Baby Products

Okay, our “babies” are now a bit older, but these things sure were helpful to us…

Photos	Tip

Tolii sitting on the Hippy Chick, which is strapped around Katya's waist. The Hippy Chick Seat	Hippy Chick We saw our friend with one of these. We loved the idea and she recommended it to us (as she has to so many others). Now we gladly recommend the hippy chick too. Tolii and Tosha loved to sit on it while we carried him around. Both kicked their feet and squeaked with joy whenever they were on it. All this to say nothing about how it supported our back better than having either of them riding on our hips!
Tolii bouncing with Katya on a gym ball. Tolii riding upside-down on a gym ball.	Gym Ball This is a no-brainer: it is far easier to bounce a baby while on a gym ball than to rock him in your arms. The ball was also invaluable during pregnancy: Katya could sit more comfortably on the ball than on some of our chairs. It also serves as a portable chair for us and guests! (Some women give birth with the aid of a gym ball – but after 42 hours of labour, we were happy just to see Tolii arrive!). Also, when kiddo was a few months older, we did some fun exercises with him on the ball. The book Hop, Skip and Jump by Peter Walker shows ball exercises.
Three-piece wooden high-chair from John Lewis	High Chair We bought this wooden 3-in-1 “East Coast” high chair from John Lewis back in 2003. It looks nice, it wipes clean easily and it converts into a seat plus table.
The Urban Detour push-chair: our best buy of all!	Push Chair We like to go for walks in the Hampshire countryside. So it was important to us to have a push chair that could go across fields, through rivers and skirt around rabbit holes. We opted for the three wheel Urban Detour Glacier “off-road” style buggy from Mothercare. It is to be expected that thorns and other spiky things will eventually puncture the tyres. In our case, we are up to five repairs on one tyre alone… And, after having once been caught out 5 miles from home with a puncture, maybe we should have invested in some country-side resistant inner tubes! Would you believe this same chair survived Tolii and now carries both him and his brother Tosha? Sometimes, even a friend can fit in, too! Three kids, plus paraphernalia, can you believe it? Five years and still its going strong!
Mum's Net - "By Parents, For Parents"	Mum’s Net Mum’s Net is a handy website to find reviews of all things kiddo-related.
	Nappy Wrapper Tommee Tippee Nappy Wrapper is a smart solution to stinky nappies; Its easy to use and reasonably economical. Its like one super long rubbish bag which wraps one nappy at a time. You put a dirty nappy in and twist the ring. When the pail is full you use the built-in snipper to cut the bag, then you tie a knot and dump all your collected nappies out at once. Watch for sales – sometimes they go for 50% off at Tesco or Mothercare: we picked ours up for £15 back in 2003. A check in August 2008 showed Mothercare still selling it for that!
The outdated fibre-glass panel pool.	Portable Water Birth Bath We rented a fibre-glass panel water bath from The Good Birth Company for Tosha’s birth back in August, 2005. It looks like things have moved on since then. I mean, really, making the father’s job easier is just not right. Andrew had to piece together about 8 panels of fibreglass, lay out cushions in the middle, fit a inner liner and finally an outer liner. Then, he could start to fill it with water at just-the-right-temperature. Ah, memories of stringing hoses through the hospital ward… Of course, after the glorious moment had come, he had to pump out all the water, disassemble it all and take it back. Now, it looks like husbands just have to blow the damn thing up and be done with it. At least it will keep them quiet while they are huffing and puffing.
A Maxi Cosi Priori car seat.	Car Seats There’s a fair few car seats on the market. It ain’t worth the risk to get a sub-standard one. And don’t trust what you hear in the shops from the sales assistants (ask if they have kids!). No, its best to check Which? magazine before buying one. They regularly test the various brands on the market. Your subscription price will soon be repaid.
Karvol Decongestant Drops	Decongestant Drops Karvol Decongestant Drops have a vapour action and help relieve blocked noses due to colds in the head. We found that they started helping within 5 minutes!
The brand name Calpol; Look for a generic for a cheaper price!	Infant Paracetamol This is nothing more than paracetamol for babies. Forget the name brand “Carpol”; instead, go to a local Lloyd’s pharmacy and buy their equivalent “Infant Paracetamol Suspension”. The Lloyd’s medicine comes in a 200ml bottle instead of a Calpol’s few sachets! (and costs around 10 times less!!)
Colic relief by Infacol	Infacol Colic Relief We used this colic relief during Tolii’s first month. It definitely helped with gas relief after feeding (BIG BURPS!). Some saw colic is caused by trapped gas. BURP. So, BURP, if that’s true, BURP, then this is BURP the BURP BURP BURP….