Parenting

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Do you have a baby? Do you love a bargain? Then the Baby Show is going to be right up your street…

Packed full of all the top baby brands, including Cuddledry of course, it’s the perfect place for testing out all the latest gadgets and gizmos, and picking up some great deals.

We’ve got one great deal for you already, to get you in the mood! Click on the image below, and you can buy your tickets for the special price of £11 each, or two for £20. (Don’t be put off if it says £12 to start with, just follow to steps and it should be fine). Alternatively you can call the hotline to book on 0871 231 0844 – and quote EX908

We’ve got a great competition planned for the Baby Show – just come and visit us on the Cuddledry stand to enter. See you there!

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Pregnancy isn’t really one of the most stylish times in your life. It’s hard to feel sexy when you’re so big and sweaty and full of indigestion isn’t it?

Still, just because you might not be your usual svelte self, doesn’t mean you have to live for nine months in leggings and smocks. There are loads of fantastic maternity wear options nowadays, that mean you can stay looking blooming, even on a budget. One of our favourites is Everday Maternity, who have been kind enough today to provide us with some top maternity wear tips. Do check out their website!

Maternity bras – Make sure you choose a maternity bra that supports you well. The correct fit and fabric will improve your posture, comfort, and confidence. Comfort is always key so go for the softest fabrics. Look for a stretch and recover microfibre to ensure you have the best fit and choose styles with drop down cups so that you can use them for breastfeeding too.

Maternity tops – Don’t be afraid of fitted styles when you’re pregnant. Oversized garments make you look larger than you are and can leave you feeling more frumpy than fabulous. A viscose or a jersey material tends to be more flattering over the bump and gives a much smoother silhouette. Wearing your maternity tops and tunics with over-the-bump trousers or leggings will give you a slim line silhouette.

Maternity trousers – When choosing your maternity trousers, go for your normal size. Maternity wear is cut to include your bump. Make sure you sit down in them and check there’s no digging in or gaping and that there’s plenty of room in the front to grow. Check your waistband to make sure you’ve got maximum comfort. When you choose your waistband, there are lots of options depending on your preference including; under, mid or over-the-bump.

Maternity dresses – On choosing your maternity dresses, always consider you pre-pregnancy shape, and apply the same rules. For example, with maxi dresses, the length is really great for elongating your body, and an empire line is always very flattering, as it sits at your lowest point. Look for straps that are thick enough to cover your maternity bra or has a detail that will draw attention away from the strap.

Maternity work wear – When choosing your maternity shirt, consider the length of the shirt at the front and make sure it’s cut longer, this way it works perfectly with under or over the bump trousers. Choose styles that you will be comfortable in all day and make sure that they are easy to wash and easy to iron. Comfortable knitwear is also fantastic for work because again, knitted garments can be interchangeable between your day and your evening wear. Remember you’ll be wearing your work wear eight hours a day, so make sure you’re happy with your selection.

Do you have a favourite item of maternity wear, something that got you through nine months of feeling frumpy? We’d love to hear from you!

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Gone are the days of picking up your photos from Boots, so how do we make sure we keep records of those precious first baby moments?

Gurgle Baby Milestones is a new digital baby development journal that helps busy parents track the growth of their family from pre-conception through early childhood and beyond, and we’ve got 10 copies to give away!

The new software provides reassuring information as bite-size reminders, just when you need to know about them.  This means that busy mums and dads can keep up to date with what to look out for next, without having to plough through pregnancy and baby books.

The reminders cover all aspects of child development, and clearly explain the wide variations in ages when children develop different skills and behaviours to stop parents worrying unnecessarily. You can add your own photos and videos, and create a lovely memory for the whole family.

All the information is stored safe and secure on your home computer, but Baby Milestones also helps parents to share selected milestones and photos to gurgle.com, Facebook and Twitter.  Parents can also easily produce a PDF file of their records to print or email to friends and relatives.

For your chance to win one of ten copies the the Gurgle Baby Milestones software, just fill in this simple form – it will only take a minute, we promise!

Competition closes on 31st January and winners will be chosen at random after this date.

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Phew, it’s finally here, the last day of our advent competition! No more early starts for me for a week at least..

Seriously though, we’ve really loved being able to celebrate December with such lovely presents from so many brilliant companies, so we hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have!

On this, our final day, we have another present for the mummies – an Emma Jane maternity and nursing bra from Everyday Maternity. This is one of their most popular bras, as you can wear it through pregnancy and when breastfeeding. It’s a multi-award winner, and apparently was selling like hot cakes at the last Baby Show!

We love Everyday Maternity. Having found it so hard to find stylish, affordable maternity wear when we were pregnant, we love that they have such a fantastic range, all in one place – clothes, underwear, swimwear – it’s all there! And just because you’re pregnant or a new mum, doesn’t mean you have to compromise on style – Everyday Maternity won the Prima Pregnancy and Baby Fashion Awards this year!

If you want to get your hands on one of these super dooper versatile bras, leave a comment on this post telling us about the first thing you’ll be doing when you wake up on Christmas Day.

Happy Christmas everyone!!!

Lots of love from Jo, Helen, Polly and everyone at Cuddledry xx

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Splish splash I was taking a bath!

Actually today it’s less of a bath, more of a swim, but a Cuddledry towel would come in equally as handy…

Today we’ve got a really fun prize for you – a set of lovely swimming toys from the swim school Water Babies, all packed up in their own swim bag.

As well as a woggle, you get lots of lovely toys that your little one can enjoy in the bath or at the pool, that are designed to improve water confidence and help your child with the first steps towards swimming.

To enter today’s competition, leave a comment telling us what your child loves best about bath or swim time.

See the full rules here.

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Only four more days to go, and I’m jolly excited, especially as we’ve got presents under the tree now. Hooray!

Our present to you today is an exciting one too, from our great friends at Totseat.

The Totseat is a brilliant invention, designed to make eating on the go easy peasy. With a Totseat, you’ll never have to worry about highchairs, and eating out in restaurants or visiting friends will be a piece of cake. (Everyone loves going out for a nice bit of cake don’t they?).

The Totseat is 100% cotton, washable, and fits into its own small bag, so can be easily carried around in your handbag or changing bag. You can use it as soon as your baby can sit unaided, and it will fit up to about 30 months.

To enter, just leave a comment telling us what your little one’s favourite snack is.

Read the full competition rules here.

Did you know we’re on twitter too? Do come and introduce yourself :-)

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If you haven’t come across Dream Tubes before you may be wondering what exactly they are. They conjure up some interesting images don’t they? They make me imagine a magical tunnel, ready to whisk me off in my sleep to a wonderful dream land filled with marshmallows.

Or maybe that’s just me.

Dream Tubes are actually a really clever invention for toddlers moving into their own bed, to stop them falling out of bed. They’re inflatable tubes that slide easily into a specially designed sheet, available in two sizes to fit a cot bed or standard single bed.

They’re much more effective than bed guards, as they don’t leave any gaps to get stuck in, and are nice and soft.

To enter today’s advent competition, leave us a comment on this post, telling us what your dream job would be. Mine would be a chocolate and wine tester. Obviously. With Colin Firth as my assistant.

You’ve got until tomorrow to get in your Christmas Cuddledry orders, and if you spend over £35 we’ve got a special last minute discount for you – enter the promotional code LASTMINUTE for 20% off all orders over £35.

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Blimey, what a competition we’ve got for you today! We need three lucky winners for three fab prizes, so today really could be your lucky day…

Prize number one – a Baby Gown from Frugi

Every parent will appreciate a baby gown. They’re elasticated at the bottom to keep baby nice and snugly, but allow quick and easy access for night time changes! It even comes with built in scratch mitts! How cool is that?

The Frugi baby gown is made from organic cotton too, so helps to protect sensitive baby skin and the environment. What’s not to love?

Prize number two – Hamster Bags

How often do you find you just don’t have room in or on the buggy for everything you need to take with you? If it’s often, Hamster Bags could be just what you need.

They’re cleverly designed bags, that come in pairs, and fit to each side of the pushchair. They add stability, as well as giving you that much needed extra storage space, and they even incorporate cunning extras like reflective strips, to help you be seen on winter afternoons.

And don’t worry, they are designed not to add to much width or bulk, so you won’t find yourself knocking things off shelves left right and centre!

Prize number three – an Oobicoo Orla doll

All kids love dolls right? Especially the dressing up part – but who can afford to spend £15 on a set of baby clothes when you’ve already spent that much on the doll?? Bonkers.

The Oobicoo doll from Totseat is a brilliant solution to this. It’s roughly the size of a six month old baby, meaning you’ve got an instant wardrobe for your doll, and a home for all your old baby clothes! They are also gorgeously soft and squishy, so perfect for cuddling. We’re giving away a girl doll – she’s called Orla!

To enter today’s competition, all you have to do is tell us which of these fantastic prizes you’d most like to win and why. Leave a comment now – it could be you!

Done with the competition? Why not have a browse on the Cuddledry website?

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You know how much we love bath time right? Well we’re really exciting today to be giving away a fantastic bundle of bath time goodies. One lucky person is going to win not one, not two, but THREE prizes today!

First up, we’ve got a funky Flexibath from Whitestep, an amazing baby bath tub that folds flat when you’re not using it, so you can store it easily. Bathrooms aren’t known after all for being the most spacious rooms in the house…

The Flexibath is soft and pliable to the touch, but very solid. It’s also free from nasty chemicals, so you and your little one can enjoy bath times without any worries. They’re brilliant for travelling and camping, or even for storage when you’re not using them as a bath!

To go with your bath, we’ve got some lovely accessories from our chums over at Brother Max, including the quirky and fun Brother Max Hold & Wash Bath Sponge, which is super soft, and fits your hand like a glove, and Brother Max’s Play, Wash & Learn™ Bath Toy Collection.

With such an amazing colletion of goodies, how could bath time fail to be fun?! All you need to get then is a Cuddledry baby apron towel!

To enter today’s competition, leave a comment on this post telling us why you love baby bath times as much as we do. If you’re interested, full competition rules are available here.

Did you know that Whitestep have recently joined twitter? We’ve found out that they’re giving away one of their fab Create-a-World play sets, worth £49.95, when they get to 200 followers, so go and make friends with them now!

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Enough of toilet training, we’re going to spoil the mummies again today with a gorgeous baby proof necklace from Mama Jewels.

We all know that feeling of not being able to wear jewellery for fear of it being grabbed by tiny hands don’t we? Or maybe you’ve had your little one snap necklaces right off in a shower of tiny beads?

This Mama Jewels necklace is designed to be baby proof, and gorgeous too, so you don’t have to compromise of style even though you’ve got a little one in tow. It’s totally safe for your baby to tug and chew, and makes a great breastfeeding necklace or teething toy.

If you don’t have a baby anymore, we think it’s pretty lovely regardless!

To win one today, leave a comment telling us about your favourite piece of jewellery. Read the full rules here.

How’s the Christmas shopping going? If you’re stuck for what to buy for a difficult child (or adult!), how about one of our colour changing bath mats? They’re great fun for all the family, and make a brilliant gift for those people who seem to have everything! This week only you can get 15% off your bath mat with the code STOCKING15.

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