Dear Jackie Ashton,

Your Baby Brain app for iPod is the best idea in the world. I know, because I also thought of it. Deep in the weeds with a sick 11-mo-old, I wished that I had an easier way to document naps, dinners and diaper changes. I actually asked app developer and tech whiz Jonathan Wegener if he had heard of one that did all that, with the touch of a button. It seemed so necessary.

There’s good news and bad news. The application of my dreams exists! For the cheaper-than-any-other-baby-gear price of $4.99 moms can “track feedings, diapers and sleep with ease.” To say this is pure baby goodness is an understatement. But sadly for G1 users, it doesn’t exist for Android.

Jackie, my little Fred is an app-loving angel. Toddler Lock (review and link via Androideka) is her fave. Please help her continue to have the coolest tools - and cure MUB’s baby brain - by creating Baby Brain for Android!

I must run now, need to jot down baby’s last diarrhea incident on the back of an envelope. Help a girl out? And keep doing what you’re doing, your Clueless Dad contest (happening now) is a hoot.

Your biggest fan,

Shannon

The best app ever invented says MUB.

We have a houseguest, and she brought two darling infant outfits from Denmark! The hip and trendy brand Smafolk creates wearable design, with graphics worthy of gracing even the most discerning of tots. I can’t wait to put Fred in the onesie, with its cuter than usual kitties on a fuschia background. Noticing a blog trend? It’s true: this is my second pink and green recommendation. My former debutante soul has a schoolgirl crush on this perfect pairing, but who wouldn’t heart it seeing this:

The other two-piece outfit sports the Smafolk signature apple, which has fans from Japan to Great Britain fighting over bright sheets, rain gear and basics. We dig the stretchy fabric and punchy contrast trim:

Freddie’s first play date featured gorgeous food from Boerum Hill’s newest temple of yum, Brooklyn Fare. Celery root remoulade and raw broccoli slaw were popular with carnivores and vegetarians alike. The curried chicken salad with almonds was a huge hit. The basket of scones was great, featuring both savory and sweet varieties. Conveniently, the prepared foods are just part of the offerings, with a full upscale grocery and roses for $2.99 a bunch I was able to pull together a darling buffet with just one stop. 

The next day we hit another Brooklyn hot spot, the Red Hook soccer fields. For us summer starts with ’soccer tacos’ and we take all of our out of town visitors there. Featured on Anthony Bourdain’s show, and located across the street from Ikea, there aren’t enough adjectives to describe how fun and delicious choosing from Guatamalan, El Salvadoran, and Honduran vendors can be. I’m a pupusa, roasted corn and horchata kind of girl, but everything from deceptively simple tacos to the ceviche is recommended. Fred loves pupusas too (she should since I ate a pile of them while pregnant).

Can’t get to Brooklyn? Your modern baby can enjoy the best of the borough with Happy Baby baby cereals and frozen meals. Full of probiotics, recommended by Dr. Sears, and with phthalate-free packaging, these appealing foods were  created by moms as a strong choice for mothers who would love to puree fresh foods (confession: I have a baby puree cookbook I’ve NEVER EVEN OPENED) but just can’t find the time. As if you need a bonus? For each box or container of Happy Baby baby food you buy, Project Peanut Butter is able to feed one child in Malawi for one day.

You go Pure Digital Flip UltraHD camera! I chose it primarily because of the ability to switch from its own power pack to AA batteries (this busy mom won’t charge it regularly), and it’s been ready to go every time I’ve needed it. The FlipShare program it comes with is intuitive enough for those of us with ‘baby brain’ to easily master. The toughest part was exporting and creating a file under 2 MB to post, but I think that will come more easiy with practice. Below Freddie welcomes a new friend.

You can also use it to create snapshots. Frederica kicks back in Xhilaration by Target. Mummy wears Miguelina.

Ah, the times they are a changing. Rather than worrying that I’m the right shade of summer tan, this modern mom is now battling her former friend: UVA rays. I’ve discovered the cuteness that is baby shorts and wetsuit inspired tops that cover baby skin much more effectively than sunscreen. Mom 4 Life has some adorable options (nom photo above shows lots to choose from in mix and match styles), providing baby with 98% protection from the sun with their Baby Skinz swim shirts and Baby Bloomers swim shorts by UV Skinz.

Before I could snatch those up, Daddy surprised us with darling (and SPF 50!) smartness with a set from Cinco via Target. Cute for many reasons, including ease of pull-on and bright colors. Here’s Fred rocking it with her friend Adam at our Memorial Day BBQ, photo by Dan Kim:

Here at Modern Urban Baby we love anything sustainable. One approach to responsible manufacturing was represented at ICFF by Connecticut’s ducduc group, introducing their new Mason Gray line. Based in a restored 1897 building on a reclaimed brownfield site, and eschewing particle board and MDF for wood certified by The United States Green Building Council, this company epitomizes smart use. Named for ducduc’s CEO’s daughter Mason, and the Chief Creative Officer’s daughter Gray, 2009’s offerings are intended for “fans of ducduc who also appreciate something more traditional.” Wonderful clean lines and pulls are complemented by hand-applied stains in bright colors (our pick: the fuchsia and green mix) or subtly gorgeous shades including the perfect powder pink. Something about the look says Doris Day film, something says Hamptons, but it all adds up to a green gorgeousness you can be environmentally comfortable coveting.

Is there anything cuter than a pudgy palm handing you a just picked bloom? ICFF 2009 recognized this with accessories appreciating the elemental appeal of a lone blossom. Raleigh, North Carolina’s The Other Edge Design Studio turns your coffee cup into art with their Pocket Vase. Stainless spring steel and rubber ensure you’ll always have a place for your little treasure’s treasure.

Japanese designers +d go one further, celebrating the root of the plant, in order to make a point about the origins of our lives. The house, whose motto is “This is a message,” wish everyone a life with plants nearby. Online here. 

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair marked my debut representing Modern Urban Baby, and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. The designers were available at many of the booths, and the range of chic baby wares being displayed was impressive. Emblematic of the mood of the show were these brightly colored chairs from El Salvador. This “monster idea on the loose,” was created by Alvaro Guatemala and Hugo Zambrana of Guaza Creative Studio. The graphics background of the young artists (currently teaching design at their Alma mater Dr. Jose Matias Delgado) informs their choices of luminescent acrylic, attention grabbing bold colors and distinctive shapes. Choosing from centipede, bear, fox or fly will be the hardest job for anyone looking to spice up a room with out of the ordinary and fun pieces.

Hi everyone, it’s Tracy. Yikes! I apologize profusely for the lack of postings to Modern Urban Baby :< Life has been so hectic over the last 6 months. Between running my other blogs and traveling back and forth to Europe, I haven’t been giving MUB the tender loving care it deserves. Realizing I need help to keep the site going, I have reached out to one of Brooklyn’s most talented modern moms, Shannon Mechutan.

Shannon, who will be signing on as contributing editor, has a rich history in media. And as a new mom to 9 month old Frederica, she has her finger on the pulse of modern baby gadgets, furniture and fashion. I am really excited about this  new partnership and i know you will be too! Shannon will give MUB the attention it deserves, freeing me up to work on the back end of  my blogs. Shannon has a brilliant eye for design and I think you will really enjoying reading all about her new discoveries.

Over the next couple weeks you’ll see some transitioning take place as we settle  Shannon into her new web space. So stick with us readers!! We promise we’ll have lots of exciting new content for you very soon. If you would like to email Shannon new products or ideas you’d like her to feature click here. Or if you’d just like to say hello, drop her a line.  I know she would love to meet her new readers!

Thanks so much readers! I really appreciate your support as MUB continues to develop. And while you won’t see too much of me on MUB in the future, I will still be working in the background so you never know when I may be popping in to say hello. If you are interested in advertising opportunities you can click
here to reach me. Thanks again for your support!

We know winter will soon be over but while there is still a nip in the air, we wanted to post this adorable Faux Mink Baby Fur Coat. We saw it on The Corner Stork site and thought it was just to cute not to pass along. Got a mid-winter Bat Mitzvah to attend? Private school interview? Babies have to dress it up too! We love the sweet little ears on the head and the brown satin ribbon really gives it some class.