These products I have tried,

and ultimately approve

of-hands down.

(Click on relaxing video below, and have nice smoothing background music while you read.) 

Here are my criteria for approval.

*Kids don’t get hurt in it, with it, or around it.

*It doesn’t break. Period.

*It is extremely user-friendly.

*It is easy to clean.

*It is non-toxic.

I will also include things that might be side effects, or negativities to my favorite products. After five kids, I kinda narrowed it down pretty good.

Bath Time:

Safety 1st Baby Bath Seat

The best seat ever. Why I like it: It is easy to put on tub. It is sturdy, and you can use it from 3-4 mo to 2 years. It is sturdy enough to hold me leaning on it full body weight to lean in, wash hair. I like that it swivels, even though we don’t utilise that part.

What doesn’t work about it: It does not have a belt to hold kids in. It also builds mildew under the seat, inside…so it is difficult to clean out and it can flake mildew into tub water. I have to clean before & after. If you have a jacuzzi tub, it won’t work.

Vital Care Fun Sticks Fruit Punch Shampoo

Sponge Bob 2 in 1 Conditioning Shampoo Pineapple Punch

Smells so yummy, and it is not as strong as any J&J products. Almost water-like and very tearless. They smell good enough to eat, and it gets them in the tub. I found them at the 99 Cents store.

J&J Baby Powder. 15 years, and still loving it. Have a bottle in every room, and a large one at that. And the lotion, and the oil.

Pfizer Desitin Creamy. Works. Period. I buy bulk.

Huggies Supreme Diapers. They are the best diapers. I will argue my case with anyone.

They are more absorbant, they don’t leak, they are comfprtable, and they just plain work.

What I don’t like: They are not biodegradable.

Nature Babycare Diapers. Sweedish mom, Marlene Sandberg developed breathable, chlorine free diapers that are Eco-Friendly, and the packaging is 100% compostable. I feel better already. Looks great, and it is only $1 more than the monster brands. I found them at Target. The wipes are biodegradable as well. Yeah!!

Highchair:

Graco highchair. Cannot say enough good things about this chair. Here’s what works: it is very durable. Teenagers use it to get our baby in and out too, including lots of activity, slammimg, rough treatment, and after two years it is like the first day I bought it. It is easy to clean. The belting system is easy & secure. I like the easily washable seat cover, the extra tray on top, and the colors. Nice earthy tones worked for my home.

What doesn’t work: It is a tad big, so takes up precious space if you have a small eating area. The top tray stays on for as long as your baby doesn’t figure out how to take it off and fling it across the room.

Food, Vitamines, Baby/Children’s medicine:

Over-the-counter Medication:I am not sure how I feel about CVS stores, and drugs stores pulling infant & children medicine off of their shelves. I have always used them responsibly, and I also keep them high up, and never once in 15 years had even a close call. I also depend on them for fevers, and bad injuries, shots, etc. I don’t know what is going to happen into the future, but I will hang on to these meds like they were going out of style in case they don’t ever come back!

Like:

 Tylenol Infant drops. Hospitals use it, need I say more.

Children’s Benadryl Allergy. When all else is eliminated, I usually found it to be an allergy. This has always been my last ditch effort on relieving what was buggin’ them.

J&J Infants’ Mylecon Gas relief Drops. At the infant stage, this was perfect for those colicky times, and it worked in small doses.

Don’t like: Rite Aid’s Pediatric Electrolyte Instant Mix in Fruit Punch flavor. Yuk! It tastes horrible, and the kids wont touch it.

Childrens vitamines:Flinstones! Worked for me, and it works for them. (They like the taste, and colors)

Vitamine C’s:I make sure all my kids take about 1000 mg a week. The kind they like: Natural Factors 100% Natural Fruit Chew C 500 Tangy Orange Flavor. I steer away from gummy-anything when it comes to vitamines, because I do not want them to think it is candy.

Jarrow Formula’s Baby Jarro-Dophilus: 3 Billion per gram of bifidobacteria. A vegetarian formula, also containing Inuliun-FOS (FructoOligoSaccharides) to encourage growth of beneficial flora. I use this specifically when the babies are sick. I see a turn around within 2 days. I found this product at Whole Foods.

Products:

Anti-Bacterial Hand Sanitizer is great for us, but it has a lot of alchole in it , and can be dangerous if children drink it. It would be considered alchole poisoning if kids drink it, and it does happen.

Toys:

Little Tike Car:

What I like: It is sturdy, and can handle any weather, and nothing breaks.

What I don’t like: The stickers peel off, and there’s only room for one passenger. It also flips over easily. It has happened many times.

Step2 Kitchen. This was an expensive purchase, and it got a few months of milage from my two tots. I remember my wooden kitchen set was a lot more fun, and I used it for years. Maybe the fact it is plastic, is not real enough. Any way, too much plastic is not a good thing anyway.

Dora car & toys. Well, Dora lives in our house, and I think the baby thinks she is a sister of hers. They like the musical car, and the tough Dora figures. They get a kick out of it, and so do I. Songs are cute too.

What I don’t like: They broke off a few doors right away.

Food:

Beech Nut. I liked the combo’s of baby food choices. Like Chicken & Rice, my baby’s favorite. This is when I did not have enough time to make chicken & rice.

Organic baby food from Whole Foods.