Category Archives: Sleeping

May 22 2017

A Cozyphones Review: The PERFECT headphones for fitness and relaxation

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We all know I’m obsessed with podcasts. My poor iPhone is forever bleeping with new episode notifications (or to tell me my memory is running low) and I struggle to keep up to date with all the shows I follow. I constantly have earphones in; when I’m working out, laying in bed, in the bath, even cooking … I’ll find any excuse to whip out my phone and escape from my feuding kiddies.

I have a raft of earphones & headphones to best suit the activity I’m engaged in - if I’m out for a run, I’ll use buds to keep that all important ear free to listen out for traffic, if I’m in bed, I’ll slip on some headphones to block out the sound of Craig & the kids. No solution is perfect though. Buds fall out easily if you accidentally snag them or fiddle with your hair, and it can be hard to find a comfortable position in bed with bulky headphones on.

CozyPhones

Cozyphones offer an ideal solution for many common headphone woes. They are essentially a fabric headband with integrated headphone speakers. With a flexible and durable 36 inch braided cord and sturdy 3.5 mm stereo plug, they’re compatible with all your common listening devices, and the cord won’t kink or get tangled.

Available in tons of cool designs, and with a choice of fleece or Lycra mesh ergonomic headband there’s a Cozyphone solution for both relaxation and sweatier pursuits. Lightweight, comfortable and washable they’re fab for travelling, meditation or the gym, and a better fit means better noise cancellation for an improved listening experience.

PicMonkey Collage

The bands themselves are super stretchy to accommodate any head shape, and the speakers are fully adjustable so can be pushed back and forth within the headband to ensure the perfect fit. The speakers also offer belting sound as they sit more snugly to your ear than conventional headphones. Better still, you can simply pop out the speakers and the bands are fully machine washable so they always look the part (essential if you are using them for working out).

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There are also super cute kids versions with animal character designs - perfect for when your little ones are binging on annoying YouTube videos. Made to the same spec as the adult version, slipping on a pair of these warm and cozy headphones onto your child offers parents everywhere instant migraine relief.

I use mine when I’m doing a spot of cardio training, or relaxing in bed. I love how they don’t slip or hurt my ears & have had plenty of comments in the gym. At around £16 from Amazon they’re really affordable and, thanks to a branded pouch, they also make an ideal gift.

The only minor criticism I have is that there isn’t currently a bluetooth version. Although this is no bother for me as I prefer corded headphones, I would anticipate this feature will occur in later iterations of Cozyphones. I’d also love to see one with a remote control to save me digging out my phone to pause a podcast or adjust the volume. Even without this, I was after something like this for a long time before Cozyphones contacted me for a review, and I suspect a number of my fellow PC addicts will get equally as excited about them. They’ve slotted right into my life and I’ve culled my headphone collection right down as a result.

Check out the website and follow on social media for more information. To buy, head on over to Amazon.

Web: CozyPhones.com / FB: @CozyPhone / Insta: @CozyPhone

 

 

 

Jan 27 2016

7 sure-fire signs that you’re sleep deprived

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Heidi is a nightmare with her sleeping. A complicated mix of night terrors, separation anxiety and plain old tantrums mean we’re often up with her every two hours in the night. Sometimes we can placate her with a bottle, a quick stroke of her hair, or a rendition of In the Night Garden that would make most human ears bleed. However, more often than not, we’re met with persistent screaming and thrashing that can really test your patience at 2am, 3am, 4am…

bed

Owing to a tickly cough, recently this has become even more unbearable. Despite giving her our combined body weight in pillows to raise her head, applying generous scoops of vaporub to her feet and burning concoctions of lavender, lemon and peppermint all night - this bloody cough won’t budge. Worst still, it often gets the better of her and she vomits all over herself, her bedclothes and, you guessed it, us. Last night alone, we had to give her two emergency baths in the dead of the night to wash half-digested fish and chips out of her hair and eyebrows.

It shouldn’t come as any big surprise then that I’m sleep-deprived. Yet aside from the inevitable nodding off mid meal and bad temper, I’m now questioning my sanity.

I fed the cat Heidi’s bottle

Yep, I recently left a crying baby on the rug in the middle of the floor, fetched a bottle from the kitchen and proceeded to shove the teat of the bottle into the cat’s mouth rather than Heidi’s. Needless to say the cat was traumatised and Heidi was even more put out.

Milk & blackcurrant squash anyone?

Most of us that sleepwalk throughout the day will have experienced frustrations making up bottles. We all know that formula feeding requires a basic sense of mathematics, adding x scoops to x pre-boiled water for example. It’s therefore entirely logical that a sleep-derived mum will forget the number of scoops she’s added to the bottle as she’s doing it. She’ll then be forced to throw away said bottle and waste an entire 250ml of pre-prepared water. Sounds like a minor problem, but when you’re frantically boiling more water at 4am it’s enough to force several new grey hairs from your scalp.

When your baby switches to cow’s milk, you’d think this would be the end of wasted mixes. However, I’ve recently proved this is not the case, having made (and actually fed) my child curdled concoctions of blackcurrant squash and milk in a sleep-deprived haze.

SleepingKids

There’s my mum, dad, my brother… (… shit, what’s his name again?)

A hedonistic youth has already seen large swathes of my grey matter turn to mush, so toss in some sleepless nights and my memory is verging on Alzheimer territory. I forget family member’s names, put baby wipes in the fridge and leave taps running frequently.

I invite in Jehovah’s Witnesses to keep me awake

This extends to gasmen, postmen, windows & door salesmen. This despite the fact I’m a stanch atheist, couldn’t tell you where my gas meter is and live in private rented accommodation so have no say whatsoever on major renovations.

Let’s be clear from the start, I respect everyone’s decision to worship any deity of their choosing. I just quite like the thought of nothingness after the stress of life and am totally not bothered whether I receive riches in death. The thing is, you invite a Jehovah’s Witness in, and they’ll pop you on a register somewhere for frequent intervention. Don’t get me wrong, the people that come to see me really are very lovely people, but I struggle to hold a conversation with Craig about Eastenders, yet alone follow any of their guidance on my supposedly hell-bound soul. Poor Craig is forever coming home and finding Watchtower magazines shoved down the sides of the sofa where I’m too shattered to think of a cleverer hiding place.

Stick and stones may break my bones

So it’s all been lighthearted so far right? No harm done. Funny even.

However, there is a more serious side to sleep-deprivation and that is the very real danger you pose to yourself. Fortunately I don’t drive or operate heavy machinery in my day to day life. I’m also crap in the kitchen so have little cause to handle knives. This hasn’t stopped me tripping over toys, children and my own feet however and I’m now nursing my third ankle fracture in 6 months.

The tears. Oh the tears

I cry at everything!

You might think this is entirely normal for a frazzled mum. When Hero has to say goodbye to Baymax, it’s a really big deal for most of us, right?

Yet when you’re literally sobbing for half an hour as the music in the new Activia yoghurt advert somehow communicates with your tear ducts, you know you have a sleep-derivation problem.

You showcase some seriously questionable parenting skills

When you’re tired even reaching for the tv remote requires careful deliberation. Yes, the episode of Teen Mom you were watching on TiVo might have ended and the television might have switched back to terrestrial telly and a headache-inducing episode of Bargain Hunt, but it’s so much effort to get up and search for a remote that your children have no doubt found a creative hiding place for.

In fact, getting off the sofa to do anything whatsoever is hard work. You can see you daughter’s nappy bulging, but can’t smell faeces - that’s got to be a 5 minute reprieve, right? You can see your son rummaging through your handbag and getting overexcited by the black pencil in your make-up bag, but until he actually marks your wall, it’s okay right? You get the picture.

Bad parent? Oh most definitely. Excusable? Let me grab five minutes sleep and come back to you on this one - I’m too tired to remember what I’ve just admitted to…

Jan 20 2016

GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: Win a Whisbear “The Humming Bear” - CD: 19/02/2016

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The Whisbear “Humming Bear” is a soft toy that is cot-safe from birth & designed to emit white noise that resembles sounds that babies hear within the womb. “Toy of the Year” and a bestseller in Poland, this little guy was gifted to Princess Charlotte and is now breaking ground here in the UK

So what, if anything sets him apart from other sleeptime companions on the market?

Whisbear Review

So what exactly is he?

I’m calling him a ‘he’ as although I’m at risk of offending the PC brigade, he would better complement a blue / grey bedroom as opposed to a pink one. However he is intended to be gender neutral and, in fairness, babies do have a natural affinity for black, white and grey tones.

Whisbear

It’s also commonly accepted that white noise can be soothing for babies, right?

Well this little fella has a “shushing” / “humming” heart which can be likened to a hairdryer. This noise will mimic sounds that baby has heard in the womb. Nothing new there I hear you say.

Yet Whisbear is more technologically advanced than other white noise devices. In the first instance, the white noise is turned on by squeezing the heart which lives inside the back of his head within a Velcro pocket (obviously mum or dad will do this) - Then, not only does he then last a full 40 minutes to give baby adequate time to drift off, he also has a clever CRYSensor that swoops into action if your child wakes up. It’s also worth pointing out that the volume is adjustable so you turn it up over baby’s cries if they’ve worked themselves into a state.

He’s a quirky looking guy

Whisbear looks a little like a teddy octopus hybrid. He has a charming and baby-friendly face (no plastic eyes or hard bits), yet he also has 4 long textured legs rather than a traditional bear body. These legs (and his ears) are made from colourful and contrasting fabrics and have crinkle paper embedded within - perfect for curious fingers & encouraging early sensory development.

Whisbear Features

Another great feature is that the ends of the legs (the feet if you will) have hidden magnets in them. This means you can arrange him around cots bars, a pushchair chassis or car seat handle so he doesn’t physically have to be in the cot with baby if he’s proving too much of a distraction. That said, he is perfectly cot-safe and makes an adorable toy in his own right.

He is washable (as the white-noise maker is removable) and made in the EU from safe fabrics and materials. Handily he also comes in his own dustbag so will travel in style on holiday or to grandmas house (just as well as he’s likely to become an integral bedtime companion for your baby). Most notably there’s a real Scandi influence which all connotes a well-made and design-led product - as well as being practical, fun and stylish.

Whisbar Flat

Heidi’s reaction

I won’t kid myself or mislead you by saying this helped with Heidi’s sleeping in any way. But then, nothing does. My daughter is miracle of science and her sleeping problems have been well documented on this blog. In short, Heidi has night terrors, sleepwalks and wakes several times a night screaming and demanding a bottle. Given her case is now firmly in the hands of paediatricians, it would be pretty unfair of me to road test the Whisbear on such an abnormal sleeper.

Heidi Whisbear

So I’ve judged this product instead on it’s ability to soothe her mid-tantrum (and Lord knows she’s had enough of these recently!). In fact the Whisbear was invented to combat colic-induced pain, and has been hailed as a 24 hour remedy for calming little ones:

White noise can be used twenty-four hours a day. You`ll want to play it to calm crying episodes and during naps and nighttime sleep. Babies do best with special rumbling white noise. That`s what mimics the womb the best. The right type of white noise - for all naps and nights - is key to better sleep from day one to the first birthday… and well beyond!

Dr Harvey Karp, US-based Paediatrician

So what do I think?

I love him. He’s fantastic for nipping tantrums in the bud, and great as background noise when we read her a story at night. I can also recall a few times in the night where he’s been triggered into action by her whinging and managed to lull her back to sleep without us having to fetch her a bottle. I only wish we’d discovered him sooner as we might have stood a better chance of counteracting her unique set of sleep problems.

Any reservations?

There’s only one design flaw as I see it. That’s that, once he’s started his 40 minute cycle, if he’s in the clutches of your little one, you can’t turn him off. Owing to the fact his heart is in his head, you’ll find it tricky to extricate it and stop the sound.

Whisbear Heart

I also would have preferred a concealed zip for the heart pouch as this is less scratchy and better wearing than velcro. Again a moot point.

Where can I get one?

Whisbear is available in a few different colour ways (although these are very subtle and limited to the fabric on the legs). You can buy your own directly from the Whisbear website at a cost of £39.90.

Do I consider this reasonable?

Yep. Comparing it to Ewan the Dream Sheep (RRP £29.99) and other sound-based baby soothers, you’re getting a lot of added value here. Whisbear’s ergonomic design and textured ears are also more akin to a Lamaze pram toy than a soother. For me, this puts him in two camps - both toy and soother.

Yet you’re really paying for the CRYSensor technology. This is what sets this toy apart and is yet to replicated by other cot toys here in the UK. I never mind paying a premium for cutting edge products that deliver - I believe Whisbear to be one of those products.

Find out more

Facebook: @WhisbearUK / Twitter: @WhisbearUK / YouTube: @Whisbear

Whisbear Banner

Want to win a Whisbear “The Humming Bear”?

If you’d like the chance to win a Whisbear for your little one, follow the instructions below. This giveaway is open to UK residents only & the lucky winner will be contacted via email shortly after the closing date (19/02/2016) - Good luck!

Win an awardwinning Whisbear “Humming Bear” worth £39.90

Terms and conditions
Entries close 19/02/2016 23:59
UK entrants only – you must be over 18 too (sorry)
The winner will be contacted by email and must respond within 3 days of having been emailed (I’ll try all known avenues to contact them) or a new winner will be drawn
When the giveaway is closed, Rafflecopter will select the winner completely at random
The winners name will be published on this site
There is no cash alternative

Competitions at ThePrizeFinder

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