Hudson and I had the pleasure of testing out some new products (some of which haven’t even hit the shelves yet), from OxoTot. Oxo is one of those great brands we all know because they finally figured out how to engineer the best, easiest-to-clean can opener (or whisk or grater or whatever it is that I’m sure you have in your kitchen drawer, too). They have a great kids’ line, as well—we used their starter Oxo Tot plate when Hudson was first learning to feed himself, and appreciated that it was both well designed for function but also for appearance (simple white, so that his plate would look like ours).
Their newest products are designed with travel in mind (both far flung and close to home). I immediately reached for the Roll Up Bib and the Flippy Snack Cup, as both solved design-problems I’d identified myself. When Hudson was using a bib routinely (we now only pull them out in particularly messy situations), we loved this drawer-style, which we nicknamed the “baby catch-all.” Hudson would even put food in his, just for the pleasure of fishing it out. But when we traveled, I’d opt for something fabric or rollable instead—something that easily fit in my purse. This would have been perfect! Bonus: its velcro even resisted his tugging when he inevitably went for the straps.
The Flippy Snack Cup is another forehead-smacking “finally!” First of all, I snuck our first snack cup into a shopping cart one day when Aron wasn’t looking. We weren’t totally in agreement about the need for a snack cup. I see his position: he feared the image of Hudson being rolled around in a stroller, mindlessly gobbling a giant pile of appetite-busting Cheerios, or cheddar bunnies, or raisins in a bottomless cup. It’s a valid concern, especially when the result can be so pleasant for the one behind those stroller handles. But every time I’d find myself reaching behind my seat while driving on a freeway, trying to pass Hudson something at 10:30am, I’d curse his reasonability and mumble to myself “I’m buying a snack cup!” (Aron has since come around, even if he still leans anti-snacking.)
So if you’re in my boat, here’s why this one made me say “finally!” It’s not huge. It holds a very reasonable, civilized 8 ounces, in a clear, attractive (gender-neutral) cup. The lid twists on and doesn’t come off easily, so that all the toddler will be wise to are the soft flaps on top. The handle is open ended, so you can link it onto your stroller hook when you need to set it aside. And, there is a snap-on plastic cover so that you can leave things in the cup and they don’t go stale. Why hasn’t anyone else come up with that? So, no more disposable plastic baggies!
These and their new Stroller Hook were my favorite for this stage in Hudson’s life, but they have a ton of great new stuff for the younger set. (That travel-sized dish rack with the the bottle brush and nipple cleaner, for example, would have come in handy when we were in St. Lucia—trying to wash and dry a million different little bottle and pump parts.)
P.S. The OXO Tot Plate
Full disclosure: this article is sponsored by OXO, but all opinions are my own.
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