Entertainment Galore!

Before little Spencer arrived Chris and I always said we wouldn't be those parents who have giant brightly coloured plastic toys cluttering up our home. Naturally we wanted Spencer to have toys for his entertainment, mental and physical stimulation... but did we really need any of those monster play contraptions? Well, let's just say we made a few compromises! Not only is it super fun to watch Spencer play and learn I was surprised by how much time these entertainment units bought us. At 5 months old Spencer is circuit training! While I get a little tidying done Spencer starts out in his Baby Einstein Exersaucer, moves to his Giddy-Up Jumperoo and then he enjoys a little time in his rocker chair. The way I see it- we will have these somewhat large units in the house for such a short period of time. While they are here Spencer is entertained and learning fine motor skills etc. while we have the chance to get a few things done. It's a win win situation!

Fisher-Price, Giddy-up Jumperoo
Spencer loves his little pony! The Giddy-up Jumperoo is not only cute it includes a motion sensor, so when baby jumps up and down they will be rewarded with horsey animal sound effects and fun music. This is a huge hit with baby. Thankfully the audio is cute and not too loud or annoying for Mom and Dad. Spencer also enjoys playing with the bead bar and spinning toy. This jumperoo includes a 3 position height adjustment and a frame that folds down for storage and portability. Baby will get good use out of this item from ages 4/5 months to 7/8 months old. Then you can pass it on or re-sell.

Baby Einstein, Exersaucer
Spencer very happily spends loads of time in the exersaucer. It offers so many entertainment options. There is classical music, animal sounds, a puppet, rubbery and fabric chewing toys, spinning visual and audio stimulation toys. Your baby will also learn shapes and colours all the while they are getting exercise and having a blast! This exersaucer is another one of my must-have-items. Spencer started using his exersaucer for small periods of time once he reached 4 months old. His love for this unit has grown over the months. At 6 months he mastered the use of all the activities. he still loves his exersaucer but I imagine he will lose interest at around 8/9 months once he starts crawling.



Bumbo Seat
This squishy little seat helps baby sit up on their own at a very young age. Spencer was super pleased the first time he sat in his seat. He could hardly believe that he was doing it on his own. So cute! What I especially like about this seat is that you can bring it to restaurants. There is this phase where baby is too small to fit into a restaurant highchair. This is where the Bumbo comes in. So long as you have a booth or seat with arms it is safe to use the Bumbo in lieu of a highchair. Do get a tray- it's great for holding toys. Keep in mind too that this is a good item to find used on Craigs List. It's kind of costly brand new and it's super easy to wash-up a used one. I like that buying and re-selling used baby stuff is another great way to do our part for the environment. You can expect to make use of this seat from age 3 months to about 6/7 months. Spencer started pulling his tray off at 6 months and by 7 months he pulled himself up and out of the seat by arching his back!


Baby Bouncer Chair
Baby bouncer/rocker chairs are fabulous. They offer a sitting up position and toys for entertainment plus a reclining position with a comfy seat for relaxation. You can easily bring these seats with you to family and friends places. When Spencer was really little he would sit in his seat while we ate dinner. Or if he is tired and needs a little wind-down-time and we are working on preparing dinner Spencer is quite comfy reclining in this chair watching the action. We have the Fisher Price chair. It works well and Spencer loves it. I later came across the Svan Bouncer. A beautifully designer version. Yes, it does come with little hoops to dangle some toys too! Nice design- double the $$ though. Once baby is finished with it you could re-sell on Craigs List. You can expect baby to use these rockers/bouncers from new born to 4/6 months old.

Fisher Price Rocker Chair
Svan Bouncer


Fisher-Price, Rainforest Playmat
This was Spencer's first play-thing. He was two months old when we introduced it to him. He loved the music and did the cutest little jig that looked something like the baby version of "River Dance". Too funny! Even at nearly 6-months old he still likes this toy! However this toys was best used between 2-4 months old.


Infant Swing
In my opinion every new baby and new parent needs an infant swing. Before baby is old enough to be entertained with toys the swing will sooth and entertain them as you get a few things done around the house or sit to eat dinner. You can easily move the swing into the kitchen or next to the dinning table. We made good use of our 9 year old hand-me-down swing! It is very similar to the one shown in the picture below. It's unique in that it can swing in two directions. Baby can swing from side-to-side. A comforting motion that mimics the walking motion they felt while in-utero. Spencer enjoyed his swing from day one up until he was 4 months old.

One Car Seat, Two Car Seat, Three Car Seat... Four?

The car seat. In my opinion the most important safety item you will buy for your little one. Safety, comfort, ease of use and longevity of use- all very important things to consider when looking for the ideal seat.

Infant Car Seat


Choosing an infant seat was easy for us. We went with the seat that received top honors for safety and also rated the highest on various review sites. This infant seat is very user friendly. I loved the "stay in car base".The Graco Snugride also happened to be compatible with our strollers clip and go system. A huge bonus! If baby is sleeping you can keep them in the car seat- just remove the seat from the base and clip baby onto your stroller or carry the seat. All the while baby remains snug and happily sleeping.

We paid just under $200 for this seat. Being that Spencer is in the 97th percentile for height he outgrew his seat in just 3 months! A baby can outgrow this seat pretty quickly. However I imagine it could last the average baby a few months longer than it did ours. Spencer is finished with his infant seat and it is like new. Many people sell their used car seats on websites such as Craigs List. Beware- it is not recommended to purchase a used car seat unless you personally know the previous owner. If a car seat has endured even a minor accident the safety of your baby can be compromised. It's not worth the risk.


Baby & Toddler Convertible Car Seat


After a month of searching for the ideal 2nd stage car seat we settled on the Britax Diplomat. This car seat won us over for a number of reasons. For starters Britax seats (pronounced Br-eye-tax)are considered some of the safest car seats on the market. Secondly their seats received top honours in every review I read. Over and over again parents expressed their love for these seats. They noted ease of use, safety, quality and comfort. I really like the head and body cushions. They keep Spencer snug and offer a place for him to rest his head while sleeping. Also, the height of this seat is great- he loves to look out the window on long drives.

We bought our Britax at Jack & Lola's for $275 plus taxes. We will most likely buy our next seat from them too. Chris and I really appreciated the customer service at Jack and Lola's. Plus they have a small parking lot beside the shop where you can try the floor model car seat in your vehicle. After reading various online reviews that stated the importance of the car seat being "compatible" with your vehicle I thought we had best try the seat before making the purchase. Plus leg room was a concern of ours. After trying the Britax Boulevard (our 1st choice) we decided to go with the slightly smaller Britax Diplomat. It's the exact same seat in nearly every way but one. The Boulevard will hold a child up to 65lbs. where as the Diplomat goes up to 40 lbs.. We are pretty confident that Spencer will outgrow his seat in height well before he reaches 65lbs. and so we decided to go with the Diplomat.

The Diplomat features True Side Impact Protection with deep side walls and head support to provide advanced protection in side impact collisions. Easy-turn knob quickly adjusts headrest and harness height without having to uninstall the seat. This feature is a huge bonus! In two months we have used it three times. Removing the seat to adjust the harness height would be a real pain. Especially since each time I've noticed Spencer needed a harness height adjustment I was on my way to a time sensitive appointment. The tangle-free, five-point harness ensures a snug and secure fit. Premium push-button lower connectors provide a quick, simple and tight installation. Unique features include the patented Versa-Tether for energy management, one-hand recline adjustment for child comfort, and a body pillow for positioning. This seat is also certified for aircraft travel. The Diplomat fits children rear facing from 5 to 30 lbs/22"-30" and children forward facing from at least one year old and 20 lbs, up to 40 lbs./27"-40". The Diplomat is made in the USA with U.S. and global components. You can find crash test results and video demos on their website.

One car seat, two car seat... what will number three be? Maybe the Britax Frontier? We'll see! As for number four. I'm hoping booster seat selection will be as easy as it sounds.

The Sassy Bird

The Sassy Bird is another one of Spencer's favorite teething toys. This cute little toy has a variety of textures for baby to explore from smooth curvy wood to a colourful tail made of satin and terry cloth fabrics that give a crinkle sound when touched. This toy is loads of fun for baby to explore and easy to toss into the diaper bag!

Baby Sleepwares

When Spencer was a new baby he found much comfort in being swaddled for sleep time. The moment he was swaddled he knew it was time for bed. He would sigh, close his eyes, and drift off to sleep. There was one short lived phase where he didn't like his arms swaddled but thankfully it passed quickly. Without the arms swaddled many new babies continually startle themselves awake. Once the startle reflex is gone (at approx. 3-months) we moved Spencer into a sleep sack. The sleep sack is great! The transition from swaddle to sleep sack was easy. Spencer understood that this was a part of his bedtime routine and seemed to welcome the change. I like that the sleep sack is much safer than loose blankets. Not to mention blankets just get kicked off. Costco has the best 100% cotton sleeper pj's with feet called Pekkle. Not only are they super-cute, they fit nicely and are only $8.00 per sleeper! Spencer has some Classic Pooh sleepers and a few other brands of sleepers that I really like... but at $20 per sleeper x6-8 per age stage it adds up quickly. At 5-months old Spencer is already in his 9-month old sleepers. So we have been through MANY sets already.

Kiddopotamus Swaddle


Sleep Sack

Diapering Follow-up

Spencer is only 5 months old... and yet it feels as though I have changed a million diapers! I now feel fully experienced and ready to write my follow-up post on diapering. The following is an outline of my personal experiences using a variety of earth and baby friendly diapers.

Fuzzi Bunz

I love these diapers! They are user-friendly, earth-friendly,baby-friendly and you can really count on them to perform. I always thought that cloth would be a pain to deal with out side of the home. Not so. I'm happy not to leave dirty diapers at anyone's house. We simply zip the diaper and re-usable bum cloth into an air tight washable bag and deal with them when we get home. Easy-peasy! As much as I love Fuzzi Bunz these diapers have thrown me a few monkey wrenches. For starters- be sure to put your new diapers and liners through 3 hot water washes before putting them into use. The more they are washed the more absorbent they become. Do not pre-wash a new hemp or bamboo liner with your diapers as their oils will cause your diapers to repel moisture. If you have a front loader washer you must find a way to get more water into your diaper wash and/or do smaller loads. I found this out the hard way! What happens is the front loader machine takes in little water and you end up putting in too much soap... then the diapers end up having a soap build-up issue which causes repelling and a terrible ammonia smell. I now put the diapers on the "towel" mode which means more water. I add very little of the recommended Nature Clean Laundry Powder (you should see no bubbling through glass window) and then do one more full hot wash but with no soap just baking soda and vinegar. 1/4 cup or each. This releases any soap that may not have rinsed out during the first wash. Ever since I've started this routine all has been good. Lastly, being that cloth diapers do not contain moisture wicking gels (more on this chemical in my previous post) it is important to be sure baby is dry before the diaper goes on. Even after drying baby off their crevices can be slightly tacky. This can cause diaper rash. In order to avoid rashing I give Spencer diaper free time and also use a little corn starch. Corn starch acts as a chemical/perfume free baby powder and works wonders! Fuzzi Bunz do cost $22.99 per diaper (you will need x12 for a daily wash routine). Making them the most expensive upfront... but they are also the most cost effective in long run. You can even re-sell your used diapers on Craig's List once you are finished with them. It's no different than someone using a diaper services used diapers. Check out New & Green Baby Company for the purchase of your Fuzzi Bunz. They are a great local cloth diapering company!

Moltex OKO

Chris and I found these diapers at Choices Market. They are a fully baby and earth healthy compostable diaper! I keep a package of these on hand for two reasons. It's good to keep a couple back-up diapers in the diaper bag plus these diapers can be used with diaper creams. Diaper rash cremes are not allowed in most cloth diapers. The creams can cause moisture repelling issues. (Note: make sure you wash any bum cloths that have come in contact with rash creams separate from cloth diapers!) Although these diapers are all the way from Germany they are actually slightly cheaper than the other environmentally friendly disposable diapers. All that said, disposable diapering of any kind remains the most costly to the earth and pocket book in the long run.

gDiapers

These were a great transition diaper for Spencer. Once he outgrew the new born disposables but was a little too small for the small Fuzzi Bunz we moved him into the gDiapers. These diapers are a semi-disposable that consist of a cloth outer with a flush-able insert. I found these diapers to be good some days and leaky on other days. A friend who has a girl seemed to have better luck with them. I was told by the gDiaper customer care reps. to make sure all baby boy "equipment" is facing south when doing up the diaper and also make sure that the waste band isn't too tight... I tried this and found less leakage. Although a somewhat costly system- similar in cost to disposables. I believe these diapers are better than disposables on many levels- healthier for baby and the environment too. Baby gDiapers are my #1 choice for someone who is apartment living and without in-suite laundry! No stinky diaper pail, flushable/biodegradable inserts with a cloth cover that needs washing every 3-4 uses. Great system!

Seventh Generation

These diapers were alright for disposables. I liked that they were small enough for a new born, could be folded down to avoid the umbilical chord area, and that they were non-toxic to baby and the earth (to a certain degree). What I didn't like was that they were not compostable or biodegradable... and big "messes" often equaled a leaky diaper. If I were to do it over again I would once again choose a baby and earth friendly disposable for the new born phase. Either Seventh Generation or Moltex OKO. This is a phase where you will want to just toss your used diapers in the trash. For starters you are still healing and don't need the extra laundry duty. Newborns have very frequent BM's! Secondly the newborn black-tar-like BM's are difficult to get out of cloth diapers.

Under the Nile Santa

Under the Nile Organic Cotton Santa
The perfect teething toy for the holidays! Just the right size for baby's little hands. This tiny Santa is made of 100% organic cotton terry cloth with non-toxic dyes. Spencer loves chewing on the end of his touque! The terry cloth teether is a nice compliment to the rubber Sophie La Girafe teether. The variety in texture keeps Spencer occupied and happy.

Aside from Santa, Under The Nile has all kinds of cloth teether dolls. You can find these dolls online and in various stores around Vancouver.

The Perfect Not So Perfect Blankie

This little blue crocheted blanket was made for Spencer by my Mom aka Nana. My sister was the first to receive a mini-blanket for her daughter. As it were, the blanket was supposed to be much larger. My sister said this mini-blanket "mistake" was the best thing ever! At only 24"x36" it was the perfect size for the car seat and stroller. So she told Nana that Spencer must have one. It turns out this little blanket has become Spencer's primary blanket. I too love the size! It's just right for a little baby. I also like that it doesn't pose a suffocation hazard. All those little holes in the weave allow lots of oxygen flow.Here's a picture of Spencer with his blankie. I think he really likes it too. :)

Sophie La Girafe

We can't get enough of this lovely little giraffe teething toy! In light of my last post on toxic baby toys- I especially love that Sophie is non-toxic and natural. She is also lots of fun. Spencer likes her little squeak, how easy she is to hold onto and the little nooks and crannies make her easy to chew on. I think the rubber texture feels good on his itchy gums. You can find Sophie La Girafe at Jack & Lola's and many other baby shops throughout Vancouver and online.


Sophie La Giraffe
Born in 1961, her success is legendary in France. Made in the French Alps with natural rubber and non-toxic paint, Sophie has been safely cuddled and chewed for over 40 years! The famous giraffe ‘Sophie’, in natural rubber (phthalate-free) is soft, light, and easy to grasp and fits perfectly into little hands. Sophie is loveable and amusing. She even makes a happy sound when squeezed. Babies especially love her bumpy head to soothe their teething gums.
Over 600,000 Sophies are sold EACH YEAR in France!
Sophie is 7 inches tall and good for babies ages 0-12 months and up.

In The News: Canada still sells toys banned in Europe

Dr. Paul Johnston, a Greenpeace toxiologist, holds toys that the organization says contain PVC.
Photograph by : Ian Smith

Canada still sells toys banned in Europe
By Sarah Schmidt/Canwest News Service and Mary Frances HillDecember 7, 2008

OTTAWA - Despite a decade-old voluntary ban in North America, Health Canada tests found three-quarters of soft plastic toys and items on sale for young children in Canada contained toxic chemical additives known to cause reproductive harm in children.

Phthalates, a chemical family used to soften plastic toys, were found at elevated levels in the department's sampling of 54 of 72 products made of the widely used plastic known as polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

The toys, for children ages three and under, included soft vinyl ones likely to be mouthed, like bath toys, and items designed for infants to help in feeding or sleeping .

The levels ranged from 0.2 to 39.9 per cent by weight of the PVC in the products.

All these toys and children's products with added phthalates for sale in Canada have been banned by the European Union since 1999. In the United States, a ban modelled on the European prohibition comes into effect in February. In these jurisdictions, phthalates concentrations cannot exceed 0.1 per cent.

Health Canada conducted the market survey in the last year to find out whether toys banned in Europe were still readily available in Canada, and to "understand what manufacturers are using instead of phthalates," according to minutes of a meeting of Health Canada officials released under Access to Information.

The department declined to release further details about brands and retailers, but said no enforcement action was necessary because the products are legal in Canada.

"What these results mean is that many toys on sale in Canada are illegal to sell in the European Union and George Bush's government has said that they are too toxic to be on sale in the U.S. as of February. So why do Canadian kids deserve less protection than George Bush is giving to American children?" asked Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.

Phthalates are not chemically bound to the plastic toys to which they're added, so they continuously leach from the products. The process speeds up when young children mouth or suck on items like rubber ducks and other bath toys.

Phthalates worry David Vaisbord, a Vancouver filmmaker and father of two young children. His 19-month-old son Julian is often tempted to test new and foreign objects on his tongue. "I do wonder what's in plastic toys," Vaisbord said.

Like many parents, he said, he's become more alert to the dangers of additives since the crisis over tainted dairy products in China, and Canada's banning of the chemical bisphenol-A from plastic products.

"The whole situation about the Chinese milk, and the BPA in plastic bottles really raised my consciousness. I haven't microwaved anything in plastic for the last five years. I'm really paranoid about it."

mfhill@vancouversun.com
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