SoundBub: The cutest (and smartest) portable white noise machine ever.

by Kate Etue | Baby

I never used a white noise machine with any of my kids when they were babies, which may explain why they were such terrible nappers. Compare that to my friends, who’d come over for dinner and board games with their babies in tow. Their kids slept soundly in our...

A clever backpack vest for kids, so you can ditch the role of family sherpa

by Kate Etue | Kid Style

If you’ve been reading Cool Mom Picks for long while now, you know how much we love to support small indie shops that make amazing gifts for kids or families — like the beautiful handmade jewelry at Julian & Co or geeky wooden teething toys from...

5 fun and easy last-minute birthday party ideas your kids will love. (Not that we think you forgot or anything.)

by Kate Etue | Party Ideas

I’ve never actually forgotten to send the invites out to one of my kids’ birthdays, but I’ve definitely waited until the very last minute to plan their parties. The thing is: if your child’s birthday happens to land during one of the crazy-busy...

I see London, I see France, I see your new favorite underpants.

by Kristen Chase | Style + Beauty

We haven’t been shy about talking about our underwear here on Cool Mom Picks, which means you might already know that we’re big Hanky Panky fans. And so, I just had to share my new favorite style that I recently discovered on a shopping trip. Related:...

16 terrifically creepy YA novels for kids (and adults!) who dig dark themes. Boo!

by Delilah S. Dawson | Books for Kids

As we turn the corner into All Things Pumpkin Spice, let us not forget that being up all night with a scary book can be truly delicious. These YA reads for teens (and adults!) who dig dark themes range from silly vampires to magical devils to absolute terror —...

Chatting with Lisa Loeb about why kids music doesn’t actually suck | Spawned ep 51

by Cool Mom Team | Spawned Podcast

If you think kids’ music is the stuff that makes you want to jab forks into your ears, then you need to listen to the latest episode of Spawned with Kristen + Liz, featuring the one-and-only Lisa Loeb! This indie alt rocker sensation turned mom of two and kindie...

We’re fawning over these 9 adorable woodland creature bags for tweens.

by Delilah S. Dawson | Kid Style

Guiding a tween through fashion choices can get pretty squirrely. They want to seem grown up, but they also adore cuteness. It’s a bear of a problem for even the most chipper of moms. That’s why we’ve rounded up a staggering selection of adorable...

11 times new parents have thought WTF, how is this my life?

by Liz Gumbinner | Baby

Sure, those prenatal classes and baby books may prepare you for labor, breastfeeding (kind of), and baby milestones. But there are so many truly insane moments as a new parent that create a stark difference between your new life (i.e. slave to an infant) and your old...

Brooklinen: Amazing modern sheets when you don’t have the zillion hours it takes to look for amazing sheets

by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor

As someone who dreads sheet shopping with the fiery hatred of a thousands suns (seriously, why why why are 99% of all the sheets online so darn fugly?), I breathed a sigh of relief when I first clicked over to Brooklinen, a new site offering beautifully packaged,...

Honest election diapers for bipartisan babies

by Kristen Chase | Baby

Now your baby’s bottom can get political this election season with these limited edition Honest election diapers that are eco-friendly and bipartisan-friendly, too. (Great for split households.) Related: Get political with these new TOMS shoes We’ve been...