The Cotswold Mum Blog: Review

What do you do when your 3 hour spa session gets interrupted by a toddler who won't settle in the crèche?

It's our third day here at Center Parcs and I was so looking forward to my 3 hour spa session which was booked in for 9am today. Unfortunately things went a bit pear shaped.

Cotswold Kid was booked in the crèche for 9-12 but when we dropped him off he wasn't too happy to be left there and started crying. We went onto the spa which is in the same building anyway and I enjoyed the first few spa rooms when two members of staff found me and asked me to go to the crèche as CK still hadn't settled in. I walked over in a robe with the intention of settling him and heading back to the spa but when I got there he was in a bit of a state.

I calmed him down at settled him and then gave him back to a staff member to take him back in and that's when he started getting distressed. - my spa experience was clearly over and I'd wasted money on 2 activities - Or so I thought.

This was where the excellent customer service came into play that Center Parcs was renowned for.

Firstly, the activity den offered me a refund or 'exchange', and although many of the sessions were now booked they managed to squeeze CK and I onto 'Mucky Pups' - a messy play session for those 18 months up at 11.45.

I went back to the spa with CK in buggy and he was allowed in and into the accessible changing room so I could get changed back into my day clothes. I then spoke to the staff there who were good enough to also offer me an exchange to the same value and booked me in for a massage in a newly available slot (they were fully booked when I'd earlier tried to book) at 13.00.

Result - a happy and after my massage, relaxed Cotswold Mum - this is what service should be and I've also now booked a facial for later.

I've mentioned Ewan briefly before when talking about our bedtime routine, but I thought it was time to give him a post of his own.

We bought him before J was born after he was recommended to us by friends, and whilst he seemed expensive at the time (approx £30) he has been well worth every penny. We use him every night and he goes with us when we stay overnight elsewhere - I really do not know what I would do without him and highly recommend him to other parents.

Below I've compiled a list of reasons why I think Ewan really is every parent's 'dream' sheep. - Let me know your own thoughts in the comments below. (I have no affiliation to Ewan's manufacturer)

1. The most important reason? He helps your baby to sleep. He has 4 different audio settings; lullaby mode, womb sounds, waves & vacuum - the latter 3 are great for getting baby (and sometimes Mum) off to sleep.

2. He is so soft and cuddly - my little one is nearly one and he likes to hug Ewan - it's his little friend.

3. He comes with a velcro hook so you can either pop him in your little one's cot or hang it on the side.

4. He is small, fits in your changing bag - Hey I even put him in my hospital bag, he and J have never been separated.

5. Ewan automatically switches off after approx 20mins so you don't need to go and turn him off once your baby is asleep.

6. He glows red when turned on - helps you to see in the dark and also is a comfort to little one as a night light. (You can also turn this setting off if you want to.)

7. You can choose the audio setting that most suits your situation. I use the lullaby mode to put J down but if he's teething or when he was colicky the white noise modes were great for that.

8. He is a great comforter for your child. J has had Ewan since day one so he's a great comfort when he is not with me (particularly when I returned to work)

9. He is great as part of the bedtime routine - J knows when Ewan is on it's time to go to sleep (works for naps as well as at night, including after feeds)

10. He's not too loud and does have a volume control. J has several musical toys which always seem so loud (particularly if I catch them in the night accidentally) but Ewan is ok and if I go and tuck him in and accidentally turn Ewan on. It doesn't wake him. He's also easy to turn off by holding one of the legs.

11. - OK I know I said 10 reasons but I actually have one more. I find the batteries last a decent amount of time despite multiple uses of Ewan daily, plus they are triple A and easy to change none of those annoying D or C batteries some toys use (who keeps those around the house anyway)

Are you convinced yet? If so you can follow the link below to purchase on amazon.

First Impressions

The Graco Snugsafe Carseat was one of the first high value items that we bought for Cotswold Kid and one of the most important as he was collected from the hospital in it. We chose the Graco Snugsafe as it complemented the Graco Evo XT Pushchair which we fell in love with after seeing it in action in Mothercare. I was given a demonstration of the pushchair with the car seat and loved the simple ‘click in’ mechanisms to mount the car seat into the pushchair and felt certain that this was the right travel system for us – I just had to get my partner (who was not with me) and my mum (who was buying the pushchair ) to agree!

Early Online Reviews

Having seen the travel system in Mothercare, I went home and scoured the internet for reviews. I was instantly disappointed, there were very few reviews available as it was relatively new at the time and those I could find were negative. We went ahead with the pushchair purchase but delayed on buying the car seat, I was hoping more reviews would pop up and I was right but more and more negative reviews appeared which cast some doubt in my mind.

Issues raised in the Early Reviews

I visited our local Mothercare store again to look at the specific issues addressed in the negative reviews:

1. Angle of the car seat in the car meaning baby has little neck support due to upright position.

2. Tightness of straps – particularly across the legs - some reviews said straps were too tight others that it was too loose.

I saw for myself that the straps could be re-positioned in the car seat at different levels based on babies size – also further research online showed that the angle of the car seat was only an issue when used with the isofix base but this wouldn’t affect us as we would not be purchasing the base intending to use the seatbelt instead. In the end we went ahead with the purchase.

REVIEW

(Disclaimer - please note this is an independent review - I have no affiliations with Graco or its subsidiaries.)

We’ve been using the car seat for approximately 10 weeks now, CK weighs 13lbs 8oz and still fits in the car seat with no problems – he also regularly falls asleep in it. Threading the shoulder straps though the unit is a bit fiddly but not impossible and you get better with practice. To make life easier, the first thing I did when I purchased the car seat was to fully extend all straps. The straps are easily tightened once baby is strapped in by pulling the cord hanging between his legs until he is appropriately secured.

One issue I did have was the position of the buckle for the 5 point harness – further research revealed additional instructions could be obtained from Graco to move this to a different position and after emailing Graco requesting this I received them within the hour (very impressive customer service). The buckle does not extend but can be moved to a slot further forward but you have to remove it from the car seat completely and re-thread in the other slot. Once done, there is a lot more space for baby to sit and no risk of the strap cutting into his legs.

Picture shows 2 positions of crotch buckle - my finger is default position at the rear. Buckle has be positioned in front slot for usage.

Please click the following link for instructions on adjusting this: Adjusting Graco snugsafe crotch buckle

We were satisfied with the newborn insert and the support it provided but only used this for a month due to CK's size and length. Otherwise the deep wings on the sides provide sufficient support for CK when I’m driving and I have had no issues with strapping him in the car (even 4 weeks after a c-section when I started driving).

Conclusion

To conclude – We have both been very happy with the car seat and are glad we purchased this. The car seat looks very comfortable and CK still has more growing space in the car seat (however he is a very long baby (like his parents!) so I’m not sure how much longer he will be able to continue using the car seat safely). The car seat is also smaller than the others that my friends have which also means it is lighter to carry and manoeuvre in and out of the car. The straps are very secure and CK’s head is adequately supported when he is in transit. I really do not feel the online reviews do the car seat any justice and the comments I have read are from parents who perhaps were not fully aware of how to adjust the car seat harness or who spoke to untrained staff in the stores where the seat was purchased. The only negatives are that relocating the straps can be fiddly, the instructions for this are not clear and in the case of the harness buckle are altogether missing, once these issues have been resolved I feel this is an excellent car seat.