Update: The winners are Katie, who loves her Mei Tai baby carrier, Kristina S., who wondered if Gerber Graduates Puffs counted, and Chelsea, who loves "a great, comfy pair of maternity jeans… the kind thatactually still give you a figure but still manages to show off thatbeautiful curvy belly."
All moms have one thing in common – we’re busy, and always on the lookout for ways to streamline our daily routines. With over 80% of its customers being women – and most of them, moms – CVS/pharmacy understands that we’re pressed for time. In response, they’ve introduced a new line of PLAYSKOOL Baby Care products, available only at CVS, meaning moms can now stock up on all their baby needs while picking up prescriptions and purchasing other essentials, all in one place.
The line is filled with more than 40 fun, colorful products – from diapers and wipes to sippys, ergonomic bowls, teething toys and grooming sets – designed with the attention to quality and detail that you’d expect from PLAYSKOOL and CVS.
Here are a few product highlights:
As I mentioned over on CBB, my first purchase was the Insulated Flip Top Cup ($4.99), myabsolute favorite item in this line. There are so many reasons why Ilove this cup, from the flip top design that keeps the soft siliconestraw clean in between drinks, to the insulation that keeps drinks niceand cool, to the colorful little GLOWORM design. The best part: thiscup DOES NOT LEAK – liquid only comes out when your child sips on thestraw. I never hesitate to toss it into my diaper bag or purse, because Iknow the liquid is going to stay inside the cup where it belongs.
CVS has included a ton of great sippy cups in the PLAYSKOOL line. For introducing your child to the world of sippy cups, theSoft Spout Trainer Cup ($4.99) is great because its two side handlesare the perfect size for little hands, and the sippy spout is nice andsoft, so you don’t need to worry about your child hurting her gums andteeth on a hard plastic spout. They also have three other sippy cups- one without the flip-top and two straw cups with flip-top lids, insulated and non-insulated. I prefer the insulated ones because it prevents the cup from sweating and getting the other stuff in your bag wet.
As I mentioned on CBB, Anya loves the packaging of the travel version of the Cottony Cloths baby wipes. They’re the only brand of baby wipes that are made with real cotton, and I can’t believe they don’t cost more! The cloths have a thick, cushiony texture and are super soft, strong and stretchy (A little known fact about cotton: it gets stronger when it’s wet!). This means you get to use less wipes, and there’s no risk of icky finger poke-throughs during change time. Another thing I really like about these wipes is that they come in soft-sided packaging. The 16-ct travel pack ($1.99) fits perfectly inside my purse, and the larger 80-ct packs ($3.29) fit really nicely inside diaper bags, unlike those hard plastic containers. You can also buy bigger packages (160-ct and 240-ct, $5.49 and $7.49) to refill your changing table box. They come in both scented and unscented versions, though I prefer to use unscented products whenever possible.
If you love sleek, modern designs (or even if you don’t!), I highly recommend the Easy Grip Bowl ($4.49). The bowl is fun and colorful, and has a comfy, ergonomic thumb hole that allows for an ultra-stable grip during mealtime. A thoughtful touch: it’s designed to work for both righties and lefties. The bowl’s lid has a built-in steam vent so you can transfer easily from fridge to microwave. Another cool feature: the bowl comes with a color-changing heat sensitive feeding spoon that lets you know if the food is too hot. The heat sensitive spoons are available separately too- soft spoons ($3.99 per 3-pk) and metal spoons with soft coating ($3.49 per 2-pk). Now that Anya is feeding herself, she likes using the bowls to eat her cereal out of (her favorite is EnviroKidz’s Gorilla Munch which is essentially an organic Kix).
I wish I had a set of the Ice Gel Teething Keys ($3.99) when Anya was cutting her teeth. This teether is dual surfaced – the top of each teething key is made of soft, textured material with lots of bumps and ridges to help teeth come through, and the bottom of each key is filled with non-toxic Ice Gel. The Gel stays soft even when placed in the freezer (no more chewing on a hard block of ice), stays colder longer than water-filled teethers, and doesn’t evaporate over time. Anya likes to play with them now because they look like keys.
You wouldn’t think it, but it’s tough to find a good grooming set for little ones. The Infant/Toddler Grooming Set ($6.99) comes in a nice little carrying case and includes a specially designed nail clipper with a curved cutting edge for infant nails, a pair of nail scissors with a rounded safety tip and easy to hold plastic handles, fine grained emery boards for shaping delicate nails, and a little comb to style your baby’s hair. I have to confess, I keep this set in my bag for my own purposes – it doesn’t take up any space, and it’s perfect to have on hand when you chip or snag a nail.
One small touch that I like are their helpful mom tips on each package that are great for new parents such as, "Babies who are often resistant to diaper changemay need a few minutes to connect with you before you start. Whilemaking eye contact tell the child what you are going to do and slowlymove into the business at hand. A few minutes of connecting can saveyou ten or fifteen minutes of struggling." It’s kind of common sense but it’s a nice reminder.
This is just a taste of what the CVS/pharmacy-PLAYSKOOL Baby Care line has to offer. You’ll have to visit your local CVS or www.cvs.com/playskool to check out the entire line. Or, you can enter to win one of three fabulous gift baskets we’re giving away this week (pictured left).
To enter to win one of three baskets of CVS/pharmacy-PLAYSKOOL Baby Care products, post a comment with the answer to this question:
What baby product can’t you live without and why? Also tell us if you win, if you’ll keep the basket for your family or give it to a pregnant friend/relative. (Giveaway closes Thursday, September 6 at 10 am EST.)
It seems like we moms are always in a rush, running from one thing to the next to make sure our kids have everything they need to grow into happy, healthy little individuals. When it comes to things like diapering, we don’t want to have to spend too much time or money figuring out what to buy. 
