Having kids requires more ’stuff’ than I ever could have possibly imagined. In fact, on a recent weekend trip, my husband commented that we looked like hillbillies driving down the road with our car loaded to the brim (and he was pretty accurate). And since becoming a mom and starting to buy all that ’stuff’ I have discovered that there are some really great companies out there and lots and lots of mediocre ones. I really like to support those great companies whenever I can, so in an attempt to spread the word about the great ones (and maybe a warning about the worst ones), I plan on writing about them here whenever I run into one.
So, to start my list….
Robeez kids shoe company. I started buying these for my daughter when she was just a few months old. They are great for growing feet since they have soft, leather soles. They are also great because they stay on little ones feet. When she was about 18 months, we were in the mall Christmas shopping and she lost one. I e-mailed the company to ask if I could buy just one shoe to replace the lost one since the pair was fairly new. They quickly responded and let me know that since the shoes are not supposed to come off like that, that they would happily send me a new pair if I would just send back the lonely one we had left. I was even able to choose a new design if I had chosen to, and to top it all off they even refunded me for the shipping cost. They were quick, friendly, and very professional. Now that my daughter is older she no longer wears Robeez, but I sing their praises whenever I can, and I recently bought my new son his first pair.
Another one of my favorites is Peg Perego. When my daughter was born, we had purchased the cheap, off the shelf car seat/stroller combo. Since she was tall, she grew out of the car seat early and we ended up going through three of four strollers because they all seemed to have some problem. So, after finding out that we were expecting another baby I really researched infant car seats and strollers and decided on Peg Perego for several reasons. One is that the car seat can hold an infant a couple of pounds and a couple more inches tall than most infant car seats, it also has added side impact protection. The stroller is great too, it has all the features that I wanted. Recently though, I did have a problem with the car seat. After a trip to the store, I couldn’t get it to release from the base. One quick call to the company and they talked me through a quick fix. Recently I also had a friend tell me about an equally positive experience they had with them. Peg Perego’s products are on the pricey side, but in this case I feel you get what you pay for.
Okay, so there are two of my favorites. I could go on and on, but for sanity’s sake I will save more for later. If you know of a great company, let me know, I would love to hear your stories and expand my list of great companies to support. Also, if you know of any crappy ones, I’d like to hear that too 
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Great idea! I also loved Robeez for Princess. I recommended them and still do. Since she’s 2, she doesn’t use those anymore too. We really like Skeechers for her now. It’s a slip on style with 1 “criss-cross” strap that is secured by velcro. It is a little pricey but so easy to use.
I don’t have a Peg Perego car seat or stroller but I have friends that do and they really love that brand.
Can’t wait to hear more of your recommendations!
I will have to tell Aimee about Robeez. We got some sort of kids shoe at Dillards, but I cant remember the brand. They were supposed to be good for infant/toddler feet, though. Most of Anaiys’s stuff now is Airwalk and Nike that were found on sale. Peg Perego is great stuff, we are very happy with it and the extra side impact protection as well as the boot really made our first winter in Ohio bearable for this little one. I dont think the elements touched her until she was at least 6 months old and it started to warm up. You’re right though, its pricey, but its completely worth every penny, and I am still confident that we will be able to sell it when the time comes for a good price. Take a look at the http://www.TipToeTurtle.com family of web stores for some other great products.
Another company that we support is the Avent line of products. We did a lot of research into the Medella and Avent breast pumps before Anaiya was born and decided to go with Avent based on recommendations from friends who used both companies products and various reviews online. From what I understand Medella makes quality breast pumps, but there are better bottles and other items on the market and we would have had to purchase extra adapters for the pump to go with any other bottles that we wanted to use.
We had an issue with the cone of the Avent pump cracking after about 4 months of use and when I called Avent America, they worked quickly and professionally with me to get a replacement. We did have to pay for shipping of the broken piece back to them, which was about 7 bucks I think, but the piece itself was replaced for free and they even let us know what the cause of the issue was. Apparently certain antibacterial/antimicrobial detergents (in our case Joy) when combined with a minerally, hard water source (which fit our situation to a tee) can cause cracking in the lexan cones and other pieces. Lexan is a very durable, lightweight, plexiglass-like material used as windows in race cars and other applications. Ours was a very uncommon case and they rectified it to our satisfaction, though we did need to provide a valid sales receipt, which I had to track down at Babies-R-Us becasue I had lost it.
Unlike some of the products sold in most big box stores, the design and quality of Avent’s products are pleasing to look at, as well as functional and not at all flimsy in any way. The take a great deal of care in the manufacturing of their products and in their customer service. We will use them for quite some time.