Natural Nursery Blog

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play kitchen

Among all the bulky toys, there is one that stands out and actually gets used for hours on. It’s the play kitchen.

We love the idea of getting the kids interested in cooking early on. It’s a way to encourage them to help in the kitchen, be aware of healthy cooking and eating habits. They learn to shop, plan and prepare balanced meals. It is something that will stay with them forever.

A child imagination is boundless. Turn over a big cardboard box and use a black marker pen to draw the over door, four hobs and four buttons. It is enough to get their imagination started and prepare delicious pretend meals. You can cut out the oven door and refine it by sticking a shelf. Use a second cardboard box to draw a sink, cut it out and stick a little bucket or a small bowl to make the sink.

Feel free to add a few felt play vegetables, some pretend food toys and a child apron and you’re in for a treat. I often buy little toys like that in advance and take them out on a rainy day. It renew the child’s interest for their toys.

Once the children have outgrown their baby cutlery, they can be reused as play cutlery, along with their PVC free plastic bowls. The dolls and teddies also need to learn proper table manners and never eat without their tie-on bibs.

The good thing about a home made cardboard play kitchen is that it can be folded away for storage or recycled.

real nappies

When it comes to reusable nappies (and pretty much every subject since you became a parent!), everyone will try to convince you that their favourite system is THE best nappy system. I don’t believe that there is One best nappy system. The best one for you is the one that suits you (and your child, obviously). Everyone has different criteria: ease of use, drying time, birth to potty or sized, fastening system, choice of fabric, baby shape, size, price, resale value and let’s not forget the all-important poo containment issue and prettiness factor.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you a series of articles to help you find your way around in the ‘real nappy’ world. We will help you decide which one will work best for your little one, how to wash your newly acquired real nappies, how to use them…

So let’s start from the beginning:

• What is a cloth nappy? A cloth nappy is always made of two parts, an absorbent part to soak up the pee and a waterproof part to contain the poo and the humidity.  Both parts can be  shaped and sewn together (all-in-one-nappy) and used just like a disposable. Other nappies are separate, you put up the absorbent nappy first and then fit the waterproof wrap over it.  The absorbent part can look either like a big handkerchief that your fold around the baby’s bottom or be already shaped into a nappy.
• How do I use it? Well, it’s not that different from a disposable nappy: pop the cloth nappy on your baby. When it needs to be changed, pop the poo in the toilet (you can use a liner to make it easier), rinse the nappy and pop it in a bucket until your next laundry.
• What about leaks? A well chosen and well fitted real nappy doesn’t leak. The waterproof wraps are especially designed to keep the humidity in and you can boost the absorbency of the nappy by adding extra nappy booster. It’s especially true for breastfed newborns for whom disposable nappies really struggle to contain the very runny poo.
• How do I wash it? when you remove the real nappy, pop the poo in the toilet (a good thing to do even if you’re using disposable!), rinse it and pop it in a nappy bucket (with or without water). Whether you wait until you have enough nappies to do a laundry of nappies or wash them along your regular laundry is up to you. When stored properly, washing nappies at 30 or 40 degrees is sufficient.
• What about the smell? Having tried both, I can tell you that the smell of the nappy bucket is nothing compared to the smell of a disposable nappy bin. First you’ve flushed the poo, rinsed the nappy and kept with a disinfectant or a bit of laundry liquid.
• Is it like an investment then? By the time your child is potty trained, you will have spent as much as £1,000 on disposable nappies. That’s huge! I’m not even sure that figure includes the cost for the council of disposing of the 5000 nappies your child will have gone through in 2 or 3 years. Compared to that, the initial investment of real nappies (about £400) is like a big saving. Remember there is a thriving market for second hand nappies.
• Does my bum look big in the this? Yes it’s true, some reusable nappies are bulkier than disposable nappies. You’ll have to keep it in mind when buying baby clothes. It’s usually not a problem in the UK as most brands have realised that many babies are ‘cloth-bottomed’. You can also use specially designed clothes like the adorable Frugi range of organic cotton baby clothes.
• How do I convince my partner? or nanny/babysitter/nursery worker. You can show them how disposable nappies affect the environment, and save them money, how it will help your child get rid of nappy rash… I found the trick was to choose a simple real nappy like an all in one nappy, it really is just as easy as a disposable nappy.

Click here for more information on real nappies.

Did this help help you decide what nappy might work best for your baby?

The lovely Anne at Calin Bleu slings has asked us to let you know that she has a special offer on the simple baby slings.

With 25% off, this brings the price down to £29.50 and the slings are available in chocolate, red and blue.

Find out more.

We have lots of new stock arriving soon (gearing up for Christmas even though we are still in the middle of the summer holidays) so we are adding more to our summer sale.

This would be a great chance to stock up on new baby or birthday pressies for the next few months, or to put away for Christmas.

SHOO SHOO LEATHER BABY SHOES, reduced to half price. Boys and girls styles but only a few left in each size. These are fabby shoes and they are the ones that we used with E when she was little.

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HAMA BEADS, Midi Size, Blister Kits, all reduced to half price. Includes some Disney range, Safari Animals and some more generic kits, such as hearts and flowers. Suitable really for age 5 years and above as they are the midi size.

Hama Beading Craft kits are really, really good fun. E loves them and they are a fav pressie to give for birthdays.

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My First Hama Kits – suitable for age 3 years and above: Maxi Size. Half price kits, now reduced to £3.75. Teddy and Whale available.

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Hama Midi Craft Kits, now half price at £3.48. Suitable for age 5 years and above. Choose from Dolphin mobile, teddy/rabbit and Wild Animals.

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Hama Midi Bead small kits, were £2.50, now £1.25 so a great price for a stocking filler. Kits include a shaped board (choose from square, circle, star, heart etc), 400 beads plus ironing paper so they are a great introduction to the world of Hama.

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Phew – the last of the Hama – all at up to 50% off – packs of Hama beads and single white peg boards. Lots to choose from.

PLEASE NOTE, NONE OF THE HAMA WILL BE RESTOCKED SO YOU WILL NEED TO BE QUICK IF YOU WANT TO GRAB A BARGAIN.

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ORGANIC BABY SLEEPSUITS/ROMPERS from Green Baby reduced to half price. Available in star pattern in navy or purple, veggie print or bright stripes.

Also in farmprint design, again in organic cotton.

These are really soft, wash very well and are a wonderful new baby pressie.

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Organic cotton outfit – trousers and shirt in farmprint design, reduced to £8.99.

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Footed trousers - these are like tights for boys and are fab in the winter as you don’t need socks! Reduced to £5.24

We have just taken delivery of our first set of boxes from Burt’s Bees and boy does the stock room smell nice!

I have been using the Buttermilk Lotion on myself for quite a while now (for purely work reasons of course) and it goes on so quickly and just melts into the skin.  My daughter loves the smell too – not too strong for delicate little ones and so much nicer than the mainstream babylotions.

These are sure to be big sellers.

May 30th and 31st 2009
The 7th annual Bristol Vegan Fayre is to be held in the Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square in Bristol!

Find out more – http://bristol.veganfayre.co.uk/

One the funniest things that Ihave read in ages……

Definately worth a read http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=76332127980&h=LTNzw&u=mbPp8

Had a lovely morning yesterday, manning the Exeter Steiner School stall at the Exeter Eco-Fayre.  This is the first time I have been to the Eco-fayre and was pleased to see how many people came.  There was a lovely atmosphere, helped along by the band outside. 

I met lots of interesting people, including Robin Currie of Barchester Green Investment who has promised to brave my financials, sort out pensions and like, all using ethical investments.

The fabby Book Cycle people were there and I bought some new books – a great science experiment book that P and E are making a mess with in the garden as I write and Little House on the Prairie.  I never really saw the programmes as a child (no television) so I have been completely blown away by how little the settlers had, how much adversity they had to overcome, yet how happy they were.  Yes, I know this is pure fiction and through very rosy glasses (nothing is mentioned about the “resettlement” of the native population that’s for sure) but it is still lovely to imagine a world where people are happy without vast rooms full of stuff.

The next Eco-fayre will be on Saturday 30th May at the St Sidwells Centre, Sidwell Street, Exeter.

Hopefully see you there.

Arabella

from the BBC website:

Women who breastfeed their babies may be lowering their own risk of a heart attack, heart disease or stroke, research suggests.

A US study found women who breastfed for more than a year were 10% less likely to develop the conditions than those who never breastfed.

Even breastfeeding for at least a month may cut the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The research features in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

You can read the full story on the BBC website.