Category: Bath time

Bath time — No Comments

Mothercare Aqua Pod

I’m ashamed to say that I’m only now just moving Lollipop out of her baby bath (don’t judge me….it was just so darn convenient!) so I’ve pulled Mr Moo’s Aqua Pod out of the cupboard.

Aqua Pod

The Aqua Pod is a really simple but fab piece of kit from Mothercare that makes bathtime a lot easier. I, for one, would be totally terrified of the idea of trying to wrestle with a slippery infant in a big bath…plus I’m pretty sure I would not be very good at one-handed hair washing. The Aqua Pod allows you to have both your hands free to wash, rinse and have fun with your baba at bathtime. Once they are able to sit unaided, your baba can use the seat in the Aqua Pod to allow them to sit up safely in the bath. The bath mat provides a non-slip surface for your baba and it’s big enough for a second little bather if you were up for the challenge of having two in the bath at once.

Aqua Pod

The seat is simple to use – it has open sides which make it easy for you to help your baba in and out. There are suction cups under the seat and the mat which hold both very firmy in the bath. The whole thing is easy to clean and, if you have a bath which doubles as a shower too, it can be left in the bath all the time as a non slip mat for the shower. Also, the mat, which is decorated with little ducks, has a “hot spot” which tells you if the water is too warm.

At €34.99 it has more than paid for itself in our house – available at all Mothercare stores.

PS: If you have twins, check out the new duo Aqua Pod.

Bath time / Gifts / Nursery — No Comments

Cloud Cuckoo Designs

So there I was, sipping a glass of wine while browsing the web (no shocks there I here you say…) when I came across the Cloud Cuckoo Designs website. Their site is full of gorgeous things including some fab children’s textiles. Their current range, which includes  things for bath time, bed time, sleep time and feeding time, is based on three really funky prints – owl, kitty and monkey.  These are designed by the site’s founder Claire Pugh who has designed textiles for GAP, M&S and John Lewis.

I have totally fallen for their sleeping bags. They come in either 0.5 or 2.5 tog and are made from organic cotton.  At £22 Stg each they are great value and a lot cheaper than other brands on the market.

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There are also hooded towels with the same quirky print. Again, they are made of 100% organic cotton. These are £24 Stg each and would make really lovely gifts.

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If towels and sleeping bags don’t tickle your fancy, there are plenty of other lovely things to chose from:

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Bath time — Comments Off

Elave Baby Range

Elave baby

So its a no-brainer…  you want to find the best possible products to use on your baby’s soft beautiful skin.

While its tempting to chose those traditional baby bath products that lather really easily and  allow you to fill your baby’s bath with bubbles (yes, yes, I admit that this would make for some seriously cute photographs!!) we all know that in order to make the  lather some really yuckky ingredients are added. On the bright side, most of these products are also really strongly fragranced, who really wants their baba to smell like a lemon, a mango or guava (what is a guava anyway??).

Shortly after Mr Moo was born, my mum’s friend recommend the Elave Baby range to me.  Elave Baby products are made by Ovelle Pharmaceuticals which is a company established and run in my home town, Dundalk.  So, in an attempt to support this local company, my mum bought me a bottle of the shampoo, the baby bath and the moisturising cream. I was immediately hooked and haven’t used anything else since!

Both the shampoo and baby bath are clear and slightly thick in consistency. Neither lather easily (because they’ve only got the good stuff in them!) and they don’t have a strong smell but they leave both my babas’ hair and skin so clean and soft and they don’t irritate their little eyes. The moisturiser is also lovely and I have to admit using it on myself every now and then!

Many of the ingredients are certified organic and Free from statement Logothe products are free from lots of yucky things (check out the list shown on the left). On their website,  Ovelle state that “Medical research in Dermatology points to the first 6 months of life as the most likely time for eczema and sensitive skin problems to develop.” I certainly have no medical experience but it makes sense to use really gentle products on a baby’s skin and these products are really lovely and just feel right.

Bottles of the shampoo and baby bath cost about €10 each but they last and last, a little really does go a long way. The bottles last over two months in our house and the babas are in the bath every night.

You can buy the Elave Baby range  in a lot of pharmacies or online here but if you like your baby to smell like an exotic fruit then maybe give these products a miss….