Thursday, March 11, 2010

Penny for your Thoughts

It's that time again...time to go shopping. And as much as I wish I was writing about an upcoming shopping spree at Bloomie's, sadly, it just isn't so. Instead it's time to hit the local baby stores for a few new items and I need your help finding the best products available.

Convertible Car Seats

Crammed into her current car seat tighter than a Kardashian in her skinny jeans, it's time to stop mushing the tush and purchase a new car seat with a little more real estate for Gillian Grace. But with hundreds of car seats with favorable reviews on the market, I'm not even sure where to begin. Can you help? What brand of seat did you purchase for your lil' one? Were you happy with it? What was the price? Would you purchase it again? Have friends or family members purchased a seat you would recommend?

Teething Toys (Sophie the Giraffe)
This toy gets more press on Mommy blogs than George Clooney at a neighborhood PTA meeting, so what's the deal? Besides being French and difficult to locate (I've called every baby boutique in our area), what makes this toy such a must have for teething babies?

Sippy Cups
A while back, I posted about Gillian's newest endeavor---drinking from a sippy cup. Although I still stand behind the afore mentioned Playtex Sipsters, these cups are simply too big and, once full of liquid, too heavy for Gilly's small hands. Another problem is that the Sipster's spout is so different from a bottle's nipple that it seems to confuse Gillian Grace. Instead of sucking, GG gnaws on the spout until she becomes so frustrated at the lack of flow that she tosses the cup to the floor. Which, as you may have guessed, is the end of that. What is your favorite brand of sippy cup and how did you help your wee one learn to drink from one?

Your Baby Can Read

If you have ever been awake scanning the television channels in the middle of the night (and what Mom hasn't) then you are probably familiar with this product. For years I've succumbed to products that lured me in with lofty promises only to wind up disappointed and a few dollars poorer. And as an educator, I must admit that I am both intrigued and skeptical of this program. Understanding that a baby's brain develops at a phenomenal pace, I agree with the program's main premise---"The best and easiest time to learn a language is during the infant and toddler years...when the brain is creating thousands of synapses, or connections, allowing a child to learn both the written word and spoken word simultaneously." I've watched the infomercial dozens of times and spent time perusing the website, as well as reading online reviews. The mixed reviews on the program have given me pause as to the program's overall effectiveness. Never having spoken with anyone that has actually used this product is yet another reason why the credit card has remained tucked way in my wallet. Have you heard of this product? Have you used this product yourself or know of someone that has? If not this product, what strategies, products, and/or programs did you find helpful when teaching your child his/her first words and letter recognition?

Other Products
Every mother has them, the go-to products that they can't imagine living without. For me, it's GG's Chicco DJ baby walker, Floppy seat cover, and our Bumbleride Indie jogging stroller. What are your favorite baby products?

Be sure to give me your two cents...

Photobucket
Not ready for an evening in the ER, giving Gillybean real pennies was simply not an option. So a jumbo penny it had to be. And yes, I did have a little extra time on my hands today, don't hate!

3 comments:

Carey said...

Girl I've got some thoughts for u :) I have a 15 month old so buying a convertible car seat is fresh on my mind...believe it or not I can't remember the exact kind I got. I do like it a lot. Its very safe, has a cup holder (a must), and seems to be comfy for my lo. I'll look at it tomorrow and get u the name
As for sippy cups my lil girl actually likes the straw ones best. It was a last ditch effort. I had tried every kind under the sun...she had major trouble tilting them up at first so the straw helped a lot with that :)
Lastly I do know a couple people who have the baby can read...I wouldn't recommend it. First off my degree is in child development and it is true that our brains are hard wired to learn language from birth to about 5. That's why children can learn multiple languages simply by hearing them being spoken. But the best learning takes place with one on one, face to face interaction. There is actually no such thing as educational tv for babies.
Babies brains simply can't take in all the stimuli that the lights, sound and moving pictures that a tv provides. It overstimulates them and has been tied to many detrimental things (ADD to name one)
So if u want lil gillybean to learn language talk to her all the time, read to her, play with her! That's how she'll learn best. I don't want in any way for that to sound judgemental...I just wish everyone knew that our kiddos really just need us and our attention & love to thrive! Hope that helps
Love reading your blog!

The Regal Pup said...

Let me know what you find out about the sippy cup, because we have the exact same problem.

Also, we haven't transitioned into the convertible seat yet - soon though. But, we bought the Britax Boulevard one after several recommendations.

Amy said...

When my daughter grew out of her infant carrier, we bought the Graco My Ride 65. Its middle of the line, cute, and its good until they hit 65lbs.

My daughter never took a spout sippy cup. I tried around 6 months, but she just didn't understand to tip it upward. After numerous cups, I tried a straw cup. Ta-Da! We use the Munchkin straw cups (they have Dora or Diego on them). I also use the Tossable cups with straws for milk because getting milk out of those Munchkin straws is just a pain.

I've heard awesome things about Sophie. I'll probably try that with #2... but for Olivia the best thing that helped her was those netted feeders with frozen fruits in them. They're messy, but she loved them and the cold helped her be pain free for a bit.