Consumer Info

I was asking a mom friend the other day about the velcro hooks she had on her stroller handle and her husband started to tease me about being like Consumer Reports. Well, I have a lot of mom friends, so why not ask their advice instead of re-inventing the wheel? His take was that if they had to go through the trial and error, then we should too, but I think it makes sense to learn from other people's trial and error. Plus, just because it works for some people, doesn't mean it will work for you because it depends on your needs and preferences, so it's not just about, does it work or do you like it? Yes, I'm sort of crazy when it comes to researching G's stuff, but I feel good about doing it and like that I'm trying to provide her with the best possible environment that I can. I guess it's part of my love language! Here's where I go mostly:

The Soft Landing: Everything sold here is BPA free, plus there are articles to read, and a blog with news and info. We will be making a purchase there soon for G's feeding supplies, just waiting for the bibbity bibs to get in stock. I can't believe she will be 6 months in a few weeks (the magic number for starting solids). It's possible to buy items from elsewhere for cheaper, but I believe in good service, I appreciate their time and efforts and the service they provide, so I'm willing to pay a little more for it to support them. What they do makes my life easier, and if they go under, it will just be more work for me to have to call companies, etc, to get the info I need.

Giggle: This store just happened to be around the corner from where we used to live in SF. They do a lot of research into their products so I feel safe buying a product that they carry. I browse their website frequently. For example, I saw this at a baby store, I wanted to buy it for G on impulse. Just before we got up to the register, I had second thoughts because I wondered about the paint (it's comprised of painted wood and some kind of stretchy cord) because of all the recent toy recalls about lead paint. So I put it back and didn't buy it. Later, I saw it at Giggle, specifically asked them about the paint, and felt reassured and confident that it was safe and bought it for G (btw, she totally loves it, it makes a very light tinkling sound and it's so easy for her to grab and the knobs are perfect for her to suck on).

I use Amazon and Babycenter to read reviews, but I don't put too much stock in them because I find a lot of people just say things like, oh, my baby didn't like this, which I don't find helpful. I also subscribe to several blogs, many on green/healthy parenting.