Petunia Pickle Bottom TourGuide Baby Carrier Review

Petunia Pickle Bottom sent me their TourGuide Baby Carrier a few weeks ago, to try out and see how I liked it and then relay my findings to you, my wonderful readers. Let me tell you, I was so excited to get my first product to review!  I felt like a real Blogger!

I was a bit worried at first that I wouldn't like it at all, because I am so used to my wraps and slings and because I had heard that these types of carrier can be hard on a babies hips, because of how the weight is distributed.  However, I was pleasantly surprised, Penelope did not seem like she was uncomfortable at all.  I am not sure if it is because she is an older baby, with bigger more established pelvic bones, or because she wears a cloth diaper and it gave her extra padding on her bum.  She liked it just as much as any of my other carriers.  She is not a very cuddly baby, even in a carrier.  She wants to be held, but she wants a full view of her surroundings.  This carrier gave her that.

Even though, I felt it was safe and comfortable for her, it was not as comfortable for me as my wraps and slings are.  Penelope is about 21 pounds.  The directions say that it can hold a baby up to 22 pounds, so it may be that she is just on the heavy side, as far as comfort goes, for me, anyway.  In this type of carrier, all the weight of the baby is distributed on the shoulders and upper back of the person wearing it.  I do not have much upper body strength, so she got heavy pretty quickly.  While we are talking about how chubby my baby is, her fat thighs were too big to fasten the button on the side.  It didn't matter though, I think its meant for extra support for newborns anyway.  But it was pretty funny, seeing her big ole thighs in it and not being able to fasten it!  When I talked to Petunia Pickle Bottom about it, they let me know that  the side buttons are only for babies that are between 8 and 11 pounds.

But, Peter, LOVED it.  He thought it was awesome.  He has pretty much taken it over as his carrier.  He loved that is was a strap and click system; he could throw it on, pick her up and get her into place, click it and be off.  I think he liked that is was a bit more plain and simple looking.  Not manly, but simple.  He liked that he could do it himself too.  With the wraps or slings, he needs my help.  He figured out how to get her in there, while sitting down (his logic: in case he drops her, he is closer to the ground) and then he stands up and goes on about his business washing dishes or taking Sky for a walk.   He says it is super comfortable for him, maybe because he has more muscles in his shoulders? 

So for Dads, or new moms with smaller babies that don't want to mess with wraps and slings, I highly recommend this carrier!

Oh, and I forgot mention....its a green product!  It's made out of post consumer recycled materials. How great is that?

{Full disclosure:  In return for doing the review on my blog, I get to keep the carrier.}

The Fanatical Breastfeeder: Part 2

I, surprisingly, was not mad or offended when she called me fanatical for choosing to breastfeed, because I could see straight through her. She told me she didn't breastfeed, so for her to mentally and emotionally acknowledge that a mother would rationally choose to breastfeed, because it is the superior health option, in her mind, that would some how mean that she was a bad mother. Note, I said in her mind. I do not think that mother's who bottle feed with formula are less of a mother than me. I do, however, know that breast milk is better than formula as far as nutrition goes. Its a simple fact these days, with so much research, its not even a question anymore. Breast milk is better than formula. Period. Formula is not poison, and its a perfectly acceptable substitution for breast milk. But it is not the same. It is second best. But this woman, obviously felt that breastfeeding women think they are better mothers than formula feeding women, and in response to that misunderstanding, she needed to put me down in order to make herself feel better. And under anger, is always sadness. So I felt bad for her, because somewhere deep inside her, she knows that breastfeeding is better for babies and she chose not to give her babies the better option out her own need for her life to be easier. She was not willing to sacrifice personal time or rest or whatever for the sake of her children's health.

Now, again, let me be very clear here, I have nothing against mothers who bottle feed with formula (I do have an issue with formula companies and how they go into third world countries, including the US, and make it very easy for women to give up on breastfeeding.) I know for a fact, that you can meet all an infants emotional needs through bottle feeding. I was a nanny, long before I was a mother, and I continue to bottle fed Penelope my breast milk because of our situation. I call it bottle nursing. Her cheek touches my breast, so she is getting skin to skin. I did not do this with Ava and Ella (the girls I was a nanny to for 3 years), but I always held them in a cradle position when they got their bottles, and looked into their eyes. And I wore them in a wrap or sling for large portions of the day, just like I do with Penelope and they got lots of eye contact and touch through yoga and massage. I would lay down and cuddle with Ava and Ella to get them to sleep, just like I do with Penelope (but I am nursing Penelope to sleep.) So I know mothers can be just as attached to their babies and babies can feel just as loved and comforted, even if they bottle feed.

But nursing is different. It almost like it takes bonding to the next level. Not only does it meet her needs, but it meets mine. Bottle nursing, left me out of the picture. My milk would let down, but it had no where to go, and it was not a pleasant feeling to be holding a baby, have breasts full of milk but not be able to do anything about it. I remember the second day Penelope started comfort nursing. The first day was actually stressful, because I was holding my breath and afraid to move, not wanting to mess up her groove. I was also stressed that is was just a fluke and she would go back to not wanting to latch the very next day. So the second day I had relaxed. We were laying down and she was nursing to sleep. I felt my milk let down and for the first time it had somewhere to go other than to stain my shirt. I felt her pick up her sucking and swallowing. I could actually feel my milk going into her mouth and then I pictured it going into her belly. It was like I was literally, physically, giving her all my love through my warm, perfect milk. I knew she felt perfectly loved and at peace, which I know she feels when she is bottle fed my milk, but this time so was I.