Sassy Go-Go Guitars (Hanging Stroller Toys)

So I didn't want to review these specific stroller toys so much as I wanted to talk about the overall concept of "stroller toys." They're one of the many categories of baby stuff that I had no idea even existed until I started browsing around on the web sites I was building Baba G's registry through.

Once I came across these "Go-Go Guitars," however, I was hooked.

My husband plays the guitar (among other instruments, but the guitar is by far his favorite) and I know he has great hopes for Baba G on the Future Rock Star front. So I thought these toys, which you hang from the top of the car seat and/or stroller, would be fun.

But I never really expected BG to play with them. I thought he's just sit in his car seat and be totally oblivious to them 99% of the time. Kind of like this:

Where the heck did you bring me, Mom?

Or like this:

Guitars? Boats? Nice day? Who cares, I'm sleepy.

So in other words, I bought the guitar toys for us more than BG. But lo and behold, last week he started noticing them and actually playing with them. Proof:

Where's the amp and speakers?

While BG is almost always well-behaved on his stroller rides and doesn't need a ton of distractions in order to keep him happy, it's still nice to have something like this just in case. I'm sure the day will come where he'll be fussy and I'll un-Velcro the guitars and let him hold them... and that'll buy me another 5 minutes or so.

I also plan to get a few different types of toys like this for when he's able to be in the stroller the normal way (meaning not in his car seat on top of the stroller). There are TONS of options to choose from and they're all inexpensive.

The bottom line: Hanging stroller toys of ANY kind are great things to buy as shower gifts, and they're also great options to include on a registry since they don't cost an arm and a leg like so many other products (the Go-Go Guitars are $8 for 2—NOT for 4 like what's pictured on Amazon). It might also be nice to have a few different types on hand to be able to switch things up once Junior becomes bored with the same ol' same old.

BOB Weather Shield (or any rain/wind stroller shield, really)

So you know that heat wave I mentioned in my last post? It's still pounding us here in Chicago—but there was a brief respite from the sun's rays for a few moments yesterday. Unfortunately those few moments involved hurricane-like winds, torrential rain, and Armageddon-looking skies. All of this nastiness went down approximately five minutes AFTER I'd left my condo for the first time that afternoon. I'd walked a (long) block and a half down the street when Mother Nature decided to go berzerker.

I was already pretty wet by the time I ducked into a random indent I spied in an apartment building's sidewalk-front. I was staying out of the worst of the weather... but then peered above me and saw a ton of window-based A/C units teetering on rotted-out chunks of wood. Death by Air Conditioning Unit—wasn't there a Seinfeld episode where that happened? No thanks.

So I BOLTED back home—seriously running the fastest I have in, I think, ever. (I HATE running.) But while I was going from Pathetic-Looking Wet Chick to Ultimate Drowned Rat status, inspiration struck me for a product write-up. And that product would be the BOB Weather Shield.

Was Baba G out with me during the storm? No. But if he were, I would've been ready, thanks to the Weather Shield. Here's the official picture of it:

The BOB stroller we have is one of those jogging ones, and right now BG is still too little to use it for that. So we've been attaching a "converter bar" in order to place his car seat on top of the BOB, facing us, and walk around with him. Turns out the weather shield can be draped and secured over an infant car seat riding on top of the stroller—nice!

With the shield pulled up to ensure BG was ready for our walk...

Shield down!

Side view: it's secured around the front, sides, and back. And would ya look at that skyline!

Through the Looking Glass (er, Plastic)

Now, I will forewarn anyone who tries to put the BOB Weather Shield on this way that it does take a bit of effort to totally secure all of the little elastic bands to the point where one doesn't fly up while you're pulling another down. But if it's not a super-windy day, you don't even really need all of the sides tied down. We also have a weather shield for a stroller we don't even own yet (one of the Uppa ones we plan to buy once BG can sit up a bit better).

The other thing to note is that it's not like you have to either have the shield on or leave it at home. It bunches up (or folded, if you're fancy) and can be stuffed into one of the many hidden pockets or zipped-off areas that seem to be plentiful across all modern strollers. Then if bad weather hits while you're fifteen minutes from home, you can just whip the shield on and protect your kid from the elements... while you most likely still get soaked because you forgot your umbrella/coat/hat.

The bottom line: My point in reviewing this product wasn't to say that the BOB stroller/weather shield combo is superior to other strollers/brands or anything, but rather to highly recommend that you have SOME type of stroller-shield thingy on hand if you live somewhere that isn't always 75 degrees and sunny with no wind or rain or snow. But if you DO live in that magical place, Baba G just told me that he wants us to come visit you.

We're waiting for our invite...