Redoxon Kids Vitamin C Gummies: An Immunity Boost with Every Bite

As a Mum, one of the things I dread most is my children falling sick. Unfortunately, with the kids being in close proximity to other kids, especially with both of them in school now, it is almost inevitable that they'd be exposed to different bugs on a regular basis.

We've been pretty blessed, with both children being relatively healthy. They rarely fall ill, and when they do, they bounce back from it pretty quickly. I believe the best way to maintain this is to ensure that they are eating well. We eat at home regularly and I always try to make sure that we have vegetables at every meal, and plenty of fruits during the day. Of course, even the best laid plans can go awry, no thanks to uncooperative children. At times like these, I'm glad that there are supplements I can reach for to ensure that the kids are getting the vitamins and minerals that they need.

It is well-known that Vitamin C plays an important function in boosting immunity and keeping our bodies healthy. My husband is a big believer in this, and his daily routine includes taking at least one of Redoxon's effervescent Vitamin C tablets. Noey had in fact started following suit. He loves to ask for his own glass with half a tablet too (the recommended dosage for kids his age), which he would down with gusto. Meips isn't such a fan though, since fizzy drinks aren't really her thing.

So you can bet I was pleased to discover that Redoxon has recently launched a new line of Vitamin C Gummies for kids. If there is something my kids never turn down, it is gummies.

Not surprisingly, the kids love these Redoxon Kids Vitamin C gummies. They are really yummy! I know because I've been, erm, eating them myself. And adults are allowed up to 4 gummies a day! Boy, are my kids jealous since they get at most 2! The kids have been asking for them everyday and it really is win-win for me since I get to hand out a yummy treat and it's actually good for them, unlike other sugary treats that they hanker after.

In fact, it's been working so well that when I tried to explain to the kids about vitamins being found in vegetables, little miss Meips protested, insisting that "vitamins are treats!" Oops. At least I know that they are getting their required intake of Vitamin C everyday. Each Redoxon Kids Vitamin C gummy contains 30milligrams of vitamin C, meaning that just 1-2 gummies are sufficient to mean the kids' daily vitamin C requirements.

Redoxon Kids Vitamin C Gummies come in a handy re-sealable pack of 25 gummies (RP: $3.95), and an economical bottle of 100 gummies (RP: $14.50). However, just for a limited period, Redoxon has released a special twin pack with TWO 100ct bottles banded with a limited edition Disney On Ice Treasure Trove Treasure Chest!

What's more, Redoxon is also running a colouring contest in conjunction with The New Age Parents where FIVE WINNERS can stand a chance to win an exclusive Meet and Greet Session with Disney Characters and 4 x Category 1 tickets to Disney on Ice presents Treasure Trove!

Here's Noey's entry:

I don't think he'll be winning any prizes with that (colouring is not his strong suit) but I rewarded him with his Redoxon Kids Vitamin C gummy for the day and he was pretty chuffed.

You can get more information on the Redoxon Colouring Contest can be found here: http://thenewageparents.com/redoxon-colouring-contest. Form details can be downloaded here:  http://thenewageparents.com/downloads/redoxon_colouring_contest.pdf. Good luck and have fun!

Redoxon Kids Vitamin C Gummies new twin pack retails for $29, and is available at Guardian, Watsons, Unity, supermarkets, independent pharmacies, department stores and other leading retailers. Apart from the gummies, Redoxon also has a whole range of Vitamin C products for the entire family, including effervescent tablets, chewable tablets and capsules for adults and kids.

* This post was sponsored by Redoxon in conjunction with The New Age Parents.

Carrefour Little Ambassador 2012

I've lots of posts lined up, but first, an update on Naomi's Carrefour Contest because everyone has been asking me about it.

Well, Naomi didn't win. She didn't place either, and I'm a bit more disappointed about that because I honestly think she put up a good showing that afternoon and was one of the more cooperative babies. The event was held from 2-5pm in the afternoon, which was very challenging for all the children involved. Poor Naomi was nodding off on my shoulder just before she was due to participate in the walking/running race, but she roused herself after I gave her a banana for a snack. Still, it was the slowest I've ever seen this little girl move. I guess I'm just glad she made it through the entire afternoon without any fuss. She's a trooper, my little baby, she is.

Now, how about some pictures as I re-count the day?

Bright-eyed and bushy tailed at the start, it's Naomi, Contestant No. 2!

I'd agonised a little over her outfit, and, after canvassing opinions from friends and family inevitably left me feeling more confused, I decided to go with this happy yellow Gap DvF dress. This was DD's choice, and I thought it'd stand out. It definitely did! The short skirt made for a pretty chic look too.

Saying "Hi" with Mummy. Figured I'd get in some practice with her.

This dress turned out to be a good choice also because, for some reason, Naomi decided it'll be fun to keep lifting up her dress to show everyone her tummy. The double layer of the dress came in useful in this regard and kept her modest!

Wanna see my tummy?

Segment 1 was the Parent intro. It was a good thing Naomi was 2nd up as it left me less time to get nervous.

 It's our turn on stage! The emcee was wearing a rather interesting outfit...

I had prepared a short speech which needed some cooperation from Naomi to pipe up with a couple of words. She managed a wave and a "Mama", but was otherwise fascinated with the microphone and attempted to put it in her mouth when I offered it to her. Haha.

Waving to everyone. 

I was insecure enough to bring my script with me on stage and made the mistake of blocking Naomi's face with the paper at certain points. Argh. On hindsight, maybe I should have gone with the Q&A format with the emcee that most of the other parents relied on. That might have put less stress on me too. This segment was a bit of a blur to me but DD assured me that it came off well. I was certainly glad when our turn was over!

We waited for all the rest of the contestants to make their introductions, then came the interesting part -- Segment 2: the Talent Showcase!

So what did I get Naomi to do in the end? We decided to showcase her "Death Grip". When I was trying to decide on a "talent" for her, I decided that it had to be something that was easy to execute and that she enjoyed to increase the chances of her pulling it off on stage. I ruled out action songs, making animal sounds, or dancing because there was a good chance she would just stand there and stare at the audience.

In the end, her talent was a brain wave on the part of my sister. Naomi is actually able to hold on to things really tightly and hang from a monkey bar. It's actually pretty amazing, considering she could do this at 12/13 months. So I came up with a little story about how she can hold on to things so tightly that we could lift her off the ground and she would still not let go.

We're up! Check out the emcee's questioning face.

Here's what I said:

Hi Everyone!

In today's talent segment, we thought we'd show you something we like to call Naomi's Death Grip. What is that? It is her ability to hang on to something so tightly that it is extremely difficult to pry it from her grip. This is a skill she has perfected with the help of her personal trainer, also known as her Gor-gor Noah, who helps her practice by attempting everyday to snatch toys out of her hands. Her grip is so good that she can hang on to a bar even if I lift her off the ground. And that's what we're going to show you today.   

And this is what she did:

Off the ground! I just love the emcee's shocked expression in this photo. 

All smiles when she reaches the ground because she LOVES doing this.

We do it again, just in case you missed that. Whee!

I was very proud of that act, which went without a hitch.

After that, as the rest of the contestants took their turns, Naomi started to fade. At one point, we saw her closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep on my shoulder. Unfortunately this was minutes before Segment 3, which was a running race, so I had to wake her up.

Sleepy baby, ready to doze off. It was already 4pm so I don't blame her.

Had to revive her by giving her the banana that I had originally intended to use to entice her to run over to me across the race track.

Still, she just wasn't in the mood for a race when the time came and she walked uncertainly over to me. Like I said earlier, I've never seen this girl move so slowly when I'm waving food at her. I guess it was just bad timing.

Ironically the banana did eventually wake her up and transform her back into her usual energetic self, but it was too late by then. Considering how I used to tank up on bananas during races, it should have occurred to me to give it to her earlier! Well, lesson (re-)learnt.

Revived by banana! And sharing a happy moment with Mummy and Nai-nai.

After all 3 segments were completed, the judges left to deliberate, and the kids in the audience were treated to a magic show. Noey loved it and found it incredibly funny, but the adults thought the magician's joke were of questionable taste.

The magician finished his act and it was time for the results. After everything, it was a bit of an anticlimax for us, because Naomi didn't win or place. I was disappointed, and immediately also felt sorry for the grandparents and family members who sacrificed their afternoon to support Naomi. Another parent, the father of another really cute boy, Kieran, even told me that he thought Naomi would win. That was really nice of him. I just smiled in response because I couldn't bring myself to say anything at that point.

Boo, you mean I didn't win?

I'm over it now. Going into this, I knew the competition would be tough. The kids were really cute. When everyone assembled at the start, DD told me he'd never seen so many big-eyed, cute babies in one space. And to qualify as one of the top 10 out of a field of over 550 participants is pretty amazing. Plus we did get $100 in Carrefour vouchers and a number of newspaper clippings to boot.

I know we gave it our best shot, and I'm happy with that.

Now, I'm re-thinking joining any more contests because man, that finals experience was draining and really hard work!

Little Nadyne, who was the eventual winner of the competition. She was very taken with Naomi's bell toy so I let her hold it for a bit. She is a cute one, isn't she? I thought she'd win, based on the photos of the finalists, and she really did. Congratulations!

In closing, I'd like to thank everyone for your support, in liking Naomi's picture, or letting me know that you were behind us. Thanks guys, it meant a lot. We hope we did you proud. 

Top 10

If you had flipped through Today on Friday, you might have noticed a familiar little face in an ad on page 59:

Yup, there in the top right corner is Naomi!

I did it again, I must admit. I signed Naomi up for another baby contest. (Only this one and no other. Yet.) Riding on the feeling of a missed chance from the previous baby contest, I saw the call for entries and thought: Why not? The top prize of $2,000 and a 1-year baby modelling contract with Carrefour was certainly attractive! I confirmed that there was no need to canvass for votes and that the final was not on a Sunday, then went ahead to submit a picture.

I then forgot about it, until I got a call in late April informing me that Naomi was one of the 10 finalists. From a total of over 550 entries, I think it's quite an achievement.

They informed us at a pre-event briefing that an ad would be run in Today. I mentioned in passing to my helper that we should look out for it and the very next day, she excitedly thrust the ad under my nose the minute I woke up. 

The grandparents were, understandably, very excited and proud to see Naomi's photo in the papers. My Mum had come over to our place for the day and she was busy on her phone the whole time, messaging and receiving messages from her friends about it.

It all culminates in the final, which will be held this coming Saturday at 2pm at Suntec City in the atrium outside Carrefour. There are 3 segments: (1) A Parent-Child Catwalk with an introduction by the parent, which would be me in this case, (2) A Talent segment (!!!), and (3) A Foot Race. I think only the foot race will be easy! At least that's straight-forward. I've been cracking my head about the other two segments, particularly the talent segment. "Talent" is defined very loosely when referring to a 1-year old! Let's see how it goes on Saturday.

Anyway, if you'd like to support Naomi, you can click on this link and like her photo in the contest album or leave a message for us. Or, if you happen to be around in Suntec on Saturday, come round and say hi! 

I'll check back in again after it's all over with an update on how it went. Honestly, I'm not expecting her to win because most of the kids are really cute. I'm aiming to have fun - and no meltdowns! Winning would be a bonus!

My Little Baby Fashionista

Mummy confession: I've become one of those Mums.

What Mums, you ask? The Mums who enter their kids in Baby Contests. And yes, messages everyone to vote for her. Oops.

I guess like every mother, I think my baby is really cute. So when I walked past a poster in United Square asking: "Does your baby possess the Cute-Factor?", I couldn't resist. Besides, the prize included the opportunity to be featured in Today's Parents magazine. If you know me, you'll know that is something I get really excited about. "The chance to be famous!" my husband would tease. I thought it was worth a shot.

I submitted this photo of Naomi and was quite happy that she was shortlisted. That is, until I realised that they pretty much shortlisted everyone who submitted a photo! That's how it seemed at least. And worse, 30% of the judging criteria was based on Facebook voting. I dislike voting because I think a baby contest should be judged and not reduced to a popularity contest. Also, this meant that in order to ensure that Naomi stood a chance, I would have to ask friends to vote for her -- and in the process let everyone know that I have become part of the baby-contest-joining crowd. Argh.

I decided to do a shout-out just once, to keep her in the running, and was very grateful for the support I received from friends and family. Thanks a bunch guys! You know who you are. I didn't want to be aggressive about it, but I thought she'd better have some votes. The most popular babies had over 500 votes! Wow.

We then had to take her down to the mall to have some shots taken by the official photographer at the event on a Saturday morning. It wasn't a good week though. Naomi had developed diarrhea during the course of the week and by Saturday I was starting to get worried. Thankfully, other than the constant pooping, she remained in good spirits. We had an early timeslot which was kind of close to her nap time, but Naomi, she just loves being out. She was also fascinated by all the folks staring at her. My kids are totally not camera shy, thanks to Papa always pointing one in their face, so after warming up, the photographer got some good shots, including one which we could choose to print out and bring home to keep.

Late that night, I got an SMS from the organisers saying that she had been selected for the finals. I was thrilled. And felt vindicated. There, I knew my baby was cute! Haha.

Considering that her category was the most competitive, with over 100 entries, I thought it was pretty decent that she made it to the top 20. Especially since she wasn't part of the top 20 when it came to votes.

Alas, I realised only from that SMS that the final would be at 12pm on Sunday. Sunday is generally tricky enough since we have church. But that particular Sunday, DD was teaching Sunday School after service, and my helper was scheduled to be off. It was just a logistical challenge to get to the event by 12pm. Plus Naomi was still having diarrhea and I didn't know if it would be a good idea to tax her out with the event, which was scheduled to run from 12pm to 3pm.

In the end, I made the painful decision to withdraw her. I messaged the organiser back that night, thinking that they could get a replacement finalist, but later I realised they just named 19 finalists in her category instead.

So that was that for Naomi's first baby contest. To this day, I'm still not sure who won! I checked, but they didn't post the results on their Facebook page.

Of course now that I've done it, I'm thinking: Should I enter her in more contests? Oh dear, it is a slippery slope indeed!