It doesn't matter how old your child is, being a parent is an conditional, forever thing. When our children were young, we thought we were working hard so that we could provide them with a comfortable life and a lifetime of memories. Fortunately, we were blessed with three who continue to make this life an adventure, even some thirty years later.
With luck, you get a Round Two. When you're blessed with a grandchild, everything seems new again and from a different perspective you're constantly wondering how you ever managed. In the course of our normal business, we come across information about consumer items - product safety, recalls and information that sometimes just makes you wonder. We are keenly aware of product safety recalls and label warnings that have made recents news. As such, we tend to ask our suppliers more questions and as much as we can, test the products ourselves.
It is definitely a different world from when we had our own toddlers.
Today I ordered some items to review and we'll post our comments here. Read on.
Doctor Bloom is a company that was founded by a dentist. Their Chewable Jewelry [photos from site] - necklaces and bangles and key tags are made with silicon and come in attractive colors certain to attract and entertain a teething child. I forgot how miserable teething can be until our little rascal started popping teeth. At almost 8 months old and flashing 7 little teeny teeth, these will come in handy when the others decide to make their grand poppin' appearance. He's been soothed by a variety of teethers but I think the 'wearable' aspect of this one will surely come in handy.
I've also come across eco friendly Lotus Pad Yoga Mats [photo from site] a company devoted to safe PVC free yoga mats for kids and adults. Now this would be a great product to get into our industry (will work on that!).
You will note that we are very eco conscientious in our recommendations. You can't imagine how much product we test, look at, use and yes, throw away. We do not have junk drawers but we do have a long junk list! Because a corporate logo might be inscribed in a product, we do the due diligence research to help ensure that what you give is not only trendy, but more importantly, useful, manufactured with quality and safe. Stay tuned!!
UPDATE 3/27 - so today I spent the day trying to keep an 8 month old away from danger. It's like the world just opened up for him. Amazing how they go from infant to NOT INFANT overnight. From creeping to being ALL OVER the place! From cooing to bababa-ing and from gums to 7 teeth. Today he tried to chew everything in sight..so I'm really looking forward to our bracelets!
UPDATE 3/29 & Product Review - we received our Dr. Bloom Chewable Jewelry yesterday. We ordered the chocolate/caramel bracelets. I am loving it, it kept our little one entertained and happy for a long time. As you can imagine, the world of an 8 month old is discovered by their eyes and mouth and this definitely challenged both senses. We actually played games with the three bracelets, we'd put them around his wrist and he would wrestle them out. You could see him trying to figure it out and he would clap when he accomplished a feat.
I found another great use for it, though. I use it as a wrist rest on my laptop! Since the right side of the computer sometimes gets hot, the three bracelets are a comfortable resting place for my wrist! They're made of silicone so I am able to rest my wrist without skidding around my machine. You gotta love the dual purpose!
