Protect your child from the cooker!

Cookers are one of the most dangerous appliances in the house, and represent a variety of dangers in several different ways. Apart from keeping your child out of the kitchen completely, which is often simply not possible or practicable, there are several baby security products which should be used to help prevent the possibility of a dangerous accident.

One of the first things to consider is a lock on the oven door. The oven door handle is usually an ideal height for your toddler to grab hold of, and since these open downwards it is inevitable that holding on to this will result in them opening the door downwards, and falling on to it. If the oven is on, this is of course extremely dangerous. Oven door locks are cheap and very easy to fit.

The glass front of an oven door can often get extremely hot, so you might consider applying an oven door protector, which still allows you to see through it into the oven to check on the food, but stops the oven door window from getting hot enough to be dangerous.

Pots and pans on the hob are very dangerous, and whilst the advice is to only use the hobs at the back of the cooker, this isn’t always possible of course. If your child reaches up and grabs a handle of a pot, or even touches the pot itself, this could be very nasty, and so a hob guard is ideal.
                         

Protect your little ones from the hob!

A hob guard is a plastic strip which sits at the front of the hob area, and basically acts as a screen, preventing children from reaching up and placing their fingers anywhere near the hobs or the pots and pans.
Finally think about the hob dials. If your child accidently turns one of these they could switch the gas on, without it being lit, representing a real danger for everyone in the home. Hob dial guards prevent accidental turning of these, keeping your child and your family completely safe.
             

Keep your oven protected from your curious little one

Help! Is my baby's weight normal?

It’s easy to worry about your baby - it's what happens naturally as parents. But one of the things you really shouldn’t worry about quite so much is your baby's weight. The problem is though that one of the first questions everyone will ask you when you announce the arrival of your little one is how much they weigh, after which they will usually comment on this. Then you'll be asked at regular intervals how much they now weigh, and of course there will be regular meetings with other parents, where everyone will compare their baby's weight and size. It can lead to new parents wondering, is my baby normal?

Let’s be clear about one thing here - there is no such thing as a 'normal' weight. Babies are different, and there can be huge variations between babies born at the same time, either on time or either side of the due date. The average weight of a new born baby is between about 2.5kg (5lb 8oz) and 4.5kg (9lb 14oz), which itself is a fairly broad range of weights. But just because these are average numbers doesn't necessarily mean that they should be classed as normal. The words average and normal are too easily interchanged, but this isn’t the same thing at all. 

Average weight is 2.5kg (5lb 8oz) and 4.5kg (9lb 14oz)

The next thing to worry about as a parent is checking your baby does well by comparing their birth weight to their weight a few days later. Most parents expect to see their baby gradually putting weight on. After all, it’s the one thing you can expect a baby to do - grow. Yet many parents worry frantically when they see that a few days later their baby hasn’t put on any weight, and in fact has actually lost weight. A week later, they see that their baby is still losing weight, and the temptation then is to feel that as a parent you are somehow doing something wrong. Rest assured, you're not. It’s actually entirely normal for a baby to lose a fair bit of weight in the first week and a half or ten days. They are gradually getting used to feeding on breast milk, and they won’t start putting weight on until well into their second week.

Your baby can lose weight after birth

The reason for this is that a baby will usually put on a little extra weight just before the birth in order to prepare for it. If it’s hard work for the mother to give birth, it’s just as hard for the baby, and so to prepare for this they put on a little extra weight. Once they’re born they will naturally shed this extra weight without apparently doing anything to achieve it. But lose it they almost certainly will, and so don’t worry if your baby's weight drops after birth.

Even if your child is below the outer boundaries for weight and height, this isn't necessarily time to be concerned. Your health visitor will be keeping a close eye on your child's development, and as long as they are feeding, growing, and putting weight on fairly steadily, there's no need to worry. Statistically it is almost impossible for your child to be spot on the average. In fact it is possible that when recording average weights of children in a group of one hundred that not one single baby is actually the average weight. It’s nonsense to assume that anything other than average is abnormal.

A Health Visitor will regularly check your baby's health

By about six months old your child will have pretty much doubled their birth weight, and you'll start to wonder what all the fuss was about!

Travelling with a baby for the first time?

Are you planning on travelling to visit friends or family, and you now have a baby or small child, what can you do to make the experience more bearable for everyone in the car?
If you have gained yourself a baby in the last few weeks or months then it may well be that this Spring/Summer sees you considering the challenges of driving a longer distance with a young child for the first time, so what can you do to help make your little one enjoy the journey, and for anyone else sharing the car to arrive at the other end without feeling the need to be immediately committed to an asylum?

Try to avoid this on your car journey

One of the first things to think about is the route, because this can make a great deal of difference. If you normally drive along ‘A’ roads and ‘B’ roads to avoid the motorway because they’re prettier and more interesting, you might want to rethink that strategy. Because your baby will be very low down they won’t be able to enjoy the scenery, and so the quickest, simplest route is usually best. It also means that there will be less for you to think about as far as the driving is concerned, which will be helpful. The other advantage of motorways is that there are service stations at regular intervals, which is always handy for any toilet breaks or refueling stops.

Refuel yourself and stop for toilet breaks at motorway services

This brings me on to another point, and that is about time. In fact two points on the subject of time. Firstly, double the estimated time for your journey. You’ll probably drive a little slower and a little smoother for one, but you’ll also have a great many more stops, and the stops you take will be more involved and longer than the quick loo stops you may have been accustomed to having in the past. Don’t let time become a pressure. The other point as far as time is concerned is to think carefully about when you drive. This includes both the day, and the time.

Obviously Fridays tend to be busier on the roads, especially before a holiday, but often Thursdays can be pretty deadly, with a lot of people thinking they can beat the traffic by going a day early. I usually plan to go two days early, which often works. As far as the time of day is concerned, I would generally discourage doing the one thing a great many people feel is the ‘obvious solution’, and drive at night. Yes, it means the roads are practically empty, and yes it means your baby is more likely to be asleep but there are two problems. First of all, unless you work night shifts your body clock won’t be used to you concentrating for hours at a time when you should normally be resting, and so there is a much greater chance of an accident. You’ll also find that if you drive at night, your baby will wake up the next morning with piles of energy, right when you feel like a sack of potatoes that’s been left out in the sun.

Would driving during the night be the safest option?

If you can take along some CDs of children’s music, theme songs and nursery rhymes then this will often be a good way of entertaining them, and having plenty of toys close to hand is helpful. If you’re driving by yourself then you may be tempted to hurl a whole mountain of toys in the back with them, but there is always the danger that they’ll become frustrated with the heap of toys and just want to have a bit of space.

Of course, if you can have another adult with you that is certainly preferable, and it’s even better if you can take turns driving while the other one entertains and looks after your baby. Make sure you take plenty of water and food, so you don’t have to browse the service station shops for overpriced stuff that may not be terribly well received. Always allow yourself time to stop, get out of the car and allow your little one to look about them. Staring at a car ceiling for hours is boring don’t forget! They may also get a bit hot and uncomfortable being strapped into the car seat for ages, so letting them get out, and giving them a nappy change even if they don’t need it will help them feel fresh and comfortable.

Make sure you baby is comfortable to ensure they travel easily

If you are wondering whether it’s a good idea or not travelling in a car on a long journey with a baby, I would say that as long as you feel confident with doing the journey, go for it. If your child becomes used to travelling from a young age then they’re more likely to develop into good travellers as they get bigger, not that your efforts will in any way reduce the regularity with which the bored strain will hammer its way to you from the back seat, “are we nearly there yet?”

Waterless No Rinse Wash Kit - Review

As a big lover of all things quick and easy to use, especially when it comes to my daily routine, I jumped at the chance to test our new product here at Baby Security, the Waterless No Rinse Wash kit.

Waterless No Rinse Wash Kit

I’m already a massive fan of dry shampoo and I regularly use the type that you spray directly onto your hair. However, there are two drawbacks. First being that it leaves your head with a cloud of white powder just sitting stagnant on top of your head,which does have to be dusted off.

The dust from the spray dry shampoo

Sounds easy enough, a little bit of dusting off, however the colour tint can be a bit of a pain. As you can see, it leaves your fingers brown, dirty, powdery and it irritatingly gets right under your nails, something that is never a good look. So, the No rinse Wash Kit really tickled my fancy, I wanted to see how and if in fact worked!

Brunette dye from the dry shampoo    after dusting off

First of all, I dived in for the No rinse shampoo as this was the product I was most sceptical about. Now being the clumsy person that I am, I managed to completely miss my hair and pour it down my face, passing my eye. Well good news, it didn’t sting! (although this is highly un-recommended). The shampoo itself looks like water, yet smells divine; a zesty-ness of fruity fresh apples enlightened my sense of smell!  After putting a generous amount of the shampoo onto my hair, it really began to feel like I was washing my hair in the shower; the light fluffy foam was melting through my fingers.

How the Waterless Shampoo foamed up

I was also quite shocked at how quick it began to foam up just on dry hair with no water! I then simply towel dried my hair, left it and voila, it was done! My hands were not left sticky and I could smell the apple fresh scent sneak around my head every time I turned.

Before I used the Waterless Shampoo

I really was pleasantly surprised, and even more surprised at how it left my hair looking. I didn’t look flat; it was left almost gleaming and looked really fresh and clean.

After I used the Waterless Shampoo

Secondly, I tried the hand santiser. I was a little shocked to see it come out as foam! As it’s a liquid in the bottle and all the previous hand santisers I have ever used have been a cold see through like liquid, I was pleasantly surprised to see light fluffy foam.

The foam from the hand sanitiser

Only a little was needed to completely coat my hand which was great, so it would defiantly last a long time. Again, it smelt lovely, in fact like a really nice body wash. The santiser left my hands soft and it almost felt like I had just moisturised them! They were not even the slightest sticky and they stayed smelling fresh for even longer than expected! Another great little product from the Waterless Wash Kit.


I then became curious about the wipes. How could such a little firm ball turn into a soft wipe? To be honest I was expecting that when I poured the body wash on top of the firm wipe, it would explode out and be ready to use like a magic trick, but it didn’t, it just simply grew a little taller.

Before the Body Wash Was Added

So I began to unravel the wipe and again I was shocked to see how a) how sizable the wipe was and b) how soapy it became.

After the body wash was added onto the wipe

With the body wash added onto the wipe, it smelt refreshing and they were also lovely and soft against my skin. The wipe was also very durable and did not begin to break up or rip. Perfect for a quick freshen up, you couldn’t really ask for more!

The soapiness of the wipe

Lastly, left to test was the body wash. This was where I roped in my reluctant boyfriend to help me. The reason why I wanted to use him as my little guinea pig was because he has super sensitive skin. Literally if there are any chemicals in his body wash, he begins itching really quickly, it’s terribly uncomfortable for him and he comes out in a terrible little rash almost instantly.So he had a go using the body wash and he was completely shocked. No rash, no itchiness nor burning! He said that the body wash made his skin feel ‘lovely and soft to touch’. It didn’t feel sticky and he loved the smell, which he described as ‘fresh and clean’.  He liked it so much so, he wanted to keep it for himself!


Overall the Waterless Wash Kit is an absolutely fantastic product and I would recommend it to anybody! It’s pleasantly surprising and a delight to use.  The water less wash kit would be great for new mums who have just been through a difficult labour and as they may find it painful going into the shower, the kit will enable the mother to wash in the comfort of her bed. The Waterless Wash Kit is also suitable for days at the beach, camping, holidays, festivals & fates with children and much more!

Bees, bugs and mosquitoes, cats, dogs and older siblings all present something of a risk to your little baby, and whilst you can’t wrap them in cotton wool, there is something available that’s almost as good.
If you and your baby are outside in the garden, or even inside with the windows open, or perhaps out at the park with the family having a picnic, they are at risk from various bugs and insects. Although many of them are harmless, a mosquito bite could be extremely painful for a young baby and their need to scratch it could result in a nasty wound. Not to mention it will also cause a great deal of distress to both you and your baby. Of course during the summer months, wasps can be much worse and with babies often being rather sticky and having a tendency to flap about, there’s a very real risk of them being stung.

Protect your baby on family picnics from any nasty bugs & insects

Furthermore, pets at home can also be a risk by either accidentally scratching your baby, or jumping around nearby. Also at the park dogs may still represent a danger, since you don’t
know if that dog running across the park towards you is playing a friendly game, or could potentially be a threat. Even older siblings dashing about the house, throwing toys around or feeling an impossible to resist urge for the need to poke their younger baby brother or sister. As you can’t fully control every minute of the time they’re in the room together.

Older siblings may throw around toys near your baby

So how can you protect your baby from all of these different risks? The answer is not to wrap them in bubble wrap but to cover them with the extremely safe and highly practical Safety Dome Cover Me Baby pod.
The Cover Me is a simple idea, brilliantly designed, with practicality and ease of use in mind. It’s designed for parents, by parents, and that makes all the difference. The Safety Pod is basically a pop up dome which has completely see-through soft mesh sides which allow a 360 degree vision for both the baby inside and for you outside.

Cover Me Safety Dome Baby Pod

The whole Safety Dome comes in a bag that’s about an inch high and not much larger than a dinner plate in circumference, yet with a flick of the wrist the whole thing snaps instantly into a lightweight but very strong tent which can be placed over your baby either when they’re in a rocker chair, bouncy chair, on a play mat, or simply on the floor or a rug. The Cover Me simply slips over them, offering immediate protection from all of the risks above. It gives them their own little world, without being disconnected or shut off from the wider world around them.
It’s incredibly lightweight, yet very resilient, preventing any nasty insects or bugs from getting close to your little one’s delicate skin, stopping pets from getting too close, putting off older siblings from poking and prodding, and even stopping flung toys from hitting your baby. For either a busy vibrant home with elder siblings or a day out at the park whilst enjoying a picnic, the Baby Pod is an ideal solution.
The Cover Me Baby Pod folds away incredibly easily too – just a quick pull on the four edges and the whole thing folds up and slips back in to the zippered carry bag. Then it can be stuffed under the settee, slipped into the side of a picnic bag or popped into the boot of the car. It takes up almost no space, and weighs very little.
Retailing at only £29.99, the Safety Dome Baby Pod is the sort of versatile solution that once you’ve got one you will never know how on earth you managed without it before.