How To Get A Baby To Sleep

Obviously parents love their baby but sometimes it just gets so frustrating when they just wont go to sleep! Well never fear, help is at hand, in the form of a handy guide below. (more…)

Yummy Mummy Changing Bags

There are baby changing bags and then there are Yummy mummy changing bags! These are like the Ferrari of changing bags. They are expensive but what you get is a stylish bag that looks a little bit different from everything else and you will probably have a unique product that your friends won’t have. (more…)

Cheap Nappies!

One of the major expenses with babies is nappies but the good news is that you can get them cheaper. How? If you sign up to Amazons family you will get 20% off pampers. It doesnt sound a lot but over the next few months it will save you a small fortune. (more…)

Best Baby Changing Bags

Babies themselves are little cuddly creatures so you could be forgiven for thinking that they don’t take up a lot of space. nappies, cream, wipes…they all take up space and all need to be carried around, preferably in their own little bag, a baby changing bag! (more…)

Best bottle warmers, bottle warmer reviews

Bottle warmers are one of those things that look a bit of a gimick. Something that other people own and that you dont really need. Well get that idea out of your head right now. These devices are a great time saver. No need to boil the kettle and wait around for the water to go cold, a bottle warmer will heat the water around the bottle, staying warm.

So what do these convienient time savers do? Its simple, they heat up water and you place the bottle in it. The water heats the milk in the bottle. They work exactly as the boiling water in the jug trick except without the need for a kettle.

What are the advantages to a bottle warmer and are they the best way to warm a bottle?

  1. They are safer than using boiling water.
  2. They use less water than a kettle and less electricity.
  3. They are far more convienient than having to use a traditional kettle.
  4. You can get travel versions, bottle warmers for your car!
  5. Are they the best way to warm a bottle? Maybe, maybe not but they certainly make life a little easier!

Hopefully you are convinced that the best option is to go out and buy one immediately! But which one, should you choose? Well the decision is yours but to make it easier we have chosen three of the most popular, see bottle warmer reviews below:

  1. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature – Good old Tommee Tippee strikes again! This manufacturer can do no wrong and their bottle warmer is no exception. Its fantastic value and practically indestructible. The product has a built in timer and temperature setting which once you get right will just keep the bottle at just the right temperature, no need to worry about over heating. This will heat bottles or jars of baby food to just the right temperature.
  2. Dr Brown’s Deluxe Bottle Warmer – Are most bottle warmers the same?? Well pretty much yes but most people have certain manufacturers that they look at as a step ahead of the rest. Dr Browns is one of these manufacturers and their bottle warmer is pretty good. This warmer has a digital display that you set your temperature or time on and then you just leave it to warm the food. It is a great product so why did we put it behind the tommee tippee bottle warmer? Because its twice the price people!!
  3. Babymoov Car Bottle Warmer – Strictly speaking this isnt the best bottle warmer on the market but it is one of the best bottle warmers for the car. When you are out and about it can be difficult to find a place that will give you warm water to heat the baby food or bottle. This product gets around this by heating the bottles up via your car power outlet. The product is basically a heated blanket for your babies milk. As you would expect it takes a little longer to heat the milk up that boiling water does but it is often much more convienient that trying to find boiling water on a day out in the countryside. This is one of the best car bottle warmers.

So there you have it, a review if three of the best baby milk warmers. Now all you have to do is decide if you actually need one!

Angelcare baby monitor review

Angelcare sell two things in the UK, nappy bin systems, baby monitors and bath support systems. Their products are rebnowned for the quality of build and functions that they build into their ranges.

We have reviewed two of their top selling baby monitors below to try and give you an idea of what you get when you buy something from Angelcare.

Angelcare AC401

The 401 is one of their most popular movement and sound monitors. Not only does it look stylish, it also has an under mattress monitor and in room temperature gauge. Th AC401 also has a re-assurance ticking noise that ensures that you know the monitor is still working while baby sleeps silently.

The first thing you notice about the Angelcare 401 is the clarity of the sound. Its like listening to baby in the same room. Battery power is conserved by shutting off the sound transmission when absolutely no sound is detected. The transmitter re-activates on the slightest noise.

The system consists of two units, the baby monitor and the parent unit. The parent unit is portable and will last for a full 8 hours without a re-charge. There is an alarm that sounds when you are out of range but the baby unit will transmit up to 250m so it is unlikely you will ever hear it!

The temperature in the babies room can be viewed on the clear LCD display on the parent unit.

A fantastic baby monitor with more than enough features for any parent.

Pros

  • Crystal clear sound
  • Great build quality and value for money
  • Temperature monitor is a good feature

Cons

  • Temperature monitor isnt as accurate as it could be
  • Cant mount movement sensor on wooden slats of cot….Just get a big square flat piece of wood.

Angelcare AC1100

If you feel you need to go  one step further than listening to baby and want to watch them as well then the AC1100 is the model for you. This unit is three monitors in one piece of kit. It combines video, movement and audio sensing to give you total peace of mind.

The baby unit is similar in appearance to the model above but it has the inclusion of a full colour camera. The HD camera can be zoomed and panned from the parent unit.

As with all Angelcare units the sound quality is exceptional and the range is around 250m. The parent unit is a portable unit that has around 8hours operatin on a full charge. A great feature of the parent unit is the talk back function. This allows you to chat to your baby and calm them down if you hear them stir.

The AC1100 has the same re-assurance tick system and the same under mattress sensor as the AC401.

Pros

  • Full HD Video makes you feel like you know exactly what is happening in babies room
  • Crystal clear sound
  • Stylish looking with lots of features

Cons

  • It is expensive

 

Final Thoughts

Our advise is, if you can afford it then the Angelcare AC1100 is fantastic, but it is expensive. If you can live without a video link then the AC401 is a fantastic baby monitor at a quarter of the price!

Best 5 car seats for new borns

Choosing your car seat is both important and difficult. On the one hand your baby needs to be safe but on the other hand, everybody has a budget. How do you choose your car seat and what are all these groups about?

Car seat groups and weights

What makes car seat shopping even more confusing is that they are split into groups. What are these car seat groups? See the table below.

 

Group

Weight

Approximate Age of Child

0+

Birth to 13 kg (29 lb)

Birth to 12 months

0+/1

Birth to 18 kg (40 lb)

Birth to around 4 years

1

9 kg to 18 kg (20-40 lb)

9 months to around 4 years

1/2/3

9 kg to 36 kg (20-79 lb)

9 months to around 12 years

2/3

15 kg to 36 kg (33-79 lb)

4 years to 12 years

For more info about choosing your car seat you could check out the Which guide.

As a new born you will be looking at group 0 car seats but a lot of them stretch across a couple different groups. There are lots of car seats on the market so which one do you choose? Well below we have chosen ten of the best new born car seats currently available. These were chosen because of their popularity, usability, size and price.

Fisherprice safe voyage

Group 0/1, up to 18kg

The safe voyage car seat from fisherprice can be converted from rear to front facing. It has a removable, washable cover and has deep sides for impact protection. The seat itself can be reclined without having to remove from the vehicle.

Pros

  • Great value for money
  • Very stylish
  • Well made and very sturdy
  • Very comfy by the looks of it, kids sleep for hours in it!

Cons

  • Rubbish packaging
  • Fiddly to recline and use in general

 

Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix Car Seat

Group 0+, up to 13kg

Maxi-cosi is perhaps one of the better known car seat manufacturers. The cabriofix car seat is a compact unit that fits perfectly onto the maxi-cosi base unit. You can use the unit on its own but this setup allows you to carry around a much smaller car seat than other brands and still maintain the same safety and protection. The cabriofix car seat is available in lots of colours and patterns.

Pros

  • Incredibly easy integration with other maxi-cosi stuff
  • Very comfy
  • Easy to fit
  • Compact
  • Integral sun shade

Cons

  • Not great for babies with reflux
  • non removable cover
  • Chest adjustment button very hard to push in

 

Graco Logico S HP

Group 0+, up to 13kg

Graco is another huge manufacturer of baby products. The logico S HP is a reclining car seat with a 2 position canopy and 3 position harness. it is lightweight and small in construction and has a five point harness to hold baby safely in position. it has a recliner indicator and side impact protection.

Pros

  • Five point harness
  • Easy to install
  • Great value
  • Fabric is really easy to clean
  • Very deep seated

Cons

  •  Padding for newborns is quite flimsy
  • Black plastic gets hot in the sun
  • Big and heavy to carry around

 

Graco Junior Baby

Group 0+, up to 13kg

The Graco range of car seats is phenomenal! This is a budget car seat that offers some great benefits. If you already have a graco push chair and a base then this unit will slot onto either of them with ease. It has side impact protection and a three point harness. The canopy is adjustable and the cover is machine washable.

Pros

  • Very sturdy and comfortable
  • Great value for money

Cons

  • Not really suitable for extremely small babies unless you grab yourself another insert

 


 

Maxi-Cosi Pebble

Group 0+, up to 13kg

The pebble is one of maxi-cosi’s best selling car seats. It comes in a number of different colours and when used with the maxi cosi base offers a very easy to use product. A major feature of the pebble is the harness which is one of the easiest to install on the market. The pebble includes a support pillow and headhugger for younger babies.

Pros

  • Great inbuilt sunshade
  • Looks stylish
  • Purposely designed for newborn, comfy and snug
  • Good value for money
  • Very easy to install

Cons

  •  Quite heavy

 

 

Even though we have listed these here, don’t take our word for it. Get out there and have a play with them. Another important point to note is that not all car seats will fit in all cars, its important to check with measurements. We would also suggest that you try and actually install the car seat in your vehicle before you buy, this sounds ridiculous but a lot of stores will let you do this.

 

 

Lots of stupid myths about getting pregnant!

Us humans are weird at times. We stroll around the planet thinking we own the place making up ridiculous links between happenings. Below are some weird pregnancy myths that people actually believe about having a baby.

  1. Different sex positions make it easier to get pregnant.
  2. You can’t get pregnant while you are on your period.
  3. You can get pregnant during oral sex….Bit of a long shot.
  4. You can’t get pregnant if he whips it out fast enough. I wonder which sex came up with this rumour?!
  5. The women needs to orgasm to get pregnant.
  6. You can choose a boy or girl by doing certain things.
  7. You can’t get pregnant the first time you have sex. Again, I wonder which sex came up with this one.
  8. You can use clingfilm as a substitute to condoms. I have no idea why you would want to try this.
  9. Its easier to get pregnant during the day.
  10. You need to have sex three times a day to get pregnant.
  11. Eating bananas makes men more fertile.
  12. Cooling your mans bits with ice cubes leads to better fertility, and its fun too.
  13. STD’s dont effect your chances of getting pregnant.
  14. You can only get pregnant at certain times of the month.
  15. Morning sickness is worse if its a girl.
  16. Getting pregnant the easy way.
  17. Hairy babies cause heartburn when pregnant.
  18. Dont touch animals whilst pregnant, especially cats.
  19. Curry will trigger labour, avoid it…In fact just to be safe you should avoid spicy food entirely while pregnant.
  20. Avoid bumpy roads, you may suddenly burst into contractions.
  21. Keep your arms down when pregnant, if you lift them too high your baby will get strangled by the chord.
  22. Eating kebabs will lead to ugly babies.
  23. Pregnant women should never, ever have a bath!
  24. Different shaped bellies mean different sex baby.
  25. If your legs get chunky you are having a boy…Or you are doing too many squats.
  26. If you are a clumsy oaf then you are having a baby boy.
  27. If your right breast is bigger than your left then you are having a boy.
  28. If you have cold feet then you are having a boy.
  29. If your nose is getting bigger then you are having a baby boy.
  30. If theres a storm a brewing then get your overnight bag ready because you are about to go into labour.
  31. If your partner puts weight on then you are having a girl.
  32. Do not under any circumstances go swimming whilst pregnant, the poor baby will drown.
  33. Hairy legs whilst pregnant means you are about to have a boy…….And hopefully a shave.
  34. You should never have sex during pregnancy, you could harm the baby.
  35. Sex during pregnancy could lead to poking the babies eyes out.
  36. Sleeping on your back could harm the unborn baby.
  37. Sitting down to fast can break the babies kneck.
  38. If you eat to much when pregnant you will give birth to a fat baby.
  39. If you eat a lot of curry your baby will have red hair.
  40. You can use spoons and forks to get a boy or a girl. Just sit on them.
  41. Drinking too much coffee while pregnant will give your baby a birth mark….Possibly on their cheek.
  42. If you have a round facde then you are having a girl.
  43. If you eat pickles while pregnant your baby will have a lisp.
  44. If you crave salty food then you are having a boy.
  45. You cant get pregnant while standing up.
  46. If you get your hair cut while pregnant your baby will by blind.
  47. Cocoa butter stops stretch marks.
  48. A full moon can bring on labour.
  49. Sex brings on labour.
  50. Stretch marks can be eliminated with creams and magic potions.
  51. Your first baby will be late.
  52. If your mum had it easy then so will you.
  53. Pregnant women crave pickle flavoured ice cream.
  54. Dont eat fish if you are pregnant.
  55. Babies heart rate will tell you the sex of your baby.
  56. Pregnant women must eat twice as much as usual.
  57. Pregnant women shouldnt dye their hair.
  58. Pregnant women should sit around all day, every day, doing nothing.
  59. A growing teenager will not have enough body resources to build a baby.

OK some of them may be true but a lot of them just seem to ridiculous for people to even believe!

 

 

How to calm your baby

Sometimes it is extremely frustrating being a parent. Babies no nothing about what is going on, they don’t understand what you are saying and they have no idea how to stop themselves from feeling so stressed.

In order to calm your baby down you need to understand the way they look at the world. Babies see the world completely differently to you and I. They have literally no understanding of the world. They see it but they have no understanding of what they are seeing.

Unfortunately for you as a parent this lack of understanding means that sometimes it seems almost impossible to console them, calm them down and stop the screaming.

A few common reasons that babies cry uncontrollably

There are many reasons why a baby might cry but here are  a few of the more commin reasons:

1. Tired. You hear it all the time, hes tired, hes cranky etc. A tired human is a miserable human, even us fully grown people get cranky when we don’t get enough sleep but adults know what to do about it, we go to sleep. Unfortunately babies don’t have the ability or realization that they are tired and that a snooze would make them feel better. It is a vicious cycle, baby gets tired and starts crying, the crying stops them from getting some shut eye so they cry some more and so still can’t get to sleep…Its a cycle that means they are in a bad mood.

2. Dirty nappy. It sounds obvious but sitting in their own mess isn’t the most comfortable place to be so they sort it out the only way they can, by screaming the house down.

3. Hunger. Babies have very little in the way of communication, in fact the only way they can communicate is to scream and cry. If baby is hungry they will scream.

4. Wind. If you have ever had trapped wind then you will know how painful it can be. Imagine a baby going through that pain. They have no idea what is going on or what to do about it. Wind can be a major cause of stress for young babies, they don’t know how to burp and eating everything whilst horizontal causes a lot of wind.

5. Reflux. Reflux is when the babies milk comes back up and gets stuck in the food pipe. Its not nice and causes stress for the baby for obvious reasons.

How to calm a crying baby

Although there are no strict rules and sometimes it seems impossible, luckily there are a few things that you can do to try and help the situation when things get a little loud and stressful.

1. Put baby in a sling and close to you. The warmth of the parents body is a calming feeling for baby and a great way to do this is with a sling. Holding in your arms is just as good but your arms will ache after a while. The closeness will make baby feel more secure and the warmth may send them into a snooze, which is always good for both parties!

2. Bath time. Your baby probably loves bath times and babies dont have a massive attention span. Anything you can do to take your babies mind away from the thing that upset them is great news. A bath is a great way to take both your minds away from the stress. Its fun for you and its a distraction for baby.

3. A dummy. A lot of people dont like dummies but the fact is that most babies love them. originally people used corn on the cob but these days the rubber types are usually given. You might not want to give your child a dummy but really, how much damage can it do?? A dummy is a great comfort to baby and it gives them something to do and if they are teething it helps  sooth the pain.

4. Play some music. It doesnt even have to be music, just any noise will do. Anything to distract and take the mind away to another place. Babies are easily stimulated and music is a great way to calm the mood and stimulate babies mind, it calms the baby down.

5. Go for a wander around. A walk round the block or a stroll the the corner shop. More distractions, things to look at and different sounds can calm and sooth baby.

6. Have patience. I know sometimes it is difficult to have patience but this isnt going to last forever. The crying will stop and your baby will soon become a toddler and will soon become a school child and soon become an adult. Even if these times seem stressful they are still to be enjoyed because life is short and time passes far too quickly. Try to calm down and enjoy every moment.

The Best Buggy Boards

What are buggy boards? They are an attachment that you can add to your buggy that allows you to ferry two kids around. The younger one sits in the buggy and the older one can stand on the board instead of walking. (more…)