Product Review: Giimmo Magic Light

Every so now and again I will be doing a review on baby product that I (or at least my little one) have tried and tested to give mommies of an idea of what actually works and what is just a waste of money.

My first product is the Giimmo Magic Light. A Giimmo  Magic Light animal is basically a animal shaped night light which has rainbow colours fading into one another. There are two types, the one that takes 3 x LR44 Button Cell batteries and one that has a AC recharge plug. It is 12.5cm x 10.5cm x 14.5cm in size and very light weight, making it perfect for little hands to hold. The soft plastic of the animal stays cool to the touch when the light is one. It has two modes, one which makes it a touch lamp and the other which is just a a permanent on switch. A new function added to the AC adapter one is tapping it so the light that you like will flash continuously instead of different colours.

I have the battery operated one in the shape of a Cat called Rose the kitty, and find that after 3 hours of being on the light goes extremely dim, to a point where it doesn't even seem like it's on. After leaving it off for a few hours the light seems to go back to its' normal brightness. This is a bit difficult because if the kid wakes up during the night, the night light will then be off which kind of defeats the purpose. I guess the AC plug rechargeable one would work better (at the cost of R100 extra this is what you get I guess). It retails between R385 and R150 depending on which animal you want and whether it's battery or AC adapter operated. I don't think it really makes a difference which night light you get or if you have several for your kid or if your kid needs one at all, but the only major difference that I see about this one is that the child can lie holding it in bed with him/her because it does not heat up. This in itself is comforting I think.

Product Description (cited in http://babyfirst.org.za/)

AC Adapter Version:

• Fully rechargeable and portable (AC recharger plug included)
• TAP to set favourite colour constantly glowing (new feature!)
Note: The first charge should be for approximately 18 hours.
The light will then glow for 6-8 hours per charge.

Battery Version:

• Battery operated
 (powered by 3 x LR44 Button Cell batteries)
• Includes 2 extra sets of 3 replacement batteries (6 button cell batteries).
• TAP on/off functionality

Both Versions state:
• LED technology – no heat given off and no light bulb to replace
• Colourful internal lights gradually fade through the entire rainbow colour spectrum
• Adjustable hands, legs and ears allow you to turn Giimmo magic light into the coolest poses.
• Made from milky white coloured, phthalate free, child friendly PVC
• Limbs made from rubber to with stand any baby and toddler chewing
• Giimmo has been proven to alleviate bed-wetting issues with little ones

Hope you found this helpful! :)

Bed Time?!

Okay so, I am one of those mom's who ended up co-sleeping with my cub when I promised that I would start laying her in the crib from day one. I was the "Oh no, I wouldn't have the baby sleep in my bed because it will be difficult to get her out" types and yet here I am 23 months later lying in bed with a toddler under my arm who takes about 5 mins to fall asleep. Hey, don't get me wrong I tried..a lot...there was tears...lots of tears (and the baby cried a little too).  

Anyway when she was hospitalized last week I thought, how am I going to let her sleep comfortably in the hospital crib if she won't sleep alone. I wrecked my brain for a bit, only to realize, but hey, this kid is eager to get in the hospital crib and sleep. Even actively play in the crib during the day and take naps in between without wanting me in there with her.

Once we were back home, I thought, wait a sec, let me try to put her straight in the crib and fall asleep there. Low and behold night 1 had some tears and screaming, but night 2 and 3 were somewhat simpler. So here on out, the cub will sleeping in her own crib after 23 months (and three falls later) of sleeping in a bed occupied by one other person.

My advice to moms out there:
Start from day one (even if you breastfeeding and it's easier to just let them sleep with you cause you fall asleep with them in your arms while feeding, when you wake, put them to their own beds).
If you haven't started from day one, make a start slowly, put her/him in the crib for daytime sleeps and gradually start at night too.
And MOST importantly, make sure your partner is on the same page as you, otherwise it will simply not work as you are sending the little one mixed signals.

Just in case you need more advice, I find the link below quite helpful to overcome sleeping issues; Your Parenting

Goodluck to you

Hospi(tal)ity

Okay so, my cub has recently been hospitalised with a case of bronchial pneumonia which the doctors keep labelling as "nasty stuff".

It all started on Tuesday 4/3/2014 @ 6pm when the cub started developing a fever, I administered some panado and prospan for her cough and then off to the gym I went not thinking she was badly sick because she was running around and playing. I returned and mum informed me that she threw up water and phlegm.We took her home and she started a fever of 38C, I administered supps and waited...and waited...and waited, then she coughed and coughed and threw up, @ 11pm with a temp of 39C I took her to hospital. 

In the ER they administered another supp and ibuprofen and sent us home with antibiotics, cortisone for her chest, supps for the fever and cough syrup.

The cub had a horrible Wednesday night, fluctuating fever (38C-39C) and laboured breathing and coughing too, I tried to doctor her with meds I had, with a spacer to open her chest. We made it to the morning and she was just exhausted and nothing had changed from the night she was the same, my heart sank, I was helpless to my little one. As a mom you realise there is only so much you can do before getting medical help. We took her once again to the ER and the doctor threw around words such as x ray, really not well, more medication for the fever which she now developed again. My heart sank as they put her on oxygen, poked and prodded her hand for blood samples (very painfully I might add, as she screamed because they missed the vein) and finally, poked her again to put up a drip. My cub stared at me with tearful eyes longing for me to help her. I had to keep telling myself that this is good for her, they are helping. BUT I still wanted to slap the nurses in their faces for hurting her. 

After being now officially diagnosed with bronchial pneumonia she was admitted. The paediatrician on call made me feel way more at ease than the ER staff. Sounded like he knew exactly what he was talking about but without making me fear that she would get worse and was even hands on when the nurses struggled to reset her drip and oxygen. It really does make a difference who your doctor is. (I will post about paediatrician choices as we go along)

Long story short, we were in hospital from the Thursday, 6/3/2014 until Sunday 9/3/2014, treating the bronchial pneumonia. Needless to say adrenalin kicked in throughout the stay at hospital because I wanted to make sure that my cub was not suffering. I stayed up all night watching nurses giving meds and taking stats, staying in mommy fighting mode.

My cub however wasn't having a problem with sleep, she was so exhausted from her tiny body fighting the nasty sickness that sleeping wasn't a problem for her.

Once I was home Sunday night, and the cub was 95% better, I crashed, I slept and slept. I just put the cub for an afternoon nap and now and am actually dreading going back to work tomorrow just for the mere fact that I still feel like I should be keeping her safe at home with me, away from the germs. LOL. But I guess that's not a reality at the moment and she has to go back to daycare tomorrow. I am really proud of her, she fought the pneumonia (she even fought the nurses back so they wouldn't give her syrup meds...LOL)

...and now can go on being herself.

Until next time...

Move Aside Formalities

Hello everyone in the cyberworld,

My very first blog post *eek*...let me give you some background on all that is me and why I have decided to finally put my life to "paper" so to speak.

I am 29...(still getting used to saying that because I turned less than a month ago)...mom of an almost 2 year old baby girl. I am married to a handsome hunk of man for 5 years now and despite the ups and downs we are still going strong.

The reason I have decided to blog things in my life is that things in life move by so quickly, like my little one that has been brought in this world two years ago, the fact that I am one year away from thirty and have no idea what I have been doing with my life since I got married and lastly I...just wanted people to read my shizz. LOL. Seriously though, this blog will mainly focus on baby product reviews because ultimately my life revolves around my cub and being the best parent I can be.

I am hoping to do a daily/weekly blog, so keep your fingers and toes crossed and get ready to go on one crazy journey that is my life...enjoy the show!