Just some disclosure off the top: I have not been paid or asked to write this review. I bought a Diva Cup from my local London Drugs for $39.99 about three years ago. You can buy one too, if you want.
Okay, first of all, I have been waffling on writing this review. Funny, I can tell you all about childbirth and breastfeeding and baby poop and ulcerative colitis and whatever else. But menstruation is taboo, more than anything else. Girls tend to think that menstruation is something you don’t really talk about, and although my mom was awesome when my period started and got me a starter pack of all the standard available goodies out there and was happy to show me how to use them or tell me anything I wanted to know about how it all worked, I know I’m not alone when I say I don’t really talk about my monthly cycle with many people outside of my husband, my midwife, my doctor, and perhaps my closest friends. Because really, does anyone actually want to hear about it? Meh, not really.
Don’t want to know what I use to deal with my period? Then stop now, and go check out this awesome site about eating locally.
The Diva Cup is one of a number of kinds of menstrual cup – There’s the Moon Cup, The Keeper (a latex rubber version), and Lunette (not yet approved for sale in Canada, although silicone already is) and probably others I don’t know about.
I ended up buying it because I had it suggested to me to try by a friend, and then noticed it at the store, and read the box and decided to give it a whirl. I bought myself the size 2 (there are two sizes) because of my age, and the same size is appropriate to me postnatal as well. At the time, I was not even pregnant. I tried it once or twice when I did not have my period to attempt to get the hang of it, wasn’t thrilled enough to try again, put it back under my sink and promptly forgot all about it. A menstrual cup is designed for collecting the flow, and hanging on to it until you get a chance to dump it. It’s not absorbent, and is, in fact, a silicone cup, that looks similar to an egg cup, with a stem on the end (for grasping).
Diva Cup
Fast forward to this past few months, where I’m more than ever trying to reduce my impact on the world and am looking at my lady bits in a way I did not look at them before I had a child. I flat our care more about what’s going on inside me. Before, menstruation was a function. Now, I see it as a purpose.
I have started reading all sorts of alarming info out there on the intarnets, some of it pretty well researched seemingly from the house of non-crazy [that link is a PDF to an interesting report written by Canadian nutritionist Meghan Telpner] and and a lot of it flat out false (no, tampons do not contain asbestos). And although the Canadian Cancer Society states that you cannot get cancer from using tampons, there are many people who swear they are toxic to your body on many levels and there is tonnes of anecdotal evidence to support that. But for me, I started feeling guilty about using tampons because they aren’t doing the earth any favours. I’m rethinking the use of tampons and pads from a disposable angle – I am so sick of throwing money literally down the toilet and without truly grasping the consequences of where it goes, and what happens to it when it gets there.
I’m trying hard to find usable alternatives to more or less everything that reeks of consumptive earth dissing, so in my RSS reader these days is stuff like the Glenbrook Zero Waste Challenge, a local group trying to reduce their waste. They put me on to the folks over at the Clean Bin Project, who’ve recently completed a documentary about their project and are cycling across Canada promoting it (hey, Canadian friends, they are looking for places to show their movie. Help them out – check out the trailer, it’s awesome and I can’t wait till they are back in town and we here in New West can watch their documentary.) One of the items Jen at the Clean Bin Project blogs about is the menstrual cup. In her (and my) case, we’re talking about the Diva Cup.
So, seeing the mention for the Diva Cup a while back gave me enough drive to dig it out and give it another shot.
It took me a few tries at insertion despite pretty decent instructions. It feels WEIRD the first few times because the Diva Cup is not designed to go way up inside you like a tampon. It sits more or less at the end of your inner workings so that you can simply reach and grasp that stem with your fingers when it’s time to remove it. Remember, it’s catching the blood, not soaking it up. You are shooting for a horizontal lie rather than a vertical one. Womens’ bits are shaped somewhat like a vase with the small end closest to the real world and so to get the Cup past the smaller neck of the vaginal opening, you fold the cup into quarters and let it pop open once inside. That took a few tries too – figuring out the knack of getting it to pop open at all. I kept having to go in and retrieve it and realign the mark I was shooting for. Also, one complaint? I wish the instructions made mention of potentially pulling at pubic hair. Not everyone grows hair in the same spots, according to my esthetician, but I apparently grow hair in a spot that gets a bit pulled when inserting the Diva Cup. Now that I know that it’s a no longer an issue, but the first time I discovered it, it wasn’t in a way I’d like to repeat.
I also felt the stem of the Diva Cup a bit the first few times while wearing it but now, after a few cycles, I can still notice it only if I try. But it’s a different way of thinking. When you insert a tampon, it’s a no brainer – insert tab a into slot b and you generally do not feel a thing. But I stopped and thought about it. The first few times I used a tampon at 15? I remember it feeling like a giant sub sandwich between my legs.
I practiced with my Diva Cup a half dozen times or so when I did not have my period so that inserting and removing would be simpler and less foreign to me come period time, with the added complication of blood. I recommend doing that as well. You’re going to get intimately involved with what your “output” feels like, so start on a non-period day and get over yourself.
And speaking of blood? What do you do with it? Well, this is how I deal with it, not everyone likely uses the same method. While seated on the toilet, I remove the Diva Cup by grasping the stem, pulling it out sideways, and then once it breaks suction, I tilt it DOWN and let what is collected drain straight into the toilet. Afterward, I wash the Diva Cup in my sink and then clean myself up and then reinsert. Then, when I get up to wash my hands, I give the sink a rinse too. It’s blood. It’s not poison. You can buy Diva Wash, a mild soap, to use on your Cup and your bits, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Because the Diva Cup is made of silicone, you can boil it to give it a good cleaning, and so at the end of my period I do just that. Then it lives in its little fabric sack until the next time. I envision custom made cases on Etsy as soon as I can get my sewing machine back up and running after we move as nothing draws attention to a little fabric bag more than DIVA printed all over a bright purple background. Discreet? No.
You can wear thew Diva Cup over night, and you’ll need to empty it about once every 12 hours or so. The normal entire amount of blood you will shed in your period is 4 ounces (on average, some people it may be more or less!). The Diva Cup can hold one ounce. The chances of leaking because you’ve filled it are slim.
My periods last about 4 days, and at 5-8 tampons a day (we’ll take 6 as an average) I have already saved about 50 tampons from using the Diva Cup. Yeah. No kidding. 50 tampons is more than what’s in the average sized box. And I’ve barely been using this thing! Do the math on a year. Whether you are talking about the money you’ve saved, the bleached cotton you have not used, or the tampons you have not flushed down the toilet, 50 tampons is HUGE and it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Many users also pair their Diva Cups with reusable panty liners. LunaPads are one example, but you can also sew your own.
To sum up: go buy yourself one of these or order it online. Menstrual cups are likely going to be the norm very soon as more and more people realize it is not icky and it saves money, the environment and our bodies. Practice until you feel like it’s not a big deal. Then clear out some of that space under your bathroom sink for something you really love, like a cocoa butter body scrub or a sea salt bath soak, and stop flushing your money down the toilet.
About a week later, a representative from Riders by Lee contacted me. Through the magic of the internet, she had found my blog, and read my post about jeans, and then read the comments where I mentioned the brand. She asked if she could send me two pairs of jeans, because Riders by Lee was just so confident that they could fit any woman with a good pair of jeans for a retail price of less than $20.
“Hey, I’m game,” I thought. “But don’t expect me to write about how awesome they are just because you sent me free jeans. I gave her my measurements, my wish list, and told her what I didn’t like about the pair I bought.
I bought a pair of Riders by Lee about a month ago. They are a 12 Petite and the inseam is good. They are a nice dark denim which I like. The first few wears were great – but here is my complaint: the zipper flap stretches out rather than the tummy panel slimming me so you can see the zipper and I constantly get asked if my zipper is low. I think this is one of those situations where the fabric is going to pull where there is the least resistance, and in this case, that’s the fabric of the zipper flap. I’m not sure if this is an indicator that I need to go up to a size 14 or not, but I tried on a 14 and the waist was swimming on me and gaped badly at the back, so I stuck with the 12. I tend to muffin top out of these (and other) jeans as well – but that’s likely a “Jen’s body construction” issue rather than a “garment construction issue” because that happens on most pants…
The representative sent me two pairs of jeans – one a dark wash in a 11/12 medium length, and the other a super light wash in a “slender stretch” fit, in a size 12 petite.
Here’s me in a regular pair of jeans I just happened to be wearing:
Regular Joe-Schmoe Jeans
Here’s me in the light wash slender stretch jeans:
Light Wash Slender Stretch
And finally, here’s me in the dark wash jeans:
Dark Wash Bootcut
The short review? If I could amalgamate the features of these two pairs of jeans into one super pair, I might be on the road to jean bliss. I feel like I’m close. Super close.
Both pairs retail for $19.95 at most mass retailers like Wal-mart and K-mart (and try Zellers, too), feature a slightly wider waistband, and are a “medium rise”. Both are touted as a bootcut although the lighter pair feels more skinny than that. Both are a pretty standard 5 pocket jean design, nothing fancy, no crazy bling on the butt or anything. The leg length of the lighter pair is perfect for me, but I prefer the cut of the dark pair to the “slender stretch” lighter pair. To make them both perfect I need to: dye the lighter pair something darker – black maybe – and get the darker pair hemmed (which I’d normally do myself but my sewing machine is in storage while we try and sell our house).
I muffin top out of both pairs, but I’ve come to the realization that no jean is going to make up for the fact that I need to get off my butt and start doing some serious cardio. Sure, the right cut of jeans can make a huge difference to hide things like c-section scars (and the question mark that is my belly) and they can sure accent features that are still pretty decent, like bottoms, and help make your legs look longer, but absolutely no pair of jeans is going to solve the dilemma of too much jiggly skin to fit in the clothing.
I like them, I think the retail price is decent, and quite honestly, any jean company that is so confident they can fit “anyone” that they will track down little old me and send me two pairs impresses me. I’ll probably buy another pair of these again. And that, my friends, says a lot.
Next up on the quest to find Jen’s Perfect Jeans: the $110 pair of custom trouser jeans I’ve paid to have made. I want to know – are $20 jeans as good a fit as a custom pair can be, AND, is it worth waiting 4 weeks? I should receive them in two weeks or so.
When Ross and I moved to our current home, we elected to ditch a traditional landline in favour of just using our two cell phones. It worked for a long time, and it’s only because I am now at home during the day and making daytime calls that I even noticed it wasn’t working as well as it should. And by “noticed” I mean, “$225 cell phone bill since I went over my minutes oops”. We had our internet and cable through Shaw and it made sense to get a hold of them to add a digital phone line to our bill and “bundle” the services. Their current advertising is kinda entertaining, with this big mean old contract being a jerk. I had asked around to friends and the advice was really mixed, so just adding a service to an existing bill seemed easiest.
You should know I paid $95.85 a month for high speed internet and basic cable television. They’d phoned a few times trying to get me to upgrade to a digital package, but with a really old TV we hardly watch (and considered getting rid of entirely) it made no sense. The Shaw customer service rep told me it would be an additional $20.95 plus tax per month on my Shaw bill. Fair enough, I figured, and I asked when they could install it. Because it is a digital phone service, before we could schedule an installation day and time, my address had to be propagated in the 911 system for enhanced 911 – meaning, in order for 911 to know my address, my address had to be linked up on their system. Fair enough, I figured. This propagation apparently would take 24-72 hours, but since I had called on a Thursday, I should not expect a call anytime before Monday.
Monday came and went and so did Tuesday and Wednesday and magically time passed and sure enough we were on Thursday again. So I called to find out what the hold up was. I was assured that there was something wrong in “their” system (not sure if that’s the provincial 911 system or Shaw’s system) but they would put a rush on the order and I was assured I would hear back by the following day.
I’m sure no one is shocked to find out that I didn’t hear from them Friday. I called Monday, and was told that she would put in a new work order to have my address propagated. At this point, it started getting funny.
The following Monday, I called to cancel, regardless of where they were in the process, as it was already 2 weeks and a few days and honestly, get real. Lo and behold, my service was ready, but no one could tell me why I didn’t get the call to schedule the installation. The service rep told me “that’s in the past”, like we are in some sort of relationship and I should just get over all our previous fights because “it’s in the past”. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? So while I was fuming, and trying to decide how to tell the woman to stuff it, she started going ahead with the process and let me know that the next possible installation date was ANOTHER WEEK FROM THEN. I said “Let me get this straight. I’ve been waiting two and a bit weeks, and I’m the one making the calls, and you are now telling me I have to wait another week?” She said yes, and said “there is an evening appointment available that day, I will put you down for it. Now, here is your phone number” and rattled off a number starting with area code 778.
A note about 778 area code. BC used to be 604. Then they added 250 for basically everywhere outside the Lower Mainland, and then in 2001 they added 778. 778 is what they call an “overlay” area code, meaning new numbers that would normally fall into the 604 area code (and as of 2007, the 250 area code) are now being assigned 778 area codes. I HATE the 778 are code, if only because I resist change, and the thought of me having a cell phone with a 604 area code and a home phone with a 778 area code was just too much and became the straw that broke the camel’s back. I told the expletive deleted customer service rep to stuff her phone service down her cake hole and hung up.
I called Telus and because I know how to sidestep the ridiculous automated friendly robot answering machine (“agent agent agent agent agent agent”), was put through really quickly to a VERY friendly and helpful customer service rep named Julie. I gave Julie the brief rundown of how annoyed I was with Shaw and I said “Julie, I need high speed internet, the basic channels of television, and a home phone I can make local calls on. I want a 604 phone number, and I want it installed this week. What can you do for me? Can you make this happen?”
And my saviour angel Julie said “Sure! Not a problem.”
Ding Ding Ding, ladies and gentleman. “Sure” indeed. We have a freakin’ winner.
Not only could I get my wish list fulfilled, I was also given one month of totally free service, three months of free full cable (including, like, a million canned music stations), free installation, and free equipment (the modem is ours to keep, the TV box is a rental) provided I signed up for a year contract. And remember up in paragraph 2 up there where I said that I was paying $95.85 plus I was going to pay an additional $20.95 plus tax a month for Shaw’s services? Um. Yeah. Here’s the kicker: I get MORE channels, I got it installed that Friday, I got a 604 phone number, the tech even rewired our stereo properly so I could get the TV sound through the stereo speakers and it’s $76.00 plus tax per month. NO KIDDING.
The entire process took about 30 minutes to arrange, and I got to SMUGLY call Shaw four days later and tell them to stick their internet and cable where the sun didn’t shine. And the funny part is that when I called Shaw, they put me through to the “department that could help me” (read: the accounts retention department, I’m not a moron, could they be any more obvious) who tried to BLAME ME for wanting to discontinue services because I guess the last expletive deleted CSR I talked to had made a note that I was “extremely upset about a 778 area code”. When the accounts retention gal tried to suggest that, I snorted. “Yes, that’s it. Sure. It had NOTHING to do with the 2 and a half weeks wait to even get a 778 phone number and the $40 price difference. Go smoke another one.”
Justice is swift at Chez Arbo when it comes to our service providers and favorite stores.
I haven’t written a product review in ages, and this one has been on the back burner for far too long. I actually took video footage of this knife block in action, because pictures don’t do it justice about how useful this knife block is.
So, Ross and I, between the two of us, have about 12 different high quality kitchen knives. If there is one incredibly important kitchen tool that every person should buy, I truly believe it is a good quality knife. Ginsu is not high quality. We’ve acquired these kinves over the years, and they don’t match – which suits me just fine. For a long time pre-Kale, we kept all our kinves flat in a drawer all their own, but after Kale was born, the thought occured to us that perhaps this might not be a safe idea.
A knife block was an okay idea, but research showed that since none of our knives matched, and many of them were large, we were going to have a hard time finding one with the right slots. We then turned to a magnet. We actually went to Ikea and purchased those magnet strips although I had done a fair bit of reading that suggested those were actually bad for knives if you weren’t incredibly careful about putting your knives on and off it. Also, where we were going to install these racks was actually a bit of a bone of contention between us – we have a space above the sink that would have been suitable, but it’s tiled, and Ross was against the idea of drilling into the tile. But I bought two of these racks, and brought them home, and was so significantly disappointed with the quality of them, that I returned them both the next day.
I then discovered “Mag-Blok”, a wood-covered magnetic strip, and figured that might not be a bad idea. Again, we would have had a hard time agreeing on where to mount the strip in the kitchen, but at least the fears about ruining the edges of our knives were allayed. I was all set to buy online, and then the new Lee Valley catalogue was delivered.
And there it was. The solution to our problem.
From the Lee Valley website:
Created with 8″ polypropylene rods rather than slots, this universal knife block stores any combination of knives, regardless of size or shape, in any orientation. We found it will hold knives 10″ and smaller anywhere in the block. Unlike with a traditional wooden block, knives will not be dulled by scraping against the wood surface. A shallow cup encasing the rods makes them easy to remove for washing, and a two-step design helps with identifying and sorting knives. Without the limitation of specific slots you can have your own selection of favorite knives accessible at all times.
So we hit Lee Valley, picked it up, and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with our knife block. So impressed, in fact, that I took this video of the knife block “in action”:
You can shove the knife in wherever you want, at whatever angle. It’s probably one of the most useful gadgets I think we’ve bought in terms of storage devices in a small kitchen space that allows us to have all our fancy knives accessible. I highly recommend this knife block. My only wish is that it came in more finishes. Although “natural pine” is awesome, I’d love to see something that was a darker wood or perhaps even painted or metal-encased. I’m giving the Lee Valley Adjustable Knife Block 4 out of 5 Jens.
Mom pointed out that I didn’t have a link up for Chai By Night. my little chai company in the making, and although I could have sworn I did, she is right! So, I’ve added it to my links menu. If you are interested, have at ‘er.
Anyway, this post is about Raspberry Kids, and while it isn’t a product review, per se, it is a review of their service and company as a whole. However, because of the way I categorize my posts, it’s called a Product Review.
The other day, I posted about how I was increasingly disappointed with A Baby’s World, and how every time I go there they either don’t carry what I am looking for, or it’s ridiculously overpriced, or they are out of stock. While I’m okay with paying maybe a bit more for an item if it supports a local business, there is a point where I say “get freakin’ real” because I am on mat leave and don’t have scads o’ cash just waiting around to be spent.
I had gone there in search of a bowl / plate that suctioned onto the table because Mr. Grabby Hands is into feeding himself things but he lacks the coordination to not knock the ramekins I use to feed him off the table. You’d think it was a fairly simple thing to walk into a baby store and buy that type of item, right? But apparently they are sold out of all the brands they carry. Well, I only get the car once a month, basically, and I’m sure as hell not going to bus out to Coquitlam, and honestly? This gift card balance we have? We will eventually use it on something, but quite honestly, I am DONE with going there and being continually disappointed.
As a sidenote, when I was trying to find someone local who sold the Beco Baby Carrier, I assumed a place like that would want to carry a higher quality, sweatshop-free, versatile, pretty, baby carrier like that, and so I emailed them and suggested they stock them since they are the cream of the crop as far as I am concerned. And I got zero response. So I sent another friendly email just checking to see if they had gotten my suggestion, and I got a somewhat bitchy, poorly composed response letting me know the owner was out of town but that my suggestion would be passed on. I asked that the owner let me know what they decided to do, since I get asked ALL THE TIME where I got my Beco (and “Beco Baby Carrier review” is one of my most common search terms on ye olde blogge here), and I was told that the owner would get back to me sometime over the next week or so. I have never, ever heard from the owner, and they still don’t carry the Beco Carrier. So Gorgeous Baby in White Rock gets all my referrals and I hope she is selling them like hotcakes. (PS: Note to Sue at Raspberry Kids, if you ever carry the Beco, let me know and I will refer people to you!)
Anyway. Enough back story.
So I wrote that I was going to order a Boon Saucer and Boon Snack Bowl from a local online company I had found while searching around called Raspberry Kids. The website is fresh, simple to navigate, and well organized. I like how the categories are arranged along the top and how the main page isn’t all advertising and BUY BUY BUY BUY.
There is a cute story about how it came to be called Raspberry Kids. I really appreciate how honest and personal the story is. It makes me want to see that business succeed and it makes me feel very good about who my dollars are going to. So I was going to get my crap together and buy the bowl and saucer I wanted. Sue at Raspberry Kids saw my incoming link and wrote a very pleasant and nice comment thanking me for the blog mention and offered me (and all who read my blog) a 15% discount on an order. Just like that. I didn’t have to ask, she was super fast, and really personable.
So that immediately prompted me to go online, select the bowl and saucer, and also a set of Eric Carle (who I can’t get enough of) animal alphabet flashcards and press “add to cart” and “checkout”. I got my invoice really quickly, and Sue also sent me a little note to let me know that my order would ship Monday ( I ordered them Friday) and that I should get them by Tuesday.
So when my postie showed up this morning with my envelope I was not surprised. I got my items as ordered, and I also got a lovely card from Sue, handwritten and personalized. She enclosed some coupons for a future order and also for some other mom-preneur companies like Bopomo Photography and Momcafe. And as an added bonus, she also included a Raspberry tea bag, which I am enjoying as I write this. This card was a brilliant added touch!
Like everything these days, Kale was more interested in the packaging than what came in it, but we used the snack bowl for lunch and he LOVED the fact that he could grab food himself, and not just one-at-a-time oatios plopped onto the high chair tray. I busted up a teething biscuit and put it in there and he went WILD reaching in and grabbing pieces. We have to work on not tossing them all over the place, and we definitely need to work on not shoving everything into our cakehole the minute we see it and then gagging and retching for 30 seconds BUT he most certainly enjoyed himself and it is EXACTLY what I wanted when I went to Baby’s World last week.
I’ve stashed the flashcards away for the time being, and tonight we will try out the saucer for dinner. I’m really happy with the entire experience. Things I wish were a little different? I wish there were more things for boys. I realize that most people who shop tend to shop for the pink and frilly brigade, but I looked for some clothes for Kale and didn’t see anything I fancied. I’d also love to see some of those UV protective sun shirts for the summer. One of the few things I am looking for these days is the classic wooden blocks set and not the creepy made in China kind with all sorts of splinters and stuff and I’m having a heck of a time finding a set that isn’t $144. And maybe I’d like to see a forum so that customers can compare notes on things like where to buy a high quality stroller. But otherwise, the entire experience has been absolutely fabulous and it’s one I will definitely do again. I am incredibly impressed with the customer service Sue has offered me, and won’t hesitate to shop at Raspberry Kids again, and will definitely be recommending then to everyone I know.
Update! We’ve had this chair for a while now, and I’ve got some additional thoughts. I’ll add them in blue in the appropriate place. (Jan 4, 2010)
When Kale was born, his Nana and Grandpa (my mom and step-dad) offered to buy Kale’s high chair as a gift when the time came. I put it off for a while since our place is very small and storage is a premium and because I was concentrating so hard on Kale accomplishing things like “holding his head up” or “not puking all the breastmilk up”. But he finally started showing signs of wanting to sit up rather than chill out in his pod chair, so I started my research. I spent a long time reading reviews, product specs, and asking around before finally settling on the Euro II High Chair and Feeding Tray from One Step Ahead Baby.
We’ve had this high chair for a while now, and I held off on the product review for a few reasons: I haven’t yet had the opportunity to adjust the foot and bum rests and I wanted to see how it stood up as far as durability. Sure it looks good, but did it deliver?
To answer that question, I need to give you some more info about how I picked this chair over others. I love the idea of grow-with-you furniture for children – furniture that can be adjusted and tinkered with so that it has a longer life in your house and essentially “grows” with your child. I also really wanted a high chair that was made from wood. I abhor the plastic-y ones that are most commonly available, and I find that most commercial high chairs are adorned with licensed cartoon characters. We all know how much I hate the disney-fication of children’s products. It was also important to me that the chair we selected was able to be pulled up to our table – studies and experts agree that eating around the family table encourages development in a number of positive ways, and besides, establishing a family meal time is important to me regardless of what science tells me. I really was keen on the type of chair that attaches to your table, but alas, our table is too wide. Additionally, most of the sling over the back of a chair style of high chair won’t work because our table chairs are short and wide and upholstered leather. So I had to find a free standing chair.
The Stokke Tripp Trapp was the first chair I looked at. It’s from the same makers as the fancy-dancy Stokke Sleepi, the round-to-oval-to-chairs bed that I fell in love with (but not its $1000 price tag – holy smokes) way back when looking for a crib. I like Stokke products- they are nice looking, made from durable materials, and are smartly designed to last for a while rather than be used and tossed like so many other children’s products. Almost all of them are designed to last through a number of your child’s growth stages. The Tripp Trapp comes in a number of colours, is readily available at my local baby supply store and Canadian retailers (though, not at the mass marketer, Babies R Us), and comes highly recommended from experts. It has add-on features a-plenty – different coloured cushions and trays and what not – and its simple lines and modern aesthetic is pleasing. But just like the Sleepi, the price tag is completely ridiculous. Here in Canada, I wasn’t able to find the Stokke Tripp Trapp for any cheaper than about $300. I did find it used for $150, but it didn’t come with any of the add ons, like a tray, a cushion, or the belt and the ad read “as is” so what that means I don’t know.
There are a LOT of Tripp Trapp knock offs out there – Hippo Smile makes one but it’s not meant to be used till 18 months, and Kettler, which has two different offerings (one converts to a table and chairs after) but has a lower weight maximum (note, prices listed on the Kettler site are US funds). There are others, too, that I am electing not to link to because they simply look poorly constructed or made with inferior quality materials or because of simple annoyances, like “children” is spelled incorrectly on their website. (Seriously, you are selling children’s products, try spell check, it works GREAT). There are also a number of small run productions selling on eBay at greatly reduced prices, but the fine print indicates that the maximum weights of the knock-offs aren’t nearly as high as the Stokke, and they have no warranties, etc and tend to not come with feeding trays or other accesories.
But I simply can’t justify spending that much money on a dinner table chair when I am on mat leave, no matter how many years use we may get out of it. Period.
So I eventually ended up at One Step Ahead Baby, who sell the Euro II Feeding Chair as an exclusive item. It’s made by a company called Badger (who has absolutely no presence on the web) for One Step Ahead Baby out of wood, with a vinyl covered foam cushion that velcros on. The 5 point safety harness is made from standard webbing.
The chair, at $99.95 US, comes in cherry finish or natural finish, and can hold from 18-150 pounds. It’s safe for you to use with your baby once they can hold their heads up. The feeding tray, at $29.95 US, is a plastic two part shaped tray that screws on and off the chair with relative ease. The chair comes unassembled, and includes the hardware you require to put it together.
When I ordered the chair and tray, the US and Canadian dollar were relatively close. The chair, tray, and shipping came to $156 US which worked out to about $170 Canadian at the time.
The only shipping option is UPS, which is a drag because UPS charges an arm and a leg to clear customs. So not only do you pay the One Step Ahead company for shipping, you also pay UPS to clear your package, AND you also have to pay duty and taxes on the chair and tray because of course, they are both made in China. I ended up paying the UPS driver $77 Canadian, so now we are looking at about $240. Not a whole lot different from the Tripp Trapp, right? Dear Hindsight, nice to see you.
In any event, the Euro II chair comes with instructions, hardware, and one of those useless little hexagonal tools that you get from Ikea. I think we have about 50 of these things kicking around the house, and don’t use any of them because we have a screwdriver set with a hexagonal bit. The instructions for assembly are TERRIBLE. I’m the Queen of Assembly when it comes to Ikea furniture but this silly little chair, with no more than 10 pieces confused the hell out of me, primarly where it came to installing the safety harness, which, when you think about it, is likely the most important piece of the thing. The instructions also indicate that you should have approximately 2-3 inches of the foot rest sticking out on either side when assembled, which is flat out impossible when the foot rest is set to the highest level. One Step Ahead sent me a bot-email a few days after I received the chair, asking for my feedback on the product and I was sure to point out how incredibly crappy their assembly instructions are. One Step Ahead didn’t even acknowledge my response. Boo on them.
I eventually figured out how to set the thing up, and once I did, it made sense and was simple. To adjust, you simply loosen two screws, move the bum rest and foot rest to the height you want, and then tighten it back up.
Kale LOVES his chair and some of our best memories so far include this chair. This was the first time trying rice cereal ever.
As you can see in those pictures, he isn’t wearing the safety harness. Why, you may ask? Well, that’s because it doesn’t adjust well and is too big for my little skinny minnie. Someone pointed out that harnesses on high chairs are more valuable when you have a child old enough to climb out and you want to keep them in. So, until then, Kale goes harness free. Although Kale can now get out of the chair, the harness still doesn’t adjust well. We simply don’t use it.
He likes this chair because it puts him high enough to be a part of the action, whereas his pod chair did not. He also likes to bang things on the tray, and enjoys throwing things from the seat. I like this chair because it gives me a few minutes here and there where he is safely occupied and I can do things like take hot stuff out of the oven. I also like it because I like that Kale can watch and observe and be a part of the family, too.
What I don’t like is the seat stains. They use really cheap white vinyl and I’m hesitant to use Comet or some other abrasive cleaner on it for fear of it tearing. It actually tore only a few weeks after I wrote this inital review. I ended up sewing a cover out of waterproof fabric. So, it has splotches of orange (sweet potato), green (avocado), and brown (banana after it oxidizes). I also had to apply those fuzzy felt feet to the bottom of the chair, as the bottoms of the legs are unfinished and it was leaving marks on the laminate. Now that Kale is bigger, he also likes to hang off the back of the high chair when lunch is just about ready. I know one of these days the centre of gravity will shift on the chair and it will come tumbling onto his head. And lastly, two thumbs down for One Step Ahead – not only did they not acknowledge my complaint about assembly instructions (I figure why ask if you aren’t even going to acknowledge what I tell you?) but also thumbs down for not offering any other variety of shipping – like say for example, the US Postal Service who clears customs to Canada for FREE. One Step Ahead has pretty much ensured I won’t be a repeat shopper.
But I do like this chair and I’m happy with it. I’m rating it a 3/5 Jens… the customer service, assembly instructions, and high cost of importing this piece reallycast a shadow on the actual positives the chair offers.
I’m changing my mind on this one. This chair is only going to rate a 2/5 Jens. It’s safety features don’t work properly, the vinyl seat ripped way too easily, the straps of the harness are awful, and it looks like it will be tipping over soon enough. I actually think I’m going to sell this chair, and pick up another strap on booster seat. At least that is portable!
Last year when I was pregnant, I went through the process of changing over our family’s laundry and cleaning products in preparation of a baby’s sensitive skin and our planned use of cloth diapers. Almost all of my cleaning is now done with old fashioned vinegar and baking soda (although I am using up the few products I have left).
Laundry was harder as I had to break myself of the dryer sheet habit because I seriously *heart* dryer sheets. Or did, anyway. Dryer sheets leave a residue on your clothes that can irritate a baby’s skin, not to mention they are something you throw away that can’t possibly break down well so I gave up the sheets and haven’t looked back and don’t really miss them. We switched to Dryer Balls, thinking that these were reusable and long lasting and reduced drying time and supposedly reduced static. I have since read that Dryer Balls are horrible, too – made from plastic and contain all sorts of chemicals and create all sorts of waste in the manufacturing process. It seems that we can’t win. The Smug Greenies (those whose carbon footprint is so small they live in an impractical bubble) make me mad though – I live in a strata run townhouse and I can’t exactly install a clothesline to dry my clothes and I simply don’t have the space for one of those folding racks. If someone could invent a clothes drying rack I could attach to the back of my bathroom door, I would totally buy it. Anyway, I digress.
I used to use Tide for Cold Water and I am still amazed at how strongly scented that stuff is when I pull out a towel or something from the back of the closet that hasn’t been used or washed since I switched, what, over a year ago? What I switched to is called Buffalo Recycled Laundry Soap, and it’s manufactured in BC by a Victoria company. They take all those half-used hotel hand soaps and grind them down and add stuff like borax and washing soda so its a laundry soap rather than detergent and is less harsh on your fabrics. Note: I’d link to their website but its been down for a while, annoyingly. It had all sorts of awesome data on it proving how useful their business is. It’s because it’s been down for a while that I have not yet done a review on this product, hoping that the website was just temporarily down. But its been months and its still not up.
Anyway, you can buy it at Save On Foods (and Price Smart) and Thrifty’s. There is a slight scent to the product – sort of like how soap lingers a bit on your hands but I am deliriously happy with how well it cleans and how little I actually need. I use 1/8 cup per load plus I throw in an equal amount of additional borax (I like how sparkly my whites come out with the extra borax), although it suggests more. I find my clothes feel soft without feeling oily and the 2kg package goes a long way, although I would be happier still if I could buy a larger package (I asked, they don’t make one).
I’m doing laundry every second day or so now that we are cloth diapering. Cloth diapers cost me about $5 more per month in my utilities bill, as opposed to upwards of an extra $35 a month in diapers so I still feel this is the eco choice for us. Ross and I re-wear most of our clothes a few times before it gets laundered – I go off the theory that if its not dirty, it doesn’t need to be washed every time its worn. It’s the same for Kale, although anyone with a baby will understand that this is less likely to happen, especially a drooly, angry, teething baby who is eating solids like sweet potatoes and avocado and other lovely staining food.
And yes, I am going to hell in a handbasket for taking pictures of my screeching baby rather than consoling him. Woe.
So I give this product a four out of five Jen’s because its an eco-friendly option, and its an option that I like having at the grocery store without having to compromise the cleaning power of commercial soaps. it doesn’t leave any itchy residue, and I like the smell. Now if I could just get a larger package, I’d be happier.
I was out with my mommy friend Shauna the other day (why I feel the need to tag her as a “mommy” friend is beyond me, she’s my friend that I happened to meet at prenatal class, sheesh) and we went for a walk to uptown New West where there is conveniently a Starbucks and a London Drugs in one place. So we both fulfilled our chai craving and then wandered in the baby aisle of London Drugs. I think I needed something so that’s why we stopped by. I like to browse.
We both ended up deciding to buy the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder (she got girlier colours, I chose the boyish colours). Shauna had read somewhere that it was a pretty good product, and we both thought it was worth a shot to try it out.
I tried it today and I’m pretty impressed. Kale figured it out pretty fast after I squashed it into his mouth the first time so he realized there was actually food in there.
I decided to try something new so here is a video review of the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder. Apologies to dial up folks. My thoughts are summarized, below, if you don’t want to watch this video. (Its about 5 minutes long.) Also, watch for the part at the end where Kale puts up his hand exactly when I say how many Jens I am rating this – totally weird.
Summary: He obviously enjoyed it. I could see us using this in the summer for some fresh food -sicles. I found it to be a bit messy and the snap lock was so tight that you have to use two hands to open it. I also think the mesh bit could get ruined easily when the razor sharp teeth come, but for now, I think it works well and Kale enjoyed it. He liked the self-serve aspect of it, I think, and the fact that it was like one ginormous mesh boobie that had banana in it. I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 Jens, only because it was a royal pain in the butt to wash.
A while back I did a product review on the diapers I bought from the fine ladies at Cloth Diapers Eh and I wanted to touch base and give you all an update because although they look really nice, its “how do they stand up under performance” that matters to most people.
Seriously, I love these diapers.
I had a small fear in the back of my mind that was worrying me that I was going to find them to be a chore and not worth the hassle. I am happy to report that these diapers are actually getting better with continued use because the fleece gets more and more absorbent with each wash. I use a laundry soap that is actually recycled hotel room soaps called Buffalo Recycled. I’d link to their website but its been down for a few months. Its made in Victoria and the hotel soaps are from Victoria hotels. Because its not a “detergent” per se, but rather, a soap, it seems to be working really well. I was worried about residue buildup on the diapers but it works great and more importantly, doesn’t bother Kale’s skin.
I bought the original 12 diapers, each one coming with a liner, and then I elected to buy an additional 6 liners to get a bit more wear out of the diapers since the outside part isn’t always soiled. I also bought two wet bags and a swim diaper which will get used when Ross and Kale start Waterbabies in a few short months.
Kale’s legs are also finally getting a bit chubbier. As you may recall, I bought the medium size and he wasn’t yet 15 pounds (he still isn’t) and so we had the occasional leak or poo-splosion but now that his legs are getting chubbier that happens less and less. In fact, its getting harder to do up the snaps on the smallest setting these days as his tummy gets bigger too.
So I just wanted to update you all – these diapers are still considered “awesome”.
I went to Bellingham with a friend last year. Our actual reason for going was to drop off a dog to its new home, but we decided to make it a bit of a shopping trip and also went for lunch. We went into Bellingham and had lunch at one of the best breakfast joints I have ever been to in my entire life called “The Little Cheerful” and decided to have a wander around the surrounding businesses. It was Deadsville, USA - I guess because only the locals shop there, and everyone else hits the outlet malls and Bellis Fair. We also went to a little gift/trinket/kitschy shop (I wish I could remember the name) where I bought a new dayplanner for the year ahead. It looks just like this one here, only it was for 2008 (duh).
It’s faux-leather, and well bound using a type of binding called “Smythe Sewn” , and had two ribbon markers and this really neat magnet closure. Its slim and fits nicely in my bag. Inside, the pages are a week at a time with a little space for notes and it also has a small address book (that you can remove) and a tiny pocket for things like dry cleaning claim tickets or receipts. (Note – you can also buy day planners with other interior formats – check out their website for examples of the formats they offer.) I find it incredibly useful and here it is the beginning of September and I am still using it. For me, that is a sign of true usefulness – I managed to like it for the whole year. Another sign is that I have bought three purses this year, and all three purses had to fit the planner in it in order to be acceptable. By fitting the purse to the planner, I know where my priorities lie.
Its Back To School time, so instantly I am thinking ahead to 2009 and thinking about Autumn and homemade Christmas gifts and crafts and rainy days, and I can’t think of all that without thinking of dayplanners. I am so enamoured with this Paperblanks dayplanner that I actually went on a hunt for a local retailer to buy the 2009 version of the exact same one.
My search turned up two things:
Chapters and Amazon are the only two local retailers and their websites don’t show the 2009 versions on sale yet, and besides I hate them. There is another small retailer but I called and they apparently don’t stock them anymore. I was surprised. Most of the retailers listed only stock their journals, not their dayplanners.
The wholesaler for Paperblanks is located in Ontario and the minimum wholesale order is a mere 10.
Three guesses what those two facts have added up to.
I’ll wait.
No really.
Well, I emailed the wholesaler and have asked for a catalog and I am going to be ordering a few planners to resell to friends and family. I mean, 10? I can easily find 9 others who want to buy them. So if these planners appeal to you, feel free to drop me a note. I think they will work out to about $20-$25 each for the slim version and slightly more for the larger sizes when you include tax and shipping.
In any event, I want to recommend the Paperblanks brand for other reasons. Paperblanks as a company also practises socially responsible business:
We take painstaking care of every detail of the process, the ones you see and the ones you cannot, including the book components, the social and environmental effects of producing journals and the well-being the of the craftspeople who put them together.
They are also commited to the environment by not only using paper from a sustainable source, and not only by supporting both Tree Canada and the David Suzuki Foundation (among others), but also by participating in a carbon offsetting program where they pay a voluntary “tax” to offset their carbon footprint. A company like that is a company I want to support and encourage people I know to purchase their products.
So all in all I have to give the Paperblanks Dayplanner a hearty “hells-yeah” and hey, drop me a note if you are interested in me adding you to the order I am going to place next week.
People Are Talkin’