Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Silver Cross Fizz: The Real Deal


Greetings Readers! Sorry for the delay in posting, but I have been very busy in the land of America, reveling in pretty baby things and yummy and cheap (grown up, not baby) cereal. (Oooh, I hear an ice cream truck outside!)

I have lots to review, but today will talk about the new love of my life, the Silver Cross Fizz.

As my baby has gotten older, my stroller priorities have changed. The Silver Cross Fizz is now the perfect fit. Not perfect, but the perfect fit. Read on for pros and cons:

PROS

  • The Silver Cross Fizz is super light weight. It's not as light as a flimsy cheapo umbrella stroller, but it is about 10 lbs, which is significantly lighter than our 17 lb City Mini. For me, with our 3.5 flight walk up apartment and no car, light weight is essential.
  • There's a carry strap. This was actually the reason why I bought the SCF. Of course, I'm not back in Israel yet, and am currently visiting in Miami where we live at ground level and have a car, but I imagine that having a carry strap will make apartment life easier.
  • It bumps up and down stairs nicely.
  • It has an okay basket, which, for an umbrella stroller is pretty good.
  • It has high handlebars which is really important to Menachem. But more important than that, it has room for a long stride, which means that Menachem can push from standing behind the stroller and not kick the stroller with every step.
  • It has a cup holder that folds close to the frame for when the stroller is folded. I have a feeling that our City Mini Parent Console will also fit.
  • It's really easy to open up and collapse. You need one hand and one foot.
  • It has a removable seat cover, which means you can take it out for an even lighter ride and to clean it. The seat below the seat pad is a nice heavy mesh.
  • It comes with a raincover.
CONS
  • The sunroof (if you can even call it that) is totally ineffectual. I need to buy one of those added sun shades.
  • It tips backwards if there's even one bag on the handlebars and we take Hila out for a walking break. With Hila in, it's pretty sturdy.
  • It doesn't recline all the way. It reclines slightly, though, and that's good.
  • There's no tray.
So that's my review of the Silver Cross Fizz. For the price ($70 on Shnoop.com) and weight, I think it's awesome. Not good for a newborn, but great for an older baby. I give the Silver Cross Fizz two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Posted by Sarah on Tuesday, March 09, 2010 2 comments

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Q&A: Are B-Free trainer cups in Israel the same as BornFree trainer cups in America?


I've gotten this question a lot as I've recently expressed how much Hila likes drinking from the BornFree sippy cups. Here's what I've learned:


The BornFree and B-Free sippy cups look identical. They both use the same BPA-free plastic, come in the same exact colors, and are the same shape and size. They both use the same white circular insert to prevent spills and enable a nice flow.

It is for these reasons that I assumed they were the same product (that B-Free was the European/Asian version of BornFree).

So I bought a B-Free trainer cup and Hila won't drink from it. She chews on the spout and gets a little milk out, but then usually throws the bottle across the room without making much progress.

So we finally figured out that there IS a difference: The difference is in the SPOUT. The B-Free spouts are harder and less flexible than the BornFree spouts, making them harder to drink from.

So here's what I'm thinking (let me know if you have more experience with this): Is it possible that the harder spouted B-Free cups are really the same thing as the BornFree drinking cups (as opposed to the trainer cups, which also look identical)? I've never seen the BornFree drinking cups, but the description says they're the same as the trainer cups but with a hard spout. The B-Free spouts are harder than the BornFree trainer spouts, but they're not "hard" really. They're still made out of flexible rubber.

When we go to America (!!!) I'll have to investigate further into this matter.

P.S. My sister-in-law Shira (a speech therapist) says that hard spouts are not great for speech development. Rather, you should use flexible, more bottle-like spouts or straws if your baby is not ready to switch to a regular cup.

Posted by Sarah on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 0 comments

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Sophie the Giraffe Comes to Israel!


I recently found a blog in the baby-things-o-sphere announcing some exciting news: Sophie the Giraffe has finally arrived in the Middle East (yes, I live in the Middle East).

I have always been intrigued by this little rubber giraffe. She is constantly popping up in my Amazon searches as a product I may like (and I do!) or as a product that people who bought the thing that I'm looking at also bought. (Amazon knows me well....)

As we all know, I love giraffes. These smiling, majestic animals stole my heart the first time I saw them in the wild, grazing in the savannahs of Kenya's Masai Mara...but that's a story for another time.

In a recent post in this new Sophie in Israel blog, Claire (the author) offers these fun giraffe facts that I just can't stop thinking about:

1. A giraffe's heart weight 24 pounds (11 kilos)! That's more than Hila weighs!
2. An adult giraffe can kick so hard that she can decapitate a lion!
3. A giraffe's 21-inch, black tongue is long enough and flexible enough that a giraffe can use it to clean her own ears!
4. Giraffes sleep for about 2.5-6 minutes in a single 24-hour period! And yet they still always look so happy!

(For more facts, visit Giraffes, more than meets the eyes.)

Sophie the Giraffe (as well as other 100% rubber BPA-free Vulli teethers) are avilable in Israel at Sofi-Hagirah and in America on Amazon.

Posted by Sarah on Saturday, January 09, 2010 0 comments

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Baby Toys I Want: Ladybug Constellation Night Light, and more

I think I like playing with Hila's toys just as much as she does. Or maybe I just like buying them. Either way, I want more!

Here are some new toys I've found while browsing the web (that I look forward to buying when we go to America in February!):

1. The Cloud b Twilight Constellation Night Light -- I love the idea of crib toys because we have been blessed with a very wonderful crib playing baby. (Though her latest game is throwing toys out of the crib. Anyways...) This soft ladybug night light projects a starry sky up on the ceiling, with real constellations that Menachem will probably bore Hila to tears talking about one day. Hila has a ladybug themed crib, so this will fit right in. (But will it? Her crib ladybugs are light pink and brown and this ladybug is red and black?)

2. Plan Toys Tie Up Shoe -- Here is another adorable toy that I think Hila would really like. Hila loves to play with shoes, but after watching a news segment about how lots of shoes have deadly bacteria on them, I decided that shoes are not toys. But this one is! And Hila loves shoes! And eventually she will learn to tie her shoes and this may help. Melissa & Doug make a wooden tie up shoe.

3. Fisher-Price Sesame Street Silly Sounds Remote -- Another object that Hila thinks is a toy but is not is the remote control. Usually I let her play with it, but I think she'll enjoy playing with this one much more. I know that babies (including Hila) are smart and know when you're giving them a fake real object (like a toy cell phone) and will reject it because it's not the real thing, but this one really looks like fun. I think it would make her laugh.


Posted by Sarah on Wednesday, December 16, 2009 2 comments

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Bumbo Baby Sitter: The Real Deal!


Hila has finally outgrown her Bumbo Baby Sitter and Bumbo Tray, but we had a good long ride for our money and highly recommend this product.

The Bumbo is meant for babies who don't know how to sit up on their own yet, but last (for us) til about 8 months, far after your baby has learned to sit. At first it gives your baby an opportunity to see the world from a new sitting down straight ahead angle, a little earlier than he or she would be able to do otherwise. After your baby can sit, it provides a good place for your baby to rest and stay in one pot--that tray is great for trapping in an active, insane baby (no names mentioned)....

The tray is good for placing toys on, for using as an early highchair, or for giving snacks when your real highchair's tray is in the sink and you don't feel like washing it.

Most importantly, your baby will look adorable in the Bumbo seat, like a big girl or boy who just wants to lounge around and watch the world go by.

Posted by Sarah on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 0 comments

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