My beach bag toddler essentials, the best swim diaper, and more mom stuff from around the internet

Happy Wednesday, mamas!

Oh, hey! Have you ever been singing your child to sleep and you’ve sung the same song over and over again, maybe a dozen times, and you start to improvise, harmonize a bit, maybe even make up a few new verses? And at some point, you start to get a little delirious from the repetition, and you start to think, ‘Wow, maybe I’m actually a truly exceptional singer?’ ‘Did I miss my calling?’ ‘Should I make a children's music album?’. Well, that was me last night. We just returned from a four day trip to South Florida, where we celebrated a friend's wedding and took advantage of the occasion for a fun little family vacay. (Shout out to my MIL for joining us to babysit!) And as we all know, vacation can totally throw off the sleep routine. So, to add to the madness, I also decided this week would be as good of a time as any to start weaning my daughter from breastfeeding. Who needs sleep anyway?! Wish me luck…and if you have any pointers, please send them my way.

CLICK IF…

You’ve ever brought your kids to a work event (Celebs: They’re just like us!)

You’re looking for an alternative to plastic easter eggs for this year’s celebrations

Your partner is starting to feel a bit under the weather

Your kiddo(s) have some weird bedtime routine requests (We’re all with you!)

You’re pregnant and are receiving lots of congratulatory messages

FINDS: What’s In Our Beach Bag

For our trip to Florida, we brought our most oversized diaper bag since it would be doubling as the beach bag…and it was still packed to the gills when we headed down to the ocean. We're clearly big into pink right now, but if that isn’t your kid’s fave, there are tons of other colors and prints available for most items, just check out the links below <3

Unicorn floatie vest (This fit great and she actually kept it on with no complaints) | Flora’s fave sunnies (She brings a pair of Babiators truly everywhere she goes) | UPF 50+ sun hat (A beach baby must-have!) | Beach tent (Great for diaper changes, snack time, breastfeeding etc.) | Terry hoodie coverup (It’s like a wearable towel!) | Spray mineral sunscreen (I’ve been using this for myself, too) | Insulated straw cup (For keeping drinks cold and staying hydrated in the sun) | Cutest flower romper (I always have a dry outfit for when she’s tired of the water)| Best sunscreen stick (Keeping this in every diaper bag from this point forward, I’m obsessed!) | Pool/water shoes (These were amazing and they fit TTS)

REVIEW: The Coterie Swimsuit Diaper

We’re subscribed to Coterie literally and emotionally — I could write a love letter to these diapers. (Dramatic, I know, but it's true!) We've used the brand since Flora was born, and we credit the fact that she's only ever had one diaper rash to Coterie. Because of our positive experience, my expectations for their swim diaper, The Swimsuit, were set high. So, we decided to try them out and ordered a pack before our trip as an add-on to our usual subscription. You can now order stand-alone packs, which is the perfect option when you are going away for a more extended trip and don't have room in your baggage for a bunch of diapers.

Last summer, I tried a handful of other swim diapers from various brands and, overall, was disappointed by the fit. If they were too small, the sides often ripped when trying to pull them up, and if I got them on, they would leave red marks from being too tight. If they were too big, it kind of defeated the point of keeping any potential floaters in the diaper (lol). The Coterie ones boast 360-degree stretch, not just on the sides, so getting them on is easy. They fit great and they didn't leave any red marks like the others. It is worth noting that the sizing for The Swimsuit is different from standard diapers with size options of S, M, and L. My almost 21-month-old comfortably wore the M/Medium size.

The designs are subtle but super cute (printed with skin-safe inks!) and can be worn on their own as a swimsuit, hence the name.

And, of course, I love the thoughtful, clean ingredients: The Swimsuit is made without fragrance, lotion, parabens, phthalates, VOCs, latex, rubber, PFOS, PFOA, or BPAs, they are hypoallergenic, dermatologist tested, cruelty free, and made with a plant-based (cellulose) core.

MOM MAIL BOOK CLUB: Shrek

This week’s pick is the Little Golden Book of the DreamWorks movie, Shrek. Incredibly random (and maybe not super age appropriate lol), but my toddler is obsessed with Shrek — it’s really the only screen time she’s shown interest in (until she recently discovered Monsters, Inc.). We do our best to make movies a special treat for travel days (although lately, I’ve broken my own rule), but to work towards this goal, I bought the book version as an alternative when she asks for the movie. It's so hard to find a balance with screens… but I'm just doing my best!

These books are also great for travel because they’re super flat, lightweight, and take up minimal space in your bag. And, of course, they make great gifts.

Don’t forget that you can be gifted a copy of this book by forwarding this email to a mom friend and encouraging them to subscribe. Each time you forward a Mom Mail email, it counts as one entry. When you forward an email, make sure to cc ‘mommailbymads@gmail.com’ so we can count your entry. The book recipient will be contacted via email :)

Thank you for subscribing to Mom Mail! Until next week <3

Xo, Mads