I'm a full-time mummy

I have just started my girl on solids about 1 month ago, when she is nearing 7 months old. And that's when I started to let her have few sips of water when she finishes her solids. Yes, prior to that, she is exclusively breastfed, no water at all, purely 100% breastmilk from me!

Anyway, I was initially approached by Pigeon (the company that makes this product) to review a nursing bottle but I have to politely declined as my girl has been directly breastfed by me, no bottles whatsoever. Next I was offered to review nursing pad, which I have to again decline politely as I think I have mastered the art of breastfeeding without erm.. leaking hehehe... (or maybe nothing much to leak after my girl drank all my breastmilk! Hahahaha)

Now, third time is the charm! Yes, I was offered to review a sippy cup! Yay! What better time to review this as I was just starting to get my girl to take solids! So here goes my review for the "MagMag Spout Cup":

Description from the product page:
"Babies grow fast and require different baby care products at different stages of their development. PIGEON MagMag focuses on the changing needs of growing babies and provides perfectly designed products for their various needs. Drinking from a straw is a learned skill, as opposed to suckling at a mother's breast which is a natural reflex. MagMag is a three-step training cup to help babies develop oral mechanics to drink the way adults do.

PIGEON MagMag captured the heart of mothers since its first release in Japan in 1982. This revolutionary product, which supports the baby's natural development, is based on extensive research in the oral development of babies. In 1990, MagMag was developed for the overseas market and it immediately won the trust of mothers all over the world. In 2005, we proudly introduced the third generation PIGEON MagMag."

The sippy cup came with a nice looking transparent packaging, complete with instructions on how to use the sippy cup. I have been given the Step 2 Spout cup to review as I don't use pacifier on Alyson and she's not ready for straws yet, so step 2 is just about right for her stage now.

"Step 2 - Spout Cup (for 5 months onwards)
Move on to spout as your baby accustoms himself to drink from different shape other than nipple.
* Soft and flexible silicone spout (Cross-cut) allows quantity of liquid flow to be adjusted by baby's drinking manners
* Hood touches the spout prevents liquid from dripping out
* Angled handles for easy drinking
* Allows step-up to Straw Cup (Step 3) by changing the cup top"

Excuse my mummy blogger habit... I cannot resist the habit to take pictures of every possible angle of the products I review, so here it goes... Hahahah...  top view, side view, front view, close-up view of the measurement and the spout as well. 

My feedback on the product (prior to letting my girl use it):

- I love the vibrant orangy color!

- The size is big enough for my girl to handle and I love the ergonomic handles at the sides of the sippy cup!

- The spout is surprisingly VERY soft and flexes when I bend it around. I also noticed the cross cut at the tip of the spout.

My feedback on the product (after letting my girl use it):

- Alyson initially had trouble using the spout as she tried gumming the spout but there's no water coming out. I had to actually bend the spout tip a couple of times to make the cross cut bigger so that the water flows out easier for her. After a few attempts, she got the hang of it.

- There is no water leakage from the sippy cup even though it has been dropped on the floor, lying sideways and all. I tried turning it upside down as well and there is no water dripping out from the sippy cup.

- Cleaning of the sippy cup is easy as well but I feel there are too many components in this sippy cup. The first time I looked at the instruction guide, I got worried as I'm not really a good person that understand guide - especially after seeing the number of components in the product.

You can find more information about the product at:

http://www.pigeon.com.sg/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=49

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with the product by Pigeon Malaysia in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

To my friends & relatives who are participating in the Bersih 3.0 event on 28th April,

please be careful, stay on alert and stay safe.

Just be careful please.

God bless us all and Malaysia.

2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV) Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Romans 12:17 (NIV) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

James 3:18 (NIV) Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness

Sometime in mid March this year, I received a request  from the author to review her book. I decided to check it out and the plot seems interesting. And then I decided to review it once I read the comments left by the author which is as below:

"The reason I wrote Branded is to bring awareness to the fact kids are kidnapped every day and not by family members. I understand the subject of child abduction for sex trade is difficult for some people to accept, but it is a reality in today's world. Thousands are reported missing every year and found on the internet naked, against their will.

Most people know that kids get kidnapped and some are even killed. They feel bad for them, but think they're exempt from getting involved. But, if this problem is ever going to go away we need to get involved as a community. People care, that's obvious, but sometimes they just need to be reminded to be pro-active too."  So here goes my review for the "Branded" book:

Title: Branded
Author: Ms D. Perdue Henderson
Publisher: CreateSpace (February 12, 2011)
ISBN-13/-10:  978-1456476113 / 1456476114
Paperback:  166 pages
Dimension:  6 x 9 x 0.4 inches

Description from the product page:
"Amy Collins is your typical everyday 12 year old, awkward, self-conscious, and innocent in the ways of sex and sexual relations. She has problems dealing with a new school, getting to places on time and dealing with a brother that loves to antagonize her. Little did she know that her life was about to change and get a bit more complicated.

One day, as she was walking home from school, she was thrown into a parked van and tied up. Then she was locked in an attic, drugged, beaten, raped, and required to work in a sex camp for the next 5 years, forcing her to grow up faster than expected.
This is a story about her experiences, what she did, how she coped, who she made friends with, and who she fell in love with."

This book is about a 12 year old girl name Amy Collins who got abducted and being forced into prostitution.  As you read on, you find out how she tried to understand what happened and why she was targetted, how she attempted to escape few times and then decided to stay on, how she coped with her new life and identity and how years later on she emerged from her ordeal.

I do feel disappointed when reading how close Amy was to her freedom but she decided to stay put. There are certain parts in the book which I felt are unnecessary or deserved longer plot - such as how Amy took over the operations and the way she handled the business for the brief period was a bit too general and seems too easy.

In my opinion, this book is worth reading but do expect a twist at the end!

You can get this book from Amazon .

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a PDF copy of the book by the author in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"