Mom Central Baby

Review: Spa Baby Tub

Charlotte's umbilical cord stump took almost three weeks to fall off and secretly I was relieved.  That meant three weeks before we had to tackle The First Bath.  Giving a small, slippery little baby a bath was not too high on my "to do" list just after she was born.  Plus we have a very pretty but not baby friendly claw-footed tub in our bathroom.

Right before I left on maternity leave I agreed to test and review the Spa Baby tub, which is European-style in that the baby sits upright.  The design is supposed to mimic the womb and be very comforting because the baby is mostly covered by the water up to her shoulders and therefore stays warmer.  (Photo at right courtesy of Spababytubs.com)

Verdict: Two thumbs up!   Charlotte rarely cries during bath-time and now, at just over three months, she seems to be enjoying it.  (Recently she's started lapping at the bathwater, which is a little gross, but she is definitely not afraid of getting her face a little wet - a good thing!)

The "how to" video on the website is great and very accurate.  (You'll also enjoy the soundtrack and subtitles.)  The photo gallery of happy spa baby babies is very cute, too. 

Mom Central received a Spa Baby tub in order to complete this review.

Stokke TRIPP TRAPP highchair review and giveaway

Can you tell which of these high chairs is 32 years old?

Right after I was born my Great Aunt Edythe gave my parents a Stokke TRIPP TRAPP high chair as a baby gift.  Now, 32 years later, it's still going strong.  The cool thing about TRIPP TRAPP chairs is that they "grow" with you.  Simply by moving the wooden slats around, the chair works for 6 month old babies and 300 pound adults.  Check out the Stokke website for a demo.  (The woman featured does not weigh 300 pounds, but still!)

My parents loved the chair so much they gave it to at least two of my little cousins. My Aunt Marjorie still has my cousin Michael's Tripp Trapp from 27-ish years ago and it's in perfect condition.

The Tripp Trapp is a great chair for so many practical reasons: kids can pull right up to the dinner table and really be a part of the meal, the chair works for babies, toddlers, kids, and up, plus it's super easy to clean.  But I also love it for the aesthetics.  I love that it's not plastic and and doesn't scream "BABY!"

A few months ago I started to research how to find a child-safety bar for the front of my TRIPP TRAPP.  The original was lost years ago, unfortunately.  And then, the stars started to align ....

I attended BlogHer this past July and was randomly invited to a special Stokke event.  When I showed up my first question was: How do I find a replacement bar?  The very nice folks from Stokke explained that the new safety seats were not compatible with the older chairs which bummed me out.  I had a great evening with a bunch of pregnant mom bloggers and we learned about the Tripp Trapp chair and some of Stokke's other products, like the Xplory stroller and Sleepi crib.  I was the only mom-to-be there who had actually used a TRIPP TRAPP chair in my youth and yes I did feel like a bit of a celebrity!

At the end of the evening the Stokke folks announced that all the party attendees would receive TRIPP TRAPP chairs as long as we filled out a consumer survey.  I was - and still am - extremely excited!  Of course I filled out my survey right away and we received our brand spankin' new cherry Tripp Trapp a couple weeks ago.  My husband and I set up up and we are ready to go!  Now we just need to have a baby.

Mom Central TRIPP TRAPP chair giveaway

Stokke is also giving away one new TRIPP TRAPP chair to one very lucky Mom Central community member. The giveaway also includes the baby set and cushion accessories.  This is a huge prize as the chair typically retails for between $250 and $300.

How to win a Stokke TRIPP TRAPP Chair (special instructions):

1. You must enter to win via this page on Mom Central. 

2. Comments left on this blog post will not be counted.

3. Contest ends Wednesday, September 23, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Interested in more giveaways?  Browse through the Mom Central Giveaways & Freebies Roundup!

Mom Central received a TRIPP TRAPP chair before writing this review.  Mom Central also received one additional product to give away to the Mom Central Community.

Celebrating our one-year anniversary, determining rug size, and making room for the baby

Last weekend was officially a great weekend.  Charlie and I celebrated our one-year anniversary (June 28) and we spent most of the weekend eating and nesting.  What else could a pregnant lady ask for?

We started out bright and early on Saturday morning and headed to our local UHaul place.  The goal was move to stuff out to make room for the baby.  Renting a UHaul turns out to be a very emotional experience for me.  When I was growing up my parents were sales reps and I spent many hours at UHaul hanging out with my dad, renting giant trucks for trade shows.  Let's just say I'm a very good packer.

We didn't need a big truck for our move, just a cargo van.  My high school "car" growing up was a 15-passenger maroon Dodge Ram Van with a silver racing stripe (same size as the photo at the right).  Super cool, as you would imagine, but I loved it. 

Right now I have a very nice VW Passat that is a hand-me-down from my mom.  I love that it starts every day, but it just doesn't feel right.  So when I climbed into the UHaul van this weekend, I actually started to cry.  I felt like I was home.

Once we loaded up the van, we headed to my storage facility in Brockton, Mass.  After I sold my mom and dad's house about four years ago, I decided that rather than sorting through everything at the time of the sale I'd just move it to storage.  This ended up being a very good decision for me.  Over the years I've retrieved quite a few items, but I still have a small storage unit.

Side note:  I love my movers.  If you're in the Greater Boston Area, I highly recommend Kilroy Brothers Moving & Storage out of Brockton.  Karl, the owner, is awesome. They made what was a fairly big, daunting, and sad move for me very easy.  Their rates are very reasonable and the storage facility is immaculate.  If you ended up using Kilroy, make sure to ask for Richie to be on your crew.  He's the best.

While we did drop off a couch and some other items at the storage facility, the main goal was to retrieve my stuffed animals.  I know that may sound crazy and that many moms consider stuffed animals "dust collectors," but I'm very fond of mine (although we definitely don't need any more). The motley crew is pictured on the left.

My old friends are in great shape;  they are a little squished but they smell fine and aren't moldy at all.  It's really good to have them under the same roof again.

On the way home, we stopped by my Aunt Robin and Uncle Ari's house.  They donated some book shelves for the baby's room, which is terrific.  Then we ended up having an impromptu lunch.  Robin made us some fabulous panini sandwiches.   I always feel spoiled when she cooks for us - yum!

Saturday afternoon I took a huge nap while Charlie installed our air conditioners.  That night we had a nice dinner at Gargoyles, a restaurant right down the street from us in Davis Square. 

On Sunday, our official anniversary, we (well, mostly me) decided it was a good idea to plan out the layout of the furniture in the what's going to be the baby's room.  

So here is the big decision we could use some help with:  What size rug should we get? 

I've fallen in love with this rug (pictured below) from The Land of Nod.  We're trying to decide between the 4x6 and the 5x8. 

The photo below demonstrates what the 4x6 would look like space-wise.  Now imagine that the piano moves to the right side of the room (roughly where the stuffed animals are grouped) and the crib goes where the piano is.  The dresser is going down to the basement. 

The next photo with the added towels around the quilt is meant to illustrate the 5x8 version of the rug.

So what do you think?  Here are the issues:

• I have a moderate fear of big rugs (I hate vacuuming).
• If we choose the smaller version, will it look lost in the room?
• We also don't want to cover up too much of the wood floor. There will also be an over-stuffed chair, some book shelves, and a dresser in the room.
• The larger rug is about $100 more expensive.

We need to make a decision by July 15 because that's when The Land of Nod sale ends. Decisions, decisions ....  Any ideas?

Next up on our Anniversary Weekend Itinerary was a trip to Singing Beach at Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass., which is where Charlie and I met nearly five years ago on July 3.  It's a cute little town and a great stretch of beach.  Here we are striking a pose.

After our walk on the beach we had lunch at The Landing at 7 Central.  Lobster salad roll and fries for Charlie, fried fish sandwich and fries for me.  Delish.

The final event of the weekend was defrosting and eating our one-year-old wedding cake.  Now I am a very traditional and superstitious person.  But for some reason, this particular tradition is not that important to me.  Not so for Charlie.  I was afraid of getting food-poisoned from mold.  But we did eat the cake Sunday evening, we did survive, and it actually tasted fine. Ironically, at our wedding the cake was the only food I consumed the whole night. It tasted very good fresh as well.

I can't believe Charlie and I have known each other for nearly five years and have been married for one! It's really flown by.  I feel really lucky to have a met such a special guy who has already stuck with me through both good times and tough times.

And I think he's going to be a great Dad.

Final side note:  We spent a lot of time looking at photos this weekend and can't believe that I weigh almost 40 pounds more than I did on our wedding day.  And alas, it's not all baby weight :)

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Adrienne is Mom Central's Community Manager.

adrienne@momcentral.com | http://twitter.com/adriennelb | http://www.facebook.com/AdrienneLB

Nannies and babysitters and day care centers, oh my!

Over the years I've received tons of encouragement and advice from family and friends as I've approached life's major milestones.  

"You're going to have a ball no matter where you get into college."

"You will find a job you love - it just might take a few tries."

"The next guy you meet will probably not mysteriously elope."

"Buying a house is more than an investment, you need a place to live."

"Ultimately, no one cares if they are invited to your wedding.  Stop worrying about the guest list."

But as I've started to talk to people about finding a good day care situation come the Fall, let's just say the positive energy is hard to come by.  From all reports, finding child care that both you and your partner are comfortable with is tough.  And just the research process itself is causing me tremendous anxiety.

When I was growing up, my grandmother took care of me full time starting from when I was a couple weeks old.  My cousins and I filled her house every day, ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and watched Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and Days of Our Lives.  Bo and Hope have been in my life as long as Big Bird and Cookie Monster. 

When I was about three, I got a reprieve from the soaps at Grammie's house and went to a local Jewish Community Center for a few hours each day.   The highlight there was getting to ride the tricycles around in a circle in the windowless basement.  It wasn't fancy, but I really loved it.

Alas, the "grandparents as primary child care providers" option isn't available to us (my husband's family is in Ohio and my parents passed away), so we've started our search.

My husband Charlie is in grad school at MIT and there is a child care center attached to his building.  Long before we were married and contemplating kids, we started jokingly calling it "Nerd Day Care."  Well, it turns out that the Nerd Day Care is pretty awesome and has an eighteen month waiting list.  We signed up a few weeks ago (yes, our child has not been born yet) and may possibly have a spot in 2011, if we're lucky.

Of the three "buckets" of child care options we are looking into (large child care centers, family day cares run out of a provider's home, and nannies/babysitters), we are focusing first on the large centers first since they tend to have waiting lists.  Bright Horizons and Kinder Care are two national chains that have individual centers around here with good reputations.  Bright Horizons actually runs the center at MIT.

My husband went to a Child Care Resources workshop at his school a few weeks ago and came back with a giant list of licensed family day cares.  Just looking at the list made my ears turn red.  And from what I understand, family day cares often don't know exactly when they will have openings and often don't keep waiting lists.  So you need to just do your research, find a few you like, and then keep calling to see if they have any openings. 

I am nothing if not a planner, and not being able to control what's going to happen six months from now is driving me crazy. But I know I need to get over it.  I need to just get on the phone, starting visiting more centers and family day cares, and start getting the word out that we're open to a nannies and babysitters in the Fall.  And then we need to really think about what is the best option for us.

I also know that we're not the first couple to go through this process, just like I wasn't the first high school student to wonder if I'd get into college, the first college graduate to wonder if I'd get a job, and the first single girl to wonder if I'd ever get married.  It will all come together. 

And by the way, Charlie has really taken the lead on a lot of the research which I love and appreciate.  He's often the only dad in the room at the info sessions and tours he's been attending, and that image makes me smile - and makes me very proud :)

So do you have any tips on streamlining the child care search?  Boy would I love to hear them! 

I also wanted to point out this great post from Jodifur about her child care journey.

Adrienne is Mom Central's Community Manager.

adrienne@momcentral.com | http://twitter.com/adriennelb | Facebook

Interview: Money-saving tips from Heather of 'Freebies 4 Mom'

I’ve always kept an eye on the sale rack, but I’m relatively new to disciplined couponing.  Since I’ve started to contemplate all the new expenses (never mind responsibilities) that come along with having a new baby, I asked Heather from Freebies 4 Mom to share her tips.  Heather has a terrific goal:  to help everyone learn how to save money on the products they use daily. 

How and when did you first become involved in the "Freebie World?"

After my second son was born, I was looking for ways to save money on everything because it was a challenging transition for my family to go from a "dual-income with no kids" to "single-income with two kids" within two years.  So I started paying attention to free samples and coupons because I saw the potential for them to help reduce our grocery bill.  I started spending time online learning about how to save money by taking advantage of all the promotions by retailers and manufacturers.  I discovered that saving money can be fun and it became my hobby to find the best freebies and share them with my friends by email. 

My list of friends grew quickly and I needed to find a new format to share my finds.  Just before my youngest son turned one I started my blog Freebies4Mom.com  so that I could easily share my finds and help others save money too.

I grew up in a family that shopped at garage sales for everything from clothes to cars.  My parents introduced me to the thrill of the hunt for amazing deals at garage sales and stores.  I started using coupons when I was in college, but didn't fully realize their savings power until I became a mom.  I love shopping sales, but especially clearances.  I hunt for clearance items at every store I shop at.  



Now I am rewarded by sharing my freebie finding hobby with thousands of people every day through my blog.  I didn't realize it until recently, but I've spent my entire life earning about everything related to saving money.  I feel I have unique knowledge to pass along to my readers.  I recently received the honor of being included in the Nielsen's Power 50 Moms list as a "Savvy Spender Mom Blog.”  It was quite a surprise and a big thrill to be highlighted out of the thousands of mom blogs out there.  But the biggest honor is to have so many people tell me that I'm helping them save money.

For moms (or anyone) who are new to couponing, what is the best way to take a jump in?



1. Start simple and don't let it overwhelm you. 
2. Start paying attention to the Sunday paper by clipping coupons and reading the weekly store ads.  
3. For free samples that you request online, start visiting Freebie Friday at MomAdvice.com <http://MomAdvice.com>  for the best free samples and free events.  I contribute to this weekly list, and it really is the best weekly list for free stuff around.  
4. If you have a few minutes each day, then start reading my blog Freebies4Mom.com  because I cover a wide variety of freebies and money-savers.  Reading blogs is fun and a great way to get information in a more personal way.  You will find your time spent on freebies and coupons is rewarded.  The more rewarding it becomes the more time you'll want to spend on it.
5. I find that the most important step to take for those new to the frugal world is for people to change the way they think about their purchases.  When you carefully track the money you're spending, you start to think about alternatives to what you are spending on.  Sometimes it's not about denying yourself something, but finding a free alternative to what you want.  The free alternatives are what I focus my blog on.  Don't spend mindlessly, but think about every penny that leaves your wallet and how to keep those pennies in your wallet. 

Money is a resource that we need for our daily lives, but we also need it for our future.  Saving for our own retirement, and for our children's education is important.  Moms need to choose not to spend all of the money they have at this moment, so that they can save for their family's future needs.

I'm a new mom-to-be and there are some scary numbers out there about how much it costs to raise a child from birth to 18, never mind college.  What can moms do to save on the essentials right off the bat?

 

Ignore the statistics about the price of raising children because what matters is how you work within your budget on a day-to-day basis.  The best way to go about saving money on baby and kid stuff is to change the way you acquire the things that you need and want. 

Here are a few ideas:

1. Try to get baby items for FREE
2. If not free, then try for gently USED.   
3. Try to get items new but DISCOUNTED. 

Babies require only a few basics to be happy, but there are a lot of gadgets and extras that are marketed to new moms.  Focus on the basics that you need for baby: food, clothing, diapering, safe equipment (crib, carseat, highchair, etc.).



Do you think it sounds crazy to try to get FREE baby stuff? 

Well, it's not because Freepeats.org  helps you find gently used (and sometimes new) maternity, baby and kid stuff locally in 51 cities.  Some moms (including me) just want to give stuff away to other moms who can use it, but have a hard time connecting with those other moms.  Freepeats connects people so that they can help each other. 

Gift Registries

Getting things for free also means asking for the things you need and want as gifts.  Register at a store your family and friends shop at.  My favorite is the Target Baby Registry because they have everything and it's easy to buy things in the store or online.  Or you can ask for gift cards so you can buy exactly what you need (even diapers). 

Garage Sales

If you have time to go to garage sales, it can be rewarding to visit them at the end of the sale when people will sometimes give stuff away rather than hauling it off to donate.  See how many different ways there are to get things for your baby without taking money out of your purse?

  You can find gently used baby stuff from several different sources.  This is where you have to be a treasure hunter, so it helps if you can tell your friends and family what you are looking for so that they can help you hunt for that treasure.  You can go to garage sales, shop at thrift stores, or shop online at local forums.  Garage sales are fun to go to, but can be one of the most time-consuming ways to find things. 

Resale Shops

Resale shops are excellent places to find what you need, especially the ones the specialize in maternity/baby/kid stuff.  If you are looking for bigger items like strollers, then it's best to call resale shops ahead and ask them what they have in-stock. 

Local Forums

Online local forums like Craig's List  or Walmart's Free Classifieds  are great places to look (and great places to sell your own stuff because it's free to list items for sale).



Discounts and Clearance Sales

After you've exhausted your resources for getting free and gently used baby stuff, then you need to look at how to buy what you need new but at a discounted price.  When you shop a great clearance sale (70 to 90% off original price) look closely and think ahead to what your kids will need up to a year from now.  Also use this as an opportunity to stock your gift closet for your own children and for the birthdays they attend. 

Use the internet as a resource for finding deals, comparing prices, and reading product reviews.  My favorite deal-finding blog is BabyCheapskate.com. 

Returns

Another part of being a smart shopper is to return the things that you don't need or change your mind on.  I'm amazed by how many people who have brand-new clothing with tags hanging in their kids closets that they outgrow before they ever wear.  Keep your receipts and return things promptly as soon as you realize you don't need it.  It's usually worth your time to make those returns happen and get your money back in your purse.

What stores (online or brick-and-mortar) do you think consistently offer the best deals on baby supplies?



The best deals are at your local grocery store, superstore, or drugstore if you time your purchase right.  It's a great idea to read the weekly store ads to know what's on sale and then use coupons if possible on those sales items that you need in your household. 

When buying diapers and formula the best source of information is Baby Cheapskate, where you'll find the "Top Diaper and Formula Deals of the Week" posted every Sunday. 

How do you find coupons beyond the Sunday coupon inserts? 

Visit me at Freebies4Mom.com where I list the hottest printable coupons  and tell you about free samples that usually include coupons.  Saving money is all about timing your purchases.  You can save the most when you wait to use a coupon when the item is on sale.  There are also deals online at Amazon.com and other retailers, but you usually have to buy in-bulk and sometimes factor in the shipping cost before you determine if it's really a good deal. 

I think you'll find better deals in-store if you are willing to spend some time looking for the best deals each week and are willing to shop at a few different stores.

What about baby furniture?  Where do you shop?



For baby furniture I recommend looking for sales, not buying gender-specific styles, and keeping things simple.  I bought our baby furniture at Target, Walmart, and Babies 'R Us and it was all either on sale or just a great low price. 

With furniture purchases you have to think long-term.  Where will this furniture be in 10 years?  With the new convertible crib styles, you can keep your crib well beyond the baby years.  Some convertible cribs can become a headboard and footboard for a full-size bed.

My nursery furniture used for both of my boys is now all in my guest room (which previously only had folding tables as furniture with the bed on a basic frame).  It does cost a little more to buy the convertible crib, but if you think ahead to how you will use it I think it can be worth it.  I purchased my crib at Babies 'R Us when it was on sale, you also should keep an eye out on the coupons they issue. 

My rocking chair I found in the Garden Department at Walmart for a great price.  I totally skipped the expensive gliders because I just didn't think I needed one (and I didn't).  My basic rocking chair worked great for rocking and nursing my babies.  Now it works great for reading books to my toddlers.  I did splurge at Target on a matching chifarobe and dresser that was on clearance at Target.  But when I bought them I knew that someday I would move them into my guest room.



And for clothing? Where are the best deals?

Almost all of my kids clothing are hand-me-downs or were purchased at garage sales.  Especially now that I have two boys close in age, I almost never go shopping for their clothing.  If I do go shopping, it's because we have a very specific need (like a winter coat) that our current stock of clothing won't cover.  If I don't have time to hunt for something at a resale shop or at garage sales, the I will shop my favorite stores both in-store and online. 

I like to shop for kids clothing at Target and Old Navy because they have cute stuff and prices are reasonable (especially the sales and clearances).  I always look at the Clearance section first and I try to think ahead to what we will need for the next season if the prices are really low.  But I primarily rely on the hand-me-downs and garage sale finds.  It's wonderful not to worry about ruining any of our pre-loved clothing because we didn't spend a lot of money on it.

How can moms take advantage of your site on a daily basis?




If you are new to Freebies4Mom.com, I'd love to welcome you with a short introduction and orientation here.  If you have time to visit Freebies4Mom.com every day, then you'll have fun browsing the hottest freebies and coupons around.  If you prefer to get an email from me every day, then it's easy to subscribe to the Freebies4Mom email updates here .  I post several new things each and every day because the hottest freebies last for less than a day. 

My job is to sift through all the freebies and promotions out there and tell you about the best ones.  Most of the free samples I share are for consumable products that most families use.  Because I have two toddlers, I have an eye out for the freebies for our children to share with my readers.  If you are looking for a specific freebie, coupon or type of offer, then just type it into my "Search" box at the top right.  I've also got great resources lists at the bottom of the left sidebar that can give you some general categories to browse.  A great post for any parent to read is my "Baby, Toddlers, and Kid Freebies ."  Moms with toddlers and school-age children will find my new Rewarding Summer Reading Programs  list useful.  I like to share free alternatives to family entertainment  because buying movies and reading material can add up fast, but are some of the easiest things to get for free.


Where to find Heather:

Freebies 4 Mom blog
Follow Freebies 4 Mom on Twitter

Thanks for all the great tips, Heather!

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Are you running a website, blog or business catering to new moms?  Email adrienne@momcentral.com if you'd like to be featured here on the Mom Central Baby blog.

How many car seats do I need?

A good friend of mine gave me the book Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Gear, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! and I started reading it this weekend. I made it through the introduction and part of the first chapter and then started to have a panic attack.

What set me off?  Well, according to the book ....

• if I want to order a crib from a specialty store, I should do it by my 20th week (I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant).  If I want to order from a big box store like Babies 'R Us, I need to do it by week 25.  We haven't even started thinking about cribs.
• I need an infant car seat in addition to the convertible kind.  Lots of people make due with just one infant seat, but for safety reasons, it's best to get the infant seat as well.  It's not so much the prospect of buying a bunch of different car seats, but SAFETY!  I do not want to make the wrong decision here.

Yes, there are only two bullets above, but that's as far as I made it through the book before I walked downstairs and handed it to my husband and told him to start reading.

Getting ready for a baby reminds me a bit of planning for our wedding.  I'm constantly feeling five steps behind - as if everyone else is more prepared than me.   I'm nervous about doing things to early (worried about bad luck, I think) but obviously I want to be ready when the baby arrives.  It's a tough balance.  I think I'll feel better once I start to make a list.

And for the record, I think I'm really going to find Baby Bargains handy.  I just need to be prepared mentally to get started preparing ;)