Prince George's First Royal Engagement "We Love Your Style"

Eight month old Prince George (striking a strong resemblance to his father at that age!) Is on his first Royal tour in Australia and New Zealand. On Wednesday 9th April he took part in his first Royal Engagement in NZ joining 10 other babies in what can only be described a the worlds most exclusive playgroup, organised by the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society at Government House in Wellington. His look is of major interest to mums around the world, (almost more than him mum's look!) so to help you out here it is!

1. Rachel Riley Sailboat Smocked Dungarees, 2. Rachel Riley Lace up Booties, 3. Maxi Cosi Tobi Car Seat.

As for his mother, she wore a gorgeous black and white geometric "Paulina" dress by Tori Burch now available at Net-a-Porter

We will keep you posted on here with any more gorgeous Prince George outfits :)

The Terrible 3's

Long before you even contemplate having kids, you are well aware of the so called "terrible 2's". All my single and newly wed friends know about it and while my son was in his 2's it was an easy way to explain his erratic mood and pointless tantrums without going into too many details ... he's over tired, he's hungry, he's wants what he can't have...bla bla bla.

So despite Little T's year of the 2 now over, I look back in exhaustion and compare to what I am dealing with now that he has just turned 3 - where do I start??!

Between the age of 1 and 2, toddlers language skills are fairy limited and tantrums and meltdowns usually involve a lot of noise and you get a massive sense of frustration coming from their lack of communication. Their vast amount of energy at this age means lots of speed with very little/no common sense - a nightmare in public open space. Whilst I was complaining of these situations to friends with older children they assured me that once they get to 3, these situations calm down.
They were correct however incredibly misleading!

Let me introduce you to my 3 year old (of one week!)

Now a fully fledged, very fluent speaker with one heck of personality and one heck of a strong head.

This is my day -

"I want to do it"
"I can do it"
"I NEED to do it"
"Why can't we go there"
"I don't want to leave"
"I want to go now!"

My every day feels like being on the debating society at school (which I used to sit quietly in the corner so no one would ask my opinion!) It feels like I am spending my negotiating with someone who will not back down. Don't get me wrong, when he is content he is loveable, cuddly and incrediably fun - I absolutely love his company when he is not debating my every move.

You know whats more scary, I can't see this situation easing up for many years, I've seen kids out and about making the exact statements as little T even at the ages of 9 or 10 years old! Yikes!

I need to start enjoying coffee! Ahh don't you miss babies when they don't argue back....

ok rant over - time for bed :)

Love this little face xxx

Bedtime Stories

I've compiled Little T's top picks for bedtime stories, they are his current fav's and I actually don't mind reading any of them, they're beautifully written!

1. You by Emma Dodd, 2. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney, 3. Curious George Takes a Train by Margret and H.A Rey, 4. Hop on Pop by Dr Seuss, 5. Nothing Like a Puffin by Sue Soltis, 6. Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

Sundays in Sweats

As we begin to enter Spring we can ease up the use of chunky knits and bobble hats and move on to thinner cotton tops. As its not likely to get super hot anytime soon, layers is always best to ensure babies and young kids don't get cold or overheat.

We've chosen out top baby and kids sweatshirt picks for the season, enjoy :)

1. Bobo Choses -  Bow Sweatshirt from Kidsen, 2. Panda Sweatshirt from Mini Rodini, 3. Crocodile Sweat from Marks and Spencer, 4. Beau Loves - Superhero Sweatshirt from Beanie Buds and Co, 5. Oobi Baby - Lachlan Sweatshirt from Milo et Mimi, 6. Stella McCartney Kids - Grey Flower Print Sweatshirt from Alex and Alexa, 7. Boys and Girls - Bright as Day Sweatshirt from Burp Boutique

Congratulations Gwen!

A big LPB congrats to Gwen Stefani who gave birth to her THIRD boy on 28th February. They named him Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale as tweeted by his dad lead singer of rock band Bush, Gavin Rossdale. His middle names Bowie and Flynn are said to be combinations of grandmothers' maiden names.

Little Apollo's brothers are seven year old Kingston and five year old Zuma, both renowned for their super cool styling... i'm sure Apollo will follow suit! 

Rain Rain..... ease up a bit please?

As the rain clouds seem to have gotten rather comfy over Britain this winter with no real sign of sunshine for a while, then good quality and fun children's rain wear is essential to keep those little people dry and warm. The good news is that most rain wear is in the sale right now in shops and online boutiques... If you have already made your rain wear purchases for this year, its not a bad idea to snatch up some gorgeous items for next year while they're still in the sale! Lets face it, its not like we're going to have a dry winter - ever ! Yes ok i'm a touch pessimistic about British weather...

Anyways, at LPB HQ we've put together a little something with our top picks for the rainy season!

1. Hunter Boots from Igloo Kids, 2. Oobi Baby Vest from Milo et Mimi, 3. Tartine et Chocolat Marine Portobello Jacket from Igloo Kids, 4. Dry and Lucky Umbrella from Tiger Stores, 

5. Rainbow Stripe Wellies from Little Bird by Jools, 6. Liberty Print Rain Jacket from Jacadi, 

7. Trench Coat with Striped Lining from Zara Kids, 8. Boss Hooded Coat from Selfridges

Follow our blog for weekly "We Love Your Style Posts" from us :) xx

Potty training... The simple and mess free way it worked for me!

Before I go any further I must emphasise that I am not expert in this field and I am not saying my way is the correct way however within 1 week my 2.5 year old boy was dry and a couple of weeks after that we conquered #2's. What I will say is that I did not have to scrub my carpet or furniture!

My mother had been telling me that the best time to train is in the summer as it's warmer which as it turns out is true... However I would say that I technically started training little T long before he even sat on a potty. He was given a book for his 2nd birthday back in April called Pirate Pete's Potty...

I started reading this book to him a couple of times a week and getting him to tell me the story as we go along. I didn't realise the benefit this would have a few months down the line as it means he sort of  knew the drill! 

When searching for the right potty I went online and had a google around coming across some pretty funky designs with buttons and noises etc but I ended up going for a simple blue 2 piece Mickey Mouse potty from Mothercare as Little T would have ended up spending more time pressing a pretend flush than sitting on the potty itself! 

At this point my son was around 2 years and 3 months... I knew he wasn't quite ready as he had never indicated his need to pee or even really referred to it. I was insistent that nobody get involved and confuse him until I knew he was ready (ie grandparents!). We had some holiday time booked away over the summer so I decided that I wouldn't even approach the subject with him until we are settled back home. 

Come first week of August (T-Minus 4 weeks before he starts a few mornings a week at nursery) and he was happily playing in the bath when he says "T do wee wee"... That was the break through moment when I thought "oh crap, I actually need to deal with this potty training thing, urgh!!) 

Things I bought that proved useful:

Simple blue Mickey Mouse potty (mothercare)

Simple blue Mickey Mouse toilet seat

Step stool for hand washing 

8 pairs of cotton underwear aged 2-3 as I was advised not to go for a small size that's hard for them to put on and off.

2 packs of Huggies Pull Ups

My memory at the best of times is pretty shocking so the first 4 days I made notes of every drop and plop that my son produced to get a rough idea of how frequently/infrequently he went.

I can say that the first 2 days I spent good chunks of the day in the bathroom with the potty in the middle of the room. I brought in a box of Duplo and a few cars in and as it was a super hot day he was just in a t-shirt and no bottoms. The floor is tiled so if he was to have an accident it's easy to clean (unlike my cream living room carpet!) however he never actually did make any mess, as the potty was right there it was a constant reminder. 

When we weren't in the bathroom I put him in pull ups which I called pants so he treated them like pants instead of nappies. The pull ups are great as they have the picture fading logo which indicates when wet. 

We had a sticker chart which he got to stick 1 sticker for a pee and 2 for a #2! It came in this little book:

I carried on this process for the whole week using only pull ups and the potty and watching as day by day he got dryer and dryer to the point where he was wearing the same pair of pull ups all day! At night we were using a regular nappy as being dry all night will take more time.

For week 2 I made the switch from pull ups all day to regular pants and only using pull ups when I knew he was going to take a nap or be in the car for a long time. He was quite happy to treat them like regular pants. I understand why some parents think that pull ups confuse the child but if you treat them like regular underwear so will they. When little T wet his pull ups I would explain to him that he did wee wee in his pants and not his potty and also emphasise that we now have to put on a clean new pair.

Out and about was my fear as I absolutely despise public toilets and avoid them at all costs - now I can't!! I bought this fantastic folding seat that completely covers the front half of the toilet and has handles to avoid any contact with a germ ridden public loo!

I bought it for £6.99 from Boots! 

My essential out and about kit consists of:

Foldable toilet seat

Hand sanitiser

Wet wipes

Spare pants

I taught little T to keep his hand so his head while I set up the folded seat and when I'm dressing him to avoid him touching anything - I'm crazy I know but some loos are truly horrendous!!!!

By week 3 (baring in mind he wasn't really having accidents past week 1) I then had the confidence to switch to regular pants full time with no use of pull ups. He started nursery a week after that and I was happy to tell them he is potty trained! Obviously with all the distractions at nursery he had a few accidents but now a month in I can rest assured the job is done! 

Good luck to all parents that have to go through this, whatever way works for you just go for it!!

Tiana xxx

Baby Changing Bag Review - Il Tutto "Nico" Bag

Before I start I just want to state that this review is based on my own personal experience with this particular baby changing bag over the last 2 years and is not in any way endorsed by Il Tutto themselves.

Being a 'slight' bag obsessive person pre-baby, I knew that my choice of baby bag that I was going to be using on a daily basis was not one I was going to take lightly....yes yes I know its just a bag but its not really lets be honest! It needed it to be the right size, shape, material, colour and a touch of celeb status to make me happy - no judgement for my shallowness please haha.
After many weeks of mother-daughter shopping trips we strolled into Blossom Mother and Child on Walton Street in South Kensington - and there it was.... The "Nico" bag in Navy Blue, sat on a pedestal.
It was exactly what I was looking for, a discrete Mary Poppins Bag that would easily contain all baby's and my bits and pieces yet still look stylish! Not to mention the fact that the blue was a perfect match for my Bugaboo Cameleon.Being only 7 months pregnant at the time I was yet to find out just how much "stuff" I would eventually be stuffing in this bag!
Firstly what I loved about it at first glance is that it did not say "mummy" or "baby" anywhere on the bag, the fabric is a patent leather that to this day still looks brand new and shiny. With 2 outside end pockets and a zip along the back these would prove to be very useful for those frequent use items such as keys, soothers and bibs!

It comes with a changing pad, insulated bottle holder, clear plastic zip pouch for wet items however I do warn mums that if you are using Tommee Tippee Bottles then they don't fit in the bottle holder sadly however the inside pockets are wide and deep so I used to put bottles there no problem.

The inside lining has a zipper along the bottom so can easily be removed for wiping down and cleaning crumbs....many MANY crumbs! With many inside pockets I had a place for everything so nothing was floating around getting lost...spare socks, baby bottles/sippy cups, mini Tupperware's with snacks, mini first aid kit... you name it, it was in there! The central cavity of the bag was really very spacious so when little T was at the age of very likely spit up, I had to carry around half his wardrobe which was never a problem.

The long strap is adjustable so I would often have it at its smallest so it would hang over the Bugaboo handle bars without getting in the way and easy to carry on the shoulder too.

The likes of lovely lady's like Dannii Minogue and Denise Van Outen also carried the Nico in Navy!

The Nico has been on many travel adventures with us from Beirut to Dubai to Monaco... very well travelled bag (and baby!) Here are some pics i've dug up!

My proud moment - putting together the Bugaboo Cameleon on my own and hanging my new shiny bag on it, dreaming of the little person i'd soon have :)

At Hyde Park with little T (he's wearing a baby Steiff romper with Trumpette socks - those were the easy days at the park! Now I have to run!

My little curious monkey stealing his snacks (he's wearing a Chicco blazer, Diesel white top and Jacadi Paris jeans)

In Dubai visiting my parents, the Nico survived high heats, sand and probably a fair amount of chlorine!

In Monaco sneaking in some shopping with my mum during nap time!

The Il Tutto Nico Bag can be purchased from:

Babes with Babies: http://www.babeswithbabies.com/

Harrods Baby Department

Mamas and Papas Stores and Online

It retails from £149 - £199.

I simply love this bag and I couldn't recommend it more!

www.lepetitbonbon.co.uk 

p.s this is also a good daddy bag!! Daddy D had no problem carrying it when he was out and about with little T as its pretty neutral!