Summer Sale has started at Born

We've got some lovely bargains in our summer sale, like these gorgeous dresses from Noa Noa, and beautiful pieces for boys and girls from Frugi.

Home safety products for kids

Fritha Strickland has her own Blog - http://www.tigerlillyquinn.com/ She's also a customer and knows our ethos and products well, especially the Orbit Stroller for which she is a brand Ambassador.  Fritha's son Wilf if 18 months so the perfect age to be exploring his surroundings.  Born has just introduced a range of safety devices for home use, something we have considered over the years but were never quite sure if our customers would want them if they were practicing 'Continuum' style parenting.  However, as Fritha discusses and the sales prove, there is a need for these gadgets in the modern world we live in.
~ Eva



I first heard of the Continuum Concept in pregnancy. A friend of mine, training to be a midwife was reading the book written by Jean Liedloff and defined it as being ‘sort of like attachment parenting, but a little different’.  I made a mental note to read the book at some point and yet 18months after my son’s birth it still taunts me as yet another thing to tick off the ever growing list.

Despite not actually having read the book yet I am familiar after a little research into its ideas and practices. What I found most interesting about the concept it the idea that we are inbuilt with the concept of danger and that being the case babies will know how to avoid  falling off a cliff/down a hole etc.

Part of me loves the idea of letting babies and children grow up with an understanding of what is dangerous and trusting in their ability to understand this.  However the habitat the babies are raised in in the book (a South American jungle) is very different to a western environment.

Looking around my slightly (very) messy living room I see the stickle bricks strewn across the floor, the rug that could become a hazard for an excitable running toddler and the sharp corners of our coffee table. Our kitchen houses dishwasher rinse aid, floor cleaner and other cleaning products (although eco friendly) under the sink. Our hallways contains sockets and our stairs, although carpeted are steep and slippy.

My sister as a toddler ran full speed (as part of an exciting game I don’t doubt) into the living room, slipped and bashed into the corner of a chest.  It caused her a gash scarily close to her eye that is still visible 15 years later.

It is because of the above I suppose that we installed a lock on the kitchen and bathroom cupboards, a stair gate on the stairs and draw catchers on our knife drawers.

I like the idea of trusting your child’s in-built instincts for danger, but I feel for the price of a little pad on the corner of your coffee table it is simpler to have that piece of mind instead of the ‘what ifs’.

What do you think? Do you find all this safely equipment too much? Or do you think it is better to be safe than sorry?

~ Fritha

Helpful Gear for Holidays with Baby

The holiday season is now upon us.  If this is your first baby, going on holiday is a treat but also a chore to have to pack all of the things that go with taking baby with you.  Here are our top suggestions to make holidays easier with baby.



First thing in the morning after getting dressed apply sunlotion to all exposed skin.  At last we have had some decent weather, and long may it continue.  Green People Sunscreen is brilliant. The mini tubes are handy for your changing bag and if travelling abroad can go in hand luggage. £3.85 for the little 30ml tube and £15.95 for the large 150ml tube.  If you are going somewhere where there are biting insects we recomend using the Lavender sunlotion as this can help to deter them.

Of course the best way to avoid sun burn is to cover up.  We have a great range of light cotton t-shirts and baby clothing to keep your baby cool in the summer and particularly recommend these Frugi Legionnair hats that protect the back of the neck.

Going swimming? Why take lots of disposable swim nappies when you can just take one Happy nappy. Brilliant for swimming pools or the seaside. They can be used again and again and at only £10 will save you money and space in your suitcase.

The Green People After sun helps to keep the skin moisturised and definitely worth putting on in the evening after showering or having a bath with a £4.10 bottle of Earth friendly baby wash.  This extra mild but effective bath was is fantastic for the whole family. One bottle and everyone will be sorted. It's  great as a shower gel, in the bath and even hand wash.





Grab a carrier and ditch the pushchair. Take a lightweight carrier such as the Ergobaby Stowaway carrier for £94.90. It folds up tiny and is great for getting off the beaten track, plus so much less hassle than a buggy for public transport, not to mention the flight.

If you are going out in the evening and need to protect your baby from mosquito bites these Mosquito Patches are a must at £7 for 24. They contain natural citronella, eucalyptus and citriodora oils.  You will need 1 patch per person per night. They really work to deter mosquitos as does the Bug Balm by Tui worth getting and using on the extremities such as ankles and wrists.



For meal times, the Totseat at £25 is a really handy lightweight baby seat that converts any dining chair into a seat for your baby. Suitable from 8 month and folds into a tiny pouch, so fits easily into your changing bag.  Use in restaurants, at friends or whenever baby needs to eat.










For sleeping travel cots are great but its much easier just to have baby in bed with you plus you don't have to have extra bedding.  If you are going to take one we recommend the Phil & Teds Lightweight Travel Cot shown above. At only just over 3kg it won't take up your entire luggage allowance like some cots do. Also handy as a playpen when you are staying in places that aren't baby proof. Suitable from birth to 3 years. £129.95.



The Bundlebean at just £29.99 is an invaluable baby gadget that will be even more useful on holiday. It's a  five in one cover, fantastic for covering up when it gets windy or wet, plus it makes an excellent picnic blanket and changing mat. It can also be used as a blanket in the car or even as a cover on a child's bike seat.

If you do take the pushchair, make sure it's covered with a Shade a babe (£35). They keep the harmful UV rays and insects out, but don't stop baby from enjoying the view.

Have a great holiday!

Love Eva and the Team

Birth matters

Amanda Rayment introduces her new online training to us and answers the question 'Does birth matter?'

What a great title Eva has offered me as a guest blog. Some people would say 'yes Birth Matters!' Others may say 'no not for me'. As always we could gather evidence for both sides of the coin. As one of the tutors of an Antenatal Teachers Training programme, “Bringing Antenatal Teaching Home”, it would appear Birth does matter in my life. I am happy to have this opportunity to share how birth can be an opportunity to dive deeper into love.

The parent and child relationship offers us the potential to discover true freedom. Imagine for a moment being accepted and welcomed simply for the beauty of who you are. Imagine for a moment offering this gift of love to your child. This is the opportunity or the blessing that is available in every parent and child relationship.

The birth of a child could be called an involuntary action, by this I mean that birth is going to take place. We may not know how or when, or we may know how and when, either way it will occur. I often say life provides. The mother need do nothing, birth will occur. Many times there is a tendency to busy ourselves attending to the details or solving problems. In this busyness and doing it is easy to miss the blessing that is being offered. Our full attention often becomes distracted with the many details.

When parents make contact with this so called involuntary action it is often a very direct experience. I have heard parents say it is a ”very profound experience,” "it opened our hearts”, “it was full on”. It can be as if the mother has to draw upon a wisdom deep within her. Then rest in this existence while a huge physiological process occurs. This can be as profound for the father witnessing the process as the mother directly encountering the process. Sometimes through this experience a yearning arises to discover more of what demands our full attention, more contact with what I am calling 'life provides', more of our true nature.

I have discovered that birth doesn’t need defending or used as a grandiose symbol in our life. Of course we are all free to play in this way and this is neither right nor wrong. To leave birth alone is to loosen the chains, if you like of this enormous symbol in the story of the parent and child relationship. So why do I choose to train women as antenatal teachers?

*Birth can be a sign post to dive deeper in to love.

* Birth can be the catalyst in discovering that all the answers to your questions of responsibility as a parent are resting in your heart and the heart of your child. They share the same source.

*Birth asks of us our full attention, not in the sense of attending to external details. Our full attention is required in trusting our self, in trusting our child .If external circumstances need to be attended to let your heart guide you.

*Birth offers us the opportunity to discover our true nature is not dependent on external circumstances. By this I mean that the way in which we birth either “natural” or “medical” is neither right nor wrong. It is just the form, yes of course we may have preferences. If I go back to my words earlier, imagine being welcomed and accepted simply for the beauty of who we are. Why not let birth just be and focus our full attention on extending and receiving love. Love can both be expressed through a so called “natural birth” and a so called “medical birth”.

So in answer to the title of the blog, Birth matters, yes it matters not in the form that it appears. Birth matters in the sense that it is such a beautiful sign post to dive ever deeper into love. The opportunity for both parent and child to discover together the love that they both are.  How wonderful is that? I would also like to offer the thought, that the birth of a baby offers the opportunity to awaken tenderness and love within ourselves. And that those who offer themselves as assistance in this experience have exactly the same opportunity. If these thoughts call to you in some way we offer a training programme where you will be supported to offer antenatal, birth and postpartum work from your heart to the heart of the parents and babies who knock on your workroom door.

Thank you Eva for reminding us all that Birth matters and as always to express my gratitude for all your great work in this arena, there is so much information and assistance offered through this company Born, let’s all use it!

~ Love Amanda

Baby wearing conference

This weekend Becky and I attended the  European baby conference with Ergobaby. This is the first time we have had this event in the UK.

It was wonderfu to see such a wide variety of baby carriers in one place.  Not just on the exhibitor stands but also on all the parents who had come from far and wide to hear the excellent speakers and attend the workshops.

I was particular interested in the talks given by Dr Henrik Northolt about the affects baby wearing has on a person's emotional development. The research that proves that baby wearing is not just beneficial but almost essential for a child's development has been borne out by years of research, some of which Henrik shared with us during his talk.

As a store we have always promoted baby carrying not just for the convenience factor but because we think that it does make a difference to the long term well being of that baby, then child and ultimately adult. It's also the easiest way for a baby to attach to another human-being.

Have a look at some of the benefits of baby wearing

Birth as a sacred journey; training in Bristol

This article has been moved to http://www.borndirect.com/G138/article-birth-as-a-sacred-journey-my-journey-to-lithuania-by-dominique-sakoilsky