Category — reviews

Wow, it’s been waaay too long since my last post;  As a stay-at-home dad, I am sure you can appreciate that time is really, really short!

Anyways, I wanted to share a product that has worked wonderfully with my son’s eczema on his face.  Basically, his skin is very dry so he would scratch and make his skin bleed.  Upon his pediatrician’s advice, we ended up buying a product called Eucerin which has worked wonderfully.

The reason why we chose this product is because unlike petroleum based products (Vaseline, etc.), it does not have a warning about accidental ingestion.  We had to apply it for few days to see the results but his skin is now very soft and no more bleeding, yay!

I stated in one of my earlier postings that Pampers diapers performed the best when compared to Huggies Snug & Dry and BJs Berkley & Jensen brands.

Well, I guess folks at BJ’s were reading my post? Due to high gas and food prices, we decided to try BJ’s Berkley & Jensen diapers again and we were pleasantly surprised. Rather than simply tell you “I like it”, I would like to take some time to go over my conclusion in detail.

Disposable diaper components

Believe it or not, there are numerous sites that contain almost-too-much-information on disposable diaper. If you are inclined to read, these are good sites to start with:

· http://disposablediaper.net/faq.asp?1

· http://www.babynaturale.com/whindidi.html

In order to make my case little bit easier, I’ve drawn a simple diaper diagram with various parts indicated:

Product Info (from the diaper carton)

BJ’s Berkley & Jensen baby diapers

• · Size 4 (22 to 37 lbs)
• · Hypoallergenic – perfume and dye-free to help protect and care for baby’s sensitive skin
• · Double Leg Gathers – designed to provide excellent day and night protection against leakage
• · Ultra Thin Absorbent Care – hourglass shaped and helps draw wetness away from baby’s skin
• · Stretchable – resealable grip tabs ad stretchable waistband help customize the fit to your baby for netter leakage protection
• · Moisture Guard Layer – pulls in wetness and keeps it away from baby’s delicate skin
• · 156 diapers
• · Three, 52ct packs
• · UPC 400000206820

Huggies – Snug and Dry baby diapers

• · Size 4 (22 to 37 lbs)
• · Contain mild cosmetic ingredients to help keep skin soft and healthy-looking (Petrolatum, Ozokerite)
• · Contain safe, absorbent particles that gel when wet. If you notice a small amount of gel-like material on your baby’s skin, it can be removed with a baby wipe or damp washcloth.
• · 176 diapers
• · Two, 88ct packs
• · UPC 036000524895

Pampers Cruisers baby diapers

• · Size 4 (22 to 37 lbs)
• · Go Baby Grips for Non-stop fit
• · 140 diapers
• · Two, 70ct packs
• · UPC 037000095156

Side-by-Side comparisons

A – Front elastic waist band

Winner: Berkley & Jensen

Comments: Surprisingly Pampers and Huggies did not have this feature. I would have imagined this was an important feature, especially for boys.

B – Enclosure (receiving tabs)

Winner: Berkley & Jensen

Comments: Berkley & Jensen diapers had the widest receiving tabs. It’s my opinion that these wide tabs gave me additional flexibility to secure diapers properly.

C – Elastic bands for legs

Winner: Tie between Berkley & Jensen and Pampers

Comments: All had dual elastic band layers. Berkley & Jensen and Pampers both had 5 elastic strands (total); Huggies had 4 strands (total).

D – Enclosure (Velcro tabs)

Winner: Berkley & Jensen

Comments: Again, Berkley & Jensen diapers had the widest Velcro tab, providing the most amount of (unofficial) gripping or holding power. Although Huggies Velcro tab had nearly identical surface area, it did not seem to have enough “receiving tab” surface area to maximize the holding power. Pampers used a different approach by using a different Velcro material as well as utilizing a narrow strip of adhesives. In my opinion, Pampers had the weakest holding power. In addition, 23 out of 140 diapers had defective Velcro tabs where the entire tab separated from diaper when force was exerted. Totally unacceptable in my opinion.

E – Rear elastic waist band

Winner: Huggies

Comments: Huggies had the widest, most flexible rear elastic band. Berkley & Jensen came very close at second. Pampers did not include any elastic bands for either the front or back sides.

F – Absorbent material

Winner: Tie between Berkley & Jensen and Pampers

Comments: Although Pampers’ material seemed superior due to thicker materials as well as it’s cool looking mesh layer, both Berkley & Jensen and Pampers performed similarly during my unscientific tests:

1.      I pouring 2 oz of water, using my son’s feeding bottles for exact measurement and noted the absorbency rate; and

2.      I tested water holding power by pressing down a piece of dry paper towel on top of the wet diapers.

From what I observed, the absorbency rate was pretty much the same.  However, when the paper towel test was conducted, Huggies “gave up” some water whereas Berkley & Jensen and Pampers diapers did not.

G  – Logos

Winner: Berkley & Jensen

Comments: Both Huggies and Pampers must pay licensing fees to use Disney and Sesame characters in their products, respectively.  Berkley & Jensen wisely chose NOT to take the same path, saving us money.  After all, diapers are hardly seen by anyone else and they go into trash fairly quickly so why throw money away on admittedly cute, but expensive cartoon pictures?

Pricing Comparisons

I purchased Berkley & Jensen, Huggies and Pampers diapers within a span of 1 month at the same BJ’s location in New Jersey.  Arguments can be made that there are manufacturer coupons available for Huggies and Pampers, making the final price cheaper than what is mentioned here. So, if you can find some available coupons, please adjust your final cost.

Conclusion

So what is the end result?  From my un-scientific tests and field experience, I whole heartedly recommend the Berkley & Jensen diapers over the other two brands for its superior performance and price.  Even after factoring in the BJ’s membership price ($45 per family per year) and some coupons for Huggies and/or Pampers, I think you can agree that Berkley & Jensen diapers will cost less at the end.  Don’t get suckered into slick advertising and pay for those cute Mickey Mouse and Elmo on a throw away product!  Save some money now!

Disclosure

As I stated repeatedly before, my testing methods and results are NOT SCIENTIFIC.  They are simply my PERSONAL opinion based on use.

I do not financially benefit from promoting a specific product mentioned in this article

If you have any money savings ideas you would like to share, please post!

Gregory’s ear infection has moved down to his nasal passage ways.  Lots of goopy, yucky stuff coming out when he sneezes.  Poor fella is having a miserable time, especially because he does not know how to blow his nose.  Which means….

The Blue Bulk (a.k.a. nasal aspirator) to the rescue!  This has to be one of the most effective torture device known to mankind.  Whenever he sees it, he starts to cringe and his eyes tear up instantly.

On the advice of some fellow Amazoners, I purchased Bebe Sounds Nasal Clear Aspirator ( here ) and all I can say is that this is a piece of crap.  The suction power is woefully inadequate and it makes a buzzing motor sound that would freak out even me if it were being stuck up my nose!  The only good part is that it has some decent music that you can play to entertain your baby while suctioning out stuff with a blue bulb.

Honestly, I think some of these “objective” reviewers are actually paid reviewers, earning commission (note: The Amazon link I provided you does NOT have an affiliate info).

Trust me from a person who has ACTUALLY used this product.  It DOES NOT work so don’t waste your time and money on it!

I’ve been trying various sippy cups without much success.  Many of them had small parts (choking hazard), parts that could not easily be cleaned (sanitary) and some just plain did not work as advertised.  One of the promising on had a straw extended inside the cup but the straw was too short so it was useless after drinking only half the liquid!

I think I finally found a good one though.  It’s Gerber Graduates Sip & Smile Spill Proof Cup.  Unlike others, there are only 3 parts: a lid that has handles and nipple combined together; flow limiter and cup.

The “hybrid” lid is handy because:

1. I don’t have 10 gazillion parts to wash
2. Nipple is permanently attached to the lid so I don’t have to worry about losing it
3.  The inside of a nipple is reachable via bottle brush meaning it can get cleaned relatively easily
4. The nipple is a soft rubber variety which Gregory seems to like
5. The handles attached to the lid is also very pliabl; and they are ribbed so it’s easy for the little ones to grab

The flow limiter is a simply one piece made of plastic and rubber gasket in the middle; although the manufacturer recommends using cotton-tips to clean it, I use a regular bottle brush figuring they need to be replaced every 3-4 weeks anyway.  As I said before, this part is also very easy to clean unlike some others.

Check out the product here and let me know if you have found others that work for you.

Well, little Gregory seemed to have finally out grown his infant carrier/stroller seat that doubled as a car seat. He is about 28.5″ tall and weighs little over 21 lbs so he is certainly within Graco infant stroller’s specification but whenever we strapped him in, we noticed that the belts were rather tight against his shoulders. So, we decided to bite the bullet and buy a convertible car seat (convertible means it can go from rear- to forward facing settings).

We did some research using ConsumerReports.org, Wall Street Journal and ToysRUs and decided on the Britax Boulevard car seat. Some of the key highlights were:

1. High build quality, made in USA
2. Deep side wings for additional protection against side impact
3. Rear-facing until 35 pounds*
4. Forward-facing until 65 pounds
5. A unique feature using Versa-teather which prevents the seat from rolling over

Of course, all these features cost money. This unit happens to be the most expensive at $300. However, due to it’s build quality, high ratings and safety features, we decided to buy one (and go on a cheese-and-mac diet for few weeks!).

We haven’t had a chance to put it in the car, but I would recommend that you first review the britax boulevard manual and decide.

With constant diaper changes, feedings, playing in the pen, and putting him down for naps, I am never in one place for long period time. And because I also need to attend to many business activities, my laptop has to stay with me pretty much all day. That means my current laptop’s (HP nc8430) battery time of 2.5 hours isn’t nearly enough and carrying the external power supply brick is not a workable solution for me.

My solution? Buy a secondary battery which will allow me to remain “tether-free” for a long period of time. After much researching, I chose HP Ultra-Capacity battery (Model EJ092AA) and I am very happy with it. Although the specification said it will last up to 10 hours, the key operative word is “up to”. After going through several battery conditioning cycles, I can last approximately 8.5 hours with my primary + secondary batteries. So here are my quick Pros and Cons:

Front View

Side View

Bottom View

Pros

• Battery came with its own power supply so it can be recharged on its own
• Quick recharge time (90 minutes to recharge 90% capacity)
• Sloped shape – will tilt your laptop about 5 degrees which makes typing much easier
• ~8.5 hours of continuous battery power

Cons

• It adds almost 3 pounds to the laptop’s weight

Overall, I feel that I am more productive then before with HP’s ultra-capacity battery. No more fumbling around for a power supply and have electrical cords dangling everywhere!

Ever thought about talking with your baby to know exactly what s/he wants? Like most parents, I certainly have! It would be really cool and a big time saver if I can somehow communicate with little Greg so I want to give this sign language thing a try. Up until now, I’ve read some books on this topic but didn’t feel that “connection”. Allow me to briefly talk about a book called The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Baby Sign Language. Unlike other books, the author Diane Ryan doesn’t try to cram information down your throat. She briefly talks about what it is and what isn’t and goes right into the meat of describing how parents communicate with their babies with simply hand gestures. I also like the fact that all signs are part of the ASL or American Sign Language which is the official language of the deaf people in the US.

I will post some highlights of the book as well as a progress report to give you a first-hand look in the near future.

I wanted a quick and easy way to announce the birth of our son Gregory, so I reviewed whole bunch of online photo storage/print sites:

1. SnapFish
2. Kodak Gallery
3. ShutterFly
4. Flickr

I ended up choosing Snapfish because I felt that their user interface was simple but effective and I have become a loyal fan of HP who owns Snapfish. Plus, SnapFish offered 20 free prints as well as offer a bevy of services like personalized gifts, cards, etc. so it would be really convenient not only to store and share photos, but to order products to send out in a single place.