Baby equipment

Diono Stow and Go - overall rating 9/10

(From LaraGransnet)

(2014) Since having baby no 2 I've realised I need to be more organised. And with a trip to France planned for the summer, the car seemed a logical place to start. So I was delighted to review the Stow and Go, a brilliant storage organiser for the car. It simply hooks over the driver or passenger seat fastening securely around the head rest and bottom of the seat. There are seven pockets and even for trips up to Grandma we've used these to store my 2 year old daughter's snacks, her water bottle and a book and toy for the journey. It's a great way of keeping these things all in one place instead of rolling around the back seat. And as an added bonus, the back of the car seats are protected from scuff marks from little people's shoes.

Hearth Gate/ Playpen, Babydan - overall rating 9/10

(From Gally)

(2011) We bought this last Christmas (through Amazon) to protect the GCs who were at crawling stage, from the woodburner. In fact, we used it to protect the Christmas tree from them! It is in 5 sections, very heavy, has an 'entrance' gate which is quite difficult to manoeuvre, but we found it brilliant. Also good to pen in the dog from the GCs and our daughter has one to keep her babies away from the computer and all things electric. Would thoroughly recommend - they are very hard to acquire on ebay. so that speaks for itself. I think it costs about £70 new.

Organic mattress protector, The Little Green Sheep - overall rating 9/10

(From KatGransnet)

I've got a three year old, so a mattress protector is well needed!

I was skeptical at first, as I prefer sheets which tuck in at the sides, but this mattress protector didn't slide at all. DS likes to squirm about in his sleep, but he didn't manage to budge the mattress protector, which stayed nice and flat on the mattress. What's also good about it, is it's soft fabric - with no plastic in sight! It's very environmentally friendly and doesn't make an noise when DS rolls over.

As for absorption, it worked very well when DS wet himself in the night. It didn't soak through at all. I washed it straight away and it didn't take long to dry. One thing I'd say though - I washed it on 40 degrees and it came out slightly bobbly. The tag says to wash it at 60 degrees, but I do have an old washing machine so it might not happen to someone else.

Reflex pushchair, Silver Cross - overall rating 9/10

(From LaraGransnet)

(2014) Choosing a pram/travel system is one of the most perplexing (and expensive) things you have to get your head around when having a baby, so I was delighted to have the decision made for me when Silver Cross asked me to review their new Reflex pushchair. I tried it out on both my newborn son and my 3 year old daughter.

In my experience big is not necessarily better. We went the full travel system option for our first baby and honestly did not need it. We used the carrycot for the first few months and then ended up buying a cheap and cheerful stroller and used that from around four months. I think the Silver Cross Reflex is an excellent option if you don’t have the space or indeed the budget for the big travel systems. And it means you have a stroller from day one that will last them until they’re old enough not to need it all anymore.

The Silver Cross brand is one of the best and the quality finishes in this pushchair is noticeable - as you’d expect for the £250 price tag. We chose the Chilli Red and absolutely love the look and feel of it. These for me were the winning points:

1) The huge hood. This is the best coverage I have ever seen in a pushchair. The hood opens up to give good standard coverage, and then, by accessing a concealed zip, you can extend it even further giving great protection from the sun (or wind).

2) Seat adjustment. The biggest bugbear I had with my previous stroller was the finicky way of adjusting the seat from reclining to sitting up. The Reflex, however, has a simple click and slide mechanism that takes a second and I can do one-handed. It’s also very smooth and has been really useful on the occasions my three-year-old daughter has fallen asleep in it and I’ve been able to adjust to a horizontal position without waking her up.

3) Extendable handles. I can’t quite understand why almost all buggies/travel systems have the option to extend handles but so few pushchairs do? So it was great to see that the Reflex has a very neat button on the handles which extends them for us taller folk. It’s not a huge extension mind you, but certainly good enough.

4) Gadgets. I love a good gadget and the LED integrated safety lights are my favourite feature and will really come into their own in the winter. These are on either side of the pushchair and you can set them to constant, flashing or rotating. You have to press them quite hard for four seconds before they activate so there’s no chance of my three-year-old wearing out the batteries unnecessarily or me knocking them by accident.

I didn’t find it easy to unfold the stroller because of the safety clips on both sides. Great for keeping it all together but not ideal if you’re trying to unfold it with one hand while holding a baby in the other.

At 8.5kgs it’s relatively heavy compared to other strollers on the market and not as easy to throw into the boot. But then, I wouldn’t be happy putting my newborn in any of those lightweight strollers so that’s the trade-off.

What’s impressed me most about this pushchair is how comfy it seems to be for not only my three-month-old-son but also my three-year-old daughter. A lot of care seems to have gone into making this as versatile as possible for all ages (there's a baby nest, it fits a car seat etc). You end up spending so much money on things for your baby that they grow out of in weeks that it’s nice to know at least one of your investments will last a good few years.

Silver Cross Luxury Change Bag - overall rating 9/10

(From LaraGransnet)

(2014) My changing bags take a lot of abuse. I fill them to the brim with ‘what if’ outfit changes, extra snacks, bibs, muslins - and then my own purse, keys, phone etc. It’s a wonder I’m ever able to lift them actually. I was delighted with the Silver Cross Luxury Tote which I was sent to review. It’s no secret that some aspects to having small children are distinctly unglamorous. So sometimes it helps to have a few good-looking accessories to remind yourself that it’s not all Disney and poo-talk.

It looks fantastic - very stylish compared to the other very mumsy bags out there. With the stylish design and leather trim it actually looks like a regular handbag - just a bit bigger. The bag is deep enough to take all my everyday essentials and still have room for my emergency stash of Haribo. And because the sides are quite sturdy I don’t need to worry about things getting squashed (had a rather messy banana incident once upon a time). There are also a good number of pockets and sections so you know exactly where to find things.

With the handy side straps I’m able to hang it off the handles of my buggy so I don’t have to lug it around across my shoulders. The fabric looks hard wearing too. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and it still looks brand new (did I mention my change bags take a lot of abuse?)

Included with the bag is good-sized change mat - so often those included with change bags are really dinky but this is padded and rather large. There is also a thermal bottle holder which I’m currently using for my toddler daughter’s water bottle but will be using for my son’s milk when he gets older.

A good change bag is a really great and useful gift to get a new mum - and something as practical and stylish as this one is sure to be much appreciated. Compared to what else is on the market, at £80 it’s a great price too for the quality. And you’ve got the Silver Cross brand as reassurance too.

Silver Cross Porter house Cot Bed - overall rating 9/10

(From Anon)

(2014) We received the Silver Cross Porterhouse cot bed to review - and I must say, it's absolutely gorgeous!

We had it delivered a few months before the baby was due, so we were ready for his arrival. I received a text message to say what day and whether it would be AM or PM the cot bed would arrive, and the men phoned me in the morning to confirm the time. They arrived on time, took their shoes off (I was very impressed by this - countless times I've had to clean up after delivery men/gas men etc!) and carried the cot bed upstairs. I had the build service so they promptly got to work building my cot bed after I signed a few papers. It took them less than half an hour to build the cot and they took away the boxes when they left. DH was very happy he didn't have to lift a finger. Perfect!

First impressions of the cot bed - great quality and finish to the paintwork in an ivory colour. There is a drawer at the bottom of the cot bed, which is very deep and handy for blankets, bedding etc. My only gripe was that there wasn't a shelf above the drawer, so when the base of the cot is set higher, the contents of the drawer is exposed.

We lowered the base and tried out the cot bed prior to the arrival of our newborn with my eight month old nephew - who really put up a fight at nap time! His attempts to shake the bars came to no avail, the cot bed remains sturdy and he didn't mark it (it has baby-safe teething rails) - typical of Silver Cross quality.

We've had the cot bed in use for a week now, and it's been perfect. It's a standard cot bed size (Length 146cm x Width 78cm x Height 100cm), so we purchased a mattress and the fitted sheet elsewhere (Silver Cross didn't have cot bed mattresses available when I ordered the cot bed, but there is a new range available now). We're yet to purchase a cot bed bumper, as our standard cot bumper from DS1 is too small to fit. The drawer has been very useful, it's great to have that extra bit of storage for space that wouldn't otherwise be used.

I would definitely recommend purchasing a Silver Cross cot bed. The Porterhouse is classic, of great quality and comes with a handy drawer (I will forever be raving about the drawer!) It's a bit pricey at £400, but I can see it lasting until our son is at least five years old (my first born is still in his cot bed - minus the bars of course - at 4.5 years). There is three cot base positions and the bars can be removed to grow with the baby/child.

UPDATE:

My baby is now five months old, how time has flown! The cot is still standing unscathed (besides one of the legs where DH smashed the Hoover into it - grr). The white hasn't discoloured and the drawers still work.

You can visit the Silver Cross website here: www.silvercrossbaby.com

Snoozeshade Original - overall rating 9/10

(From Anon)

(2014) It’s always annoying when you finally get the baby to sleep in the pram, only for them to be woken up by the bright gazing sun. That’s why the Snoozeshade has been a god send!

The fabric is dark to keep the light out, but thin enough for it to be breathable. This was one of my main concerns before using it - whether it would just become unbearably hot inside - but it turns out I needn’t have worried! If you’re really fretting, there is a zip at the front you can keep open. The zip is also good to check whether your baby has actually fallen asleep!

The shade gives sun protection and blocks 99% of the sun’s UV rays. As well as a sunshade, I’ve also used it to shield my baby from the wind.

The Snoozeshade comes in a handy bag and can easily be folded away. It’s really quick to fit onto the pram and is very secure. I use to worry about the muslin covering my pram blowing away or falling on my baby, but this nicely stays in place with poppers.

I would definitely recommend the Snoozeshade - it means I can remove all distractions when we’re out and about so my baby can get his crucial nap-time, it’s great as a sunshade and it’s very easy to fold away into my bag.

If you want to have a baby trend jogging stroller then this one is perfect. It offers many great features and due to many great items, it is considered as the preferred selection of parents. It has got a tray which is capable of placing two cups in it. Moreover, it is really easier to move as it is the light weight stroller. Parents can easily carry it wherever they want as it is easy to connect with car seats.
Baby Trend EZ Ride 5 Travel System Review

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