Toys for Christmas 2018

Here are the Best Infant Car Seats of 2017! #1.  Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat .   About $200, depending on color and pattern options. Though we've placed the Chicco at #1 on our list for 2017, let's be clear that realistically you will likely be very happy with any of the top three to five infant car seats on this list, and a lot of the decision comes down to preference. The Chicco KeyFit comes with a base that attaches into your car using either the Latch system or the conventional seat belt. We actually found that attaching and detaching this seat from the base was a bit easier than most others, and it only weighs 15 pounds (seat + base; 5 lbs lighter than many). But of course, realize that other heavier infant car seats are probably heavier because they either have some additional safety technology (like the SafeCell tech in the Britax B-Safe, or the anti-rebound bar on the Primo Viaggio), and might support heavier babies up to 35 pounds, which makes the seat itself ...

Best Infant Car Seats of 2017 Our hands-on testing and focus groups with over two dozen moms got down to the nitty-gritty on over a dozen of the best infant car seats on the market. Their reviews and ratings helped us identify several highly recommended infant car seats for 2017, made by brands such as Britax, Graco, Baby Trend, Peg Perego, UppaBaby, Maxi Cosi, and Chicco. All of the car seats on this list are not only well-rated, but also pass the test of time: reliability is very important for baby products, and sometimes the best-looking and functioning car seats can lead to disappointment after a few months. As always, our reviews are impartial and honest, and we  did not  accept any freebie or discounted car seats for this review. Our top car seats range in price from about $80 to $300; if you're looking for something a bit cheaper, we suggest checking out our list of the best infant car seats for under $100,  here . Here are some of the most important f...

Best Baby Bassinets 2017 6. Arm's Reach Concepts Cambria CoSleeper Bassinet . Looking for a co-sleeper? This will be your best bet, though it's somewhat hard to find. Sharing a bed with a newborn is such a beautiful intimate experience for mom and a newborn baby. But due to SIDS and suffocation risk, many pediatricians do not recommend it. Instead, some bassinets are specifically designed to make co-sleeping safer by putting the baby right up next to mom, but in its own little bassinet. The HALO (#1, above) is a great example of that, but quite a bit more expensive than this unit. Co-sleepers are generally more expensive than traditional bassinets, but moms love them especially if they have undergone a C-section and need to restrict their movement. This bassinet is basically a no-frills co-sleeper with some great basic features. It has a lot of mesh on the sides to help breathability, a thin and firm mattress (like it's supposed to), and we found it very easy to raise ...

Best Baby Bassinets 2017 2. BabyBjorn Gentle Rocking Cradle.  In our opinion, and in the opinions of our mom and dad testers, this is the most beautiful and stylish bassinet on the list. This is a great looking bassinet that's like a sleek new piece of furniture for your home. It doesn't operate like a co-sleeper (like the Halo or Arm's Reach), and it doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles like music, vibrations, motorized rocking, or anything fancy like that. Instead, BabyBjorn made something a bit more natural. It has a lightweight suspension system that rocks itself in response to your baby's motion (and you can rock it too!). It has great mesh breathable sides, is lightweight, and uses only safe and tested materials. In our tests, we found that the height is nice and low and it fits snugly right up to the side of a normal-height adult bed, with the legs sliding right underneath without any issues. The mattress is also very comfy and supportive, and we like ...

Best Baby Bassinets 2017 When our first born arrived, my mother-in-law dropped off an old bassinet from the early 80's, the one my husband slept in as a baby. It was a big wicker basket lined with an old yellowed cotton sheet, with a 1-inch thick vinyl covered mattress with a big gap between the sides of the bassinet and its edge. It was up on folding wooden legs with plastic spinner wheels. It tipped easily, the legs accidentally folded if they bumped something (or if you kicked them a bit), there was little to no air circulation for the baby, and the mattress was ill fitted. Not to mention it was nearly impossible to find the right size sheet!  Needless to say, I kindly declined using the dated bassinet for overnight sleeps. Instead we put it in the dining room so we'd only use it while we were within reach and could keep a close eye on our baby. Mom was a little offended that I didn't want to use it ("it was good enough for him! he turned out OK!"), but t...

Best Baby Bottles 2017 6.  Philips AVENT Natural Baby Bottles . About $4-5 per bottle (you can get them in 4oz or 9oz sizes). Philips AVENT bottles have been around for a long time now, but they are an innovative company that keeps improving their bottles to accomodate changing needs of moms and emerging research. The Natural series of AVENT bottles is no exception, and is a great all-around baby bottle option. The base and nipple are quite similar in form and function to the Tommee Tippee, but with slightly narrower nipple base, and narrower overall screw base as well. We found that the nipples were soft and compliant, promoted comfortable and fast latch-on, and the twin-valve venting system was quite good at preventing air swallowing, gas, and colic. The twin valves are unique to the others on this list, with tiny slits at the very far edges of the nipple that help air get into the bottle to prevent a vacuum forming. The reasonably wide nipple base promotes a relatively real...