Snuggle Me’z - “A Mom-Made Snuggle System”
Six days after baby was born we were victims of the most heinous of crimes – a baby blanket theft. My baby’s new Pearly Grey owl blanket was snatched – stolen right from in front of a Circuit City in broad daylight, presumably by a fellow mother, and witnessed by two employees who were not about to be heroes. Baby didn’t care, but hubby and I did. How did this happen? What can we do to prevent blanket thefts? And, perhaps most perplexing of all – what kind of person steals a baby blanket?
And while that last question will forever remain a mystery to us, we did come up with a solution for keeping thieving hands away from our baby’s adorable accessories. It started as a necessity and now it’s down to a science; we tie everything to her car seat. Poor baby’s seat even has flair to spare, and she doesn’t seem to mind a bit.
I found Snuggle Me’z by chance, searching for an even better solution to the attachable car seat blanket and we couldn’t wait to try it out. And, lucky for us, it arrived at the perfect time. Baby’s replacement owl blanket (complete with sewn in ribbon loops this time for easy attaching) was perfect for the summer and early fall, but was definitely too thin for the coming Washington winter, and winter seemed like it was coming a bit early this year. Designed to attach by elastic around any infant car seat, Snuggle Me’z consists of a completely reversible baby bundler that zips down the front for easy access and has an attached blanket that can be placed in between the handle and the car seat shade to completely cocoon baby in the seat without the blanket ever touching baby at all. Ah, brilliance!
It was our trial run – a windy, rainy Seattle day, the kind that gives credence to all the weather related misconceptions of our beautiful hometown. Baby was strapped in, zipped up and ready to go. We were the stars of the sidewalk that day and very much enjoying our first brush with fame. My Snuggle Me’z was attracting all sorts of attention and not just from those you would expect. Nearly everyone we met on our trial run out with the Snuggle Me’z stopped and commented. Passersby would nudge their companions as we walked by, nodding at us and smiling, spreading like a wave down the sidewalk. At one point, after I had handed out the bulk of my business cards to curious onlookers, it dawned on me – this might be the best advertising my website has seen all year! I think what makes it such a conversation piece is the high quality and beautiful fabrics used. They have a range of fabrics available from classic designs to more modern prints, and all of them are gorgeous. We have the “Claire” Snuggle Me’z and get so many compliments on it from nearly everyone we meet.
At first, hubby and I agreed that the Snuggle Me’z was perfect for outdoor excursions, but that we’d take it off for car rides and for indoor use. But, then we saw how much better baby sleeps while fully bundled – evidenced by the fact that I am currently writing this with two hands. So, we decided that we would just keep it on until the weather got warmer or baby decided she had had enough. And that was over four weeks ago and counting. Baby is still allowing it to be zipped up over 99% of the time; in fact, she seems to have grown rather attached to it. When she is in a particularly good mood she likes to hide her eyes by ducking her head to the side of the car seat and then popping up in a peek-a-boo fashion. One thing hubby absolutely loves about the Snuggle Me’z is the fact that baby seems to understand that she doesn’t get out of her seat until you unzip the cover, which means that she doesn’t lunge forward as much to get out of her seat after we arrive at our destination. I’ll admit it is awfully cute when she sees you go for the zipper and her legs start kicking underneath the Snuggle Me’z and she leans into your hands to get out.
One thing we have noticed is that the elastic is so secure that after enough zip ins and zip outs, the fabric begins to migrate an inch or two towards the base of the seat because the base is smaller on our particular car seat model. But, the nature of “one size fits all” products is that there are slight adjustments every owner will have to take in order to get the perfect fit. Ours is that we pull up each time we zip her in, and voila, problem solved. The only real issue I have with the Snuggle Me’z is that I wish the blanket could be removed with snaps, zippers or buttons. Because backseat space is at a premium in our compact car, when hubby is driving there is almost no room for the seat itself, which means that it takes all of my strength to wedge it into the car with the rolled up blanket attached at the seat’s biggest dimension. The Snuggle Me’z is used every day, pretty much all day, but the blanket is only used periodically for long naps, outdoor trips and when it’s raining or snowing on our trek to and from the car so it would be nice to have the option of going without. Although the detachable blanket would be nice, the things I love about the cover by far outweigh that one tiny modification I would make.
I particularly like that the Snuggle Me’z is completely reversible, which is always a huge bonus to me – it’s like having two covers in one, which, for the space conscious is far better than having two covers in two. And, in the event we have a boy someday, hopefully he won’t be too angry about the pink floral print as long as it’s facing inward while he’s using it. I also really like the loop attachment on the outside of the Snuggle Me’z for attaching pacifiers and toys. Like I said, we like to tie things to our baby, so this is just a natural progression of her flair to spare. An added bonus that I found while using the Snuggle Me’z is that the cover creates a pocket around baby that is perfect for stuffing an extra blanket or jacket into for warmth when it is freezing outside.
I absolutely love our Snuggle Me’z and would highly recommend it to those in moderate to cold climates as a way to keep baby dry, comfortable, and snuggled throughout the colder months. I always laugh when people who don’t even have babies say they want a Snuggle Me’z, but by far the most popular comment we have heard from people of all ages is “I wish they had those in my size”. Don’t we all.
Price: $98, which is on the higher side of infant bundlers, but factoring in the reversible function and the fact that it makes baby so much more portable and happy during the fall and winter months, I would say it’s definitely worth it. **Bonus Rave and Review readers can use the code “raveandreview” for a 15% discount and free shipping on the Snuggle Me’z website**
Functionality: Great! Solves the problem of the tied on blanket and more.
Looks: Fabulously chic. Be prepared to befriend everyone you meet.
Rating: 4.5 marks out of 5, losing a half of a point only for price.
