Toys Galore

I thought having my third child I will not need anymore toys as the two older boys have tons of baby toys that we've kept but when you have a newborn you can't seem to pass off the cute pieces from great brands.

One of the first things I wanted to my Baby bird was a natural look rocker and when I saw the Bloom rocker, the beautiful wooden frame and leather seat is not just eye catching but so practical in my home of Beech wooden furniture, Lennox loves bobbing along in it and being leather it's breathable and comfortable.

Having awesome Grandparents makes it hard to not visit them all the time, so they have a few baby items at their place for Lennox's comfort.

Like his Mama and Papas Starlight swing, he loves staring at the lights but we think his got Motion sickness disorder as he hates being in the car and strapped in anything for too long, so he gets spoilt by being picked up the majority of the time he visits his Yoya and Poppy!..

Another amazing piece I got for Lennox is his Stina Styles custom made activity playmat with Hardwood rattles, Tweety dangle, Mr. O (Owl dangle), Mirror and tummy time pillow. Which is another Facebook find that I just love.

This playmat is so unique and nothing you'd find at the store, so worth the price tag, it's plush mat is also reversible and when ordering you have the choice of tons of absolutely beautiful fabrics and the amazing craftsmanship done by Linda is remarkable, we're getting a lot of use out of the mat and can't be happier to have invested in a one of a kind piece that also complements our living room.

https://www.facebook.com/StinasStyle

If you can't tell this family of boys love their Super heroes and when Apple seed kids boutique stocked these awesome Marvel Avengers plush we had to have the entire set.

They're all our favourite Marvel heroes such as Captian America, Ironman, Thor, Spider-man and Wolverine but some how even there's more of them then the boys, there's always still tons of fights over them...

https://www.facebook.com/appleseedkidsboutique

Another favourite is Sophie La giraffe teether which we also bought from Apple seed kids boutique and it's been a great help for a teething baby as Lennox loves rubbing it against his gums, as the teether is easy for him to hold and the duel sided surfaces for soothing. Hope to get him the Sophie squeaker later when his able to hold onto larger items as he loves squeaker toys.

http://appleseedkids.spiffystores.com

And when I though I had enough toys for a little person, Lennox favourite store ladies gave him this gorgeous Alimrose jointed pony as an early Christmas present and I personally love the Teal colour but it's plushness is a favourite for Nox.

His Yoya loves Alimrose as they are made in our island home of the the Philippines, so she got him a Pirate squeaker for his christening which he loves.

I have a bad habit of having complete sets for this child so when we visited the ASK store I had to grab the matching Horse squeaker and rattle to his jointed pony and think he likes them too...

Looking at getting the Pirate plush and rattle but heard there's some awesome new stock coming in, so looks like never ending with toys...

When looking at Christmas presents for a baby that doesn't need much it was hard apart from his usual favourites of OB design toys and clothing we had to get him a pratical walker. As we had given away the older boys Activity centres and walkers, we decided to get Lennox as Love n Care convertible walker, so at the moment it is an activity centre as we don't want to encourage tippy toes walking, we had that problem with our second son as he had a walker from 5 months and walked on his tippy toes for a few months when starting to walk.

As much as it annoys us with the sounds, he loves it and that's all that matters.

Another hype we've been sucked into is the Amber beads, learnt of these when my second son was teething almost two years ago but didn't believe it can be any help to a teething baby but how wrong I was. 

As Lennox started milking around a month I needed something to help ease my baby's pain, so bought him Green baby Baltic necklace and anklet and we honestly believe he is less fussy when he has them on when his in his teething days but doesn't so much for the drool.

http://appleseedkids.spiffystores.comhttps://www.facebook.com/Bambeado

We were lucky enough to win an Istagram comp by Elevacious design of Play set which includes Scrunchy giraffe, wooden teething rattle and tangible cube all in my choice of Colourful deers and teal fabric all custom made by Vicki at Elevacious designs. Love her Ring stackers and herme pants too, just the most gorgeous fabrics and designs to choice from.

https://www.facebook.com/elevaciousdesign

And ofcourse we love OB designs toys from our Big Hugs Bubba bear and Daryl dog blanky and his Emma owl rattle dingaring and Keith koala musical dingaring, you'd think we have enough but I'm really looking forward to the new collection which includes a Panda and Fox rattles which I'm sure will end up coming home with us when they get stocked at ASK store...

O.B. Designs obsession

Ok I have a little confession to make about these gorgeous blankets and brand I found again on Facebook.

O.B. Designs was first introduced to me from a seeing them pictured against a few Bugaboo prams and just needed to have one for my Winter baby due in Aug.

When I got the Sky ripple from Apple seed kids boutique, just the packaging was gorgeous and didn't want to take it out of the box but it don't last long as my baby boy needed to snuggle to blanket on his first night home and can you see he fell in love. The blanket is super soft and is made from 60% cotton, 30% Azlon (Milk Fiber), 10% cashmere and is a generous meter square.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/OB-Designs/114611328573626

Need to shout out to Apple seed kids boutique as they've become my shop of uber cute baby items and received a great gift for Lennox's birth of an OB Deisgn Big hug Bubba bear, his fur feels as soft as the ripple blankets and Nox just can't be without him especially when his in a whingey mood.

https://www.facebook.com/appleseedkidsboutique

Another awesome piece we got was the Rainbow throw, which we use as a rug in Nox's nursery and the colours are amazing, so knew we needed to include the rainbow ripple to our OB Design collection. Can find O.B. Designs on Instagram and they are very active on Reposting, commenting and sharing fans photos and also they run numerous and generous competitions, check them out.

http://instagram.com/obdesigns

Lucky enough to find a friend selling her EUC Rainbow ripple and had to snap it up and just love the bright gorgeous colours.

However after that I felt the need to complete the set of Ripple blankets, so we purchased from Mummy's little essentials a Berry ripple as at first wasn't too interested as it has Pink and hubby wants manly man lil boys, bhaha but Nox loves it and it's more Red than anything.

https://www.facebook.com/Mummyslittleessentials

As Lennox is getting bigger and acute motor skills are quite advance we gave him Emma owl dingaring and he loves the noise and the wooden piece to chew on.

He was given an early Christmas gift from Santa at a Filipino association Christmas party and he just enjoys chewing on the Rainbow dingle ball and the felt fabric and fabric bits with feel good messages.

So when the Fatman had been and gone, Lennox definitely scored some awesome O.B Designs goodies which includes a Dingaring Keith koala and Patchwork blanket.

His Yoya (Grandma) bought him Big Hugs Daryl dog blanket, which he just loves rubbin his face against the silk fabric backing...

Got a special surprise for my baby sister for her 7th birthday, who's also become fascinated with baby's OB designs collection and as I'm not that into the Shell and neutral collection. As it's quite beautiful but far too feminine for my male dominate household.

Just added the Black and White ripple blanket from the new collection to complete his OBD collection but I've sneaked a peek at the upcoming release and I'm feeling there will be more needed for this lil OBD addict!..

http://www.obdesigns.net

It's all about the Pram about the Pram

Ok let's talk about Prams, these are no doubtbly big statement item for bubs. I've own Steelcraft, Love N Care and Quicksmart for my other two boys but when picking a pram for Lennox I went with style and functionality and feel in love with the iCandy Strawberry. I initially had one on order at MBW but read the nursery blog for the delimma in that fiasco, so had to look around and found this beauty priced well and great condition from Gumtree but also join Facebook groups that Buy and Sell baby items to get a great deal on excellent used condition stuff.

My strawberry is in Assam black and also bought an Earl Grey flavour pack (changeable liner and hood) but got the customised Marvel reversible liner and hood from Emma at Baby Moo Maa and she also done reversible carseat liner in colourful Owl and Moustache reversible. There are many pages on Facebook that make customise pram liner but be careful as you get what you pay for, BMM quality is remarkable and she was the only willing to take accurate measurements for the iCandy as not anyone else made them on Australia (UK have a few but the postage kills the purchase total)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baby-Moo-Maa-Custom-Pram-Liners-Accessories/177854752226965

In regards to the carseats we have a Babylove and Safe n Sound in my mums car for Lennox and they are both hand me downs from the older boys as being the youngest of 3 we aren't shy of seconds and I think your better looking at 2nd hand as the resale of items can be tricky (think will blog about that as that's another pet hate of mine ppl wanting Brand items but not willing to pay a descent price for them). However it is recommended to buy new carseats as to ensure the item has not been involved in an accident but really just inspect the item and use common sense when purchasing as if it's too good to be true than it probably is. Got the carseat liner for my mums car from Nat at Stylish baby bits in colourful Foxes and Black and White arrows as BMM hadn't replied to my email about another liner, since Emma can be hard to get a hold off at times being so busy, so get in quick if you want custom Baby Moo Maa items.

https://www.facebook.com/StylishBabyBits

Then we come to the decision to also go with a Bugaboo Donkey as my 4yo Quade decided he too wanted to be in a pram too (guess middle child syndrome kicked in) so I was lucky enough to purchase my friend's Donkey as she too was getting ridiculous offers for a great pram. It's started off as an All black tops but since we acquired it, it has had a transformation to a more suitable colour pallet that hubby liked since his the one that pushes (technically it's his pram apparently) as when it's in Duo it's a bit hard for me to push the chunky 4yo and baby around.

It was a Red and Blue tops whilst the football season was on for the Newcastle Knights but at the moment I have gone with the Jazz set of Jewel blue and Sunny gold, again all sourced from FB buy and sell groups.

Also got the leather pram handles and bumper covers from Nina at Yatmanova leather crafts but found her recommended by Kateryna from Bugaboo I'm in love (she makes gorgeous Bugaboo liners and bibs)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bugaboo-Im-in-love/427268327376442

I got Tan leather covers for my Donkey and Black leather with red stictching for my Strawberry and a couple of Red bag handles, not only do they protect the handles foam but the unique style is gorgeous.

https://www.facebook.com/NinaHandMadeBagsAustralia

I guess I should include some specs on both prams on why I choose them other than the look and style. The iCandy strawberry was the only pram I looked at and knew I wanted immediately even compared to Bugaboo single prams, as not only the style but the functionality of being able to reposition the seat to parent or forward facing is convenient especially when you don't want the bassinet extra (which is available for all iCandy models) and I found the strawberry can hold my 4yo well as it's weight limit is 15kg and without making him look like a giant like the Peach or Bugaboo Cam did. The pram has a cleaver One Step & Stand fold mechanism but again like with all prams it can be a pain to get use to and workout, like my hubby and I did looking like a couple of fruit cakes trying to fold the pram by pushing and pulling, all sorts of new yoga poses to get this thing down but once you take a deep breath and re-read instructions it makes simple sense to press two buttons simultaneously and push the handle forward and the pram just seemlessly folds itself and then you just attach latch and it's locked easy to pick up and pack in the boot one handed as I've had to do when Nox is feeling extremely clingy after a day at the shops. This pram is in my boot as it's the one I prefer to use when it's just Nox and I as the basket is big enough for storage of shopping and other bits and bobs but it's a great pram for walking as it's sturdy and I'm just not a fan of pumping tyres, lol. 

Where as the Bugaboo donkey is amazing when used as Duo as even though it's weight 17kg per seat and our time with it will be coming too a close soon, I don't think my Quade really cares as he loves being pushed around and being able to torment his baby brother by constantly waking him up whilst he sleeps or taking toys off him just because. It's a pretty straight forward extension function and really the best on the market single conversion with it being in Mono makes numerous storage options but personally it's too bulky looking for me when it's in single pram mode. I didn't feel the need to get customised liners and hoods for the Donkey as the original Bugaboo tailored fabric options are countless and extremely stylish as they also have collaborations with Andy Warhol and recently with Deisel to make unique covers. The Donkey comes with bassinet and seat fabrics all depending on what model options you purcahse on how many frames you get, with a Mono only one frame with a bassinet and seat fabrics, a Duo comes with 2 frames and 1 bassinet and 2 seat fabrics and the Twin comes with 2 frames, 2 bassinet and 2 seat fabrics and all come with storage basket for when you choose to have it in Mono.

Both my prams are in Silver chaise but I do drool over the All black frames for the Bugaboo and iCandy new range but know you can vinyl them yourself but I don't have patients for that, found it a task to just put on new iCandy decal for the strawberry and that was a like a 5 min job, bhaha

So again hope this has given some mummy's ideas for that unique styled pram but always looking at Instagram and trolling through FB pages for a good pram liner seamstress will ensure you get the pram you dream of...

Hoot hoot Nursery

When I was pregnant with my 3rd son Lennox I had a fascination with images of baby birds and especially owls, so it consumed the idea of his nursery. Really wanted a bright and bold nursery and love the colour scheme of Red, blue and grey with natural tones.

I went with a Love N Care Vulu in Sandy Convertible cot (bassinet, cot and toddler bed) and Tallboy changer, I love this furniture due to the natural timber look and feel but it's quite slick and stylish. Bought mine from the Love N Care warehouse in Revesby and saved 50% off RRP, as I originally ordered mine at My baby warehouse Campbelltown in May but when I went in to finalise my order in Aug, 4 weeks before my due date they still didn't have my order filled and wasn't sure when, so I had to cancel and lucky I did as I had my baby 2 weeks later.

Couldn't live without out the Tickle or Treat owl nursery set, the handmade and unique mobile and enchanted garden wall piece, it's treated wood and the craftsmanship on both pieces are amazing. I just emailed Danni with my desired colour scheme and chose to have birds and owl to represent my 3 boys and she did the rest. Regardless if you had a bird theme for a nursery I think these will go with any theme and they also stock wall art and plush owls.

https://www.facebook.com/TickleOrTreat

The beautiful change mat cover came from Madison and Me Boutique baby bedding a lovely mummy from the Hills District Sydney area and very accommodating, she also made my Chevron cot sheets and matching Geometrics cot blanket and conveniently picked up items.

https://www.facebook.com/madisonandmebabybedding

Prints are from Reason with Design as well as a pair of personalised pram toys, Kylie designed the concept and I just loved them. 

https://www.facebook.com/reasondesign

The personalised pillows are from Elevacious Design, it took me forever to find someone that would do a letter L cushion as I first saw them on Pinterest but checked all over Etsy and couldn't find an Australian maker but just out of luck trolling through Facebook pages as I whilst contemplating on making them myself I found Vicki's and just make an enquiry, she was very accommodating. She also does nursery linen, clothing and toys (which I was lucky enough to win her Instagram competition for playset, will do a later blog on toys after Christmas)

https://www.facebook.com/elevaciousdesign

I also have a name plaque for Lennox but since we've moved, his room is quite different as his bassinet is in our room but this was done by Bree at Cheeky Monkey Craftwork (another sneaky is the playmat made by Stina's style will give details in a later blog)

https://www.facebook.com/cheekymonkeycraftwork

So hope these can give mummy's ideas for their baby birds nursery but always best to look at Pinterest as they have the most amazing ideas of rooms and concepts.