Chelsea Kaplan’s Musings About Life... After Birth

I’m kicking off a new regular post today: Monday Mom Must-Have. Because of my editorial and radio gigs, my email inbox and snail mail box are flooded with all sorts of PR pitches from people trying to promote their cool stuff. This allows me to keep on top of what’s cool in all sorts of arenas – especially the kiddie market (not to mention be on a first-name basis with the FedEx, UPS and DHL guys). As a result, the Momtourage and my other Mom pals are always asking me for tips on the latest and greatest, so I thought I’d share it with you too. You never know when you might need something for yourself or for a friend’s kid, right? Today’s must have: one of my all-time favorite kid gear items, the Patemm Pad.

The Patemm Pad is a large, circular-shaped changing pad that features inner pockets to hold wipes, diapers and diaper cream, rendering a diaper bad almost unnecessary. What makes this changing pad so freaking great is that folded it’s rather small, but unfolded it’s HUGE, so when you lay your kid down on an unsavory public changing table, you can be certain he won’t touch any part of it’s nasty surface. I was turned onto it by my friend Alicia, and since I’ve owned it I constantly get “That changing pad is sooooooo cool, where did you get it?” queries every time I whip it out. Apparently celebs love the Patemm too - Courtney Cox and Gwyneth Paltrow are huge fans. The pads come in a variety of pretty oilcloth fabrics that are easily wiped down. If you prefer, you can also get one made of organic cotton (Gwyneth has this variety) that is machine-washable. I own the oilcloth Jack Martin print, which, though described on the Patemm website as black and gray, really looks like chocolate brown and light blue, my fave color combination. I own the “large with pockets” variety, which retails for $48 (a chunk of change, I know, but trust me, it’s one of the best kiddie-gear investments you can make). In addition to adoring the pad itself, I love that it was created by Grace Welch,  a mom herself. Patemm, named for her kids Patrick and Emma, has become her at-home business and it allows her to work and be with her kids as much as possible. Now, how good will you feel about supporting this kind of business? The Patemm pads range in price from $30-48. They’re only sold online, so visit www.patemm.com to purchase one of yourself or your favorite mom or mom to be. I guarantee you (or she) will become obsessed too.