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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.

I’m 11 weeks into this parenting gig and people keep saying that the magic number 12 is up ahead and this is when I will hit my groove. They’re clearly not around my house between the manic hours of 4 and 6pm each night. Now, I can’t perform miracles, but BabyBjorn’s new Baby Carrier Miracle means I can get at least some things done while still meeting Baby’s demands simultaneously (and not lose my mind). Given my current stage of newfound parenting, that’s a miracle in my books!

The BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Miracle is designed to fit a newborn baby from Day 1 to approx 15 months old (12kgs). I’ve found this to be a great solution right from the start, the BabyBjorn Miracle has an adjustable head support specifically designed for newborns in mind and leg straps to ensure baby is nice and secure when they’re little. Also there’s a handy size adapter you simply pull through as your baby grows.

Given that they’re not little for long (and my bundle is certainly thriving and growing far too fast for my taste), the shoulder band, waste band and the lumbar support are just great. I can loosen the shoulder band to transfer the load from my shoulders to the waist band without removing my baby. Considering that you’re quite tired in these early months, the extra support for your back and shoulders really helps. Especially given that you’re doing a fair bit of lifting and your back is getting a work out in every other aspect of baby care.

Another great thing about the BabyBjorn Miracle is the high quality cotton used in the carrier is soft and gentle on newborn skin. The quality materials mean that in the Aussie sun, the carrier dries after a wash in a day when Baby has an….ahem….accident, and our carrier requires an urgent wash. And that’s not a complicated process – you can wash the Miracle in your washing machine. How good is that?

Most importantly for me, Baby likes to be close and to interact with Mum and feel comforted. I’m treasuring this until the day comes that I’m no longer the key attraction for her baby blues and she wants to look outwards. The good news is, the carrier allows for both options. Our little one likes to be carried higher up if she’s on high alert and looking around at the world, but if she fancies a snuggle into Mum and to take a snooze while I toil away, I can lower her position.

And I really can just cart her around with this great looking gizmo. I mean, I wouldn’t cook with her strapped to me because she might collect a bit of splatter, but everything else works a dream – I shop, hang out the clothes, vacuum and go for walks. We also gave the Miracle a try at a recent family barbecue and it was really great. She wanted comfort from us, we wanted adult company, and we both got our way. You can’t do better than that.

The BabyBjorn Miracle is being launched in Australia this month. You can see the key features on BabyBjorn’s You Tube video about the Miracle, and BabyBjorn also provides a great instructional video on the product information page for the Baby Bjorn Miracle on how to use the carrier – which is a really great idea considering their customers are sleep deprived novices at parenthood….namely: me.