Recommend: Mom to Mom Baby Wipes

Price: about ~$9.99 for 1 box (6 individual packs)

When standing in the baby section of the grocery store I was immediately overwhelmed. We've all heard of your standard Pampers, Huggies and Luvs diaper brands, and I'm pretty certain they all also have their own line of baby wipes. Knowing me, I would have just picked up the wipes that matched my choice in diapers, but since I don't use disposables (and wasn't about to use cloth wipes as well) I needed to start my series of trial and error with disposable wipes. 

I'm an on and off Safeway shopper/ACME shopper and by chance the day I ran out of the wipes I got at my baby shower and needed to buy wipes, I was at Safeway. I browsed through their selection and came across a brand called "mom to mom". I was looking for the best value and when comparing numbers, mom-to-mom was the best bet. 

Pros:

- come in value size boxes - 6 individual travel/refill packs (the hard plastic pop-top on top of each refill pack). 

- made of a heavy material to clean up big diaper messes. 

- unscented means unscented!

- Cheaper than or the same price as the value box of pampers (the box of pampers i compared them to comes with 5 refill packs, mom-to-mom comes with 6 travel/refill packs)

Cons:

- Only available at Safeway stores.

- If you're trying to environmentally friendly, I suppose the travel pop-top is not land-fill friendly and ultimately creates more waste.

Would I Recommend:

With out a doubt. Recently we were running low on wipes and I sent Ryan to ACME to pick some up. He got a large box of the unscented Pampers brand and I am not nearly as pleased! I'm anxious to finish the box of wipes he bought so I can go back to the mom-to-mom's. 

I've also read very good reviews on their diaper brand and although I have not priced them personally, they are said to be considerably cheaper as well. 

Recommend: Diaper Champ

Baby Trend Diaper Champ

Price: $35-ish

This is one of the only Baby Trend product I actually like.

There are several different options when it comes to diaper pails - and I think all of them get mixed reviews. You either love it or hate it. We registered for -and received- the Diaper Champ, and we really like so far. We have not had any issues with odor yet. I found that the medium sized white kitchen trash bags fit perfectly! Since those bags are too short for our kitchen trash can we simply keep the box in the nursery on a shelf next to the diaper champ, to keep things convenient. Word to the wise: make sure you have the sticky part of the diaper secured to the diaper itself. I once had a lose sticky stick to the side of the flippy contraption, causing the diaper to unfold and get poop on the Champ. It was, however, easy to clean.

The stores no longer sell the version of the Diaper Champ I own. Now there is a new and improved Deluxe version.

Pros:

-very convenient!

-you can use any brand trash bag

-comes in white with blue or white with pink

-easy to use

-designed for one-handed use

-i don't know how to explain it, but if you look at the picture you will see at the bottom there is a little ledge of sorts - if you use your foot to step on the ledge it's easier to get the dirty bag out of the Champ.

Cons:

-it can be challenging to get the bag of dirty diapers out of the pail if the bag is too full

-removing a bag full of dirty diapers can be tough on the nose

Recommend: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

Recommend: Fisher-Price Rainforest Waterfall Peek-a-Boo Soother

price: $43.99

i love love love this item. Since Trent's mobile is pretty boring it's nice that he has something else to sooth him when he's in his crib.

pros:
-absolutely adorable
-baby loves it
-it stays on for up to 18 minutes
-very soothing music
-3 volume control
-multiple options (music and light, just lights, just music)
-one large easy busy to push - my son is starting to push it himself
-reputable name brand

cons:
-a little pricey
-it's a pain to take off and put back on the crib
-batteries not included
-requires 4 C batteries
-the light can be a little too bright in the middle of the night when your baby is just falling asleep. Make sure you know which controls to change so that it's music only - the light may wake the baby up (something I've experienced personally)
-controls do not light up.

recommend: definitely! Use a coupon and get it!

Fisher-price makes a very similar item, call the Wonder Aquarium, that I plan to get for the next kid. Same manufacturer and same concept.

Fisher Price Hoppy Days Bouncer vs. Graco Sooth and Swaddle Bouncer

Fisher Price Hoppy Days Bouncer
Price: $35.99

We didn't think we'd need a swing AND a bouncy seat, so we didn't register for this item. It wasn't until Christmas time (1.5 months later) that we asked for the chair. We realized we needed more places to put the baby down other than his pack n play. When my mom asked me which bouncy seat I wanted I hopped online real quick and went for the first reasonably priced seat that had good reviews (on BRU website).

Pros:

-cute pattern

-very light

-detachable mobile

-mobile has a dangling noise maker
-mobile has 2 detachable dangling toys

-vibration feature
-headrest

-gender neutral

-reputable brand

-reasonable price

-easy to remove the fabric for cleaning (been there)

-nice harness system (or whatever you want to call it

-light weight, easy to carry

-not bulky

Cons:

-you have to remove the mobile before putting baby in the seat, and before taking him out of the seat, or else he will hit his head on the plastic noise maker.

-battery not included

-easy to forget to turn the vibration feature off (not sure I can blame that on the seat though)

Would I Recommend: Yes. This is a classic, affordable seat with a few bells and whistles. It's not extravagant but it gets the job done.

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Graco Sooth and Swaddle Bouncer
Price: $59.99

One of the few items that Jude has used continuously since he's come home is his bouncer. It is super convenient for us because it's light and small making it easy to carry into the kitchen while cooking, into the yard while doing yard work, into the living room while watching tv, etc.

Pros:

- pattern coordinates with many other baby-gear items

- comes with a swaddle blanket that fits through the harness system to mimic the womb for very young babies.

- plays through a few different songs so it's not too monotonous.

- has a sun shade for when we're outside.

- has different vibration settings

- we've been using it for almost 3 months and haven't had to replace the batteries.

Cons:

- harness system is annoying - all Graco harnesses are the same on all of our Graco products (except the car seat) and I dislike them all equally

- fabric cover is hard to remove. I've wanted to clean it a few times and gave up because it was frustrating to get off.

- I didn't put it together, but it looked difficult to assemble - which is only a big deal for the initial out of the box moment.

- there are plush toys hanging from the shade that are attached very loosely with velcro and fall off easily.

- Music and vibration on/off switches turn on easily when moving it around.

- Made out of a suede-type fabric that can be fairly hot in the warm weather.

Would I Recommend:

When comparing it to the cost of other bouncers I'd say it probably wasn't worth the expense. Other's seem to do the job just fine for about 20 dollars less. The music is soothing though (baby mozart music) and it's a little larger than some other options, so he may get more time out of it. We never used the swaddle blanket though - and I'm sure that alone impacted the price. I wouldn't NOT recommend it (it's treated us just fine and I love the pattern), but you could get something equally functional for much less.

Baby Trend Pack n Play vs. Graco Pack n Play (in Deco)

Baby Trend Pack n Play (Orange Oak)
Price: my playard came from BRU, however, it is no longer on the website and I do not remember the price. Walmart has this item on their website for $109.98

Once again I chose this item because I liked the way it looked.

Pros:
-lovely music box/night light/vibration device
-has wheels to make it easy to slide across the floor. also has locks on the wheels
-MP3 attachment option (i never used)
-once you fold it up it's easy to transport and takes up minimal space
-nice pattern (if you like orange)
-Great "parent organizer" tray
-great changing table feature. We used it well beyond the recommended weight (tsk tsk) and found that it held up nicely
-changing table has a buckle for baby
-fairly easy to clean
-a great height for me (im 5'-0")

Cons:
-plain mobile
-mobile only played music for a minute or two
-the sunshade kept unbuttoning so we took it off all together
-very difficult to fold up and unfold
-just too wide to fit through doorways

Would I Recommend: I'm torn. We used this product all the time (even on vacation), and we will use it again for baby #2, but I probably would not recommend it to others. I found it impossible to collapse by myself, and my husband really struggled as well. Again, you should play with all the playards prior to purchasing or registering for one. Looks should take a backseat to usability

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Graco Pack n Play (in Deco):
Price:$189.99



When picking out registry items, I had heard of Graco, I had heard good things about Graco, so I registered for Graco. In addition I found the Deco pattern and just about all the large baby-gear items I was registering for came in that pattern. It might be lame, but I liked the idea of everything matching (from bouncing seat to highchair).

Pros:
- The bassinet feature makes it nice to not have to bend to put baby all the way in the bottom of the play pen.
- changing table makes it convenient to change in the living room.
- nice/neutral pattern (a personal opinion of course)
- has wheels to make it easy to slide across the floor
- has a 'soothing vibrations' pack to put under the bassinet and MP3 player/soothing sounds player, etc.
- seemingly sturdy frame
-pretty easy to put together initially
- folds up fairly easy - and collapses for easy transportation
- fitted sheets available for the mattress/pad

Cons:
- the changing station folds up and down easily, but it'd be nice to have the release button on both sides (slightly difficult to put up/down with baby in hands) or on the bar/in the middle.
- canopy/sunshade is only held up by little pieces of velcro - and a pretty boring mobile (little hanging bears)
- Bassinet portion and changing station doesn't fit into the travel bag so you can't take it with you. This is poor planning on Graco's part because one would think if you're taking it on vacation it'd be nice to have the changing station.
- main support bars for the bassinet are a tight squeeze making it a little difficult to put together - but not impossible.
- has a handy changing station storage system, but not very practical for us (we use cloth diapers though, so it might work out better with disposables).
- Just SLIGHTLY too large to fit through door ways so you have to break it down if you're moving it from room to room (this involves removing the bassinet, unhinging the sides and pulling up the base - nothing too difficult, but annoying if you'll just be moving it back in a day or two).

Would I Recommend: Comparing the two reviews I feel like the main benefit is that it's easier to collapse (it's up to you whether that's worth 80 dollars). I'm pretty happy with my decision on this particular item and I'm sure it will get plenty of use out of it not just for Jude, but with baby number 2 - but I may have been just as pleased with any other brand. Really, they could have skipped the soothing vibrations pack and the music player though because I don't think batteries even made it in this particular item. It has served it's purpose as a pack n play without any major complaints though.

Do Not Recommend: Sassy Earth Smart Diaper Sack Dispenser

Price: $5.49

I often wondered what I would do with poopy diapers while I was out and about...namely, at a person's house.

While at BRU (Babies R Us) one day, this cute little accessory caught my eye. I thought it'd be perfect for us. It's only a couple inches big, so it'd fit right into the bottom of my diaper bag and be super convenient for those stinky diapers I was so concerned about.

Well, I've used maybe a dozen or so of the bags and I can honestly say this item is not worth the $5.49. It's not so much the container that I don't like, its the actual bags that are a waste - and the bags make up half the product. Every other bag I use rips before I even get it open! Because of this I do not recommend the product.

Since Trent's poops weren't super poopy-smelling for a while (until recently) I found myself simply putting the diaper right in the kitchen trash. If you don't feel comfortable doing that (understandably) I'd recommend putting the diaper in a grocery bag and tying it together and/or putting the diaper in the outdoor trash can.

Pros:

-snazzy colors/designs

-case has a hook for easy access

-refill bags are seemingly easy to come by at BRU

-the scent of the bags is very mild

-case comes with 25 bags to begin with

-biodegradable

Cons:

-bags are terrible quality

Recommend: BreathableBaby Breathable Bumpers

Price: $29.99

everything you read tells you DO NOT USE BUMPERS. (You know, those cute pillow-y things that line the crib) They were first created "back in the day" because kids were putting their heads between the slats of the crib and were unable to remove them. Some possibly suffocated this way?!?! Today you wont find any crib with slats that far apart, but bumpers still come with EVERY baby bedding set. It's kind of annoying really. We aren't supposed to use them, but the bedding companies still make them. I don't see the point. I mean, I know some parents still use them - whether its because they think it looks nice, or because they just don't know the risk the bumpers pose, i don't know - but i would venture to assume that 95% of Americans don't use them. I could be totally wrong - I'm pulling that number out of thin air. Maybe I shouldn't ass-u-me.

Anyways, we recently questioned whether or not we should start using our bumpers (that have been sitting in our closet ever since we got the bedding). Now that Trent is rolling around he sometimes gets his limbs stuck in between the slats and can't always get them out. This of course leads to crying - something we like to avoid whenever possible. We don't want him getting stuck, but also want to avoid suffocating our boy, so I did some research. At first I thought Trent was old enough to where it would be OK to put the bumpers in his crib - but boy do "they" try to scare you! I found that every credible organization out there advises against the use of bumpers, no matter how old your child is. I did, however, come across an item called Breathable Baby Bumpers. It's basically a mesh-type fabric that you line the crib with (the same way as you would with bumpers). This prevents limbs from getting stuck, while also allowing your baby to breath if he gets right up against it. I'm not sure if I'm describing these correctly so here is a picture. I purchased plain brown ones. They aren't nearly as cute as the ones that came with the bedding, but it keeps his body inside the crib where it belongs and he can't suffocate into them.

So, in the end we had Trent's real bumpers in his crib for all of 30 minutes and two days later we had these breathable things in there. Everyone's happy.

As for the bumpers you (or in my case, Mrs. Woodland) spent so much money on, they don't have to sit in the closet, unused! One option is to cut them down and make square pillows out of them. While you can't put these pillows in the crib, you could put them on your glider/rocking chair for looks. Another option is to take the stuffing out of the bumpers and make a nice valance that matches your bedding.

I just took 2 minutes to do a little search on yahoo to see if I could find any other options and I came across this site! If you are a mom looking for some cute ideas, check it out.

Pros:
-much safer than traditional bumpers!
-no more limbs getting stuck in crib slats!
-made for cribs with slats on all 4 sides OR only 3 sides!
-several standard color options (brown, blue, pink, green)


Cons:
-you occasionally have to adjust them because they slide down (between mattress and slats) over time
-velcro could be sturdier
-a little pricey for what you're getting. Use a coupon!
-not very attractive

Recommend: Bum Genius 3.0 Cloth Diapers

Price: 17.99 each - If purchased in a package, the price may drop slightly
Recommended Quantity: about 15

When deciding which cloth diapers to use, I did a lot of research. To get started on them, there is a significant cost up front, so I didn't want to invest in something that wouldn't work for or wouldn't get us through at least the first year.

On almost every chat board I scanned at least one person would rave about the BG 3.0, so I started there. They seemed to be a great option. They were easy to use and didn't require pins, special covers or a special skill to put them on the baby's bottom and they grew with baby up to about 35 pounds. I still browsed around more and find a few other brands that offered similar features, but because of the great reviews, I went with the BG 3.0's.

I fell in love when I got them! They were the sweetest colors and just adorable. Unfortunately it took a few weeks for Jude to grow into them as they didn't quite fit a 7.8 lb baby very well. But, by the time he was approaching 10 pounds (probably somewhere around 8.5-9) he was fitting in them just fine. Being that Ryan and I had been using disposables up to this point, we were both uncertain how we would transition to the cloth diapers, but it was a breeze. They are easy to clean, and other than washing them, they go on no different than a disposable. The short period of time we were in day care, the infant teacher agreed that they were simple.

Pros:
- Save money in the long run
- Adorable colors
- Easy to use (especially in situations where you may need to leave your child with someone who's not familiar with cloth diapering)
- Growth with baby (one size fits 8-35lbs)
- Seemingly comfortable

Cons:
- We noticed a jump in his clothing size due to the bulk of the diaper
- Need to be washed every 1-2 days
- If you're running low, it'll take about 2 hours for clean diapers - no more quick trips to the store
- If not washed properly/frequently can get an amonia odor - but can be resolved with proper care.
- Will probably be more 'interesting' as he gets into solid foods
- More difficult to tell when he has a wet diaper, need to change baby on more of a schedule as opposed to just feeling for a wet diaper.

Recommend: Tiny Love Symphony in Motion Musical Mobile

Price: $31.99

When deciding on a nursery theme Ryan and I originally thought we'd be doing a Batman Theme. It was virtually impossible for me to find a Batman Mobil to hang over the crib, so instead I browsed through BRU for a non-theme related mobile. I came across the Symphony in Motion mobile and fell in love.

It had the bright colors that all the "educational" toys had along with the black and white contrast that is good for newborns who can't see color, so it really seemed like a great option.

At one point or another we changed the theme to airplanes, but I still held onto the mobile. Jude seems to love it. It really does catch his eye and it can entertain him for 10-15 minutes at a time playing the baby-classical music and spinning over his head. Being that he isn't awake in his crib for long periods of time, it's perfect. It's just enough time to put away clothes, sweep the floor, hop in the shower, etc.

Pros:
- Reasonably Priced
- Entertains Jude
- Educational
- three different music options
-bar swivels to make it easy to change the sheets

Cons:
- slightly difficult to get it positioned correctly on the crib
- The hanging bar that swivels can move so easily, that it's easy to get off center and therefore not over top of Jude's head, so i have to keep adjusting it.
- Has pinks and purples, so can almost look a little girly. BUT - they sell it in a variety of colors, I should have just looked harder.

Baby Trend Travel System vs. Graco Stroller and Car Seat

Baby Trend Travel System (Orange Oak):

Travel System Price: I believe the system was approximately $169.99

The travel system I own is no longer available on Babiesrus.com, therefore I can not provide an exact price. The reason I chose this travel system is because I liked the way it looked. We did not know if we were having a boy or girl, so we needed something gender neutral. I'm on a big orange kick right now, so majority of our large baby items have orange in it. In hindsight I wish I had played with the travel systems on display for a bit before choosing one to register for.

Pros:

-affordable

-nice colors (if you like orange)

-car seat attaches to, and removes from, stroller easily

-stroller has a nice window feature so you can peak in on the baby if he's sleeping

-stroller has a nice cup holder tray with storage compartment

Cons:

-car seat handle is very difficult to adjust

-stroller was oftentimes difficult to collapse

-strollers storage basket on the bottom is not very large and barely holds my diaper bag

-harness system on car seat is a pain to deal with

-car seat is very heavy and awkward (though, I'm assuming all car seats are heavy and awkward to handle)

-car seat does not come with a head positioner for newborns

Would I recommend: No. My husband actually had a woman come up to him in BRU saying she was about to register for this system, and she asked if he liked it. He immediately told her it was junk and he had her check our out. It didn't take long before she realized it was not the best system out there.

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Graco Quattro Tour Stroller and SnugRide Car Seat:

Stroller Price: $149.99
Car Seat Price: $149.99

Total Set Price: $299.98

Note: I have the Quattro Tour Stroller and the Safe Seat, not the Snug ride in "french roast". The Safe Seat was recently replaced by the SnugRide. When comparing them in the store, I determined they're very comparable and it seems the biggest difference is that the SafeSeat holds babies up to 30 pounds and the SnugRide up to 35 pounds. In addition the "french roast" pattern was discontinued.

There is no particular reason why I chose to buy the two separately as opposed to in a set other than I liked the green and brown color better than any other Travel Systems I saw. It offered the same convenience as a Travel System though and really is no different.

Pros:

-The car seat goes up to 30 or 32 pounds - most other infant car seats only go up to 20-some pounds, so you'll get more time out of it.
- They both seem to be of great quality and very durable.

- Car seat adjusts easily

- When comparing how easy it is to move the carrying handle recently (compared to above brand), the Graco won hands down.

- Comes with a built-in head rest. This is nice because 'technically' you shouldn't be using a head rest/head positioner unless your car seat comes with one that is crash-tested.

- Window on the side to confirm that car seat is positioned correctly

- Easy to get car seat in and out of base

- Car Seat attaches easily to stroller and has locks to keep it in place

- Stroller is a great height for us - and seems like it wouldn't be too low for taller couples.

- Stroller moves easily - not difficult to steer.

- Convenient to leave baby in the car seat when sleeping or going in a restaurant.

Cons:

- Price! More expensive to buy the two pieces individually than in a set.

- Even though it holds babies up to 30 pounds, it's already getting heavy, so pretty impractical that we'll need it that long - it's not uncommon now for me to just carry him in a store, etc.

- Strollers storage basket on the bottom is not very large and barely holds my diaper bag

- Stroller seat needs to be straight up to get items into/out of the storage basket, but down to put the car seat in making it difficult to access quickly.

- While the harness system on the car seat is great, in general I'm not a huge fan of the harness system on the rest of my graco products. I still haven't totally figured out how to adjust the sizes and the way they fit together is almost annoying.

- Stroller is large and takes up a significant amount of space in your vehicle.

Would I recommend: I'm very torn about whether I'd recommend a Travel System to any one at all (no matter what the brand). Part of me loves it, part of me hates it - the car seat gets heavy quickly, the strollers are pretty bulky, but it's nice to be able to move baby easily while sleeping and I'm sure would be great to get him in his car seat inside during the winter instead of in the cold. If I had to recommend a Travel System though, I would say that the Graco brand is all around wonderful. To save some money though, try to find a pattern you like that comes in a set and be sure to check the weight capacity on the car seat to get more bang for your buck.

Introduction

The name of the blog pretty much says it all.

Alicia and Barbie will be blogging about things they use, pros and cons of these items and whether we would recommend them.

They will all be personal opinions. Alicia's opinions could be drastically different than Barbies, but we'll try to support our reasoning on both sides. Also, we'll try to provide links where you can find the items we're discussing, give a run down on pricing, quantities we'd recommend (if it's something that you'll need more than one of), etc. There are of course a ton of items that we'll need to catch up on, so if there's something in particular you're curious about, feel free to ask and we'll try to move it to the top of the list!

Another feature is that we'll try to compare and contrast brands (who has the best quality), pricing between brands (where can you get more bang for your buck?), and brand features (how they operate and which are more mom/dad friendly). So, in these posts it will be Barbie vs. Alicia discussing which they have and the pros and cons of their make/model.

Finally, there are a few things we'll touch on outside of actual store merchandise: homemade goodness, doctors and pediatricians, hospital experience, etc. Again, feel free to recommend a topic!