We should mention that this review isn’t like other reviews on this site. We’re writing this because we had a hard time finding a detailed log of how others have faired with sleep training with their children (using any method, not just the Sleep Lady Shuffle – which is the method proposed in this book). Though every baby is different, we hope that by giving you an accurate night-by-night summation of what we went through will help other parents make better-informed decisions and have more realistic expectations.

The premise of the book

Children of all ages need sleep on a regular routine. This includes naps, and though the amount of sleep and number of naps children take is different depending on their age, naps and uninterrupted nighttime sleep is essential for proper development. Kids need help sticking to that routine, and though all babies are different, their sleep needs don’t vary by as much as one could think. By establishing a routine, separating children from sleep crutches (like bottles), and implementing the Sleep Lady Shuffle, babies learn to sleep on their own.

According to the book, it’s safe to implement the shuffle with babies at 6 months of age. Sleep needs are different for a 6 month old than for a 4 year old, and the book has age-specific sections to help parents provide a more age-appropriate system and nap schedule.

About the Shuffle

Kim West (aka The Sleep Lady) describes her ’shuffle’ as a gentler alternative to the much more popular and clinically tested Ferber method. I didn’t read Ferber’s book, but I know his night-time sleep training involves the parents leaving the room for several minutes at a time while the baby is left in the crib. Contrast this with the shuffle, in which West expects the parents to stay seating in the room verbally shushing the baby and reassuring her with occasional touches if needed. Nights 1 – 3, park a chair right next to the crib. Nights 4-6, the chair should be farther away. Nights 7-9, the chair can be next to the door. After that, put a chair outside the room but still in view of the baby. And finally, feel free to disappear for 5 minute intervals. All the chair shifting is where the term shuffle comes from.

I couldn’t help but be a little skeptical about this ‘gentler’ approach. It seems like sitting in front of the baby those initial days would actually draw out the crying and seem more cruel to the baby (since the parent is not supposed to pick up the baby, although West says to use your judgment). It turns out those first few nights are pretty torturous, but since we are unable to compare this to other sleep training methods, there’s no way for us to compare their effectiveness or the baby’s severity of the protest.

Before we started the shuffle

Up to this point, we mostly rocked our son to sleep. During the night it was not uncommon for him to wake up multiple times and for us to turn to co-sleeping in order for us to finally get some steady rest. Nap times were also a grab bag. We wanted him to have two naps, but often there would just be one, maybe an hour long.

We spent two weeks focused on creating a better bedtime and naptime routine. This meant not giving a bottle right before bed (as bottles should be associated with mealtime, not bedtime, according to the book – nice advice). Instead, we decided our new night routine would be as follows:

• 5:00 pm – Dinner
• 5:45 pm – Bottle
• 7:00 pm – Clean-up time (putting away toys)
• 7:05 pm – Bath time
• 7:25 pm – Put on pajamas
• 7:30 pm – Read 3 short books, say good night to various things in the room, turn off the lamp, say prayers, and sing a lullaby until the baby is drowsy
• 7:45 pm – Usually drowsy by now, so he goes in the crib. Shuffle time

The times may have changed a little night by night based on a few factors, but for the most part we stuck to this. The order of events always stayed the same, making a predictable routine for the baby and parents.

For naps, we did an abbreviated routine above. It started with a little clean-up, maybe just one book instead of three. The lamp goes off. Etc. Over time, our son picked up on the pattern and would often yawn as he sensed sleep time approaching. Naps were to be at 9:30am and 2pm, but those have been much harder to stick to (more on that later).

Once we were mentally prepared to try out the shuffle, we logged how it went. We kept in mind how long it took from the moment he was put in the crib to the moment he fell asleep, and to what degree he protested during this time. Below are our results.

As prepared and determined as I was to do the shuffle, it’s still tough on a parent to not respond to a crying baby as quickly as we’ve done up to this point. Our son would typically stand up, hold the rail, teeth against the rail, throw his teddy bear out of his crib, and cry loudly. Every 10 minutes or so, I would wipe his nose and face, give him some water, and guide him back to a laying position. The first couple of nights I held him briefly once or twice just to calm him down, but he went right back to the crib. I would say, “It’s time for bed. Lay down and go to sleep. Daddy is right here.” He didn’t understand exactly what I was saying, but I think he got the gist of what I wanted. Of course he’d want to pop right back up and cry even louder, but I was persistent, which paid off eventually. On night three, I labeled the severity of his protest as medium in contrast with the previous 2 nights – honestly I don’t know if that is really what happened or if it just seemed less severe. After he finally went to sleep, he slept throughout the night. When he woke up the next morning (between 530am and 7am), he was pretty cheerful and didn’t hold anything against me (yes, I was concerned about that).

I had moved my chair further from the door. I’d still help him every 10 minutes or so with wiping his nose after crying, and holding if needed (but never had to more than twice per night). Nights 4 and 5 were much like the first 3 nights. But on night 6 something marvelous happened. When I layed him down, he didn’t stand up, and he didn’t cry. Instead he laid still (for the most part), eyes open, calm, quiet, until he fell asleep peacefully on his own. Yes! It worked! At least once! That was big confidence booster for us as parents. Our son had learned what to do.

Though I’m supposed to shift my chair every three days, I wasn’t prepared on night 10 to do so. As seen in the chart, our son was becoming much more accepting of what bedtime means. During the two nights that are marked as yellow above, he spent the first 10 minutes protesting a little, but after ten minutes I would guide him back to laying down, and he would stay there quiet and calm until he fell asleep.

Though West’s shuffle continues until the chair is outside the door and eventually no chair at all, we didn’t do this. Our baby’s door faces our living room directly, so logistically leaving the door open wasn’t something we ever planned on doing. We were satisfied to be able to just put him down while he was still drowsy and let him fall asleep on his own while one of us was still in the room. That’s worked out well for us and for now, that’s as far as we see us taking the ’shuffle’.

One thing we wished the book covered, and we may be figuring this out on our own eventually, is getting out son to embrace going into his crib without having to be at a certain level of drowsiness. The ’shuffle’ only covers the parent’s distance from the child when the child is put in the crib, but the child is always expected to be put in the crib at the same level of drowsiness. For now, this isn’t too much of a problem, but if one day our son decides to be a wiggle worm or is wired with sugar for some reason, then we are left with a pretty long night. Ideally, we’d like to get to the part where our child learns to lay still in his crib by himself until he gets drowsy on his own.

About naps

At bedtime, if our son protests being put in the crib, we know he’s tired and we know we literally have all night for him to embrace sleep. With naps, that’s not the case. We are sometimes unsure whether he is really sleepy, and we sometimes feel uncertain we’re gauging his sleep window correctly. Also, unlike night time, there are more interruptions and conflicting schedules (preparing for church on Sunday, for example). We’re still working on this.

Bottom line

The principles mentioned in this book worked for us and our son, and he now sleeps much better throughout the night on his own with minimal-to-no wake-ups throughout the night. Though our success with naps varies from day to day, it’s better than before, and we have a structured daily routine which helps all of us as well.

Our family likes a good night’s sleep, thanks to the principles and advice from the Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight.

View Good Night, Sleep Tight at amazon.com

Dora’s winning list (totaling $92.93)

• 

  Le Creuset Honey Pot, Dijon
  Price: $24.99
  I love Pooh Bear and always wanted a honey pot like this! I enjoy honey and bread for breakfast – so quaint!

• 

  Le Creuset Silicone Honey Dipper, Dijon
  Price: $9
  How else will I scoop the honey out?

• 

  Trudeau Melamine Mixing Bowls, Set of 3
  Price: $16.99
  I love to bake and these are so colorful. I love them!

• 

  Trudeau Multi 3 in 1, 12 Piece Fondue Set
  Price: $27.96
  Perfect for when my friends come over! Cheese or chocolate is my preference for dip!

• 

  Imusa Enamel Dutch Oven, 5 Quart, Turquoise
  Price: $13.99
  Everyone needs a bright, dutch oven – fast, easy cooking

Our comments

All the entries were great and all of them made us hungry . We really appreciated the choices here. Completely agree about the Dutch oven. This is our first exposure to the Trudeau Melamine mixing bowls, and we are quite impressed with the reviews they are getting – we’ll have to get a set ourselves.

About the winner

I asked Dora a little about her family – she says she is not married nor does she have any kids. She just finished college, works full time, and lives with her family which she says works out great. Enjoy it, Dora – great way to save money while you start the rest of your life!

I also asked if she had any words to live by. Despite the corniness of my request, she obliged:

Long you live and high you’ll fly and smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry and all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be.
- Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd?

I’m actually not a crazy fan or anything but I heard this song on the radio once in 5th grade and the lyrics really inspired me then so it’s remained my favorite quote!

There you have it parents: You can let your children listen to something other than Barney music and they may still finish college.

Thanks to the participants and the rest of our readers

Thanks to all the participants, and thank you to our readers for indulging us in hosting a contest – it was a fun experience for us. We hope to do it again.

We’ve always wanted to have a contest. Here’s how it works:

The premise

Pretend you have $100 to spend at Amazon on Kitchen/Dining-related things. Make a list of the things you’d buy (as close as you can get to $100 without going over – don’t worry about shipping). Then email your list to ourfamilylikes+contest@gmail.com with the subject: Kitchen contest. We’ll choose our favorite list, and send that person a $25 Amazon Gift card.

The details

1. The email must arrive in our inbox before 11:59 pm (Central Time) of Saturday, October 10.
2. We respect your privacy and do not spam. We’ll use your email to notify you if you’ve won, or to let you know if we need more information from you for this contest. That’s it.
3. Include not just the names of the items, but links to that item’s page at Amazon, too.
4. The winner will be announced on Saturday, October 17. (You can subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter to stay in the know.)
5. The winning list will be a completely subjective decision on our part. But we’ll tell you what kinds of things we like: the creative, the practical, and the personal.
6. We’ll publish the winning list as well as attribute the winner by giving their name, where they are from, a photo, a link to their web site, twitter account, whatever. All up to you, really. If you want, go ahead and send us that information with your list.

More tips

When we say ‘Kitchen/Dining related things,’ it doesn’t only have to be from the Kitchen & Dining department at Amazon. It could be a cookbook, or even grocery items (did you know Amazon sold grocery items?). They could be items you already own. Your list can be one $100 item, or 100 $1 items, or anywhere inbetween. Though not required, it would be favorable if you provided some reasoning behind your items – why do you like them? Do they mean something to you? Are all the items on the list related somehow?

We hope this is fun for you, and an easy $25 for the lucky winner. Let us know if you have any questions (using: ourfamilylikes@gmail.com).

Get started and good luck!

Visit Amazon’s Kitchen/Dining Department now

Suppose you have a glass of ice water, or coke, or beer, or what have you. Condensation forms (much like it does on the advertisements on television for those cold drinks), and sure enough it runs to the base of the glass. It may form a puddle. Or if you’re like some folks, you use a magazine or newspaper to help out with that a little bit, but those items can get soaked, too. Then when you lift the glass, there is so much moisture that it drips on your lap and chest as you lift it to drink.

I remember the day my parents received a set of Thirstystone coasters as a gift. I was still in high school, and I don’t remember us ever using coasters at all (we had old furniture). I thought it odd that any coaster could be better than another – you just set drinking cups and glasses on them, right? But with the name ‘Thirstystone,’ it does make you curious.

Sure enough Thirstystone is a name that this product deservers. I was so impressed by them, when I moved out of my parents house, one of the first things I did for myself is buy myself a set. I’ve also given them away as housewarming gifts (and even as recent as last month, one such recipient reminded me that he still has them and likes them).

Design

Thirstystone coasters have a heavy stone feel to them. The underside has a kind of a thin cork pad, which is nice in that it protects the surface that the coaster sits on from the hard stone of the coaster itself.

When I look around the net for Thirstystones, there appear to be many different designs. I don’t remember having such a selection back when I bought my set several years ago. As attractive as the designs are, the ’sandstorm’ ones (pictured at the top of this review), seem to go with any decor, and are my favorite.

Bottom Line

The Thirstystone Coaster Set is a terrific addition for any household. Not only that, but I keep one of them at work, too. It is attractive, functional, and is by far better than any other coaster I’ve used. It also makes for a great housewarming gift, as coaster sets are an oft-overlooked gift item. Even if someone has a set of coasters, the designs are neutral enough to complement them rather than clash.

Our family likes the Thirstystone Coaster Set.

If you buy it

If you decide to buy the Thirstystone Coaster Set, please consider using the link on this page to do so. It counts as a referral for us and doesn’t cost you a penny extra.

View the Thirstystone Coaster Set at amazon.com

Our son is at the age where he’s been teething for a few weeks now. We recieved a few different teething toys in our baby showers (teething rings, pacifiers), and we’ve tried some home remedies as well (wet washclothes, frozen ones, our fingers), but they don’t seem to pacify our son as much as we (and he) would like. After seeing him trying to cram his entire pacifier into his mouth, we decided to find what other teething toys were out there.

Sophie immediately stood out because of the sheer number of reviews written about it.

The volume of positive reviews pushed us to give it a try. It was more expensive than the other teethers, but it seemed to be unique in material, design, and appeal.

Sophie arrives

Once Sophie arrived, we removed the packaging and examined it. The rubber it is made out of is really soft to the touch, but the horns, ears, and feet are harder and more sturdy – great for chewing on. Sophie is hollow and squeezable, which causes a squeaky sound. (I read some reviews that compared this to a dog toy, and after making it squeak, I can see why.)

The giraffe shape allows babies to have a variety of ways to chew on Sophie, as well as giving plenty of places for hands and fingers to grab it. We gave it the test: handing it to our son.

We helped him find the different ways he could chew on it – the body, the horns, and the legs/feet. By far our son’s favorite way to play with Sophie is biting her face, which makes a funny squeaky sound as his gums rub against it.

After a couple of weeks, our son, Henry, has continued to play with Sophie and fit her various parts into his mouth to chew on. It’s also very easy for him to make it squeak (unlike other baby toys). It is far from a teething panacea, and it doesn’t make pain go away and end all crying, but it has become one of the more valuable teether toys we own. When we get in the car, we bring Sophie, and Henry’s eyes literally light up as he reaches for her, unlike the response towards other toys (like plastic keys and those freezable rings).

Sophie’s quality

Though my son really could care less about this aspect of Sophie, I think it’s worth bringing up. Sophie comes packaged in a nice box, and features a little fold-out booklet of ‘Sophie’s story’ in several languages. It also has a picture card where you are encouraged to fill out information (like “Sophie the Giraffe was a gift to me from _____”) and a place to put a photo of your baby playing with Sophie.

At first I thought that was a little presumptuous, but on second thought I had to admit that Sophie the Giraffe is quite an endearing little toy, and much more classy (even with the dog-toy like squeaky sound) than other baby toys found in drug store baby aisles and such. The history is kind of an interesting read, with its roots in France (Sophie is largely sold in Europe by the French-based brand Vulli), and it has remained handcrafted since its creation decades ago. We think that Sophie would make a great gift for some of our friends expecting babies – it’s classy, cute, and for babies, useful and fun.

Bottom line

Vulli’s Sophie the Giraffe Teether is a soft and safe toy for infants entering the teething stage. Its squeaking sound can quickly get a crying child’s attention, and it’s food-grade paint makes a worry-free chew item for children who put any and everything in their mouths. It has a good variety of extremeties that babies find easy to hold and chew on. It’s one of the more quality and charming toys for babies to own. If you’re looking for a quality toy that can help with teething woes, consider Sophie the Giraffe Teether.

Our family likes Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether.

Update (Aug 15, 2009) : We just noticed Sophie was featured on page 26 in the Sept 2009 edition of Parent’s magazine. Not much was said about her – just under a heading that said ‘Trend Alert’, and mentioned that Sophie was available at Amazon for $20.

View Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether at amazon.com

Before we had this pitcher, we would mix and store formula in 8 oz bottles.  We’d fill up a bottle to about the 6 oz mark, add the appropriate number of powder scoops, screw on a cap and shake it like crazy to get out the clumps.  Needless to say, it wasn’t ideal.  We continued to have clumps, the formula would turn ‘frothy’ because it had so many bubbles (and it’s this air in the formula that can agitate babies during and after feedings), and the 8 oz bottles didn’t make for convenient storage containers.

So when we learned there was such a thing as a ‘formula mixing pitcher’, we decided to give it a try.  We’re very glad we have done so.

When the pitcher first arrived, it was surprising to learn that it is smaller than typical pitchers.  When you see images of this project on the web, it’s usually by itself, so there’s no sense of scale.  For that reason, I took the following photograph.

The size of the pitcher hasn’t been much of a hindrance, though.  We’re generally just putting about 4 oz of formula per bottle, so I can mix almost a day’s worth of feeding in one pitcher.  Also, because it’s a little shorter than other pitchers I can store it on my favorite shelf in the fridge.  Still, I think one of these days I’ll be wishing that the pitcher is bigger.

What’s so special about this pitcher?

I’ll paraphrase the product description: The pitcher has a built-in mixing blade that quickly dissolves formula with no clumping, and an adjustable stopper that prohibits the mixing blade from lifting above the surface of the liquid as to keep air introduction to a minimum. (The stopper works well, but I no longer use it – more on this in later). The compact size, locking lid, soft grip handle and ribbed pitcher spout offer comfort and convenience when pouring. it disassembles without difficulty for easy cleaning, it’s dishwasher safe, and it’s BPA-free.

I thought it would be helpful to see the spinning blade in action. In the following video, you’ll see the blade lift above the formula level just to give an indication of how much it twirls while pumping.

The stopper

The idea behind the stopper is to limit the height of the mixing blade so that it doesn’t extend above the formula level. Otherwise, air might be introduced into the formula while mixing.

Though the stopper works well for keeping the mixing blade from rising above a designated height, I no longer use it. The reason is that as you pour formula from the pitcher throughout the day, the formula level changes, and in order to adjust the height of the stopper, you have to take the lid off and push the stopper (which is wet with formula) by hand. I’ve found it much easier to set the stopper at the maximum height, and I just keep an eye on how high I’m pulling the blade as I’m mixing the formula.

Whether you use Dr. Brown’s bottles or not, this pitcher is great for mixing formula. On occasion our family will use liquid formula instead of powder, which still needs to be stirred well, and the pitcher works great for that, too.

Bottom line

Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher mixes formula much better and faster than any other method I can think of, and is capable of doing so without introducing air into the formula. So clumping and bubbles are minimal if not non-existant. It’s also a convenient way to store formula in the fridge, and the formula pours from the spout in a nice clean stream. Whether you use Dr. Brown’s bottles or not, Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher is worth having if you have a formula-fed baby.

Our family likes Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher.

View Dr. Brown’s Formula Mixing Pitcher at amazon.com

When building a home gym, a set of dumbbells in a variety of weights is a must. I wanted a bench and some dumbbells, but the idea of having to buy an entire typical dumbbell weight set was very unappealing to me. I only have so much space in my house, and if I wanted to move furniture around, it’s that much more work.

So when I finally came across the Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells, I knew I found the answer.

The Bowflex SelectTech dumbbell weight settings in pounds are as follows: 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 52.5 pounds. That’s the equivalent of having 15 different sets of dumbbells.

Not only do they provide a 15-dumbbells-in-1 solution, but the change mechanism from one weight to the next is intuitive and fast. Need 10 pounts? Turn the dial to “10″. Need 20 pounds? Set the dumbbells down, and rotate the dial to “20″. It takes seconds. The dial clicks into place, and you just lift up your dumbbells and the new weight is locked on.

Here’s a video (absolutely horrible quality, I know – I don’t have a real video camera!) of me changing the SelectTechs from 25 pounds to 5 pounds.

Note that the length of the dumbbell is just as long at 5 pounds as it is at 25 pounds. This can be a little strange at first. One would think that a standard 5 pound dumbbell would probably not be any longer than 8 inches or so, but with the SelectTechs, you get the same length no matter what the weight. That means that you probably won’t be power-walking with these things, as their size doesn’t really lend itself well to same maneuverability as smaller standard weights would allow. (For me, power walking wasn’t an issue). On the plus side, the dumbbells feel extemely well balanced in the hand – there is no teetering to my surprise. You can tell there was careful craftsmanship put into this product.

Similar all-in-one dumbbells

Once I found out about SelectTech dumbbells, I learned that they weren’t the only (nor were they the first) set of all-in-one quick-change dumbbells. The Powerblock seems to be its main competitor.

If you look for people who prefer one versus the other, it’s almost like Coke and Pepsi. The swapping mechanism for the Powerblock is a u-shaped pin that slides between plates (as opposed to the dial system for the SelectTechs). Also, some folks state the Powerblocks are more durable should you drop or knock your dumbbells around. (Note: Both Powerblock and SelectTech dumbbells are not to be tossed or dropped to the ground.) I haven’t used Powerblocks. Had I been aware of them before I bought the SelectTechs, I made have done more comparison shopping. I think Powerblocks would be a great alternative to the SelectTechs. As a matter of personal preference, I like the style of the SelectTechs.

The optional stand

It’s good to have something besides the floor to set weights on, especially if you work your arms to exhaustion. Bowflex offers an optional stand that is about two feet high for the SelectTech dumbbells.

When I first bought my dumbbells, I opted not to buy the stand. I currently use a sturdy table that is about 2 and half feet high, and it’s worked just fine (and it saves me $130). I may get a stand soon, as we would like to keep the dumbbells out of site when not in use, and since the stand comes with wheels, that would work well for us. Otherwise I’m lifting each dumbbell set separately to haul from one room to another (over 50 pounds each dumbbell set).

Bottom line

• A full range of weights in one
• Swapping weights is fast and takes little effort
• Stylish and sturdy
• Visitors can’t help but pick them up when they see them

Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells are a solid product, and a great space-saving alternative to a standard dumbbell rack. The variations of weights (from 5 to 25 pounds in 2.5 pound increments, then 5 pound increments after that up to 52.5) make it helpful to pick the right weight per exercise, and the dial for selecting weight is easy and convenient. It’s functional and stylish. It can be pricey, but there is a lot of value here.

Our family likes Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells.

View Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells at amazon.com

I learned about the Oxo Angled Measuring Cup after seeing a video of Alex Lee, president of Oxo, speak about the usability and accessible issues their company tries to address with their products.

Below is the video if you want to watch it, but it’s kind of long. Around the 16:30 mark is where Alex starts talking about the measuring cup.

To summarize Alex’s points, when Oxo makes something, they want it to be easy to use and easy to understand. He describes how his research group had some focus groups with people in their own kitchen.

“What’s wrong with your measuring cup?”, they’d ask.

And people, for the most part, didn’t have any major complaints. Answers received were along the lines of “It’s glass, so if it drops, it breaks,” (Oxo’s cup is plastic, not glass like) or “When it’s greasy, it’s slippery” (Oxo’s cup has their good grips material on the handle). But nobody mentioned anything else.

“Ok, show us how you measure”, Oxo would ask them.

And that’s when the fun started. The people would pour, bend down to look at the measurement, pour some out, bend down and look at it again, and did this four or five times. As Alex Lee from Oxo states, nobody mentioned this as a problem. This is an accepted part of the process of measuring.

A solution to the unnoticed problem

It wasn’t until people saw the innovative measuring cup that they realized there was a problem to begin with. The Oxo cups have an inclined measuring ramp on the inside of the cup, making it easy to see measurements from any angle, even from directly overhead. This makes measuring easier, faster, and more consistent.

Bottom Line

The Oxo Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup is a great addition to any kitchen. Because it is made of plastic instead of glass, so there are some liquids that cannot be used in this cup, but that’s up to you and your kitchen as to whether that is an issue. But even if you had a glass one, this will likely be the measuring cup you reach for first for many cases – it makes measuring that much easier and simpler.

Our family likes the Oxo Good Grips Angled Measuring Cup.

If you buy it

If you decide to buy the Oxo Measuring Cup, please consider using the link on this page to do so. It counts as a referral for us and doesn’t cost you a penny extra.

View the Oxo Angled Measuring Cup at amazon.com

You wouldn’t think that cooking spaghetti could much easier than the current method – putting noodles in boiling water. But there’s more guesswork than what is on the surface:

• How much water?
• How long do you cook it?
• Keep stirring the pasta.

In our family’s case, we only have one 8″ coil on our stove (all the others are 6″), and this can be very limiting for us if we’re trying to boil spaghetti and cook ground beef at the same time.

Product features

The Fasta Pasta site boasts the following features:

• No waiting for a big pot of water to boil
• Perfect al dente pasta everytime
• Saves time, energy and water
• Use with spaghetti, fettuccini, macaroni, lasagna noodles, rotini and more
• Will not boil over
• Cooks evenly without sticking
• Dishwasher safe, FDA approved microwaveable material

So we ordered one

A way to cook noodles without taking up space on our stove, and without needing constant attention for stirring and cooking time, was something we put a lot of value in. That’s why when we found out about the Fasta Pasta, we bought it to give it a try.

You wouldn’t think a microwavable plastic bowl could be so handy. But the Fasta Pasta is built in such a way to make cooking perfect noodles easy. It’s size is tailored to fit standard length noodles that you’d buy in the store. It has a notch on the bottom so that the noodles don’t rest directly on the container bottom, but raised a little. Water levels are indicated on the sides of the container to remove any guesswork. Also, the lid has helpful measuring and straining holes.

Put in your desired amount of pasta and water as indicated on the cooking chart (included).

Then pop the fasta pasta into the microwave. For some noodles/amounts, it’s 5 minutes – for others, it can be up to 17 minutes. Remember to remove the lid.

When the pasta is done cooking, re-attach the lid and strain the water.

Add your favorite sauce and enjoy.

When we made fettuccini, we ended up with perfect portions, thanks to the guides on the cooking chart and the built-in measuring holes on the Fasta Pasta. Of course, one person’s ‘perfect’ may be different than another person’s, so you can tweak the water levels and amount of pasta for future meals until you get it just the way you like it.

Bottom Line

We wouldn’t have thought that easier way to cook pasta would be all that valuable, but it is. No more big pots for boiling pasta noodles. We free up an eye on our stove; just set and forget in the microwave. For only about $10, Fasta Pasta is well worth it – it’s ease of use and simplicity make it much more valuable than that.

Our family likes Fasta Pasta.

If you buy it

If you decide to buy the Fasta Pasta, please consider using the link on this page to do so. It counts as a referral for us and doesn’t cost you a penny extra.

View Fasta Pasta at amazon.com

These diapers are not to be confused with the regular Pampers Swaddlers. We’ve tried those and they are ok, too, but the ones we like are the Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive, and in this review, we’ll tell you what makes the difference.

What makes Sensitive better?

From the pampers.com site, Swaddlers Senstive “helps maintain the natural, healthy look of your new baby’s skin,” and includes the following features:

• Air Dry™ for ultra breathability
• Wetness indicator to show you when baby may need a change.
• Gentle and Hypoallergenic
• Umbilical cord notch (for size Newborns)

Let’s cut right to the chase as to why we like these diapers:

The wetness indicator rocks!

All those other things are well and good, especially for the baby, but what we really like is a yellow stripe that runs down the middle of the diaper on the outside. When the baby is wet, it turns blue. This means that before you finish thinking the phrase, “I wonder if my baby has a wet diaper,” you already know. It’s awesome! Let’s see it in action.

Here’s a clean diaper from the size newborn of a pack of these we already owned. Notice the yellow strip.

Now here’s a wet diaper that I took off our son. Note the strip down the middle is now blue.

We love this feature so much. What’s surprising is that the diaper package doesn’t feature it on the front. The only mention of it is the third of three features on one of the package’s sides:

The wetness indicator on Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive has been extremely helpful for us as first-time parents, as they remove any guess work; limiting useless trips to a changing table, just to realize that diapers are still clean. We think the following people would probably get the most out of Pampers Swaddlers Senstive diapers:

• First-time parents
• Family members helping out with the baby
• Babysitters
• Penny-wise parents who don’t want to waste a diaper

Sensitive are a little more expensive than regular swaddlers

The 180 count package of Sensitive diapers, size 1, is $40.99 on amazon, which is almost 23 cents per diaper. The regular swaddlers is the same price, but has a 216 count, making it about 19 cents per diaper. We feel the wetness indicator has been well worth the extra 4 cents per diaper, as there are no more “I wonder if it’s really wet – let’s change it just in case” moments.

Our family likes Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive diapers.

View Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive at amazon.com