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Planning and decorating the nursery is one of the exciting milestones of the pending arrival of a new baby, but it can often feel a little overwhelming too! We’ve put together a collection of décor and must-haves from around the world, and each one can be found in our beautiful online boutique.   

Hygge  

Scandinavian's have the art of cosiness just right with their concept of “hygge”. Having this at the centre of a nursery will bring contentment and a peaceful night (we can’t guarantee a full night of sleep though!). Creating a pretty and comfortable room is just perfect for a nursery.  Snuggle up with this soft grey sparkle star cushion. No comfortable space is complete without a luxurious rug, like this statement bear rug that is ethically handmade from organic lambswool.  

Choose a centrepiece 

Choosing a statement piece can then help to bring together the overall theme of a room. This can be something as simple as a cushion, or a larger item. It may be a beautiful mobile, like our felt swan mobile that could then be paired with a mix of blushes and pom poms. Or one of our unique animal heads to create a jungle or an explorer theme.

Don’t forget the essentials 

In all the decorating excitement, don’t forget the basics. Storage is a big must – babies and small children do often acquire a lot of things! Storage doesn’t have to be boring, and it can slot in perfectly to a nursery and be a talking point in its own right. Our fun pom pom storage bins or this sweet lamb print storage bin make are a great place to stash away toys or laundry. We also stock a range of sleeping essentials like this meadow print sleeping bag or this spot print Cot sheet.

Go Wild!  

We are big fans of an animal theme here at Just Add Milk, and we have most favourites covered. Our quirky wall-mounted animals heads are such unique pieces that are full of character. They are each handmade under ethical guidelines using sustainable practices. If you love these but want a bit more practicality, then our animal clothes hooks will tick both those boxes. They each have a sturdy hook that is perfect to hang coats, bags or dressing gowns, whilst also bringing a fun and quirky feature into a room. Include a ferocious friend like this lion cushion, or bring in more of a forest theme with this woodland mobile. Finally, add an educational touch with our metal vintage-look animal alphabet print. 

Finishing Touches 

Many of us have special keepsake items from our own childhood, and we have such a gorgeous selection of teddies that your little one can treasure forever. 

To shop our full collection, visit our website (https://www.justaddmilk.shop/). All orders come gift wrapped in recycled tissue and twine – with love from us to you. 

Weaning can be an exciting but also sometimes an anxious time for new parents! 

The current guidelines from the NHS say to wait until your child is “around 6 months old - this gives them time to develop properly, so they can cope with solid food”. The first signs of readiness for weaning are that your baby will be able to:

· stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady

· coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at their food, pick it up and put it in their mouth

· swallow food (rather than spit it back out)

When you begin weaning, you only need to offer a small bit of food once a day. The saying “food before one is just for fun” means not to worry if your baby doesn’t actually seem to be eating very much; until age 1 milk still provides all the nutrition a baby needs. Some parents choose Baby-Led Weaning, others favour traditional puree method, and some use a combination of purees and finger foods. There is no right or wrong, you have to choose what works best for you and your family. We have a lovely range of dinner sets that will make dinnertime even more fun!

Alex initially chose a combination of finger foods and purees with baby Phoebe.

"At 6 months, Phoebe was showing all signs of readiness so I thought I'd start by offering her some veg purées, with some fingers of vegetables alongside. Every time I put a spoon of something in her mouth she threw it back up so I took that as a sign she wasn't quite ready. After a couple of weeks and several attempts, I decided to give up trying to puree and spoon feed as she was clearly preferring the finger food option. So we followed a more “baby-led weaning” approach and embraced the mess! It was summer so we pretty much stripped her down to her nappy and ate alfresco. I had so much fun with this and we started offering her what we were eating from the word go (within reason obviously...not everything!) I found great inspiration on Instagram and a few books, my favourite being 'Young Gums'. We found that Phoebe ate best when we ate with her and were eating the same food as her, it was crazy how early she clocked on to this so it definitely helped us improve her diet and we really made a thing of mealtimes with her!”

Embracing the mess is spoken by many parents who opted for baby-led weaning, we have a gorgeous range of bibs to help contain some of it, and highly recommend our long bibs!

We also stock these lovely reusable wipes to help clean up baby whilst also avoiding disposable wet wipes to be kinder to the planet.

Rachel contended with baby Leo’s allergies; he was a colicky baby and when he hit 6 months his skin erupted in hives and eczema. They tried numerous medications, and eventually, it got so bad that Leo was admitted to the hospital. Allergy tests were done, which confirmed Leo was allergic to egg, nuts and possibly wheat/gluten. Rachel found weaning quite a stressful experience because of all this, and she offers some advice for other parents going through similar.

“1) Slow - it’s easy to get lured into what other Mums are doing and what’s on social media but take it slow and do what’s right for you and your baby. My 10-month-old is still on baby rice for each meal as well as root vegetables. You may be given advice from a dietician about what and when to introduce.

2) Ask - there are lots of specific allergy groups on Instagram and Facebook. In small doses, these have been useful.

3) Attend – some counties have an Allergy Team who often have events on weaning.

4) Alternatives- There are some wonderful alternatives out there.

5) Preparation - weaning takes time anyway but with a child with allergies, it’s near impossible to eat out. So prepping is the key and batch peel/cook.

6) Research! Knowledge is power and it’ll help you muddle through.

7) Just remember you are NOT alone! Each day or week will bring new answers”

Once dinnertime is over, a bath might be in order with one of our bath books and then a swaddle in a cosy towelling dressing gown or a hooded towel.

To browse our full range of feeding time essentials, click here. 

All items gift wrapped with recycled tissue and twine - with love from me to you x