Mommying BabyT

Mommy T's adventures; bringing up Baby T

Category: Product Reviews (Page 3 of 3)

Snuggly Wuggly Blankies: We love our #SoulSlings Snuggly

March 18, 2017 / / 3 Comments

Raise your hands if you received a baby blanket as a gift from all the friends and family who came visiting. And now keep your hands raised if your little one outgrew that blanket in a few months or if it was either too hot or too cold or too ‘synthetic feeling’ for you to use. Yep my hands are raised too! #BabyT’s first year for me has been pretty much about the Eternal Search for the Perfect Blanket. Sounds like a movie title, no? Well it certainly has had all the makings of a good drama – surprise, shock, love and disappointment and some exhilaration. 🙂

Once #BabyT outgrew his muslin swaddles/ blankets, around 8 months onwards, I felt the need for a new baby blanket – one that would be perfect for day naps (no AC, warm Octobers in Mumbai) and keep him warm all night (AC on all night, baby hates anything on his body) And all of us moms and caregivers know that baby blankets go so much beyond just “blankets”. They also become play mats, nursing covers, sun shades in the car (Mumbai has a no shaded car window ruleK) and so many other avatars.

Precious Naptime

At a time like this Soul Snuggly walked into our lives. I had been eyeing the gorgeous prints and colours on the Soul website but was really unsure of how their jacquard fabric would fare in the perennially hot Mumbai weather and also mainly because I never could decide on which of the pretty designs to select and hit ‘Add to cart’ on. Soul sent me one for trial and review and I am so glad the universe conspired and brought me what I was looking for.

What’s a Soul Snuggly?

Soul Snuggly blankets are made from the same fabric that is used to make Soul’s wraps and other baby carriers. More details about the Soul Snuggly:

  • Sized at 45” * 48” – perfect for smaller babies and toddlers alike.
  • They are 100% cotton and therefore contain only all natural fibres.
  • The dyes used are baby-safe dyes
  • They are dense jacquard weave patterns which makes them delightful to look at and are strong and sturdy, yet become softer with each wash.
  • Easy to care for
  • So much choice: the Snuggly is available in 10 jacquard patterns, 6 Ikat weaves and 4 linen varieties. And more keep getting added to the stock regularly. 🙂

We chose the Maze Blues Soul Snuggly. And #babyT and our Snuggly have been inseparable since. This is a #nofilter pic.

The gorgeousness that is the Maze Blues Snuggly

After using them for over 2 months, count a sort of wintry January/ February and an already hot March, we have grown to love our Soul Snuggly. What we love about it is:

  • Just right for Mumbai winters – warm without being too sweaty, is breathable.
  • Perfect for nights when we leave the AC on all night.
  • Summer friendly – it got as high as 35* in early March and we found our Snuggly was perfectly breathable and did not discomfort #babyT
  • BabyT is a blanket “Kicker-off’er” – nothing stays on his body and he’s been that way since his newborn days. No caps, no socks, no heavy blankets, no fleece blankets for sure. But, the Soul Snuggly stays. That is a certificate in itself.
  • Gives two looks in one – Our Maze blues is prominently blue on one side and black on the other.
  • Very versatile – park mat, nursing cover, car window blinds on sunny car rides, cuddly time with books.

    ParkLife with Soul Snuggly

  • Great on #babyT’s sensitive skin. Fleece blankets which are so commonly used for babies, were a nightmare for us. It gave babyT rashes and dried his skin up a lot. We hunted far and wide for 100% cotton, but many of those blankets did not live up to the natural claim. Soul Snuggly however has been the best experience in terms of its promise of being all natural and safe.
  • Value for money: Soul Snuggly blankets are priced at Rs. 750 for the Jacquards and Rs. 950 for the newly launched Ikat and Linen baby blankets. Complete value for money considering you can use them from the newborn stage to toddlerhood (2-3 years) and even more.

What we love even more are the newly launched Summer Snugglies – they are blankets in the Ikat and Linen range of fabrics that Soul has. I got mine free during the offer they had on purchase of the Onbuhimo carrier. And they have become our go to blankets for day naps. They are also great for post bath wraps when #babyT steps out (or sprints out) of the bathroom. They dry so fast that I can reuse them as his blanket in the time he dresses up, feeds and slips into slumber land post his bath routine.

Soul Snuggly – Ikat Eclipse

Although I’ve had my Ikat Snuggly only for a week and so not had many opportunities to use it, but this range could easily be used for a stroller cover, crib sheet, swaddle. They would also make great gifts for baby showers and newborns.

If there is one recommendation I could make about the Soul Snuggly is that if it could be slightly bigger. I have a roller baby and at times he tends to roll out of the blanket. I could always get the Soul Shawls which are the same beautiful fabric and designs in a 80” * 40” size, but that would be an adult size (read: Me) and I don’t intend to share. J

Have you used the Soul Snuggly blanket for your wee ones? Tell me what did you love about it and what has been your favourite design?

#Review – Superbags: Wetbags by Superbottoms

February 23, 2017 / / 3 Comments

If you have remotely heard of Cloth Diapering you may have also heard the word “wet bag” being thrown about casually in conversations about wash routines and diapering accessories. Essentially, a  wet bag is a bag that holds wet stuff. TaDa! No surprises there. It is, in fact, a reusable, waterproof and leak resistant bag which holds in odours and of course prevents liquids from escaping. But did you know that a wet bag can be used for many purposes other than just cloth diapering? This makes it an investment that is quite worth it and very handy around the house. Especially a house that has a child.

Firstly let me give you some insight into why a wetbag is so important in a cloth diaper’s journey. Wet bags are essentially made of PUL/ TPU and so are reusable (yayy for planet Earth) They are also waterproof and leak resistant (yayy for all who cloth diaper) Wet bags allow you to continue cloth diapering even when you are out of the home. This without having to stink up and flooding your diaper bag with baby bodily outputs. And you do not need to use plastic bags. At all! Yes, you heard right. Continue reading

From one Mama to another – my review for #MamaEarth baby products

January 4, 2017 / / 9 Comments

A lot changed in my life after I became pregnant. I used to be the person who would love to experiment with every new range of cosmetic product that hit the shelves. But once I saw those two faint blue lines, I stopped and read the labels, checked for the safety of my growing foetus and researched like a mad woman on sustainable, eco-friendly, natural sources of everything. But reality was a dampener – nothing was pure, innocent or natural. I was beyond shocked when I learnt that a very popular brand of baby cosmetics, since time immemorial, was rife with rash horror stories and even had legal battles in international courts for causing severe harm to human life. This was almost an eye-opener for me that we needed to pay more attention to what goes inside and on our bodies.

So when babyT did arrive I made sure he was surrounded by only products which were natural, homemade, healthy and safe. I will admit though that finding the right kind of baby products for bath, skin and hair was a bit challenging. There were a dime-a-dozen products and each with varying reviews… five good ingredients and one totally worth avoiding. It was so confusing, especially in his new-born days to choose the most effective yet safe product for him. BabyT was also born with baby acne and has dry skin with bouts of atopic dermatitis which makes it even more difficult for me to just pick a product off the shelf. That’s where MamaEarth won for me, a brand by a parent, for a parent to use on their precious little bambinos.

I received this hamper of #MamaEarth products to use on babyT. #MamaEarth is a nascent company by new parents Ghazal and Varun Alagh who wanted to use and therefore created products SAFE for babies. Their products are “certified by Made Safe, a US-based non-profit organisation that provides a comprehensive human health-focused certification for non-toxic products. All the products are clinically tested to be hypoallergenic and carries no toxins, dyes, artificial fragrances or anything which is even close to the word ‘unsafe’,” says 32-year-old Varun, Founder and CEO of #MamaEarth. Varun, an engineering graduate from Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) and an XLRI alumnus, has over 10 years of experience in FMCG segment.

With the re-assurance that these products are Paraben Free and also free from Phthalates, PEG, DEA, Fragrances, Dyes, Formaldehyde and other ingredient I was pretty excited to open up my hamper and use them. I received their Soothing Massage Oil, Natural Insect Repellent, Moisturizing Daily Lotion and Gentle Cleansing Shampoo.

My MamaEarth hamper

First Impressions

I loved the packaging – the bottles came in a box and are white bottles with green lids, the font is blue and green in colour. Very soothing and reminds me of nature & mama earth. 🙂  These bottles came to me in a cute little zip pouch (pictured here) which I will continue to use to store and ferry around baby cosmetics when I travel. What I also loved about the bottles is that each bottle has a different animal image on it, trust me mamas, it is working like a charm to keep babyT in one place while I massage/ bathe/ dress him. He is very content to look at the lovely animals and keeps blabbering to them, making my job easier. Whew!

So this is now our new found bath routine – Massage – Bath – Lotion. Again babyT loves taking these animals along with him to bath-time. So I thought let me structure this review in the form of animals. 🙂

Tigers say Roaarrr – #MamaEarth’s Soothing Massage Oil

This was the first product by #MamaEarth that I opened and used on babyT. It is also babyT’s favourite because it has a tiger on the bottle and T keeps roaring at his little stripy friend.

I fell in love instantly with the calming scent of lavender and chamomile. Lavender is known for its relaxing properties and sure enough when I rubbed it on, both babyT and I were so soothed by its fragrance. #MamaEarth’s Soothing Massage oil contains sesame oil, virgin coconut oil (which is so great for anyone’s skin), olive oil, sweet almond oil and jojoba, lavender & chamomile oil. Yes, you read that right no other ingredients or preservatives or chemicals. 100% natural.

I have used the oil both before and after a bath (on separate occasions) and liked how it spread on easily, without being too greasy or oily after application. I especially loved that it got so easily absorbed into the skin, when using it after babyT’s bath. This is how #MamaEarth also recommends the oil to be used. BabyT’s skin felt really soft and smooth after its use.

Pandas love bamboo! – #MamaEarth’s Moisturizing Daily Lotion

Another great product by #MamaEarth! As I mentioned earlier, babyT has extremely dry skin and it has become a habit with us to constantly moisturize him. The slight dip in temperatures over the New Year and the week after that in Mumbai, has also threatened to dry out his skin even more.

#MamaEarth’s moisturizing lotion has ingredients such as Shea butter, cocoa butter, vitamin E; among others which are renowned for their moisturizing properties. A pleasantly lingering fragrance of chamomile has made me reach out to this lotion again and again for keeping babyT’s skin soft, supple and smooth. Forget winter dryness, with this lotion we are shining through. If there’s one product by #MamaEarth I would recommend to those who want to try one out for starters, it would be this one.

Haathi mera Saathi! – #MamaEarth’s Gentle Cleansing Shampoo

The main things I look for in a shampoo are gentle and tear free. BabyT has a lush mane and I have had bad experiences of using certain shampoos on him, which have left him in tears (despite being baby shampoo) and his hair not so soft. So the fact that #MamaEarth’s shampoo did both – kept him happy during his head bath and put a spring in his lovely curls, made me very happy. The scent of this shampoo is quite similar to the massage oil, which is lavender and was supremely soothing. It put babyT right to sleep after his hair wash.

It lathers up well and one wash was sufficient to even take the hair oil out.  Together the massage oil, shampoo and body lotion have become a set part of our bathing routine. I am now tempted to order their body wash and have a complete #MamaEarth bathing experience here. 🙂

The Snake says hissssss… #MamaEarth’s Natural Insert Repellant

And last but not the least, a very important product, one which is every mother’s concern for her baby… mosquito repellent. Liquidator machines have proven to be harmful, forget effective. There are enough jokes about people finding mosquitoes roosting nicely on the machines, even when on. Finding a safe and efficient mosquite repellent is a common query on most mom networking groups I am part of. With growing concerns of drug resistant strains of malaria, dengue etc this is one area which is of prime importance for babies and kids.

#MamaEarth’s mosquito repellent comes in a spray bottle which can be used on baby skin or on clothes, bed etc. It is 100% natural and most importantly DEET FREE which is what you need to be looking for in a safe repellent. It is a mix of various oils which work together to drive mosquitoes away. I find the smell very unique to some of the other natural repellent’s I’ve used for babyT. It has a lovely undertone of cedar and peppermint, apart from the goodness of citronella and eucalyptus which are known for being anti-insect friendly. The smell is not overpowering unlike a new roll-on stick which a big company launched (ugh, that smell stayed for days) and does not give me a headache (I have a heightened sensitivity to smell.) So it was reassuring to know that we have a product finally which will help us in caring for babyT.

#MamaEarth’s product hamper has delighted us and we are happy with the results so far. Apart from the products mentioned here, they also have body wash, diaper rash cream and sunscreen (getting good sunscreen for babies is so difficult, and I am glad for this.) You can buy all of these on Amazon.in

Their website also shows a category listing for mamas and mamas to be, so I am hopeful that I can partake of the goodness of these natural and safe, certified toxin free products very soon.

Visit their website: www.#MamaEarth.in

Twitter: @#MamaEarthindia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#MamaEarthindia/

Disclaimer: All the products listed in this blog have been sent to us by #MamaEarth for review purposes. I have not paid for them myself.

Flash-a-by baby: why we love flash cards?

December 28, 2016 / / 3 Comments

BabyT’s favourite flash-cards

Once you’ve had your baby and you’ve conquered the basic needs level on the baby Maslow hierarchy (there is no such thing, but my MBA in HR keeps showing up at times) your over-anxious mind asks “what next? What more can I do to make my life a little more complicated but a little more fun and stimulating for baby?” That’s when I discovered that babies love looking at bright, colourful images… and a random browse on Amazon brought me to the section for flash-cards. I remember having read on some discussion threads in the mommy groups I am part of, that flash-cards were effective to teach kids about all sorts of “stuff.” However, the rigour of it and the need to “teach” had driven me off… but still the products I saw tempted me to hit Add to Cart.

So around when babyT was 6+ months old, and we had started solid foods, I decided it would be a good idea to start telling him the name of the vegetable or fruit he was biting into, basically give things a name. And so arrived our first set of flash cards. I started off with showing him the flash cards at mealtimes – so initially we did images like carrot, beans, banana, mango (he started solids in the month of the Alphonso mango, yayy!); and I spoke the word out aloud a couple of times. I did not always use the word as was written on the card. I used the word that we normally use around the house – so some words were in English, some in Marathi (daddy tongue) and some in konkani (mommy tongue). I’ll come to this shortly – multi-lingual homes.

After showing him selective cards I soon graduated to doing the entire set of cards once a day and we did this almost daily. I soon found that babyT was trying to say sounds like carrot (kaat) and Kellein (keyy for banana). I also referred to this set of cards as the ‘bhaji (vegetables) cards’ and we were so surprised when once we were waiting our turn outside a restaurant in South Bombay (always South Bombay, never South Mumbai, or whatever would happen to SoBo.) babyT squealed and shouted at the top of his baby voice – “Bhajiii” We were stunned, it took us a few seconds to decipher what he just said in babytalk, but we looked around and saw that he was looking at a vegetable vendor selling his wares near the restaurant. So all those days and weeks of flash carding were actually helping in some way. We were quick to add other sets of flash cards to our collection – animals, birds (we have now lost this set somewhere between our mess and the ones we make at grandparents houses), things in my home, body parts etc. I don’t want to sound like a over-excited new mom who thinks the sun, moon and stars revolve around her baby, but babyT had a fairly wide vocabulary around the time he was 10 months. I don’t know if this will translate into him speaking early or having an ability to speak 3 distinct languages that we do speak at home, but even our paed did admit that his vocabularly was definitely above average for his age. 🙂 And I do believe flash carding helped.

How I used Flash cards:(Note – this may not be the way flash cards are meant to be used as per the instructions on the box. But I did not want to “teach” anything to a baby that small. Our objective was to find something engaging and enriching.) 

  1. Show the image to babyT and say out the name clearly once or twice. Do this one-by-one for all the cards. Then show the entire set of cards in a flash – while saying out the name just once. Experts say this should be repeated a few times in a day and then everyday. However I did not follow this. I used them whenever we had some time to spare from our other activities or when babyT himself dragged out the cards and brought them to me to read to him.
  2. You can say the name of the object in any language you wish. Ideally use the same word for it that you use at home. For example, in our multi-lingual home we use words which are Marathi, Konkani and English. But we usually stick to only one word per object. Crows are  Kailloh (Konkani), Apple is in English and Brinjals are vaangi (Marathi)
  3. Wherever possible add the actual object along with the card – especially in cases of fruits and vegetables, parts of body.
  4. As the child grows do try and add some descriptions to go with the images – we started to roar like tigers/ lions, say baa or moo for sheep and cows and blinked our eyes and twitched our noses doing body parts. Its quite cute really, every time babyT sees an image or video of a tiger he growls. 🙂
  5. We also talked of songs and stories where that object featured. Nani teri morni (a popular hindi song for babies which talks of peacocks) was referred to or a line sung from when we showed the birds flash cards. 🙂
  6. We made it a point to walk around the supermarket fruits and veggies section, pointing out all the familiar objects from our set of cards.

There are schools of thought which say very young babies shouldn’t be read to or shown flash cards to teach words or reading. However, books and reading have been the major source of comfort, fun and happiness with babyT. He loves books, he loves being read to and he loves receiving books more than toys. We also don’t follow the general guidelines on age wise books (obviously he isn’t reading nuclear physics yet) but we have been reading all sorts of books – touch and feel, hard bound, board books, paperbacks, soft books. Everything that we think we will enjoy and make some sense of. (Wherever we felt books are a little too advanced, we have stored them away for a future date.) So too with flash cards. They have worked really well for us and have benefited babyT immensely. I do hope you think of introducing them to your child. And if you haven’t already begun reading or books, its never too late to do so. 🙂 Happy reading! Happy flash carding!

We used flash cards from AppleTree available on Amazon.in

Book review: Goodnight Mr Darcy by BabyLit books

August 12, 2016 / / 1 Comment

The last thing I intended to do on this blog was review baby books. But this had to be done.

I will be honest and say that when I picked up the highly recommended Goodnight Moon for babyT, I found it incredibly boring, dull, hated the illustrations… but cut down to six months of reading it almost every day and now singing it out every night before bedtime (yes we know it by heart now), I love this book and the calming effect it has on T who is restless for a drink & to be tucked into bed.

So when I knew that the guys and ladies at BabyLit have a parody version of Goodnight Moon,  and that to do with Pride & Prejudice (swoons thinking of Colin Firth), called Goodnight Mr Darcy we had to naturally get one for mommyT..err I mean for babyT.

darcy

What I love:

  • Elizabeth Bennet. Mr Darcy. The Netherfield Ball. Weddings. Nuff said.
  • The colour scheme & room arrangement reminds you of the ones from Goodnight Moon. The mouse, the red balloon are here too. But instead of the cow jumping over the moon, here’s a fine gent riding a horse jumping over a fence. Very English.
  • The cover page is also pretty similar, the fireplace, the window and the curtains. But its nice to have Ms Bennett on the cover of this version.
  • Some phrases from Goodnight Moon have followed here – Goodnight mush. But thankfully a more pleasant version of it.
  • It sums up the P&P story well. There are a bunch of ladies who dance with some men and they fall in love with each other, but don’t know it yet. They let go of their pride and prejudices and confess their love for each other and lots of weddings happen. That can fit in a 10 page board book.
  • Great way to introduce children to classic literature.

What I thought could be better:

  • The imagery although similar, shows the character illustrations in a different genre or theme. It seems to be a mismatch.
  • The rhyme scheme seems off.. I don’t think I can sing this in the same tune as I do for Goodnight Moon.
  • The story jumps a bit from Mr Bennet saying hush; to Lizzy and Mr Darcy dropping their pride & finding love.
  • I didn’t feel the fireworks and butterflies when Elizabeth and Mr Darcy get together here. That is one aspect of P&P which makes my eyes go heart shaped every single time.
  • Needed to see more of the pride and prejudices. They were fun.
  • Will make absolutely no sense to babies and tots. This is one for their mommies.
  • Expensive for a baby book at Rs. 860

My ratings for this book:

  • Design & illustration: 3/5
  • Story: 4/5
  • Entertainment: 5/5
  • Cost: 3/5

This one is for keeps if you are an Austen fan. It’ll make you chuckle in the all knowing inevitability of the happy endings. It’ll transport you to the subtle love stories of Pride & Prejudice. If read out well and explained to children this is a great way to introduce them to English literature and its gems.

 

Our ‘Alien Friend’

June 26, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The first toy that we bought babyT was a set of teethers by Chicco. This was on day 2 of his birth, when daddy was keen to gift his lil baby boy a little something. Of course we didn’t use that gift till much later. But after that one gift we didn’t see the need for buying any toys, as we were gifted so many by our friends and family. Until now that is..

Our first joint (mommy and daddy with babyT) shopping expedition took us to Hamley’s (Infinity II mall, Malad, Mumbai) where we were quite uninspired by what we saw or were a few years too early to buy him lego and superhero stuff. There we saw a little crowd of kids, young and on the threshold of teenage, surrounding a display unit with various creatures, cute and awkward who were walking, babbling, making animal noises.

We stopped for a peek too and fell in love with this little Alien friend. We bought this for lil babyT immediately and named it Mork (after Mork & Mindy naanuuu-naanuu.) So here’s what we love.

The toy is a walking, talking battery operated one. Its USP is that it repeats everything you say and in a funny cartoonish voice. What better do small babies and children love than someone to constantly talk to and blabber away in gibberish.

Pros:

  • No loose parts.
  • Suede lined, not fur. I’m not overly concerned about babyT chewing on the little alien’s antenna
  • Keeps babyT engaged while I fix up a cup of tea
  • Imitates babyT’s little heyys, oohs, squeals, screams (we’re doing a lot of that right now) and encourages babyT to talk more (big big plus mark)
  • Keeps adults amused when they mouth dialogues of 90s Bollywood movies and sometimes some naughty words (read: the husband)

Cons:

  • a little pricey at Rs. 1599
  • Sometimes you forget to turn it off and you’re shouting out across the house to the cook, saying “6 rotis, bhindi sabji, dal fry” and trust me, it’s not cute in squeak language.
  • Drains battery like crazy
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