Reviews by Hiccups

Hiccups says "This toy is mostly made of easily destroyed CARDBOARD" about Fun Rise Stack, Learn 'N Play Blocks

Hiccups — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:27:16 GMT

Precursor: I would like to start by saying that this toy was given to my 14 month old son as a Christmas present. My husband and I did not purchase this nor did we know anything about it prior to my son opening the wrapped toy.

The specs: The Stack, Learn 'N Play Blocks by Fun Rise is for children ages one and older. It has ten colorful blocks. Nine are made of cardboard and are open on one side so that the blocks can be stacked on top of each other or they can nest inside one another for storage. (The tenth is plastic with a smiley face center that rolls around inside the cube.) The outside of each block is wrapped in paper that is decorated with numbers, letters, animals, and other pictures.

The review: When my husband and I were helping our son open this present, we were somewhat pleased to see that this was a stacking toy because our son enjoys knocking over toys that we have stacked for him. Looking at the box in which the toy was packaged,...

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Hiccups says "My son really likes them--too bad they're coming apart" about Manhattan Toy Mind-Shapes

Hiccups — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:17:09 GMT

My 8-month old son really likes his Mind Shapes and has ever since he got them last Christmas which was six months ago. Each one has different images, colors, textures, and sounds. The pyramid jingles, the ball krinkles, and the cube rattles. He likes the shapes and sounds the best. I don't think he cares about the images very much. His favorite shape is the ball. We can always get him to smile by krinkling the ball as we move it back and forth in front of his face. Each shape also has a small ribbon loop attached to it. I have used this with some of his other toys that have hooks (such as the white hooks on his Freddie the Firefly by Lamaze and his PeekaBoo Clutch Cube also by Lamaze). That allows me to create a new way for him to play with these toys.

Unfortunately, both the ball and the cube have begun to come apart at the seams. (The pyramid is still intact.) I believe this started about a month or so ago which was only five months after he got them. The ball coming apart is not...

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Hiccups says "Interesting for child, but requires parent interaction" about Manhatten Toys Infant Stim-Mobile

Hiccups — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:43:26 GMT

I bought this for my son at Christmas when he was 2 months old. I liked the idea that it had simple, yet interesting images. I also liked the fact that the images faced my son. (Most mobiles have objects that only face the parents standing by the crib. What good is that?) He has really loved looking at it, especially when we make it move.

Unfortunately, it does not move on its own. Therefore, we had to keep moving it and bumping it to keep our son fully interested. Furthermore, when we would try to make it sway or spin, the suspended arches had a very limited range of motion. We found that using the extending links (supplied with the product) enabled us to move it more easily, but we still had to do it ourselves.

We used the extending links when we first put the mobile up in our son's crib because he was still small. (The extending links are like the links of a necklace that clip on between the main arch and the arches that hold the cards.) As our son grew and could reach the cards,...

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Hiccups says "It makes less foam when shaken." about Enfamil Gentlease Lipil Baby Formula

Hiccups — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 02:00:08 GMT

To begin, it might be helpful to know my situation and what experience I have had with infant formula. At the present, I am a new mother of a sweet little boy who is 12 weeks old. I do not work outside the home and had originally intended to solely feed my son breast milk provided that I had enough. Thus, I had no intention of purchasing or even looking into formula. Unfortunately, the use of formula has become a necessity. Fortunately though, a survey company had asked that I sign up with three formula companies via their websites in order to complete a series of paid questionnaires. I was asked to register with Similac, Enfamil, and Nestle's Very Best Baby. So, if you count all the samples I received from enrolling with these companies as well as from various health care professionals, I attained:

Similac (regular powder in the blue canister), which we used;
Similac Soy (powder in the red canister), which did not mix as well, so we stopped using;
Enfamil Lipil...

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Hiccups says "A must hear" about Novi Ierusalim - Heart Lines

Hiccups — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 03:48:30 GMT

I would like to start this review by first reviewing the band, so please bear with me and thank you for your patience.

About the band

Novi Ierusalim is too easily overlooked in this country (US), and that's a shame. The band is based out of Belarus (a country that borders Russia and Poland), and although much of their music is in Russian, they have several songs in English. (They also have done some in Hebrew and one in Belarusian.) They are a Christian band whose style is somewhat mixed. In many of their earlier works, a Jewish flavor abounds. Later, in albums such as "What Do You Think About It?" for example, they have included rock and rap. Thus, I think that they have something for everyone.

As far as talent goes, they have it. Although Alexander Patlis (one of the original vocalists) is no longer with the band (and is no doubt missed by many of the band's fans throughout the world), the band has not suffered. The current lead vocalist, Igor Kopylov,...

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Hiccups says "It's not what I thought--it's better." about Moonlight - TV Show

Hiccups — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:43:21 GMT

When I first saw the promos for this show, I thought with distaste, "Great, a vampire show." I am not into vampire, witch, scorcerer, etc. type things. I like the occasional sci-fi show (Star Trek, Stargate SG1, etc.), but vampires just don't appeal to me. Yes, Alex O'Laughlin will stop a few hearts, yes, the show probably has some good lines in it (after all, the promo did), but come on, how good can it be? Then I happened to be home one Friday night with nothing better to do so I watched it. (It was the best thing on and I was bored.) From then on, my whole attitude about the show changed.

I love the way Mick and Beth look at and interact with each other. It's almost like you can tell what they are thinking. (And each one is thinking that they love and want the other one--good acting guys and nice facial expressions!) Yes, alright, I am a hopeless romantic and I play some of their moments over and over in my head. Of course, there is action, suspense, and plenty of...

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Hiccups says "It was everything I wanted." about Mercy Anderson - Cincinnati, OH

Hiccups — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:59:17 GMT

I had a good experience with Mercy Anderson when I gave birth to my son. (I am a 38 year old first time mom with varous condtions.) Because I went into labor after hours, I had to go through the ER. When I arrived, someone immediately put me in a wheelchair and took me upstairs. I did not have to wait or go through tedious verification questions. (I was pre-registered, but I knew I would have to verify my identity and information at some point; it just wasn't then.) The person who was transporting me was nice and spoke calmly to me the whole way up to maternity.

Once I was there, I was asked to relieve myself and change into a gown. When I came out, a nurse was there waiting to assist me. At that point, several things happened all at once (or so it seemed to someone writhing with the pain of contractions). Nonetheless, it seemed that everyone who was there (I don't know exactly who since I closed my eyes with each contraction and I don't remember their names) told me...

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Hiccups says "It is entertaining for kickers." about Sassy Zanzibar Baby Bouncer

Hiccups — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:59:57 GMT

First of all, I noticed that the frame on this bouncer connected to the seat from the top going downward. (To see the product, please go to the Babies R Us website as I have only found this product to be available there.) Most bouncers connect from the bottom up. In the store, my husband and I tried bouncing the bottom of various bouncers and found this design to be more pleasing to us for this reason: in order to get a decent bouncing motion, the infant would have to use his feet instead of his head. Even though the material is soft, I like the idea of a foot powered bouncer better than a head powered one. I do think that my child would be able to get some motion from the other bouncers by using his feet, but in this bouncer, I think he gets more bounce with less effort. This also made it easier for him to figure out. (He likes to make the toys move.)

(Please note, however, that I have not put my child in any other bouncer. This opinion is based solely on what my husband...

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Hiccups says "I think it works best for occasional use." about Medela Swing Electric Breast Pump

Hiccups — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:08:44 GMT

This product is small, lightweight, and portable. It would fit into most handbags. It has a long power cord so you can sit comfortably while you use it. The tubing and other parts (funnel, neck, membrane, bottle, etc.) are removeable and washable. It has a adjustable pressure settings.

Beware though, this product may slip off of a surface because of its shape and size. (It is shaped like a hamburger bun.) And because of its light weight, someone could take it with them it they trip on the cord.

It does tend to get codensation in the tubing. It can be louder than desired. After a certain amount of time, it will shut itself off. (Although this could be seen as a positive, it was a negative attribute for me.) Also, if you have a plugged duct, this pump may not be strong enough to dislodge it.

Furthermore, it is time consuming. It only pumps one breast at a time. When you have an infant, you will want to spend any time that you are not holding the child sleeping, eating,...

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