The sleepyhead grand is literally the best baby product by far that I have purchased. So Farah is now in a proper bedtime routine-she sleeps from 7pm through till 7.30/8am and wakes a few times in the night for feeds. Anyway, she would wake so many times at night in her cot and it wasn't till I stayed at my mums one night that I realised why she might be waking up so much. My mum bought a travel cot for Farah which is much smaller than her proper cot at home, and she slept pretty much through the night in her travel cot! It then clicked that maybe her usual cot is too big for her and is waking her up at night when she moves around as there's so much space. After much research-I came across the sleepyhead grand; a sleeping pod that goes into the cot. Its kind of like padding out the cot but in a really safe way-instead of using bedding and sheets and bumpers to cocoon the baby, the pod just fits nicely into the cot and that's it! Ready to go!
The real proof was obviously after the first night's sleep, and I can say hands down that the sleepyhead has made a massive difference! I've had it now for about 2 months and it has been amazing. Farah snuggles up the side of it and gets really comfy and cosy.
There are two downsides however; first, if you are travelling WITHOUT the sleepyhead after using the sleepyhead for a while you have had it. Now when I go to my mums to stay and I don't take the sleepyhead I have a really bad nights sleep, as Farah is just so used to it. The sleepyhead is big and therefore not great to transport, so be warned!
Second, it doesnt come cheap! £150 from John Lewis, but OMG the best £150 spent! I suppose the upside to the downside is that the sleepyhead grand should last until 36 months, so really get your moneys worth!
The sleepyhead deluxe is the smaller version suitable until 8 months-I never bought this but really wish I did!!
Good luck to all those mommas out there trying to get their babies to sleep at night-I would really recommend the sleepyhead if you're having sleep issues!!
Xx
Sunday, 10 January 2016
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
NodeFrida Nasal Aspirator, and Boots minor ailments scheme
The Nose Frida nasal aspirator has got to be on every new mums shopping list-it really is the best thing ever! When Farah was born she was quite congested and had big boogers up her nose, living in an Indian household meant the first thing everyone wanted to do was stick a bobby pin up her nose to take the boogers out! So I decided to do some hunting and came across the Nose Frida,
Unlike other nasal aspirators, the Nose Frida doesn't actually go up the baby's nostrils, but just sits against the nostril creating a vacuum. You then gently (or not so gently) suck from the red suction and watch in amazement! Boogers, snot and all things blocking baby's nose gets sucked into the blue tube. It sounds really gross, but the filter stops anything from actually going into your mouth. In fact I have never had any boogers come far up the tube, they mostly just come into the tip.
The tube then comes apart so you can give it a good wash, and the filters can be changed as and when appropriate. I usually change mine every week.
The Nose Frida is NHS approved, suitable from birth, safe, and hygienic. I use it on Farah every morning when she's woken up, and whenever she has a blocked nose; the relief really is immediate!
I purchased the Nose Frida from Amazon for £7.14 along with a pack of hygiene filters, and the calpol saline nasal spray. The nasal spray is especially good when baby has a lot of sticky mucus, as it softens everything inside making the boogers easier to come out with the Nose Frida.
The nasal spray was £6.98, which is probably on the expensive side. However, I have recently found out that Boots have a scheme known as the minor ailments scheme, where you can register your baby and receive some over the counter medicines free of charge. The scheme covers 'colds', so I think the nasal spray should be free of charge under the scheme.
Unlike other nasal aspirators, the Nose Frida doesn't actually go up the baby's nostrils, but just sits against the nostril creating a vacuum. You then gently (or not so gently) suck from the red suction and watch in amazement! Boogers, snot and all things blocking baby's nose gets sucked into the blue tube. It sounds really gross, but the filter stops anything from actually going into your mouth. In fact I have never had any boogers come far up the tube, they mostly just come into the tip.
The tube then comes apart so you can give it a good wash, and the filters can be changed as and when appropriate. I usually change mine every week.
The Nose Frida is NHS approved, suitable from birth, safe, and hygienic. I use it on Farah every morning when she's woken up, and whenever she has a blocked nose; the relief really is immediate!
The nasal spray was £6.98, which is probably on the expensive side. However, I have recently found out that Boots have a scheme known as the minor ailments scheme, where you can register your baby and receive some over the counter medicines free of charge. The scheme covers 'colds', so I think the nasal spray should be free of charge under the scheme.
Friday, 10 July 2015
4 Moms Mamaroo
The hype around this product!! Someone sent a link to my husband about the Mamaroo and from then on that was it-we needed a Mamaroo in our lives! Or so we thought...
So the mamaroo is an all singing all dancing baby bouncer; the Rolls Royce of baby bouncers quite possibly for the price! It is designed to mimic parents' actual rocking and swaying movements when holding and soothing their baby. It comes with five movement motions: kangaroo, car ride, tree swing, rock a bye and wave, and four sound options: rain, fan, ocean and heart.
All in all, in hindsight I would not buy the Mamaroo again. The lack of maneuverability, short usage time span and the price puts me off completely. There are much better baby bouncers on the market, one I now want in particular- the babybjorn balance soft.
The movements are great, especially the kangaroo which goes up and down, and rock a bye which is a smoother 'go to sleep' type softer movement. Each movement has five speed options-I usually keep the speed on level 2 or 3. Other than the kangaroo and rock a bye, I cannot tell the difference in movements between the others, but then again I'm not sitting in the Mamaroo so maybe that's why! But with kangaroo and rock a bye there is a visible difference in the swaying motions.
If your baby likes white noise then you will love the Mamaroo sound options. Before having the Mamaroo I would have 'white noise' on you tube for hours on end which was not practical, so the sound options are a big thumbs up from me.
The Mamaroo also comes with an aux point allowing you to connect your phone or MP3 player-I sometimes use this to play nursery rhymes from my phone which is another big pro!
The Mamaroo itself is not the most aesthetically pleasing item, it is bulky and the toy bar makes it look like something from E.T.
This obviously makes it difficult to move around, especially in conjunction with the fact that the sound and movement options only work when the Mamaroo is plugged into a socket. The only way around the lack of maneuverability is to keep the Mamaroo in one place, which I personally don't think is practical with a baby. For such an expensive item I want to make the most of it, and for me that would be to use it downstairs when I'm downstairs and upstairs when I'm upstairs, but that's impossible with the Mamaroo as it's so heavy and bulky to move around. The Mamaroo now lives in our bedroom and I think it's definitely under used.
This obviously makes it difficult to move around, especially in conjunction with the fact that the sound and movement options only work when the Mamaroo is plugged into a socket. The only way around the lack of maneuverability is to keep the Mamaroo in one place, which I personally don't think is practical with a baby. For such an expensive item I want to make the most of it, and for me that would be to use it downstairs when I'm downstairs and upstairs when I'm upstairs, but that's impossible with the Mamaroo as it's so heavy and bulky to move around. The Mamaroo now lives in our bedroom and I think it's definitely under used.
I mentioned the toy bar above-what a complete let down.
The bar holding the three spongy toys is so flimsy and looks and feels as though it will snap off at any second. The spongy toys themselves are also a let down, yes they are reversible, but so so boring! 4 Moms really need to improve the toy bar aspect of the Mamaroo.
The Mamaroo has the capability to connect to your phone via bluetooth once you have downloaded the app, allowing you to control the motion and sound straight from your phone. My phone is iOS compatible but for some reason the app features did not seem to work on my phone.
The Mamaroo's seat reclines, changing the position from seated to lying down-this is great if your baby falls asleep in the Mamaroo.
One funny thing I have noticed when I put Farah in the Mamaroo is that she always has a poo once the movements start! I asked a doctor about this and he said it is most possibly because she gets excited when she is in there!
The bar holding the three spongy toys is so flimsy and looks and feels as though it will snap off at any second. The spongy toys themselves are also a let down, yes they are reversible, but so so boring! 4 Moms really need to improve the toy bar aspect of the Mamaroo.
The Mamaroo has the capability to connect to your phone via bluetooth once you have downloaded the app, allowing you to control the motion and sound straight from your phone. My phone is iOS compatible but for some reason the app features did not seem to work on my phone.
The Mamaroo's seat reclines, changing the position from seated to lying down-this is great if your baby falls asleep in the Mamaroo.
One funny thing I have noticed when I put Farah in the Mamaroo is that she always has a poo once the movements start! I asked a doctor about this and he said it is most possibly because she gets excited when she is in there!
We ordered our Mamaroo from John Lewis for £260 (it has now gone down in price) which in my opinion is really expensive for a baby bouncer, considering it can only handle a maximum child weight of up to 25 lbs; approximately until the baby is between 10-12 months. That's a lot of money for a short space of time!
All in all, in hindsight I would not buy the Mamaroo again. The lack of maneuverability, short usage time span and the price puts me off completely. There are much better baby bouncers on the market, one I now want in particular- the babybjorn balance soft.
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Pampers New Baby V Aldi's Mamia Nappies
Pampers New Baby nappies are my all time favourites, with its wetness indicator and bounty pack promotions. So when my cousin asked if I had ever tried Aldi's Mamia nappies I had a million questions! Aldi do nappies? Are they not a bit cheapy? Surely they cannot be as good as Pampers!
I had to therefore review the Mamia nappies to curb my curiosity. At £2.79 for a pack of 44 size 2's (6.3p per nappy), compared to what I usually pay for Pampers New Baby size 2's which cost £16 for 140 when on offer in Tesco (11.4p per nappy), there is a massive price difference! Pampers nappies cost nearly double, but there has got to be a reason for that right, as Pamper's are sure to be better?
I ventured into my local Aldi and came out armed with a pack of Mamia nappies;
The sizing range is the same as Pampers New Baby, so Pamper's size 2 is the same as Mamia's size 2. Obviously this made my life a lot easier as I knew straight away what size I needed. So far so good!
Now onto the nitty gritty-I found that the Mamia nappies feel a bit more papery than Pampers. With Pampers the sticky tabs are yellow so they stand out against the nappy and you know which way up the nappy goes (which actually makes a difference when you're changing nappies at 3 in the morning half asleep),whereas the Mamia nappies sticky tabs are white-the same colour as the nappy, so you need to kind of look to see if the nappy is the right way up!
Mamia nappies still have the wetness indicator which was a definite positive! Compared to Pampers though I don't think the wetness indicator line was as bold.
I also found that the Mamia nappies did not have as much stretch in them; I like to really pull the nappy tight over Farah to ensure no leakage, but I could not pull the sticky bit as far with Mamia. That said, the proof was in the pudding-when it was time to change Farah's nappy everything was still inside which was all I could ask for!
There was no leakage with the Mamia nappy, the nappy fit well (just as well as the Pampers albeit I could not stretch the sticky bits as much) and the nappy did not feel soggy when it came to changing.
All in all, I am actually surprised at the quality of the Mamia nappies compared to Pampers. Mamia nappies are still much cheaper than Pampers, even when Pampers are on offer! Will I be using Mamia nappies in the future? Too right I will!
The sizing range is the same as Pampers New Baby, so Pamper's size 2 is the same as Mamia's size 2. Obviously this made my life a lot easier as I knew straight away what size I needed. So far so good!
Now onto the nitty gritty-I found that the Mamia nappies feel a bit more papery than Pampers. With Pampers the sticky tabs are yellow so they stand out against the nappy and you know which way up the nappy goes (which actually makes a difference when you're changing nappies at 3 in the morning half asleep),whereas the Mamia nappies sticky tabs are white-the same colour as the nappy, so you need to kind of look to see if the nappy is the right way up!
Mamia nappies still have the wetness indicator which was a definite positive! Compared to Pampers though I don't think the wetness indicator line was as bold.
 |
| Mamia wetness indicator line |
 |
| Pampers wetness indicator line |
I also found that the Mamia nappies did not have as much stretch in them; I like to really pull the nappy tight over Farah to ensure no leakage, but I could not pull the sticky bit as far with Mamia. That said, the proof was in the pudding-when it was time to change Farah's nappy everything was still inside which was all I could ask for!
There was no leakage with the Mamia nappy, the nappy fit well (just as well as the Pampers albeit I could not stretch the sticky bits as much) and the nappy did not feel soggy when it came to changing.
All in all, I am actually surprised at the quality of the Mamia nappies compared to Pampers. Mamia nappies are still much cheaper than Pampers, even when Pampers are on offer! Will I be using Mamia nappies in the future? Too right I will!
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