Today we’ve got Lamaze toys by TOMY brands. Lamaze toys are pretty mainstream and aren’t known for being “green” in particular. However, the company, that also owns my favorite Boon, is obviously set on making safe products.
First of all, all Lamaze toys are made primarily out of fabric with a few small plastic components.
What Lamaze toys DO NOT HAVE:
Fire Retardants
PVC
Now that’s that out of the way…
{Read the first part about toy chemicals here}
I remember when I first got our Apple Park toys when Alexis was still little, I became obsessed. I had never seen organic toys that were SO COOL! I never even hoped I’d find something like that. A company that carries a good assortment of organic toys that don’t look like they’ve been sewn by hand ( though that look can be cute).
Take this crawling ladybug critter. It has a wood teething ring, a soft body and a cute little leaf to suck on. But that is not what kept ME playing with it. If you pull on the teething ring and let go, the ladybug vibrates and moves towards you. Wicked cool! So it’s a teething toy that later would be turned into a cool moving toy that even a toddler wouldn’t be bored of.
Heading our SAFE TOYS FEATURE is HABA, a wooden toys giant!
Haba, to me, is an exception to my “rule” that the bigger the manufacturer, the more careless about safety they are. They are the best example of a company that stayed true to itself as it grew, a company with a conscience.
According to Haba their products comply with EU standards, as well as are tested independently.
My two favorite lines of Haba are wooden toys and their new Organic toy line.
The wooden toys are painted with solvent-free, environmentally friendly, water-based stain, which is where the trouble usually arises with some traditional paints having lead and formaldehyde. So you can be sure that it is ok for babies to mouth HABA’s toys.
This Pixie World Stroller Toy was one of Lexi’s favorites to look at when she was little and play with when she got a bit older ( though, I do not recommend leaving your child alone to play with this).
Continuing our stroller feature, I bring to you new-to-USA Kiddy City’n Move, a well-priced lightweight umbrella stroller with features that rival its more expensive competitors.
We have been awaiting the American release of this stroller ever since last year and finally it is here and it couldn’t be better. We got to test drive it pretty well during our trip to Disney.
Let me go over the stats and features, as well as give my personal opinion from weeks of use.
I honestly don’t know where to start this post. There is so much I need to say and explain. The biggest reason why I am writing it is to help other parents not go through the hell we had to go through with our infant carseat. {If you don’t want to read our story and skip to the review of the carseat, click here}
When I was 6 months pregnant and working on our baby registry, the most difficult decision BY FAR was what stroller to register for. I am sure all new moms will agree with me that if you have a decent stroller budget, you are COMPLETELY overwhelmed by the choices and options and your future baby’s needs.
I spent days researching concepts that were so foreign to me at the time. Lightweight? Luxury? Air filled tires? 6 months and up? Bassinet? Reclining seat? Car seat adaptor? Full canopy? UV protective? Expensive? Cheap? Forward facing or rear facing? Tall or adjustable handlebar? Cupholder? Snack tray? Good suspension? iPhone charger? All terrain? Jogging? Shopping basket? EVA tires?
Seriously, your head spins with the amount of options out there. It’s beyond any other item I have EVER had to shop for, including high chairs, which was pretty hard but not THAT hard.
I finally gave up and registered for a reputable brand because my friend had 2 strollers of theirs. I am sure that is exactly what most people do when they are too overwhelmed by options and don’t want/don’t care to research and make a decision.
I figured that most new mothers are probably faced with the same decision process I had to go through, so I decided to see if I can try to review a stroller in each different category to see which features are a MUST and which ones can be PASSED UP. At least, from my standpoint.
So in the next few weeks, you will see 5 posts that are a part of this STROLLER FEATURE. The 5 categories are: LUXURY STROLLER (Mutsy 4Rider), LIGHTWEIGHT/UMBRELLA STROLLER (Kiddy City’n'Move), AFFORDABLE ALL TERRAIN STROLLER (GoGo Babyz Urban Advantage), JOGGING STROLLER (Baby Jogger Summit XC) and HIGH TECH STROLLER (4Moms Origami).
A Dutch stroller company Mutsy {pronounced [Moot-si] was established in 1937 with the most adorable little carriages you have ever seen. But it wasn’t until 1975 that they came out with their first ADJUSTABLE stroller with a reclining back and then in 1978, one that transforms from a bassinet into a seat. That, for me, is the essence of Mutsy as a stroller company – ADAPTABILITY.
The versatility of Mutsy strollers is beyond anything I imagined and more than I had hoped for. Mutsy 4Rider, which is the red stroller you’ve been seeing in most of my pictures, is their top of the line luxury stroller that is MADE with your baby in mind ( and a few features to appease parents too). When I was looking at all the options different strollers had, I was convinced that there wasn’t one stroller that had it all, and that in order to get everything I wanted, I had to get at least 3 strollers. However, after spending the last 7 months using the 4Rider, I can tell you honestly, THIS IS as close to ALL-IN-ONE as you can get!
Now before I get further into the review, one thing you have to know is that it is by NO MEANS a lightweight stroller. It is VERY heavy. It’s not meant to be lightweight or compact. It’s meant to be comfortable for baby and parents, and full of features. {Mutsy DID come out with a lighter, more compact stroller just a few months ago, Evo, with similar features as 4Rider, from what I can see}.
My favorite part of Mutsy 4Rider is the amount of options and features this stroller has. In fact, I am STILL learning new features as I write this review ( I’ve gone “Baby, did you know Mutsy can do this?” to my husband three times in the last hour). These guys have thought of pretty much ANY scenario.
We all know how different babies are and you just have NO way of knowing what your future baby is going to like or hate until you try it. This stroller pretty much ensures that you’ll have something to appease your little one with. That’s where the options the 4Rider offers really come in handy.
So let’s go over them quickly, shall we?
Let’s start with the most common configuration of the 4Rider, using its seat.
Other features:
For more information on MUTSY, visit the following:
I also made this cute little video of all the times we’ve been going out with our Mutsy 4Rider.
Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. Mutsy provided me with a stroller sample to review. All opinions are 100% my own.
I have a post about Baby Led Weaning all written and scheduled, but BEFORE I dive into our experience, I wanted to write a quick post about the gear we are using in this awesome adventure, so that when referring to a high chair or plate or spoon, you’d know exactly what we are using and why.
Let’s start with the big one:
There were only two things I “agonized” over when it came to baby gear in general. It was strollers and high chairs. I mean, there are SOOOO many options, and they are all SOOOO different!
The options are crazy:
Big tray vs. small tray Full high chair vs. chair/table add-on Wooden vs. plastic
Toxic materials vs. Safe Modern vs traditional Stands out vs. Fit into the decor
“Hose-able” vs. not Expensive vs. Cheap Popular vs. relatively unknown
I can go on and on and on.
I kept going back and forth between settling for a cherry wood one like Eddie Bauer or Svan, or going for something cool and modern looking like Boon Flair or Bjorn.
I finally decided to go with Boon Flair. I know the company, I know its commitment to non-toxic products like no other, and it looks darn cool.
Having used the chair for a month now, I realized how silly my initial dilemma was. Of course, a sleek, easy to clean one is the way to go. What was I even thinking considering a wooden chair with a cushion. I laugh at myself now knowing first hand exactly HOW messy feedings can be. Boon Flair isn’t without its flaws, of course, but I’ll get to that.
Let me begin with how STINKING COOL it looks! From the aesthetical standpoint, it gets a TEN out of ten! One day I rolled it outside to hose it off and I just couldn’t handle the awesomeness of its looks. I mean, look at it! Have you seen a more beautiful sight? I bet you haven’t! :)
It comes in a few colors: white+orange, white+blue, red+white and green+white and you can buy additional color cushions if you wish, separately.
Now that you’re done gazing lovingly at the Boon Flair chilling among colorful hammocks….
It has a cool looking silver pneumatic lift that raises the chair to your desired height. Ours fits PERFECTLY under our breaskfast table. Flair takes up little room due to its design so if you’re short on space, it’ll fit nicely under your table. It fits a baby up to 50 lbs, till 4 years of age. The shoulder straps are kind of annoying, in my opinion, because they don’t let Lexi move as well as she likes to (she’s an active baby). However, I feel the crotch strap, coupled with the snap-in tray and parental attention is good enough so that the shoulder straps aren’t necessary unless you’re leaving your child alone in the chair.
It doesn’t have a recline some high chairs “boast”, but in my personal opinion, as well as a few materials I’ve read, a baby should NEVER be reclined while eating. EVER. That’s a direct train to choking town. If your baby can’t sit up yet, then he/she isn’t ready for solids. As simple as that.
LOVE IT! I roll the chair outside, take a hose and go to town while Lexi watches in a carrier (or I just have Andrew do it). The design of the chair is practically seamless. There are virtually no spaces for food to hide it, nothing to scrub out. Both the pad and the chair can be wiped clean if needed, but I prefer hosing it down, since Lexi is a messy eater :) The tray is removable as well and the tray covers are dishwasher safe AND fit into the dishwasher nicely. There is only 1 flaw that I could find that I hope Boon eventually addresses. While the whole chair is completely seamless, the plastic snaps on the straps are not. They have crevices, and these crevices catch food, and it’s just really hard to get it once it dries. Not impossible, but requires a hose. I would have liked to be able to just wipe them up, instead. And since Lexi feeds herself, she little dirty hands get all over those straps.
The crotch straps easily adjust with a button on each end, so you don’t have to fight with traditionally adjustable straps. The pedal in the base of the chair turns the breaks on and off, so you can go from rolling the chair around to securing it in one position. It rolls really easily on hard floors, too. The tray snaps and unsnaps easily with one hand which is a life-saver when you have to hold your wiggly baby back while putting the tray in. One aspect of the chair I have to bring up is the size of the tray. I know my first reaction was that it was small. Seeing the massive trays of other high chairs, I was worried I am missing out on something. However, bigger is not always better! What I found out is that the small tray ROCKS! Small tray means Lexi can reach ALL her food on the tray. She spends half her time pushing the food around, trying to pick it up, especially when it’s slimy, and if it wasn’t for the small tray, then the food pieces would get out of her reach quickly enough. With Boon chair she pushes the food to the edge of the tray and picks it up with the other hand. Brilliant!
Aside from the spotless record that Boon has in the recall department, they are BPA, PVC, phthalate, lead and cadmium free. I actually emailed them to verify that it applies to their high chairs and they confirmed that all components around the feeding area are free of the aforementioned toxins.
At around $200 on Amazon, it’s a good price for a chair with these feature and quality. It doesn’t look or feel cheap. The construction is very solid and doesn’t feel cheap plasticky like some other chairs. It comes with 2 removable tray covers, which is nice, because we never clean them right after eating :) You can buy replacement cushion or one of a different color for $22, which is nice (I hate when accessories are crazy expensive).
BUY IT: Amazon
WIN IT: Enter Boon Flair giveaway at the end of this post
After I was done deciding on a chair, I needed to get the feeding items. Again, the issue here was finding something that is verifiably 100% free of BPA, PVC and phthalates. I have a Pinterest board that I started collecting items that I have researched and are NOT toxic that you can visit.
I didn’t know what was going to work for Lexi, so I ordered a few things off of Amazon to see if I like them.
At first I decided to go with the Bjorn plate, it looked cute and was just as good anything else out there. Except for, it didn’t fit the tray. Whoops! That got put away for later non tray use. But the spoons are used on daily basis.
So I figured, if I’ve got a Boon chair, why don’t I try Boon plates. They worked out really well and that’s what I’ll be ordering from now on.
I ordered the following:
The Boon Saucer is awesome. It’s the perfect size for the tray, which means it doesn’t slip and is NOT easy for Lexi to pick up and throw ( another bonus of having a small tray). It has three compartments. I usually load the farthest two with food and then put 1 food item in the bigger one closest to her, this way she doesn’t go crazy and overwhelmed swiping the items of the plate.
The Bowl with the Catcher is even better. It has a suction cup on the bottom, Lexster can’t pull it off and throw it either unless she is really bent on it. I love using it for soups and pureed things like hummus or guacamole.
I am iffy on the edgeless dishes, simply because she has no problems picking them up and waving them over her head, so I put them aside for future use when throwing plates isn’t as fun anymore :)
OXO training cup has a special lid with small openings to help babies learn how to drink and not spill.I am not sure how much the lid with openings does, but the cup itself is really nice. Light, completely safe and easy to clean. It also comes with handles on both sides if your baby prefers that. The lid is meh, we use it mostly without.
Kushies mat is non-vinyl, non- toxic, easy to clean, easily to spread on the floor. I am not a fan of the patterns, but it’s a splat mat, so who cares. To be completely honest, though, I find it easier to clean food off the floor, than to have to wash the mat. What it does a good job of is catching food she throws and keeping it clean so that I can put it back on her plate.
Tried a silicone Bjorn bib with a pocket, tried conventional bibs, but the only thing that worked out was a complete coverage bib from Bumkins. Everything else was a joke. The best thing that works for Lexi is naked with that bib. We’ve been successfully using this one for weeks now.
I wrote about the cookbook in this Awesome Book Finds post and would recommend it to anyone who does Baby Led Weaning and searches for ways to make healthy and fun meals for their baby. If you are not currently using the BLW method, I’d highly recommend you read the BLW book. Not necessarily because you want to try a different method of feeding your child but because it has a lot of good ideas on how to build a strong and health relationship with your child when it comes to mealtime.
Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. Boon Inc provided me with a high chair sample to review. All opinions are 100% my own.
When I saw this gym on one of the blogs, I knew I had to try it. Being a huge fan of Finn&Emma (see Lexi Awards), I knew that the gym wasn’t going to disappoint from eco standpoint and design. However, I was wondering if such a simple bar with a few toys would keep Lexi’s attention for long enough, like conventional gyms do.
By the time I received the gym, Lexi was 5 months and already sitting up. That actually worked in our favor, because if she were to be in a lying position, she wouldn’t be able to get the toys into her mouth, and she’s pretty forceful when it comes to tasting everything she can lay her little hands on.
So I sat her next to the Finn &Emma gym and she went to town. She didn’t hesitate to taste every single toy on the bar. Over the next few months, the arch has been empty half the time. Do you know why? Because she was SO in love with the wool toys and the wooden teethers that we had to take them with us EVERYWHERE we went.
It didn’t make much sense to me why she preferred these toys over any others, but she clearly did. The two wool animals had feet just the perfect size for her mouth and 90% of the time she HAD them in her mouth. The wooden teethers were fun to manipulate and easy to hold for her. And the biggest bonus for me? They clip in a way no other hanging toys does. Rather than use velco which ultimately ends up “un-velcroing” under the strength of a 6 months baby, Finn and Emma used a ribbon with a clip at the end, so no amount of pulling would unclip it from the stroller, their wrist, your wrist, etc etc and drop it on the dirty floor. Dirty floor is where most our toys end up on, except for these toys. That also made the toys mommy’s favorite.
That clip and ribbon is what she loves to chew on the most, so they are always soaking wet, but give her hours of entertainment. No joke!
You know how sometimes you buy something, you use it and then you just shake your head and wonder whether these people ever tested the product at all- it doesn’t work or works poorly. Well, I have to say that the toys of this gym, specifically, work like they have been tested by both parents and babies over and over again. Huge winner in my eyes!
Because we received the gym at the time when Alexis was no longer interested in playing while lying down, I cannot tell you how it’d do with younger babies. I know Alexis has always been the kind of baby to take toys into her mouth rather than swat at them. I can see where that would present a problem for “pullers” like her since the wooden arch doesn’t bend.
Alexis did spend a decent amount of time just swatting at the toys but soon became frustrated when she couldn’t get them in her mouth. For a younger baby that shouldn’t be a problem since they don’t have the hand coordination to grab a toy and bring it to mouth yet.
Unlike other more traditionally styled gyms, this can be easily used once the baby is sitting up, which extends the lifespan of the toy. That and the amazing portability of it (we’ll be taking it with us to Disney to do something in the hotel room while we are waiting out the midday heat) have made me a big fan of the gym. And once she is too old to play with it, I already have an idea of covering it with a piece of fabric and creating a puppet show within the arch.
According to Finn & Emma’s description, the gym is made out of untreated hardwood, organic cotton, hand knit , non-toxic toys with wool stuffing. Recently the whole “untreated hardwood” came in handy, since Lexi has gotten into a habit of lifting one of the gym’s leg over her head and then shoving the whole thing into her mouth. Yeah…no further comment.
LEARN MORE ABOUT FINN AND EMMA
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BUY IT: Amazon
WIN IT: Finn & Emma would like to give this gym away to one lucky reader. See details below.
Finn and Emma GymBELOW ARE THE GIVEAWAYS RULES
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Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. FInn and Emma provided me with a product sample to review. All opinions are 100% my own.
