Tuesday, January 19, 2010

This Ride-on Runs Circles Around the Others

Kids love ride-on toys. We have several for our little boy, and he enjoys them all. But even he would agree that not one of them gives him the freedom of movement that the Wheely Bug by Prince Lionheart does. Unlike other ride-ons that just have wheels (scoff!), the Wheely Bug sits on casters. This means it can go forward, backward, side-to-side, and even spin around. How fun is that? With this ride-on you don't have to worry about your little one throwing those frustrated little temper tantrums because the toy won't turn when they want it to. This thing moves wonderfully. We loved it when Kitt was learning to walk. He loved pushing it around, and the handle has a nice, slip-resistant material on it. The Wheely Bug isn't just available as a bee, either. You can also get it as a ladybug, cow, mouse or tiger. Raaarrr. The only negative thing I've heard about the Wheely Bug is that the "small" version is pathetically small - as in, don't waste your time - just get the big one. So check it out. Rock and roll, babies.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Tick Tock and it Don't Stop ... Kitt From Going to Bed

If you have a two-year-old, chances are you either have or will soon experience the child who refuses to go to bed. We recently went thru nine weeks of torture when our little boy started to resist bedtime. We didn't ignore the fact that this coincided with the arrival of his baby sister - we tried to be empathetic, yet firm. Nothing worked. He screamed for HOURS - we cried for hours.

Then, like an angel swooping in from the heavens (yes, I know I'm being dramatic, but this is about as profound as it really felt) my mom did some searching and came up with (cue heralding trumpets) My Tot Clock.
This thing has saved our lives! It does it all. And along with a solid, consistent bedtime routine this little timepiece can become a real time saver. Kitt has had the same bedtime routine since he was 2 months old, but his parents admittedly may have slacked on consistently dealing with bedtime resistance. No more. He loves My Tot Clock, and he even seems to respect our rules more.

So, what does this clock do, you ask? What makes it so awesome? How 'bout ... everything. You can totally personalize it to work for you and your kid. On the back are all kinds of buttons and settings. Obviously, we use it most for bedtime. You set the bedtime. When the clock hits that time, the face lights up blue (which you can dim or brighten AS YOU WISH) and the clock can read a bedtime story, play lullabies, emit white noise or any combination of the three. There is a separate volume for the story and the white noise and lullablies. I'm telling you - it's totally customizable. You can also set the wake time. If you're like us and had a kid who liked to get up at 5am, you'll love this feature too. We set the time (and be reasonable about it - no fair setting it for 10am) and if he gets up too early, we just say, "Your clock is still blue. You need to stay in bed until it turns yellow." And more often than not ... he does! Wow! There's even a good morning song - if you want it. You can set it for naps as well. We've also used the timeout feature in which the clock face turns a stern shade of red for however many minutes you (you guessed it) set it for. We love My Tot Clock! There are even more features, but maybe you should just check it out for yourself. $50 might seem a little steep, but when you're desperate, you'll try anything. In our opinion, it's worth every penny and more.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Long time no blog


Well, readers (if there are any), I've been away a long time ... nearly a year! I guess life just got busy. It's a new year and I've got a new baby - a beautiful baby girl, Maisie - so I'm ready to get out there and rediscover the world of baby products. And with my 2-year-old son, Kittrick, I'm also enjoying the world of toddler products as well. The blog's got a new look and I'm all ready to roll, so I think I'll make it my New Year's resolution to post once a week (I'm setting my goals low). I should be able to find the time since every other night I'm a prisoner to the upstairs hallway until Kitt drifts off to sleep and I can slink down our creaky stairway to get 20 minutes with my husband before we call it a day. In fact, I think my first post will cover a product tied to the little guy's bedtime routine. Stay tuned, and sweet dreams.