Gumigem Bubba Bag Teething Toys Review

Holly has a new handbag!  OK, so she is just 16 months old but she has a handbag all of her own.  A Bubba Bag.  I'm a big fan of Gumigem teething jewellery and the Bubba Bag is a new venture for Gumigem - a handbag full of baby teething toys.

The Bubba Bag is a neoprene flexible bag that is 5 toys in one.  The bag itself brings a whole lot of fun, especially for a toddler!  Inside, there are 5 silicone toys designed especially for teething babies.

• A set of chunky car keys which can reach all the way back to your child's molars.
• A toy credit card with raised numbers which offer a nice texture against the gums.
• A small purse with a pretend bobbly fastener to chew on.
• A tiny toy mobile phone with different textures and shapes to feel and gnaw.

All of the toys are suitable from birth, with the exception of the keys which are suitable from 10 months upwards.  The toys are all absolutely perfect for Holly right now because, not only are we going through a really really tough period of teething which have brought night times of misery to us all, but when Holly is feeling more cheerful during the day, she has recently discovered an element of role play and likes to dress up and pretend to do the things I do around the house such as making tea or answering the phone.  The role play element of the Bubba Bag is brilliant.

The toys are all CE certified and made from non-toxic and washable materials so they are suitable for your child to munch on to their heart's content.  I would like to see a few different textures on the silicone toys for younger mouths - perhaps some larger areas of small bumps or some silicone brush effects - many of the surfaces are quite smooth.

While I think the idea of the Bubba Bag is absolute genius (and Holly seems to agree), there are a few areas that I'd like to see developed as the Gumigem range grows and evolves... The neoprene bag doesn't feel... well.. finished.  It feels a bit raw and doesn't ooze quality like I would expect from Gumigem.  I also felt that the colours of the gadgets and the bag were all a bit muted and could do with being more striking and fun.

I think the fact that each of the toys has a small hole that allows you to attach it to a buggy clip or dummy clip is a really clever idea.  I felt that the purse toy was a slight anomalie in the bag because the size is very different to the real thing and it seems small compared to the credit card, phone and keys.  The keys are the biggest hit with Holly because they are the biggest and chunkiest of the lot.

I think that the Bubba Bag is a great idea but it needs a little bit of refining to make it a market-changing idea in the world of teething toys.

Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Piggy Bank Review

The Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Piggy Bank is one of Fisher-Price's all time classic toys.  This big bold plastic piggy bank is suitable from 6 months to around 3 years (although Lara seems to enjoy playing with it too at 4 years old!).

As with most of the toys in the Laugh and Learn range of toys for infants and toddlers, the Learning Piggy Bank is designed to encourage role play and learning about the world around them in a fun way.  It introduces first numbers and colours.

Holly enjoys listening to the Piggy sing songs when it is in music mode and Lara enjoys counting along with it when it is in counting mode.  In counting mode, every time a big coloured coin droops through the slot, the piggy counts up and waits for the next coin.  The coins are a great size for Holly right now - big and chunky. Some of the coins have textured bumps around the outside and others have smooth edges so there is an extra dimension to the toy.

There is a very satisfying "clunk" when the coins drop into the Piggy's tummy and I'm sure this is one of the main reasons why this toy is such a hit with families across the globe.  The door to the piggy bank is easy to see through so your child can see the coins piling up.  The door opens (very easily so it doesn't frustrate tiny fingers) and the piggy tells you whether the door is "open" or "closed" and giggles when you press its nose.

Each of the coins has an animal's face on the front and an animal's behind... on the behind.  I think this is probably lost on the girls but I think its funny.  Holly seems to most enjoy handing me the coloured coins and watching me put them in through the slot!

The Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Piggy Bank and is available in lots of good toy stores.

Didicar Walk 'n Ride Review

This is a guest review by Jo Anderson who is a first-time mum to the very beautiful Amélie who recently turned one. Amélie has been testing out the Didicar Walk 'n Ride.

 

We found the Didicar Walk 'n Ride really easy to assemble and Amélie was interested in playing with it straight away which was a good start! Initially Amélie really enjoyed using it as a walker but the handles are quite low compared to conventional walkers which makes it harder to push as Amélie had to stoop a little, she tends to walk alongside it one handed rather than push it in front of her.

The big handles are really good hold for gripping on tight and the seat is a nice height for a first ride-on, as some other makes are far too big for her at the moment. The Walk 'n Ride is good on multiple surfaces, we used it on tiles, carpet and grass and it worked really well on all.

We liked that the wheels were multidirectional rather than fixed, which makes it much more manoeuvrable than conventional walkers . It is occasionally a little unstable when being used as a walker but I guess this is because it needs to be thinner than most walkers in order to be a ride-on as well as walker.

Overall we enjoyed using the Didicar Walk 'n Ride. Amélie is now walking well on her own so has quickly lost interest in it as a walker but she has started sitting on it and loves it if we hold her on and whizz her round so I think it will get a lot more use as she grows older - I can't wait for her to get the hang of using her feet to pull herself along.

The Didicar Walk 'n Ride costs around £34.95 and is available in Green, Blue, Purple and Pink. It is suitable from around 12 months to 3 years old.

Leapfrog My Pal Violet Review

This Christmas Holly was given a My Pal Violet interactive toy from Leapfrog. We had owned Violet a few weeks before I first connected the toy to my computer and personalised it with her name, her favourite colour (pink), her favourite food (brussel sprouts) and a few children's songs of her choice. Once Violet knew Holly's name, the very first time Holly heard her new toy say "Holly", my baby girl's eyes light up and an enormous beaming smile took over her face. That moment of recognition was priceless for me and I think I will remember it forever. Holly knew that her My Pal Violet was hers and was talking TO her!

My Pal Violet and My Pal Scout are interactive toys from Leapfrog. It is suitable from about 6 months old until around 3 years old. Violet has a large number of phrases and interactions that are triggered by pressing her paws. One paw plays games such as "I'm thinking of something orange... can you guess what it is?", one paw plays fun music and another plays 2, 5 or 10 minutes of soothing bedtime music. Violet has a collar that lights up with different colours which seems to fascinate Holly.

At Holly's current age (9 months), she most enjoys just listening to My Pal Violet's voice and tunes and waving her wildly around the room. As Holly grows older I expect her to enjoy the counting and colours games and for us to occasionally go online to try and change the music.

My Pal Violet is the same good quality that I would expect from any Leapfrog toy. I've found the battery life good (we haven't had to change them yet) and I'm happy that Violet's voice is British. I also like the fact that Violet is a recognisable character now for Holly and that she sees comfort in a little friend who she recognises from a number of her other Leapfrog toys.

 

Sassy Baby Toys Review

How did I not know about Sassy baby products before now??? They are bright, high-contrast yet colourful, easy to grasp, full of textures and exploration points and totally perfect for babies like Holly who are starting to explore the world around them.

Sassy baby products are distributed by East Coast Nursery. Sassy make quite a phenomenal number of different baby toys and accessories for babies from birth upwards.

All of Sassy's toys are designed to try and encourage your baby to use their sense and explore touch, sound, smell and taste. Techniques that they use to do this are high contrast patterns, bright colors, symmetry, multiple textures, specific color language and sounds. Holly has been trying out a few of their products. All of their products use plastics that are safe for baby and they are incredibly durable - they FEEL good in your hands.

Sassy Flutterby Teether

I Love: The mixture of different textures on the teether and lots of bright colours that make it look as lively as a butterfly can be.
Holly Loves: The bumpy textured wing to chew on and the soft and squidgy water-filled area.

Sassy Ring Rattle

I Love: The fact that it is easy to grip and it combines colours with high contrast so is suitable for small babies whose eyesight is still developing.
Holly Loves: Shaking it about (A LOT) and bashing it against things, she likes the noise of the rings rattling against other toys.

Sassy Click Clack Keys

I Love: Watching Holly's face when she realises that SHE made the toy make a noise by pressing the buttons.
Holly Loves: Shaking it like nothing else on earth. This is holly's No. 1 favourite toy right now.

Sassy Rescue Vehicles Bath Toy Set

I Love: The little lighthouse whose light glows red when it is floating in the water - it fascinates me!
Holly Loves: Watching her big sister play aeroplanes in the bath, delivering Holly's bottle of shampoo on the hammock it carries!
Lara Loves: Squirting her baby sister with water from the little tug boat!

I am really impressed with the Sassy baby range and will be hunting out some more pieces for Holly for Christmas.

  

Leapfrog Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout Review

Leapfrog sent us Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout shortly before Holly was born and I knew, before we even needed to use him, that he was going to be perfect.

When Lara was a baby we had a second (actually about fifth) hand Winnie the Pooh soothing toy that would sit in her nursery and play her lullabies and shine a steadily dimming light until she fell asleep. We loved it because the lullabies didn't need to be turned off or wound up and that they went on for a good 20 minutes to ensure she was asleep. We were sad when we had to give Winnie the Pooh back and I was worried that we didn't have an equivalent for Holly. Then Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout from Leapfrog came along and everything was good.

Scout plays some good quality lullaby music (some recognisable to me, some not) for either 10 minutes or 20 minutes and while he does so there is a little glowing, flashing light in the moon that he holds to help your child recognise that it is time for bed. Alternatively you can get Scout to play 10 or 20 minutes of 'environmental sounds' such as blowing leaves, falling rain, trains on a track etc and this is weirdly relaxing. We used the environmental sounds a lot with some success in the weeks after Holly was born.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout is the very first Leapfrog toy that Holly will own but it certainly won't be the last. Even at this age you can connect scout to your computer to monitor your baby's learning journey (although I think this is really meant for children who are a little older than 4 months!).

As your child grows older then little scout still has lots to offer and can become a trusty friend. He has a comforter blanket that is detachable so that it can be washed. Twinkle Twinkle Little Scout also has settings which sing about it being time to go to bed, introducing the first words that they will associate with bedtime for years to come. He also has some basic counting songs to offer which currently fascinate my three year old (although her counting is far more advanced than this, I think she likes the fact that the songs confirm she knows how to count!)

We love our Scout - he has become a permanent fixture by the side of the crib and I can't wait for Holly to fall in love with him too!

Fisher-Price Woodsy Friends Comfy Time Bouncer Review

If you have been following my blog posts, twitter feed or facebook status then you can't have escaped the photos of my scrumptious bundle of deliciousness, Holly, frequently posing in her new bouncer from Fisher-Price.

The Fisher-Price Woodsy Friends Comfy Time Bouncer was a gift from Fisher-Price that quite conveniently arrived on the day that we were about to go out and buy a rocker or a bouncer ourselves and it is absolutely perfect colours for us - neutral yet not plain.

There are three things I look for in a baby bouncer. 1. It must have a manual, gentle rocking or bouncing motion... nothing too fancy for us in the Mellow household 2. It must have a calming vibrating function - we literally couldn't have survived Lara's first few months without a vibrating bouncer as it was the only way we could calm her sometimes. 3. It absolutely has to have a cover that is easy to remove in order to clean it. The reason why we never kept our first bouncer was because the cover was too stressful to remove when it needed cleaning! The Woodsy Friends Comfy Time bouncer meets all of these needs and more.

The other thing I remember from when Lara was tiny was that when the toy bar was above the bouncer, you had to remove it or else there was no way you would be able to get her out. This was particularly frustrating when she was screaming her head off! The toy bar on the Woodsy Friends bouncer doesn't go the whole way over the chair which means I don't have to move it in order to lift Holly out. The toy bar features a removable 'teether in the shape of a green apple and two rattling red apples that are also removable. My favourite part is the owl which, when Holly is older, she can pull on and it will either twit-twoo or play a little ditty. At present Lara's favourite pasttime is to pull the owl and then prance around the living room to the short burst of music! I'm not sure Holly is that impressed by her antics.

The fabric on the rocker is a nice thick, slightly padded and smooth fabric that can just about be wiped clean. There is an integral harness and also an extra padded area you can flip into place for tiny heads. We use our Woodsy Friends bouncer every evening to sit Holly in while she watches us eat our evening meal around the table - it is very mobile and easy for me to carry between rooms. For us, you couldn't get a much more perfect baby bouncer. Thank you Fisher-Price.

Leapfrog Scout and Friends Baby Walker Review

Lara, her cousins and her friends have been putting the brand new Leapfrog Scout and Friends Baby Walker to the ultimate test - a direct comparison with the popular VTech First Steps Baby Walker. It makes for a very interesting review, mainly because Lara and her cousins have been using a version of the VTech walker at their grandparent's house ever since their first days so it is a product they recognise and have grown up with - a challenge for any new product to compete with.

The Leapfrog Baby Walker boasts 5 features that make it stand apart from the VTech walker and they are all things that make me, as a parent, very happy. Wide legs, lockable wheels and non-slip wheels are all things that I've felt are lacking in the VTech product for years.

The wide-legs of the Leapfrog Scout and Friends Walker mean that it is noticeably more stable than the VTech model when one of the children is physically walking with it, or when playing with the activities from the front.

The lockable wheels are a stroke of genius. I have always thought it weird that a baby walker would be constructed in such a way that it moves the very second your crawling baby tries to lift themselves up on it and walk. The Leapfrog walker has two small red clips on the wheels which allow you to lock or unlock them. This makes the walker even more stable and is ideal for babies who are just finding their feet and attempting to lift themselves up.



On our living room carpet (which has a very shallow pile) we found the VTech walker to slip rather than roll. The wheels on the Leapfrog Scout and Friends Baby Walker have a small textured strip around them which makes them a lot more grippy and so the movement is far more natural. On Nanny's VTech (which is many many years old) the wheels have worn and become shiny with age so it only moves cleanly on a carpet that offers quite a lot of resistance. I think the textured wheels would really help in a house with hard floors too.

The activity plate on both walkers is removable. The clip on our VTech didn't work properly so the plate kept falling off (Nanny's one doesn't behave this way); on the Leapfrog walker the plate clips off and on from the sides (very easy to do). These days Lara is more interested in the activities on the plate than the walker itself so she likes to take the plates off and sit with them on the floor.

I noticed that Lara enjoyed the activities on the VTech walker more than the Leapfrog and would spend more time playing with them. I personally prefer the look of the VTech activity plate too as the primary colours make it look more appealing. The large amount of white on the Leapfrog walker seems to detract from the colours of the activities themselves. I find the music and noises less annoying on the Leapfrog activities - I think the full alphabet song is great but I wish that the a,b,c,d light-up keys were more like the VTech in that they would benefit from having an image association such as ' b for ball'. The range of music on the Leapfrog Baby Walker is wider and of a higher quality too.