Baby Stores Have "Come a Long Way, Baby"

When my twins were born the only places to shop for baby clothes and toys were conventional department stores and baby boutiques, like Carters. These stores were aimed at babies, not mothers (I take that back, they're aimed at mothers' pocketbooks...). Their claim to fame was cute clothes that would make your baby one of the cutest babies on the block. Well, the times they are a changin' baby!

I live in Willow Glen, which is a "pocket" of San Jose that almost became its own city, except that the cost of maintaining its own utilities would have been too expensive so it never happened (or so I've heard). The appeal of Willow Glen is it's family-friendly community, a downtown that is beginning to rival Downtown Palo Alto and Los Altos, although it's taken some time for it to get to this point. It started out as an Italian community known for its orchards and Italian restaurants. Today there are new restaurants, a yogurt shop, elite clothing and kitchen stores, and other contemporary stores opening up all the time, like the new doggy/kitty "boutique" (yes, I said boutique).

One of my favorite pastimes is strolling through downtown Willow Glen on Lincoln Avenue and window shopping. A couple of months ago I noticed that a boutique children's store had opened up. It was very cute and, again, was aimed at children, mostly young children. It sells adorable (and expensive!) clothes and I have purchased a couple of things there for my daughter. It's about time there was a children's clothing boutique close by. It's nice to have an option other than the traditional children's clothing stores so I was happy to see this store open up.

Then a couple of weeks ago a new kind of store opened up. I'm not talking about a new clothing store where you can buy cute clothes for your baby or child. I'm talking about a new kind of store. A store that is aimed at mothers, not babies. It's a unique take on a baby's clothing boutique that I have never seen before. The name of the store is Baby Buzz Cafe.

What is so inspiring about this store is not only the adorable baby clothes and unique baby and new-mom products it carries, such as non-plastic, non-battery operated, non-primary color toys, but there is a back room that the owner has turned into a "hang out" room for new moms! In other words, moms can shop and then go into this room to hang out, have a free cup of coffee or tea, and relax on the contemporary furniture with their babies! In addition, the store offers a calendar of events for new moms such as storytime, mom's groups and playdates, postpartum preparation, baby sign language, mommy and me music classes, pilates and yoga for mommy and me, and on and on!

It's a one-stop-shop for new moms and moms-to-be that is also a place to meet other moms in the community, as well as get out of the house, relax, and have a cup of tea with other moms and their babies. The owner, Karen Poznansky, originally had the idea to start up a mom's cafe...hence the name "Baby Buzz Cafe"...where moms could come and hang out with their babies without feeling uncomfortable that they were taking up too much room or making other people uncomfortable when their babies cried. Due to space restraints and limitations on codes and license, she ended up creating a unique boutique that offers moms a place to come and hang out, even if they can't order a latte. She provides not only the coffee and tea free-of-charge, but she does not charge you to have a seat and hang out with your baby--for as long as you want!

Where were these kinds of stores when I had my babies!? Is this a new trend in mom-focused shopping? I hope so. In my opinion, our society is not mom-focused enough as it is (don't get me started on the fact that buses have storage for bikes but not strollers...!), so it's nice to see a store that puts moms first and caters to their needs while they cater to the needs of their babies. It's an idea whose time has come.

Original post on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

When not feeling jealous that she can't hang out at the "new mommy cafe" Cheryl spends her time writing at:
Becoming a Mother
50-something Moms Blog
Type-A Mom
Betty Confidential