How great are your Padraig slippers? Tell us and win!

Here at Born we love Padraig slippers.   We love pretty much everything about them - from the care with which they're made to the wonderful colours available.  In fact we'd go as far as to say that they alone make Autumn our favourite season!

So in our mission to spread the good word about Padraigs, we want owners of Padraigs to help us tell others about how great they are.  And if you think they're not so great we'd love to hear from you as well.

So if you'd like to share your thoughts and review your pair simply click on the link below and click the 'add a review button' on the Padraig page.

Visit the Padraig slippers page

And as a way of saying thanks one reviewer will be randomly picked (usually by Jake, aged 9, whose our official competition picker) to win a Born voucher worth £30.  Just in time for Christmas!

The closing date for this competition is midnight of November 30th - but remember all reviewers go into a monthly draw as well so even if you miss the deadline you can still win next month.

Five gentle books to free your parenting

It's Parents' Week and to celebrate, Eva is taking us through five of her favourite parenting books. Hopefully, you'll find something here to inspire and reassure you, whether you're expecting for the first time or you have an older child.



The Baby Book
by William and Martha Sears
This book was my bible when Maya was a baby. I would pick it up to refer to it whenever I needed to check something out or needed help or reassurance. It’s also the book that I give to any friends expecting their first baby. As it is a gentle parenting book, you won’t find tips on ‘cry-it-out’ here.

The authors William and Martha Sears, as well a being medical professionals (he’s a paediatrician and she’s a nurse), are parents to eight children and grandparents too. So, they speak from professional and practical experience. I’m always amazed when so called ‘experts’ write books on childcare or even breastfeeding and they don’t have children themselves.

The Sears' Seven B’s are perfect foundation stones for any new parent and make perfect sense: birth bonding, breastfeeding, babywearing, bedding close to baby, belief in the language value of your baby's cry, beware of baby trainers and balance.

You can find out more about William and Martha Sears on their website.



The Continuum Concept
by Jean Liedloff
I read this book after Maya was born as it was talked about in the Attachment Parenting communities that I was part of. It’s not really a parenting book, more of an anthropological study of how people left to their own devices parent.

The author Jean Leidloff describes her observations of a South American Native Indian tribe and how they respected the natural continuum of a human baby, allowing it to grow and develop at it’s own pace and how the child fit into the adults' lives rather than the parents upturning their lives to fit around the child.

I suppose in cultures where having babies and being around children are natural parts of daily existence it is easier to absorb a new person into everyday life. Perhaps it's not so easy when the culture is not geared up for children, which unfortunately seems to be how Western culture can be sometimes.

It’s by no means a ‘to do’ book but it's definitely food for thought and got me to think about how kids are pretty resilient beings and not to mollycoddle them all the time, and to get on with my own life.

And the most important lesson was that children will imitate what they see. That’s how they are wired to learn. In all things - if it’s cooking, cleaning, etc - they will just do what they see. That includes being happy, confident and fearless – if you are that then so will they be.

Read more about the Continuum Concept on The Liedloff Continuum Network.



Birth and Beyond
by Dr Yehudi Gordon
This is a perfect book for anyone wanting to know everything about pregnancy, birth and early parenting.

Dr Yehudi Gordon was at a talk that I went to in Bristol, along with Ina May Gaskin. I was struck by his humility and compassion in the way he talks about taking care of a pregnant woman and her baby.

He has also worked lots with Janet Balaskas, founder of the Active Birth Movement and is now involved with Babies Know, an organisation I think is doing amazing things to raise awareness about how early baby care shapes an adult.

How we parent in those early months and years really does impact on adulthood. We’re only now beginning to realise and put into practice attachment theory and understand the importance of a gentle birth experience, or if that wasn’t the experience for the baby or mother, identify what can be done to heal the process.

As a mother of a now-teenager, we recently had first hand experience of how unresolved birth trauma can manifest later on in life when Maya went through an uncharacteristic solemn period. Luckily, we were able to get the support she needed through my trusted network of specialists.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to control or change her birth but it was possible to deal with the issues that came up so that they could be released from her facia, which is where unresolved trauma is held.

Read more about Dr Yehudi Gordon.



How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk
by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
This book completely changed the way I talked (and listened) to Maya. It was a revelation to me and made me wonder why all teachers and people caring for children weren’t given this as obligatory reading.

As a parent, it made me realise that so much of they way I spoke to Maya was just how my parents spoke to me. But that’s not unusual about how we parent in general because unless we bring conscious awareness to our parenting we will pretty much do exactly what our parents did.

In fact I used (and still use) some of the techniques when talking to adults too. One of the criticisms of the Attachment Parenting Community can be that parents don’t set boundaries for their children. That's omething that this book is very clear they need and I tend to agree. So if that is a problem for you – you need this book!

Read more about Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.



No Cry Sleep Solution
by Elizabeth Pantley
This book wasn’t around when Maya was a baby. If it had been, I probably would have had fewer interrupted nights than I needed. Thankfully, I did read it when I had Jacob five years later and I learnt a few invaluable tips about night feeding and night waking which meant that we all got longer lengths of uninterrupted sleep.

Elizabeth Pantley also has a host of other useful books and great info on her website about mindful parenting.

Coffee for mums, cloth nappies for babies' bums

Our Bristol store was overtaken on Wednesday by mums, babies and lots of cloth nappy chat for our nappuccino. We loved it! In fact, we've put a few photos up on our Facebook page.

Andrea from itti bitti came to answer questions and take mums through the range. She also gave everyone an itti bitti wet bag with a Rockin' Green detergent sample inside and we ran a special offer on itti bitti tuttos.

Bristol Cloth Nappy Library was also there, setting up a display with just about every nappy you could wish to explore and answering more general questions that our nappuccino mums had. The Library is a non-profit organisation dedicated to helping parents get started with cloth.

Quite a range of mums were present, from mums who'd never tried cloth nappies to real nappy veterans. We got some muffins and biscuits out, poured the teas and coffees and generally had a fun, fluffy morning.

That's not it for the nappuccino fun though. London is next. The itti bitti nappuccino hits our London store at 11.30am on Wednesday 14th November. See the Facebook event for more details and see you there!

Signs that Autumn is here

Children often make us slow our pace and really appreciate the change of seasons. We notice more. The everyday gains importance. Colder weather, falling leaves and richer food take on new meaning and inspire traditions for the families we've created.

Here at Born, we've got our own signs that tell us that Autumn is here.

More coughs and colds
When is it not flu season? True, but we definitely see more people reaching for natural cold remedies for babies and kids at this time of year.

Take a tip from the Aborigines and use eucalyptus as a decongestant. Throw in tea tree oil, wintergreen and peppermint. Leave the nasty petrochemicals behind.

We recommend Throat and Chest Balme by Songbird Naturals.  This is amazingly effective stuff, so much so that for a little baby we suggest you mix it 50/50 with a carrier of some kind, either the Tui Bee Balm, coconut oil or even olive or sunflower cooking oils.

More splashing
We've had some seriously rainy days recently, especially outside our Bristol store. It always seems the way that if you're a fair weather fiend, your child is destined to be a puddle magnet.

Arm yourself for the inevitable, we say. We love these Lolly Pop wellies by Aigle. They're flexible and soft for developing feet, latex on the outside, cotton on the inside and designed to last and last.



More cuddling
Autumn is all about snuggling beneath a comfy blanket, especially after a romp outdoors in the cold. If you've been on a walk with your baby, it might be time for some skin-to-skin reconnection.

A pretty blanket can only help. We're currently gushing over this Purple Owl Baby Blanket by David Fussenegger. It's great for keeping you and your baby warm during night feeds and possibly a perfect gift for a newborn.

Baby not walking yet? We've noticed lots of mums bundling their littles up and braving the great British weather.

Throw some stylish snuggling at your cold weather buggy walks with an Explorer Waterproof Buggy Snuggle or, if you have a Bugaboo, the new High Performance Footmuff will see you all the way through winter. Then the rain becomes an invitation, not a deterrent.

More layers
It's great being able to strip off during the summer but there's something about pulling on the layers when the weather gets cold again. When you're dressing your child too, it's double the fun.

We just can't get over how stylish, soft and cuddly this Long Sleeve Knitted Cotton Cardigan Rosa by Noa Noa Miniature Baby is! It's all cotton with mother-of-pearl buttons and designed to make any outfit Autumn-ready.

Of course, we can hardly talk about layers without mentioning Padraig Cottage slippers. They seem to have achieved cult status among our customers.

Made with pure New Zealand wool, dyed and crotched by hand in Canada and machine washable, anyone can see why. They'll last your child a fair while too.



Over to you – what are your signs that Autumn is here?

Birth and bonding do matter

I haven't read the book (yet!) but Fifty Shades of Grey seems to be everywhere.

I recently read Fifty Shades of Grey Matter - what does a racy bestseller have to do with infant brain development? by Dr. Suzanne Zeedyk. I found out about her a couple of weeks ago at the Stokke launch day.

She's produced a DVD called The Connected Baby, which we will be hosting a screening for sometime soon (so watch this space).

I find it fascinating that we're only just beginning to hear more in the media about the connection between birth, early attachment, less crime, less depression and more happiness. At least it's finally getting into the mainstream that birth and bonding do matter.

There are some fascinating resources out there, not least Suzanne's DVD, but for now why not start by watching Bruce Lipton's video for free from our listing site?

It's 2 hours long but well worth it.

Love, Eva.

What's the best baby carrier for me?

Nothing's quite like coming into one of our stores for a sling fitting but here's a quick run down of our favourite carriers and why we love them. We've chosen nine of the best carriers for nine of your everyday situations:


1. The Moby wrap
We call it: "Best for newborns"


2. The ERGObaby Baby Carrier
We call it: "Best for toddlers"


3. The Manduca Baby Carrier
We call it: "Best for parents of different sizes"


4. Buckle carriers (ERGObaby Sport Baby Carrier pictured)
We call it: "Best for long walks"


5. The BB Ring Sling by Babylonia
We call it: "Best for breastfeeding"


6. The Caboo Carrier by Close Parent
We call it - "Best for plus-size parents"


7. Stokke® MyCarrier
We call it - "Best for gadget loving dads"


8. The ERGObaby Performance Edition
We call it: "Best for smaller parents"


9. Organic carriers (ERGObaby Organic Baby Carrier pictured)
We call it: "Best for Eco-parents"

If you can't come to our stores but would like to talk through our carriers a bit more, you can always call or email us.

Remember, we've got special offers on for Babywearing Week as well as a Facebook giveaway to win sling accessories. Keep on slinging!

How to carry your baby safely and comfortably by Juliana Hounsfield

Yesterday, I (Eva) shared what osteopath Juliana Hounsfield of The Family Practice in Bristol told me about how babywearing benefits parents and babies. I also asked Juliana how we can be sure that we're carrying our babies safely and comfortably. She gave her thoughts:

"At the Family Practice, we see many adults who come in as a result of caring for children.

There are so many ways in which adults hurt their backs or necks while caring for their babies and young children, especially as parents are often tired, lacking time to stay fit, strong and flexible.

However, there are a few ways in which we can make life with babies and children easier and help them avoid hurting themselves.

Make sure your sling is well-fitted
I believe that using a well-fitted sling that goes over both shoulders, with the baby or child facing the parent, can reduce injury, pain and fatigue suffered by parents.

The adult can then carry their child all day if they desire. The sling helps distribute the babies weight evenly. By keeping the baby close, the postural muscles of the body work less hard to keep you upright. The further away a baby is from the adult's centre of gravity, the quicker the adult will fatigue and suffer from strain.

The sling must be fitted so that the baby doesn't wobble when you lean forward. It must be high enough to support the baby's head. Only then will the parent and child move freely and symmetrically, so they can be symptom-free.



Your carrier must satisfy your baby's criteria
1. High and supportive enough to hold the head well
2. Tight enough to hold the baby close to your chest
3. Allowing knees and hips to be at approximately 90 degrees

The baby has a heavy head in comparison to its body. At first, it is unable to hold the head by itself. As a child gets older, the sling must still be able to hold the head if the child falls asleep, to prevent straining the neck.

The spine needs to be supported so that the baby doesn’t slouch and compress its chest and abdomen.

A baby in your arms will naturally pull its legs up and straddle your body. The legs get pulled up to support the baby's body and balance. When using a sling, the same should be possible. This agrees with the baby's anatomical make-up and supports proper hip development.

(Eva: The TICKS Rules for Safe Babywearing * is a great reference guide for anyone wanting to carry their baby)

A special note about hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is a comprehensive term that has been used to include a spectrum of related developmental hip problems in infants and children, often present at birth.

It can be either congenital (CHD) or developmental (DDH). It occurs when the top of the femur (leg bone) is not properly located in the hip socket or not located where the hip socket is expected to develop.

It is well-known that in cultures that practice infant swaddling and using cradle boards to carry their babies, the incidence of hip dysplasia is very high.

On the other hand, cultures that carry their babies astride the mother's backs have a low incidence of hip dysplasia.

Hence, it appears logical to discourage putting the baby's legs in the extended position and to keep baby's hips spread apart. This latter position places the head of the femur (the ball) against the acetabulum (the socket), and encourages deepening of the socket.

A good sling will give you a tool for enabling your child to journey painlessly with you throughout the day, passively going where you go, doing what you do, hearing what you say, seeing how you react and feeling your heart beat.

Your child will be part of your life but protected from it too. The sling will give your baby the chance to wake up slowly, to become aware of the world in its own time, whilst learning the rhythms and movements of life through the parent."




Love, Eva.

* TICKS was co-written by Born's Buyer Becky Ward

Why is babywearing so good for you and your baby?

Babywearing Week started yesterday so I (Eva) had a quick chat Juliana Houndsfield, osteopath at The Family Practice on the Gloucester Road in Bristol about the benefits of babywearing.

Juliana is a mother of three young boys. She treats women in pregnancy as well as post-birth, and treats their babies too. Here's what she had to say about how healthy babywearing is:

Babywearing promotes successful breastfeeding
"At The Family Practice, we often see mothers with a lot of tightness between their shoulder blades. They go on to have problems with engorged breasts or problems breastfeeding.

If they are carrying their baby one-sided, they get stiff on one side which means that the drainage is not so good.

For breastfeeding mothers, it is my opinion that it is most important to keep the neck, thoracic spine, shoulders, pectoral muscles mobile.

They need to have free hands and be able to swing arms to improve the blood supply. This promotes good drainage of the breast tissue for good milk production and successful, pain-free feeding, without mastitis or blockages.



A supportive carrier balances parents
"A sling allows parents to have their arms and shoulders free. They move their whole upper body much better and do things in a balanced way.

If you cannot move your arms when you walk, everything is uneven - you cannot move symmetrically or mobilise your shoulders back and neck. Pushing a pram or carrying a car seat has the same effect. We can’t use our arms if they are holding on to a pram.

When we are holding something, we cannot swing our arms and get that even flow of blood we need. We are prone to giving ourselves little problems that can become bigger problems.

By using a sling, adults can carry their children all day if so desired. The sling helps distribute the baby's weight evenly. By keeping the baby close, the postural muscles of the body work less hard to keep you upright. The further away a baby is from your centre of gravity, the quicker you will fatigue and suffer from strain.

We see a lot of people with tight upper, mid and lower back issues after carrying car seats or from putting them on their hips (the pectoral muscles are clenched the whole time). When carrying their baby on the front or back these muscles are free to move."

Carrying your baby helps you psychologically
"Having free hands is quite important psychologically. It makes people feel like they are coping a little better. They can do so much more. When your baby is happy and on you, it makes a difference to your mental health to know that you are managing OK.

Slings are incredibly enabling. I still use my ERGObaby carrier with my three-year-old, and my Moby Wrap was fantastic when my boys were small."



Wearing your baby in the right sling promotes good growth
"If they are in a car seat, they, their spine and their muscles are still. They can move their arms and legs but not terribly much.

Osteopathy is all about movement. When a baby is in a sling, it is constantly being moved around. Muscles are being moved. A body needs movement to grow. In a car seat they aren’t moving. As they can’t move themselves they need to have it done for them which is why baby carrying in a good sling is so important.

A tight sling, like swaddling, is good for a baby. A little compression gives the baby’s muscles something to do and that’s important for growth.

Babies can’t hold their head, neck, spine and pelvic floor themselves so the sling needs to do it. It’s really important that the sling does this well.

Parent-facing in a sling benefits your baby emotionally
"When babies are in carseats, they are not being shielded from anything. They are often at fume-level of cars if in a stroller and overstimulated. It’s important to keep baby inward-facing for the same reason.

Most babies love being carried in a sling. If they aren’t comfortable it’s important to find out why. It could be because of their birth or just that you have the wrong sling.

For babies, it's important to be close to mum for those first nine months. During that time they are still part of you and need the reassurance of a heartbeat, voice and body warmth.

I feel that there are so many advantages to using a sling to carry babies and children. As long as the adult is well advised in the choice of sling and helped when first using it to make sure that the baby is held high and close enough, there should not be any discomfort."



Tomorrow on the blog, Juliana will tell us more about healthy ways to carry our babies.

Remember, we've got offers on for Babywearing Week and a giveaway on our Facebook page to win brilliant sling accessories. Happy Babywearing Week!
Love, Eva.

10 things to do before the baby comes

This may not be the kind of list you fully appreciate until your baby's second or third week. It's certainly not prescriptive. You have enough people with opinions on what you should and shouldn't do from the time you announce that you're pregnant.

Take from it what's useful, smile at the rest and tell us what you think.

1. Turn the television off
There are a lot of programs on at the moment which seem designed to scare women. Turn them off and look for something that helps you think positively about birth and your body. You might consider taking an antenatal class, for instance.

2. Celebrate pregnancy
This will be the only time that you are pregnant with this baby. Why not make a memory of it? There are so many options for celebrating, from bump henna to maternity photoshoots.

3. Consider your birth options
Think about where you'd feel most comfortable giving birth and discuss a “plan” with your birth partner but stay open to change.

4. Sleep!
Enjoy your weekend lie-ins. Any of us with small children miss them.

5. Read
Read about pregnancy and birth, breastfeeding, and the baby months. There's a lot of information out there. Take what feels good to you. Take what makes you feel strong.

6. Stock up on snacks
Specifically, you'll want to have lots of snacks that you can eat one-handed. If you're breastfeeding, you might want to distribute them in places you're likely to be sitting for a while.

7. Get the nursery ready
Even if your baby doesn't end up sleeping there, now is your chance to get it all organised so you're not hunting madly for muslin cloths the first time he brings his milk back up.

8. Find your “tribe”
Think about where your support system is going to be. Parenting, like most things, is better when you've got a community around you.

9. Go to the cinema
Go see something loud. Go out late into the night. It might be a while. That said, look out for mother and baby viewings at your local cinema.

10. Make a baby list
Or look at ours. To save even more time and money, book in a personal shopping slot. We'll take you through everything from bra fitting to sorting a gift list to chatting about appropriate practitioners to support your parenting journey.

To be honest, we could easily have continued this list to two hundred . Ten seemed a good, solid figure to stop at. What would you add?

Six things every parent should know about cloth nappies

Thinking about giving cloth nappies a go but still a little unsure? With our Nappuccino coming up, we thought we'd chat real nappies.

Eva used washables with her own children when they were babies and spends a lot of time thinking about cloth here at Born. She's even written "The Real Nappy Guide" used by councils across the country. So, we'd say she knows a thing or two!

When we asked her to tell us what every parent considering cloth nappies needed to know, she came up with these six golden points:

"1. Changing cloth nappies is easy

They have moved on leaps and bounds from the old-style terry squares, pins and PVC pants that were used a generation ago.

Modern real nappies are fastened with Velcro or poppers, or are shaped so no folding is required and waterproof covers are polyester and breathable.

They can be made from a variety of fabrics including cotton, ultra-absorbent bamboo and hemp or fast drying microfibre.

2. Cloth nappies will save you money (even if you only use them part time!)

On average, you will save £600 using washables over disposable nappies. That's just with the first child. The more children you have that use the nappies, the more you save.

3. Cloth nappies are stylish

There are so many trendy designs of nappies that, nowadays, they are a fashion statement. Brands like itti bitti are sought after for their bright colours, prints and cuddle factor.



 5. A few extra bits can make cloth nappies even easier

There are three parts to a real nappy, 1. The outer waterproof but breathable wrap, 2. the inner absorbent part and 3. the paper liner, usually made from strong but flushable paper.

The only other bits you might need are a nappy bucket and net, and a waterproof bag to store your wet nappies in when out.

 6. Washing cloth nappies is a breeze

Throw away or flush the paper nappy liner. Wet or soiled nappies get stored in a bucket with a lid and transferred to the washing machine for a rinse and spin to flush out the wee. Then put in other whites and wash on a 40 or 60 degree cotton wash. No need to boil!

Those are a few of the really important bits I've picked up along the way!

Love, Eva."



All our nappies are extensively tested by mums and babies who tell us what they really think, so we just know that you'll find something in our selection that suits both your budget and your lifestyle.

Come and meet other cloth nappy mums at our Nappuccinno. It hits our Bristol store on Thursday 14th October, 11.30-1.30. Bring your friends, grab a coffee and ask your hardest nappy questions. You'll meet Andrea from itti bitti and leave with a gorgeous free wet nappy bag, special offers and a couple of hours well-spent.

See our Nappuccino Facebook event for more details.