Products to love

Here are two products I think that you’re going to love. I sure do.

SWIMMING IN SAFETY AND COMFORT

Josey’s new puddle jumper life jacket has completely changed how we swim. Upon Sara’s recommendation, I bought my two and a half year old a puddle jumper last week. I was surprised at how reasonable it was at only $15 from Target. We hit a pool the next day. Not a kiddie pool, but a 5 to 8-foot-deep pool at a friend’s house. I put the puddle jumper around her and then popped her in a floatie to keep her safe in that deep water. No need. By the end of the afternoon, she was swimming around perfectly fine wearing only the puddlejumper.

It is SO MUCH better than a life jacket.

Unbelievably better.

So much that I’m pretty sure a woman designed this one.

With a lifejacket, the front is always riding up into a kid’s face. It is tough to manuever. My child always screams when I put it on her. The puddle jumper is completely different. It kinda looks like two arm floaties connected by a floatie on the chest. All parts of made out of the same sort of material that a life jacket is, which is why it is Coast Guard approved. It kept my daughter afloat without being uncomfortable. Plus, she could swim away. Wow. Her swimming skills dramatically improved during that afternoon swim. I would recommend it to everyone I know. Get a puddle jumper.

NIGHT TIME BATTLES

I don’t know about you, but nighttime has never been easy at our place. My daughter just hates to sleep. There are so many better things going on, and she’s doesn’t want to miss anything. We really hit a wall last fall after moving into Minneapolis. It was so difficult to get her down at night or for a nap. Based on the recommendation of a friend, we bought a Noise Machine.

It’s made such a difference.

We use the EcoTones Duet which costs about $80 on Amazon right now. There are 10 different sounds to pick from: waterfall, fireplace, ocean, meadow, train, city, rainfall, brook, meditation and white noise. Plus, you can make the sounds adaptive. When there’s a loud noise, such as a plane overhead or mom dropping a dish downstairs, the machine will automatically get a little louder to cover the sudden loud noise. There’s a timer and a richness function, as well.

The machine did suddenly stop working about four months after we bought it. I let the manufacturer know, and the company immediately shipped out a new model. That’s customer service. I’m thinking about buying another one for the other light sleeper in our house: my husband.

Listen to the various sounds this machine offers at http://youtu.be/WS99gpCNZds