Ever since Florence was born I have been SO excited to introduce her to the wonder of train play. I don’t remember having a train set myself as a child, I think I had cars and vehicles but not necessarily an actual train set with […]
It’s official, I’ve reached the third trimester and while in the most part I’ve eased my way through this pregnancy I’m really starting to flag a bit now. I feel every day of 29 weeks pregnant and with 11 more weeks to go until due […]
A little while ago, The Baby Hamper Company got in touch and sent me one of their Mother & Baby Luxury Hampers to review and oh my word, I am a bit blown away by how beautiful everything inside is! Everything arrived enclosed in an eco friendly cardboard box, wrapped beautifully with red ribbon – perfect for gifting at a baby shower or to a new Mama without even having to wrap yourself.
Inside was a range of neutral in colour, hand picked pretty-yet-practical baby products designed and made by a host of other independent brands along with a couple essentials for me as baby’s arrival draws nearer. A big tick for me as you know how much of a sucker I am for supporting small business. I really like the fact that by potentially buying from just one place, you could support so many others at the same time. 
The contents included a bundle of incredibly soft and brilliant quality baby clothes – a matching hat & body suit with a grey star print by Baby Bunting and an adorable spectacle sporting rabbit sleepsuit. They’re all in size 0-3m, so perfect for bigger newborns or for gifting after baby has arrived for them to grow into. I for one cannot wait to dress baby boy in the rabbit sleepsuit! It will be able to pass as pjs as well as a cute little outfit during the day too. I am going to be packing this bundle in my hospital bag just in case baby is a bigg’un.
Also included were a Pigeon Organics receiving blanket and an aiden + anais muslin blanket, both equally stunning in design. The receiving blanket is again, of amazing quality and you can feel that it’s made from the highest grade organic cotton just by touching it. It’s reversible with a grey and mustard badger print on the front and a coordinating grey & white stripe on the back.
The muslin cloth is from the ever famous aden + anais range of exquisitely designed ‘musy’s’ and is a character-ful map of Winnie the Pooh’s home – 100 Acre Wood. Every Mama knows how essential muslin squares are with a newborn and it’s always such a bonus when they look this good too. 
For me, enclosed was a natural soy wax candle and lip balm from The Baby Hamper Company’s own range. Both (along with everything else in the hamper) will be accompanying me to the hospital when I have baby as the candle will create a relaxing atmosphere in the birthing room and lip balm is an essential for those who use gas and air as your lips get SO dry!
Lats but not least, there was a record book by the bright side. When I had Florence I received three record books and am yet to even fill out one of them (it’s on the list!). This one however is truly lovely and tells the story of your little one in a tone that is just perfect. It’s simple yet covers all of the important milestones and there is plenty of room on each colourful page for parents to write in comments and add photographs etc.
I absolutely adore this gift hamper and unlike so many others on the market it holds a combination of exceptional products which are not only practical but pretty too. I can honestly say I will be using every single one of the items included and I think that is quite a rare thing as normally there are one or two ‘filler’ items when it comes to gift sets that tend to be forgotten. This hamper retails at £80.00 which while at first might seem a little high in price, the quality of both the products & the service provided by The Baby Hamper Company is actually spot on in my opinion. I loved receiving this gift and think I have found my new favourite go – to retailer for new baby gifts! Check out their full range of hampers and other bits and bobs on their website here.
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I’ve teamed up with one of my favourite toy brands to share my thoughts on their top picks for Christmas for babies & toddlers as part of my toy review series. Hape are the worlds largest producer of wooden toys priding themselves on their use […]
Over the next few weeks, as we all busy ourselves with Christmas shopping and preparing for the most wonderful time of the year, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on some of the many toys out there on the market for babies & toddlers. I am […]
A Mama’s work is never done is it? I seem to have this never ending to do list filled with all of the things I *should* be doing, need to get done, but frankly some days I barely even make a start. Since Florence started walking, I it’s pretty difficult to do anything productive without two little hands coming along with me and wanting to know exactly what I am up to or needing me for something else, generally leading to there being lots of half finished jobs dotted around the house and me feeling like I’ve achieved next to nothing at by the end of the day as well as feeling guilty that I’ve only given Florence half of the attention she needs. I have however, over time, come up with a few different ways to make the whole thing a little easier for both of us.
What is it with toddlers and washing machines? Florence is obsessed with ours and while sometimes her interest in the buttons can be a bit of a nuisance I’ve actually found a way to make the most of her fascination with the most used appliance in our house… get her to help load & unload. Likewise, if I’m dusting or cleaning I give her a baby wipe or a cloth and she follows me around copying me as I go. She loves getting stuck in and feeling like she’s helping out.
It’s all very well getting but is there anything more annoying than having to do a job twice because the product you used didn’t do the job well enough the first time? Making an investment in the right cleaning products (rather than a bunch of expensive ineffective ones) has honestly reduced my housework load and means I get more time to spend with Florence! You can see my review of the Nimble range here. Full disclosure — I have not been asked to include their products in this post! 
There, I said it. Not everyone will agree with me but sometimes relying on a couple of episodes of Hey Duggee to distract your little one while you run the vacuum around or have a quick tidy up is all you need.
The beauty of simple 10 minute play activities! One of my go to time buyers is sitting her down near me while I fold the laundry and giving her some buttons & a money box! She loves to post the buttons through the hole and then shake them all back out again once she’s done. When I’m making lunch or cleaning the kitchen, I tend to pop her in the highchair and give her some colouring to do or a magazine from the shop!
Okay, so it’s not always entirely practical or possible, but if I often find myself whizzing around the house trying to do everything I can or cramming in some work in the hour that Florence sleeps during the day. 
So, while I still don’t manage to get everything done that I need to, using a combination of these does help! I hope these tips come in handy for you too.
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With all eyes on the impact we have on the planet I’m making a conscious effort to make this Christmas as Eco Friendly as possible. I’ve tried to opt for wooden toys over plastic for Florence, I’ve made a lot of gifts rather than bought […]
Now that we are past that half way mark, I have been thinking a lot more about how we are going to prepare Florence for becoming a big sister. With time speeding by and the next few months being busy with all sorts of events […]
