Recently I had the privilege of receiving a baby gift from Luisa, the Perth-based maker and designer of My Little Love Heart, an Australian boutique specialising in handmade baby bibs, burp cloths, teethers and hair accessories.
Attending or planning a baby shower? See my recommendations on the best baby gifts for new parents.
Since this is my third boy, I really wasn’t planning on doing much shopping, so this newborn gift set came as a pleasant surprise. The parcel arrived within two days of being dispatched and Luisa was extremely prompt with updates and responses.
As this is a gift box, I will break down the review into each product component and its materials and design.
Bandana Bib & Baby Bib
Materials
The front of the bibs is made from 100% cotton and has a soft, almost velvety, feel to it. The thick backing is terrycloth made with 70% cotton 30% bamboo – a natural eco-friendly material, highly absorbent in nature and great for sensitive skin.
My first thought was that these bibs would’ve been perfect for my first two boys. They were both early teethers and heavy droolers, easily soaking through two bibs each day. I’ve found that most commercial bibs available in stores are not truly absorbent, for some reason the front material always repeals a bit of saliva, even though they’re not waterproof bibs.
The excess moisture creates a lot of dampness around the boys’ chins, making the skin red and irritated, worsening their eczema. The constant moist state of those bibs also meant they either went mouldy or started smelling really bad after a while.
But with these thick 100% natural bibs from My Little Love Heart, I knew instantly that my third boy will have none of those issues. Bamboo and cotton are both natural materials well known for their softness and high absorbency.
Design
I love gender-neutral designs, and this truly Australian design featuring Koalas in a limited, soft colour palette instantly captured my heart. The fact that Luisa included two different types of bibs in one gift set is also very clever.
Most gift sets I’ve seen only have one type of bib. However, the bandana bib, while very stylish and great for going out, does not have a surface area as big as the standard baby bib, so I tend to see it as more of a fashion accessory. The standard bib, on the other hand, is a great all-purpose bib for feeding and playing.
Having both designs in one set comes in handy for the style-conscious mamas, especially because they’re matching prints and can easily be swapped around if one gets too wet when the baby is out-and-about.
Lastly, both bibs come with two adjustable snap buttons, which trumps velcro bibs any day. Velcro ones are incredibly short-lasting due to wear and tear, especially if you have a strong baby who can easily rip them off.
Adjustable buttons also mean you can increase the neck space as your baby grows, making each bib longer lasting.
The snap buttons are durable and easy to snap together, yet strong enough that I’m confident no baby can pull it apart. This is particularly useful for fussy babies who refuse to keep their bibs on.
Burp Cloth
Materials
Like the bibs, this burp cloth is made from 100% cotton on the front and terrycloth on the back.
Design
Now I have to admit before I received this, I always thought burp cloths were just like handkerchieves, or whatever pieces of fabric you have lying around that you can use as a cover while burping the baby.
I was surprised and also intrigued that this one is nicely thick and soft, about 45cm long and 22cm wide. When fully opened, it’s shaped like a peanut – slightly narrower towards the middle, like a waistline.
I’ve learnt that this particular design allows for the burp cloth to fit easily under the baby’s chin, or over your shoulder and around your neck when you’re burping the baby. The length of it provides enough catchment area for any spews. Absolutely genius!
Wooden Teething Ring
Materials
The fabric over the teether is the same as the bibs and burp cloth, and the teether itself is made from a 65mm beech hardwood ring. It is 100% organic and natural with no chemicals, tested to the mandatory Australian Standard AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2013 for teething toys. The rings are also coated with a handmade certified organic beeswax blend that is handmade in Australia.
Anyone with a teething baby will know how much they love to put things in their mouths. While BPA-free rubber and plastic teething toys are also safe for babies, they are still synthetic materials at the end of the day, so the slightly sceptical part of me is always just a tad worried about overuse.
Between a synthetic product and a natural one, I would choose the natural teether in a heartbeat, any day.
Design
Its called a Bunny Teething Ring for apparent reasons – you can really see the adorable resemblance to a bunny!
The round, thick ring makes it easy for chubby little hands to grip onto, and the fabric provides an additional sensory texture for baby to chew on. But what I’m most impressed about is how the designer label is sewn to sit perfectly in the middle of the ring, between the two bunny ears.
Every stitch in the entire baby gift box is neat, straight and tight. These are the little details that reflect the love, craftsmanship and dedication in handmade products.
A Perfect Handmade Baby Gift Set
In closure, I’ll say that if you are someone who likes to support small and buy local, My Little Love Heart is the online baby gift shop you should definitely check out. It’s no wonder she has perfect five-star reviews on Facebook.
If you prefer to have a feel of it first, Luisa’s beautiful range is also stocked in stores across Australia. For more updates and inspiration, you can follow her on Instagram.
For more gift ideas, check out my review of the Amazon AU Baby Registry to see how you can claim a FREE baby essential gift box.
