ABC Kids: day one

We spent today getting oriented, just walking around and figuring out who was where. It's incredibly easy to lose track of people in the massive Hilton Convention Center, even if you're armed with a list and a map. It's very easy to get overwhelmed, to put it lightly. We placed a few reorders today for some store favourites, you can expect to see lambskins instock in both Ottawa and Waterloo shortly, and we ordered some wool crib pads and puddle pads -- we know how much you all like your wool!

Speaking of wool, we visited a few companies that manufacture wool covers, I've been on a mission to find wool that's machine-washable. I know some people get overwhelmed with the idea of hand-washing wool, but for those of you who don't have the time (or don't believe me), Baby Beehind's felted wool covers are a great option. They come in an assortment of bright colors, they feature wool binding, an extra layer of wool in the cover's wetzone, and they will ring in with an attractive pricetag of $30.00 (full disclosure: the covers are made in China).

We reordered from Scootababy (we snagged their most recent print, Santorini) and CatBirdBaby, who debuted a couple new prints at the show. Beth and Marion are always fun to visit, and their carriers are top-notch, to say the least. We managed to snag a few mocca rouges and some cloud prints, which are to be discontinued, lucky for us.

We previewed Babyhawk's new line of Tattoo-inspired carriers, a collaborative effort that involves three Miami Ink artists -- to say this is a bold, funky twist on the Mai Tei carrier is an understatement... dads (and moms!) will go crazy for these carriers, they are so fun!

Hotslings has tweaked their pouch, introducing a one-size adjustable version. I have to say, I'm on the fence about this one. Their simplicity is what people liked about them -- granted, the way they've made the carrier adjustable is a novel concept, however, the simplicity was such a big selling point, I'm not sure I see the value in an adjustable pouch (many companies have tried before and failed at it). I didn't have Gracie with me when I visited their booth, so I'll go back and give it a go with Grace, I can't write it off without trying it out first. As a retailer, I can certainly appreciate only having to stock one size as opposed to seven, but I'm not sure it's best for the consumer... what do you think?

Speaking of one-size, what is with all of the diaper manufacturers' current obsession with one-size everything? Seriously. I will post more about that tomorrow, suffice it to say, one of the products I was most looking forward to seeing was a huge letdown. It would seem any and all development has been poured into evolving the one-size diaper concept, however, in terms of durability and fit, sized diapers are always going to be the better choice... I would really loved to be wowed by a sized diaper here, but I'm not sure it will happen. Tashi at Kissaluvs has a few new tricks up her sleeve, I tried my best to encourage her to go forward with one of her ideas (please! Pretty please!!!).

All in all, it was a busy day, lots of walking! Trends I noticed? Green anything-and-everything is HUGE! There are also lots of new breastpump companies biting at Medela's heels now that they have lost their WHO code compliancy. The glass bottle trend of last year seems to have died down, but it would seem that steel bottles are this year's trend (SIGG was a last-minute show drop-out, go figure!).

If anyone cares, I ate my first In-n-Out burger today.

susie ;)