Finally, common sense and kind heartedness return to me and I get busy. What was I thinking? It’s not so much a challenge but an opportunity. It’s actually just like those first few months of parenthood when we are forced to surrender to a new way of thinking and living. I decide to look for gifts that truly represent what that new life will represent, a gift that gives back.  When I search for gifts that give to charity I am amazed to see the many choices available. The cynic in me that believes this kind of thing will never catch on retreats and I am engulfed by a hope. My hope is that this trend of companies donating a percentage of profits to charity will become more than a trend.

There are some trends that stick around for much too long. The plastic shoes from the 1980’s would be an excellent example of that phenomenon. Then there are trends that that fade too quickly into that good night. I hope that things like home made gifts, organic clothing and socially conscious giving do not disappear but thrive. There is only one way we can give really unique baby gifts. We must  hold on tightly to the unique belief that if enough of us give gifts that keep on giving, the world will indeed be a better place for our children.

First, mix and match. That is the key for adult fashion and it goes for children as well. When we follow the rules our style usually ends up being pretty boring and safe. So go ahead and put stripes with polka dots or a frilly dress over jeans. Don’t feel obligated to put a pair of Mary Jane’s on your child with her birthday dress. Try that light up sneakers that she just had to have with her birthday ensemble and create a unique style of her own.

Second, don’t be confined by the seasonal limitations of the clothing. Put a sleeveless summer dress over a long sleeved t-shirt and you’ve got a whole new look. My daughter loves to wear her spring colored tutu over her jeans with her frog covered rain boots on a cool autumn day. Remember Annie Hall? It was the layers that gave her fashion that uncommon flair.

Third, often times little tots grow out clothing before they’ve had a chance where them sufficiently. It’s frustrating to pass along a favorite toddler outfit to a friend’s baby when your own child has worn it only once or twice. Think those pants that still fit in the waist are too short for your child? Think again. A pair of funky socks kick those floods into cool baby clothes central. That jacket still fit in the arms but too short around the waist?  Put a sweet ruffled dress over a pair of leggings and that jacket becomes a short waisted jacket fashion trend for kids. Every baby dress becomes a toddler’s top with a pair of pants.

It’s not where you live or what store you buy your kids’ clothing from that matter. It’s not following the latest fashion trend for kids or wearing designer children’s clothing that makes our children hip, cool or fashionable. It’s that fact that mom shares a unique sense of baby style, ingenuity and individuality that makes a kid really cool. It’s always those kids who look like their parents didn’t spend a ton of money but a ton of love that grab our hearts. They have that certain “mom just threw this outfit together before we ran out the door” look we all want to emulate. That is so much more interesting, not to mention more inexpensive, than the perfect baby or toddler outfit prepackaged from some hip kids clothing store.

A few days before my daughter’s party it dawned on me that we did not need one other thing in our house that rattled, rolled or rocked. I wanted her day to be special but also about a lot more than getting presents. I wanted it to be a day when all the other kids and parents could come and celebrate her life without rushing around to buy a gift we didn’t really need and might never use. I thought of the values I wanted to share with my daughter and made a decision. I invited everyone to donate to their favorite charity in her name and if they absolutely insisted on bringing a gift then it would have to be a homemade gift. It turned into a wonderful day that allowed people to make their donations from the comfort of their own home. One mother, Mary actually did bring a gift but it was that gift that taught me a valuable lesson.

Mary brought a beautiful little bracelet that had been hand crafted by a local child in order to raise money for some school supplies. It was a simple, unique baby gift that would keep on giving far beyond this day. It inspired me to find more socially conscious gifts to give for every occasion. I began to search for things like socially conscious clothing, green toddler gifts and socially responsible gifts online. A whole world opened up to me and I found hundreds of companies doing the right thing. So many people don’t realize that we don’t have to be addicted to shopping and when we do consume we can do so responsibly with the click of a button. We can even avert green house emissions by saving ourselves the car trip.

If you would like to help us help kids all over the world, tell your friends (especially Moms) about our Website, our Mission and our WWooBies™.

25% of our profits go directly to nonprofit organizations serving endangered children around the World.

Adrianne | Jama | Stacey

Literally just shopping, cooking, and cleaning for your family is like a full-time Groundhog Day, and that’s just the basic layer.  Tack on kid classes and activities, (in my case) preparing for and executing auditions, constantly fielding emails and tasks for Whole World Baby – add to that the panic-inducing feeling that you haven’t done enough regarding bottle-weaning, potty-training, and pre-school preparation, and God forbid you want to go to yoga or the gym and have your hair cut and colored every so often, and BAM – there it is again, “I feel overwhelmed.” And I only have ONE child.  All women that juggle more than one are absolute heroes in my book and deserve a trophy of some kind.  And I have the audacity to hope to be so lauded one day. Humphh.

And I recall when I started Whole World Baby and my husband Curtis warned me that it might add an extra level of stress to my life that at the time, he didn’t have so much confidence that I could handle.  (In his defense I was crying daily about how overwhelmed I was by Addy’s incessant breastfeeding needs and complete disregard for my sleep.)

But something in me knew I HAD to – that somehow THIS would make everything okay. And you know what?  It does. Yes, it adds a dimension of stress to my life with the responsibilities and time commitment it takes to start up any small business…but our mission is not small.  And just by merely joining forces with my remarkable partners, Stacey and Adrianne, is like my version of going to church.  I’m consistently inspired, my compassion is constantly deepened, and my mind is forever expanding because of these two spectacular ladies and because of the vision we share.

Whole World Baby feels like service work – yes, we are hoping to pioneer a new line of baby fashion with our trendy, eco-friendly headscarves, but our business model is something loftier in our service to our nine children’s charities.  And we hope that these headscarves, albeit a cool kids fashion accessory, can take on a deeper meaning—a badge of honor if you will — a symbol that stands up for kids everywhere. And something about service doesn’t drain you – it has an energizing effect, actually — so even if I don’t have time to go to the gym, dipping into my partner’s reservoir of love, passion, and enthusiasm for this cause that we’ve adopted is like a full-body and soul workout.  And that leaves me the opposite of overwhelmed. I feel at peace.

Scarves have been worn by Christian women in Medieval times, sports fans all the time and on the Prairies of America at one time. They have been part of traditional Armenian, Norwegian and Chinese fashion. They’ve been banned, fought over and forced on some women. They have done equal time in the fields and on the runways. They’ve been a sign of pride, respect, social distinction, culture, religious beliefs and even ridicule.

Isn’t it time that we decide to use this simple accessory as a sign of our togetherness rather than our separateness. To honor all traditions and remember that at some point all of our ancestors wore some sort of headscarf. Shouldn’t it allow us to start conversations about our unique histories rather than stop conversations in our modern world? If this little piece of fabric is going to have so much power, shouldn’t it be to bring us together?

These are the questions we asked ourselves as we created Whole World Baby and our intention has always been to be a part of the answer.