Tales from the Crib is a group mommy blog with a difference. It describes itself as “18 different women, 33 crazy children. 1 baby in utero…Adventures, Advice and Questions from a group of Mormon women who met in Queens, NY and have now scattered all over the place.” And with that description, you’d expect high religion and maybe low drama.

Not so. What you get instead is a healthy dose of practicality and good humor in a group of woman with distinct interests and plenty of smart things to say. Take Brandolyn, for instance. She’s billed as the “earth mother” of the group, but she’s a very down-to-earth-earth-mother … including her recommendations of Fuzzibunz. “These diapers are really awesome,” she says.  “They have a fleece lining that keeps the baby dry and doesn’t stain, an inner removable core that is super absorbent — Anwen didn’t leak all night after 9 or 10 hours — and a waterproof outer layer that doesn’t leak. They also have adjustable snaps so they can grow with the baby. They are a breeze to clean—just toss them in the washer and dryer, no soaking or scrubbing. Plus Anwen gets a lot of diaper rashes and because these are breathable, soft cloth and keep her skin dry, she doesn’t get rashes. Also there are no chemicals and weird absorbent crystal things right next to her sensitive areas.” Good deal .. and a very informative site.

A tag like “Toys” is going to give a wide range of results … but buried in that crowd of cool stuff are subsets of pure pleasure…like plush toys.

They’re stuffed, they’re squishy, but they’re not at all what you’d expect.  A surprising array of ThisNexters, from parents to designers to therapists and collectors, find themselves oddly attracted to plushies of every kind— some of them the weirder the better.  Consider&

...continued: Plush Me, ThisNext, PLUSH me!

SuperMom is a stay-at-home, home-schooling mother of three who understands that the most important things in life really do have something to do with things.  Here’s a recent post called “Bye Bye Baby” from her blog, What Makes a Housewife Desperate? 

“There it is. My baby things.
 The swing.
The exersaucer.
The bottles.
The sleepers.
The teethers and wrist rattles.
Save the crib, that’s it.
I’ve sold them. For $103.

Seems so small compared to all the happiness I’ve had using them.

I must admit. This was not an easy step to take. It’s like I’m admitting I won’t be having any more babies. I can think it. I can agree when my husband says ‘no more’, but actually coming out and doing something as drastic as selling my baby items? That means I have to commit to it.

I love babies. But that’s it for me. And I’m sad.”

A great, smart, feeling blog for parents of all shapes and ages.

GreatGreenBaby is a shopping blog devoted to the green, eco-friendly, baby consumer that recently recommended organic baby clothes from Maggies. “This is one of those companies that does everything right.” GGB tells us. “First off, all the cotton baby clothes are created from the finest organic cotton, using no pesticides or chemicals. Second ,the dyes used are all low-impact and as environmentally sustainable as possible. Third, her clothes are naturally bleached, which avoids toxic chlorine chemicals. All these good-environment efforts are carried out by workers getting a fair wage in a fair trade environment. Her socks are wonderful, too!” And GGB is great, too – an active and attractive site for finding new and useful green products for new families.

ThisNexters have already started to put together amazing lists about unexpected things … like the best way to carry a baby. There’s a movement afoot to find the healthiest, safest, and most comfortable way to carry babies, and you can find it under a variety of tags already: baby wearing, baby carriers, and baby sling (among others), and the products range from a simple (and surprisingly useful) length of cloth to a high-tech cross-country carrier that can last a lifetime.

...continued: Slings, Carriers, Wearing – it’s all about the baby!

1Ideal Life has a long and eclectic list of music she likes, from Shakira to Benatar to the sound track for Rent.  But she’s also found a good use for something even more unusual: “I’ve been relaxing to some classical lullaby songs I had from off of a Baby Sleep CD,” she said in a recent blog. “I don’t have a baby and I’m not trying to put one asleep. I just get frustrated and listening to that actually helps.”

Andrea and Emily UG of Red, W(h)ine and Boo are two progressive moms blogging about life at large and the raising of their two babies, Boo and Red, who may be the cutest baby on the planet. And they’re blatantly honest, too: they are careful to recommend good baby-raising tools an educational toys, like the Leapfrog Learn-Around Playground…but they also freely admit that Boos’ current fave toy is a piece of direct mail and a left-over party favor. “So the moral of this story,: Mama Em says, “next birthday all gifts will be either purchased at the dollar tree, sent to us as junk mail, or dug out of some dusty back room and regifted. Yay for Mommies budget!”

Marvel at TreeHuggerz has discovered gDiapers and passes the word along: They’re “flushable inserts in a ‘little g’ cover that don’t cost much more than disposables,” she says. “You can compost the urine soaked inserts and even save on water.” And each purchase also helps support the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition’s Blue Butterfly campaign. “Wow, I would have jumped on these if I’d known about them when DD arrived.

Hey, you never know where you’ll find good product picks. Consider Celebrity Baby Blog, the remarkably warm and fuzzy gossip/baby site where Danielle and her friends not only tell us about (obviously) celebrity babies, but make some interesting recommendations…including Frye Boots, organic pouches, and Playtex’ Diaper Genie System, that helps manage the mess and odor of your baby’s diapers.

Daddy Types, the weblog for new Daddys, has plenty to say and much advice to offer…including a recent nod towards the Maclaren East Traveler Car Seat Carrier Stoller (as well as good words on many other strollers). Hey, it even has an optional drink holder; it must be good.

A Brain Like Mine is a great and surprising blog. After all, Valiens isn’t what you’d expect: she’s a self-described neocon in the wild suburbs of New England who also a feminist and a housewife who’s tired of being asked, “With a brain like yours, why are you home with the kids?” She offers “opinion on arts, religion, culture, homeschooling, family life, love, faith, knitting, politics, science, kids, and anything else that bounces my way. Oh, yeah, and dinner.” And also recommends the ancient, revived art of Babywearing as something to look into: “the practice of carrying baby in a soft carrier close to our body as we go about our daily business” as “parenting’s best-kept secret.” It’s a craft and a comfort for mother and child alike.

Emily, mom of one with another on the way, and blogger of Jack Rules the Universe, reminds us of one of the world’s most classic toys and its usefulness as a teaching tool: “I was trying to think of ways to bribe Jack to try to pee in the potty when I came up with the most brilliant of ideas: Matchbox Cars. After trying for the past few days, Jack finally peed in the potty tonight, to enormous applause from his Mommy and Daddy. And he got his car.

“We’re so proud.”

Dooce is one of the most popular mommysites we know of, and she’s a hoot. She’s witty, she’s fast, she’s cute, she knows how to make fun of herself and she knows how to have fun – like the evidence of this recent trip to the Apple Store where she played with Photo Booth. Gee, remember the old days when all you got was a strip of bad pictures? Now you can change your entire reality!

Mama C-Ta says she’s “screwing up the world, one baby at a time,” but don’t you believe it: she’s smart, funny and appears more regularly on other parenting blogrolls than just about anybody else.  She also has some great products to share, including Babylegs, these cute li’l legwarms for toddlers that moms – including blogmoms like Mama C-ta and Something Baby Blue – say their kids actually like.

Okay, sometimes we bloghunters in the Parenting Department of ThisNext just get overwhelmed: some kids really are too cute for words. Such is the case with Ontario, Canada’s Jana and her family, the subject of Something Baby Blue. Her entires are also funny and smart, and she gives great advice on product picks, from chewing gum to educational games like Leap Frog’s Word Whammer Fridge Phonetics Set…but come on, just look at this kid. Reminds you of what blogging – and being a parent – is all about.