Munchkin
Over the last couple of months, there have been a lot of ‘firsts’ going on for Bubby D.
Learning to sit on her own is one of them, and it’s opened up a whole new world of discovery for her.
Whilst she does like lying down in the bath, and flailing about happily to create a splishy splashy world of fun, she’s now discovered that sitting up can be equally exciting. The Wee Man has quite a large supply of bath toys, and his favourite is his brightly coloured stacking Munchkin tower which turns into a caterpillar (the Caterpillar Spillers Bath Toy, so the Munchkin website tells me), and also has different pouring holes in each layer and a waterwheel spinny thing in the smallest part – he’s had hours of fun with it. So I wanted to get Bubby D a toy of her own that she could have equal enjoyment from.
Perusing the shelves of our local Morrisons, I was happy to see a trio of turtles on offer – once again brightly coloured, interesting and made by Munchkin. Called the Baby Sea Turtles, each turtle has a different ‘middle’ – one is a mirror, one has little coloured rattly balls, and the other has a single large ball which rotates. They also have magnetic heads and tails, which not only means they can stick together and follow each other around the bath, but they can also stick to the sides of the bath too (might not work on a plastic bath! But luckily ours is metal…).
They’re just the right size for her to grab easily and investigate, and are weighted so that they don’t end up faceplanted into the water, unlike the Wee Man’s rubber duckies which wobble about drunken looking and never will float on the level. The Wee Man thinks the turtles are hilarous, and has recently taken to sending them to the corner for ‘biting each others bottoms’ (not a reflection on why he gets sent to the corner in case you were wondering – as far as I know he has never bitten a bottom himself).
Learning to sit has also meant that Bubby D can venture into the world of solid foods. We are following the baby led weaning route, and so being able to sit comfortably is a must as she is reaching out and grabbing her own food. It’s been a bit of a shock to the system really, as I’d forgotten what introducing complementary foods to a baby is like…the looooong time it takes each meal, and the carrying around of suitable snacks and cups of water, and of course, the mess!
Munchkin to the rescue again! The Snack Tower has been fantastic for days out with both kids, as it has five individual compartments which clip together into an easy to carry unit, each with their own little pouring spout. Heading off for our Easter camping trip last weekend, I filled it with dried apple rings, raisins, breadsticks, miniature gingerbread men and rice cakes, and had easy access snacks available the whole time we were away. The individual compartments are also good for storing porridge oats or breakfast cereals in too, rather than having to lug a whole box of the stuff around or buy expensive miniature packets instead. It does have quite a few parts so when it’s being washed I have to make sure I keep them all together or a frantic search of the kitchen ensues, but other than that I can’t find fault with it.
For self-help snacking, the Snack Catcher is a great invention. Filled with rice cakes or apple rings, it allows Bubby D to grab snacks of her own volition, without making a giant mess everywhere and distributing the entire contents of the pot all over the place. The top of the container is pliable enough that her little hands can get into it easily, but sturdy enough to hold the contents firmly inside, even when shaken vigorously (something which happens fairly often!).
Equally useful have been the Munchkin Mighty Grip Trainer Cups. Bubby D and the Wee Man have one each, and as Bubby D has just learnt to pick up a cup herself and have a drink, having a non-spill option is ideal – her cup to face hit rate is around 50%, with the other 50% involving floor drops, upending into her lap and random frantic hand waving with a delighted smile on her face. I have to say that I found them initially confusing – the instructions said to squeeze the spout to activate it but I (and the Other Half who also gave it a go) clearly don’t have the hand strength required to achieve this, and I ended up poking it with a skewer to get it to open. That seemed to work and Bubby D and the Wee Man have been happily using them ever since. As you would expect from Munchkin they are lovely bright colours, so easy to find in the car/tent/cupboard when you’re in a hurry, and the handles are easy to grip for both babies and toddlers.
So for colourful, child friendly and fun bathing and feeding times, Munchkin are definitely a great brand to go for. And with Bubby D still having a whole lot of ‘firsts’ ahead of her, I’m sure there will be many more Munchkin fun times ahead for us too.
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