Healthy Tot

Cribs~ toxin-free choices for your babe

Published

on August 19, 2008

. 0 Comments

My other sister in-law is pregnant!!!! So excited, can’t tell you how happy I am about having another little one in the family. In all of the new conversations we’ve been having about what they’ll need and what they are looking at, she was telling me that her husband in thinking about making their crib. Wow! I was impressed. Now he is a crafty guy, diligent in reading about all the safety specs and looking into sustainable wood and VOC free finishes. I am all for it, especially the thought of a lovingly made crib by a father, but I need to tell you he’s working full time as an architect and is getting his second master’s degree and they are looking for a new house. So I understand why my sister in-law hesitates with the idea. I have no doubt in my mind he will do it in time and beautifully, but I know she wants to spend some time with her man before the little one arrives. Their search goes beyond the typical questions, side drop? stationary side? convertible? style? color?

So I have looked for some options for them to check out. A head spinning search, there are not many choices that fall under all categories of toxin free (that would include no MDF, formaldehyde free, low or free of VOCs). Many that I found are pretty expensive, but from my research they are following the same guidelines that he has in mind.
Q Collection Junior, earth and baby safe (sans toxins), and slick style, but one of the most expensive I found
Oeuf Cribs, great modern style and toxin free, baby safe
Pacific Rim Natural Crib - Arts & Crafts 1400, baby safe, simple traditional styling and can be ordered unfinished
Sahara Crib by Argington modern design, also seems to comply with most of the non-toxic requirements

Another must for the green baby’s new crib- an organic mattress.
Naturepedic Crib Mattresses
Check out these informative articles from The Daily Green, Safe Mama and The Soft Landing about safer mattresses and cribs.

As always, have an opinion on a green or natural crib? Or have you made your own earth and baby safe crib- we’d love to hear about it.

Rainforest Jumperoo

Published

Albert

on August 15, 2008

in toys

. 2 Comments

My wife and her mom just bought a “Rainforest Jumperoo” by Fisher Price for our daughter and she absolutely loves it. This morning I returned to my task of Daddy Daycare after a week off while my wife transitioned jobs, and my daughter was crying so much I was a bit worried she had forgotten me! I figured I’d let her try out the Jumperoo and see if that cheered her up. That was about 30 minutes ago and she’s been smiling and having fun ever since - and so I feel quite relieved! Note - I have no relation with Fisher Price at all, my daughter just really likes this thing!

I think its especially cool because it gives her a chance to try out standing up. When I hold her up to stand, she really loves that.

Toys for a road trip

Published

amy

on August 5, 2008

in Uncategorized and toys

. 1 Comment

We are about to head out for a week long road trip to Maine. It will be a combination of vacation to visit some family and attend my cousin’s wedding, where my 2.5 year old daughter will be a flower girl. Yes, we’ll have to see how that goes. But it is about a four hour trip in the car for us and this week I have been brainstorming on what to bring her for car entertainment. (we do not have a car DVD and am resisting the purchase, I am not totally against them, I would definitely get it if we were on a x-country trip)

So I headed to my neighborhood toy store Creatoyvity in Providence, . The store is small but the selection is big so I know I will always find something to fit my request. I hunted around the store, and the first thing that caught my eye was a vinyl sticky board. They had these when I was a kid, made by Colorforms. This one, made by Mudpuppy has a fold out board and pictures of people and items that can decorate the room pictured on the board, they call it a play scene. It looks so cool, some of the cutouts are pretty small, so they might get lost or eaten so use you best judgement if your kido puts lots in their mouth still.

Next I grabbed a ring flash card set, also made by Mudpuppy, this one was for the alphabet, but there was an array of subjects that will appeal to just about any kid. I liked the ring, because she won’t play 26 card pick-up with them. They look easy to hold and manipulate on her own.

I wanted one more attention occupier… so I turned to the staff and explained my objective. Helpful and nice, they brought me over to a display with a bunch of car friendly toys. There was one brand in particular Lauri, that had a number a good traveling toys. There were small rubber puzzles, lace cards, stacking pegs, peel and stick boards, and more. I decided on the Primer Pack. It had a good selection of items, lace cards, a rubber alphabet puzzle, and some simple small puzzles. To top it off it comes in a little carrying case my daughter will easy tote around. Want to know more cool stuff about this company, the toys are made in the USA and they sell replacement pieces!

I am not giving her these new toys until we hit the road, that way they will be more exciting and attention grabbing. I suggest doing the same, the entertainment value is higher on something that is new to them. You need not buy new, you can always borrow something from a friend to accomplish this, or make it, here’s how to make your own lacing cards. Buy some thick, colorful card stock and cut out some fun shapes, punch holes long the edge of the shape, get some yarn and cut about 14-18 and finish the ends with scotch tape. And they’re ready to get lacing!

More ideas for a fun car ride:
Crayon and Notebook Roll-up from Apple Blossom Baby
I Spy Bag from Ainsley and Oswald
Car Valet by Alex Toys
DIY Travel Toys at She’s Creative

Bike Trailers- take a ride with your toddler!

Published

amy

on July 29, 2008

in Outdoor fun, activities and strollers

. 0 Comments

We bought a bike trailer a few weeks ago and since we had a hard time finding feedback on bike trailers, I wanted to give a review for the one we bought. We looked around a lot, in person and online. We ride bikes, not avidly but we enjoy taking a ride now and again. Our daughter is 2 and a half and a tricycle rider, and a lackadaisical one at that. Rhode Island (where we live) has a bike path, partially under construction, that will eventually all be connected and span the entire state. So we decided that it would be fun for us and her to get a trailer so we could all enjoy riding together.

What we found is there is a huge variation in price- you can spend $99-$600+, since we are occasional riders, we didn’t want to spend tons of money. We also took to Craigslist to search for a good deal on a used one. We called on a few but they were snapped up immediately so if you go that route, be prepared to act quickly with cash in-hand. We decided that we would spend about $150, and after much deliberation we decided on the InStep Rocket, InStep is a Schwinn company. It’s tough to decide when shopping online, but it’s where you find the best selection and price. We ordered it from BabyAge, which had the best price around at $139. It was a bit slow to get here (I think it took 15 days) but once it arrived my husband put it together in about 20-30 minutes (a little hampered my daughter’s inquisitive excitement). My husband gave the wheels a spin and one was slightly warped (I would have missed that). Regardless, they went out for a ride right away and she loved it. He said the wheel defect didn’t hamper the ride too much but we decided to call and see if it could be replaced. We hadn’t even sent in the registration yet and they said no problem and sent it right away. The customer service was really pretty great.

Overall, it’s a good trailer for the price, it came with the handlebar for the stroller conversion, it seems pretty comfortable, easy to break down, set up, and hook to the bike*. On the high end of the bike trailer spectrum, just out of curiosity, I looked at the Chariot trailer/stroller at REI, and it’s very nice but it’s quite expensive. And the conversion kits are sold separately, although they do have some cools ones like a X-country ski kit, I couldn’t justify the price. For our use and budget, this one is just fine and would recommend it.

* not every trailer can hook to every bike so do a little research or call the manufacturer to double check if it will work

Need a reason to go outside?

Published

amy

on July 15, 2008

in activities and toys

. 0 Comments

I love being outside- I need no invitation and it seems my daughter doesn’t either. She wants to head outside the minute we head downstairs from waking up, barefoot, wearing pjs (or sometimes nothing). Once we are outside we play in the baby pool, draw with sidewalk chalk, blow bubbles, garden (or just dig in the dirt), run, swing, really anything. But I came across this great guide at the mightyjunior blog. It’s called the Go Play Outside! Backyard Guide, now granted some of these things are for the age group that is a little bit older than my little lady, but its a good list of stuff to keep boredom at bay.

I love the idea of the sidewalk chalk paint sprayer, it would take our asphalt masterpieces to a whole new level. What else might I buy? The Kick Croquet. Love it, I had thought about getting the croquet set from my mother’s house until I envisioned the 2-3 year olds swinging around mallets in the air. Scrap that. So, this is a fun way to have a semi organized game, that is still safe for the little ones to participate it. Or if I am tired of blowing bubbles or my fingers are thoroughly slimed from the solutions I might try a bubble machine.

So, what are you waiting for? Go outside!