Yup, Mimijumi nipples look, feel, and act just like a boob! It is a brand new bottle that truly mimics the breast feeding experience!

Worried about nipple confusion? Got a baby that has no interest in anything but the breast? Mimijumi may just be the answer! The texture, shape, and positioning of the mimijumi nipples are the closest thing to breast that we've come across. Mimijumi even offers alternate skin coloured nipples. They aren't available in Canada yet but we can't wait for the dark skin coloured nipples!

And, BONUS! Both the bottle itself and it's packaging are beautifully designed! The 8 oz 'very hungry' bottle comes in a gorgeous little milk carton package. Check it out here: http://www.babybot.com/products/feeding/bottles-soothers/bottle-very-hungry-8-oz.html

New Product Find - Wean Cubes

Wean Green introduces the first ever GLASS baby cubes - or 'wean cubes' to be more accurate. These cubes are intended for storing pureed food for babies or, any food for baby and kids that you want to freeze, heat, or just pop into your diaper bag. Best of all - they are glass! No BPA, no toxins - it's the safest possible material to store your child's food in!

Babybot has had the extreme luck to be able to touch, feel and test these cubes out first hand and here is what we found:

1. HIGH QUALITY GLASS. No imperfections, no air bubbles - just pristine, perfect tempered glass. We don't recommend that you freeze them and immediately put the frozen cubes into the microwave to heat up, but we did just to see if it would hold up. It did! No explosions, no cracked glass. This is a good thing because even though you and I would never do this in real life - you know someone will....

2. BEAUTIFUL COLOURS & PACKAGING. We couldn't leak photos of the packaging in this post but we've seen it and it is beautiful, well designed and smart. These cubes will be extremely giftable for this reason.

3. CONVENIENT & FLEXIBLE. The lid locks REALLY lock and there is a silicone sealed lid so they are so easy to throw into a diaper bag without worrying about spills or leaks. The size is perfect - it's small and portable but still big enough to hold a good sized portion of baby food or cheerios, gold fish, raisins, grapes, etc for older kids.

4. ECO-FRIENDLY. The glass and packaging is all 100% recyclable and sustainable.

5. AFFORDABLE. Wean Cubes come in 4 packs for $28.00 CAD. Choose from raspberry, blueberry, peas and carrots OR get a multipack with one of each colour.

6. These products are the perfect partner for Beaba's Babycook steam & puree appliance.

Babybot will be getting the very first wean cubes available for Canada at the end of May. There are very limited quantities available in May - more are coming later in the summer. To pre-order your wean cubes - hit us up at info@babybot.com

For more information on Wean Cubes, check out: http://weangreen.com/