Sometimes, you find a company that blows you away. You know what I mean.. those companies that just seem to hit the nail on the head with their products – and their products do exactly what you expect them to? Malarkey Kids is one of those companies.
Note: The following products were provided to us free of charge. Regardless, this is my own honest opinion.
I was first drawn to Malarkey Kids when I saw their Munch Mitt. My babies all decided that their hands were the perfect “first teether” – and they tended to start this hand gnawing before they were developmentally ready to hold onto a traditional teether toy to chew on.
With my youngest, this constant sucking on her hands exacerbated her eczema. I needed something to protect her hands, and traditional cotton mitts just ended up soaked making things worse. When I heard about the Munch Mitt, I knew I needed it, and for about 3 months, we never went anywhere without it. (You can read more about my love of the Munch Mitt here)
As she began to get older and more coordinated, new products came out. Perfect with her new development, we were sent their Buddy Bib. I SO wish I had this with our other kids. Bandana bibs are not only trendy, but so cute on. Add a removable, chewable teether that doubles as a wrist rattle? MAJOR WIN.
This became our new staple. And the detachable “buddy” was the perfect solution for car rides. It entertained her, it gave her something other than her hands to chew on, and it even attached easily to our baby carriers to help discourage her from chewing on the straps. Bonus that it is adorable.
Once again, Malarkey Kids has expanded their line and we LOVE it. We recently received two of their newest products, the Munch-it Blanket and the Chew Cube. I expected to tell you they were a hit with our little girl, but honestly? Our 3 youngest kids ALL fight over them.
When I first unpacked them, our little girl would NOT put down the Munch-It blanket. She toted it around the house, outside in the snow, in the car. Pretty sure it’s her new BFF. I’m assuming the incredibly soft fabric and snack-inspired print helps. Pretzels are her favorite past time, after all.
You best watch out when her brother sees it and tries to take it for himself. It never ends well. Luckily, I can usually give whichever of them doesn’t have the blanket our new Chew Cube and it will instantly distract them enough to prevent a fight.
The Chew Cube is a great developmental toy, more than just a teether. While the outside is definitely perfect for chewing, the cube itself is so multi-purpose. A toy to roll around or throw -like dice for babies, a rattle to shake, and a sensory stimulating block lies in the center.
With mirrors and bold black and white patterns, it keeps my kids entertained for several minutes trying to free this small block from the confines of the teether cube. (Rest assured, try as they might, that cube has yet to be liberated. It is constructed well!)
Over the years, and between our numerous children, we have come across many teethers.. so trust me when I say these Malarkey Kids products are most definitely worth having. All of them.
I just had baby number five. FIVE. I’m well seasoned in this mom game and newborns are like second nature to me at this point. I can translate cries easily and change diapers faster than Mark Zuckerburg. I know that newborns tend to want 3 things: Food, clean diapers, and to be cuddled. This is where swaddling comes in.
My previous two babies had an exaggerated Moro Reflex. I am going to guess many of you haven’t heard of a “Moro Reflex” but perhaps know it as a “startle reflex” — or perhaps you don’t know it as anything and just think your newborn is a particularly jumpy little human. The Moro Reflex is a reflex typically found in newborns – usually present until baby is around 3-5 months. It’s a natural response to the feeling of falling, or a sudden loss of support. Baby will flare their arms out, contract them back in, and fuss or cry.
Think about it, when you depend solely on someone else holding you and supporting you, and suddenly you feel like that support is gone, you’d panic a little too. This often happens while babies sleep, and frequently startles them awake. My boys would have this reaction if you even walked while holding them.. Just imagine what nights were like. Until our pediatrician recommended swaddling. It gives babies that feeling of security and combats that reflex action. I knew how to swaddle and did it sometimes, but it wasn’t something I was religious about. Especially at night. All that blanket wrapping and tucking, making sure baby was positioned correctly, things were snug but not TOO snug. Then the moment you aced it, baby would poop and you’d have to undo your efforts and start over again. We found a couple blanket options that were said to make all of this easier.. But they either didn’t fit right or they were just as inconvenient. However, swaddling was the best comfort for our babies when they were in that Moro Reflex stage. Well, that and the feeling of being held.
When baby number five came along, I got an email from Nested Bean asking if I’d be interested in trying one of their weighted swaddle blankets. The Zen Swaddle. I was familiar with the brand (hello: did I me ion I’m addicted to baby products?) but I’d never used it before. The idea intrigued me, but I wasn’t quite sure how it would work for us for a couple reasons. First, I had used Velcro swaddles before, and like I said.. Hadn’t had much luck with them. Second, my newest baby was a “small for gestational age” low birthweight baby. Surely these blankets would be much too big for him, at a little under 5 pounds. Knowing how our previous babies were, however — and the fact that I don’t judge one product on my experience with another — I decided to give them a try.
I have never been more happy with a decision. Ever. When it first arrived, my first observations were aesthetic. It was so cute! I mean, if you’re going to put an adorable squishy baby in something, it should at least be cute, right?!?
The next thing I noticed was the instructions for using it on a smaller baby. WHAT?! Yes!! I followed the directions and was amazed that it fit! Wonderfully. Snug where it needed to be snug, relaxed where it needed to be relaxed. A good, SAFE swaddle for my tiny little man! (Yes. As with all things baby related, there are safe and unsafe ways of swaddling.) I was very happy at this point.
The only thing better was when I got baby to sleep, set him down in his crib, and he slept there for two SOLID hours. I would be lying if I said I didn’t go in and check on him a million times. He’d never slept that long out of my arms since we brought him home!
The Zen swaddle has 3 sections of weighted beans. One on the chest, mimicking a hand resting on baby. Then one on each side of baby. They feel held and snuggled while swaddled. I imagine this is what contributed to his sudden willingness to sleep on his own for that duration of time! It also calms him down, even when I don’t necessarily need him to sleep. Wrap him up into a Zen swaddle burrito, give him his pacifier, and suddenly all is right in the world.
The fabric is so soft. The Velcro is STRONG. (My only advise is, don’t swaddle on something it can stick to. It will stick! Hahaha!!) It works for babies of a wide variety of sizes. It says 0-6 months.. It very likely will last most babies that duration of time! It’s one of my favorite baby staples. Likely a product I will include in baby shower gifts and recommend to new moms! “This! Go buy this! You’ll thank me later!!”
Note: Nested Bean provided me with a Zen Swaddle to review. My opinions are my own and I was not otherwise compensated.
If you know me at all, you know that one of the things I am most passionate about when it comes to children and children’s products is safety. That is why, when I was approached by HALO Innovations to spread the word about their HALO Hospital Safer Way to Sleep Initiative, I jumped at the opportunity.
All new parents wish that their baby came with an instruction manual. There are so many things that no one teaches you how to do (correctly…) when they send you home with your new little bundle of bouncing baby. Sure, they tell you that your baby should sleep on their back. They make sure you are prepared with an adequate car seat. These are very important safety precautions.. but until recently one has been overlooked. Most parents do not know how to properly and safely swaddle a baby.
Yes, we see the nurses spin a baby burrito faster than we can blink, but here’s the thing about that baby burrito: When done incorrectly, that large flowing blanket can become a crib hazard. I’m sure you’ve heard of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) which is often linked to unsafe sleep environments. Most of us forego pillows, fluffy blankets, stuffed animals and even crib bumpers in our cribs. We ensure our babies sleep on their backs.. But have you ever thought about the moment that your less than stellar swaddle comes loose?
HALO Innovations is dedicated to helping reduce SIDS and wants to help parents swaddle their babies safely immediately from birth. This is why they created the Safer Way to Sleep Initiative – providing Newborn Swaddle SleepSacks to hospitals in lieu of the large oversized swaddle blankets. On top of reducing the risk of SIDS, the HALO SleepSack Swaddles also are deemed safe by the International Hip Dysplasia Institute. Did you know that improper swaddling of a baby can have an effect in their hip development?
I have had my fair share of experience with all sorts of blankets. I’m grateful that I was shown how to properly swaddle a baby, but at the same time.. That half awake middle-of-the-night swaddle job is never quite what it was intended to be. Blankets, like the HALO SleepSack Swaddle, definitely made me feel like I was always getting a secure and safe swaddle on my baby and without as much effort. Even in the middle of the night.
I am inspired by HALO Innovations’ drive to spread the word about safer sleeping. I am also determined to get their blankets into my local hospitals.
Some fabulous facts about the HALO® Safer Way to Sleep Initiative from HALO Innovations:
HALO Innovations SleepSack® Swaddle has become the standard for hospital nurseries and parents alike. In fact, 1,000 hospital nurseries use the HALO SleepSack Swaddle instead of blankets through the HALO Safer Way to Sleep Initiative. That is 1.5 million births getting first-hand, in-hospital experience with the HALO SleepSack Swaddle and safe sleep practices! Leading health organizations agree that modeling proper baby care in the hospital is the single biggest influence on how parents care for their baby at home. HALO Innovations also offers free Safe Sleep Practices kits to childbirth educators to help further the cause of SIDS prevention.
Did any of you give birth at a “HALO” Hospital? (If so, did you know they have a Baby of the Week Contest for babies born in these hospitals?) If your hospital isn’t a “HALO” Hospital, do you wish they were? Do you wish you had more safe sleep education given to you prior to leaving the hospital?
Do me a huge favor. Spread the word about this initiative. September is Baby Safety Month and we owe it to all the little ones out there to promote safe sleep! Also.. Follow HALO Innovations on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Let them know that you support the Safer Way to Sleep Initiative!
As a thank you, HALO Innovations is providing one of you with the chance to win your own HALO SleepSack Swaddle in either a size Newborn or Small.
UPDATE: September is Baby Safety Month; HALO will donate $1 to Safe Sleep Organizations for every new Facebook “like”.
(Note: Leave a blog post comment on this post.. THEN check the box in the Rafflecopter widget!)
** Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by HALO Innovations. I was not compensated and the opinions expressed are my own. HALO Innovations has provided the giveaway.
It all started with an addiction to giraffes and a desire to get my toddler weaned. You see, we were bed-sharers. Our toddler slept soundly snuggled right between us.. so long as his “breast friends” weren’t far away. When I decided to wean, I knew our only solution was to move him into his own bed. I had to make this bed as welcoming and desirable to him as possible. So, I went on a hunt. He loves “PhiePhie’s” as many of you have seen. So, I knew that having giraffes integrated into his new bed would be critical. I found the perfect thing. A simple white sheet with adorable giraffes all over it. We ran to our local boutique and bought it. Upon simply opening it, I knew it was amazing. Made from muslin, it was quite possibly the softest sheet I have ever held. After washing it? Even more soft. The brand? Aden + Anais. I was hooked instantly, in fact, my toddler refuses to sleep on any other sheet – so when I was given the opportunity to review a few of their products, I jumped at it.
Aden + Anais is everywhere right now. Rightfully so! What mom doesn’t want her baby wrapped in the softest, lightest, breathable blanket? Especially one that also comes in sweet prints. I asked some of my readers if they had used A+A blankets for their babies. The response was amazing. Several of them even sent me pictures. Sweet babies snuggled in adorable blankets.
(They also were kind enough to give me permission to share these sweet babies with you all! Enjoy! Baby E, Baby M and Baby G.)
When the box arrived, I was thrilled. My children are almost as addicted to blankets as I am to baby gear, so they were just as excited as I was. We washed the blankets and quickly got them into use. A Dream Blanket that my 4-year-old immediately claimed and a Sleeping Bag perfectly sized for my 22-month-old. I am completely in love with the Dream Blanket. In fact, I instantly threw a glance towards my husband and said “We need this!! A big one!” (They have big ones, by the way! The Daydream Blanket!) Four layers of ridiculously soft muslin. I could melt into that blanket. Clearly, so could my son.. because he did. Blissfully to sleep, snuggled up with it. When he awoke the next morning, still wrapped in his blanket, I asked him if he liked it. His reply was simple and quite matter of fact.. “Yes! Can I get more? Do they have one with fire trucks?” Two weeks later and I have to fight him to let me wash it. He makes me promise to give it back once it’s done. And, while they don’t have fire trucks.. they do have monsters. He might be just as happy about that.
The Sleeping Bag had me worried. Our toddler is almost 2 and while he is less mobile than most kids his age, he is still mobile. How would he react to having his legs confined within a blanket all night long? However, after I had washed it, he grabbed it from me and kept attempting to put his arms in the holes.. so I became hopeful. His typical sleep routine goes something like this — Sleep.. toss and turn in order to kick feet out from under blanket.. roll over and go back to sleep — His first night in the Sleeping Bag was no different, however when he attempted to kick his feet out from under the blanket, he couldn’t. I panicked for a moment and then I remember something amazing about this Sleeping Bag. It zips from the top down. I quickly went to him, raised the zipper enough for his feet to peek out and he drifted blissfully back to sleep. This actually made me love the blanket more, as typically I would have to go cover his feet back up before I went to bed to assure he stayed warm enough at night. Instead, just letting them peek out of the Sleeping Bag meant that as he rolled over and adjusted himself in his sleep, his feet migrated themselves back into the Sleeping Bag and thus, remained warm at night. I also love that it’s light weight and airy.. but managed to keep him cozy and warm! It also, surprisingly, didn’t limit his mobility as much as I thought it would. While a little more difficult, he was still able to move around the crib.
Along with the blankets came two bottles. You see, Aden + Anais doesn’t just make blankets. They have a fabulous line of baby skin care products. Wait, I take that back. Family skin care products. The A+A “mum+bub” collection. While formulated to be gentle enough for baby’s fragile skin.. they are just as fabulous for everyone else in the house. It is exactly as the bottle says “Made for baby. Designed for you.”
We are a family of eczema sufferers and have always been loyal to one brand of skin care products. It was the only brand that has thus far kept my children’s skin soft and free of rashes. This would test my loyalty to that other brand. They sent both the ultra gentle lotion and the hair+body wash. I was nervous, but seeing how natural it was I decided to give it a go. I tried the lotion on myself first. Let me just say that I have never smelled anything so good. I don’t like heavily perfumed things but I do enjoy smelling nicely. This had just enough scent to it that it was noticeable, but not so much that you turn heads. The only thing better than the smell was how soft it made my skin. My hands went from feeling like cardboard to feeling like satin.. and without any sort of residue being left behind on them. I loved it. After a few days of using the lotion on myself, I decided it would be worth trying out on my toddler. His skin is sensitive, but not as much as his brothers’ so he was the best person to try it on. I opened up the hair+body wash and got excited to try it on him. Following his bath, his skin was so smooth. Again, it was like the lotion.. his skin felt like satin. Also like the lotion, he smelled so good. I am sure that the smell is attributed to an ingredient like “fresh, fermented pawpaw fruit” but I choose to believe that the smell comes from my favorite ingredient on the list: LOVE. (No joke. It’s on the ingredient list. More products should contain LOVE, just saying..)
Aden + Anais is a household name for so many moms. So many products to help make life with a new baby a little more natural. A little softer. A little cozier. Now I can enjoy them for more than just blankets. I look forward to filling our home with more Aden+Anais, especially more of their mum+bub products! (.. and perhaps a Daydream blanket.. preferably in “branch out“..)
How many of you have used A+A products? If you have, which product is your favorite? If you haven’t yet had the chance to use A+A products, which products on their site would you be most interested in trying out?
Note: This post is my honest opinion of Aden+Anais products. I was not paid to write this blog post, nor was my opinion swayed in any way. The products reviewed were provided to me by Aden+Anais.
Sleep is not something that my household does very well. My husband is a very loud snorer.. which he kindly decided to pass on to all of our children. This means not only are they not sleeping well, but I’m not sleeping at all. We’ve tried many things.. but typically, the only thing that seemed to work is for me to frequently kick him with a kind-but-sleep-deprived reminder. “YOU’RE SNORING! ROLL OVER!” Yep. I can’t say that this really works, but it’s the best I can do. Until recently.
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Nook Sleep Systems products. They are modern, stylish, free of harsh chemicals and very practical. Washable. Water resistant. Anti-microbial (again, without harmful chemicals!) and soft. Oh my goodness are they soft. However, I’ve never managed to take the plunge to buy one. I’ve tried to convince my husband of their worth on numerous occasions. There is a local boutique here that we love and they have Nook products on display in an abundance. I figured, with the allergies plaguing our family and the lack of sleep going on.. it may be a good investment, right? My husband was less convinced than I.. so I kept trying. Then, an amazing thing happened. Nook Sleep Systems did a Facebook Fan Week giveaway — and I won. A Nook Sleep Systems pillow and a knit blanket. What happened next should not surprise anyone. The package arrived, I unpacked it and showed the husband.. and he took it. That’s right, folks. The man who was unconvinced suddenly had a change of heart. What resulted surprised even me, though.
The first night of opening the pillow, my husband gushed over it’s “squishy-ness.” He tossed it on the bed and laid down. He didn’t get back up. He melted into the pillow and slept the night away. Without snoring. Do you know what this means? It means I got to sleep, also. Without kicking him! I was completely shocked. We (well, we adults, anyway..) were well rested and quite happy about our new pillow. Yes, I won the pillow.. but in the end, the lack of snoring was the real win for me.
Following that fabulous night of sleep, I unwrapped the new blanket that they sent with the pillow. It was so soft. For a thickly woven knit blanket, it was surprisingly breathable and soft. I set it down in our playroom for our toddler. He loves blankets. He has an attachment to soft blankets, especially. I wasn’t sure how he would like this blanket considering it wasn’t the fluffy, minky-type blanket he tends to love – but he surprised me. He grabbed the blanket, gathered it into a small pile on the floor and then plopped himself down on it. He looked oddly exactly like his father the night before on the pillow.
These two instances have made me a Nook Sleep Systems believer. I now don’t just love them for their attractiveness and the idea of it.. but for the function and actual success of it. The most important part, though, is that my husband is now a believer. I have caught him looking online at their body pillow, mattresses, playmat and children’s lounge chair. I anticipate many more Nook Sleep System products in our house. You should all go look at the Nook Sleep Systems site and tell me, which of their products do you think would best suit your family!
Note: This opinion is all my own. I was not paid to write this review. My family loves these products and we want to share that love with you.
