We are constantly working on generating feedback for our products here at Happy Panda. On our web page you will find the static page Extra! Extra! —- There you will find links to full reviews of our products from the following companies.

“It’s about time someone developed the alternative to the preemie sleeper!”
-Nicole Baker, Founder and Senior Editor.

It’s a new game that is a combination of hide-and-seek & the box office hit movie “Transformers.” Want to learn how to play? For more information check out the blogspot.

What a fabulous concept! Nowadays there sure does seem to be a lot more bigger babies. My son is a GIANT! He is probably one of the tallest 5 yr olds you will meet. He is always mistaken for at least a year older - usually two years older. He grew so fast that most of his clothes were rarely worn before he was in the next size. He was off the charts in height from a few months old and on.

BUT Susan’s daughter Julia is the opposite. She is a tiny little doll!!! And apparently the baby inside me is small - measuring at the 10th%. BUT, I am not too convinced. They told me Jackson was small - and although he came out at only 7.14, within three weeks he was ten pounds and growing like a weed. I am so curious to see if this baby will be tall like Jackson.

Janice

This particular game was created one morning while I found Darrien was in a very energetic mood. I was looking for something that might wear him out a little so he would be tired by the time I had to put Rex down for a nap. (Anyone who has taken care of children knows that fatigue equals quiet, and quiet equals Rex getting a good nap.)

Along with the upcoming labor day weekend came the day that I had to tell Darrien (the 7 year old) that I wasn’t going to be working that day. Now before I begin to tell you what happened let me let you in on a bit of information I have recently realized that he has grown quite fond of the past few months. Now onto the story:

It started as a run-of-the-mill type of evening. Walk to the school, find the boy in the chaos of the school yard, possibly play a game of hide-and-seek, and then begin the walk home. All was going well, and Darrien had begun discussing how his day at school went and his plans for the weekend. The scenery was nice and calm, besides the occasional honking of a horn from the traffic on the street, it was beginning to be a rather nice walk home. Somehow or another, Monday September 3rd was brought up. To all who don’t recognize the date- it is this year’s Labor Day. Now, let me remind you at this moment in time I had not realized how much he enjoyed having me around, and before I knew it, the information that I was off work that Monday slipped out of my mouth and manifested inside his head.

It was at this very moment that the mood of the evening took a drastic turn for the worse. I immediately saw a change in Darrien. It was as if I had pushed the little red button in movies that says “DO NOT PUSH”. The missile was launched and I braced myself for impact. BOOM! His face reddened, tears welled up in his eyes and I do believe I heard the sound of his heart break. I was awe-struck. This is the same boy who I’ve had not one, but many disagreements with over the silliest of things. The boy who has on numerous occasions spoken the dreaded phrase of “I HATE YOU”. I didn’t know what to say, to be honest I was quite touched. A slight smile arose from my lips and I tried my best to hide it from the very, very upset Darrien. He ran to the van that was parked around the corner and slouched down in the seat. I got in and tried my best to console him and then proceeded to drive him home.

I walked into the house and pulled Pam aside. I relayed the information about his break down and that she might want to have a talk with him to explain that the world wasn’t ending– I would be back on Tuesday. Darrien sat on Pam’s lap and balled his eyes out. She asked what was wrong, and without hesitation, he pointed at me. I let out a quiet chuckle, as I was still completely in awe that he was so upset and didn’t know what to do. Words cannot describe the feeling I had at that moment. A cup of ice cream later and a big hug from me and he was okay again. By the time he calmed down, I had to head home to do the ever so lovely activity of studying. What a day

Do you cut the tags out? I have received gently used clothes from friends and when I look for the garment label it is gone. Many Moms, including myself, cut the tags out of our childrens garments. Why? Because our children complain endlessly about how the tag itches. They whine until we finally take a pair of scissors and just cut it out!

Emily and I have conducted endless research into the world of tagless garments. Brands like Hanes, Arizon and Carter’s (to name a few) have caught on and consumers love it! However, if you are a small business trying to produce tagless garment labels in the USA that is another matter all together. The tagless feature is largely produced in foreign countries. On that note, we ask for your patience during our quest to diversify our product line while continuing to offer the tagless feature on our Made in the USA garments.

What do you think? Is the tagless feature a benefit to you? Leave us your comments.

PRESS RELEASE-

Introducing the big and tall online boutique Happy Panda The Brand for the Bigger Baby

Happy Panda announced the grand opening of their online boutique targeted toward the big and tall infant market. The centerpiece of the Happy Panda brand is clothing specifically designed to fit the bigger baby. Customers can take comfort in the Happy Panda sizing system which takes the mystery out of shopping for larger babies by age without having to buy the next size up. Happy Panda’s clothing is high quality tagless babywear, designed and made in the USA, using environmentally safe fabrics and inks for the safest, most comfortable fit for the happy panda in your life.

The Happy Panda brand is the creation of Pamela Kramer, the proud parent of not one but two Happy Pandas. Her first baby boy grew so quickly that he was wearing a size 2T before his first birthday. His growth rate made it difficult for friends and family to shop for him by age because the standard size charts did not apply. She became frustrated trying to find clothes that fit while offering the ability to get through those quick diaper changes without completely undressing her baby.

In August 2006 her second son was born and began growing at an even faster rate than the first. Still, no brand had addressed the needs for bigger babies. After sharing stories with other parents in the same situation she found they also have had to return items purchased by age because they were too small. In December 2006 the Happy Panda concept became a reality.

This unique babywear features the Happy Panda character chosen because pandas are distinctive, big in stature but cute all the same. Each one piece comes with the signature panda face print on the backside diaper area. If you see one of these pandas please make sure to ask the parents before you feed these big bears. Bigger babies can look forward to comfortable, stylish clothes from Happy Panda.

Do you know a Happy Panda?

If you have a big baby then you have experienced some back pain. These little people are heavy to lug around. What can you do besides using Advil and heating pads? Some options are those baby carriers or baby slings. I tried two different slings by Infantino. First, we tried the SlingRider and that didn’t work for us at all. The baby was tucked too far down to one side and it nearly covered his entire body and we returned it to the store. Next, we tried the EuroRider. It seemed like a better option but I quickly learned it was a two person job! Trying to get all those straps to fasten by myself while holding the baby was just more trouble for me. My babies head sort of flopped around too much for my taste. I used it maybe two times. What I found that helped me the most was an umbrella stroller. It folds up quickly and is very light weight and compact. Those are great features for storing in your house or car. What I really needed was something to use around my house to reduce my back pain. I needed something that would help me carry my son from room to room so that I could get my daily tasks of dishes, laundry and standard picking up around the house done. I had seen the umbrella stroller in many stores but just never thought twice about getting one until I ran into this problem. I purchased mine with a gift card at Target. What a great investment because my baby loved it and I was able to save my back! He was so happy when we traveled around the house. He would kick his feet up and down and just squeal with delight. The particular umbrella stroller I have is not shown in this photo but it has a forty pound weight limit. I started using this stroller when my baby was old enough to sit up. The only issue I have with my umbrella stroller is I would have liked the handles to extend higher. Mine is a little too short for me but other than it has been a great idea! Now these kinds of strollers are not really great for concrete or tracks because you will wear out the tires too quickly. What I use is the Babies ‘R’ Us Expedition LE Jogging Travel System. The infant seat only lasted until he was five months old. If you have a child that grows at a rapid pace then you will find yourself going through car seats. We are about to be on our third but that is a discussion for another blog. Back to the stroller! I really like this stroller but the people around me don’t like it because they say it is too hard to steer. Granted there is a steering issue. This particular stroller has to be aligned. It also has a hand break right on the top bar of the stroller. I don’t really understand why there is a break there because I’m just not sure when you would use it, but it handles the gravel tracks on the jogging trails just fine. The tires have held up nicely to trails and pavement. No complaints there at all. I personally don’t mind that you have to steer it because it gives your arms a really great workout!

What’s Hot for Tots is celebrating their very first birthday! Happy Panda is just one of many companies helping them celebrate. Visit their site and check out the four gift boxes for a chance to win some really great prizes. Hurry though, it’s only through the month of September. Click on the What’s Hot for tots banner to be directly connected. The party is over and our winner was announced October 10th. Congratulations Janine B. from California!