Yay, my first product review! I feel a little proud of being able to do a product review again as I haven't had the chance since re-branding from Omnivogue. And what an awesome product it is...
Mommies and daddies, let me introduce you to Hey Kiwi - Haakaa SA. Run by Haylee & Nicole, who have teamed up with the Haakaa brand in New Zealand to bring their amazing products to our shores, and who, in their own words, "...are all about finding, sourcing – and at desperate times, making products which make mom’s life and babies life easier and healthier." After running a poll on my Facebook page I decided to review their awesome Fresh Food Feeder and Teether. This is what it looks like:
How cool are those colours and the Mickey Mouse ears design! In a nut shell this is a 100% silicone two-in-one, feeder and teether. The Mickey Mouse ears are a soft silicone great for chewing and easy to hold. My girls were prem and at 5 and a half months old they are a bit behind in motor skills but very much on par with teething. I bought them teething rings and all they’ve achieved so far is dropping the rings onto their faces and squawking with annoyance at not being able to hold them AND get them into their mouths. Mostly they end up poked in an eye or smacked into the other twins ear, etc. But with this cool design and because it is so soft and lightweight, my girls don’t struggle so much and we have happy bunnies all round.
The second part of this contraption is the feeder. So we’ve all heard of those mesh bag thingies where you put some kind of fruit inside and your baby can chomp down on it without getting huge chunks of whatever-it-is lodged in their throats. When starting solids, this gives all the enjoyment, texture and flavour but none of the stress of choking hazards. This feeder is different in that the mesh bag is actually a soft silicone pouch with little holes. The great thing about this: it’s easy to clean (hot, soapy water or dishwasher) and so won’t become a breeding ground for bacteria or end up smelling like the remnants of last weeks snacks. It doesn’t leak juice all over the place either!
Besides the above, the Haakaa feeder also lends itself to developing Baby’s motor skills, encouraging them to build hand-eye coordination and that sought after independence. I can honestly say that I watched in awe as my two actually managed to not only hold onto their feeders but actually get them in their mouths and oh, the enjoyment on their faces was priceless! Alyce still needs a little bit of help now and again but Astryd has already grasped the concept (no pun intended) and has had many hours of happy chomping.
I was really looking for a decent teether/feeder for my girls after the epic failure of the teething rings and this just popped up at the perfect time. I love them, my girls love them and when I have two moaning Minnies on my hands who are leaving puddles of drool all over me, I simply pop some cold fruit into the feeder or grab the teether attachment and we all have some instant relief. It’s also such a great way to introduce new foods and flavours without getting messy and wasting a whole lot unnecessarily. So far our favourite seems to be red apple 🙂
The only hiccup I’ve had with the fresh food feeder and teether is that it took me a while to figure out how to open as it seals quite tightly…a good and a bad thing, lol. I find I have to wedge something in to loosen it a little before I can pull the stopper off as I don’t want to pull too hard on the teether bit and break it! All in all though this is a super awesome product and is already loved by our household! If you’d like your very own or you’d like to browse through Hey Kiwi’s other great ethical products, check out their website: http://heykiwi.co.za
Until next time!
xxx
NOTE: Hey Kiwi – Haakaa SA also sell a really cool silicone breast pump and recently a lot of low grade silicone pumps have been popping up. They ask that you please ensure that you purchase from a reliable, quality brand that has been properly tested. Knock off brands can use cheap, untested materials which could be harmful to both mums and their little ones.