Review: SnoozeShade for Infant Car Seat

I received a Snooze shade for a car seat from @SnoozeShade to test and review. It arrived last Friday but I didn’t have the opportunity to try it until today.

Taken from the Website:

SnoozeShade for Infant Car Seats can help if:
• Your baby needs to switch off from outside distraction
• You would like to encourage good sleeping habits and better napping when baby is out
• You have older children whose schedules conflict with new baby’s naptime
• You prefer other people not to disturb your sleeping baby

It’s the simpler, safer, lightweight and secure alternative to draping blankets, muslins or other items over an infant car seat – and it’s great for holidays, in restaurants or anytime you have to go out during baby’s naptime.

SnoozeShade for Infant Car Seats:
• is made from a double layer of soft dark breathable fabric which blocks 94% of light
• in full sleep mode, cuts out visual stimuli to help babies get the sleep they need
• makes transporting baby from car to pram or pram to indoors easy
• can be used to provide extra shade when in hood-extender mode
• provides a shady and well-ventilated sleep environment
• has elasticated top and sides with easy-to-attach Velcro straps to ensure SnoozeShade fits easily to most popular infant carriers with upright rigid handles
• enables you to check quietly and easily on baby via SnoozeShade’s 'sneak-a-peek' front access
• is compact enough to keep with you at all times; it folds into a small drawstring bag to pop into your change bag, handbag, hang off travel system’s handles or store in your travel system’s basket
• protects babies from the sun with the highest sun protection – UPF50+



I was taking my oldest to soft play this morning to meet a friend and we were due to arrive right about the time I would normally be trying to put baby down for his nap. So I popped the shade in my bag and off we went. By the time we arrived he was fast asleep as I expected, so I slipped the snooze shade onto our Graco car seat. I was impressed at how quick and easy it was to do, literally just slips over the frame of the seat and then Velcros to the handles. I got into the building, placed him down on the floor to pay and ‘bang’ he was awake. So nap time failed, I didn’t for one second put that down to the product, more to a fault with my baby. (He doesn’t do sleep – his naps are rarely longer than 20 minutes).

I was talking to my friend about it, and we both agreed it’d work brilliantly for a smaller baby. She is due her second in October and I have said I will pass it over to her, as it won’t be much longer before we have to switch to the next stage car seat.

Baby was shattered by the time we left and fell asleep on the two minute drive home, so I figured I had nothing to lose in trying again. So on the shade went and we made it in to the house, set him down on the floor (the point he normally wakes) and by some miracle he stayed asleep. I felt like rejoicing, but I was anticipating him waking up quite quickly. So when half an hour later he woke I felt like dancing for joy around the house.
This product gets a big thumbs up from me, it definitely works. Even as a small baby we struggled to move from car to house without waking him. He was a winter baby so the drastic change in temperature woke him. I wish I’d discovered the snoozeshade a long time ago; it would have made my life a whole lot easier and prevented baby from being disturbed.

Baby sleeping in his car seat

The snoozeshade comes in a small mess bag, and it’s the perfect size to pop in your changing bag/handbag and take out with you. There is a small peep hole on the front, so you can open and take a look at baby to check they are still okay, I didn’t actually dare to open the zip as I feared the noise might wake the baby and knowing mine it probably would have.

If I ever have another it’s definitely something I will be using often.

Review: B – Organic Soothing Balm

I was asked to via twitter to review this Soothing balm, it is suitable for eczema and as I’m not keen on the cream we have received from the doctor I was more than happy to try this.

Taken from the website

Product Description

Winner of TIPS "Editors Choice" Award

Our most loved Soothing Body Balm is handmade with certified organic ingredients without any chemicals. It only has good oils that help to soothe and feed the skin whilst regenerating skin cells. Our Balm is so gentle and mild that can be used on 1 month old babies and adults with severe sensitive skin to any essential oils. It can be used on face and body.

It soothes Eczema, Dermatitis. Skin irritations, Sensitive skin and Nappy rash.

Please read our reviews on this balm, it works wonders on the skin!

100% Organic & Natural with no chemicals.

My first impression of the product was that the jar was quiet small and I couldn’t see it lasting very long. I applied a small test patch and there was no reaction so the following night I was able to apply a more liberal amount to my baby.

I’ve never used a balm on my children before, only creams and oils so I was interested to see how easy it was to apply as it is much thicker. I am pleased to say that I was pleasantly surprised, the balm rubbed in quickly and easily. The cream I have from the doctors takes a lot of massaging before it soaks into the skin, so this balm is perfect. It’s near impossible to try and massage cream into a baby that keeps trying to escape, so the fact this balm soaks into the skin with ease is a huge bonus.

Almost instantly you could feel the difference, his skin felt silky smooth without being greasy. I even applied some to myself because I liked how soft it made him feel.

I used the cream on him each evening after his bath and after three nights the two patches of eczema had vanished. It works much better than the cream I have been using and it’s much nicer to use. You don’t need to use a huge amount and as I am only applying to his driest areas it will last me a while.

One evening he was very sore in the creases of his legs and the only cream I had to hand was the balm, so I applied some. Popped his nappy on and put him to bed. The following morning he wasn’t sore at all. I was very impressed.

The only negative about this product for me could be the price, at £13 a pot it’s more than I would normally pay for a skin product. However the website often runs promotions so I would be very tempted to buy some more along with the body wash which I’d love to try.

Overall I found this product brilliant and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with a skin condition. I love that it’s a multipurpose balm and can be used for skin irritations, sensitive skin and nappy rash and that it works brilliantly.

Now I will show you some before and after photos just to prove it worked. Please excuse how bad they are, I was struggling to get him to keep still while I took them.

Before:

After: 

The difference is perfectly clear.

Review: Organix Mighty Meals

I was sent two toddler meals from @organixbrands last week to test and review for them. I will start of by giving you the information that Sarah send me about them.

About Mighty Meals

New Organix Mighty Meals are a range of delicious and nutritious organic toddler meals perfect for those aged 1-3 years old.

There are five yummy recipes to choose from:

• Hearty Lamb Hotpot

• Creamy Chicken Pasta

• Pork Meatballs

• Spinach Falafels

• Tomatoey Beef Bolognese

More information can be found on our website: www.organix.com/mightymeals

They are due in Boots stores from 6th May, and our online shop will also be stocking them (www.organix-shop.co.uk). Then they will be in other big supermarkets (Sainsburys, Asda, Waitrose) from June/July onwards.

RRP is £1.99 – Boots will be running a 20% off special offer from 6th May for 6 weeks

I was sent Pork meatballs and tomatoey beef Bolognese. My initial thought was that the portion size is just right for J, not too much that he’d be overwhelmed by the amount on his plate and enough to fill him up. The food is organic and has a ‘no junk promise,’ it’s the perfect substitute for a home cooked meal. I showed the packets to Joshua and he got very excited by them and chose the Bolognese to try first.

Unfortunately when I placed it in front of him his reply was ‘No,’ nothing could tempt him to have a mouthful. Typical. So I took it away and tried it myself. It was actually very tasty, full of flavours and different textures. Both dishes were; the sweet potato sauce with the meatballs was delicious. I don’t tend to buy many premade baby/toddler foods as I find half of the time they don’t taste or smell anything like what it says on the packaging. These however do which instantly makes them more appealing.

They are definitely meals I would use, and foods that on a different day my toddler would happily eat. I loved the ease and quickness of the preparation, 40 seconds in the microwave and they are ready. They are ideal meals for when you are in a hurry and haven’t had time to prepare something home cooked. Or to pop into your bag for when you are out and about, as they can be eaten heated or at room temperature. The meals are filled with proper healthy ingredients and contain no salt or preservatives, so you can be reassured that your child is getting a healthy, nutritious meal.

All in all I give these meals a big thumbs up.

Dribblebuster sleeping bag - Review

I have been meaning to write this blog post for weeks but it just keeps getting pushed to the side as other things pop into my head. So I thought it was about time I just got on with it.

I saw a random tweet to win a sleeping bag from Dribblebuster and having nothing else to do I decided to enter on their facebook page. All you had to do was write your bedtime routine for your baby to be in with a chance of winning. I’ve never won anything in my life, so when I logged onto facebook a few days later to find a message telling me I had won I was shocked.

My winning post was:

We do bath, baby massage then we lay on my bed and I feed him. Wind him and then lay him in his Moses basket and he plays for a bit before falling to sleep.
With my toddler he has wind down time, and then upstairs to bed, a story of his choice, kiss... and good night. Routines are brill :)

I got a little excited waiting for the post to bring me my prize. I don't get very much nice post - mostly just bills. The sleeping bag arrived and it looked lovely – it’s just a shame they don’t sell them in adult sizes.

This is what the website says about them :

Give yourself and your baby a good night's sleep with these delightful baby sleeping bags which provide comfort and warmth with no need for additional bedding. Baby sleeps safer and warmer with no sheets or blankets to wriggle under. The sleeping bags also prevent baby's feet being trapped between cot bars.

Each is made with finest quality 100% cotton pique with soft cotton jersey lining. Suitable for babies from 10 -18 lbs up to 68 cm height. Machine washable at 30 degrees C.

* Your baby will wake up warm and therefore be more likely to go back to sleep. * Your baby cannot slip down inside the sleeping bag; sheets, blankets and duvet's can go over baby's head. * Your baby can kick and wriggle contentedly and does not feel constricted. * When travelling or in strange surroundings, your baby will always feel always feel comfortable in it's own sleeping bag. * Easy zip designed to make changing your baby easier.

We have a couple of sleeping bags, I find them much more practical that using blankets. Especially when it’s cold, it means baby can’t kick off the blanket and get cold which he has a habit of doing. 

The sleeping bag comes in three colours, pink, blue and white. The design isn’t anything fancy but it doesn’t need to be. All that matters is that it does what it’s supposed to – keep my baby warm.

I love the ease of use; you can zip it up around baby even if he is already sleeping. Another sleeping bag I have you need to physically put baby’s arms through the arm holes. This one has poppers on the shoulders which you tie up. When I first put R in the sleeping bag, I was slightly concerned at how big the arm holes were, but then I realised he can’t take his arms out anyway and even if he wriggled them inside it’s not going to matter. The neck is the perfect size, not too small that it’s going to annoy R and not to big that there is any risk of baby wriggling down into the sleeping bag. 

The material is lovely and soft, both on the outside and more importantly on the inside – leaving baby both snug and comfortable. The sleeping bag is quite roomy, meaning R still has freedom to kick and wriggle his legs without feeling constricted. We’ll definitely be able to continue using it until the weather warms up.

The only negative I can think of is the price tag, it’s pretty pricey but the quality of the sleeping bag is brilliant and I prefer it to some of the cheaper sleeping bags around there.

They’ve also got some funky dribble bibs on the site, and I just adore them. 

So there we go my first product review, I quite enjoyed it :-)