Soothie Suckers Review + GIVEAWAY

     Soothie Suckers are an all natural herbal ice pop meant to help boost your immunity!  I had never heard of such a thing so I was super excited to get these.  I received the nasal support variety and just in time as Amelia was getting a bit of a runny nose. They are 100% plant based and safe for kids.  I love finding natural ways of keeping my family healthy!

     Soothie Suckers come in two varieties, Immunity Support and Nasal Support.  The Nasal Support are purple in color while Immunity Support is orange.  We have been using them unfrozen since it is so cold here in Minnesota but they would also be a fun treat frozen like an ice pop.  They taste great and Amelia definitely gets excited to see them so it is very easy to get her to take one.  I love how portable they are, they are all pre portioned so there is no measuring involved.  They are great to throw in your diaper bag and go.  I am bringing some with us on the plane for our trip in January.  I feel like after spending the day on a plane and in the airport we will both need some immunity support!

       Soothie Suckers are free of artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup, and alcohol.  You can see above the quality herbal ingredients in each of these pops.  We have been very impressed with their effectiveness and taste.  These are a great alternative to conventional cold medicine and I love that they are safe for little kids too.

     Now for the best part, Soothie Suckers is giving away two boxes of Soothie Suckers!  To enter the giveaway just use the Rafflecopter widget below, good luck!  Must be 18+ and in the U.S.  Soothie Suckers also provided a discount of $2 off a box with code HEALTHYFUN on their website.  Now everyone can try them out and at a great price. Plus there is no limit to how many boxes you may use this discount on!  Stay healthy everyone and thanks for reading :). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

                     

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Dr. Yum's Baby Teeth Cleaners Review

     My daughter started getting teeth at about 11 months old and ever since I have been trying my best to maintain good dental hygiene with her.  It can be difficult since babies and toddlers do not always want to cooperate.  When she first started getting teeth we used tooth wipes.  These were fine until she started getting teeth on the bottom as well and my poor fingers were often getting bitten.  Baby teeth are a lot sharper than you might think because that hurts!  When I was contacted by Dr. Yums with these baby teeth cleaners I thought they sounded like a great idea so why not give them a try!

     Dr. Yum's Baby Teeth Cleaners are little q-tips filled with a baby safe cleaning solution that coats the teeth to protect from plaque.  You click it and the solution dispenses on the tip of the q-tip and you simply wipe it along your baby's teeth.  They are not messy,  disposable, Amelia likes the taste, and are safe for babies.  I will admit these are probably best used when they are younger or for in between brushings.  Amelia is now one and a half and in a "I will do it myself" stage so this is probably not any easier than her toothbrush at the moment.  That said, when she was younger I really wish I had found these, they definitely would have saved my fingers!  I am going to keep some in the diaper bag though since they are awesome for traveling.  We are going on a trip in a couple months and these will be perfect to have on hand in the airport since they are a one time use product I won't have a wet toothbrush in my bag.  

     Overall I think this is a great product for younger babies.  Once they get into that toddler stage it will depend on the child, mine won't let me "help" her to really get all her teeth with the q-tip, but they are great for in between brushing.  Amelia really likes the taste and the ingredients are all safe for little ones.  I can't wait to travel with these as they are super convenient to throw in the bag and go! They would also make great stocking stuffers ;).

                        

Disclosure - Items above were received free of charge for testing and reviewing purposes.  I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review and I only reccomend products I think would good for my readers.  As always opinions are 100% my own!

Our Potty Training Arsenal

     Ahhh potty training, it comes with so much advice and so many options.  My daughter is almost a year and a half so I thought it was time we started introducing the idea.  I know a lot of people would probably say it is too early but she can't learn if we don't try, right?  The first thing I needed was to buy the necessary supplies to start our potty training adventure.  There are a lot of options but here is what I went with.

     Everyone I talked to recommended the Baby Bjorn potty but I ended up going with a potty from Summer Infant.  I thought they looked awfully similar and the Baby Bjorn was $25 where Summer Infant was only $9.95.  I also found the cushioned Dreambaby Potty Seat for $9.99 for I was able to get both for less than the Baby Bjorn.  Since I can think of so many other things I would rather spend money on than potty seats I thought this was the better way to go ;).  That said there are some things I do not care for with the Summer Infant seat already.  First, it has no lid which has not been a problem yet but we do have dogs so hopefully they just leave it alone.  My other problem is that the splash guard isn't removable and it is high enough that my little girl has trouble sitting down on it herself.  If I get a second seat for the main level I will be looking for something a little smaller so it would be easier for her to use.

     My daughter loves books so I thought it would be a great idea to get a few potty books to introduce the idea.  These two books are completely different from each other and Amelia strongly prefers Leslie Patricelli's book.  This one is simple and to the point with one sentence per page and bright pictures.  I could see an older child preferring the Once Upon a Potty book since it has a lot more detail.  The books are doing their job and Amelia loves reading the Potty book and even takes it to the potty with her.   

     Finally I got some Green Sprouts training pants.  I think they are so cute and we will use them once she starts getting the hang of using the potty.  Since they are cotton she will be able to feel when she is wet (diapers are absorbent and wick the wetness away) and hopefully she wont like the feeling and it will help her keep dry.  They also have a little absorbent core themselves to help in the case of an accident.  We are not to the stage of actually using these yet but I am hoping we can go from diapers to these and just skip the pull ups.

     Now that we are armed with all the necessary potty training supplies I need to come up with a strategy!  Right now I am having her sit on the potty before baths and she has peed in the potty several times.  We get excited and say "hooray!", which she really likes so I think she is getting the idea.  I am going to hold off on buying rewards for using the potty since the praise seems to be enough for her at the moment.  I guess I need to decide when we are going to start the real training and then just be consistent.  I am a little hesitant just because I know it is going to be a lot of work!

What age did you start potty training your kids?  Do you have any advice for parents trying to potty train? Is there a strategy that worked well for your kids?  Please leave advice, experiences or tips you may have in the comments, I would love to hear them!


                   

Disclosure - All of these products were purchased by me and there are no affiliate links on this page.  This is just my opinion :)

Hyperbiotics Pro-Kid Probiotics Review

     Hyperbiotics kindly gave me a chance to try their Pro-Kids probiotic.  I have been looking for a good probiotic for my daughter and these sounded like a great product!  Hyperbiotics has a patented control release technology that delivers the probiotic to the intestinal tract.  According to their information that makes their probiotic 15 times more effective than others.  I am a big believer in probiotics being a staple in our daily routine.  They help keep your digestive system healthy which keep you healthy since your gut directly impacts your immune system.

     Pro-Kids probiotics are very small pills.  This allows children as young as 4 to easily swallow them.  Since Amelia is only one year old I have been crushing them and mixing them into her applesauce.  They are very easy to crush with the back of a spoon.  It is working great for us, she doesn't even notice it's in there.  I am guessing for maximum effectiveness they are best swallowed whole since they are coated with a protective layer designed to get through the stomach and to the intestinal tract, but they are working crushed up for us.  Overall I have been very pleased with Pro-Kids probiotics and will be getting these again.

                     

Disclosure - I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Children 'n Us Stroller Organizer Review

     Children 'n Us kindly sent me one of their stroller organizers to use and review!  While my stroller has a big basket underneath, there are many times when digging for our things was inconvenient.  My diaper bag has stroller straps but because it is so large it can tip the whole stroller back if Amelia isn't inside so that wasn't a good solution.  This made me really excited to give this organizer a try.  It is large but not big enough to tip my stroller so the size is perfect!  

    Inside there are two mesh pockets to hold your little one's drink and one for you.  There are also two snap pockets on the front and a zippered pocket on the inside.  The pockets really help to keep things organized so you can quickly find what you need.

     I was able to easily fit a couple diapers, wipes, water bottle, zippy cup, sunscreen, bugspray, and my wallet in the organizer!  This will make it very easy to grab our things for outings.  I still had a little extra room so if there is anything else I might need it should fit.  The organizer is great for our purposes and I am glad we have it.  This is one of those items that would be great for a baby registry or gift, since it is something useful that you wouldn't think of right away.

                      

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Pedi-Derm Bum Paste Review

     My little one has the occasional pesky diaper rash, especially now that she has been teething.  Those teething diaper rashes are the worst for us.  Sometimes going beyond just redness to having open sores and really making diaper changes tough.  I had been using natural diaper creams but once we got to teething those just weren't cutting it.  I was recently sent a jar of Pedi-Derm Bum Paste to try and it is amazing!  Every time she has gotten redness or irritation I put a layer of this on and bam, its gone by the end of the day (usually after first application).  I will be keeping it on hand for use with the first sign of redness.  I was impressed as I have tried over ten brands and creams and none of them have even come close!

      Letourneau's Pharmacy is a family owned and operated business in Andover MA since 1926.  They  have been making this bum paste the same way for over 80 years!  Using natural but powerful ingredients this thick bum paste creates a barrier between the skin and the diaper to really give the skin time to heal.  See how short their ingredient list is?  Only five ingredients, no fillers, and each ingredient is there for a reason. Lets take a look (this info is straight from their website):

Zinc Oxide Powder: Insoluble in water. An excellent barrier and promotes healing by eliminating urine and watery stool contact.

Bismuth Subgallate Powder: Inhibits bacterial and fungus growth.

Corn Starch: Thickening agent, draws moisture to itself and helps keep area dry.

Lanolin: Helps form a superior water barrier as well as hydrates skin.

Cottonseed Oil: Conditions skin and helps aid in healing process.

     Pedi-Derm Bum Paste is a very thick cream but it does go on smoothly.  It really doesn't have a scent at all, which I appreciate.  You can buy Pedi-Derm Bum Paste online through any of the links in this post.  They are so certain it will work for you they offer a 30 day money back guarantee!  I have tried over ten different brands and creams and this is by far my favorite and new go to paste.  I will definitely be recommending this to my mom friends!

Disclosure - This product was free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are 100% my own and I only review products I believe will be good for my readers.