Tuesday, 24 January 2012

Useful tips for busy Mums

Oompa Grampa sent me these useful tips, and since we're spring cleaning here at u-ni-k I thought I'd share these with you.

Store bed sets in one of their pillow cases - never hunt for matching sets again! 
(I am so doing this from now on)

Use an old wet wipe dispenser to store plastic bags - saves on space and helps you to reuse them!

Baby powder helps remove sand off skin. Pack some in your beach bag 
(no really it does we've done this for years)

A velcro strip on the wall helps store teddies

With two pieces of wire, you could store gift wrap rolls on the ceiling of a cupboard instead of them
rolling about on the floor making a mess.
(not so good if you're short like me)

Use a stocking over the end of a hoover to find lost small objects (earings, earing backs etc)

A shoe box lid can become a muffin tray with cross cuts

How to fold a fitted sheet (yes yes yes I will so be doing this!)

Magnetic strip on the back of a bathroom cabinet door can store all sorts of hair pieces (bobby pins)

Use the hotel shower cap to store shoes in when coming home after a holiday. 
Saves your clothes becoming dirty with their dirty soles.

With a little blu tack (or a small magnet), 
plastic cups and a muffin case become perfect crafty storage

Bread tags make perfect cable ties
(do you see these ties anymore?)

Cook muffins in ice cream cones - fun and yummy! 
Easier for kids to eat as well

Make your own pop corn with corn kernels and a paper bag

A tension bar under the sink provides a perfect storage solution for spray bottles.

Use this simple technique to add a touch of romance
to your loved ones boiled eggs.

Place your cookie dough on the underside of a baking tray to make 
biscuit cups - serve ice cream in them.
(I'm never going to be thin)




Old guttering makes perfect planting for vegetables in any garden.
Wall space is all you need!

Egg boxes - perfect for storing christmas decorations

Walnuts - perfect for restoring wood (helps rings, scratches, and other marks)

Just for Anna & Ida.... remove crayon marks with WD40. 
It works with walls / brickwork as well as TVs


Thank you Oompa - we'll be putting these to good use!

Monday, 23 January 2012

Happy New Year!

It's the Chinese New Year today, 'Xin Nian Kuai Le' - Happy New Year!

Welcome to the year of the dragon.

Now as a first time Mum I'm a dragon, in fact all first time Mum's are dragons... just see their reaction when harm befalls their child! They fly [off the handle], roar and breathe fire... (joke!).

As a lady born under the sign of the Dragon (a fire dragon at that!), I've always loved dragons. So today I'm going to celebrate dragons in all their glory.

The Hobbit meets Smaug
The first dragon I came across was Smaug in The Hobbit. Now Smaug was not the best example of the noble breed of dragons. His greed for treasure dominated his character, his pride and vanity his downfall.  A red fire breathing dragon with a jewel encrusted underside (with of course one bare patch). A mighty dragon indeed, and so beautifully drawn!



Dungeons & Dragons cartoon
Most dragons were cattle eating, terrible villains throughout most of my childhood reading, but their illustrations were always the best in the book. Rising magically in the background, wings glistening in the light.

Then came the TV programme Dungeons & Dragons, where a group of children were whisked off to a magical land, given magical weapons and little help to find their way home. Of course, the villain was able to call upon a mighty dragon to provide the mortal peril! Thankfully the dragon never seemed to harm the children, or they him (for long).

This was the first time I had stumbled across the multi headed version of a dragon. I wonder if this trait came from the stories of the ancient Chinese 9 dragons?

The Legend of the Dragon Kings
Chinese dragons were always fascinating to me and I was thrilled to find a cartoon series (with subtitles) all about dragons. Well Four Dragon Kings, that walked the world as men but could turn into dragons?! Since this was on very late (I could watch it after my shift working in a pub so er 1.30am ish) I didn't always read all the subtitles so my memory of the story is hazy at best!.

However, here were dragons as I knew they were - proud, noble creatures! Able to show their strength and power to defend themselves or others who needed protection.


Dragon Riders of Pern
I then started to read the Anne McCaffrey books, where the magical creatures were telepathic with their riders. Such beautiful illustrations on the covers of these books.

Now that I'm older and actually can sit through a movie, I've noticed that Dragons have started to appear in films as well as books - Harry Potter has several dragons, Eragorn (yes I read the books first), How to Train Your Dragon, and Dragonheart to name a few. It's not just Pete and his Dragon anymore!
Movies aren't the only place you find dragons these days... they are on our TV screen on a Saturday - Merlin!

And with each story dragon's have become more noble and magical with the telling of their tale. Still fierce wild creatures but with an ancient wisdom to steer us humans on a course that allows us to fulfil our destiny!

Of course those of you that read my tweets and blogs know that there's another dragon in my life. One that is proudly displayed at our front door, on the mantle piece over our fire, and even on the wall over looking my laptop here.... (for those of you that guess it's a photo of my Mother in Law... Shame on you!). I have several of these dragons in my home:

The Red Dragon of Wales (Y Ddraig Goch)
Well being a Fire breathing dragon myself, I was destined to marry a Welshman. Who else carries a dragon on their national flag? 


u-ni-k gifts will soon be giving you the opportunity to own one of our dragons, in our original artwork  on sale, new for 2012 [watch this space].



Friday, 20 January 2012

My make do and mend plans


Sarah and I have given ourselves the task of learning something new to brighten up our already busy lives. A used brain is a happy brain after all! And Sarah and I aren’t the type to sit on our bottoms for too long!  As if starting a new business with a new family wasn’t enough we are now starting a new hobby.
Sarah is learning how to make magic with her Camera, capturing special moments that are so easily lost. And luckily she’s taking us along with her telling us in simple stages how to shoot and snap in only a few easy steps.

I on the other hand am going to take you all along with me on the good ship make do and mend. I have just (last April!!) moved into my house. It is still a complete tip and lots of things still needing to find permanent homes. SamSam is sleeping in a travel cot in our bedroom till we finish Ida’s new bedroom and her current room can become his. So it’ll be all change. And as usual there will be lots of things that we “I” need to make this house a home. Sam doesn’t have a mobile and I can’t find one I like so I am going to make him one. 
I have a huge pile of baby clothes that are too tatty to pass on but are too new to throw away. So I’ll be making lots of pretties to make my house comfortable and homey with those.

For those of you who know me I am not particularly a practical person so it will be very very simple. I am more likely to take a machine apart (with lots of stressful tutting and probably a lot of swearing) to understand what I am doing rather than calmly making something. I recently managed to break 4 sewing machines and 1 over locker in one sitting!! God knows how I managed to finish a 6-outfit catwalk collection for Graduate London Fashion Week I’ll never know!

So as a magpie who doesn’t like to get rid of anything incase I may need it one day, I’ll be making lots of new things from old loved things.  That way I still get to see all my battered treasured beauties.

So for the coming weeks watch out for my weekly blog about making do and mending.
And don't worry, I won't sing that annoying mouse song again!!



Thursday, 19 January 2012

Spring Cleaning with a difference

I, like most Mummies, adore my children.
I am not the overly maternal type despite having two children in very quick succession. Little babies scare me a little. I have always been fine with my own babies but other peoples I worry that I am doing something wrong!
I always wanted to have children. I have always had a lovely relationship with my parents and felt I wanted to share the love a little and have a brood of people that I could call friends when I am old and wrinkly! I love the way my Mum and Dad bought me up to have my own mind and opinions. Not always perhaps the correct timings in the way or things I have said and perhaps I am a little too stubborn for my own good. But being bought up and respected by my Mum and Dad is a gift they gave me that I feel very lucky to have experienced. And most certainly a gift I wish to pass onto my children. You learn from your mistakes after all!

So, what has this got to do with Spring Cleaning. Well as a Mum of 2 under 2 I don't have time to edit and de-clutter at the moment. I am pretty much run ragged. I am introducing my son Sam to food and this is proving a lengthy process. Luckily Ida finds it highly hysterical despite  breakfast, lunch and tea taking longer then normal. More patience, more cleaning up and luckily more fun! My day seams to be consumed with dressing, changing and feeding my children.
So to brighten up our day we are spring cleaning away the cobwebs and LAUGHING our way into a positive spring mind. Laughter makes you lighter, it makes you glow and it makes you bounce with joy. Both Sam and Ida seam to be having a very positive effect on our household.

So I've forgotten about my dusty corners, spider webs, piles of paper and cluttered house. And instead I am concentrating on LAUGHING a lot!

Ida, The naughty and Sam Sam


As my sister said at the weekend after babysitting the naughties....laughing with Ida is like laughing with a very old friend. We laugh till we cry. We laugh till we can't remember what we are laughing about. And then we laugh some more! I feel very privileged to have such a lovely relationship with both my children. And it makes me even happier that my children are already becoming my friends.

So, go and have a try! LAUGH. It'll make you feel 100% happier and a hell of a lot lighter. And it will certainly let you forget about the piles of mess you have to deal with at some point! And I certainly can't be consumed with worrying about mess when I live with Miss Whirlwind herself! I love her to bits but gosh does she know how to create chaos!!


Wednesday, 18 January 2012

Lily loves...

We are spring cleaning in unik HQ.
We are editing and making room for new stock. Tomorrow Sarah and I will be making final decisions and doing the part of our job we both love- ordering more lovelies.
So we are making space for new gorgeous things.

We will be ordering new wooden toys to fill the big gaps from the pieces sold over Christmas.
We are introducing a new "nursery" section on the website so we have been searching for new baby and new mummy products that are beautiful and fit the unik ethos.
We have new makers to add to the website and existing makers who have finished their exclusive products just for us. The Helen Beard porcelain Breakfast sets are being fired this week and will be in HQ next week, fingers crossed.

With the gorgeous comment by Mrs Lily Cooper (nee Allen) last week about the arrival of her new baby daughter, Ethel's, new "blankie" we have asked David of Shuktara to make lots of new lovely blankets for Spring and Summer babies to cherish and dribble over.


The website is nearly ready, we are finding space at unik HQ for all the new gorgeous products. We can't wait!

Until our new treasures are ready to see, we are spring cleaning with a little sale.  Click here to see all the lovely things that are looking to find new homes. They won't be on sale for very much longer so take advantage of our good nature's quick before the sale ends!

Happy Shopping!
Happy Spring Cleaning!


Tuesday, 17 January 2012

Another Happy Customer


It's a New year so I have been spring cleaning our unik office and asking all our customer's to give us a little feedback to make the unik service a better one!

Here is some friendly funny feedback from one of our lovely customers.

Mr Peter Grafton, London
Purchase of two wooden cars for his Nephew, Archie


“I have asked Archie through the medium of paint to describe to me the +vs and -vs of his 2 toy cars.

Here is his response.




The blue and green represents his satisfaction with the cars and the incredible value for money they offer.


The yellow suggests a small intake of breath when he heard about the £5.90 p&p charge..”

Mr Grafton, We are very happy Archie is enjoying his two cars. They are gorgeous! 
Let me explain a little about the £5.90 P&P charge. The £5.90 is simply the price that Royal Mail charges us to send your weighted gift "SPECIAL DELIVERY". This ensures your gift is insured and track able and received the next working day after we post it. The pretty packaging we parcelled your Nephew's gift in was a gift from us to you and your nephew. We parcel all our gifts that way.

We will happily send gifts standard Royal Mail first or second parcel rate if a client stipulates it. There is a notes section on pay pal where you can add comments and request special things like this. We will happily abide and refund the postage difference to you if you choose to do so, if you are happy to run the risk of the gift not being insured, lost or damaged. We choose SPECIAL DELIVERY so that every gift is received safely and quickly with minimum problems.

We are VERY happy that Archie likes his toy cars.




Monday, 16 January 2012

How to take better photographs of your child...


My project for this year is to improve my photography

As a keen photo taker (I'd not call myself a photographer … yet) and a Mum I take lots of photos of my child, other people's children, animals, flowers, landscapes... anything that catches my eye. I'm addicted to taking photographs – my iPhone currently has 2294 photos on it's photo stream and plenty more in folders. It's amazing that it still powers up so quickly!

Anyway, after taking a photography course last year I have vowed to improve my photo taking skills. So I'm going to share my journey with you, and perhaps you too will see an improvement in those snaps!

A few ground rules:
  1. I am a Canon girl through and through. So I'm going to show pictures of my Canon camera – it's digital and one of those big chunky professional looking ones rather than a point and shoot. All the 'technical' stuff I am going to learn and pass on is going to be based upon this camera – the Canon EOS 400D.
  2. Since I don't always have my Canon to hand the other camera I shall talk about and use is the one that comes with my 3GS iPhone. More often than not this will be the only camera you have to hand when your child does something cute that you want to capture. So I'm going to include this and the many apps it has to help improve the photos you take with it.
  3. I am not a professional, so if what works for me doesn't work for you I may not know why.
  4. I am going to try and keep this as easy to understand as possible. Please remember I am a Mum who is just trying to improve her photography skills.

So let's learn a little bit about our equipment.

iPhone - Small camera lens on the back of the phone.
Operated by touching the screen or pressing the little command button on the front of the phone when the phone screen shows the image that you want to capture.







EOS 400D – An actual camera, with a large lens, inbuilt flash, operation dials, several modes, LCD screen, a CF card, a battery and a camera strap.
Operated by turning it on, selecting a mode, focusing on your shot, pressing the shutter key, and hoping for the best.







Your subject:

Children are difficult to photograph, they don't stay still, are usually not found in good light and don't really 'pose' until their older.

So I've set myself quite a challenge.

Here's one from my iPhone:



And one from my camera:


Let's see if I can do better by the end of the year.

Friday, 13 January 2012

Happy Friday 13th...

Friday the13th has only been considered unlucky from the 1900s onwards. So it's quite a recent superstition, but for us we don't think they're unlucky.

Actually there will be 3 "Friday the 13th"s this year... the next one is in April but it will not be as special as today's.

There are double celebrations today in both u-ni-k households! Anna's partner Ross and my big brother Gary both celebrate their birthday today.

Both Gary and Ross support u-ni-k through their social networking, they read and recommend our blog and often comment on our Facebook posts! Best of all they spread the word about our high quality gifts, our excellent customer service and our good value for money.

So I'll dedicate today's blog to them:

Ross & Ida
Gary & Kathryn



Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...
Happy Birthday Ross & Gary!
Happy Birthday to you...

With Love,

Anna & Sarah
xxx










PS
Last few days of the sale continues over at www.unikgifts.co.uk

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Sale offers for blog readers...

Psssst Did you know that we've reduced a few of our lovely items so that we can stock some new exciting pieces for 2012? You didn't?! Well today is your lucky day....

Today I'm going to provide exclusive offers for you, our lovely readers of the blog. Hurry, these offers will only be available until Sunday 15th January 2012 (GMT).



Offer 1. A FREE hand knitted dribble mouse with every white Shuktara blanket 
Our mice are knitted in a cotton/ bamboo mix, which not only makes them sooooo very soft but machine washable and tumble dryer friendly! Perfect for runny noses when you're out and about, baby will hold the mouse to their own face! So go ahead, use them to mop up that strange orange goo off baby's face... it'll wash off.




and







Offer 2. A matching organic cotton beanie with every Old Rectory blanket
Finish off that lovely blanket with a matching hat. Both the beanie and the blanket are made from organic cotton. The colours and designs are inspired by their Grandfather's notebook.





To take advantage of these offers, email us at sales@unikgifts.co.uk with the subject line "I read your blog!" and we'll make sure your exclusive offer is included with your purchase.



With Love,

Anna & Sarah

x x x

Wednesday, 11 January 2012

New Shoes!

@ChicUniqueUK Dorothy slippers I love!

This year, is my first year in a very long time that I will not be pregnant. Woo Hoo! The first year I can actually go shopping and buy something that isn’t a tent. I can look like me again rather then a beached whale. I am very excited. Except for the part where I actually hate shopping for me! It fills me with fear as I know I’ll come home with something that I actually don’t like and waste money. I don’t know why I do it. I just do! It’s such a dissapointment.  Anyway, I certainly haven't had time to shop for me since my two naughties have been around.

So instead I am going to make sure I make time to make do and mend and make new things for myself. I’ll re-vamp old well loved pieces, make new things from saved and treasured bits of fabric and mend things that I thought I’d never wear again.

Inspired by a lovely lady on twitter, Lizzie Longworth of ChicUnique who sent me this twitpic just before Christmas. My reply…I love them! After being out bid on a dress she was in love with on ebay,  she made a gorgeous dress herself, and these AMAZING Dorothy slippers to match. I wished I had the time to do things like that again!

So that's my plan for the coming year.
To get the sewing machine out, make specials for me, my naughties and my new home and then ask Lizzie to make me some special shoes!!

New Year! New shoes!
An MUST!
At least shoes always fit!!
And I'm off to recite the Bagpuss Mice song again!

To see what other lovely things ChicUnique carries click here

Thankyou Lizzie for inspiring me x

Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Get Outside


I have watched A LOT of TV in the last 72 hours as my daughter and I have been nursing a gastric bug. CBeebies eat your heart out! I'm CBeebed out.

Whilst sat on my sofa wrapped in a blanket, hoping my other half would arrive home from work very soon so I could jump in a hot bath and go to bed, I saw an advert for a family holiday company. The main headline was along the lines of, “Don’t let your children just be left the family clock when you die, give them something amazing to remember you by". You know what I'm like about heirlooms and tradition! 

So with that in mind I’ve been planning the following to do as soon as I am feeling 100% fit. The weather is starting to show hints of spring and I really can’t stand another day of CBeebies and Christmas DVD’s (Our’s is Peppa Pig) as my edges are fraying. So a gastric bug and winds so strong that they would blow me to Oz will no longer stop me and my little Ida who is just as bored as me! We aren’t staying locked up inside anymore. We are going to hit the town! Here's afew places that we've been dreaming about.

Located in the Surrey countryside Bocketts farm is a wonderful day out. We ventured here on mass last October and had a wonderful time. It’s open every day of the year from 10-5.30. There is a little tearoom and a picnic area to eat. But wrap up warm! There is a special small animal handling area, goat milking, gold panning, tractor and pony rides and even a wonderful pig race at lunchtime.  If that wasn’t enough there is an amazing play area inside and out in case it rains. Most of the animals are under cover. We are planning an outing very soon.

Both Sarah and I have passes so spend a lot our time here. If we wrap up warm we won’t feel the cold (hopefully). Ok so in this weather it may be a little bleak but there are toasty warm greenhouses and for when it’s dry there are rambling walks and trails, an amazing play area where you can build a den and the BEST café’s to warm up with a hot chocolate and a piece of award winning (in my opinion) cake. If you plan the route carefully you can start at one café and finish at the other. I’ve promised Ida and myself a big slice of Victoria Sandwich!

This is the place to blame for unik gifts beginnings. Sarah and I and all our NCT ladies and babies used to meet here for coffee/tea and cake when our little ones were babbling babies and not running havoc. It’s a gorgeous natural lighted building in Woking town centre. It has a lovely atmosphere and organises special painting and story telling sessions for the under 5’s. See the next sessions planned above.

As a new Farnham inhabitant I LOVE The Maltings. I have been told that you can reach every part of the Maltings with a buggy! It’s an amazing building and a gorgeous space with a sweet coffee shop and adorable tiny shop. The collections on show are wonderful and they also have special activities for children. See the balloon artist link. I personally can’t wait till next month when they are showing  The Adventures of Tintin for children to see. I hope i can peek too!
I’ve also heard that they hold ceramic sessions for little ones too.

The Gruffalo- Something to look forward to!
A fellow Mummy mentioned on facebook that The Gruffalo is coming to Woking in the summer and is highly recommended. We were bought the Gruffalo when Ida was tiny and we all love it. So we’ll be purchasing tickets to see this!

We can't wait to put on our wellies, and venture outside again!


Friday, 6 January 2012

Baby babble...


I babble a little.
Infact I've realised I babble a lot!

Last week I hit the big smoke and travelled on the choo choo train and had a baby free day. With babies in the safe hands of a suitable grown up I escaped my world of nappies, SMA, sterilising, sticky gloupy rice cakes and being Mum and was back to being just me for a while.
Wowzers!

I arrived wind swept with baby sick on my shoulder and babbling! Not quite the vision of decorum I was hoping for in my minds eye when I said I’d pop into see the eggy girls on their first day of sale.

After two cups if egg coffee (yum yum) but far too much caffeine I was a shaking wreck. Stupid me. I forgot I've been on decaff for the last two pregnant years!

So my baby brain was tremendously in tow.
As I babbled about babies, the ridiculous and weirdly merged words together to make new ones (?) I have come to the assumption that I have to blame my baby brain. Is that still possible when my youngest is...gosh i can't even remember how many weeks he is? What an awful Mummy I am!

Back in baby land with one baby poorly and the other proving me wrong when I blogged what a marvelous self-soother he was (Samson!!) I throw the microphone to our followers and ask what silly, messy situations has your baby brains got you into?

While your pondering and getting your baby brain in gear…peruse over the gorgeous things we have on sale at unik gifts. 

Happy baby brain Monday. For those of you without baby brains I apologise for all us baby brain Mummies out there. We have no sleep, we have alot to think about and we literally never stop!

Thursday, 5 January 2012

Celebrating winter babies...January Babies!

Celebrate your winter baby, I'm a winter baby, in fact I'm a January winter baby! So for all those babies due this month, here's a little bit of information about those of us lucky enough to be born in the first month of the year:


Early January Babies

Starsign:Babies born near the start of January will be Capricorns who are known to be stable, patient, trustworthy, persistent, and ambitious.

Birthstone:Their birth stone will be Garnet which signifies constancy.

Flower:The flower for early January babies is a carnation, which can be used to signify love, fascination and distinction.

Astrology:They'll be born in the year of the Rabbit (see Anna's earlier post) as the Chinese New Year occurs in late January. Rabbits are social and well loved.


Famous early January babies: Kate Middleton, J R R Tolkien, Rowan Atkinson, Nicholas Cage, Joan of Arc, David Bowie, Stephen Hawking, and Elvis Presley.


Summary - Early January babies are sociable, patient and trustworthy. They love life and have a fascination for everything. Expect your early January baby to be the gentle life and soul of the party, it will be your child who makes sure everyone gets up to dance. A hard worker who is driven to succeed, this baby will go far.

Late January Babies

Starsign:Those born after the 20/19th January will be Aquarians (like me!) and the traits associated with an aquarius are humanitarian, friendly, honest, loyal, original, incentive, independent and intellectual.

Birthstone:Their birth stone will be Amethyst which signifies sincerity.

Flower: Their birth flower is a violet or primrose. These flowers are usually associated with humility, faithfulness and chastity.

Astrology:Babies born after the Chinese New Year will be Dragons  (you know from Anna's post that I'm a 1976 Fire Dragon)! Dragons are intelligent, giving and tenacious!

Famous late January babies:Sarah Davies (ahem!), Gary Barlow, Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, George Burns,  Sir Francis Bacon, Robert Burns, Paul Newman (who shares his birthday with me and Andrew Ridgeley of Wham fame!), Lewis Carol and Oprah Winfrey.


Summary - Your late January baby will be gregarious, intelligent, and loyal. As a true leader your baby will often be the first to achieve, using their independent nature and superior intellect to their advantage. Fiercely defensive of their friends and family, this baby will fight against injustice and cruelty. Expect them to keep you on your toes, your late January baby will conquer the world, if given the chance.



[OK now admit it you're going to rush off and google Paul Newman's birthdate? 26 January 1925, Andrew Ridgeley - 26 January 1963)

Wednesday, 4 January 2012

Essential must haves for 1st time Mums...

Being first time parents is a minefield and as a first time Mum carrying the bump with all your hormones and body changes, it's really easy to become overwhelmed. How many first time parents have made a checklist spreadsheet, printed it out and clutching it tightly headed out to Mothercare only to find that they have to order in the item they wanted because it's sold out... AND then you have to worry if it'll arrive before baby because WHAT are you going to do if you have the baby but don't have the must have item?!!

If you're lucky you have sisters, friends, Mum's and a good NCT group to go to (the latter for likeminded people to compare notes with!). If you're still stuck then there's the dreaded internet... where everything should be taken with a pinch of salt (unless of course it's on this blog!)

Babies need the loving care and attention of their parents, warmth, nourishment and little else. This list concentrates more on the 'things money can buy' rather than those things that it can't. The things that make life a little easier when you're trying to adjust to being parents.

So for those first time Mum's out there who want an honest, down to earth list of things they really need - here's my list:

DangerBaby has always had her Daddy wrapped around her fingers!



SLEEP LASTS
Moses Basket 0-3m
Pillow 0-3m
White hospital /hole blanket 0-3m
Black out blinds FOREVER
Gro Egg room thermometer 0-6m
Labels for drawers 0-18m >> It's easy to forget where the baby gro is when you're sleep deprived. Labels help a lot
Baby monitor 0-??
Later
Cot bed 3m – 3yrs
Sheets 3m – 3yrs
Cot bumper *2 3m – 3yrs
Teddies FOREVER >> Bunny bunny!
Towel to change baby on floor 0-2yrs >> Babies can't roll off floors. No changing table required.
Decorative boxes / baskets >> I keep nappies, wipes, nappy bags to hand in decorative baskets and hide away the bulk buy boxes.


BATH
Baby bath 0-3m >> When they're big enough one of you can bath with baby without a baby bath.
Soft old towel FOREVER >> Very absorbant and cleaned with your household usual products!
Baby oil >> Baby massage at first, until it helps them wriggle away during a nappy change!
Johnson's lavendar bathtime >> I swear by this, helps her sleep!
Later
Dentinox cradle cap shampoo Not sure how effective this is but everyone gives it a go!
Johnson's No Tears formula baby shampoo. No tears formula is a winner
Johnson's baby wash We use this to make bubbles
TOYS  Our favourite is currently an orange plastic bucket. Nothing soaks Daddy quicker!


TRAVEL
Pram 0-3yrs?
Soft insert for pram 0-2yrs
Shuktara Blankets 0-6m
Socks 0-6m
Hats 0-6m
Dribble mice (u-ni-k) 0-18m
Muslin cloths 0-6m
Changing bag 0-2yrs+
Changing mat 0-2yrs+
Travel cot 0-2yrs+
Blankets to put around travel cot FOREVER
Car seat 0 – 9kgs
Mirror so you can see baby 2 weeks!
Baby entertainment 0 – 16yrs!
Later
Bumbo 6m-8m
Booster seat 12m – 18m


ESSENTIALS
TOYS FOREVER
Books FOREVER
Music FOREVER
Radio / CD player FOREVER

Rocking / bouncy chair 3m - 9m


The above list is based upon my experiences as a first time Mum. DangerBaby was always keen to be on the move (under her own power rather than in a car) so she didn't like sleeping bags or being swaddled, nor did she take to sleeping with a light on. She didn't like to be strapped in to her rocking chair either...but loved her jungle gym!
So for us it was blankets and darkness, but like every other Mum I followed advice and now have an unused baby gro bag here that Kathryn puts her dollies in. We can pass on a pretty unused wooden high tech rocking chair and a very well used jungle gym!
My baby is now a toddler,
and has survived all
my parenting mishaps!


Your list maybe different, as children are individuals with their own needs.

Even though you are a first time Mum, you know best.

You know your child better than anyone. So believe in your ability to be a Mum, and on bad days remember - this too shall pass!

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

New year, same old resolutions?

I've never made a New Year Resolution, it's not that I don't think that I'm perfect and don't need to change, it's just that I don't have the yearly urge to set goals for each 1 Jan to the next.

But this year it's different! This year I'm setting myself a goal.

THIS YEAR I AM GOING TO DECLUTTER!

Daddy DayCare is a hoarder, DangerBaby is a force of nature and when the two of them get together it's a nightmare! It takes them a few minutes to turn whatever room they are in to a sight more often seen on the news after a freak tornado.

So this year will be the year I cajole, nudge and gently persuade my family members to recycle, upcycle, and give up those items that they no longer need, no longer fit and no longer want.

This is very much in line with the lovely ethos behind Ta Daa, our friends who upcycle old clothes into new clothes for little people.

We're currently stocking their rompers, pants, dresses and shirts in our 'Natural' section of the website.

  
The colours and textures are usually associated with the high quality tailored shirts you see gentlemen purchasing in Saville Row.

Transformed into these lovely children's clothes, no two pieces are alike and when ordering you should let us know your colour preferences.

Our range can be found here:

http://www.unikgifts.co.uk/products/textiles_tadaa.php





I'll let you know how we go with the declutter later on in the year!

Monday, 2 January 2012

Pssst... we're having a sale

We've some exciting new suppliers and lovely gifts waiting to join us here at u-ni-k, but we're running out of space to keep all our lovely stock.

So to clear up some space we've put a few of our current gifts 'on sale'. These include the lovely Shuktara blankets.

Hurry, this is a limited time offer!

http://www.unikgifts.co.uk/