baby shops

Hi There

Can anyone share any great baby shops to visit in Paris? I am looking for shops that sell crib bedding as well as any unique shops with items or clothing that I may not find here at home. Any must sees? Also, are there any good shopping guide books with a baby section?

Thanks

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Not sure about crib linens and bedding...but for children%26#39;s and baby clothing, you should check out --

BOIS de ROSE--30 rue Dauphine (next to Taverne de Nesle, at rue Christine) 75006, Metro: Odéon %26amp; Pont Neuf--

http://www.bois-de-rose.fr/

PETIT BATEAU--shops located around Paris--

petit-bateau.fr/control/lamarque/boutiques

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For affordable stuff, there is :

Du Pareil au Meme on the rue St Placide

Monoprix throughout the city

Natalys throughout the city

For high end:

La Petite Paresse 93 rue du Bac

The Bon Marche

Jacadi throughout the city

Bonpoint is highend gorgeous and they have an outlet store in the 7th.

As for must sees, one of the things that everyone has over here that I get for young families is a kind of baby sleeping bag. I have no idea what it is called. This is a padded thing that is now being made as a garment, with shoulder straps, but the legs stay nicely swaddled. I have never seen one in the US and everyone I give them to loves them.

Be sure to measure the crib because matress sizes are not an interenational standard.

Finally, the french word for what you are looking for is puericulture. You can do your own search on Pagesjaunes.fr (yellow pages) to get the addresses that are closest to where you will be for these shops and others.

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%26quot; a kind of baby sleeping bag%26quot;

These are called %26quot;Pee Wee Bags%26quot; in the USA. They are also called %26quot;Peanut Bags%26quot;. They also make one that fits over the car seat ( It stays there until one needs to wash it. ) and one just bundles the baby into it for cold winters in a cold back seat of the car!

You can find these baby sleeping bags at the street markets ... I think they ran about 40 euros depending on how fancy and the size.

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I have seen them here in Seattle also Discover. They are called %26quot;Cuddle Sacs%26quot;

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Having babies of my own, I do a lot of baby shopping while in Paris.

I absolutely LOVE the clothes at Du Pareil Au Meme. There are a number of these shops,it%26#39;s a chain. Look up addresses at http://www.dpam.com

And Bonpoint is another chain, you can find them in a lot of areas, but there%26#39;s a huge one on Avenue Montaigne in the 8th. SO GORGEOUS, heirloom quality clothing. I bought a few things for baptisms, etc., there. They have a furniture shop on the rue de L%26#39;universite in the 7th if I%26#39;m not mistaken.

Les

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Thanks everyone for the clothig suggestions and for the reminder that crib sizes are not an international standard. I would have never thought of that. The search now continues to find a good shop or two to buy my nursery bedding at such as the crib bumper, bedding, skirt etc. Thanks again. Any ideas, please send them on over!!!

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I, too, love Du Pareil Au Meme and Petit Bateau for my daughters. The kimono style onesies (croises) are fabulous and much easier to find in Paris than in NY. Petit Bateau%26#39;s striped baby caps are great to keep baby%26#39;s head warm, but not overheated.

Do know that the stock of the free standing Petit Bateau stores is not exactly the same as what is in the department stores, so if you like the line, make sure to see both.

If you like what you see and aren%26#39;t sure when you will be back in Paris, buy a range of sizes and an extra bag to bring it all back.

As to items you might not be able to find at home, the children%26#39;s bookstore Chantelivre (13 rue de Sevres), has heavy-duty board books, many with moving parts or flaps, which are superior to many I see at home. They also have a collection of board books made up of songs and poems which come with cd%26#39;s that my youngest has listened to since she was born.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;As to items you might not be able to find at home, the children%26#39;s bookstore Chantelivre (13 rue de Sevres)%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

In addition to this, there is a great little bookstore (small, clutttered, very %26#39;..Little Shp Around The Corner%26#39;-like) in the 4eme-lower Marais, that has a great selection of children%26#39;s books--

The RED WHEELBARROW BOOKSTORE--22 rue Saint Paul (nr. rue Charles V), 75004, Metro: Saint Paul %26amp; Pont Marie

http://www.theredwheelbarrow.com/

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Given everyone%26#39;s suggestions, I highly recommend that you spend the day in the Sevres Babylone neighborhood. There is Du Pareil au Meme baby (the signage reads DPAM bébé) on the rue St Placide, a Jacadi and a Petit Bateau shop on rue de Sevres, Le Petit Paresse on rue du Bac AND le Bon Marche Department store.

For Haute Couture baby stuff that is over the top, Ovale at 200 boul St Geramain, near the rue des St Peres.

If you are on a budget, there is a consignment shop in the area on the rue du Cherche Midi, called Chercheminippes. They have several store fronts, but the baby one is on your right as you come down from St Placide, before the rue Mayet. As well as used clothing, they carry the overstock from Jacadi, Bonpoint, Florian and a few oher lux. shops.

Chantelivre is a large bookstore with the most complete children%26#39;s collection I have ever seen in my life.

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I have actually found some really cute and affordable baby stuff at MONOPRIX, which I refer to as the French equivalent of the U.S. chain, Target. I personally have seen some extremely cute stuff there, and in my opinion, even though its Monoprix, similar stuff would sell for much more in North America.

Some of the places suggested (ie. Sevres Babylone, etc.) are wonderful, but you will die of shock when you see what the prices convert to in CDN. The quality is wonderful but the prices will be very high. Give Monoprix a try... there are one or two in every neighborhood and their inventories really vary from store to store so check around. A few years ago when I was in Paris I got my friend%26#39;s little boy (then aged 2) a darling white terry cloth robe with nautical themed embroidery along with a pair of matching swimming shorts with the same nautical print contrasted in white against navy blue... my friends were going on a family trip to the carribean right after his birthday and he loved his little %26quot;pool%26quot; outfit. It was unique and cost me about $25 USD total at Monoprix.

Petit Bateau is also a cute store... they have one on r. des Abbesses, so if you are in Montmartre, for example, going to Sacre Coeur, you can stop by there. I would also highly recommend you stop at the fabric stores near the foot of Sacre Coeur, you can pick up some lovely fabrics for curtains and trimmings for your baby%26#39;s crib and nursery and if you can sew (or a grandma perhaps can) you can even make bedding to match. Making a fitted sheet is really quite simple.

Good luck!