Disclaimer: Customer stories and testimonials on this page may speak to a customer’s individual experience with the Otteroo and their child’s impairment. These stories and testimonials may not reflect all Otteroo experiences. The Otteroo is intended to provide buoyancy to promote free movement in the water to support natural development and is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease or condition.
Teddy, now 4 months old, used to constantly wake up at night, screaming in pain from his bad reflux. Until his parents figured out that giving him a 20-minute vertical bath with the Otteroo after his feedings got rid of his midnight reflux waking AND helped him start sleeping long stretches at night!
When did you get the Otteroo for Teddy?
We got the Otteroo MINI while we were pregnant. He had his first bath with it! So, he was two weeks old.
What did you think about Otteroo the first time you encountered it?
I thought it was super cute. I'm not a very anxious person so I watched the videos, I think on Facebook, and it looked super cute and it looked a lot easier to wash the baby than all the other different ways.
I think babies want to move so badly, but they're not able to, so he loves bath time
How did Otteroo make it easier to bathe Teddy?
When they're a newborn, they're just so floppy. It was really nice to be able to bathe him in it. It feels very sturdy, and it’s easier than having to put them in a baby tub. Otteroo lasted longer for him, too (than a traditional baby tub), because Teddy just got really tall, really fast. He's in the 90th percentile for height so he's already getting close to 28 inches. We have the LUMI now and we use it in the pool.
How did you make the connection that Otteroo could help with Teddy’s reflux?
There’s a popular influencer, Taking Care of Babies, and we took the newborn class from her. She talked about how if you have reflux-y babies, putting them upright in a tub can help with reflux. But, there's not really any other good way to get the baby upright in a tub than in the Otteroo where they're basically almost standing.
Teddy would wake up screaming from reflux, like in pain. So, what we did was breastfeed him before bath time and then the Otteroo props him up and that helps. We’d do that for 20 or 30 minutes, and it basically took care of the nighttime wakes from reflux. We were doing it every night because it was working for the reflux, and he started sleeping really long stretches really fast.
It’s the thing we looked forward to the most every day because we were actually getting to play and interact with our newborn who was sleeping the rest of the time.
What are some other benefits you saw with Otteroo baths?
It’s just really relaxing for the baby, and it's good to have in your pocket on a night where they are really over tired. It can calm them down. You also can't do a lot with a newborn, so it's really fun to be able to play with them in the Otteroo. It’s the thing we looked forward to the most every day because we were actually getting to play and interact with our newborn who was sleeping the rest of the time.
Now, he loves swimming, and I think that's because he’s been doing Otteroo from the beginning. He's felt comfortable in the water from the start. I love swimming so I'm really excited that he seems so into it already. This is going to be really fun!
Sounds like he really loves to move!
I think that Otteroo baths really helped him. I think babies want to move so badly, but they're not able to, so he loves bath time. He can now roll over both ways and do all these different things and even sit up. I think it's because he was just getting all that extra exercise and freedom. He’s very strong.
What would you say to people who are on the fence about a neck floatie?
I think people are a little hesitant with it being around the neck. It looks weird to a lot of people at first. I worked in special education before I had this guy so I’ve seen different things used for physical therapy.
We went to the pool this weekend and it’s really cool to see him being able to try to reach and chase after objects in the pool and try new things like that. He's not really able to yet, but it's cool to watch him turn and see what he's interested in. I just think you get to kind of see a little bit more of their personality and what they would do if they could move freely.
Yeah, we are a big fan. We have convinced other friends to grab Otteroo, too.