Gerber Graduates Tossables plates

I know, I know. Plastic isn't good. But honestly... I find it really hard to completely avoid it all the time. Frozen foods come in plastic bags... the inside of my fridge and freezer are plastic for crying out loud! But I am becoming vigilant about not putting plastic in the microwave or dishwasher. The good thing about these plates is you aren't supposed to do either of those things with them anyways.

These come in a package of three: monkey, tiger and hippo faces. They are thin, translucent, almost bendable plastic, but sturdy enough to handle daily wear and tear. Each plate has two sections (nice for toddlers who like their food organized, and keeps runny foods from getting other dry foods wet). My daughter enjoyed moving the food around (or eating it) the first few times she used them, to try to find the eyes and mouth of each animal.

I am a little confused by the name: does "tossable" mean that they are disposable? Or just that you can throw them around and they can take a beating? I'm not sure. But they are definitely reusable.

The same cannot be said for the matching sippy cup, which has been declared the worst sippy cup in the world.

Purchased at my local Walmart.

Munchkin bottle drying rack and bottle brush

Bottles and sippy cups can have WAY too many finicky, easily-lost pieces for normal dish drying racks. This fold-down-flat contraption helps dry your bottles, nipples, rings, and even straws. I actually leave all the pieces on it even after they've dried; it's a nice, accessible storage system! The angled design helps water drippings to collect at the bottom (over time it can get kind of yucky, moreso if you have hard water like me, so it needs periodic cleaning).

The rack has a special slot to hold the Munchkin bottle brush (sold separately). The brush has a handy mini-brush hidden in the handle for cleaning nipples, and the angled sponge tip gets into the bottle bottom really well. My only complaint is that the nipple brush can be really hard to pull out of the handle, especially with wet hands.

Purchased at my local Walmart. Has anyone tried the SkipHop one or another brand?

Snack Trap

Eight bucks for a snackholder? You're kidding, right? Well, I wondered if I was being a big sucker when I purchased this little item. A plastic cup with handles and a lid (a la tupperware) didn't seem to be a wise investment. But, as usual, I was intrigued by its claims. My daughter was just under a year old at the time and was into little finger foods like cheerios and gerber graduates puffs (things that took about .5 seconds to be dumped by her, with glee, onto my floor). Little did I know that I would be using said container almost every single day for over a year! At first my daughter would just shake it to try to get the snacks out from inside the little rubber flaps, and I thought that kind of defeated the purpose of the whole "trap" business. It didn't take long for her to understand the mechanism though, and she's been using it almost daily since. Now, at just over two years old, she knows how to have a snack in a bowl without spilling it all over my living room. But I still find it very useful for the car! Favourite fillings: dry froot loops, alpha bits or goldfish crackers.

The plastic cup is sturdy and can handle being dropped and banged around like crazy. The specially-designed, spill-reducing lid does get a bit of wear over time, especially if you use a dishwasher, but you can buy replacements separately at a lower cost. Also available: sippy lid attachment or a stay-fresh lid that fits over the original lid. You can also purchase the Snack Trap in a two-pack or buy a special tether to attach it to your stroller, purse, or ...belt-loop ('cause that's attractive! what could possibly scream "i'm a mom!" more than that?), but you could also just use any other clip or carabiner I'm sure.

Purchased from a store that no longer exists... but available from many places, including Rolz&Sassy (Kincardine), Safety Superstore, and Cheeky Monkey (London).