Archive for the ‘Toddler necessities’ Category
M received this trike for her second birthday back in September 2013. She has loved it from the beginning, however, she’s refused to take it outside. All that changed last week. We were finally able to take it out and she absolutely loves it more than ever!
Radio Flyer Radio Flyer Deluxe Steer and Stroll Trike
This trike was pretty easy to assemble. Of course, Hubby did all the assembling. The directions were fairly easy to read and he had it put together in less than an hour.
This trike is awesome because M doesn’t necessarily have to pedal in order for it to go forward. That handle in the back acts as a stroller handle. You can steer and push the trike around. You have complete control of the tricycle with that handle.
If M doesn’t move the pedals, the trike makes a ticking noise that can get a bit annoying. Hubby seems to think that there is a setting within the front wheel that can remove that ticking noise, but so far, we haven’t figured it out.
The back has a little “trunk space”. You can lift the little back area and there is a small storage space. It can’t really hold much. It can probably hold a little baggie of snacks, but nothing major. We usually find small random objects in them that M likes to place.
The wheels are hollow plastic, which makes them fairly easy to clean, but I’m not sure how long they will actually last in the long run.
M loves this trike. Ever since we finally used it outside, she has been wanting to go everyday!
I highly recommend this since you actually have a lot of control of the tricycle, especially when a two-year old is at the front!
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For several years now, Hubby and I relied on that green bulb to suck the snot out of a congested M. I’ve seen the various articles and photos of what was actually inside one of those bulbs, but just never knew of any alternative.
Considering I have a background in bacteriology, you would think that I would have gotten rid of that bulb ages ago. It just worked so well for us that I shrugged it off.
As M got older, nostrils got bigger and that bulb just wasn’t working as well.
Enter Nosefrida The Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator
Basically, the red piece goes in your mouth, the blue piece goes into M’s nose, and you suck.
It’s gross. The idea of using this item as some sort of straw for my child’s snot is disgusting. Thoughts of unintentionally ingesting mucus would fill my mind before I even attempted to use this. Hubby already made it very clear that he wasn’t going to use it.
So I “man’d up” and just did it. I had heard so many great things about this that I just had to do it. Other mothers were assuring me there was no snot eating, and it was very effective.
There is a sponge filter at the top of the blue piece where the tubing connects. That is easily removed and cleaned as needed. The package comes with two of those filters and more replacement filters are available for purchase.
It’s definitely NOT as gross as I thought. The mucus never really gets past the tip of the apparatus and it’s very effective. The trick is to find that perfect amout of “sucking pressure” for lack of a better term. If you suck too hard, your toddler will get very uncomfortable. If you don’t suck enough, nothing will come out.
I find the gross part (for me) is the condensation that accumulates in the tube as I’m sucking in the snot and blowing it out into a tissue. I am not a fan of accidentally sucking back in my own condensate. Luckily, it doesn’t really happen, but it does gross me out.
Cleaning the blue piece and the sponge filter is easy. Run it under warm water with a little soap and air dry. Cleaning and drying the clear tubing is a little challenging. Lying the tubing flat to air dry didn’t really allow the water that collected inside to dry out completely within a day. We had to figure out a way to set it vertically in order for that excess water to drain for me to use it again.
Overall, I’m very happy with this snotsucker. It’s a more sanitary method of aspirating without the mystery of what’s growing inside. Everything is safe to clean and it’s really not as gross as it sounds.
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For the longest time, M has been using her little Elmo potty.
Now that she’s almost 2 1/2, I want to start really getting her used to going in the potty than in her diaper.
We went to my aunt’s house for New Years Eve and noticed that my cousin’s daughter uses the Baby Bjorn Toilet Trainer over the toilet seat instead of her little princess potty. M used it while we were there and I noticed that she was totally comfortable with it.
It fits very snug and secure on top of the toilet bowl. There is a dial located on top of the seat where you turn it to fit the toilet seat.
When M sits on it, she feels totally secure. She doesn’t feel the need to hold on to me like she has when she’s sat on other toilet seat trainers. Most of the ones I had purchased in the past were meant for travel and were not as sturdy as this one. She is very comfortable being left on that seat like a “big girl.” I think that’s why it seems to work so well for us.
This definitely isn’t a traveling trainer, but I think it is enough to start getting M over her fear of public restrooms and toilets. Since sitting on this trainer, she has been willing to sit on toilets in restrooms when we are out and about.
I highly recommend this toilet trainer. It’s great and I wish I purchased this instead of the traveling ones.
We purchased this at Babies R Us. It costs $34.99, but they had a 20% coupon that we used.
Buy it. Really. Buy it!
Product Review: Wetbag
Posted on: August 28, 2013
I love this wetbag.
I don’t do cloth diapers, but I rely on this wetbag constantly when M and I are out and about.
This wetbag is lined with waterproof cloth and is perfect for when M decides to spill things on herself. It’s also great to store outfits that unfortunately get wet due to a diaper leak. A change of clothes and this wetbag are the two essentials when going out and running errands and such.
My friend owns the Etsy shop, Rosalie Jane’s Creation, and sews all these wetbags. The quality of her work is absolutely exquisite. The bag is very durable and big enough to fit a whole outfit, and more! If you use cloth diapers, or just have a toddler, having one of these is a lifesaver! Before I had this, I would go searching for a plastic bag if M decided to get something wet, or her diaper leaked. Those weren’t always readily available, especially when I’m somewhere where plastic bags aren’t normally distributed.
The bag is easy to clean. I was told to just turn the bag inside out, then wash with the rest of your toddler’s laundry. Then you can either pop it into the dryer, or hang dry it.
I highly recommend these bags to anyone and everyone! She offers them in several different patterned fabrics and colors. I do believe she also takes custom orders for these, and other items she sells.
Please visit her Etsy shop, Rosalie Jane’s Creation.
Also visit her FB page, Rosalie Jane’s Creation.
Lastly, visit her blog, Rosalie Jane’s Creation.
StrawCup
SippyCup
These items are found almost everywhere. They are really cheap but so great!
They are plastic and are pretty much disposable if you wanted them to be. They are priced cheaply so that if you do lose or break it, it doesn’t send you off crying because you have to buy another one.
Each purchase comes with about 5 or 6 cups in a pack. The colors are bright, but I think you can buy some with characters on them. I haven’t found them yet, but when I was looking for pictures online for these, I stumbled upon them.
The straw cups are great. They are just the right size for a toddler. The downside is that the straws are easily removable by a curious toddler that loves playing with water. Giving her these straw cups is a risk. Usually she ends up soaked in whatever fluid we were giving her.
The sippy cups are awesome. We had gone through so many different types of sippys and thought that M just didn’t like them at all. We went through the playtex and dr brown brands and were unsuccessful.
Little M actually likes these particular sippy cups. They are also relatively spillproof. Of course if you shake it, liquid will come out, but she really has to make an effort to make a mess with these.
The one downfall of these cups is that the lids can easily come off if dropped onto the floor. There had been times we’ve had to soak up water off the carpet.
Overall, I’m very, very happy with these cups. I recommend them to everyone!
Living life in the carpool lane.. 