Baltic Amber Teething Necklace

Some of you know all about Baltic amber and how great it is for teething but most of you probably never heard of it. So, from one mom to another (or to you dads too) I believe it is my duty to share with you the "wonderfulness" that is Baltic amber.

When Samuel started teething at 3 month there wasn't much we could give him that we were comfortable with so we went with a Baltic amber teething necklace as suggested by a good friend (God bless her for that suggestion). It was hard to tell if the necklace worked because we started it from day one and NEVER took the chance of taking it off for an extended period of time, until a friend needed to borrow it for a couple nights. That's when we discovered it was the necklace that had been easing his discomfort. Those few nights without it were long ones.

I didn't know anything about Baltic amber before this so I was pleased to find that the recommended sight had lots of information about it. That web site is www.inspiredbyfinn.com and here is a bit of information from the site;

"Historically, Baltic Amber has been used in Europe as a natural and traditional remedy and curative for many ailments for centuries. Long ago it was considered one of the leading ‘medicines’ of its time. Baltic Amber is the most esteemed amber in the world, and the healing qualities of Baltic Amber make it unlike any other type of amber found in the world.
When Baltic amber is worn on the skin, the skin’s warmth releases trace amounts of healing oils from the amber. These oils contain succinic acid and are absorbed into the skin.
Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of Succinic Acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special. Succinic Acid is a natural component of plant and animal tissues, and it's presence in the human body is beneficial in many ways."

We purchased the 11" cognac round beaded necklace. Costumer service was fantastic and so very helpful when I placed the incorrect order and ahd to change it last minute. I give the necklace and the company 5 stars!

I highly recommend checking out the site and reading more and I also recommend getting a necklace for your little one.

Get one at
www.inspiredbyfinn.com
 

Check out more pictures of Samuel wearing his necklace on my facebook review page. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Babymine-Reviews/161448200542667?v=app_2373072738&ref=ts#!/pages/Babymine-Reviews/161448200542667

Posting again

The facebook blog is doing great! However, I can't get any free stuff to try and give away since it's not a "real blog". So, I am going to post here again...and there...and somehow it will work.

Moving

Seems as though it is much easier to conduct my entire blog via facebook so there is no longer a need for me to keep my reviews here however, I will not be moving my personal blog.
Here is a link to babymine reviews on facebook...see you there! http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=316&uid=161448200542667#!/pages/Babymine-Reviews/161448200542667?v=wall

BuyBuy Baby

Last night we visited the BuyBuy Baby store in our area and were pleasantly surprised by what we found. Upon entering we were greeted by a staff member and floor to ceiling stock of baby items. This may sound overwhelming but the set up is almost identical to that of Bed, Bath, and Beyond, we later discovered the two are affiliated. The store is laid out nicely and items are organized and easy to find. The store is new so it is very clean and well stocked but I get the feeling it will stay this way (at least I have high hopes of that happening).

The selection is great including products I thought were only available online such as the Beaba Baby Cook and the Your Baby Can Read program. I was surprised to see some other brands such as Haba and Melissa and Doug in the toy section, brands I personally love. What I didn’t see was a Moby wrap and I didn’t find they carried it on-line either (this is by far my favorite baby item I ever purchased).

Price wise I didn’t see a difference to the prices I’ve seen online and in other stores HOWEVER (and yes it’s a big however) not only does the store issue their own coupons but you can use competitor’s coupons and Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons (as long as they haven’t expired). Something I noticed that was a bit of a shocker was a diaper bag $200 (by Storksak).  I had to check the tag twice. But don’t let that turn you away, if you are looking for a bag in the $25-$50 range they have those too.

Some good things I noticed;

·         If you are looking to purchase a stroller I recommend going to BuyBuy Baby. The selection is great and they provide a good deal of space for taking strollers out and pushing them around.

·         Toys to try. We were shopping for toys and were happy to find the display ones not strapped down, allowing us to try them out (again there was plenty of space for this right there on the clean floor).

Some not so good things I noticed;

·         The check out area is filled with what seems like hundreds of little items such as toys, candy, drinks, etc. Many of the items are very interesting, even drawing me in to take a look. I can only imagine what happens when you have a small child with you.

Overall, I love this store and am glad to have a more than adequate alternative to Babies R Us.

Here is some information about the store.

http://www.buybuybaby.com/

Columbia, SC 238 Harbison Blvd Columbia, SC 29212 Phone: (803) 732-3984		Store Hours: Monday - Saturday: 9:30am to 9:30pm Sunday: 1:30pm to 7:00pm -> View a map of this store

Nuby No-Spill Cups

We purchased the Nuby No-Spill Cups 6m+ Super Spout Easy Grip.

We shopped at Target and while there were many to choose from when it came to soft top transition cups, there were just a few so we went with the Nuby brand. We purchased a double pack for $6.99.
I chose this particular cup for the following reasons;
Soft top
Two Handles
BPA free
Built in Valve (cup is 3 pieces total)
6m+
and the least important but always nice if it works, boyish colors

Our first attempt went well, he was able to handle the cup easily because of the dual handles and he went right for the spout and started chewing. Once he started chomping down he discovered that there was water in there and started sipping away. Great! I loved the fact that teething on the spout lead to sipping.

OK, so the sippy cup is doing it's job and we are thrilled. Now it's time to take it apart, clean it, and put it back together. The cup cleaned up nice but it started leaking at the next use. This was very aggravating. We had three adults in the house and we all took turns unscrewing the lid and screwing it back on since the leak was coming from the threaded part. Sometimes it leaked and sometimes it didn't. I called the costumer service number and left a message with my information just in case this ended up in disaster but in the mean time I wanted to keep trying. I'm not ready to call it quits just yet, I had high hopes for this cup.

After spending way too much time on a sippy cup lid I discovered the following. You MUST thread the lid on perfectly and tighten to an extreme to avoid leaking. In order to do this the cup needs to be dry on the outside so you can get a good grip on the bottom since the dual handles get in the way of gripping the actual cup (the handles are on the lid). This is not at all convenient especially on a hot day with cold water and condensation. So I figured out how to get it not to leak but my husband is annoyed and won't be bothered with it, I don't blame him.

Let me go back to the costumer service call I placed.... NO RESPONSE! I didn't bother with an email after that because I just don't have time and I know other mommies understand this.

Overall I give this cup a 3 out of 5 for the following reasons;

The good
Taught him how to use a sippy
Dual Handles
Boyish colors

The bad
Leaks when not threaded perfectly and that takes too much time for a busy mom
Costumer service


Samuel using the Nuby No-spill cup for the first time