Giveaway: Romper, Booties, Little Lovie and Big Love Blanket from belle&beanzer

Last month's Instagram contest with Elizabeth Street was so much fun, I decided to continue the momentum and throw one of my own this month. (And every month after, if all goes according to my master plan to take over the universe one Valencia filtered photo at a time.)

January was a New Year's theme and since it's February, the obvious theme would be President's Day since it falls on the 18th.

So… post your best photos of your kids dressed as George Washington or Calvin Coolidge or my favorite, Chester A. Arthur. Then I'll pick the photo at the end of the month that most resembles your patriot of choice and you'll win a piece of Presidential China straight from the White House!

No? Not fun? Alright, fine.

Let's do a LOVE THEME for Valentine's Day.

You guys are so OBVIOUS.

The main purpose of my instagram contest is to create a community of instagramming parents. Parents that don't just show their kids looking picture perfect but also show all the ups and downs of raising little terrors too. I want you guys to find eachother and get inspired to take more creative pictures of your kids— I know that's what happened to me.

But a contest isn't a contest without prizes, so in the process of finding likeminded moms and dads, I also want to showcase great products/clothes/companies for kids.

When Harlow was born, a good friend and reader (Hi, Bethany!) sent me a gift set from belle&beanzer, a company started by her high school friend, Becky Cooper. Becky, who is now married with two kids and goes by the much fancier name of Rebecca Lazaroff, created a baby clothing line designed to enhance the time you spend changing your baby. (With a baby that has a bad case of acid reflux like Harlow, that time equates to roughly 85%.)

belle&beanzer's baby rompers are 100% pima cotton and use a slit in the back to get them on and off, as opposed to using closures like snaps or zippers. The design allows you to easily change your baby whether she is sitting, standing or lying down and prevents you from having to fully undress them all at once.

Harlow, diva that she is, hates getting CHILLY.

The 'Big Love' baby blankets (that's what Harlow is lying on in the photo up top) are heart-shaped which sounds adorable but is actually quite functional. It's got long arm pockets on each side which make it perfect for discrete nursing. Plus, the shape makes it easy to drape over a stroller without ever getting caught in the wheels.

All belle&beanzer's blankets, bibs, and burp cloths have functional details incorporated into really simple soft pieces. I particularly love the booties which are like fluffy little pillows for tiny feet.

I contacted Rebecca Lazaroff (aka Becky Cooper) to see if belle&beanzer would be interested in being the prize for my first instagram contest (the heart shaped blankets being perfect for a President's Day theme) and low and behold. the woman was already a fan of Mommy Shorts.

She said, and I quote, "Are you kidding me? YES!!!" (I liked her immediately.)

She not only agreed to give away a gift set including a romper ($44), a 'Big Love' blanket ($63), a matching heart 'Little Lovie' ($13) and the booties ($16)…

…she also wanted to create a new heart design for the romper especially for the contest, which we will debut in mid-February.

How cool is that?

So here's the deal.

All entries must be uploaded to Instagram with the hashtag #instashorts_love and tagging @belleandbeanzer. Also, and this is important, you must follow both @mommyshorts and @belleandbeanzer to win.

Every Friday, I will feature my four favorite photographs posted to the #instashorts_love hashtag. This way you will find some really inspiring mom and dad photographers to follow.

BUT… because I don't want only the best photographers to have a shot at winning, the winner of the prize will ultimately be selected at random. 

The contest is open internationally (YAY!), you can tag up to one image a day (new or old shots accepted) and one winner will be announced on Friday, March 1st.

That's it. 

Except three things…

1) I have a very fancy live feed of the contest posted here. At the moment, it's most likely empty, but hopefully, by the end of today, you can go there to check out the entries, to find new people to follow and/or to remind yourself that belle&beanzer makes some of the best baby gifts around.

2) belle&beanzer is offering a 20% discount to anyone who does not like their odds in the contest.

3) If you never saw this commercial about a little girl dressing up as Martin Van Buren, it seems appropriate that you see it now…

Good luck!