Month: February 2015

Absolute baby essentials by Dunja

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

As Ari’s becoming a big girl now, I’ve had to start putting aside certain products she’s growing out of, and to make the whole process easier on myself, because we all know how sentimental we can get about these things, I decided to share with you a few of my all time favourites!

Number one has to be the Bonds zip wondersuit. No word of a lie, the instant Ari started sleeping in these, she went 12 hours straight. They regulate temperature so can be used all year round, you just change the sleeping bag to a lower tog in summer.

As for sleeping bags, the best of the best has to be the Aden + Anais muslin cozy for warmer months, and cozy plus for the cooler months. Combined with the wondersuit, it guarantees a perfect night of sleep!

My husband thankfully didn’t get involved in many baby purchases, but one thing he absolutely insisted on was the baby bjorn high chair. It has no harness to strap on the baby, the tray just clicks up (easily done with just one hand), and hey presto, the baby can’t go anywhere!

Now, I don’t like to blow my own trumpet, but using an army backpack as an alternative to a nappy bag, was a genious idea. It has even more compartments than a nappy bag; it’s ten times cheaper; is waterproof; comes in lots of different sizes although I think the smallest ones work the best; is extremely comfortable on your back and shoulders; and ofcourse, it looks great on both mum and dad, which my husband was very greatful for.

And finally, the foldable travel bath. An essential product for those of us who don’t want to clatter our house with baby things! Baby baths can be especialy unattractive, so having one that looks good and can easily be stashed away, is very important in my book.

Lost My Name by Oreke

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

I cannot begin to sing enough praises for Lost My Name – a truly magical personalized story book that takes you and your little ones on a magical adventure based on your child name. The book is illustrated beautifully with amazing characters, my boys particularly loved the Aardvark, it’s also a great learning tool – the concept has been executed brilliantly. One of my earliest childhood memories is receiving a personalised book from my Dad at the age of 5, I felt so special that a book was made for me all about me. I still wish I had a copy of that book so imagine my delight when I stumbled upon Lost My Name online. The idea that I can create that same excitement for my boys gave me so much joy. Lost My Name books are real masterpieces and exceeded my expectations. These are books that both parents and children will treasure for a long time. Both my boys love their books and so far no other book has got a look in. The books are colourful, beautiful, so well written and certainly take you on a wonderful journey. Perfect present for the little ones. Until next time xx

Play doh fun by Dunja

Posted on by Oreke Mosheshe

This week I rediscovered the magical world of play doh. It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited about a children’s product, or even an adult product really! A friend recently asked me if I spent much time playing with Ari, and I replied, very honestly, that no, I don’t really, I leave that stuff to the nursery. I prefer to take her to galleries, museums, playgrounds, libraries and every few months, a trip overseas. He said fair enough, but I ought to try actually playing with her every now and again. As faith would have it, the very next day Ari received a birthday present, a play doh clown head set. Even just holding the box memories flooded back of the hours of fun my brother and I used to have with play doh. So I thought what the hell, even if I get bored I can just leave her to it. Now, I can’t count how many times I pushed the play doh through the clown’s head, excitedly waiting for him to spurt hair, but what I can tell you is that before I knew it, two hours had passed and Ari was desperately dragging me away form the play table.

I am now a self-proclaimed master of home cooked play doh, and have collected more molds and other play doh paraphernalia than all the nurseries in London put together. But as we all know, addiction spreads, and my last visit to amazon resulted with an extremely heavy basket filled with kinetic sand, play foam, i-clay, coloring sets, food coloring, etc.

I’m so excited about all the hours of play that lay ahead of us, changing with every few months, as hers, and my interests develop! And of course we’ll still go to museums and travel the world together, but what I’ve found out is that playing at home can be just as fulfilling.

And of course, here’s my favorite and simplest playdoh recipe:

In a pot, mix 2 cups of flour, 2 cups of warm water, 1 cup of salt, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1-tablespoon cream of tartar and a few drops of food coloring. Stir on a low heat until all blended and doughy. Take out, and once it’s all cooled down, kneed and store in zip lock sandwich bags.