Having raised five children over the past 15 years – and having tried out just about every spoon, bowl and feeding accessory you can think of – we’ve grown rather good at identifying products that are ‘must haves’… and those that LOOK good, but end up gathering dust somewhere in a drawer!
Earlier this month we were fortunate enough to receive a few samples to try out from a Swedish company called In The Pocket Baby® – and we’re happy to report that the products we tried fall firmly under the category of ‘must haves’ – well worth checking out if you’re looking for quality items with an innovative twist.
Founded in 2006, In The Pocket Baby® is a family run company – and whilst it’s based in Sweden, the company delivers all over the world. You may be thinking that the shipping costs would be horribly high – particularly to the US – but it’s much cheaper than you may think (the cost of shipping a baby seat to the US, for example, is only around $6).
The Products
In The Pocket Baby® sells baby seats, bibs, bibs with sleeves and baby carriers. We were lucky enough to get to try out the seat and both types of bib.
The seat is brilliantly simple! It comes in its own, integrated pocket (which is so small, it will easily fit in YOUR pocket or purse!). You simply unfold it, then attach it to an ordinary chair using two straps. Once that’s done, you sit baby on the chair, pull the seat up between his legs and fasten the buckles. Hey presto, he’s securely attached to the chair – and when you’re done, you simply fold the seat back into its integrated pocket!
We tried the seat on several different types of chairs (including a garden chair) and it fitted them all – what’s more, it felt very safe… our little man is now a very wriggly, very strong 15 month old and he looked perfectly secure and happy.
We like to eat out whenever possible and this seat will enable us to turn any chair in the restaurant into one that’s safe for our baby, plus it’s so lightweight and small that we can easily take it everywhere! The seat is recommended from 6 months of age (or when baby can sit unsupported) up to 2 years – which means that we have a good few months’ use left in ours!
The bibs are – quite simply – the nicest and most practical bibs I think we’ve ever used! They, too, feature an integrated pocket and are made of extremely soft but durable fabric with a protective backing. Though not completely wipe clean, we were able to wipe off some messes (the fabric doesn’t soak up food like some bibs) – but the bib can be washed in the washing machine when necessary.
It is fastened with poppers (SO much better than Velcro®, which our baby rips apart with ease!) and it’s adjustable. The regular bib is a generous size and protects baby’s clothing effectively, but we ADORED the sleeved bib, which completely covered him up and kept him perfectly clean! The bibs have a wonderful, soft collar that is entirely comfortable but stops food getting underneath the bib – and the sleeved version has cuffs made of the same material, ensuring a snug fit.
One of our favourite features of these bibs is the large front pocket. Our son has a particular penchant for grains – brown rice and quinoa in particular – and whilst we’re glad he enjoys them, his lack of spoon control means that mealtimes are rather messy. But the pockets on these bibs caught virtually every stray grain – and once our little man discovered that, he spent a nice quiet 10 minutes fishing them all out and eating them up!
We also appreciated the fact that – once the meal was over – the bib could be folded BACK into its integral pocket. This would be especially useful when eating out – it means that the used bib can be put into a purse or a diaper bag without getting everything else messy!
If you’d like to check out the beautifully designed In The Pocket Baby® products for yourself, then please visit the In The Pocket Baby® website (friendly link) , where you’ll also find a list of ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers of their products!