The Breastfeeding Mum's Guide to Family Life!

Guys and Dolls - Sales of new Oobicoo soft toy Ollie outstrip Orla 2:1

Boys’ dolls are selling twice as fast as girls’ dolls according to Totseat founder Rachel Jones, who believes the media have been integral in helping to break down gender stereotypes.

The UK toy industry is worth £2.96bn and since launching the soft toy tots Ollie and Orla last year, multi award winning entrepreneur Rachel Jones has sold twice as many of the boy ‘doll’ Ollie. Sales of boys’ toys take 55% share of the UK toy market and Rachel believes sales of Oobicoo Ollie reflect society’s changing perceptions of traditional gender stereotypes.

Rachel says, “We live in a culture where many people look to the media as a guide to behavior and as a result many people conform to majority norms. Traditionally girls have been expected to play with dolls and wear pink and many parents have discouraged their sons from playing with dolls per se, however there appears to be a shift in this gender stereotyping which can only be a good thing.”

Oobicoo was originally developed and sold as a mannequin to display the multi-award winning Totseat; a safe, portable, fabric highchair for families travelling with babies. Rachel soon realised their appeal when they became the unlikely classmates of her daughter Freya and her friends, who loved the fact that they were so big and cuddly!

The adorable, soft toy tot Oobicoo is made from gorgeous soft plush fabric and, at 60cm tall, is the same size as a six month old baby - the perfect size to be an instant baby brother, sister or best friend. They come in their own wee fabric 'pod' and are designed to be dressed in hand-me-down-baby clothes. This simple idea not only saves money, it encourages the reuse of outgrown baby clothes, teaches children dexterity and provides Oobicoo with an instant wardrobe.

With sound eco credentials, Oobicoo is filled with recycled polymer, manufactured from recycleable fabric and is raising money for the Children's Immunology Fund - £1 from every sale goes to the charity. Oobicoo even has its very own dance tune, penned by Emily Philips and Josh Wilkinson who co-write for pop superstars One Direction and Alexandra Burke!

Rachel added, “Oobicoo not only helps your child’s development, they are perfect for imaginative play, great for teaching dexterity in terms of dressing and undressing and because of their realistic size, they give children someone to cuddle!

“We are delighted to announce the launch of Olwyn, our fourth soft toy tot, who has a different skin tone to the other Oobicoo tots. We are keen to encourage diversity and since launching Oobicoo Ed last year, who is entirely bald, we have had great reactions to the entire Oobicoo family.”

BabyCam Car Monitor - A Few Weeks Later!

A few weeks ago I reviewed the BabyCam Car Monitor by Storage Options. Basically, it's a safety device which allows you to keep a close eye on your baby when you're driving. It's great because with rear facing baby seats it means you don't have to guess what's wrong with your baby if he or she starts to cry whilst the car is moving, but instead you can glance at your monitor and see your child instantly.

Watch the video below and see how I'm finding it a few weeks on!

KEEP BABY WARM WITH MERINO LAMBSWOOL COT AND PRAM BLANKETS FROM LUXURY LIFESTYLE BRAND SCARLET & ARGENT (Press Release)

Keep baby warm with a Liberty Born cot or pram blanket from luxury new British lifestyle brand Scarlet & Argent.

Woven with luxuriously light and ever so soft merino wool, these truly lovable baby blankets are trimmed with Liberty fabric, adding an extra special touch for that extra special little person in your life.

Bound all round in Liberty printed cotton lawn, the 100% Merino Lambswool blankets are incredibly lightweight and have a soft and warming touch. The ideal baby blanket, it is available in two colours; pink for girls and blue for boys and in two sizes; Cot and Pram. (The Pram blankets cost £90 while the Cot blanket is £105)

Journal 10+: A Decade of Memories for You to Treasure (Product Review)

When I was 8 years old I started my first diary and my very first entry reminds me that I bought my mother a cactus for Mother's Day! I have no doubt that I would have forgotten all about this very momentous day had it not been for the fact I had written it down.

Over the next ten or so years I continued writing down my thoughts and experiences but unfortunately my diary became five or six books worth which over time became scattered and battered! However, I still have them all and occasionally dip in to remind me of my growing up years.

After about the age of 18 I stopped writing everything down and only took it up again during each of my four pregnancies, something which saddens me a little since many memories which should have been recorded in between times weren't and are lost in the ether forever!

However the future beckons and with it comes Journal 10+, an 11 year diary which promises to be my saviour for the next decade of my life. A beautifully bound faux leather book, it is unlike any journal I have ever used before.

PARENTS REST EASY: INNOVATIVE NEW RANGE OF BABY MONITORS LAUNCHED FOR THE HOME, GARDEN AND CAR (Press Release)

Leading CCTV and surveillance vendor Storage Options, has launched an innovative new range of easy-use ‘Baby Cam’ monitors, giving parents much-needed reassurance that their babies or toddlers are safe and secure, whether it’s in the car, the home, or even the garden.

BabyCam Car is a specialist baby back seat monitoring system, developed to help parents avoid the potentially-dangerous need to turn around and check on their children whilst driving – a habit, which according to research,  puts them at a much higher risk of having a car accident.*

Working much like a Sat Nav, parents simply attach a compact wireless camera to the side rear window to get a clear view of their baby and to transmit a high-quality video picture to a display attached to their windscreen. The system is extremely easy to use and comes equipped with a host of useful features including night vision, a built in rechargeable battery with four hour life, as well as versatile window suction mounts. 

Accordion Apparel - New Products Now Available (Press Release)

The new Accordion Apparel products are now available.  Accordion Apparel is a little online company that aims to sell inspired and unique clothes, designs and accessories.   They sell what they enjoy, what they would wear and what they want to look at.  In exchange for your hard earned money they will send you a little bit of love in product form.

Accordion Apparel also help to raise money for Leukaemia CARE and have an exclusive poster & card collection by a range of artists and bands.  All the profits taken from these posters are going straight to the charity so they can continue doing the great work that they do.

The Giraffe Bag

A wonderfully fun, ethically screen-printed, 14oz cotton canvas tote bag.  Designed by Sally Linsdell, this bag is great for a kid’s day out, for the city, for work…anything really. It can pretty much fit in all your worldly goods. Capacity: 19 litres. Dimensions: 43 x 38 x 13cm 

RRP £6.99

NOSY CROW REINVENTS DIGITAL PICTURE BOOKS

New Children’s Publisher Launches 

The Three Little Pigs App for iPad

London, For Immediate Release: Nosy Crow, a new children’s book and app publisher in London, has launched a highly innovative app for iPad™, The Three Little Pigs. This is the first in a series of 3-D Fairy Tale apps from Nosy Crow for children ages 4 and up. It will be available on the App Store starting February 17, 2011.

The Three Little Pigs app takes full advantage of the iPad’s technical capabilities to create a unique reading experience. It features sophisticated animation, original interactive music, child narrators and hundreds of interactive touch points. Children tap the screen to make the pigs talk, spin into the air and build their homes of straw, sticks and bricks. They use the microphone to help the wolf blow down the houses. What’s more, as children tilt the iPad, the screen perspective changes to reveal hidden details and more of the scene.

“We aren’t squashing books that already exist onto tablets,” says Kate Wilson, Managing Director of Nosy Crow. “As publishers with decades of storytelling experience, we’ve created a new way for children to learn to explore and read stories. The Three Little Pigs app is fun, surprising, educational and worth reading again and again.”

Tiny Asthma Inhaler That Can Reduce Bacteria and Bullying

THE world’s smallest asthma inhaler can tackle bacteria and help prevent bullying in children.

The Easyhaler device is so effective and discreet that children as young as six can use it.

Statistics show that bullying is a concern for 30 per cent of children with severe asthma. Asthmatic children, who often feel conscious about being different to others in their school, are more likely to experience shyness, teasing and bullying about using their inhalers.

A third of children with asthma say that their condition can result in them being left out of sports activities at school.

Return of the Honey Monster! Tell 'Em About the Honey Mummy!

Yay, one of my all time childhood favourite tv characters has returned to the small screen (see above) - the Honey Monster! Remember him? He looked like a big cuddly Sugar Puff and his childish behaviour endeared him to many children, including my husband and I. Even today, I still remember chanting his wonderful catch-phrase, "Tell 'em about the honey, mummy!"

Well, now it's time for my children to fall in love with him two - although perhaps not so much a first crush, as  a first crunch!

Inoa by L'Oreal - Will it Work?

I'm one of those people who, having had my hair coloured for years, took a reaction last time resulting in a very itchy, lumpy scalp for several days afterwards. This terrified me as I've heard of people losing their hair or having a very severe reaction causing facial swelling and so on. 

As you can imagine, I've been very hesitant to go back for more, but since the odd grey hair is making it's appearance I don't really have a choice but to get it coloured. (And yes, I know there's a grey model out there who's aiming to make it fashionable, but frankly, I'm not ready for that quite yet!)

Well, I faced a dilemma - whether or not to risk another reaction if anyone would colour it for me, but thankfully, after a bit of searching around, I've discovered that there's a new product available in selected salons called Inoa, an ammonia-free permanent hair colour by the masters of haircare, L'Oreal. Having had a patch test in one of the salons using it, thankfully I didn't suffer a reaction, so tomorrow I'm off to get the full works.

I'm dying (excuse the pun!) to see the results as at the moment my hair is over-bleached, brittle and just horrible. It's going to cost a small fortune compared to what I usually pay so I'm hoping it looks good - if it does, I'll post a pic!

Let me know about any hair experiences you've had, good or bad, in the comments below!