My son now has his very own umbrella! I thought this one looked cute online, but it was even better in person! Light in weight, so it is easy for my toddler to control it, but quite sturdy. He is able to open and close it by himself. The tips of the spokes have plastic balls on them, so he cannot poke himself in the eye.  My little guy walked around the apartment with this umbrella for a couple of days until we got some rain and he had a chance for a real test drive. This was definitely a great buy! He keeps asking for it whenever something reminds him of an umbrella and will play with it for about 20 minutes, which is super long in toddler time!

Tiny Love has recalled it’s wind chime toys because if the toy is pulled apart, metal rods would be exposed, posing puncture and laceration hazards to the baby. The recall involves wind chime toys sold separately, with the Gymini Kick and Play Activity Gym and Tiny Smarts Gift Sets.

For more information from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission,  click here.

My 20 month old son loves music and especially loves when my husband plays guitar. My son is able to name a song which he wants to hear and my husband is able to play it and change the tune as fast as my son can name the next one. It is amazing to watch the two of them, as if they’re in their own little world, full of happiness and music.

As my son is getting older, he tries to imitate his parents more and more, it’s a phase of social development when kids get to “try on different hats” and see what type of response they get. For the holidays, he received a gift that seems to have topped all other gifts. It is his own, little, toddler sized acoustic guitar. It has 6 real metal strings, comes with a pick and an extra string. Although it goes out of tune pretty quickly, my son absolutely LOVES it. He can be just like his papa. He has been strumming it and singing for 5 days straight. He carries it all around the apartment, climbs onto furniture with it, has to have it in sight when he is eating, and loves to play it together with his dad. Even if there is no musician in your family, I think your toddler would enjoy this toy. However, if there is a guitar playing family member, you will have absolutely no regrets about this purchase!

With the cold season just around the corner, I thought I’d post about a useful product to help keep your baby warm. When my son was just a tiny infant last winter, I felt that just having him in lined pants was not enough to keep his little legs warm while outside. I bought a couple of pairs of “boy colored” tights for him to wear under his pants, which were great while outside, but were a bit of a hassle to remove when we got to our indoor destinations. That’s when I discovered BabyLegs! These are adorable leg warmers which for an infant cover the legs from thigh to ankle. They are easily removed without having to take off the child’s pants when getting to a class or some place where you want to stay for a while. These come in many fun prints to keep their little legs toasty and stylish.

I purchased a Chicco C6 umbrella stroller a few months ago for the purpose of having a lightweight, compactly collapsible stroller for travel and running quick errands around town. Overall it is a nice stroller, easy to push, very light-weight (11 lbs), has a slight recline feature, and comes with a travel bag and carry strap, which can be attached to the stroller or the bag. It seems quite durable, and my 16 month old son loves to sit in it. He gets excited when he sees the stroller and climbs right in. The one main negative aspect that I have found is that the handles are a bit low. I’m 5′5″ and when walking with this stroller for a while, my back begins to ache. It is certainly too low and uncomfortable for my husband to push (he’s 5′11″). Other cons are that I end up kicking the wheels when pushing the stroller and the shopping basket is quite small. Overall it is a good stroller and well priced for a sturdy light weight category, however, after a few months I am considering trading it in for something with higher handles.

We have recently received the Melissa and Doug deluxe latches board as a gift and it is an excellent toy. We have several wooden puzzles and this one seems to hold greatest interest for my 14 month old son. I must mention that he loves locks, keys and any little metal thing that he can fiddle with. The toy is educational; kids will learn colors, numbers, and various animals. They will also work on their fine and gross motor skills while learning how to open and close six types of different latches. The board also functions as a good memory game: we ask my son to show us which house the dogs live in, or the fish… The toy says it is for ages 3 and up, but my 14 month old loves it and so I highly recommend it!

I have recently discovered infant/toddler shoes  called preschoolians. There is quite a wide selection of boys’ and girls’ styles on their website, and they even have an option to design your own. The shoes have soft, flexible soles and are light weight. The coolest part about these is the VisuFit clear window at the toes on the sole of the shoe. When the shoe insert is removed, you can literally see where your child’s toes reach in the shoe and decide if it’s time to get the next size. The shoes also come with inserts of variying widths so you can choose the one that best fits your child’s foot. To make sure you order the correct sized shoe, you can contact the company and they will send you a measuring device and instructions aboslutely free. I ordered a pair for my son (early walker) and I absolutely love them. At first I thought they were too big, but after reading the instructions on the website, the toes are supposed to only come to a certain line on the VisuFit window, and he does not trip when walking in them, so they are appropriately sized.

The Radio Flyer Classic Walker Wagon is an excellent product. We bought it for our son’s first birthday and he LOVES it. He plays with it every day. He is not yet walking on his own, but he enjoys walking around with this wagon. His favorite thing to do is to climb in and out of it and there is no greater happiness than sitting in the wagon and being pushed from one side of the room to the other. Unlike many push toys out there, this one does not tip when my son leans on it. The wheels have a “push-back” mechanism, which prevents them from moving too fast, even on bare wood floors (we don’t have carpeting). The wheels are rubberized and roll quetly, except for the clicking of the “push-back” pegs (which can be removed). There is plastic rounded bumper on the front, so if the child walks into furniture or walls, it leaves no scratches. The wagon provides an opportunity to practice climbing in and out (which involves some problem solving on my son’s part). It can also be filled with his favorite toys (in our case I fill and he empties). This is a fantastic first walker/toy, definitely worth the price.

When you’re pregnant, you suddenly discover a whole new world of shopping that consists of baby related products. This may be a very new area to you and it can be overwhelming. If you’re anything like me, you will probably want to research categories and types of products before your baby arrives, so that you can decide what you need, what you want, and what is just unnecessary. Of course, every situation is different and that is why there are tons and tons of products on the market.

A couple of books that I found helpful in my research, were: Baby Bargains by Denise Fields and the Consumer Reports Best Baby Products. New editions of these books are printed every year or two, to ensure that you get the latest information. These really helped me to make decisions for some of the larger purchases. Reading through these books educated me on what is out there and helped me focus to what features to look for in particular products. Another very helpful tool was reading through people’s product reviews on Amazon.com. Although I think dissatisfied customers are more likely to want to complain and write bad reviews, there are many helpful reviewers out there. All that said, it’s a good idea to actually go to a store and see some of these products, play with them and decide if they are right for you.

This is a brief update to my recent post about the Skip Hop changing pad.

The company replaced my damaged changing pad with a brand new one in about a week and paid for all shipping! Thanks Skip Hop! I’ll continue to buy and use their products knowing that the company has a commitment to quality and customer service.

Unlike some manufacturers who are difficult to reach, I was easily able to find all the contact information I needed, directly on the company’s website,  www.skiphop.com, (under “customer care”) This will take you to a page listing their phone number, fax, and email address, as well as frequently asked questions. There is also a PDF of the return/exchange form. This was a very positive experience.