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We just adore our Scandinavian Minui HandySitt, so what could be better than some fantastic accessories to enhance its use in our day-to-day family life.

We chose the HandySitt Bag to ensure safe transport and storage, and the HandySitt Legs to transform the seat into a clever little freestanding chair.

The Bag: You just know that it is good Scandinavian design from first glance. It has that sleek, clean elegant look, is well made and functions beyond expectations.

The padded carry bag is practical and thoughtfully designed. There is a simple (but oh so clever) strap with clips that can be attached in two ways and adjusted to work as either a handbag or cross-shoulder bag. There is one main access zip and lots ofz internal pockets with space to store all the paraphernalia that a parent needs to take on outings.

It is black with red stitching around the zip and has burgundy and black detailing throughout the interior. It is a classic rectangular shape with piping at the exterior seems, has a long zip and additional Velcro fastening.

The Legs: The Minui HandySitt Seat is part of a larger system and can be used in many ways. The HandySitt Legs are a set of optional little legs that attach and transform it into a clever freestanding chair, which can be used both indoors and out.

They are very quick and easy to fit by simply loosening the screws on the back of the chair and hooking the legs under and into the grooves provided. It is very sturdy and sits securely as a freestanding little seat.

Like the HandySitt Seat, the legs are assembled by hand in Europe. They are made of 100% Birch wood varnished with non-toxic lacquer, steel and other manmade materials making the whole unit durable and easy to clean with a simple wipe down.

The legs fit easily into the Carry Bag and so it is no extra effort to bring them along with us for any outing. We have found them great on picnics and camping as Toddler has his own little seat on the picnic rug making it much more likely for him to stay and finish his meal before running off to play.

We highly recommend the Minui HandySitt and accessories. It is practical and easy to use, safe, light, looks great and folds flat for ease of transport and storage. For more information on Minui HandySitt products, please visit the Love N Care website.

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.

I’m going to say it straight up – I am very impressed by the Canadian designed Chariot Cougar in terms of performance, safety and appearance. It is a high-tech, top quality, easy to use, multi-function child transport system.

The Cougar can take you and your child cycling, strolling, jogging, hiking and skiing. We have tried the first three of these activities, which it performs like a dream. We have found the design to be thorough and well detailed and the materials used to be top quality and thoughtfully chosen. It is available as a single or a double version (Cougar 1 and Cougar 2).

Our Chariot Cougar enables us to be active as a family. It allows us to go on all kinds of adventures together and makes everyday exercising with our little one easy. At present my husband is training for the Busselton half-ironman and he uses the cycling and jogging functions often, which means Dad and Baby can spend more time together – giving me a little time to myself!

The Chariot Cougar itself looks like a serious piece of sporting equipment, and is. Chariot Carriers use their multi-function Child Transport System (CTS) and at its heart is VersaWing™ and ezClick™ which enable easy and safe attachment of all conversion kits. It is basically a secure button docking system with a backup safety pin. We have found that this system makes the process of changing kits simple and quick, and does so without compromising safety. Being somewhat nervous about bicycle safety particularly with Baby, I love this system and feel very comfortable using it.

Other winning features are the ezHitch™ and ezFold™. The ezHitch™ system is the cycle connection system and is basically a ball and socket design ensuring maximum range of movement whilst riding and also makes attaching or detaching your Chariot and bike really easy. Much like a car’s tow-bar, we keep the “hitch cup” on the bike we tow with, which is great if we feel like going to an impromptu ride. There is also an EZ Hitch Partial available, which is a second skewer and “hitch cup” so that you can have more than one bike ready to attach the chariot to at any time. That said, it is very easy to change from one to the other in any a case… The ezFold™ is Chariot’s folding system, which enables the Cougar to be folded down into a compact bundle for transportation and storage and auto-locks open or closed for safety.

Chariot Cougar 1 Features:

To function properly I need to get enough sleep. So as a parent, this means my day-to-day life changes dramatically depending on how Baby sleeps! I am grateful that Baby is now sleeping through the night (on most nights!) – however, when we take him out of his usual surroundings this can all change…

I have found that it is so important to keep some of his bedtime routine in place whilst away, such as bath-time and stories, and to provide a familiar sleeping environment such as a familiar travel cot. We have been using the Childcare Orbit XL Travel Cot, which provides Baby with a familiar and safe bed in which to sleep soundly, which in turn enables us all have a great holiday!

The Childcare Orbit XL Travel Cot is safe and sturdy, and also lightweight and compact making it easy to use and transport. It is a classic rectangular design, with four mesh sides for visibility and comes in a great patterned fabric that helps to hide minor wear and tear that is inevitable over its lifespan. I once borrowed a travel cot that was so heavy it took two of us to lift and assemble, so this was an important factor when choosing our own travel cot. The Childcare Orbit XL also has a weight capacity of up to 13.6kgs, so can be used well into Toddlerhood.

The Childcare Orbit XL Travel Cot’s features include:

Soft-padded single action ‘lift & lock’ rails with a press-button release: I have to say I struggled the first time I assembled this travel cot. I had heard there was a “trick” to assembling it, which is true. After getting the feel for it I usually get it first time, but I still do find it somewhat frustrating (maybe I need more practice!). That said, once it is up it is great.

Quick and easy to assembly and dismantling: Once I had the ‘lift and lock’ system down-pat the rest is simple. The structure is designed to fold in on itself and reduces to a compact little bundle.

Handy toy pouch: This is really handy for not only toys, but for any of those essentials such as books, wipes, comforters etc., which I need ready at hand. I also find it perfect to store the travel cot’s cover in this pouch too.

Easy and compact for storage and transport: The Orbit XL folds very cleverly, ensuring it is as compact as possible, folding in on itself and then using the baseboard to hold it all together and protect the moving parts. When folded the travel cot fits perfectly into the neat carry bag provided, which also has a carry strap. This carry bag keeps things tidy and protects the travel cot during transit, ensuring there are no parts exposed or loose ends. Husband appreciates that it is well balanced when it needs to be carried!

Combined folding mattress and baseboard: The mattress and baseboard are combined as one and, although it is firm, is also cushioned and comfortable for Baby. It has a clever design and Velcro on the baseboard side to keep it in place in the cot.

Excellent visibility for parents and baby through 4 mesh sides: This is a really great feature. It is great to be able to see baby from all sides and I think that mesh on all sides provides visibility similar to that of his familiar cot at home.

From my experience, I have found that familiarising Baby with the travel cot before leaving home is a good idea. I suggest setting the travel cot up in their room, with familiar sheets/sleeping bag/lamb skin and letting Baby have a few sleeps in their own environment before going away. Then whilst away, we bring our own bed linen to establish the familiar feel and scent, which eases our bedtime routine. Overall, we have found the Childcare Orbit XL Travel Cot to be practical and safe. Best of all, it is a real relief for me knowing that Baby will continue to sleep soundly when away from home. It has saved more than a few weekend trips!

For more information on the Childcare Orbit XL Travel Cot, please visit CNP Brands.

Two of my favorite things are: 1) accessories and 2) being organised. So you can imagine how I felt with the arrival of my new Maclaren accessories that promised to make my life easier and more organised! I think many of the Maclaren accessories look useful, but for now we chose the Travel Bag, Universal Organiser, Reversible Seat Liner and Field Bag.

Travel Bag (Single)

With our family spread across Europe, Canada and all parts of Australia, we have become quite the practiced and proficient travellers. However saying this, I still dread maneuvering the towering mountain of luggage required when travelling with Toddler. So I welcome the Maclaren Carry Bag which is great to help keep our pusher protected and our luggage neat and organised whilst in transit, which means we have had good luck with everything turning up on luggage carousels in perfect condition.

We find both our Maclaren Volo and Maclaren Techno XT ideal for travel and whichever we take, we find the Maclaren Travel Bag helps to ensure the pusher is protected whilst in transit. It is made from heavy-duty black nylon fabric and reinforcing strapping and has a single long grey zip making it is easy to get the pusher in and out.  It has sturdy little wheels to enable the carry bag to be wheeled as well as carried and a Velcro strap to hold the handles together. It is a classic and neat design, coming in black fabric printed with the Maclaren logo and comes with a customised red Maclaren luggage tag.

On our last trip from Brisbane to Melbourne, after a bumpy ride the carry bag arrived with some general wear and tear and the pusher inside was protected – the carry bag had done its job, and Baby was wheeled out of arrivals with mummy very happy and relaxed!

Universal Organiser

The Universal Organiser has proved to be a little gem. I find it enables me to keep all our essentials easily accessible and close at hand so we can have a much more relaxed time when out and about. The Universal Organiser attaches to the pusher’s handles with Velcro straps and hangs behind the seat back. It has a large central pocket with a mesh front, two insulated cup holders and a little pocket in between with a Velcro closed top.

The generous central pocket has the capacity to hold quite a lot, such as a couple of small toys, books and snacks and even a small nappy pack. The mesh front makes it easy to see where everything is, so you can easily find what you are looking for, preventing those frustrating moments of fumbling around in the dark!

Initially I found the two insulated cup holders to be little tight, but they have proved to actually work well holding cups/drink bottles firmly. I use the small pocket in between the cup holders to hold my phone and keys and feel comfortable knowing that they are safely enclosed but also easily accessible. This is particularly good if Baby is asleep and my phone is on silent and I can hear it vibrate, or if I am having one of those days and am in a rush to get a tired grumpy Toddler in the car and need the keys!

Reversible Seat Liner

The Reversible Seat Liner is a practical accessory that protects your pusher and helps to keep things neat and organised.  It comes in a great range of two-sided colours and patterns, is soft and comfortable for Baby, durable and best of all is machine washable.

We chose the sunny yellow striped/black Reversible Seat Liner and use it in the pram permanently. I love the splash of colour and find it very practical to catch any bits and pieces that Baby will inevitably drop in the course of a day. Of course if there is a major spill whilst out and about one can just flip it over and deal with it later! Even though the pusher seat is washable I do find it easier to just wash the liner instead of having to wash the whole seat.

We only have one Reversible Seat Liner at the moment, but I can imagine that having a couple of them would be a great idea so you have one to use whilst you are washing the other.

Field Bag

The Field Bag is a great looking and practical bag, which can be used as one’s primary nappy/child’s bag.  We chose the Scarlet colour, which has great red, grey, white and black striped lining. I think it looks great by itself or with either our neutral toned Maclaren Volo pusher or Crown/Blue Maclaren Techno XT.

It has a large central pocket, which can fit everything required for a trip to the pool or playgroup and it is magnetically secured for quick and easy access to avoid those tricky moments when you feel like you could do with a third hand. It has an exterior front pocket and two exterior side pockets and lots of zipped and non-zipped interior pockets in which to store various small items, such as bottles, creams, snacks, sunscreen etc. I usually carry our Field Bag in the pusher’s basket, however it has an adjustable shoulder strap and can be carried across your back/chest or over one shoulder – however you feel most comfortable.

For me, one of the winning features is the change mat. It is neatly zipped to the back of the bag and unzips to provide a generous (detachable and machine washable) change mat. This provides a safe and comfortable surface on which to change Baby no matter where you are, which means no more worry about those questionably clean public washrooms!

From my experience, my Maclaren accessories really help in keeping things neat and organised. I think the Travel Bag is a fantastic help when you need to protect your Maclaren pusher whilst in transit or storage, the Universal Organiser for me is now an everyday essential, the Reversible Seat Liner continually keeps things clean and the Field Bag is a practical all-in-one nappy bag. Now that I use them, I can’t go back!

For more information on any of the above reviewed products as well as the full range of Maclaren accessories, please visit CNP Brands.

The sunshine has made its spring into Australian lives again and that means a whole new range of protective concerns for those of us with babies.

My husband has photosensitive skin, and our little one is already showing signs of having quite a delicate casing herself, so we’re going to need to be quite careful about introducing her to those harsh UV rays. Baby still loves to be carried around in her BabyBjorn Miracle but to be fair, I don’t fancy carrying around a parasol to shield her from the sun at all times. So I’m pretty chuffed that BabyBjorn has also released its Sun Cover for Baby Carrier.

This product is just lovely. The soft fabric means baby won’t overheat or feel suffocated – which is important, as our little one runs quite warm and with baking temperatures predicted this summer, keeping her cool will be a challenge. Having said that, it’s not a delicate fabric that needs extra special care. You can just pop it in the washing machine. The sun cover is also easy to attach – two elastic loops hold it in place, so no complicated assembly is required.

The sun cover is pediatrician recommended and provides ultraviolet protection factor of 40 and blocks out 97% of harmful UV rays. I think that’s great. Baby has a habit of losing her hat, and no baby is particularly cooperative when you’re applying sunscreen, so the BabyBjorn sun cover is a great way to protect your little one at a barbecue, if you’re out shopping or just going for a walk in the park. Obviously you should take all responsible steps to keep babies out of the sun between the hours of 10am and 3pm.

You can see in the image here that I have Baby facing me (she was snoozing) at a friend’s place recently, but you can also use the sun cover when baby is facing outwards…which she now loves to do so she can check out the world and be a sticky beak. It’s easy, the hood is detachable and can be used separately from the cape, or you can use both with baby facing you or facing away.

I highly recommend the BabyBjorn Sun Cover – ours will be getting a serious workout in the summer months ahead. To find out more about the full range of products visit the BabyBjorn website.

Who can resist a helpful, strong, good-looking Scandinavian that makes life a little easier? The Minui HandySitt is just that, filling two important roles in our day-to-day family life.

Firstly, it is the perfect portable highchair and secondly it is a perfect temporary highchair for Baby’s guests, because it transforms any regular dining chair into a safe and comfortable highchair.

The Minui HandySitt is solid but lightweight and is very easy to pack for travel or storage, folding up into a compact flat package. However, we often have it out when at home, as it is so much fun having Baby’s friends over and all being able to eat at the table together. They look so proud of themselves sitting at the table with the grown-ups and it is amazing to see them keenly watching each other and picking up new tricks!

I was very excited when our Minui HandySitt arrived. Taking it out of its compact box, my first impression was that it looked beautiful and felt strong and well made. It comes in Antique Black and Birch – we chose the natural Birch colour, which goes well with our beloved Stokke Tripp Trapp highchair and looks great in our sunny home.

The Minui HandySitt is intended for babies and children up to the age of five and comes with a 3-point harness system. A 5-point harness system is also available if required, which we chose because Baby is quickly growing into Toddler and a wriggly toddler at that! The HandySitt 5-point harness system securely straps Baby in to the seat; over the shoulders, around the waist and between the legs. There is one child-safe central buckle that is kept neat and tidy with a strap over the top. The HandySitt 5-point harness system is easy to mount to the HandySitt seat, easy to operate, has adjustable straps and keeps him safe and secure in his seat.

The HandySitt is very easy to use; simply fold it out in one movement, hook it onto the back on the chair, adjust the height of the legs and strap it down underneath the dining chair. The Minui HandySitt is assembled by hand in Europe and is made using top quality materials. It is made of 100% Birch wood and varnished with non-toxic lacquer and the other parts of the seat are made of steel and manmade materials, making it durable and easy to clean.

The Minui HandySitt Seat is part of a larger system and can be used in as many ways. There is a set of optional Legs available enabling the seat to be used on the floor or outside and there is a chair base that can turn the portable seat into a stand-alone highchair or be used as a stand-alone adult chair.

The top quality Danish designed Minui HandySitt is practical and thoughtfully designed. It is easy to use, safe, light, looks great and folds flat for ease of transport and storage. It also fits right in at the table, ensuring your child can learn, develop and socialize alongside everyone at the table.

For more information on the Minui HandySitt visit http://lovencare.com.au/

For our next trip to Sydney, I decided Baby needed a travel cot. I was looking for a travel cot which could be assembled quickly, was light weight with a strong body – I was looking for a travel cot with the attributes of an ‘elite athlete’ and I found it in the BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light.

The most impressive feature of the BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light is how quickly it can be assembled. I timed myself with a stopwatch and it took 41 seconds to assemble the BabyBjorn Travel Cot. This included opening the bag and lifting out the travel cot. The travel cot is assembled in one swift movement by holding the two short sides at the top of the cot, pointing the legs to the floor and unfolding it – hey presto it’s up! The legs fell into position and then I placed the mattress firmly inside the cot. It was that simple!

When travelling everyone wants light luggage which doesn’t take up too much space either. The BabyBjorm Travel Cot Light lives up to it’s name weighing only 5kg, including the case. The case looks very smart in discrete black and looks like an ordinary travel bag with dimensions I measured as 60cm x 49cm x 13cm. So it’s perfect for a family travelling with a baby.

Space efficiency is central to the design of the BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light, once assembled the slanting edges mean it takes up little floor space with maximum space for Baby. The legs of the travel cot are strong and provide a stable base for the cot. The entire cot is covered in soft fabric and includes a sheer net fabric which makes it easy to keep on eye on Baby. Baby had fun looking through the net fabric at me too! Baby found the travel cot spacious and after our game of peekaboo, Baby had a blissful afternoon sleep in the travel cot.

The thick soft mattress of the BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light made Baby’s sleep a dream! I measured the dimensions of the mattress as 60cm x 105cm x 5cm. Conveniently, the removable mattress and bedding are machine washable. Ordinary sheets can be used on the travel cot and BabyBjorn Travel Cot Fitted Sheets are available in organic cotton too. The BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light is suitable from birth to 3 years old.

Folding up the BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light was just as easy as the assembly. Firstly, I removed and folded the mattress, placing it in the travel bag. Then I released each leg and lay the legs diagonally inside the frame. I then folded the short sides of the frame together and placed it inside the folded mattress. After a fantastic performance, the BabyBjorn Travel Cot Light crossed the finishing line in style. To find out more about the BabyBjorn Travel Cot visit the BabyBjorn website.