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pikapü

The first thing I noticed about my first little pikapü cloth nappy was the softness.

Compared to the disposable nappies my little one has been wearing it felt like heaven.

I was so excited to give the nappy a go but had to wash it first. We have been having pretty cold and cloudy weather lately so I was a bit concerned about how quickly it would dry especially as the pikapü is an all in one nappy.

I pulled my load of laundry out of the machine and the pikapü was the dryest thing in there. It was almost dry already! A few hours on the line and it was done and ready to wear. I can't tell if there was a look of relief or joy on Lucy's face when that nappy went on but she had the longest sweetest nap while wearing it. Actually as it was going I was so excited (My mum and sister were there too and we were all excited) that I think the excitement transferred to Lucy and she did a little happy wee.

It seems to be a great nappy. Comfy and soft and good at soaking up the good stuff. It was easy to clean again and came out super clean in the wash. Again it was very quick to dry and hangs nice and easy on the line. It does have velcro which you would think would ruin in the was but inside the nappy are some velcro savers you put the scratchy end of the velcro on so they last longer.

Pros - cute and cuddly, quick drying, great colours.

Cons - a little difficult to figure out how it goes on. Its OSFA so the newborn setting takes a little folding and moulding. Not impossible though.

Altogether a pretty fun and cool nappy. I think I'll buy more.

oh my laundry! -competition-

I pretty much do laundry every day at the moment.
Small baby clothes, big Myl clothes and loads of burpy cloths, sheets and towels.
I feel like I still haven't caught up from going away for the easter weekend. My bag may or may not be still half packed.

I don't think I'm technically supposed to be doing laundry what with my scar and all but I'm feeling a lot better and it's nice to get out of the house every now and then.

A while back I was sent some eco friendly detergent from Bosistos. It's chemical free and has such a lovely eucalyptus smell. I love using it and knowing I'm not exposing my little girl (and myself!) to strange chemicals with extra long names.

I love going into the laundry and smelling that beautiful smell. Oooh yea!
The detergent is ultra concentrated as well so you only need a small capful making the 1.5kg box go extra far.
It's also fantastic on the stains which with a little poopy newborn is a bit of a lifesaver.

You can find the powder at Woolworths for $9.18 a box and at the moment it is on sale for $4.99 till next Tuesday the 10th of May. So be quick and pop in to Woolies!

OR you can win it right here!


I have six boxes of powder up for grabs. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me what you would like your laundry to smell like if you could choose any smell. Franjipanis perhaps? Marshmallows? Roast Lamb? hmm...

The competition will only be running for a week so make sure you get your entry in to win some great and green laundry detergent!

winner

Congrats nellbe, winner of the aden + anais issie security blanket competition.

Giveaway! Oh so lovely.

 Here is the winner of last weeks competition.

Congrats Nic. Your floors will be spotless in no time.

And now another!
Remember aden + anais and their lovely muslin blankets?

Well I have a fantastic giveaway for you. They make lovely security blankets out of muslin and satin. You could have one for your little one. There is even a blanket named after me!* Its the pink starry one at the bottom.

These things are just so gosh darn lovely I feel like becoming a baby and snuggling up with one.

All you have to enter is go to their site and tell me your favourite aden + anias product and then like their facebook group. You could be receiving a fabulous blankie in the mail. It's that easy! You also have to live in Australia. That might not be so easy for some of you.

But hurry you only have one week to enter the competition. I will announce the winner next Friday.


*perhaps? It's called Rinny.

mama who mops

Talk about divine provision. Just as I settle into my crazy preggo mama nesting spree I get given the fantastic Rubbermaid Reveal Mop in the mail.

My house is wooden floors throughout with tile in the bathroom so this product is absolutely perfect. I have never had a mop before. My kitchen isn't huge so I have previously used a chux on my hands and knees but this is oh so much better for my preggo non bendable body! Not to mention the ammount of *ahem* baby stuff I anticipate having on my floor in the next little while.

With the reveal mop I don't even need to use a bucket like the good old days. This mop has a bottle attatched that you fill with whatever you like to clean with. (in my case a bit of vinegar and water) With the pull of a lever you squirt your cleaner out just in front of the mop head and away you go.

The Reveal Mop comes with a washable microfibre mop pad that you can was 100 times. Great for the environment just pop it in with your tea towels.

my incredibly beautiful just mopped floor

Feeling jealous of me and my amazing mop?

Well you don't need to. If you live in Australia you could have one too. To be in the running just leave a comment with an interesing/handy/funny story of your cleaning exploits. The best one will get a reveal mop in the mail. How easy is that?

You have a week to enter the competition. I will reveal the winner next Friday morning.

If you wanted me to look upon you with extra favour you could also hit the "Follow me" button on the side, vote for me on top baby blogs or give me a back/foot massage. Anyone?

Enter once, enter often. This is a pretty swell prize.


Image Credit - Corbis Images

aden + anais

I got some lovely mail from aden + anais this week.

They make beautiful swaddling blankets out of muslin as well as sleeping bags, washcloths and bibs.

I was sent a set of four 100% cotton swaddles in a pattern called princess posie. The patterns are absolutely gorgeous and they feel so soft! I cant wait to wrap up my little one in them. She will look so sweet!

The great thing about muslin is that it is super breathable and the swaddles carry the CJ Foundation for SIDS tag meaning they are not only beautiful and soft but safe for little ones too.

At 120cm square they are also a fantastic size. I can use them for swaddling, nursing, covering the stroller or for when the little one has a play on the floor.

Did I mention they are really really pretty?

Check out the aden + anias website. They have some really lovely stuff.

red shoes

There is a blog that I follow called Look at the Birds.

image credit: Look at the Birds

It's really cute. The girl who writes it has a sweet little girl who she bought these little moccasins for.

Aren't they just the sweetest?

So the other day she posted up where to get them.

They are handmade in Canada and are $41. 30 in Australia dollars.

image credit- sears.com

So expensive but so cute.
If only baby feet didn't grow so much.

You can buy them here.
From Sears.
They are made by a brand called Amimoc.

Oh and the come in blue, yellow, brown and green as well.
But I like the red.

Pramtastic

Here are some of the swellest prams I have found recently.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to be a baby wearing mama so unless the little one is not so cuddly I probably won't use a pram for a few months. But it can't hurt to look?

















Sweet ole fashioned pram. Not so sure about using it in the inner west. But isn't she lovely?

Quinny Zapp. This thing folds into the smallest packet ever. But it has no recline function. Not so good for sleeping babies.

Peg Perego SKATE System. Looks like a space ship. For a baby.

This one is just caraaaaaazy.

Childcare Sonic Stroller - Simple, cheap, not loads of useless padding. Reclines and has lots of space for nappy bag. I think this is the one we liked in the shop. Maybe not the best for the inner west?

Quinny Buzz 4 Wheeler - pretty awesome. V. Expensive. Do you get what you pay for?

Phil & Teds Vibe Buggy With Double Kit - hmm maybe one day. 

So what do you think folks? Which is your favourite? Which one did you buy? What is good to look for in a pram?

free range or caged?

I was lucky enough to score a leftover ticket to go and see Lenore Skenazy of Free Range Kids yesterday afternoon with a friend.

Lenore let her nine year old son catch the subway home from the handbag department at Bloomingdales in New York after he had begged his parents to let him. She gave him a subway map, a ticket and some extra money. He arrived home safe and sound and happy.

After writing this in her newspaper column Lenore was met with a huge media backlash. She was interviewed by many people who were amazed that she could do such an irresponsible thing and labeled the "worst Mom in America."

Free Range Kids is all about letting your kids be kids and bringing them up to be safe and independent adults.

Today (mostly but not limited to the US) children are worried about and cotton wool balled so much that they do not learn to experience the world around them. Lenore gave a few reasons for this.

Media - We have news on 24/7. There used to be 30 mins of news each day on television. The media needs to fill up the time slot so we hear about every single child kidnapping or choking or accident of any kind. We watch shows like CSI which show us brutality that does not actually happen that much in reality.  These images play on our anxiety and convince us to keep children indoors so that we can watch more television.

Litigation - A popular childrens toy recently almost made a child choke. This toy had been out since 1994 and had no previous problems. Because of this almost choking the makers were so scared of being sued that they discontinued the line.

Experts - Everyone is an expert nowadays and everyone has written a book or brought out some new product to tell you that you are raising your child the WRONG way and that your fetus/infant/child/teenager is going to die or be seriously maimed by your negligence = fear.

There were so many baffling and funny stories that she told that asked the question who is the crazy one; The parent who trusts that the world is not full of murderers and molesters and lets their kid ride their bike to the library or the one who is so paranoid about everyone being a predator that they don't let their child out of their sight for a second?

link

Lenore is not saying that we don't care about safety or just let our kids wander the streets for their whole lives and she certainly is not so naive to think that there are no predators or kidnappers out there but she believes in equipping children with the knowledge and experience so that they can go out into the world and be safe and helping parents to not be reduced to quivering wrecks every time they think of their children doing something all by themselves.

It was a really amazing talk.

She has a book. I don't think you can get it in Australia so easily but it's on Amazon.

wings of bluebirds

This is my idea of the perfect breakfast. PBnJ toast (separately) and tea.
mmmm

I found this photo on the tumblr of my friend Renee.
She is such a beautiful person and her beauty is reflected in her lovely blog/picture/quote page.

Check it out and let it speak for itself!

Image credit: Tumblr chaispice