Product Review: Comforts for Baby by Kroger Co.

Hey everyone!

Gosh, it has been awhile. Things have been crazy around our house! Little man is on the fast track to turning 1!! Where has time gone? Where has my itty bitty baby gone? But, I guess time only moves in one direction, so we have been making the most of it. 

A few months ago, I became a BzzAgent. Through this company, I sample products and provide feedback on the products. Recently I tested out the Kroger Co. baby brand, Comforts for Baby FOR FREE! 

I do the majority of my grocery shopping at Dillons, and have seen the Comforts for Baby products before, but I had never tried them. But, I had the opportunity to try out their diapers, baby wash, lotion, and wipes. I was nervous at first because baby J has sensitive skin and new products can make him break out easily. But, I was pleasantly surprised when baby J didn't break out AT ALL!

The diapers are light weight, which is nice in this Kansas heat. But, just as absorbent as the top brands. They even have cute little bees on them! The only problem I had was when we added them to our diaper genie, once the bag was full, the pressure of the other diaper on top caused them to leak, but not a big deal. 

The baby wash left baby J smelling fresh and clean. I prefer baby wash over shampoo so it can be used all over, and I know it is tearless. The lotion had a lovely lavender scent that baby J loved and went straight to sleep after being under the lavender spell....so relaxing! 

The wipes were like any other wipe, they come in a variety of packs and options. 

But, the great thing about these products is that they are AFFORDABLE! It is also convenient for someone like me who does the majority of their shopping at Dillons (A Kroger Co.) so I don't have to make an added trip somewhere which is nice with a little one! 

I highly recommend these products. They are super affordable so just give them a shot! 

Sorry it took so long..allergy update

Hey guys!

Sorry I have been away for a few weeks. Things have been getting a bit crazy lately. Baby J finally, FINALLY, broke his top 4 teeth through. It seems like he was teething FOREVER! So, he has been a handful to say the least.

I have been busy with some doctors appointments and testing which made me sick for a few days, and then I caught a cold, and so did baby J. He still has the sniffles, poor guy.

For those of you who don't know, for the past 2 years, I have been suffering a rare allergy sensitivity to cat dander. This sensitivity is so strong that if around someone who owns a cat, or visits a home with cats frequently, I go into a large allergy/asthma attack where my throat starts to close, I can't breathe and I start to black out.

This sensitivity has caused a lot of problems as you could imagine because cat dander is so common. 90% of our family, both Chris' side and mine, has cats or visits a house that has a cat frequently. We haven't seen most of our family since this started happening, which has caused problems. Mainly because shortly after finding out about this sensitivity, I became pregnant. Now, Baby J has yet to meet some of his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents (well, they met a few times, but they haven't been able to hold him) so there has been a lot of strain on my husband and I's relationship and our relationship with our family because there hasn't been anything we can do.

I had met with numerous doctors prior to getting pregnant, and the only options for helping an allergy is the regular over the counter meds, and allergy shots (immunotherapy). The doctors I spoke with refused to give me shots due to the severity of my allergy. Immunotherapy is when they actually inject the allergens you are allergic to, into your system and try to trick your immune system into thinking these are not allergens that need to be fought off, and therefore your immune system will stop fighting them and causing the allergy attacks. But, since my sensitivity level is so high and severe, they claimed giving me the shots would be too much of a fatal risk.

We called around to numerous doctors and they refused to do them. A month later, I found out I was pregnant so even if I could find a doctor willing to do the shots, I couldn't get them while pregnant. My doctor actually stopped seeing me once he found out I was pregnant because he wanted my OB/GYN to manage my meds and track my oxygen levels. He told me to call him after I had my 6 week post partum check up, I did when I needed my meds refilled, only to find out that he dropped me as a patient completely. He refused to carry me as a patient as I am too high risk and there is nothing he can do to help me and even refused to refill my meds. But, as if that wasn't crappy enough...he "black listed" me with other doctors in town. I tried calling to get in with a new doctor to get my meds refilled and NO ONE would take me. Most knew my case from when I called prior to pregnancy about shots, and had heard from my dr (or EX-DR) that my case was too high risk to be treated and there was nothing anyone could do.

So here I am, without my asthma and allergy meds and can't get a dr to see me. But, after a referral from a friend, I called to a dr that I hadn't met or spoke with before, and he agreed to set up an appointment...for 6 months down the road! He was booked solid for 6 months, which had to be a good sign, right? He must be a good dr if he is booked that far out. At the beginning of this month, I finally got to meet with him. After telling him my story, he basically told Chris and I that the other dr's are full of sh*t and that he will try and help me. He apoligized for the other dr's and how they treated me and said he would take a chance on me.

Now, he changed some of my meds, and I will be starting immunotherapy at the end of the month. If I don't have an allergic reaction to the shots, it will be a 5 year program a 6 week build up and then maintenance shots after that, and it may help with the sensitivity. He said he didn't think I would ever be able to go to house with a cat, but, I will at least be able to visit with people who have cats, just not at their home. Which is a big relief, but I feel sorry for the part of the family who doesn't own cats, because it looks like holidays will be at their homes instead of the regular homes (that had cats). But, I don't think they will mind.

I am so grateful to have found a dr willing to take a chance on me and willing to try and help. I would be lying if I said I'm not scared, because afterall...90% of the drs I have met with have said the shots could be fatal. But, I have to give it a shot and hope that all goes well. We miss our family. We want to have another baby, but I want to wait until I know our family can be around for my pregnancy, have a baby shower (which I didn't get with Baby J) and the birth of this child as it would be our last. I want to have holidays with our family and see Baby J interact with all of his cousins, he has A LOT, our family is HUGE!

So here is to hope, trying to regain my faith, and family.

If you could take a minute out of your day and say a little prayer for me and my family, I would appreciate it.

Thank you! Have a wonderful weekend!

p.s I will have a few reviews coming up within this next month! If there is anything you would like a review on, let me know!

What are your Dreams?

Happy Hump Day!

As I watch the news special about the anniversary of the MLK's I have a dream speech, I starting thinking about my own dreams. Now days, it seems like dreams are out of reach. I try to think positive and hope for things that aren't extreme. Lets face it, I can dream all day long that I am going to become a millionaire, but that is far fetched.

The past few years have been hard on my family and I as we dealt with my severe allergies and not being able to do much and not being able to see a lot of our families. We lost our second income and gained an added expense, a very joyful expense, our little boy who is much, much more than just an expense. He was a dream come true.

But with the changes, we lost hope. We prayed for answers, we prayed for financial help, we prayed for solutions, and we haven't received any of it. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect things to land in our lap. But we have done our fair share of searching with no end in sight. This has caused our hope to depreciate and I am trying to find a way to gain that hope back.

My hubby and I talk everyday about things we wish could happen. Dreams of ours that are somewhat realistic. We try and think positive and keep our heads held high, and maybe, just maybe that will pay off at some point.

I felt like I could share what our dreams are with our viewers. I receive such positive messages from my viewers and some even ask questions as if I know all the answers and that makes me feel good about what I have started here, and that I am open to sharing so that we keep things at a personal level.

Here are a few of our dreams/hopes/wishes that we have in mind;

• A cure for my rare sensitivity so we can at least see some of our family again, and be recognized as family instead of the enemy, who they seem to talk so poorly about.
• A new home, one that has all of the healthiest purifying equipment to help me breathe better and to provide a cleaner atmosphere for my family.
• I'd love to move away from Kansas. I've lived here my whole life, and in the farming area. Its not the greatest place for a someone with hay fever to live and I would love to live by a beach somewhere, but who wouldn't?!
• My husband loves selling race parts and car parts. He attends auctions each year and cleans items up and resells them. We hope to make it into some sort of business.
• A blogging career, I enjoy blogging so much and hope to get to a point that I am recognized for it and may be able to travel to the blogging conferences and be able to blog about bigger things like vacation places for your family and my reviews.
• I would love to travel with my family. As a kid we never really had family vacations because my sister and I were so involved in sports that our summer didn't allow for extra time to go on vacations. My husbands family went skiing almost every year and took numerous vacations. I want to show my son the world. I want to experience it with him and my husband.
• I would be lying if I didn't say that I wanted my husband to make it in the big leagues of racing. He has such a passion for it and would love to see that all of his hard work pays off for him in the end. He deserves it.

Now, these are pretty normal dreams. There is nothing too extreme and I think with hard work in some aspects, we should be able to achieve some of these things. The allergy cure is out of my hands. But, I am meeting with a doctor next week and he seems promising. Now, I must continue working on my dream of becoming a great blogger and working my way up the career ladder in the blogging world!

I hope that dreams come true, I wish our hope will come back, and things will fall into place. I hope the same for all of you. I want to know some of your dreams, big or small. What are some things you do to help reach your dreams? What kind of things do you do to keep positive about your dreams?

Have a great hump day lovely's!

The Reality of a Racer's Wife

Happy Hump Day!

I wanted to start off by saying thank you for the great response to last weeks blog. That was Chris' first time writing and he was very concerned on how he did. I told him it was one of the most viewed posts and he was happy to hear that. So, thank you! Maybe he will be more comfortable with writing more posts and post some "manly" blog posts.

I mentioned last week that we had a request for a post about how I deal with being a racer's wife and the strain it can cause on a marriage, along with what I think about Baby J getting involved in the racing scene. This can be a lengthy topic, so I hope I don't ramble on too much! HEHE!!

THE BEGINNING
     As we mentioned in the last post, Chris grew up in a racing family. Racing was second nature to him, and it was one of the most important things in his life. When you have someone who has a hobby that they live and breathe, it is important to take interest in that hobby because the person you have feelings for, has a strong feeling for that hobby.
     I didn't grow up around racing, but close friends of mine that I grew up with had began racing so we made it a point to go out and support them at the track. After going just a few times, I became addicted to the sport. I've always been a so called "tomboy" that didn't mind getting dirty, and liked working on cars. Being at the speedway gave me such a joy. I was going every weekend just to learn the sport and learn more about the cars. My mom even became the track photographer, and she is still the photographer at the same track today.
     I met Chris at the speedway and had seen him race there. We became friends and about a month later we started dating. Our dating relationship wasn't like any other. The time we spent together wasn't just hanging out watching TV, or going to dinner and a movie. Everyday, as soon as I got off work I would change clothes and head out to his parents house. We would have family dinner, and as soon as dinner was over, we were in the garage working on the cars until at least midnight. As we closed up shop, I said my goodbye and headed home to do it all over again the next day.
     Saturdays meant early morning wake up calls and in the garage making last minute changes to the cars, last minute trips to the parts store, sonic happy hour drinks and loading the cars up to head to the track. We would be at the track from about 5pm to sometimes 1am and then head back home to unload the truck and trailer and try and catch some shut-eye. It was clearly something you had to have the passion for to stick with and Chris could tell that I loved it just as much as him, so he proposed a few months later, bought our house and started planning our wedding. We married in 2011 and even in some of our vow, we had stuff about racing.

THE EVERYDAY ROUTINE
     As I mentioned, the everyday routine meant working on the car until late every day of the week until race day. But, with our own home to take care of and family dinner being just the two of us, and no other help for the car other than each other, things changed. We worked, came home and he would be in the garage before I got home. I would make dinner and sometimes have to eat alone because he didn't want to stop in the middle of something, so either he would come in late, or I would take him a plate to the garage. There were more arguments because I needed help with something in the house, or needed him to go with me to the grocery store and he needed to finish up his car. In the end, I knew that the car needed to get finished or we would pay for it on Saturday.
    We rarely had date nights, and most of the time those date nights happened because the races rained out that night or his division didn't race that weekend. After a long week of working on the car, and a long night at the track, we wanted Sunday to recuperate, but Sunday is for washing the car and creating the checklist for the fixes that need to be completed for the next week. No break there. That can take its toll on a relationship, so you have to be able to communicate with one another and tell each other when you need some "non-racing" time.
     Our season can start as early as March and last as late as November. We would race every Saturday night, and sometimes Friday and Sunday too. If there happened to be a rain out, it would be scheduled during the week on a Wednesday or Thursday. By the time the season is almost at an end, you are ready for a break. But, "off season" really isn't "off season". Most think that drivers just park their car in the garage until about a month before season start time, but really..."off season" means breaking the car down to the chassis and figuring out what to replace, rebuild, or redesign. It is a whole process that takes up most of the "off season" and garage time continues.

THE FEAR
     When I talk about Chris' racing to friends or family that have never experienced it, the first thing they say is "it sounds dangerous". Dirt track racing is a dangerous sport. But, he is in a roll cage, wears a 5-point harness, fire suit, fire shoes, gloves, a helmet, and a neck brace. He has all of the safety equipment to try and keep him safe. Racing is a rubbin' is racing type of sport. There is a lot of contact between cars, spin outs, fires, and rolls.
     There is no other feeling like the feeling you have before your husband goes out for a race. I kiss him and tell him I love him before he gets in the car, not knowing if anything will happen. I stand in the back pit area and watch and cheer him on. But, anytime he gets spun out or gets into a wreck, I cringe. Thankfully he has never rolled his car, but his brother did and I will never forget the feeling of watching it roll and running to get to the car as fast as we could to make sure he was ok.
     Chris has had one bad wreck, and the feeling I had, I never want to have again. He was racing in the Thumper (stock car) division that year. I had been standing on the back wall in the back pit area with his dad and brother. When you stand in the back pit, you can't see the front straightaway that well. You can see them head into the straightaway and you can see them come out in the corner. We were watching the race and they all headed onto the front straightaway and next thing we know, the red light is out. Typically, the red light mean a bad wreck and all the cars have to stop on the track. With a yellow light, cars have to stop the race, but they can continue to drive around the track while the caution is taken care of. So, the red came out and the drivers started to pull around to the back to park for the red, and we heard over the loud speaker that Chris was in the wall.
     His brother and dad started to run off to get to him, and told me to stay put as we couldn't tell how bad it was. I remember grabbing my chest and dropping to the ground as the ambulance pulled out onto the track. I had tears in my eyes and a friend of mine said I was as white as a ghost. I heard over the loud speaker that he was ok, and getting out of the car. A few minutes later, I see them towing the car off the track and I see Chris running my way. He jumped over the wall, dropped his helmet, picked me up in a bear hug and told me he was fine and that he was sorry. I told him don't be sorry about the car, and he said he wasn't sorry about the car, he was sorry he put me through that.
     Racer's take the track knowing something can go wrong, they are well aware of the safety issues and know that it takes a special kind of crazy to love someone who races a car.

BABY J'S FUTURE AT THE TRACK
     Racing is a family tradition, so we wouldn't be shy about putting Baby J into the racing scene. We plan on having him race carts by the time he is 5 years old. A lot of people don't agree with us taking him to the track in the pit area because cars are all over the place in the pit area and you have to pay attention. But, as long as we are paying attention as parents, and know what's going on and where he is, it is completely ok.
     Baby J is 9 months old and has been to the track numerous times. Of course he was in a stroller or strapped to one of us the whole time so it wasn't hard to keep track of him, but he enjoys it. I went to the track every weekend when I was pregnant with him so the sound of the cars soothes him. He does wear ear protection as it is loud out there though.
     Chris took this year off to spend as much time with Baby J since they grow so much in their first year, and he knew it would be hard to keep him on a schedule if we went racing and we didn't want to throw him off every weekend by going to the track.
     I think next year Chris will be racing again and Jayden will be old enough to actually watch the race and see his daddy race. Chris is looking forward to sharing those moment with him and teaching him the right and wrong about racing. I just need to be prepared to handle Baby J while Chris is racing, as I am usually a frantic mess!

Racing is a family sport, it is a hobby, it is a passion. Take an interest in your loved ones hobby. It takes a special kind of crazy to deal with the life of a racer. It's not easy by any means. Be dedicated to dealing with the struggles that are to come. It is a time consuming hobby. If you don't enjoy it, realize that you may not get to spend as much time with your spouse as you would hope for. Since I enjoy it, I don't mind hanging out in the garage and going to every race. Just support them either way.

I hope you got an idea as to how it is as a wife of a racer. I can go on and on about the subject but I'll spare you the randomness.

Thanks for stopping by Our Fast Track Family!

Remember that we take request for product reviews and other topics, don't be shy and leave a comment or message us!

-Danielle

Tradition, Legacy, and Passion: Our Racing Family

A big reason our blog is called "Our Fast Track Family" is because our family lives and breathes  the fast lane. We are a racing family with deep roots into the sport.

I have had messages from some of my viewers wanting to know how our family is involved in the dirt track racing scene and some of the family history behind it.

I also have a request to follow up on how the hobby effects our family, how it effects me as a wife or a racer and what I think about my husband racing and bringing Baby J up in a racing environment and starting him in racing. That is a HUGE topic in itself so I wanted to give you the family history first before tackling that subject next week. So, stay tuned for that!

This is more of a topic for my husband considering his family is the backbone to our racing life. A big portion of the story will revolve around his grandfather, and I wasn't lucky enough to meet him(he passed away 3 years before Chris and I got together) so I feel I shouldn't be sharing his story.

So, I now introduce you to my husband, Chris!

My wife didn't feel comfortable writing about this topic, since this mostly deals with my side of the family tree (although her mother is currently the track photographer at our local dirt track). So now here I sit trying to think of the words to keep you interested in a family tradition that is second nature to myself and the rest of my family. The picture above is of my grandfather, Bud. Although, growing up, I was never allowed to call him "grandpa", my cousins and I called him "Uncle Bud" because "Grandpa" made him feel old, and he wasn't old enough to be a grandpa, according to him. My grandpa started racing in 1964 and ran his last race in 2006 so the tradition of dirt track racing in my family has stretched many years, states, and family members. As far back as I can remember, grandma and grandpa had always owned a salvage yard and race parts business and grandpa raced at least once every week during the summer months. I spent most of my summers during my grade school years wrenching on engines and changing tires, I was "Wrenchman Chubbs" because I was chunky, and my little brother Jay was "Jackman Jay". We loved going to the local dirt tracks in Coffeyville, Ks and Caney, Ks every weekend during those summers.

Grandpa raced many types of cars over the years including super modifieds, sportsmans, limited lates, super lates, stock cars and late models. I personally think the late models are the coolest of them all. He was very good at driving anything with wheels. His shop is stock full of more trophies than I have ever seen in one place in my life.

One of my favorite cars that Grandpa built

 

Naturally, his racing "addiction" rubbed off on his son, my uncle Al. Uncle Al drove his first stock car when he was 14 years old. It was a Camaro that matched my grandpas. But it only matched grandpas until he drove into the first corner of his first race and drove it off the end of the race track and rolled it a couple times. I wish I could find the picture that was in the paper of the ordeal. You can see the tree line in the distance and the tops of the trees are lower than my uncle Al's car while it was upside down. He was ok of course and had another car built before the next weeks race.

My father, Mike, now had two racecars and drivers to deal with on a weekly basis. My dad did most of the pit crew work on both cars and never got into actually racing them. But he sure does know just about everything there is to know about building, maintaining, and setting up dirt track racecars. He instead did demolition derby's which are a whole new kind of fun! Smashing cars into other cars on purpose, I mean what's not to love? He was even featured on a TNN TV Special about demo derby's because he was a corporate businessman by day and demo derby driver by night.

Uncle Al took winning to a whole new level for the family racing business. He's the only 7 time O'reilly NCRA Late Model Points Champion, a 6 time MLRA Late Model Points Champion and has also won a few MARS Late Model Points Championship. Grandpa, and Al's racing careers have taken them all across the country to do what they love. I don't know all the places they've been but the places include Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, Arizona, and Nevada to name a few.

My uncle Al's championship late model



When my grandpa stopped racing as much, he decided to open his own racetrack on the land that his salvage sat on. Thus was the start of Stateline Speedway, the fastest 1/4 mile track in the tri-state area. This operation was truly a family run business. Grandma and my Aunt VJ made all the food for the concessions, my mom, brother and I worked in the concession stand and pit gate. My dad worked in the pit area with grandpa to keep everything running smoothly. Uncle Al and Uncle Russ (My Aunt VJ's husband, who also raced) had the easiest jobs, they just raced at the track. We ran the track for about 10 years until grandpa got cancer and could no longer run the operation smoothly.

By the time the track closed down, my brother and I had strayed away from the racing scene because we were in high school and had other things on our mind. My brother actually got back into racing before I did, and it was literally by accident! I'll explain..someone backed into my brother's truck in a gas station parking lot and naturally he took the truck  to my grandpa to buy new parts and fix it. He left Wichita on Friday evening to drive to Coffeyville where our salvage is located, with a wrecked truck and returned Sunday afternoon with a still wrecked truck but had a Camaro race car on a trailer in tow. Grandpa had actually convinced my brother to use the money he would have spent fixing the truck to instead buy a racecar and leave the truck wrecked!

Then began my part of the family tradition. My dad and I went to work immediately helping my brother build his racecar. We raced every weekend in Hutchinson and Wichita. My brother raced that car for one year and I was back to being hooked. I agreed to buy the car from Jay and help him build a new one. We didn't get the new one finished in time for the next race season so we shared my car. I raced it in Hutch on Friday night and he drove it in Wichita on Saturday night. I finished 3rd in points, and he finished 6th. I always felt bad because we had all week to make the car right for me and had very minimal hours on Saturdays to fix all the damage I caused and set it up for him. He did however win the points championship the next year and moved up to modifieds and I bought his car and we spent every weekend together at the track. Currently, we both race modifieds. He races on a more regional circuit, going to tracks in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas while I stay home and race our local track in Park City, 81 Speedway.



My brother (35) and I (36) at 81 Speedway

It was at 81 Speedway that I met my  loving wife. It takes a special kind of crazy to love a dirt track racer. She was all for it though! Long nights in the garage, and countless hours and dollars spent to keep the car maintained in top notch shape. She is there by my side through all of it. While we currently do not own a racecar (sold it to spend all the time we could with Baby J), We are still very active in the racing scene. We will have another car soon and start to bring Baby J up in a racing family so that he can continue the family tradition of dirt track racing.

I hope this gives you an idea of the lifelong tradition that we enjoy. Its definitely an addiction that can't be shaken. I look forward to seeing my son win his first race in a car we build together.

-Chris

There you have it guys! An inside look as to why this sport is an important tradition to us. It is a legacy to our family and nothing could ever fill the space that racing has in our hearts.
We will see you next time!
-Danielle

Parenting: How Things Change and Judgement

How's everyone doing on this fine Tuesday? I hope all is well with all of you and you are conquering your early week tasks.

Baby J is teething right now (4 top teeth all at once, YIKES) so he needs some extra comfort which in return has not allowed me to get much research done on my next product review. But, I did have some other topics I wanted to discuss with all of you and wanted to get some feedback on what you think about some of these issues.

As new parents, my husband and I have discussed how we want to raise our kids. Now Baby J is only 9 Months old, but it's never too early to discuss how you want to parent. Will we be strict? Will we try to be the "cool" parents of the group? When will we let them get a cell phone? What about computer and social media access? Will we give allowance or just buy things freely?

There are a million questions as parents, but you will never have definite answers. I think generally you have an idea of how you want to be as a parent and how you want to deal with certain issues. However, I don't think you can truly know how you will react and solve the problem until the situation comes along. I think we reflect on how we were raised to determine how we want to be as parents, but so much has changed since then and the big no-no's of our generation, are normal occurrences now days.

My parents weren't strict, but they taught us right and wrong. My sister and I weren't angels by any means. We lived in a small town, and we knew that if we did something wrong our parents would find out and we would suffer the consequences. We both didn't want to deal with our consequences because our parents were tough when it came to discipline. Discipline has become such a different thing through the years. If you were too tough or spanked your children it was considered child abuse in some eyes and you were a bad parent.. If you were too nice and just let the child off easy, you were considered a push over and a bad parent. So which is right or wrong? You be the judge. Because they are your children.

Obviously, things are different. My sister and I had cell phones, I was 11 years old and she was 14 years old. Which 11 years old seems too soon to give a kid a cell phone now, but our phones weren't anything like the phones now. We couldn't text, couldn't take pictures, use the internet, and the only game we could play was snake. We didn't have the social media that kids have now, which causes a lot of trouble. We had a family computer that was in a public area so our parents could see what we were doing. We were active in sports and we played outside all the time. It seems as if kids are glued to the TV, video games, and their cell phones these days.

Now, I am only 23 years old and I am a new parent so I am not an expert parent by any means. But, I do notice things happen that wouldn't fly with our parents and realize how much things have changed. There are many ways to raise a child, and different types of parenting. I have no right to judge how you raise your children. Like I said, we have a general idea of how we want to be as parents but we will never really know until the situation comes along.

I think we reflect how our parents have raised us and use that to better our parenting. Luckily, my in-laws and my parents had the same type of parenting and that helps my husband and I agree on a lot of our parenting "rules".

So, here are my questions: Does your parenting style resemble your parents? What differences did you have compared to your spouse? What are some things you notice about todays generation, that wouldn't have flown with your parents? Do you feel judged by other parents? If so, for what reason? What are some of your rules for your children?

I would love to hear your feedback! Leave a comment below or message me with your answers!

Until next time, Loves!

- Danielle

PRODUCT REVIEW: CHICCO ECHO STROLLER

Happy Friday y'all!

Oh, how this week has been an emotional roller coaster. We are trying to reorganize our house and sell things off that we don't need to declutter because we really don't have much storage space. That means we are looking at some of Baby J's items and debating on selling them. Of course, I want to save it all for another baby, but we don't have a clue as to when that will happen.

As we were looking at our office that is filled with old baby items. Chris said we should sell the travel system that we bought new for Baby J. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered putting Baby J in that car seat for the first time at the hospital to bring him home. We used the stroller a lot as he was a newborn because we would always sit the car seat in it when we went to run errands. I didn't want to let go of the set, but I kept telling myself that safety regulations may change by the time we have another baby and that we will know that it was the safest car seat out there.

We listed the travel system that day and it was sold within an hour. It was bittersweet. But on a brighter note, that meant I was going to get to shop for a new stroller for Baby J! Woohoo!!

I knew I had certain requirements when looking for a new stroller.

• Safety
• Comfortable for Baby
• A bit of storage
• Light-weight
• Smaller than our standard stroller from the travel system
• I didn't want him to have a tray
• I wanted the stroller to be at a comfortable height for my husband and I to push it. We are both tall (I'm 5'10, he's 6'0) and we didn't want to be hunched over to push it.
• Reclining positions for it little one fell asleep.

With my list of requirements it made the elimination process a bit easier. We looked online, and immediately the Chicco Echo stroller caught my eye with its bold colors. So, we headed to the store to see if they had a floor model that we could check out. Sure enough, they did! We got it down and I immediately started running through my checklist and looking the stroller over. It seemed to have everything I wanted and moved smoothly but I wanted to get one home to test it out a bit more.

The stroller comes in a variety of bold colors: Turquoise, Green, Red, Orange, Purple, and Gray. Target is the exclusive provider of this stroller at the moment and they only happen to carry 3 colors in store. We had to choose between turquoise, green, and purple if we were purchasing in store. Of course Chris said no to the purple, and he gravitated towards the green color because Baby J's diaper bag happens to be an Oakley backpack with green accents that just about matches the green stroller.

 

It's definitely bold! We brought it home and started the assembly. The assembly was quite easy! Basically it was just snapping the wheels in place and attaching the canopy. It took us a total of 8 minutes! It has a nice instruction booklet that explains everything very well and runs you through the process of opening and closing the stroller which is a breeze!

 

We put Baby J in it and took it for a spin. He seemed really comfortable, and liked when we reclined the seat. The seat has 4 different reclining positions that can be moved with one hand. The seat itself is nicely padded so I know Baby J is comfortable. The 5-point harness is adjustable and has shoulder pads for extra comfort. The footrest can also be place up or down for comfort.

 

The navigation is very smooth and easy to turn. Chris even made a comment about how smooth it was and the fact he didn't have to hunch over to push it! It seems to be very sturdy and safe. It has rear brake locks and the front wheels can be locked into swivel position or you can have it locked into the straight position if you aren't needing it to turn.

 

The canopy is nice, the only thing I don't like about it is that it can't be moved in front of J's face to block the wind and sun like our old standard stroller. But, it does cover a big area and if J is laid back it blocks the sun completely. The rear flap of the canopy can be removed as well!

 

A few additional features:; it has a parent cup holder and a nice storage basket that seems to hold quite a bit.

 

The ease of opening and shutting the stroller is astonishing. Just open the clasp and pull the handles and press the rear locking mechanism down and its locked into place. To close fold the canopy in and pull the rear locking mechanism upward, and be sure to release the secondary lock. Push the handles down and wait for the clasp to click into place. It even has a nice carrying handle!

 

I am really impressed with this stroller. It is just as convenient as an umbrella stroller but with the extra features and more sturdy!

 

We purchased the Chicco Echo at Target for $99.99 which is fairly inexpensive. The maximum weight limit recommended is 40lbs which is quite a lot. I feel like we will be using this quite often. I definitely recommend this stroller if you are looking for something light weight but for it to have some of the same features as a standard stroller. We are big fans of the Chicco products. Our travel system was a Chicco product, and our current car seat is a Chicco product as well. You know you are getting higher quality and the best safety with Chicco!

 

A++ in our book!

 

I hope you enjoyed this review.

 

Be sure to subscribe to my blog and share it with your friends!

 

Until next time!

 

-Danielle

We're learning here!

Hello beauties! How are you all doing on this wonderful Friday? I hope all is well with everyone.

This week has been CrAZy! Baby J is on the move and can't be stopped. It is so funny that us parents are always so ready and excited to teach our babies how to crawl but as soon as they do and they are mobile, we curse ourselves because they are everywhere and into everything. But, I wouldn't have it any other way, at least he is developing.

He also hit another milestone this week and decided to give mommy a heart attack at the same time. He pulled himself up! Yay [clapping hands]....but wait, he did it while he was in the crib, and decided to try and climb out! As I heard a scream in his bedroom at nap time, I ran in and he was hanging over his crib rail. EXCUSE ME, MISTER! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!? He didn't answer...

He had never tried pulling himself up on anything else until that moment. Daddy came home that evening and immediately lowered the crib down so that never happens again. 

This incident has inspired my post today. I wanted to talk about some of the first time parent mistakes that we have dealt with. After talking with some of my friends that have new little ones at home, they are first time parents and are terrified that they are going to mess up or that they will be judged for something they have done wrong.

So, for my first time parents let me just share with you some of the things we have done wrong. We aren't perfect, we are learning as we go. That moment when you sign your discharge papers at the hospital immediately brings another level of anxiety. I remember asking my nurses if they could come home with me, they politely declined. I knew we were ready to be parents, but I had that same fear of what if I break him? What if I screw this up and he isn't normal? What are my sisters who have tons of kids going to say if I do something wrong?

I realized that there isn't an exact manual on parenting. Sure, there are the things that say "do this, not that" and you know some of your boundaries. Every child is different, every child reacts to things differently and develops on their own time frame. When I heard that a friends baby that was the same age as Baby J was eating more formula than him, I was worried I wasn't feeding him enough, like I was depriving him. But, I wasn't he just wasn't as hungry all the time as the other baby. They are different!! Please understand when you are reading your precious baby books and searching social media that "My baby is 3 months old and rolling over" doesn't mean that your 3 month old is delayed in development. It will come with time.

As new parents, we do make mistakes. We are learning here! This is a non-judgmental place for you to share those mistakes. We have all made them, whether we share them is another story. But, I will share some of our mistakes so you know you aren't alone.

• I didn't try hard enough to breastfeed. Baby J didn't latch and wanted nothing to do with breastfeeding so I gave up instead of purchasing a pump and trying anyway.
• While we were in the hospital, Baby J wouldn't breastfeed but was crying because he wanted to eat. Our hospital is an exclusive breastfeeding hospital so they will push and push and push for you to keep trying even if that means baby doesn't eat (which is total B.S). I kept trying and he wasn't having it, but cried all night out of hunger and as I kept telling my nurse that he isn't latching and needs food she would tell me to keep trying. I finally stood up and said bring me formula so he can eat and he was a perfect baby after that, other than due to not having food and not passing bowel movements, he was jaundice quite badly. I didn't have a voice for my baby. I messed up and waited too long to stand up for my baby. I learned that he can't speak for himself, so I have to speak for him.
• Up until Baby J was about 3 months old, he had problems with bowel movements. We would have to give him glycerin to help him. I knew he needed to switch to a sensitive formula, but the doctor wouldn't authorize it and told us not to switch unless she authorized it. After those 3 months of nothing getting better, I had to once again get my own voice and switch him anyways. He has been perfect ever since. Once again, speak for your child and go with your motherly instinct.
• Teaching Baby J to sit on his own was horrible. He started sitting next to me on the couch and did fine at that, so I moved him to the floor where he didn't have the back of the couch to lean on. I surrounded him with pillows and sat with him and he was doing SO WELL! But, in walks Daddy and Baby J got excited and lost his balance and somehow missed the pillow and hit his head. He cried for a few seconds and was fine but I felt horrible.
• Our biggest mistake was made when he was 4 months old up until about 2 weeks ago (we are still trying to fix this mistake) and that was Baby J started waking at night crying. He had always slept through the night in his crib since he was about 1 1/2 months old. He was going through a growth spurt, teething and in pain. So what does Mommy do? I bring him to lay with us in bed to comfort him. I rubbed his gums until he went to sleep and he just stayed there. About a month later his teeth finally broke through and he wasn't in as much pain, but it was also the beginning of storm season and he would wake up crying hysterically when it would thunder. So, back to bed with us. He began to be so use to sleeping with us that he didn't want to sleep any other way. We tried every method to get him to sleep in his crib and it wasn't working. I would cave and bring him back and that is the wrong thing to do. So, we had to stick with a schedule and I would lay him in his crib while he was still awake and he would cry and cry and cry but would finally go to sleep. We are still working on getting him to sleep through the night, but he sleeps all night in his crib and that is a big success for us. NEVER LET YOUR BABY SLEEP IN YOUR BED (unless you don't mind it and prefer it that way, which we wanted him back in his crib)
• Pillow barriers are no longer acceptable. For the longest time, when I would get dressed for the day, Baby J sat on our bed and I had pillows all around so he couldn't fall. But, the worse happened when he learned that the pillows can still be crawled on. I stepped out of the room for literally one second to grab my hair brush and *thud* he fell off the bed! All it takes is one second for them to move. Please, please be careful. He never tested his limits with me before until the one time he did and he ended up on the floor. He is completely fine, and when I called the doctor she told me that it happens all the time as bad as that is but he would be fine. I felt like the worst mom in the world.

I hope that some of my mistakes have shown you that we aren't perfect. Things happen and you deal with it. We all have our babies best interests in mind and know that we would never do anything to jeopardize their well being on purpose. But, when you think "there is no way he will try to do that, or there is no way he can get over those" think again.

Share some of your stories in the comments or message me with a story. Just know that you aren't alone. We are still learning and know that no one is the perfect mother. If someone judges you for a mistake, ignore it because I guarantee they have messed up at some point too.

That is it for today! I hope you all have a great weekend! If there is anything you want to discuss or a product you would like me to review please let me know and I am happy to do so!

See you all next time!

-Danielle

MY RECOMMENDATION AS TO WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE FOR YOUR NEW BABY

Hey y'all!

Am I the only one still trying to get motivated after the long Holiday weekend? I swear, I just can't get my booty in gear! Also, I made the mistake of not wearing a high SPF sunblock when we went to the lake on Sunday and I have been hurting pretty darn bad! So, note to self: check SPF next time!

Today's blog post is a little different, it's not a review! I know some of my friends that follow my blog are first time expecting parents or just had their little bundle of joy and are still trying to figure out what is really necessary for the new baby, and what is nice to have. With my allergy we had to buy everything brand new for baby J and I had also just lost my job when we found out I was pregnant. We needed to figure out wants vs needs and I always tell my husband that if we are buying new, and paying full price, I want to get higher quality for it to last. Especially since we were buying all new, it would be in great condition if we decide to have another baby!

Here are the things that were a MUST for us:

• Convertible Crib - with a nice firm mattress. This way, the mattress will last a long time, and the convertible crib converts from crib, to toddler bed (you have to purchase the side bar separately), and then into a full size headboard and footboard. We purchased our crib during the Big Baby Sale at Target and also with a redcard, and our mattress at Babies R' Us with one of their 20% off coupons that we received for being a Rewards member.
•  Dresser - we purchased a 5 drawer chest of drawers from Slumberland, it happened to be on clearance and the wood color matched the crib perfectly. Be sure to check furniture stores in your area for the dresser, they usually have better deals then the matching dresser for your crib and you can negotiate on price!
• Car Seat & Stroller - we purchased a Chicco Cortina travel system. It included the car seat with base, and the stroller. The car seat can lock into the stroller, which is SUPER nice with a newborn. We didn't go cheap at all in this category. Chicco is one of the highest rated for their products and you can't put a price on your baby and their safety. We purchased the set at Target with our Target redcard. I highly recommend getting a Target redcard. We chose to get the card that is just linked to our checking account. All you need to do is ask for it when you check out at Target and have a blank check for the account you want it linked to. No credit check or interest rate or fees. The amount you spend at Target comes straight from your account like your normal bank card and you get the extra 5% off of everything!
• Pack-n-Play(PnP) - We wanted a PnP with the bassenet option for when we first came home with the baby. We wanted to have the PnP in our room so the baby was close to feed and since we were dead-tired we didn't want to be bumping around the house trying to get the baby. We went sort of cheap on the PnP we bought a BabyTrend PnP from Babies R' Us when it was on sale, it also came with a matching bouncer for an additional $10. We did purchase the sheets for the PnP which came  in handy since there were a few leaks and some spit up, it was easy to switch out sheets so it was always clean for baby.
• Dr. Browns Bottles - We purchased a small set of these at first. I had planned on breastfeeding but didn't want to invest in a pump and all of the supplies until I knew he could latch and I had a supply. Good thing I didn't purchase any of the pumping supplies. He wouldn't latch, and I lost my supply within a day or so at the hospital. So, we ended up purchasing more of the Dr. Browns Bottles. These bottles really helped with his gas and colic.

Here are some of the WANTS that I am so glad we purchased:

• Changing Table - This is one of the only items we bought used. We found it on Craigslist and after talking with the person quite a bit, I felt comfortable buying it as it was from a smoke free and pet free home. It is a basic changing table, with a few shelves. It has come in handy. We purchased a pad for him to lay on with a nice cover that he loves. We also purchased a few baskets that hold his diapers, washcloths and towels, and his medicine and diaper creams.
• Boppy Pillow - I LOVE MY BOPPY! Some find it to get in the way, and some find that they don't need it if they aren't breastfeeding. I however was very grateful for my boppy pillow, for those late night feeds that I have a hard time holding my own head up, he was able to lay on the pillow with his head propped under my arm and eat. I have also used it for when he was a newborn and was on the couch with me, he would lay on it and also do tummy time on it. Baby J is 8 1/2 months old and I STILL use it! I purchased mine at Babies R' Us with a 20% off coupon. I recommend getting one with the removable cover for washing.
• Swing - My mother was kind enough to purchase a swing for us. It is a Fisher Price Snug-a-bunny swing. Baby J took all of his naps in the swing up until he was 4 months old. Even if I needed to wash some bottles, I was able to put him in the swing turn on the mobile and he would be so content. She purchased the swing from Wal-Mart.

Now, I did make a purchase that I didn't necessarily need, and haven't really used. My glider is one of them, I thought I would get a TON of use out of this glider. I have used it a handful of times, usually for his late night feed or at this point, we are working on getting him to sleep in his crib through the night and I go in and rock him if he wakes up at 2:00am. My husband and I decided that we will put the glider in our living room when Baby J no longer needs it in his room because we did get a pretty nice glider. It was on sale at Target and we used our redcard.

Here are some of the little things you may, or may not think of that we purchased and I recommend (I will put where we purchased ours in the parentheses):

• Water-proof mattress pad - (Target)
• Sheets (bought a plain pack at Target, purchased his checkered flag sheet for his race themed room on Etsy) There is really no need to purchase a crib set. I purchased one and the only item I use is the crib skirt.
• Crib Bumpers - They say not to use crib bumpers because they are a SIDs risk. I purchased the breathable mesh crib bumpers that they can still breathe through if they get too close. (Target)
• Baby Monitor - We purchased an audio only baby monitor, and I wish we would have bought a video one instead, I constantly check on Baby J especially now that he likes to sleep on his tummy and a video monitor would be helpful. We purchased our audio set from (Target)
• Bottle drying rack - (Target)
• Diaper Genie - (Babies R' Us)
• Regular items - Burp Cloths, Clothes, Diapers, Diaper Cream, Washcloths and Towels, Baby Bath, Baby Wash, Lotion, Wipes, Q-Tips, teething gel, sunscreen, baby chest rub, socks, bibs and a diaper bag.

I think that is the majority of the things that were on my list when I started shopping for Baby J. There were other things that we have purchased since. We knew we wouldn't need a highchair, bowls, spoons, and all of the homemade baby food gear until Baby J got a bit older. We also purchased a jumperoo that he loves and other play gyms and such.

My biggest advice is to keep it reasonable. If you plan on having multiple children, purchase baby neutral items so you get even more use out of them. There are a lot of things on the market that aren't necessary so think hard as to if you are really going to use it. There were a few things that I wanted that didn't seem necessary so I waited until the baby was born and looked back at those items and asked myself if it would be more convenient, how long will it be used, and could I live without it...and most of the time, I didn't purchase the item.

I hope this helps, I know when I was on the search I liked reading what actual moms use and why. I may even use this as a check off list if we have another baby. HaHa!

You have a while before baby arrives, try to spread your purchases out, we bought our important items first and then the smaller items here and there every other payday. They don't have to be purchased all at once, and do your research on prices, look into reward programs and don't forget to sign up for programs online!

If you have any questions feel free to message me or comment below! I check my blog daily!

Happy Pregnancy! =)

See you next time!

- Danielle

PRODUCT REVIEW: CHICCO NEXTFIT CONVERTIBLE CAR SEAT - INFINITI

Happy Tuesday! I hope you all had a lovely holiday and enjoyed your weekend. They always seem to go too fast!

My product review for today was brought up to me by my husband. He was overlooking the blog and noticed that I totally forgot to put up our car seat that we ended up going with, after our poor review of the Simpson car seat. I love the fact that he keeps me in check! HaHa!

After searching and searching after not liking the original car seat we purchased, we finally found one we both loved.

The Chicco NextFit Convertible Car Seat - we chose the Infiniti color which is a dark and light gray color.

We were a fan of Chicco prior to this purchase. We had bought a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant seat with the base and also the stroller and we LOVED it. Baby J fit nice and snug and it had the highest ratings. So, when we started looking for a convertible car seat we naturally wanted to look into Chicco.

We purchased the NextFit car seat at Babies R' Us after having to cross our fingers for a few days. We had called multiple stores around our area looking for this car seat and they were all sold out! I began to worry as to why there wasn't very many stores carrying this seat, and why no one knew when they would get a shipment in. Was something wrong with it that they haven't reordered? Was it being discontinued? Or is it just a REALLY good seat that everyone wants it?

After speaking with a manager at Babies R' Us, she informed me that Chicco had a high demand for this particular seat and that they were having a hard time keeping up. That made me feel better! At least I knew there wasn't a problem with the seat. Everyone wanted one.

The price for this seat was $299.99 which is on the expensive side, but well worth it in my opinion. I actually paid less because I am a Rewards member with Babies R' Us and they sent me a 20% off coupon. So, watch for coupons!

Now, onto some of the great features this seat has. I fell in love with it after the nightmare we had with the Simpson seat.

• Weight limits - For use with infants and toddlers rear-facing from 5-40lbs and toddlers to preschoolers 22-65lbs forward-facing.
• There is a removable infant insert to make the little ones more comfortable.
• Five-point harness with two-position chest clip for your growing child.
• LATCH system with SUPERCINCH technology to help you get the seat tightened as much as possible for a safe and secure fit.
• It has a slide path for the latch system belts built inside the seat so that when you are ready to make the transition from rear-facing to forward-facing you aren't having to get tangled in belts trying to switch. Just unhook the latch belt, turn the seat around, glide the belts to the back and latch again.
• If you are not using the LATCH system, there are nice storage compartments on the side to store the belts. The installation without the LATCH system is simple with the seats built-in belt lock offs.
• Removable cup holder.
• Machine washable seat cover.
• ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS - There is a six-position headrest with an integrated harness adjustment that grows with your child. This means that you DO NOT have to be tangled with harness belts. You WILL NOT have to take the seat out every time your little one is ready for a new harness position. All you have to do is press the button on the top of the headrest and lift up and it moves the harness position for you and gives you the extra harness you need! IT IS SO NICE!!

It has the ride-right bubble detector to indicate the right seat angle for both rear and forward facing.

HERE IS ANOTHER FAVORITE OF MINE......

It has 9 recline positions to accommodate your growing child and how it fits in your vehicle. The younger and smaller child will start at the 1st position and move its way up. I thought this was fantastic. One of my complaints with the other seat was that the height of the seat didn't match up with my car, it placed the button release and the harness strap squished against my seat to where we couldn't release or tighten the harness. But, with this seat with it in the first position we didn't have a problem and we could move it if needed.

I own a 2010 Chevy Impala and this fits perfectly in my car. The LATCH system with the SUPERCINCH technology works very well and was super easy to install. With our last convertible seat it was moving all around and wasn't snug on the seat at all and that was a big concern to me, but with this seat.....it doesn't budge. My husband tightened the seat and tried to move it and it just wouldn't budge at all! A+ in my book!

The material is nice and soft and it is easy to clean with just a wet washcloth. The cushion is almost like a memory-foam. Baby J LOVES IT! He is nice and comfortable and falls asleep almost anytime we go somewhere, even if he just had a nap!

I highly, highly recommend this car seat! It has to the opportunity to grow with your child until you are ready for a booster seat. We originally were concerned about spending that much money but, like I said...totally worth it in my opinion. It will grow the your child, great quality, and you just cant put a price on your child's safety anyways!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this car seat!!!

PRODUCT REVIEW: Rival Double Stack Food Steamer

Hello Ladies and Gents! This week I decided to do a review on my Rival Double Stack Food Steamer. I actually received this as a gift from my mother a while back and totally forgot about it. Man, I wish I would have remembered it was stashed in the closet because this thing has saved me a bunch of time! Amazon has this for sale for $49.95, I know my mother purchased it from Wal-Mart so I bet their price is a bit cheaper.

This steamer can be used for just about anything. Vegetables, fruits, seafood and other meats. It has two separate compartments, and you can choose to only use one if you don't need to use the other, and that way you aren't using more steam to heat the two compartments. The turn dial turns the steamer on and produces steam almost instantly. It has the timer on the turn dial that goes up to 60 minutes and once it reaches the time, it automatically turns off.

In the products box, you will find a nifty little instruction booklet that includes estimated steaming times for various food items. The only thing I was a bit disappointed with was it didn't have any fruit steaming times. But, don't fear that it will mess up your fruits, this steamer has a max fill line for water so you don't have worry about how much water for each item, and you can put them on the timer for a time that you feel would be right and if they aren't soft enough, just turn it back on!

Now, I mentioned that this has saved me a bunch of time, that is because I can easily chop things up, place them in to steam and I can steam two different things at once, cutting my time in half! I am using this mainly for making homemade baby food. Steaming the foods for your baby is the best way to maintain the nutrients in the food and lets face it, if your putting all the hard work into making your baby's food, you obviously chose this method because it is the healthiest and freshest, so you want to keep those nutrients. Once you steam the food, it has the drip tray that is full of any leftover nutrients and you can use that to thin out the baby food if needed.  Steaming also gets the food to the right mushy texture you want to be able to puree or even for your baby led weaning. I couldn't recommend this product enough!

Also, all of the steaming parts, other than the base, are dishwasher safe so it is very easy clean up! The base can just be wiped clean. It just holds the steaming water so it doesn't get very dirty anyway.

I give this product a 10 out of 10! Simple to use, easy to clean, foods come out cooked properly, and a major time saver for a busy mom like me!!

*My product reviews are based on my personal opinion*

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask and be sure to let me know if you have an products you would like me to review!

Have a great Holiday everyone!

-Danielle

PRODUCT REVIEW: Infantino Breathe VS Infantino Flip

As a new mom...wait, as any mom, you learn that being able to use your two hands becomes a luxury. Our little ones have their days and their moments when they just want to be held, but you have plenty to get done. Here comes the baby carrier to the rescue!

There are multiple baby carriers on the market these days. Wraps, slings, harness and side carriers to name a few.

Personally, I never liked the idea of a sling, I didn't think it worked well with my body type, and the type that could work a bit for me, didn't work at all for my husband. We agreed that we wanted a carrier that fit the both of us and we were both comfortable wearing.

We tried the wrap because it can be customized to your body type and you could fasten and loosen the wrap to fit both you and baby comfortably. But, after trying to maneuver it on my own, cloth all over the floor, it just didn't work out.

So, we decided to try the default type of harness carrier.

The first one we tried was the Infantino Flip

The Flip design allows the baby to face-in, face-out, and ride backpack style. Weight limits are 8lbs - 32lbs. It has the extra strap for lumbar support. We bought it from the department store for $29.99. It includes a bib cloth that velcro's to the inside when facing-in, and on the outside when facing-out.

What helped our decision on purchasing:

1. It could be used all the way up to 32 lbs!
2. The lumbar support would be nice if you are carrying around a 32lb child.
3. It was inexpensive.
4. Both Mom and Dad would be able to wear it and adjust it easily.

Once we purchased and we tried it out, it wasn't what we were expecting. The material for the bottom parts of the shoulder straps was quite rough. It pinched the side of my breast and rubbed my skin quite a bit through the shirt. The extra lumbar support, didn't support much. It was more of a hassle. Trying to get it buckled without it twisting and getting the pad in the right position without moving was a bit tough. There is a buckle that fastens at the top of your shoulders, It was very hard to reach and it wouldn't stay tight for anything. The buckles to fasten the baby were normal, they weren't that hard to manage, and the little one didn't mind it.

Each of us tried it multiple times and it was just really uncomfortable. So, we returned it and purchased the Infantino Breathe.



The Breathe design allows baby to face-in, or face-out. It also includes the bib cloth that can be place in or out. Weight limits are 8lbs - 25lbs. It is has extra padded shoulder straps, and a breathable made with breathable mesh material. The front piece easily removes for washing. Can be washed and wiped down. We purchased it at the department store for $21.99.

What helped out decision on purchasing:

1. After using the Flip, the Breathe having the extra padded shoulders was a plus.
2. The shoulder pieces are connected in a crisscross fashion. Unlike the Flip that had the shoulder buckle that wouldn't stay.
3. Breathable material, because we would be using it a bit in the summer.
4. The fact that there were only 4 buckles to worry about, all for the baby.
5. There were only 2 straps that needed to be adjusted when switching from Mom and Dad.

We tried the carrier on inside the store and fastened the baby in. It was like a night and day difference between the Flip and Breathe. The Breathe was MUCH more comfortable. It had the same concept of fastening the baby in, which was easily done. My husband tried it on and he said "WOW" because of the difference. We were confident in the purchase of the Breathe. My husband wears it when we go grocery shopping and I wear it when we are at the race track. Since I wear it out in the heat, it really is breathable. I was worried because between the body heat of us both, I was worried we would be drenched in sweat by the end of the day, but it wasn't bad at all. Wasn't any hotter than having to hold him without the carrier. It was also even more inexpensive than the Flip.

We both give the carrier an A+ rating. I highly recommend it for Mommies and Daddies!

*My reviews are based on personal opinions of the product. They are not influenced by any outside individuals*

Thanks for viewing, don't forget to share with your friends and let me know if there are any other products you would like me to review!

PRODUCT REVIEW: MUMI & BUBI SOLID STARTER KIT

 

Hello everyone! The time has come for another product review! This week I am reviewing the Mumi & Bubi Solid Starter Kit. When purchasing the starter kit ($26.99) you get - 2 trays. Each tray has 21 - 1 ounce cubes. The trays each have a lid that snaps shut.

 

The trays are typically used for freezing your own baby food. But, you can also use them for other various things. Freezing soups, herbs and spices, and even jams or spreads. I wouldn't recommend making ice cubes in these trays because you are unable to twist the trays to pop them out and they don't slide out easily.

 

       Here is how they work:

• Prepare the food that you are wanting to freeze. Let it cool for about 20 minutes.
• Spoon, or pipe with a piping bag into each cube. Use a rubber spatula to smooth over any extra food.
• Cover with the tray lids. Place in the freezer until completely frozen. *Foods take different times to freeze. So, keep in mind that it wont be a set number of hours for any type of food.
• Once the food is frozen, take out of the freezer and remove lid. Using your finger or spoon, press down on one side of the cube, it should slid out easily. If you are having a hard time removing the cubes, place the cover back on, flip upside down and run warm water over the cubes. Only run it for about a minute or less, otherwise it will melt the food and you will have a mess on your hands.
• Be sure not to twist the tray as if it were for ice cubes. This can crack and damage the tray.
• Store frozen cubes in a freezer safe bag, label with date made, and food product.
• Clean the trays, they are dishwasher safe!!

 

I have used these for about 3 months now and I love them. They are a bit pricey compared to other store brands, but they are worth it to me. Some of the other store brands are just like regular ice cube trays and you have a harder time getting an even one ounce in each cube. Since the cubes are spaced out with the Mumi & Bubi trays, you can be sure to get the one ounce of food in each cube, no more and no less.

 

I highly recommend this product!

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my product review. Let me know if there is something you want reviewed!

 

-Danielle

 



I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT YOU!

I promise, I really didn't forget about you.

My brand new laptop decided it would be really cool and crashed my hard drive. So, I had to send it off to the Toshiba for it to be fixed. Almost a month later, I finally have it back! YAY!

I am working on an agenda for my blog posts. I will be doing some product reviews, recipes, and I think my husband will be doing some reviews for me too. If you have anything you would like me to review, let me know and I would be happy to try it out. Just leave a comment below and I will get to it!

A few things you may have missed since I was gone:

Jayden has 2 teeth! He is now 7 1/2 months old, and growing like a weed! I really can't believe how fast he has grown. I am cherishing every moment with him, he won't be little for long!

I would like to wish all the Father's out there a HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! And to all the single moms out there, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

See y'all next time!

Product Review: Simpson Tyler Car Seat - made by Graco

Simpson Tyler Convertible Car Seat

Manufactured by Graco

$229.99 - $299.99

* WARNING: ALL REVIEWS REFLECT OUR PERSONAL OPINION OF THE PRODUCT WE  WERE NOT INFLUENCED BY ANYONE FOR THIS REVIEW *

 

We purchased this car seat about a week ago, and returned it the very next day. My husband and I were super excited about this car seat because we are a racing family and we use Simpson Racing products. But, we learned that the seat was manufactured by Graco. I've never really been a fan of Graco products, but we figured we would give it a try.

 

After removing it from the box, I was very impressed with the material and the cushion for the seat. It was very plush and the fabric seemed breathable. I began reading the instruction booklet to figure out how to move the belts to fit my little man. The seat is made to be rear-facing for infants 4 - 40 lbs. and forward-facing for toddlers 20 - 65 lbs. My 6 month old, who is a chunky monkey, weighs 21 lbs. so he is well within the rear-facing range.

 

Once I started to move the belts, it became such a hassle. I had placed my son in the seat to see where the shoulder belts needed to be and then the mess began. The belts were a pain to get in and out of the slots because when you fed them through the cushion, the belt wouldn't come through the plastic because it would go straight down in between the cushion and plastic and you would have to try and try again to get them to feed through. There was a plastic shield that covered the belts so they were hard to feed in and out. Considering how broad the range is for weight and height for this seat, there was a lot of belt to deal with.

The seat is equipped with belts for the LATCH system. I own a 2010 Chevy Impala which has the LATCH system. We used this system for our infant seat and loved it, so we planned on using it for this seat as well. The LATCH system belts were easy to install, until it came down to tightening the seat. My 225lb husband placed his weight into the center of the seat (like it instructs us to do) and then tried to tighten both sides. After the belts were as tight as we could possibly make them. The seat was able to move quite a bit. So much as you could almost swing it around. That is just NOT safe. I was not comfortable putting my baby into something like this. Even with the weight of my 21lb 6 month old, it was still able to move quite a bit.

Also, since we had the seat tightened down so much, it was making an indention into the actual seat of the car which is fine, but the release button for the belts was also hidden at this point and was impossible to release the belt to let my little one out.

Now clearly, some of these problems wouldn't be an issue if it were forward facing, and it may fit better in a different vehicle. I just wasn't a fan and didn't feel that my child was as safe as he could be in this seat and that is my number one priority.

I hope you find this review helpful. Like I said, this is based on our experience with the item and our personal opinion. It may work better for you.

COMING SOON - PRODUCT REVIEW: CHICCO NEXTFIT CONVERTABLE CAR SEAT


A Beautiful Blessing, Jayden Blaize is Born! Birth Story - Part 2

We got into the room, and thankfully it was MUCH bigger than the previous room. Chris went down and got our bags that had our tablet, phone chargers, pillows and camera in. Also, some snacks for Chris. I had been starving since I had only had breakfast as I usually would have ate lunch after my appointment and was too scared and in a hurry to eat anything on the way to the hospital. We got my bed set up the way I wanted it, my pillow with my aromatherapy stress spray on it (BEST STUFF, EVER!), and all of the baby monitors set up on my belly. They decided to start my Pitocin about 10 minutes after getting into the room and that was around 4:15pm. We called our parents and told them what was going on and that we would keep them updated when we could. Since my allergies are so bad, the doctor didn't want me to have any visitors while at the hospital so we had to keep updating everyone via text message.

We made friends with our nurse and just hung out for a while, my water hadn't been broken yet and I wasn't having contractions just yet so it was easy as pie at that point. But, then my doctor showed up and checked me, I was at 5 1/2 cm and my water was on the verge of breaking so she decided to break it for me....GROSS! I felt like I wet myself! Ugh that was one of the worst parts. About 5 minutes after she broke my water, contractions started. That is one of the worst pains I have ever felt. It didn't help that Chris sat on the couch and just laughed at the faces I was making for each contraction, jerk. The nurse that checked me in had told me to get my epidural before my water breaks and man...I should have listened to her. So about 5 contractions in I requested the epidural.

Baby bump friends - if being induced, request the epi before you have your water broken. Also, don't feel bad for requesting it right away. It takes them at least 30 minutes to get the anesthesiologist team to come in and it takes them about 20 minutes to get things set up before you get the epi and about another 15 - 30 minutes before it starts working so you will get your fair share of contractions during that time.

The team came in to give me my epidural and I was in relief that they were there. It took them about 20 minutes to set up and get things ready and then they had me sit on the side of the bed as close to the edge as possible. Probably the worst part of my labor was having to sit still during the process of them putting my epidural in. They don't want you to tense up and they want you to sit as still as possible and at a certain angle. Having to sit that way during a contraction and not being able to move was the WORST part, hands down. I was really nervous about it because I am not a fan of needles but it wasn't that bad. They numb the area first, and then all you feel is a little bee sting. Then its kind of a gritty feeling because they are placing it in your spine.

After the epi was placed, they had me lay back and they gave me a little wand with a button on it. Anytime I felt like I needed more medicine, all I had to do was press this button. The thing about epidurals is, it only numbs you from mid-waist down. For some reason, my body felt the need to let me continue feeling the contractions, except the pain moved into my shoulder blade. I kept "getting my hormones on" with Chris because I asked him to come rub my shoulder and he complained that his hand was hurting too much, (the NERVE of that guy). I kept hitting that epi button in hopes that it would help a little bit...NOPE. But, I felt pretty great otherwise.

It was about 9:15pm and I kept telling Chris that I felt a lot of pressure. Almost as if I needed to use the restroom. He got the nurse and I told her that it felt like I needed to go to the bathroom and that there was a lot of pressure and she jumped into action. She checked me and sure enough I was at 9 1/2cm and the baby was coming. She placed her call and shortly after, a parade of women came in. It was well orchestrated, they all had a job setting something up. There were lights, and tools and they dropped the end of my bed down. Chris sprung up and was at my side waiting to see what was going to happen. I didn't really feel much at this point, just the pressure. Chris was watching the TV and made sure to change the channel to the movie Cars, because he wanted his son born during a racing movie. LOL!

My OB came in and took a look, said we were about ready to push. So, they all started gathering around my under carriage and I felt so awkward. Here I was, legs spread apart, light beaming and a bunch of people looking...weird. They raised my bed up, and placed a oxygen mask on my face because I was losing oxygen and hadn't even started pushing yet. They told me to pull my knees into my chest....ummm that's not going to happen, I can barely move my arms at this point because as soon as she told me it was about time to push, I pressed that little magical button about 15 times to make sure I wasn't going to feel a thing! My nurse held one leg and Chris held the other and I started pushing. I was determined to get the baby out quickly because I didn't want to be one of those that pushed for 2 hours. They had me hold onto a towel and another resident had the other end and we tugged back and forth to help me push.

I heard my OB say something about she could see his head and the first thing I asked was "what color is his hair?". They all laughed and told me that he had a full head of dark hair. So, that was my motivation to keep pushing because I wanted to see my baby with his full head of dark hair.

A few more pushes later and he was here!! As soon as he came out Chris left my side and went to the table where they had taken him and made sure everything was alright. I asked if he was perfect and Chris assured me that he was, and at that point I felt like I was going to go to sleep. They had to sew me up a bit because I had a second degree tear, so I just laid there and was watching Chris hovering over Jayden taking pictures and he walked over and gave me a kiss and told me "he is beautiful, thank you" and went on his way of protecting his baby boy. It was the sweetest thing, ever!

 

They handed Jayden over to me and had him lay skin-to-skin on my chest and I was shocked at how perfect he was. He looked just like Chris. I counted to make sure he had 10 fingers and 10 toes, and of course he did, but I wanted to check. Hehe! His eyes were dark blue. He was handsome and perfect and I was in shock at what had just happened. I looked at Chris and said "we're parents, you're a Daddy" and he smiled and I saw a little tear in his eye. At that moment, I realized that nothing else in this world mattered.

 

The first time Daddy got to hold his baby boy.

 

Jayden Blaize

November 1, 2012

10:21pm

7lbs 2oz

20in long

What a (scary) Surprise! Birth Story - Part 1

Picking up where we left off..

November 1, 2012

I had my normal weekly check up. I remember my appointment was at 11:30 that day. I gave Chris a hard time because he had only been to three of my appointments and two of those were for my sonograms. The doctor had asked me to get him to come to the appointments within the last few weeks just in case. So, that morning I went and got my breakfast I was craving (a bacon breakfast bowl) and texted Chris and gave him a bit of a hard time and asked again if he could make it to my appointment. But, he said he was busy at work and wouldn't be able to make it.

I headed to my appointment and was in a good mood. I really never left the house when I was pregnant. Due to my allergies, I can't go anywhere alone anyways so when it was an appointment day it was a special treat for me so I was always in a good mood heading to my appointments. I kept going over the things in my head that I needed to talk with the doctor about.

1. I nested quite a bit a few days before Halloween because I heard there was suppose to be a full moon and there is an old wives tale that pregnant women go into labor when there is a full moon.
2. I think because I cleaned the house all in one day and nested pretty hard, I must have over did it because on October 30, 2012 something just didn't feel right. I called to talk with one of the nurses at my doctors office and she said to go into the Labor and Delivery Center at the hospital. Chris rushed home, we loaded the car with the car seat, and all of our bags. We got there, got checked in, they tested to see if my water broke, it came back negative. But, the baby's heartbeat was SUPER fast and they were worried. I had a biophysical sonogram done. Basically, it looks at 4 different things to see if the baby is stressed or if there is something wrong. It came back good. So we were released.
3. On Halloween, Chris picked up my favorite Carrabbas meal and came home and handed out candy because I felt weird. Baby Jayden hadn't been moving all day and my stomach felt weird.

So I told all of these things to my doctor. Asked her if I over did it and if that is why I ended up in L&D the next day. She said probably and measured me and I was already at 4 cm and 95% effaced. I told her he hadn't been moving but his biophysical was good on the 30th. But, she was still concerned. His heart rate was in the lower range but she had the sonogram tech come get me to do another biophysical just in case.

I laid on the table in the dark room as the sonogram tech squeezed the gel on my belly. She moved the wand around my belly and the room was silent. It was heartbreaking, watching the screen and seeing absolutely NO movement. She bounced the wand on my belly, I laid on my side, we did everything and nothing! We tried for a good 20 minutes when she finally said we were done.
She left me in the dark room to go "talk to the doctor" and I felt in my gut that something was wrong. So, I called Chris. I told him that they did another biophysical and that he wasn't moving and that I was waiting on the doctor to come back but I had a bad feeling. As I was on the phone with him and he was trying to calm me down from thinking the worst, the nurse walks in and said "you need to go to the hospital" and I didn't even think to ask what was wrong or why or anything because I was in shock and just wanted to get going.
 I asked if I could go home and get my things because I only lived 10 minutes from the hospital. She agreed that it would be fine and before she finished her sentence I was back on the phone with Chris and headed out the door. He picked up the phone and I said "get home now, we are going to the hospital" and I hung up on him. I feel bad for that now because I am sure he was feeling the same as me and was just as worried and scared and here I am hanging up on him.

I literally did 80mph down the highway trying to keep calm and not cry. I had my mom on speakerphone telling her what was going on and she was trying to keep me calm. I made it home in a record time and grabbed all of my stuff and was running through the house making sure I had everything, even though my bags had been packed for months. I changed my clothes to something more comfortable and Chris finally made it home. We packed the car, and off we went. Still not knowing what was going to happen. Was I going to be hospitalized until the baby was born? Was I being induced? Was I going to have a C-section? I had no idea.

We get to the hospital and go check-in. I felt out of place because here were all of these other pregnant women checking in and they were having contractions and knew what was going on. I wasn't having pains, contractions, or anything and all I knew is that something was wrong with my baby. The way our hospital works is, if it is a normal delivery with no complications and you are past 35 weeks you have your baby in the Labor and Delivery Birth Care Center. If you are having a C-section, being induced, or you have complications you have your baby in the actual hospital. I was not thrilled about having the baby in the actual hospital since I had heard horror stories about the hospital labor and delivery unit. But, I knew I was there for a reason and that they have staff on hand to help with whatever complication I may be having.

We checked in, and during all of this...our new medical insurance had just became effective on November 1st. It was quite funny because for 2 months, Chris had been telling my belly that he couldn't come out until November 1st because that was when our new, and better insurance would be effective. So, we were scrambling trying to get a print out of our temporary insurance card. The nurse asked us why we were there, we told her we had no idea that the doctor told us to come in because something was wrong but we didn't have a clue as to what was wrong and what we were doing. So, they had a nurse come get us and take us to a small room on the other side of the labor and delivery floor. The worst part was the fact there was a rocking chair in the room that had a "In Memory of ---- ----" plate on the chair. It was for a baby that only lived 3 days. There was a picture with an angel over that rocking chair. I felt like I was in the "death" room. It was horrible.

They got all of my information entered into the system, had me dress in a gown, and were in the process of trying to get ahold of my doctor to figure out what was going on. They checked me and I had gained a 1/2 cm. My water hadn't broken yet, and I wasn't on any IV meds. We just waited. They finally got word from the doctor that I was going to be induced. The baby failed the stress test but his heart rate was stable. They were worried the cord might be around his neck and that was why he wasn't moving. But, the couldn't tell enough for me to go through a C-section instead. They brought in the sonogram machine and made sure he was head down.  I also found out that day that I tested positive for the Group B strep. So, that meant I needed to be on antibiotics before labor and that we would have to spend an extra day in the hospital after he was born, no big deal.

It was shift change for the nurses so they waited to give me my IV's until the new nurse came in. She showed up and grabbed everything that was needed and started to prep me for my IV. She couldn't get the IV to go into the top of my arm (like normal patients) so I had to have it placed on the underside of my wrist, let me tell you that is the WORSE place for your IV. Also, she was nervous about putting the IV there and wasn't moving quite fast enough so blood was sprayed, and dripped all over the table. It looked like a murder scene. I think that was the first test for Chris though. I made sure he was ok because if not...he was going to faint during delivery. But, he assured me that he was fine. They hooked the IV of fluid and antibiotics up first and wheeled me to my delivery room.

TO BE CONTINUED....