Articles for the ‘Product Reviews’ category

Maclaren Stroller Recall

November 10th, 2009

In  shocking announcement yesterday, Maclaren, a British luxury stroller brand, announced that it was recalling 1 million strollers – Every stroller that it has ever sold in the United States. 10 years worth of strollers.  I had heard rumors that a stroller recall was coming, but 1 million strollers?  All day yesterday, I tried off and on to go to Maclaren’s website, but their site was overloaded with traffic and I couldn’t get the page to load.  After a bit of research, it appears that when opening and closing the umbrella stroller there is a point at the middle of the stroller where little fingers can get pinched.  12 children have had their fingers amputated in the past 10 years.  This is horrifying news.  It wasn’t until I saw this video on abc.com explaining how it could happen that I understood.  When opening and closing the stroller, if a child were to have their hand on one of the bars of the stroller, at the same time it was opened or closed, it would be very easy to have a finger pinched, or worse, if their hands were in the wrong spot and subjected to the force of the collapsing stroller.  If you have a Maclaren stroller, please get your kit quickly and do not use your stroller until you have installed it.

While I am very glad that Maclaren is voluntarily offering free kits to all stroller owners, I am curious to know how long they have known about this problem.  I am surprised at how many recalls there are on products for children.  It seems like there is something very dangerous revealed all the time.  Two months ago, there was a second warning on close-sleeper convertable cribs by Simplicity. Those injuries were even more shocking as babies could potentially get caught in the crib rails and suffocate.  Two babies have already died in this crib. What is especially horrifying, is that the parent company is refusing to cooperate with the government.  They are not recalling the cribs.

It certainly is interesting to see how these two companies are handling the issue of safety very differently.  I do hope that this voluntary recall will strengthen people’s support of Maclaren and belief that this company is working hard to create safe products.  Simplicity is now out of business.  Their assets were purchased by SFCA, but reportedly, they are not responding to concerns by their customers, the government or the public.

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Shopping for Spices

October 20th, 2009
image courtesy of Penzeys Spices

image courtesy of Penzeys Spices

If you ignore your spices and use whatever you have on hand, you will be in for a treat if you splurged (just a little!) and bought fresh, fragrant spices from this wonderful store.  Penzey’s Spices has a successful mail order business, but in the past few years they started opening stores all over the country.  Bella and I are in DC this week visiting her grandparents and I had to go visit the Rockville, MD store in person.

I easily could have gone wild, but I gave myself a 20 minute time limit and a $20 budget.  I came in under budget at about $16.  I am really pleased with what I bought:

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Prince Lionheart bebePod PLUS | Product Review

August 28th, 2009

We have been so happy with our Prince Lionheart bebePod PLUS.We started using the chair when Bella was about 4 months old. It was a great way to prop her up and let her see what was going on. She loved the view and she felt very secure. In the beginning, we used the little rubber cap that locks into place. This was great for her to hold on to as she kept her balance. As she grew older, we started using the tray. The chair comes with a Sassy toy that snaps into place and also two beautiful place mats. The toy is great to spin around, for teething and general amusement. It does not have any annoying electronic bells and whistles, so it isn’t a toy that will annoy adults. It comes in beautiful vibrant colors. We have the Watermelon Red at home and the Orange at Nana’s house. While the chair is meant to be used on the floor, it was also great during dinner as Hubby and I enjoyed eating our dinner and interacting with our most entertaining centerpiece on the dining room table.

The beautiful place mats were the only (very minor) disappointment. Despite being quite beautiful, they are pretty useless. The problem is that there isn’t anything to grip them to the tray! So, Bella just pulls it up and throws it to the side. Sometimes, she’ll chew it. Which is funny most times, but really quite amusing when there is food on the tray, as everything goes flying… Oh well… I wish that Prince Lionheart would attach something that would hook into the holes on the tray that hold the spinning toy. That would be easy to solve and it would be perfect.

The one concern that I have about the chair is that once your baby becomes strong and mobile, you really do need to keep an eye on your baby and always nearby. When she grows tired of being in the chair, she will strain against the confines and she has flipped the chair over while still locked in it. She was fine, just a little shaken up, but of course, not as shaken as I. We still love the chair and use it frequently, but with caution. I remove her as soon as I notice that she wants to get out. Do not leave your child unattended in this chair, but you wouldn’t do that anyway, would you?

The chair’s material is very firm and supportive, but also will give with pressure and is soft. It is extremely easy to clean. I have found that it is very easy to clean the tray in the dishwasher.

NextTopMom Verdict

Appropriate age: 4 months+
Ease of Use: 5
Value: 5
Baby Loves it: 5
Mama Loves it: 4
Overall: 5


Where 1 is Not Recommended and 5 is Highly Recommended

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Snack Trap | Product Review

August 27th, 2009

I love our Snack Trap. We bought it recently after hearing from other parents that their babies liked it, but I had no idea we would fall in love. Honestly, it is a simple little thing. It isn’t complicated. It isn’t expensive. It isn’t chic. But we love it.

The Snack Trap is a plastic bowl with two handles and a lid that allows little hands in to retrieve snacks, but when tossed around, the snacks won’t fall out. This is great because Bella can crawl around carrying her little bowl of treats around the living room and have a snack when she wants. It won’t make a mess when it is toppled over. It is amazing how much frustration is avoided by allowing her access to her own snacks. I would recommend using a few little baby teether linksto strap the trap to the stroller, the car seat or the high chair. When your baby decides to fling it, it can’t go far. When she decides that she wants it again, she can pull it back up.

This is a great product for those independent babies who don’t want to sit down long enough to eat, but Mama is worried about the baby not eating enough.  If you have tried to drive in rush hour traffic with a baby who is screaming because she knows that you alone hold the key to more Cheerios, this product is for you.  No more contorting your body while driving, reaching to the back seat to hand off a few bits of cereal.

While this Snack Trap is considerably less messy than a simple bowl of Cheerios, this Snack Trap is not mess free.  The Snack Trap will not create a mess for you, but your baby might.  I’ve noticed that when Bella is no longer hungry, she will continue to reach into the bowl.   Just for fun, she will toss them into the air and watch them fall to the ground.  Then do it again.  The minor inconvenience of a few stray Cheerios is nothing in exchange for fewer crying spells throughout the day.  Perhaps she is just practicing for her chance to be a Flower Girl.   I’d say she is well on her way.

Appropriate age:  12 months +

On a scale of 1-5, 1 is Not Recommended and 5 is Highly Recommended
Ease of Use: 5
Value: 5
Baby Loves it: 5
Mama Loves it: 5
Overall: 5

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