First, let me say I was looking forward to start using the baby bullet for my daughter at about 4 months. I knew it was going to be a gimmick, but I figured it looked pretty convenient, and my 4 year old niece saw it and wanted us to get it so she could "help" with making the baby food. It truly is easy enough that a supervised four year old can put the short cup into the unit and turn it on and off.
What is included? (in my set anyway)
Six small containers with date dials and lids
A freezer tray/lid for six servings
A batch bowl for larger batches/blender lid
A short cup for smaller batches and use with the milling blade/storage lid
A milling blade for rice/grains/oatmeal
A regular blade for fruits/veggies/protein
A thin spatula
Power Base
Pocket Nutritionist
Cookbook
At first, using the short cup and regular blade, everything was great. The bullet is easy to use, offers helpful suggestions for different foods for each stage, and VERY easy to clean. The storage system is cute, and the dating on the little storage cups was handy when my daughter wasn't eating as much food each day as she is now. I had thought I had found the perfect baby shower gift for my friends and family from now on. Unfortunately, the bubble burst.
When I tried to use the milling blade, it was obvious pretty quickly that when it had been manufactured the plastic on the side of the blade casing had warped and cracked. This made the milling blade unusable, and tore up the sealing gasket when I did attempt to use it.
I contacted baby bullet for a replacement. They gave me a very difficult time about my proof of purchase, as it had been purchased online. Finally I got them to agree to send me a new milling blade (after receiving a lecture about the gasket causing all the problems... what?), and they insisted I pay $3.99 for shipping to replace the milling blade. Uh... no. We discussed the value of good customer service... and let's just say I didn't pay for shipping for the blade. I did receive it about a week after my last call to them.
Now, shame on me for this... but at the time that happened, I didn't check the rest of the pieces. I was annoyed enough at that point and the runaround I was getting, and it simply didn't occur to me.
My daughter is just shy of seven months, and is eating far more food at a sitting. This morning, I decided to try to use the batch bowl for the first time. As soon as I tried to put the lid on the top of the batch bowl, I knew there was a problem: It wouldn't seal. A quick look, and sure enough, both the lid and batch bowl were warped as the milling blade had been, so the lid cannot possibly connect securely to the bowl. This isn't just annoying it's dangerous.
They'll be getting ANOTHER call from me tomorrow. If they replace the parts, I will admittedly keep using the bullet. It earned its two stars from being convenient and easy to use when the products are made properly.
Sorry Baby Bullet... but you need to work on quality assurance on the manufacturing lines. If your product arrived in a usable condition, you'd get a four or five star review from this first time mom. But having to fight with customer service to replace what you just didn't care to make correctly the first time? Yeah... I'll take my business elsewhere, and will be instructing my friends and family not to waste their money, no matter how cute and convenient this product may seem.
New Moms: GET A GOOD QUALITY FOOD PROCESSOR AND STORAGE CONTAINERS THAT WORK FOR YOU! Skip this product. There are enough alternatives out there that will meet and exceed your expectations, don't waste your money.
If you do purchase it, check everything immediately, and before you get rid of the box. Test it all out, and if you have a problem, return the whole thing.
***Update 13 October 2011***
The day after this review was posted, and prior to my calling their customer service, I received a call on my cell phone from Baby Bullet Customer Service. We discussed this issue, as well as another I had discovered -afterposting the review: I found that a couple of lids for the dial cups were beginning to show signs of breaking down, i.e. warping (common trend...) and chipping on the inside lip. The CS rep did say that there were some issues with people putting pieces in the dishwasher, and my set had stated it was dishwasher safe (since changed), that was probably the issue? ...all of the bullet pieces I have have been handwashed only, never in the dishwasher. The product I received is just... poor quality.
We also discussed the smell of the motor in the unit that others have mentioned in other reviews, but we agreed that I should wait to have that replaced, as the motorbase is still functioning well.
The woman who contacted me was very pleasant and helpful, and kept our conversation brief, which was appreciated, as I was at work. She stated that I should receive the items (batch bowl and lids) in the mail in 7-10 days. This was September 26th. Yesterday (2 1/2 weeks after I posted the review) I received the package. The batch bowl as promised, and... TWO dial CUPS. No dial cup LIDS. Sigh. Two of my lids have broken down thus far, it's only a matter of time before more do. I suppose I'll have to wait AGAIN for the two that they've decided I'm allotted this time around, and then as I notice the others break down, contact them and wait an additional two weeks per lid for the replacements?
I will say that it's very clear the quality of the product has improved significantly from my set to the new product; the plastic of the batch bowl is firmer, and is more clear; so some quality issues have been addressed between the production of my set and the production of the replacement parts that were sent. I'd really just like to be able to trust this product and have a set that is safe and... works?
I sent off an email a few minutes ago, and am hoping this is resolved quickly. By the time I have a fully functioning set, my daughter will have outgrown the product.
***Update 7 November 2011***
Emails with Baby Bullet resulted in my receiving four new lids, in two different shipments, a few days after the emails were sent. But, as predicted... my 8 month old daughter no longer wants anything to do with most pureed or blended food. AWESOME.
At least I have serving-size containers to store her chopped & cooked food?
I now have a pretty applesauce and sweet potato maker.
I normally don't write reviews, but there weren't any for this product and being a first time mom myself, I want to make sure someone finds mine very imformative.
So far, I enjoy using my baby magic bullet. I was contemplating between this product and the Baby Baeba and I am so glad I saved the extra money! (I went to Buybuy Baby and used the 20% coupon so 20% off of $59.95 is such a deal!) Granted, the Baeba is also a steamer, but I can steam my own food...the extra step is not a big deal to me as it may be for others. Besides, it's not like you have to use a huge pot...just a medium saucepan is suffice for a whole batch. The only precautions are:
1. Make sure you screw on the base very tightly. I must have not, and the bottom leaked into the actually blender. I didn't wipe it up right away and it dried up in the push-down mechanism of the blender causing it to stick easily. There are 3 "push-down mechanisms" along the rim of the bullet and the problem with it sticking is that, obviously, when you want to stop blending and let go, it can still keep blending until the "push down mechanism" slowly rises up. I just had to clean it up by using a screwdriver to push it up and down until it was "sticky free" again and now it works like new again! (I made sure it was unplugged of course while cleaning).
2. Make sure you DO NOT fill past the max line. There is not a line drawn out, but I must have overfilled it past this imaginary line and when I started to blend with the lid on, it initially spewed out the spout and the sides. this can be bad if the food is still hot. Therefore, I just made sure to wait until the food was cooled down. OR, just make sure you cut the food into small pieces (1/2" x 1/2"). I think when I cut the sweet potato, I sliced them thin rather than cubing them and perhaps that made the blades easier to cut through and causing higher speeds? I'm not sure, but cubing them worked without having to wait for it to cool down. I had a dishcloth over the top too, in case it spewed out.
FYI, for all the 1 stage food babies, make sure you strain the puree before feeding your baby. My pediatrician recommended that to me and I'm glad she did. At first, I didn't think I needed to strain it because the puree looked so smooth and perfect, but low and behold, when I did, there were strings from the pear or parts of the apple core that I though I cut out were filtered out with the strainer. (I used a small metal strainer, the kind you use to sift flour).
One last thing, although it does say that it is TOP RACK dishwasher safe, I haven't tried cleaning these in the dishwasher yet because of fear that my dishwasher will leave soapy residue as it typically does with my tupperware. Perhaps the other reviewer that complained of the materials being cheap, put their components on the bottom rack and that's why it melted? I just pre-rinse them as I put them in the sink so it's not difficult to wash.
Overall, I love this thing and I have fun making my daughter's food. She's been eating solids since 4 months and she eats all of it! I'm going to see if they sell the rubber tray separately so I can freeze more at one time.
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I was fortunate enough to recently attend a demonstration of the Baby Bullet as they are being slowly rolled out for sale in stores and although the demo was informative, it was nothing compared to getting the little guy home and putting him to work.
I have two six months old babies in my house who are raring to go for solid foods! So far, thanks to the Baby Bullet, we've hit a bull's eye with avocado, pears and sweet potato. I can't wait to have them try the zucchini I made and froze yesterday for them to try when their three days of sweet potato is done. The bullet is so easy to use and clean up is a breeze. I tried using my food processor, but at this point with the small batches I am making, as they are just trying new foods, it just wasn't up to par. It was too big for the job.
The current retail price, now that they are available in stores (sans the $40 shipping and handling mentioned in the other review), allowed me to purchase two sets for $60 each and if I do come across a problem I'm confident that I can simply return it to the store I purchased it at.
The pop-out freezing molds for storage are just as easy to use as they say. I definitely recommend popping them out into a large bowl or pan. They are slippery little things! They also mentioned in the demo that you can put the little containers in warm water for 20 minutes and they will thaw and be ready to serve, but it took a bit longer. I will go with their other advice of moving the containers intended for the next day into the fridge the night before from now on.
All in all, in the four days I've had my Baby Bullet I have been very pleased. I even used it to make myself some whipped cream for my cocoa, and a fruit smoothie with my four year old! :-)
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My son was diagnosed with lead poisoning,and a risk assessor was unable to determine a source in our home. Our water was tested, and we determined that to be a primary source. We tested some products used by our son with a hardware store lead test kit.
The only items to test positive were the Baby Bullet and a lead fishing sinker, which we used as a control. From what I have read, home test kits may give false positives a majority of the time and just a few times may give false positives.
The parts that tested positive were the nuts on the bottom side of each blade component (the green units that insert into the power base) as well as a space between the blades and green plastic, which may come into contact with food.
I got my BB in December 2011. I wonder if it is possible this system could have helped elevate my son's blood lead level?
I called BB and asked how I could get an answer as to whether or not lead parts are used to manufacture the system. I was told to email customer service in order for my concern to be addressed by someone who would know more about the manufacturing process. Several days later, I have not receieved a response. I have been blocked from BB's Facebook page for asking the question: does your product contain lead components?
Several moms I know are very concerned. I'd like an answer. I don't know if all these units were made the same, but I never would have used it had I have known it was made with any lead components.
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I've NEVER written a review on a product before. I just found out AFTER feeding my 7 mo old son 3 jars of food from the last batch I made that a piece of the plastic (silicone?) blade disconnected and got chopped up in the food! He's EATEN THIS. I noticed when I was feeding him tonight there was a piece of something hard in his food and I went to check the baby bullet and the ring that connects the base to the blade was all wrapped up around the blade and chopped up. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
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This was great for going out to meals, it was convenient. However, after using this for a few months, it appears as though the silicone absorbed the smell of the food. So now, when we use it, the food starts to smell like the container, i.e. leftover food smell. I don't know why it would have that since we don't store the food in, we always wash it after usage. So my overall review is three stars, since it was convenient and great for the few months...so now I'm looking for a replacement.
