Product Review: Puj Baby Bathtub

When I was pregnant with our second son, I got into all these cool baby items that were coming out on the market, one of which is the PUJ baby bathtub.



Last fall, I signed up to be a product tester and wouldn't you know, the tub arrived in the mail right before we moved. So, this review is a little late in coming. But better late than never, right?

I've liked the look of this bathtub since I first heard about it in 2008. Back then, though, it was way more expensive ($99) and didn't seem to be a necessity since we already had a clunky blue plastic bathtub that worked fine. Well, I might've been mistaken. The PUJ is one of the most unique baby bath tubs I've ever seen and would be a great addition to any new mom's wishlist.

Since my two boys are too big for this (can be used up to 6 months), I tried it out with a doll and also had another friend try it out with her baby.

Pros:

The Puj tub stores easily. It arrived in a large, lightweight, flat box, and is only about an inch thick. You can hang it on the back of a door, like I did here, or you could slide it in a linen closet or even hang it on the wall of the shower.

The Puj tub is easy to maneuver -- no assembly required. Once I figured out which way the flaps folded, it stayed securely in place with magnets (which are safely covered). The design is deceptively simple.

The Puj tub cleans quickly and effortlessly. I wiped mine down after use and let it hang to dry. There is no drain plug to get clogged or dirty and no place for standing water to collect.

The Puj tub let me wash an infant securely. When using the tub, I felt like the baby was safer than in the infant tub/sling I used when my sons were newborns, because in the Puj there was no danger of them being covered by water. Also, it fits nicely in our bathroom sink and doesn't slide out or tilt at odd angles like my other tub did.



Cons:

You can't use it with babies who are older than six months. Seriously! I liked it that much! I suppose at that point babies are too big and wiggly anyway and want to sit up, but it sure would be nice if I could just plop my toddler in something like this!

The only drawback I noticed is with an older baby who likes to grab things, the close proximity of the faucet might be a distraction.

The tub might not fit every sink or be right for every baby. In my friend's review, she thought that, "Overall, it is a very cool idea, but didn't work out well for my baby. He enjoys bath time when he's immersed in the warm water, but the Pujtub wasn't big enough to immerse him - so we'll have to stick to our bulky plastic bathtub." I hadn't thought of that perspective before, so perhaps that is another drawback.

Still, I think the benefits of being able to quickly and safely wash a newborn in a tub that fits almost every sink would've been great for all the travelling we did when our boys were little. The Puj tub packs light, dries quickly and easily, and seems to be a unique invention. They are now only $39.99.

Check out the Puj Tub for yourself at Puj's exclusive new website for baby bath tubs!

Giving Back:
Though this is not a reason to buy the tub, I did notice that right now 10% of their sales are going Save the Children in Haiti.

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Diaper FAIL

This is not a discussion about cloth vs. disposable. I use both. This is a brand-name showdown.

Now, I've never really been a disposable diaper brand purist. I use cloth when we're staying at home (and are not overwhelmed with laundry), and I've used almost every store brand and name brand diaper out there. But today, I ruled one brand right out.

Huggies. I've been using another brand I bought on sale with a coupon for a month or so now. No blowouts with those, even when he went two days without pooping before his most recent mudslide. Last night, I ran out of the last package, and Jacob was asleep in his room so I didn't go for cloth. Instead, I broke out a package of size 2 Huggies someone gave me. They're fine for regular wetness, it seems, but on this occasion, I score them ZERO. Not more than five seconds after I heard the tell-tale signs of impending poopiness, I saw the evidence. Ugh.

My 4 month-old does not poop often. In fact, lately, he poops once a day or once every few days. We have had very few blowouts. However, today, he had not one but TWO full-blown poop explosions: the kind that seep onto the onesie and require extensive stain treatment, the kind that require a bath. (Lest he touch some part of his body and inevitably put his hand in his mouth, which of course he does often.) So, make that two extra things to launder and an extra bath! Not to mention the wipes. This was a two WASHCLOTH kind of poopy day. Oh, and yes, the first diaper FAIL leaked onto the bouncy seat. Yet another thing to wash. It comes with the territory, of course, but I have a feeling this could have been prevented...

If Jacob was feeling better, I might not mind as much. But while he's napping finally and I'm unable to access the cloth, I'm choosing the Pampers I have left in the diaper bag.

P.S. Not to besmear the Huggies name altogether, I do like their Little Swimmers for the pool, and their size medium just happens to fit both boys. (I got them cheap last year at the end of the season and have enough for the entire summer. Yay!) Oh, and I guess their Pull-Ups aren't bad either. Okay, so maybe it's just their regular diapers that aren't as efficient?

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The Saga of the Double Stroller

For the past few months, if I've gone walking with both boys (and it has happened too few times), I've put Ethan in a baby carrier and Jacob in a stroller. That's not really ideal for a long walk or a hot day or a trip to the zoo. So, some generous family members gave us some money to get a brand new double stroller. Woo-hoo!

Thanks to my mom friends for suggestions! After months of research, reading reviews, and scouring the daily deals, I finally decided on exactly what kind of double jogging stroller I wanted and would best meet our needs (and our budget). Here's the story of what happened after I found it.

4-29-09 3:30 p.m. Ordered Baby Jogger City Classic Double Jogging Stroller in Navy. Got a great deal since it was a 2008 on closeout!



4-29-09 3:32 p.m. Realized I wasn't signed in to eBates! Cancelled order.

4-29-09 3:40 p.m. Reordered said stroller and got back $14.00 with ebates! Woo-hoo!

05-01-09 12:54 p.m. Price-matched stroller and got another $50 back!

05-04-09 10:30 a.m. Stroller arrives!

05-04-09 2:30 p.m. Opened box and realized that stroller had been damaged:



05-04-09 3:22 pm Chatted online with company to request a course of action.

05-04-09 4:00 p.m. Took pictures of damage and sent them to the company.

05-04-09 5:00 p.m. Attempted to repackage stroller in original box so that it can be resealed. Unsuccessful. It was difficult!

05-05-09 3:30 p.m. Spoke with representative. They could have picked it up that Friday. "Um, how do I get it back in the box properly so it can close?" They had no clue. They suggested I wait until I have new stroller and see how IT is packaged. Oh, well.

05-11-09 Received tracking number for new stroller. Expected to arrive Wednesday!

05-14-09 11:00 a.m. My new (unblemished) stroller arrived! Hooray!

05-14-09 11:30 p.m. Repackaged old stroller in box with Gaines' help. It was actually fairly simply once I had an assistant!

Now we have TWO large stroller boxes in our entryway:



05-20-09 This is the date the damaged stroller is scheduled for pick-up. Yay!

I will say that despite the inconvenience, I'm glad I returned the stroller. and it was a fairly streamlined and trouble-free process. At least I didn't have to take the box up and down our stairs! The last FedEx guy who dropped off our stroller on Wednesday quipped: "I'm sure glad you're home!"

I would highly recommend both mystrollers.com and BabyJogger.com for their excellent customer service and personalized help!

Now I have a stroller in perfect condition, and the only bumps will be my fault.
I can't wait to take it for a test run (and see if it really does fit in our Civic's trunk)! If only the rain would go away! Hopefully Monday will be my first time to take the boys out on a walk together in their new ride. We already tested it out indoors and Jacob was rarin' to go!

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Win a Babywearing Collection!

I just have to give a little babywearing testimony here. After 9 months hit and Jacob became more mobile, I thought our babywearing days might be over. But on moving day last Saturday, once the movers got there and things got going, Jacob got a little crazy running around, and I really needed my hands free to help direct and pack stuff. So I found our Babyhawk mei tei (an Asian style baby carrier that uses straps--see photo from last summer) and tied him on my back! Jacob was having the best time peeking around my shoulder at everyone, and lasted about two hours riding around behind me while I carried (light) stuff up and down stairs and maneuvered throughout our tiny apartment. He loved the view, and it totally saved me from chasing around a toddler while trying to move.

So, if you'd like to win an Essential Babywearing stash with FIVE carriers, enter the contest below at Along for the Ride! They have a great selection, and I've had my eye on a Beco Butterfly for a few months now. The buckles are much easier and quicker to use with a wiggly "widdle waddler," or at least so I've heard. But all these carriers are fantastic for different stages, and I still use my Hotsling sometimes if I just need a hands-free short trip. If you do win, especially if you're new to babywearing, you could try them all and giveaway the ones you don't want to use! Just sharin' the babywearin' love!

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

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Plastic, Plastic, Everywhere...

and nary a safe kind to drink from!

Other title possibility: "Thank you, Science Olympiad!"

When I was a senior in high school, our Science Olympiad team won the state championship and we got to fly to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the National Competition.

I was in multiple events; we were a small town high school with a small team. (We were also WAY out of our league. Thank you, South Carolina for coming in dead last, just below us!) Some of my favorite events from my years on the team, stretching all the way back to junior high, were Rocks, Minerals and Fossils, Name that Organism, Write It/Do It, and the one I excelled in: Designer Genes. (I still have nightmares about getting lost in the woods on some nature idetification event that tested your orienteering skills. I have probably blocked that event name from my memory.) But perhaps the most useful, though I wouldn't have thought it to be at the time, was a new event that year called Polymer Detectives.

Basically, I got to be the guinea pig for this new event that was all about plastics. When I was a participant, they gave you little pieces of plastics to test to try to identify their properties. You could see if they floated, bend them, and touch them, though I don't remember being able to burn them, though we probably did. I burned lots of things in high school.

For the event, my partner and I had to memorize the properties of all 7 types of plastics and be able to identify them from tiny samples. One example -- if you could tell that the piece was from a plastic milk bottle, you knew it was Type 2, HDPE, and could go on to answer questions about its properties. (Not that I was any good at the event, really--most of the time I think it felt like we were just guessing.)

But I am thankful for some of that Plastic Detective knowledge now, because today it helped me identify some harmful plastics in my own home!

There have been many studies released recently about dangerous chemicals in some polycarbonate plastics, called BPA's, that can leach out into whatever you put in them, possibly due to heat. That's why you should never microwave plastic containers, and some are still not safe to clean in the dishwasher. They have found levels of these BPA chemicals in the urine of pregnant and nursing moms and kids. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I want some crazy chemicals leaching into my body. This morning, they highlighted unsafe drinking bottles and cups on the Today show (Click here to see a video segement.)

The most surprising thing I learned from the Today Show segment (and confirmed on the Z Report) was that Nalgene bottles, those staples of my college years, are actually high in BPA's!

So, look at the labels before you buy! This morning on the Today Show, they boiled it down to a pretty simple formula:

NEVER use Type 3, 6, or 7 plastics for drinking or eating.

Type 1 plastics: Only use once, then take to a recycling center. Do not re-use, because washing and cleaning with harsh chemicals can release BPA's into what your drink.

The rest should be okay, especially if they are labeled BPA free, like Born Free bottles.

Better yet, use glass or metal! Glass baby bottles are making a comeback. And so are aluminum sippy cups.

But, if you have lots of plastic kids' cups and can't find a plastic label or are unsure about the BPA content, then this site is a great resource for finding out if your children's products are harmful:

The Z Report on BPA in Children's Feeding Products

The above report even has a mobile number you can call to find out information about plastic products when you are out shopping. I would recommend at least checking it out to see if any of the products you have are made by the companies listed as "Fair" or "Poor."

As soon as I watched the report this morning, I checked my son's sippy cups. I had just bought a set of 5 cups and 2 bowls with lids on sale for only $10, thinking that surely those would be unsafe. (They are made in China, but that's a different story.) They were Type 5, and labeled dishwasher and microwave safe. Ok.

But, I picked up my son's Gerber Fun Grips Soft Starter Spill Proof Cup (the one with the two handles) to examine it. There was no plastic type insignia. No label at all. And here is where my former glory as a Science Olympian came in handy...it looked a bit like type 3 plastic to me. I couldn't be sure without damaging the cup, so I checked the Z Report. Sure enough, although many of the Gerber cups ARE safe, the Fun Grips Cup with the double handles is not BPA-free.

Bye, bye, Gerber cup, and good riddance! We never liked you anyway because your two handles make it too easy to sling around milk everywhere. I'm hoping to replace it soon with either a SIGG kid's bottle, Kleen Kanteen or Foogoo by Thermos Sippy Cup. Or maybe all three!

I hope this has been an entertaining and informative public service announcement. Parents, go check out your kids' cups!

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Nana's Covers

Are you looking for a practical and stylish way to keep your baby away from the nasty germs on shopping carts? Look no further than Nana's Covers.

About six weeks ago I was in a large Baby store looking for a shopping cart cover. Our son had recently acquired the disgusting habit of putting his mouth on the shopping cart whenever we went to buy groceries, and I wanted something to keep all those icky germs away. I had a small cover I had bought somewhere, but it didn't fit over large shopping carts and was cumbersome to put together. I asked a fellow shopper if she knew where the shopping cart covers were located in the store and she mentioned that her mother actually makes and sells them!

So, only a short while later, a glorious package arrived in the mail from Nancy at Nana's Covers. I had e-mailed her about some custom fabric that I liked, and here is the fantastic result (taken a few minutes after the mailman dropped it off). You can see Jacob was enjoying it already!



Nancy worked on this with great care and attention to detail: the stitching is strong and the navy accent fabric works wonderfully with the Blue Zoo pattern. There are pockets for a cell phone or wallet, a sippy cup holder, and a toy loop. Nancy also included cute matching toy rings on the toy loops, so we could start adding toys right away. She even created a matching patterned fabric drawstring bag (per my special request) to keep the cover clean while it is stored in the car! In the picture below, you can see the matching beads she added on the drawstring as well as a close-up of the Alexander Henry Blue Zoo fabric.



In the few weeks this has been in our posession, we have used this shopping cart cover everywhere: at the grocery store, on restaurant high chairs, and even at our local warehouse store -- it completely covered the extra-large seat! It is also machine washable, which is a bonus with a messy eater. I just hung it up to dry and it looks like new!



I cannot more highly recommend Nana's Covers and Nancy's craftmanship. The quality is much better than anything mass-produced, and of course I always prefer things that are handmade. To top it off, her prices are extremely reasonable, especially compared to some other handmade covers I found on the internet. So, if you are in the market for a shopping cart cover for your little one, please check out Nana's Covers. She has a variety of fabric choices available on her website, but will also be happy to accomodate any custom fabric you desire. She also sells blankets and clothing, so be sure to check out her site!

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