And the winners are...

I'd like to preface this post by saying that everyone has their own needs and opinions so a decision that might be great for one person or family might be completely wrong for another.  I quickly learned through this pregnancy that you can find terrible reviews about a product saying it can harm your child and you are a bad parent to choose it, and the next review someone is raving about it, saying it is a product they couldn't have lived without. Basically you can't win. ha!  So do your research and go with your gut. This decision needs to work for your family and no one elses. If it doesn't pan out the way you had hoped, then switch it up. Ok, now on with the post....

Thanks a million for all of the advice you sent my way on baby bath products. Wowza! So many great options to choose from. I am going to start with the Live Clean Baby line. I know it's not perfect, but I think it will be a perfect fit for us. Not only is it a Canadian company but it also hits all of my requirements.

1) Available locally without having to special order
2)  Completely paraben free
3) Completely sulphate free
4) All-natural
5) Not ridiculously expensive
6) Good at their job!

My husband was in charge of picking out a video monitor so I really don't know much about them.  He decided on the Levana Astra 2 camera video monitor. It was for sale at Costco here in Canada for a great price however when we went to order it was "out of stock". Son of a bitch.  After googling around a bit I found it for $10 more on Amazon.ca so I ordered it yesterday and it should be arriving in the next three weeks.  The key features we were looking for in a monitor were;

 

1) Does not have a breathing sensor pad - we've heard they are super sensitive and frankly I don't want to have a heart attack in the night for no reason
2) A two way intercom so we can sooth our babe from afar if need be (we live in a two story home)
3) A camera that has a zoom and tilt function
4) Comes with two cameras since we hope to have another babe at some point, but if not we could use a camera in the playroom (It would be $100+ to add another camera down the road and was only $50 more to get the two pack right now)
5) Good night vision function

Also a huge thank you to all of my FaceBook friends who helped us make decisions on a stroller.  After waaaaaaaaay too much research and consideration we bit the bullet and order a Bumbleride Indie from a cute little boutique in Oakville, Ontario called Rattle & Stroll.  It is an American stroller so they are difficult to find here in Canada.  Here are the reasons why we decided on this one;

1) It is super duper light weight - 20 lbs!
2) It is a transitional stroller, meaning that it goes from newborn (either in the completely lay flat position or with your car seat) all the way up to 4-5 years old (45 lbs)
3) It is an all terrain stroller 3-wheel stroller that we can use on country roads, at the beach, at the mall, and on hikes with our puppy.
4) It has large rubber wheels that are durable (and removable for travel)
5) Can be used for light jogging if I feel inclined...lol.
6) All fabric is removable and washable
7) It is narrower and shorter than most 3-wheel strollers making it easier to maneuver in small spaces
8) Universal car seat adaptor is included
9) ridiculously easy to steer (because of the light weight and great wheels)
9) It had fantastic reviews!

There are a few things that we aren't super over joyed about, which are;

1) It requires two hands to collapse
2) It's expensive!
3) It's not Canadian
4) You have to buckle the car seat in
5) If I decided to become a marathon runner, this stroller wouldn't be able to withstand it (For those of you who don't know me, this obviously isn't a concern...)

I will keep you posted in the coming months with how our decisions pan out. Thanks again for all the help!