Parenting Blog

I wanted to write about my experience with child safety home products. We all look at our house differently once we have a baby. We see things that now appear as a hazard and realize that we have to do something about it in order to protect our little ones. But there are numerous products out there to choose from and some of them are not inexpensive. So it would be nice to know in advance which products really work before we spend lots of money on products that just do not cut it.

Unfortunately for me, I went out and purchased a ton of the products only to find out that some of them just did not work. So I have a wealth of baby safety product experience that hopefully will save you lots of money. I wish I knew what I know now, before I spent hundreds of dollars trying to make my house safe!

So my story starts with going to Babies R Us (love that store) and loading up on Safety 1st products. My daughter was into everything so I really loaded up on a ton of stuff. I had toilet seat locks, oven locks, cupboard locks, and three different type of plug locks. I was ready. I had it all! My daughter was not getting into anything, or was she?

So I started with the standard cupboard locks (Safety 1st item 11658) that you have to push the little bar down as you open the cupboard. Well, I like this product, but it is not perfect. The cupboards still open a bit so they can get their little hands into the cupboard and pull some things out. You still have to make sure that anything they can reach will not harm them. You cannot feel one hundred percent secure that your little one cannot get anything in the cupboards. They still can and they probably will sneak some stuff out. So all your cleaners, plastic bags and other such items will have to be kept out of their reach. Basically, the cupboard locks slow them down and act as a deterrent.

Lets talk about the eletrical plugs. I bought the standard plug blockers, the more advanced ones that you have to squeeze both sides to get the plug blocker out and the ultimate one that is a big box basically to protect a cord when it is plugged in. So here is my opinion on all of them....

The standard plug blockers (Safety 1st item 11721) that just plug in are good. They are not completely childproof though. They can be pried out with a toy if your child is really set on getting them out. The next step up is the plug blocker that you have to squeeze both sides (Safety 1st item 48307) to get them out of the plug. These are better than the last ones I talked about. You really have to squeeze the two sides to get these out.

Lets talk about this advanced cord protector (Safety 1st item 48308)for when cords are plugged in and you do not want your child to unplug the cord. This protector is a box where you change the existing faceplate and a cover clips on over top. It hides the plug and the cord comes out a cord hole on the bottom. You have to squeeze the two buttons on the side to get the cover off. This outlet cover is not child proof or at least it is not for my daughter. My daughter can somehow walk up to it and with a yank she gets the cover off. You can hear that she has gotten the cover off though. I am actually really surprised that she can get the cover off. I am not sure how she does it because the adults in our house have problems getting the covers off. I think it is adult proof, not child proof! The other thing to note is that the place where your cords comes out sometimes pinches and cuts into the cords so be careful closing the cover. This product is expensive and I am not sure I would purchase it again. I was a little disappointed she could open the cover.

Seriously though, the plugs need to be blocked. I would recommend buying plug blocking and protecting products, but not as a method of complete protection. The products appear to be deterrents that simply slow your child down. Nothing is complete protection!

With respect to toilet locks... I got the one that suction cups to the toilet (Safety 1st item 48003). I did not want a bunch of adhesive all over the toilets. Plain and simple, I found the suction cup toilet lock is horrible. Do not buy it! With one pull my daughter had the entire locking system, including the suction cups, off the toilet. Then the toilet lock arm became the newest toy to play with in the toilet water. I have not tried the adhesive locks, but I doubt they are much better. I have no doubt they could just be pulled off as well. I do not even want to waste my money in trying the adhesive locks.

With respect to the oven lock, I did not even use it. I did not want to put the adhesive product on the oven because I figured if my daughter could open the outlet box and rip off the toilet seat cover, then the oven lock would be off in no time also.

I also purchased the cord protectors for blinds. The one that I purchased was a circular container that the cords go inside. The container is too wimpy and kept falling apart. My daughter could grab it and pop it open thereby getting to the cords. It was safer and easier for me to just loop the cords up over top of the blinds where my daughter could not reach them. I used to have this amazing cord protector and I wish I could remember the brand but I just can't for the life of me. I have been hunting high and low for them again and I think I got them at Home Depot but I cannot remember. They seriously were amazing and if I find them again I will update everyone. If anyone sees a cord protector that is in the shape of a tear drop with a button on the right side, that is the one I am searching for!

So my story now goes to the fact that I was really unhappy with the quality of most of the Safety 1st products I had bought. I thought that they would be better than they were. I had already thrown out the packaging, but I had the receipt. I could not return the products I did not like without the packaging. So I hunted high and low for a contact for Safety 1st. I wanted to let Safety 1st now about my experience with their products. So I went to the Safety 1st website. If you go to their website, there is no contact us page. But if you are persistent, like I am, then you can contact them through the Dorel Juvenile Group link at the bottom left of their website. There was no email though. Only a phone number and fax. So I faxed them a letter.

Just so everyone knows, I am not shy to let a company know what I think of their products. I have contacted companies to let them know I love their products. I have also contacted companies to let them know when I think they need to improve their products. So needless to say, I have experience with contacting companies' customer service sections.

Well, eventually I received an email reply to my fax. It did not take Safety 1st too long to contact me, but it was long enough that I almost forgot that I faxed them a letter. They wanted to know product numbers and if I had a receipt. Well, I no longer had the packaging and I even threw out the products that I had been so unhappy with, so I did not have product numbers. I did have the receipt though. So I scanned the receipt and sent it to them.

After a number of emails back and forth, I was told to pick out another item I would like to replace the ones I had purchased and was unhappy with. So I picked out more of the electrical plug blockers with the sides you have to squeeze and a bed siderail. I was told that they had to get this replacement approved and they would get back to me. Eventually I was notified that the replacement was approved and that they would ship these items I chose to me. I did in fact receive these items as a replacement.

Overall, I would have to rate the Safety 1st customer service as average at its best. They were hard to find. They did not have email contact. They were friendly though. But it was a lot of exchange in emails until they received "approval" from a manager and got back to me. So it seemed like a lot of work to simply let them know that I was not a hundred percent happy with their products.

Overall, we all are going to go out and buy child safety products. So what products would I buy if I was doing it all over again? I would buy the basic or double side squeezing plug blockers. Plug blockers are a must! When it comes to electrical outlets we do not have a split second to stop our child from putting something in them. So plugs absolutely have to be blocked.

If your child is unplugging certain plugs and this is an ongoing problem, then I would try one of the advanced cord protector boxes. They are expensive so buy one and try it first. I do not guarantee you will like it. It might pinch the cord and cut it. Your child might also be able to open it. But if this is an ongoing problem and you just need to slow them down so you have time to make it across the room, it will work.

I would buy the cupboard locks. They do slow your child down and also prevent them from getting larger items such as the glass bowls out of the cupboards.

I would not buy the suction cup toilet seat lock. It seems to me that kids can get it off in one tug like my daugher did. If you need a toilet lock, I'd say you might have to try the adhesive one to see if it is stronger.

Basically what it boils down to is that safety items are a deterrent. They only slow kids down. Due diligence is still required in order to protect your children. Just because a plug is blocked or a cupboard has a lock, it does not mean it is completely safe. There is no better protection than the keen eye of a parent.

One of the most common things that pregnant women go out and buy as soon as they are pregnant is a pregnancy book. So much happens to our body when we are pregnant that we want to know all we can about the changes as they happen. We also want to know everything about the little one growing inside of us. We want to know where they are in their stage of development. When can they hear, when do they start kicking, when do they suck their thumb, we want to know it all.

The moment I became pregnant, I was just like everyone else. I ran to the book store and purchased the "Bible" of pregnancy books. "What to Expect When You're Expecting."

The "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is a relatively inexpensive book and is very complete. I really enjoyed the breakdown of the book and how I could look up the development of my baby. It was nice to know what was going on with my baby.

I had a really rough pregnancy. I was sick for eight months. The smell of anything would have me throwing up. I was not putting weight on for most of the pregnancy because I was throwing up all the time. On top of that, I found out that my daughter was Frank Breech and that I had Placenta Previa. As if that was not enough, I already had three heart conditions that made being pregnant tough.

So I read my pregnancy book trying to get more information on everything. Some friends heard of the troubles I was having and they offered up their pregnancy books as well. Soon I had a library of pregnancy books. It was overwhelming.

We have to talk seriously about these pregnancy books though. A lot of the content in pregnancy books is about everything that can go wrong in a pregnancy and with your baby. Depending on the type of person you are, these pregnancy books can make you worry. They made me worry!

With so much already going on, I worried about all the complications that could occur. So I decided that it was not beneficial for me to read the book from start to finish. I only read the sections applicable to me. I also read the baby development sections so I knew what was going on with my baby. I loved those sections.

My biggest recommendations when it comes to pregnancy books is not to buy a bunch of books. The "What to Expect When You're Expecting" is a great and affordable book if you decide to buy one. Whatever you do, do not read it from start to finish as you would a normal book. Treat it more like a reference book and read only the sections that apply to you. Your doctor will probably let you know what is going on and what you would benefit reading about.

The last thing you want is a pregnancy full of worries. You could have a smooth sailing pregnancy and nothing to worry about at all. So do not read stuff you do not need to worry about. If there is something going on that you should be more educated about, then take the time to check out that specific section or topic.

Just think of when you are pregnant and everyone that ever had a baby decides they will tell you their horror stories about their deliveries. When you are about to give birth to your child, the last thing you want to hear is the horror someone else went through. No one seems to tell you about their delivery that went well. You seem to only hear the stories about how easy some people had it after you have given birth! So the same theory applies for pregnancy books. Do not subject yourself to the chapters of a book that goes through everything that could possibly go wrong if you do not have to.

I do recommend getting one pregnancy book. I do suggest the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book. Most pregnant women seem to read this book so you and your other pregnant friends will likely have a common reference book to talk about. If you find out that you have something going on with your pregnancy or baby, then you can do research and find out what other books are good for the specific concern you have.

Save the money on books for decorating your babies room.

Think positive because baby feels everything. Everything will be just fine. Baby will be healthy and happy. Life will be good.

Best wishes.

Looking back, I feel lucky that I had a friend who had mentioned to me about baby sign language and baby signing. I think I had heard about babies signing in the past, but it had slipped my mind when I got pregnant. When my friend mentioned it to me, I thought about it again and figured that it was something to think about. But with my daughter being my first pregnancy, I really did not realize the scope of the communication possibilities until I had her.

With the arrival of my daughter and watching her development I quickly learned that signing might be a great tool for both of us to be able to communicate better. Unfortunately I did not know any sign language. So what was I to do? I could make up motions to represent a word, but I figured that would not be a useful tool in the real world. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that if my daughter was going to learn to sign, she should learn the real signs for terms.

Being so tired as a new mom, I knew I would never read a book about it and learn the signs. Any moment I had to read, I wanted to catch a few minutes of rest so I was ready for my daughter when she woke up. So I was on a search for an easy way to learn a few useful terms in sign language.

Then one day another friend mentioned to me about an apparently very popular Disney baby dvd series called Baby Einstein. I thought the name of the dvd series was pretty neat and implied an educational element to it. So I went on a hunt to find this Baby Einstein dvd series and what it was all about. Check out this short documentary I found about the Baby Einstein videos.

Off I went to the stores to take a look at the Baby Einstein dvds. I checked out Babies R Us and other dvd stores. I found the dvds a bit expensive, but I was able to take a look at them and see their content. I liked the look of them and how they used puppets as their characters. I was able to find three of their dvds that had signing in them.

The three Baby Einstein baby signing dvds have Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin doing the sign language followed by children performing the sign language. The dvds have their signature puppets in them as well. My daughter loved these dvds. She loved the puppets.

The first dvd I have pictured above (My First Signs) is rated for six months and up and the other two are rated for twelve months and up. I found though, that my daughter loved to watch them right from the beginning. I think that the age rating is more an indicator of when the average child starts to comprehend the dvd. I think it benefitted my daughter though to start to watch it early on. I know it benefitted me because I was able to learn a few sign language terms. This meant that I could start signing along with verbal language right from an early age. I felt proud and ready to communicate with my daughter.

I found that my daughter picked up the sign language very quickly. She was able to ask/sign for "more" of whatever she wanted. She could sign words like "milk," "water" and "cereal". She could sign "please" and "thank you." These were all useful words especially when she was starting to want milk and instead of just crying could sign "milk" to me. It was amazing too when we were eating and she could sign "more." I knew right away if she was still hungry or if she wanted more of what we were having.

Baby signing I believe increased the ability for my daughter and me to communicate. I believe baby signing decreased my daughter's level of frustration because she could let me know what she wanted at a time when she was unable to get the words out.

The one thing that I learned from my doctor (that I made sure to do), was to make sure to always say the words to my daughter when I signed them. I wanted to make sure my daughter was learning the words verbally as well as learning to sign them. We were very successful at both. My daughter talked early and was able to put two and three words together early. She still knows how to sign and often signs the word along with verbally saying them. It is something that people who see us in public admire and I feel pretty proud of my daughter and our ability to communicate especially in those times of her frustration.

I recommend learning signing with your baby. There are a lot of signing dvds out there and I did try a few other ones, but I loved the Baby Einstein dvds best. The Baby Einstein dvds provide a level of entertainment and education all at the same time and captures your childs interest. I truly believe the reason the Baby Einstein dvds are successful is because they use the puppets as their main characters.

The best place I found to get the Baby Einstein dvds was on Amazon. I could not find them cheaper anywhere else and Amazon offers free shipping on orders that are over $25.00 in the USA and on orders over $39.00 in Canada. The best deals overall are the volume packages. They are extremely hard to find in store. The Baby Einstein volume packages are available on Amazon. The only thing about the volume packages is that you cannot control the dvds that you get as it is a set package.

I purchased all three volumes above and they are all great dvds. In total we own twenty-four Baby Einstein dvds. I did find that my daughter had favourite Baby Einstein dvds though. If I was to recommend the best Baby Einstein dvds to you I would recommend the following:

If I had a chance to preview the dvds before buying them, I would have only purchased those twelve above. That is not because the other dvds are no good. My daughter just simply loves the twelve I mention above and I find them to be great learning tools for everyday conversation and life. I was able to find a few previews on one of the Baby Einstein dvds (Baby McDonald) which I have placed on the bottom of this blog for you.

My daughter has really learned a lot from the Baby Einstein dvds. The three baby signing dvds gave us a level of communication early on that we just otherwise would not of had. I seriously recommend the Baby Einstein dvds to you and your little ones. I would recommend you buy one or two first though. We all know every child is different so you might find that your little one is not as crazy about them as my little one was. I will tell you that Baby Neptune was and still is her absolute favorite dvd. She loved the turtle puppet in it. My First Signs is great for signing because it teaches the basic essential words. Your heart will melt when your little one signs mommy to you.

Here is another company (Two Little Hands Productions) that produces baby signing dvds. I heard of this company after I had already purchased the Baby Einstein dvds. Two Little Hands Producitons are a well known baby signing dvd company. I have put the link here for you to explore.

I hope that this review has been helpful. I hope that you and your little one benefit from our blog. Let us know your experiences.

Here are a number of baby signing books in case you want to check it out.

I found this on for you to be able to take a look at the videos to see what you think.

I wanted to share my experience with a couple of well know baby/kid companies.

First of all everyone knows about Toys R Us and Babies R Us. I think that these companies are amazing. I have shopped there so much for my daughter I think we own half their stores. They have great sales all the time. I always keep my eye on their flyer and websites to see what the latest sales are.

So this first story starts with my daughter and I shopping one day at Toys R Us. Well there was a Barbie sale. WOW! Gotta love when Barbie goes on sale. I am talking a great sale too. Buy one Barbie get one free and not just the dolls, but the ones with the scooter or pool and other such items with them. So I bought my daughter the Barbie with the pool and the Barbie with the scooter. I specifically purchased the scooter Barbie because it came with a helmet and my daughter loves helmets.

I typically buy items from Toys R Us and Babies R Us when they are on sale and then put them away at home until a special occassion or a just because my daughter deserves a gift type of day. So the Barbies were put away. Hidden for that special day. As a matter a fact the pool Barbie is still hidden away!

So one day I thought that my daughter deserved a special treat so out came Barbie with the scooter. I opened the package and what did I discover....the helmet was missing. I thought no problem because Toys R us rocks so we will just take it with the receipt and exchange it. So I hunted high and low for the receipt. It had been so long since I purchased the items that I no longer had the receipt. Oops! My fault! I knew in my mind that if I went to Toys R Us they probably would have looked after me and exchanged the item. However, I felt that was not fair to Toys R Us because they would be stuck with the unusable item. I figured it was better for me to call Mattel and let them know what happened.

This is where my story about Mattel starts. Well, the lady I had at customer service at Mattel was amazing. I told her what happened with the missing helmet that I had wanted so badly because my daughter loves helmets. She understood and placed me on hold to see if she could locate the item number and find out if they had the helmets in stock. She came back and informed me that she was unsure if they could get a helmet, but that I would either be mailed the helmet or sent a cheque for the amount of the item. I thanked the customer service lady very much and hung up feeling very respected and satisfied as a customer.

I actually had the missing helmet issue slip my mind until about four days later. I opened the mailbox and saw a letter from Mattel. I felt a bit disappointed because I had wanted the helmet for the Barbie, but what can you do. I figured the helmet was worth maybe a $0.50 coupon and that is what the envelope would contain. So I opened the envelope and what did I receive? I received $12.00 cheque from Mattel with an apology that they could not locate the helmet that I had hoped for so much.

I seriously could not believe that Mattel sent me a $12.00 cheque. But I did not argue and off to Toys R Us my daughter and I went to have a shopping spree. Yes, at Toys R Us the $12.00 was a shopping spree. We were able to get the Barbie car for just a bit more than the $12.00 Mattel cheque we had.

So my daughter and I left Toys R Us again feeling happy.
Thank you Mattel and Toys R Us.

I have to share Identity Direct with everyone. This company has amazing items. I ordered just about everything from them to do my daughters room. They have Disney themed products from clocks to growth charts and you can have them personalized for your little one.

Here are a few things to know before you order though.....

You can get the personalized growth chart in feet or inches. So make sure you specify what you want.
The personalized clocks are adorable. You can hear them tick though so if this bothers you, you might not like it. It is a very soft tick tock and I find that it is white noise for the room. It has never bothered my daughter.
The personalized books are amazing. Children love stories about themselves and these stories have your child and any friends or family you put in the story with them. It is so amazing to read the story to your child and see their face light up. You can also dedicate the book to them from you or whomever is giving the book to them. It is a real keepsake. If you get anything, I would say that these books are a keepsake forever!

I seriously have ordered so many products from Identity Direct it is unreal. I have not come across an item yet that I was unhappy with. I love the personalized bag we got. It is great for trips out and when we go swimming.

The biggest tip I have to give you is you have to keep an eye on the clearance items. They have amazing deals there. I was able to get some items for only a few dollars! Gotta love the deals! If you buy something from Identity Direct, they put you on a email list (if you want) and you get emailed about all the new clearance items. This is a good idea because you find out what is on clearance first. The clearance items go fast!

I find that Identity Direct charges reasonable shipping on items. I never felt like I was paying too much for shipping items I purchased through Identity Direct. With some other companies I have actually changed my mind in purchasing products once I saw the shipping charges.

The personalized Identity Direct products make great gifts too.
We hope you find these little treasures as awesome as we do. Let us know what you think.

Ok everyone, you absolutely have to go to Animoto and sign up for your FREE account. Check this video out below. You can get a FREE Animoto account that allows you to make unlimited 30 second videos. The 30 second video allows about 12 to 15 pictures. It is so easy to make a video at Animoto. All you do is upload your pictures. Drag and drop them into the order you want them to play. Then you go through their music library and add the music or upload your own music. After that, you hit the render button and go have a coffee while your video is being put together. They even email you to let you know when it is ready.

I love Animoto. I find it almost addictive. If you want videos that are longer than the 30 seconds then you have to get a membership. The memberships are very inexpensive starting at $30.00 for a year. It is just all a matter of how long you want your videos to be.

This video creator has to be the easiest one around. If you want to embed a video like I did here to show you all how it works, you just click a button and it gives you an embed code. Your videos are private too so no worries. The only people that see your videos are those you give the video or the link to.

Check it out. It is awesome to have. I truly love it.
If you want to sign up for your free account to do your own free 30 second videos click on the Animoto link at the top of the page and you will be taken to where you need to go to get your free account.

We have just added our Free Baby Stuff link to our website. Take a look around. You will see that major companies provide free samples and coupons to new and expecting parents.

When I first got pregnant a few years ago, I heard from some other moms that you can get free stuff from a number of companies. I thought that the free baby stuff would be a small sample or a coupon for a dollar or two. I was pleasantly surprised when I signed up for a few items here and there and I received diaper bags full of samples, information and coupons. Take a look at Nestle Baby. Nestle Baby sends you a diaper bag full of great baby samples. I really loved and actually used the diaper bag I received from Nestle Baby.

When I signed up for the Similac samples, they too sent me a diaper bag full of samples, coupons and information. Similac also continued to send me coupons after the initial package and they were of significant value (or at least they were when I signed up).

When I signed up for Huggies and Pampers I received samples of the newborn diapers along with coupons. I still receive coupons to this day for wipes and diapers. I also received a free dvd for potty training from Huggies.

There are a lot of coupons and free samples of baby available for those who sign up. Every company is fighting for your business and hoping that you love their product. If you figure how many diapers and wipes that you go through, no wonder Huggies and Pampers is willing to give you free samples to try their product out.

Even if you plan on breastfeeding, there will probably be a time you need formula. The formula companies know this and they send you a generous container of their formula to try out. Then they following it up with generous coupons. I did in fact breastfeed my daughter till she was 14 months old, but I still used formula on occassion and I also used formula once I totally stopped breastfeeding. I really liked the Similac ready to use formula. It was just way more convenient. I remember receiving coupons from Similac for buy a case of formula get one free. Wow, that was a good coupon and I received more than one!

You really just have to sign up everywhere. Try the products out. Get the coupons. Read the ingredients (especially these days) and make sure you are happy with what the company puts in the product.

Get the free magazines because the advice in them is sometimes pretty useful. Moreover, it is nice to read articles that affirm that you are not alone in the world when you have a question or issue pertaining to baby. It is nice to know others are experiencing the same things.

There are a lot of deals to be had. So take a look before you start buying baby stuff. It is possible to get just about everything at a sale price or a free sample to try out first.

Happy Baby Shopping!

Welcome to our Baby Blog. We chose the website name expecting mom because we want to talk about everything baby right from the get go. We want to talk about everything baby right from the time that you found out that you were expecting a bundle of joy to every step of the way through your little one's life.

I started this blog because I remember being pregnant and asking other moms their advice about things that came to mind. I felt like, for the most part, that most moms seemed to forget the little things. They could not quite recall if they had a certain experience or what they did in a certain situation. So here we are. We will talk about everything baby. I am going to talk about things I wish that I had known right from the moment I was pregnant.

We are going to talk about everything baby! Like my experience with Safety 1st products and their customer service. Why I love Evenflo's Customer Service. Why Mattell rocks! Where I think the best place is to get clothes. What type of sleepers I thought were the best and the sleepers I truly hated. We will talk about breastfeeding, bottle feeding, sleeping (or should I say not sleeping), and what you really, really need to buy for baby. Or should I say what you do not need to buy when getting ready for baby! Where to get some great free stuff! And much, much, much more!

So sit back and enjoy. Please participate because your knowledge and experiences as a parent are like gold to others. Your comment could save another parent from pulling their hair out!

PLEASE ALSO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NOT EXPERTS, WE ARE PARENT'S JUST LIKE YOU. OUR POSITIONS AND OPINIONS ON THIS SITE ARE SIMPLY THAT, OUR OPINIONS. WE JUST GIVE OUR OPINION BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE WITH PRODUCTS, SITUATIONS AND COMPANIES. WE DO NOT REPRESENT ANYONE EXCEPT OURSELVES AND OUR ONE LITTLE POINT OF VIEW. IT IS UP TO YOU TO FORM YOUR OWN OPINION FOR THE PRODUCTS, COMPANIES AND SITUATIONS THAT WE DISCUSS HERE. WE HOPE THAT YOU SHARE YOUR POINTS OF VIEW SO THAT OTHER PARENTS CAN BENEFIT FROM MANY POINTS OF VIEWS.