Archive for the ‘Furniture & Toys’ Category

Money-Saving Tips for New Parents

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Are you overwhelmed by the costs of a new baby? Try some of these basic money-saving tips for new parents.

Unless you have some money-saving tips for new parents, keeping costs of a new baby manageable can be close to impossible. Expenses can add up quickly and new parents are often led to believe that they need everything they see. However, this is not the case. Learn how to prioritize your new baby spending with these money-saving tips for new parents.

Check Out Cloth Diapers

Diapers are the single most expensive item that you will buy—especially if you go for disposables. Cloth diapers have changed drastically over the last several years. You can now find cloth diapers that slip on and off just like disposables. The only difference between the new cloth diapers and the disposables is that you have to wash them. Dumping what’s in the diaper is pretty simple and many parents that use cloth opt for a small trash can with a lid filled with water and baking soda to prevent drying and to keep the smell down. When it’s time to wash, you just dump the container into the washer.

Limit What You Buy

New parents are often led to believe that they need an excess of everything. You’re told you need pacifiers, slews of receiving blankets, and dozens upon dozens of outfits. If you use these money-saving tips for new parents, however, you’ll see that you can limit what you buy. Not all babies like pacifiers. Some babies love being swaddled, and others don’t. And all those outfits? Your baby is going to grow out of them within weeks. You can always buy more of something if you need it later, but you can’t or won’t be able to return extra items.

Buy a High-Quality Convertible Crib

A high-quality convertible crib is one of the best places to spend money. You can use the crib all the way from infancy to (in some cases) the teen years and beyond. Again, just be sure to buy a model with quality so that the crib is able to withstand the test of time. Also, to ensure safety, be sure to purchase the crib brand new so that you avoid any chances that it was recalled over the last several years. While it may cost you more in the beginning, this money-saving tip for new parents will save you money over the next several years.

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Nursery Toys and Items that Keep Your Little One Active

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Looking for nursery items that help support and stimulate growth and development for your new baby? Check out these nursery toys and items that will help keep your little one active.

During the early stages of your little one’s life, various nursery toys and items can help keep them active while encouraging growth, development, and stimulation at the same time. While your baby is an infant, development happens fast and the early months of life are crucial as he or she learns motor skills and other important aspects of physical, social, and mental development.

Here are some common nursery toys and items that are designed to keep your little one active, entertained, and constantly learning:

Active Gyms—You’ve probably seen these all over your favorite baby retail stores. If you were lucky, you likely received one as a gift at your baby shower. If you’ve yet to fill your baby’s nursery with an active gym, though, it’s time to consider purchasing one or acquiring a used one from a friend or family member. Active gyms are equipped with all kinds of sensory areas for your baby to touch, play, and listen to, and they usually come with a prop pillow that helps encourage tummy development as your baby twists, swerves, and rolls to reach the toys around and above the gym.

Walkers—Walkers are classic nursery toys that help your baby learn to use their feet to pull and walk themselves, with the help of a support seat. They keep your little one active and most of them are designed with trays next to the seat that have built-in toys and sounds to keep your baby entertained.

Swings and Bouncers—Swings and bouncers can be both soothing and entertaining, and both help keep your baby active with different toys for sensory stimulation. They also encourage various physical movements and motor development skills and can be placed in your nursery and taken with you for on-the-go needs as well. Keep swings or bouncers at the top of your list when searching for nursery toys and items that will keep your little one active.

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Top Newborn Toy Ideas for Your New Little Girl or Boy

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Looking for essential toy ideas for your newborn? Any of these common toy ideas are must-haves for your new little prince or princess.

Whether you are a first-time mom or not, as a mother, you know that there are plenty of top newborn toy ideas to choose from for your new baby. Child development is at its peak in your baby’s first few months and years of life, so the toys you choose to keep around make a big difference in how they learn, experience their environment, and ultimately, how they grow.

Aside from education and development, top newborn toy ideas for your baby make a difference in their overall comfort, and they offer a level of nurturing that they need at a very young age. For example, plush toys are extremely comforting and provide a sense of calm for your little one while they are in their playpen or just taking a nap in their crib.

Here are some other top newborn toy ideas that every newborn—boy or girl—can benefit from in the first few months of their life.

Rattles and Teethers—Both rattles and teethers are essential for your baby’s development, as well as for their entertainment. They make noise, stimulate the senses, and help with your newborn’s teething.

Soft Books—It’s never too early to start exposing your newborn to words and letters. Soft books are not only great because they introduce your child to language, but they also help spark and encourage interest in reading from the time they enter the world, before they can even walk. It helps lay an important foundation for an interest in literacy.

Gyms and Play Mats—No, we’re not talking treadmills and dumbbells, of course. But we are talking baby play mats with “gym” features like hanging toys, musical toys, and baby jumpers. Gyms and play mats are a must for your baby because they help them stay active, encourage motor function growth, and they are downright fun for a newborn to explore.

Any of these top newborn toy ideas will entertain, educate, and inspire your baby’s growth and the first impressions they receive of the world.

 

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What to Consider When Comparing Crib Choices for Your Baby

Monday, May 9th, 2011

Choosing the right crib for your baby is important. Find some great tips and options here.

Crib choices for your baby can be extremely hard to make. Thankfully, different tastes and different incomes have offered a wide variety of choices. Additionally, cribs are constantly being recalled for safety reasons. These are all important things to consider when looking at crib choices for your baby. By using a few tips and tricks, however, you can easily start to narrow down your options.

Safety First

Before purchasing a crib, it is important that you take the time to look over safety recalls. While stores are not supposed to carry recalled cribs, you can still find these recalled cribs at second hand stores or yard sales. These cribs have been recalled for a reason and should be avoided at all costs. You may even want to consider printing out a list of the recalled cribs if you plan to shop secondhand for your crib.

Price Options

Crib choices for your baby can be found in a wide variety of prices. Before purchasing any crib, carefully consider your budget. While it may be tempting to get the most expensive crib for your baby, it is important to consider your budget. Additionally, you will want to avoid choosing the least expensive crib, if at all possible. Quality is often compromised in these crib choices for your baby.

Your Nursery

When making crib choices for your baby, you may also want to take the time to consider your overall nursery theme. This will help you ensure that your nursery matches. If you are purchasing your nursery items separately, this may be a little difficult to pull off. However, with careful matching, you should be able to find a crib choice for your baby that coordinates with your baby’s overall nursery theme.

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Five Baby Toys to Promote Early Learning

Monday, December 20th, 2010

Education is important now, more than ever. The sooner we teach our children things like their shapes, ABC’s, and numbers, the more equipped they will be for school.  These five baby toys can help promote early learning so your child can make leaps and bounds in their education.

Baby toys are not only for entertaining our children, but they are very important to ensure proper learning and development. Educational toys allow children to learn more about themselves and the world around them, and in addition, they assist in the development of creativity and healthy personalities.

One baby toy that helps to promote early learning is the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Shop and Learn Walker. It is geared for children ages 9 to 36 months, and promotes walking skills, the discovery of shapes, ABC’s and more. It especially helps a child learn about foods. The shopping cart reacts to the child with music, lights, and more. When the baby reaches into the shopping cart, he or she can turn the shopping list pages or sort shapes.

The Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Fun with Friends Musical Table is perfect for babies 6 to 36 months, and it is a favorite of many children. Your baby will respond to the lights, music, and colors, all while moving from one side of the table to another. They can find even more songs, lights, numbers, letters, and much more, as they make their way around the table.

Puzzles are another great option for early learning and development. ABC, numbers, and shape puzzles are all excellent choices when it comes to teaching your children these important essentials. You child can take the pieces out and replace them in the correct slot. When they do this, it’s not only an enjoyable and rewarding experience for them, but for you as the parent as well!

Memory and matching games are also an excellent choice, and they are definitely some of the best baby toys to help promote early learning and development. For children that are at least a year of age, having a baby doll to take care of can also increase fine motor skills and social skills. Any of these toys are sure to promote early learning and boost confidence in our children as they make their way toward kindergarten.

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Unsafe Baby Furniture

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Many homes are full of products such as cribs, baby gates, and playpens. Parents naturally think that these products are safe, otherwise they would not have been allowed to have been sold… right?  This could be a dangerous assumption. Some older products have caused deaths and have been taken off the market, but they’re still found at garage sales or are passed from family to family. Another problem is that some common products are often used incorrectly, putting children at risk for injury.

Products to check include:

  1. Baby walkers with wheels: Don’t use them! Children have suffered head injuries from falling down stairs in walkers.
  2. Baby bath seats with suction cups: Babies left alone in bath seats have drowned; some have almost drowned even when their parents were in the bathroom. The suction cups on the bottom of the bath seats don’t always stick properly, and babies may fall over into the water.
  3. Playpens: Millions of playpens have been recalled for safety reasons in the last decade. Research your model thoroughly if you did not purchase the playpen new.
  4. Baby gates at the top of stairs: Make sure that any gates at the top of stairs are fastened to the wall with screws, it’s not uncommon for parents to mistakenly use pressure gates, which aren’t fastened to the wall, and these can give way if children lean on them.
  5. Bunkbeds from garage sales: Every year many children die, not from falling off bunk beds, but from sliding underneath the “safety rail” and then choking to death, their feet unable to reach the ground to push themselves back up.  This safety rail may have been the reason the parent in fact bought the bunk bed thinking it was safe, as their child would not have been able to fall out.  The safety rail on a bunk bed, must be solid, or if slatted, the slats must be so close togethor your child can not slip through.  Modern bunk beds are usually fine, but garage sale version have often been modifed and unsafely so.

Know of more dangerous items? Contact us.

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