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It is a luxury to be able to keep a close eye on Baby whilst maximizing my much-needed sleep. The Motorola Baby Video Monitor enables me to do just that. It also gives me peace of mind, which has become one of the most precious things to me as a parent.

I used to listen at sick Baby’s door to check his breathing or creep into his room to make sure the ambient temperature was OK. I don’t like to admit, but I have accidently woken him up doing so. I just love that the Motorola Baby Video Monitor enables me to see (it has enhanced infrared night vision!) and hear how Baby is sleeping and breathing and to check the room temperature, without disturbing him.

I am really impressed that the Motorola Baby Video Monitor is so easy to set-up and operate. You simply take it out of the box, charge it all up and it is ready to go. It has a thin little Users Manual (I find the size of this manual comforting) which clearly lays out what is what. Simply switch it on and you are away! I also love that it has clear buttons that are easy to navigate even when woken from a dream and still cloudy eyed.

This baby monitor being made by wireless communications expert Motorola is at the top of the game. It is a seriously impressive but easy to use product. There are two units: the baby unit and the parent unit. The parent unit has a high-resolution 3.5-inch colour screen and has amazing sound quality with a level indicator. It uses digital wireless technology, has two-way communication and has a range of 450 feet. It has a room temperature thermometer on the baby unit and display on the parent unit. It also has all those practical things such as 3.5 hours of wireless monitoring without recharging, and out of range and out of battery warnings. It also has a selection of lullabies that can be controlled from the parent monitor.

In everyday general use, it allows me a great deal of freedom that I would not otherwise have. With its range of up to 450 feet, I can see and hear Baby from anywhere in our house or garden. I often take the monitor outside with me when I am hanging out the laundry or on that rare occasion that I am relaxing outside in the sunshine, the baby monitor sits up patiently on the table next to my cool drink.

The Motorola Baby Video Monitor is ideal for any parent who needs to catch up on their own sleep, appreciates quality products and wants to keep an eye on their baby from anywhere within their house or garden.

For more information on the Motorola Baby Video Monitor, please visit CNP Brands.

I love the idea of family holidays, but these ideas of us all playing on the beach, frolicking in the waves and enjoying the sunshine quickly disappear when I am sleep deprived.

As parents we know that preparation is always required when baby is expected to sleep away from home. We have been using the Childcare Orbit XL Travel Cot  as our portable cot, but our most recent addition is the Childcare Peuter Luxe Travel Dome to use in situations when the travel cot is not appropriate, such as Baby’s morning nap on the beach whilst on holiday!

The Childcare Travel Dome gives us so much freedom, being a safe and comfortable place for baby to nap just about anywhere. It is versatile and is appropriate for use in situations such as a friends study whilst at a dinner party, at home for one of Baby’s guests, the backyard whilst doing some gardening or even “going camping” in the lounge room.

The Childcare Peuter Luxe Travel Dome has an age suitability of 6-36 months, weighs a mere 3.75kgs, is super compact for transport and exceptionally easy to use with it’s incredible “pop-out” and easy to fold assembly.

Features include:

Portable travel dome with zip panel: It looks like a little tent and has a large zipped panel, which enables easy access. It has mesh windows with fabric covers on all sides, which is great for visibility but also provides protection when needed.

50% UV protection on all polyester panels: This is great if like us, you live in a sunny environment and spend time outside. We have also used the travel dome as a shade tent/cubby on picnics and outside play dates, which is practical and popular with the kids.

Carry Bag: The travel dome folds up very cleverly into the tiniest little bundle, curling around on itself to form a flat little disc. It comes with it’s own tidy little bag, which fits easily into an overnight bag or carry-on luggage.

Self-inflatable mattress: This little self-inflatable mattress is comfortable and works really well. Last time I used on of these, I was on a school camping trip, and like I thought then, I think it really does save a lot of time and wasted breath! The moment you unscrew the little nozzle the mattress starts to inflate and is sealed by tightening the nozzle closed. For comfort and safety, the mattress is secured to the bottom of the dome in its own zipped compartment.

Sleeping Bag: The travel dome comes with a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is warm, soft and comfortable. It is fitted to the shape of the travel dome and has Velcro on the underside to keep it in place. The sleeping bag folds up inside the travel dome when packed, which is great to keep everything ready together!

Quick “pop-out” and easy-to-fold assembly: This is a very clever feature. When you take it out of its little bag and removed the attached elastic fastener, the whole thing automatically “pops-out”! To pack up the travel dome, you basically push the top of the dome whilst holding on to one side and curl the poles around on each other. It makes the whole assembly saga stress free.

Easy to clean: The fabric is made from fire resistant polyester, and is easy to clean with a damp cloth. The sleeping bag can also be washed separately, as can the mattress be wiped down.

Light to handle: One of the travel domes winning features is that it is so compact, light and easy to handle. It weighs a tiny 3.75kgs, which Baby will be able to carry by himself before too long!

Overall, we have found the Childcare Peuter Luxe Travel Dome to be really versatile, practical and safe. It allows us more freedom to stay out and about and enables relaxed family holidays to be a reality!

For more information on the Childcare Peuter Luxe Travel Dome, please visit CNP Brands.

What better place to road test the Maclaren Quest buggy than on holiday at Bondi Beach. With it’s light weight sporty aluminium frame and fashionable dark denim seat with reflective accents, this British superstar, looked right at home amongst the tanned trim terrific Australians and British Jet Set strolling along the promenade at Bondi Beach.

At only 5.5kg with a compact umbrella fold, the Maclaren Quest is a dream to travel with. To fold out, simply release the storage clip and open out. Using your foot, push the footplate down to fully engage the primary locks. The large water resistant hood protects Baby from wind, rain and in our case – sun.

The Maclaren Quest is appropriate for young babies to older toddlers. Designed by aircraft engineers to be the safest, most stylish and durable in it’s class, this stroller is designed to carry up to 20kg in weight.

I place Baby in her swish new buggy and she looks suitably impressed. I secure her in the five point harness, from which my baby houdini can not even escape. To undo the harness you need to press the front and back button at the same time. While it’s easy for an adult, it’s too tricky for Baby to undo herself. I adjust the leg rest for Baby and let Baby choose from one of the four reclinable positions available in the stroller. For strolling on the promenade and “people watching” – a more upright position is in order. It’s great to know that if she dozes off into slumber, I can recline the seat back for a longer sleep. The easy operation of the recliner is one of my favourite features of this stroller. To recline you simply lift both hand grips at the rear of the pram to release the seat locks and slide the seat back. To raise the seat, you only need to push the back of the seat to an upright position.

My other favourite feature is the large shopping basket at the bottom of the pram which is easily accessible. The basket easily fits the Maclaren Raincover and is conveniently sized to fit other shopping. The raincover is complimentary with Maclaren Quest Special. It did rain suddenly while we were out and the raincover came in handy. It was quick to put on and the transparent material allowed Baby to feel like she was still part of the action while protected from the elements.

To escape the rain we decided to indulge in some retail therapy in the afternoon. The buggy performed as well in boutiques as it had on the beach. The slim line and front swivel rear fixed wheels, made the buggy easy to manoeuvre and dart about. We were given numerous compliments, while out shopping, on the trendy dark denim seat, which I might add is removable and washable. I must say the stroller was ideal for holding the light weight carriers filled with our new purchases too!

When it was time to leave the shops, I folded the buggy one handed to a compact umbrella fold and there was enough room for the stroller and our new purchases in our rental car boot. The luggage tag on the Maclaren Quest Special says “Happy Travels” and this really summed up our trip!

To find out more on the Maclaren Quest Special and other strollers in the Maclaren range, visit the CNP website.

Baby has recently made her intentions clear: she’d like to sit up.

The trouble is, she doesn’t as yet have the neck control to hold her posture when awake, and has a tendency to flop to one side when she has a nap in her pram or car seat.

I’ve been on the move of late, expanding the ten kilometre catchment of how far I was willing to travel from home when she was a newborn…so it’s important that Missy travels in comfort. With that in mind, we sorted her out with a headhugger, and the Valco Baby Allsorts Seatpad & Headhugger set is just lovely.

The fabric is beautiful – so soft! It achieves the double act of being cuddly in colder weather, and soft and unsweaty in the scorching heat.

We opted for the licorice colour, but there’s a lovely range of colours to choose from including cherry, grape, lime  and orange. The licorice just happened to coordinate nicely with Baby’s Safe-nSound convertible car seat, have also used the set in our Valco Baby Matrix Dart pram.

This Newborn Mum loves the fact that it’s not a fiddly thing to use. Pull the straps through the openings then Velcro everything together, and presto, you’re on the move. Anything that simple and non-fuss has my money every time these days. And that goes double for this really lovely accessory being machine washable and easy to dry.

Having said all that, the best thing about this product is the moment when I see my darling little girl having a snooze in her pram or car seat, and she’s rested, comfy and peaceful with thanks to her Headhugger.

When I asked my Mum what I should look for in a high chair, she said I should get something that was low on fuss and easy to hose down.

I thought she was joking…until Baby started eating solids. I just can’t believe that someone so small can get so much food in so many different places.

So we started using the BabyBjorn  high chair. I just love this thing so much I can barely articulate it.

It took me about six minutes to assemble. Easy peasy. And it is so easy to get Baby in and out of, which – when they’re hungry and wriggly and out of sorts is really important. It also mattered that this was a simple process because grandparents play a big part in our Baby’s life, and there were concerns over the level of difficulty in assembling and placing our little one in her high chair.

The high chair also packs away so neatly so it doesn’t take up loads of space…and we’re a little short on space at the moment. We can also pack it into the car and travel with it.

Now that Baby is getting stronger, she really is thrusting herself forward so safety is a big deal, and this chair has an easy-to-activate safety lock. It doesn’t have a harness, but you really don’t need one. Also the height of the table and it’s design with the chair means that Baby doesn’t slide under and out. A big plus.

The tray is detachable and can be cleaned in the dishwasher, which is just fantastic. The body of the chair is so easy to wipe down because there’s no cushion or creases for pear puree to hide in, and the clean white colour highlights any spillage.

And then there are just the little things that matter to us. It sits neatly at the table so that Baby really does feel like she’s eating with us. It’s white and sleek and lovely, and the legs don’t protrude so there’s less of a trip hazard.

I can’t really think of anything to top what this high chair offers. It’s great. We think so, and our gorgeous baby girl thinks so as well.