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£19.99
Laura Bown 'Living With' the Outlook Sleep-Pod
My name is Laura, I’m 32 and live in Derbyshire with my husband John and our two children. Lucy is nearly three and our latest addition is Charlie who is just 8 weeks. I’m currently on maternity leave so busier than I have ever been! The week is taken up with nursery, playgroups and outings. I don’t drive so do a lot of walking & using public transport. We live in a semi rural area just outside the peak district, so like to take advantage of where we live and explore.
Living With Review
Jump to a Month: April 2013 | May 2013 | July 2013 | Final Summary
First Impressions
I’m quite excited when the post arrives to find my Outlook Sleep pod from Cheeky Rascals on the doormat. The first thing I did was take it out if the packaging and inspect it thoroughly. It seems well made, the zips, toggles and elastics seem sturdy. You don’t really need the instructions but I read them all. Apparently one size fits most prams, car seats & pushchairs. Charlie is only 9 weeks so I will be mainly using the sleep pod on the Dreami carry cot on my Quinny Speedi.
I set about fitting the sleep pod. It really is very easy, you use the hood of the carrycot / pushchair or car seat and just stretch it over the rest. There is then some hooks and elastics to attach to the pushchair (See picture attached). It fits the dreami well, providing a lot of shade. I’m looking forward to using it when we are out and about!
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There may be a bit of snow still on the ground but there is
also a lot of sun! This morning we went to a local food market. It’s quite
windy so I’m quite glad we’ve got the Sleep pod on as it provides that bit more
protection than just the carrycot. Charlie is quite happy with the sleep pod
on, I tend to keep it half open or with the mesh on, just so I can see him all
the time.
April the 12th 2013
Whilst Lucy was enjoying a day with the grandparents, I decided to go for a browse round the shops in town. Charlie really didn’t want to and would much rather have been awake and held by mummy all morning. So I popped him in the pram and used the sleep pod to keep it nice and dark and after a bit of a walk he fell fast asleep. He stayed asleep all the time I was out (3 hours), which is fab for one of his fussy days.
April the 16th 2013
April the 22nd 2013
One of those days today where we have a million & one things to do. We pick lucy up from preschool and head to have the tyres done on the car. Whilst we are waiting we go for some lunch & a wander round the park. Charlie was fast asleep in the car, so I pop the sleep pod over the car seat & use it on the pushchair frame. It fits quite well, but I must say I don’t like how it looks. But it does the job, Charlie stays asleep, whilst sheltered from the wind & sun.
April the 29th 2013
I'm finding that I’m using the sleep pod more and more. I find it very useful if Charlie is already asleep. Transferring him into the carrycot then putting it on means he has a darker place to sleep and doesn’t wake up. It is so much easier than messing about with a parasol. One downside is the way it folds into it’s little pouch. It just folds in on it’s self, which is great, but there is no mechanism to keep the pouch closed which I have found a bit annoying. It would also be nice if there was a way of fixing it to the pushchair frame whilst it is in it’s pouch, so it stays handy and doesn’t get lost.
A lovely sunny day here, and I’m finding the sleep pod very useful. Daddy is at work so today is a picnic by the river and a play date in the park. It really is much more useful than a parasol as I know that Charlie is fully protected & I’m sure he sleeps for longer as it is darker. When we get home I park the pushchair in the conservatory and leave him asleep. It really is useful, especially as he is so young. Although I still put sun cream on him when we are out and about, I don’t have to worry too much about re-applying it all the time. I tried to take a nice picture but Lucy refused to pose today!
May the 10th 2013
We are generally using the sleep pod every day. Charlie tends to nap when he is in the pushchair and it definitely helps him to drift off. We also use it on the car seat, it is a lot easier than having lots of window shades up. I’m not sure if I would find it as useful with an older child. Lucy was very nosey from around the age of 1, and I’m not sure she would have liked having her view obstructed so much.
May the 16th 2013
Went on an adventure today! Just a local theme park, but Lucy loved it. In the rush to get everyone out of the house I forgot the sleep pod. So today has been spent repositioning the pushchair so it wasn’t in the suns glare, not fun. Also had to improvise and use a blanket as a sunshade. See the picture attached. I also missed it in the car as we use it on the car seat. I now realise how much I love my sleep pod. I love the additional shade it gives the carry cot, I like the options it provides with the mesh, full cover or open. I do wish that it had some way of attaching it to the pushchair when folded into it’s pouch. We rarely take it off the carrycot, this was one of the few times, it was chucked in the basket of the pushchair, but had fallen out when loading the pushchair into the car.
Today I have used the sleep pod on the car seat & the stroller. Lucy had a fancy dress birthday party to go to, to get there we needed to catch 2 buses but we had a lift arranged to get back. So I need to take the car seat with me. It’s sunny & hot, so we use the sleep pod. The only place to store the stroller when we get there is outside, so I use the sleep pod to cover the seat and hide all the extra clothes I have to leave on the stroller. I did get a comment when on the bus – ‘Is there a baby in there?’ I reply ‘Yes and he’s asleep!
June the 8th 2013
Not really left the house much in the last 2 weeks. We
started potty training Lucy then 3 days later she got chicken pox. I've
only really used the sleep pod a couple of times, mainly when trying to
get Charlie to have a daytime nap in the pram. I think it has helped
him settle.
June the 15th 2013
New Pushchair! Got myself a
bargain on ebay, a Bugaboo Frog. Tried out the sleep pod on the carry
cot and it fits really well, and looks a lot better than it did on the
Quinny. _500.jpg "sleep pod June 15th 2013 (2) 250")
I really dolove how versatile the sleep pod is. It fits well on
everything I've tried so far, be it pushchair or car seat. We go on
holiday to Wales next week, one of the things definitely on my list is
the Sleep-pod. I find it so much easier than a parasol.
June the 20th 2013
Well Charlie has Chicken pox now! I've been using the
sleep pod this week whilst dropping Lucy at pre school. Some of the
children like to come and say hello to Charlie in the pram whilst I sort
out Lucy's coat and bag, so to keep them away I've had it in 'full'
mode. One mum has been very impressed with it and has already ordered
her own.
Overall we love the sleep pod. The fact that it is so versatile and fits on everything, car seats, carry cots, pushchairs & strollers make it great value for money. I much prefer it to a parasol for sun protection. We haven’t really used it with a pushchair, so I’m not sure if a nosey baby would think it gets in the way of their view or not.
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