Since most of us aren’t professional photographers, Nikon is offering a webisode series called Look Good In Pictures, which features Carson Kressley, the star of Lifetime’s How to Look Good Naked. Carson is in studio with Carrie Sandoval, an internationally recognized photographer (you’ll see just how amazing she is!), to show us how to make everyone look their best in infant, pregnancy and family photos.

Carrie looks so at ease during the photo shoots and the babies do too. Watch the videos, take some notes and try to use the tips for the next photo shoot you have with your baby…because I’m sure you will have another shoot soon.

Below is their latest video on photographing newborns. This one stars a tiny 10-day-old baby.

This next webisode shows how to capture perfect pictures of tiny tots.

The final video below shows the increasingly popular trend of taking portraits during the final days of pregnancy.

What are you waiting for? Put these tips to use during your next photo shoot, so you can have the perfect picture for your blog header, birth announcement or first birthday party invitation.

I was recently introduced to the Laugh and Learn DVD Series (Childbirth, Breastfeeding & Newborn Baby Care). Wow! I watched the DVDs and all I can think is that I wish I had known about this series three years ago.

Sheri Bayles is the nurse with the personality behind the successful DVD series. She is an award winning childbirth educator and lactation consultant. Plus she is the mother of twin boys, so she knows what she is talking about.

The great thing is that you can watch the videos in the comfort of your own home, on your own time frame (you can press pause every time you get a little overwhelmed about the childbirth explanation or if you feel the need to pee every 10 minutes) and even go back to certain parts as a refresher when you are reaching milestones like giving your baby it’s first sponge bath or deciding what pump to buy for breastfeeding.

The About Childbirth DVD was great. I don’t think I was the only one who still felt a little clueless about the whole childbirth thing, even after the classes I took. These two dvds about childbirth are very thorough. In them, Sheri gives some great pros and cons of using drugs like demerol, pitocin and epidurals. She also talks about the window of opportunity and how it works. I found the part about a c-section to be especially interesting since I really didn’t pay attention to it in our hospital childbirth class only to find myself having a c-section for my son. It’s best to just pay attention to it all just in case.

I would suggest watching the dvds then passing them on to your pregnant friends when you are done. You might just want to write your name on the dvds, so you can get them back as a refresher for baby #2!

These leather shoes are so cute, practical and well made. This slip-on soft style is great for the baby who isn’t walking yet, but still needs his or her little toesies covered.

Shooshoos began in Cape Town, South Africa in 1996 to uplift disadvantaged communities. It is now a worldwide brand with sales in over 20 countries, including the USA.

We are giving away two pairs of shooshoos. Two lucky winners will each receive a pair of their choice. Enter the giveaway above.

One of these Certified Infant Massage Instructors is Cali Petitt, who introduced us to this program. She is a mompreneur (and Baby Blog Addict reader) who recently started her own business, Tender Heart Infant Massage.

“It’s basically in-home infant massage instruction that can be done privately or for groups of friends who want to get together for a series of three mommy and me classes,” Petitt told BBA. “Using a teaching doll, I teach parents how to properly perform infant massage. I strongly recommend learning from a certified instructor, since all of the massage strokes have been researched.”

Some of the benefits of infant massage include:

• Deepens bond between parent and baby
• Promotes relaxation and can help baby sleep better
• May relieve symptoms due to gas, constipation, teething, sinus congestion
• Stimulates healthy growth and development

Cali Petitt, CCLS, CIMI, teaches in the Mandeville/Covington, Louisiana area, so if you are in that area, you can reach her at 985-502-0629. If not, you can find a Certified Infant Massage Instructor in your area by checking out the U.S. list of 7,000 instructors.

Consider this option. Sign up your baby to start daycare on the Monday of the week you go back to work. Drop them off for a couple of hours each day – Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This will give you some time alone to get things prepared at home and will ease you into the transition of being separated from your baby. When you go back to work on Wednesday or Thursday of that week (my vote is for Thursday), you can see light at the end of the short tunnel. Friday is only a day or two away. Now I’m not saying this makes going back to work after maternity leave easy, it just makes it a little bit easier.

BumpyName Orbit Labels are a great solution for labeling bottles, sippy cups, snack containers and other drink containers. I haven’t used them yet, but I’ve heard a lot of great things about them from other moms. They are non-adhesive, so you can use them to tag different items, but if you want to keep them on the same cups and containers all the time, they are also dishwasher and microwave safe.

$12.95 will get you four custom labels and you can get a four pack of two-line custom labels for just $1 more. The two-line labels are also great to list a food allergy below the child’s name as a reminder to child care providers.