Category: Baby Gear

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Boba Carriers Giveaway Review

Carry On..

We have always been baby wearers. While I love strollers and definitely believe there is quite a useful purpose for strollers, there is always a time when my children want nothing more than to be held or carried. Usually when I’m trying to get something done or need both of my hands. Finding the right carrier has been a nightmare. Just when you think you find the perfect carrier, that moment comes when you are required to wear it for more than 30 minutes and instantly realize how terrible it is. With our youngest son, we realized quickly how important a good carrier was going to be.

Our youngest son has some gross motor delays. He has laxity of the ligaments in his hips and ankles as well as hypotonia.  He’s 22.5 months old now and his little legs give out after 30 minutes of being on them. He still can’t run and he prefers not to wear shoes as it seems difficult to lift the weight of the shoe. Combine all of this and together you get a toddler who requires being carried or in a stroller a lot.

This is where a good carrier is so critical. If he is tired or doesn’t feel well, his legs just refuse to work. Then he gets clingy. I often need to wear him around the house just to manage to get anything done or spend time with my older kids. He also has to go to physical therapy weekly and afterwards is worn out. The carrier allows us to still accomplish things even after a long physical therapy appointment. As you can imagine.. with all of this carrying going on, it takes a lot of effort to find one that can comfortably work. I was given the opportunity recently to use the Boba Carrier 3G. I was very excited to try it out! The first day I used it I was a little nervous. It definitely had more adjustable clips than my other carrier. I put it on, adjusted it to fit me just right and then grabbed our son. He wasn’t feeling well and his legs were particular bothersome, so I strapped him in onto my back. I was instantly impressed by how easily I could get him onto my back and adjusted by myself. I have some practice with this from other carriers, but I usually find myself having to wiggle and jiggle him into it properly.  However, with this carrier it seemed quite natural. The height of the carrier also supported his back nicely and the width of the seat made sure that his legs were in the appropriate position. I also immediately noticed how easily the chest clip was height adjustable. It slides up and down on the piping of the carrier. Very easy to adjust. Within 10 minutes of being in the carrier, he was sound asleep and not flopping around at all. I carried him around in it for about two hours and didn’t have any shoulder discomfort or back pain.

We have used the carrier a lot since receiving it. Around the house. To the park. A two mile family walk. We even used it to get him to and from his recent MRI’s. Because of his age, his MRI’s had to be done under general anesthesia, so once he awoke, he was very clingy, tired and weak. I put the Boba Carrier on, snuggled him into it on the front position and he calmed down quickly. It managed to get a lot of compliments from the nursing staff, too. Our Boba Carrier is the “Tweet” print and it was definitely popular. Boba-blogThere are a lot of features about this carrier that I think are extremely useful! For instance, it comes with these optional foot stirrups that hold your child’s foot. This helps them not feel like they are “dangling” and gives them a place to put their feet other than on your hips. I also love that it can be an infant carrier without the use of an insert! While I don’t have a small infant right now, that would definitely be useful. Add to that all the fun prints, (I really want to get my husband the Diaper Dude Special Edition Pinstripe!) it’s quite an amazing carrier.

Another thing that makes this carrier fabulous is all the zipped storage. There is a zipper pocket that holds the hood, and when the hood is out it makes a fabulous place to store things in. At the bottom of the carrier, on the lumbar support there is another zipper pocket. This made the best place to put my drivers license and debit cards. Nothing bulky, for sure, but it allows me to not bring our whole diaper bag when I take him to physical therapy.

After about a month of using this carrier, I can’t find anything really bad about it. It is comfortable to wear for long lengths of time. It adjusts easily and gets a near perfect fit because of all of it’s individual adjustable straps. The excess straps roll up neatly and are well secured by a fold over elastic cover. My only downside is this: It is not recommended to be machine washed. Spot cleaning is preferred. Normally this isn’t a huge issue for a carrier, but there are times when you really just need to deep clean them. Either it’s covered in dirt or it falls on a bathroom floor. (Not that I did that last one or anything.. Nope.) That said, for reasons I will not admit to actually doing.. (read: bathroom floor.. shhh!!) I did throw it into the wash on a hand wash cycle and air dried it. It washed well. The straps actually managed to stay in the positions I had adjusted them to and the fabric washed really well! It even dried quickly! So, while not recommended.. it is possible to wash if you must.

The Boba 3G accommodates a wide range of people. It fits heights from 5’0-6’3 and has a waist band range from 25″-58″. As I stated before, there are so many adjustable areas to achieve the perfect fit for you. The body of the carrier also rises 2-3″ higher than most other brands, as well. This means it supports babies better and for longer. It also has high grade military buckles, so you can rest assure that even if you are carrying the maximum 45 pound weight, your child will be safe. (The carrier also starts at 7 pounds! That is small enough for most newborns!)

All in all, I really love this carrier. I love the height of it. I love the quality of it. I love the comfort of it. It was equally comfortable in both front and back carrying positions and for long term wearing. I highly recommend this carrier.

How many of you use carrier’s on a regular basis for your babies? What made you decide to purchase the carrier that you use? How many of you own Boba carriers? What is your favorite feature of the carrier?

Enter for your chance to win a Boba Baby Carrier, a Boba Wrap or a Boba Air! All products can be seen at www.bobafamily.com. With Boba products it is easier than ever to enjoy Freedom Together as a family and Boba wants YOU to get a chance to use their products. To enter to win, “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: Boba Carriers provided the Boba 3G in “Tweet” print for me to review. This is not a paid review and the opinions expressed are my own. The giveaway is provided to you by Boba Carriers, NOT by The Diaper Bag Confessions.

Categories
Babies Baby Gear

Out with the old.. in with the old?

changing table blog

As usual, my house is full of clutter. More and more things come in.. less and less things go out. This is a vicious cycle, but with 3 growing boys, a husband and a shopping addiction, that’s just how it is. (Did I just admit to having a shopping addiction? No. I admit nothing!) So, while in my closet folding clothes I started thinking about our changing table. We haven’t used it in some time and right now it is just the place that I dump the clean clothes waiting to be sorted and then the folded clothes waiting to be returned to their proper location. I’m sure there are ways I could re-purpose the changing table. Perhaps in a more useful  way than a clean laundry station. (Or, perhaps not.. perhaps just a more official clean laundry station?)

So, I took to Pinterest. The logical place to turn for those DIY project ideas that you may or may not ever actually create.. but like to think you could possibly manage to do one day. There are so many ideas for re-purposing a changing table. Someone turned it into an outdoor gardening station, another person turned it into a drink cart. (While alcohol isn’t the first thing I think of when it comes to re-purposing my baby gear.. to each their own? Haha.) I am actually quite inspired. Sure, this may end up being one of those typical Pinterest projects that I never actually get around to doing.. but anything is better than huge pieces of baby furniture with no home, taking up priceless space in my closet. (I could put a sewing table in that corner of the closet.. now that would be a much better use of space!)

How many of you re-purpose things in your home? Have any of you re-purposed your old baby gear or baby furniture?? Tell me what projects you have done. You may inspire me to take on more projects this summer. (Read: Inspire me to give my husband instructions on projects he will be doing this summer..) Also, if you use Pinterest, what are some of your favorite finds? 

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Green Orbit Review

Successfully launched into Orbit..

If there is one thing I have purchased more than strollers, it is car seats. Oh my goodness. We have owned our fair share of car seats. Between the transition from infant seat, to convertible seat, to booster.. between 3 kids, it has been quite the investment and quite the process of finding just the right one for us.

With our first, it was a process of elimination. We started out buying the most common brand of infant car seat on the market at the time. Our research showed it was safe and we liked the print. That’s enough, right? Wrong. We used that car seat for 6 months. After some trial and error, intense research and a few returns, we found a brand that was cutting edge at the time. Some of the highest safety ratings, fairly stylish.. a little more expensive but not so much to make you want to run the other way laughing. We loved that brand. We loved that brand so much that for many years following, we always went straight to that brand.. never really questioning it. Then the baby gear industry started getting smart and informative about toxins in baby products. That brand we loved so much? Well, it was less than stellar in the realm of toxins. (Though, they are now getting better!) So many car seats on the market use Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR’s). These Flame retardants are shown to be toxic to humans. Our children and babies are breathing these in? They are in so many children’s products from car seats to mattresses. It’s sad, really. When researching new car seats, I realized that there are better options out there. I did not have to put my children in chemical laden car seats. They did not have to inhale toxic flame retardants every time I put them in their car seat.

IMG_9738Eventually, we replaced all of our children’s car seats. We didn’t go replacing all of their car seats simply because I was made aware of the harsh chemicals that covered them.. but we were rear-ended last fall and had no choice but to replace all the car seats. Being aware of the chemical issue made our choice a little easier. We went with car seats that are safety recommended, good quality, and free of BFR’s. We replaced both of our convertible car seats with the Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2. Our two youngest children are small for their ages. Our 21-month-old is not even 20 pounds and our 4-year-old is 32 pounds. This means that they will be in whatever car seat we choose for them for a long time. The Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2 has a weight rating of 15-35 pounds rear facing and 25-65 pounds forward facing and up to 53″. This seat was perfect for my children. Technically, my 4-year-old could still rear face, though, we have him forward facing.

IMG_9742

I am happy to say that, even though our two children are of greatly varying sizes, both of them fit into this seat perfectly. They are both comfortable. They are both happy. They are both secure and safe. The Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2 was easy to install, for the most part. We do not own the Orbit Baby Stroller G2 and we don’t have to switch the car seat in and out of our vehicle at all, so getting the base was not necessary. (You can use the Orbit’s signature rotating base for a rear facing Toddler Car Seat G2 and even use the car seat on the stroller frame! It’s a great feature.) Even without the ease of using the base, the car seat’s latch system attachment didn’t require that much effort for my husband. The seat was easy to figure out and the harnesses were easy to adjust even after installation.

The Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2 is not wide, either. The last car seats we had were incredibly wide, which is nice for the child inside, I guess, but it’s not very friendly for everyone around the car seat. Haha. We have both of our Orbit’s installed in our mini van’s center row bucket seats and they do not eat into the aisle way at all. This is critical, as our oldest is seated in the 3rd row and has to get into and out of our van on a daily basis for school drop off and pick up. Not being wide is not a downside for the child in the seat, though. There is still plenty of room in the seat. At least for my children. They sit well. They don’t feel squished or crammed into the seat.

The fabrics on the Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2 are amazing. A nice durable base fabric with a plush microfiber upper fabric, headrest and side wings. Not only is the fabric nice and plush, but it has been incredibly easy to clean, too. Our 4-year-old has had a few instances of getting sick in the car and you’d never know it! For those who really want to ensure their car seat is clean, and naturally so, Orbit Baby also makes a Baby Gear Spa Kit.

photo (11)

Bottom line, once we found the Orbit Baby Toddler Car Seat G2, we had found what we had been looking for for many years. Safety. Quality. Stylish Design. Non-Toxic. This car seat has made me very content with my purchase and very at ease about putting my children in them every day. Price-wise, it may not be the cheapest car seat on the market with a price tag of $380 MSRP, however it does compete with some of the other convertible car seats that don’t manage to provide you with the non-toxic features that you receive from the Orbit. This product is well worth it. Should our family ever expand again, the Orbit Baby Infant Car Seat is number one on our list of car seats.

Tell me.. were you aware of the amount of chemicals in our children’s products? Was this an issue or a deciding factor in any of your purchases? What are some of your favorite “green” brands?

Note: This is my honest opinion. I was not paid to write this review. I bought this product and I loved it, so I wanted to share that love with you.

 

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Review Shopping Stokke

The view from on top..

As you may have seen in my previous blog post, I was having a stroller dilemma. While I loved my stroller dearly, it was becoming common place and well, this mama doesn’t necessarily like being common. After I wrote that post, I was presented with an amazing offer from the wonderful people at Stokke. Inspired by my post, they offered me the fabulous Stokke Xplory with a Sibling Board! I was stunned. Amazed. What an exciting opportunity from such a prestigious company.

IMG_1355When the stroller arrived, I turned into a near-replica of my children on Christmas morning. I think my smile reached from ear to ear and my heart was jumping out of my chest. My husband took the opportunity to point out that I am officially a baby gear nerd. I prefer the term guru.. he argues that. “You know how you used to give me a hard time about all the tech gadgets I buy? Wanting the newest.. latest and greatest? Well, that is you now. Only, with baby gear.” What?? No. “Wait!” I said, “This is for the kids! Not for me!” His reply was true. I hate to admit it.. “This is for you. You want this. The kids just get the reward from it..” Ugh. Why did he have to be right? He’s not supposed to be right! However, I knew something he didn’t know. He was about to geek out over this stroller just as much as I.

We got the boxes home and immediately unpacked them. How could I have this stroller sitting within my grasp and not set it up right away?? So we moved the boxes into our living room and my husband began assembling. The assembly was not difficult. In fact, it was relatively straight forward and easy to follow. Attaching the Sibling Board was extremely easy as well.

 

IMG_1394Our first observations of the stroller were the quality. This is definitely a product that is worth its price. It’s durable and sturdy. Not at all flimsy or cheaply made. The fabrics are outstanding. I have had many strollers since becoming a mom over 7 years ago, and the Xplory has, in my opinion, the best quality of fabrics that I have ever seen. It is also gorgeous fabric. The Xplory they sent was Black Milange. The color option that I was in love with from their site. It did not disappoint. It’s gorgeous. When you also consider that it is completely removable and washable/replaceable fabric, it makes it even more wonderful. If you are not new to this parenting business, you know that kids get strollers dirty. Often very dirty. And they do not make strollers easy to clean. Except this one. They even make different fabric options that are seasonally appropriate. A summer and winter kit. That’s how easily removable their fabrics are.

Another plus for the Xplory is their branding. While they definitely have their branding on the stroller and it is visible, it’s not plastered all over the stroller in a distracting sort of way. It adds to the style and design of the stroller rather than detracts from it. Just enough branding to call out what it is. They also use their branding in a resourceful way, as well. The branding on the seat hood is reflective. This is extremely useful.

IMG_1362So, outside of the form of the Xplory is the actual function of it. We put our toddler in the seat. He immediately loved the lap bar. In fact, he started using it as a drum. Self entertainment. Woo! He fit into the seat well. It hugged in the right places, had enough room for much more growth. He loves being able to face us, but he didn’t mind facing forward, either. The best test of its maneuverability was inside of a Gymboree store. For being a infant/children’s clothing store, they sure aren’t very stroller friendly! However, this stroller managed to move between the tables and racks smoothly. The hood can unzip to allow additional airflow and it also has an extension on it that can be pulled forward to make the hood cover more area. It’s all quite functional.

While the ease of movement is an amazing part of this stroller, the height-adjustable seat is probably the best function about it. It really does have a wide range of height options. From a low, fairly standard stroller level – to a high, nearly eye to eye level. The highest level is my favorite, as well as our toddler’s favorite. I think he enjoys being able to see a lot more of the world around him while walking around. I enjoy how the height of the seat makes it easier to see him, entertain him.. and it even makes it more effective inside stores, as it clears the table displays a bit easier than other strollers. I haven’t yet tried pushing it up to a table, but I can definitely see how it would be a nice options for use when out at restaurants. Especially if you don’t want to have to park your stroller elsewhere. It wouldn’t take up any more room than a restaurant highchair and would probably allow your child to reach the table with more ease. I will try this soon. Likely at a Starbucks. Haha.

IMG_1383The Sibling Board also has great form and function. Like I said earlier, it was easily attached to the stroller and just as easily detached. When attached, it folds up nicely when not in use and is secured by a strong magnet to the stroller frame. I’m impressed. The magnet keeps the board securely fastened while the stroller is in use, the only time the board “falls” is if gravity pulls it towards the ground. Like, when loading the stroller into the car. Haha. Nothing to complain about at all, though. The board has plenty of foot space for a child’s feet and doesn’t take up much room. Our 4-year-old loves the Sibling Board as well. He calls it his “Brother board” and loves that he can easily hold onto the handle bar while riding. Even with our 4-year-old on the Sibling Board, the entire stroller moves with ease. It pivots nicely and is quite narrow. The only real downside about the sibling board is that it cannot be used while also using a cup-holder.. but that is a small price to pay if it means not listening to a 4-year-old complain about their tired feet. The board does stick out a little farther than the board on our other stroller.. but not in an awkward sort of way. When I first saw it I thought to myself, “Well, that might be a little difficult to walk behind..” but oddly enough, it was more natural than I thought. I haven’t kicked it yet!

I was slightly concerned about the lack of basket space underneath. After all, I am known for my shopping habits and I often shop without my husband. Where on earth will I put all of my bags? Well, let me tell you. I was skeptical when my husband attached the shopper bag onto the front of the stroller. See, the Xplory doesn’t have a basket, but it comes with a zippered bag that sits on the front “foot” of the stroller. The shopper bag looked decent in size and had nice magnetized pockets and a was completely enclosed by a zipper — but would it really manage to hold enough? When we took it out shopping, my skepticism ceased. I’m amazed at how much that bag can hold. And because of the zipper, it holds it securely. The shopper bag is also easily removed, so if we did have to park the stroller for some reason, we could leave everything inside the bag and just take the whole thing with us. That is genius. Now I really wish we’d had this stroller with us in Disneyland.

IMG_1374So, the bottom line. Stokke definitely got this one right. The Xplory does not disappoint. It is just as functional as it is stylish, which is amazing for something that is setting the bar for modern style in the stroller market. It’s not bulky. It’s not heavy. Though, it is sturdy and durable. This stroller is beyond simply adjustable, I would almost say it has “customizable positioning.” The high quality, easily cleaned or replaced fabric options add to the modern style and chic nature of it.. and let me be honest, the fact that I don’t see them every time I turn around makes this stroller a favorite by far. There was one time while out shopping we saw another Xplory, a green one, and that couple seemed just as shocked to see ours as we were to see theirs. Haha. That says something.

I understand that the Xplory is not within everyone’s stroller budget. It is a premium stroller with a very premium price point. That said, if it is within your budget – it will far succeed your expectations. Thank you, Stokke.. especially Charlotte, for this amazing and unexpected opportunity. I can’t wait to see all the places our Stokke Xplory can take us.

 

IMG_1373

What do you all think of the Xplory? What about the other Stokke products?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: This opinion is all my own. While the Stroller was given to me by Stokke, I was not paid to write this review. It is my honest opinion about the stroller. My family loves this stroller and we want to share that love with you.

 

Categories
Baby Blankets Baby Gear Nook Sleep Review

Sleep like a husband.. snuggle like a baby.

Sleep is not something that my household does very well. My husband is a very loud snorer.. which he kindly decided to pass on to all of our children. This means not only are they not sleeping well, but I’m not sleeping at all. We’ve tried many things.. but typically, the only thing that seemed to work is for me to frequently kick him with a kind-but-sleep-deprived reminder. “YOU’RE SNORING! ROLL OVER!” Yep. I can’t say that this really works, but it’s the best I can do. Until recently.

IMG_1529

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Nook Sleep Systems products. They are modern, stylish, free of harsh chemicals and very practical. Washable. Water resistant. Anti-microbial (again, without harmful chemicals!) and soft. Oh my goodness are they soft. However, I’ve never managed to take the plunge to buy one. I’ve tried to convince my husband of their worth on numerous occasions. There is a local boutique here that we love and they have Nook products on display in an abundance. I figured, with the allergies plaguing our family and the lack of sleep going on.. it may be a good investment, right? My husband was less convinced than I.. so I kept trying. Then, an amazing thing happened. Nook Sleep Systems did a Facebook Fan Week giveaway — and I won. A Nook Sleep Systems pillow and a knit blanket. What happened next should not surprise anyone. The package arrived, I unpacked it and showed the husband.. and he took it. That’s right, folks. The man who was unconvinced suddenly had a change of heart. What resulted surprised even me, though.

 

 

The first night of opening the pillow, my husband gushed over it’s “squishy-ness.” He tossed it on the bed and laid down. He didn’t get back up. He melted into the pillow and slept the night away. Without snoring. Do you know what this means? It means I got to sleep, also. Without kicking him! I was completely shocked. We (well, we adults, anyway..) were well rested and quite happy about our new pillow. Yes, I won the pillow.. but in the end, the lack of snoring was the real win for me.

DSC_0203-001

Following that fabulous night of sleep, I unwrapped the new blanket that they sent with the pillow. It was so soft. For a thickly woven knit blanket, it was surprisingly breathable and soft. I set it down in our playroom for our toddler. He loves blankets. He has an attachment to soft blankets, especially. I wasn’t sure how he would like this blanket considering it wasn’t the fluffy, minky-type blanket he tends to love – but he surprised me. He grabbed the blanket, gathered it into a small pile on the floor and then plopped himself down on it. He looked oddly exactly like his father the night before on the pillow.

 

 

These two instances have made me a Nook Sleep Systems believer. I now don’t just love them for their attractiveness and the idea of it.. but for the function and actual success of it. The most important part, though, is that my husband is now a believer. I have caught him looking online at their body pillow, mattresses, playmat and children’s lounge chair. I anticipate many more Nook Sleep System products in our house. You should all go look at the Nook Sleep Systems site and tell me, which of their products do you think would best suit your family!

DSC_0185-001

 

 

Note: This opinion is all my own. I was not paid to write this review. My family loves these products and we want to share that love with you.

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Britax Orbit Stokke

When ‘the best’ suddenly becomes too popular..

As you all know, I aim to obtain the best possible items for myself and my children. This tends to result in slightly more expensive.. and slightly more prestigious brands. This usually means I won’t see them everywhere I go. At least, that’s what it once meant.

Lately, my love for Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bags has become less of an obsession, and more of just a love for the brand, simply because they are everywhere now. Don’t get me wrong, this is fabulous for Petunia. I could not be more happy that a fabulous brand is doing so well and I do continue to buy their products. Only, now I find myself buying more of their other products and less of their diaper bags. I don’t want something that every other person has. It’s just not my style. Am I still loyal to them? Yes. Just perhaps in less-than-typical ways. This same “sheeple” moment came to me in regards to my beloved stroller.

We recently took a multi-family vacation to Disneyland. With us came our Baby Jogger City Select stroller. While its function at Disneyland will be featured in another, more helpful.. less vanity-induced, post… The stroller in and of itself is the subject of this post. The decision to purchase that stroller two years ago (!!!) did not come easily for me. I researched high and low, compared and contrasted all of its uses.. heck.. I even owned a competing stroller simultaneously before finally settling on the City Select as my “it” stroller. Not quite my perfect match.. but pretty darn close.

So, there we are.. Unloading our stroller from the hotel shuttle. About to embark on an amazing vacation with friends. My husband gets it all unfolded and set up and we begin to walk towards the park entrance. I look left. “Oh, hey look! Someone else has our stroller! They even have the second seat!” I said to my husband. That was pretty cool, right? Then I looked to my right. “Ohhh.. look at that. Another one. I don’t like it in red. Glad we got black.”

We weaved our way through the gate and I again, to my right, see another one. This time in the diamond color. I hadn’t seen that color yet. “Pretty cool, though.. my children would have that fabric stained in 2 minutes,” I thought to myself.

Then it hit me. Every time I turned around. Looked left or right.. there it was. Most of them in the same simple black color. Most of them with the second seat attached. I found myself switching up the seat configuration just so I could easily determine which stroller was mine when parked in the sea of strollers outside each ride. Just as I am with Petunia Pickle Bottom, I am SO thrilled for Baby Jogger. When we first bought ours, no one had really heard of it. People would stop and ask me about it all the time. So seeing them in such an abundance? The love was starting to wear off for me.

As I glanced around.. there were two other strollers almost as populous as our City Select. Those being the Britax B-Ready (The other modular stroller we once owned and is now owned by the other family we vacationed with!) and the Joovy Caboose. By the end of the 2nd day in the park, I looked at my husband and said “It’s time for a new stroller.” He knew what I was getting at. There are other brands of strollers I have wanted for a while, so I found myself looking around to see how many of them I saw and how they looked in function. What better place to look at strollers than Disneyland? It’s a less creepy form of people watching, right? I started observing.. how do they maneuver in the sea of people. Was it stable? How much *ehem* crap can it hold? (I have three children for heavens sake. It takes a lot of stuff to keep kids happy for several hours on end!)

These observations have now put two strollers on the top of my list for possible purchases after the new year. You know, when my bank account recovers from Disneyland and Christmas.

  • One of those strollers I have mentioned on this blog before: The Orbit G2. I watched someone set their Orbit stroller up after getting off a shuttle.. whew, it looked so easy. That alone ignited more lust for it than I had before. I saw a few of them.. but in contrast to the other three brands, it really wasn’t many. I even saw one with a color kit on it which was fabulous. It maneuvered the crowd of people pretty well.. I spotted one with their Side-Kick board and side panniers. They had a lot of stuff in those side panniers! Perfect. The stroller bag underneath easily comes off to be removed for safe keeping of personal belongings when getting on rides. I was impressed with it’s usefulness. And let’s face it.. for it’s lack of over-population. Add to that the fact that we currently have two Orbit Toddler G2 car seats, it would be a nice possible investment for us.
  • The other stroller is not new to my lust-list.. but it is new to my current list of stroller obsession: The Stokke Xplory. (Oh heaven help my husband!) When I saw that stroller easily being maneuvered through the crowd after the infamous Disneyland fireworks, I was quite impressed. It’s one of the few times I have ever stopped what I was doing to stare at a stroller. I only saw two of them while we were there. I’m sure there were more, but the fact that I only noticed two means they weren’t nearly as infiltrating – and trust me, if you saw one you’d notice it. It’s gorgeous, sleek and modern. It stands tall, but not too tall.. Which, for short people like us.. is nice. The last thing I want to have to think is  “Hey, does this stroller make my legs look short?” hahaha. After seeing its ease of use in the park, I looked into it more back at the hotel. Would it be a reasonable purchase? Would it hold enough stuff? Would it be practical with a preschooler as well as a toddler? What sort of extras are available? Is it as customize-able as the Orbit? How travel-friendly is it? (Uhh.. again, I will address this in another blog post.. but my Baby Jogger may be less-than-travel-friendly…) My research found that they, too, have a stand-on/boogie-board type attachment for the Xplory (perfect!) and the storage bag seems to hold quite a bit and is also removable. It looks to be quite versatile in it’s function modes. (Two wheeled and pulled behind you??? Awesome!)  Plus — it’s rarely discounted price tag still keeps it in quite an elite market. I like that. I also am in love with the Black Milange fabric option. It’s gorgeous and classically modern.

So, there you have it. The ugly side of this elite-baby-gear addicted mama. I can’t help it. While I do ever-so-love my Baby Jogger City Select, and I’m so thrilled that they took off in a big way.. I can’t help but be turned off from its newly found commonness. It does, however, go to show that more and more parents are choosing to invest in more premium strollers. Even in this economy. It’s a wonderful thing for high end baby gear companies as well as those stores that sell them. I’m excited for my next stroller investment, too.

Now let me hear it. Have you ever been turned off from a more premium product because of its sudden popularity? (Coach bags, anyone?) Does vanity ever control your purchases?

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Britax Clek Lela Orbit Shopping

A peek into how I shop for big purchases..

I am currently at that dreaded point in my baby’s life that I have to begin to search for the next stage of car seat. He’s 15 months, however, he is roughly the size of a 6-9 month old baby. Or — that is what the tag on the inside of his only-recently-fitting clothes says, anyway. (What gives? Babies much younger than mine are towering him in size. He is the mini-me to their Incredible Hulk!) So, at 15 months, he still has a lot of room to grow in his infant car seat, however, not needing the “convenience” of the handle and “carrier” style of the car seat, it’s time to move on.

Knowing that it will likely take me a while to decide, I have been looking into the latest convertible car seats for a while. Now that I’ve narrowed it down to 3-5 that I really like, it comes down to safety, longevity and best value for the price. (Note: this does not by any means mean cheapest. It means, am I getting the most feature for my money?)

My other two kids have always ended up in Britax car seats. The baby’s infant car seat is a Britax Chaperone, but that doesn’t mean that I will stick with Britax necessarily. Yes, Britax is known for their fairly advanced safety features and quality. They also offer me a wide variety of models that can leave my baby rear facing for many different lengths of time. These models also offer many different price points for me to choose from. Keep in mind, you get what you pay for with Britax. Their seats are very fairly priced and the increase in price from model to model definitely represents the increase in features and longevity. The Britax at the top of my list is the Boulevard 70-G3. This seat will allow him to rear-face to 40 lbs, which is more than my nearly 4-year-old weighs and barely less than my almost 7-year-old. After that, it forward faces to 70 lbs. He could be in this for a long time! It’s designed to optimize head safety, which is a huge plus. It’s also a good value for the features, currently ranging from $240-$320 depending on where you find it. They have other models above this one that I looked at, however, the size range is pretty much the exact same, but their prices were more, so this model outweighed the other’s simply because of the value.

Outside of Britax, a few other brands have caught my attention enough for me to look into them. A few have made my list of possible seats for my tiny cargo. The first; the Orbit G2 Toddler seat. And no, this did not just make my list because I lust after the stroller. (Though, the toddler car seat can be used on the stroller! Optimal for travel and car-sleepers!) I love that unlike a lot of car seats on the market, Orbit is not swarming with harmful chemicals that our children are forced to inhale. It also gives you the option of using it rear-facing with a base, allowing it to come in and out of the car with ease, and rotation to make loading baby in and out simple as well. This seat can rear-face from 15-35 lbs which for some kids isn’t an extraordinary amount of time, but my almost 4-year-old still falls into the category of fitting this seat rear-facing. It also forward faces to 65lbs and 53″ which, again, even my nearly-7-year-old would still fit in. (Though, I have heard that the seated height is not very accommodating for children with taller torsos.. however, this is not an issue for my children.) With it’s rarely discounted price tag of $380 without a base, and $500 with a base, it does make me weigh its features a little more. It’s “green” status definitely solidifies its worth and its price, to me at least. Having the option of paying more for the convenience of the base is a great perk, though. I don’t have to buy the base and can save a bit of money that way.

Then comes the Clek Foonf. Ohhhh, any car seat with a German name deserves my attention! (They also have one named Oobr. Virtual high five to Clek!) Outside of it’s completely awesome name, what caught my attention was this seats width. Under 17″ at it’s widest point, and 13″ at the base! They were posting a variety of pictures of their seat in countless models of cars, 3 across, safely! What?!? And the range of size for rear-facing is phenomenal. 25-46″ and 14-50 lbs??? Not only could my baby and almost-4-year-old rear-face… but so could my almost-7-year-old?!? Insane. It then can forward face to 49″ and 65 lbs. Height wise, not the longest when forward facing.. but well within reason for my vertically challenged children. (Point of reference, my oldest is nearly 7 and roughly 45″ tall.) The Clek Foonf is also a “green” car seat, with outstanding safety features. However, my one (and only.. really) big snafoo with this seat is its price. Between $474-$499 depending on color/print. (As much as I love the Paul Frank print.. I struggle..) Worth the price? I’m fairly certain it would be. Does it’s price outweigh the similar price on the G2 with a base? I don’t know for sure, but one thing I do know that makes me lean towards saying yes is – Clek decided purchase 100% of their materials from North American suppliers. Including final assembly. Amazing. I do have one hesitation, and that is the fact that, while Clek’s booster seats have been on the market for a while now, this car seat is not yet released. (Due to release this October, 2012) The lack of long-term usage information is slightly (very slightly!) weighing on my decision.
So… Now you’ve gotten inside my mommy-shopper head. You can all feel bad for my husband now. He has to listen to these purchase debates on a regular basis. His answer has, so far, been “I don’t know. I’m sure whatever you choose is a good decision. Can I watch Grimm now?” He’s trusting, you see. Well, trusting and smart. He knows my decision will win regardless. (He learned quickly after naming 3 little boys..)

We’ll be making this purchase in the next month or two, so watch for a post with my decision.. and how I settled upon that particular seat. As you can see, it’s going to be a doozy of a decision. Haha.

What car seats are you considering? Does your purchase process look like mine? Don’t forget, you can always go check out Lela.com for more car seat recommendations and reviews!

Note: I am not a car seat expert. Just a mom, shopping for a car seat the best that I can with the safety and well being of my children in mind. Most of us moms are not car seat experts, so we weigh the information that is provided to us. I recommend doing your research and selecting the best car seat you can with the information that the manufacturers provide to you. Best of luck in your purchases!

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Baby Shower Diaper Bags Gifts Petunia Petunia Pickle Bottom

A rose by any other name… would be called Petunia

When I had my first baby, I had no idea about baby products. None of my friends had kids. I had to figure out what was wonderful and what was a disastrous waste of money all on my own. The internet was there and there was some reviews on various sites, but nothing like today. It was honestly trial and error. For everything.

Touring Tote prepped for hospital

Most things I purchased back then I would never purchase again. Ever. There was one thing, however, that opened me to the world of luxury, stylish baby products and I have never turned back. (I guess after reading this, my husband is regretting ever making that purchase.. haha)

My oldest son was about a year-and-a-half old, my husband brought home this gorgeous brown and teal brocade diaper bag. It was large, had a million pockets and a built in changing pad. It held everything I needed, and a million and one things I didn’t need.. but brought along anyway. (Don’t judge me. I bet every one of you has more unnecessary things in your diaper bags than you do necessary ones! Haha.) This bag, was a Petunia Pickle Bottom “Camellia Roll” Boxy Backpack. 

 


Stroller Blanket – ready to leave hospital

Another Stroller blanket.

I had gone through several cheap, ugly diaper bags. Never happy. Never satisfied. And then.. THIS. Oh. It was gorgeous. Practical. I would never settle for mediocrity again. I used that one bag for years. Roughly 6 months into my second baby, I bought a second Petunia bag. Another Boxy Backpack, this time a glazed (aka: wipe-able!) one, in a beautiful teal color. Tranquil in Tibet, was it’s name. I went between the two bags on a constant basis. Each had a purpose. If I was going somewhere nice, I used the Brocade. If I was going somewhere that I thought the bag may get dirty (the zoo? the beach?) I used the Glazed.

Comfy and soft receiving blanket.

When I was pregnant with my 3rd baby I was opened to the world of new Petunia Pickle Bottom products. Clothes, blankets, stroller bunting bags, Ergo Carriers, Nursing covers, wallets, travel bags, iPhone cases.. and of course more diaper bags.(Yes, I own one of each of those items!) I got smart and learned that I could still be thrifty with some of my Petunia purchases, too. Every so often they do an online outlet sale. (Go register! They’ll email before the next sale!) This helped me convince my husband to buy not one, but TWO more diaper bags. A small, purse sized bag (The Oasis Roll Touring Tote) and yet another Boxy Backpack. The Moroccan Mint. I love my collection of bags. With three kids, one in cloth diapers, I do get much more use out of my Boxy Backpacks (though, I have yet to convince myself that I need the larger, Abundance Boxy.. but you never know!) so my Touring Tote has found another home.. but don’t get me wrong. I loved that thing.

Train Case makes great toy tote!


Snuggle Set.

Petunia Pickle Bottom is one of my go-to brands for baby shower gifts, and I can honestly say that I will never buy another brand diaper bag again. Ever. I will continue to expand my collection of Petunia until I no longer need to carry anything with me. They make the perfect laptop/tablet/carry-on bags!! The quality of the Petunia bags is outstanding. The quality of all of their products is outstanding. My baby spent many days laying on the soft and fluffy recieving blanket I bought him and once the weather gets cold again, he will spend many nights snuggled up with it again. He was swaddled to sleep in his Petunia Swaddle until he wouldn’t allow me to swaddle him any longer. Should I have any more babies, they will also get Petunia swaddles and receiving blankets.

PPB Ergo. Love!

You should go look at the Petunia Pickle Bottom site and tell me: What would be the ultimate Petunia Pickle Bottom product of your dreams?

Note: These products were not provided to me. We bought them, we love them, our children love them, so I am showing them to you in the hope that you will love them too.

Categories
Babies Baby Gear Owls Play Gym Review Skip Hop Skip*Hop

Loo Loo, Skip*Hop to my Loo

It has been no secret to anyone who knows my baby, that very early on in life, he became infatuated with owls. While he loves pretty much any owl baby toy in existence, his favorite owl has, and probably always will be, the Skip*Hop Hug & Hide Owl that was given to him at my baby shower. We expanded his owl collection… but really, we expanded our Skip*Hop collection. We even found ourselves looking for more of the Skip*Hop owls that we already had, but came in different colors at Pottery Barn Kids.

We eventually got the owl that hangs off the car seat, the owl that attaches to the stroller, the owls that rattle.. and the big one. The Skip*Hop TreeTop Activity Gym. After three kids and a good number of play gyms, this is by far the best one I’ve ever spent money on. Not just because of the owls, but for our baby, that definitely added to the appeal.

 

The size of the gym isn’t too incredibly large, but it definitely isn’t small. It gave the baby the right amount of space to roll around a bit, and enough different toys to keep him occupied long enough for me to get things done. Our baby is rather small for his age and has some gross motor delays, so this activity gym also acted as a means of physical exercise for him when he really wasn’t capable of much. It even inspired him to sit for longer periods of time without the assistance of a baby seat.

The quality of the Skip*Hop products is wonderful. Most are washable, and trust me, in a house with three boys, our Skip*Hop toys have had numerous turns in the washing machine. I have only had one product not really make it back into rotation after the washing machine, and that was the cow mirror that says it is machine washable, but it contains a squeaker inside that seems to retain water after being washed — and for 2 days following, any time you squeaked it, water would squish out. Yuck. I removed it from rotation and got the rabbit version..The cow version was a favorite of the baby’s, and the quality was amazing.. just needed to avoid washing it. The rabbit found his home on the anti-rebound bar of our car seat.

The Activity gym is no exception to the durability of the Skip*Hop toys. It has been thrown around, stored, tossed in a closet and thrown in the back of our car for 2 weeks during our recent move. The washable pieces have been washed a few times, and it has been well chewed, gnawed and sucked on. It is still pristine!

 

I love this product so much, I am having a hard time deciding if I can part with it or not. We are sitting in limbo about whether or not our family is done expanding.. and until I know for sure, one way or another, I don’t want to give it up. So, now that our baby is 14 months old and past the baby gym phase, I have it sitting in our closet, knowing that if I need it again, even years from now, it will still be just as pristine as it was for him. And all the little tree friends hanging from it, the owls our baby loves so much? He gets regular use out of them still. They squeak and rattle and entertain him still. Some of them will find their way into his memory box. A token of his babyhood for him to share with his kids. I bet they will still be just as perfect then as they are now.

 

If you are in the market for an activity gym, or really any baby toy, definitely go look at the Skip*Hop line of products. I hope you and your baby love them as much as me and my baby do! As our baby gets older, and our other kids are in school, we have started expanding into Skip*Hops other lines of products, too, like the ZOO Dinosaur Lunch box that our oldest son proudly trots with him to school every day.

Note: These products were not provided to me. We bought them, our children love them, so I am showing them to you in the hope that you will love them too.

Categories
Baby Gear FaVe Kids Lela Review Shopping

I got set up — with a stroller.

You see advertisements for dating websites every where. The idea that you input a handful of facts about yourself and you are shown a list of people that best compliment you.

Well, I’m married. I no longer need to find my compatible love match. I do, however, constantly find myself searching for my compatible consumer match. This is where Lela.com comes in. Lela.com has shown me a new way to find the perfect products for my family and myself.

I’m incredibly picky about baby gear. I am willing to spend a little more to get a better product, if I need to. I also have a fairly modern style, with a love of all things new and high tech. Finding the “perfect baby gear” has been an adventure. I’ve gone through many strollers because they simply didn’t fit my criteria in the end.

Lela.com linked to my Facebook profile, looking at my likes. It also asked me a handful of questions, then Lela.com became my baby gear match maker. I was impressed almost instantly. I clicked on strollers. I have an addiction to strollers. What did I find? Not only had Lela.com matched me with a stroller I lust after, but it also matched me with a stroller I currently own.

Okay, so it works for strollers. What about car seats? The world of car seats is insane. There are a million and one car seats. Some hideously old fashioned and some are far more advanced than I’d even know what to do with. Like strollers, having three kids has given me the opportunity to know what works for me. Again, matched me with a few car seats I currently own, one I lust for, and the ones I don’t care to own are far down the list.

Better than just showing you your ideal match, Lela.com also shows you where you can buy the product and which retailer has the best price, as well as link you directly to those retailers.

This is very promising. I can see it being especially helpful for new parents who are looking for a certain style, but unsure of brands and where to shop.

To put Lela.com to the ultimate test, I unleashed my husband on it. You see, Lela.com doesn’t just match you with baby gear, but also with tech products and home goods. It matched me with a gorgeous LG television, but outside of being pretty, I don’t know if that television is a good match for me. This is where my IT professional, tech-loving, geek of a husband really helped. I made him also sign up. What were his matches like? Well, he was appropriately matched with an enormous Samsung television and iPhones. He was also matched with a Blackberry which made him scoff, but overall, he was impressed by the design and matching ability.

Blackberry aside, Lela.com is a very helpful site for shopping. Especially when shopping for product categories you aren’t too familiar with. Now, I need to convince my husband that since Lela.com matched me with a Stokke Tripp Trapp and an Orbit G2, these items should be purchased immediately. Let’s just hope he doesn’t try the same with the Samsung television. 🙂

I have one request of you readers. Click this link to Lela.com, sign up, answer the questions and let me know: What are your favorite matches? Did Lela.com successfully find products you were happy with?

You can also go “Like” Lela.com on FB here: Lela
And, while you’re at it, go “Like” my friend, FaVe Mom, who introduced me to Lela.com, here: FaVe Mom