Happi Tummi Vs. Dr. Brown's Gripebelt Vs. MEMEENO

You'll never know how an exhausted, sleepless parent feels like until you have a newborn. Although the experience may differ for each of us, most of us have encountered our newborn at his fussiest, crying for prolonged hours and unable to soothe.

As early as 2 to 5 weeks in a newborn's life, babies usually experience being gassy or colicky. Gassiness can be caused by many factors, such as bottle feeding, ineffective burping, crying for long hours, improper latching, etc. But for colic, the cause is still undetermined. Experts say it is possibly due to digestive problems, baby's sensitivity to formula, or they are still adjusting to their surroundings.

Read more about gassiness on Best Baby Feeding Advice

While parents have tried different ways to comfort their little ones (scheduled feeding, changing diapers, rocking, playing music, making white noise, etc.), they may have also been desperate to try other alternatives. As such, we have checked out these 3 popular baby products that are made specifically to aid your baby's fussiness, gas and colic.

Happi Tummi

Happi Tummi is a waistband that includes a herbal pouch inside. It helps calm a fussy baby suffering from gas, colic, constipation, or acid reflux. To make it work, it must be heated in a microwave for 15 seconds. Then, place the herbal pouch in the band's pocket and wrap it around your baby by a velcro strap. Available in two designs with different colors, the plush waistbands and the animal wraps.

Pros:

• For external use
• Herbal Pouch with soothing herbs
• Has adjustable velcro strap
• Reusable
• Available in plain and animal design

"My 2 month old has bad trapped gas almost constantly! This definitely isn’t a cure all but I feel like it relaxes him and soothes him enough to be able to fall asleep! I’m happy I got this!"

"We are first time parents and our baby girl has colic. We’ve experienced a witching hour every night since she was 3 weeks old. She has the hardest time passing gas and we’ve tried so many things. As you can imagine we were desperate to try anything. As soon as we put this on her it instantly calmed her and she fell asleep. We were very impressed and will definitely be using this moving forward. As of this experience alone I can say I highly recommend this!"

Cons:

• The packs can get overheated and burn the baby
• The herbal pack can get moldy and be a health hazard
• The herbal pack can get ripped, and the stuffing can fall out
• The herbal pack needs to be rebought when its no longer gives off a scent, which is costly
• The AAP has warned against weighted clothing on infants, which would include weighted packs on tummies
• The baby may pull off the belt with the plushie on top when it's on, and it could be a suffocation hazard.

"Unfortunately it’s “ears” stuck up and kept poking him in the face and he didn’t like that. He hated wearing something.
Overall really cute but for us, the warmie mini animals worked better. Cute, affordable, heated & scented and you can move them from belly to wherever."

"We weren’t impressed with this product. Not only did it not help our son’s tummy issues, it left a red mark on his stomach even though we used it outside his onesie. It made me hesitant about using it again."

Dr. Browns Gripebelt

It is a swaddling belt with a heated clay pack that can help soothe pain associated with colic and gas. Like, Happi Tummi, you can heat it in the microwave and wrap it around your baby's tummy; it also has an adjustable velcro. The only difference is that clay packs can also be frozen to relieve other pains. The swaddling belt also has keys to keep the baby entertained and distracted from her tummy pains. Available in different colors and designs too!

Pros:

• For external use
• Soft material
• Has attached keys for baby to play with and for distraction
• Includes a clay pack that can also be frozen to treat other pains
• Has adjustable velcro strap
• Available in toy-like animal design
• Reusable/ Handwashable

"This product worked very well, and it did not bother my baby being around it's belly I also liked that you can use it warm or cold like an ice pack I think this product is an awesome idea and definitely if you're looking to get a gift for a baby shower this would be very cute and nice."

"My daughter and new grandbaby came to stay with us for a month or two when Daddy had to go finish his deployment. One month old and little Man is having gas issues. One day, I stumbled on this little lamb and read the box. I brought it home and this Mamaw is so glad!! We use it with him almost daily and it is great to have around! My daughter discovered the clay pack works well for warm compresses as needed when pumping too!

Only problem is, it’s been less than a month and we need a replacement clay / gel pack. It seemed to have a bubble of some sort in it. I need to figure out how to order a replacement."

Cons:

• The packs can get overheated and burn the baby
• Based on feedback, the clay pack has the possibility to bubble
• The AAP has warned against weighted clothing on infants, which would include weighted packs on tummies
• The baby may pull off the belt with the plushie on top when it's on, and it could be a suffocation hazard.

"Too big for my baby
On my experience the gripe belt was too big and not wide enough for my baby.She was not comfortable with it cause the ears were on her face and she was not interested on the side toys. I ended up taking the clay bag and using it by itself and it did help her a lot. I use this myself on my cramps."

"Dr. Brown’s gave me this product to try and It’s a great product the only downside is with my son being able to roll over it moved too much and didn’t stay in place on him."

MEMEENO

Made of premium organic cotton, this band helps to calm and soothe your baby by applying "a little hug and a lot of warmth" on the tummy. It has an adjustable fastener that applies gentle compression on your baby's belly to help ease out gas and aid in colic and constipation. Unlike the previous bands, MEMEENO baby belly band is self-warming and does not need to be microwaved. It has three layers with a warm fleece lining. These layers use the baby's body heat to warm up to the perfect temperature for your baby's belly. MEMEENO uses the method of belly banding that is already been used all over the world and has been around for generations. The bands are available in different colors and trendy prints. The prints are water-based so it is safe for your little one.


Pros:

• Self-warming (no need to microwave)
• Made of premium organic cotton
• Non-invasive
• Has adjustable fastener
• Reusable/ Handwashable
• Available in trendy, classy prints (water-based; safe for babies)

"I got this with a little skepticism but I was also hopeful! This exceeded my expectations by far! I saw a very noticeable difference within 30 mins of my 6 week old wearing this! She suffers from terrible gas even after cutting dairy out! She slept so soundly for hours with this on. I’m a believer and totally recommend this to anyone with a colicky or gassy baby!!!"

"At first I was not sure about this product but what did I had to loose. I ran out of options. I was tired of hearing my LO crying from gas pain. When this arrived I was so happy honestly it worked right away now me and my partner can finally sleep in the night and nap during the day. I would definitely recommend."


Cons

• Not for babies with medical conditions (Gerd,etc.)
• Will not warm up as much as anything microwaved

"The band didn't do anything for my baby at all and I followed the directions and put it on as directed. Still giving it 3 stars though because it seems to be good quality and I understand that not everything works for every baby."

"Although I was very optimistic for this the product and the quality was great it didn’t help my little one. I plan trying it again when she is a little bigger."

Conclusion

Please know that these three products are designed to soothe and calm your baby and relieve them from gas and colic. It is still our responsibility to supervise and use them accordingly. We cannot guarantee that it will be loved by every baby as each baby is unique. It still depends on how your baby will respond to these products.