Disclosure: The products covered in this post were all provided by their respective manufactures in exchange for review on my blog. All opinions are my own.
It is almost the end of January 2015 and I thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of the gear I’m using to help make my everyday life with a toddler better. These items are some of my favorite things since sliced bread. Seriously, each of these items make being a parent easier in their own way. Check out the six items below and let me know if you’ve tried any of them yourself.
The setup and takedown process on this play yard is, no pun intended, an absolute breeze. This playard is a breath of fresh air after many a frustrating night using other playards. The Breeze was a lifesaver for us when we visited family over the holidays and on our ten day trip to Houston last fall. It worked well for naps and as a travel bed.
You can read all about it and find out where to purchase on 4moms.com. The playard retails for $299.99.
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We’ve taken this stroller with us everywhere from Navy Pier in Chicago to a petting zoo in Wisconsin to a pumpkin patch in Indiana and more. Anywhere we go in the car this stroller goes with. The jogger is easy to fold and unfold making transportation and storage a cinch. One-second, one-hand fold. No kidding. The air-filled rubber tires, locking front-swivel wheel, premium suspension and a lightweight frame make for a smooth ride for baby and easy control for parents.
You can read all about it and find out where to purchase on GracoBaby.com. The stroller retails for $349.99.
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I was sent a Dropcam to review a while back and really love it overall. We use it as a baby monitor at night & nap times. We also use it as a dog monitor when we leave the house for a few hours. The new Dropcam Pro is now the standard product up for sale. It has some nice improvements over the Dropcam I’ve been using. Below you can see a time-lapse video taken with the Dropcam and exported as a clip via the Dropcam DVR service to get an idea of what a feed looks like with and without the lights on in the bedroom.
You can read more and purchase a Dropcam Pro at Dropcam.com. The camera retails for $199.
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Mr. Dude, my one year old, loves this thing. We most recently used it on our weekend trip to London. He was busy with it for hours. The books and games on it were a life saver for me as I traveled with him basically solo.
You can find out more about the Kindle and order one for yourself at Amazon.com. The tablet retails for $149.
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I love this bag. We’ve used it on trips to The Netherlands, England and Texas in just the last few months. It is comfortable to wear on the shoulder but also comes with some nifty stroller handle mounts. My favorite part of the bag is the changing pad. It detaches from the bag and can be a self contained diaper and wipe holder. I use it every time we are out. It is so much easier to carry around the little diaper changing pad with pocket then to lug the whole bag around at a restaurant, sporting event or someone’s home.
You can read more about the bag at JJColecollections.com. The bag retails for $69.95.
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Chicago weather in the winter can make for some dangerous driving conditions. This dashcam gives me the peace of mind I need that everything I (and others do) on the road is recorded in case I ever need it. The system is easy to use and records all my driving stats without any effort from me including: Full HD video front camera, HD video on the back camera, GPS location, speed, gear usage, signal usage, built-in audio recording, etc. The camera’s video can also be sped up in a third party app to make some nice looking time-lapse driving videos.
Read all about the Lukas Blackbox DashCam LK-9100 at LukasHD.com.
Here are a few 30-second example videos from my experience with it in the last month:
Daytime Driving:
Front view
Rear view
Daytime Driving in the Rain:
Front view
Rear view
Night Driving:
Front view
Rear view
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