Best Baby Products, 9th Ed. (Consumer Reports Best Baby Products) [Paperback]

Sandra J. Gordon (Author), Editors of Consumer Reports (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2007 | Series: Consumer Reports Best Baby Products

More than two decades of new parents have turned to Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, the A-Z guide for everything they need to know about getting the best value on the safest products for their babies. This ninth edition is updated with the latest safety and product buying advice and exclusive Consumer Reports Ratings.
 
Consumer Reports is the only publisher that conducts its own independent, unbiased safety and effectiveness testing on products for babies. We accept no advertising in our publications. Everything we test is purchased by secret shoppers in the same stores that new parents shop in. We’ll tell you not only which products are best, but also which products to avoid because they are not safe, or simply are a waste of money. As a result Consumer Reports Best Baby Products is the indispensable companion for new parents navigating the complex maze of hundreds of available baby products.   
 
What are the features to look for to make sure the crib you buy is a safe one? All-terrain strollers, stroller frames, umbrella strollers, travel systems? We’ll help you buy the parent-powered transporter that best suits your needs and budget. Does a pacifier really prevent sudden infant death syndrome? Written with warmth, wit and authority, Best Baby Products will help alleviate some of the anxiety caused by all the questions running through a new parent's mind. Consumer Reports buying advice and ratings allows buyers to streamline the selection process, avoid shopping pitfalls, and help keep the baby budget in balance.
 
Here is everything you need to know about: Baby bottles - Baby food - Backpack carriers - Bathtubs - Bedding - Bouncers - Breast Pumps - Cameras - Car seats - Changing tables - Clothing - Cribs - Diapers - Diaper bags - Diaper pails - Formula - Gates - High chairs - Kid-friendly cars - Mattresses - Monitors - Nursing Bras - Pacifiers - Play yards - Rocking chairs and gliders - Soft carriers - Stationary activity centers - Strollers - Stuffed animals - Swings - Toys - and more!

Plus: 
          -How to administer medications to babies and children
          -Child-proofing and home-safety tips
          - Recent safety recalls

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Best Baby Products comes to you from Consumer Reports, the testing and consumer information source best known for product ratings and buying guidance.  Since 1936, the mission of Consumer Reports has been to test products, inform the public, and protect consumers.  

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Answers to your toughest baby product questions from Sandra Gordon, author of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products 9th edition.

Why is buying a baby walker a bad idea? What makes one stroller worth $150 while another costs $750? Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, 2007 will answer all your questions about buying products that keep your baby safe and provide good value. Here are a few of the answers you’ll find:

Is it okay to buy a used breast pump--or borrow your best friends?It’s not a good idea. Buying a used electric personal-use pump or borrowing a friend’s can put your baby’s health at risk because breast milk can carry bacteria and viruses. These potential contaminants can travel through the tubing and lodge in the pump’s internal mechanism—the part that connects to the tubing—which can’t be removed, replaced, or fully sterilized.

Hospital-grade rental pumps, on the other hand are designed for many users and are built to endure years of use. They may prevent cross- and self-contamination with a special collection filter that prohibits milk from entering the internal diaphragm. Or they’re designed so that the milk comes in contact only with the bottles and tubing that attach to the pump, so there’s no cross-contamination.

If you live in the city and take lots of cabs, you're probably wondering: What do I do when my baby outgrows her infant car seat? Lug around a convertible car seat?

Consider buying a portable car seat for taxis and travel. Check out the Sit n Stroll by Tripleplay Products (www.tripleplayproducts.com), which converts from a stroller to a car seat. It works as a rear-facing restraint up to 30 pounds and a forward facing seat up to one year or 40 pounds.

What's the best sleeping arrangement for a newborn? A Moses basket?Crib? Bassinet? Co-sleeper?

We think the best beds for babies are full-size cribs, which must be manufactured to federal safety standard. Other options for the first four to five months of your baby’s life include bassinets, Moses baskets, co-sleepers, cradles, and portable cribs (play yards).

A co-sleeper is an infant bed that attaches to an adult bed. We don’t recommend co-sleepers or Moses baskets—a basket with a bottom pad and puffy fabric sides with handles—because safety standards have not been established for either one.

Bassinets and cradles are subject to a voluntary safety standard. (Juvenile products that don’t comply with a voluntary standard can be recalled if the Consumer Product Safety Commission considers the product a safety hazard.) But unlike full-size cribs, there are no mandatory federal safety standards for bassinets and cradles. That’s why we advocate full-size cribs over bassinets and cradles. If you do go with a bassinet or cradle, consider it a temporary arrangement. Once your baby begins to push up on his hands and knees or reaches the manufacturer’s maximum weight (usually 15 to 18 pounds, but sometimes as high as 25 pounds), whichever comes first, it’s time to move him to a crib.

Can I use my baby's play yard as a portable crib when I’m traveling?

You can, and in fact it’s a good idea to bring it along in case the hotel’s crib is not up to standards. If you do use the hotel’s crib, check to make sure the mattress is firm and snug-fitting. You shouldn’t be able to fit two fingers between the edge of the mattress and the crib side or fit a soda can between the slats. There also shouldn’t be any missing or protruding parts, screws or bolts, or high corner posts, which pose a strangulation hazard, or cutouts in the head or footboard.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Consumer Reports; 9 edition (April 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933524073
• ISBN-13: 978-1933524078
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #692,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sandra J. Gordon (www.babyproductsmom.com) is the author of eight books, including the 8th, 9th, and 10th editions of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products. She also writes about health, nutrition, parenting, and child safety. Her other books include The Reunion Diet (Sunrise River Press, 2010), Heart to Heart: A Personal Plan for Creating a Heart-Healthy Family (HCI, 2005), The Shy Single (Rodale, 2004), The Aging Eye (Simon & Schuster, 2001), and The 30 Secrets of the World's Healthiest Cuisines (John Wiley, 2000).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

132 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So Disappointed, April 4, 2007

By 

Keith Blair (FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Best Baby Products, 9th Ed. (Consumer Reports Best Baby Products) (Paperback)

I'm about to be a new parent and when I started buying stuff for my daughter, I figured I would turn to Consumer Reports to get some unbiased, properly tested ratings. I've spent way too much time on Amazon and eOpinions reading mixed and often conflicting reports on baby items. I saw this book in a magazine and thought, bingo! Just what I need. And a brand new version to boot!

Then today it arrived. It's hard to be objective when you're so utterly disappointed, but I'll try.

There are 368 pages total in the book. Of those 368 pages, there are a total of 141 ratings. Here are the categories included (along with how many product ratings you will find in each category):

Autos - 0 ratings *
Bottles/Nipples - 0 ratings
Baby Food - 0 ratings
Backpack Carriers - 4 ratings
Bathtubs - 0 ratings
Bicycle-mounted Child Seats & Trailers - 3 ratings kids helmets - 0 ratings for the chapter titled items
Bouncer Seats - 4 ratings
Breast Pumps - 0 ratings
Car Seats - 0 ratings **
Changing Tables & Dressers - 5 dressers, 5 armoires, 3 bookcases, 4 tv stands
Clothing - 0 ratings
Cribs - 0 ratings
Crib Alternatives - 0 ratings
Crib Bedding - 0 ratings
Crib Mattresses - 0 ratings
Diapers - 7 ratings
Diaper Bags - 0 ratings
Diaper Pails - 0 ratings
Digital Cameras - 0 ratings
Formula - 0 ratings
Gates - 11 ratings
High Chairs - 19 ratings
Humidifiers - 0 ratings
Monitors - 10 audio, 3 video
Nursing Bras - 0 ratings
Pacifiers - 0 ratings
Play Yards - 8 ratings
Rocking Chairs & Gliders - 0 ratings
Shopping-cart Covers - 0 ratings
Soft Infant Carriers - 8 carriers, 4 slings
Stationary Activity Centers - 3 ratings
Strollers - 6 ratings, 8 jogging, 8 all terrain
Swings - 0 ratings
Thermometers - 8 ratings
Toys - 0 ratings (16 battery ratings)
Walkers - 4 ratings
Stuffed Animals - 0 ratings

* - to be fair, it does show which vehicles placed first in each category of automobile.

** - also to be fair, there is a story on CRs web site indicating that they withdrew their most recent car seat tests due to testing issues. It still would have been more useful to have older ratings than none at all.

So for useful items like Bottles, Bathtubs, Car Seats, Cribs and Swings? 0 ratings. Combined. For baby video monitors they don't include Summer Infant monitors, which here on Amazon are amongst the highest customer rated.

Two items which I have not purchased as of yet (bassinet and swing)no reviews, but simply said things like "Look for a swing that has a sturdy, stable frame". I'm glad I had someone to tell me that, I never would have known otherwise.

Personally I couldn't recommend this book to anyone. It tries to cover a somewhat broad range of topics and does none of them well enough to be worthwhile. Reading reviews on Amazon or eOpinions will give you better information on which products to buy or avoid than this book even attempts to do. If you disagree, I strongly urge you to at least take a trip to a bookstore and flip through it before making your decision.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Despite the Scarcity of Ratings This Guide Is Worthwhile!, April 18, 2007

By 

Kathryn P. Harper "Mindful One" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best Baby Products, 9th Ed. (Consumer Reports Best Baby Products) (Paperback)

My husband and I have found this book to be invaluable. The guide is a thorough introduction to what kind of gear parents need for their baby, and it provides a good overview of the myriad products. We are expecting our first child, and we never would have known, for example, that silicone pacifiers exist and are generally recommended over latex (since latex can trigger allergies). Another example is the useful information given on the types of formula (cost, ease of use) and breast pumps; it's helped us clarify how we want to feed our child (breastfeed), what kind of pump to choose (manual or electric), and whether to rent or purchase a pump.

To be sure, there aren't a lot of specific product ratings. However, this market is in constant fluctuation, with changes to product designs and new products introduced frequently, so it's understandable why there aren't many ratings. The book would become outdated very quickly. And besides, there are some things that don't require ratings, such as stuffed animal toys. The book recommends what to look for in general, such as no small parts that could be choking hazards. It really isn't feasible to rate all the brands of stuffed toys that exist.

We went to stores and tried out gear, such as strollers, to learn about their ease of use. What the guide recommended as the best (Graco Quattro) I hated. It was too bulky, heavy, and not left-hand friendly. It's very important to handle the devices to see what works best for you. We have also done a lot of reading at Amazon and Epinions to see what customers say. Reading user feedback is far more helpful than the ratings in the guide would be, since laboratory testing is no match for real-life usage.

This is definitely worth purchasing, especially if you're new to parenthood.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not very helpful, July 11, 2007

By 

David Morrison "microwave15" (Falls Church, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Best Baby Products, 9th Ed. (Consumer Reports Best Baby Products) (Paperback)

I'm not impressed with this book...CR's botching of the child seat tests should have been corrected and updated. This book has no ratings of child car seats....nothing, and it's one of my upcoming purchases I am most concerned about. I also checked their website, and there's still no data.