Baby Gear

We still have a good month of summer left here in New Jersey before summer starts. One thing we are planning on doing before our kids enter kindergarten is more days at the beach. We love the beach, the sun and the sand as much as our kids do. There are some challenges with a newborn on the beach, but we found some new products that are great for the beach for your family.

Surfers Secrets was invented by two moms and a a dermatologist and it removes the moisture between your child’s skin and the sand, allowing you to just wipe away the sand easily without using water! I couldn’t believe how easy this was. No more waiting for the showers to be free to rinse off my kids, and ourselves. No more trying to rub off the sand with towels leaving my kid’s skin irratated, and best yet, no more sand all over my car!
Surfers Secrets is Talc free and has grape seed oil and aloe vera in it to help sun exposed skin. Go try some and I know it will be a staple in your beach bag like it is in mine!

The one thing I hate about all the strollers I have had, it that when the baby is reclined, the shade never fully covers the baby. I am forced to put a blanket over the baby to shade him from the sun but it is hot! Protect-a-Bub is a great sun shade that protects baby from the sun’s harmful rays with its 50 SPF protection!
Easy to use, this shade covers baby’s entire body. No more blankets that fall off or making sure you have a shady spot to park under. These great shades will fit any size stroller you have. Protect-a bub also offers shades for car seats. Also check out their blankets, swimwear and hats!

These are terrific products for all of your family’s fun in the sun!

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Sometimes companies just get it. They understand what parents need, and how to make something functional and do it right. Honeywear is one such company. This company “founded upon the nurturing of children and the environment, our two most important and precious resources.” They make a baby sling that is simple to use and elegant all at the same time.

Honeywear was started by 2 mothers (you know how I love to support mom owned businesses!) who wanted to create an easy to use and fully adjustable baby sling. The Baby Bee sling is one size fits all. Perfect for Moms, Dads and Grandparents! It adjusts easily with the pull cord system on the pouch with allows for different hold positions for your growing baby and toddler (up to 30 pounds). There is also a buckle on the shoulder strap that allows for easy transfer from parent to parent without disturbing a sleeping baby.

All of their slings are lined with organic cotton and they are always constructed from natural and sustainable materials. They are made locally in Asheville, North Carolina by seamstresses working for fair wages.

If you haven’t tried babywearing or you are pregnant, this is the sling for you. This allows you and your child to experience the benefits of babywearing and bonding. This sling can go with you from the grocery store to a upscale party.
I am in love with this sling and I know you will be too!

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Finding the perfect stroller is a tough job, just ask any mom. You want it to be sturdy, look nice and have great features. Baby Planet is a fabulous company that not only makes great looking strollers, but it gives back by recycling your stroller once you and your children are done using it. If you feel there is still life left in your stroller, they will help you donate it to a family in need.
If your Baby Planet product is no longer road worthy or functional, they will show you how you can recycle it and keep your item out of a land fill! How amazing is that?

Not to mention, they do make a great stroller. The Solo Sport lightweight stroller is perfectly balanced within a lightweight aluminum and ultra compact frame. It is a dream to push and has great features like: a comfort-padded reclining seat, 5 point harness with comfort covers, adjustable leg support and a 2-position adult cup holder. The basket underneath could be a little bigger, but I have wanted a bigger basket on every stroller I have ever owned. It also folds so easily and compact.

The Baby Planet Max Pro Travel System is a stylish, simple, and affordable stroller that accepts most infant car seats on the market today, then converts to seated stroller with a 5-point harness.
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If diaper bags are the new designer handbags then strollers are the new, hottest cars. Moms no longer are willing to carry around an oversized, pastel diaper bag, and we don’t want a bulky, heavy, ugly stroller. Strollers are not just for the babies that ride in them anymore, if you are not aware of this fact, just look around the playground or mall. Strollers are getting lighter, faster and are mush easier to use.
Now I have found the Cadillac of all strollers, the Bumbleride.

I had the pleasure to try out the new Indie all-terrain stroller that is lighter and more compact than its cousin the Bumbleride Rocket is. I thought this stroller would be bulky and heavy and that could not be farther from the truth. The Indie is only 20 lbs, one of the lighter all terrain strollers, so it was perfect for everyday use, and use it every day we did!
We took this stroller everywhere, to the mall, to a Earth Day fair, for long walks around our neighborhood and we even circled the house in an effort to get our baby to sleep! This stroller handled better then any other stroller I have ever used including the overhyped Peg Perego and my beloved old Maclaren.

Just chillin’ in my awesome stroller

The aluminum frame, great seat padding and 12″ air filled tires make the ride smooth and easy to maneuver on our cracked sidewalks as well as off road. What takes a stroller from “okay” to “amazing” is the features and the Bumbleride is full of them. The Indie comes with: a padded handlebar to hang toys from, a footmuff to keep the little one warm, dual ratcheting canopy to keep sun off of the baby, adjustable handle height (a must for my 6 foot 2 inch husband), cup holder and oversized basket. The brake is easy to use and the Indie folds up so compact, perfect for any trunk space or storage area! The seat even reclines completely flat or in three other angles.

Check out their web site for all the amazing color choices, and styles of strollers. What makes their web site so special is that it has great features like a gallery and a faq section, but also a great video showing you how easy it is to use the stroller and all of its features.

I have had many strollers in my five years of being a mother and this by far is the best. I have never received compliments on my stroller before using the Indie but we had many people comment on it and ask what type it was and where they can get one. I should get a commission!
Overall, I could not recommend this stroller enough, I loved it, my husband loved it, our baby loved it and so did the many strangers on our outings. I can never go back to any old stroller now! Go Bumbleride!

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I have found with this new baby of mine, that he is not an easy sleeper. He is not one of those infants that you can put him down and he will just sleep. After 5-10 minutes in anything he cries. Vibrating seat? Boring. Swing? Okay for a while but then he is done. I wondered how I would ever get this baby to sleep and then I found pippalily slings.

Pippalily was started by a mom whose daughter always wanted to be worn. She couldn’t find the unique and stylish slings she wanted so she made them! These slings are pouches so they are easy to get baby in and out and there are no rings to adjust. Those rings confuse me anyway.
I love that this sling had a deeper “seat” for the baby. It makes me feel that my baby is more secure.
I wear my baby all the time at parties, to the park, it is easy for me to use, K loves it and I have my hands free for my other two kids.

The thing I love most about these slings is that all of the fabric and patterns are simply gorgeous. The silk brocade is fancy enough to wear to a wedding or any other event as well as to the playground. I have received so many compliments on my Chocolate Brown Dragon sling! I love the Morning Glory Coral sling too. I want them all!

Get one for your husband for Father’s Day! Pippalily makes great slings in a masculine camouflage print or a plain black cotton sling. Don’t know how to use a sling? Don’t worry they have instructional how-to videos online for you.
These are going to be my new gift to get for baby showers.

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I love that the trend these days is not just towards great baby gear, but great mommy gear as well. Designers are realizing that moms are the ones carrying the big diaper bags with cartoons on it and pushing the clunky strollers and they are changing the designs, making things more stylish and trendy. Mom inventors are leading this new trend, and thank goodness for that!

Goober Baby is no stranger to this idea. Goober Baby is the inspired offspring of two moms who wanted stylish everyday items to care for new little ones. They make awesome products like the Goober tote, a tote for the dads, gift sets and changing mats. Each come in great, bold modern colors and styles, perfect for moms! I had the pleasure to review the tote bag which is a great item for smaller things that tend to ‘disappear” in the bottom of your diaper bag or purse. It is great for things that can leak like lotions or medicine. I think it is great for transporting wet or messy clothes too. Don’t just use it for the diaper bag use it for your makeup or toiletries when you travel!

The change purse is perfect for when you want to run out of the door without the big diaper bag. Just the right size for a few diapers and some wipes. Goober baby has some of the greatest things for moms that they never knew they needed!
Thank you Goober baby!

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If I don’t go into labor sooner, I will be having this baby via c-section this morning. Since I won’t be around for a while, while I take care of my newborn and five year old twins, I decided to share with you some of my favorite baby gear. Here are some reviews on things that I cannot live without and things I know you will enjoy:

I love this monitor and will use it for years, they are not just for newborns!

There is nothing like a good swaddling baby blanket.

This nest egg has helped me sleep at night which is a luxury when you are nine months pregnant. I think it will be a great help with breastfeeding too. Go get your own with the coupon, even if you are not pregnant this is great for kids or for travel!

We are trying to be more green in our house and what better timing then when a new baby comes!?

I love these products for Mom. The names and packaging are so cute that I would buy them for that alone! They really smell good too.

I think this is great for the summer. I know I would have to get it if I lived in a state that was hot all year round.

I love this thermometer and couldn’t live without it. Plus it is so much cheaper then it was new to the market and I bought it!

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I know I am germ phobic but c’mon grocery carts and universal high chairs are so gross. You can see how well they clean them (never) and it is enough trying to keep a baby healthy at home. Not to mention kids will put anything into their mouths even the bar of a cart, especially when they are teething. That is why I was so excited to try out the Clean Shopper.

The Clean Shopper is a universal and original shopping cart cover for babies and toddlers. You know the ones that everyone at your grocery store has but you? They are made with 100% cotton-quilted fabric and has two built-in side pockets for storing anything you or your baby will need. Each also has two loops for attaching toys. I was also surprised to find how many fabric choices and prints there are!
They are very well made and are one piece so it is easy to put on by yourself. It also held up to a washing with no shrinking. They also sell a super soft clean shopper that is 40% fluffier than the original clean shopper!
I wish I knew about the twin clean shopper when I had my twins, I never found anything like that and believe me, I looked!

Looking for more ideas? They offer many other products like the clean changer, the clean diner which fits on public high chairs (although the clean shopper works well on these too!) and the clean burper. The clean burper is a fabulous over sized burp cloth that is thick and absorbent. This also held up to a washing well and are shaped perfectly for over the shoulder burping.

Go check out their great products for yourself but they also make great baby shower or new baby gifts!

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It seems like I see more and more all terrain strollers out every day. I often wonder what makes a stroller all terrain and who really would need one. Then I remember the time we took our Maclaren out in the woods to an animal refuge and how hard it was to maneuver off the road and go on bridges and I realized there is a market for these types of strollers.

They are easy to push because they have larger wheels then regular strollers. This makes it easier to “off road it” with the baby. They are perfect for boardwalks, gravel paths, beaches or hiking paths. Some even can hold heavier children then regular strollers. That makes them more economical because you can use them longer. A few are compatible with infant car seats too!

They do have a few down sides though. Most all terrains are for babies six months and up so you cannot use them for infants. They also are bulky and depending what kind of car you have, you may have to take the front wheel off to get it into your trunk. You also will have to fill the tires once they go flat. They also look like jogging strollers but are not made for that, so check with the company web site before you purchase one.
If you are still considering an all terrain stroller here are some brands to look at:

Tike Tech ATX All-Terrain Stroller

EasyWalker SKY All Terrain Stroller

BOB Revolution All-Terrain Stroller

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How many new strollers can come out a year? It seems like every time I turn around I see a new “it” stroller. I guess even in motherhood you can never keep up! This new stroller from Silver Cross is no exception. It is stylish and perfect for infants all the way through toddlerhood.

The Dazzle is sleek and modern, perfect for urban moms. It is ultra lightweight at a little over fifteen pounds, has ergonomic comfort grip handles, single handed folding system (which is SO important) and a hidden shopping basket. It comes in various colors like black, neon pink, tangerine or blue.
At $299.00 it is pricey for not a lot of bells and whistles, but if you are trying to be in the “cool mom crowd” maybe you can buy your way in with this.

When you are pregnant for the first or fourth time you know there is a lot of things you need for a baby. They may be small but they can take over your house with their “stuff”. Some things you need for day to day living and some baby gear is a luxury. Besides diapers, wipes and clothing, a baby monitor is very necessary.

When I had my twins I received a baby monitor as a shower gift. We were living in a apartment and the traditional monitor was ok, although I would get to hear the occasional phone conversations of my neighbors that the monitor picked up. Now that I am pregnant again I wanted a monitor that allowed me to see the baby now that we are mostly downstairs during the day and the baby’s room is upstairs.
I had the pleasure of reviewing Summer Infant Day and Night Handheld Video Monitor. This 900 MHz monitor blows away my old traditional monitor. This portable handheld unit is perfect for moving around the house and still being able to see your baby. There are also traditional sound lights that visually show baby’s level of activity. There are nighttime LED lights on the camera that makes the baby fully visible both day and night!
The video monitor has batteries or you can use it with an AC adapter. It also has a kickstand which is perfect for me to view it while I am doing dishes, using the computer or watching TV.

Don’t get this monitor just for a new infant, I would have loved this for my twins when they first transitioned into their toddler beds. It would have saved me countless trips upstairs to see what they were up to. Parents love this monitor, go ahead and read the reviews yourself. This is one of my new favorite baby products to tell all parents about.

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When I was pregnant with my twins I made the decision to nurse them as long as I could. I had various complications after my emergency c-section, so nursing them was not as easy as I had hoped it would be and lasted only days. This pregnancy I know that again, I will try and nurse as long as I can. I am a modest person though, so the thought of nursing in public makes me stress. I don’t want to be so exposed, it will still be cold here in NJ when the baby is born so how do I cut down on my exposure?

If you have the same concerns, have I got the product for you! Bebe au Lait has the most gorgeous nursing covers you have ever seen. A product born from a mother’s frustration over the nursing covers on the market when she was breastfeeding her children. She designed her own “hooter hiders” and instantly they became a hit. They come in so many fabric choices that are perfect for any chic mother!

You connect the straps for your comfort level, place the cover over your head and you have a type of nursing apron. The neckline has boning in it so you can easily view your baby while nursing. Best of all, wash and dry as you would any of your delicates.
What a surprise when I found out all of the covers have a terry cloth corner for clean ups and a small-item storage pocket for my chapstick and other things I can never live without!
This product is perfect for all breastfeeding moms who want a little more coverage, it is stylish folds down neatly into any diaper bag and mine hasn’t wrinkled yet. They now also carry a luxe silk version for occasions when you want a more formal cover and a 100% certified organic nursing cover, something for everyone. Go pick one up today!

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Every mom knows about the stroller struggles. The one you bought is too heavy/doesn’t fit well in your trunk/is too small/has no storage room. It is never exactly what you want. I have gone through three strollers in my kid’s five years of life. The bugaboo is the newest coveted strollers on the market and their newest model, the Bee, may be the best one yet.

This stroller is the most compact of the Bugaboo line. It has a reversible seat to face the child to you or away, it also has locking swivel wheels and 4-wheel independent suspension. That makes it easy to maneuver through doorways and small spaces like in department stores! The wheels are also easy to stroll right onto the beach with!
The back goes down to 4 different positions and it has height-adjustable handlebars for tall people, like my husband.

The Bug fits Graco and Peg Perego car seats. It also comes with chassis/seat, under seat bag, rain cover, sun canopy & 2-year warranty. The canopy is water repellent and all the fabrics are machine washable.
There are a couple of things I do not like about this stroller though. I think the weight restrictions limit the length of use of the stroller, it is only for kids up to 37lbs. It doesn’t have a cup holder (you can buy one for $24.99) and it also does not have a tray for the baby, which is my complaint about my Maclaren stroller.

This stroller will not come cheap, it is $529.00. Many bugaboo parents are total converts though, so I guess it is worth the cost.

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Car seat decisions are the worst. There are so many out there on the market different colors, names and styles. Do you go with the Graco seat you see everyone with or do you go with a newer car seat? Do you check consumer reports, ask friends and check buyers reviews online, or do you go with the one you like the best?

I can’t make that decision for you, and trust me I have had these same issues, we have bought three different car seats in 4.5 years.
This maxi-cosi Priori Convertible Car Seat is one I have been keeping my eye on. It is a European car seat that fits infants through toddlers, no need for a separate infant seat unless you want one for a stroller. It is equipped with LATCH, rear and forward-facing modes to accommodate growing little ones, a 4 position independent recline in forward-facing mode, 5 harness heights, a removable seat pad for easy cleaning and a padded fabric seat, buckle pad and harness cover ensure a comfortable ride for baby.

It is made for babies 5lbs up to 40lbs. It is stylish and comes in three great colors orange, grey and red. I do have a couple of issues with this seat, it is slightly heavy at 16lbs but you are not constantly taking this type of car seat in and out. Also it has no carrying handle like most infant seats do, but because it is a convertible car seat it doesn’t need one. They do make a infant car seat if that is what you are looking for.

What car seat do you have? Do you like it or hate it?

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When I was pregnant one of my Aunt’s had given me a great idea. She told me that when you have a baby in winter, like I was, that those baby buntings they sells are great and warm but impossible to put the baby in the car seat with. Plus, how hot is that baby in the bunting in a warmed up car? She suggested something new on the market at the time, a bundle me.

Bundle me is like a sleeping bag for the car seat. Made out of soft fleece it stays in the car seat and the straps easily fit through the pre-made slots. The top can zip off so you can easily regulate the baby’s temperature. It fits car seats, strollers, and joggers. It eliminates the need for coats and blankets in the car or out for a stroll on a cool evening. It comes in many different colors and the price is the same as five years ago when I bought them $39.99. JJ Cole also offers an urban bundle me. This one is made with soft chamois lining, and has a wind- and water-resistant outer nylon that protects the baby from the weather. The urban bundle me is slightly more at $49.99.

These bundle mes are a great investment that you will not be sorry you made. Perfect shower gift for a cold weather baby and first time moms! We put ours to good use from their first car ride until the spring thaw.

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