Skip*Hop Moby Bath Spout Cover

The Skip*Hop Moby Bath Spout Cover is one of those "Why didn't *I* think of that and become a millionaire?" products. So simple in its concept, but — to my knowledge — still relatively new to the baby-products scene. It's a cute little whale (or duck) that covers up the faucet and helps overactive kids avoid nasty bumps on their heads during bathtime.

In the early days (when BG was always chill) I didn't see why anyone would need one of these, but now that he is pretty hyper during his bath and moving positions constantly or attempting to climb out of the tub half the time, I get it.

And guess what? Just like the traffic sign and the Bon Jovi album (do I date myself?), babies and toddlers are slippery when wet. You might think you've got a good hold of them and then... kerplunk back down into the water they go. Extra padding around stuff like the faucet is a good thing in those situations.

Hello, Mr. Whale!

The bottom line: I suppose if your kid rammed his head into the tub spout with a ton of force, this soft-plastic whale isn't going to do much in the way of preventing a disaster. But in normal circumstances it should help stave off a shiner or a black eye or something worse.

A ton of different brands have jumped on the "spout cover" bandwagon, so there are a lot of options to choose from. But this Skip*Hop one seemed to be the most highly rated, and I pretty much couldn't escape it on any baby-products web site, so that's what we went with. It goes for about $10.50 on Amazon.

Boon Flair Pedestal Highchair

Yes, the Boon Flair highchair looks like it's straight out of The Jetsons. Yes, the only colors it comes in are kind of obnoxious. And yes, at $200, it is expensive. But there was not going to be any other highchair for Baba G—I loved this thing the second I laid eyes on it, despite the fact that it doesn't go with our condo's decor AT ALL (though it would fit perfectly in my dream condo... which only exists in my head).

But come on, you have to admit it is cool:

The orange button at the base adjusts the height, and there's a pedal in the back that works as a brake if you have to wheel it around. Otherwise it glides effortlessly with a gentle push, yet still manages to hold tight in one spot on our wood floor at all other times. I haven't used the orange button since we first set the height we wanted, and I've never needed to use the brake.

Chop, chop! Where's my grub?

What drew me to this chair, besides its overall look, is that I didn't want a highchair like they have in restaurants. Why? Because I didn't want to have to wipe down all of those posts, that's why! Yes, laziness and a hatred of cleaning drives many of my decisions.

I also didn't want anything to be able to fall out of the sides of the highchair. With the Boon Flair, whatever BG doesn't throw onto the floor is going to be captured in the seat or on the tray.

There's an orange pad on the seat that can be removed for extra room, and the tray comes with two transparent tray covers that easily snap on and off. When one's in the wash (yes, they're dishwasher safe but also take about 1 second to wipe down) you can use the other. I think I've only had to wipe down the actual try like 2 times in 4 months. Things are getting a bit messier now, however, since BG is trying more finger foods.

On top of wanting an easy-to-clean highchair, I also wanted one that had over-the shoulder harnesses. I knew the reality would be that I'd often have to walk back and forth from the sink or not be right there sitting across from BG every second he was in the chair, and I didn't think a lap belt would be enough. The shoulder harness does the trick -- he has never gotten out of it and it doesn't seem to bother him, either. You can put also enough slack in it so your kid can bend forward a bit to pick up stuff from the tray.

 Speaking of the tray, my only complaints would be that to take off the tray you have to move a lever underneath to the left and then pull it forward to release the tray. This was tricky at first when my wrist issues were worse. But now I don't even think about it.

About 5 1/2 months old and patiently waiting...

Also, the tray is too small for our Skip*Hop plate set. But at this point BG isn't actually using the plate part of that set, so it's OK. I'm actually not sure if ANY try for any highchair would be big enough for that plate.

Nine months old and still pretty patient.

The bottom line: I love the Boon Flair Pedestal highchair (with pneumatic lift). It moves easily on the wood floor when I need it to, stays put when I need it to, is very easy to clean, seems comfortable for Baba G, and looks cool. So if you're willing to splurge ($200), I say go for it!

In Search Of: The Best Waterproof/Pool-Friendly Diaper

In preparation for our trip next month, I need to figure out what Baba G can wear if we decide to visit the toddler pool:

I spent a few minutes Googling "waterproof diapers" and "swim diapers" and "diapers for pool" and came up with options ranging from Huggies Little Swimmers to Pampers Splashers to the i play Swim Diaper (same company behind BG's sun hat!).

I was most concerned with finding something that wouldn't disintegrate or get weighed down in the water. I didn't even THINK of the possibility of him going #2 in the pool, which was a topic of discussion and debate in the review section for the Swim Diaper. I guess this situation didn't cross my mind because at this age BG is VERY obvious when he's doing his business, and so I'd just whip him out of the pool should that be the case. But perhaps when kids get older they take care of #2 on the sneak tip?

Either way, I'm all ears for suggestions about what works best for a 10-month-old to wear in the pool (under swim trunks, of course).

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Unsolicited Advice: Preparing for Baby's First International Trip

Thanks again to everyone who offered travel advice in response to this post. We ended up buying Baba G his own seat on the plane, and we're also going to bring along his car seat in the hopes that he'd be more comfortable napping in that rather than with us holding him. I equated my husband or me holding him to him being more likely to get distracted by everything going on around us. Both of our flights just so happen to be during his nap times, so here's hopin'!

After researching our options, I decided to try out THIS crazy thing, rather than buy a small cart with wheels to attach the car seat onto:

Believe it or not, people SWEAR this works. And it was only $15...

Our criteria for this first trip out of the U.S. with him was that we wanted to go somewhere neither my husband nor I had been before, it had to be in the Caribbean because we wanted to minimize travel time while also ending up somewhere warm (and I've visited most islands there, so pickings were slim), and ideally it would be an all-inclusive resort with multiple dining options and a baby-friendly reputation.

I Googled "Baby-friendly Caribbean resorts" and found this New York Times article from two years ago. I'd already been to Jamaica, so that was out. We went to Atlantis in the Bahamas for our babymoon last year, so that was out. (This IS one of the few places I would actually return to when Baba G is older, however, because its water park is just so amazing and I know he'd love it... and I didn't get to go on any of that stuff because I was pregnant!) There wasn't a painless way to get to St. Lucia from Chicago, so that was out. We seriously considered Curacao, but that also seemed more difficult to get to, and the resort the article mentioned seemed more appropriate for kids rather than babies. So that left the two places in the Dominican Republic, a country I'd already been zeroing in on because it met all of our criteria.

We ended up booking a "5 Trident" suite at Club Med Punta Cana because we wanted to be away from the rest of the resort and have as much privacy and service as possible. The resort is only ten minutes from the airport, which minimized the travel time Baba G would have to be in his car seat during the transfer. (The main reason we decided to bring his car seat is because we will need to travel by taxi about forty minutes to and from the airport in Chicago, as well as those ten minutes once we're at our destination, and I'm just too paranoid to not have him in a car seat during those times.)

I was also impressed by the high "family-friendly" TripAdvsior ratings/positive reviews CMPC received, but what ended up sealing the deal for Club Med overall was that this location is one of the few Club Med spots that offers that Baby Club Med program. We actually don't intend to leave Baba G with sitters there during our stay at all, but we were desperate to find a reputable place that provided Pack 'n Plays, tubs, strollers, etc., so that we didn't have to haul ANY of that crap with us. This place supplies all of those things and more, plus they even have baby food (the jarred kind) and special areas in the restaurants for those who are feeding babies in high chairs and whatnot.

SOLD! (You're on your own for formula and diapers, though, which was fine with us.) They also have a really cool Baby Club Med play area, although I think that's technically for the people using the daycare option. We'll see.

Go nuts, BG!

We booked everything through Club Med so they took care of our flights, and since they were running a "7 nights for the price of 4" promotion, and since the time we're going is their low season, it was a great deal overall. If I had to do it over again I would probably explicitly ask the Club Med rep to contact the airline while I waited on hold to see if we could get a discount for Baba G's seat, as I heard many airlines do this for travelers under the age of 2. Instead I'm pretty sure we paid a full, ridiculously high price. I don't want to think about it! (They didn't provide a room vs. flight breakdown so I'm going to choose to remain ignorant.)

The next to-dos were: 1) getting Baba G into the kids' travel clinic for any necessary shots and destination-specific advice, and then 2) getting him a passport ASAP. The travel clinic visit went smoothly, the passport photo shoot... not so much.

Soon.

We first went to Kinko's when it was nearing Baba G's bedtime. That was a mistake because he was getting cranky. We spent a full 50 minutes trying to get a shot where he was actually looking into the camera. Their camera had a multi-second delay, so this was nearly impossible. But once we finally got an acceptable shot... their printer didn't work, and there was no way to salvage the picture. They couldn't email it to us or anything.

The next day we went to Walgreens and a very friendly woman with big hair and exceedingly long nails was behind the photo counter, and she was a bit TOO friendly in Baba G's mind. She kind of got up in his face telling him how cute he was, and since he's in his "Not So Sure About Strangers" phase, he started bawling.

So then we had to distract him by walking around Walgreens for like 10 minutes. We finally got a picture after I asked the woman to help keep the white background secure while a different, less enthusastic Walgreens employee stood in front of BG to get the shot. My husband is holding BG standing up while the Too Friendly woman positioned the white cardboard thingy right behind Baba.

This is one of the outtakes of the shoot. The joke's on him because he'll have to live with this picture for the next 5 years!

Should this be an ad for Walgreens' photo service or what?

I'll definitely have a "Lessons Learned" debrief post after we're back from the trip at the end of November... wish us luck!

Prince Lionheart Premium Wipes Warmer

Something wintry this way comes

It's a bit nippy out today, so I figured it was a good time to write about the Prince Lionheart Premium Wipes Warmer. This is a product I wasn't originally going to register for—I thought it was a classic example of something our parents and grandparents would laugh at because it seemed so silly. "We used to change babies outside in the middle of a blizzard (after walking uphill barefoot) and use snow for wipes and those kids were fine! He doesn't need his bum to be warm!"

But I DID register for the warmer after one of my friends swore by it. She lives here in Chicago and said her son would wail his head off when she changed him and the wipes were cold, but then after she used the warmer he was happy as a clam.

Baba G was born at the end of January, and even though we had a fairly mild winter, our condo is chilly from mid-October through March no matter what. We can crank up the heat all we want, but the AIR still feels crisp in our bedroom because it lies outside of the main foundation of the building (long story). BG slept in his Pack 'n Play in our room for his first several months, so I set up the wipes warmer on our dresser and hoped it would help.

The problem was that unless I could use the wipes on him within like 2 seconds after taking them out of the container, they lost their warmth. The damp cloth hit the chilly air and all heat was just zapped from it. Even so, we used the warmer for about three months because the wipes were still less cold than they would've been otherwise. At the end of those three months we were supposed to replace the "pillow" that sits at the bottom of the container. This pillow needs to be kept moist in order for the product to work, and by the end of the three months we did in fact notice that it was starting to brown around the edges. The replacements come in 2-packs for about $12.75 on Amazon.

I'm not sure if other people who live in normal houses or warmer condos would have the "wipes immediately losing their heat" problem. I quickly skimmed through the reviews on Amazon and it seems like there are a few other people who felt that the container needed to be extremely close to their changing area in order for the wipes to remain warm long enough. Others were like my friend and swore up and down that their kid couldn't be changed without warm wipes and that this product did the trick.

I liked everything else about the warmer. It was easy enough to use and the soft light on it was fine. I wished it didn't have to be plugged in, because that limited our options of where it could sit. But I'm assuming they were trying to keep its size as compact as possible and a battery compartment would've made it too big.

If you're interested in registering for or buying a warmer, you are likely to have a nervous breakdown when you try to figure out the difference between the two Prince Lionheart models, because I almost did. So I'm gonna help you out! Here's what I found on the company's web site:

• The 0231 (Ultimate) is based on our original Wipes Warmer with additional features including a pop-up lid, a flexible moisture barrier to help keep wipes moist and fresh and to hold the next wipe in place for pop-up style wipes. ($19.20 on Amazon)

• Model 9002 (Premium, the one I have) has improved and updated styling, a more powerful heating element, and an improved moisture barrier for increased moisture retention. (About $24.20 on Amazon.)

• All of our appliance style wipes warmers use the patented Ever-Fresh System® to ensure that whichever wipes you use on your baby, they are warm, moist, and fresh.

The bottom line: For us, the Prince Lionheart Premium Wipes Warmer didn't really work as well as we hoped it would, but that was in part due to the permanently cold state of our condo. Now that Baba G is sleeping through the night, I'm hoping we won't need to use it again this coming winter, as the temperature in our place is pretty bearable during the day, at least. But we shall see. I have it ready just in case.

If you do feel like you could make use of a wipes warmer, the reviews on Amazon indicate that it's worth spending an extra $5 and getting the premium version as it holds the heat in better. And remember you'll need a new moisture pillow every 3 months.

If others have used a wipes warmer, please share your experience! I'm curious if other people relied on theirs as much as my friend did.

He needs to wear this in our condo, it's THAT cold. (Kidding.)

Personalized Baby Block

A really cool gift that some of our friends got us was this personalized baby block from Craft-E Family.

Each of its six sides is personalized with:
1) The letter of his first name
2) His birth date, time of birth, weight and height
3) "Proud Parents" and then my and my husband's names
4) The day of the week and the city he was born in
5) His full name
6) Who the gift was from

Truth be told, I'm usually not a fan of anything that is meant to sit on display. But I actually really do like this personalized block because it takes up hardly any space, is unique, isn't "cutesy" and therefore goes with pretty much any style of room, and is safe if it should happen to fall into Baba G's hands...

The bottom line: I think the Personalized Baby Block from Craft-E Family is a great baby gift, and—at only $17 (with free shipping!)—it's an excellent value as well. (They make other baby gifts, too.) And maybe I just have an extra-bad memory or wasn't wired to have these kinds of facts burned into my brain, but I had already forgotten what day BG was born on, so I like having this cute little reminder of all of his "major stats."

As a matter of fact, I recently had a conversation with my sister-in-law about that "Monday's child" poem and she was saying that she and her mom were debating what day she was born. So I guess as the decades pass it's definitely easy to lose track of this stuff, even for someone who normally has a good memory. If they had the personalized block they could've just whipped it out!

Fisher-Price Cradle 'N Swing, My Little Snugabunny

High-tech swings (the Fisher-Price Snugabunny is but one of gazillions) fall squarely in the "nice to have" department. They're not essential by any means, but chances are that if you are lucky enough to have one, you're going to put it to work during your baby's first few months.

The "My Little Snugabunny" version is named as such because your kid will get cozy in a padded area that looks like a bunny:

There are restraints, of course, because this thing MOVES. When it's on the highest speeds, it's no joke.

It can go both side-to-side (right picture, below) and back and forth (left picture, below), and there's a twirly mobile that makes chirping sounds (and can be turned off, if you want), as well as several other sound/song options.

Baba G LOVED his swing in the sense that he would immediately chill out once he was in it. As you can see from the videos below, we had it stationed in my husband's music room/office. The oh-so-appropriate poster of Eddie Van Halen with a cigarette hanging off of his guitar is the dead giveaway. (No, the rest of our condo isn't similarly decorated.)

Here's Baba G seeming fairly calm but totally alert. This video was taken when he was about four months old and my husband was traveling for a few nights. I had an awful time trying to get BG down for a nap. He'd been crying for at least a half-hour straight... and then I remembered we had the swing. (It was an "out of sight, out of mind" situation.) Warning: if you're like me you're going to get dizzy watching these clips!

Within five minutes he was sound asleep:

I'm pretty sure they say you're not supposed to put your kid in the swing for a nap. Just like they say you shouldn't put your kid in anything but his crib for a nap. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the swing was a surefire way to get him to doze off if he was tired but fighting it. We were always in the room with him and he was always strapped in, so in my book I don't see the difference between him being awake or asleep in it, as far as safety is concerned.

The bottom line: The Fisher-Price swings take up a lot of room, there's no denying that. So they might not be practical for those who don't have much living space... or for those who don't have a ton of storage space.

What's more, you will have to bid the swing adieu after your baby hits 25 pounds or starts wanting to sit up on his own and resists being in a reclined position (the latter happened first for us), so chances are this is a "five months or less" type of product. Having said all of that, I'm glad we had one because we made nightly use out of it and sometimes Baba G would just chill in it for quite a while and my husband would play acoustic guitar and sing to him.

It costs around $127 on Amazon.