Review: Hafmall Diaper Bag

Disclosure: Complimentary product was received for review purposes. All opinions are entirely my own.  

For some reason, I never got a “real” diaper bag. I registered and my friend bought me one for my baby shower but when it arrived there was an issue with it, so I ended up returning it and never got a replacement. Another friend got me a really cute tote from Fighting Eel, so I ended up just using that to carry around our baby “necessities.”

But a few weeks ago Hafmall reached out to me and asked if I’d like to review one of their diaper bags… yes a real diaper bag.

I ordered the Hafmall Diaper Bag - Waterproof Mult-Function Travel Back Pack through Amazon so of course it was a very easy and fast ordering process with free shipping for Prime (not an endorsement for Amazon or Amazon Prime but if you have a baby in Hawaii, Amazon Prime is pretty much a MUST) and it arrived at my door in a few days.

Shortly after receiving the bag, we were heading to the beach for E’s first beach day, and since the bag is waterproof, I decided to transfer all E’s things over. Here is what I like about our new Hafmall Diaper Bag, which I’ve been using ever since

• It’s waterproof. Which in Hawaii, between beach and pool dates and the constant threat of rain, is a necessity!  
• It’s SO light. My other tote bag was made of a thicker canvas so it was heavier and bigger than this bag. What I really appreciated about this bag was that the backpack itself is light … and when you’re juggling an 18 pound baby, a diaper bag, a dog and a million other things, those few pounds makes a difference!
• It looks small, but it holds a lot of stuff. My other “diaper bag” felt like it was filled to the brim and even though this bag is probably about 2/3 the size of the other bag, it actually holds everything… and more.
• It’s actually a diaper bag. Ok, this one is a no brainer, but because it’s a “real” diaper bag it comes with all the features of a diaper bag. A tissue pocket for wipes. Different compartments to organize allllll the baby stuff you have. And insulated side pockets for food and bottles.
• It’s a backpack. The diaper bag I registered for when I was pregnant with E (and had to return) was a backpack. I liked the idea of being able to carry the bag hands-free. The diaper bag I ended up using was not. I will say between the two (a regular tote bag and a backpack), I’d definitely choose the backpack style again!

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On Mom Time: A Belated National Literacy Month Post

Here are the cliff notes: I’ve been booked. So, while I had the best intentions of doing a post for National Literacy Month (which was in September, *face palm*) the month came and went.

But after shelving this post for weeks, I thought well, better late than never. Moms will understand. So here it goes.

The statistics on why you should read to your child are staggering. Research shows that children that have five books read to them a day enter kindergarten having heard 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to. That’s a lot of words.

Even kids who are only read one book a day still hear 290,000 more words by age five than those who aren’t read to regularly. Interestingly, research also shows you should read the same books to your child over and over for reading comprehension. So yes, all of this reading is VERY HARD to do (you know, on top of the laundry and diaper changes and just keeping the baby alive). But I guess that’s a topic for another post (which will also likely be weeks late).

So while we’re busy trying to read five books a day to E and also making sure to put the same ones on repeat, we wanted to share some of our faves that have made the rotation. Because let’s face it, right now E is still more interested in eating the books than reading them… but one day!

·      Where’s Spot: The Spot series is one I still recollect reading as a kid. E loves dogs so this one is a no brainer. Plus he enjoys trying to tear off all the flaps.

·      It’s Time to Sleep My Love: Ok, if there was a Nobel Prize for infant literature I think this book should have one. It’s poetry. Beautifully written. This is one book I could read every single night and never have it get old.   

·      Clifford’s Bedtime: Back to E’s love of fur things, we like reading about the different things dogs do. This book is a good one. Clifford’s First Halloween that we just bought… not so much.

·      Guess How Much I Love You: This one may be on here because it was one of the first books I read to E and Todd just liked making fun of my repeating “Little Nut Brown Hare” and “Big Nut Brown Hare” over and over again. I agree, they could have been more creative with the names, but it’s still a sweet story.

·      Mama: As someone who is rooting hard for E’s first word to be “Mama” (or something of that nature) how can I not include this one? Sure there is no plot (which I hate). Or complete sentences (also hate). But any chance to reinforce this all-important word so I can beat “Dada” gets my vote.

What books are you reading to your little? Let us know in the comments below.

Happy reading!  

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SNOO BASSINET REVIEW: How We Got Our Baby to Snoo-ze Through the Night

Let me start this post by saying, I LOVE SLEEP. I can fall asleep at night (or in the morning) after drinking a full cup of coffee. Before we had a baby, I believed that naps weren’t worth taking unless you could sleep for three hours straight. So suffice to say, one of the biggest decisions we had to make (I thought) when preparing for Baby to arrive was what he was going to sleep in.

After much research, we ended up getting a Pack N’ Play, which many of our friends with kids had and used in their room until the baby outgrew it and moved to a crib in his own room. It was practical I told myself: not only was it incredibly affordable, but it grew with the kid (could be used as a play pen later) and the one we purchased also came with a changing table attachment so we wouldn’t need one in our bedroom.

So we brought Baby home and let him sleep in the Pack N’ Play. It worked – and by worked I mean, the baby slept in it. But he didn’t sleep well, 2-3 hour stretches at a time, which is to be expected for a newborn. But when we hit the four to five-week mark and were looking at Dad returning to work soon I knew I wasn’t going to survive handling 3-4 nightly feedings all on my own. So I made the leap and rented a Snoo Smart Sleeper.

What It Is:

I had seen the Snoo when we first got pregnant (it’s like online ads just know). It’s basically a very expensive, technology-advanced baby bassinet that plays white noise and constantly rocks your baby while it sleeps. If your baby fusses it helps to comfort your baby so you (hopefully) don’t have to.

 I told Todd I might get it and made the point – and he agreed – that you couldn’t put a price on sleep. But the price for sleep was expensive. The cost to purchase a Snoo is $1,295… and it can only be used till the baby is roughly six months of age.

Fortunately for us, shortly before Baby was born Snoo launched a rental program. For $112 a month (or $3.50 a day) the Snoo, they say, can get you 1-2 hours more of sleep a night. To the normal person, this may not sound like a lot. To a sleep-deprived parent 1-2 hours a night is like an extra 3-4 hours a night to a regular person.

But at the end of the day it wasn’t the price that dissuaded me so much as I wondered whether it would it actually work. And would it actually work for OUR baby (because as many parents claimed their baby loved it, there were just as many who said their baby hated it and screamed their heads off).

Now our Baby is a pretty easy baby by most definitions (I’m sure I paid for this somehow in a previous life… or will when he turns two) and he took quite quickly to the Snoo. It says that if you don’t use it starting from birth that it could take about a week to see any effect, and after a week passed, sure enough, he was sleeping at least four-hour stretches. By the time he hit two months he slept for eight hours straight and started regularly sleeping 6-8 hour stretches at a time.

So suffice to say, we love the Snoo. This is not to say that we didn’t also start implementing a number of other sleep training methods I read about, such as creating a bedtime routine. But I have recommended the Snoo to many other parents-to-be to at least consider renting. If you’re thinking about getting the Snoo, here are some pros and cons to consider:

WHAT I LIKE:     

• They offer a pretty generous military discount. The discount includes 40% off the purchase of a Snoo or 10% off your monthly rental. I thought it would be a pain to submit all the documentation to get the discount but it was actually super easy and fast. Plus they credited me the discount since I was lazy and didn’t request it when I first started the rental process. 
• The way it’s designed your baby is literally strapped to his or her back, which is supposed to be the safest sleeping position for infants. This brought some peace of mind to a new parent.
• It comes with a weaning feature. The designers of the Snoo really thought of everything and that is how they would answer parents’ biggest question “but how are we going to transition our baby to a crib once he outgrows the Snoo?” We haven’t started using the feature yet but will have to soon. Basically, it just stops the constant rocking and white noise and only rocks the baby if he fusses.
• It has an app. We use our phones for a lot of baby things – like tracking how much he eats a day. So why not his sleep? The app that comes with the Snoo is helpful (for example you can increase the level of “comfort” virtually from the living room if you hear the baby fussing on the monitor without getting up off the couch). I also like seeing how much he’s slept and can look back at his sleep patterns over time. But there are some tweaks that could make it better like showing the time you stop the Snoo to pick up the baby (in addition the time you start the Snoo back up again).

HOW THE SNOO COULD BE BETTER:

• For the rental, you need to return the Snoo (obviously). However, the box that it comes in and the way that its packaged makes this a big challenge. When I told my husband that he’d have to package everything back in the same box it came in he said boxing it to mail back was going to be impossible. I told him he didn’t have a choice and that there was a video with tips. We’ll see how that goes.
• I mentioned this before but it isn’t cheap (to put it lightly). I’m sure there are a lot of other baby necessities you could spend $112 a month on (or more if you decide to purchase it). Like diapers. Or formula. Or pajamas (which my baby keeps outgrowing). Personally, I miss mani/pedis.
• It’s not light. Probably because of all the STUFF it does it is quite heavy and is not a bassinet that in my opinion, you could easily and quickly move around your room. It took both me and my husband to maneuver it up the stairs and I’m pretty sure its weight is just another reason he is not looking forward to packing it up and mailing it back.

Right now we’re dealing with four-month sleep regression. SUPER FUN. Got tips for surviving? Leave them in the comments below!

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