Guest product review and giveaway: Glowbaby
4th November 2009
As a first-time mother to my now 4-month old daughter Addison, I was eager to try “Baby’s First Journal” for Carly and frankly, for myself and my husband – at the time Addison was 2 months old and we were struggling to figure out her “routine.”
The journal, produced by Glow Baby, claims to be “a comprehensive log book that enables parents to track the eating, sleeping and diapering schedule of their newborn.” During our three-week trial, we were happy to discover that the journal pretty much lived up to its disclaimer.
The journal has a small introduction, and then has a chart on each page outlining breastfeeding habits (start time, time on left, time on right, total length of feed), bottlefeeding habits (formula fed, breastmilk fed), diapering habits (pee, poo) and most importantly for me….sleep habits (start and end).
At first, I must admit that remembering to log in the book was a pain. Chances are, if I was upstairs, the journal was downstairs or vice versa. Then I would try to remember to back-log information, but that proved to be difficult thanks to mommy-brain and fatigue.
However, once we got in a groove of using the journal, it was very user friendly and answered the commonly asked question at my house “when did she last eat? Instead of the usual “I dunno…” answer, I could tell right away! This was especially handy for us because Addie is breastfed and formula-fed….so if I wanted to know how much of her bottle she took from my husband a few hours before, I could easily tell.
The journal is small enough to fit in any purse or diaper bag, although I must admit if we were “on the run” I didn’t really use it much. It also has a section at the bottom to write any notes, and also to check off whether vitamins or a bath was given.
Overall, Baby’s First Journal is a great tool, especially for first-time parents – as long as you remember to use it! For those on a budget, a simple Excel spreadsheet could do the job as well. And Addison’s sleep schedule? Well, by looking back at the journal pages I did manage to see a bit of a pattern in her napping during the day. Hooray! Then, seemingly the next day – she changed her pattern completely. So it’s back to square one…..isn’t mommyhood wonderful?!!
Leisa Davie is a first-time Mummy to her 3 month old daughter, Addison Rose. Currently on mat leave from her job working at a seniors’ activity centre, Leisa enjoys mummyhood, shopping, listening to music and spending time with family, friends, and her “fur baby,” Sadie. Bad habits include watching reality TV and drinking too much coffee. Married to her husband Ryan for almost 3 years, Leisa lives in Port Perry.I have a Glow Baby journal for a lucky reader! Visit Glow Baby owner Lindsay’s site, poke around, and leave a comment about her journals and note pads. Winner announced Friday.
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Nice article Leisa!!!!!! Hi from Cheryl!!!!!!!!
I checked out her journals. I could have really used this with my first. I had my notes scrawled all over. These would be perfect next time around. Also, love they are printed in Canada!
I think that the journal is a great idea especially for 1st babies… Wish I had one for my oldest Mya…
I love the note pad series. I could make good use of the to-do list and the grocery list pads
Hi Cher Cher!!
When Cameron was born he had no ambition to suck. I so wanted to breast feed him, and even went to several lactation consultants through the hospital and clinics. He was diagnosed as a lazy feeder, some of it likely being due to being 5 weeks early. We even struggled with the bottle in the beginning. I pumped exclusively for 2 1/2 months so that he still got breast milk via a bottle (something I don’t know if I would do again as it was A LOT of work to pump and feed every couple of hours!). The point of this story is, that I wrote down everything about his feeding, how many mls he ate and when, what his diapers were like, wet or poo, or both, if he spit up…..It all seems crazy to me now but at that time this journal would have been perfect! If I win, it’ll be for my step sister who is due Dec 16th. I am sure she will make good use of it
) Have a great day ladies!
Great idea!! It’s so great to have everything written down and all in one place! Also helps with future children if you are able to look back on how and when things happened with your other kids.
I love the notepad series as I can’t remember anything since having this baby.
I really love these tool thats what I need I have been looking for somethng like that and as my daughter was little I had to have a journal made my own up becuase she reacted to everything I eate.
I think this is a great idea….
Yvette mommmy of two
I love the medicine pad, great idea!!
Hi!!! What an amazing idea! And they are so adorable – I love the design! We are REALLY big on routine and I still track my 2 year olds bms-believe it or not! He goes at the same time every day…and if he misses one-I know something is up! Now I have a newborn and ironically my husband just said yesterday ‘you need to get a journal’ to figure out what this new baby is doing…and did I wake up and feed him in the middle of the night or not? Seriously…sometimes I am not sure! Thanks for the contest and thanks for creating such a great product!
I am so proud of you little writter!Time to start your own blog.