Some exciting changes to come…!

We have some really BIG and exciting news – something we’ve been eager to share for months and months…! Babyccino Kids is getting a makeover and we’ll be revealing our spiffy new look tomorrow, the 1st of May!!

After more than a year of hard work behind the scenes, we’re so excited to finally launch a fresh new website. The site will feature an entirely new look and logo, as well as a much better layout and several handy new features. As you can see from the sneak peek above, we’ve also shortened our name from Babyccino Kids to Babyccino. It feels so grown up!

From tomorrow, our blog and shopping portal will be integrated – mixing inspiring editorial content with wonderful shop suggestions and product features. We’ve also made it easier to search by category and to find inspiration in every corner of our site. We still have loads of tweaks to make and exciting new features to come, so please bear with us over the next few weeks while we iron out any kinks.

We can’t wait for you to see it!

Lots of love and happy weekend,
The Babyccino team xx

p.s. A special thanks to SB Studio for their beautiful design work and patience over the past year, to our developer, Sergiu Baluta, who has worked with us since we started 9 years ago and has poured so much time and attention into this big project, and lastly to our wonderful team who have worked extra, extra hard over the past few months.  We feel really lucky to work with such a dedicated team of people! 

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Marie Puce, gorgeous Parisian fashion for all ages

It’s not a secret that we love Marie Puce here at Babyccino. We’ve worked with the two sisters behind the brand for many years, and we really admire their dedication to bringing adorable children’s fashion to the market.

Marie Puce have forever been a brand I turned to for pieces for all of my children. I love their easy and sweet style, and I love the fact that many of the styles are available in sizes that range from newborn baby, to teen (even mama!) sizes. Over the years, Marie Puce never failed to impress with their darling collection for both my boys as my girls, and the quality of the pieces has always been outstanding.

With their new summer collection in store, I though it would be fun to put together some styles for both boys as girls of different ages. There are so many wonderful choices that I had no trouble at all to come up with some outfits I love! Here goes…

For baby girls: a sweet Grenouille jumpsuit, a cosy Mayeul Cardigan, a few Liberty hair slides, and perfect little sandals. That cuddly baby bunny is so sweet, too.

A baby boy would look so cute in: the Romain jumpsuit, Emile Baby Shirt with tiny pin stripes, sandals. The solar energy car is super cool too, and how fun is the snowy polar bear?

For little boys I like the Anatole Bermuda Shorts — such a cool colour! The Gaston Shirt with the Boreale Cardigan are perfect with it. And of course, the cool cross strap sandals.

Little girls look adorable in the Adelaide Dress (I already got it for Ava!). The Boréale Cardigan and the leather sandals together with some Liberty hair slides finish the look.

OK for teen girls, but also for mama! I love the Lise blouse (with Liberty’s Sim space rain fabric — such a cool name and such a lovely fabric!), the Milou shorts, the sweet silver cat bag, and the Greek sandals.

For bigger boys, the Jeannot Pullover with the Anatole bermudas, the cross strap sandals and a cool scarf look so perfectly relaxed.

So there we go — now, I definitely have to go and order some more pieces for my children. (I’m glad I already got the sweet Adelaïde dress for Ava. J’adore!)

We just need some more sun here in the Northern hemispheres…

xxx Esther

PS This post was sponsored by Marie Puce, a company we have personally known and purchased from for many years and one which we are so happy to support here. Marie Puce is also a long-time member of our shopping portal.

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Don’t miss our April Give-aways!

April has only a few days left — so in case you haven’t entered our monthly give-aways yet, you can still do so now!! We have some great value prizes lined up!

PAPA LOBSTER is a German brand offering super soft, colourful, fun knitted 100% cashmere clothing and blankets for babies and children up to 4 years old. Designs are playful and items practical, designed in Germany and exclusively made by small-scale producers in Nepal.

This month PAPA LOBSTER are giving away a €130 voucher to spend on any clothing items in their store.

Carlito Carlita have a charming range of beautifully classic clothing for babies and children aged 3 months – 10 years. It’s a perfect destination for those looking to dress siblings since each item belongs to a theme – it’s so easy to find complimentary options for your children!

This month Carlito Carlita are offering one lucky winner a voucher for £100 to spend on their site.

CYMK Living is a new homewares brand offering a range of bed linens and home decoration items for babies, toddlers and children made by highly skilled artisans in India using the celebrated ancient art of block printing and harnessing the magic and vibrancy of this beautiful country.

This month CYMK Living offer you the chance to win a block printed bed linen set! The prize includes the Lotus Cot Duvet Cover, Lotus fitted cot sheet, matching pillowcase, Lotus bolster cover and Lotus quilt all fabricated from the softest cottons, designed to be gentle on your child’s skin. The reverse prints allow you to play with styles.

Olive Juice have a super cute clothing range inspired by classic American silhouettes with a focus on a happy childhood and a nod towards yesteryear. This shop is full of timeless, sophisticated pieces – think easy-wear yet smart dresses, perfect sweater cardigans, gingham shirts for boys… We also love that the girlswear goes through to age 16!

This month Olive Juice are giving one lucky winner a $140 voucher to spend in their online store.

Head over to our win page now for a chance to be the lucky winner. You can enter all four give-aways, yay! Good luck!

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Thursday’s Thoughts : Deciding when you have had enough?

I’m nearing 40 and always thought that when I hit that celebratory birthday I’d know; I’d know that I had enough children. But when I asked friends recently, “How do you know when you’ve had enough?” they replied, “You just know it. It will hit you.”

Now I realise I am not big on numbers with the amount of children I have. While I am so extremely grateful for the two gorgeous girls we have, it’s not exactly the number we chose or intended to have. You see, I don’t have such a great track record with pregnancies — I’ve had a late miscarriage and also lost a baby boy to Trisomy 18, so being pregnant again honestly nerves me – medically.

But I’m still asking myself (and my husband) should we try for another one. I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Have you decided you’re finished having babies? When did you know you had enough children? Or are you still thinking of trying for more? Does it matter what age you are? How many is enough?! Please share your thoughts.

Vanessa x

PS The image above is of Florence who would love for us to have another baby. She’s baby obsessed!

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Shakespeare for the young – The Usborne Shakespeare Collection

Helena was gifted this collector’s box set of Shakespeare books for her birthday back in November and it was one of her favourite presents. She loves it so much it hasn’t hit the bookshelf yet as it lays on her bedside table and each day she dips in and out of them.

The collection from Usborne contains five beautifully illustrated books including, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth and Twelfth Night and they are written so children will grasp a clear meaning of each of Shakespeare’s plays. Each book is hard backed and has a pretty coloured ribbon to mark the page.

Given that we celebrated Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary of his death here in the UK over the weekend where we’ve recognised his colossal legacy and for my girls who have discovered an incredulous array of plays to read, Helena very proudly read the stories again to her younger sister, Florence, who now is equally enjoying them!

I am so impressed with this selection of books I’ve bought a few copies for birthday presents for friends. Available from all good bookstores and online on amazon here for our UK readers and here for the US.

Vanessa x

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Organic baby clothing and accessories from Nature Baby

I attended the launch party for Lunch Lady Magazine on one of my first days in Byron Bay last month, which was not only a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of interesting people in the community, it was also a great introduction to some of Australia’s beautiful children’s brands and shops. I met so many inspiring people, designers and shop owners and came home with a little goody bag with some gorgeous things inside.

One of the brands I discovered is Nature Baby, a family-owned company from New Zealand which has been creating organic baby clothing since 1998. Not only are their products 100% organic, they’re sweet, simple and well-designed as well. I love their swaddles, blankets and adorable bodysuits. Their kimono style onesies with the side snaps are so perfect for babies as they’re easy to put on and take off without having to go over the baby’s head.

I’m excited to share more of the beautiful, local brands I discovered while I was in Australia. Stay tuned…

Courtney x

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My four little monkeys… in Imps&Elfs

Imps&Elfs is by far my favourite Dutch jeans brand. I just love the way their trousers fit — they’re just so flattering, and so cool! My kids also find them the most comfortable ones to wear — they pick them out of the clean laundry basket before they’re even folded and on the shelf.

Imps&Elfs recently designed a series of clever jeans together with Isko, made from a new sort of jeans fabric woven according to the ‘Recall’ technology — which means the jeans will always go back to shape (and is super soft and light, making them extra, extra comfortable).

Imps&Elfs kindly sent each of my kids a pair of the Isko Reform Slim Fit a few weeks ago, which they were so excited about! Enter their new favourite jeans ; ). Last week, it was pouring down with rain on a Wednesday afternoon, and my kids started to jump on our bed (as they do) in their apparently very easy-to-jump-in new jeans. I quickly grabbed my camera and took some action shots.

And we all had a blast! I can definitely recommend this activity if you’re bored on a rainy afternoon. My kids couldn’t stop jumping and asked me to take photo after photo — and then look at the results, of course! It was super fun (and I think I have a few photos of them now that are worth to frame).

xxx Esther

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Yoli & Otis a darling brand from Byron Bay

Byron Bay is not just a surfer’s paradise, it’s also a hotspot for loads of inspiring people and businesses. I was blown away by the creative talent we discovered in this community during our month-long stay. We met talented musicians, film producers, artists, photographers, magazine editors, graphic designers… and the list goes on. Okay, we even met a couple professional surfers and bodyboarders! : )

But what surprised me the most was the number of women (mothers!) in this little community who have created gorgeous brands for children and families. One of them is my new friend Lena from Yoli & Otis, who, after creating a collection of organic, plant-dyed baby carriers, has recently launched a stunning collection of organic, naturally dyed children’s clothing. The collection is so beautiful — with shapes and styles as natural as the fabrics themselves. We’ve become good friends with Lena and her sweet family and have enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their brand.

The collection is now available to pre-order with many of the pieces ready to ship in the next couple weeks. Lena gifted Marlow with this pretty (and most importantly, ‘spinny’) holiday dress, and Marlow is so obsessed with it, she refuses to wear anything else.

Courtney x

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Thursday Thoughts: How old were you when you started your family?

Living in London, I have always felt like a young mum. I was 24 when Easton was born. I was the youngest mum in my antenatal class and the youngest of all my new mum friends. Even at 32, when Marlow was born, I remained one of the youngest mums in any of the children’s classes or activities we attended.

I have always been quite maternal so I never thought twice about starting a family at 24. It was really only when Easton started school (I was 28) that I became more aware of my age compared to other mothers in the class, many of whom were in their 40s.

Women in London tend to wait longer to start having a family. It seems that the majority of women I know in London put focus on their careers first, and then started having babies in their mid to late thirties. Some of my friends even waited until their forties to start a family. A good friend of mine in London just had her fourth baby at age 45!

A recent study in the UK found that Londoners find the ideal age to have children is 37. This is mostly financially motivated as the cost of living in London is so high. I read a separate article recently that said that, for the first time, more women in the UK are having babies after the age of 35 than the number of women having babies under the age of 25. The average age of first-time mothers is getting older and older over time.

But that is London.

When we arrived to Sydney a couple months ago, I was struck by how much younger mums are. Unlike in London, I saw loads and loads of 20-something mums pushing buggies on the streets. For the first time ever, I became conscious of my age, aware that I was not a young mum in this city.

I mentioned this to Esther and Emilie and they told me that when they were in LA for our ShopUp event, they were struck by how young all the mums were there. It appeared to them that many women started having babies in their mid twenties so that by the time they were in their 30s, they already had several children. This was a noticeable contrast to their home cities, Amsterdam and Paris, where, like in London, women tend to wait until their mid to late 30s to start their families.

So now I’m curious. I’d love to hear where you live and at what age you started your family? Did you feel young or old compared to your peers? Do you think there is an ideal age? Or is it all relative? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Courtney x

p.s. I searched in my photo archives for a pregnancy photo and found this one from 2012. I was 8 months pregnant with Marlow – look how little Quin and Ivy look!

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Giant luxury scarf swaddels from Marloe London

The best baby care products are practical, functional, simple and clever. When they are extremely good looking too — well, that’s a bonus : ).

The giant Marloe London scarf swaddle scores on all the above points. It is a chic mama accessory and a handy baby accessory all in one: a scarf, a swaddle, a travel blanket, a play mat, a cot sheet, a breast feeding cover — it can even be a fun sarong for the beach or a pretty throw for over your sofa. It also serves well as a hut-building tool, I can attest!

The Marloe London scarf swaddles is made from an organic cotton / bamboo viscose blend, which makes it strong and ever so soft. It measures a good 140 x 140 cm, comes with a pretty embroidered hem and the dip-die pieces are hand died for a touch of unique (optional personalising is available too).

xxx Esther

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Jumpers for women from Babaà Knitwear

I’ve made it no secret that Babaà is one of my favourite labels for kids. I adore Marta’s vision and the whole ethos behind the brand. The knitwear is perfectly simple, straight-forward, timeless and extremely good quality, meant to be worn and passed down from one child to the next. We have jumpers from Marta’s first collection that are now 4 years old and still in great condition despite being well loved and worn.

Last year she launched a small collection of jumpers for women (equally beautiful!) and this spring she’s expanded the collection with loads of stunning styles. My favourite is this natural, slightly cropped thick cotton jumper. When she gave me a preview of the collection earlier this year, I quickly put dibs on this one. I love layering it over my summer dresses and think it would look super cool with high-waisted jeans too.

Courtney x

p.s. In the photos Marlow’s wearing this cute cotton jumper with contrasting mint neckline, also from Babaà . So cute!
p.p.s. The photos above were snapped by my friend, Amelia Fullarton, here in beautiful Byron Bay. Thank you, Millie, for capturing these sweet moments… and sneaking one of me on my own! x

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Age to Come

My daughter Coco has two distinct requirements when it comes to her clothes: comfy and cool! This luckily enough seems to be the same philosophy as the new label Age to Come Apparel.

This capsule collection of cotton, easy-to-wear items fits the bill perfectly. One of our favourite items is the cute, reversible cape, that can be either white or black, depending on your mood. The other one is the cute pair of crouch drop pants, as worn by Coco in the photo above.

The other cool thing is that this collection is unisex, so boys and girls can wear these clothes and hand them down to each other.

Emilie

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The second day of our fabulous LA ShopUp event!

The start of the second day of our LA ShopUp was perfect, with blue skies and lots of bloggers who came to breakfast! It was wonderful to bring together so many wonderful, like-minded women and see everyone meet, catch up and stroll around the event.

A highlight of the breakfast were the healthy, beautiful and extremely tasty, acai-filled coconuts by Amazebowls. What an amazing way to start the day! The incredibly yummy juices by Moon Juices and the delicious (addictive!) coffee of Blue Bottle Coffee where also at hand. We got to sample the delicious gluten and lactose free cookies by Caer — chock-full of galactagogues, foods that promote the flow of breast milk! Caer specialises in organic, nutrient dense baby food delivered to your home. Free copies of Babiekins magazine were handed out, samples of Olly multi vitamins, and Happy Family Organics had all sorts of tasteful and healthy snacks to try, both for mama and child!

The day progressed with more blue skies (we love!), an a busy and bustling day with so many wonderful visitors, both big and small. We loved the fun craft classes by Maker’s Mess (we even got to sit down and do some weaving ourselves!) and having the lovely Mischievous Goddess around to entertain the children. The photo booth by Red Anchor Photo (with the stylish backdrop made by Happenings Co.) was constantly filled by the most darling little ones, so cute!

Oh, we can go on and on about all the fabulous visitors, vendors, venue… but the stunning photos by Nicki Sebastian speak more than words!

Thank you to all who visited, to all the truly amazing sponsors and boutiques who made this event what it was. We are so proud to be a part of this energetic and creative community!

xxx

PS Thank you Club Momme for helping us spread the word about our event!

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