My baby is amazing.

It doesn’t matter that he’s my third baby, and I’ve already done this newborn thing twice before. It doesn’t matter if it’s 2am and I’m exhausted. It doesn’t matter if his tiny fingers are ripping all the hair out of the back of my neck. He’s an itty bitty miracle.

When I’m nursing him, the hairs right behind his ear gleam like they’re made of copper. It’s the only time I am really sure he’s going to be a ginger, since the fuzz that grows in a perfect imitation of his father’s hairline on top of his head is white-blond. When he’s sleeping he makes sniffling snorfling noises and says “mmmmm” and “oooooo” and “eh eh eh eh eh” when he’s having mysterious baby dreams. I can no longer sleep without those noises, or I wake up in a panic that he’s TOO quite or TOO sound asleep. I cover his chest with my palm and feel every rib at once as they move up and down with his breath.

His ears are like tiny monkey ears on the outside, covered in a light layer of fur, and seashells on the inside, pearly pink and smooth. I can’t stop touching them while he’s sleeping in my lap, because I know in just a few weeks poking him is going to wake him up. When I’m feeling stressed, I smooth the tiny M that Linc gets between his eyes or the lines on his forehead or the little creases he gets by his eyes. His baby skin is so soft, but so incredibly sensitive.

I first heard of Mustela a few months ago when I was photographing a newborn for a client, and I couldn’t stop smelling their baby. Then a friend suggested it when I mentioned Linc’s cradle cap was acting up. Now I’m the one recommending it to friends for all stages of motherhood. The 2-in-1 Hair & Body Wash is a tear-free, soap-free gel, specially formulated for the delicate skin of babies, but is great on the older kids too. It rinses very easily from Caroline’s hair and truly is tear-free, so there’s no more fighting when it’s time to wash it out.

But our real favorite is the Hydra Bébé Body Lotion. It’s so thick and smooth without being greasy, and absorbs very quickly even on just-washed baby skin. My hands are softer than they’ve been in years just from applying it to the kids. And I have been applying it to all the kids – on Caroline’s eczema-like rough patches, on the rash Evan gets from wiping is face on his sleeve, and on poor sensitive Linc, who gets a new case of baby acne or cradle cap or heat rash every day. They all love the lotion and you should see Linc smile when I’m rubbing it into his adorable chubby baby cheeks.

Mustela has been trusted by parents for over 60 years and is developing new ways to protect skin both today and in the future. All their products are hypoallergenic and free from parabens, phenoxyethanol, phthalates, EDTA and chlorphenesin. I feel good using their products on every inch of my little miracle for years to come.

You can learn more about their in-depth research, testing methods and science by visiting their website.

Mustela and BlogHer are giving you a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift card. Just leave a comment answering the question, “What is your favorite newborn moment?”  

And don’t forget to check Mustela out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1.     Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2.     Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3.     Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4.     For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected. 

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 10/7/14 – 11/30/14.

Be sure to visit the Mustela Bébé brand page where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

I know it’s not actually that stupid groundhog’s fault – an overgrown hamster can’t actually change weather patterns – but right now I’m dreaming of a groundhog skin hat to keep my head warm. I don’t actually HATE snow days. Staying home and building snowmen and watching movies isn’t the worst. My kids LIKE the snow and never seem to get cold and sending them out back to throw snow on each other always means we get an early and easy bedtime. But I am a wimp and have a strong dislike of being cold so I like the coming back inside part the best. It’s marginally warmer inside, most of the time. Unfortunately my house is ancient and has steam radiators, so running them full blast also means sapping every ounce of moisture out of the air. When we had the carpet down I couldn’t walk across a room without flinching any time I touched something. I’ve shocked myself with my iPod headphones a dozen times in the last couple weeks (I’m not even sure how that happens). And the poor ginger’s hair stands on end all day. It’s adorable, but they keep shouting “Mommy, you zapped me!”

This is his hair on a good day

The dry winter air is especially rough on my poor expanding baby belly. I’ve just reached the point where “popped” is the appropriate word to describe my stomach, rather than “Man, she really needs to lay off the burritos and do a few sit ups” (although those are also good ideas, considering how weak my stomach muscles are). Pregnancy always makes my skin super dry and I scramble to find something that helps. So when BlogHer offered to send me the new Suave Professionals^® Moroccan Infusion skin care products I said “OMG SO ITCHY!” And then I said “Uh, I mean yes” because telling the people you work for about your dry, itchy skin is kind of gross.

Moroccan argan oil is one of those ingredients popping up all over beauty blogs and commercials and known to be rich in nutrients and antioxidants. Suave took the same ingredients from more expensive brands and put them in their Professionals^® line so women everywhere have access to premium products infused with authentic Moroccan argan oil. They sent me both the Body Lotion and the Dry Body Oil Spray and while I like them both the spray is my absolute new favorite product. It’s hard to dump oil out of a non-spray container onto your skin without making a huge mess and getting way too much, so the spray bottle is genius. It only takes a couple of squirts and the oil absorbs really quickly (I wouldn’t say INSTANTLY, but by the time I grab my clothes I can put them on without any stickiness). Once you rub it in it’s isn’t oily at all, just soft and moisturized (and not itchy!). My skin feels amazing all day and I smell like a million bucks.

Find more information about the Suave Professionals^® Moroccan Infusion Body Care products at www.Facebook.com/SuaveBeauty and get tips for radiant skin, style advice from celebrity stylist Brad Goreski and enter the “Radiant Wishes” sweepstakes for a chance to win Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion products, a spa day or a trip to Los Angeles.

Giveaway! For a chance to win a $1000 gift card, let me know which of the Suave Professionals® Moroccan Infusion Body Care products you would most like to try.

Sweepstakes Rules:  No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 2/11/2014-2/28/2014. Be sure to visit the Suave Professionals® brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!