Reviews Thread

mirrorwall14

This is something I've been thinking about for a while as it can be hard to find Irish reviews of equipment and toys. So share your opinions everyone, we spend so long (or at least I did) in researching the things we buy so pass on that knowledge to those coming after you!


I'll start off:

Chicco Next 2 me crib

Pros:
Bought this when the baby was a couple of weeks old because the travel cot was just not working. I love it. I'm not breast feeding but the ability to just roll over and stick a hand in to soothe/calm or check if he's breathing is just wonderful. It's also a very portable travel cot (the straps are a bit awkward depending on the amount of room around your bed) and relatively tidy for transport, it fits on the floor of my backseat. It even comes with a handy travel bag. My son has reflux and this can be very easily and safely reclined for sleep. It's also nice and wide so baby has loads of space (which he loves). It is deliberately slightly lower than me so he can't roll into the bed accidentally.

Cons
Price. Honestly I have no other problems with it, it's been a huge success for us.

Advice:
From Internet research it is very possible to do this with your actual cot if you are careful. For example http://moregreenforlessgreen.com/crib-part-3-turn-a-crib-into-a-side-car-co-sleeper/

Leinster1980

Hi Mirrorwall,

Thanks for the review! Thread is a super idea.

Our little one is just a week old and the Moses basket was driving me bananas. Trying to recover from the birth and climbing in and out of the bed was taking its toll. So we bit the bullet and ordered the Chicco Next to Me crib. I had initial issues trying to find anywhere that had it in stock but accidentally found out that Boots sell them!

It was 199.99 but you also earn advantage card points which is a bonus. There's free home delivery or you can get it delivered to the nearest boots store.

I'm delighted you had such a good experience with it. Picking ours up tomorrow, hopefully it'll make breast feeding at night a whole lot easier.

mirrorwall14

Leinster1980 wrote: »

Hi Mirrorwall,

Thanks for the review! Thread is a super idea.

Our little one is just a week old and the Moses basket was driving me bananas. Trying to recover from the birth and climbing in and out of the bed was taking its toll. So we bit the bullet and ordered the Chicco Next to Me crib. I had initial issues trying to find anywhere that had it in stock but accidentally found out that Boots sell them!

It was 199.99 but you also earn advantage card points which is a bonus. There's free home delivery or you can get it delivered to the nearest boots store.

I'm delighted you had such a good experience with it. Picking ours up tomorrow, hopefully it'll make breast feeding at night a whole lot easier.

It's been a godsend, I love it so much. I said it to the husband one night that I thought we should get it and he agreed. When I said it was boots he literally left the house (730) and ran to boots to get it before it closed at 8 lol. Total success in our house anyways

lazygal

A couple of reviews!

Ikea antilop. Brilliant price and so easy to clean. No bits for the food to get caught in, doesn't take up too much space and the legs come off easily to transport it. You need to watch the baby in it, but I think the new ones come with a better harness. I don't think the bells and whistles high chairs are worth a damn.

Bugaboo Donkey. Pros: With two close in age I knew I needed a double because I don't like slings. It converts to a single, and in hindsight I'd have bought it for our first because we had always planned on a small age gap. It is so comfortable for them, and I love that they can face me or face out, my little guy still loves facing towards me. Cons: The price and the weight. We fit it in our boot no problem but it is heavy. I'd have tried to get one second hand if I could because at full price it an expensive piece of kit.

Jumperoo: Loved this, as did my babies. It is great for getting a breather and they had a ball in it. I have heard of babies tipping over in it so you can't leave them alone but it is essential in my mind,

Medela Swing pump: I'm meh about this. I bought it in the heady rush of breastfeeding a newborn but I haven't used it all that much so it was quite expensive given the cost per use.

Slings: I bought a wrap sling again in the heady rush of a newborn. She hated, I hated it and I sold it on. I also got a loan of a BabyBjorn and again we didn't like it, although my husband found it handy on holidays. Don't rush out to buy anything in a panic.

moving_home

Just shows how different people can be! I loved my sling so much I now have 3 for a 3 month old!! I have a baby who likes to be close so without them I would get nothing done.

Crib: we borrowed a standard wooden crib. My little girl isn't big (25th percentile) but so active we had to move her out. I would just put baby into the normal cot and not bother with a crib. We use the moses basket downstairs.

Baby jogger city mini gt: so happy I didn't spend a fortune on a travel system. Love this buggy. Have used in forests, on trails, shopping centres and walking around town. So versatile. And the big selling point is the fold!

Muslins: my favourite are Aldi. Stock up on those. We have tesco ones and really expensive ones but the Aldi ones are the softest and best imo.

Angelcare monitor: Love it. Love it. Love it. Wouldn't sleep without it. Any bad stories are user error. We have never had a malfunction. We don't have the video one. Just the standard monitor and sensor mat.

Changing table: pick up a cheap one or second hand. I thought I didn't need one but ended up borrowing from a friend and love it. After emergency section I couldn't bend to change on the floor and my back would be broke using bed or sofa.

Other tips have a thermometer in the house and know how to use it. Don't stockpile nappies as it's impossible to know what sizes and brands will suit your baby. Don't buy loads of Bath products and creams. I've only used wet wipes and the odd bit of caldescence powder on her. Never used sudocrem or vaseline. For bath time I use aqueous cream and sponge. Nothing else. The least amount of products used the better.

Whispered

Arms reach co-sleeper. I love it. The only issue is that the mattress is very very hard. I've a thick blanket wrapped around it, under the sheet to give a bit of padding.

Sling. I have a stretchy wrap, mei tai and a baby Bjorn. The stretchy and mei tai are brilliant, I couldn't be without them. Both take a bit of getting used to but once you have the hang of tying or wrapping it's much quicker. The baby Bjorn, I never used. As far as I know It's not ergonomically correct and doesn't position the baby properly. (Knees should be above the bum, like an m). I'm on the lookout for a nice ring sling now too.
Edit: just read above sling review. Totally agree on not rushing out to buy one. There is a sling library which allows you to borrow for a small fee. That way you can see what suits you before buying one.

Jumparoo, so far not so good but I think when he gets a bit older he will love this.

Swinging chair - brilliant for in the morning when I'm pottering around and as a gentle activity before bed.

Feeding pillow - invaluable. Currently supporting my arm while the little fella naps. Great if you have a cuddly sleeper.

Baby gro bags. Wiggly babies and blankets don't mix well. I was awake every hour to check he was still covered before I started to use these.

Dr Brown bottles - terrible. Since we got rid of them he's feeding better, less wind, less frustrated, sleeping better and cleaning bottles no longer feels like such a chore.

Socks - can't keep a pair on him. Would appreciate and recommendations there.

Highchair - would like recommendations on something easily cleaned, reasonably priced and very sturdy please.

mirrorwall14

Tomee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine
Available online and most large baby shops and tesco too I think

Pros:
-Easy to set up
-Easy to use, simply turn the dial to the number of ounces you need
-Easily adjustable height shelf (we have used tomee tippee and Nuk bottles of booths sizes with no issues)
-Fairly easy to transport if travelling, ours has been to both grandparents already. Just wedge it upright in the car and make sure it's not overly full. We leave enough for one bottle in it for arriving.
-Decent wait time between hot shot and bottle has meant that I can pop the bottle under it and be washing another bottle etc and not dash back like crazy.
-Filter seems to last slightly over three months which is good and the light comes on when it's coming to the end, then flashes to change it

Cons:
Ours has a 'tail end' bit of water on the hot shot so you need to leave it for an extra second or two to ensure it is finished
If you forget to put the lid on the water filter then the section underneath ends up floating on the water after it filters


Overall and advice
Expensive but TOTALLY worth it. Shop around, we got ours on amazon Black Friday for 50pounds and sterling was decent then.

We have used it for individual bottles and making up a full batch. You can get about 28oz out of a full machine which is also filtering as you make them I've found. Both work, and both are dead handy. K

If using the Nuk bottles be wary of how enthusiastically you shake the hot shot, you get a bit of leakage and it's not really necessary

moving_home

Whispered wrote: »

Dr Brown bottles - terrible. Since we got rid of them he's feeding better, less wind, less frustrated, sleeping better and cleaning bottles no longer feels like such a chore.

Socks - can't keep a pair on him. Would appreciate and recommendations

Haha I completely disagree on the Dr Brown's. They are a godsend for us and one saved a fortune by buying them first as I did end up with a windy baby. Cleaning is a nightmare though!

We ended up with Aldi socks from somewhere. Someone must have bought them for us and they are the only socks that stay on! They are great.

lazygal

Whispered wrote: »

Highchair - would like recommendations on something easily cleaned, reasonably priced and very sturdy please.

Honestly, the Antilop is hard to beat. Ours has been through two kids and it is in perfect condition. Its easy to scrub down and the new ones I saw in Ikea have a more secure harness. At €19 (I think) it is the best value for money. I've had my children in fancier ones and they are all a pain to clean, especially the padded areas. If I fancied spending more I'd have gone for a Tripp Trapp but given that we moved to cheap booster seats at about 15 months and sitting on normal chairs from about 2.5 years I couldn't justify the price and I didn't want them around forever.

Whispered

Antilop it is - brilliant thanks. I can't find it on their website but will take a trip out for that price!

On the Dr brown we bought them on our way home from hospital (I had intended to bf so hadn't any in advance). He always had trouble feeding. I'd been told by PHN he had reflux, was lactose intolerant and he was underweight. I scrapped them only last week and his feeding problems don't seem half as bad. I think what happened was he was a less than enthusiastic feeder anyway and had to work harder on the Dr brown. I can definitely see how they'd be good for a windy baby though. Isn't it crazy how different they all are. No user manual lol

Neyite

Antilop can be taken off the legs in seconds and fits in the dishwasher.

Whispered

It fits in my husband?????

That's great. It's definitely still sold in Ireland?

lazygal

I was in Ikea the last week or so and they had them. Even keep an eye on donedeal etc, people are often getting rid of them.

mirrorwall14

Rainforest Friends Infant to Toddler

Pros
-Long weight tolerance, will last longer than bouncers
-has vibrate function
-seems comfortable for babs, ours loves it anyways
-toys can be easily removed from toy bar for play
-lovely colours
-from a friend they are still using it at 11 months and baby still loves it

Cons
-will not rock on carpet
-vibrate can sometimes be quite loud depending on where baby's feet are
-toy bar is completely in the way when getting baby in and out and has to be totally removed
-both positions are a bit tilted for a newborn unless they have good head control
-rocker stop seems totally pointless
-At three months the toy bar is still a bit far from baby for him to hit it

Overall
I know that reads as more negatives than positives but this is used daily in our house and baby loves it. Can even rock himself in it now. Definitely a keeper if you have wooden floors even with the minor annoyances.

dekey

Socks - can't keep a pair on him. Would appreciate and recommendations there.

Re socks - I always kept my lo in sleepsuits as couldn't keep a pair of socks on her. When she was 6mths a friend recommended 'Sock Ons' they're a pack of ankle yokes that go over the socks to keep them in place. They're quite expensive, around €9 for a 2 pack so I was hesitant to buy them but I'm a sucker for a gimmick so gave them a go and turns out they're great, worth every penny to not have the annoyance of socks being kicked off 2 mins after having just spent 5 mins getting them on in the first place. Not sure where sells them Mothercare was the first place I checked and they had them. HTH

mirrorwall14

Also on socks, try tights! My lad wears the under dungarees etc, way easier!

contrary_mary

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Also on socks, try tights! My lad wears the under dungarees etc, way easier!

Also a fan of tights here, you can get them in boy colours/designs if you care! Since my lad has been on the move I've had tights and socks on under his trousers as his little legs get so cold on the ground. The socks don't move as they stick to the tights.

For those with long babies who grow out of babygros in a week I'd recommend the Next pyjamas - they're little leggings and tops and while they're not as cute as babygros they're soft and nice. My guy was busting at the crotch and toes of his 9-12 mo babygros at 7 months and the 12-18mo size were absolutely swimming on him in width so I bought the pjs in 9-12mo and he's still in them at 11 months. Now they end mid-shin but he doesn't mind and they fit great otherwise!

ariana`

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Also on socks, try tights! My lad wears the under dungarees etc, way easier!

I did this too for the first year, kept him lovely and snug. You can buy tights for boys with Dinosaurs and so on but they're expensive, i just got plain black, navy, white ones from the girl's clothes section in Dunnes, all you can see is their foot anyhow.

Neyite

I want tights with dinosaurs for me.

Suucee

Love my baby jogger city mini gt. A new purchase as was struggling with double handed stroller due to medical problems. Love the fold, size of the hood, size when folded . No complaints.

Had baby jogger city mini duo. Fab double buggy. Fit through every door i tried. Great size when folded. Loads of storage. Bought it second had. Steam cleaned and sold for same price as i paid.

Graco trekko duo. Nope. (Similar to phil and teds style) heavey. Huge when folded. Had to remove wheels to get in the boot of my saloon car. Used a handful of times before i sold it.

Funky giraffe bibs. Only bibs ive found that dont soak through. Pricey but worth it.

Beko travel system (bought this for my first) too big and bulky sold it after 4 months.

Graco mosaic. No complaints great stroller and great that you can attach car seat. Nice fold. Comfy for child. Not great in woods etc but never seen a stroller that is.

Love my slings. Have had loads deff recommend trying before buying. Couldnt live without them especially with 2 kids.

Love the angel care movement monitor. Such peace of mind for a first time mum.

mirrorwall14

Sling: Beco Gemini

First off, rent a couple of slings from the sling library of Ireland. It cost me 15e to borrow two for two weeks and it's worth it given a lot of carriers are expensive and some babies hate them. Bear in mind when deciding what to rent that some have a minimum weight, the Beco Gemini is from 7lbs so my babs was too small for the first few weeks.

Beco Gemini
Pros:
Structured carrier, feels very very secure
No newborn insert required, suitable from birth/7lbs
Clasps require two hands to open so you can never accidentally undo without having a hold of the baby
Neck support for young babies is excellent
Massive adjustability for parents, myself and OH can both use it and he is 3XL in chest size
No back problems, weight is well distributed and baby is over 6kg now. I still don't find the weight
Easy enough to put on by yourself. I use this more than my buggy when shopping now, pop him in at the car
Brilliant for windy or reflux babies

Cons:
A lot of straps and spare length
Not easily wrap able for throwing in the car, tends to have strings hanging out
Price


Overall:
I love it, baby loves it and it gets a lot of use in our house almost daily. Found the best value on Amazon but it took a lot of research and it was still 90 odd euro but given the use we get out of it is definitely worth it. Note that some of the benefits are applicable to any upright carrier e.g reflux

dekey

Travel System: Graco Evo - 8 months in still really happy with it. Forward and rear facing seat. Bought car seat, base, and carrycot separately and cost still came to less than half the price of other travel systems. Big shopping basket. Wheels may not be great for country terrain but fine for city paths.

Disney Minnie Activity Center - Baby loves it and bounce pad is adjustable so can be lowered as she grows.

Fisherprice Rainforest Cot Mobile - Again baby loves this, she gets really excited when it's on so not great for getting her off to sleep but there's not much that gets her to sleep anyway so I find it great for keeping her entertained for 10 mins and when changing her nappy

Cot top changer - don't have the space for changing units so find this invaluable and so easy to store.

Summer Infant Bath Sling - I've found this much easier than a baby bath. Right from the start allowed my hands to be free while still knowing she was secure and comfortable.

Travel Cot - assembled in kitchen once she got too big to nap in the carrycot, doubles as playpen, great for keeping her away from the dog if I have to turn my attention away. We got Graco Electra which comes with changing bassinet, mobile, lights, sounds, vibration and all the other bells and whistles that you'll never need. Only con is that the mattress is quite hard so we bought an additional mattress to go on top but this seems to be an issue with a lot of travel cots anyway.

SF12

Fisherprice Jumperoo. Bought on donedeal secondhand for 50eur. Fantastic buy, she loved and I'm convinced it really helped strengthen her back. (nothing scientific to prove it )

IKEA changing table. A must for straight after birth. My back simply wouldn't allow me to change nappies on lower surfaces like beds in the weeks after birth, and in fact, up to 20 weeks, I wasn't fully right. Don't know how I would have managed without it. Also stored LOADS of stuff on the shelves. 60eur well spent.

Uppababy vista buggy - love it. Big basket, high seat, extendable handle, works on practically any surface (except sand ). Bit chunky, but I think it's great.

Padded Mothercare babygros for winter are super. As are the Grobags (or a version of them) specially when you have a wriggly, very active baby!

mirrorwall14

Sf12 can you give a bit more info on your experience with the jumperoo? My lad is 3 months now and has very good head control. He suffers with reflux tho so play time on his mat is limited to 30-40 mins after a bottle and he's getting tired at that stage. I think he's a bit bored in his bouncer and doesn't like being constantly held while I'm making sure he's upright for that time after the bottle.

What age did you start using it? How long did you use it at a time? Is it really as bulky as they say? And is taking it apart very awkward?

Roesy

Mirrorwall, it is bulky and does take up a bit of space. We didn't get one until she was nearly 6 months, not for any reason in particular, just didn't get around to getting one. I have 4 months in my head as a recommended age but you'd have to check that. Our little girl had great head control from very early on. So would have been ready for it a good bit sooner than we got it. She also had reflux. I know what you mean about the upright time after feeds but I'd be leaving it at last 40 minutes- an hour after a feed before putting them into the Jumperoo. When they get jumping it's really vigorous!! We got great use out of it but I got extremely wary of it after about 3 months when she managed to jump/climb/fall out of it one day. Myself and my husband were in the same room, he turned his back for 30 seconds to pass me something when we heard a crash. To this day we can't work out how she did it. I couldn't find any similar incidents online. It was set up properly and she wasn't above the weight limit. It's only recommended for short amounts of time too I think. We loved our one and I will more than likely use it with this baby when the time comes but I'll be exercising extreme caution in case this one is a Houdini like its big sister!!

We found a stationary activity centre with a swivel seat in the middle very good for upright time. She got great use out of it.

mirrorwall14

Roesy wrote: »

Mirrorwall, it is bulky and does take up a bit of space. We didn't get one until she was nearly 6 months, not for any reason in particular, just didn't get around to getting one. I have 4 months in my head as a recommended age but you'd have to check that. Our little girl had great head control from very early on. So would have been ready for it a good bit sooner than we got it. She also had reflux. I know what you mean about the upright time after feeds but I'd be leaving it at last 40 minutes- an hour after a feed before putting them into the Jumperoo. When they get jumping it's really vigorous!! We got great use out of it but I got extremely wary of it after about 3 months when she managed to jump/climb/fall out of it one day. Myself and my husband were in the same room, he turned his back for 30 seconds to pass me something when we heard a crash. To this day we can't work out how she did it. I couldn't find any similar incidents online. It was set up properly and she wasn't above the weight limit. It's only recommended for short amounts of time too I think. We loved our one and I will more than likely use it with this baby when the time comes but I'll be exercising extreme caution in case this one is a Houdini like its big sister!!

We found a stationary activity centre with a swivel seat in the middle very good for upright time. She got great use out of it.

Oh a stationary one might actually be better for him, I was a but conscious of the bouncing Our lad has had great head control from day one. Had a funny experience with the doc going through stuff with us before we left the hospital. He was emphasising the importance of changing his head position in the cot. I asked what I should do if he can already turn his head and the doc was like "oh, just do it like this" and deftly picks him up and lays him down with his head the other way. The babs immediately opened his eyes, looked at him and turned back the way he was rofl! He can hold his head easily now.

Off to browse for stationary centres! Any recommendations folks?

contrary_mary

ariana` wrote: »

You can buy tights for boys with Dinosaurs and so on but they're expensive

Penneys had lots of boys tights in the winter with monkeys etc on them and some thick thermal ones. I doubt they're in stock now but I was in H&M this week and they still have their boys tights in - they're a little more expensive than penneys but they are nicer quality and wash better.

Safety First Bath Seat - Our fella became impossible to manage in the bath around 6 months and we picked this up in Smyths - he's happy out sitting in it and it makes bathtimes much less of a struggle.

comongethappy

Highchair: Received the Graco fruit salad as a gift. Pro was that it folds away. However, it's a soft seat so offers no support for babies, and the tray never wanted to attach properly. I went and got the ikea highchair and DS loves it.

Buggy: I have the Phil and Teds Navigator. Pros are the auto stop handbrake, big wheels, very maneuverable, double feature, and suits bigger kids. Great if you live in a very hilly area like I do or like to go off road. Cons are size / weight, and compared to models from about 6 years ago, harder to go from lying down to sitting up and no peekaboo in the sun hood. Due to the size, I only load in the car if we are doing forest walks. Otherwise for shops, I have a cheap stroller that is kept in car.

Carriers: I bought a sling from the states - could never get it to fit right. Bought peanut shell sling and found it difficult not to have his chin on chest, didn't really like. I then bought babystart soft carrier, and he loved it, but only held to 9 kg. I would recommend going to a sling meet and trying a few before buying so you can get a good one that will last.

Angelcare monitor: A must for me. I got used on adverts, huge piece of mind so I wasn't standing over crib trying to tell if he was breathing the whole time.

Car seat: I had maxicosi carbofix with iso fix base. Great when he was very little (up to 10 weeks) when if he fell asleep in the car, I could bring him in and he would still be asleep. By 12 weeks he somehow knew when we walked in the door and would wake up. I have since gotten a Recaro Euro extended rear facing car seat from the states that does up to 40 lbs rear facing and 70 lbs front facing with latch (iso fix like fkexible) attachments. DS seems to like it more now that he is over 10 kg.

Bottles: MAM anti colic self sterilising bottles. Love them. Great for bf mothers who express or may need to top up as you don't need a big microwave steriliser.

Pumps: Bought the MAM manual pump - useless, suction was not very strong and I got more milk hand expressing, which isn't saying much! I rented the medela hospital grade pump as I had supply issues, and in retrospect, I wish I had just gotten the medela swing as then I could pump now.

Door bouncer: I bought a cheap Chad Valley one, and DS loves it. Great for very active babies or if you don't have room for a jumparoo

SF12

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Sf12 can you give a bit more info on your experience with the jumperoo? My lad is 3 months now and has very good head control. He suffers with reflux tho so play time on his mat is limited to 30-40 mins after a bottle and he's getting tired at that stage. I think he's a bit bored in his bouncer and doesn't like being constantly held while I'm making sure he's upright for that time after the bottle.

What age did you start using it? How long did you use it at a time? Is it really as bulky as they say? And is taking it apart very awkward?

I started her at just over 4 months, but I wedged towels down in the seat around her to support her a bit. She's a reflux baby too, and once she figured out around 6-7 months that she could bounce in it, we had to stop using it. She used to leap away in it, and didn't do her tummy any favours with it! But she actually loved it. It's a bulky thing alright, I will say that. Also at 3 months, he might be a bit lost in the jumperoo seat still, it's biggish.

I used to prop her up in a bouncer after feeds to keep her upright - can you do that? Part of the reason we got the jumperoo was because she was beginning to pull up in her bouncer and was reaching a point where she was going to tip it over. And she had zero interest in lying on a mat at 4 months. So the jumperoo let her be upright, look around and she never over-turned it.

I would have preferred a stationary activity centre in some ways, but just couldn't seem to find one that suited.

Sligo1

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Sf12 can you give a bit more info on your experience with the jumperoo? My lad is 3 months now and has very good head control. He suffers with reflux tho so play time on his mat is limited to 30-40 mins after a bottle and he's getting tired at that stage. I think he's a bit bored in his bouncer and doesn't like being constantly held while I'm making sure he's upright for that time after the bottle.

What age did you start using it? How long did you use it at a time? Is it really as bulky as they say? And is taking it apart very awkward?

Mirrorwall, there's a big thread here about jumperoos: http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057164834/1/#post8937180

Without a doubt the best thing we got for my little girl. Only regret is that I didn't get one when my 1st was a baby. He totally missed out!

I'll also add it was extremely handy that I could pop her in it instead of on the floor when my then 19 month old was tearing round the place. He literally would've ran over her especially if she was ever down on her play mat we had to be so careful and watch like a hawk. But she was well out of harms way when in her Jumperoo.

mirrorwall14

Sligo1 wrote: »

Mirrorwall, there's a big thread here about jumperoos: http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057164834/1/#post8937180

Without a doubt the best thing we got for my little girl. Only regret is that I didn't get one when my 1st was a baby. He totally missed out!

Thanks sligo1. I actually got him a stationary activity centre with the rotating seat for 20e second hand today. He's been in it briefly and loves it, can't reach some of the toys yet but the spinner is fascinating him!

I may consider a jumperoo in a month or two and this one can go to his granny's but for now I do feel this is safer for him. He's no problem holding his head up but jumping and reflux and his age might be a bit much!