As the baby gear market fills up with fun new brand names, a new dilemma has emerged: how do you pronounce them?* Gear brands are large enough to be well-known in the mommyverse, but not quite large enough to filter into the larger zeitgeist, which means that you probably won’t hear of Stokke (STOH-kuh), Ergobaby (URgo-baby), UPPAbaby (UP-uh-baby), or Chicco ... Read More »
European companies typically launch into the American baby gear market with one signature product that’s visually striking and functionally unique. The most obvious example is the Bugaboo Frog, which brought on the era of the luxury stroller, but we could also point to the Beaba Babycook, or the striking Babyhome Emotion Stroller, or the signature high chairs from Stokke and ... Read More »
Every car seat you can purchase here at Magic Beans does essentially the same job: a plastic shell and layers of foam and padding position your child comfortably, cushion him from the bumps in the road, and protect his body from crash forces in the event of an accident. Infant car seats are optimized for the smallest babies, and are ... Read More »
UPPAbaby knows how to make a splash. For a couple of months, buzz has been building around a new product launch planned for the ABC Kids Expo. But instead of just debuting the product at the show itself, UPPAbaby instead planned a party for the first night of the show. Tonight, in front of a packed crowd, they unveiled their ... Read More »
The story of how I became a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) starts long before I owned a baby store. I was a new mother and I was trying really hard to chill out. Babies are so small, so fragile. It’s easy to let fear drive you to irrational behavior, especially during the early months. I didn’t want to be ... Read More »
Behind closed doors, Clek was offering retailers and media at the ABC Show a sneak peek of their upcoming convertible car seat, the Foonf. In short, this seat is amazing. It is a game changer. It is also going to be expensive (starting at $450). But the technology that’s inside the Foonf well justifies the cost. I wasn’t allowed to ... Read More »
The first time I met the Orbit Baby team, they had a real vision. They imagined a modular travel system that would encompass every stage of mobility, from infant car seat to stroller to convertible car seat to double stroller to booster seat. It’s taken them some time, but with their new product releases this year, Orbit Baby will finally ... Read More »
…And not on a vacation. It’s being deported. Earlier this week, Regal Lager informed us that they will no longer be distributing Cybex car seats in the United States. This came as quite a shock, since the new Cybex Aton car seat was one of the most exciting new product releases of 2011. When I first wrote about the debut ... Read More »
Car seats are among the most complicated pieces of gear most parents will encounter – probably more complicated than you think, so be prepared! Here’s a list of 10 mistakes a lot of parents make. If anything sounds familiar to you, don’t feel bad: I’ve been guilty of at least 7/10 of the things on this list over the years. ... Read More »
Making the transition from an infant seat to a convertible car seat can be tough for parents who’ve grown very attached to the portability of a bucket-style infant seat. But when a baby starts to get close to the height or weight limit of his infant seat, there’s no two ways about it – it’s time to make the switch. ... Read More »