EB review team
December 7, 2010

Zoom Tandem Stroller in Beige/Dark Brown

Finding out we were expecting twins was a happy surprise for me and my husband. After the shock had subsided, we started looking at the long list of things we would need to buy, with a pram one of the most important, and costliest items. We really wanted to try a tandem pram, where one baby sits in front of the other, rather than the wide side-by-sides, but there aren’t many on the market. So we were thrilled when Essential Baby asked us to review the ABC Zoom tandem pram.

First impressions are yes, it’s long. But I put it next to my friend’s Baby Jogger City Select and it’s only slightly longer. I like that the twins won’t be able to kick each other when they are bigger, unlike some of the other tandems available.

It was easy enough to put together straight out of the box, but it became apparent my husband had missed his calling as an engineer when he put the hoods of the seats on backwards. Everything slots together easily, with big push buttons to pull the pieces apart for easy adjustment or fold down and storage. They were a little tight to start with, but after assembling and disassembling a few times, they loosened up.

The pram comes ready to go with two seats, and our model had two carry cots suitable for newborns. They are super easy to attach, and are perfect to just unclip and carry sleeping babies inside.

While the pram looks big, it’s amazingly compact once folded. Like some other tandems, the seats need to be removed, and the frame folds up smaller than many single prams. We can easily fit the pram and both seats into the boot of a Volkswagen Golf. The carry cots however, are quite large, and we can only fit one cot and the pram in the boot, while the other needs to sit on the back seat. A larger car would easily fit both carry cots.

Another great feature is how many positions the seats can be moved into – 32 different seating combinations! For families with an older child and a newborn, the pram can be customised with a seat and a carry cot. As our twins get older, we can turn the seats so they can face each other, they can both face out, or they can face the person pushing. The standard seats can be reclined flat for newborns, and raised up to a sitting position as the child gets older. The pram also fits “group 0+” car capsules, including the Maxi Cosi, making it perfect to go from car to outside without disturbing sleepers.

And there is plenty of under-seat storage room for groceries, nappies, toys and all the other paraphenalia a day out incurs. Our pram came with two rain covers which were perfect for the “summer” weather Sydney has been experiencing. Clear plastic at the front, they completely cover and protect the seats, but still let your baby or toddler look out at the world.

As for pushability, with two small babies, it’s super easy. The front wheels can be either locked or left loose to swivel for easy maneuverability. We also borrowed a couple of older children and I am happy to report the pram was still easy to push. The recommended maximum weight is 30kg, so it will take two small people for quite a long time. The handle extends easily with the push of a button and is more than adequate for my 6ft plus husband to push comfortably. I also liked that I wasn’t kicking the undercarriage as I walked like I did with some other prams.

There are cons, of course. The most obvious being that this is a pram designed to carry two. You can use it with only one seat attached, but it looks odd, and isn’t very practical. You can’t take it on escalators like single prams (not that you can take side-by-sides on escalators either) and in small tight spaces like inner Sydney cafes, it does take up a fair bit of room.

But despite its length, the pram is nice and narrow, doesn’t crowd out other people in the supermarket aisle and it’s designer styling certainly gets lots of looks and comments! Ours came in black, but in Australia, it also comes in beige/brown and a limited edition, head-turning shade of tangerine.

If you are in the market for a double pram and the side-by-sides are a little wide for your liking, the ABC Zoom is your ride. It looks fab, pushes like a dream and is practical, clever and unique!

The bottom line:

Pram including two seats – RRP $1595

Carry Cot – RRP $345 each

4-Seasons Rain Cover – RRP $99.95 each

Carry Cot Adaptor for Second Cot – RRP $49.95

For more information and to find stockists visit Western Bloc.

Wow hot off the editor’s PC comes this great looking video showcasing the ABC Design 3Tec.

Looking hot in mono tonal Black & White, fresh from the launch at Kind and Jugend in Cologne. The 2011 range looks certain to be popular.

Hip Random Reviews: Weil Baby Bottles and Sipper Cups Galore!

We recently gave three hip mums the task of road testing drinking products from the WeilBaby range. We had an overwhelming response to this call out. With many of you discussing babies whom did and didn’t drink from bottles to the trials and tribulations of changing from bottles to sipper cups. So hopefully these three reviews will help with the often overwhelming land of bottles and sipper cups (all BPA free of course!)!

Check out three different Mum’s opinions of different products from the range.

Hip Mum Melanie tried out the Weil Baby 8oz glass nursing bottle.

As a first time mother I was a little shocked/overwhelmed and not to mention exhausted when at 6 weeks old my son developed bad colic and would not stop crying/screaming all day long. This went on for seven weeks – my husband and i tried everything – spent endless amounts of money of different ‘colic’ bottles but none of them seemed better than others and help reduce the pain that he was in.

My son – Kyden is now 16 weeks old and has gotten over the worst of the colic but still gets little gas bubbles stuck in his tummy between his feeds and will wake after 40 minutes (during his day sleeps) with gas build up (he has always been an excellent night sleeper – we are lucky in that aspect)

So when i was given the chance to road test the Dr Weil’s bottle i was more than happy to do so to see if this was actually a bottle that would help him or that i would use for future children.

Kyden and i got to road test the 8oz glass baby bottle and the silicon holder.

Generally we found the bottle to be great – it took Kyden a few goes to get used to using a different bottle but he now loves it. The milk/formula flows a lot slower than other bottles so it took him longer to drink but it did help with the gas bubbles he was getting with all the other bottles and after a few days using this bottle he had a lot less gas build up between feeds. In fact his sleeping during the day increased from 40 minutes to 75 minutes and once or twice two hours!!!!

The bottles are a very trendy design, easy to clean, dishwasher safe (on top shelf) and nice and sturdy. Kyden also loved to hold the bottle while feeding which he has never done with other bottles so he must have loved drinking from it.

The only downside i found to the bottle that being glass it was a bit harder to heat up the formula/milk. With the avent bottles i could take them straight out the fridge and put them in boiling water to warm up but being glass i could not do this. Instead i had to run under water to heat it up slowly so the glass did not crack.

The silicon holder is good idea but make sure you wet it before trying to get it on the bottle.

Overall i found the bottle and the silicon holder excellent and would definitely use them for our next child to he prevent/help colic!!! I will definitely be going out to buy the Dr Weil’s sippy cups for Kyden for when he is older – once again they are so trendy and great as they come in lots of colours!!!!

Hip Mum Eugenie struck a cord with us when she said her babe wouldn’t take any of the many bottles she had tried (and she had tried a lot!!) so we thought she and her super cute babe were the perfect random review choice to try the Weil Baby 5oz Tritan bottle. Check out the great results below!

This is Luella now six months old. Adorable – yes, fun and happy – yes, relentlessly stubborn – always! Together we’ve been trying various bottles and teats each day over the last couple of months. Having only ever received varying degrees of resistance (rated by type and duration of tears provided), I wasn’t particularly hopeful when I entered a recent competition to receive the latest bottle available at The Hip Infant, the Weil Baby. Perhaps it was my renewed hope (having never won anything in my life) that made the difference to our typically exhausting and uninteresting 4pm bottle feed attempts. Perhaps it was because she’s getting a little older and the process was inevitable. Perhaps it was the bottle. All I can say is that I am a changed woman. Luella took 40ml straight away on the first day. After a couple of cartwheels, I persevered and she smiled, laughed and openly engaged with the bottle. She nibbled and occasionally sucked, bringing the grand total to 100ml. A minimum she has managed every day since.

A very big thank you to The Hip Infant and Dr Andrew – the Weil Baby bottle is not only the best looking bottle I’ve seen or tried, but it’s also a good size (for the less inclined feeders among us). And, it comes with all the pre-requisites we expect but don’t always get – it’s BPH free and easy to clean!

And finally what better person to try the Weilbaby 120mls training cup in purple and the Weilbaby 240 ml drinking  cup yellow than hip mother of twin boys Alex and Jake, Andrea.

As a mother of 15 month old boy twins who are very fussy about their bottles and cups I was interested to see how they would respond to the Weilbaby products. I have tried alot of different training cups with the boys and have found that alot of them either leak, break, have fiddley valves to put in or are very difficult to drink from. I have also found that Jake and Alex will happily drink water from most of them but not milk.

Jake and Alex have put these cups through their paces and I am happy to report that we love the Weilbaby training cups and they are still in one piece. These cups are BPA free and come in a range of bright, trendy colours rather than just clear which I found is particularly useful when trying to remember who was drinking out of which cup. The cups come in two different sizes, are quick and easy to assemble/disassemble with no fiddley valves and have handles which are not only slim line but can be easily removed. The cups are really sturdy, do not stain and have withstood being washed in the dishwasher and dropped or in some instances thrown from the highchair with barely a scratch on them.

Now for the thing I love most about these cups -they don’t leak. No matter how much Jake and Alex shook them they could not get them to leak all over their highchair so they could play in the mess (like all cups they do leak if you squeeze the spout) and I did not have them leak from under the ring at all.  Also, a bonus for me is that they will drink their milk from them (Yeah no more bottles!!!!!)

As with any products there are a few cons to Weilbaby cups. They are expensive so they probably wouldn’t suit someone buying for multiples. When the boys were babies they were having up to 14 bottles a day between them so that either makes for a very expensive purchase or alot of washing up throughout the day. However, you pay for what you get, quality.

Also, my husband found when washing the bottles by hand that milk gets stuck in ridge in the bottom of the cup if it isn’t rinsed straight away and the bottle brush we had couldn’t get in the groove to get it out. The only other thing I was wondering was if replacement spouts were available and if there was a hard spout available that you move onto as your child progresses.

Thanks Hip Infant for letting us try out the Weilbaby training cups.

Andrea rest assured there are replacement spouts available!! Thanks to all our hip mums for their honest and valued opinions!

After making a splash as little Ruby’s night light on Channel 7′s Packed to the Rafters, Rebecca Gibney tales along Rice the Dog as a gift for 2Day Fm’s Jackie O.

Rebecca Gibney presents Jackie O with Rice the Dog

In a recent article in the Washington Post it is claimed that BPA is found on paper receipts in amounts up to 1,000 greater than in the lining of food cans.

According to the report this could help explain why BPA is detected in 93% of Americans.

The report discovered that an average supermarket receipt contains so much BPA, that if ingested the amount would exceed the EPA’s recommended safe exposure limit for an adult by 12 times.

To read the story click here

Weil Baby Featured on May 7th 2010 – in the Ellen Degeneres show.

For this special Mother’s Day edition, Ellen has picked up the coolest gear and she has chosen the Weil Baby bottles.

“These ultra chic, eco friendly baby bottles from Dr. Andrew Weil, but most important they are BPA free”  Ellen Degeneres

What did we like about them?

Initial reaction from the group (…) cool style and modern design (…) sturdy construction and good even flow from the nipples.

bottles and cups don’t leak or spill (…) they are BPA free was also indicated as a major benefit (…) simple cleaning (…) It’s also dishwasher safe, unlike many others on the market.

Overall, the Style Collective crew are very fond of this range and rate it as a quality and stylish product that makes a fabulous new addition to the Australian market.

See the complete article and more on Style Collective

Click here to see the Weil Baby Videos.

Excerpts:

“The first thing that I really love about Weil Baby is the bold letters on the packaging that scream “BPA free“. In March last year, while blogging for The Courier-Mail, I wrote about BPA being banned in the US over fears it was toxic to infants.”

“The second thing I love is the funky colours. No boring clear with white trim here. Cool fluoro colours and funky lids.”

“The real test, of course, is functionality. No good if it looks great, but leaks all over the place.” “The bottle worked a treat too. No leakages.” “I also liked the sturdy, heavy duty feel to it.”

“There were no leaks and the cup disassembles easily to go into the dishwasher. These days I won’t go near any product that doesn’t go in the dishwasher or the washing machine.”

“All in all, great products, great brand.”

“Another selling point for the socially aware consumer mummy is that creator “Andrew Weil MD donates all of his after-tax profits from royalties of sales of Weil Baby products directly to the Weil Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting integrative medicine through training, education and research”.”

Read the complete article on MooreForMums

Also Check out Moore For Mums to get the latest insights on parenting and cool products from one of Australia’s top Blogger: Felicity Moore

Available from Thursday 20th May at your Favourite boutique. Weil Baby is offering a fresher, safer and greener alternative with it’s 100% BPA and Toxin Free range.

Excerpts:

“There’s an even more compelling reason to consider replacing some of the plasticware in your home – the evidence of the negative effects on your family’s health from BPA toxins in many plastic bottles and cups.”

“Not only are the bottles BPA-free, they are heat and shatter-resistant, dishwasher safe and they look great too.”

Click here to see the article on Babyology

Babyology gives you daily information on unique and fabulous children’s products from around the globe. www.babyology.com.au

Busybee Friends – Real Luggage for real kids

The BusybeeFriends range of bags are the latest in Kid’s Luggage. This cute kooky range of bags will take your little ones wherever they need to go while ensuring they have fun on their journey.

Best of all, they all fit through the “carry-on” at airports, so kids won’t have to part with them at all while they are travelling.

Family Australia is a Magazine created by family people who live in and around the beautiful Gold Coast. They give insights and great ideas for kid’s activities in Australia.