Guest Review: The Shaidee

My sister, Jacqueline, recently along with her husband and 9 month old daughter, we fortunate to be able to review The Shaidee. The Shaidee is new product created by a mom to fill the need of shading our little ones from the harmful rays of the sun, while being able to continue with the closeness of bonding created by a carrier. So below you will find Jacqueline's review and thoughts on the Shaidee.

My husband and I love to cruise and we booked a Caribbean cruise with our eight month old daughter.  The first of many, we hope.  People (mainly my MIL) were asking me why I would want to take an eight month old baby on a cruise to the heat of the Caribbean, was I crazy? Truthfully, there are many reasons....we love to cruise, I am on maternity leave so I'm not using my vacation leave, we want our daughter to travel with us in the future and wanted to start young, and it's the Caribbean, need I say more?  Any way, all these questions prompted me to search for products that we could use to keep baby shaded and cool.  

I came across the Shaidee when searching the internet for something that would allow me to use my carrier on the trip.  I have the Ergobaby carrier in BLACK, a petunia pickle bottom design.  What was I thinking when I bought a black carrier?  I guess I was thinking it's gorgeous. My daughter loves the carrier, she naps in the carrier and both of us love the closeness.  So I knew I would be using the carrier on the cruise, but how to keep baby cool?  

The Shaidee, I hoped?  I searched high and low to see where I could find something similar, yet there was nothing.  I sat there and thought, why didn't I invent this.  The Shaidee is very innovative; there seems to be nothing like it on the market.  The only option I had, other than the Shaidee was to carry an umbrella or throw a receiving blanket over the front of the carrier - both options were not practical. 

I received the Shaidee to review just a week before our trip.   It took just two days to receive.   The first thing I noticed when I received the package was how light the Shaidee is.  Weight was a concern for us as when cruising with a baby we were taking everything, including the kitchen sink with us, with all the diapers, wipes, food pouches, formula (just in case).... According to the Shaidee website it is just 4.5 ozs, we never weighed it but definitely it was light.  Also the package was very small, opening the box the Shaidee is in it's own handy carrier it is rolled small and takes up only about 4" x 12" of space...again, thinking of the luggage this is a great benefit.  The cover fit under our umbrella stroller storage when I brought my carrier along and needed to have it available.  The Shaidee also fit in our diaper bag easily.

Ok. So with all the preparing to get ready I didn't practice using the Shaidee nor was I able to take the box on the trip due to limited space.  I didn't put the Shaidee on before leaving. Oh no, right?  Not a problem. I was by myself while my husband was swimming and it was so bright. I had baby in the carrier and took out the Shaidee and thought I would have difficulty putting it on alone for the first time but I was able to easily put the Shaidee on by myself.  It was super simple to use.  It worked like a charm. I could tell that the baby was blocked from the sun.  The Shaidee did not interfere with the carrier or baby.  The fabric is soft and the Shaidee is flexible so there is no worry about irritating baby. 

The only thing I might recommend is a small window/ opening that closes with Velcro to see the baby through.  

I may also recommend an extension of the Shaidee of a UV cover that could hang down to cover the front/ legs maybe if the new Bug screen for Shaidee has uv protection.

Just as an FYI, the Shaidee is just $39.99 and a great investment for those who like baby wearing.

All in all I would definitely recommend the Shaidee to anyone who has a carrier. It appears to be adaptable to all carriers.  It allows mom to use the carrier and know her baby is protected from the harsh rays of the sun and enjoy baby wearing through the seasons and in the heat of the Caribbean.  Click here to find the Shaidee.  And take your baby on that sun destination vacation, just get a Shaidee and protect baby. Enjoy. 

~Jacqueline, new mom to a 9 month old Princess

Thanks Jacqueline for the informative review and for introducing us to the Shaidee! I wish I had known of this when my littles were babies!