Tag Archives: Reviews

MagnaDoodle Pocket Review

When we started planning a road trip from the DC area up to Long Island, I realized I’d need to think up ways to keep Jax amused on the 6 hour trip. He loves to color, but I didn’t want to have crayons thrown around the car. But we found a great replacement: a MagnaDoodle Pocket!

I ordered ours from Amazon because we have Prime free 2-day shipping and the trip was coming up fast. I hid it until we hit the road.

Jax figured out right away how to draw on it. It writes very smoothly and erases in one sweep unless you’ve colored really dark. He loves sliding the stylus back into it’s hole in the side, and he can’t drop it because it is attached. The lever for erasing is too stiff for him to use just yet (it takes me two hands), but he learned to hand it to me whenever he wanted it erased. The size was perfect for his 17-month-old hands and fit easily into my purse or our small day-trip diaper bag.

The MagnaDoodle was a huge hit, both in the car and on our train ride to Manhattan. I’ll definitely consider buying a bigger one with more features as Jax grows. I like the stamps this one comes with.

Beco Gemini Baby Carrier

Beco Gemini Baby Carrier

I’m a huge fan of babywearing and I’ve tried many different carriers including the Maya Wrap ring sling, Baby Bjorn carrier, Infantino Flip carrier and the Moby Wrap. My absolute favorite is Beco’s Gemini carrier!

I started out with the Maya Wrap ring sling and Moby Wrap. I loved them, and they were both great for a newborn. Jax was my little blizzard baby, born in Snowmageddon 2010, so the Moby kept him warm and snugly. The ring sling was so convenient for carrying him around and nursing without anyone noticing. Once Jax was big enough, I started using the Baby Bjorn for longer walks. Soft-structure carriers have a lot of advantages (no long tails to drag in the dirt while putting it on like the Moby, for one), but as Jax grew, it became clear that the Bjorn just wasn’t cutting it. My shoulders and back would start to ache right away while carrying him. I loved that Jax could face out (his favorite!), but I also wanted to be able to carry him on my back while I did chores (like the Ergo can.) Enter the Gemini…

I got the Beco Gemini in their old Lucas pattern (a gift from Jax’s grandpa!) right after it was released. I chose that pattern because we have two very hairy blonde dogs and I was sick of dog hair showing up on the chocolate brown Bjorn. Unfortunately, they don’t sell that pattern anymore, but the new Apple and Ginger patterns are so adorable!

We left for a weekend at the beach right after it arrived and it worked out so well! I have never had any shoulder or back pain with the Gemini. And, Jax is 25 lbs to my 100! He looks so big strapped to me that amazed strangers ask me what kind of carrier we are using to make carrying him look so effortless.

The back carry is easy to learn after a few tries. Jax always falls asleep like that. The hip carry was awkward, so I don’t generally do that one. I usually have him in the front facing-out position and when he gets tired or wants to nurse, I flip him to front facing-in. One of the great Gemini features are the snaps at the base of the carrier where your baby’s bottom is supported. It has a nice wide base when they face in that keeps their knees up in the right position. To switch to facing out, just snap the base to the narrow setting to allow room for chunky baby thighs!

Other details I love: The padding waist support is super comfy and was the only one I’d found that fit my small waist. All the straps have loops of elastic at the end so you can wrap up the extra and not have them dangling everywhere.

 Jax and I adore this carrier and I can’t recommend it enough to someone planning to do a lot of babywearing! We’ve even dancing in a flash mob together using it! What’s your favorite carrier?

Best Toddler Sprinklers

Photo by Olena

What’s better on a hot summer day than playing in the sprinkler? I recently started taking 17-month-old Jax to the pool where they have a splash pad at the shallow end. He loves it! So I knew I should try to find the best toddler-safe sprinkler for him to play in.

After reading what felt like a million disappointed reviews for all kinds of play sprinklers, I settled on Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Grub Scouts Sprinkler. The little worms are described as “an entire troop of Grub Scouts who have popped up to work on their Entertainment Merit Badge.” The girly-girl in me was all about the pink flowers on the Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Blossom Bright Sprinkler, but I decided grubs were more gender-neutral.

The sprinkler is small and colorful with squishy rubber grubs that can’t hurt little feet if stepped on. Attaching it to the hose was easy as the attachment ring spun around on it’s own (instead of having to spin the whole sprinkler.) Jax was drawn to the bright colors before we even got the water going!

The height of the spray will depend on our water pressure and the length/diameter of your hose. We have a very long 100′ 5/8″ hose. With the water turned up all the way, we got 2′ for spray height. I’m thinking with a shorter and wider hose, the spray will be even higher. We decided against getting another hose, as the height was perfect for our little man right now.

The real test came last weekend at my little birthday get-together. Babies ranging from 10-months to 17-months all had the best time playing in it! I think it got more action than the baby pool!

I’d definitely recommend Melissa & Doug’s sprinklers if you have a toddler who loves splashing in water!

Photo by Olena

Jax’s First Crayons

Jax just got his first set of crayons. He always loves when restaurants give him crayons, even though he mostly wants to hold as many as he can at one time in his little chubby fists. I’m starting to teach him how to color with them, so I needed to find a really great set for him.

I was happy to find out Melissa & Doug make craft supplies. I really like how that brand makes cute, wooden toys more accessible. Most quality, wooden toys are out of my price range. Melissa & Doug can be expensive, but you can find deals on Amazon and use 50% coupons at craft stores that have toy aisles.

I decided to get a set of 24 triangular crayons for Jax. They make a jumbo sized version with less colors, but he hasn’t had any trouble holding regular crayons before. I just wanted something that wouldn’t roll off the table, had no paper wrappers to deal with and wouldn’t break from getting pressed into the paper too hard.

The crayons come in a plastic case with a clear flip-closed lid. This was Jax’s favorite part! He is all about taking out/putting in right now. He had great fun making piles of crayons then putting them back in the case. He was a little rough at times and the crayons didn’t break. They feel very strong!

Oh, we *did* color with them too! They seemed to fit nicely in his grip, though he insisted on holding a couple in each hand most of the time. They felt smooth when I tried them out and the colors were bold. I drew him a cat since his current obsession is meowing at cats (and dogs, heh!) We made a pretty picture together.

And of course we hung his artwork up in his new gallery!

Curl up snug in your water bed

Many of you parents know of Raffi and one of his most famous songs, “Baby Beluga” (and if you don’t, Amazon has the mp3 for $0.99!) I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, and when I came across this beautiful board book, I jumped at the chance to learn the lyrics.

The book takes Raffi’s lyrics and sets them into a story illustrated by Ashley Wolff. Jackson just loves to point to the polar bears, and I was instantly won over by the narwals!

I started singing “Baby Beluga” to Jax whenever he was upset – especially during car rides. It helps him calm down every single time. I do have to keep singing it again and again if he is less than pleased about being in the car. The things we do for our little ones (and a sane drive home!)

This book is always the first book Jax picks up out of his bedroom book basket. A warning: Once you learn the song, you’ll find the book impossible to read… You’ll have to sing it!