We've moved home!

We've moved our blog to a permanent new home over on LittleStuff itself. The new one is oh-so-pretty - please move your bookmarks to the new address, and don't forget to sign up for the feeds.

This one will stay here, but nothing new will be added, so make sure you check the new one to keep up with us!

You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook, if you're really keen!

Halos n Horns Competition Winner

Always happy to announce a winner! The Halos n Horns conmpeition has been won by Fiona Riddell from Leicester - a complete set of the Halos n Horns range will be landing on a doorstep near her shortly!

Keep your eye on the competitions page for new great prizes!

Little Taggies Naturals competition winners!

The Little Taggies Naturals competition is now closed, and the winners are below:

Lisa Hughes, Cleckheaton
Sarah Cooper, Bridgend
Ann Carline, Shrewsbury
Fiona Duale-Jolliffe, Norwich

Congratulations all!
Don't forget to visit our competitions page - There's always something to enter, with lots of new competitions lined up for the next few months!

O Neill UV Sunsuit Competition Winner

Just wanted to show you this cute photo of Amelia in her O Neill UV sunsuit from The Beach Factory. In April we ran a competition on behalf of The Beach Factory to give away five of these fabulous childrens' sunsuits. Amelia's Mum was one of our winners and very kindly wrote to thank us:
"Just wanted to thank you for the O'Neill Sun Suit. Amelia had it on today for the first time and loves it - as you can see!
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks - it will be invaluable this summer."

LEGOLAND - 20% Discount on the MERLIN Pass

From Saturday, 30th May to Sunday, 14th June LEGOLAND are offering a massive 20% discount on all purchases of the MERLIN Annual Pass. This means that prices start from as little as £76.80 per person for an entire year of entertainment.

This is one of the few times LEGOLAND have ever discounted the MERLIN Annual Pass, making this a very exciting opportunity for all families!

Benefits of the Merlin Annual Pass

With a MERLIN Annual Pass everyone can enjoy 12 months unlimited* entry to the UK’s top attractions. This not only includes LEGOLAND Windsor but also Alton Towers, London Eye, Madame Tussauds London, Warwick Castle, Chessington World of Adventures and Zoo, THORPE PARK, London Aquarium, The Dungeons, SEA LIFE centres and SEA LIFE Sanctuaries.

Aquasolari Washable Bed Pads on Review

Yup, when you have kids you find that you need dull but necessary things in your life. One such neccessary thing is some sort of mattress protection for all sorts of reasons but especially for when your little person hasn't quite fully mastered total bladder control, all night long.

We have been asked to review the Aquasolari washable bed pad and our brave little 4 year old reviewer, Maya, has volunteered (well, actually, her Mum has...). We'll let you know her experience with Aquasolari soon.

Freya Design Boxes - Being Reviewed

We have been asked to review these beautiful baby keepsake boxes by Freya Design. I have a feeling we are going to be posting a very positive review of these. Take a look at their website to see some of the other gorgeous little wooden keepsake boxes they have.

Blog Love - Keris Stainton

This weeks post is from one of my regular reads - Keris Stainton's blog. Keris is one of our reviewers, a journalist, about to have a book published, has two beeyootiful boys... and I just love the way she writes. This post (which is actually a meme for anyone who loves 'em) gave me that warm and squooshy feeling that just makes you want to lift your child and whiffle in the nape of their neck, y'know?

New Competitions are up!

No less then FOUR new competitions are online for you - so go enter!

First up Early Years Resources is offering one lucky winner the 'Fish & Spell Race' game by Fiesta Crafts. Winner of the Silver Award Good Toy Guide 2008 and the Silver Award Practical Pre-School Awards 2008 - learning to spell has never been so much fun!




Next for you to enter is a draw for a Tobyboo custom made cute Initial Frame Keepsake! Tobyboo create fabric hotchpotch works of cuteness, gorgeous gifts and accessories perfect for children and some you might just like for yourself.



The third competition is for THREE miPump electric breast pumps, worth £69.99 each! Obviously this one is most appealing to pregnant and breasfeeding mummas - the new, easily transportable miPump electric breast pump from The First Years is not only up to 60 per cent faster than other pumps on the market, but is also up to 60 per cent lighter and quieter as well. Added to this, the easy Flexi-Fit shields offer a comfortable fit on the breast. Complete with its own discreet carry case, the electric pump is small enough to carry in a handbag.

Lastly we have two of the award winning, utterly fabulous Bambino Merino sleep bags to give away to two lucky winners. Each sleeping bag is made from the world’s finest merino wool. Silky soft merino is a breathable natural fibre which regulates body temperature, is kind to delicate skin, easy to care for, safe and great value – what more could a parent ask for?

FunPod Highchair

I was very excited when I spoke to the lovely people at Little Helper this week, who are really keen for us to review their new highchair version of the amazing FunPod.
It arrived on Friday, and I couldn't help but immediately put it together - despite lack of adult company to distract the eager 2yr old assistant:

This was how it looked when I unpacked the box:

10 minutes later I was this far - note the oh-so-helpful assistant:
Assistant is bored now...
20 minutes in, and it's all looking very exciting again:
The little chair is VERY popular:
Yes, that's the little chair in pieces behind her - trying to fix the tray on I realised that I had the sides on the wrong way round. The consequent dismantling of the chair caused a mini furore...
With the sides on the right way, the tray works, and Ella is content again:

35 minutes and Looking Good! Now just the tricky bit of getting her out again to put the cushion in...

TADAAAAAA :)

Blog Love - Sticky Fingers

I read this (slightly old) post this week, and literally snorted out loud. My No.1 son has a lion - in fact he has two, as a clever childminder forewarned us when he deeply attached to one before he could crawl, just so that we could rotate them for washing - and I clearly remember the distress when his much-twisted and sucked and chewed tail became detached and had to receive emergency surgery.
But this post about (nearly) killing abby had me in stitches!

Beach Factory competition winners!

The Beach Factory offered five fabulous, red & white O'Neill toddler sun protection suits - the competition closed last Friday, and here's the list of winners:

Lydia Bickerton, Milton Keynes
Pamela Kerr, Isle of Wight
Helena Jones, Bedford,
Donna Burton, Dundee
Rachael Drewe, Exeter

Congratulations all! Sun suits in the requested size are coming your way oh so shortly!

Twins make us smile y'know...

We just received this in the mail, and it made us both laugh out loud... Maybe its just us, but thought we'd share :D


How twins are made:

Now Come on...

We know you're there. We do.
We have the stats and emails to prove it.

And yet no one comments.

We LOVE to get emails, but comments would be very nice too - we can share them with others!
So. If you see us doing something good, bad, dull or fun - PLEASE tell us! We love to get requests for reviews, comments on what we've done, questions on what we can do... even if you're just having trouble finding something for your baby, we can often help with that too!

Just ask Paula, the Mum who asked us if we knew of a good pushchair - she is blind and needs one she can pull behind her. She ended up reviewing a Phil & Teds Smart buggy which has worked out brilliantly for her. You'll never know unless you ask us. And we're always on the look out for new reviewers - those babies will keep being born and growing when we turn our backs.

And all you lurkers. Be brave - say hello! It's not hard to do... and all it takes is one to get the ball rolling. Come on - who's first???

We need a newborn reviewer!

Do you swaddle your newborn? Or are you expecting a new baby any day now? Fancy reviewing for us? We're looking for a new baby to review a swaddle blanket for us - its gorgeous, we just don't have a tester small enough for it! You get to keep the truly gorgeous blanket, we just ask you write us a review in return.
Interested?
Just contact me (Laura) through our contact page (spammers have discovered the fun in mailing me, so that's the only way to get through I'm afraid).

(Image courtesy of Courtenay Hitchcock - www.thepregnancyphotographer.co.uk)

Blog Love - Blonde Mom Blog

This week I love this post from the Blonde Mom Blog - it literally made me laugh out loud, and go give my 6yr old an extra squeeze! I want to be 6-at-heart until I'm old and bonkers - and doing all those things again just for me. It's beautifully written, and just a great reminder to simply let them be SIX while they can.

Chessington review trip

Okay, hands up, I admit it. I was wrong (you might want to read that twice, because you won't see it often). Having had a conversation with the lovely people at Chessington about how a review may not work because a theme park is really not the best day trip to go on with a toddler, they were really keen to show us just how wrong we were. So yesterday I dragged (kicking and screaming of course, these 6/7/10 year olds are SO unwilling to visit a place with rollercoasters) the family to Chessington for the day. mentally preparing msyelf the whole way for 3 over excited boys, one bored and whiny toddler and frazzled parenting all day.

All I can say is we had a ball! All six of us! So - there you are. I was wonrg. Here's some pics - review coming on LittleStuff shortly.

Bys driving, girls in back - I loved the adult-sized seats which meant Ella could be accompanied and enjoy, without having to squeeze a parent into a toddler seat!

Up on the monorail - Ella kept saying 'wow! amazin'!'
Boys on a boat ride. Hating every second. Obviosuly.

My fave rollercoaster, which No.1 son had to go on TWICE to accompany each parent. Oh, the misery.

The log flume - again No.1 son got to go twice. No.2 son threw me a filthy look when I suggested he came on again with me as he wobbled off the first trip with Daddy.

Blog Love - Mummy Mania

Wow. This post from the Mummy mania blog had tears in my ears. Moving house is a big thing. Moving your family's home is Bigger.
Read how one mother feels on the last night in her home.

Waiting for review... Baby Bouquets from Baby Blooms

I LOVE the idea of these 'bouquets' - and they don't come much nicer than Baby Blooms version. Not just socks in there - oh no, that gorgous bouquet contains a hat, socks, bodysuits, and a bib. The garment 'flowers' are interspersed with delicate silk flowers and velvet and silk leaves. Delivered in a Babyblooms presentation box, what new Mum won't love to receive one of these eh?

Cath Kidston toddler nightie review

The review is now live online, but I had to share some pics of this adorable Dotty Rose nightdress - and the nearly-as-adorable baby girl of course...

This is early morning Ella watching the rain

And early morning early caught red handed in big brothers bedroom, so trying out the I'm-so-cute-you-can't-be-cross-with-me grin

And, okay, I admit it, there's not much nightdress in this one. But tis cute, no? :)

Cuddledry ‘Kangaroo Care’ special edition

Award-winning company Cuddledry is introducing a new limited edition ‘Kangaroo care’ Cuddledry towel in support of Bliss, the special care baby charity. The idea for the charity towel came about when one of the Cuddledry team had her little girl prematurely at just 24 weeks gestation. Three pounds from the sale of every towel will be donated to the charity, with the aim being to raise money and increase awareness of the importance of Kangaroo Care.

Used to describe close skin-to-skin contact between babies and parents, Kangaroo Care has been shown to help establish breastfeeding, improve lactation, encourage greater infant weight gain and help parent/child bonding. Under clinical supervision, the practise is found to be particularly beneficial for premature or unwell babies in neonatal units*.

The new Cuddledry towel will include all the features parents have come to love – like the ability to wear the towel as an apron to keep hands free, easy release poppers, a double layer system with hood that draws water away and super-soft organic unbleached cotton and bamboo fibre – but it will now also feature edging with tiny kangaroos, as a reminder of the benefit of Kangaroo Care. As with all Cuddledry towels, it allows you to luxuriously cuddle your baby dry, safely and securely. The new towel costs £24.99 and is available from www.cuddledry.com or by calling the order line on 01823 323363.

Blog Love - Four Down, Mum to go?

This entry from the four down, mum to go blog made me laugh and laugh. Not that I've ever had twins, mind, but these are the moments that happen to us all... Quite how babies have that innate perfect timing I don't know, but they all do. And the only thing to do is to see the funny side - or else be consumed by the sense of doom that is your next few years at the mercy of a small persons bodily fluids.

Waiting for review... Scarpa Mowgli GTX childrens hiking boot.

Okay, so not on every parents shopping list, but for those like-minded parents out there who love the Great outdoors in a slightly more serious fashion, a decent pair of walking boots becomes essential as soon as your baby can manage a couple of miles on their own.
We have the Scarpa Mowgli on review by Toby (6), sent to us by Little Hiker - with the reliable quality and comfort of Scarpa plus the waterproofing and breathability of Gore-Tex make these a good first choice for parents.

Waiting for review... FunToSee Sticker kits

I'm loving these sticker kits from FunToSee - and just as soon as Ella's room is painted they will be on the walls and the review completed for you to read. I'm hoping they are as easy and painless to use as they claim to be - they're certainly as gorgeous to look at!

Waiting for review... EcoPals from BabiesRUs

The EcoPals range from babiesRUs is their answer to the current massive upsurge in demand from parents for some traditionally styled contemporary eco-friendly toys for their small people. Made from 100% natural organic fabrics and FSC sourced wood, and with no nasty chemicals, dyes or toxins.

Family Day Out review - At-Bristol

*exhausted yawn*
We spent the day today at Explore-At-Bristol - a science attraction entirely designed around families. Never mind looking for the childrens section - this whole place is wall-to-wall interactive learning.

Full review is coming over LittleStuff soon, but here's a few pics from the day:

Toby examining his own eye with much fascination -

I took the younger boys into the planetarium, and whilst we were in there Mr Laura couldn't tear Ella away from the magnifying glass and small creatures. Perfect tired-girl activity in the ppost-lunch lull -


Family Portrait... hot stuff, eh?

The Fibre Optic strips outside the planetarium were utterly beautiful and strangely hypnotic. And of course immense fun to run through...

The Captain and his co-pilot were a little frustrated by the wayward flight crew. You just can't get the staff...

Waiting for review... Merino Kids Cocooi

Well, its no secret we love Merino wool, and think its simply a fabulous fabric for using with babies. The Cocooi wrap from Merino Kids is a for swaddling your newborn, and is just stunningly soft, practical and utterly beautiful.
It is cleverly designed to give you the elusive perfect swaddle each time - and comes with a matching beanie hat which aside from being oh-so-useful is just way too cute!

Blog Love - More then just a Mother

This post from the fab 'more than just a mother' blog isn't our usual light frivolous read.

But it is beautifully written, and will echo with the many thousands of us who have suffered from post natal depression. The last paragraph simply took my breath away.

Waiting for review... Silver cross Buggy Sail

The top new accessory from Silver Cross this season, the Buggy Sail was invented by a Mum In Need - as are so many of the best kinds of Little Stuff. Added protection from sun and wind, with a 50+SPF, this could be just the thing for this summers pushchairs.

We were hit :(

If you entered our beach competition yesterday, can you please come back and enter today? Yesterday we were hit by an automated entry site - I received nearly 5,000 mails to my inbox in the space of around 8 hours.

Sites like Win24, WeWin4U and PrizeDrawCentre charge a user a few pounds a month and then enter competitions for that person (and many others) using a script or program.
Fairly obviously we run competitoins because we like the traffic they bring - and our sponsors gain a mailing list of email addresses to mail product offers to, in return for giving away a freebie. Everyone wins. But these automated services are not doing on one any favours - for all those 5000 entries we had yesterday, not one went to the site. Cheats!

To top it all off, it is clearly stated in our comp T&C's that automated entries are simply disqualified - so not one of them was worth anything to anybody, simply a waste of time and bandwidth. Thankfully Katy has managed to block them now, but they're still pounding in to the server (just to bounceback).

So if you're real, and entered yesterday - you will probably have been deleted. please re-enter today!

Waiting for review... LeapFrog Fridge Phonics

The Fridge Phonics system from Leapfrog is a great way of introducing toddlers to the Phonics system of letter recognition. Th clever little widget with its magnetic letters now has a permanent home on my fridge, is interestingly un-annoying, and already has Ella knowing her 'Buh' from her 'suh'.

Competitions...

The new competitions page is now swelling nicely with some really fab prizes - make sure you stop by and enter. Look out for the crossword puzzle on the home page - just like this one right here!
At the moment we have a simply stunning nursery furniture range, brand new from Kub - it's not even in the shops yet, and the winner will be one of the first in the UK to own one.

There's also four Little Taggies Naturals waiting for a new home, the new organic natural version of the best-loved taggie blanket.

Beach Factory are offering FIVE O'Neill toddler UV sun suits - just in time for some seasonal sunshine (fingers crossed).

And lastly for now we have the complete range of Halos n Horns childrens collection - making bat time some serious fun :)

So. Click on the crossword and go see what you can win. We have stacks of great prizes lined up, so make sure you keep coming back and checking for new ones!

Waiting for review... Lamaze Eddie the Elephant Tunes

This gorgeous, soft elephant is already a hit with Ella. In theory (though we have yet to figure out how) we can record her 'music' efforts and play them back! Typical Lamaze bright colors, patterns, crinkles, and easy-to-press buttons on the trunk.

Waiting for review... Summer Infant All in One Potty

Potty training.

Sigh.

I have avoided it as long as possible. But I think this potty landing on the doorstep is going to hasten things. I've done it three times before... you'd think a fourth time wouldn't be too much trouble wouldn't you?
But.
I know the Constant vigilance involved (and the laundry), and am weary at the thought.
Still, this potty looks brilliantly designed, Ella is already very keen to sit on it.. so fingers crossed. I'll let you know how she gets on!

Waiting for review... Amadeus healthy Eating range

The Cow Cup range from Amadeus (makers of the fabulous AnyWayUp cup and the 360 Junior cup) - fab for weaning toddlers, and not only well designed but fun fun fun to use too!