Barley and Birch poppy top

If you've been wondering what to buy as a shower gift for that pregnant person in your life, look no further. This is it. It is the perfect onesie from Barley and Birch. In fact... if it came in adult sizes I might be tempted to say it is the perfect tshirt... but yet again, the babies get all the best designs. This one ticks all the boxes being made from organic cotton and water based inks. Seriously, perfect.

Rustic wooden storage box on wheels

I've just moved in to a new house and the decorating is almost finished... so now I get to do the fun stuff, like picking out new toy boxes! This one is certainly a lot more stylish than the giant coloured plastic baskets we've been using up until now. It's not even crazily priced... but it is in the UK which is about as far away from my house as you can get. I wonder if I could make one... hmmmm. I'll investigate and get back to you....

Fauna tees

A print stylish enough to grace anyone's tshirt, I think... boys, girls and grown ups alike, it works! It seems to be becoming almost standard for beautiful things to be 100% organic cotton... and these silk screened shirts are no exception. Hooray! Along with the amazingly detailed gorilla print, you can also choose from rabbits, seahorses, puppies and pigeons... a slightly strange animal selection but they are beautiful to look at.

Candela Luau night light

I think this just might be the ultimate in night lights... cordless, whimsical shape, portable... perfect! It even has a dimmer switch! Buuuut... it has an imperfect price tag... coming in at way over $300 this is not cheap. So, lets put this in the luxury-gifts-from-generous-doting-grandparents pile, huh? It's stocked on the excellent Where Did You Get That site... definitely worth a look.

Sharon Montrose prints

I love these prints by Sharon Montrose... I'm looking for pictures to go on the nursery walls in our new house. We move in a few weeks! So rather than delve into the serious business of packing or arranging for the utilities to be transferred I'm thinking about fun things... like decor! There are so many choices out there but these are pretty high up on my shortlist. I like the idea of having real animals on the walls and am thinking about a triptych along one wall... I think it could work! Now... I suppose I should look for some packing boxes.

Picture Me growth chart

There are plenty of height chart options out there but I think this one offers something new and quite clever. The chart has slots to add pictures of your little one as they grow. What appeals to me is that its something you can take with you if you move... I love the idea of marking up a doorway with my daughter's height but we are just about to move house and if I didn't use a height chart I would lose those memories. This is my solution!

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds singing toys

I'm back! Finally I have returned... leaving the UK summer for the cold, cold New Zealand winter. I'm glad to be back but blimey its cold!

So this post is about the last great thing I spotted before I left the UK... we went to the Tate Modern for a wander and on the way in we passed the RSPB folks - they had their telescopes trained on the turbine tower where a peregrine falcon has been nesting for quite some time. They sell these amazing singing soft toys... the peregrine falcon is cuddle worthy and makes an authentic squawk when squeezed. It's a fairly intense noise... I think I prefer the robin. They have all the british birds you can think of and would make great gifts for the new babies in your life. They are amazingly reasonably priced... you could get a set!

Sugarloop artwork

How many prints can I fit on the nursery wall? Probably not as many as I think... I've come across these lovely prints to brighten up a room... this artwork is produced by Auckland based artist Bernadette Sipkes aka Sugarloop and comes in excellent bright colours featuring cool stylized animals and jungle scenes. Buy NZ made!

Rockin ABC blocks from Beebles

Oooooh graffiti buildings blocks... perfect for all the hipster types keen to demonstrate their down-with-the-kids parenthood status. I like these blocks but I wonder if my daughter will be able to decode the images... I'm thinking, yes. She already seems smarter than me. Each block has a different letter on each side and they come in sets of 26.

Baby cellphone by Brio

Baby's first cellphone? I know what you're thinking, but before you dismiss this as a bad idea think about it... does your little one always try to grab and chew your mobile when you try to use it? My daughter is obsessed with mine... and I've heard those things are bad for tiny developing brains so I try to keep her as far away from it as possible. I bought a toy version ahead of our recent long haul flight and it had the essential distraction factor. I got ours from Babystar in Wellington and it had a cool record your voice feature... I can't find the exact model online but this one from Brio looks pretty interesting.

Multifunction urban Taga trike and stroller in one

Finally! I've arrived in England! Flying alone with a baby is far from fun but it could have been worse. My daughter entertained our fellow travellers with giggles and clapping during our 24 hour flight...

So now I've had a chance to look around... naturally this place is FULL of amazing baby and child focused things... pretty much every store carries a baby line of some kind. One of the best things I've seen so far is this stroller cycle from Taga. This version was just launched at the Design Museum in London the other day... it can carry you and up to two children plus shopping. This clever number is a trike that converts to a stroller with just a few twists... if you're still feeling unimpressed then consider this - you could ride into town on a strudy trike with the wee one in front of you instead of using a wobbly bike with your child strapped behind you out of sight. When you reach the library or the park you switch mode and push the stroller around. Extra cool features include a brake (such an obviously useful addition), wet weather covers and tilting seats so your little one can sleep on the go. I want one!

Thula Thula bespoke playsuit

Guess what arrived in the mail this morning! This absolutely gorgeous playsuit by Thula Thula... I found this seller on the Made It website and became obsessed with this little number. The woman behind the label is Naomi and she makes gorgeous things (to order if you ask nicely) and has a new line coming out soon. I'm just about to head off overseas for a family visit and this little suit is perfect for summer frolics. Best dressed baby award heading my way I think...

Green apple shoes from Pedrosprout

Oh, the cuteness! Some funky little shoes from a Brisbane seller called Pedrosprout. The shoes are fully lined with no exposed seams... made from, get this, kunin ecospun... what's this I hear you ask? Well, the website says this is a material made from 100% certified recycled plastic bottles! Wow... really? My old water bottles can become these shoes? A-mazing!

Banjo puppets

These puppets make me smile... they're another find from the One of a Kind site. I'm not going to go in to the fact that they remind me of characters from a very popular puppet-based show... no accusations here, I think they're awesome. The plastic arm rods are removable which makes them nice and safe for the wee ones. I'm pretty sure that me dancing around with the puppet will cause much hilarity at home... I need to practice my puppet voices.

Alimrose bird mobile

Oooooh a 3D mobile! Well, I know most mobiles are 3D but the images hanging from them are often only 2D... and this is pretty! The Alimrose mobile would look great over any baby crib... and I know my daughter would be totally transfixed... I think I might be a little transfixed myself. Alimrose is an Australian company... another team of mothers getting creative. It's such a shame that you only really need one of these sorts of things... I already have a lovely mobile. Maybe next time...

Blocks and jigsaws by Fidoodle

We got a present! Some friends have just returned from Canada and they brought us back some city mini building blocks made by Toronto company Fidoodle. These are great... my daughter isn't quite able to stack them yet but she loves to watch me knock down towers and she's very fond of chewing on them. What I really like are the amazing double-sided designs... they are simple but very different from the usual suspects you see around... and not too cutesy! Lucky for us they are for sale on etsy so you don't have to trek to Toronto.

Bloom baby lounger

Pretty! This rocker comes in lots of colour ways but I think this one is my favourite... the idea of using cream coloured leather for a baby seems luxurious to me... and perhaps a tiny bit foolish. It's certainly a LOT prettier than our baby lounger at home. My daughter is not what you might call a mover... slow to roll and even slower to crawl so I haven't had to use our rocker much, but a friend who's son does amazing commando crawling along the floor at quite a pace swears by hers. Good for when you want to take a shower and don't want to leave the little one unattended.

Blik wall decals featuring Threadless designs

Clever clever clever! I'm a big fan of Threadless... if you haven't heard of this company before, it's an excellent online tshirt store where all the designs are submitted by you, the community. If your design scores highly it gets printed and you get paid! And now, they have paired up with Blik to turn the designs into pretty stunning wall art. I love how the moon image above pops from the wall. It's such a cool way to edit the look of the nursery without spending too much cash. You never know, maybe it will be your design that makes it to the printing stage...

Twinkle Wrap favour box kits

I really like this idea... Twinkle Wrap have come up with a nifty way to package the little goodie bags given out at birthday parties. Ecological consciousness is very important to these guys and they use materials that are about as safe as anything can be, with a stringent certification process that tests for over 100 harmful chemicals. So why not get something a little bit different for your party favours? This creative bunch also do some amazing matching onesies... they'd be super cute on twins but I'd happily buy the set just for my daughter.

Cranky Pants from Mahar Dry Goods

OK... time to post about one of my favourite sites... Mahar Dry Goods sell a great collection of vintage and artisan crafted items and is well worth a browse. What do you think of these woolly cranky pants? Personally I think they're lovely... they are hand knitted by a woman who has set up a fairtrade wool supply from Peru. Do you ever wonder where all these arty people get their energy from? It must take so much work! Anyway... if you need more convincing just imagine your wee one crawling around with a monster face on their bottom.