CHRISTMAS: Gift Guide for Babies 2019

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Babies are such a joy to buy for, aren't they? The clothing is so teeny, the prints are adorable and the range of gifts is always growing. This year we are back to the world of babies with Rory's arrival in October, which is incredibly precious. As babies don't really need that much, in terms of toys, I always think Christmas is the perfect opportunity to treat the babies in your life to extra luxurious versions of what would usually be considered as 'essentials', for example muslin cloths and clothes. There are lots of lovely smaller businesses to support when it comes to buying gifts for babies too, some of which I've included in this Gift Guide. I hope you feel inspired and come away with lots of gift ideas.

TODDLER: Little Green Radicals Spring/Summer Collection

 

 We're well and truly into spring now, summer is just around the corner and it can't come quick enough! Days playing in the garden, exploring local parks, days out at the farm and family picnics all make me so excited for the warmer days of summer. There have been quite a few blue sky days recently, which have been enjoyed with playing in the garden or the odd lunch outside in the fresh air. It's not quite warm enough for long days outside yet, but it hasn't stopped us getting Isabella's summer dresses out and eating fresh strawberries in the sun. 

BABY: Boxing Day Instore Sale Shopping #1

It's that time of year again - sale shopping time! I have tried to focus my sale shopping on festive pieces for Isabella next year, therefore picking most of them up 18-24 months. Looking at that size clothing is bizarre and hard to imagine what Isabella will be like when she's that big, but by shopping ahead it will save us money (while feeding my baby clothes shopping habit!) I picked up the following items in the first couple of sale shopping trips, which were more of a quick 'run into shop, grab what I like, pay, leave as quickly as possible'. No leisurely browsing happening here!

BABY: Adding a touch of Christmas to their wardrobe

Festive additions to your little ones wardrobe is the perfect way to get into the mood for Christmas. I've been collecting pieces for Isabella since the sales last Christmas, it's never too early to grab a bargain. Though it hasn't stopped me buying some super cute festive clothes and accessories this year....whoops! Recently I've been loving the supermarkets for Isabella's Christmas clothing, the quality is brilliant and it's so affordable. We picked up the TU at Sainsburys in their 25% off everything sale, so there were some real bargains! Below are some of my favourite pieces I've picked up for Isabella to wear throughout December...

TU Red Penguin Slippers (0-24 months) £5.50
 

BABY: Little Green Radicals A/W Collection

Little Green Radicals is a company that have created the most beautiful range of organic, natural baby and children clothes, gifts and skincare. They were one of the first companies in the United Kingdom to get Fairtrade certification for cotton, as well as being organic too. Supporting companies that use Fairtrade products is important because it enables growers and farmers across the world to have a better standard of living. Who wouldn't want to support that? I certainly do and the fact that the cotton is also organic makes it perfect for babies sensitive skin. I love that the Little Green Radicals website allows you to see the people who make their clothes in India, it shows how much they value every single member of their worldwide team.

BABY: So many cute Christmas clothes...

While I've been searching for festive additions to Isabella's wardrobe I've come across so many options, all just as cute as each other. I thought I'd put together a collection of festive baby clothes, grouped into their similar themes for you to see what's out there too. I can't wait to get the Christmas jumpers out for Isabella, though I'm being controlled and holding off until December!

Babygrow

BABY: The cutest aden and anais products from Hamill Baby, plus a discount code!

It probably won't come as any surprise that since finding out I was pregnant I have loved finding (and buying) cute baby products, I mean who doesn't?! Our spare room is getting fuller and fuller, we really need to start getting the baby room decorated but if you've been following our house renovation then you'll know we're miles off that stage quite yet. The internet is a fantastic place to find the cutest of baby products, especially as we have limited time to search the high street (thanks to most weekend spent decorating).

Recently I came across Hamill Baby, actually through a search for aden & anais musys (muslin squares) and swaddle blankets. If you haven't heard of aden & anais then you really are missing out, I've become absolutely obsessed! Almost every pregnant woman I've met has become obsessed with buying a certain item ready for their baby, such as bibs, baby grows, cuddly toys etc. The thing I've been buying loads of are muslin squares, random I know. After all they are generally used to wipe up sick and protect surfaces, not particularly glamorous. But I absolutely love all of the patterned designs you can get now, I just think they are so cute. We have so many different prints and styles now, our collection excites me massively and I can't wait for our little girl to arrive (and probably stain them all within seconds!) so we can use them. 

Aden & anais have designed some of my absolute favourite range of baby products, all available on the Hamill Baby website. In fact Hamill Baby spotted the range 7 years ago and they were the first UK company to sell aden & anais! The designs are available on a range of products, including: swaddle blankets, bibs, muslin squares, blankets, towels, washcloths, sleeping bags, changing mat covers and cot sheets. Not only do you get such a fantastic range of aden & anais products from Hamill Baby, you get the added bonus of a 10% discount off - use the code HB10 at the checkout!

My top aden&anais picks from Hamill Baby...

Easy Swaddle - Jungle Jam Giraffe £27 (+10% discount)

Muslin Changing Mat Cover - Twinkle £19.50 (+10% discount)

Musy (Muslin Squares) - Jungle Jam £19.95 (+10% discount)

Muslin Dream Blanket - For the birds medallions £44.95 (+10% discount)

Hooded Bath Towel & Muslin Washcloth Set - Twinkle £35 (+10% discount)

Which is your favourite product from the aden&anais collection on the Hamill Baby website?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: Unisex Clothing Wish List

As I've discussed in a previous post (see here), I've been struggling to find unisex baby clothes and from speaking to other Mum's or Mum's to be they also had the same struggle. A lot of retailers must presume everyone will either find out the gender of their baby or not buy most clothes until the baby has arrived (again, that requires patience. Something I'm not particularly blessed with). I've browsed the internet and high street shops high and low, to put together a wish list of unisex clothes for anyone who has also been struggling...

Mothercare

1/2/3/4/5

Mamas & Papas

1/2/3

The Essential One

1/2/3

GAP

1/2/3/4/5/6

Which is your favourite item?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x

BABY: The struggle to find unisex clothes continues...

Since becoming pregnant I've realised quite how hard it is to find unisex clothes for babies. There are a lot of blue collections for boys and pink collections for girls but what about the people who don't want to find out the gender of their baby or those who don't really want their baby to only wear gender 'typical' colours. We don't intend to dress our children in just blue if their a boy or just pink if they're a girl, personally we want to mix it up a bit. If you're the patient kind then you may now buy anything for your little one until you're quite far down the line but if you're like me then I just couldn't wait. If you do choose to find out the gender of your baby, then it usually doesn't happen until the 20 week scan, potentially that's 16ish weeks of knowing you're pregnant and not buying any cute clothes. I'm just not one that could resist.

(Photo Credit)

We decided to have a grey/star theme in the babies nursery, whether we decided to find out the gender or not. It's neutral, timeless and cute - well we think so anyway. So I was keeping my eye out for clothes that were grey/white with stars on, a surprisingly hard job. Most of the shops I thought of only had pink/blue ranges, a lot of which were beautiful and very cute but without knowing the gender it's impossible to make any pink/blue purchases.

(Photo Credit)

I'm surprised there aren't more high street shops that offer unisex clothing ranges that are to the same standard as their pink/blue ranges. I've found some shops do very plain, boring and not so cute unisex clothes, as if they feel like they 'should' but don't really want to spend any time or money on it. This may just be my personal experience and I would love to know of any shops/online stores that offer cute unisex clothes? Please leave me a comment if you know of any.

Did/Are you struggling to find unisex baby clothes?

Helen x