Bathtime Fun Toys

Bathtime is one of those daily routines which can be either pleasurable or not, depending on the mood of your baby. We've made bathtime a regular event after the evening meal so our toddler knows what to expect and we've also made bathtime as much fun as possible. From the very beginning we always had a couple of toys floating around to catch baby's eye & as he grew the number of toys grew as well. Now in the toddler stage I keep a couple of new toys on hand just in case there's any tears or reluctance to jump in the bath. Bubble bath & blowing bubbles is another great incentive.
After 2 years we're still using all the products below, shows great value for money as well as quality of product.

Alex Toys Rub a Dub Squirters for the Tub On the Go Transportation
Sassy Snap and Squirt Sea Creatures
Bath Squirters - Ocean

Boon Frog Pod
Tomy Pirate Ship Bath Toy
Especially for Baby - Color Change Ducky
Munchkin Gone Fishin Bath Toy Set
Safety 1st Bathtime Letters and Numbers

Fertility & Conception Information

There are many products available for couples having problems conceiving. One programme I'd like to recommend will help you learn more about how your reproductive system functions, such as when you are fertile on a month by month basis. It has helped thousands of women around the world to achieve and test for pregnancy by keeping track of your cycle as well as make regular checks for successful conception.
Their Ovulation Test detects a LH surge that ultimately predicts ovulation within the next 24-48 hour period. Knowing when you are ovulating is very important because there is usually a 24-48 hour window of opportunity to fertilise the ovum.
Pregnancy Tests will determine early pregnancy by detecting levels of the pregnancy hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (hCG) in your urine. HCG is a hormone that is produced soon after conception and progressively increases during the first three months of pregnancy.
This programme addresses the importance of physical, mental and emotional needs because trying to conceive is not just a physical process and has access to recommended Fertility Books and Fertility Vitamins for both Men & Women.
Please follow the link below to discover the opportunity & advice available.

Click here for Fertility Programme

Go BPA Free

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used for the manufacture of many commonly used plastic products, some of these being baby bottles, baby sippy cups, drinking bottles, plastic toys, plastic tableware etc.
Studies over the past few years have linked even low levels of BPA, (which reportedly can leak from plastics into food ), to serious health problems, breast cancer, behaviour changes in babies, obesity, and early onset of purberty.
In 2009 the major baby bottle makers in the United States agreed to stop using BPA in their manufacturing process. The use of the chemical isn't banned in all countries but I see no reason why parents can't be on the safe side just in case.
As a result of this research there are now a wide variety of BPA Free products available on the market & therefore parents can opt for safer baby products.

Links to commonly available BPA Free products.


NUK Gerber BPA Free Sip and Smile Spill Proof Cup, 7 Ounce, 2 Pack, Colors May Vary

NUK Gerber BPA Free Sip and Smile Spill Proof Cup 2 Hand le Cup Design, 7 Ounce, Single Pack, Colors May Vary




Nuby BPA FREE No-spill Sippy Gripper Cup 10 Oz - boy colors
Dr. Brown's BPA Free Polypropylene Natural Flow Bottle Newborn Feeding Set
First Essential Fashion Tints BPA Free Plastic Nurser With Latex Nipple, 9 Ouce, 3 Pack
Nuby BPA FREE Icy Bite Teether Keys - New and Improved

Toy Reviews

One of the best toys we had for our boys was an activity table.
From around 3 months when they could roll over we removed the legs and used the tabletop during tummytime. When learning to kneel and crawl we added 2 legs so the table was on an angle and they could see and play with all the knobs & gadgets. Finally when learning to stand we added the other 2 legs and they loved pulling themselves to stand or to dance to the music.
I can't think of another toy where we got so much value for money.

My personal rating ***** ( 5 star )

Gotta Love Kids #2

On our most recent visit to Dreamworld my 3yo Grandson once again needed to ride The Wiggles Big Red Car several times. The exit of this ride conveniently leads through a Wiggle display featuring signed T Shirts, Trophies, Album awards etc. into The Wiggles retail shop.
During the last ride he said to me " I think I need something special", to which I replied " Do you know what this special thing might be?" - " Not yet " he said.
During the walk through the display after the ride he stops in front of the T Shirts and like a wise old man with hand on chin he ponders " mmmm T shirts, " he then moves to the trophies " mmmm trophies," then on to the main store in front of a huge lolly display " mmmm I think this is the special I need Nanny."
How could I refuse. So cute.

Smoking around Babies

I'm truly amazed and bamboozled at the number of parents I see smoking around their babies. Now I don't give a toss if the parents smoke or not that's their choice, but its not their childrens choice. Surely any caring mum and dad can show some self restraint and wait for a time when their babies aren't close or go outside.

Passive or second hand smoking can affect babies in many ways - allergies, asthma, phneumonia, bronchitis and the big one SIDS. If both parents smoke the risk of SIDS is around 3.5 times greater.

There's ample information available through the internet these days to increase parents awareness of the damage they could be doing to babies so please take a look and give your kids a fair go.

Don't hide your head in the sand and believe you'll beat the odds.

Bonding with your unborn child

Music is a great way of bonding with your unborn baby. It was previously thought that inside the womb was very noisy but some opinions have changed and its now thought that babies can hear quite clearly at around 20 weeks pregnancy. There's no need to shout or turn the stereo up full blast just keep it normal.




Speaking personally I relax when listening to music which I believe relaxed my babies. Whether this was due to my mood or my babies hearing the music I don't know but the point was my babies and I , were I believe, bonding. I've heard it said many times that babies recognize music that was played to them during pregnancy and one of my friends believes it helped her son to settle at naptimes.




Dr DiPietro from Johns Hopkins is one who refutes these beliefs and states there is no true research to support this idea. I think its important for mum and baby to remain relaxed and stress free as much as possible so whether proven or not listening to music when pregnant is advantageous.




Music wasn't the only way I bonded with my baby, I used to sing, talk or read books out loud, at the same time as massaging my tummy. For the sake of my credibility this was restricted to the privacy of my home.




Lets not forget dad's input either, while keeping mum happy could be considered a priority, more importantly he can join in by massaging mums tummy and back or spooning in bed with his hand on your tummy for example, great family bonding.




Studies have also shown a relaxed mum is good for fetal brain development as long term stress can have a negative effect leading to a low stress tolerance and depression later in life.




I'd love to hear your bonding opinions, please let me know what your think.

Cris P.

Gotta Love Kids

I just had to share what pleasure & fun I'm having raising my 19 mnth old grandson (N). I live in a granny flat with my son (K) occupying the house above, from Thursdays to Sundays (N) lives upstairs with his dad.  (K) works 6 days a week, dawn to dusk basically, which means I'm left holding the baby - so to speak.  Not sure if this makes me nanny or mummy but either way it's a lot of fun.

 

Being a single mum of 2 boys from ages 10 & 12, I think I wasted too much energy coping with the day to day struggle instead of simply enjoying my kids.  As they grew older I regretted this and now they have sons of their own, I have time on my hands and I'm reaping the reward of having babies and toddlers around me again.  I'm determined this time I won't make the same mistake, it doesn't matter if the place is a little dusty or the washing on the line gets wet from the rain, it can all be fixed later.  My theory now is as long as the floors clean and the dishes are done its time to share the company of my grandkids.

 

N is a typical boy who has a daredevil attitude, and a very creative mind which means I need to think just as quickly to stay ahead of him.  He loves to dance which of course means I get to dance with him ( aerobics wiggle style is very good exercise ) no loss of weight yet maybe its all the little snacks I need to keep the energy levels up - (sigh) ah well.

 

Some of the things I'd forgotten were that 30 cm legs can climb 100cm stools, 20cm arms can reach anything they want, power points are the best toys in the house, cupboards & draws are supposed to be empty, and a babies smile can be very heartrwarming.  With time and wisdon I've also learnt that getting angry and stressed doesn't help with discipline, my tactic these days is distraction and rewards which has worked pretty well so far.

 

Playtime is heaps of fun for me as well.  If I didn't have him with me I couldn't run around playing hide-n-seek, climb the pirate ship in the park, ride the merry-go-round or Wiggles cars or sleep as well as I do at night.

 

Yes by the end of the 4 days I'm totally exhausted, I've usually found a few extra muscles in the body that ache, but yes I'm also totally happy to recuperate and start again next week.

 

So much more to say but I don't want to turn this into a book.

 

Cris P