Birmingham Baby Show Bargains

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This morning as usual, Bubby D greeted me at 6am with a smile and a gurgle or two, and insinuated through her frantic arm waving that she thought it was about time we were up and out of bed.

Normally, this would have me groaning into the duvet. But not this morning!

This morning, after picking up a friend and her 2 week old baby, we headed off up the M1  for a day of bargain hunting at the Birmingham Baby Show.

Having parked up (and after paying my £8 fee – not cheap, but worth it for having the car there to transport us and all our goodies home afterwards) we headed on into the NEC to find all the latest baby brands and products awaiting us.

First to catch my eye was Melobaby, whose all-in-one nappy wallet and changing mat I bought at the last Baby Show at Excel. Since then it’s barely left my side – I’ve found it perfect for days out with the Wee Man and Bubby D as the mat adjusts to fit even a large toddler, with the added bonus of easily allowing me to transport nappies, spare pants and wipes too.

Then I whipped out my list of wants and must-see’s, settled Bubby D into the free Fisher Price creche, and headed off to see what I could find…

…and here is what I found!

Some of our favourite things...

Cuddledry – we picked up a lovely dinosaur toddler towel for Bubby D (who, although she isn’t a toddler yet is sure to love snuggling up in it after her weekly swimming lesson). With £5 off it was our first bargain of the day.

And talking of swimming lessons, we paid a visit to Bambino Mio, where we got one of their new resusable swim nappies – Bubby D has recently outgrown her previous one and I liked it so much I wanted to get her the next size up.

Trunki had a great range of products on show as always (with some great discounts on offer too), and Bubby D now has her very own Ladybird Trunki, all ready for visiting relatives in New Zealand and our trip to the Isle of Wight later this year.

Baby Mum Mum kindly gave us a few more of their great Baby Rice Crackers – the Wee Man loved the samples we got from Excel and has been after some more (I think I’m going to have to hide them as he’d happily polish an entire box in one sitting given the chance).

Snoozeshade – I’m already a huge fan of the original Snoozeshade, but with the Wee Man usually sitting in the front seat of our Phil and Teds whilst Bubby D is happily shaded in the back, I decided to pick him up a Snoozeshade plus – now fingers crossed for two sleeping children AT THE SAME TIME!

Following in this vein, we also got a lovely Gro Anywhere Blind from the Gro Company, to try and remedy the ridiculously early waking that Bubby D has been doing in the last few weeks of lighter mornings. Unlike our previous version, this one has the suckers already attached to the blind and it stays up well – so early indications look good!

Funky Giraffe Bibs – I got a couple of these at the last Baby Show and with Bubby D in full on teething mode, getting some more was high on my list. With great show offers of 5 for £10 or 12 for £20, we went for the 12 option and picked up some lovely bright designs.

Peter Rabbit Organics – the Wee Man and Bubby D both love their pasta sauces, so we picked up a new one to try.

More favourites...

Brush Baby – a new tube of their marvellous applemint toothpaste was high up on the list. (And I got the Wee Man a new toothbrush while I was at it, too).

Vital Baby – Bubby D really likes her Vital Baby sippy cup, so we picked up a couple more for her upcoming nursery adventures. I was also really interested to see their new ranges of health and safety products (nasal aspirator, bath/room thermometer, and flexi-safe thermometer), teethers and Nurture breast-like bottles. In fact, if you fancy trying out a Nurture bottle then go along and see them yourself – you can pick one up for free!

Bubby D's new finery

Poco Nido are a great new brand that I haven’t seen before – they do lovely baby clothes for 0-18 months, as well as some brightly coloured little shoes with interesting designs. Along with some of those, and her Jubilee tee-shirt from the Marks and Spencers stand (20% off!) Bubby D is going to be one of the best dressed babies around…

As you can see, we were getting pretty laden down, so I picked up Bubby D from the creche and made good use of the Emma’s Diary collect by car service, before collapsing in an Emma’s Diary Cafe chair.

Deciding that I was too tired to relocate to the wonderfully comfortable breastfeeding chairs in the feeding area, I fed Bubby D where I was, before stuffing my own face with a ciabatta from the cafe – during which I got to watch the Stokke people doing an entertaining dance up on the Baby Show stage (which had a range of different interesting talks and shows throughout the day).

Feeling refreshed, and after a nappy change for Bubby D (in the free baby changing area), we headed off to see what else we could find. I loved looking at the photographs from the day that the Wee Man and Bubby D were born, courtesy of The Day That – I’ll definitely be putting a copy of each on my Christmas list this year.

Many stalls later – Mammae, EasiYo, Close, MAM and BabyDam to name just a few of our favourites – and after taking a peek at the lovely new colours of Mamas and Papas Mylo pushchairs, we finally had our fill.

Along the way we spotted some great campaigns and related services too – Breastfeeding Heaven’s ‘Donate to the Breast Cancer Campaign‘, which takes preloved maternity and breastfeeding products and sells them on with all profits going to the Breast Cancer Campaign; Friends of Glass, who are working to promote the use of glass packaging (its 100% recyclable!), and Nappies2Go, a service which will take your used disposable nappies, deliver you new ones, and turn the old ones into reusable materials.

There are many, many more companies and products I could mention, but following manouvring two small babies, two pushchairs, and a whole lot of bargains into the car, I’m absolutely exhausted!

So all I can say is, why not go along and see for yourself some of the great bargains on offer? You’re sure to have a wonderful day!

 

 

Why did the tomato blush?

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Because it saw the salad dressing!

That’s one of the terrible jokes I remember from a family Christmas a long time ago. For some reason it has stuck in my head all these years.

But let’s face it, salad in generally really isn’t that entertaining. Which is why I can understand the Other Half’s reaction when I mentioned to him on saturday that I thought we should have a fun day out at the Cucumber Festival, in Waltham Abbey Gardens.

Having recently watched the Peppa Pig episode ‘Potato City’, I suspect he may have had an image in his head (kind of like I did) of giant spangly strangely-accented cucumbers wandering around, enticing you to ride on cucumber shaped boats, eat cucumber themed meals, and buy cucumber shaped balloons.

Fortunately, that’s not at all what it was like.

Whilst there WERE some cucumbers present (and there was a person dressed as a giant cucumber too, so at least one of my predictive thoughts was correct) there was also a whole host of other fruit and vegetables to be found as well. Basking in the somewhat-elusive-of-late sunshine sat stalls of strawberries, peppers, aubergines and tomatoes, surrounded by a variety of other interesting wares. (The Wee Man made a beeline straight for the ice cream cone cupcakes, which were very clever indeed).

Red peppers hanging out by a tent

The Waltham Abbey Gardens themselves were very lovely, and having not been before I’d be interested to go again when there isn’t a giant cucumber event in the way, and just enjoy the greenery and the surrounding waterways (we had to cross a wooden bridge to get to the Festival, and the Wee Man was very committed to his troll-watching duties. At the moment, all bridges have trolls hiding underneath, although luckily as yet, none of them have dared make an appearance whilst we are crossing…).

The Lee Valley Farms people were also there, and had brought with them a selection of ducks, rabbits and tortoises which Bubby D and the Wee Man were both pretty amused by.

Cucumber seed planting was a hit, with a clever little gadget that made a pot out of newspaper, and a soil shovel/pourer made out of an old milk bottle – ingenious!

And I had my back checked by a chiropractor, who proclaimed it ‘a bit wonky and stretchy’.

The Wee Man netted a duck in the ‘hook a duck and win a prize’ stall, and was subsequently furnished with an inflatable ‘bopper’ (mallet) which he gaily went about smacking each of us with repeatedly whilst giggling hysterically.

This signalled that it was time to retreat (that and the rapidly expiring parking time) and we bopped our way all the way back to the car, carrying our bags of salady bits along with us.

A wierd sounding day out it may be, but I think we’ll be off to celebrate cucumbers again next year for sure.

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

Bounce your way to free tickets (to the Baby Show)

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BOINNNG

BOIINNNGGGG

BOIIINNNNNGGGG

Heeheeheeeee

That’s the sound of Bubby D enjoying a bouncing session in her Fisher Price Jumperoo.
Just like the Wee Man before her, she loves jumping up and down like a mad thing, playing with all the toys and trying to grab the funny faced blue frog that’s dangling tantalisingly just out of reach.

And I like the Jumperoo because I know Bubby D is happy and having fun, safely ensconced while I tackle one or two of the tasks on the rapidly increasing household to-do list.

Not all babies like it, however. With the Wee Man grown out of it, and Bubby D still just a twinkle, I lent it to a friend whose little one turned out not to be interested in it in the slightest. But how do you know these things if you don’t have a friend to borrow from before investing a hefty whack in something your kids might turn up their noses at?

Well the obvious answer is the Baby Show. Nowhere else will you find so many baby orientated companies and products all under one roof. From the well known (Mothercare, Fisher Price, Mamas and Papas, Britax, Tommee Tippee and Marks and Spencer to name just a few) to the new and innovative (such as Mammae, Kinderroom, Curaprox and Poco Nido) you’ll get the opportunity to research and try before you buy, as well as getting a bit of a deal or a discount if you do decide to buy a thing or two.

Add that to the free baby changing facilities, free creche for your little ones, feeding area with the comfiest chairs EVER and a stage with a whole host of informative and useful talks and shows, and you’ll see why I’ve been 7 times now!

The next Baby Show is at Birmingham NEC on the 18th, 19th and 20th May and you can get tickets from the Baby Show website for an advanced price of £12 (or £20 on the door).

BUT if you’d like to go for free, then read on! I have a lovely shiny (well, ok not really shiny. Just in my mind) pair of tickets to give away to one lucky reader.

All you have to do to win them is comment and tell me why you’d love to go to the Baby Show.

The winner will be picked at random on Friday 11th May and announced here on my blog. So what are you waiting for, get commenting!

Good luck, and maybe I’ll see you there :)

If for some reason, you are unable to/don’t want to comment, you can also enter by tweeting your answer to @mummygadgetgeek, or emailing mummygadgetgeek at gmail dot com.

We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo

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Zoos and small children = a recipe for success, in general. Even if it is rainy (very, very rainy). In fact, with gumboots, his ‘brella and puddle splashing being high on the Wee Man’s fun agenda at the moment, he’s happier when it is raining than when it’s not.

Which is why last week we were to be found gaily making our way around the zoo in the rain, surrounded by penguins, monkeys, lions, dinosaurs and dragons.

Yes, that’s right. I said dinosaurs and dragons.

I know what you’re thinking. Dinosaurs are extinct, and dragons are fantasy creatures, aren’t they? Well…yes, you’re right, but the dragon in question was ZSL London Zoo’s Komodo Dragon (which the Wee Man is convinced is actually a crocodile…SNAP!), and the dinosaurs have been brought back to life by Trunki!

The dragon (crocodile)...

I’m talking about Trunki’s fantastic new SnooziHedz, cute and cuddly little travel pillows that have a lovely snuggly bright and colourful animal themed blanket tucked away inside. Not only that, but once the blanket is removed you can still use the pillowcase as a pillow thanks to a clever little inflatable insert.

The SnooziHedz also have a brilliant little gadget on them called a Trunki Grip™, which  connects the pillow to the blanket, making sure the blanket doesn’t slide off when you’re out and about in the pushchair or the car.

Bubby D investigates the dinosaur SnooziHedz

They come in four great new designs – monkey, penguin, lion and dinosaur, and Bubby D has already earmarked the lion, whilst the Wee Man is after a dinosaur! (I like the penguin myself…why don’t they do them in Mummy size?!). Fully washable and priced at only £19.99, they’ll be on the Wee Man and Bubby D’s present lists for future jaunts to New Zealand for sure.

Leeroy the Lion

And why were Dudley the Dino, Leeroy the Lion, Mylo the Monkey and Pippin the Penguin hanging out with a Komodo dragon? It’s because Trunki are donating 50 pence from each sale of their new Animal SnooziHedz to support either the work of ZSL London Zoo, or the Bristol Zoo’s penguin conservation project in South Africa. So not only do you get a lovely snuggly pillow and blanket, you also get to help a great charitable cause too.

Talking of the great charitable cause, while we were there we also had a trip around the Zoo itself, of course!

After some enthusiastic puddle jumping by the Wee Man and his friend Florence, we headed off to see some fish, followed by monkeys, tigers and lions (the tigers and lions were all asleep which the Wee Man found hilarious for some reason, and hasn’t stopped talking about since). Then it was on to the penguins in their giant penguin pool.

That’s where we got the real advantage of the terrible weather – there were so few people there that we got a front row view of the penguin feeding. The Wee Man was enthralled and I have to admit I was pretty excited about it all too, there is something about penguins that just really makes me smile. I think perhaps it is their gracefulness in the water, compared to their awkwardness on land.

Lunch was eaten, butterflies and bugs observed, and the Wee Man had a quick run through the meerkat tunnels before we went and had a look at the giraffes (Wee Man’s ultimate favourite – because they’re tall ‘like Daddy’).

Then it was time to head home – and with the Wee Man, Bubby D and myself all very tired it was the perfect time for taking full advantage of the original SnooziHedz that the Wee Man had been given by the lovely Trunki ladies.

All in all a lovely day out – thanks Trunki!

 

Y is for Yoda

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When I had the Wee Man, mothers of girl-babies offered me commiserations on the clothing front.

‘There really is so little choice for boys, compared to girls’ they would say, happily juggling their miniature pairs of tights, frilly little dresses, tiny hair accessories and spangly shoes. To be honest, I was generally quite pleased with this lack of choice as a) I like dungarees, and b) I like not being tempted to spend far more than I can afford on clothes that will only be worn a few times!

However, then along came Bubby D. And I discovered that although it is true there is more choice for girls, on the whole, it is overwhelmingly a choice of pink stuff versus other pink stuff.

They may be different shades of pink, and on occasion the odd bit of purple gets thrown in as well (usually in a lovely girly shade of lilac), but on the whole it’s all pink, pink, pinky pink.

I do like pink (bright pink, anyway). But I’m not overwhelmingly fond of it to the extent that its the only colour I want my children to wear (yes, the Wee Man has some pink clothing too). In fact, I like bright colours, for myself as well as the children. Red, purple, green, blue, yellow, turquoise… bring them all on!

This is why when I saw Me&I clothes, I fell in love with them.

They are a Swedish brand that offer high quality clothes in a whole range of bright and colourful designs, many of which are unisex – a great plus for those of us with both boy and girl children as you get twice the wear out of them. And wear them for ages you can, as they’re Öko-Tex certified and able to last hundreds of cycles of ‘wear, get grubby, get washed’.

In case you are wondering, this is where Yoda comes in. The Wee Man absolutely loves his green Star Wars-esque Me&I top with cartoonish representations of Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Yoda. He likes it ‘because of the Yoda dog, and because it is green’ (apparently).

I, on the other hand like it because it’s lovely and bright, it washes brilliantly, and it still looks brand new. This is after its been worn camping, been covered in mud and porridge several times, and also been used as a nursery top (any parent will probably know that nursery clothes generally should be those that you don’t mind being destroyed, but in this case I don’t have to worry about it as the top can take whatever is thrown at it!).

AND I like it because (and oh my goodness, I’ve turned into my Mum…) you can buy it two sizes too big and it still doesn’t look like the Wee Man has nicked an older sibling’s outfit.The Wee Man’s Yoda top is actually age 4-5 (he’s not even 3 yet!) but it’s already fitting him fine.

This is because all Me&I clothes have been made with longevity in mind, and have great little features built in like turn up cuffs that don’t look like you’ve just rolled up the sleeves, and pull in bits on the bottom of trousers to stop that scuffed, dangled in the dirt look.

Did I mention Me&I do adult clothes as well? So not only can the kids look great, but I can too, hurrah!

They’re not the cheapest of clothes, but given the quality, the amount of wear you get out of them and the great choice of designs, I think it’s definitely worth paying that little bit extra for some nice outfits you know will last.

Bubby D has yet to try her outfit (giraffe tights and a matching vest top, with a pink – yes, I know what I said about pink but it’s a lovely bright pink – cord pinafore dress) as it’s too big for her, even with the cunning fits-for-ages devices built in, but I’m sure that when she does get to wear it, she’ll love it just as much as the Wee Man loves his :)

Xylitol

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I’ve seen it written on tubes of toothpaste – Xylitol.

But what actually is it?

Turns out, its sugar. Wierd, eh? People are actually BRUSHING THEIR TEETH WITH SUGAR. It all sounds a bit wacky and wrong, but actually, there is logic behind the madness.

Xylitol is a natural sugar, found in fruits such as raspberries, for example. It’s undigestible by decay-causing bacteria, and this means that when it’s on your teeth, the decay therefore isn’t. Simple!

Which is why I was happy giving the Wee Man sugary Xylitol toothpaste to try – courtesy of Brush Baby. He was happy as it tastes like applemint -in fact I think he’d happily have eaten the entire tube of it just because it tasted so great – and I was happy because for once he was brushing his teeth ‘like a tiger’ (think of a big teeth baring grrrr and you’ll realise why this is good) and not complaining about having to do so.

A win win situation.

He is now fiercely possessive of his toothpaste, and woe betide anyone else who attempts to use it. Luckily for him, as it’s been developed specifically for babies and toddlers, he has a legitimate reason for witholding it from Mummy and Daddy, and Bubby D who has as yet no teeth has not asserted a claim over it either.

Bubby D has, however, been enjoying chewing on her toothbrush. This may seem a bit random, since as I said she has no teeth, but for both my children, as soon as they’ve learned to hold things, I’ve let them have a toothbrush to play with while I was brushing my own teeth. I’ve found that it means that when they DO get teeth, it generally makes getting them to brush them a whole lot easier. (Most of the time, anyway. There have been the odd ‘pin him down and scrub them myself’ incidents with the Wee Man when he’s being particularly contrary, but luckily these don’t occur often as they aren’t much fun…).

Happily for Bubby D, Brush Baby also do chewable toothbrushes, and not only do they clean teeth but they massage sore gums too. The toothbrush can be cooled in the fridge to make it even nicer for teething babies to have a good old gnaw on, and it can also be sterilised and/or washed in the dishwasher – a huge benefit as a lot of the time Bubby D’s toothbrush ends up chucked into dark bathroom recesses after some enthusiastic waving it about.

At 8 months, with her little red cheeks and excessive drooling I’d say teeth are fairly imminent, so the Wee Man had better watch out on the toothpaste front. Although, in another couple of months when he reaches the grand old age of 3, there’s some exciting news for him – he’ll be upgraded to Tutti Frutti flavour children’s toothpaste!

I’m actually quite tempted to try it myself. Boo to my boring old minty stuff.

Welcome to the world

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Back in the dark ages when I was born, welcoming a baby into the world occurred when the baby actually arrived – with female friends and relatives all coming along to have a cuddle and the guys heading off down the pub to wet the baby’s head (so I’m told, anyway. I don’t actually remember this happening myself).

These days, however, things are a little bit different. Another American trend has crossed the channel and begun to make itself known here in the U.K., and it’s proving pretty popular – the Baby Shower.

Back when I was expecting the Wee Man and the topic of such a thing was raised, I was a little bit dubious about the whole concept. Not actually really knowing what one was, I had visions of standing, slightly dampened and hugely pregnant in the middle of a room, whilst people sprayed me with various liquid (champage, possibly?) and danced around me in a ritualistic way.

Turns out, that’s not actually what happens. (Thank goodness. I had enough of that kind of thing at my 21st birthday party, or so I’m told anyway. I can’t claim to remember much of it past about 8pm…).

Mine was a rather more sedate affair, organised by my lovely friend Kate and my splendid sister. Snacks were nibbled, drinks were sipped – and thankfully not sprayed – and gifts were bestowed on the as-yet-unborn Wee Man. It was a lovely afternoon, and despite my trepidation I was glad I had a baby shower.

Since then I’ve been to a few of them, with varying degrees of baby games, snacking, and gift giving. In general they have been arranged by friends or family of the mum to be,

However last weekend I was invited to a Baby Shower with a difference – rather than friends or family organising the day, the fun and frolics was provided courtesy of Before Baby, a company that offers themed baby shower packages at your home or workplace.

The company do just about everything for you – providing the decorations, food and drink, music and games so that all you have to do is invite your guests, provide the venue, and turn up. It sounded like a great idea, so I was interested to see how actually worked in practice – as well as going along to wish my friend well with her imminent arrival of course!

Despite a bit of a rocky start (the baby shower was meant to start at 2pm, but didn’t actually begin until 2.45) my friend – who was presented with a ‘Yummy Mummy’ sash to wear -, the other guests and I all had a lovely time. The time taken to set up was worth it as the central table and decorations were immaculately presented and well thought out, with miniature bottles of fresh lemonade sitting alongside tempting glass canisters filled with a whole selection of sweet treats, and tiny portions of oreo cookie ice cream just begging to be eaten. After being urged to sample some of the delights (most of us didn’t need telling twice!) we started with a game – designing a newborn baby vest in teams of 4. This was followed by a bit of a quiz and a relay game, including undressing and dressing a ‘baby’, building block towers, making nappies out of toilet roll and of course the essential part of any baby shower – eating baby food. The games were all well thought out and very entertaining, and although things felt a little bit disorganised at times, everyone had a lot of fun – especially my friend, which is the main thing!

Although it wasn’t my baby shower, I could certainly appreciate the way it ended too (no, I’m not talking about the gift bag we were given before we left, although that was lovely and I very much enjoyed scoffing the popcorn and miniature marshmallows that were in it!). In fact, I’m talking about the mess – or lack of it – because Before Baby did all the cleaning up afterwards, which meant pretty much zero hassle for anyone else. If I were to have another baby / baby shower (and I’m certainly not planning on either any time soon!) then I think that the service that Before Baby offers, from planning, to delivering (the event, not the baby…), to leaving only happy memories behind, is certainly the way to go.

Great food, great company, great entertainment, and no aftermath to deal with…what’s not to like?

Now bring on the baby!

V is for Vimto

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The Other Half likes to joke (I assume he is joking, anyway) that I have a bit of an addictive habit.

It’s not drugs, alcohol or smoking. It’s not biting my nails (the mere thought of it sets my teeth on edge, even if I did used to partake on the odd occasion when I was a child). It’s not even collecting shoes or handbags, something that I am given to understand is an allowable obsession for those of the female persuasion.

No, my addiction is not any of the above. Actually, what I apparently spend all the child benefit on is Vimto*.

There is just something great about it. It’s refreshing, its a nice colour, and it tastes lovely. The bottle is just the right size to last a day week and it’s generally on offer for a reasonable price in Iceland.

I try to convince myself that subsisting on water is a good alternative, but it just isn’t the same.

I don’t appear to be alone, either. Taking Bubby D to a playdate the other day, when the hostess asked who would like what to drink, the resounding answer from every single mum was ‘Vimto!’.

There must be some lack of sleep remedying, headache-from-howling-baby lessening, nose-assaulted-by-stinky-nappy appeasing ingredient in it. That’s the only reason I can think of why I *just*can’t*stop* drinking it!

*Not actually true. I do spend some of it on cake and chocolate too…

 

Umbrella

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Although we are meant to be in drought (so I am informed reliably by local buses, driving past me in the torrential rain), there does seem to be an awful lot of precipitation about.

True to form, this April truly has been a month of showers, and happily for the Wee Man, this has led to him being furnished with his latest obsession – his ‘brella’. A smaller version of the adult variety, easy for little hands to put up and down and adorned with pictures of George Pig and his trusty dinosaur, it is the Wee Man’s pride and joy.

Thanks to his Auntie Tooie, this weapon of mass destruction is crazily brandished at all opportunities, attacking unsuspecting passers by, prodding other small children in the head and causing great dismay for local dogs who seem to repeatedly end up being side swiped by its pronginess.

And clearly the Wee Man isn’t superstitious either – he’s quite happy to spend hours putting it up and down inside the house and out. Even whilst sitting in the pushchair with the hood up, he still insists on opening it up and squatting underneath it, making doubly sure that he is fully protected from the rain.

All I can say is, thank goodness it isn’t a golf umbrella…

Try before you buy

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Having a baby is probably one of the most expensive things in life.

Whilst you can get away with the bare essentials – for those practicing elimination communication, breastfeeding, cosleeping and baby wearing you really only need a few clothes, a decent sling and a whole lot of love – the reality is that most parents will choose a more materialistic way of life.

The new Britax Tri-Fix

A pushchair, a cot, a car seat and some clothing generally feature on the majority of lists. Further common items that many a parent-to-be wants include a baby swing or rocker, baby carrier or sling, reusable nappies, changing bag, additional nursery furniture and a moses basket or crib.

Bright, plastic and fun!

And don’t forget the toys, of course! Although Bubby D is extremely fond of her wooden spoon, she does equally like her brightly coloured built for purpose baby toys with various plastic chewy bits and interesting crinkly patches.

So, given this list of new-baby (and already got a baby and want some stuff for the next stage lists too – think highchairs, baby walkers, bouncers, books, potties and ride-ons…) there’s really only one place to go – and that’s the Baby Show at the NEC in Birmingham!

Bubby D tries out the Snugglebundl at the last Baby Show

Between 18th and 20th May 2012, nowhere else will you find such a large selection of baby products and services all under one roof, ready to be compared, tried and tested; and then – if you decide you like them – bought at discounted show prices. Some of my favourite brands will be there, including Mamas and Papas, Marks and Spencer, Mothercare and Fisher Price to name but a few. It’s mummy and baby gadget heaven!

The One Born Every Minute midwives on the Prima Baby Stage

Not only that, but up on the Prima Baby Stage you can hear advice from a whole range of experts on topics such as sleep, feeding and breastfeeding, as well as watching maternity fashion shows, or learning some vital paediatric first aid skills.

The Fisher Price creche

And should you be thinking of visiting with your little one in tow, then don’t forget the Fisher Price creche, with free sessions on offer throughout the day. Great baby changing facilities are provided too, and feeding areas for both breast and bottle feeding (I’m looking forward to giving those oh-so-comfortable feeding chairs another go!).

‘But I’ll buy so much, I wont be able to carry it all!’ you may be thinking.

Fear not! The lovely Emma’s Diary people operate a collect by car service, so you can stash your stuff for pickup when you leave. And should your worry be that your car isn’t big enough, even if you could collect it all later, then again, huzzah! They can arrange for it to be delivered for you, too.

So with tickets for only £12 in advance, or two for £20, you really can’t afford to miss it!

For more information and the latest news about what’s on, how to get there, or just to snap up some lovely tickets (they’d only be lovelier if they were chocolate flavoured…mmm…) have a little clicky here :)

Go on, you know you want to!