Natural Nursery Blog

baby backpack for dollies

Cute cute cute is all I would say about this doll baby backpack! Actually I will say more but cute is the first thing that comes to mind.

This adorable baby backpack is actually not for babies but for dolls & teddies (it will also happily accommodate elephants, and monkeys, but not baby brothers…).

It is made to the same high quality standard as the Ergo baby carrier and is even easier to use. You can slip teddy in its little pocket inside to keep it comfy and secure. This baby backpack for dollies was designed by Karin Frost, the designer of the Ergo baby carrier with the cooperation of her son Keala & his friends. It is designed to fit children from 3 to 6 year-old.

It’s not just because it’s cute that we decided to bring the doll baby backpack to Natural Nursery. Being able to copy mummy and daddy looking after a younger sibling can help a child deal with the emotions attached to the arrival of a new baby in the family. Somewhere in their little mind, it also plants the seed that carrying your babies is the ‘normal’ way of looking after them, and hopefully, when comes the time for them to have their own children, they will remember it and choose to ‘babywear’.

A great new baby gift  for an older sibling!

Do you have photos of your children carrying their soft toys? Send them over, we would love to share a gallery of babywearing children.

breastfeeding

Help other mums breastfeed their babies and win a £100 gift voucher! We all take comfort in support from mums around us and knowing that other women have been there before us can make a big difference. Tell us your breastfeeding story and share it with other mums. If you can, send us a photo as well.

We look forward to sharing your experiences. Whether you found it easy or struggled, whether you stayed at home or went back to work and continued breastfeeding, whether you had support from your partner, travelled a lot, had older children to keep happy, breastfed your toddler… Share your stories.

Your breastfeeding stories will be published on our new website Breastfeeding Naturally. Breastfeeding Naturally will launch in a few weeks, bringing mums in the UK everything they need to breastfeed their babies successfully.

Send your stories to competition@naturalnursery.co.uk before November 7th. The winner will be drawn at random among the entries. To be entered, stories will be 150 words minimum and include a note to say you agree to see your story (and photo if applicable) published.

organic products

A baby’s skin is so delicate, it is important to use only the most gentle, organic products. To give you a chance to discover these beautifully hand crafted organic products, we are pleased to offer you 10% off the Natalia range of natural skin care organic products for pregnancy, labour and new babies.

I like supporting UK business and the fact that Natalia organic products are handmade in Devon is a plus. Natalia only choose the highest quality organic and wild crafted ingredients to make their wonderful pregnancy, new baby and new parent products for mind, body and soul. They are guaranteed free from paraben, SLS, mineral oils and petrochemicals. No product has been tested on animals and they are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

These beautiful boxes make wonderful, thoughtful gifts for parents-to-be, new mummies and daddies and new babies.

I particularly love the Blissful Baby Box as a new baby gift. Babies receive a lot of presents when they’re born but supporting a new mum in anyway I can is something important to me.

ergo baby back carrier

If you use a baby wrap or a ring sling, popping them in the washing machine with your regular laundry is easy.

Your baby back carrier or an Asian baby carrier will last longer if you spot clean it and wash it only sporadically. Hand wash you baby sling or use the washing machine on a very gentle cycle according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

To protect your Ergo baby back carrier when baby is dribbling or teething, Ergo has designed these very clever sucking pads. The soft pads velcro around the shoulder straps of your baby back carrier at the level of your baby’s face. Your baby can chew, suck, dribble away, your Ergo baby carrier is protected.

Take them off, pop them in the washing machine. You can even buy two pairs of Ergo sucking pads to make sure you always have one handy! Babywearing made easy.

organic cotton scarf

It’s getting really cold out there!

Wrap your little one – or not so little one actually – in this lovely 100% organic cotton fleece scarf. Available in pink or green, it is incredibly soft and warm. Now 50% off at £3.49

Also available in the 50% sale are organic wool gloves by Disana reduced to £4.49 (3-5y) as well as the organic merino wool baby jacket .

I’m a big fan of the waterproof dungarees (18-24m), so you can head out to the park by any weather (not necessarily IN the rain but AFTER the rain!)

Ring sling

The amazing sale continues at Natural Nursery. The Baby Sense Ring Sling is reduced to £19.99
This baby sling has been designed to encourage parents to carry their babies in the optimal position. The baby sling’s soft fabric cocoons the new baby in a foetal position, which supports the neck well – essential for the newborn. Curled up snugly and close to the parent the baby is calmed in a familiar womb-like environment.

Ideas for a green(er) Christmas

Let’s try to be a bit more gentle on the planet this Christmas. We have collected some ideas for a greener Christmas (in no particular order!) and would love to hear from you, what would you do?

• Have a massive clear out:  You can sell (if you have time) or donate to charity or to someone else. Become a member of your local free share group (it’s free) to offer the items you no longer need. Items usually get picked up quickly. Recently we’ve given away a broken computer, a broken shredder, a collapsed wardrobe, some big boxes of children clothing and children toys, some fabric scraps… Somebody’s junk is someone’s treasure!
• Use and recycle: Now look at everything that can be used or reused. Be creative! Last year’s Christmas pudding leftover dried fruit ma a lovely dried fruit salad for example. Cut up last year’s Christmas cards to make gift tags (or if you’re really crafty, they can make excellent material for new Christmas cards). After Christmas, many stores have cards recycling stations, keep an eye out for them. Instead of sending Christmas cards, you can also send e-cards and donate the equivalent to a charity.
• Give yourself a ‘green’ challenge: If you’re not already doing it, recycle all your glass and plastic bottles until the New Year. Some councils don’t take them from your house but you can find recycle points everywhere. (Obviously it would be better to walk there than drive!)
• If you choose a ‘real’ Christmas tree, remember to contact your council to enquire about Christmas tree recycling.
• Forget wrapping paper! Imagine the tons of paper used every year just to end up in the bin. Open your presents carefully, fold the paper away and reuse it. Use craft paper and fabric ribbons which can be used and reused (and composted when they’re really done). Get the kids to decorate some old boxes with paint, cut outs, magazines, fabric scraps… Sew some easy reusable gift bags which can be used and reused for birthdays, parties, keep the kids’ things organised.
• Start your Christmas shopping early. Throughout the year, jolt down some gift ideas. That way you won’t be stuck shopping for last minute gadgets which will be discarded after a few days.
• Buy good quality gifts: one way to protect the environment is to make sure that every item that is produced is fully used. This way we will have made the most of the resources used to produce it.
• Buy ethical gifts whenever possible. A wooden toy like the Lanka Kade collection helps provide families in Sri Lanka with a steady income. They are made of recycled rubberwood sourced from exhausted rubber plantations. Fairly traded fancy dress will provide hours of fun too. Organic products like bubble bath, massage oils are also thoughtful presents that you know will be well used. The instant gardens makes beautiful organic gifts for grown ups.
• Christmas is the perfect time of the year to discover your local food market. Produce is fresh, of excellent quality and usually produced locally. You will support your local economy and save on the fuel it would normally take to transport the produce to the supermarket.

That’s a few of our tips for a green Christmas. What about you? What do you do, don’t do?

organic baby bedding

If you are looking for a new baby present, this traditional receiving blanket is a gorgeous gift. Disana organic baby bedding is as light as a feather and made of the most sumptuous organic merino wool. Pure wool helps regulate your baby’s temperature.

You can imagine resting with your newborn baby snuggled up against your chest or breastfeeding peacefully, with the organic wool blanket wrapped over you both.

If you drop off your baby at her childminder or nursery, you could wrap the blanket around you in the evening and give it to her in the morning. This way she will be able to keep your scent with her throughout the day.

The receiving blanket is big enough to use as organic bedding in baby’s crib or cot. Once your child has outgrown the blanket, she can use it to play with her dolls. Then it can be stored away safely to be passed on to a younger sibling or perhaps their own children.

wooden toy: eco friendly jigsaws

First up in our pick of Favourite Ethical Gifts for Christmas is this lovely wooden toy collection of children jigsaws.

Your child will be attracted to the cheerful colours and the friendly animal shapes of the Lanka Kade jigsaws. I particularly like the fact that they’re not ‘just’ a rectangle flat board. The 3-D puzzles are more challenging than traditional jigsaws. You can either use the letters to guide the child or do it back to front with the letters hidden. You can use the letters as building blocks to prepare for reading. The chunky wooden toy pieces are easy for children of all ages to handle.

If  you are careful about what toys come into your house, you can’t go wrong with a Lanka Kade wooden toy. These eco friendly products are all handmade by seven family-based companies with whom Lanka Kade has long term working commitments. Toys are designed in the UK and allow each supplier to use their individual knowledge and skills. Lanka Kade’s aims to provide continual employment throughout the year for each company, their families and their employees. Many of the Lanka Kade wooden toys are made from rubberwood sourced from exhausted rubber plantations that are replanted every 10 – 15 years.

The Lanka Kade jigsaws are currently on special at Natural Nursery, like this gorgeous wooden toy train is only £4.16.

Cooking with kids

When our children are little, it is often a good time to become more aware of the way we eat. The benefits of a healthy diet while pregnant or breastfeeding are well know. When baby is ready to try on solids, establishing good eating habits is essential.

Healthy eating isn’t about boring steamed vegetables, it’s about making good food fun and enjoyable. Part of our responsibilities as parents is to develop our children’s taste buds to make them adventurous foodies, ready to try new flavours and new textures, make them aware of seasonal and local produce.

Taking them to the local farmers market and chat with the stall holders is part of the fun. Never miss a chance to talk to them about where our food comes from, why we choose not to buy strawberries in winter or battery farmed chickens, how you’ll prepare the ingredients you’ve just bought.

Cooking by colour is sure to pick their interest. One day, it’s pink soup (beetroot). Once they’re cooked, let the kids peel the beetroot (don’t forget a child apron!), they’ll giggle at the sight of their pink fingers. Another day, try orange soup (pumpkin, sweet potatoes and orange has a delicate sweet flavour). Try smoothies too, orange (mango & orange) or for the more adventurous green (avocado, banana, lime, spinach and milk). Check your local markets or supermarkets for rarer varieties, green tomatoes, purple potatoes…

Growing your own fruit and vegetable is a fantastic way to get your children interested. Even if you don’t have a garden or an allotment, try a few pots in the kitchen with baby tomatoes, strawberries, basil. The window box gardens would be ideal. How much fun would it be to pick a few tomatoes packed with vitamins to pop in their lunch bags?

Let the children get involved in the kitchen, knead the dough, peel and cut vegetables, stir cake mixes, spread the topping on their pizza… Sure it’s going to get messy but seeing the pride on their faces at the results makes it all worth it. They also learn essential skills, gradually learning the dangers in the kitchens, knives are sharp, the oven is hot.

Then comes the time to clean up and every one can chip in. Kids will love getting their hands in the soapy water, preferably with as much bubble as possible.

How is it at your house? Do your kids enjoy cooking? Do you give them a chance to help?