Life, Prams & Product Reviews
Firstly the Ergobaby Embrace is nothing like any other Ergobaby carrier that have come before it. It is a Hybrid carrier, meaning it’s half way between a stretch wrap and a structured carrier. I love Ergobaby as a brand. I had an original Ergobaby carrier, I used to work for …
I’ve been asked many times about the differences between the Maxi Cosi Vita Smart/Pro and the Britax Safe n Sound Graphene. I want to start by saying that they are two great car seats. They well exceed the minimum safety requirements in Australia and so there is no wrong choice between them. However there are some important differences, and one may be more suitable to your family and requirements than the other.
Most of us are familiar with Moby as a great brand of affordable stretchy wraps for newborns. However last year they released the Moby Move – an all position, soft structured carrier – and I’m excited about it! At first glance the Moby Move is a pretty typical soft structured carrier in terms of it’s overall shape and function. But when start to look at it in more detail there are some really interesting and exciting features that it offers.
Lemonade Scones Without Lemonade OR cream? (Otherwise known as Soda water scones without cream. I guess?)I’m going to preface this recipe with a simple piece of advice; if you want to make a three ingredient recipe, and you only have one out of two ingredients for that recipe…maybe… just maybe…. Consider making something else? However, I’m going to admit it definitely wasn’t terrible.
Arguably any pram or stroller could be a travel pram. There’s no rules to say that you can’t take a big pram with you when you travel. In fact, I’d say there’s some arguments for the idea of taking your full sized everyday pram with you when you travel. Sure, you’ll have to check it into luggage, so you won’t have it with you when you’re actually in the airport, but the pay off at the other end is having a decent pram at the other end.
Australia is known for barbecues, beaches and beer. For better or worse there is a drinking culture in Australia. While binge drinking is definitely a bad thing, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good glass of wine at the end of the day. But what does this mean for you if you’re currently breastfeeding? The Australian Breastfeeding Association says “If you want to, you absolutely CAN enjoy a glass of wine, a beer or whatever it is that takes your fancy…”
As someone who worked in childcare, and as a nanny, for many years I have had some genuinely amazing employees. I’ve also had a couple of problematic experiences. I’ve also trawled through dozens upon dozens of nannying job ads that had incredibly unrealistic expectations. Some people are simply being unrealistic. They obviously haven’t thought it through. Others are obviously being intentionally exploitative.
Benevolent Neglect – Let Kids Be Bored “Mum, play with me.” My eight year old moaned. “You never play with me anymore.” (He means since I played with him yesterday.) I do play with my kids. I actually play with my kids a whole lot more than my parents ever …
Finding The Best Pet We are currently looking for the best pet for our family. I’ve wanted a pet for the kids for several years. I’ve still got a lot of love to give and we’re definitely not having another baby. SO Maybe it’s time we get a “fur baby” …
I think Jay Gordon’s advice about night weaning is a great place to start. I referred to it often when night weaning my son, however his weaning plan didn’t exactly suit our situation, so I adapted it to suit us better.
Keeping in mind my little boy was 3 and a normal night for him was being fed to sleep around 7pm in his own bed, then waking around midnight and coming into our bed to feed for the remainder of the night. Some nights he would feed continuously from midnight until 6am. When he started the day – it was very much like a “dummy” for him. He also had a single bed, so I was able to fit into his bed and sleep with him.
The main motivation for me weaning him and hopefully getting him to sleep through the night without me was I was pregnant with our second baby at the time. I really wanted him well on his way to be weaned night and day, and sleeping through the night, BEFORE the new baby arrived.
It’s been a busy time for the pram industry recently. A lot of new products, and a lot of significant upgrades to some existing favourites. Which is really exciting and interesting. The following are my favourite prams this year so far…
Whether you’re buying or hiring a capsule, infant car capsules are such an incredibly convenient way to transport your newborn. Getting out of the house with a new baby can be so very challenging, and having a capsule can make that process easier for a number of reasons. Don’t Wake …
An interesting question that comes up from time to time is what is the best pram for camping? Most people aren’t looking for a pram that’s exclusively for camping, so a “great camping pram” also has to be useful in your everyday life as well. Which is a tricky request when camping presents a number of challenges.
I’m unreasonable excited about this hair brush coming into our lives. I received the Happy Hair Brush Family Starter Pack a few weeks ago at the Kids Business Bloggers Brunch and it’s been a bit of a hair-game-changer.
The innovation and design in travel prams in the last couple of years has been really quite fascinating. More and more prams are being designed around the dimensions and requirements of the overhead luggage compartment of a plane. The idea being that parents can cruise all the way to the gate and then even take their pram on board with them.
“I love other people’s babies.” Ill announce cooing over any small human that appears in front of me. And I do. So much. When friends have babies they know when I visit them to almost wordlessly pass me the baby. It’s not a discussion. They know that it’s what I’m waiting for. And I try not to ask, I don’t want to swoop in and take someone’s baby out of their arms. But I’m still itching to get my hands on them.
I have been asked for a few years now to do a best car seat guide. And as much as I’ve wanted to, I feel like there is so much more to unpack with car seats. And the information is so much more important. While pram safety is also important, …
I’ve been asked for years to write some kind of car seat buying guide – like the pram reviews I’ve been writing year after year. There’s been a few things holding me back. Mostly that it’s a very important topic and I wanted to make sure I was sharing the …
What is the Best Pram 2019? Another year, another pram guide. I know I normally include about 10 prams in my guides, but there wasn’t really a huge number of different prams out this year to talk about that I haven’t already written about at length. I’ve already written a …
Best Pram 2019 – Review of the Best Prams for 2019 Read More »
The new and improved Tula Explore is suitable for newborns (from 3.2kgs) WITHOUT an infant insert, has a weight capacity of 20kgs, and offers three carry positions – inward facing, forward facing and back carrying! The Tula Explore also comes in a range of absolutely gorgeous colours and patterns.
The Baby Jogger City Tour 2 is hands down my favourite travel stroller, or super compact everyday stroller, at the moment. It seems to do everything that a travel pram needs to do, and more. I absolutely loved the older version of this pram, the Baby Jogger City Tour.
This is a sponsored campaign in collaboration with Brand Meets Blog and The Immunisation Coalition. I have to admit, I haven’t always been “pro-vaccination”. I was never “anti-vax” either. What I was was scared. When my son was born I actually lived in what at a time was a bit …
Should You Get The Whooping Cough and Influenza Vaccination during Pregnancy Read More »
MLMs can be incredibly problematic. More often than not people don’t make any money – actually it costs money, time, and in a lot of cases, some friends as well.
So, a couple of days ago I engaged in a conversation on Facebook about the idea that choosing to not have a baby is selfish. I’m sure it’s a sentiment you’ve come across before? I know I’ve heard it. Many times. I’d like to immediately point out that this doesn’t …
Choosing Not to be a Parent Doesn’t Make You Selfish Read More »
MiaMilly Hister Plus is probably my favourite hipseat. It’s simple, easy to use, and has a lot of very useful features. It can be suitable for newborns, with the use of the infant insert which is sold separately, and it has a weight capacity of 20kgs. Because the MiaMilly Hipster …
MiaMilly Hister Plus Hipseat Review – Great 6 Position Carrier Read More »
I almost felt the need to announce on my personal Facebook page how proud I am of myself I am today. You see, last night I cooked a roast that I had bought from the supermarket on Saturday. Yesterday was Tuesday, which means I’d bought the roast a full three days prior. And despite the fact the actual expiration date for the meat is still two whole weeks away, three days is normally too long for me to have meat in my fridge before I will irrationally panic and throw it in the bin.
Firstly – small, medium, large clothing sizes are the worst. Not just because of the loaded meaning of declaring someone’s size as “Large” or “small’. Heck even deciding what size is “medium”. Is it supposed to be average?
Every year it seems that there are more and more double prams that offer the option of functioning as either a single or a double pram. Future proof flexibility seems to be many new parents first priority when choosing a pram.
The Baby Jogger City Tour is a perfect travel stroller. It’s super light and compact. It weighs a tiny 6.5kgs and can fold down compact enough to be taken as carry on luggage on a plane.
I love sparkling wine.There’s nothing quite like a bottle (or two) of bubbles, especially during the festive season. I also love getting a bit of champagne on a beer budget.
Every year I resist the overwhelming urge to go overboard on presents. I think it’s fairly normal to want to give your children everything, but I also want to give them the gift of teaching them to appreciate what they get
When someone asks me to suggest an all-terrain 3-wheel pram that has the option of a parent facing seat, then the Salsa 3 has always been my go-to pram to tick those boxes and more.
So I did a first impressions review of the ICandy Orange when it came out last year, however I finally got around to getting my hands on one and giving it a thorough review.
The slogan with this pram is “Absolutely Futureproof”. And it’s probably one of the most versatile prams in the way that it adapts to your growing family.
This is in no way an exhaustive list of all the children’s book series and authors I love. I love children’s book. I love reading aloud. I would love to write children’s books one day.
However, here are a few little things that I do that actually make applying makeup easier. Or at least help the end result look a little more like I actually know what I’m doing.
I have to admit I’ve fallen in a bit deep with online shopping lately. I’ve been freshening up my wardrobe. Also maybe maturing my wardrobe a little. There’s a few specific brands of clothing and shoes that I’m collecting. I’ll clearing out some older stuff and making room for a fresh new me. Or the same old me, but in pretty new dresses….
The Bugaboo Bee5 is possibly one of the most expensive “small” prams. But you do get a lot of big pram features in this neat little package. And Bugaboo are definitely popular for their stylish, high quality and well designed prams.
The Uppababy Minu is a lightweight and compact pram. The fold is super easy! It folds with one hand and it goes down in just seconds!
I’ve previously reviewed the Uppababy Vista 2018 and the latest Uppababy Cruz, and I’ll start by saying that Uppababy make beautifully designed, and easy to use.
The ICandy Peach 2018 is an absolutely stunning, luxury, high end pram. It also comes with a luxury, high end price point – retailing for around $2k. Though the ICandy Peach 2018 isn’t just stylish, it’s also incredibly function and thoughtfully designed.
I love being thrifty. I love saving money. Unnecessary spending or wasted money stresses me out. And we’ve lived reasonably well on a quite tight budget at different stages of our lives – so I think I’m pretty good at saving money around the house without feeling like we’re missing out.
Firstly, we’re following the double negative here, right? I’m suggesting maybe you SHOULD do pole fitness – if you really want to. (If not, no drama. I get it’s not for everyone.) I’ve been doing Pole Fitness now for only 5 months – but I almost can’t imagine not doing it. It’s still my favourite part of the week.
I have to admit I was SUPER excited about the GB Pockit+ coming out. It actually came out in other parts of the world last year, and took what felt like forever to arrive in Australia. I even kept emailing the Australian distributor for Good Baby (GB) pestering them to tell me when it would get here. So frustrating. I don’t do delayed gratification well.
Here we go. Another year, another round up the Best Double Prams for 2018 in Australia. So this year you’ll notice most of the prams listed convert from a single to a double – or from a double to a single, depending on how you look at it. This hybrid “future proof” style of pram has continued to be incredibly popular and more and more brands are getting on board with this style of pram. I’ve also included a couple of dedicated double prams in the list as well.
So let’s do this thing!
I had a wonderful childhood! Obviously I grew up in a time before smartphones. So as you could imagine being a child in a pre-tech-obsessed time my parents gave me their absolute undivided attention at all time. They didn’t have smart phones to distract themselves from enjoying every blissful moment of my perfect childhood….. Oh wait that never happened…
So firstly I want to tell you the thing that I love the most about the Baby Jogger City Go capsule: You don’t have to re-thread the shoulder straps. You can adjust them by squeezing and sliding a mechanism at the back. AMAZING.
The Baby Jogger City Mini GT is the pram that I recommend more than any other pram. (Or the Baby Jogger City Mini! Either pram is awesome. And I’ll talk a little bit about the difference between them further down the page.) It just seems to tick SO MANY BOXES for people. And it is one of the most popular prams going around. (Start looking for them when you go out and you’ll see them everywhere.)
Okay, so there’s some pretty obvious benefits of starting an exercise routine. Increasing strength, fitness, getting out of the house – all that. They’re all good things! But Pole Fitness/Pole Dancing has turned out to be something special. Any fitness class that can get me out of the house in winter at bedtime has to be pretty impressive. Right?
The Cybex Priam is a high end luxury pram. It’s one that features on instagram with celebrities pushing them. It’s a very cool looking pram. And one that earns a little bit of celebrity status of it’s own.
It also has the features I’d expect of a high end pram at this price point!
I recently featured the Britax Holiday in my Best Travel Prams list for 2018. It’s a very sweet, simple, light weight, compact, easy to use little pram that is absolutely perfect for travel. It weighs a tiny 4.9kgs. Also it’s only 43cms wide, so it’s a very petite pram. Great for zipping around busy airports, or just cruising around through narrow aisles at the shops.
The ICandy Raspberry has my favourite combination of features! The seat lays completely flat to be suitable for newborns, it has a massive weight capacity of 25kgs AND folds with the seat attached facing in EITHER DIRECTION. Love it. It also has a lot of other features I look for in a pram, like a one handed recline, telescopic handle bar, proportionally big basket (for such a lightweight pram).
The Safety 1st Nook is a super light, easy to fold, budget friendly, compact stroller. Given its size it would make a great travel stroller. Also at its price point (Currently $269 at Baby Train) it would make a convenient second pram to keep in the boot, or at a grandparents house.
Quick story before I dive into the review. A couple of years ago I spotted an Uppababy Vista off in the distance at a winery. It was set up as a double with two upright seats, with the “piggyback” toddler board attached as well. (Though it was folded up out of the way. So they weren’t using it at the time). So they had two tots in the pram and one older child trotting along beside.
The Uppababy Cruz is a full sized luxury single pram. The Uppababy Cruz was previously called the Uppababy Alta, but it had a recent name change. That’s all. It’s still essentially the same pram.
And I have to admit this is my kind of pram. It gives me almost everything I want in a pram.
Baby Jogger is a great brand that make quality, innovating, easy to use, parent-friendly prams. And I have to say I got a little bit excited about the Baby Jogger City Tour Lux. It’s the newer – more “Lux” – version of the City Tour.
After the Omni 360 Cotton came out late last year a lot of people have been anticipating the release of the Omni 360 Cool Air Mesh (since every Ergobaby carrier has a mesh/active/cooler version). And here it is!
With the school holidays fast approaching now is a good time to think about what is the best travel pram for you to take on your next trip! What makes a pram the best travel pram? We’re looking for something that is light, compact, narrow, easy to fold, ideally something that can come right to the boarding gate at the airport, and better even if it fits in the overhead storage on the plane so you don’t have check your pram in as luggage.
Which Is The Best Pram 2018 UPDATE – Looking for the best DOUBLE pram? Check out Best Double Prams 2018! Every year when I start to hunt for the best pram for the year I think there can’t possibly be any more innovations, any more improvements. And every year …
Today my son who is an incredibly fussy eater and hasn’t eaten a vegetable except for potato in potato chips in years had all of these vegetables. And not only did he enjoy them he promised to have them every single day.
I was driving home from the shops today and heard a message on the radio from the “Look Before You Lock” campaign. “Look Before You Lock” is a campaign to raise awareness and promote strategies to prevent accidentally leaving your baby or child in the car. There’s are several great video that explains how “fatal distraction” can happen to anyone.
There is no such thing as a work-life balance.
A “work/life balance” is impossible. Balance is just not how life works. You cannot give equal time, attention and focus to all things in your life at all times.
The Bugaboo Fox hasn’t quite been released yet, but it has been unveiled and it is VERY exciting. I had the opportunity to pop in to my local Baby Train store for a quick little play with it before it’s officially released on March 1st.
I was recently sent a Panda Carrier to review and I have to admit I was a little sceptical at first, because I haven’t ever used a very structured “hiking backpack” style of carrier. I’ve previously used stretchy wraps, woven wraps, buckle carriers, mei tais, buckle slings and ring slings… but never one of these.
Okay, so, maybe I’m being dramatic. But he came terrifyingly close to nearly drowning. It all happened so quickly and I was completely oblivious, despite the fact I was standing in the water with him less than a meter away.
So I had a plan to create a super helpful guide to the big question I’m asked from time to time.
How do I fit three car seats across the back of my car?
Which is why I went to get some expert advice on the topic from the super helpful staff at Baby Train.
It’s that time of year again! In the days between Christmas and New Years Eve I agonise over what to do to ring in the new year. Part of this agony is of course because that is a decision that really needs to be made before the 30th of December. By now venues are booked and friends have plans.
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Christmas is my FAVOURITE time of year. My tree has been up for nearly a full month and I’ve had presents tucked away even before the tree went up. And if I’m TOTALLY honest I sing Christmas Carols year round. Don’t hate …
Christmas Is The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year Read More »
It’s surprising that I didn’t already have a collection of Gumnut Babies, and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, books by May Gibbs already! Which are celebrating their Centenary next year! I grew up with these books (I think most of us did!)
Maybe I’m the only one feeling this right now – but I feel it every year.
I simultaneously feel like I’ve overdone the Christmas presents while also not having done enough.
I feel like I’ve gone too far, I’ve spent too much, they don’t need so much *stuff*. They just don’t a pile of presents to make Christmas wonderful.
Share The Dignity is a charity that provides homeless women, or women who have been victims of domestic violence, with essential personal hygiene products. Things like pads and tampons. It’s something I hadn’t even considered until I heard of Share The Dignity. How do you manage a period when you don’t have the money to buy those items?
“You can’t plan birth” is a phrase I’m sure you’ve come across if you’ve talked about birth plans. Maybe you’ve said it yourself. It really does seem like a common response to the idea of mothers having a birth plan.
And after years of talking about birth and birth plans I finally found the words to explain why that’s not really the case. Or more, that’s not a reason not to have a birth plan – if you want one.
I was having a bit of a brag this morning about how good my kids are. And they are. I’m entirely biased, but I’ve also been told a few times in the last couple of weeks by various people (friends, one of my kid’s classroom teacher, their after school care teacher) that they are great kids.
I am SO excited about the latest baby carrier by Ergobaby – the Ergobaby Omni 360. It is a game changer.
In the spirit of full disclosure I do work as a product demonstrator a couple of times a year for Ergobaby at the Melbourne baby expos. But this review is entirely my own.
When my daughter was a toddler to about four years old she would have episodes of intense emotion. Which I guess is a euphemism for a “tantrum”, but I feel like tantrum implies that it’s an intentional behaviour. Whereas I absolutely believe these outbursts were beyond her control.
Ready for another installment of “SEO Scones”?
What does Search Engine Optimisation and scones have to do with each other? Well, odds are you’re reading this page because you searched for a scone recipe on Google and you found your way here.
Never in my life have I started more sentence – or more thoughts – with phrases like:
“Thank goodness….”
“Just as well…”
“At least…”
“I’m just glad that…”
“It could be worse.”
While it’s easy to say that mothers should be able to breastfeed anywhere, anytime, it can be a bit daunting breastfeeding in public spaces. Especially in the early days.
The first time I made this recipe it happened by accident. It was one of those nights where I had a handful of ingredients that needed to be used up quickly and they just came together so perfectly.
Last night I had a nightmare about the Stephen King “It” movie that is coming out soon. I haven’t even seen the original movie, but all the advertising and hype around this movie has given me the creeps. Yep, I’m so soft and easily frightened that I can get nightmares from movies I haven’t even watched and that I know very little about.
This is my third time working with babybee prams. They’re an Australian owned, Melbourne based, company which sells prams exclusively online. And I’m happy to say that they’ve brought out another lovely – and value for money – pram.
I get the “joke” here. I totally understand the feeling of being so bound to your babies and role as their mother that any time out, even if it’s just a half hour trip to the supermarket can feel like a holiday. But I feel like I need to say it: A trip to the supermarket by yourself is not a holiday. A holiday is a holiday! Mums deserve better standards of what we should consider a decent break.
It’s official. Santa is dead. Or maybe not “dead”, but apparently he is very much not alive. At least according to my five year old. The note reads: I love you Santa but you not alive
Lemonade Scones Without Cream UPDATE: Click here if you’re looking for a Dairy Free Lemonade Scone recipe. These recipes come with a bit of a back story. A couple of years ago I attempted to make lemonade scones without cream. Actually without self raising flour as well. Quick tip – …
Mistakes People Make Buying A Pram! Firstly, by “people” I mean me. Some of these are mistakes that I have made personally – which is how I ended up owning 11 different prams between just two babies. Yep. There were some very expensive mistakes in there. So please, learn from …
5 Big Mistakes People Make When Choosing A Pram (And how to get the right pram for you) Read More »
When my son was born I felt my lost income pretty quickly. I’d worked in childcare up until three weeks before my due date. After squirreling money away in preparation for taking time off work with him it was pretty painful watching that bank account flip into reverse and slowly drain out.
I was a little nervous baking this for my birthday because I pretty much just blended together two different recipes with absolutely no experience making either of them. By some miracle it turned out great (but admittedly I have done a lot of baking, so I’ve got a little base knowledge to go along with it…. And perhaps just a bit of a lucky fluke!)
There’s been a few whispers floating around on social media suggesting that we should boycott the possible upcoming postal vote on marriage equality.
We all know this whole process is utter crap and won’t be worth the paper it’s printed on.
When my daughter was ten months old, after a particularly restless night with her awake every hour, I stood in my kitchen like a zombie preparing my three year old son’s breakfast. He had also woken up a couple of times that night. I was wrecked. My daughter was sitting at my feet digging around in the “tupperware” cupboard, keeping herself entertained.
I LOVE pizza. So much. Which has been a bit of a struggle this last year as I’ve been on a low carb “diet”. (Diet in quotation marks, because it’s more that I’ve change the way I eat rather than a short term change.)
Super Easy Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup! I was staying at a friend’s house recently and she cooked for me the most amazing – and simple – broccoli and cauliflower soup. I loved it so I asked for the recipe. Instead she told me the list of ingredients – broccoli, cauliflower, …
Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup – Easy and Low Carb Read More »
A few months ago myself, two friends, and my dear darling partner (who so generously came as our designated driver!) went on a day trip to the Yarra Valley to visit some wineries.
When the movie “Suddenly 30” (Also titled “13 Going On 30”) came out in early 2004 I was sixteen years old. And I didn’t get why anyone would wish to be 30. That just seems so… so…. OLD!
I’ve noticed quite a few people winding up on my “Best Compact Travel Prams” article searching for umbrella strollers, so thought I should provide them with a list specifically for umbrella strollers.
Anger, disappointment, rejection, jealousy, embarrassment, the whole range of negative emotions are all are perfectly normal part of life. And we need these things. Life is light and shade. We wouldn’t have any context for happiness if we were never sad.
Note: This is just my “pre-review”. Just first impressions based on online product descriptions and a brief play with one in store. I will be hopefully updating this with a thorough hands-on review in the near future! The latest ICandy pram, the ICandy Orange, is about to be …
So, this wasn’t part of anything. It wasn’t for Dry July, which is coming up in a few days. Maybe I should have waited a month before I started my alcohol free month so I could tie it into Dry July, because it is a great charity that raises money for cancer patient.
As a new parent conflicting advice can be a bit overwhelming. It can start from the hospital – ever shift change a different midwife comes in with a different opinion about how exactly you should be doing everything. Especially if the advice people are giving you goes against your own opinion and instincts.
Several times in the depth of bleary-eyed, sleep deprivation a hideous thought would occur to me:
Both of my children were terrible sleepers – maybe I am the cause of it. I seem to be the common denominator here. And it also seemed like EVERY other baby in the world was sleeping better than my baby. I felt like it was all my fault.
Side by side prams are usually wider, but generally offer better steering and have bigger baskets. On the other hand it’s a lot harder to find a side by side double pram that has parent facing seats (without needing to by a carry cot/bassinet separately). On that note I’ll give an honorary mention to the Bugaboo Donkey which is featured on the last Best Double Prams list – because it does offer parent facing toddler seats.
Larissa Waters Breastfeeding In Parliament Shows the No Win Situation For Mothers Larissa Waters does yet another breastfeeding first https://t.co/A5a18083VE pic.twitter.com/BXMh7vYH5M — Karen Barlow (@KJBar) June 22, 2017 First time I've had to move a Senate motion while breastfeeding! And my partner in crime moved her own motion …
Larissa Waters Breastfeeding – The No Win Situation For Women Read More »
The Bumbleride Indie Twin, like all the Bumbleride prams, contains recycled plastic bottles in the fabric. Which is a very cool feature for the eco-conscious.