Great Baby Products

There are lots of great baby products out there, but isn't it fun to find something a little bit different? Here are some fun baby products we love:

Milk Factory: Unlike the usual, hum drum cotton, MF uses Quick Wick which is a lightweight, stretchy, and fast-­drying fabric...a combination that keeps active kids comfortable in their own skin. If you are a runner or hiker, you already know the benefits of this fabric!

Tutu Shoes: Tutu offers beautifully crafted, leather slippers, that are sure to have your little girl dancing with joy!

Mally Bibs: Forgets those plastic bibs! Mally offers slick leather bibs with clean, crisp designs. Easy to clean off and sticks to the fridge when you are done!

Stonz Shoes: Do you like getting outdoors and want to share its beauty with your baby? These booties are a must-have. Fun designs and great functionality to keep your baby's piggies toasty!

Polar Fleece & Baby Sleep Sacks

Originally created by Malden Mills as an alternative to wool, fleece has some wonderful technical qualities, such as breathability, warmth, quick dry and wicking properties. Most importantly for parents, fleece is a durable, easy care fabric that can be simply washed and dried often while continuing to look great. The ultra soft, soothing feel of fleece is immediately 'snuggable' and this quality remains after multiple washings. This makes a polar fleece sleep sack a great solution for babies!

How to Keep Babies & Toddlers Warm

We did a little survey and here are some great suggestions from parents about how to keep your baby and toddler warm at night:

1) "Try fleece fitted sheets, they were even cosier than our flannel ones!"
2) "We put an electric space heater in our baby's room"
3) "Depending on the temperature of the room a fleece or down baby sleeping bag does the trick"
4) "If you have hardwood, put a rug in the room and get thick window coverings
5) "Fleece pajamas with feet is one of my sons favorites"
6) "Try putting socks on under the sleeper to help with cold feet"
7) "Lots of layers (body, pajama, and fleece) and then a baby sleep sack. That works for us."

Sleeveless vs Long Sleeves Sleep Sacks

So the big question: "Why are sleep sacks sleeveless?"
At first you might think: "The baby's little arms will get cold!" But the concept of sleep sacks is built around layering the baby's pajamas inside the sleep sack, kind of like when you go hiking or running.
For instance, if it is cold, your baby can snuggle down in heavier, long-sleeved pjs inside the sleep sack, but if it is warmer you have the option of using lightweight pjs or just a diaper. This gives you versatility so you don't have to invest in 3 or 4 different types of sleep sacks. As well, by being able to vary what goes on under the sleepsack you can ensure your baby is always getting adequate airflow.
So now you know the secret behind the sleeveless!

Product Review - Baby Vibe

Check out our newest product review on Baby Vibe. Baby Vibe reviewed both our fitted fleece crib sheet and our baby sleep sack! We love getting feedback like that!

Fleece, Art, Animals & Zero Waste

One of the difficult parts of manufacturing with fabric is the scraps that are leftover. We spent 8 months trying to find a company that could shred our fleece to be used to stuff pillows or children's toys - -no luck. We developed a few smaller products like our scratch mitts and harness covers, but still have fleece left overs from our baby sleeping bags and fitted crib sheets. Finally we started posting our scraps on craigslist and struck gold! Now we donate our scraps to people making crafts, teachers, parents, etc. and most recently to some animal rescue organizations who use the fabric to make little blankets or sleeping nests for rescued animals.

What a great solution, our fleece scraps can get used for art or animal comfort and we bring manufacturing to our goal of zero waste!

Moses Basket Bedding Set Clearance

Looking for a moses basket bedding set (basket cover & mattress cover) that is soft and cozy for your baby? Look no further!

We are clearing out our moses basket bedding sets for an unbeatable $47 - including shipping! What a deal!

Pick up your moses basket bedding set today while supplies last! Link

Leopard Fleece Sleep Sacks & Crib Sheets

Looking for a baby gift that is a little more wild? Pick up one of our leopard sleep sacks or fitted fleece cribsheets while supplies last! Regularily $38-52, now $28!

Small and Medium sleepsacks are our older versions with a zipper opening from the top, Large is the current style with the zipper opening from the bottom. Check out this link.

Sleep sacks for Grown ups!

So many times parents buying sleep sacks for their baby have jokingly asked if we make adult sizes. I came across this product , a sleep sack for adults! Perfect for the chilly winter weather!

Köhlr Baby and Milk Factory in Langley

Come and visit Köhlr Baby and Milk Factory at the Lower Mainland Toy and Product Fair Nov. 22, 2006

We are clearing out old stock and overstock items in our sleepsacks and cribsheets. We also have some clearance items on our website here

Milk Factory also has great deals on clearance items - Quick-Wick Tops and Onsies

Details: 3-8PM Langley Golf & Banquet Center 21550 - 44th Ave, Langley, BC Admission is free

Layering with Baby Sleeping Bags

One of the questions I get asked alot is "how come sleepsacks don't have sleeves?" A good question which has a good answer!

As a safety product baby sleeping bags should offer warmth, but also adequate air circulation. To allow for the best of both worlds baby sleeping bags are sleeveless so you can layer pajamas underneath as needed. For example, if it is warmer you may choose lightweight pajamas or just a long sleeved top or onsie. If its is cooler you can choose fleece pajamas to go underneath.
This layering system not only offers more versatility for your baby sleeping bag, so you don't need a new one for every season, it also ensure you can control the temperature and air circulation more effectively.

Creative Gift Ideas for Babies & Parents

Some friends & I were recently discussing some favorite baby gifts for baby showers or birthdays. I, of course, piped up with "Köhlr Baby Products!" They also had some other great ideas:

1. "Canadian Savings Bonds: one gal buys one each year for her nephew's birthday, gets him started with saving!"
2. "Clothing, but in big sizes so there is something to grow into."
3. "Instead of gifts for the baby I sometimes put together premade meals for the parents."
4. "I gave my friend a gift certificate for cleaning her house and went over once a week and cleaned for the first few weeks."

If you have some creative baby gift ideas email us, we would love to post them!

Swaddleaze Swaddle Baby Sleeping Bag

While we have generally recommend using sleepsacks once your baby is around 2 months since most babies prefer to be simply swaddled to this point, you can get an all-in-one option for a baby sleeping bag / swaddler known as Swaddleaze. Swaddleaze is great for babies while they go through the "startling themselves awake" phase!

Baby Gifts Bundles

T'is almost the season - the holidays are just around the corner! Get the perfect baby gift, from our selection of new gift packs. Visit our site and choose from three different gift bundle options:

Wash & Wear: A set of two is always more useful with babies! There is always a spare to use when one has to be thrown in the wash. (Choose from two baby sleeping bags or two fleece sheets.

Sweet Dreams:With a few sleep essentials, this bundle makes a great newborn baby gift and includes: small baby sleep sack, fleece fitted crib sheet and scratch mitts - Classic or Microfleece.

Sleepy Time: This bundle helps to promote sleep safety and to build and maintain consistency in baby's sleep routine for the first 2 years. Includes: SM, MED & LRG baby sleeping bag.

Fleece Sleep Sacks at Portobello West!

Mark your calendars! Köhlr Baby will be exhibiting at the Portobello West Market in Vancouver, BC at the Edgewater Stage at the Plaza of Nations on Sunday November 26th from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission is free for the public.
A perfect opportunity to pick up a baby sleep sack or fitted cribsheet for your baby or as a gift.
For more information on the market: http://www.portobellowest.com/

Lullabye for Baby

Looking for a great baby CD to help soothe your baby to sleep? A perfect baby gift for yourself or a friend, we recommend checking out the award-winning CD by Rick Scott. Here is a description:

"SNOOZE MUSIC is a grandfather's prayer for his children and grandchildren. Rick’s 6th family recording features 10 original cradle tunes plus Stephen Foster's classic SLUMBER MY DARLING (1862) arranged for dulcimer, voice, cello, viola, violin, cello, guitar, bass, music box, trombone and tuba. Six of the tracks are instrumental. "

Visit http://www.rickscott.ca/discdetail/snoozemusic.htm to learn more about his great music for your baby!

Baby Sleeping Bag Overview

Sleep sacks also referred to as sleepsacks or baby sleeping bags, have been used in Europe for decades and are more recent to North America.

The biggest sleepsack company in Canada is Grobags. In the United States the most well-known is Halo Sleepsacks. Its important to look around at sleepsack designs and fabrics to find the one that will be best for your baby.

Things to consider are sizing of arm and neckhole for secure fit, zipper system, fabric and temperature.

Solid Food & Sleeping Babies

According to the Riley Children's Hospital, it is a myth that more solid food will help baby's to sleep better:

Child Rearing Myth:
Adding rice cereal to your baby’s diet will help your baby sleep through the night.
Child Rearing Fact:
Hunger is not waking your baby, and rice cereal does not help your baby sleep through the night. Your baby is a light sleeper and once awakened, can’t get back to sleep without help. When your baby develops a mature sleep pattern and learns to self-comfort when awake but not hungry, you’ll get a good night’s sleep.

http://rileychildrenshospital.com/caringforkids/birthto6months.html

SIDS and Sleepsacks

Recently there have been a number of articles about SIDS. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and research cited in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (June, 2006) recommend the following:

1. put your baby on his/her back to sleep
2. keep soft objects like pillows, comforters and soft toys out of the crib
3. use a baby sleep sacks instead of blankets
4. give your baby a pacifier at nap and bedtime

ABC Kids Show - Las Vegas

We are going to the ABC Kids Show (Sept 10-13), the biggest baby and children's fair in the world! We are featuring our new TAG Bag baby sleepsacks ( http://www.kohlrbaby.com/index.php?content=product&product=51032).

We are going with a three other Canadian companies: Milk Factory http://www.milkfactory.com, Mally Bibs http://www.mallybibs.com and Little Monkey Inc. http://www.littlmonkeyinc.com.

Spend on Trend

Come visit us this weekend at Spend on Trend (www.spendontrend.com) :Vancouver’s first unique event showcasing indie clothing, accessories and home decor labels.

Köhlr Baby and Milk Factory (www.milkfactory.com) will be sharing a booth at the show offering great baby and toddler products.

Times: Friday, February 10th, 5pm –10pm
Saturday February 11th, 10am-6pm
Sunday February 12th, 12pm - 5pm

Location: Heritage Hall, (3102 Main Street) a landmark building at the corner of 15th Avenue and Main Street in Vancouver, BC