I'm not someone who writes reviews. But Nelle was different.
I reached out to Nelle after Isla's second month in the TumbleBud. I'm not someone who does this. I've never left a product review in my life. But I felt like the least I could do was say something. They asked if I'd be happy to share my story here. So here it is.
Isla was about ten months old when she started pulling herself up on everything. The sofa, the coffee table, my legs. She was fearless in the way babies are, with absolutely no awareness of what happens when you let go.
We have hardwood floors throughout. I know a lot of people do now. It's just how homes look. But the moment she started pulling up I started dreading them. Every wobble, I was already moving.
Life before the TumbleBud. Every moment on the floor had me on edge.
Then one afternoon she went backwards while I was two metres away grabbing my phone. That sound. I can still hear it. She was fine. Completely fine. But I wasn't, not for a long time after.
I wasn't looking for a product. I was just looking for a way to stop holding my breath every time she stood up.
A friend sent me the TumbleBud link with basically no explanation, just "trust me." I looked at it and thought it seemed over the top. But I was googling infant concussion signs at 2am, so I bought it.
The first time she fell wearing it I was ready to lunge and then nothing happened. She bounced. Looked mildly confused. Carried on. No sound, no cry, no adrenaline spike through my chest.
I remember thinking: oh. That's it. That's all I needed.
It sounds small but after two weeks of not sleeping properly and hovering over her every second, that one moment changed something. I finally felt like I could just let her be a baby.
Isla in her TumbleBud. Crawling on those same hardwood floors. No fear.
She wore it every day for about two months. Right through the pulling-up phase and into her first steps. By the time she didn't need it anymore I'd completely forgotten what the anxiety felt like. Which I think is exactly the point.
I'm writing this because when I was in that fog of sleepless worry, a genuine account from another mom would have meant more to me than any product description. So if that's you right now, this is that account. It helped. It genuinely helped.
Isla is 18 months now. Running everywhere, climbing everything, completely fearless. The TumbleBud has been in a drawer for ages. But I still think about it every time I watch her go and I'm grateful it was there during that window.