Keeping Baby Entertained

alphabet song

Are you a mum, worried about how to keep your little one occupied? Is your baby bored with his/her toys? One thing I always recommend is Nursery Rhyme Videos. Kids are never too young to start listening to and watching nursery rhymes. My daughter started watching videos on my iPad from 6 months, and absolutely loved them (the iPad is history though; she dumped it water, cracked the screen, shattered the screen ..... good thing it was a very old device).

Whenever she was watching them, I was free to do a couple of things because the videos kept her occupied.

While some people may think 6 months is too early to start watching videos, I don’t think so. By the time she was 9 months old, she could replicate the actions in the videos and by age 1, she could hum along to the songs.

rain rain go away song

I recommend LittleBabyBum Channel on Youtube. They have lots of animated nursery rhyme videos; some of them are up to 2 hours long. You can download the videos to your tablet, laptop, USB device (and plug and play on your TV). The videos, asides from the basic nursery rhymes, teach potty training, handwashing and other habits you would want your child to imbibe. 

 

potty training song

For videos, see  Little Baby Bum's Youtube Channel and The Official Website

For toddlers, try the Mother Goose Club videos and Barney & Friends.

So how do you keep your baby occupied? Please leave a comment below.

Images: courtesy Little Baby Bum

Helping Mummy Choose a Diaper

So if you are a soon-to-be mother, or already a mother, you know how important diapers are in a baby’s life. There are two main categories of diapers: the imported and locally made diapers.

This blog post will be about the imported ones readily available in Nigeria. There are two of these: Huggies and Pampers.

Huggies Diapers

Huggies diapers come is a carton with red detailing. They are brightly coloured and attractive, and can sometimes seem a little busy. I love Huggies diapers because of the SURE-FIT waist band. Makes the diaper snug around baby’s waist, without being tight or restrictive.

The diapers come in various sizes: Premie, Newborn, Size 1, Size 1-2, Size 2, Size 3, Size 4, Size 5 and Size 6. Huggies diapers have lovely Disney cartoon characters on them. The images however are not vibrant. Huggies comes in 3 major variants:

• Little Snugglers/Movers: This is the best of all the variants. It has a very soft and plush surface, like cotton wool. Retains urine and poops, and accidents are very rare. They are quite expensive but good value for money. Baby sleeps 10 hours without needing a change, add to that an 18 month toddler with high urine output. No spills or leakages. Let me point out that Little Snugglers is usually for babies age 0-6months, while Little Movers is for babies on the move –Crawling, Standing and Toddling.

• Snug and Dry: This is a very good product. While it is of very good quality, you may need to change baby’s diaper about an hour before you would normally do if baby had on Little Snugglers/Movers diapers. There’s been a recent re-design of the diaper that resulted in a reduced quality. I have lots more leakage and have to change baby at night, or else we’ll have a wet patch on the bed by morning. 

•  Snug and Dry Plus: This variant has the most quantity per carton, but it’s the lowest in quality. The texture is a bit rough to the touch. The diaper works fine in basic conditions, but accidents happen more often. Poop spills and droopy diapers after about 4 hours of baby wear. I would recommend this diaper only if you cannot afford better quality diapers.

Pampers Diapers

Pampers diapers come in a white or green carton with yellow and green detailing; minimalist but lovely. The diapers come in similar sizing as Huggies above. Pampers diapers are off-white in colour, with lovely vibrant-coloured designs around the waist. The major variants are:

• Swaddlers: This is the best quality. It certainly feels very luxurious to touch. No accidents, leaks or spills. It’s quite pricey, about the same range as Little Snugglers.

• Baby-Dry: This is also a soft and high quality diaper. Much better than Huggies Snug and Dry. There are the occasional spills, but not as often as with Snug and Dry. The waist of the diaper is not elasticized, so the fit is quite awkward. The diapers tend to slide down towards the hips because the waist isn’t snug. It can also appear restrictive around the waist if you make the waist flaps too tight (in an attempt to have a better fit at the waist).

• Premium Care: This is the least quality diaper from the Pampers range, however the quality is still top notch. Baby still needs a change overnight, but with the price, that’s not too much of a hassle.

Niyoola’s Take

My review is listed in order of quality:

Huggies Little Snugglers/Movers and Pampers Swaddlers are of very high quality. I am happy to use either of them for baby, especially if baby is prone to diaper rashes and very active. Both diapers seem to hold their contents in without any fear of spills. I find them both interchangeable in quality. I'm partial to Little Snugglers though, because of the elasticized waist. They are also quite expensive, but if you can afford it, they are a very excellent choice.

Pampers Baby-Dry is next for me on the list. Whilst the waist can be an issue, it delivers in the area of keeping its contents confined within the diapers. Baby-Dry costs about the same as both Snug and Dry variants. Snug and Dry would have been in this category, but the new products out there are of a lesser quality. 

Snug and Dry, Snug and Dry Plus and Pampers Premium Care are about the same quality. They both have a number of Pros and Cons that make them seem at the same level with one another. Pampers Premium Care is the cheapest diaper on the list, it costs about half the price of Snug and Dry and Baby Dry; this may give Premium a little edge depending on what qualities you want in a diaper. Premium Care is also softer to touch, so baby may find it more plush on his/her bottom. Snug and Dry however has the Elastic waist band.

Also note that Diapers made in the United Kingdom are usually of better quality than those made in the United States of America.

What’s your verdict? What has been you experience with these diapers? Please leave a comment below.

Photo Credit: walmart.com             

Washing Up Liquids

WASHING UP LIQUIDS

There was a time when washing dishes involved using crude yellow or white soap. Now, we have washing up liquids. They are easier to use and safer on the hands. There are a variety of them, but I’ll be focusing on the three most popular brands.

  
Morning Fresh

Morning Fresh is unarguably the most popular washing up liquid. It is manufactured by PZ Cussons. It has been around forever. I love Morning Fresh. It comes in Original (green), Lemon (Yellow) and Anti Bacterial (Blue). I love Morning Fresh because it is thick, cuts through grease easily and has a great fragrance.

Morning Fresh comes in an opaque white bottle which I totally dislike. It is so awkward and unappealing, quite difficult to handle. It doesn’t sit pretty by my kitchen sink.
You need to give the bottle a good squeeze to dispense the liquid.

It retails at about N400 for a 1 litre bottle

Sunlight

Sunlight washing up liquid is a new entrant to the washing up liquid market manufactured by Unilever. When compared to Morning Fresh, it’s not as thick. It comes in one fragrance which I love. Whenever I see the bottle and it’s labeling, the first thought that comes to mind is a Dishwashing Machine; maybe because of the TURBO written on the label.

It comes in an opaque yellow bottle which I do not like; it reminds me of toilet cleaning liquid. The 955ml bottle seems like a small keg, so you need to have a smaller container to put some in for ease of use.
The spout is a bit large, it tends to let more liquid out than i need.

Sunlight retails at about N850 for the 955ml bottle.

Fairy

Fairy is also a new entrant to the washing up liquid market, manufactured by Procter and Gamble. It is one of the most popular dishwashing brands in the UK.

It comes in a transparent shapely bottle which I love. The problem I have with Fairy is the fragrance. The smell is a bit too sharp; the first time I sniffed it, I actually winced (this was with the Platinum variant). The other variants have nice fragrances. I do not like the original green fragrance; I found it a bit boring which is odd since I love the green Morning Fresh. Did I already say how much I loved the bottle? There is something nice about a transparent dishwashing liquid bottle.
The spout is a very good size. Dispenses just the right amount of liquid.

Fairy retails at around N370 for 433ml.

Niyoola’s Take

Morning Fresh is the cheapest of all three. The pricing of the other two is ridiculous. A bottle of Morning Fresh cost half the price of the same quantity of the other variants. May be due to the Sunlight and Fairy being new products, but if the plan is to be competitive, something has to be done about the pricing.

Fairy has the best looking bottle. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yup, I pour my green Morning Fresh in my Fairy bottle …… dishwashing heaven!!!

When I’m feeling adventurous and have extra cash to throw around, I buy Fairy. I would love it if Fairy was more affordable; I would definitely buy it regularly if the price is right.

I buy Sunlight for the pop of colour. I don’t like the bottle, but it still looks better than the Morning Fresh bottle.

What do you think of the washing up liquids reviewed above? Do you have any favourites? 

Photo Credit: androidkidsgame.blogspot.com