Latest news with #Rockn'Play
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Is the Doona Car Seat & Stroller Worth It? Here's My Honest Review
PureWow editors select every item that appears on this page, and some items may be gifted to us. Additionally, PureWow may earn compensation through affiliate links within the story. All prices are accurate upon date of publish. You can learn more about the affiliate process here. You can learn more about that process here. Yahoo Inc. may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Read the original article on Purewow. Value: 18/20 Functionality: 19/20 Portability: 20/20 Aesthetic: 18/20 Safety: 20/20 Total: 95/100 A funny thing happens when you're gearing up to have a baby: Parents come out of the woodwork to dispense unsolicited advice. Tips about sleep training? I'll pass. But give me a tried-and-true product recco and I'm all ears. That's how I came to learn about the Doona Car Seat and Stroller combo. After all, I had my first child seven years ago. Ahead of welcoming my now six-month-old, I quickly discovered: Baby gear has changed quite a bit in that time. The Rock n' Play? Recalled! The Snoo? Was only just getting buzzy! But Doona, it seems, was the biggest innovation. And Doona parents, it turned out, were extremely impassioned. The first was my cousin. His son arrived nine months before mine and, while not always verbose about baby stuff, he imparted one piece of wisdom. Get the Doona, it's a game-changer. Next, one of my best friends, who was pregnant with a third: I'm splurging on a Doona this time around. Everyone I know raves about it. The final endorsement came during a shopping trip to IKEA. New Yorkers tend to keep to themselves, but a particularly gruff woman held the elevator for me as I waddled up to it, then couldn't help herself: The Doona stroller—ahem, the one she was currently pushing—will save you. (You don't have to tell me thrice, I thought!) So, I put the stroller/car seat combo to the test, right out of the gate—installing the base in my car and toting the car seat to the hospital where I was induced last October. If that's not a sink or swim moment for testing a product, I don't know what is. Here's my honest review. One of my most vivid early parenthood moments was when I transferred my oldest son from the stroller to the car seat for the drive home from the hospital. He fell asleep in the stroller as we toted him out, but then—as I was relocating him to the car seat—I bopped him on the nose and all hell broke loose. (In other words, he started wailing and as a first-time parent, I felt like a failure.) Not so with the genius Doona which is basically a car seat with collapsible wheels, allowing it to go from a safe and comfortable system of transport for babies (between 4 and 35 pounds) to a compact stroller in one fluid motion. A full-handed push of a button on the back and simple circular motion is all you need for the wheels to pop down or retract. It snaps easily into a secure base already installed in the car and off you go. If baby is snoozing, no disruption required. Rachel Bowie My cousin, bestie and that random lady in the IKEA elevator were all right: This stroller is a two-for-one design that's not only a game-changer, I swear it helps increase the amount my baby sleeps, as was evidenced when I toted my three-month-old from Brooklyn to the Guggenheim by car. Within seconds of the approximately 40-minute drive, my son nodded off. I found a metered spot, unclipped the Doona and seamlessly (and quietly) expanded the wheels. Minutes later, I had paid the entrance fee, then rolled my sleeping baby around and around a special exhibit about Orphism in Paris…all without him waking up. When I was done, it was back to the car where, once again, I retracted the wheels and drove off. When we got home? He was still asleep! Rachel Bowie The weight (just over 17 pounds) puts it slightly above your average car seat, though I've never found it too cumbersome. And it adjusts to baby's growing size with straps that you can toggle with a button at the bottom center. (Unlike other car seats, you don't have to remove your child from the seat itself in order to change the size.) There's also an included newborn insert and since it's approved up to 35 pounds or 32 inches—whichever comes first—you can typically use it until a kid is 18 months. (Note, it does not convert to front-facing.) I also tested this car seat without its base in a cab on-the-go, by using the car's seatbelt and following the online instructions. It even handled a bit of spring off-roading (see photo above) at my local botanic garden. As for safety, It has a five-star safety rating in frontal collision tests—based on over 100 crash tests—and meets the strictest U.S. and E.U. safety standards for car seats, strollers and hand-held carriers. When installed in the car seat base, you lower the handle of the stroller so it rests against the back of the regular seat, giving the car seat additional anti-rebound protection to minimize impact. Additionally, it comes with a five-point harness for clipping baby in and uses materials that are free from hazardous chemicals. (The seat cover is also machine washable.) In my book, there are three: For one thing, it does take a couple of practice runs to figure out how to collapse the wheels; Extending them is easier for some reason. Secondly, there's the lack of sun shade: The shade that comes included doesn't offer much in terms of protection, and only lowers to cover baby up to his nose (or chin if you're lucky), meaning I often have to bring a swaddle to keep my son protected. Finally, the undercarriage doesn't include a space for storage. (How could it since the wheels have to collapse?) I bought a stroller hook to hold my bag and the problem was solved, but snap on storage is available for an extra cost should you require it. Rachel Bowie Minor flaws aside, this two-for-one car seat stroller increased my efficiency as a parent and, quite frankly, made newborn life easier. I still feel grateful six months later and get pangs of joy when my older son takes the helm pushing his brother. Most of all, I love that it keeps my baby safe and snuggly on both walks and drives. After all, with young kids, mobility is empowering. $600 at Bloomingdales Postpartum and Still Running—Here's Why
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mom fights for justice years after baby died in product that was later recalled
A New York mother has spent nearly a decade fighting for justice after her 6-week-old son died while sleeping in a baby product that was later voluntarily recalled. In 2015, Kiersten Connolly gave birth to healthy twins, Jameson and Dorothy. She said that with the help of Fisher-Price Rock n' Play Sleepers, she and her fiancé, James Hatch, were actually getting some sleep. On May 16 that year, Hatch put the infants to sleep in their Rock n' Plays. A few hours later, Connolly's world changed forever. "I heard James scream out and, I don't know …I think I just knew," she said. Connolly's son Jameson had stopped breathing in his sleep. "It took my life. It took everything from me," she said. Connolly said they waited over a year for answers as to what happened, but never got any. Jameson's death certificate stated that the cause of death was undetermined. Product recalled years later It wasn't until 2019, four years after Jameson's death, that Connolly said she stumbled upon startling news. Fisher-Price announced a voluntary recall of its Rock n' Play inclined sleeper, the same product Connolly's son died in. "The anger I felt was … it was my whole body. It was palpable," Connolly said. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's records, the product had been tied to at least 100 infant deaths since 2012. A study it commissioned found the angle of the incline increased the risk of asphyxiation and suffocation. Congressional investigation Shortly after the recall, a congressional investigation concluded that Fisher-Price "failed to ensure the Rock n' Play was safe before bringing it to market" and found Fisher-Price was "aware of injuries and deaths in the Rock n' Play as early as 2012." Even after the CPSC warned the company of safety risks in 2018, it took more than a year for Fisher-Price to recall the product. Mattel, the parent company of Fisher-Price, did not respond to CBS News' requests for comment. "They knew for years that infants were dying and not disclosing it, and during that time, many other infants died," said Regina Calcaterra, who represents seven families — including Connolly — whose babies died in Rock n' Plays. Last year, without admitting guilt, Mattel settled with several families, but Connolly's case was dismissed. The company argued in court that New York's two-year statute of limitations had passed and Connolly needed to have filed her case before May 2017, which was two years prior to the voluntary recall of their product. "They're actually weaponizing the statute of limitations," Calcaterra said, alleging that "for years, they hid the fact that babies were dying." "What they were doing was pushing it down the line. So by the time the recall actually happened, the infants that died early on were not able to file a case," Calcaterra alleged. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut blames a law that requires the CPSC, the government agency responsible for evaluating products for safety, to get permission from a manufacturer, like Mattel in Connolly's case, before it's allowed to warn the public of possible dangers. "There's really no effective oversight of baby products before they're used by your infant," Blumenthal said. "Often, safety issues arise, sometimes causing death, and years pass before there's any effective action. This system is broken." Connolly said she has found strength for her two living children, but her loss is immeasurable. Two years after her son's death, her fiance died by suicide — consumed with grief, she said. Earlier this month, Connolly lost her appeal, but said she won't give up and hopes her story saves lives. "I will never stop this, this fight and the pursuit to bring justice to the both of them," she said of her two living children, prior to her appeal. In a previous report, Mattel responded to the congressional investigation, telling CBS News it "disagrees with significant parts" of the findings. Mattel maintains the Rock n' Play had extensive research and testing and "met or exceeded all applicable regulatory standards." David Macaulay, America's "Explainer-in-chief" Policing the internet in Germany, where hate speech, insults are a crime | 60 Minutes Delta plane upside down in Toronto after landing incident | Special Report
CBS News
17-02-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Mother continues fight for justice nearly a decade after her baby died in product that was later recalled
A New York mother has spent nearly a decade fighting for justice after her 6-week-old son died while sleeping in a baby product that was later voluntarily recalled. In 2015, Kiersten Connolly gave birth to healthy twins, Jameson and Dorothy. She said that with the help of Fisher-Price Rock n' Play Sleepers, she and her fiancé, James Hatch, were actually getting some sleep. On May 16 that year, Hatch put the infants to sleep in their Rock n' Plays. A few hours later, Connolly's world changed forever. "I heard James scream out and, I don't know …I think I just knew," she said. Connolly's son Jameson had stopped breathing in his sleep. "It took my life. It took everything from me," she said. Connolly said they waited over a year for answers as to what happened, but never got any. Jameson's death certificate stated that the cause of death was undetermined. Product recalled years later It wasn't until 2019, four years after Jameson's death, that Connolly said she stumbled upon startling news. Fisher-Price announced a voluntary recall of its Rock n' Play inclined sleeper, the same product Connolly's son died in. "The anger I felt was … it was my whole body. It was palpable," Connolly said. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's records, the product had been tied to at least 100 infant deaths since 2012. A study it commissioned found the angle of the incline increased the risk of asphyxiation and suffocation. Congressional investigation Shortly after the recall, a congressional investigation concluded that Fisher-Price " failed to ensure the Rock n' Play was safe before bringing it to market" and found Fisher-Price was "aware of injuries and deaths in the Rock n' Play as early as 2012." Even after the CPSC warned the company of safety risks in 2018, it took more than a year for Fisher-Price to recall the product. Mattel, the parent company of Fisher-Price, did not respond to CBS News' requests for comment. "They knew for years that infants were dying and not disclosing it, and during that time, many other infants died," said Regina Calcaterra, who represents seven families — including Connolly — whose babies died in Rock n' Plays. Last year, without admitting guilt, Mattel settled with several families, but Connolly's case was dismissed. The company argued in court that New York's two-year statute of limitations had passed and Connolly needed to have filed her case before May 2017, which was two years prior to the voluntary recall of their product. "They're actually weaponizing the statute of limitations," Calcaterra said, alleging that "for years, they hid the fact that babies were dying." "What they were doing was pushing it down the line. So by the time the recall actually happened, the infants that died early on were not able to file a case," Calcaterra alleged. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut blames a law that requires the CPSC, the government agency responsible for evaluating products for safety, to get permission from a manufacturer, like Mattel in Connolly's case, before it's allowed to warn the public of possible dangers. "There's really no effective oversight of baby products before they're used by your infant," Blumenthal said. "Often, safety issues arise, sometimes causing death, and years pass before there's any effective action. This system is broken." Connolly said she has found strength for her two living children, but her loss is immeasurable. Two years after her son's death, her fiance died by suicide — consumed with grief, she said. Earlier this month, Connolly lost her appeal, but said she won't give up and hopes her story saves lives. "I will never stop this, this fight and the pursuit to bring justice to the both of them," she said of her two living children, prior to her appeal. In a previous report, Mattel responded to the congressional investigation, telling CBS News it "disagrees with significant parts" of the findings. Mattel maintains the Rock n' Play had extensive research and testing and "met or exceeded all applicable regulatory standards."
