Parent shopping review blog. Giving honest reviews on products from baby to tween to mom and dad too.
For those dedicated baby-wearing mamas you need to get your hands on a Suse Kindercoat by
Suse Kinder. This 4 season coat is tailored specifically for baby wearing. The Suse Kindercoat is a two layer coat consisting of an inner fleece layer and an outer windbreaker type layer, you can wear each layer separately or together depending on the weather, this coat will literally last you al year. It comes complete with an instructional dvd to help you get the most out of this great coat. Even though baby L is closing in on age two I still wear him quite frequently at home and out and about. We have had our Suse Kindercoat since the ending of winter and are thrilled at the versatility of this coat. Aside from from being good all year round, this coat also accommodates front and back baby-wearing or for the truly dedicated with two children you could wear them front and back at he same time. The back panel unzips to allow your little ones head a place to poke out while riding on your back, the jacket also comes with extra zip in panels that zip into the front for when you are wearing your little one on your front. The waterproof windbreaker layer also has a built in hood for your babe. Once your baby wearing days are over you can still wear the Suse Kindercoat, with all the little features for baby wearing zipped up and tucked away you have just a regular jacket. This jacket will surely get a lot of use for years to come.
The Suse Kindercoat retails at $139US and can be purchased from US based Tickatoo, they ship to both US and Canada.
Vinyl Attraction is a US based company that makes fabulous wall stickers. Whether you are looking to a touch of excitement to your family room, dining room, kitchen or a playful addition to a child's bedroom or playroom Vinyl Attraction is sure to have many wonderful choices to choose from. You can contact them with your own logo or picture for a custom order or choose from the large selection they already have available. We ordered the upper and lower case alphabet to put on the playroom wall, it's going to be great for helping teach Baby L his letters. The stickers are easy to both apply and remove and you are not limited to walls alone, this great stickers are also great for furniture, glass, wood, ceramic tile etc. Check out their
gallery of ideas for some ideas of your own.
Vinyl Attraction ranges in prices check out their great gifts under $40. You can order directly from their US based website, they ship to both US and Canada.
To celebrate Canada Day Barks N Giggles is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders shipped within Canada on July 1. Don't miss your opportunity on this one day promotion! Please use voucher code "canadaday" during checkout. Sorry, this offer cannot be combined with any other discount codes.
Bepe Baby now carries the cutest
No Slip/Non-Skid Toddler Slippers ranging in sizes fitting from 9-30months! Made of super soft fleece and/or a coordinating cotton, they are machine washer and dryer friendly. Theses little slippers are soon to be a favorite of your little one. Those who read us often know baby L has developed quite the shoe fetish (sock and shoe actually). He is super thrilled to have "shoes" that he can wear in the house and still be comfy. I am thrilled to finally find some slippers that are soft soled and that don't come with a licensed character from tv. There are many colors to choose from and so reasonably priced at $14.99US.
Bepe Baby's Toddler Slippers can be purchased directly from their US based online store, they ship to both US and Canada. If you hurry you might even snag some that are on sale right now!!
Check out
Bumkins Super Bib, they are completely waterproof without seeming overly "plasticy" and are a great size at 10" across and 9" down from the neck. The neck opening is adjustable and made to fit from 3 months to 2+ years. They are PVC, BPA, phthalate and vinyl free. They are also washing machine friendly but remember to hand to dry. Super Bib makes a great eating bib with it's large area coverage and catch all pocket. We plan on using ours as an art smock too once we no longer need eating bibs. There are tons of cute patterns to choose from, our favorite is the skulls but they even have Horton Hears a Who for the little Horton fans.
Bumkins Super Bib retails at $7.95US you can purchase directly from their US based online store or check out their retail locator (under construction atm). In Canada you can purchase them at London Drugs.
The
Kaboost is a fantastic little product for kids who don't want to sit in a booster seat but still cannot reach the table. The Kaboost attaches to the bottom of almost any chair and raises the height of the chair to bring your little one closer to the table. It has two different height levels and comes in
four great colors. Baby L is overjoyed every time we pull out the Kaboost. Right now we just use it occasionally when another little one comes over to play, L gives up his booster seat and opts for the Kaboost instead. Because there are no buckles or straps make sure your child is old enough to sit still in their chair on their own. We will wait a bit still before Kaboost completely replaces baby L's booster because he is still quite the daredevil and unable to sit still but so far we love it and welcome it with open arms. If you're a little skeptical or unsure how this product works be sure to check out their
video demo.
Kaboost retails for $43.88CAD and is available in both the US and Canada. For a list of retailers please see here.
Clouds and Stars makes a
Play Yard Sheet that slips right over the mat in the bottom of your playpen and Velcros together to completely cover the mat front and back. This is great for little ones who have figured out how to take off the regular playpen sheets or if you are worried about your babe getting tangled in them. The only flaw that I found with these sheets were that they didn't have holes for the Velcro tabs on the mat to fit through to secure the mat to the base of the playpen. But it was a small flaw and not completely important. They come in gingham, flannel or plain white and are machine washer and dryer friendly.
Clouds and Stars Play Yard Sheets retail for $17.99US and can be purchased directly through their US based site. They ship to both US and Canada.
We reviewed
Envirosax's bags a while back. Now
Envirosax has a great new line of kids reusable bags. Bright and colorful with kid pleasing prints of animals, any kid would be thrilled to use these bags. There are 6 different bags to choose from but a difficult choice as they are so adorable. We have Jessie and Lulu and Piggy in the Middle but are currently lusting after Baa Maa and Paa ,these bags just get cuter every time we look at them. Each bag is generously sized at 17.70" x 15.75" and rolls up to a handful at 4" x 1.5", a great size for stuffing a few in your purse or diaper bag to always have on hand. These fun bags are a great way at teaching your little one about doing their part to help save the earth. Kids can use their bags for helping mom and dad with errands, a gym bag, pool/beach bag, playing store and lots more. These bags are so cute though that you will want to use them too so make sure you buy extras.
Envirosax Kids line retail at $8CAD for one bag. In the US you can purchase yours at Envirosax USA or in Canada for a list of Envirosax retailers near you email canada@envirosax.com or purchase Envirosax online at Comondi or Eco-Handbags.
For those who think kid harness's are cruel you either never had children or you were one of the lucky few to not have a runner. Before I had children of my own I was also dead set against them. But now I totally stand behind them. Right now we are loving our Harness Buddy, a more kid friendly take on the harness. The Harness Buddy by Goldbug is a cute stuffed animal backpack with a really long tail for keeping your little one in check. The backpack pocket is very small enough to hold a little toy or two or even a snack. They are also washer and dryer friendly and there are also many different animals to choose from. The tail can be removed completely or placed on the side or from behind depends what works better for you. Baby L loves his Harness Buddy. We actually have a couple to choose from his number one choice was a cute pink pig but the daddy doesn't want him out in public with that one, I think it threatens his masculinity, lol. So for trips out with the daddy his next choice is a cute little panda. His security toy is also a panda so it's nice and soothing for him. The first couple of trips out with out harness were a bit of a disaster b/c L was trying to run off like a mad man and there was a lot of trying to coax him in the right direction but now that he is used to it, it makes going out a breeze. It's nice to have the option to let him run off some steam and tire himself out especially when he really doesn't want to be in his stroller. The Harness Buddy is great for walks, errands, or even in busy airports. We keep one in the car to have handy just in case we need it.
The Harness Buddy retails at @ $15CAD it can be purchased at Walmart in both the US and Canada.
One product that didn't make it in time for our trip that we definitely could have used is the
Coverplayard. The Coverplayard was invented by a mother tired of germs and not being able to properly clean her children's playpen, an issue for most mom's I think. This is a great product to own if you are concerned about maintaining your current playpen, worried about germs, hate the look of your playpen or travel a lot. The playpen we received in the Fantasy Land Hotel in West Edmonton Mall was disgusting, they actually had to bring up 3 different playpens and 2 different bottoms and we still ended up with a nasty ratty playpen. I'm sure we all would have slept better having our Coverplayard with us. It is a decorative fabric cover that slips over your existing playpen and easily slips on and off for easy washing. It fits on most standard rectangular playpens but unfortunately it would not fit on ours. We own a
Euro Graco Pack and Play in Kasbah, a little larger than the standard and with curved sides. I actually picked it because it was a little more stylish looking than the rest. But most hotels have the standard playpens so for travel we still love it. Aside from being machine washable it rolls up pretty small for travel or storage and comes in it's own matching drawstring bag. It would be so much easier to travel with this than your playpen.
Coverplayards retail at $45 US and up. thy have a wide selection of patterns to choose from. It can be purchased directly from the Coverplayard site, they ship to both US and Canada.
Invented in the UK and new to North America,
Trunki got us a lot of approving looks and comments at the airports. Everyone young and old found Trunki amusing. Trunki is a kid friendly suitcase with a messenger type handle that converts to a "leash" for toting along. To keep kids occupied in busy airports they can also ride Trunki while you pull them through the busy terminals. Baby L was too young to ride it when we went on our trip but by next years trip I think he will have enough balance, but he still had plenty of fun dragging it all over the airport and our house. Trunki comes in 3 great colors/styles some recent updates have also been made to a few styles such as a teddy bear seatbelt,passport,internal pouch and carry handle. I can't speak for these features as Terrance (the model we received) didn't have any upgrades but soon you will be able to buy the upgrade kit for those who want the extra features but didn't get any. We hope to receive this kit and update you on them. We housed all of Baby L's toys to keep him occupied fir the plane ride. We were able to fit a lot in there but I think the teddy bear seatbelt was much needed as things kept falling out whenever I opened it up. Please note that Trunki must be taken as a carry on though and cannot be checked with the rest of your luggage.
Trunki retails at $39.99-$49.99US and can be purchased through Trendy Kid, they ship to both US and Canada.
Air plane rides can be long and daunting for a toddler so it's important to try and keep them busy for the whole flight.
The Snack and Play Travel Tray was a great help for us on the plane. Because of baby L being in his
Britax Marathon for a majority of the flights we were on, his tray table in front of him was rendered useless. The Snack and Play Travel Tray is a soft but sturdy tray that attaches around either your car seat, booster seat or stroller, the soft two inch wall surrounding the outer edge of the tray keeps items from rolling off. On either side of the tray there are also two mesh pockets for storing toys and such. The tray eliminated me constantly having to pick up lost items from the ground and kept things within reach of baby L. It has also ben federally crash tested and found safe for use in a vehicle and because there are no sharp edges there is no worry of extra injury in case of an accident. The tray is not machine washable but is easily wiped off with a damp cloth or even a wet wipe will do the trick. Aside from plane trips the Snack and Play Travel Tray would be great for long car rides and road trips, we are planning an upcoming road trip and this will be coming with us for sure.
The Snack and Play Travel Tray retails at $24.99 CAD and can be purchased in the US at Let's Go Strolling and in Canada at Tiny Gem.
On our family trip we did opt to get a seat for baby L. Here in Canada a seat is not required for a child under the age of two but now that baby L is walking there was no way he was going to sit on my lap for 4 flights some 5 hours long. So yes we bought him a seat and brought his
Britax Marathon on board with us. We would be needing the car seat for rental cars once we got to our destination. I didn't expect baby L to sit in his seat the whole time though as the flights would get quite long and boring. I also planned to nurse him during take off and periodically during the flight but having him on my lap did worry me. My worry was relieved when I came across the
Baby B'air flight vest. This FAA Approved flight vest can be snugly attached to your baby or toddler and then looped through your seat belt to insure your little one stay on your lap and within arms reach in case of turbulence. It was very quick and easy to put on and L did not put up a fuss. I was even able to let him stand up between my legs and it was still quite comfortable for both of us though I'm pretty sure he wasn't impressed that he couldn't run off because he was tethered to my seat belt. Feeding baby L was easy with the flight vest on and I felt at ease knowing he was safe. The vest also took up little room when not worn, I was able to fold it up and put it in my
Harvey's Carry On along with the rest of our belongings with room to spare. The Baby B'air flight vest comes in two sizes small for infants and newborns and large for toddlers. It is also machine washable, wash cold and hang to dry. Please note that the Baby B'air flight vest is not yet allowed during take-off, taxi and landing but is fine for the rest of the flight.
The Baby B'air flight vest retails for $34.95 and can be purchased directly from their US based online store, they ship to both US and Canada or in Canada you can purchase from Canadian based Safety Superstore.
