Ways to Be Economical with Baby Products
Earlier this month, we talked about going to secondhand stores for baby clothes and making sure all furniture and strollers were new. Aside from these tips, more can be done to make having a child more affordable. When it comes to baby products, what is necessary and what is affordable? What is a splurge? What don’t you need? An article from GoToBabyGift gives a few suggestions suggestions:
• Always buy new cribs, but if you expect another child in a few years, choose a unisex design.
• If you want a fashionable diaper bag, make sure it holds everything you’ll need.
• Stick with cloth diapers.
• Only use wipes for emergencies and go with soap and water if possible.
• Make sure you have four and nine-ounce baby bottles, which should be BPA-free.
• Have ample onesies around in sizes 0 to 18 months. These, too, can be unisex.
• Invest in a baby monitor.
• Strollers don’t need to be expensive but they should be sturdy enough to protect your child and to last through the toddler years.
• Have multiple swaddling blankets on hand.
• Have a baby thermometer in your home.
While many of these suggestions will help a parent save money, the article doesn’t address one issue: baby toys. Although toys, on some level, might been extravagant and excessive, they’re necessary for a baby’s development and growth. Consider stimulation toys that are age-appropriate: mirrors and crib books and various soft toys with colors, sounds, and textures. Additionally, find a mobile that also stimulates sight and sound. Several retailers carry baby toys and offer a selection of stimulation or educational toys.
Additionally, a car seat is an item that will last for several years. Like furniture and a stroller, a car seat should be new and solid enough to last a few years. The car seat may be part of a travel systems stroller or it may be purchased separately. In either case, it should support the needs of a baby – head support – and a toddler.
Searches for Baby Gyms and Playmats are Up
A press release by shopping search engine Twenga states that searches for baby gyms are up. Such products, also known activity playmats, have increased 116 to 300 percent. The press release indicates that the coordination features for these products have resulted in increased searches, but increasing a child’s coordination abilities isn’t the only aspect that activity mats and baby gyms hold. While toys geared toward increasing brainpower alone are down (could this be the result of various studies disproving the effects of Baby Einstein on vocabulary building?), those that stimulate the child mentally and physically are up.
Activity sets or baby gyms may be as small as an activity seat for a child. These products under the link, carried by retailer Baby and Me Boutique, include a seat and various toys for the child to grab. Most of these are multicolored to stimulate the child’s visual senses, while others vary in texture and sound to stimulate his or her touch and hearing senses.
On a larger scale are activity playmats, such as these carried by retailer Hunky Dory Online. These traditional activity playmats allow the baby to be placed on his or her back or stomach, if he or she is able to roll. In either position, the child is stimulated by the bright and contrasting colors of the mat and toys and experiences several textures and sounds. The mat, for example, may crinkle when the child moves and it may change textures over various points. The detachable toys, additionally, also have varied sounds and textures.
Having hearing, touch, and sight senses stimulated is the purpose of various educational baby toys. Rather than just seeing colors or touching toys, however, the baby can do all of these in one place with an activity mat. Additionally, the mat can be used up to the toddler years, when the child starts to develop better coordination skills.
More Baby Product Recalls: Portable Baby Recliners and Pacifiers
A few baby products were recalled this past week by the CPSC. This included portable baby recliners by Nap Nanny and Pacifiers by brand Karino. The Nap Nanny portable baby recliners can be found at various national retailers, while the Karino pacifiers are sold at stores in California.
The Nap Nanny portable baby recliners are designed for “fussy” babies and feature a car seat-like shape with a three-point harness. The issue with the harness is the lack of coverage; a baby can get out fairly easily and become trapped, suffocate, or fall. When one of these is placed in a playpen or crib (not recommended), the risk of entrapment and suffocation increases. 30,000 Nap Nanny portable baby recliners have been recalled after 22 reports, including one child bruised by the device, and one death.
These Nap Nanny products come in two forms and both are up for recall. The First Generation Nap Nanny is characterized by a lack of D-rings on the harness, while Second Generation products have these. Users of both types of Nap Nanny recliners should stop use immediately. Those with First Generation recliners can contact the manufacturer for an $80 coupon for purchasing a product that has not been recalled; Second Generation users should go to the website for new product instructions and warnings.
45,000 Karino pacifiers were also recalled during the same time period. These baby products are sold in a small area, and consumers in California need to know not to purchase them. The CPSC declared that the pacifiers fail to meet safety standards, as the nipple easily separates from the base and the handle is too long. Both of these factors pose choking hazards. If your child uses Karino pacifiers, stop using them immediately and find another by a manufacturer that has not been recalled.
Buying Frugal: Which Baby Products Should You Purchase Secondhand?
As all parents know, having a new baby or another child is expensive. In addition to the expense of having a child in a hospital, getting all of the appropriate gear is a significant financial hurdle. Parents are advised to stick with the basics, but even this is a long list of clothing, furniture, toys, strollers, and diapers. If you could use hand-me-downs or purchase items secondhand, part of the initial financial burden would be lessened. Parents, however, are advised not to purchase certain items secondhand or receive hand-me-downs, but some are perfectly fine.
Baby clothes, according to an article on NOLA.com, is one of those products that can be purchased secondhand. Many new parents who still have baby clothes donate them to thrift and consignment stores, and many of these items are lightly worn. Going to a consignment or thrift store is a way to pick out basics: onesies, t-shirts, coats, pants, and hats. You can go and pick out the clothing you’ll plan to use for the first year, and, later, you can find clothing a toddler will use. As babies and children go through clothing quickly, purchasing them secondhand is helpful to your wallet.
On the other hand, certain items should never be purchased secondhand or as a hand-me-down. Baby furniture and strollers should always be purchased new. Certain pieces of furniture and strollers may have been recalled, and secondhand stores may carry these recalled models. Additionally, these items experience wear and tear and have a higher likelihood of breaking. Drop-side cribs, in particular, have been in the news for various safety hazards and have a greater potential for breaking if purchased secondhand.
Strollers, similarly, went through a large recall earlier this year and also have the potential for hurting the child or parent assembling it. Purchasing a new stroller means that the product will be in better shape.