Editor-at-large, Kate Freud, rounds up the latest baby news, new parent must-haves and trend-setting baby brands you need to know about this month.
With summer in full-flow, at this time of year I would usually be picking out some travel essentials and must-haves for little ones jetting off on their first holiday. However, while we eagerly await the final lifting of restrictions on 19th July, for my Baby News column this month it’s all about the staycation.
Swim Ready!
Whether you’re staycationing or venturing on a holiday abroad this summer, look no further than the eco-friendly swimwear brand Canopea for the whole family. Offering swimming costumes, rash vests, bikinis and trunks, everything is made from Econyl, a recycled fibre, which is chlorine, seawater and sun cream resistant, so your swimmers stay looking smart. Available in beautiful, muted shades, you can mix and match, father and son and mother and daughters or vice versa. Now we just need the sunshine!
Bump it up
More and more people are learning to appreciate slow fashion these days so there’s never been a better time for the arrival of For the Creators, an online rental platform for pregnancy. The curated collection of quality high-end high street fashion is designed to help pregnant and postnatal women feel their best, without costing the earth. And with flexible rental periods and even the option to buy, it means you don’t need to end up wearing the same few things over and over.
Make a Bloss Stop
As a parent, how many hours do we spend on the internet looking up everything and anything from low milk supply to what to ask at parent’s evening? Well look no further, as now you can find the most brilliant one stop parenting platform in the form of Bloss, set up by Binky Felstead and her friend Steph Desmond. Jam-packed full of expert advice for parents and parents-to-be, with free bitesize advice and the chance to book video calls with some of the world’s most trusted experts in every field. If only this had been around when I had my first baby all those years ago!
Carry me Home
If anyone knows a thing or two about baby carriers its the family-owned Swedish brand BabyBjörn, who are launching the new Baby Carrier Harmony after listening to feedback from their customers. Designed to celebrate BabyBjorns 60th anniversary, the Harmony is made from soft mesh with jersey details, making it cool, cosy and comfortable for both baby and parent. It can be used from birth to age three, and with an ergonomic and pressure relieving waist belt, and a padded lumbar support, that’s not as back breaking as you might think!
Kate Freud’s Baby News: The First Taste of Summer
With the first taste of summer upon us (after what has undoubtedly been a very wet Spring!), what better time to check out the new collections from some of the most beautiful childrenswear brands. Here are just some of the new ranges, collections and collaborations I’m coveting as we usher in a new season.
Matching with Mini-me in Reformation
I have always got a kick out of dressing my girls in matching dresses, but not wanting to miss out on the fun this year, I’m thrilled to see cult brand Reformation, (a favourite of mine for their dresses) has created a limited edition capsule collection of eight designs for daughters and mothers too. The ‘Mummy + Me’ range features five of their bestselling dress designs in mini me versions, made from the softest linen with a few loungewear pieces to boot in organic cotton. Now we just need something fabulous to wear them to!
Olivier Baby & Child
Dressing newborns through to ten-year olds, Oliver Baby’s beautiful designs – often in Liberty prints – include gorgeous sun dresses and jumpsuits for the girls, bloomers and rompers too for the littlest ones, in the prettiest shades of plums, dusty pinks, mustards and moss green and not forgetting the boys with fab printed swimwear and shirts teamed with linen shorts. Throw in their stunning cashmere knits for cooler evenings, and you’ve got summer all wrapped up.
Summer Shoes from Next
Every year, there’s one place I head for my children’s summer shoes and that’s Next. They have a staggering array that includes everything from sandals and sliders to jellies, canvas shoes and trainers. And each spring, amongst the new styles I buy, I just can’t resist their perennial animal print corkbed sliders, now available in adult and children’s sizes. They look expensive, go with absolutely everything and are the most comfortable shoes I, and now my girl’s, own.
New baby brand Quincy Mae, available at smallable.com, ticks all the boxes for me, with its butter soft organic fabrics and dreamy silhouettes created in muted hues of mustard, dusky pink, moss green and grey blue. Available from newborn to three years, you’ll find pretty designs with spots and stripes too, but the brilliant thing is these unisex pieces can be mixed and matched or worn together. Prices start from £9.
Kate Freud’s Baby News Column – April 2021
The dreaded pelvic floor weighs heavily on the conscience of most women over a certain age, but what if you could save time and work your pelvic floor when doing your regular workout? That’s the idea with the P.volve workout which involves combining the activation of your core – the pelvic floor, back and abs – with dynamic joint movement and resistance-band equipment to wake up and strengthen each and every muscle. And best of all, it’s actually a really fun way to work out!
Perfect Playmats
The beautiful playmats from Lovevery not only look gorgeous but tick all the sensory boxes too. Designed by child development experts, the award-winning design includes five different touchy-feely zones to help your baby through everything from tummy time to teething. Crafted with natural materials, and sustainably sourced, FSC-certified wood, The Play Gym will help you connect with your baby as they discover their new world and all the fun that is to be had! From £140.
ANYDAY, Anywhere
Trust good old John Lewis to come up with a new range of excellent quality good value baby kit and clothing alongside homeware and technology in their new collection ANYDAY. With over 2,400 stylish, thoughtfully designed quality products to choose from, at seriously competitive prices from £1.50 – £500 and this is your one stop shop for everything from cotton onesies to nursery furniture for your little one.
Precious Mementoes
The trend for keepsake jewellery to commemorate your children’s birth has grown and grown over the past few years, and Merci Maman has always ticked the box for affordable, beautiful pieces (in fact, everyday I wear one of their simple gold necklaces with three discs, each with my children’s initials). And now, they are branching out with their first ever solid gold collection, Collection Précieuse which features five of the brand’s best-sellers, redesigned in recycled solid 18k gold, to ensure a keepsake that will last a lifetime. The collection includes the Duchess Necklace, a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge.
Kate Freud’s Baby News Column – Sustainable Spring Picks
Now more than ever it feels important for us all to do our bit to help the environment, which is why I love the Pepi Collection of reusable nappies. Disposable nappies massively contribute to landfill, unlike these, which can be bought in bundles to make them equally affordable. The designs are fantastic with hand-drawn illustrations and they come with bamboo mix inserts which can be washed and re-used. Prices start from £14.95.
Pepi Collection Nappy Bundle, £47.84, available from pepicollection.com
Red Nose Day
With Comic Relief taking place this Friday 19th March, there’s never been a more important time to support a charity who raise millions each year for amazing causes both at home and overseas. I love this year’s t-shirts designed in collaboration with TK Maxx, including some of our favourite Disney movie stars from Toy Story’s Woody and Buzz to Carl from ‘Up’ and the characters from the ‘Cars’ movie. Sizes start at age two and adult tees are available too.
Comic Relief Buzz Lightyear T-Shirt, prices from £6.99, shop.comicrelief.com
VEJA x Mini Rodini
Get your little one wearing the coolest kicks in town with VEJA’s brilliant Mini Rodini collaboration. The VEJA x M Rodini range is the first collection by the two brands, and sees the most popular VEJA V-12 velcro trainer transformed with a fun yellow rabbit patch and finished off with the classic M.Rodini logo. Just in time for spring.
VEJA V-12 velcro trainer, available from size 22, veja-store.com
Little Dutch
When it comes to kid’s toys, it’s worth investing in pieces that will not only last but are aesthetically pleasing enough for you to live with too. And they don’t come better looking than those by Little Dutch. Founded ten years ago, this brand is all about great, design, quality and fun, with everything from their bestselling guitars with heart cut outs, to activity books, baby gyms, doll’s houses and baby walkers to keep your baby happy.
Little Dutch Dolls House, now £79.60, available at Scandiborn.co.uk
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