Sew Sweet Tag Blankie & Tag Monster Review and Giveaway

I was thrilled with the opportunity to review the new Night Owl Tag Blankie and Spike Tag Monster from Sew Sweet with Olivia.  Sew Sweet is a company based out of Canada that makes personalized baby blankets, birthday blankets, pillowcases and tag blankies.  The awesome bonus part?  They are all handmade!  So you know that every item is made especially for your little one!

When we opened our package, the first thing I noticed about these blankies was their vivid color and how super-soft they are.  The ribbons are very bright and silky.  Olivia is into chewing on her blankies right now, and with the snuggly texture and buttery-softness of the minky, these blankies are perfect for her.  

The "Night Owl" design is very cute, with bright yellow, orange, turquoise and brown owls.  The ribbons coordinate perfectly with the owl design.  

The Tag Blankie is huge!  It measures 16" x 16" and retails for $20 CAD with name embroidered and $15 CAD without.  The ribbons will be great for Livvy's sensory development and help with her hand-eye coordination as she tries to get them in her mouth!

The white bubble-dot minky side is personalized with Olivia's name in orange embroidery.  

This is the "Curlz" font.  You can also pick from five other fonts when personalizing your blankie.

Olivia loves her Night Owl Tag Blankie!  I put it in her hands and she immediately started chewing on it!

This is the Spike Tag Monster.  Spike is made from Minky just like the Tag Blankie and I think it is just as cute!  I love the little ribbon teeth and the cyclops eye (made from felt.) There are also three other Tag Monster designs available to choose from.  All Tag Monsters retail for $20 CAD.

Olivia chewed on the ribbon tags straight away.  She loves Spike too!

Sew Sweet recommends hand-washing the Tag Blankie and Tag Monster in cold water and not bleaching or ironing them.  You can follow Sew Sweet on  Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest and get the latest information on new products and sales.  P.S-A little birdie told me that football and baseball shaped blankies will soon be available (also in pink,) as well as another more girly blanket.  We can't wait to try out what comes next!

Our Sew Sweet blankies are just what their logo says...handmade, personalized, and loved!  Thank you Sew Sweet!

Sew Sweet has generously offered up a Tag Blankie or Tag Monster to my readers as a giveaway.

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 The product for this review was provided to me by the company. I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing products.  All opinions expressed are my own. Others who may use the product may have different opinions.

Lilicouture Travel Wipes Container

You know those ugly plastic travel wipes containers you have to keep in your pretty diaper bag?  Lilicouture has created a stylish solution to this problem!  Wipes containers covered in beautiful fabric and trim with tons of prints to choose from.  One of them is sure to meet your style!  

Tracy Chaix, Designer and Owner of Lilicouture, was kind enough to send me a special treat from her new Summer 2012 Collection, which is launching any day now!  Raspberry Lime was the pattern I picked.  Each item is handmade and made to order just for you.   It comes dressed in this pretty grosgrain ribbon and tag.  

My Raspberry Lime Travel Wipes Container is perfectly made and I can really tell that Tracy pays attention to every little detail!  The container is padded and covered in a durable duck-type fabric and trimmed in a beautiful brown crochet.  The new Collection has pop-top style containers to choose from as well.

It even came already stocked with wipes.  I didn't expect that!

Raspberry Lime goes perfect in my diaper bag and looks 100 times better than the plain Huggies wipes container that used to be in there.  The travel wipes containers retail for $25 and ladies, it is worth every penny!

Lilicouture also offers a variety of Boy Prints to choose from, as well as Nursery Size Wipes Containers, Changing Mats and Hair Clip Holders.  You can even monogram your favorite product!  These items make a wonderful baby gift any new mom is sure to love!  

You can become a fan of Lilicouture on Facebook HERE and follow them on Twitter HERE.

The product for this review was provided to me by the company. I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing products.  All opinions expressed are my own. Others who may use the product may have different opinions.

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Bottle and Chewthers Review and Giveaway

Introducing the bottle to a breastfed baby can be a stressful time for parents and little one alike.  As a mother, all sorts of questions run through your mind.  How will my baby react?  What if she doesn't like the bottle?  Will she like the bottle too much and reject the breast?  Will she take in air and get a belly ache?  These are all common concerns.  Tommee Tippee's newest line, Closer to Nature, has answers.  Scientifically designed to be the closest thing to breastfeeding, the Closer to Nature bottles provide a comfortable, stress-free experience for mom and baby.

I received a Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature 3 pack of 9 oz. bottles with slow flow nipples, in an exclusive Babies R Us Collection print to try with Olivia. This set retails at Babies R Us for $22.99.  

The Closer to Nature bottle has indentations to make it easy for the baby's hands to grip the bottle.  It is BPA and Phthalate free, so it's safe for your little one.

The wide nipple mimics the natural feel, flex and stretch movement of breastfeeding and makes it easier to latch thereby enabling you to successfully and simultaneously breastfeed and bottle feed.  You can change out the nipple as your baby grows and requires a faster flow.  Nipples are available in slow, medium, fast and variable flow designs.  

The anti-colic, anti-gas Advanced Easi-vent lets baby drink without a vacuum effect & prevents nipple collapse and leaking.

This unique, ultra-sensitive valve helps prevents the baby from swallowing air by allowing the air trapped in the bottle to pass through the lid and thus preventing gas, colic and fussiness. 

I am still breastfeeding Olivia, but we would like to give her a bottle of pumped milk every now and then so she won't reject the bottle when we decide to wean.  

She latched on to this bottle much quicker than the first bottle we ever gave her, so I considered that a good sign.  However the nipple kept collapsing on it and I'd have to pull it out of her mouth to let the air out.  I finally decided to take the lid off to check out the valve for the air vent and found it was stuck shut.  The instructions for the bottle say to make sure the valve is able to open and close properly, so I squeezed it and it still wouldn't open.  I then decided to blow air into it from the outside.  After that, it functioned properly.  I think it must have just dried shut when I washed it.  We had no problems with nipple collapse after I fixed the valve and Livvy fell asleep when her bottle was empty!

I am glad we were given the opportunity to try out the Closer to Nature Bottles.  They work really well, and as far as I can tell, perform in every aspect that the manufacturer says they will.  We will definitely continue to use them!

Tommee Tippee's website provides breastfeeding support and advice on topics such as going back to work, and what Dad can do to help. It also offers The Day Baby Was Born, a free service that gathers information and compiles it into a digital storybook about the day your child was born.

Tommee Tippee's Closer to Nature line has 4 stages of Chewthers, teething toys designed by a pediatric dentist to help support muscle coordination, lip seal and jaw development.  They also help alleviate the pain of teething and the textured surfaces help care for fragile new teeth.  I was given a Stage 2 and Stage 3 Chewther for review.  

The Stage 2 Chewther is for ages 4 months + and helps prepare your baby to chew pureed foods.  Just what she needs to get ready for her first feeding!  It is very oddly shaped, and I worried about it gagging my baby, but when I put it in Livvy's mouth, she started biting on it and smiling all the while.  She is just a bit too young to get this Chewther to her mouth by herself, but she holds it in her hand when I put it there, and I am sure that as her coordination gets better, she will be able to do it on her own.  

The Stage 3 Chewther is for ages 6 months + and helps prepare your baby to chew mushy foods.  It looks just like a set of brightly-colored keys, and we all know how much babies love chewing on keys!  I have no doubt that the Stage 3 Chewther will be a good replacement for our dirty, germy car keys when Olivia gets to that age.  The keys look like they might be hard, but after touching them, they have a nice, rubbery texture to them that feels soft enough for baby's mouth.  Tommee Tippee's Chewthers are BPA-free and come in bright colors that are appealing to baby.  Pink and Purple for girls and Blue and Green for boys or gender neutral.  They retail for $6.99 at Babies R Us.  

Tommee Tippee also offers a full line of breastfeeding and bottle feeding supplies, pacifiers and toddler feeding products.

Tommee Tippee has graciously offered Baby Mama Loves' readers a chance to win a set of two Chewthers of the winner's choice.  

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The product for this review was provided to me by the company. I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing products.  All opinions expressed are my own. Others who may use the product may have different opinions.

Bambino Toy Bags

We have a baby.  She has a diaper bag.  You know that, as a parent, you have to shove all different kinds of things into the bag when you go out.  Outfits, diapers, wipes, burp rags, toys, binky, bottle, blankets, etc.  This list goes on.  After you shove the diaper bag full of all this stuff, how do you get to the things on the bottom?  You have to unpack the whole thing.  Time consuming and not a pleasant prospect when you are faced with a diaper blow-out on a nasty changing table in a public restroom!   

Enter the Bambino Toy Bag, a great storage and organizational tool for kids and parents alike.  You can pack this 12.5" by 12.5" bag full of the small things that clutter up your diaper bag and prevent you from getting to the things you need the most...diapers!  Just pack, zip and throw on top.  

Made from a white, stretchy, polyester mesh with laminated cotton trim, the Bambino Toy Bag is very durable.

  It is a 100% eco-friendly, reusable storage bag containing no phthalates or lead.  It is a great alternative to a plastic storage bag, which is unsafe for small kids.  And did I say Machine-Washable?  That is a must have for any parent!

It has a zippered closure and a durable carrying handle made from the same laminated cotton as the trim. 

  

And of course a silky tag that all babies and kids love!

The Bambino Toy Bag was invented and designed by a single mom, Lisa Heydet, who wanted to smooth the transition for her children back and forth from their dad's house by allowing them to take their favorite toys.  These bags work great for all the myriad little toys that children acquire.  Here the bag is shown holding about 1/4 of my son's GoGo Crazybones collection.  This is excellent for him as he has to take these things everywhere!  It also has my husband's stamp of approval.  When I showed it to him he loved the idea and thought it was well worth the 20 bucks for three bags.  I wonder if he will store his hunting stuff in them? 

So there you have it.  Mama approved, kid approved, and most importantly....dad approved.  Bambino Toy Bags are a winning idea!  They come in green trim, or pink trim and are sold in packs of 3 for $19.99.  You can purchase them at the Bambino Toy Bag website HERE.  You can checkout their Facebook page HERE.  And you can follow them on Twitter HERE.

And as a special treat, the company is sharing a code for free shipping when you purchase your bags.  Please use promo code FREESHIP at checkout.

The product for this review was provided to me by the company. I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing products.  All opinions expressed are my own. Others who may use the product may have different opinions.