Going Reviews: The Manhattan Toy Co. Skwish Stix – Developing Baby’s Mind with Play

05/17/2014 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

Hi there! How’s it going?

Pretty good here, just living the dream as a stay-at-home dad and earning the best kind of wage ever; smiles from this girl…

Just woke up from her nap and shooting big grins; love it! She kinda looks like a seal there, huh?

Remember when I mentioned back in April that The Manhattan Toy Company sent me their Skwish Stix to review? Although the toy is meant for ages 6 months and up, Avery started early just before her 5 month mark.

We keep the Skwish Stix on the island as it’s the best place for the suction cup base, and it sits at just the right height for Avery when she’s in her chair. And, since her infant booster is one of the best baby seats in the house, Avery spends plenty of time with her Stix.

We don’t want to inundate Avery with loads of toys that don’t at least assist in her development while she plays, so Going Mom and I are picky with our toy selections for her. Since The Manhattan Toy Co. categorizes their Skwish Stix as a baby developmental toy, I was excited when the agreed to send one for Avery.

From their website, The Manhattan Toy Co. offers the following description:

Inspired by Skwish®, this table top activity toy features the same elements of colorful wooden rods, beads and stretch cords that “Skwish” and spring back to entertain and engage baby. Also introduces the concept of cause and effect. Suction cup base adheres to most flat surfaces.

I’d say Avery was pretty engaged with her new toy the first day we presented it to her!

And then some days she would just stare at us like she didn’t know what to do.

One problem we have is that the suction cup base seems to un-suction while she’s playing and will wind up on the floor or out of her reach.

Regardless, Avery will tug at the toy and watch it whip back into position several times before it actually comes unattached. Of course, sometimes she just gets aggravated with them and no matter how many times we pick them up from the ground, she throws them right back down. I think they have helped with her motor skills as a result though!

I like that the Skwish Stix are made of materials safe for babies and have several bright colored beads and rods. It’s a good way to teach colors by pointing and telling her each one.

She may not talk yet, but doing these things is very important to a baby’s development, and although it doesn’t show, they are absorbing everything you do and say.

Like most babies, Avery will become uninterested after a short period and looks around as if she’s bored. Do babies get bored?

Maybe it’s because we’re sticking the camera in her face or that we’re always doing things in the kitchen that she wants to watch. Actually, that is a big part of it, and we’ll start using the Stix in another room soon since she can sit up by herself now.

I like the Skwish Stix for what they are and for the ways you can help teach your baby colors and the concept of cause and effect. Learning by playing is the best!

We still use the Skwish Stix every day to keep Avery complacent for at least a little while as we tend to chores in the kitchen. If only we could get that suction cup base to stick longer, then maybe they would keep Avery busy a little longer.

I want to thank The Manhattan Toy Co. for allowing me the opportunity to review their baby developmental toy and have enjoyed the experience. Check out their entire line of baby developmental toys to see what your baby might enjoy the most.

The Skwish Stix were inspired by their Skwish Classic, which has high reviews. Another toy with high reviews that I’ve been wanting to get Avery is their Winkel which is made of colorful polyurethane and can even be chilled for your teething baby!

Give The Manhattan Toy Co. and shout out on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter and keep up to date on what they’re doing.

Do you have a favorite developmental toy for your baby?

Have you heard of or own anything from The Manhattan Toy Co.?

Disclosure: The Manhattan Toy Co. sent me their Skwish Stix free of charge, but all views and opinions are strictly my own.

Avery Talk, Monthly List

Beyond Breast Milk Part 1: Non-food Tasting Notes

05/16/2014 R.C. Liley 1 Comment

Baby peers, I made it, I’m now half a year old! For you younger, less experienced babies, that means 6 months. Yep, no more counting by months for me, now I can count by half years!

I have a feeling things are going to start changing around here now that I’m half a year old. For one thing, I hear mommy and daddy saying things like “solids”, “food”, “high chair”, and “big poop”. I’m not sure what it all means except that food is mommy’s milk and poop, well it’s poop. Oh no, I hope poop isn’t what they are going to make my food now!

That sure would stink (ha ha, see what I did there?). Nah, they love me to much anyway!

Another thing I’ve noticed is that in the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to eat everything around me! I don’t know where the urge comes from, but I could just be hangin’ in my jumper next to a toy like the worm in an apply G-Ma got me….

….and next thing I know, I’m trying to eat it!

Then I caught daddy looking and quickly had to pretend I was just rubbing it on my cheek.

Phew, I think he bought it.

And that’s not all, I’ve tried several other things that, having found out the hard way, are not food. You’re probably thinking the things had to of at least looked like the typical boob or bottle we currently get our food from, but they didn’t!

So, I’m taking it upon myself to share with you my tasting notes on these non-food items. I hope it helps you make a wise choice when you are presented with similar things and feel “the urge.”

First off, the obvious one is your hand. My hand is what started me on trying other things and I can’t seem to get enough of it anymore!

Tastes like fresh breast milk at first, but can be gross if you put your hands somewhere before your mouth. When I’m not craving hand, I opt for just a finger to hold me over.

Same taste, just not as intense. Be careful here, if you stick your finger in your mouth too far, something weird happens and it doesn’t feel good. Trust me, I know….

So the hands, I recommend them for any baby to start with, and then you can move on. For me, I figured if I like my hands so much, maybe daddy’s will be just as good, or even better! Given the opportunity, I tried it out…

Initially, it didn’t seem too bad, but it still wasn’t the same. It tasted like something, but I couldn’t quite put my finger (ha ha) on it.

Then it hit me, spoiled breast milk! Yuck!

I won’t be trying that again anytime soon. Thinking that maybe daddy just has bad hands, I decided to try Uncle Preston’s hand as he held me one day.

Nope, no good either. That was a first and a last for me!

Take it from me, only eat your own hands, everyone else’s just don’t taste the same! Ready to move on to non-hand items, I tried a taste of the teddy bear sitting next to me one day.

It was hard to reach his neck, so I tried for the paw instead.

Yum! This is a keeper, I highly recommend teddy bear for a tasty treat. Tastes like fresh breast milk.

With how delicious the teddy bear was, I figured I would enjoy all stuffed animal toys I have. That was, until daddy put this thing next to me…

Is it a dog, alien, or some weird baby? Mommy and daddy call it a dog, but I’ve seen a dog and I’m pretty sure they don’t have hands like it says on this one.

I didn’t even try tasting that thing.

Once daddy took it out of my crib, I sat up in joy!

Yeah, I’ve seen our dog, Abby, and I’m pretty sure she just has four paws, not hands and feet!

After having enough of the soft, fuzzy toys, I decided to move on and try my smooth, shiny toys. I’ve been playing with these rings for a while now, and just lately, they seem appealing.

The obvious first choice was the orange one since it was on top.

Yep, this was like breast milk from the bottle. Not bad, but nothing great. That said, I still go back to it.

And daddy always talks about the blue one being his favorite, but it seems no different to me. I’d like to see him try it once!

Bottles seem to be something I can’t get away from since that’s all daddy can give (trust me, I figured out the hard way), so I’m okay with these shiny rings. If you have some, give’em a taste.

While in my jumper (which is a lot!), the red bird hanging to one side caught my eye and I just had to eat it!

Holy yum, this thing is great! It can’t even be compared to milk, it’s in a league of its own and I like it!

Seriously, I just can’t get enough of it now!

By all means, if you have a plastic red bird hanging anywhere around you, eat it!

Speaking of things around you, I bet you have some sort of cloth with arm holes pulled over your head every day. Right? Well, just happens you can eat that too! Seriously, I just figured this out several days ago and can’t believe I’ve been missing out on chewing something attached to me. No work needed, just put in mouth and chew.

Depending on if I just ate from a bottle or from mommy, the taste can range from fresh milk to not so fresh milk. Either one is okay with me, just as long as it’s not like daddy’s hands!

In sum, when you start having these random cravings to put things in your mouth, choose your hands, no one else’s, at first. Then move on to things like what you wear, hanging red birds, and colorful rings when you have to.

I’m still trying to figure out what mommy and daddy are up to with their “new food” talk, and I have a feeling I’ll find out soon. I overheard them talking about this weekend and setting up a “high chair” while I pretended to be busy working on something.

How many chairs do I need, really? I’ll let you know how it goes if I make it through whatever is happening. For now, I leave you with some words of wisdom; always cry long and loud when you poop and make sure to blow raspberries to really make your point!

This post is part of a link up from Love All Dads with other outstanding dad bloggers. Click on the link below and check them out; you won’t be sorry!

Parenting, Pinterest Picks

Going Dad’s Top Ten Pinterest Picks (5): Baby-Led Weaning

05/15/2014 R.C. Liley 11 Comments

Well, it’s here, Avery’s half year mark. I can’t believe our daughter has already been with us for 6 months! So much has happened and there is so very much still to come!

Scratch sitting up off the "to-do" list! — Scratch sitting up off the “to-do” list!

Going Mom was adamant about strictly breastfeeding until the 6 month mark, and true to her word, she has held her ground. So many babies miss out on the best source of nutrition (and free!), and I am glad Kelley forged through the rough patches to make sure Avery was fed well!

Now the time has come to introduce solids to Avery since at this point her digestive system is developed well enough properly breakdown and utilize various foods. Breast milk will still be her main source of nutrition up to her one year mark, but now I get to take part in “producing” food for Avery!

In my last Top Ten Pinterest Picks post, I shared links related to homemade baby food purees, but baby-led weaning is something different. Baby-led weaning (BLW) is simply letting your child feed themselves at the very start of introducing solids.

Many parents stand by this style of teaching their little ones how to feed themselves and love that they don’t have to fret over steaming, pureeing, and storing food in ice cube trays. Of course, things will get messy, and we accept that…..I think.

Although I was all for and ready to puree away, I started to get more and more into BLW as I read about it. So now, I might do a mixture of both, but we’ll be starting Avery with the BLW method this weekend and I hope to have a successful report next week.

I have green beans, baby carrots, and avocado to start with; all organic. I’ll steam the green beans and carrots to make sure they are plenty soft for Avery’s toothless mouth, and the avocado is fine as is. I plan on sticking with veggies and savory fruit like the avocado at first just to try and keep Avery from developing a sweet tooth right away.

If these prove successful, I’ll happily start giving her mango slices and bananas as a nice treat. Big things happening here in the Liley household, and we’re excited to watch our daughter experience another first soon!

Check out my top ten Pinterest picks for Baby-led weaning and share any thoughts/advice you may have in the comments section.

1. Starting Baby-Led Weaning – This is an informative post with tips on what to start with as well as covering any concerns you may have. I felt better after reading this one.

2. Getting started with baby-led weaning – Going with the “always get a second opinion” motto, this is another post on the same site as above, but it’s reassuring to read positive comments from another source, and then another, and another, and…well you get the point.

3. These might start feeling redundant, but I promise, you feel more comfortable after reading about BLW from various authors/parents. This one shares good foods to start with as well as how to properly prepare them.

4. I’m not “paleo”, but I know many are, and I assume they’d want the same for their little one. Just so happens, there’s a parent blogger who felt like sharing their experience. Paleo or not, this is actually a good source of info and is worth the read.

5. I plan on just using single ingredients to feed Avery, but if you feel like cooking, here’s a 100 recipes to get you started!

6. Unless you’re on an all liquid diet, I’m sure you know what happens when you eat solid food; poop with substance. We’re a cloth diapering family, and since we need a way to remove the “big deposits” before putting in the diaper bin, a diaper sprayer is our chosen way. Some people dunk their diapers….no thanks.

7. Since I prefer not to paint our bathroom walls with poop, this Spray Pal will keep the poo from splashing everywhere when you are spraying. I just received one free of charge from Spray Pal to review, and I’ll share my experience very soon!

8. Just another option if you don’t feel like making one yourself. Nothing wrong with it, and this is the one we just purchased.

9. Again, just making myself comfortable be reading about BLW from multiple sources. We’re all different and it’s good to get many different opinions!