Mummy's Reviews » Chubby Chubby

Review: Bumbo Baby Seat with Play Tray

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:30:00 +0000

The Bumbo Baby Seat seemed highly popular and we waited for a good deal before getting one at Chubby Chubby (original price: RM199, discounted price RM129). Since the play tray looked useful, we bought it as well (listed price: about RM49). This set was purchased before the highchair and portable booster seat reviewed yesterday.

Even though Baby V could sit well with support since about 4 months old, he enjoyed being on his tummy much more than sitting in the Bumbo Baby Seat. After he has been in the chair for a while, the strong boy would arch his back to try to get out of it. When he could sit independently at 6+ months old, there were even less opportunities to use the seat.

Nowadays, Baby V is in it for about ten minutes every morning when he watches me have breakfast in the bedroom. I have not bothered using the play tray because it is too tedious and heavy to lift the 10kg boy-with-Bumbo assembly, fix the tray, and after ten minutes, lift the 10kg boy-with-Bumbo assembly AGAIN to remove the tray before PULLING the boy out of the seat. ‘Pulling’ is not an understatement because the seat wraps his Buddha belly and thunder thighs very snugly, ever since months ago. It is also a mystery why yellowish stains have developed on the play tray when it is hardly used.

The Bumbo seat with the play tray attached is perhaps the most useful when I need to trim Baby V’s fingernails, as it prevents him from moving away from me.

Baby V took his first semi-solids meal in the Bumbo seat and that was it; he has been having his meals in the highchair at the dining table, which has more space for me to prepare his meals.

Without the play tray, the Bumbo seat does not restrain Baby V at all, so I cannot leave him in the seat unattended. You may wish to know that at least 28 children have suffered serious head injuries when they fell out their Bumbo Baby Seats, which had been placed on tables. The news released by U.S. CPSC on 25 Oct 2007 also mentioned the following:

The new warning label will state: “WARNING – Prevent Falls; Never use on any elevated surface.” Consumers should use the Bumbo seat at ground level, but should never leave a child unattended.

Pros:

Easy to clean surfaces
Allows baby to sit with support at a young age, facilitating feeding, playing and trimming of nails

Cons:

Can be used only at ground level
Child is not securely restrained, so caregiver must watch him/her closely at all times
Insufficient space to accommodate big bellies and chunky thighs
Difficult to fix and remove play tray with heavy child in the seat
A strong toddler can yank the play tray off easily

I hope to find more uses out of the chair to justify its cost. Do you have a Bumbo Baby Seat? If so, when do you find it useful?

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Update on 8 June 2010:

Finally, we found two good uses for our Bumbo Baby Seat!

Great place for Vee to have his hair cut at home. The seat is very easy to clean after each haircutting session.
Every morning, Vee has his Shichida Method™ home practice session in the seat. The height is just right and he can use the play tray for simple activities such as matching small puzzles and drawing.

We actually love the seat more when Vee is a toddler.

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Update on 11 Jan 2011:

For the past few months, strong Vee has figured out how to yank the play tray off the seat. He finds it real funny while I don’t! I really have a love-hate relationship with this Bumbo Seat. Ha!

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Get Your Own

Bumbo Baby Seats are available in most major babystores. We bought ours at Chubby Chubby (KL).

You may also check the prices at Amazon.com here:

Bumbo Baby Seat*

Bumbo Seat Play Tray*

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*: affiliate link to support the growth and maintenance of Mummy’s Reviews™
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Review: Fisher-Price Healthy Care™ Deluxe Booster Seat

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:35:00 +0000

Before plopping Baby V into a highchair when we dine out of home, I would wipe (more like scrub) the seat thoroughly with a wet wipe. However, there are occasions when being armed with wet wipes is not enough:

One Japanese restaurant had ONLY 2 highchairs when there are 3 children in our dining group
One eatery had many highchairs, which were full of RUST (I didn’t even want to touch them!)
One restaurant had highchairs without straps (Baby V was constantly turning his entire body around and I was paranoid that he’d fall out of it any moment.)

To prepare ourselves for the many dining out occasions ahead, we shopped around for a portable booster seat and decided on the Fisher-Price Healthy Care™ Deluxe Booster Seat (bought at Chubby Chubby, listed price RM199). It was easy to assemble out of the box and the simple rounded edges mean easy cleaning. I like that the tray comes with a cover to keep the surface clean, and it is adjustable to accommodate bigger tummies as the child grows. The height of the seat is adjustable as well.

We keep the portable seat in the car and have used it twice at neighbourhood eateries. One of the straps dual-functions as a shoulder strap to carry the seat around. It took only a short while to secure the seat onto an adult chair. Once Baby V is in the booster seat and secured with a three-point harness, I can enjoy my meal in peace knowing that he is in a safe and clean chair.

An improvement that the seat needs is the way the tray is clipped onto it when it is to be carried via the shoulder strap. The tray clips on rather loosely and may fall out easily. Otherwise, we are rather satisfied users of this booster seat.

Update on 11 Jan 2011: We love the booster seat so much that we just bought another one! One for the dining room and one in the car boot, so that we won’t forget to bring it along.

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Pros:

Adjustable options allow the chair to ‘grow’ with the child
Easy to use outdoors
Easy to clean
Shoulder strap makes it convenient to carry about

Cons:

When carrying the seat, be careful as the tray may fall out (Tip: Fasten strap over tray to keep it in place)

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Get Your Own

Fisher-Price Healthy Care™ Deluxe Booster Seats are available in most major department and baby stores. We bought ours in Chubby Chubby (KL) and Isetan (KLCC).

You may also check the price at Amazon.com here: Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat*

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*: affiliate link to support the growth and maintenance of Mummy’s Reviews™
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Review: Steadycup® MAXI and Lid

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:16:31 +0000

Although Baby V has been drinking well from the Medela Disposable Baby Cup Feeder, I searched for a cup which has a handle and lid so that he can learn to drink by himself. It was a futile effort as all the ‘training cups’ we came across have either a soft spout, hard spout or straw. It seemed like there was no open cup designed for babies here.

Steadyco offers Steadycup and Steadycup Maxi, which I found at Chubby Chubby (Desa Parkcity). Some brief differences:

Steadycup: holds 6oz, no lid, available in a pack of 1 or 3 cups, suitable from 12 months old
Steadycup Maxi: holds 8oz, has lid, sold singly, suitable from 18 months old

I bought the Maxi version (listed price: RM39.90) as it comes with a lid. There was a discount of 30% for members and 20% for non-members.

When I tested the cup at home, I was disappointed that the lid did not snap tight to the cup. It was easily removed no matter how tight I tried to close it. Steadyco’s website describes the lid as a ‘Leak Proof Travel Lid’, so I am wondering if I received a defective item.

It was easy for Baby V to drink from the cup and I like the wide base; however, I have to search for another cup with a TIGHT lid, so that it is more baby-friendly.

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Update on 27 May 2010:

Since Vee is being weaned off to drink fresh milk several times a day, he needs a few cups as I prefer to wash his utensils and cutlery once in the evening. This saves time and water. Thus, I brought out this cup again for his use. Interestingly, when I used my palm to press the lid down to the cup, it snapped tightly! I wonder what went wrong when we tried it initially and the lid would not snap. Now. this is a wonderful cup.

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Pros:

Wide base keeps the cup steady and prevents spillage
12 month warranty/guarantee period
Washes well easily (due to its simple design)

Cons:

Difficult to snap lid tightly to the cup

© 2009-2012 Veezian Pte. Ltd. | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Mummy's Reviews™ subscribers. If you like this post, you may share its link: Review: Steadycup® MAXI and Lid. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Review: Buds Cradle Cap Cleansing Lotion

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:18:00 +0000

Prevents cradle cap from returning

I almost exclusively use Buds products on Baby V’s skin since they are do not contain harmful preservatives and are PEG-free. Recently, a new range of organic products has been launched.

Baby V’s scalp has been bothered by cradle cap. Even though I have removed them using Buds Baby Oil, the condition recurred after a few days and Baby V’s scalp looked very dry.

Then I came across Buds Cradle Cap Cleansing Lotion at Chubby Chubby, Desa Parkcity. Since Buds is one of my trusted brands, I decided to give it a try even though the small bottle costs RM39.90.

After clearing the cradle cap using Buds Baby Oil, I applied a small amount of the lotion (using cotton wool) in a circular motion on Baby V’s scalp and washed off the excess with water. (This step replaces shampooing the cradle cap area since shampoo tends to dry the scalp.) I shampooed the rest of his head using Buds Head-to-Toe Bath Wash for Newborns as usual.

Voila! Baby V’s scalp was very moisturised after the wash and the cradle cap returned only after about 2 weeks, affecting a much smaller area. I removed it using Buds Baby Oil again and continued to use Buds Cradle Cap Cleansing Lotion in his front scalp in replacement of shampoo and the cradle cap has not returned since.

I am very satisfied with the results and would recommend this new product to babies affected by cradle cap.

Pros:

Organic content
Lives up to its name as a solution for cradle cap

Cons: Cannot think of any

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Get Your Own: This lotion is available at major baby stores, departmental stores and baby-mel.com.

© 2009-2012 Veezian Pte. Ltd. | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Mummy's Reviews™ subscribers. If you like this post, you may share its link: Review: Buds Cradle Cap Cleansing Lotion. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.