The best of this weekend's Baby Show

I spent the morning at the Baby Show on Friday, which reassures you that if modern parenting is about anything, it’s about shopping. You can try out pushchairs on a pushchair test track, get your child's picture taken, and try out teeth whitening (yes, really) in addition to buying loads of clothes, accessories and furniture. Drop by the stands of these companies to see the 7 most stylish new baby and children's things.

 

1. BEST OF THE SHOW: Bloom furniture – Bloom's curved beech wood baby lounger and egg-like high chair look like they came from the drawing board of Charles and Ray Eames. Four dads have formed this company to create baby furniture for the modern house. The high chair rotates backward to be suitable from birth, is good for children up to 36 kilos and adjusts up and down and rotates like an office chair. The lounger looks almost like a sculpture on which you can place your newborn. New this year is a Plexiglas style lounger with clear base and orange pad. The designs have won an innovation award and will feature in the Kids Modern show in London in February.  Coco baby lounger in beech, £120, in Plexiglas style, £220; Fresco high chair, £240. Bloom chair at Lullabys

2. Trunki  - A durable plastic suitcase that doubles as a ride-on toy. Finally a way to get them to the gate on time. It was originally panned on Dragon’s Den but has gone on to find popularity in John Lewis and is debuting in the States. £24.99 www.trunki.co.uk/

3. Designermums.com – The clever design of these viscose dresses and tops from Sweden employs a criss cross design at the top like on a wrap dress, with a panel below it. You pull over one side, lift the panel from below for discreet breastfeeding. See illustrations of how you do it here. www.designermums.com

4. Stokke – These pushchairs that some say look like medical carts have been around for about three years, but now that I’m getting used to them I wish I would have had one for my daughter. New colours are cream, an orange like pumpkin and olive, which replaces the old green. £649 with carry cot and buggy seat; £499 with buggy seat

5. My Fabulous Life – Two photographers take pictures of your family or use your own photos to design high-quality stylish books either on card stock or in hard-bound versions. It’s like being in your own Boden catalog, but better.  Books start at £250 and the process takes about 8 weeks. www.myfabulouslife.co.uk

6. Airbuggy – This new pushchair came out in Japan last year and is now debuting in the UK. It’s compact, lightweight and weighs under 10 kilos, and comes with a mosquito net, rain cover and terry mattress but what I really like about it is that it looks like something Jeremy Clarkson might take a shine to. Except for the fact that it’s green. £329 airbuggy.co.uk

7. The Whole New World bag – It’s halfway between those ghastly plastic changing bag and something whose style and price tag rivals an It bag. The look of these The two sides come apart to reveal a changing pad. Then zip them together and get access to the compartments from the two top zippers. These come in several  colours but  my favourite is red. £39.95 www.whole-new-world.com/

Comments

[claire]

OMG I cant open the link to the bag (panick!) Only joking, we get quite a few bits a bobs off freecycle and put unwanted stuff on there. Its really good for kids things and its all free. you can find your local one via www.freecycle.org/

[SJO]

I am all for recycling things. Baby things - clothes and equipment - are ideal candidates for this as they are hardly used before the baby grows out of them.

I know a lot of people here hate the NCT but I would recommend their nearly new sales for baby equipment, toys and clothing. You can buy a lot of very nice and hardly used items for very low prices. Unlike charity shops, if you go to ones in more affluent areas, you are very likely to pick up upmarket brands as well as unused items. And as the sellers actually receive almost three-quarters of the sale proceeds it is in their interest to ensure that only the very best stuff is placed on sale.

The nearly new sales are held in autumn and spring. The dates of the sales for every branch are listed on the NCT website.

[kieransmum]

Second-hand stuff, Gipsy? Get onto E-bay. My children are clothed, shod and buggied from e-bay!

[Jean Jones]

"To all those smugly buying nice things in charity shops though, aren't you fortunate that there are silly women like buying new in the first place?!"

You bet. That's what I said. Although I think those who buy a lot and discard it hardly used would have a different definition of 'nice things' to those of us who are quite happy with second-hand clothes and stuff. As to the business of the lower down the social scale, the more gets spent on prams etc - ever noticed this applies to funerals as well? But funnily enough conspicuous expenditure on weddings seems to be de rigueur among the well-off. A bigger waste of money I cannot think of, frankly.

[Mumoftwo]

When I look at these items, especially the bouncer, I think 'baby as lifestyle item'. It's not that it really matters that people who have got lots of money buy one, being able to spend your money as you wish is one of the fun things about being (well-off) in our society. However, my concern is the degree to which this current consumerism seems to be at the expense of other values: I dread taking my children to some of my family who are very into their top-end 'lifestyle', for as long as the children look cute and have cute furry pink clothes on and lovely cute hairstyles, they coo and say 'isn't she lovely', but whenever the children actually act like children and make noise or run around, everyone looks a bit embarassed. I do see a trend around me to treat children as objects of display rather than real living breathing complex fun individuals who have to take their part in both family and society. Buying an individual nice item which is useful is great if you have the money, however, as my previous post indicates, even people who have no money do the same, as if displaying a baby in a bog-standard white babygro (instead of a cute expensive co-ordinated outfit) and a pram passed on from a previous child (instead of the 'must-have' trendy one) isn't enough any more.

[Gipsy]

Now I wouldn't be at all adverse to secondhand stuff. If I could find it. I shall have to make more of an effort to make it to NCT sales. Looking again at that high chair though... £240 is a lot of money so I probably wouldn't but back when I was looking for high chairs I'd have seriously considered it. Maybe it is sign that my world has completely changed but I'm getting the same sort of I want palpitations looking at that high chair that I used to get for shoes.

[Wonderbra]

When myu children were tiny, we lived near an airbase. They had regular childrens' kit sales. None of the mothers would have been caught dead with secondhand goods, so I capitalised on it. I don't think I''m remotely smug, just pragmatic and yes, I'm glad they outlayed the money, even though, liike Supermother, I'm sure we had more income than any of them! There's no unwritten taboo on thrift in my sector of society.

[Gipsy]

I spent a stack of money on a buggy/pushchair, and got every single penny's worth out of it. The buggy bit could be tilted so the child was in a seated position and used as a rear facing carseat. It could also be laid down completely flat, perfect for new borns when pushing them about, and was used as a carry cot for downstairs naps, sleeping when out, and was a lifesaver when we spent a few weeks in an RV travelling Canada, where it fitted perfectly down the side of our bed in the 'bedroom' part of the RV. The pushchair has fantastic suspension, which made it a doddle to bump up and down stairs (baby hardly bounced!) another lifesaver for me as I don't own a car or drive. The stroller portion can also be 'folded' down almost flat, with a 'legs' flap that can be folded up so that as a toddler, he can still sleep comfortably in the chair and still often likes to curl up in there for a nap (his choice). I don't regret for a second spending nearly £500 on it.

Where are these magical second hand shops? I spent most of my pregnancy trawling every one that I came across, and all the local ones, and I still do this, and I have only managed to find a couple of toys. None of the clothes are ever remotely near his size (I could stockpile I guess, but we have a very small house that's already bursting at the seams), and I have NEVER seen anything like a pushchair, moses basket, bouncy chair etc in them. People keep telling me that they've found these things, but where?! Something like a moses basket or a bouncy chair can be totally invaluable IF the child likes it. If they don't then you'll never get any use of them. So they're perfect items to get from a charity shop - if I could ever have found one selling them!

Like Margot, I loved the high chair straight away. I spent a lot of time trying to clean mine (surely my lad isn't the only messy eater!). The bouncy chair was also perfect for feeding when he was a baby, and he loves using it as a chair now, so again we've got every penny out of that one. This idea that we shouldn't be using high chairs because we should be holding them instead? Utterly ridiculous! I spent hours and hours holding and cuddling my baby, but honestly, at some point you do need to make a cup of tea/yourself something to eat/cook baby's dinner or fetch his bottle/wash dishes etc. In what universe do you all live? Like Margot I'd have loved something that was that height, and suitable for pulling up close to me while I was at the sink, for example. My little lad just wasn't up for letting me out of his sight for a second, and who could blame him. As far as he knows, no mum equals lion lunch time.

[supermother]

Because it's fun. It's when women don't have views and just sit there simpering with fake smiles agreeing with everything other women say that it's annoying.

Yes, I can agree that a few nice things are better than loads of junk. I have a nice house etc but I'm not sure a lot of the expensive things are bought because of their better looks. Often it's just because of the price and label.In fact many parents buy huge buggies they can't get in the car and are practically worthless. I doubt they put them on a display stand in the living room to look at in awe like Saatchi exhibits. They are just being fools really and slaves to brands.

I certainly wouldn't curtail their right to spend their money where they choose - I'm not against capitalism but a lot of people do have insecurities. It's the I have a nice car male thing which usually means and I have a small penis.

[margot]

Supermother wrote:
"I am afraid if I see some parents spending X on their child I just think it says more about them than anything that they feel they have something to prove, that they need the brand, need to show off, need to prove something."

Nothing to do then, with perhaps living a simple, plain life, not going out much, not taking fancy holidays, not having a flash car, but really liking beautiful well designed things in your home (where after all, you spend much of time as a corellation of the foregoing points)? Buying a nice highchair doesn't mean that 'spending is a desirable pastime' - just that you need a highchair and it's better to have a nice one than a horrid one! And while we're at it, why not support a small British designer rather than a faceless multinational?

Why is everyone here so quick to judge? Either spending too much, or not enough, or in the wrong place? I just don't get it. What business is it of anyone's what someone else does with their hard earned cash? Why the value judgements?

To all those smugly buying nice things in charity shops though, aren't you fortunate that there are silly women like buying new in the first place?!

[supermother]

I am afraid if I see some parents spending X on their child I just think it says more about them than anything that they feel they have something to prove, that they need the brand, need to show off, need to prove something. It usually means they're insecure or don't have things of meaning in their lives that they have to regard spending as a desirable past time.

It's a bit like me having a high income but cheap car but then may be my inverse snobbery which I suppose tries to avoid the whole nouveau riche thing is just as bad.

[Wonderbra]

I agree about things for babies, they need very little, especially when first born. I went to charity shops too and felt good about putting things back in them afterwards. I suppose there's nothing wrong with designer baby stuff if you are going to go into the competitive baby market, but I wasn't impressed with any of it. What about the footballers' children with the £50,000 nurseries, as featured in Hello and OK! All pink and fairy castles and a Peter and Jordan onion coach.......

[Jane]

Sadly, one particular type of item in charity shops for babies are those gorgeous "dolls' dresses" that people (and grannies!) WILL give to new born girls. They are completely useless, and are promptly given to charity shops. Well, guess you could give them to children with baby dolls, thinking about it.

The other really sad thing is 'granny knits' - which again, however exquisite, are just useless. The only thing babies wear are baby grows, and that's that! (well, chav ones wear denim jeans and leather jackets, or football strips.)(the chavette babies wear thongs!)

[Mumoftwo]

I wasn't getting at 'wicked, lazy' SAHM's, I was one myself for several years. I was trying to be politically correct in the way I expressed it, but I was referring to several families I know of who are all on benefits (inter-generational) but use their £200 one-off payment which they get for essentials on the birth of a new baby on a very expensive new pram. I'm not saying it to condemn those individual families, more to point out that our consumer-driven culture (on which they are on the margins) has made people feel that their 'need' to be seen with a brand-new (no second-hand) pram outweighs other needs which others might consider more essential and that by not buying a £600 pram, I'm contributing to the resistance!

[Jean Jones]

Jane - ah, charity shops. The trick is to find one in a nice area that has somebody who shares your taste and is profligate with their clothes. My local boutique, I mean Cancer Research, regularly has clothes I love, in my size, bought in the last year and often donated unworn. I can only conclude it's the same person. Thank you, madam!

[Jane]

PS - mums shouldn't worry their dizzy little heads about baby buggies or prams. They've got wheels, so clearly it's a Dad Task to choose them....

[Jean Jones]

BTW as to wicked, lazy, sponging SAHMs pushing expensive buggies (how they have the nerve to show their faces in public I'll never know, spoilt cows), if the grandparents are anything like both sides were in my family, you're fighting them off from the time the little blue line shows for the first time to stop them rushing out and buying the biggest and best pram they can find for their first grandchild. This might well explain it. The worst thing my in-laws bought for my daughter (apart from the pink elephant considerably bigger than she was that scared the wits out of her) was, get this, a white synthetic fur coat and muff. When she was a year old. It was HIDEOUS.

[Jane]

If you really want to feel faint, try going round Harrods or Selfridges baby departments. And it's only the price of the designer togs that will make you pass out cold - let alone anything else!

The only thing you really have to buy brand new are car seats, in case they've already been in a crash - other than that the rest can be second hand. What do you think NCT sales exist for?!!! let alone charity shops for the clothes....

[Jean Jones]

£600 for a buggy? You ARE joking, aren't you?

[Mumoftwo]

I agree with Supermother that you actually need very little to care for a baby, I couldn't believe how much some of my friends spent on expensive oak changing tables with matching bedroom furniture when a £10 mat is cheaper, portable and less dangerous! Fine, if you've got the money and really enjoy going to John Lewis (I don't) and doing the whole motherhood performance, but it does create an expectation that you really ought to have all this stuff and it is all necessary to having a baby, which it isn't. I also see a lot of mums in my parent's home town pushing very expensive buggies but mysteriously the mums aren't working; buggies have become a status symbol for everyone, even those with the least. Nothing would make me pay over £600 for one, knowing how knocked about they get, which was why I was pushing round a work-horse battered McLaren being pushed off the pavement by my friends' huge Bugaboo's which were the in-thing at that time...

[supermother]

Only silly parents get caught out in these consumerist traps. They don't have important jobs such as saving lives or running the country to to fill a void and make motherhood into the job it isn't they buy consumer items they don't need. Most people manage to keep away from that either because their ethics are better or they don't have the money. I found it fun 23 years ago when we were buying all the baby stuff in Oxfam etc to work out how very little you actually do need for a baby or small child.

[Cheryl]

The Trunki is quite cute but apart from that.. I'd rather carry my baby thanks; it's free.

[Joan]

baby stuff

[NS]

"Don't let Claire Verity catch you saying that! Let alone doing it...
(or it will be the naughty step for you and no mistake.)"

I'd be on more than her naughty step. That woman is a clueless, cold-hearted witch. I hope no one takes her 'methods' seriously.

[Jean Jones]

I had a thing like that brown chair thing 20 years ago. It was called a bouncy cradle, was made of orange checked viscose fabric on a very light tubular metal frame, but was exactly the same shape and principle and cost, IIRC, £10. Everyone used them. This just looks like a 'how much money can we screw out of daft women who are desperate to spend it' ploy to me. PS my daughter hated it and I ended up carrying her around in any case. At least we hadn't wasted £240 finding out.

[Jane]

"Maybe try actually holding your baby? "

Don't let Claire Verity catch you saying that! Let alone doing it...
(or it will be the naughty step for you and no mistake.)

[kieransmum]

Quite right, Margot. I'm just waiting till this stuff gets onto e-Bay and I can pick it up secondhand!

[margot]

I think the high chair looks great - lacking in the horrible nooks and crannies that collect gunk that so many high chairs specialise in. And if I'd had a countertop high chair to lay my screaming small baby in while I did the washing up, he might have screamed a whole lot less.

I think this 'good design' for babies is to be encouraged, if it's at a good price, so competitive with the blue/pink crap you find at Mothercare and Babies R Us. Realistically, high chairs and pushchairs ARE essentials for most people - so let's at least have stuff that works well and looks good.

[NS]

Ugh. More useless crap nobody needs. That high chair is particularly hideous. If having a baby is going to cramp your 'style' then why have one? It says it's suitable from birth -- who would put a newborn into a high chair? Ridiculous. Maybe try actually holding your baby?