Baby

Baby and Toddler Gift Guide

By in Baby, Gift Guides & Seasonal 13 Comments Tags: ,

There are so many cute and lovely gifts around for the littlest people in your life! Here is my Baby and Toddler Gift Guide with some of my favourite suggestions this year, and for more ideas check this guide from That Sweet Gift too

BABIES

Jumbo Playmat

Jumbo PlaymatThis lovely and bright playmat is from Kiddicare’s Sunny Safari range and is included in their 3 for 2 offer on Toys. This covers 100s of toys from birth to five! You will have a chance to win this mat in the advent competitions. It has plenty of textures and colours for young babies to explore!

Baby Rocking Horse

bobbleandpipInfantRocker4ThumbLittle Bird Told Me have some really gorgeous baby toys including this super cute Bobble and Pip infant rocker which is suitable from 9 months+. You will have a chance to win this in our advent competitions!

Gumigem Teething Jewellery

Jewellery which can handle being pulled, tugged and even teethed on by little ones! You wear this, and your baby gets the benefit too by using it to soothe their teething gums.

gumigemmillerheartThis one is the Miller Heart Pendant – Zebula and you have a chance to win this in our advent competitions.

The Bubba Bag

bubbabagTeething toys made of the same soft, flexible non toxic, washable silicone as Gumigem jewellery. Babies will love this with all their own version of most desirable things things to play with like keys and phone. You will also have a chance to win this in the advent competitions.

Cleva Mamas

If your baby is newborn this Christmas, a Cleva Mamas memory keepsake suitcase might be a good gift idea to help save all those precious memories for them to see when they grow up. These are really cute!

clevamamas

Cute Christmas Outfits

There are so many cute christmassy baby outfits around that it’s hard to resist dressing them up for the big day. What about these ideas from Next

reindeersuitgirlsnewborntutu

TODDLERS

Cuddledry Reindeer Towels

If your looking for something equally cute for your toddlers, then Cuddledry also have some very sweet and snuggly Christmassy things like these reindeer towels

cuddledry

Bee Smart

Bee Smart have some lovely wooden toys like this Aeroplane Musical Xylophone Activity Toy with Shape Sorter

plane_xyloWe have been sent one of these to review, and it’s a brilliant toddler toy. Read the full review here

Wow Toys

All of the Wow Toys are brilliant for toddlers! This Ernie Fire engine is one of our favourites recently.

wow1You can read the full review here, and you will have the chance to win an Ernie Fire Engine in our advent competitions too. Any Wow Toys would make a great Christmas present for a toddler of 18months+

Wooden Ark Toy

Another lovely toddler toy that we have been enjoying is the Wooden Noah’s Ark toy from Wilko:

wilkoarkThis is a great quality wooden toy with lots of play value and would make an ideal toddler present. You can read the review of this toy here and you will have a chance to win one of these too!

Mickey Mouse Club House

What toddler in their right mind doesn’t like Mickey Mouse? The Mickey Mouse fly n slide Clubhouse will keep them busy with imaginary play. My little ones received one of these to review and they love it. Read our full review here and you will have a chance to win one of these in our advent competition!

mickey-mouse-clubhouseToddle Bike

If you have any little ones who are just up on their feet this Christmas and starting to run around, a Toddle Bike is an ideal gift for them. We trialled one of these earlier in the year and loved it.

toddlebikeThey are also available in pink, or in neon colours if you prefer. Whichever colour you go for, I’m sure most toddlers would love it!

Little Tikes toddler toys

Little Tikes Asda

There’s a wide range of Little Tikes toddler toys in Asda, you can read our review of the Hen Friends toy here.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started. What do you think? Is there anything that stands out for you?

Make sure you come back and join in with all the advent competitions in December!

Baby “Thrill-o-meter” – Most Exciting Tastes for Babies

By in Baby, Food 3 Comments Tags: , , ,

 ellas kitchen Most Exciting Tastes for Babies

The world’s first ‘baby thrill-o-meter’ was recently unveiled to capture and measure the thrill experienced by little ones when they try new and different foods.
The study, by Ella’s Kitchen, provides a unique insight into babies’ physiological reactions when they try a variety of different fruits, vegetables and spices. The results are based on the babies Galvanic Skin Response which helps to show how excited they were within the first 10 seconds of trying each taste.

Babies reactions to food - What are the most Exciting Tastes for Babies

The results are in:

Top 10 most exciting tastes for babies:

1.       Mango

2.       Cinnamon

3.       Lemon

4.       Coconut

5.       Banana

6.       Papaya

7.       Red pepper

8.       Apricot

9.       Sweet potato

10.     Carrot

Have a look at the video to see more:

About the research:

10 babies aged 9 – 11 months with an even gender split participated in the study.  The babies were connected to bio-monitoring equipment to monitor Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). The babies were required to try each of the 10 different foods and their reaction was monitored using the thrill-o-meter within 10 seconds of the food hitting the babies’ taste buds.

 All babies tasted the food in the same order, presented in the same way, within a similar time period.  Within-subject comparisons of GSR scores and facial expressions were used to create a ranking for each baby.  These rankings were compared between-subject to deliver an average ranking across the 10 babies tested.  As an additional measure, calibration and base-lining techniques were used to account for variability in baby physiology and emotional responses, and any changes in environmental factors between tests.

Turtlemeter – Baby Bath Toy and Thermometer

By in Baby, Other Reviews 9 Comments Tags: ,

We have previously tried out a couple of kitchen items from Ozeri which I loved (glasses and wok) so I thought I would branch out and try something different – Turtlemeter the baby bath toy and thermometer.
bathturtleThe Turtlemeter is great! I love it just as much as the other Ozeri products we have tried. It is a lovely chunky turtle bath toy with a temperature display in the middle. This gives a digital display of the exact temperature of the bath (in Farenheit, as it is American – but this is not really a problem for me) it also glows so that the correct temperature is easy to spot at a glance and is unmistakeable! The display glows blue for too cold, red for too hot and green for just right – which is just as you would expect and not easy to misunderstand.

The turtle takes 3AAA batteries which are included, and it is safe to completely submerge the turtle under water. It reads and updates the temperature every 1 second and activates automatically when placed into water.

I really do love the turtle, especially as it is so easy to read so it can help Mr Z age 5 with running a bath to the right temperature. That way he does not have to rely on me to do it all for him. Of course I will check it for him but at his age it’s good to start developing some independence skills and this turtle makes it very easy and very fun for him.

All the children loved seeing the glowing light of the turtle change colour and it is a great toy for them to play with in the bath which makes it great value as it is 2 in 1. The turtle is very cute and chunky and is suitable for even babies to play with. It’s an excellent product as it will last for years, from those newborn days when you want to be very careful about the temperature of the bath, up until 5 years+ when the child is running the bath for themselves – with loads of years of play in between too!

I have had other bath thermometers in the past but I have gone for some cheaper ones and they never lasted well or felt like they were very well made, whereas the quality is clear with the Turtlemeter. At only £9.99 it’s really reasonable for a product that will be so well used.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Super Baby Food – Review & Giveaway

By in Baby, Book Reviews, Competitions, Food 64 Comments Tags: ,

superbabyfoodSuper Baby Food by Ruth Yaron is a really comprehensive guide on making your babies food. The book is from America and the first version sold over half a million copies. Now the fully revised and completely updated 3rd edition has been released and it is also available here in the UK.

The book is so much more than just recipes (although there are plenty of recipes too! Over 350! ) It is full of information about nutrition and food types, and also includes some extra information on growing your own vegetables and home made baby products or household products, and safety information.

The most important part of the Super Baby Food diet is the super baby porridge which can be started from 6 months and there is a lot of other information on which fruits are good to introduce at which age. This book would have been more useful for me if I had it when my toddlers were babies weaning onto solid foods as I think I may have now missed the window to get them to eat this super porridge! However there are lots of toddler recipes, including ones that seem tempting to children even though they are healthy – like healthy potato chips, easy baked beans, falafel, or healthier recipes for pizza crusts.

I have to admit, I am not someone who always cooks every single thing from scratch. I am more of a mixture – sometimes giving shop bought baby meals and sometimes making our own. Despite that, I still found this book accessible and was able to take some ideas from here although I may not be following the whole diet. I would say it is a useful resource to have, especially if you are wanting to make more effort to know exactly what is in your little ones food or want some guidance on how to make more yourself, and make sure what you make is good!

If you would like to win your own copy, enter via the Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This review and giveaway is part of a book tour. If you want to see more reviews, check out the following blogs:

www.parentguidenews.com

9/9/13
www.naturalbabygoods.com

9/11/13
www.kaylaaimee.com

9/13/13
www.thebabybottomline.com

9/16/13
www.darcyandbrian.com

9/18/13
www.stephperson.com

9/19/13
www.babywisemom.com

9/20/13
www.mywisemom.com

9/23/13
www.intheplayroom.co.uk

9/24/13
www.astheygrowup.com

9/27/13
www.necessarystrangeness.com

9/30/13
www.ohmygoodiesfreebies.com

10/1/13
www.spacetospare.com

10/2/13


Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

A Baby Super Hero?

By in Baby, Competitions 12 Comments Tags: , , , ,

What makes a super hero? Every baby is a baby super hero!
baby super heroI think all babies and toddlers are mini super heroes, when you think how much they learn and achieve in their first few years:

  • Feats of strength – learning to lift up their head, to sit, to crawl, stand, walk and then run!
  • Unbeatable determination – the will to keep trying, no matter how many times they fall down, they will keep going and keep trying until one day they finally master their aim! Whether that is walking at 9 months like some of the super speedy babies, 20 months like Mr T, or even later – a babies determination is hard to beat!
  • Super power brains that literally double in size in their first year!
  • Super speedy learning – at a much faster rate than any other time of life!

Of course there are the other “super powers” which don’t always come in quite so handy

  • Super climbing – The ability to climb the furniture, highest climbing frame, the stairs or out of the cot at the speed of light as soon as the parent’s backs are turned!
  • Super screaming – How can someone so small make so much noise!
  • Super non sleeping – Babies and toddlers must have the endless energy super power. After completing all these super feats all day, they just keep going and going meanwhile we parents are downing coffee after coffee to keep up with them!

super baby - baby super heroNo wonder, when they have so many super missions to be getting on with, that some of our little heroes don’t like being strapped in their car seats. Being restrained and kept still while travelling can be challenging and frustrating for some little ones. To help with this problem Kids Embrace have created some new Character car seats which will hopefully help kids to settle down and enjoy their journey.

How about this for a carseat fit for a super hero…

Nana nana nana nana nana nana nana nana…Batman!

batmancarseatSuitable from a minimum of 9 months, up to 12 years this stage 1-2-3 car seat will be ideal for any little caped crusader. Available to buy in Toys R Us, Smyths or Halfords.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a competition to win one of these car seats for my own child and I have been rewarded with a Batman themed gift for taking part. The super baby photos are of Mr R and are copyright to me.

Win a baby sling from Joy and Joe Baby

By in Baby, Competitions 155 Comments Tags: , , , , , , ,

I’m really happy to have a new competition to share with you all! One lucky reader will be able to win a Joy and Joe Baby turquoise stretchy baby wrap with an ‘out and about caravan’ design.

joy and joe baby Joy and Joe specialise in fabric baby wrap carriers, and all of their baby slings are specially handmade in UK by Bolton based mums. The Joy & Joe baby wrap carrier™ is totally natural and without any buckles or straps, you just secure the carrier by wrapping and simply tying the ends around your waist once or twice. Joy and Joe baby wrap carrier™ is available in one size, as this fits most people. This means it can easily be transferred between Mum and Dad if you are out and about and both want to share the job of carrying around the baby.

The wraps combine the ideas behind baby-wearing and kangaroo care(skin to skin care) and let your baby stay close to you while you have your hands free to get on with whatever you need to do.

joy and joe baby

Joy & Joe baby wrap carrier™ is a safe, soft & comfortable baby wrap which is ideal for any new born or little ones and can be used up to 16 kg. It is breathable and offers great support to the wearers back and perfect positions for the baby, all while looking chic! Made of 100% cotton, Joy & Joe baby wrap carrier™ is available in a variety of colours so you can accessorize your outfits.

joy and joe baby funky carrierIf you have a browse through the website you can see more of the designs on offer. You can also have a look at their Youtube channel if you want to see some practical demonstrations of how to put your baby in and out of the carrier.

The design available to win is this funky turquoise “Out and About” Caravan design shown below. I love this; it is so bright and funky. It makes me wish my little ones were that little bit younger so I could have one myself! It’s from the Panelled-J collection which retail from just £23

There is currently a 20% discount offer going on to launch the new website www.joyandjoebaby.co.uk

joy and joe baby wrap fabric carrierEnter below via the Rafflecopter – Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

«‹ 6 7 8 9 10