Huge thanks to BOB for sending me a stroller to review.

My husband and I — well, mostly him — have been driving BOB jogging strollers for more than six years but this past month was our first time testing the BOB Revolution SE with the swivel wheel instead of just the straight wheel for running. And now I finally understand the difference.

The locked-in straight wheel allows you to run fast and far; you need to turn corners by lifting up the front; we have been huge fans of this for both real jogging and running errands outdoors. Alec used to run Holden to his nanny share throughout his very verbal toddler days.

The swivel wheel allows us to bring this comfy off-road powerhouse of a stroller to urban life and crowded places. It steers easily with one hand even around corners. The basket is a good size (though it gets blocked when baby reclines) and it looks comfy enough that I wish it came in my size. The BOB SE allows us to lock the swivel wheel in place when Alec or I are ready to run. Ok, I’m sorry, I am gushing.

At 8 months and change, Sawyer is barely old enough for a run so we haven’t tested that feature (ok the real excuse: we also have 2 other kids). We recently kept it in swivel mode and got all muddy on a family fun hike. I thought I picked an easy two-mile loop but it turns out that I’m not so good with trail maps. Whatever you do, do not tell Holden and Milo that we walked four and half miles through the heat and hills. I wasn’t totally sure that we’d all make it out in one piece, but Sawyer was loving it. And also sleeping for half the time despite the terrain.

Super chill on his family fun hike

Sound asleep on bumpy terrain

Last weekend, we braved the Maker Faire with the BOB. The stroller was a champ, nimble in tight places but perfect when we went off-road (in the grass) to dodge flaming dragons or noisy robots. I was surprised and impressed.

Note robots and crowds swarming

Protected and playing (should be sleeping)

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Disclosure: this amazing stroller review was sponsored by BOB who sent me one after I’d already purchased two on my own. Nice timing, BOB!

I was treated to a sneak preview of the new movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Plum Organics earlier this week. You know this was a big deal because they confiscated my cell phone on the way in.

I wasn’t sure if you’d care what I thought about the movie, but since Whitney wants to know… and this is how I communicate with Whitney, here goes:

I have occasionally wondered what it would be like to turn The Rookie Mom’s Handbook into a movie, and I found myself considering it again during Monday’s screening. Our book is a non-fiction list of challenges and tips for new moms to help them make the transition into motherhood more fun. Starring Tina Fey and Amy Pohler or — sorry, ladies my own age! — younger gals like Emma Stone and Kristen Stewart. The protagonists would be thrown together in Mom’s Group struggling to find their new normal via our activities and advice. Hilarity would ensue. Comedy for sure.

Apparently the publishers of the infamous What to Expect series thought the same thing because they follow a random mix of women on their journey to birth from flat-belly-dom. While the movie is cute and I laughed out loud a few times, it was trying way too hard to be all things to all people.

So, here’s what you should expect:

• Too many storylines. A forced attempt to demonstrate every woman’s journey, which would be impossible anyway.
• Too many cheesy attempts at connecting the characters in meaningless ways (like Love Actually or any of its holiday-themed derivatives featuring Edward James Olmos).
• Some funny bits. Some almost tears.

Most of my giggles were during the scenes with Chris Rock and his dads’ group cohort. LOL funny. Too bad, because I don’t think I could drag my husband to this chick flick (and he came to opening night of the Sex and the City movie!).

I left the theater wondering if anyone but a person with a new child would even be amused at this sort of humor. Check out this preview which has all the best parts and let me know what you think.

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Bottom line: Go with your mom’s group (Tuesday June 5 at noon) or take your baby during a matinee but not babysitter-worthy.

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So, do I need to give up on a Rookie Mom’s Handbook movie? Would you see it? What should it be like?

At seven months old, Sawyer is eating and drinking whatever he can get his mouth on. Still nursing but also bottle-feeding, spoon-feeding, and dabbling in finger food. And, as always, I have some very strong opinions! I have a whole new arsenal of baby feeding products in rotation so wanted to share a few of my favorites:

Milkmakers cookies. First of all, YUM! I was skeptical about these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that claim to boost milk production, but after trying five cookies, I give them two thumbs way up. These cookies are super tasty, almost like the ones I make at home. Since all baby mamas deserve a special treat, I think these would be a terrific gift. Since there are so many variables in play, I can’t say for sure if my production increased but I think it did a bit. If you want the stats, I can make a chart!

Rookiemoms readers, save $5 off any from milkmakers.com with code ROOKIEMOMS at checkout. Offer expires 4/30/12.

The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet includes a heap of recipes for purees. I’m always looking for new inspiration and this book is focused on nutritious, quick, tasty baby food organized by month. Score. I also dig the cover and green tips. As a third-time-around baby-food-maker, I haven’t found much in there that I don’t already know, but if you’re a rookie, it’s a very handy reference.

Potato ricer. My Mother in Law got this kitchen gadget for us last Christmas to make the perfect mashed potatoes. I busted it out for the first time to convert sweet potato into baby food mush. It works just like a play-doh fun factory extruder (or a huge garlic press). It strains out skin and stringy bits for babies. And when we’re done using it to splooge out baby food, I hear it makes perfect mashed potatoes.

OXO tot feeding spoons. The shape and the squish of these spoons makes it easier to feed a new-to-solids eater. Though Sawyer is still covered with food by the meal’s end, these are my new favorite utensils for scooping and scraping drippy purees. You can’t see very well from the picture, but they’re shaped like spades, soft spades.

Other than these four recent discoveries, I find myself using a few tried-and-true techniques for blending up baby food with my stick mixer and ice cube trays. I will have to share a few of my cheats with you another time.

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I was sent the cookbook and cookies for review consideration.

I had heard about the Dunstan Baby Language as “the woman who speaks baby talk on Oprah” several years ago. It sounded like a brilliant idea, but without my own crying baby, there wasn’t much opportunity — or drive — to test it.

I flirted with the idea of buying the DVDs a few times when I was pregnant with my third baby only to talk myself out of such a gimmicky purchase.

Then, during a particularly stressful 3am shrieking fit (his, not mine), I one-click ordered it. Yes, in the middle of the night. I was so desperate to understand what my five-week old crying baby was trying to tell me and how I could fix it that I would have speed-dialed Priscilla Dunstan herself and invited her over if I knew how. Such desperation also caused me to reread all the parenting books that I assumed I had graduated. I had freshly dogeared copies of all my old favorites in nearly every room of the house. Insanity, I tell you.

So, then what?

Within two days, a package of two DVDs arrived at my house. I was so relieved to see them. Priscilla Dunstan, the baby lady, advises you to watch the first DVD and practice before moving on to the second one. Luckily, each of the two lessons is less than 20 minutes because c’mon folks, I need answers NOW. I watched the first video lesson immediately and waited another day to watch the second.

Just like I already knew, she outlined five different baby “words” and their meaning. To make it easier to hear the words, several different babies made each of the sounds. I honed in on the key differences just like she suggested. She also offered helpful parenting tips to calm fussy babies for each of the different scenarios.

I summarized my new learnings for Alec and the big brothers too, both to further internalize the sounds and to get more allies in solving Sawyer’s issues.

Does it work? 

Yes and no. I recognized most of the sounds and was able to give more immediate relief to my baby. That part was excellent. Holden and Milo joined me in audio detective work while Sawyer screamed in the minivan during school pickup. We upped our empathy and really paid attention rather than just cranking the Death Cab for Cutie and loudly shushing as we had been doing.

But (and there’s always a but).

My baby made a few cries that sounded nothing at all like her language. And after about six or eight weeks, he stopped sounding like any of the DVD babies.

The bottom line.

Pick up a copy when you’re still pregnant. Study it with your partner and put a cheat-sheet of the baby cries up on your fridge. I think it’s a great tool to have from Day One so watch, listen, learn, and use it immediately because your baby will move beyond these sounds by about two months old.

I highly recommend for a mom’s group to buy and study together for an afternoon or to train your big kids about their new baby sibling.

But if you’re at the six week peak of fussiness, this will not solve your problem. Just tough it out.

Buy Dunstan Baby Language on amazon. Or borrow my copy. I’m not using it anymore!

This review of the Maclaren Twin Techno was written by one of my dearest friends, Ella. She also wrote apartment life with newborn twins.

As the mother of 7.5-month old twins, I learned more about double strollers than I ever would have imagined.  After my extensive research, we landed on two strollers.  We have been using one of these, the Maclaren Twin Techno, for about four months now, and it has been a lifesaver.  We love having it, for the following reasons:

• Small footprint. Whether open and in use, or folded, this is perhaps the most compact double stroller out there.  I can’t stress enough the importance of this feature, particularly as we are urban parents: not only does it easily get through small doorways and make tight turns, but it also fits easily in the trunk.
• Easy to fold. Whatever the stroller you are considering, it is critical to evaluate whether you can manage both the stroller and your children on your own.  Because the Maclaren is very easy to fold and fairly lightweight, I am able to maneuver trips with it easily – not a small feat, given I’m not the strongest, or the tallest mom out there.
• Comfortable for the babies. I like that this double stroller allows for each seat to be adjusted independently, so that each baby can recline at the most comfortable position; ditto for the canopies. Our babies know their stroller well and always seem comfortable when we set out for an adventure.  The straps and snaps ensure they are secure.
• Fantastic for indoor trips. If you are heading to the mall, or a doctor’s appointment, this is the stroller for you.  Not only does it pack up in the car easily, but its wheels and overall dimensions make for an easy time maneuvering stores and small offices.

So, why do we have a second stroller, you may ask?  There are a few downsides to having the Maclaren (or any umbrella stroller) as your sole means of transportation:

• Heavier and harder to maneuver than most all terrain strollers. Compared to our jogging stroller, this one is harder to push and harder to turn.  There are two handle bars rather than one, so both hands are needed to navigate.  This is noteworthy – as the mother of twins, it’s not as dramatic, given our babies are of similar size, but if using for two children of different ages, I would imagine there would be a need to push each side at varying levels of strength.
• Wheels are geared toward indoors. While we use this stroller outside for short walks, its wheels are really geared toward use indoors, as compared to an all-terrain stroller. This can result in a bumpy ride for the babies at times, and a harder time when encountering curbs or cracks in the sidewalk.  Because it is rather boxy, it also does not allow for great ease when walking outside.
• Few bells and whistles. In turn for being compact and easy to fold, this is a fairly bare-bones stroller. The canopies do not extend very far to shield from sun, the baskets underneath are not easy to access.  Most notably, the babies must be strapped in at all times, or they will slip out of the narrow seats.  I don’t believe this is an issue, as I’m happy to make the trade-off for the points above.  But if it is your only and primary stroller, this is something to consider.

Overall, we have been very happy with our Maclaren Twin Techno and, as urban parents, find it the perfect umbrella stroller to use in conjunction with our all terrain stroller.  For suburban parents or those who primarily drive, this could perhaps be sufficient on its own.  Its ease of use and small footprint are invaluable – if you’ve ever tried to navigate two children, you know exactly what I mean.

Thanks to Maclaren for providing the Twin Techno for testing and to Ella for sharing her experience!

Yes, you deserve a beautiful (dare I say “sexy”?) nursing bra that makes you remember you’re a curvy woman and not a cow. The thoughtful people at Cake Lingerie sent me the one below, called Licorice, and I love it.

The good: The bra is super pretty, comfortable, and it has a flexible wire that lifts things into place while maintaining optimum health.

The bad: No complaints but these bras (and matching undies) are a bit of a splurge. I think they make a great gift from the partner who still thinks you’re beautiful.

The ugly: Because I don’t look like this model, I’m not going to try it on for you (though they do have a terrific campaign in progress called Real Moms, Real Fit that shows all kinds of body shapes). If you want to see me in it, the best you can hope for is that I might flash you by mistake when feeding my little guy. Which is not altogether unlikely (Umm, sorry about that, Whitney and Wendy).

Bottom line: I recommend it highly for a special occasion or every-day treat. If you like, you can buy online (which is really really hard for bras because good fit is so important) or find a store near you.

Related:

• You’re good enough, you’re smart enough and you deserve a nice bra or two
• 5 Sexy nursing bras by the mominatrix

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Disclosure: Cake sent me sample products for editorial consideration.

When I first read about fitbit on coolmomtech, they called it the perfect combination of tech and fitness). I was intrigued and excited. I emailed the company that day and begged for a review device. Whitney and I share a love of counting steps (see this week’s rookie mom challenge!) and this cranked it up a notch in fun high-tech ways.

Whitney had a great time wearing it and playing with the data. Lucky girl! This is what she told me:

I’ve been wearing the fitbit on the waistband of my clothes on and off for a couple of months now. I think it’s the most accurate pedometer I’ve ever worn. It’s slim profile fits snugly, although I am careful when I use the restroom as I have been scarred by a previous Blackberry-in-the-toilet accident.

If I leave the mini-cradle attached to my desktop computer, then whenever I go into my home office, it syncs the data it collected from my day, just from being close to the cradle. This means that if I ever check my stats, they’re already updated.

Seeing my step count throughout the day definitely motivates me to walk more. I do silly things like take the first parking space I see, rather than trying to get closer, because I want the steps. It’s like a real life video game.

I’ve also worn it on the elliptical trainer, where I don’t think it could tell what the heck was going on, and in a bouncy house, which was also tough to track, it seems.

Sadly, I had some trouble attaching the fitbit to my waistband because of my expanding midsection (wear it high? low? on the bra?!). It also fell off several times including lodging itself under my car’s floormat for a few weeks before my husband (who can still bend fully at the waist) discovered it.

Despite having it just as long as my friend, I have not yet enjoyed the fun part of number crunching. But I’m back on the wagon wearing it wherever it will fit on my body, and can’t wait to try the data analysis!

Learn more about fitbit on their site.
Buy a fitbit on amazon for about $99 (free super saver shipping, anyone?).

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Disclosure: as I mentioned, I contacted the nice folks at fitbit and begged for a review sample. To avoid best friend bickering, they sent one to each of us.

If you ask Milo why he’s excited about a new baby coming to live with us, he will mention the word “minivan” within a few enthusiastic sentences. We told the boys we’d get a minivan to soften the blow of having another kid in the house. It worked like a charm.

Before we borrowed a deluxe, kitted-out Toyota Sienna (AKA Swagger Wagon) with video screens and a heap of fancy features, both boys were already enamored by the remote control doors. After riding in one for a week, they were sold.

Not my kid, but do you see how happy he is?

As I mentioned, the kids LOVED it. Within minutes of me picking them up at school for our week-long roadtrip down the California coast, they discovered the video screens, footrests, and controls for the dual sun-roofs.

On the road, I honestly don’t know how they found anything to complain about, but being trapped in the backseat with your brother for 9 hours in a row gets old even in the lap of luxury and your choice of movie.

Alec was the first to discover the smart cruise control features. The car slows down on its own if you get too close to the vehicle in front of you. Very cool. I relied on the parking assist features and gradually got more comfortable driving and stopping in town.

Proper name is Sienna XLE not swagger wagon

My sister-in-law loves hers. Truth be told, driving such a large vehicle feels a little bit like being pregnant: I’m constantly afraid I’ll misjudge my own girth and hurt somebody. For now, we are back in our small car in nervous anticipation of the day a minivan and a baby arrive to stay.

After a few seasons of rain boots that fell apart within two weeks (I am not exaggerating, this happened to two pairs!), I decided to splurge on high quality rain boots for my son, Holden.

These look very cool — black with spiders! — and they are warm and high-quality. In fact, they can handle temperatures down to thirty degrees below zero. Ummm, that’s where I went a little above and beyond. It doesn’t even snow where we live; it only rains. Cold weather here is about forty degrees. What the heck was I thinking? I dropped about $60 on these boots.

I sent him to school in these butt-kicking boots and his feet were super sweaty all day. Sorry kid. On the plus side, we’ll be all set when we go visit friends and family in the Real Winter. I can’t wait to drag these kids Out East for the holidays. Maybe we’ll finally make it to Tahoe for sledding. Gosh, do we have to go back to Copenhagen to make this investment worthwhile?

If you live where it’s actually cold, I highly recommend. They come in many cool patterns. Buy sweet Bogs spider boots on Amazon >>

For Milo, I couldn’t stomach another $60 on rain boots so I was very happy to find these Kamik rain boots for about $20. They look super hearty (not build an igloo hearty but splash through the puddles hearty like we need).

We plan to try to give them a little more personality with Sharpie drawings and maybe a paint-job. They come in navy blue and pink. Find these practical Kamik boots on Amazon >>

If you’re still wondering about those terrible fall-apart boots, I haven’t decided whether or not to tell you which brand. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Do you want to guess?

I just finished my four week experiment based the Stocked Kitchen cookbook and I rate it an enthusiastic one thumb up. I embraced the system fully in order to take advantage of the promise: maintain the master shopping list ingredients and be able to make any recipe in the book. I lived according to the guidelines in the book and had mixed results.

What I liked:

• I loved shopping once and being done for the week. No mid-week “honey, can you pick up X?” trips. No being caught off-guard by potlucks, dinner parties, or camping trips. Truly awesome.
• We discovered new go-to foods. This cookbook included mostly recipes we had never tried. I discovered that my son loves ham, and he likes ham and cheese tortilla roll-ups for breakfast and lunch!
• We found new options for potlucks and dinner parties. I loved the Greek Roll-Up (flank steak with spinach, bread crumbs, and feta) and ate all the leftovers during the course of one week. My foodie guests enjoyed the Empanadas too. The Asian Cole Slaw is sweet, delicious, and EASY for a potluck.
• The dessert section is versatile. From the basic stock, we made Lemon Bars (delicious but wrong texture because of user error), Chocolate Peppermint Bars, and Apple Pie Bites. There are many more we still want to make.
• Most meals had simple prep. If you’re home with a baby and can make use of the naptime windows for prep, you would be in great shape.

What I didn’t like:

• Most meals took too long to make. While the prep for most meals was very simple, once you factor in the cooking time, I struggled to get the dinner on the table in time. Once, I had to make an entirely separate meal after letting the boys extend their allotted TV-time and the food still wasn’t ready.
• What, no side dishes? The authors would be doing readers a HUGE favor by suggesting side dishes to accompany the main dishes. I found myself lacking a veggie more often than not because I was too focused on making the main.
• Over-reliance on canned goods. I am concerned about BPA exposure and the freshness of ingredients. Canned corn? No thanks.
• My family didn’t like enough of the food. Unfortunately, I have a refrigerator full of leftovers that my family doesn’t want to eat. If, based on the table of contents, you can tell you’ll like the dishes, the system is pure genius. If you live with a bunch of picky eaters or food snobs, it may backfire.

Bottom line:

The simplicity of the grocery list and the approach is phenomenal. I am happy to have this cookbook in my arsenal, but I’m not ready to fully embrace the Stocked Kitchen lifestyle because the specific dishes didn’t quite make the cut with my boys. If it were just me and Alec, we could go on eating chili mac for a while before we grew tired of it, but not our children. (I think we have the only two kids on the planet who won’t eat macaroni and cheese.)

P.S. Now that I’m done with the official part of the experiment, I’d still like to try a few more of the dishes: Ham Corn Chowder, Peanut Noodles, Bacon Wrapped Shrimp, and Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip.

Depending on your taste buds and your willingness to delegate meal planning, I strongly encourage you to give it a try, if only to be inspired by the systematic planning and management of your dinners.

My kitchen counter when I started the experiment

Related links:
Stocked Kitchen experiment, week one
Stocked Kitchen experiment, week two
Stocked Kitchen experiment, week 3.5
Stocked Kitchen book on Amazon
www.thestockedkitchen.com

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of the cookbook for my review. All groceries were purchased by me. The opinions expressed here are mine and I’m a meal-planning, chicken-raising food snob with two sons who don’t eat macaroni and cheese.

Another not-so-secret trick from Auntie Karen:
We already know about getting produce from a CSA (don’t we?). Did you know meat can be delivered, too? Say what? Yes, I just got these Italian bison sausages in the mail, and made them for Sunday breakfast.

Bison is very lean, but instead of adding more animal fat to the sausage meat, these have provolone cheese embedded throughout to make them juicy. They were pretty tasty… and best of all, they have no nitrates nor ingredients that sound like they’re from your high school chemistry textbook (so they’re pretty healthy for kids AND adults)!

Rookie Moms readers can 20% off all food items from High Plains Bison with this code: EATGOOD22. [Note that although you will add the code on the cart page, the discount does not show up until the billing page].

Disclosure: Karen received a sample of High Plains Bison sausages, hot dogs and steaks to taste test. She liked it. She also thought the ribeye was tasty (and lower in calories than beef but not quite as “special” as the sausages).

I downloaded the Hipstamatic iPhone app for $1.99 at the recommendation of my photo-snob friend, Jen. Loving it!

I call this one “Hipsta-Milo” and it was taken by Holden.

Photos are taken with various “photoshop effects” to simulate the results of the 1970′s era limited-edition camera, the Hipstamatic. You can select from film, flash, and lens to create different effects. Or just shake the iPhone to get a wildcard combination.

Additional goodies (more funky lenses, films, and flash effects) are available for more money, but I think you’d have to really know what you’re doing to bother with that. For $1.99 I totally love it!

Other things to know: All photos come out square. Because it’s like an old-school camera, you can’t review your image immediately and you can’t be too sure what’s included in the frame. I offer an example:

I centered in on these lovely cupcakes but the dirty dishes surprised me in the final photo. Because of the “film border” I can’t crop it out without losing the coolness.