Review: Pampers Stages

cruisers.jpg swipers.jpg

A few weeks ago the good folks at Pampers asked me if I would be willing to review their Stages line, and I was oh-so-happy to do so, since they sent me diapers and wipes to try! I was already a fan of Pampers Swaddlers, for baby’s first stage. They were my absolute favorite when both of my babies were little. But Emily will be doing her own review of those when her new baby (of undetermined sex) is born. So, let me move on to the pack of Pampers Cruisers and accompanying Swipers wipes I tried out on Sophie’s little buns! Cruisers and Swipers are designed for bigger, more active babies whose dirty diapers and diaper changes may be a little more, um, complicated because of both their new mobility and all the new table food they are eating. So, my Sophie was the perfect product-tester. She is always on the go, is very wiggly on the changing table, and her poops are definitely more grown-up these days. Yikes! I had tried Cruisers before and liked them, and now I like them even more! They are so great for a baby who is going places. The sides and leg cuffs are super-stretchy and move with Sophie. She never has any trouble with the Cruisers chafing her or getting “out of position”. They really do the job in their primary role of poop-and-pee absorption too! They are my favorite diapers to put on Sophie at night, because recently she has been soaking herself at night several times a week, and the Cruisers keep her drier overnight than any other diaper I have tried. Also, let me say that Cruisers are very sturdy. Never have I had any of the tabs rip off of these in my hand. This is a big pet peeve of mine. No matter how hard I tug, those tabs stay on! Yay!

I had never tried or heard of the Swipers wipes before, so I was very curious about them. I am a little bit picky about wipes, and I was really pleased with the Swipers. They have a nice texture that is soft so it’s comfy for the baby but it also grips a bit to help get those dirty baby buns really clean. Their thickness is just right, and so is the moisture level. One things I hate is a wipe that’s too dry, but I also hate a wipe that is dripping wet! The Swipers came in a lovely pop-up tub and the first wipe had the same wetness as the wipe at the bottom of the tub. I hate it when you get to the bottom of the tub and your hand takes a bath in wipe-juice. Nothing of that sort occurred with the Swipers. They were really consistent through and through. Another thing I liked about them was their scent. They are “lightly scented” and they smell very pleasant. I hate it when wipes are STRONGLY scented and then that scent mixed with poo is worse than the actual poo itself!

So, anyways, I have a lot of pet peeves about diapers & wipes, and I am happy to say Pampers Cruisers & Swipers were just right for my tastes and my baby’s needs! I was so impressed with this Stage, I already purchased some of the next Pampers Stage – the Easy-Ups diapers – since they are on sale this week at CVS (buy $20 worth of Procter & Gamble products, get 5 ECBs back) and I had a COUPON! I also had a coupon for a free Pampers Stages Kan-doo product with the purchase of the Easy-Ups so I got some of the Kan-doo flushable wipes as well, which Joshua can use for his big boy potty action.

You can learn more about Pampers Stages at Pampers.com. Go getcha some this week at CVS! Thanks to the Pampers peeps for letting me give their diapers and wipes a whirl!

Post to Twitter

Backwards WFMW: How can I salvage my infant car seat?

Today is not really BACKWARDS WFMW, but we’re posting it as that today anyways, because I need some advice!

So here’s the deal… we loaned our infant car seat to some friends, and upon its return, they told us they had been storing it in close proximity to moth balls.

Now I don’t know exactly what dangers moth balls pose to infants, but I do want to make sure I give this car seat a thorough scrubbing before putting our 2-day-old kiddo into it.

My question is two-fold… or actually three-fold.

a) What’s the best way for me to clean it?
b) Should I buy a new cover for it? (And if so, where can I find one that doesn’t cost as much as the bleeping carseat?)
3) Is it worth saving/cleaning or should I just get a new one?

I am VERY perplexed by this situation and I welcome any and all suggestions and comments. Thanks so much!

For WFMW tips from those who don’t need as much help as I do, visit Rocks in My Dryer!

Post to Twitter

Can someone please tell me how pregnant I am?

Ok I know this pregnancy stuff, well, doesn’t follow the regular laws of mathematics… whoever invented it must have been a man trying to trick the rest of womankind into believing that it only lasts nine months. But why do I get a deer-in-my-headlights (haha, that one was for you, Aunt Diane) look whenever someone asks me how far along I am??

And it’s NOT just that sometimes I can’t remember how many weeks (although I will admit that I have to check WebMD every once in a while to verify)… it’s that I’m past the point of the weekly count making any sense to anyone, and people want their answer in the largest common denominator, months.

I am currently 28 weeks pregnant. Let me break out the calculator here… 28 divided by 4 is 7. So I’m 7 months pregnant, right?

BUT, 9-7=2… which would indicate that I only have 2 months left to go. Unfortunately, this is not the case! Two months from now is March 21, which is still a solid three weeks before my due date!!

So let’s work backwards. If pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, I am still looking at another 12 weeks of gestating. Twelve weeks equals 3 months, right? So am I only 6 months? That would be SO DEPRESSING. And I can’t be six months, because I’m 28 weeks!!

So what do you think? Am I six months pregnant? Seven months? Because I have NO IDEA.

P.S. If anyone comments with an answer that’s not at least six months, I cannot be held liable for my actions!

Post to Twitter