While we can easily speak to looks & comfort, we’re of course concerned with safety since it is our kids (and yours) that we’re talking about.  Clek impressed us with their attention to safety – evident in their use of a energy-absorbing foam combined with a magnesium frame and structural headrest to provide better impact and intrusion protection, easy latch installation for safety when you kids are and are not in their booster (no flying carseats upon impact folks!) and belt guides for safe seatbelt positioning.  Well the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just released their ratings of Booster Seats and the Clek Oobr had their top rating and was chosen as one of their top “Best Best”.  Not that we were surprised of course, but 3^rd party verification is always awesome to have!

In honor of this accomplishment, we’re providing our loyal blog readers with a code to save 10% off the purchase of their own Clek Oobr for the next month (or while supplies last).  Use coupon code LGSOobr at checkout for 10% off the purchase of your very own Oobr at our website Let’s Go Strolling.

Haven’t you been thinking it’s time to move your preschooler to a great booster?

What shocked me even more is that these chemicals were being used in products claiming to be “natural” and for “sensitive skin.”  Yes, these chemicals are from nature, but does that mean they are safe to put on a baby’s body?

When I finally settled on baby wash, shampoo and lotion for Matilda I went with a company that has a good reputation for making safe cosmetics.  The packaging even says “96.08% Natural”. After using it for a few months, Matilda developed eczema.  Her doctor said it could have been a number of different things:  allergies, detergent, genetics (I have lived with eczema for most of my life.), etc.  First thing I did was change her baby soap to no fragrance castile soap and the eczema cleared up in a week.  Eventually I realized it was probably the fragrance that was causing her to break out.

This whole experience motivated me to develop Squeaky Clean Tot, a website where parents can rate and review non-toxic, safe and BPA free baby and toddler products.

I know there are a lot of false claims out there so every product I list (especially anything that applies to baby skin) is thoroughly researched.  I use Cosmetics Database for all skincare products.  I will only post the product if it has a score of “2″ or below, meaning a low hazard.  If the product is not in their database, I go through each ingredient on the label and check the hazard score.  I will only post it if I feel the product is safe to use on Matilda.  I use the same method for all household cleaners and laundry supplies.  If I am suspicious about an ingredient I won’t add it to our database, even if they are a reputable company.

I invite you to visit my site and help other parents make important decisions about what their children are exposed to.  I know I feel more comfortable taking advice from parents than a company trying to sell a product.  You will find over 900 items in our database, in 45 different categories, including shampoos, lotions, cradle cap remedies, eczema relief, BPA free utensils, dishes, pacifiers, breast pumps, household cleaners, and laundry supplies. New products are added daily.  Most of the companies are smaller businesses, but you will also find some familiar ones like Burt’s Bees, Neutrogena, Munchkin, Avent and Playtex.

To celebrate our launch we are having a giveaway that runs through October 20.  Our grand prize is a stainless steel Safe Sippy, Earth Mama Angel Babybody wash and shampoo and a personalized luggage tag.  Visit Squeaky Clean Tot for details on how to enter.

I hope you visit our site often to post a review or if you are researching a new product.  I also invite your comments, suggestions and feedback either on this blog or at Squeaky Clean Tot

Bio: The author and founder of Squeaky Clean Tot, Tina Evans is mom to Matilda, aged 16 months.  She enjoys traveling, reading and watching scary movies with her husband.  She works as a part-time assistant and spends the rest of her free time with her sweet baby girl and making the world safer for other parents!

Editor’s note: So what do you think of her idea?  Does it sound like a good resource for you?

In celebration of the new Valco Ion stroller, Valco has agreed to sponsor a giveaway with Let’s Go Strolling’s Strolling Along blog.   From now through the end of July – you can enter to win a Valco Latitude Single Stroller in Clay (valued at $299).  This is both fabulous summer getaway stroller as well as an everyday in-and-out of the car full-featured lightweight stroller.  (See details of how to enter below)

First of all the Valco Ion Stroller.  I’ve been fortunate enough to be pushing my baby around in this stroller for the past few months and I adore it!  So does my Nanny.  It’s easy to fold, pushes like a dream, has a fully upright seat which kids love, and a great basket for all my older sons’ jackets, snacks, etc – you  know how it is!  Also, I should mention that whenever this stroller is in our store, people are always asking about it and wanting to know when “this one” is available so even in person – it’s an eye-catching lightweight!

This stroller will be out NEXT week.  The single Ion will retail for $399 and the twin will retail for $589.  Both versions will be carseat compatible for Graco, Peg Perego and Maxi Cosi although the adaptors will be sold separately and will debut slightly later for the twin.  The Ion will be available in two colors, Raven (all black) or Almond which is a stunning mix of tans and browns.

Here is our video blog introducing the new Valco Ion to you – we know you’ll love it as much as we do.  We’ve also posted some stats from Valco about the particulars in measurements!

Now onto our fabulous giveaway (Thank you Valco!)

To win the our ULTIMATE STROLLER GIVEAWAY just follow the directions below and in 2 weeks, this beauty could be yours!

To enter you must:

1) Sign up for the Let’s Go Strolling newsletter at www.letsgostrolling.com then leave a comment below letting us know you did.

For extra entries you can:

2) Sign up to receive our blog daily via email or RSS reader and leave a comment letting us know you did.

3) Follow @strollingalong and @letsgostrolling on Twitter and leave a comment letting us know you did.

4) Tweet about this giveaway and make sure to @reply @strollingalong.  Then leave us a comment letting us know you did.

5) Become a fan of letsgostrolling on Facebook (Click here to find our fan page) and leave us a comment letting us know you did.

That’s it! Enjoy!  We’ll choose the winner on August 1st so stay tuned!

For the price, we think this is one of our top picks for a toddler stroller/lightweight stroller.  Okay the recline is really nill.  It says two position but all it means is your toddlers head won’t slump forward. It’s no real recline.  The canopy isn’t as good as the Baby Jogger City Mini version but it’s not bad for an “umbrella stroller” wanna-be.

The wheels also aren’t as hardy as the City Mini but we thought the push was excellent and we were pushing each other around the store.  Which means two things 1) if it can push over 100 lbs of weight (lets leave it at that vague number) nicely – it can push your kid easily and 2) If it can fit my butt in it, it’s roomy enough for your kid!

FYI – The weight was literally exactly the same as the Baby Jogger City Mini weight so while you lose recline, canopy and dollars you need to spend, you don’t get a poundage savings at all.

Our real moment of awe was when we loaded my HUGE 44 inch preschooler in there and he really fit.  Not just sort of fit but REALLY fit without looking all squished and funny.  We even took pics to prove it.

So whether you are headed to a theme park (more on that soon), visit to grandma’s, or just some summer fun but don’t want a spend a lot on a stroller for this purpose alone – you really won’t go wrong with the Baby Jogger City Micro!  Double version arrives next month!

Side View of the Baby Jogger City Micro Single

We’ll hope this video will be helpful to those of you trying to decide if it is the right set-up for you.  Please leave feedback and let us know what you think of our newest blogging method.  Like it? Hate our camera/editing work?  Want to see more? less?  Any comments are super helpful and appreciated!

Our Summary of the UPPAbaby RumbleSeat:

- Best for younger toddlers or smaller pre-schoolers
- We’re sure kids will get used to it but it might be a hard sell for your toddler in the beginning due to the limited visability
- Great option for adding occasional seating to a reversible stroller
- Don’t plan on using it much with your carseat!
- We hope UPPAbaby will add zippers to recline the seat in the next generation (ala the Phil and   Ted’s Sport Doubles Kit)

We hope you enjoy seeing it as much as we enjoyed making it for you guys! (Minus the iMovie Snafus that had me threatening to throw my computer across the room just a few times. . . )

We’ve been stocking the Baby Jogger City Double Carseat Adaptor for a few weeks now and the feedback is in and it’s not that positive.

Does it hold a carseat securely? Yes definitely? WIll your stroller be tippy with it on? No. However, we found it really difficult to attach to both the City Elite Double and the City Mini Double strollers. We had two staffers struggling to put it on and this was with directions and Baby Jogger customer service on the phone!

Once we finally got it on (which took a good 20 minutes. . . and we are USED to putting on lots of attachments), it felt so cumbersome. It stuck out really far from the stroller so that if we folded our stroller with it attached, it took the superb compact Baby Jogger fold and turned it into a monster big fold.

Can you take it off to fold? Not really. Even with practice, this puppy took about 2-4 minutes to take off and put back on. Not something you would want to do everyday in and out of the car several times.

The whole point of carseat compatibility is to make your life easier if you want to pop your carseat in with a sleeping baby. This adaptor does NOT make your life easier.

The final verdict: We love the Baby Jogger Double strollers and they are carseat compatible in a pinch but if you are looking for double carseat compatible ease, the Baby Jogger City Doubles are not the right double stroller for you!

I decided to get one since I always try to carry business cards with me.  I find there are an incredible amount of pregnant women who comment on my stroller while on line for the ultra-popular ice cream store I take my kids to on nice days – they always ask where I bought it!  Anyways I thought it might look a tad nicer to fish out a neat card from a little business card holder instead of fishing for one at the bottom of my diaper bag that doesn’t have goldfish crumbs caked onto it.  Professional huh?

First I loved how the Ju Ju Be BusinessBe had a loop to slide onto my key ring so I could have it with me always instead of having it go to the bottom of my bag too.  Then I realized when I stopped for quick errands, I could just stick my credit card in with my business cards and leave my bigger wallet at home.  Well nowadays you get asked for id with credit cards so much so I added my drivers licence to the nice clear windowed slot on the top flap.  Before I knew it I had stuck a few “just in case” bills in there as well.

Well on my recent trip to Las Vegas (see my last post), I found this was the only wallet I needed. I just kept my id, 2 credit cards and some cash in there, attached it to my key ring and I was set for 2 days in the city that never sleeps.  (Luckily I did though).

If you are sick of lugging a big wallet around wherever you go, have business cards you want to keep orderly, or you just want a miniature alternative for nights on the town & quick errands, I can’t say enough about how clever and easy-to-use this newest Ju Ju Be is.  Like my Amex card, I won’t leave home without it now!

The single urbans went down to $579 but the Mountain Buggy Single Swifts went down from $549 to $499 – basically a 10% drop in price!  If this is the stroller you’ve been eyeing – now is a great time to snap up a deal on them.

The Mountain Buggy Swift has the same smooth push as the urban, the same great basket space, the same deep recline, but is narrower and lighter with 10″ wheels- a win-win for many parents who don’t need to full all-terrain muscle of the Mountain Buggy Urban Single with 12″ wheels.

One of our customers in Ohio wrote us a helpful review for parents considering the Mountain Buggy Swift:

As a mom of three I was looking for a stroller that could do it all.  I wanted something that could handle our snowy winters and walks over less than perfect sidewalks.  I often fit in errands or short walks while on the run when I have a spare window of time.  I tried some great compact strollers, but the tires just couldn’t trudge through the snow this winter.  Nothing is worse that getting your baby out of the car on a cold snowy day and then having to push the stroller through the snow without the wheels working.  I needed something that steered well, had air tires to make it through the obstacles we would face and of course my little guy had to love it.

The Swift arrived a few weeks ago.  I had it set up outside our back door.  My 20 month old saw it he ran to get his coat and boots.  We dressed him all up and he ran out and climbed in.  He sat there going nowhere for about 10 minutes while I got his brother ready for the walk to school.  We live in a neighborhood of about 100 year old sidewalks and true to a Mountain Buggy design the Swift handled the bumps with ease.   Because of it’s smaller size the Swift almost dances over the terrain.

Now, we didn’t really get the Swift as a neighborhood stroller.  I needed something that could handle terrain and not take up the entire cargo area of my mini van.  The Swift definitely fits the bill perfectly.  It is a compact stroller with full capabilities.  On top of it all, it is mighty cute.  The almost full recline makes it a great choice from a baby a few months old up until the end of strolling days.  My two stroller riders, my 20 month old and my almost 4 year old, fit well and are comfortable.  Mom is happy because I can stop at Target and the grocery store and still have room in the back for a great stroller.

Once the error was discovered, Target cancelled all remaining orders and even pulled back shipments from customers who had gotten shipping notification.  Customers were incensed that not only did Target not abide by their stated website price, but that the company made no attempt to make amends to customers who had ordered products that would never arrive due to their error.

While we understand that errors can happen even to the best of companies – it’s also nice to deal with a company that takes responsibility for their error and rewards customer loyalty.  At Let’s Go Strolling, we understand that our customers are the reason we exist.  If there is a way you feel we can serve your needs better  – please let us know!  

This holiday season, when you are looking for the best baby gifts for a new mom, an expecting family, or someone’s newest addition please visit Let’s Go Strolling for our fabulous selection of baby, new mom, new dad or sibling gifts and know we will do everything in our power to make your ordering experience just right!