Product Review - FitBit

Fits in a tiny portion of the palm of my hand!

The Husband was using a pedometer as part of a global challenge to increase the activity level of the employees at work. Throughout our discussions about it, we decided it would be a good thing to continue with after the challenge was over, and I wanted in on it too. Enter... his and hers versions of the FitBit. The FitBit is so small, it barely takes up all of the room up front in the middle of my bra. Yes, that's where I wear it. If you're the braless sort you could always use your belt, but I like the Mae West feeling I get when I check my cleavage for my daily progress.

But the teeny size of it is only one of the many attributes I love about this thing. Within days I knew it was a relationship I wanted to continue (kind of like the one with The Husband) so I signed up for the Premium service almost right away. The detailed analysis lets me see how my calories are spread throughout the day and by nutrient. Feeling puffy? That's because you ate over 3,000 mg of sodium yesterday, silly!

If you're not into excessive tracking (and why wouldn't you be? Numbers are nifty!) you can just use the regular service to learn that yes, you do move less than you should. And that's OK, because once you've got a benchmark, you can work on gradually moving a little more every day. Since I started using it, I've started challenging myself to do things like use the stairs to and from the subway for an additional 10 flights of stairs a day. If I'm a little low on my step count, I go for a walk after dinner. If it's really high, I have a small glass of wine.

I love my FitBit and recommend it to anyone fighting the good fight against the sedentary lifestyle.

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

Favors and Flavors: Breastfeeding resources and supplies

“How can something that’s supposed to come naturally be so hard?”

Countless new mothers have asked themselves that question. When I think back to the early days of motherhood, I remember frustration the most. Well, that and sleep deprivation. I delivered via c-section, something known to hinder the production of breastmilk in the early days. I knew breastmilk was the best food for my baby, but my body didn’t get the memo.

I was tempted to pack it in a bunch of times, but something inside me told me I had to keep going. A combination of Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle and A LOT of time with the baby and the breast pump finally did the trick. I went on to have a two-year breastfeeding relationship with my daughter and I don’t regret a single second I spent making it work.

There are a lot of places you can order herbs from online, but I haven’t seen selection like the one available at Favors and Flavors anywhere. Products to increase milk supply, new mom essentials and supportive articles for new parents – it’s all there!

If you’re a new mom in need of breastfeeding resources NOW, check out Favors and Flavors for the help you need at home, without leaving your home.

Disclosure: This content is sponsored by Favors and Flavors. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Incentria pays you to pass the time online

There's roughly a zillion "get-paid-to" sites out there and from what I can tell so far, Incentria is no different. A couple of users have posted testimonials You're never going to be able to quit your day job while earning a penny at a time, even if it is only for 10 seconds of "work."

A word of warning: The ads available for view in the paid to click area have set off my virus protection warning twice. I didn't catch which ad(s) were the culprit, and at the risk of a lengthy restoration process I think I'll avoid trying to duplicate the error.

Having said that, there's banner ads available that I'm testing to see if they have any low-effort, highly lucrative results. I'm running one until the end of May to see if there is any reward. If I do suddenly become a rich beyond my wildest dreams with my Incentria efforts, I'll be sure to fill you in on the details.


Disclosure: This post is not sponsored by Incentria. However, as a member of the program I do earn a small commission if you register using the links provided.

Hotel Review: Hampton Inn, Niagara Falls

Two bedroom family suite. Image from HERE

We were repeat visitors to The Hampton Inn by Hilton at the Falls for Easter weekend. Traveling with children presents unique challenges. When a very little person is tagging along, you've usually got an early bedtime on your hands. A traditional hotel room dictates a vewy, vewy quiet evening for Mom and Dad. For a  reasonable rate, the Hampton offers a two bedroom family suite. I don't know if it's true of all of these rooms, but for both of our stays the room has also had a balcony in an indoor atrium. This allowed us to put our daughter to bed and still have some time together.

The Hampton is located behind the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark Resort. They offer packages for waterpark passes and discounted dining at the resort restaurants. A hearty breakfast is included in the room rate, complete with eggs, omelets and sausage patties. The most pleasant surprise was the fresh fruit station. Fresh fruit? From a free breakfast buffet? It's true! There is otherwise no restaurant in the hotel, but the dining and attractions of Clifton Hill are just a few minutes walk away. Oh, and so are the Falls. It's just up the street from the Rainbow Bridge crossing to Niagara Falls, NY.

The staff is helpful and friendly, even when the request is kind of odd ball ("Where can we find a night light?") and little touches like chocolate Easter eggs for the kids at check in are greatly appreciated. As is the free coffee and tea available when you need a morning pick-me-up. Or an afternoon one. Because though my sleeping quarters were very comfortable, when your child decides 5:30 is the best time to start the day, multiple cups of coffee are the only way to survive. There is also a pool, hot tub and sauna in the indoor atrium. It's a bit noisy sitting on the balcony while the pool is in use, but the 10:00 pool closing time is strictly enforced.

The only thing that made me nervous about the room itself was the TVs on the dressers. For child safety, and since they're flat screens anyway, I'd feel more comfortable if they were wall mounted. Overall, the hotel is reasonably priced, clean, in a great location with free parking, near all the popular, family-friendly attractions of Niagara Falls. I know I'll be staying at The Hampton Inn by Hilton at the Falls for years to come, and highly recommend it to anyone visiting Niagara Falls.


This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

App of the Week: Flashlight

The first time I saw the Flashlight App I thought it was goofy, but I downloaded it anyway. Because the AppSmitten Newsletter told me it was cool, and I listen to AppSmitten. The "How-To" is pretty self-explanatory. What's not evident on first download is how often you'll use it. Like when you drop your keys in the theatre (at the movie that you learned about on Flixster - see, it call comes together!) or you get halfway up the stairs and your loving spouse turns off the light. It's a simple but effective way to shed a little light on things. Ha! Me so punny.

From the App Store description:

Flashlight uses the LED light on iPhone 4 and fills your screen with bright white light to illuminate your world when you find yourself in a dark spot or concert.

Features:
- Use LED light on iPhone 4, including as a strobe light
- Full white screen
- Open to the effect of your choice
- Custom color (defaults to Bondi Blue)
- Slide/flick up and down to dim the screen
- Slide with two fingers to change the speed of effects
- Customize every screen and colors

How do I find out about the latest and greatest in cool apps? OK, this one isn't necessarily "cool," but it sure is handy... Anyway, it's the appSmitten newsletter, a free service that picks the world's finest apps and  delivers them right to my inbox. Pick the device, pick the categories you want to hear about and poof! There they are. Want a summary of your very own? Sign up for the appSmitten newsletter today!

Disclosure: This review is not sponsored by Flashlight. However, I am an AppSmitten affiliate. If you sign up for the newsletter using the link provided, I earn a small commission.

Review: Longo's Chicken Pad Thai Meal Kit

I avoid boxed dinners because the sodium levels are nearly always too high to mesh well with The Husband's high blood pressure. I enjoy cooking from scratch and my family eats well as a result. Having said that, I don't think convenience foods in moderation will pave the path to hell, it's just a matter of finding ones that taste good. I'm a fan of Pad Thai and I was ordering from Grocery Gateway, which is supplied by Longo's, so I thought I'd give their Chicken Pad Thai Meal Kit a shot. 

I will say the ingredients looked fantastic. The vegetables looked crisp and fresh and it was really a appetizing presentation out of the box. It was dead simple to prepare, as a meal kit should be. I know generally North Americans eat more meat products than we should, but it really did seem a little light on the chicken. There were four tenders in a meal kit meant to feed two adults. I think if I were to buy one again, I'd toss in a few frozen shrimp to bulk things up a little.

The most important question is, obviously, how did it taste? It was... OK. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as my favourite Thai restaurant or anything, but I found the seasonings pretty bland, and while the appearance and the freshness of the veggies was a nice surprise, I would have loved to see more of them. At $9.99 for the kit, with 610 mg of sodium per serving and flavour that was just... OK, I don't think I'll be picking this one up again.

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

App of the Week: Cook's Illustrated - The Best of Everything

Since I post weeknight recipes and meal plans every week on Life with a Parasite - The Facebook Page, you might guess I'm a big fan of all things food. That guess would be correct! When my AppSmitten newsletter arrived this week with the subject line "The best of everything food related" I could barely contain my excitement. Especially when I saw the Cook's Illustrated app.

If you're not a PBS geek, you might not know the wonder of America's Test Kitchen, and that's too bad for you because it's pure foodie gold. They test recipes, gadgets and kitchen wares to share the best and the best value with viewers. The app puts that body of knowledge into your phone! From the website:

• 50 of our all-time best recipes, covering appetizers and main courses to side dishes, breakfasts, and desserts
• Browse recipes by cuisine or category
• Recipe overview videos for every recipe
• Dozens of taste test reviews for supermarket ingredients
• Shopping list feature expandable to accommodate additional items
• Start and manage multiple kitchen timers
• Organize recipes and ingredient reviews in your “Favorites”
• Share free recipes and ingredient reviews via email or Facebook

AND! If you already subscribe to CooksIllustrated.com (and of course I do!), you get enhanced access:

• Members can log in to access all members-only recipes and ingredient reviews
• Favorites content automatically synched up with members' Favorites content organized online

So far my favourite feature is the ability to add items directly from the ingredient list to the shopping list. *Love* I can't wait to get to know this app better. I think we're going to be the very best of friends.

Disclosure: This review is not sponsored by Cook's Illustrated. However, I am an AppSmitten affiliate. If you sign up for the newsletter (and you should, because you learn about awesome apps) using the links provided, I earn a small commission.

App of the Week: Flixster for iPhone

I don't get out to the movies as often as I used to. Oh, who am I kidding, I don't get out much at all anymore. Now that it involves childcare and transportation, I'm more discerning than ever. Life is too short for bad movies. I'm going to the movies with a friend tonight, so the first place I checked when deciding what to see was Flixster, a FREE app I recently downloaded.

Flixster on iPhone (from their website):

• Watch high quality trailers and video clips for almost any movie
• See the top box office, hot upcoming movies, and new DVD releases
• Get info on any movie in theater or on DVD
• Get local showtimes and buy tickets from theaters that sell tickets online
• Read critic reviews from RottenTomatoes and user reviews from Flixster.com
• Connect with Facebook to save your ratings and share them with your friends
• View and manage your Netflix queue
• Rent or buy movies on iTunes

I was pleasantly surprised to see my Canadian location was recognized! Do you know how often I sign up for something like this and find out it only recognizes U.S. locations? *sigh* I try not to feel like a leper. Anyway, I'll be going to see The Decendents tonight (Mmmmmmmm, Clooney!), and it's because Flixster let me know it is still playing at a theater near you. No, wait. It's playing at a theater near me. 

How do I find out about the latest and greatest new apps? The appSmitten newsletter, a free service that scours the corners of the earth for what's new, hot and cool in the world of apps and then delivers them right to my inbox. Pick the device, pick the categories you want to hear about and poof! There they are.

Want a summary of your very own? Sign up for the appSmitten newsletter today!

Disclosure: This review is not sponsored by Flixster. However, I am an AppSmitten affiliate. If you sign up for the newsletter using the link provided, I earn a small commission.

Review - Norwegian Star, Western Caribbean

The Husband and I set sail aboard the Norwegian Star from Tampa with our not-quite three year old on February 12, 2012 for a seven day cruise going to Roatan Bay, Honduras; Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico. I read a lot of reviews online before booking and some were less than charitable, but I tend to take these things with a grain of salt. Here are my impressions of the ship, the service and the ports of call.

Embarkation & Accommodations

Anchors Away Party

We used the online advance check in before we left home and it was pretty smooth getting on board. Until they're ready to start boarding there's a holding area at the terminal and the number system they use is pretty efficient. The staterooms weren't ready when we first got aboard but they had a full lunch buffet waiting and it was ready before we finished lunch. Our room (a mini suite with balcony, because we didn't want to go to bed when our daughter does at 7:30) was well laid out and clean. The mattress was a little firm for my liking, but you can't please 'em all.

Freestyle Dining
Most of the negative reviews I read about the Star were about the food. I... honestly don't know what those people were talking about. The negative reviews relative to Carnival cruises were particularly baffling. I have sailed with Carnival twice and found everything but the pizza to be lackluster, to say the least. The buffet on Norwegian had a variety of excellent ethnic food selections, and everything else was pretty damn good for a buffet. Dinners at the premium restaurants were great, but to be honest, the dinners as Aqua and particularly at Versailles (the main dining rooms) were just as good. A perfectly done medium rare steak with an excellent Bearnaise sauce, baked potato and delightfully prepared veggie sides was the most memorable. My daughter's hamburger wasn't good and the pizza I had at lunch wasn't great, so maybe that's the kind of crap people pining for Carnival were interested in eating? More power to them! I also read negative reviews of the waiting times for the main restaurant. At about 6:30, we had about a 10 minute wait for a table. Once.

Children's Program

Pirate Maggie

I send my kid to daycare every day at home so I don't want her to spend a lot of time there when we're on vacation. Having said that, Mommy and Daddy need a break too so she spent a few of hours at Planet Kids, which takes children 2 and up. If they're not potty trained they'll call you to come deal with any diaper changes that are necessary. Luckily my daughter is well versed in the Art of Potty, so that wasn't a concern. The first time we dropped her off, there were some tears until she got into the swing of things. The second time there was a some pouting, but she was happy to go play with other little people. The third time there was a barely a backward glance at The Husband as she went to play. The fourth time was at her request. That's right, we weren't going to bring her to the daycare but she BEGGED TO GO all through dinner. She had a great time with the pirate-themed adventures that night, and we felt not at all insulted when she asked to go the next day. *sniffle* She still asks if she can go to "the boat fun place" and seems genuinely disappointed when we tell her she can't. So I guess the staff running Planet Kids do a pretty good job!

Roatan Bay, Honduras

Monkeys!

In our Life Before Kid, we were perfectly content to arrive at a port of call and hop in a cab to wherever we wanted to go. But we're a little more anxious venturing to hither and yon with a toddler in places we've never been. We took the guided shore excursion to Gumbalimba Park, where we all had a fantastic time and Tabyana Beach. Gumbalimba is a nature preserve and when they say you can interact with monkeys, they mean it! The countryside is beautiful, and like most places in the Caribbean the ride to anywhere is terrifying. Tabyana Beach is pretty, but it's a little ho-hum. I'm sure there's more unspoiled places to visit that would be less "buy my crap" and more "come unwind". Besides, after you've had you kid giggling because a monkey is trying to get into her backpack, the rest of the day is bound to be a letdown.

Belize City, Belize

Belize City is more what I thought of when I think of Central American countries. That is to say there's beauty and there's squalor and the lines between can be a bit blurry. I'm pretty adventurous, but even I wouldn't venture to Belize City without a local. Just sayin' Traveller Tip! It is the only country in Central America where the official language is English. Here we did the shore excursion to the Bacab Jungle Park. This was recommended as suitable for a young child. While it was OK and the time we spent in the pool was a lot of fun, we could have used a pool on the ship and an hour long bus ride to get there wasn't really worth it.

Costa Maya, Mexico
It was hotter than the hinges of hell when we arrived in Costa Maya and most of the shore excursions were geared to adults or older kids. We just stopped at the port, but there is a pharmacy there should you find yourself needing a pregnancy test in a strange land! More on that later. Anyway, I can't comment much on the rest of the destination because we stopped, we shopped, we went back to the ship for lunch and a nap.

Cozumel, Mexico
Having been to Cozumel a couple of times before, I felt safe heading to a beach park on our own rather than through one of the beach excursions through the cruise line because those were pretty expensive for a day at the beach. We took cab to Mister Sanchos and had a great day out of the sun under the tents, hopping in and out of the ocean. Our taco lunch was excellent and not terribly priced for a total tourist trap.

Overall, the Norwegian Star exceeded my expectations. The staff was friendly, the food was great, the children's program was loved by our daughter, it was clean and any maintenance issues we saw were quickly handled. A great time was had by all and I have no problem recommending Norwegian, the Star or this itinerary to anyone. If you have any questions about our experience, please feel free to email me.

Happy travels!

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review of Hotel Marseilles, Miami Beach

The scenario: Two moms, husbands at home with the kids, four days of sleeping, eating, drinking and shopping.
The requirements: Warmer than here (which is Canada in the winter, so you know, pretty easy);  flight not too long; preferably in the same time zone because we both had to go to work the day after we returned and jetlag sucks.
The destination: South Beach, baby!

I had been to South Beach with The Husband back when he was The Boyfriend for a few days before a cruise and loved it, and it met all of our destination needs so we booked a cheap flight and set to picking a spot where we could recharge our batteries while someone else wiped runny noses. We didn't want to have a car, so we had to stay somewhere close to where we were going to spend the majority our time.

View from the room

When it comes to hotels, I'm not that picky. I want it clean and bug-free, I want it quiet, and I want it near the places I want to be. The Marseilles Miami Beach Hotel seemed to fit the bill. It's a little tired looking, but they are renovating, so they're aware things need fixing and they're working to fix them. The pool area is lovely, and the staff at the bar is very friendly. The food at the restaurant, Cafe Vincent, is OK. I wouldn't recommend it as a destination if you're staying at another hotel, but if you're already staying there it's passable.

The floor we stayed on had not yet been renovated. The room itself (Room 617), well... Let's start with the good:

• The beds were comfortable
• Housekeeping was prompt and the towels were adequately stocked
• The shampoo, soaps and lotions were nice
• The bathroom was tiny and dated, but clean

And now... the not so good:

• I usually remove hotel bed spreads just because, but the first night we were there we couldn't find the extra blankets and were both too tired to care. In the light of day we were horrified by the thought that those nasty, stained, smelly bed spreads had possibly touched our faces as we slept. *shudder* The next night we found the blankets in a closet and shoved the bedspreads as far under the bed as possible. 
• Broken tiles in the shower enclosure were replaced, but obviously with the remnants of a contractor's other job. It was almost comical, and something you'd expect in a cheap, roadside motel, not in a place that bills itself as a fine establishment half a block away from the Ritz.
• There was a coffee maker in the room, but nowhere to plug it in other than pulling a chair up to an outlet several feet away, and only one of the plugs in that outlet worked. 
• The windows were very old and only a single pane, so the noise from around South Beach just streamed in. They also didn't open, which was disappointing because I would have loved to let that salty air into the room at night.

Other than the filthy (and I do mean filthy) bed spreads, the room was serviceable. We saw the floors under renovation and it looks like a total gut job, right down to the studs. The location is fantastic, the pool and the beach area are lovely and the price was right - at least by South Beach standards. If you asked me if I'd stay there again, I'd say only if the renovations were complete and they'd had a bonfire with those horrible things on the beds. And changed the cleaning products used in the lobby, because the smell of them is just oppressive. But then the price will probably go up, so we'd be right back to a pretty firm no. If you have any questions about our stay, please feel free to email me.

Happy travels!

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Tale of Many Strollers - Part Four: The Final Chapter

When I was pregnant, I was naive enough to think that one stroller would do me from cradle to solo walking. Silly me! The Parasite is nearly three and we're about to retire her collection of strollers as we make her walk on her own to hither and yon. This is the my review of the fourth and final (?) stroller in our collection.

4. The Schwinn Free Runner Grade: C

Eventually it became apparent that I was never, ever going to "find" the time to exercise, I was going to have to make it. Enter the jogging stroller. Since I still had two strollers in use (it's a sickness, I know) I was looking for something pretty inexpensive to keep The Husband from losing his mind. Though if he'd really given me a hard time, I could always use electronic gadgets as ammo against his complaints. But I digress...

The Schwinn Free Runner was another Craigslist find. Or maybe it was Kijiji? Whatever. Jogging strollers are notoriously hard to maneuver, and this one is no exception. The alignment is off so it constantly pulls to the left, to turn corners I need to "pop a wheelie" and I dispensed with the 5-point clips almost immediately. Total PITA to get a wriggly toddler clipped into it. There's really nothing I love about the Free Runner, but it does have a surprising amount of storage space. Which is rendered useless by the fact that it's impossible to handle because it's not like I'd take it shopping.

I purchased it used for something like $60 so I live with the inadequacies, but it retails for nearly $200 here in the Great White North. Had I purchased this new, I would have been one Grumpy Gus. I wouldn't feel bad about passing mine down to someone else when I'm done with it, but I won't sell it and I certainly wouldn't recommend it for purchase to anyone.

And that concludes the series of reviews of the strollers I used in my pushing a kid around career. Though we are trying for a second child, so I might not be done just yet...The rest of the stroller reviews are here:

I'coo Targo
Chicco CT 0.6
Bugaboo Frog

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Tale of Many Strollers - Part Three

When I was pregnant, I was naive enough to think that one stroller would do me from cradle to solo walking. Silly me! The Parasite is nearly three and we're about to retire her collection of strollers as we make her walk on her own to hither and yon. The following is a review of the third stroller we used in our "pushing a kid around" career with the final chapter to follow soon.

3. The Bugaboo Frog Grade: B

Yup, the yuppie status symbol that is... the Bugaboo. But that's OK, as it turns out I *AM* a yuppie. I have learned to live with it, and you should too. After our I'Coo crashed and burned, I needed a new workhorse stroller because we run a lot of our errands on foot. Purchased brand new these strollers are pretty pricey, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have just bought a used Bugaboo at the outset. The woman I bought it from used it for five years and two children, I have been using it for over a year, and other than a little sun fading it's still in great shape.

The common complaints about the Bugaboo are that the basket is too small (it's true) and that it's a pain to get in and out of the car. I can't speak to that one because I kept a travel stroller in the car, the everyday stroller stayed assembled at our entranceway at all times. It is light enough to take up and down stairs with a toddler in it, it handles really well, and the wriststrap/handbrake means you can walk at a pretty good clip without worrying about disaster.

Overall, I found the Bugaboo Frog to be a total workhorse. The Frog has been discontinued and I've read that the Chameleon, its replacement, has some notable improvements including more storage space and an easier folding mechanism. If the hefty pricetag doesn't make you run away screaming, I RECOMMEND the Bugaboo line. There's always a bunch for sale on Craigslist.

Stay tuned for my review of the next and final stroller in our considerable collection. Until then, happy strolling!

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Tale of Many Strollers - Part Two

When I was pregnant, I was naive enough to think that one stroller would do me from cradle to solo walking. Silly me! The Parasite is nearly three and we're about to retire her collection of strollers as we make her walk on her own to hither and yon. The following is a review of the second stroller we used in our "pushing a kid around" career, with reviews of the rest to follow soon.

2. Chicco Ct 0.6 Umbrella Stroller Grade: A
For our first family vacation, we wanted a stroller that was easily transported. Umbrella strollers are cheap and very portable, but they're also kind of a pain for anyone over 5' tall to walk with as you constant find yourself kicking the wheels. After doing some homework, we settled on the Chicco Ct 0.6. As umbrella strollers, the nearly $100 we spent on it was steep, but it was totally worth it. It's nice and tall so the wheel-kicking is all but eliminated and The Husband, who is nearly a foot taller than me, doesn't have to Quasimodo himself to push it.

It folds up in a snap, the adjustable canopy could be moved quickly to shield super fair baby skin from the harsh sun, and it really is as light as they say. We have taken it on several trips and when we're not gallivanting to far away lands it is stored in the trunk of the car so we have it on hand for places that are more of a walk than we anticipated. This means grocery bags and other heavy items are chucked on top of it all the time, and there has been no damage to the body of the stroller in spite of the beating. It even has a storage basket under the seat, allowing us to carry everything you need for a day trip with a growing child in the stroller.

We're urban and needed the storage capacity of a bigger stroller for grocery shopping so this couldn't be our one and only, but I am far more impressed by the durability and longevity of our little Chicco than I was with our vastly more expensive I'coo. I highly RECOMMEND the Chicco Ct 0.6.

Stay tuned for my review of the next stroller in our considerable collection. Until then, happy strolling!

This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Tale of Many Strollers - Part One

When I was pregnant, I was naive enough to think that one stroller would do me from cradle to solo walking. Silly me! The Parasite is nearly three and we're about to retire her collection of strollers as we make her walk on her own to hither and yon. The following is a review of the first stroller we used in our "pushing a kid around" career, with a reviews of the rest to follow in the coming days.

1. The I'coo Targo Grade: F
I fell in lust with this stroller while my belly was big with child. A German engineered ride for my unborn one? He-She deserved no less! I thought the I'coo would take my baby AND a sibling all the way to walking. For what we paid for it, we should have had a stroller that would last through the ages. I should have read the reviews. The hood really was too short to protect a baby from the sun and converting it from the infant bassinet to the stroller was an utter pain. But those were small issues I could live with for a stroller that was super smooth and easy to manoeuvre in crowded store aisles.  

The REAL problem came in December 2010 when The Husband was bringing her back in from a walk. On the way up the stairs, the two plastic pieces that held the frame to the wheels broke and the stroller collapsed with my baby in it. Luckily she was unhurt!  

Pro Tip: Never buy a stroller with plastic pieces holding the frame together.

I contacted Customer Service and was told it's a one year warranty, my only option was to buy a new frame. That replacement frames are even available for sale should tell you all you need to know...

Even before it broke I didn't LOVE this stroller. Were it just the little details like the cover or the conversion from bassinet to upright, I wouldn't have a huge problem. But because of the obvious safety issues with materials used to build the frame and the lack of customer service support when the chips were down, this I'coo Targo gets a big old DO NOT BUY from me.

Stay tuned for reviews of the other strollers that form our considerable collection. Until then, happy strolling!


This is not a sponsored post, no compensation has been received. All opinions expressed are my own.