Get set……
There is a totally unmissable competition launchingat 9.30a.m. on Wednesday 25th August on the Petit Poppet facebook page.
This competition will require you to employ some detective skills and some imagination…
There will be one lucky winner who will receive a staggering prize which will be worth a minimum of £100!
Make sure you are ready and waiting for the details on Wednesday and be sure to invite all of your friends in the meantime!
Good luck!
Points mean mirrors
Carrying your baby in a back carry in your baby sling can be extremely liberating and frees up not only your hands but pretty much your movement in general. I find myself frequently reaching for the sling of late and throwing Ellen on my back just so I can get the car packed up, get my makeup on and get out of the house.
The only problem with back carries is that when you’re on your own, it can be hard to tell if they’ve drifted off. Also, I miss seeing her face after a short while. As a solution, I have had a keyring mirror created that you can easily attach to your sling with something like a Toy Tie which you can use like a rear view mirror to check on your little one as they cosy in on your back.
“How do I get my hands on one?” I hear you cry? Simple! Join in the game and earn yourself some points. Once you have reached 100 points, email me to let me know and I will get your mirror out to you.
The points
Recruiting a ‘liker’ to the Petit Poppet facebook page – 10 points (for each new ‘liker’!)
Posting a link to the Petit Poppet site on your blog – 10 points (for each link)
Posting a permanent link to Petit Poppet on your webpage – 40 points
Buying a sling – 50 points
Offering to hand out flyers and business cards to baby groups/classes – 20 points
Joining Slingtalk and reaching 20 posts – 20 points
Submitting a review to Petit Poppet – 20 points
Submitting an action shot of you babywearing to Slingtalk or Petit Poppet – 20 points (for each new picture)
So, get point gathering and keep me updated here with your progress! I look forward to giving away all these keyrings in no time!
Sex, boobs and babies
Yes, believe it or not I spent nearly my entire teaching day talking about the afore-mentioned subjects with my class of 9/10 year olds today. We had a maths lesson in the middle of this lot which they protested wildly about.
We began the ‘sex’ part of our Sex and Relationship Education (SRE) today and the title of the lesson was puberty. The idea was that I would explain twelve statements related to changes that occur during puberty and they would sort them Venn diagram style into things that happen to boys, girls or both. We didn’t get past the first five before we had veered wildly off topic. I’ll give the children their due, they started out as to be expected, giggling and looking mortified because their teacher said the S.E.X word. Then they declared me an expert in SRE as I have ‘just had a baby’ and maturity and inquisitiveness took over.
Our day took us on a journey that heard us debating issues such as breast versus bottle, breastfeeding in public, homebirth, teenage pregnancy, STD’s and the use of the female form in advertising. I warned you – wildly off topic!
The interesting part for me was that this was the first time teaching SRE since having my baby and it gave me a whole new angle on it. Some of the children were actually asking me for my experiences which has never happened before and while I thought it would be mortifying (I may as well have been wearing a sandwich board saying I’VE HAD SEX!), it was surprisingly wonderful to be sharing it with them. Obviously there were no gory details or scary bits included but the girls wanted to know a.) does having sex hurt? b.) does having a baby hurt? and c.) does breastfeeding hurt? It was nice to be able to talk to them about something that has been recently so important to me and I was astounded at how astute they were. They confidently asked very pertinent questions and considered my responses carefully. We all had a wonderful day and I really feel I have left them today having taught them something that actually matters.
In the world of Ellen, she is teething molars hence my lack of blog posting. Evenings are traumatic and the drool is a wonder to behold. I sent her to nursery today in a bandana bib from Nappy Days stock and when I collected her they were raving about them so am pleased I know I have a fab product on board!
In Petit Poppet news, I was delighted to reveal on the facebook page last night that we are now a Hoppediz stockist. The biggest problem this is presenting me with is what to start with stock wise – the woven wraps and ring slings come in so many beautiful colourways I am simply unable to choose. You can help by visiting the site and letting me know which your favourite 4.6 wraps, 2.5 wraps and ring slings are.
Three weeks til the summer holidays… roll on freedom!
The ABM Conference Report
Yesterday, two of my wonderful Petit Poppet agents and I went to London to exhibit at the association of Breastfeeding Mothers Conference. We were kindly invited to attend so it was an opportunity too good to turn down.
The week preceeding the conference had been somewhat stressful due to the launch of Nappy Days, the writing of school reports and the buying and attempted selling of cars. The latter of which resulted in me leaving home much later Friday night than I had intended as someone wanted to come and look at the car. Luckily, because he was keen to get home for the football, I was on the (very quiet) road and arrived at my best friends house in central London in record time. I listened to the horrendous England Vs Algeria as I sailed down the deserted motorway and was overjoyed that I hadn’t made the decision to stay home to watch it – I would have been sorely disappointed with the result. That’s another blog post altogether though and one I’m not sure I should begin…
When I arrived in London, I was delighted to be presented with my Petit Poppet T-Shirts which had been produced in an incredibly short amount of time by Jody at Chilli Promotions, they looked even better than I had imagined and I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Saturday morning, I set off for the venue for the conference. I was greeted by Corinne, one of my agents and shortly after, Cathy, the second agent attending arrived. It was wonderful to all be together and we really felt like a great team spreading the word about what we do.
Our table was set up and we were off. It was absolutely wonderful seeing so many babywearing mums in one place and talking to people who already knew all the benefits offered by wearing your baby. Kate Evans, author of The Food of Love was on the stand next to us and even bought some Huggalugs as arm warmers for her son. Sadly, I didn’t think quickly enough to buy a copy of her book that I could have asked her to sign… next time!
The seminars were so engaging. Listening to the discussions that were taking place and the knowledge that was floating around was an empowering experience. I was proud to be among these confident mothers and learnt a great deal from them.
The highlight of the day for me was without doubt, the babywearing seminar and catwalk show. Shortly after lunch, a flood of beautiful fabrics appeared before my eyes in the form of woven wraps, SSCs and ring slings. There were babywearing mums and dads and even a tandem carry. I was in heaven.
Following the catwalk show where some of the Petit Poppet slings were shown, Corinne demo’d a Solarweave Connecta on stage complete with breastfeeding toddler. This was absolutely brilliantly done and I was so proud to see the Petit Poppet logo up there on her chest as she was doing such a fab job.
Corinne demoing the Solarweave Connecta at the ABM Conference
Once her demo was done, it was my turn in the spotlight. I had been asked to help the lovely Maya with a Mei Tai sling as she was looking to try something else having loved using her striking (and aptly named!) Maya Ring Sling. We took to the stage and the benefits and features of the Mei Tai were explained as I helped her get her beautiful daughter into the SnugBaby which was the Mei Tai I selected.
With Ring Sling before....
Looking Snug in the SnugBaby Mei Tai after - whilst I blether on...
Maya loved the SnugBaby and her little girl was content peeking out over the top at her audience. Once fitted, I was interviewed and asked why I would recommend a Mei tai carrier and about my own views on the benefits of babywearing. I don’t really remember much about what I said but it felt great, I think I’m rather suited to being the centre of attention 😉
All in all, it was a fabulous day and a wonderful experience. I would like to thank Cathy and Corinne for coming along to help me man the stand, I couldn’t have done it alone! I would also like to thank Emma Pickett of the ABm for inviting us along to the conference, we’re already looking forward to next year! A final thanks to Yolanda for allowing me to use her pictures. I was way too ditracted to take any good ones!
For those who are left wondering… I sold my car this afternoon and collect my new one tomorrow, can’t wait!
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