When it comes to organic baby care, you can’t go wrong with choosing Weleda for your family. The company has stood the test of time: founded in 1921, it came in the UK in 1925. Their mission is to produce natural body care based on anthroposophic and homeopathic medicines.

They are committed to producing the highest quality organic baby care products naturally, ethically, safely, without animal experimentation and without damaging the environment.

Weleda use only raw materials from the natural world, naturally occurring minerals like sodium chloride or honey and precious plant ingredients grown organically. Weleda are also pioneers in biodynamic farms.

Biodynamic agriculture involves growing plants to the highest organic standards without chemical pesticides or sprays. It takes into account not just the seasons but also the rhythms of the planets. As all the Weleda products, the organic baby care range is suitable for vegetarians and many for vegans.

The number of awards Weleda has received is a testimony to the quality of their products.

TIPS, a website set up to publish evidence-based information about breastfeeding, skincare, cord care and other midwifery-related subjects has awarded the Best of the Best award to many of Weleda organic baby care products:

• The new Calendula Shampoo & Bodywash won Best of the Best Baby Wash.
• Calendula Cream Bath won Best of the Best Baby Bath.
• The Calendula Nappy Change Cream won Best Budget Nappy Cream
• The Calendula Lotion also won Best Budget Baby Lotion
• The Calendula Oil won Best Budget Baby Oil
• Children’s Tooth Gel has won a highly respected Editor’s Choice award

It proves that choosing organic baby care does not have to be expensive. There are excellent budget options, like the Earth Friendly Kids range.

The Weleda organic baby care range has also been awarded Best Skincare Range Mother & Baby Awards. With more than 3,000 testers involved, the Mother & Baby Awards are hugely competitive. For Weleda to win this prestigious accolade give parents the reassurance that Weleda is an excellent choice for their baby and indeed for the whole family.

The Wilkinet baby carrier offers four comfortable carrying positions.

You can carry on your front, facing you or facing forward. You can use your Wilkinet as a hip carrier or as a baby backpack.

If you are using a Wilkinet for the first time,the front carry is the easiest carrying position to start with. The baby is securely fasten inside the baby carrier. The baby carrier is then strapped onto your body. It’s easy, it feels safe and it’s the best starting point for you and your baby.

Many parents love carrying their baby facing forward i.e. facing the road. While some babies thrive with the extra stimulation, it is a carrying position best kept for shorter periods of time and not for naps. In a forward facing position, baby can’t see your face, hear your voice or your heartbeat which all provide reassurance.

You can move to back carries when you feel ready. If this is your first baby, you may feel unsure. It’s ok, back carrying is a new sensation. Take your time, learn step by step and soon it will become second nature. Around 18 – 20lb (9-10kg), most parents of average build/weight/height will feel that their baby is too heavy for front carries. This is also the time when the baby learns to cling on to you so back carries become a lot easier.

• Facing In: from a tiny 5lb newborn

• Facing Out: Babies with chubby legs may out grow the leg space more quickly than slimmer babies. Please remember that your baby has less head protection this way. Do not start using this position until your baby is about 3½ months old (or approx 14lb).

• On the Hip: You can use your Wilkinet to carry your baby on your hip once he has sufficient head and neck control. This carrying position is only recommended for going on walks. It is not suitable for shopping trips or when doing household tasks. The reason for this is that more weight is being placed on just one shoulder and you will need one arm around the baby to avoid undue neck or shoulder strain.

• On the Back: Back carrying is a lovely carrying position. You still have a strong connection with your baby while having your hands completely free.  There is also less strain on parents’ back and neck muscles so recommended for parents with back problems or chunky babies.

As those of you who follow me on Facebook will know, I have been doing rather a lot a baking lately, mostly from the lovely River Cottage Bread book.

So far we have had:  English Muffins, ciabatta, foccacia, hot cross buns, doughnuts, oat cakes (2 types) and now I am on to sour dough.

I have never made sour dough bread before so am very impatient to see what happens to my starter – here it is after 3 days.

I love the idea of some starters having been passed down from generation to generation – imagine all the love, care history and nurturing that is represented by each of those small bowls!

The Wilkinet story started in the 1970s with Sally Wilkins. As many mums, Sally couldn’t find a comfortable baby carrier so she set out to adapt the one she had with her first child. As years went by, she refined her design with the help of her eight children.

She also received the help of Deirdre Mackay, the then chairwoman of the NCT Technical Committee. A mum, physiotherapist and antenatal teacher herself, Deirdre helped Sally improve the design of the baby carrier:

A baby carrier should not let the baby dangle by the crouch through leg holes. Mothers around the world know that a wrap or a shawl has to support the baby under its bottom and transfer the weight to the parent’s body. There should be no ‘leg holes’ to suspend the baby.

The prototype of the Wilkinet baby carrier was born.

“[The baby carrier] I had come up with suited my need for hands-free comfort while completely supporting my baby, holding him snugly and securely, wrapped onto me, not “hanging off” my shoulders”, says Sally.

The Wilkinet was soon subjected to various tests and awarded their black and white triangle for good design by the Design Council in London.

Everything from the cutting out and making up to despatch all happened from the family’s kitchen table in North West Leicestershire and later Pembrokeshire.

Sally’s grandchildren, the next generation of Wilkinet babies, are all still carried in Wilkinet from the moment they are born.

It’s no surprise that the Wilkinet baby carrier has been chosen by mums for many years, recommended by many organisations concerned with the welfare of mums and babies. The only way to find out is to try one. Order your Wilkinet today.

So happy this weekend, not only was it a wonderful Mothering Sunday, the sun was shining and the chickens back to laying eggs, but we had the lovely Wonderoo Cloth Nappies featured in Green Parent Magazine!

We are not surprised that Green Parent chose to feature the Wonderoos - they are great nappies, come in fantastic colours and are a very easy to use pocket nappy.

Today’s highlighted bargain is 20% off our popular range of jute duffle bags.  They come in a great range of patterns and colours and are a fun and easy way to tote your day to day stuff around and still have room for those essentials you always seem to pick up on the way home.

Jute is wonderful as it grows very fast, uses less natural resources than cotton and is compostable.  These bags are made to strict fair trade standards and are built to last.

Buy now at The Natural Nursery or see our full range of reusable shopping bags.

If you know a new mother who needs some spoiling this Sunday, why not take a look at the beautiful Sublime Breastfeeding Bra from Bravado Nursing Bras.

This is the prettiest breastfeeding bra we have ever seen and will make any nursing mother feel special.  It is right up there as a piece of gorgeous lingerie, yet it comes will excellent nursing features such as drop away cups for lots of skin to skin contact.

If you are unsure about sizing, rest assured that we are always happy to exchange sizes or why not buy the Seamless Nursing Bra instead?  With its simple sizing and oh so comfortable fit, you can’t go wrong!

We dispatch every day using First Class Royal Mail and we have express delivery options available too.

Today’s top bargain in our stock taking clarance sale is a boon for any breastfeeding mother as we have reduced the price of the Lansinoh Breast Milk Storage Bottles to just £5.95 per set of 4, saving you £2.

The breastmilk storage bottles are made from food grade polypropylene, the preferred plastic for storing expressed breast milk and are Bisphenol-A Free.

You can view our full range of breastfeeding accessories and buy the reduced Lansinoh Breastmilk Bottles online now.

Continuing our stock taking sale, we have further reduced the fantastic Natalia range of organic yummies for mummy and baby.

Made in the UK with high qualitynatural, organic and wild crafted ingredients, this range is a wonderful treat for that special newborn or parent to be.

Buy now with 20% off.

For those of you who live in and around Bristol, this update on the home birth campaign may be of interest to you:

Supporting Home Birth

The Maternity Services Liaison Committee (MSLC), chaired by Pip A’Ness, will be holding a Home Birth Workshop on Monday 15^th March from 11am-2pm at the YMCA, Marsden Road, Clevedon, BS21 7NW. This event will be building on the work of the Bristol Health Services Plan’s “Normalising the Birth Experience” workstream set up to deliver the recommendations of the Maternity & Newborn Services Review.  Maternity service providers in Bristol are committed to achieving a 10% home birth rate by 2011 and to this end, we will be seeking ideas from service users as to how this can be achieved.  Please phone 0117 9841562 or email  Noshin.Emamiannaeini@bristolpct.nhs.uk if you wish to attend and comment on how we can encourage and support women and midwives in the promotion of home birth.  Lunch and a crèche are included.

An exciting and challenging target of Bristol’s Maternity Review (2008) is that we must achieve 40% midwife-led birth settings (including home) in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset by next year.  BCB and its Supporters inspired Bristol’s Maternity Review and Cossham Birth Centre so please lend your voice again at this crucial point to make even more happen in the promotion of normal midwife-led birth settings.

Thank you for your continued support.