Feeding frenzy and colourful bibs

Hello there. Soooo, what’s for dinner today?

Elliot has recently dived headfirst into the wonderful and dirty world of baby food. He loves it so much that orange, purple and green purees splatter everywhere.

So what a messy baby needs is a good plastic bib.

Luckily for him his mummi/farmor/grandmother has good taste (and a Finnish background) and Elliot can now eat in style, wearing these plastic-coated cotton bibs from Marimekko.

And I have a thing for monsters, so I had to buy this soft latex (BPA-free!) one where a blue monster gulps up all the goopy gloopy stuff, should it escape Elliot’s mouth.

Only problem is that he loves to turn it upside down and lick it. All the time.

The Marimekko Valpuri and Ruuturouva bibs are designed by Maija Louekari. I couldn’t find any online stockists.

The monster bib is by Babisil and costs 5.99 pounds. Buy it (and check out their other designs) on  Amazon.

‘Skwish, skwish’

And while we’re talking about wooden toys: I found this other classic Manhattan Toy the other day in one of the second-hand shops in St. John’s Wood. It only cost 99p.

It’s called a Skwish because the black cords are elastic, so not matter how hard you ‘skwish’ it it always snaps back into shape. This is the classic version, where complementary coloured wooden poles and balls meet.

It costs around 12 pounds on Amazon and comes in other versions too, like the colour burst one. There’s even a natural coloured one for the purists.

Elliot seems to like it so far…he particularly likes to throw it on the floor.

Multi-coloured spheres

I have a thing for spheres-as-jewellery so I recently saved up money to buy this amazing designer bracelet.

I love the avant-garde look of the over-sized coloured spheres – and it’s destined to lighten up an all black outfit.

What are you saying Elliot?

That it’s not a designer bracelet but your new toy, made of wooden balls, that you can move around with your little fingers.

I see.

Yes, I promise I won’t borrow it again…..just yet.

The Manhattan Toy Classic Baby Beads cost £10.47 on Amazon. Buy the beads here. (And, seriously, I am so gonna wear this when Elliot is done playing with it).

The pregnancy sausage

Meet my new best friend:

My beloved new pregnancy pillow or “pølsen” (the sausage) as I tenderly call it. Sam just calls it “the white maggot” – maybe because it seems to have a life of its own and is trying to slowly squeeze him out of bed every night.

This wonderful pillow creature is filled with tiny micro beads and you can mold it into whatever shape you like. You can use it while pregnant for support while sleeping, for back support and for breastfeeding the baby later on.

Look at all the things you can do with it:

I paid £45 pounds for it in John Lewis and so far it has been worth every penny. It has won all kinds of awards and is free from any chemical nasties

Read more about it and shop at www.theraline.co.uk

Baby socks

I was doing some washing today and had to pause for a moment to contemplate these tiny socks.

Sometimes this whole baby thing can still feel a bit unreal (although he’s making himself noticed by kicking me all the time now) but standing with this little blue sock in my hand suddenly made it very real.

A little chubby foot is actually going to wear this one in July. Can’t wait.

The kindness of strangers

The moving boxes are unpacked (almost), the sofa is assembled, the internet connection is sorted…..aaaaand I’m back to blog!

One of the very best things about blogging is the way it connects you to other people, be it readers or other bloggers that you stumble upon as you crawl and trawl through cyberspace. You leave comments, people comment back and sometimes these virtual handshakes lead to real life encounters.  Like my monthly book group, which is hosted by fellow blogger Helena Halme.

And not that very long ago I received a package from Denmark. From a Brit living in Denmark, who had asked about my address so that she could send me some baby books in Danish.

Inside was some marcipanbrød (which disappeared in a second) and these two books about natural childbirth: one from birth guru and social anthropologist Sheila Kitzinger and another one from childbirth specialist Michel Odent.

Those might come in real handy when I lie screaming in the birthing centre at St. Mary’s Hospital, trying to remember why I chose not to have an epidural. Will get back to these when I’ve finished them.

And then there was this gift. A soft one.

I wonder what’s inside…

Ooh, the cutest little helmet hats. They are very popular in Denmark (where mums also put their babies outside to sleep, even in the winter) and apparently you can’t really get those here in the UK.

Now that we know the sex of the baby I guess we’ll have to pass on the pink ones.

Hmmmm, but I wonder if the mint-coloured one will look good on a boy?

I guess so.

ps. thank you again for the lovely gift Babs – hope you stop by for tea soon.

Huggable peace planet (and an atlas shower curtain)

Today we went for baby’s 20 week scan. Everything looks great and it’s a little BOY!

So to celebrate we headed straight for Kopapa in Seven Dials for lunch. On our way back to Piccadilly we passed the amazing travel shop Stanfords. It’s one of those rare, specialised stores with a strong personality that I hope will survive for a long time.

Stanfords sell everything travel-related: from books to maps, toys, movies and gifts for travelling souls.  And if you make your way across the atlas floor, you’ll get to the laid-back café in the back (it’s run by Kiwis = excellent coffee).

The very first thing that caught my eye was this huggable planet. It’s made by a company called Peacetoys. They also sell eco-friendly books and organic cotton toys and have won several green awards.

So Mr. Baby Bassett now has his first toy. And even though this planet isn’t made from organic cotton like the other toys, I still think its message is pretty positive: hug and love the planet you’re on.

Plus it will help this baby’s geography-dyslexic mum remember exactly where Malaysia, The Philippines, Micronesia and all those other wonderful exotic travel destinations are on the map.

The huggable planet is on sale at the moment: £25 £20!

And I probably have to go back to Stanfords flagship store again soon. We’re moving next month and our new bathroom is screaming for this world atlas shower curtain. £24.95.

Photo via http://www.stanfords.co.uk

Stanfords
12-14 Long Acre
Covent Garden, London
Website

Baby shopping – Rock onesies

Soooo almost ugly, sooooo tempting….

These are my favourites, especially the Robert Smith one (click on the pictures to buy):

The Cure onesie. Photo via sandboxthreads.com

Nine Inch Nails onesie. Photo via ebay.com

Radiohead onesie. Photo via Etsy.com

Guns N Roses onesie. Photo via stylinonline.com

The Smiths onesie. Photo via etsy.com