ABC Kids Expo 2012: Louisville Edition, Part 4

PN readers,  are you excited about all the furniture, bedding and gear we’ve been talking about fresh from our trip to the ABC Kids Expo? Well, it’s not over yet; there are even more fabulous finds we want to share with you, so get ready. Need to catch up? Check out our other ABC Kids Expo recap posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3!

The major buzz after last year’s show was new kid in the nursery world, Petit Nest. Their gorgeous line of furniture and bedding took the show by storm, and it was great to reunite with the celeb design duo, Lonni Paul and Tiffani Thiessen—love them! We were excited to get a chance to catch up with the ladies and see the additions to the line firsthand. Petit Nest is known for their intricate, ultra-hip paneling, and now they have added a more mid-century modern look to their repertoire with a new dresser and crib.

Bloom Baby made a splash because they were the only company to integrate metallic and neon into their collections. Their Fresco highchair was amped up with new colors, like a sleek and shiny black with contemporary mock croc fabric, and the Luxo crib got a makeover with a new, softer, whitewash finish. The biggest news to come from Bloom was the introduction of their new Zen stroller. It has tons of bells and whistles, including a zip down recline, foam wheels that unlike regular tires won’t go flat, LED lights and those cool neon accessories we mentioned. And…the whole unit folds compact enough to fit in the back of a Mini Cooper—urbanites take note!

On the second day of the show, we were able to focus a little more on gear, so we had to make a stop to see 4moms. They added new prints and comfy fabrics to their cornerstone product, the mamaRoo infant seat. They also debuted the second generation of their take on the baby stroller, the Origami. This is the first ever power-folding stroller, complete with LCD screen and LED headlights.

We were most intrigued to see the brand new Breeze, 4moms’ solution to the pack-n-play. Unlike other portable cribs on the market, the Breeze doesn’t require fussing with any locks and is literally a one-step open and shut method. One of the moms behind the 4moms creations, Jenn Daley, gave us a live demo, and we liked what we saw.

The team behind the essential Boppy pillow have unveiled a brand new “travel” version of the best seller. Nursing mothers everywhere can rejoice because the Boppy has finally gone mobile! Bye bye are the days of lugging the big version in rental cars, on the airplane, and all around town for that matter because as many nursing mothers know, that pillow is just that important. Boppy has come out with a solution that is easy, stylish and, may we say, a lot more discreet. You can start to see the travel version in stores early 2012.