Product Reviews
The Wean Machine http://www.theweanmachine.com/
This is the most practical piece of travel equipment since the dawn of the travel cot. It is BRILLIANT. I recommend this to anyone who is particular about food but cannot be in the kitchen at all times to puree baby food or prepare toddler food.
I found the Wean Machine after an extremely complicated month-long journey home while weaning my 7-month-old. Looking back, The Wean Machine would have made a huge difference.
Yes, there was jarred food, but it is expensive, heavy to carry around, and messy if you have partially used jars that you do not want to bin. It is not always easy to find the right stage of jarred food when you are out shopping at unfamiliar stores. There is also that tedious element of weaning where you open of a soon-rejected savoury jar and round out the meal with several jars of fruit; only to then discover that you need to go shopping, again, in unfamiliar shops, for more jars of food. Never mind the purity and quality issues.
We also prepared our own food travelling with the hand blender; but then again, there is the difficulty in cooking baby foods in unfamiliar kitchens, storing and transporting it.
Even when not travelling very far from home, I have gotten stuck out with no food for the baby, chewing my way through several bananas to get my son on solids when his big sister’s play dates have gone on longer than planned.
At one year, we belatedly discovered the Wean Machine. The thing is perfectly thought out!!
You load whatever you are eating into the hopper (think of it like a large garlic press) and you squeeze the food through a large, plastic screen that mashes the food. You simply feed the child directly from the gadget with the spoon that is stored within the handle. You do not need to touch anything other than the food you load into it.
You need to familiarise yourself with what foods works well in it. I have mostly tested later-stage foods on it. Aside from really thick things like falafel and steamed veg or really sticky rice noodles, the thing mashes whatever I throw in there. It makes meal time far less messy at this juncture where our child is post-weaning, but can’t eat everything as it’s a choking hazard and/or results in a HazMat cleanup afterwards.
The Wean Machine is now a permanent fixture in our nappy bag. If we have a quick change in plans and are going to someone’s home or out to eat, the Wean Machine is on hand to mash up our little guy’s food.
On a day to day basis in your own kitchen, nothing can replace the ease of a hand blender, especially in the early days of weaning. But just as the travel cot is not really going to replace a regular cot, the Wean Machine gives you a lot of flexibility while travelling.
Silver Cross Halo
www.silvercross.co.uk/our-range/pushchairs-strollers/halo/
Silver Cross kindly gave me the Halo to test drive and review during a British Mummy Blogger event that they hosted to introduce this new buggy and their Doodle high chair!! On behalf of my family, thank you Silver Cross and I am going to fulfil the promise to give honest feedback.
The design of the Halo is really innovative. The car seat that can be purchased in addition to the push chair is amazing. The carry bar adjusts to stabilise the seat and turn it into a chair when you go visiting people who don’t have babies. The car seat clips into the push chair so easily and firmly, it is some wonderful engineering. The pushchair collapses easily and really small, almost the size of two McLarensstacked on top of each other. The brake is set and taken off easily. The nappy bag that comes withthe push chair is very nice, giving more than enough room for changes of clothes and food that you take along with your baby.
So far, we find that it handles a bit rough for how much walking we do and the handle is not comfortable to push for too long. The frame needs to be reinforced, it gives slightly when our toddler is in it and we go over curbs and would not support our sleeping toddler if we bumped her up the two flights of stairs to our flat. Where the nappy bag attaches to the push chair needs to be reworked, the clips are far too cumbersome as they are currently designed, but the idea is really good. The storage underneath holds far more than it looks like it could, it is basically a bungee cord strapped across a flat surface.
We are really eager to test this push chair out in August when we return to the States to visit family for a month. We will be in and out of cars, visiting homes of people who do not have babies. I think the Halo is going to work out perfectly for a more suburban, car-centred type of situation, and I will keep you posted as we go from Chicago, Michigan, Ohio, Toronto, Boston and New Hampshire.
Day One: Heathrow to O’Hare
I love the pairing of Heathrowand O’Hare; two behemoth airports that are so busy, one hiccup at either end can have catastrophic consequences for families travelling with small children. Nappies and food can run out, you may end up having to leave and then return for a 3AM departure. Fortunately, none of these things have ever happened to me and the children.
I have, however, travelled with one small child and a car seat through these airports and it was not fun. We refused to do it last trip and had our daughter ride in my lap from the airport to the hotel.
So far, I couldnot be more impressed withthe ease of moving from taxi, airport, airplane, taxi and hotel room withour Halo. Our six month oldwas happily carted about, in and out of cars before checking the car seat and using just the pushchair. It is so easy to clip the car seat on and off, it was no problem for me to load the children into the people carrier in London on my own while my husband brought down the bags. The part I did need help with was getting the nappy bag reattached to the push chair at Heathrow, I just slung the bag over the back of the push chair.
The issue of not having the buggy board has not been a problem so far; we packed the baby carrier and push our three year old around when she grew tired after we took the car seat off.
The ease with which we are able to collapse the push chair allowed various attendants and cab drivers to open and close it for us without even asking! It’s that intuitive.
This morning the children and I went to Oak Street Beach, by pushing the baby with the three year old walking. We were able to carry a giant tote bag on the back of the push chair and cram a load of wet clothes underneath. I have even gotten many compliments on the looks, from friends who don’t have children!!
So far, I am really pleased with this transport system and think it works great for intensive travel.
Day 3: Wriggleyville and North Halsted Market Days
I confronted one of my biggest fears yesterday. I took an infant, toddler, push chair and car seat in an American-style taxi!! Actually, it was not that difficult.
Yesterday morning we began the day at Oak Street Beach, and had a lovely long play while the baby slept away in the Halo for nearly two hours! (Just a comparative note, The Halo is meant to rival the Quinny push chair which does not recline and children sit up so straight they tip forward slightly when they fall asleep, The Halo reclines back flat so that infants and even tall four year olds can sleep)
While the children and I stayed and played my husband had to leave and empty out our two storage units located near Boystown and our favourite Mexican restaurant El Jardin. We decided to meet for lunch there, meaning the children and I would either have to walk, take a bus or a taxi.
Not sure if I had any money on my CTA card, never having taken a push chair on a Chicago bus, I opted for the taxi. We simply walked back to the hotel from the beach, switched the car seat in, easily got into a taxi and were off to El Jardin in the scariest taxi ride I have ever had.
The cab driver was falling asleep at the traffic lights, just like in the movie Dirty Pretty Things. As I was in the back seat clutching my children, watching traffic, and waking him up; he put a tape in and turned up a sermon on sin and suffering that frightened my three year o ld more than his sleep-driving scared me!
Due to the North HalsteadMarket Days, we had to get out and walk, several block, in the rain. The sun visors covered the baby enough to protect him from the light rain and my daughter and I shared an umbrella. After several drag queens complimented my girl on her pink gown “You work that Pink, Girl” and one adorned her with pink mardi gras beads, we finally arrived at El Jardinand I ate tamales with a side of mole … comfort food for Chicagoans.
We walked back through the Market Days with my gorgeous, great friend Jen and then went to the zoo and finally back to the hotel for a swim and some pasta.
I am so glad we have the Halo, I have grown way too friendly with London taxi’s and buses with my three wheeler and buggy board.
Day 4: Oak Street Beach, Streeterville Playgrounds and Millennium Park
Shortly after 5AM this morning, we decided to go to the beach first and then decide what we would go to the beach and then decide how to spend the rest of the day.
After swimming and playing for several hours, we ate lunch and went to the local playgrounds which are wonderful. Just behind the Water Tower is the Seneca Park Playground, an oasis off Michigan Avenue; and just a block down the street is the Lake Shore Playground where you have an unobstructed view of the lake from the playground.
From there we went to Millennium Park and played at The Bean and in the fountains before introducing our daughter to Chicago style pizza. I noticed a few people eying our push chair as we made our way through the crowd …
Notes about the push chair. It can handle the weight our four year old fine, the frame is not too flimsy for her as I originally thought. The design is really good for bearing weight on the handle, making it far superior to the MacLarenin that department. We were able to carry an enormous tote back filled with odds and ends from our storage unit around and it didn’t tip over when the chair was empty.
Curbs and bumps are tricky.
The storage seems to make sense the more we get in and out of cabs. If it had more than a bungee cord to hold things, we would keep more down there and it would take longer for us to collapse the thing.
Days 5 : Lakeview and Lincoln Park, Chicago
(I am writing from my sister-in-law’s breakfast table in Michigan as I nurse and watch the kids prepare pancakes … just a quick update)
I woke Monday morning to the devastating realization that my nearly four-year-old is too heavy for the pushchair! One of the straps broke while we were out Sunday evening and I was going to have to find a way to get it repaired. The pushchair still worked laying completely flat, so we loaded the baby in and finally braved the bus (I have to say, London buses are far more buggy-friendly).
We got off and saw wandered around our old building and saw the building engineer before heading off to meet our friends Ann and Helen. Fortunately, Ann knows a lot about textiles and was able to repair the broken strap for us!!!! Also, Ann really appreciated the swish design and thought Silver Cross should get more models in Chicago.
We rode the bus to The Nature Museum then hoped in a taxi all of which was really easy with the Halo. We walked through Lincoln Park to the playground and zoo before heading back to the hotel for a swim and a trip to the Water Tower Fire Station!!!! The firemen LOVE children and let my daughter climb into the firetruck.
Day 6 Michiana Shores, IN and Kalamazoo, MI
Up bright and early and off to Michiana Shores, Indiana!! My friend Megan had to wheel the baby around the hotel corridor to get him to sleep and found the handling very difficult. But, The Halo collapsed and fit in my friends Audi with two enormous suitcases and two giant bags! After a great day at the beach, we packed up, again, and loaded four children, the halo, two enormous suitcases and three giant bags into a minivan and headed up to Michigan.
My sister-in-law, who has twins, and is well-informed about strollers and car seats, thought the car seat was really heavy, much heavier than the Gracos.
I am finding out that you need to have a base to put the car seat in? Do people honestly walk around carrying bases with their car seats? Is the idea that you have to have a car and that you keep the base there? I am so confused how to get two children around when I don’t own a car to transport them in.
Off to South Haven tomorrow and more updates later….
Day 7 South Haven MI
We drove to my sister-in-law’s mother’s house in South Haven, Michigan today to take the children to the beach. The baby rode without a fuss the hour journey there, the three year olds listened to Joe Jackson and screamed at each other a lot. I didn’t bother bringing the push chair to the beach, instead used the baby carrier to get back and forthand thank God! The beach is enormous and there is no way I couldhave pushed the thing through the sand. I know that Bugaboo claims you can push their push chair through the sand, but I have yet to actually see anyone do it. Tomorrow we are off to suburban Detroit to continue our test drive with the Halo.
Day 8 - 12 Birmingham, MI
The prodigal return to my home town ….
After we had been in London for a year, I came home and had breakfast at the small, local coffee shop I used to frequent and chatted with the regulars about my time in London. One of the regulars warned me, “after two years, you can never come home”. He may be right, but you can still visit and feel like you are home.
My father’s house is where I thought the Halo would really prove its worth. Just a short walk from a small downtown area that the children and I can walk to, his house is small and not child friendly at ALL. There are no high chairs, bouncy chairs, swings for the baby and just a handful of unbreakable things near unguarded stairs, so the kids and I would have to be out the door to the playground shortly after waking.
It was easy to store the halo in my dad’s living room and get it in and out of his trunk. The car seat helped out enormously at meal times and at bath time (one small bathroom, two children and no other baby equipment).
I did miss the buggy board here. The downtown area and the parks were a little too far away for my three year old to walk, especially in 38 degree heat and humidity. If the design could be changed to accommodate a buggy board, Silver Cross may have the perfect push chair.
Day 12 - 15, Royal Oak, MI
Down the street to my mother’s home and to watch the Woodward Dream Cruise.
We folded the buggy up, loaded it and went off to my mom’s small condo to spend a few days with her. The compact design, again, allowed us to fit all of our suitcases, bags, shoes and push chair in her condo without too much inconvenience. My mom was able to get the stroller in and out easily and push my daughter up town for lunch.
I had great fun taking the kids to the zoo in it, too.
Day 16 - 23 Columbus, OH
Into the rental car and off to Columbus Ohio for my husband’s parents’ 70th and 75th birthday party … 130 guests, six grandchildren, four children, three spouces and a whole lot of work! We have been cleaning up for days … and enjoying the Bexley pool!!
Getting lots of double glances and queries about the pushchair in Columbnus … I should find out if they retail here or just online.
My husband, his parents and my daughter are all heading north to Toronto, the baby and I will remain behind, with the push chair, to visit family. Our Halo will not be going to Canada, after all.
Day 23 - 24 Boston, MA
Another trip to the airport and we have acquired an extra suitcase, so we are up to four suitcases, one garment bag, an enormous rucksack, two smaller bags, the nappy bag, push chair and car seat. We all fit inside a Honda CRV when my mother in law drove us to the airport.
We landed in Logan and someone took a picture of me pushing the four year old, wearing the baby and dragging a rolling suitcase with me … we must have looked ridiculous!!! We drove to New Hampshire for the evening and went right back to Boston the following morning to enjoy the sites.
Day 25 - 29, Seacoast: Hampton, NH; Kittery, ME and York, ME
I love, love, love Seacoast and strongly recommend Boston for a city break and touring north along the coast to anyone wishing to take a small trip to the US. The coastal region north of Boston is fabulous and deserted by European standards.
Life on the coast is not about casual walks. The Halo works really well for trips to the shops as everyone here has to drive to where they want to go. You do need a rugged three wheeler, in case you do want to go for a hike or a beach walk, but the Halo works perfectly for “ex-urban”, car-dependant living.
Day 30, London
I will not miss the Navigators, Expeditions, Escalades and Rotisserie chicken of my homeland and I can’t wait to drop the half-stone I have gained not walking!!!! Hello, London!!!
