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Clinging to my legs, climbing up onto my lap, or tapping insistently until they are picked up to be part of my ‘up high’ world – little people just love to be in on the action – especially in the kitchen! Cooking with kids is a culinary adventure with lots of benefits, and really I wouldn’t want to give it up – but there are times when fun quickly turns to chaos and I would love something that not only makes cooking a wee bit easier, but that also ensures the safety of all involved.

Just last night, in the midst of the floury fun, as my toddler slipped my grasp and made her way to prime position on top of the bench, my mind flew back to a great product showcased here on KidStyleFile that does all of those things and more: The Learning Tower.

The Learning Tower is an amazing product that comes to the rescue in the kitchen, and really, in every area of the house where little people want to be.  It safely fits 2 children, features an anti-topple design, and height adjustable platform, meaning it can be moved to suit kids aged from 18 months right through to 6 years. This clever product not only comes in a great range of colours, you can also purchase add-on kits for your Learning Tower: an Art Easel Kit and a Playhouse Kit, – transforming your little Masterchef into creating Masterpieces and then on to starring in the Master Role of their very own production!

Right now Rose & Lily – www.roseandlily.com.au have fantastic offer for KidStyleFile readers: a generous 10% off the entire range of The Learning Tower products. Enter discount code ‘KSFAUG10′ at checkout to redeem until midnight on 31 August 2010. This offer translates to a super-fabulous deal when buying the complete The Learning Tower Kit + two add-ons, already a great deal and further discounted with your KSF discount, PLUS, because of Rose & Lily’s sliding scale shipping fees, you’ll also receive free delivery* anywhere in Australia!

PS: If you have The Learning Tower in mind for a Christmas gift, you can purchase now at this great price and Rose & Lily can store for you until you’d like it delivered. How’s that for great service?!

*Discounted prices quoted below are only applicable with exclusive KSF code (read above) until midnight 31 August 2010.

• The Learning Tower $299.00 less 10% = $269.10
• Art Easel Kit $140.00 less 10% = $126.00
• Playhouse Kit $45.95 less 10% = $45.31
  
• The Learning Tower 3 Piece Set $469.00 less 10% = $422.10

Rose & Lily stock fine products from the following leading brands: BabySteps 123, Cold Seat, Tidy Books, Luna Lullabye, Mije, My Plate-Mate, On Tray, Sneakys, Snugabub and The Learning Tower.

Rose & Lily charge $9.00 for postage up to $100, $15 postage for orders between $100 and $199.99, $17.50 postage for orders between $200 and $399.99, with FREE shipping for orders of $400+ Australia-wide. See here for full shipping details.

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With the discovery that sleeping babies on their backs significantly reduces the risks of SIDS, there are now a few generations of parent who know just what I mean when I refer to ‘the bald spot’. For those not in the know, this ‘bald spot’ is found on the back of baby’s head and is caused by spending extending periods lying back down. It is often accompanied by a ‘flat spot’, on the back of the head (often referred to as ‘flat head’), again a result of lying on the back – babies skulls, unlike adults, are quite pliable and relatively easy to ‘shape’!

The technical name for ‘flat head’ is plagiocephaly. In the 1970s, the occurrence of plagiocephaly was one in every 300 babies. Today, two in every 20 are affected* (see below for source).

‘Tummy time’ is one method of working to counteract flat head, and involves letting the baby lie on their tummy during supervised sessions. If you’re more determined to take action against the development of flat head at the outset, or you need a strategy to manage positional plagiocephal there is a new product, just released by Australian brand Mije, that can help.

The Mije Baby Head Rest – www.babyheadrest.com.au – provides a soft, supportive mould for a sleeping baby’s head, gently supporting baby’s head and natural head movements, while preventing and counteracting the effects of plagiocephaly.

Made from shape memory foam with a soft cotton cover, the baby-head-rest is not a pillow and does not lift baby’s head. Rather, it provides gentle cradling to eliminate pressure on the skull.

Baby Head Rest is the only head support or sleep positioner to be approved for listing as a medical device with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia, and it is suggested that using the Baby Head Rest from day one can dramatically reduce the risk of baby developing plagiocephaly and the need for corrective treatment, such as helmet therapy, or surgery.

Baby Head Rest is available from the Rose & Lily website for $39.95 + postage.

* Case-Control Study of Neurodevelopment in Deformational Plagiocephaly.  Pediatrics (the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics) published online Feb 15, 2010.  Epidemiology, and Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Children’s Craniofacial Center, and Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington

Rose & Lily charge $9.00 for postage up to $100, $15 postage for orders between $100 and $201, with FREE shipping for orders of $210+ Australia-wide.

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Well lovely ones, if you have a baby or toddler to shop for (or one on the way – yay, big congratulations to you!), before the weekend gets away from you, make a little time time to zoom, zoom on over to the always delightful Rose & Lily – www.roseandlily.com.au.

For the wonderfully generous Michele and Jennifer from Rose and Lily have a fantastic clearance sale on now on Babymoov products. All items are now at least 50% off* with a few items even more! The sale continues only while stocks last. (*Excludes Babymoov Lovenest product)

Form meets function in style with Babymoov.  This brand take traditional baby items, adds the special Babymoov touch and – voila! – we have some extraordinary baby products.

I have always loved the Babymoov Babymoov Hippo Crockery and right now is a great time to buy the sippy cup and the bowl as they are both on sale for just $9.99 each. Ah, so cheap! Buying a couple now to put aside for presents would be a great idea. The sippy cup has a spill-proof valve in it (trust me, it can prove to be invaluable).  The bowl uses anti slip rubber technology on the base and the lid is sealable to keep food fresh in the fridge.  Each piece is microwave and dishwasher safe and super cute to boot!

In the past few years, as more and more of my girlfriends have started making babies, I have hosted and attended more baby showers than I can count. I love them! They are a special way to say “we love you” even before the little one has entered the world. When the time comes, I am all set with an idea I have yet seen at a baby shower thanks to Babymoov. Check out the Babymoov Pregnancy Belly Make-up which holds a whole set of creative possibilities for an upcoming baby shower, or for older children to connect with the sibling they are *patiently* waiting for. Or what a lovely way for a father to connect with his wee little one. Ohh, so many lovely ideas in my mind for this product!

There is lots more to peruse in this sale, so enjoy checking out the pictures of my favourites below, and make your move on these products while they last at Rose & Lily.

1. Babymoov Hippo Crockery – Sippy Cup sale price = $9.99
2. Babymoov Hippo Crockery – Bowl + Lid sale price = $9.99
3. Babymoov Thermo Bottle Rage – Brown Leopard sale price = $19.99
4. Babymoov Insulated Food Bag – Black or Green sale price = $24.95
5. Babymoov Melamine Deluxe Dish Set – Purple Hot Air Balloon sale price = $29.99
6. Babymoov Hawaiian Buddies size/sale price -  S=$12.95, M=$29.95, L=$34.95
7. Babymoov Pregnancy Belly Make-up sale price = $9.99
   
8. Babymoov Bath Cape – Butterfly sale price $25.00
9. Babymoov Car Organiser sale price $29.95

In addition to such a fantastic range of Babymoov products, Rose and Lily also stock fine products from the following leading brands: BabySteps 123, The Learning Tower, Luna Lullabye, Mije, My Plate-Mate, On Tray, Sneakys, Snugabub.

Rose & Lily charge $9.00 for postage up to $100, $15 postage for orders between $100 and $201, with FREE shipping for orders of $210+ Australia-wide.

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I recently presented The Learning Tower multifunctional furniture, and I am very pleased to say that I now have a wonderful offer for you to go with it courtesy of Rose & Lily – www.roseandlily.com.au.

Purchase The Learning Tower and receive a FREE Play House Kit, valued at $45.95. Your Learning Tower and Play House Kit will also be shipped free of charge to wherever you are in Australia. Enter code ‘KSFDEC’ at checkout to redeem until 11 December 2009, or while stocks last.

This is a wonderful deal which makes The Learning Tower an obvious choice for Christmas gifting. Not only do you have a safe, high quality height adjustable riser for your kids to get into the thick of things on, but because the Play House kit comes with a variety of scenes, you’ll also be treating your child (or grandchild, neice or nephew or little bud!) to a cubby house, puppet theatre and shop! You might also choose to go the whole hog and ad the Art Easel Kit for the ultimate experience. Triple duty furniture: now we’re talking!

The Learning Tower retails at $275.00, the Art Easel Kit at $140.00 and the Playhouse Kit at $45.95.

Rose & Lily charge $9.00 for postage up to $100, $15 postage for orders between $100 and $201, with FREE shipping for orders of $210+ Australia-wide.

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I was surprised by how, from a very early age, my kids wanted to pitch in and ‘hilp’ (help) me.  Folding washing, washing up, housework, cooking, shopping, gardening, working, the lot: there wasn’t (and at age 5 still isn’t) a task that they don’t want to get involved in.

Despite the fact that the help isn’t always that helpful, I am reluctant to deter them: I don’t want to give them the idea that their contributions aren’t valuable or wanted, and am clinging to the notion that this approach may just see them still remaining helpful as they get older (please, please let this turn out to be true!)

Safety is a major issue with the little helpers: their small stature often requires them to be on an elevated surface in order to participate, and common garden chairs and stools have a tendency to be somewhat precarious.

One US Mum who was determined to let her kids safely be involved in day to day activities has come to rescue of us all with The Learning Tower, a cleverly multifunctional piece of furniture that provides a safe platform from which kids can get into the thick of things.

Featuring an anti-topple design, and height adjustable platform, The Learning Tower grows with kids from 18 months through to 6 years of age, and is available in a range of cool colours to suit your decor. You can also purchase add-on kits for The Learning Tower: an Art Easel Kit and a Playhouse Kit, which give The Learning Tower an even greater longevity.

The Learning Tower retails at $275.00, the Art Easel Kit at $140.00 and the Playhouse Kit at $45.95. or you can buy the set of 3 for $445.00 with FREE postage from Rose & Lily – www.roseandlily.com.au. This would make a fantastic Christmas gift (hint hint nannas and poppys out there!)

Rose & Lily charge $9.00 for postage up to $100, $15 postage for orders between $100 and $201, with FREE shipping for orders of $210+ Australia-wide.

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Every Australian parent who loves the functionality and stylish good looks of European-designed products must thank their lucky stars that Rose & Lily – www.roseandlily.com.au – is on the scene.

Two working mums, Michele and Jennifer, saw a gap in the market a few years ago, and the result is that now we in Australia can now get our hands on some of the best Euro baby products around! Perfectly placed as they are (Michelle is in Australia and Jennifer’s in Belgium), the magic twosome carefully select and import some seriously cool products and brands.

Take Babymoov as one example. With its French heritage clearly evident in the designs, Babymoov products are designed by mums, for mums. The Bebedelice baby food processor is absolutely ingenious: it defrosts, cooks and blends home-made baby food, warms bottles and jars and even sterilises your babyfeeding paraphernalia!

BabySteps 123 is another brand which offers well thought out accessories to make feeding solids easier. The Multi Slicer is a really nifty way of quickly preparing fruit and vegetables as healthy snacks, and there’s also some useful freezer trays in various sizes and shapes (essential, believe me), and a very nifty hand-blender which takes no electricity or batteries at all!

If you’ve started the solids journey but you’re runninng out of inspiration as to what to feed your baby or toddler, Rose & Lily have Sneakys, eBooks of delicious recipes designed especially for the very young (including the very fussy!) all by nutritionist mum Leanne Cooper.

My Plate Mate is another of those brilliant ideas; the sort where you wonder why nobody had ever thought of it before!  It’s simply a spill guard rim which attaches on to any standard child’s size plate, meaning that they don’t spill food as readily when learning to use cutlery, and the unique shape of the rim even helps to scoop food onto the fork or spoon! My Plate Mate is free of lead, BPA, phthalate, PVC, latex & polycarbonates and it easy to clean and dishwasher safe.

OnTray2Go is another brilliant idea: simply fill the boxes with scrumptious snacks (you should have plenty of them prepared by now!) and clip on to the handle of your supermarket trolley.  So much easier than fighting with a hungry toddler as you trundle around the aisles!

The Mije Crab is a clever bath toy which not only tells you the temperature of the bath water, but also sounds audio and visual alarms if the water is too hot. In the same vein of controlling temperature, the Cold Seat car seat cover is absolutely brilliant for Australian summers: simply put it in the freezer for a while before use, then cover the car seat with it – including buckles where possible – and then refreeze it before the next use.  How brilliant is that?!

For other cool places to sit, here is another option: the beautiful Luna Lullaby Bounce-A-Bye Baby Balls are the only exercise ball you won’t want to hide away when you’re done using it.  With a myriad of uses such as birthing ball, a baby soothing motion seat and a pre- and post-pregnancy fitness ball, not to mention an oversized ball for the kids to chase around the garden on nice days, these will last you for years.

And last but not least, the Learning Tower is one of the best kids products I’ve seen around in a long time. A four-sided platform designed to bring small children up to the level where all the action is happening, you can use the Learning Tower to facilitate your child’s involvement with cooking, washing dishes, sorting laundry, you name it.  You can also get add-on kits to turn your Learning Tower into an art easel or a playhouse – amazing!

Rose & Lily are currently running a great competition over at Facebook. All you have to do is become a fan of Rose & Lily on Rose & Lily Facebook page before June 14 2009, and you’ll go into the draw to win one of 10 Babymoov Shirt Bibs, valued at $19.95 each. Too easy!

Rose & Lily are also a major sponsor of the KidStyleFile Annual Reader Survey: 10 lucky survey respondents will each receive a Babymoov prize pack from Rose & Lily valued at $279.95 each! Click here to start the survey now.

Rose & Lily shipping starts at $8.00 per order, Australia-wide.  Orders over $250.00 are shipped free of charge.

Oftentimes I do this after spending a little time with a new little babe

Contemplating the intrinsic perfection, and smelling that sweet milkiness has a profound effect on me. It’s an incredible thing!

Inevitably though, my thoughts turn practical. Looking after kids is the world’s most rewarding job, yes, but if you’re a Mum too, I think you’ll agree that it ain’t always easy.

Getting together a good routine and having a few efficiency-creating tools at our disposal are steps we can take to make the everyday tasks less tedious, leaving more time to have fun with our kids.

Introducing solids is a big landmark in your and your babies life. Making the task of preparing healthy mini-meals easier is the BabyMoov Bébédelice (pronounced Baby-Delish) from France.

The Bébédelice is a 5-in-1 appliance that helps you make fresh, fast and nutritious baby food every day. How does it do this? Get a load of this capability -

• Cooks and steams – Place chopped fruit, vegetables, meat, fish or a combination in the steamer, push the start button and in just 11 minutes, food is steamed to perfection. The gentle steaming function retains the food’s natural vitamins and minerals.
• Blends – It has a built in blender: twist the knob and you’re off and racing! The blender bowl capacity is 500ml, and it comes with a separate lid for use when storing food in the fridge.
• Warms bottles & jars – Safely warms all size baby bottles and jars. It switches itself off when the appropriate temperature is reached.
• Sterilises bottles – Quickly and hygienically sterilises all size & brand baby bottles or jars.
• Defrosts frozen food and breastmilk – Does this safely without the use of microwaves in just 11 minutes.

Although my time making mashes for littlies has past, I really love the idea of the Bébédelice, and would jump to get one if ever the need arose again.

Why?

I love the idea of being able to make fresh meals for my babies everyday (and oh, it is so much cheaper than buying pre-packaged food – the Bébédelice will end up paying for itself!)

Generally I would make a week’s worth and then freeze and microwave as the need arose. I was pretty committed to keeping everything organic for the first 18 months, but I did feel the irony of then freezing and zapping the life out of the gorgeous produce I spent hours making.

With the Bébédelice the cooking is done by steam, so none of the nutrients are lost in the process, and if you need to freeze, the Bébédelice defrosts quickly without the use of microwaves (great for expressed breast-milk too!) The built in blender is another boon: less washing up! And as the Bébédelice operates on preset timers, it is possible to attend to other tasks, rather than watching vigilantly so you don’t miss the mark and overcook the meal.

To boot it is small enough to leave on the bench for every-day use, and all parts are dishwasher safe, so it’s easy to clean too.

The Bébédelice usually sells for $199.00, but Metro Mum currently have it on sale for $179.00 – even better!

Check out Metro Mum’s stock-take sale for incredible discounts on more great Baby Moov products too! (Metro Mum post for $7.95 Australia wide, and only $5.95 if you’re in the Sydney metro area).

BabyMoov products, including the Bébédelice, are distributed in Australia by Rose & Lily – www.roseandlily.com.au.

Rose & Lily carry the full range of Baby Moov products including the Lovenest, a pediatrican designed sleeping innovation which helps resolve positional plagiocephaly, or ‘flat-head syndrome’ in babies 0-4 months, and a high-quality range of eating, bathing, sleeping and traveling accessories and toys.

Check the Rose & Lily website for the complete list of stockists.