As the year draws to a close we just wanted to say a huge big thank you for all your support.  Having great customers, fans, working with amazing brands and being supported by our families and the local community in the UAE really does make our job a very enjoyable one.

When we are out and about we often meet some amazing people.  This year we have been lucky enough to have met  Morag Cromey-Hawke the Executive Director of Operation Smile.  It was her stories of the mission that she took part in to the Philippines that made us realise just how lucky we are with our little one’s and inspired us to give a gift of a smile for Christmas.

To read the article click here or read below.

Savvy mums build web empires

Alice Haine 

Kirsten Fairfield and her friend and business partner, Paula Harrington, lead busy lives. Not only are they both mothers of two young children, but they are also the founders of bubsboutique.com, an online store they set up in 2009 for babies and children under five.

The Dubai-based expatriates juggle their home-grown business around the needs of their children, relying on nap times and evenings to catch up on e-mails and get ahead on deliveries.

While the concept of “mumpreneurs” – women using their newfound knowledge of motherhood to launch a child-centric business – has been around for sometime in the UAE, online mother, baby and child stores have not.

Which is why the British business owners of BubsBoutique were surprised by the sudden flurry of online store launches catering to their niche market.

“At first, we looked at all the new competitors and thought, ‘Oh my’,” says Mrs Fairfield, the mother of Jessica, aged three, and Aidan, one, who moved to the UAE with her husband, a commercial manager, in 2007. “But it has made us stronger and we’ve worked so much harder. The more sites there are, the more likely people are to shop online because people always shop around, so it’s not a bad thing.”

Among the new launches in the UAE’s mother, baby and child segment this year is 6ambabies.com, an online store specialising in organic clothing and accessories for newborns and under threes that went live last month, and blushandbloom.com, which focuses on the needs of pregnant women as well as offering newborn baby products.

But one thing is clear; all the women behind these ventures launched their sites because they spotted a gap in the market and felt the rise of e-commerce offered them a business model they could work around other commitments in their lives.

“Many women start up their own business after they have children as a way to make their schedules more flexible,” says Karima Berkani, a research analyst at Euromonitor International. “How likely their business is to succeed or fail depends on a number of variables. However, baby and children’s products have proven recession proof in the UAE. While consumers may trade down or limit spending on food and clothing purchases for themselves, they are unlikely to cut spending on their children.

“Total internet retailing in the UAE is expected to grow 14 per cent in 2011 to reach Dh833 million and new mothers know better than anyone which baby products are available in the UAE and because they are also using these products, are able to offer advice.”

This was certainly the case for the women behind BubsBoutique.

“We both had six-month-old children and were both keen to go back to work, but part-time jobs weren’t freely available,” says Mrs Fairfield, a former PR executive. “So when we received an e-mail from another online store that was closing up and selling their stock, we went to have a look.”

The duo invested Dh60,000 in their venture, selling only 10 brands to begin with and renting bigger villas to store their merchandise rather than a warehouse to keep costs down.

“We launched when the market was in turmoil, so we were very conservative,” says Mrs Harrington, the mother of Samuel, three and William, 14 months, who moved to the UAE in 2007 with her banker husband. “That’s probably why it took us so long to grow our customer base because we couldn’t afford to advertise.”

Today, the entrepreneurs sell more than 50 brands, stock 700 products and have seen their sales revenue increase by 54 per cent since last year. But they admit launching an e-commerce venture in such a small retail market does not guarantee big bucks as the pair reinvest all their profits back into their business and are yet to take a wage.

“We put in 40-hour weeks each, are available 24 hours a day to take phone calls and often work on weekends to ensure orders get out on time. And we are not earning anywhere near what we did before,” says Mrs Harrington, a former HR executive. “There are times when you think, ’should we go back to work?’ But we can see the potential. With so many websites starting up, people are obviously thinking, ‘Oh, that looks easy’, and you can throw a tonne of cash at something, but you have to work so hard to get it back and there are weeks when I spend hardly any quality time with my boys.”

Jenny Haddad is the founder of dubaibabies.com, the first online baby store to launch in the UAE in 2006. The mother of Maya, aged four, and Max, two, launched her business before she had children because she wanted a gift service that would wrap and deliver presents to her friends giving birth. And she agrees that running an online venture is hard work.

“You can’t just do it within school hours. If you’re going to do it and do it properly, then that means time away from the kids. Some mums do go into things a bit blindly thinking, ‘I can make it fit’, but it takes over.”

For Mrs Haddad, a former events manager and air hostess who moved to the UAE in 2003, where she met her husband, a hotelier, watching so many other similar concepts launch has been interesting.

“I used to spend a lot of time worrying about what they’re doing, but now I just get on with what I’m doing,” she says. “I need to be aware of how many sites are launching, but I’m more concerned about keeping my clients happy.”

Although some of the smaller ventures such as 6ambabies, Blush and Bloom and BubsBoutique are either run solely by their founders or a small team, the most recent – and perhaps high-profile operation to hit the market – is mumzworld.com

The brainchild of Mona Ataya, the founding partner and chief executive, the Dubai-based bilingual shopping portal acts as a shopfront for hundreds of brands and sells more than 15,000 items.

But while the other online concepts in existence are largely privately funded, Ms Ataya, who has lived in the UAE since 2000 and is also one of the founders of the online job portal bayt.com, had the backing of Bayt’s investors to launch her enterprise.

As a result, her portal offers consumers a search and compare option as well as an instant chat with the company’s customer service team and expert online forums – something Mrs Ataya believes makes her different from the other e-commerce models in her segment.

“I don’t feel we have the competition because no one has the same platform as ours. Our platform is the largest selection of mother, baby and child products in the region. So if you’ve shopped on Mumzworld, you’ve shopped everywhere.”

Mrs Ataya, a Lebanese-American and mother to seven-year-old twins, Sufian and Tareq, and Yousef, four, decided to set up the company after returning to work from an extended maternity leave.

Her inspiration came from her own struggle to find the products she needed for her children, forcing her to ship everything from the US and UK.

And by teaming up with Bayt, she was able to turn her idea into reality in just six months because she had access to the company’s business development team and her own staff of 22 for data-entry and customer service.

As a result, Mrs Ataya has big plans. “Mumzworld can and will become a giant for e-commerce shopping and will change the playing field. We’re going to be the one-stop destination for everything mother, baby and child – whether it’s buying or finding out information and once that’s achieved, I can rest and focus on other things.”

But starting small can pay off, too.

Mrs Haddad’s DubaiBabies business has expanded from a single site to three, with AbuDhabiBabies and SaudiBabies launching last year. She also has a kiosk in Mercato Mall in Dubai and this year opened her first stand-alone retail store in Dubai’s Town Centre.

“We’re growing it from a group perspective and that’s starting to generate something proper, whereas one little website didn’t,” she says.

“If I shut it down now, that would make a sizeable difference to the family income. We don’t have an investor behind us, so when you’re looking at what we invested, it would be tragic if we stopped it.”

Although Mrs Haddad has expanded from online into retail, retailers such as Just Kidding have done the opposite: launching an online baby store in 2009 to complement their two retail outlets in Dubai.

“At the time, there was a gap in the market and the online store would service the GCC region without the physical start-up costs of franchising across the region,” says Annemarie Retera, a mother of two who is from Holland and founded the company in 2004 with her husband, Ben Boenk.

“There has been a definite increase in new sites, they are not direct competition for us as they do not have the product range which we carry.

“The physical store is naturally more successful because people will always want to touch, feel and see demonstrations on big-ticket items. But because we have the actual store, we can stock everything from strollers, car seats, high chairs, furniture and accessories and offer it all online – no one else is able to compete with our range.”

With competition in this market at an all-time high, it begs the question who will survive in the long term.

“Yes, it’s a lot cheaper to set up a website than a retail store, but it’s not actually that big a market and I don’t think we can all succeed,” says Mrs Haddad. “You need a unique starting point.”

But Blush and Bloom’s Loretta Kiss, an Australian who launched her site in May this year because she felt there was too much emphasis on the baby and child and not enough on the pregnant mother, believes there is room for all the sites in the UAE.

“Competition is healthy for business as ultimately it ensures our customers have a wide selection of products that are fairly priced. It’s the service and knowledge of these products that really makes a business stand out. Women are incredibly savvy shoppers and expect both good service and good staff knowledge regarding the products they are buying.”

arayer@thenational.ae

The Main Players

DubaiBabies

The UAE’s first online baby store, dubaibabies.com, abudhabibabies.com and saudibabies.com stock baby gifts and maternity, baby and toddler clothing and products. Delivery in the UAE costs Dh15 for orders less than Dh200 and is free for orders over Dh200

BubsBoutique

Selling products for pregnant mothers, newborns and children under five, bubsboutique.com offers organic high-end products. Delivery in the UAE costs Dh15 for orders less than Dh200 and is free for orders over Dh200

Mumzworld

The largest shopping site in the Middle East, mumzworld.com is a one-stop shop for everything related to mother, baby and child. Delivery in the UAE costs Dh23 for orders less than Dh200 and is free for orders above Dh200

JustKidding

An online family store offering JustKidding’s full range of strollers, car seats, high chairs, furniture, toys and accessories for babies and young children. The online store delivers free in Dubai

6amBabies

Catering to newborns and children under three, 6ambabies.com offers organic clothing, toys and accessory brands. Delivery in the UAE costs from Dh20 depending on the weight of your purchase

Blush and Bloom

Primarily an online maternity boutique, blushandbloom.com stocks everything from maternity wear to pregnancy accessories to gifts and accessories for newborns. Delivery in the UAE costs Dh20 for orders less than Dh250 and is free for orders over that amount

We take it for granted that the air we breathe is safe in a home environment.  Yet air conditioners and re-circulation of air can distribute airborne nasties like mould, bacteria as well as allergens from dust mites and pet dander. The inhalation of these substances is the main cause for allergic sensitivity in many countries like the UAE, where indoor living is the norm and air conditioners are a permanent fixture in most homes.

It comes as no surprise then that around 20% of children in the UAE suffer from Asthma and 40% suffer from breathing allergies. It begs the question, how can we protect our children and make sure the air they breathe is healthy?

Air quality and Children

Unlike robust adults, children are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of airborne pollution, partly because children tend to breathe through their mouth instead of their nose (which helps act as a filtering system).  A child’s immune system is also not fully developed, so they’re not as well equipped to deal with airborne allergens as adults are. Unlike other countries, the condition seems to get worse with age in the UAE rather than better, meaning continued exposure to allergens could be plaguing our children well into adulthood.

Why is good indoor air quality important?

As well as the reduction of allergens in the air which can alleviate symptoms of Asthma and breathing allergies, improved indoor air quality can also improve health, concentration, productivity and sleep.  Research conducted by the International Centre for Indoor Environment & Energy (ICIEE) in Denmark showed up to 35% improvement in mental arithmetic, comprehension and problem solving in school children with an improvement in indoor air quality.

Why we like our Airfree

bubsboutique have three Airfree Air Purifiers, each offering unique benefits for the home.  Having used them ourselves we are seeing the benefits with the health or our little ones.

BabyAir Airfree has the capacity to purify a room measuring 55m3, is light weight in size at 1.09kg, and perfect for nurseries and children’s rooms as it comes with a night light and dimmer.

Baby Air

The Allergen E2000 can be used in any room throughout the house. We also love that it is totally silent and light weight at 1.09kg.  It has a room capacity of 60m3.

Allergen E2000

The S4000 Airfree Air Purifier comes in a sleek silver colour and is unobtrusive perfect for any room in the house.  Best of all it is totally silent and very light weight at 1.2kg.  It covers a larger area than the Allergen E2000 and the BabyAir Air Purifiers with a capacity of 125m3

Airfree S4000

How does it work?

By convection action the purifiers pull in contaminated air from a room and heat it to over 200 degrees, three times the temperature required to kill bacteria; yet the room is not heated by the unit. Reportedly killing over 99% of mould, mildew bacteria and viruses, reducing allergens by up to 98%.

Using a ceramic core within which the air is heated, there is no filter, nothing to replace and there are no emissions or ions from the unit. It’s also completely maintenance-free.

The Strawberry Test

Two identical strawberries taken from the same package were placed in two identically sized rooms, with the same sun orientation, temperature and humidity levels.  Both strawberries were hung from nylon strings from the ceiling for 10 days.  In the room with the Airfree Air Purifier the strawberry simply dried out; while the room without the purifier the strawberry completely deteriorated with mould. To view the test for yourself, visit the Airfree UAE site  http://www.airfree.ae

Tips for a Healthy Environment for your Child

If your little one suffers from allergies, frequent coughs, colds or sniffles, or you are just concerned about their general well being here are some additional tips to keep your environment healthy for baby and child:

1. If you notice mould immediately clean the surface, disposing of any porous materials
2. Sheets and blankets can be washed in hot water (131ºF) for 7 days to effectively eliminate mould
3. Do not use feather pillows or blankets
4. Avoid furniture that cannot be cleaned easily and accumulate dust
5. Avoid carpets
6. Avoid teddy bears on baby’s bed
7. Avoid internal humidity accumulation, by leaving the windows open daily, for around 30 minutes
8. Use an air purifier such as Airfree to keep the air quality ideal

Home Shopping: Cool, contemporary baby essentials at Bubs Boutique

Helen McLaughlin Oct 13, 2011

Shopping in the UAE while struggling with a large baby bump or tiny newborn can be a challenging exercise, as first-time mums Kirsten Fairfield and Paula Harrington discovered. Their experiences led the Dubai-based friends to identify a gap in the market here for an “under one roof” online store where shoppers in the region could order and receive their goods simply, quickly and without having to fork out for expensive shipping costs.

In 2009, the pair pooled their business acumen and skills to set up Bubs Boutique, stocking maternity and baby essentials, clothes and decorative nursery accessories.

The emphasis here is on cool and contemporary rather than cute, with products sourced from independent labels around the world with strong ethical policies. In addition to the delightful range of clothes for ages 0-5 (by labels including Organics For Kids and Aunty Ollie), highlights include nursing cushions in lovely vintage-style floral and ticking fabrics, vibrant print blankets and changing mats, anti-allergen room purifiers and good old traditional wooden toys made from non-toxic materials such as organic rubber wood.

Bubs Boutique also stocks gift baskets, bouquets, stationery and a wide range of organic skincare products.

What really caught our eye, of course, was the nursery decor range, which includes screen-printed personalised cushions (stylish enough to last beyond toddler-hood) and the beautiful Love Mae fabric wall decals, as featured in last week’s Home Shopping.

Our favourite item though, has to be the sweet typographic posters in red, navy or duck egg blue, featuring words and phrases for little boys or little girls to dream of – and adults to remember.

If you’re not already sold, take note that if you spend Dh200 or more, delivery is free anywhere in the UAE.

www.bubsboutique.com

Have you just come back from holiday filled with the desire to feather your nest?  Read the article about how great these fabric children’s wall stickers are and get inspired to decorate!

http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/house-home/home-shopping-easy-to-use-fabric-wall-stickers-at-love-mae

Home Shopping: Easy-to-use fabric wall stickers at Love Mae

Article written by Ellie Tenant for The National House & Home published Sep 29, 2011  F

Love Mae launched in Australia in 2008, and has since expanded to become a truly global online shop, with new websites in Europe and the USA, and comprehensive international shipping. It’s easy to see why this brand has spread all over the globe. Love Mae stocks an irresistibly cute collection of reusable fabric wall decals that are practical as well as pretty. They’re a hit everywhere.

Discover Penny Malone’s favourite places for one-of-a-kind and designer homeware from the comfort of your armchair.

Traditional adhesive wall stickers can be tricky to apply. You spend ages trying to find the right spot on the wall, then another half an hour trying to get rid of pesky air bubbles. But these clever fabric decals are fuss-free: simply peel and stick. What’s more, they can be moved around as often as you want. They can even be rinsed clean under a running tap, which can be particularly handy in children’s rooms.

And there are children’s designs galore. I love the sweet Forest Critters collection (available in “earthy” or “pretty” colours) with little woodland creatures such as owls, squirrels and deer, all small enough to stick beside a bookshelf or on the wall as a quirky headboard. There are colourful dinosaur designs, too, and beautiful “Twitters” (that’s birds to us).

But this shop isn’t just for children. There are some super-stylish designs for the rest of the house, too. Take, for example, the fun pantry labels, colourful stickers for cocoa and sugar jars. They are completely reusable and just the ticket for organising your food stores in a chic and style-savvy way.

I also like the mini tree stickers and the fun new message tiles, fabric wall stickers that look like giant Scrabble letter tiles, so you can spell any word you like on your walls – such as “shopaholic”.

With many people planning their summer holidays thinking ahead about how to wear your baby now is a good idea. You can then make the most of the support network in Dubai before you head off overseas with a brand new carrier but with no idea how to use it!

We asked the lovely and fabulous Vanessa for some of her valuable time to answer some questions regarding baby wearing.  Vanessa it the mother of 3 beautiful children and one of the lovely volunteers for Dubai Baby Wearing. 

What is baby wearing?

Baby wearing promotes a strong bond between parent and child. Studies show that carrying and wearing infants reduces crying and promotes attachment. Baby wearing promotes as well a healthy way of carrying your baby by proposing carriers that allow the child to have an ergonomic sitting position (legs in “frog” position = the knee level is above the bottom level). Most of the carriers proposed in babywearing allow to carry children up to 15 to 20kg. 

 How did you find out about baby wearing?

5 years ago, when I was carrying my 1st child with a classic baby carrier ( allowing to carry up to 9kg only and legs hanging straight from the carrier) I found it very uncomfortable for me as well as for my baby,  I started to look on the internet for other ways to carry my baby. Prams were not very convenient where I lived at that time and most of the local people there were already using slings or soft structured baby carriers .  Additionally I discovered the wrap and the benefit of babywearing on the internet and I became passionate about it. 

 Why are you so passionate about baby wearing?

I first find it very convenient: anywhere I am going I have my hands free and my children are not stressed by the environment, be it while shopping in a crowded mall, while travelling or hiking in an unfamiliar place.

Then I really think it helped me to promote bonding with my 2 eldest children as I was working full time in their early years, so I was not around most of the day. Carrying them around (and breastfeeding) on evenings and week-ends, helped us to stay close and to cuddle a lot.

Plus for the same price as a classic baby carrier you can use it almost three times as long: as they can carry up to 15 to 20kg which a child reaches between the ages of 2 to 4 years old depending on children, when classic carriers carry up to 9kg which are reach between 6 months to 1 year old.

What are the top 3 benefits of wearing your baby?

 As I have said before, It respects the ergonomic sitting position of the baby (rounded back and legs in “frog” position) and it helps to strengthen the link between the parent and the child.   It also helps as well babies who have colic’s (as the tummy of the baby gets a gentle massage while being carried), or reflux (the baby can be carried in a “standing’ position which reduces reflux). It helps as well to reduce the crying.

 What advice would you give to first time parents in choosing the right product to wear their baby with?

 Everybody is different and one product might suit someone but not their best friend. It depends if you think you will carry your baby for long periods of time (shopping for instance, then you need something you feel comfortable with) or just for short periods (then you need something you can install quickly). It depends as well if you think you will carry your baby just for the first months of her life, or maybe until she is 3 or 4 years old. There is now a lot of choice of baby carriers that promotes adequate babywearing: ring slings, wraps, soft structured carriers, pouches. You may need to try them first (hence our workshops) before making your final choice.

 What are the most common problems people face when wearing their babies for the first time and what do solutions do you suggest?

 It is not always easy to position the baby correctly in the ring sling and to find the right tension (not too tight but not too loose either). It is not always easy to learn how to do the nodes with the wrap. My first advice would be to try to come to our workshops if in doubt. Otherwise, read the instructions that have been delivered with your carrier, search on You Tube for demo-videos (those are really handy). Or contact us on our e-mail (dubaibabywearing@gmailcom) to try to fix a private appointment with us.

 Can you tell us why you got involved with the baby wearing group in Dubai?

I basically taught myself how to use a wrap through the internet 5 years ago. At that time I wished someone in the country where I lived could have helped. So as I stopped working full time when arriving in Dubai, I thought it would be nice to help other mothers to learn about baby carrying in  a more gentle way that I did.

 How long has it been running?

It has been a little more than 2 years now

  What do you do at the information mornings

We present the different carriers (ring slings, wraps, soft structured carriers, pouches) then we let people try them on so they can choose which seems the most convenient for themself, and we help them to install the carriers with their baby or a doll if the baby is not here yet.

  As a mum of 3 what are your top tips for new mums to be?

Do not panic you are always the best mum for your baby. Do as you feel and listen to your baby to guide you.

 Dubai Baby Wearing hold coffee mornings/workshops at the Organic Cafe in the Dubai Mall from 9.30am until 11.30am on a Thursday.  The next baby wearing workshop will be held on May 19th.  You can also follow Dubai Baby Wearing on facebook  .  All the girls that volunteer are super lovely, welcoming and very knowledgable.

bubsboutique stock the Mini Monkey Sling & the Maya Wrap Ring Sling with two new brands joining our happy family very shortly

All good but ask us what happened and we would not be able to tell you!  We are however in New Year mode and looking forward to bringing you a whole lot of gorgeousness in 2011 and are ever thankful for everyone’s support in 2010.

There are new brands, new ideas and a lot to look forward to. We have been so delighted to have Mini Monkey baby slings as they’ve been a godsend when we’ve been out and about.  Slings are just great for around the house when the baby boys won’t sleep or just need a cuddle!   It’s the month of love and whilst our main desire is some serious sleep we were most pleased to see that TimeOut Kids TimeOut Most Wanted and Aquarius Magazine gave us a mention in their most wanted section with the Ashley Mary Jane shoes and Oobi Heart dress.  The heart dress has now sold out but if you want to feel some Oobi love we’ve still got some heart Ava Sunhats left!  We are loving the new brands that have joined our happy family a fabulous interiors brand started by two mums in Dubai you can’t help but be attracted to the happy colours, beautiful materials and surprising details. If your rooms need some spicing up this February then check out their collection of wall stickers, cushions, storage tins treasure boxes. We are also absolutely delighted to be stocking Australia’s favourite organic brand Pure Baby the Essentials range is just amazing and we can’t get enough of the leggings so make sure you order before William and Aidan take all the stock.  Everyone loves a bargain and there are some great bargains to be had this month with our clearance sale.

We are also happy to be supporting the fabulous Lesley Cully on her Buckle Up in the Back Dubai campaign.  Everyone based in Dubai making an order will receive a car sticker to help spread the message you can also follow Lesley on facebook.  Keep your eye out on facebook for updates.

Until next time, Happy Shopping xx

William is 12 weeks old today so I am officially through the fog of the first 6 weeks and Kirsten is right now in the thick of it!  Has to be said though matchsticks are needed on a regular basis the sleepless nights are settling in and no amounts of touché éclat are going to hide the dark circles.  Life has changed yet again and suddenly  it seems normal when you wake up  with a breast pad attached to another part of your body, your son wipes his nose on it and the cleaner thinks it belongs in the toy box!  The wardrobe malfunctions, the crazy hair, the state of chaos at home it’s all going on at the moment!

It’s our busy season and Aidan and William are out and about with us over the next month  as we attend a lot of Christmas Fairs.  It was lovely meeting everyone at Kings School we are not sure if it was our bubs or the new colours of Oobi’s frothy skirts that got everyone cooing though!  This weekend we will be at Feline Friends in Abu Dhabi, JESS Night Market and Abu Dhabi Kidz Open Day so it would be lovely to see you all.

Last time we did promise a list of what you need to buy when you are having a baby.  It can seem like a bit of a minefield when you are preparing for baby and often be like someone is talking in a completely different language.  Our advice would be don’t go mad on buying every gadget and gizmo going or getting caught up in the hype but start to get yourself organised with a simple layette list for all your essentials and clothing.  If you are having your first baby and really are not sure where to start then please don’t hesitate to contact myself or Kirsten.  You can always create a wishlist on the site for things you would like to get and if people are not sure what gift to buy you then you can send them the list.

Essentials and Clothing Layette Set

1. 6 x Cotton Bodysuits/Onesies/Vests
2. 3 x Gowns
3. 3 x Stretch n Grows/Babygrows
4. 2 x Cardigans (depending on what time of year you deliver handy for airconditioned or chilly winter mornings)
5. 2 x Day Outfits
6. 3-6 Bibs
7. 2 x Booties
8. 2 x Socks
9. 2 Hats/Beanies
10. 1 Sunhat (summer)
11. 1 Mittens
12. 6 Muslin Wraps
13. 4 Muslin Flannels
14. 1 Cuddle Rug/Travel Blanket
15. 3 Sheet Sets
16. 2 Bassinet or Cot Blankets
17. Swaddle Wrap
18. 2 x Sleeping Bags
19. Shampoo/Body Wash
20. Oil
21. Bottom Balm
22. 2 x Towels
23. 1 x Baby Bag
24. Nursing Cover
25. Baby Sling
26. First Aid Kit

Samuel now has a little brother William Oliver Coombe he arrived a month early on September 1st with quite a bit of a drama!  Doctor Elsa at City Hospital was a rock star and the maternity staff all absolute angels!  This obviously means I do become the birth story bore at get togethers with fellow yummy mummies.  William is now 5 weeks old and a tiny little cherub, at BB HQ we are very excited to have a new baby around and looking forward to Jessica’s sister or brother arriving very soon. 

I am the new mum and it’s all about me! The one thing I was in a bit of a daze about is what to do with a newborn – people had told me that your instinct kicks in again but I can tell you my brain is still searching the files for how to handle a newborn, 2 years on Ben and I even had the book out on how to bath baby properly!

With William’s early arrival it was a bit of a surprise so thought I would share some top tips in terms of getting organised for your new arrival. 

Not sure if any of you have read Liz Fraser’s Guide to Being a Yummy Mummy but it’s a great read and one that I took lots of tips from first time around when I had Samuel -I was feeling far from yummy!   

First top tip from reading this, is to treat yourself, get that hair, nail and massage appointment booked earlier than just before your due date, I was devastated to miss my much needed facial! …I highly recommend SensMama treatments at SensAsia Urban Spa. I can tell you now that you don’t want photos posted on Facebook with your roots in need of a touch up and wearing the hospital gown which is quite hideous!  My husband has since been told to delete the photos in favour of the one where I found time to slap on some tinted moisturiser (a must have in your hospital bag) and mascara!

In terms of getting your bag packed for baby my must have items include the Cocooi Wrap.  I cannot rave on about this enough.  William only settles in this and the benefits of Merino are just super fab for newborns and helping them gain weight.  It’s also a husband proof swaddle check out the link on You Tube .  I also made sure that William left the hospital in fashion style wearing only the best he can and he checked out in his Dimples Bee Gown, hat and booties - everyone loved it! 

Now I am back  at home other two items that would have been top of my list (owning an online store you would think I would of already) are a nursing cover and feeding cushion. Thankfully, our new Nursing Covers  arrived from Peanut Shell a few days later and now I am feeling like I can walk again, get out and about they do make breast feeding in public so much easier.  The breast feeding cushion helps so much especially when they are tiny, new stock will be arriving shortly. Thrupenny Bits designs are great as they can hang on your pram and are pleasing on the eye too! 

I am putting together a definitive list for all your essential baby buys so watch this space if you are a list kind of gal, as it may help.

Enough about me me me – we hope you are all feeling fabulous and looking forward to the last few months of the year, we love it as its cooler, there’s lots to do and a whole lot of gorgeousness  is coming your way from bubsboutique.  

We will be keeping you posted on life with the new bubs and Samuel and Jessica, am already feeling guilty on the  lack of photos of William compared to Samuel aged 5 weeks!

Paula & Kirsten

We’ve been busy little bees since our last blog update.  With a quick tag team of trips back to the UK before the babies arrive to make sure Samuel and Jessica had time with the grandparents, got a taste of fresh air and a dose of the green countryside.  Both our little monkeys have come back animal mad and loved going to the farms and seeing cows and sheep in the fields, it was all very very exciting!   Leaving is never easy, add in a dose of pregnant emotional hormones. it seems we both had a few tears as we said goodbye to everyone.   It is at the same time good to be back with the hubbies to help as we get bigger and bigger!

Not sure if you have all had a holiday yet but we both had great journeys with the little ones.  Thank goodness for the Melobaby as it really does make changing nappies when flying so much easier.  With them both being toddlers and us having bumps it’s a bit of a squash in the cubicle so to have something so compact is most helpful.

My Fishing Game by new brand on the block Stork was a big hit at the airport and on the plane not to mention the Merino Kids Go Go Bags which were invaluable for ensuring sleep was on the agenda at some point.

Samuel got lots of thumbs up for some very cool outfits,  the Aunty Ollie Bike Shirt even resulted in my Mum being asked by a complete stranger where it was from.

It’s always good to go back and see what brands are around, we couldn’t help but pick up a couple of bits for the new bubs with the intention of trailing them first.  We’ll keep you posted on any wardrobe winners and if they will hit the shores here.

Now we’ve been reunited it’s time to get down to some serious work as BubsBoutique is our other little baby which needs constant care and attention especially as its not long until the babies arrive and the sleepless nights kick in!

Wear  it Wednesday this week is courtesy of the very handsome Harry Halton.  Harry will be two in October and his Dad was a great supporter of BubsBoutique, we are sad to see them all leave Dubai but wish them lots of fun and adventures in their new hometown of Toronto.  Here he is looking very angelic walking through the fields in the South of France in a Munster Tee (these went like hot cakes but there are plenty more cool tees to choose from) and the ever fabulous Aunty Ollie Blue Plaid shorts.

With all this talk of Aunty Ollie it’s reminded us that a couple of the long sleeved shirts are now on sale so you could pick up a styley bargain ready for when it cools down (yes we know it’s a long way away!) but a bargain is a bargain!

Kirsten & Paula