The Baby & Toddler Show Manchester

This weekend I exhibited at the baby and toddler show Manchester, I wanted to meet some new and expectant mums and hopefully help them out with some health and fitness advice!

So first of all BABIES! My lovely friend Kerry (mums takeover) helped me out with the show, being awesome with the mums, owning the tea run and keeping me sane on little sleep and little food (did I mention my competition is next week?)

Anyway the Babies! Day one (the Friday) was spent with a lot more mums with older kids which made me and Kerry miss our boys but then Saturday and Sunday was baby central! Brand new, gorgeous babies! Its safe to say Dean got a txt asking if we wanted another, which was immediately retracted yesterday (after yesterday being possibly the worst behaviour I have ever witnessed from Wilder…i’m thinking separation anxiety from being away or illness?)
Anyway the show itself was awesome, some great advice from some interesting experts and stands, the British Red Cross did a few talks throughout the day they also had talks on baby wearing, Skin care, and I had my own little lot on the main stage giving me the chance to talk all things healthy lifestyle!

When Jess was born I bought all the latest fads, some payed off (Ewan the dream sheep) and some not so much, but that’s why the baby show was great! Not only do you get to see everything that’s on trend and available at the moment but you also get mums advice, mums sharing tips and all basically being helpful to one another.

So Baby Planet has the biggest part of the show which sells everything you need and I believe are a family run business so definitely check them out. They have all your baby needs and if you fancy a running buggy I checked out what they offer and although I’m a Phil & Ted pusher Thule looked like a really good running buggy too, it was lighter and more streamline, however maybe not as sturdy as mine for the woods! I also loved the size that the Mountain Buggy packs down to so I’d have a good look into that too as my buggy definitely takes up some boot space.

The baby seats that caught my eye are the ones that spin round and face the car door, definitely not a necessity but for your back. I suffered repetitive strain twisting to get them in and out of the car seats so this is a great product, and lots of them to choose from too!

We were also opposite the Tutti Bambini stall and they were selling a really good side crib called CoZee Bedside. At first I thought, why not just use a Moses basket? But the more I saw of it the more I thought YES! Less turning in bed, it moves up and down easily in case baby has colic, it packs away and it looked like I would want to sleep in it. Again all this twisting to put the dummy back in or reaching for the baby can lead to some aches and pains postpartum so anything for an easy life right?

A great stand called Bio-kult Who have a probiotic (friendly bacteria) for kids and adults gut health was awesome....I need to chat about this further but please check them out I can’t stress enough how important gut health is for you and baby! Jesse has always suffered and if his gut is having a good time so is he!

The Valley Cushion is a cushion for after birth for all your Perineal needs, I would totally check this out post partum, I never used it but I think its worth a look if you have had a complicated delivery.

There were lovely furry hood things from a company called Fur coat no nappies, and more importantly they sold furry hand warmers for pushing the pram!

A toothbrush with an app, I bought this for Jesse which he loves so much he brushed his teeth for 2 whole minutes today, This is called Deeno. There were plenty of teethers and baby clothes, some lovely stands for creams, water wipes and a toy which cleaned the crumbs as the child plays with it!

There were so many discounts available and honestly some amazing products, cushions, clothes, baby carriers galore (We loved the look of the Ergo baby, although I would recommend trying a few out at your local sling library).

The best product for me goes to The Mumba Bra. The lovely man selling it was the husband of the lady who created it, I went to the store asking if they did training bras to which he said they all are! The bra looked so comfortable and its just like one I wore with Jesse which I couldn’t get hold of for wilder! It looked like a comfy sports bra but obviously you could feed! It does everything! The straps can be changed to suit your top, they come in small, medium or large and the material grew with you and your forever changing boobs, it had a colour coded clip on each side, full colour for full, no colour for empty boob which was awesome...no more forgetting which boob you last fed off (at first it’s easy to tell but the more you feed the more your boobs tend to settle and it isn’t so easy to identify.)

But the best bit by far was the little bit of material left on the boob when the flap is down and the baby is feeding, when the baby is attached the boob is pretty much covered AND it’s a lovely black and white design which is because babies only see in black and white and it really attracts them…HOW CLEVER IS THAT!
I’m sure I’m not doing this enough justice so please head over and check out their bra HERE! I definitely think one or two of these and you wouldn’t need any other!

Anyway lots of beautiful well behaved children, some beautiful mammas, some hilarious and patient dads, an amazing workforce putting on the show and one truly amazing friend for helping me out and making it a lot of fun!

Thank you for visiting us if you did, and thanks for reading this blog.

For info on ticket sales for next year Visit the Baby and Toddler Website HERE, or come see us at the Baby Show Olympia, London 19-21st October. You can purchase tickets HERE.

Maricarmen x