Gate Checking Your Car Seat Just Got a Tad Less Nasty
Why why why why why oh why did no one tell me about the Car Seat Gate Check Bag until now?
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Car Seat Covers That Even Your Kid (Who Just Peed On It) Could Put On
I'm all for car seat covers, but my measure of their usefulness has to do with whether they are actually easier to install than the car seat. Thank you, Traffic Glam, both for getting into my head and making a cover that does not require a master's degree to use.
The Glass Sipper
We're always looking out for safer, non-leaching plastic baby bottle alternatives, but I'm still a bit reluctant to make the leap to glass.
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Boon is Putting the Self in Self-Feeding
I have one of those toddlers who insists on feeding himself with a spoon or fork. He also refuses to wear a bib. Put those two together and it's a brutal combination.
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A High Chair That Grows With Your Kid: Magic? No, Mutsy.
I've definitely had several registry regrets. Take the high chair for example - that ugly, cumbersome, "good for only 2 years maybe" high chair. Not one of my finer decisions.
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Children's Car Seats: Better Safe Than...Not Safe
Of all the things most likely to make a new parent's head spin, I submit that it's not the colicky baby or the first diaper blow-out that's the hardest. That honor belongs to the selection of a car seat.
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The Ultimate Bottle: According to the Company, and According to Me
Confession: I used to think nipple confusion was a myth invented by lactivists to keep kids on the boob. And then my second girl came along and, holy sleepless night, Batman, she would not take a bottle, no way no how.
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Shopping Cart Covers You Don't Want to Cover
We are considering starting a category in the CMP archives called "If You're Freaked Out By Germs..." There are evidently more high chair and shopping cart covers out there than I think people actually using them.
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Baby Jail Makeover
As a fairly frequent flyer, I've always packed my own portable play yard because, well, you know why. The thought of using a hotel crib or that borrowed play yard that's been growing mold in your friend's basement for a few years gives me shivers on top of shivers.
... [More]A Rare High-End Pick From Cool Mom Picks: The Mutsy Stroller
I fully admit to gawking in disbelief at my friend who had bought a $700 stroller. I mean, unless the stroller self-propels itself down the street AND gives you a foot massage when you arrive at your destination, I just didn't see the need for it. But then I encountered Mutsy.
Getting Kozy
If you think a car seat cover is frivolous, I can give you plenty of reasons why you might need one. Aside from the invaluable protection against juice and other not-so-friendly fluids, it can also de-genderize a verrrrry pink or navy blue car seat passed down from an older sibling or cousin.
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The Horsepower of Babble
The only upside to the drab colors of most car seats is that bodily fluids blend in well. Otherwise, ugh. I know safety is the first priority, but car seats look and feel as if they were fashioned from Aunt Martha's ancient sofa.
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My Fellow Germaphobes, I Salute You
For all the snickers I get from my friends for owning and proudly using a shopping cart cover, I am dying to say shut up! I love it.
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Safety + Style
Remember the good old days of driving cross-country with your parents, sprawled out across the back seat of the station wagon? Seat belts--please. Who used seat belts?
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Those Who Skipped the Changing Table, Raise Your Hand
With my daughter, I invested in a handy dandy changing table that I used all of four times. I strongly suggest you use a dresser top and a changing pad...or like I did, maybe just your bed. Then all you need is a cute little diaper caddy to hold the essentials.
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Leave the Free Stuff From the Hospital...at the Hospital
I searched long and hard for the perfect diaper bag but oddly, I spent less energy on the stuff that actually goes inside it--you know, the things your baby actually comes in contact with, like the changing pad and those disposable wipe thingies I nicked from the hospital.
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Just the Boost You Need
When my daughter moved from high chair to booster seat I was incredibly disappointed at the selection. We went from ultra modern to cheap and unchic with a flash of the credit card.
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Beechwood is the New Plastic
Back when I had imaginary children, I was confident that my house would be filled exclusively with old-school wooden learning toys that were always put away by shiny, happy tykes who sat in their fancy wooden high chairs and ate every bit of their nutritious meals.
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Reinventing the Highchair
I'm pretty low-maintenance in the "carrying baby gear around" category. Okay, I'm pathetic. We rarely remember to bring bibs when we go out to dinner, let alone a portable high chair But as I've learned, it does make feeding her a little tricky in a hotel room or at the home of a friend with no young kids.
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Haute Chairs
I love my old-fashioned wooden high chair but I admit, every time I see those little teddy bears on the fabric seat it came with it makes me cringe, just a little. In fact, I'm sort of glad when my daughter gets tomato sauce all over it, because that's just a few more bears I don't have to look at for the time being.
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Cooshie, Cooshie, Cool
Restaurant booster seats? Hate 'em. They're always covered with the slimy remnants of another toddler's meal -- or we hope that sticky mess is from leftover food and not something worse.
Svanity Fair
As a Svan superfan I was all but throwing a party when I heard the news that Scandinavian Child was introducing its newest Svan product, a chic-as-chit bouncy seat! I know, I know. Exciting stuff, right?
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Higher Standards
Here at Cool Mom Picks, we feel you get what you pay for. That is why we recommend the Swiss-made Svan highchair for the practical parent who'd rather coordinate with her dinner table than with her baby's bouncy seat.
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Ask Cool Mom Picks
I have been searching for a photo album or scrapbook that is NOT in the classic style you see everywhere that's either pink and fluffy or traditional leather. Any ideas? -Sarah
Googling "photo albums" can definitely lead to very bad things. We always find cool stuff at Zanisa and we like the Molly West books at Chittypulga.
But lately we really dig the handmade wooden albums from Tree by Kerri Lee [pictured] with metal hinges and the funky wooden ring and strap. And the prices are terrific.
Got a gift dilemma? A shopping conundrum? Write to CMP at info@coolmompicks.com.
CMP Flickr Group
CMP reader Sarah's daughter Alli looks cozy and snug in her Baby Bisou Carrier.
Have a picture of your little one (or yourself) in a Cool Mom Picks find or prize you've won? Join our Flickr group so we can show off your good taste to the world.
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