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The no cost, use things around the house, approach to teaching and playing with your 7 month old has been touched on by the University of Minnesota Extension department.    They discuss the importance of blowing air and using the tongue in order to develop the basics for speach.  Naming body parts to help them identify easier in the future.  Spacial awareness using measuring cups so that the infant can learn to fit things together.  Read the full article.

The other approach is touched on by the big toy companies by mass producing toys that help infants learn the aforementioned skills.  The marketers and R&D at Fisher-Price have come up with an array of developmental toys to aid your child in learning.  So if you want more oversized plastic toys around the house then check out the link above to visit the fisher-price site.  There are plenty of other toy companies, fisher-price is just an example.

Shop by brand at the Canadian ToysRus site for your favorite toys.

As you probably noticed I prefer the ‘use things around the house’ method of teaching.  There are some purchased toys that are great for learning but there comes a point where your home becomes over-run with all this oversized plastic.  Some of the toys that are a hit around our home at the moment are:

• The Lamaze Mortimer The Moose
• The Tiny Love Gymini play pad
• The BabyEinstein DVD collection

With christmas just around the corner parents and grandparents are deciding on what gifts to buy.  If you need help deciding then try your luck at the following links:

• Top toys for 2008 as per CTV
• Canadian Toy Testing Council

If you have any toys that have been a hit with your kids or if you have any suggestions of ’around the house items’ that make great learning tools-share a comment on this post.

I’ve been told these are some of the best months in the way of new developments and interactions with your baby.  They start to scrunch their nose when they giggle and interact more physically with their parents.  It’s fun when they can reach for something with a purpose.  Rolling over is a new milestone around this age and some infants may even be crawling by this point.  I think our peanut will be walking before she crawls due to her disinterest of being on her tummy.  Some of the milestones at this time:

• Sitting without support
• showing signs of crawling
• Imitating parents
• scooting around on their bums
• introducing finger foods

We have been told that when it comes to giving solid foods it’s ok to mix and mingle just about anything with the exception of the high allergy potential foods like peanuts.  If there happens to be an allergy to something then at that point go back and eliminate foods to find out which food is the culprit.  I like this method better than feeding them one food and only one food for 3 days before moving on to the next.  Tofu has been a big hit with our little one which is rich in protein so we are hoping she beefs up a little more with that.  When it comes to meal times we make sure there is a balanced diet over the day and formula is still a staple. 

TIP: Relax a little and feed your baby plenty of different things.  They will let you know what they like and dis-like but remember to try dis-liked foods several times as they may enjoy it the second time around.

TIP: Blend foods and freeze them in ice cube trays for later use.  Foods like sweet potato, peas, pears, apples and carrots have been a big hit around our home. 

Is it really worth it’s price tag?

There are several sites out there that have commented on the Bugaboo strollers and several with user comments/ratings.  As with anything you get a full range of opinions and you have to decide for yourself if the pros outweigh the cons.  This is my opinion on the Cameleon stroller.

First off what are you willing to spend?  The Bugaboo Cameleon (BC) is going to be about 3 times the cost of the average stroller on the market.  Depending where you shop it will be anywhere from $1000-1200 and that’s without their overpriced accessories.  There are many decent strollers out there for under $400CDN.  What makes it worth so much more than the typical ride?

1. Style- Pros-Bugaboo has developed a stroller that appeals to many individuals including the growing number of male SAHD’s (stay at home dads).  In my opinion this stroller looks more stylish than many other plastic framed competitors and a little less generic.  So if you want different then you may like this unit.
2. Size- Pros-With it’s minimal looking frame the size of the BC is more manageable for manouvering in tight spaces and over different terrains.
3. Ease of use- Pros-The BC is extremely easy to push around and steer.  It has four wheels, two of which swivel and have mini shock absorbers.  Two are big and two are small giving you option as to which ones are in front.  Big ones in front over rough terrain and small ones in front for smooth terrain.  The two smaller wheels also come off turning the stroller into a pull cart that would be great through snow and sand.  No other stroller that I know of does this.  Most can’t make it through an inch of dirt (i’m comparing to push strollers and not jogging strollers).  You can also take the big wheels off to pack it up for travels.  The handle can be extended for someone with more height.  The adapter system to attach the seat/basinet is extremely convenient to use.  The optional car seat adapter is also easy to use but while vary depending on the brand of car seat you purchase.  We bought the Peg Perego SIP and it uses the similar (purchased seperately for about $70CDN) easy to use adapters.  Cons- Small carry pouch on the bottom and is hard to access when you have the bassinette on the stroller (easy with the seat on).  The way to collapse the unit is awkward at first but easy when you get the hang of it.  My biggest concern is the foam they use around the handle as grip and also around the frame of the seat/basinette.  At first it seems durable and is actually very comfortable to handle but it easily tears.  If anything rubs on it, sharp or blunt edge, it will likely tear.  A more durable soft rubber would be better suited here.  Another con is that you have to buy the cupholder seperately for the offensive price of $30-35CDN. 
4. Quality of Materials- With the exception of the foam mentioned above the materials used are top of the line.  Durable, soft, washable, rubber tires (the big ones), the smaller front tires are a lesser quality rubber compound that is wearing quickly.  The frame is lightweight and extremely strong.  This winter will test the rain cover in cooler temperatures.  Good mattress pad in bassinette and great fleece cover. 
5. Accessories- Pros-There are plenty of extras.  Comes with pump for the tires, wind/rain cover, mosquito net, bassinette and seat included.  Cons-  At an extra cost you can get a sunshade (which would be extremely useful).  This should come with the BC!  We don’t have this sunshade and at times we found it difficult to keep the sun out of babies eyes.  Cup holder, travel bag, diaper bag, footmuff, parasol, breezy sun canopy, wheeled board and car seat adapters are also at an extra cost.  And none of them are cheap!
6. Miscellaneous-Car seat adapters for Peg Perego seat are small and easy to use.  The other option is a Graco car seat but the adapter is one large unit.  There are many color options for the fabric and you can mix and match.  We have the sand color top and bottom which is a little boring but very practical.  The seat can be adjusted to 3 different angles from flat to upright.  All the adapters are ‘click’ in and very easy to use while also making it safe.  The brake is also easy to use and will not fail, there are two settings for this.   

Overall this stroller is a 4 out of 5 and really only loses points for the high price tag.  On the flip side of things not as many will be rolling around out there. 

We purchased our BC online at BabyGuru.ca, the service was great and the shipping was quick. 

This will be our first winter with Peanut around so we’ll have to winterize her asap.  Snow fell here in Edmonton on Saturday night which will prompt a shopping spree for things like gloves, warmer shirts, warm boots, toques and GroBags.  The grobag we ordered from E-children in Edmonton (also in calgary) but the really cool ones are on the UK site and are not available in Canada as of yet.  I think the one we ordered is stripped orange/red.  Off to the WEM we go for the rest of the things we need!

Our home is a bit of a hazard when it comes to little ones crawling about the place so we have started to ‘baby proof’ each room.  We have started with covering the outlets and securing drawers and soon we will be making sure that larger items can’t be pulled over by screwing them to the wall.  Here is an article on Buying Safety Equipment to help you identify issues and potential problems. 

My next post will be a review of the Bugaboo Chameleon.