Price Tag: $20.00
Official URL: cornbagcritters.com
Age Range: Child through adult (Not officially recommended for kids under 5)
Rating:

My son recently had his first ear infection. One of the things that soothes the pain of ear infections is moist heat. This child screamed every time we came near him with a hot washcloth, a water bottle, a heating pad.. Until we tried the Cornbag Critter. He was perfectly content to use a warm Bella as a soothing place to rest his head. I have a feeling that when he gets a boo-boo or has his first headache he’ll find her far more inviting than an ice pack, as well!

Cornbag critters are chenille critters that contain a muslin bag full of cracked feed corn. This bag can be microwaved or frozen and used hot or cold to sooth aches, to snuggle with in the winter, or even just to keep your child company during the night.

USES

Warm moist heat is great for aches and pains, ear aches, sore throats, warming up your child’s bed before bedtime, snuggling with during the winter, soothing belly aches and sore muscles. Cold is soothing for black eyes, bumped heads, injured muscles, headaches and strained puffy eyes. Because these little critters are friendly and soft, your child is less likely to pitch a fit about having to hold it against them. The fluffy chenille is also great for preventing chilling your child’s skin too much, or burning them which is a common risk of using ice packs or rice socks.

While the recommendation of the manufacturer is to not use this on children under 5, I have had great luck with this critter with infants (great for laying on their tummy when they have gas or colic), with toddlers (great for ear aches) and even with my husband (who loves it when his spot in bed is warmed up before bedtime) I use it often on myself as well. It’s great heated up on my shoulders when they’re sore after a long day. Or oddly enough the circular inner muslin bag is the perfect shape and size for a breastfeeding mom. Chilled it’s great for relieving engorgement, heated it’s great for increasing your response to the pump by relaxing you and stimulating let down.

Just be very careful that the cornbag is not overheated before giving it to your child. If it’s too hot to hold up against your bare belly when it’s outside of the critter cover, it’s too hot to give to your child. Wait until it cools off a little bit and make sure to shake the corn around to make sure that there are no hot spots. Do not allow a child under 5 to use the critter unsupervised, of course.

WHY CORN?

When corn is warmed up it emits a very steady source of moist heat. The corn used is cracked it won’t pop in the microwave. It’s similar to a rice sock but when it’s warmed up it smells more like pop corn than like really bad Mexican food. Corn is also larger than rice kernels which means it holds heat for a longer time. Corn bags tend to stay warmer longer and not overheat as quickly as rice socks.

STYLES & AESTHETIC

The style of these little Cornbag Critters is one part sock puppet and one part classic children’s illustration. Very cute. It comes in quite a few different styles including: Dog, bear, cat, monster, pig, duck and dinosaur. “Olive the bunny” is coming soon!

QUALITY & CONSTRUCTION

My son’s “Cornbag Critter” is Bella, the dog. This little dog is 8″ in diameter and is made of 100% cotton chenille. She has a ribbed texture that helps keep the heat and cold slightly away from your child’s skin to keep them more comfortable while still being therapeutic. Bella’s body is made of two dog-shaped pieces that are stitched together, rather than having ears attached to her body. This should extend her life a bit by avoiding the ever-common lost ear syndrome! Her seams are about 1/4″, single-stitched and hidden inside so that your child won’t feel them. Her eyes and nose are made of black felt circles that are stitched to the front.

In the center of the back of the critter is a slit about 5″ across that allows you to remove the cornbag itself so that you can wash the cover or heat/chill the bag. The edges of the opening are stitched inside and have the same 1/4″ seam as the rest of the bag.

Bella’s inner cornbag is about 8″ in diameter and is made of what seems to be unbleached cotton muslin. This fabric is very durable but thin which allows it to heat up quickly and radiate heat very well. The seams of the bag are all on the inside of the bag except for a segment about 3″ long where the seam is outside of the bag.  The stitching is very close and tight and durable thread was used.

The overall feeling of the bag is a very sturdy homemade construction that is cute, charming and friendly.

THE STORY

Apparently Cornbag Critters were born out of the childhood memories of its founder. Her grandmother would use cornbags to soothe booboos and tend to illnesses. When the founder grew up and had children of her own, she wanted to carry on the tradition with her children. Cornbag Critters are made in the USA.

CARE & USE

Do not microwave or freeze the cover itself. Take the corn bag out of the critter cover and heat or chill the corn bag. Replace it in the critter cover before giving it to your child. You will not want to get the cornbag itself wet, as the corn can spoil. The critter cover can be machine washed on the delicate cycle in a lingerie bag and air dried.

BOTTOM LINE

These little critters are versatile and a great addition to your “care” toolkit for the whole family. Tend boo-boos, ease aches and pains, snuggle with them on cold nights, or even chill them for hot days. They are affordable, long lasting, cute, and toddlers are far less intimidated by them than they are by heating pads or ice packs. Get one for everyone in your family!