Own Brand Reviews

Having a look back at some own brand products we've tried, here's a round up on my thoughts:

Nappies

BJ's - These were great value for money. Pretty basic nappy, but a good fit, easy to slide on/off and worked very well.

Target - These were probably the best own brand nappy we tried, they worked great and felt the nicest.

BabiesRUS - This was a surprise as they were the worst. They felt pretty horrid, were very thin but they were easy to put on.

Bath Stuff

We tried a variety of bathing products from Target, the sleep time body wash, shampoo and hair detangler, equivalents to the Johnson and Johnson line of products. We found these to be just as effective and pleasant to use and certainly worth the savings offered.

Misc Stuff

Own brand food. BJ's formula was significantly cheaper than the branded stuff and because all formula goes through the FDA, they're all essentially the same and as healthy so you might as well get the cheapest. Target, Hannafords and other stores now carry their own brands which is great, but BJ's is still the cheapest we found.

Snack foods, those cheese puffs and crackers etc. Hannafords have a good line, but so do Target and they are often more cheaper, especially when they are doing their deals. The food is pretty good too, including the little lunch pots and food trays for when the kids are a little older. BJ's are now carrying the branded stuff in bulk though and often have coupons for added savings.

Breast Pads. Many were tried, Avent, they were okay but a little thin, but they also have a 100 count for $11 which is the best value for money. Lansinoh, they were pretty good, but probably not the best value for money as they were quite expensive. Medela, were also expensive and not worth the extra cost. The biggest surprise was BabiesRUS, their own brand pads worked out to be almost the cheapest option, but they were great quality pads. The re-usable ones mostly ended up in the bin as they never ended up being practical and being quite expensive to maintain considering the cost and how many you'd need so that you'd have a supply with you while washing a set etc.

Lunch Out With the Little One

Just had lunch at a couple of places over the last few days, where I've not eaten before.


First was at Chick-Fil-A which was in a mall. The food wasn't what impressed me, because it was pretty meh, fried chicken and the kids meal was really limited to chicken nuggets and you had to pay extra to substitute the waffle fries for a fruit cup.

What was really good, especially for a place in a mall food court, the service. They offered to have someone take your food to a table if you had your hands full with a pushchair, never had that happen before and certainly makes up for the food. The waffle fries are awesome though!

The second place I tried, The Border Cafe. This was great, the kids menu had a good selection of meals from the usual grilled sandwich to chicken tacos with a decent serving of the string fries, salad, soft drink and a choice of chocolate or a packet of sweats for desert, all for $3.

Only down side seemed to be the fairly open plan of the place, which could have been the location I was at rather than the other restaurants. They had plenty of high chairs, but they were still a little low for the high tables and the lack of booths meant it did get quite nosy during lunch as it was very busy. The service was great, the food was out very quickly, all lovely and well priced with good portions and the fresh tortillas and salsa make for a great free snack while your waiting for your food. Loved it.

Baby Teethers

There are loads around, but the best so far has been the set of Crombi Training Teethers

They are just nice and easy for the baby to hold on to, nice bright colours, has a nice little rattle to them and the baby is able to easily use these to gnaw the back teeth with, which many other teethers fail to do.

Those gel ones that you stick in the freezer or the fridge to get cold do relieve some of the teething pain, but they are usually to chunky to be practical, the baby can't hold them very stably and isn't able to use them to sooth the rear teeth.

Baby Nappy Tip

Now it's the winter...keep the wipes inside rather than in the car, they freeze in the cold...not fun...

Baby Bottle Reviews

There's a load of them out there, quite over whelming to be honest, so here is a review of the ones we have tried.

Dr Browns Natural Flow -This has a air venting system which is simple and works very well, we use this bottle a lot and rather like it, but it does have some issues.

The cons to this, there are a few parts that come apart to make it work, which is more hassle to wash, also the lid doesn't pinch the nipple but relies on a disc that you put into place behind the nipple to stop it leaking when your on the move, this is a major hassle to take out and not lose when in a hassle, and this is the main draw back to this bottle. Also the neck of the bottle is fairly narrow so you have to be careful about pooring in formula or you could make a mess. The pros, it does work very well in venting the air and minimising burping with our baby and the bottles are study and don't leak when you use the disc. 3/5

Playtex Ventaire - This we got as a free sample and though we would like because it has a vent system to reduce gas and the angled head means it is easy to tilt up and feed the baby, it also doesn't have many parts and is easy to clean. The major downside to this though, if there's any moisture or air in the base when you screw it on, the bottle won't seal and the milk will drain right out of it, which can be a problem when your tired at 2am trying to make a bottle on the quick. The bottle also feels fairly flimsy so it might not take to as much abuse. 2/5

Green to Grow - This is now our favourite and prefered bottle. It's an organic bottle, BPA free and all that, so nice and healty. It's also fairly study and the lid clamps on the nipple to prevent it from leaking and works well in that regard. The cons to this bottle, there's no special anti gas feature, but we generally don't have a problem with gas. The other problem is the curved shape of the lid, which means when you put it down it has a habit of rolling away and could get lost which will make a mess of the bottle, this really isn't a major problem, but it could be if you are on the road. Also when you buy the larger sized bottles, it comes with a stage one nipple when you'd generally be wanting either a stage two or three for that sized bottle. 4/5

Adiri - This originally was our favourite bottle and it worked great when our baby was first born and very small, because of the soft rubbery feel and appearance, it was most breast like for the baby to get used to, so it worked great when the baby was lying down, also the wide opening makes this very easy to fill up with forumla or milk. The problems with this bottle, you can't change the nipple stage size, so you have to replace the whole unit and it's fairly expensive for a one off bottle, also the capped lid doesn't do a great job of clamping the nipple which causes this bottle to leak quite a bit when on the move. The way that it is made also means you have to fill it up upside down, this can be a bit awkward to do late at night to read the measurements. The venting base does work quite well though, but like the Playtex bottle, it can cause a milk leak if put on when wet. For newborns at home 5/5 after a few months 2/5

First Years Soothie - This bottle came with the breast pump and what we like is the wide opening which made it easy to fill up with formula, and also it's quite short and stout, which makes it very stable, which is great. This bottle travels well too as the lid fits onto the base of the bottle so you won't lose it when it use, but the extra wide stance of the bottle does make it difficult to fit in many of those insulated bottle holders. There isn't any real con to this bottle apart from not being BPA free, there is a slightly creepy face in the nipple, had we not been given other bottles we probably would use more of these. 4/5

Think Baby - This is another great bottle, more as a transitional bottle between breast feeding and bottle and from bottle to sippy cup. It's another BPA free etc health bottle, but has a soft nipple that's shaped more like the tip of a sippy cup. The one we are using has handles to help the baby hold it up as a cup which she seems to really like. This also has a wide opening making it easy to fill and the lid locks firmly into place to stop leakage and also has a flat top so the lids won't roll away on you. 4/5

Boon Spoon Squirt - This isn't actually a bottle, but it's a great spoon to help start feeding of rice cereal and for feeding whilst on the go. You fill the handle up with the food and you squeeze to pour a drop of food onto the spoon. This does work really well, but the plastic cap that seals it for travel is a bit tricky to snap into place and there's no where to keep it safe whilst you are using the spoon. 4/5

6 Month jabs

Well it was time for some immunisation jabs as well as a bit of a catch up, but those went well. Also had a flu jab on top, which I also had as well, taking an aspirin really helps there.

The jabs went pretty well, though worth having an outfit that you can get the legs out easily in. Also having it done around feeding time is quite good, because you can be giving the bottle which helps sooth the baby, well with ours it certainly helped.

The bottle, and a cuddly teddy to take her mind of things, holding her hands and staring into her eyes while she got jabbed, seemed to help minimise the stress and crying. Still a horrid experience, but it did seem to help bring her back to her jolly self pretty quickly.

Bath time!

This should be a time of fun, but with the wrong tub, it can be hell.

What we were given at our baby shower was by Safety 1st Infant Tub. Similar to the one linked. In theory it sounded great, which is why we registered for it, it's got an easy drain plug, it's got non slip grips and a thermal sticker to gage the water temperature.

The reality was, it was rubbish, the sticker never changed colour, the non slip pads didn't really hold the baby at all. The tub also wasn't deep enough to have enough water cover the baby, so she was always cold, and the water would cool very quickly. This resulted in pissed of nuclear baby on the epic proportions, which was not good and also heart breaking.

Someone recommended the Tummy Tub, this looked awesome, nice and small, the baby slips in and feels comfortable, the water doesn't get cold and you can easily bathe the baby, only problem was, it was close to $80 when we first looked, it's now around $60. This is a lot when the usual bath tubs are around $25-30.

We found a cheaper knock off on Amazon, the Prince Lionheart WashPod, which is basically the same as the Tummy tub, but $25.

It has been one of the best buys for the baby so far, she now loves bath time which makes the whole process a lot easier and not a strain, plus she can play in the water and stay warm and far less mess.

Pumps

Yeah, the thrilling world of breast pumps.

A couple of hints, get whatever one you fancy online, or if at a store, check the return policy, this could be a good purchase to make at Walmart. Certainly not at Babies R US, because they won't accept a return or exchange, even on a broken unit unless it is new, unused and sealed in the box.

We went with the cheap and cheerful "The First Years" by the Learning Curve. The natural Deluxe single breast pump. It worked pretty well for a month, before dying. This is where the company came good, kind of. The website FAQ is junk, and emailing them for help is a waste of time, call them up, and they are pretty helpful, we had to send the unit with all the parts back, including a copy of the birth certificate because we lost the receipt and they'll send us a replacement unit. Apparently from talking to the person on the phone, our unit was funky from the get go. We still have to pay postage to send it to them though which is a shame.

One thing they don't tell you about, all these electric breast pumps sound like a belt sander, really scary stuff, but they work quite well. I'd recommend a double pump though because it's a slow process and you might as well do both sides at once if you can.

So over all, $50, can't complain to much, it does the job, it was cheap, it's easy to clean and use. I wouldn't want a hand pump though, that would get tedious fast and I'm not sure why some of the other pumps cost $300 or so, a tad pricey, cheaper than renting in the long run though.

The first doctors visit...

Well the first pediatricians visit. We got the medical insurance statement for that first visit, and the check up cost the insurance $220 plus the $20 co-pay.

Fair enough maybe, but the visit was 10 mins, which included a nurse weighing the baby and measuring the baby and then the doctor prodding the babies pelvis, running a nail up the spine and down the ribs to check for reflexes, listening to the heart and lungs and then looking at the ears and eyes.

How the hell does that work out at $220? That's over $1300 an hour, WTF.

Car Seat Fun

Well the big day is getting close, so finally gotten around to installing the base to the car seat.

We got a pushchair that included a rear facing child seat that is good for up to 25 pounds, this car seat has a base that gets installed in the car that the seat attaches too.

Following the instructions though is one thing, but it really needs to be checked out by someone in the know to see if the movement of the seat is way to much or just right and as it's pretty important, it's worth doing.

This is where the National Child Protection Safety Certification (CPS) site is handy. This site will help you find a CPS officer that will be able to do these checks and is currently certified. You can usually find an officer either in your local police station or fire station. Sometimes they have an open day where you just show up on a certain day of the week or month, or in some places you need to make an appointment.

It is something that shouldn't take to long, but should be done a couple of weeks before the due date so that you are comfortable with installing the car seat when you need to and not have to worry to much about it when you first take your baby home, which is going to probably be stressful enough.

Diaper Changing Classes

Nappy changing to us Brits.

Did a class lastnight, it was a free class by BabiesRUS, sponsored by Pampers. It lasted about 20 or so minutes and involved watching a short video about products ranging from nappies, wipes, creams and changing sations. Also we were shown how to change a nappy, clean the baby and help deal with nappy rash. We then got to practice on a doll before being shown around the store, pointing out where the nappies, wipes and other products related to the class are kept.

Even though the class was sponsored by Pampers, the person doing the class wasn't that bothered by brand to much, though did recommend the pamper line of nappies from personal experience, saying that Huggies weren't so popular because they tended to leak and more people had instances of nappy rash for some reason. When it came to wipes, and creams, we were shown a good variety of makes, though a personal favourite had to be the Butt Paste line of creams, the name is great, you know what exactly what it's for and it's supposed to work really well.

It was a worthwhile class, certainly for free and I would recommend any expectant parents to check one out, certainly to see what other free classes are available, because our local hospital do similar classes, but they certainly are not free.

The Crib...

This weekend saw our landlord finally getting around to replacing the broken window we had in our dining room, which will now be the babies bedroom. It's only taken him a couple of years, even though it was cracked all the way across even before we moved in apparently.

With that done, I got around to putting our crib together. We got an Ellis 4-1 crib by Simplicity a while ago on sale for a pretty good sum we thought from Baby Center.com As it turns out, it's always on sale. It also is supposed to be a 4-1 bed as the name suggests, being a crib going through to transitional and day bed through to full size bed. What is failed to be highlighted on the product description is that in order to turn it into a full size bed, using the parts and tools included in the box, would be additional steel bed frame, wooden side slats and mattress support slats all sold separately which is a bit cheeky.

Anyway, on towards putting it together. The directions were fairly good, though important notes could have perhaps been placed a head of the section direction, such as where to place the mattress support for the crib, the directions say and show the bottom set of holes, then in the notes afterwards you are told you can place them higher up instead to make it easier to reach the baby and adjust the height as the child grows. Well sod that, it's at the bottom, and that was way to fiddly to put in so not much chances of that being un-done and put back in at a different height. So apart from that being a bit awkward, and setting the crib mattress support together at the start, the rest of the assembly went quite well. You certainly do need more than one person to put it together though or you'll go barmy, ta to fiddly for one person alone, but it didn't take that long, an hour or so.

It looks good and has a nice finish, so I'd recommend it, certainly for the money.

So yay, we have a babies room at last, lacking in a comfy feeding chair and has a cheapo student fold out fabric bubble chair from Target because we're now very skint and watching the pennies.

Hospital Tours and Baby Classes

It's been a few weeks since we did the baby course at the hospital, pre-natal classes that is. The option to do a few hours over several weeks or all day over a weekend, we opted for the latter.

Apart from going all the handy stuff like breathing exercises and the whole process of giving birth, there was a lot of other little practical bits of advice that you might not even think about like what to bring to the hospital, including phone cards because you can't use a mobile phone there and the phone in your room is only good for instate calls, which to some might not be a problem, but for us, when family is either in another state, or country, makes quite a lot of sense.

Another great advantage to this course, for us at least, it included a tour of the hospital, to see the birthing rooms and where everything is and how to register and all that fun stuff. That was great, because if you didn't do this course and wanted a tour, that would have been $45 a person, cheeky buggers.

This is another thing where it's worth checking out the details of your medical insurance, because our policy allows the mother to claim her costs of the class back, which is $90 a person. The husband or who ever else turns up doesn't, but it's better than nothing. Some plans won't give you anything back, some others will cover the whole couple.

Other hospital classes include basic baby medical classes, breast feeding classes, how to wash/change baby etc. Your insurance might pick the costs up for these classes too. Ours doesn't though.

Breast pumps we found, can be covered if you get a subscription for as a medical need, other wise you'll have to pay out of pocket, and for an electric one, those can be very pricey.

Getting reimbursed by the medical insurance can be pretty quick, we already received the cheque after a few weeks of sending in the forms.

Finding out it's time to grow up

So obviously its been a while since I found out the missus is pregnant, what with the baby due next month.

Scarily my first thought on finding out, I think should either be happiness or a bit of fright, but I was thinking "fuck, how much is this going to cost..." Being so used to the NHS, and not being sick, I've not had much use for my medical insurance and have tried to avoid dealing with doctors over here, as they aren't cheap, and before moving to this neighbourhood, were pretty shite, taking ages to get an appointment and all that, but around here, it's been pretty good. This was the time for me to really look into the small print of my medical insurance, as it's really the one big benefit I have to be honest. It turns out to be really good.

On the cost side, we're spending a small fortune on parking costs at the doctors office, and a couple of $15 co-pays. Since then the costs have gone up, but that's another story. The cost of delivery will be with the new costs will be $250. It's pretty good, and that thought is scary, because in reality, that's still crap because it's free on the NHS (minus tax, blegh). Anyway, I shouldn't complain because a friend else where has paid $750 for pre-natal check ups so far and a simple delivery will be a few grand.

So that's the hook, the insurance is really good, the salary is pretty mediocre, actually crap, but I don't want to lose this insurance because it's only costing me $65 a month, and that's the family plan including dental, part of why I haven't accepted an offer to move else where and part of why I haven't been looking, though I know I probably should.

I'll rant some more tomorrow because it's good therapy, and no one else is reading this anyway.