My addiction extends beyond my closet to include the closet my little ones share. Inside you will find a variety of shoes, from $5 Croc knock-offs to pricier pairs. And while I’m all for budget-friendly shoes because of the speed at which my younger children grow out of them, I also understand and believe in the importance of high-quality, comfortable shoes for those precious little feet. Rileyroos are the perfect fit.

Sure, Rileyroos are super stylish, soft and lightweight but more importantly they are designed to imitate barefoot walking, the best way for little ones to learn how to walk. Their uppers are crafted of soft leather or suede and have a flexible leather or suede sole (I’m a big fan of the flexible sole) with rubber padding to protect little feet.

One of my favorite features of Rileyroos was something I didn’t even notice the first time I saw their product line: the sole curls above the toes. Why? Apparently it provides better leverage as children go from sitting to crawling and eventually to walking. Their shoes also have a padded leather collar, leather lining for greater breatheability and a Velcro closure for easy on-and-off and a snug fit.

You won’t find all these features in my son’s fake camo Crocs; hence the $5 price tag. Don’t get me wrong, those shoes do have their place (most often poolside), but to keep my little ones’ feet healthy as they toddle around, I’ll invest in something like Rileyroos. You can view and purchase many of their styles for around $30 on Amazon.com. - Emily H.

Ever had to dig through a plastic Ziploc bag or drawer full of baby bottle caps looking for the match to the baby bottle in hand? And of course you’re already running late so caps are flying everywhere as you desperately hunt for the right one.

If this scenario rings as true for you as it does me, you’re going to love the new Baby Safe Cap, a flip cap designed specifically for baby bottles. This BPA-free flip cap fits all standard size bottles and is spill proof. Besides keeping the right cap right there, the Baby Safe Cap helps keep germs, dust and dirt off the nipple. Flip the cap (it even snaps back so it’s out of the way), feed your baby and then flip it closed. We've only seen a prototype to date, which had some problems with their closure; we'll report on the design once they've sent us a finished version.

But again, we love the idea - especially for day care settings, where childcare providers can simply flip the cap shut as soon as your baby is done, preventing other little ones from “sharing” your baby’s bottle while avoiding the risk of lost caps and germ exposure. Sharing is a good thing but not when applied to pacifiers, bottles and sippy cups!

The Baby Safe Cap comes in six colors; you can purchase a three-pack for $14 from the Baby Safe Cap online store. - Emily H.

Because my previous home had a much larger kitchen and dining area, my two oldest children learned to eat solid foods and eventually feed themselves sitting in your standard-style high chair. After we moved we found our new home with its smaller kitchen and almost no dining area didn't lend itself to the traditional high chair, and my two youngest have used - and are still using - Inglesina's Fast chair, which hooks directly to the counter.

When I had the opportunity to review the K2 high chair from Kuster, I was anxious to see if it really was as practical, easy to clean and space saving as the company's website claimed. I had yet to find a high chair that would work in our kitchen; perhaps this was the one! But after some not-so-thorough testing (and you'll soon read why), I found this sleek, modern high chair easy to clean and extremely compact when folded. But those are quite possibly the only redeeming qualities of the K2.

The K2 arrived with "some assembly required." Usually means putting Tab A in Slot B, but this baby needed a little elbow grease and a strong allen wrench. After attaching the seat back, I snapped the four self-leveling feet on the frame, and I'll be danged if those feet weren't a struggle to get on yet fell off if I even looked at them. If I weren't worried about the little metal feet scratching the floor I'd have left those plastic feet off completely!

The K2 came with the light blue and white dot optional seat cushion, and though it meant a little more effort in cleaning, I felt the K2 needed the padding. The cushion attached to the chair with just one set of Velcro tabs, though the harness did come up through a slot in the front, helping to anchor it a bit more. But even then the cushion slipped and slid all around, and when I opened it from its folded position, the cushion got lodged between the seat and back. As much as I love the print and the padding, I couldn't sacrifice function for fashion when it came to the high chair (a pair of shoes, no problem!).

I wasn't a fan of the harness itself. Though it boasts a five-point safety harness, the harness straps attach at the back of the seat and come up and over the shoulders rather than attaching or being anchored higher up the seat back just below the shoulders. It made for some pretty floppy straps that kept sliding off our child's shoulder as we tried to attach the harness. I also felt like she was able to move around a lot more than was safe. My kids are climbers and they have to be belted in securely to keep them from breaking free.

I did like the removable, dishwasher-safe tray cover, as it made for easy cleaning. Unfortunately we were never able to use it to actually feed our daughter since the K2 failed its tipped-by-a-toddler test. This toddler-initiated test of the K2's durability wasn't in our plans, but readers should be glad it occurred, because the K2's tray fell apart when it hit the (carpeted) floor, its locking slides underneath the tray popping right off to reveal some pretty lightweight and now dangerously exposed screws. My husband, engineer and fix-it-man that he is, quickly epoxied the slides to the tray, but even after a few days of curing they fell apart when we gingerly tried to reattach the tray.


We eventually noticed a hairline crack running along almost the entire width of the chair back, as well. And this was on carpet! I'm not saying high chairs are meant to withstand falls, but the trays should at least be able to withstand some wear and tear. I know with our old high chair that tray was tossed on the counter, dropped on the floor, stepped on and I'm sure used as an imaginary something or other, yet it passed those test with flying colors.


Apparently I'm not the only one with this problem. If you check out the K2 on Amazon.com you'll see a few customer images depicting similar tray mishaps plus an image of what looks like a missing foot rest. This guy wasn't too impressed either.

As I mentioned before, we didn't give Kuster's K2 too thorough a testing. When first set up we used it as the perfect chair for pounding playing the piano, but soon after (and in that same room) it met our toddler and the tray met its end. We have used it a few times since, but only as a piano chair, and even then I keep close watch; that harness just doesn't put me at ease.

The K2 high chair is recommended for children from six months to six years and is available in two different colors, white and beech, and three different cushion styles to "ensure you get a combination to suit you." Personally, no fabric/wood combination would suit me when it comes to the K2. It may be easy to clean and easy to store, but it is also easily broken, and I can't recommend its safety features. If you’re looking for a fashionable, yet functional and safe high chair for your child, I suggest you pass on the Kuster K2. - Emily H.

Kids love seeing their name, and these hand-appliqued pillows are wonderful. The pillow casing is 100% cotton with wool/rayon blend felt applique and stuffed with fiberfill manufactured from corn.

Dogs, turtles, cupcakes and more can adorn these fantastic handmade pillows, and kids will love learning to spell their own name. While baby is in a crib, you can use the pillow as room decor, and then you'll have something special to help transition your toddler to a bed - the promise of being able to use their name pillow if they promise not to climb out of bed all night long! Trust me on this, you'll thank me later when you're asleep at 4 a.m. instead of playing jail-house warden to your little tyrant.

$50 from Li'l Dumplings. - Erika

When my first child was born I purchased one of those hooded towels from the store. It was very thin, had no drying power and failed to keep my baby girl warm post bath time. Fortunately I had a friend with mad sewing skills who gave her the thickest, softest hooded towel, which we used until it was no longer big enough to cover her backside!

Since then we’ve been given a wonderful handmade hooded towel for each of our other children, but if we hadn’t been gifted such fabulous towels I would have steered clear of the typical store-bought kind and bought a Beeby Hooded Towel instead.

These stylish yet affordable hooded towels are made from thick, absorbent (yay), soft terry cloth and have soft, velvet fabric over the hood. The pattern atop the hood is complemented by matching fleece lining all four edges of the towel. Beeby hooded towels measure 24” by 42” so your baby and then toddler will be covered from head to at least knee.

The Beeby hooded towel is available in a wide variety of styles; my favorites are the Medallion Pink and Black & White Zebra. You can purchase a Beeby hooded towel for $30 from CuteiandPatootie.com. - Emily H.