Lansinoh Review

Lansinoh sent me their NEW Lansinoh® mOmma® bottle featuring the NaturalWave™ Peristaltic Nipple, and samples of their lanolin.

My first reaction when I got the package was surprise at the bottle. The shape was something I didn't expect. It was round. ROUND! I'll admit, I laughed a bit at the look of the bottle. It seemed silly looking, but it has a purpose. Taken from the Lansinoh product page:

NEW, NaturalWave™ Nipple

• Patented, based on over 50 years of research
• Allows baby to mimic natural sucking rhythm
• Promotes oral, facial, and jaw development
• AVS™ Air Ventilation System reduces intake of gas, a potential cause of colic or spit up
• One piece, hassle-free design
• 100% silicone is supersoft, flexible and long lasting
• Available in slow, medium or fast flow to meet your baby's changing needs
• BPA Free

NEW, Lansinoh^® mOmma^® Bottle

• Round shape is easy and comfortable for baby to hold
• Wide design is easy to pour into and clean
• Interchangeable with mOmma Non-Spill and Straw cup lids
• Features protective cover for leak-free, hygienic coverage on the go
• BPA Free

So, as you can see, the shape of the bottle has a purpose. It is a great shape for baby to hold! Although our little girl is too young to hold a bottle up on her own, I'm sure it seemed comforting that it was essentially the shape of my breast. I, personally, have not used the bottle. I refuse to bottle feed so she knows that bottle feeding isn't something associated with mom. I don't want to jeopardize my breastfeeding relationship with her, but she still has to take a bottle so that I can go back to work (if and when I find a job!). I did, however, watch and observe her eating from it (where she couldn't see me).

The above is a stock photo seeing as how Bobble apparently deleted all my review pictures and I haven't had the opportunity to snag a decent picture of this bottle again. He deleted a picture of hubby feeding Squiggle with it, too. *sigh*

We have a couple different bottles and nipples. I have a few that go with my double electric pump, a few that are what my son used, and this one. We tried out the bottle that went with my pump first (since I could just put the nipple on what I had just pumped), and then we tried this bottle. She refused the first bottle. Straight up refused it. She loved this bottle, however, and drank everything in it.

It was easy to prepare this bottle since the opening was wider and we could pour the milk in with a smaller chance of spilling. The nipple has a tiny hole on one side to allow for less gas to get into baby, lessening the chance for spit-up. This is fantastic, especially since my little one is a spit-up pro!

The lanolin was my best friend for the first few weeks. I fell in love with Lansinoh's lanolin when Bobble was born. Many mothers say that their nipples are sore when they first start nursing. In fact, numerous times I've heard the saying "A good latch will never hurt"... but that's only partially true. A good latch will NOT hurt AFTER BREASTFEEDING IS ESTABLISHED. When you first start nursing, your nipples aren't used to it. They need time to adjust to nursing, and with that can come pain. I had a few different lactation consultants observe Bobble as he nursed when he was first born. I was in tears. IT HURT SO BADLY! They kept telling me his latch was PERFECT. I kept breaking his latch because it hurt, and I was convinced it wasn't supposed to if the latch was good. This almost ruined our breastfeeding relationship. He stopped latching like he was, and I was worried that he wouldn't breastfeed. Since his latch was supposedly perfect, I decided that I was just going to deal with it. If I had to be in excruciating pain to nurse my son, that's what I was going to do! I got some lanolin and committed for the long haul.

I fully expected this pain until he stopped nursing... especially since his latch was "perfect". Lansinoh's Lanolin was my saviour during those early nursing days. I had to slather it on. I don't mean applying like you would put on chapstick, either! I frosted those babies like a cupcake! It's the only thing that helped. They were not cracked. They were not bleeding. There was nothing visibly wrong... it just hurt. so. badly.

It hurt like that the first 2 weeks I nursed. The 3rd week it hurt less, only hurting like described above when he first latched. The 4th week it was slight discomfort when he first latched. The 5th week was the last week I even NOTICED him latching. There was no pain! I would never have made it through those first painful weeks without Lansinoh's Lanolin.

This time around was no different. I had horrible pain that reduced me to tears a few times, and I quickly reached for the lanolin. It was soooooo soothing. Thankfully, that horrible pain was gone after 1 week, and the discomfort was gone after the second week. I was very thrilled that it lasted only 2 weeks this time! Both times, however, Lansinoh's Lanolin was what instantly soothed. I was so very thankful for it. I highly recommend it for any new breastfeeding mom!

Taken from Lansinoh's Lanolin product page:

• Soothes and protects sore cracked nipples
• Safe for mom & baby
• 100% natural - world's purest lanolin
• Does not need to be removed prior to breastfeeding
• Contains no preservatives or additives of any kind
• #1 treatment for breastfeeding moms

I am all about natural products, and I love that this is 100% natural. Pure products are important to me! I have heard from some mothers that their children refused to nurse when they had lanolin on since it tasted funny to their babies, but I haven't had that experience. I always tried to wait to apply until immediately after a nursing session... but newborns don't always decide to wait a while between feedings, and I've had both of my children decide to nurse again almost immediately after I put on the lanolin. Neither minded that it was on, and happily nursed away.

Disclosure: The product(s) mentioned above was sent to me by the company in exchange for a review. This did not influence my opinion of the product in any way. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own.

Action Baby Carrier Review & Giveaway

** This mama owes her munchkin an apology... I just found the older pictures! I will post those now for comparison! ** 

The lovely folks over at Action Baby Carriers (ABC) sent me one of their carriers to review for them. I was very excited to get this carrier as I've heard nothing but rave reviews for the product. I had my choice of one of their two sizes: Infant Baby Carrier (up to 40 lbs), and Toddler Baby Carrier (15 lbs - 45 lbs). I selected the Infant Baby Carrier in hopes of using it with my new little one sooner than later (especially since my other soft structured carrier [ssc] says 15 lbs for the starting weight), and anxiously awaited the delivery to see which print I got (I loved them all, so I couldn't pick one... I asked for a surprise out of a handful of prints!). I got "Happy"!!!

 

Bobble couldn't wait to try it out!

I started using my ABC as soon as I had the opportunity, which I think was around 11 lbs for my youngest. I am not sure how to carry the smaller babies in it as the instructions show a front and back carry (general) how-to, but doesn't mention how to wear a smaller infant. I asked their customer service and got a response very quickly!

Our baby carrier (regular size) is recommended for infants from 10lbs to 40lbs. However, based on our experienced moms using our carrier, most of them uses ABC even for infants less than 10lbs. What they do? They use a blanket or an insert at the start to make the babies higher until they are bigger and/or heavier.

In addition to this, Our carrier is a lightweight carrier so it is more breathable, cooler and more comfortable for our little ones compared to bulk carriers.

Great news! I just received an email from ABC stating they have been making improvements to their carriers, and they are now recommended for a weight range of 8lbs - 40lbs! 

7 weeks old

13 weeks

A bit of info about Action Baby Carriers:

• The carriers are made in the U.S.A. (check out their factory!!!)
• Straps can be worn backpack style or criss-cross for extreme comfort
• Adjustable hip belt from 28″ to 53″  (plus size from 38″ to 63″) with no extender belt
• You can front or back carry

  That's not all, though! To learn more about ABC, check out their Product Info page.

Aside from their awesome baby carriers, you can have a custom carrier made!(Wrap Conversions are no longer available.)

I loved how small these carriers can fold up, and I also love how it could easily be adjusted to fit my husband or myself. I also loved how the instructions for the carrier mentioned to not leave it in the car in hot weather. In hindsight, that should really be a given. You don't want to wear out the plastic or weaken it from the high temperatures that can occur in either direct sun light or extreme summer heat. However, that thought never crossed my mind until I read it. I've been leaving my other SSC (also with buckles) in the car all the time... even in super hot weather. D'oh! So glad they printed that on the instructions!

The carrier was super easy to use, light weight, comfortable, and super cute. Definitely a carrier you'll want to check out if you like ssc! They also have a hood that you can buckle on the top, but my little one didn't want to let her head rest against me to get a decent enough picture of it up, so I have (below) the far side buckled up and I am holding the other side back for you to see her.

You can follow Action Baby Carriers on FaceBook to keep up with the happenings like new stockings or sales, or keep checking on their web page at http://www.actionbabycarrier.com/

I had a better picture of Bobble before, but he got a hold of my camera and deleted ALL my review pictures (for this review and others), so I had to retake them all. The above pictures were taken around 15 lbs, though I've been wearing her in it for a few weeks now. Bobble got his picture taken literally as soon as he woke up since I wanted to show the carrier holding both kids.

If you'd like to purchase your own Action Baby Carrier, you can buy an Infant Baby Carrier for $98, or the Toddler Baby Carrier for $114. Don't forget to keep your eyes open for sales on certain prints! You can also use the promo code:
tof10abc2g7e
for a 10% discount at Action Baby Carrier's store.
(The coupon cannot be used in conjunction with other coupons.
The coupon should be applied before calculating cart tax.
The coupon should not apply to items on sale. Per-item coupons will only work if the item is not on sale. Per-cart coupons will only work if there are no sale items in the cart.
Custom Carrier is an excluded category for this coupon.)

Since Action Baby Carriers is so generous, one of my lucky readers will get their own carrier in the giveaway below! Be sure to stop back by daily to get more entries!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: The product mentioned above was sent to me by the company in exchange for a review. This did not influence my opinion of the product in any way. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. 

It never stops!

The events never seem to stop in this household! I have 2 reviews written and waiting for me to just add the pictures (already taken, but on a different computer), a handful of other things to review (well, they are reviewed, just not written up), and you'd think with still job-hunting, I'd have more time to do it. Of course, this isn't the case.

Aside from Squiggle (who really needs a blog name now that she's here) being super clingy through her growth spurts, Bobble got another upper respiratory infection that required another nebulizer for breathing treatments at home. His oxygen was down to 91, and they debated between hospitalization and take-home treatments with the nebulizer. Two days later, he's back in with a double ear infection and pink eye in both eyes. Needless to say, it's not been dull around here!

Bobble getting his oxygen tested

Bobble getting a breathing treatment and falling straight asleep because he didn't really sleep the night before since he couldn't breathe very well.

I'm not a fan of medicine... in fact, I'm pretty anti. With pink eye, I'd prefer to use breastmilk to treat it (really, it works wonders!). With an ear infection, I'd prefer to use breastmilk, again, to treat.... except the one ear was pretty bad (and this was his first ear infection ever). The double pink eye on top of the double ear infection on top of a respiratory infection that nearly put him in the hospital, and he's on antibiotics. I'm looking into some more natural ways to help him stay healthy, and many have suggested Elderberry syrup. I bought some today at the health food store, but I have a question for you, my readers.

Do you use elderberry syrup? Do you use it daily, or only when sick? Do you make your own, or do you buy?

Trying

I have been coming here daily (sometimes multiple times during a day) to write reviews. I have a handful of reviews from some lovely companies that sponsored the (Un)babyshower event that had to wait until Squiggle was here, and I have a few that are unrelated to the event that I need to type up. It's a lot more challenging than I would have though, though.

Some days I get very lucky and both kids end up napping at the same time. Then, other days, Bobble will skip his nap and be going crazy (meaning there is no way I could actually give the computer actual attention for more than a minute at a time, or he will run over to get attention [i.e. hit my computer or smash the keys]). Days like today, my littlest one will want to nap *ALL DAY*.... but refuse to sleep if I put her down.

I am ALL ABOUT babywearing... but it is hard to type when you have a little one on your front side. I have short arms (hey, I'm a short person!), and it just doesn't work well. That aside, she only likes being worn if we are moving. No sitting still and wearing for me!

This mini-entry is just being cranked out to let you all know why you haven't heard from me. Normally the youngest takes a good 2-3 hour nap, but today she hasn't pooped and so is not sleeping (out of my arms) for more than 5 minutes or so at a time. Speaking of 5 minutes, I'm pushing it since it's been about 7. I better get the diaper laundry switched over before she awakens!

To those fabulous companies who are waiting on my review(s), my apologies! I would encourage you, my lovely readers, to check out the companies and their web sites while I struggle to get the reviews written up. (I even have pictures done and everything, I just haven't had the opportunity to write the reviews out!)

Check 'em out!
Lansinoh
Rock-a-bums
Moby Wrap
Born Free Breastfeeding Pillow
Rumpkinz Diapers
Action Baby Carriers
Walls Need Love
Fun Bites