Zutano: A Palace for Babies.

I love this picture. I could not have planned this or even thought of it. I guess that's what happens when you spend the majority of your day with babies. Michael Belenky (pictured) is the owner/President of Zutano baby clothing company. Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of making the trip to Cabot, VT to see the Zutano company headquarters. I'll admit, this whole baby world was completely unknown to me before the arrival of my niece, Lauren, so I'm still learning the ins and outs of babydom, but what I do know is that babies are big business bucks. I find myself falling prey to the cute, miniature versions of, well, everything. What kills me is how quickly these little guys grow out of this expensive clothing, but I tell myself: hand-me-downs! I really need to put a picture of little Lauren up on this blog soon. It's her fault. Her little face destroyed me, what with those fatty cheeks. I apologize to you, Dani, because it's "Cheeky's" influence that caused me to shelve the book you gifted several years ago, "I Hate Other People's Kids."

I'm one of them now. A baby adorer.

So you can imagine how much fun this particular assignment was. While reporter Dan McLean interviewed the business owners and a selection of employees, I was free to browse the designs, the in-house photo studio, and of course, all of the babies. We were working on this story because Zutano allows its employees to bring their babies to work WITH them up until the child's first birthday. How amazing. Five women use this program and bring their little ones to work each and every day. What was more amazing was how quiet and peaceful the office was. We all found ourselves addressing each other calmly, using our "inside voices" and even the movement about the place was relaxed. No one was in a rush and there were certainly no loud shouts barking orders. I could get used to this....

Then it was diaper changing time.

Thank god for small reality checks...