The Baby Show Olympia 19th -21st October 2018 – Product suggestions and a few discounts and freebies…
As I stepped onto the platform ready for the Baby Show, I feared might be all too much!
The commercial side of having a baby is really quite sickening. There is so much money to be made and everyone fighting for a piece of the pie. I have to include myself in that too, as I am yet another company on the band wagon! Anyway, I thought I’d share with you what I came across at the show. I’m afraid there is no objectivity…it’s the products I saw and liked or thought were novel, so where to start….
Prosecco anyone?
Scavi & Ray alcohol free Prosecco was a great way to start the show. Completely and totally tasted of the real deal, just without the bad bit (alcohol)….not sure why we don’t all just drink the stuff. I have decided, as the Before & After Baby Community grows and we begin hosting events, I shall definitely be purchasing a few of these tasty bottles! Head over to the amazon and pick one up!
Sustainability…
Next door to the Prosecco was Eve, a smiley, young, enthusiastic, fresh faced entrepreneur. She went travelling in 2016 and came home concerned by the effects of human wastage and unsustainable waste systems. She believed there must be a better way. She came up with the concept of Bundlee.
Bundlee allows you to rent a bundle of baby garments for 3 months before returning them and getting the next size up for the following 3 months. There is some flexibility in that if your baby grows faster or slower you can keep the garments as needed. Just let the team know when you want to switch, send back your garments and away you go receiving the next bundle. Each bundle has 15 items in it. Head over to the website for more information about what you get. Lots of mums try to hand on garments so this is just another way of doing just that. Eve assured me the cleaning process is thorough and each item is quality checked and only sent out looking as good as new. I think the sustainable aspect and possible cost savings of this concept should perhaps, outweigh the fears about previous usage of the items by another child. But that’s a debate for you to consider. https://bundlee.co.uk/
A small company created by mum’s called Mum & You are developing biodegradable products. Their wet wipes are completely biodegradable, smelt yummy, fresh and were super soft! Their nappies whilst not fully biodegradable, the core was. Check out some other great products they have developed too…. www.mummyandyou.com You can have monthly bundles delivered to your door and with the code: Olympia 20 you get 20% off your first order when you become a subscriber!
Fashion
Maternity fashion…fell in love with this little number: Lonzi & Bean dress – gorgeous cotton and has an opening hatch for breast feeding ladies! Can be worn before and after baby! Check out some of their other dresses too! Loved the quality and easy wear fabric! https://lonziandbean.co.uk/
From clothing to gadgets…
Gadgets
The GloEgg seemed a good idea to me. Everyone gets a night light anyway so why not get one that also alerts you to the temperature of the room…handy when we know babies can’t regulate their body temperature, so this gives you a bit of a marker. My understanding is at the “right” temperature the GloEgg has a warm night glow, if it is too warm or cold the GloEgg changes colour to alert you.
The buggy rocker called the Rockit Rocker interested me so much I wrote another blog on it …check it out!
The other gadget to mention relates to breast feeding so I guess we move onto that hot topic here!
Breast Feeding
There was a talk on feeding by Clare Byam-Cook at The Baby Show, she’s pretty famous (helped out our Kate Middleton apparently), has a clinic in London and a quick Google search shows she can be found dishing out advice on TV shows like This Morning. I’m not sure of her qualifications, but her media presence perhaps is enough. She’s got a slightly posh, old mistress-style voice, you can imagine her in tweed and wellies with two spaniels at her heels. And by god, they’d be at heel because they wouldn’t dare put a toe out of line. Not because she’s scary, but because “that’s what you do!,” A strong but friendly presence. I wish I generated that command! She talks pretty matter of factly, about all things feeding and her pragmatic approach, well I warmed to it! If I chose to breast feed and was struggling I’d pretty much want her in my corner!
I caught up with her after her talk to find out a little more and I was totally sucked in to buying her book! I’m half way through and I am really enjoying the book! The book is called, “What to expect when you’re breast feeding…and what if you can’t.” Simple, pragmatic advice written in simple, easy to understand English and designed in such a way that you can drop into a chapter as and when needed. The contents are structured around all the “classic” questions every new mum faces. I love the book and for £13.99 I would recommend it! I recorded her half hour talk, sounds a bit grainy, but, I still think it is worth listening too! I have given access to this to my Ante Natal All Wrapped Up clients. Hope you find it useful! On her website is a downloadable video problem solving feeding problems which maybe worth a look. I intend to get it once I finish the book!
Clare recommended two breast pumps for expressing: the Medulla and the new one out by MAM. She says these are the two quietest products on the market.
The new expressing pump by MAM has a timer on it, which, as Clare explained was really useful in understanding your breast milk flow and your let down reflex. This may give you an indicator as to your flow rate and milk quantity helping you make decisions about how you manage your feeding routines, because as I understand it, every breast and every baby is different! Even your left breast can be different to your right one – who knew!
From breast feeding to pre baby preparations…
The Expert Midwife offer a range of products for both before & after baby. I was interested in their oil that can be used throughout the last trimester to your perineum. Please see the following quote by a large Cochrane Review carried out in 2013 about antenatal perineal massage:
“Antenatal perineal massage helps reduce both perineal trauma during birth and pain afterwards.
Most women are keen to give birth without perineal tears, cuts and stitches, as these often cause pain and discomfort afterwards, and this can impact negatively on sexual functioning. Perineal massage during the last month of pregnancy has been suggested as a possible way of enabling the perineal tissue to expand more easily during birth. The review of four trials (2497 women) showed that perineal massage, undertaken by the woman or her partner (for as little as once or twice a week from 35 weeks), reduced the likelihood of perineal trauma (mainly episiotomies) and ongoing perineal pain. The impact was clear for women who had not given birth vaginally before, but was less clear for women who had. Women should be informed about the benefits of digital antenatal perineal massage.”
Whilst any edible oil (vitamin E oil, olive oil, or other pure vegetable oil) are options to use for perineal massage (depending on allergies – please seek advice from your healthcare providers before choosing an oil), The Expert Midwife products have added essential oils and smell nice. I mention them, because around Christmas time they are bringing out a YouTube video about how to carry out perineal massage effectively. So watch out for that, if your baby isn’t already born! Otherwise ask your midwife or our team and we can talk you through it!
The DadPad
An amazing resource written in dude language for Dad’s to refer to! For all the essentials you need to know through pregnancy and the post natal period. Written and created by Julian Bose, keen and passionate about supporting fathers on this journey. He recognises the need for fathers to have a voice and be better supported.
A quick fact for you….A meta-analysis in 2016 showed that 8% of father’s also experience post natal depression! One in three father’s worry about their mental health! Phoenix Freedom is keen to support Julian in his development of the DadPad and recommends it! The paper DadPad is currently part of the Baby Friendly Scheme and is being distributed throughout the NHS Baby Friendly pilot sites. However, you CAN get your hands on this by downloading the FREE app! Get going Dads!
And finally my favourite…
The Snugglebundl – I filmed the owner of the company doing her marketing patter…check out the clip which, she was of course, more than happy for me to share! I totally loved this blanket. If you’re going to get a baby blanket anyway why not choose this one? It has built in head and neck support making transfers easy peasy! My physio head loved this item too, I recognise you’ll be doing less bending down to reach under your baby’s head and that can only be a good thing when you are recovering post natally. The quality of the cotton was great. I think this is a high end, quality item that would last for one, two or even three children. A best buy for me!
So if you didn’t get to The Baby Show, I hope this little synopsis has been helpful to you and has given you some ideas? I’m sorry I didn’t check out all the buggy systems…I just couldn’t face it! I think I might come back to you guys for your views about them and we can share the knowledge within our community!
I am not under any commission for mentioning these products. Just what I liked!
Love,
Rachel@PF x