Mummy's Reviews » Pregnant Mummy’s Favourites

[Mummy & Baby] Year 2011 TOP 10 Favourite Items

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:00:27 +0000

Finally, it’s the last Friday of Year 2011! While my 2 boys are soundly asleep, here’s a quick post on Mummy’s Reviews™ TOP 10 Favourites of the year:

For Pregnant Mummies

Belly Armor The Belly Band: To protect foetus from radiation, especially for the techie Mum

For Mummies

Advante Blackhole Mosquito Trap: Must-have if your home is infested with mosquitoes!
LadyCup Menstrual Cup: If you’d like to ditch pads for good
The Butterfly Pillow: Beautiful multi-purpose pillow. Babies and pregnant Mummies can use it too.
weehuggers Wet Bag – Hobo Bag: As a small and stylish diaper bag

For Babies & Toddlers

Four Cow Farm Baby Wash: Great for those with eczema and sensitive skin
KidzGrow Online: Innovative child development tracking programme
Lego Duplo: We love playing with these!
Loopy Loo’s Snap & Scoop Bibs: Finally found my dream bibs
Love to Swaddle UP: Unique easy-to-use swaddle that helps baby sleep well

Hope you’d find the list helpful in your shopping.
May you and your family enjoy good health and happiness in Year 2012!

Cheers,
MieVee

—

To view all our favourites since Year 2009, click below:

—

P.S. What are your favourite buys this year? Feel free to share in the comments box.

© 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: [Mummy & Baby] Year 2011 TOP 10 Favourite Items. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Review: Protect baby from radiation during pregnancy with The Belly Band

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 23:00:18 +0000

Image sourced with permission from Belly Armor

Here’s the review of The Belly Band, the latest innovation by Belly Armor just for pregnant Mummies. In August 2010, I raved about The Belly Blanket, which I’m still happy to use every day to protect baby #2 from radiation. With The Belly Band, I can continue to protect him when outdoors and carrying gadgets that emit radioactive waves near my belly. I like its absolute comfort and convenience.

About The Belly Band

Nowadays, modern mums are highly connected to the world through gadgets such as mobile phones, computers, and iPads, even on the go. Working mums may be using the gadgets throughout the day. Even as a Stay-At-Home-Mum, I read and write articles using my laptop or iPad several hours a day, while Vee is asleep.

To protect our precious babies from everyday radiation during pregnancy, The Belly Band that includes RadiaShield® protection is designed to be worn under or over clothes.

These are the main features:

Efficacy: Shields 99.9% shielding effectiveness (~60dB)
Material: 95% rayon, 5% spandex, and RadiaShield® lining
Country of origin: Made in Indonesia

It’s available in 4 sizes and 4 colours — black, white, nude and hot pink.

Styling Tip: I chose “nude” so that it would look “invisible” under white tops.

First Impressions

I’m always impressed by Belly Armor’s chic packaging design. This would make a wonderful gift for another Mummy. What’s more, the box is made of recycled paper.

The picture above shows the reverse side of The Belly Band. The RadiaShield® lining is exposed, just as The Belly Blanket. Since this is to be worn with clothes, I won’t suggest adding a layer of fabric to conceal the lining, to prevent it from getting too warm.

Our Detailed Review

Rating Guide: ★ Oh no! ★★ Poor ★★★ Fair ★★★★ Good ★★★★★ Excellent!

(a) Prewash & Laundry: ★★★★★ I prewashed The Belly Band with cold water by hand once. There was no colour-run.

Subsequently, it’s easy to wash in the washing machine, with a laundry net.

(b) Ease of Use & Comfort:★★★★★ I tested The Belly Band very regularly during the first trimester of this pregnancy. At home, I prefer to wear it over my T-shirt, then remove it when I’m done with the computer.

When outdoors, I’d wear it under loose clothes. It feels very cooling even in our hot weather.

One concern: when my backache starts and I’ve to wear my maternity support belt outdoors, I may not wear The Belly Band over it. That seems too many layers under clothes.

(c) Fit: ★★★★ I’m petite and am wearing the XS/S. During the early weeks, it fitted quite loose over the top of the belly and tended to slide down a little.

Now in my second trimester, it fits just nice and has room for growth. My previous pregnancy with Vee ended up with a humongous tummy, so I hope The Belly Band would be able to give that much stretch later on.

(d) Performance (Cell Phone Test): ★★★★★ The Belly Blanket passed the test several times:

Mobile phone reception decreased from 5 to 3 bars after 30 seconds
iPod Touch WIFI reception decreased from 3 to 1 bar after 60 seconds
iPad2 WIFI reception decreased from 3 to 1 bar after 15 seconds

When I was being checked by the Singapore Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the security beep went off. This is likely due to the RadiaShield® lining made of silver. After this incident, I won’t suggest wearing it to go through airport customs check. Perhaps, it’d be better to put in a hand-carry luggage and wear it over clothes when needed.

Belly Armor’s reply: “Regarding the security check alarm going off at the Singapore Embassy – they must have had their detector calibrated at very high sensitivity. Based on our tests through many airport scanners in North America and several Asian countries, we have not had an issue where the products set off the alarms. However, some detectors do beep at jewelry born by travelers, for example, while others would not. So it’s possible this could happen.”

(e) Quality: ★★★★ The sewing and workmanship is excellent. After a few washings, there’s a little bit of pilling. In comparison, The Belly Blanket hardly pilled.

(f) Overall Value: ★★★★★ Each Belly Band retails at USD59. It’s very well-designed and especially suitable for pregnant mums who work long hours with computers and have a mobile phone near their bellies through the day.

—

What we like about it:

Consistently passed the “Cell Phone Test”
Material is very soft and smooth even after washes
Material stretches well to fit growing belly
Remains cool even when worn with clothes
Machine-washable — convenient during laundry
Packaging made with recycled paper

What can be improved:

The fabric pilled a little after a few washings. Perhaps because I washed it in warm instead of cold water?

—

Get Your Own (with Discount!)

To get your own Belly Band, Belly Blanket or Belly Armor Tee, visit Belly Armor.

Special Treat: 10% discount
Discount Code: MUMREV
Validity Period: Until 15 August 2011

You may check the list of international retailers here.

In Singapore, Belly Armor is also retailed at Kiddy Palace outlets.

You may also check the price at Amazon here: Belly Armor Belly Band*

—

Disclosure: I received one The Belly Band for review.

*: affiliate link to support the growth and maintenance of Mummy’s Reviews™

—

P.S. Catch the previous review on The Belly Blanket here.

© 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: Protect baby from radiation during pregnancy with The Belly Band. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Year 2010 TOP 10 Favourite Items

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 16:00:04 +0000

Whoo… After a long marathon, we’ve reached the final week of Year 2010! Here’s a round-up of Mummy’s Reviews™ TOP 10 Favourites of the year:

For Pregnant Mummies

For Mummies

For Babies

Hope you’d find the list helpful in your parenting journey.
May you and your loved ones have a fantastic year ahead!

Cheers,
MieVee

P.S. What are your favourite buys this year? Feel free to share in the comment box.

© 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: Year 2010 TOP 10 Favourite Items. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Review: Regain Your Pre-Pregnancy Figure with BellyFit™ [Giveaway #15]

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:00:41 +0000

Two months ago, Etonia (a physiotherapy centre for pregnant women, based in Singapore) invited me to review its BellyFit™ programme.

Before agreeing to the review, I thought about my existing concerns:

During pregnancy, I experienced severe aches on my left hip. It was so bad that I’d to wear a strong maternity support belt whenever I went outdoors. Climbing the stairs at home was a major torture.
This situation was probably worsened by my slightly curved spine (scoliosis).
After delivering Vee (a big baby for my petite size), my tummy muscles were overstretched. Even after reaching my pre-pregnancy weight quite easily with breastfeeding, it seemed impossible to regain a flat tummy. (I used to be a sports player with super-toned abs, and definitely miss those times.)

I seemed to be the perfect candidate to try out BellyFit™.

Before accepting the review, I read up on Etonia and its services. The educational background and professional experience of the physiotherapists (read their profiles here) convinced me that this is the right place to visit for help.

About BellyFit™ Programme

The 1-hour personal BellyFit™ assessment and exercise session is one of the services that Etonia provides. BellyFit™ offers tailored one-to-one session to assist in correcting pregnancy-related musculoskeletal problems (be it prenatal or postnatal) through specific exercises. Once the client is able to perform exercises well without substitutions and without pain, she will be recommended to join the BellyFit™ class. This BellyFit™ class is usually more for prenatal women; postnatal women are usually referred to the Core Fundamentals classes.

If the individual already has some form of pain, she will usually be treated first, before any commencement of the exercise session.

First Impressions

Even though I was in Kuala Lumpur, Cheryl (head of the Etonia division) efficiently confirmed the time and venue of my review session via email. My Singapore trip would be very short, I’d to arrange for someone to babysit Vee, and I could reserve only 1 time slot for the session. Thankfully, Cheryl could accommodate my time well and she started the session rather on time (I only had to wait for 5 minutes). She’s a very cheerful lady, who made me feel at ease on my first physiotherapy session.

The clinic at Novena Square is right in front of a lift, and easy to find. The treatment and exercise rooms are small and clean, just the right size for a personal session. Group classes are held at the larger clinics at Tras Street and Orchard.

My Experience with BellyFit™

(a) Explaining Common Pelvic Pains

Cheryl explained 2 common pelvic pains to me: PPP (Posterior Pelvic Pain) and SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction). After that, I was quite certain that my severe ache during pregnancy was PPP. You may download the patient education brochures (in PDF format) at: PPP and SPD.

(b) Analysing My Concerns

Then, I described my concerns mentioned above to Cheryl. She checked my scoliosis curvature and overstretched tummy muscles. The gap between the muscles that meet over my tummy was still 3 fingers!!! In fact, after delivering Vee, my gap was almost 5 fingers and I’d to walk around with a tummy belt for support. This condition is known as diastasis rectus abdominus. To check your own tummy muscles, read the steps at babycenter.co.uk.

(c) Recommending Exercises

To target my overstretched tummy muscles, Cheryl recommended a few simple exercises and showed me clearly how to do them:

Kegel (pelvic floor exercise): She checked the way I do Kegel, and concluded that I could hold well up to 4 seconds. She suggested that I concentrate more on the horizontal muscles across the front of my uterus and target to hold up to 10 seconds.
Pelvic Tilts
Supine Marching

After practising the exercises at the clinic, my “gap” was down to 2-fingers width. Cheryl said this is due to my muscles being activated again. My goal is to reduce the gap to 1-finger width.

As for scoliosis, I’d to shift my weight more to the left, push my left hip down, and rotate my left side backwards. She corrected the way I walk, advising that I shift some of my body weight away from my right foot.

Just before the session ended, I told her that my knee joints tended to click when I move from a squatting to standing position. (This happened many times a day when taking care of Vee. Just think about potty-time, changing diapers, picking up trails of toys, etc.) She advised me to strengthen my thighs and use my thigh muscles instead. Otherwise, I could face degeneration of my knee joints.

(d) After the Session

For the past 2 months, I’ve been practising Kegel exercise, correcting my scoliosis alignment, putting my weight on both feet, and avoiding clicking of my knee joints. I certainly feel improvement in my Kegel, holding for longer than 4 seconds. The occasional aches on my knee joints are also gone.

Shortly after the session, I became unwell for many weeks, so did not practise the Pelvic Tilts and Supine Marching. From now on, I’d need to dedicate 10 minutes daily for the exercises. It’d take 4-6 weeks to see the results.

Conclusion

The session was very informative and professional, with effective follow-up exercises that I can easily repeat at home. I feel at ease under the care of a professional physiotherapist specialising in pre- and post-natal concerns. If I’d knew of BellyFit™ earlier, I’d have tried it during pregnancy and after delivering Vee. This would have alleviated my severe aches and improved my overstretched tummy muscles.

BellyFit™ sessions are priced at S$135 (personal), and S$300 for a set of 6 sessions. Each treatment session costs S$90. The rates are very reasonable since I used to pay S$100 per hour for private Pilates sessions.

—

What I like about it:

Detailed analysis of my concerns, with personalised actions to take
Prudent recommendations — to let my body improve before trying more challenging exercises
Clear and patient explanation

What can be improved:

Overall, I was very satisfied with the professionalism of the session. If I’d to be extra picky, then perhaps start the session on time (I waited for only 5 minutes though), and set up a branch in Kuala Lumpur (where I’m residing now).

—

Win Your Own

TWO (2) lucky subscribers will win a BellyFit™ personal class worth SGD135 each! Winners would attend the BellyFit™ class in one of Etonia’s clinics in Singapore (at Novena Square, Tras Street or Parkway Parade).

This is how to participate:

Subscribe to Mummy’s Reviews™ in a reader or via email (existing subscribers counted)

Send an email to me (MieVee [at] MummysReviews.com) with the following information:
- Method of subscription: in a reader or via email
- Your name
- Your name in Facebook (to get extra entry mentioned below)
- Visit Etonia and tell me (in your email) why you would like to win a free BellyFit™ class
- If you are a new reader, mention how you got to know of this Giveaway
- Blog / Website URL, if any (to get extra entries mentioned below, indicate URL of your exact post)

To get EXTRA entries:
- 1 extra entry: “Like” Mummy’s Reviews™ Facebook page (existing fans counted)
- 1 extra entry (unlimited total): For each participant referred by you (e.g. through sharing the Giveaway on Facebook / Twitter / email)
- 3 extra entries: Share this Giveaway on your blog / website

Other Information

This Giveaway is open to subscribers who reside in Singapore.
It will run until 31 December 2010.
The usual Giveaway Terms apply.

Send in your entries now and good luck!

—

Get Your Own (with Discount!)

To get your own BellyFit™ class or treatment session, visit Etonia.

Special Treat: 10% discount on physiotherapy treatment for pre- and post-natal women
Discount Code: ETONIAJOY
Validity Period: Until 31 January 2011

—
Disclosure: I received a 1-hour personal BellyFit™ assessment and exercise session for review.

© 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: Regain Your Pre-Pregnancy Figure with BellyFit™ [Giveaway #15]. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Review: How to Protect Your Baby From Radiation (Belly Armor Belly Blanket)

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:09:06 +0000

For a decade, I have been cautious about radiation exposure. As a heavy laptop (computer) user, I was exhilarated to review The Belly Blanket – Chic by Belly Armor – the EXACT solution I have been looking for to protect my baby during the next pregnancy.

Health Risks Associated With Radiation Exposure

Belly Armor provides a list of resources for information related to health risks linked to radiation exposure: Visit Further Reading.

Since handphones are among the most common devices used, these are excerpts from Cell Phone Radiation Science Review:

“significantly increased risk of developing glioma, a usually malignant brain tumour (International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 2008; Lahkola 2007)”
“significantly increased risk of acoustic neuroma, a type of benign brain tumor (IARC 2008; Schoemaker 2005)”
“increased risk of benign parotid gland tumors (IARC 2008; Lonn 2006)”
“highest risk of brain tumors among people who started using cell phones during adolescence (Hardell 2009)”
“young children who use cell phones and whose mothers also used cell phones during pregnancy are 80 percent more likely to suffer emotional and hyperactivity problems (Divan 2008)”

Ways to Limit Radiation Exposure

Belly Armor also provides suggestions to limit radiation exposure when using electronic devices: Read Sources.

These are the ways that I have already adopted for several years:

Limit the duration and proximity of exposure to cell phone
Find alternatives to cell phone use, such as text messaging or using a landline
Do not sleep next to your cell phone while it is on
Limit use of cell phone by young children
Stay away from young children when using the cell phone
Do not place laptops directly on your lap while working
If you have the option, use an LCD monitor instead of a CRT
Do not sleep with your portable music players on
Avoid standing or sitting near the microwave oven when it is on as EMF from microwave ovens can cover quite a large area (In fact, I do not use a microwave oven.)

To limit radiation exposure to a foetus, a solution such as The Belly Blanket would be ideal.

About The Belly Blanket – Chic

These are the main features:

Efficacy: Shields 99.999% of incoming radiation (60dB)
Dimensions: 30″ x 35″ (75cm x 90cm)
Material: 100% pre-shrunk cotton and RadiaShield® lining
Country of origin: Made in Indonesia (Factories adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices standard)

The available colours are cosmo (blue), juno (cream) and metro (black). There is a Luxe version made of cotton micro-fleece and satin.

First Impressions

I like the well-designed packaging, which makes it a wonderful gift for new Mums. The material is soft and smooth, which is significantly more superior than another shield apparel I have seen before at a motherhood fair. I couldn’t wait to wash and use it!

How We Tested It

Prewash: I prewashed the Belly Blanket with cold water by hand once. There is no colour-run. After line-drying in the sun, the blanket remains soft and smooth, and retains it shape. Thanks to the pre-shrunk cotton!

Normal laundry: After several warm 40°C machine washes (placed in a laundry net), the blanket still remains soft and smooth.

Cell Phone Test: The Belly Blanket passed the test several times:

Before laundry: handphone 3G reception decreased from 7 to 4 bars after 3o seconds
Before laundry: handphone 3G reception decreased from 7 to 4 bars after 3o seconds
After laundry: handphone 3G reception decreased from 7 to 4 bars after 3o seconds
After laundry: iPod Touch WIFI reception decreased from 3 to 2 bars after 3o seconds, to 1 bar after 1 minute

Ease of use and comfort: I fold the large blanket into halves and use it to cover my tummy while Vee nurses at night. It is also big enough to cover Vee while he naps, to protect him from radiation as I use the laptop.

The cotton side is more suited to touch the skin than the stiffer RadiaShield® lining. The blanket is thin and breathable, well-suited for our tropical climate. Since there is a hood, I try swaddling Vee for fun and he enjoyed it. The result… a 17-month old MEGA-dumpling!

The price of The Belly Blanket – Chic is USD69 while the Luxe version is USD109. I certainly look forward to using it to during my next pregnancy. In the meantime, it would be Vee’s and my blanket.
—

What we like about it:

Consistently passed the “Cell Phone Test”
Pre-shunk cotton allows blanket to retain its shape
Cotton material is very soft and smooth
Generous size provides large coverage for covering pregnant belly and swaddling baby
Machine-washable — convenient during laundry
Packaging made with recycled paper

What can be improved:

Add one more layer of cotton to conceal RadiaShield® lining

—

Get Your Own (with Discount!)

To get your own Belly Armor Belly Tee, Belly Blanket or Belly Band (coming soon), visit Belly Armor.

Special Treat: 15% discount
Discount Code: MUMREV
Validity Period: Until 15 Sep 2010

You may also check the price at Amazon here: Belly Armor Belly Blanket Chic*

*: affiliate link to support the growth and maintenance of Mummy’s Reviews™
—

Disclosure: I received The Belly Blanket – Chic for review.

© 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: How to Protect Your Baby From Radiation (Belly Armor Belly Blanket). Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Year 2009 Favourite Items

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:29:47 +0000

As we welcome the Year 2010, here’s a round-up of Vee’s (previously known as ‘Baby V’) and my favourite items:

For Pregnant Mummies:

Mother World Pre-Natal Support Belt

For Mummies:

For Babies:

Hope you would find the list helpful.
May you and your loved ones have a fantastic year ahead!

Cheers,
MieVee

P.S. What are your favourite buys this year? Feel free to share.

© 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: Year 2009 Favourite Items. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.

Review: Mother World Pre-Natal Support Belt

MieVee @ MummysReviews.com — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:55:15 +0000

When my pregnancy was in its sixth month, the pressure on the left side of my hip-bone became almost intolerable. Every attempt to shift from a standing to sitting position or vice versa was accompanied by excruciating pain and I knew that the pain would only worsen down the months as the baby grows bigger. My existing Woman-deare Maternity Belt no longer provided sufficient support and I looked for an upgrade.

My best friend recommended Mother World to me when we shopped at Jurong Point in Singapore. Since it is a Hong Kong company, I made a point to visit the store when travelling in Hong Kong during my pregnancy.

The large range of maternity clothes were on sale, so I bought a blouse, a dress, maternity briefs and a pre-natal support belt (at HKD269). The belt was my ultimate spine-saver and I never left home without it through the rest of my pregnancy. It is made up of two parts:

a large piece of fabric that covered my huge belly and the ends connected by Velcro tabs, and
an elastic band that wraps round the back; each end can be stuck onto the side of Part (1) using Velcro tabs.

The packaging states that it is made from polyester cotton and is suitable for bellies from 85cm to 115cm. Its unique two-piece structure supports the weight of the belly well and eases the pressure on the spine and hips. I have tried on various maternity belts and this seems to provide the most comfortable support, which is especially needed during late pregnancy.

The belt comes with small pieces of fabrics to protect the Velcro tabs when the belt is not in use and a pouch to keep it neatly. This belt has been a great investment and I would certainly use it during the next pregnancy well before any backache develops.

Pros:

Large front piece can cover a huge belly
Two-piece structure provides strong support
Pouch keeps the belt neatly when not in use
Absolute value-for-money

Cons: Cannot think of any

© 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: Mother World Pre-Natal Support Belt. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited.