Mommy Review : Thudguard, Infant Protective Safety Hat

Thudguard, Infant Protective Safety Hat in Blue and Lilac. So cute right?

I bought this Thudguard safety hat quite long time ago. After my daughter fell from our bed and bumped her head. She got a bruised and swollen on her forehead. I was so scared and could not help but think how a bad mother I am for being so careless.

So, after that incident I began to search for a helmet that could protect my baby from head injury. At least to minimize the impact of the bump. Then I found this Thudguard, Infant Protective Safety Hat. This product have a very good review by many people, the product specifications is great, and the design itself is super cute. So I didn't hesitate to choose this product for my baby. I bought this online for USD 38 (IDR 380.000), but always check the product appearance because some store sell the fake one with so much cheaper price.

Olive wearing Lilac colored Thudguard

When the helmet arrived, I tried it on her head and it was too big (she was 7 months old at that time) and guess what, she managed to take it off just in a couple of seconds. Sigh... She was not used to wearing helmet. Every time I put it on her, she always wants to take it off.  If I managed to get her to wear it longer, she'll sweat till all of her hair got wet. The product is lightweight and there are many big holes as ventilation, but if you live in a tropical country like me especially in summer I don't think it will make any difference. After a couple of days attempt, she begin get used to it, but only wear it for a short period of time.

7 months old Olive wearing Thudguard, Ahhhh...so cuteee!

Now as she is 19 months, the helmet already fit to her head, and I can say she quite like it. Thanks to Barney song "The Silly Hat". Olive will go and grab any hat she could find and put it on every time this song is played, and this Thudguard is one of it. This hat now mostly used when she riding on her tricycles.

I thought Thudguard is a great product that can provide protection and cushion for your baby head and sure it will give you a peace of mind about your kid hurting their head.  Here is some great point that can be considered when choosing Thudguard:

• Thudguard is the only product of its type in the world that complies with safety standards and the only product endorsed by Children's Accident & Emergency Experts. Thudguard was independently tested, passed and certified by a leading international test house where various simulated impacts against anvils representing door edges, patio slabs, round corners and pavement kerbs etc., where carried out.

• Thudguard complies with SGS Testing (BSEN71 / 2 & 3) for: Chemical Test, Flammability Test, and Antibacterial Test.

• Well made with high quality material, Lightweight yet durable.

From sight and feel, this helmet is very well construct and I can feel the material also great. It said that it made of ultra lightweight High Density Foam, which make it very light so it will not adding too much weight or pressure to your baby head and neck. And as the materials used in Thudguard is resilient I think I will be able to use it for my next baby.

• Super cute design with two soft touch ears

The design with two soft touch ear is so cute, I could not help but smile every time she wear it.

• Fit from age 7month old until 2+ years old, with measures from approximately 40cm to 50cm head circumference, so it could be used for quite large age range.
  

With price around $38, I think Thudguard is a little bit pricey compared to other infant safety helmet in the market. But I think it's worth the money considering it made of great material and can give us a peace of mind knowing it already passed through several tests and safety standards.

The sweaty head part, I thought can not be avoided especially in summer, just take it off often so they don't get over heated.
 
If I could give any suggestions for this products is only to develop the color choice and the motif of the hat. It'll be fun to see maybe a bright yellow color Thudguard with eyes and beak which will resemble a duck. Well, it's just my thought.

All information written above is my personal experience wearing this Thudguard on my daughter. Please bear in mind what we experienced might not be experienced by others and vice versa.

Olivia First Birthday

Olive birthday already passed a couple of months, but even though it's not a recent event I'll post the photos here because we took some nice pic of her birthday party.

I prepared almost all things for the party by myself, from determined themes for the party, choosing birthday cake, looking for birthday favor, make the party decoration. I start her birthday project 6 months before D day, because at that time I didn't have nanny and only have free time when she's sleeping.
My mom bought the birthday dress for Olive and helping me in the morning, my mother in law was the one who prepared all the dishes, and my sister who also be a helping hand at that day.

This one is Chinese tradition for first birthday celebration, we arrange several items on the floor and let the birthday baby choose which one she like best. Whatever the baby took is said will foretell what the baby interest in the future. Myself and my husband is not superstitious but I still did this tradition for fun. I put xylophone, a box of colored pencils, hand phone, money, pen, and book for her to choose and eventually she choose xylophone. It's so fun waiting her approaching the things she wanted. And look at the picture, she decided to do gangnam style dance before get the xylophone. Haha.

 

Birthday favor for guests.

 Mommy the birthday present looks yummy, I'll take a bite. 

 It's an art.

 

  Taste the cake frosting...yummy..

  Some snacks  prepared for guests.

Mommy Talk : Breastfeeding

After my first post, I keep wondering what should I blog about for my second post. I eventually decided to talk about my breastfeeding experience.

I just stopped breastfeed my daughter Olive a month ago. She got exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months, and continue breastfed until she's 18 month. I have to admit it's not only Olive miss her mommy breasts, but mommy also miss the breastfeeding moment. I miss holding her in my arm and watching her laugh and giggle when I put a silly face. I miss her little hand holding me, playing with my hair or touching my other nipple. I really miss the bonding moment of breastfeed.

The beginning of my breastfeed is not a happy elegant experience just like what we see in commercial. The first 3 days after I delivered Olive, the milk haven't come out. I cried a lot at the hospital I think I'll win the most crying mom award. Just a couple of hours after delivery, my baby already cried for milk. She's so hungry but could not got any milk. She cried so loud every 2-3 hours and it's so stressful time for both of us. Day 2 at the hospital my baby was dehydrated and got mild jaundice. I was so sad and keep blaming myself for not able to produced breast milk for my baby, and eventually I let the nurse gave her formula so the jaundice won't get worsen. I think I can't call it exclusive, let's say Olive had a semi exclusive breastfeed since we fed her formula several times.

After I discharged from hospital, the milk came out, but it's still not enough for Olive. She thrown tantrum every night crying for more milk, yet she kept resisting formula. Yes, I did try to fed her formula again, when you see your baby cry out loud for more milk but you could not provide enough for her, your heart will waver and all you want to do is give her something that will make her full, stop crying and be a happy baby.

The situation is still mess but gradually getting better as breast milk came out more and more until it completely became fast flow at around 1 month. After one month she can get enough milk to satisfy her appetite. Full baby, happy baby, happy everybody. Hip hip hurray....

Now as I look back at my breastfeeding experience, I can get several things I did and did not do that in my opinion could help through breastfeeding.

Eat a well balance and healthy diet
You need to eat well not only to make your breast produce milk for your baby but also to improve your health and stamina after delivery.  Forget about diet or counting calories. I'm so blessed to have my mother in law cook for me. My everyday menu is chicken or pork soup (angkak chicken soup or red bean pork ribs soup), pork feet stew, along with rice, some vegetable and fruit.

Breast Massage
I start massaged my breast when I was 5 months pregnant and kept doing it until 6-7 month after delivery. I did it twice a day after shower using breast lactation oil. In my opinion this massage stimulate your breast to increase milk supply and help to prevent your breast from getting mastitis. If you want to do breast massage please be aware to use a safe, natural, and edible lactation oil. I always clean my breast before breastfeed my baby and wash it with lukewarm water. Below is a picture of hand expression which I follow when I did breast massage.

Clean Clogged Pore
This is the step that I did not do and I will definitely do if I get pregnant again. At the beginning of my breastfeed, I experience sore nipple. My nipple got some clogged pores and become swollen and hurt so much I almost cry every breastfeeding time. I have no idea I have to clear the clog pores until my cousin tell me. After the clogged pores cleared, the milk got the way to come out and not hurt anymore. Again, please use a safe, natural, and edible lactation oil if you want to clean your nipple.

Got support from husband and family
My husband is my #1 supporter during breastfeeding. He always encourage me that I can breastfed our baby not only verbally but also by doing. So does my family, they always so supportive. That really help me through the hard time and make me determined to keep going on my plan to breastfeed.

Positive thinking and do not stress
This one is something that I did not do during the first couple of days after delivery. I was too confused and overwhelm with the hungry crying baby and there is no milk came out. It's important for a mommy not to stress because it will affect the milk flow, so don't be like me, you have to relax and stay positive.

Hand Expressing
Instead of using breast pump I prefer do hand expressing. In my experience hand expressing did help increasing my milk supply. I don't mean that breast pump is not useful, but the first time I pump using my electric breast pump, it hurt so bad.  So I stopped after a couple of time using it. The breastpump I bought actually got a very nice review by many people, but it's just not work for me at that time. Doing hand expression also need a couple time practice before I could got the right way that work and comfortable for me. I'm sure you could get more information about hand expressing from your midwife.

All information written above is my personal experience which I think is useful to help me through  my breastfeeding time. Please bear in mind what work for me may not work for some other people and vice versa. Always consult with your obstetricians, midwife and your pediatrician to find the best that are most suitable for your condition and health.

Mommy First Post @ Blogger

Hi everybody,

I'm a mommy of one cute little princess, this is my blog where I would like to share some of my daily activity. So, during my schedule as a mommy, a wife, and a online shop owner, I'll take some time to go online and write down some of my hobbies, or even just ordinary things I do with my daughter.

It's my first time blogging, so really need your kind understanding and support for this newbie blog .

Love and Cheers..

Della
http://whatmommydoes.blogspot.com/