40 baby and toddler-friendly things to do in London

Most Wednesdays, tiny man and I meet up with his bestie Oli and his mama - and we're always after exciting things to do with a baby/toddler in London. 

After another Whatsapping session debating various London activities, I decided to write down the fab places we've been to, and the ones we're aiming for next. They're all baby-friendly (for when you want to go out and have fun and baby's coming too), and most are baby-focused (but beyond soft play). 

They're all fairly close to NW London, within an hour's travel, because that's where ROOW lives. So, enough chat... Bookmark it, share it, but most of all visit them - and let me know what I've missed...

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1. If your tiny one is half the fan of aeroplanes that mine is, don't miss Hendon's RAF museum. It's free (parking is £3 or free on the road) and has huge hangars of plane history, including gliders and war jets, statues and films. Tiny man loved running around and seeing all the planes even before we reached the kids' area. It's retro - but very hands-on, lots of buttons to press and planes to ride, and even a glider to hang from.

2. Stroll the Southbank. The Southbank Centre itself has storytelling, music and other events, the whole bank is full of buskers, street food, NO STAIRS (buggy bliss), and colours and there's always something to do - plus loads of chain restaurants that don't shudder at the sight of your over-burdened City not-so- Mini rolling in.

3. Kenwood - there are ducks in the pond and huge grassy expanses to explore outside, whilst the house has a kids' room, and music/art classes dotted throughout the week too.

4. St Albans - visit the Verulamium park with its lake, splash park, playground, and history - then cross over the road to gorge on waffles at The Waffle House. Perfect afternoon out.

5. Golders Hill Park - there are animals (deer, birds, lemurs), there's a sand pit, there's a playground, there's delicious gelato, there are rolling hills for scrambling around, there's a beautiful garden, there's a duck pond, and it's just a short walk up from Golders Green station.. And it's all free.

6. It's closed until later this year, but when it reopens check out The Discover Children's Story Centre, with big indoor and outdoor playgrounds, storytelling rooms, crafty groups and lots of space.

7. We love a City farm: tiny man loves oinking at the pigs, and seeing the chickens, horses and more at Kentish Town, and the ones in Spitalfields and Hackney are on our list too. All free.

8. The Geffrye Museum in Hoxton is a museum of houses: it's all on one level, so buggy-friendly, really interesting insight into how we've been living over the past centuries, dollshouse-loving toddlers will like it and there's a delicious cafe too. Plus hipsterville shopping is there ready for nap-time.

9. Bethnal Green's Museum of Childhood - there's a small sensory area for babies, some hands-on playing parts for kids although a fair amount is behind glass cases so older toddlers may enjoy a bit more. 

10. The Science Museum is a nightmare to get to on the Tube from the northern line, but worth it - the Garden bit in the basement has a long water splashing activity, big blocks to play with, concave mirrors, noisy activities and more. The rest of the museum is great for a toddling one to explore, and the hanging planes are a hit with my tiny man. By contrast, I find the National History Museum too school group-packed for much babe fun.

11. Hit up some galleries - might not seem baby-friendly but for tiny ones when you the mama want to enjoy yourself, the Royal Academy, Hayward Gallery and Tate Modern all have wide, buggy-friendly spaces and lots of things for babies to stare at. And for toddlers, the Tates are great space-wise for a wander and have activities for older kids too.

A photo posted by Lucy Tobin / Run Out Of Womb (@runoutofwomb) on Jan 18, 2016 at 2:37pm PST

12. Baby Cinema was the highlight of my week when tiny man was, er, tiny. Until about 9m it was a dreamy few hours: watching the latest films whilst having a baby sleepy-cuddle on you (when tiny) or play on your lap when bigger. It's definitely easiest when they're small... I love the Phoenix (£7) in east Finchley, and the Everyman chain's dotted around London (£13 but that does include tasty cake and drink delivered to your seat by waiters). Great parent and baby cinema screenings at the Barbican too. Useful weekly listings here:Babes About Town. For older kids, lots of the chains do cheap toddler movie screenings.

13. Take a boat trip: for a big'un, take the Thames Clipper to Greenwich and it's really easy to wheel a buggy on and off. Plenty of places to park them next to a seat too.

14. Or a smaller one, we loved the swan boats and pedaloes (bonus: great work out) at Ally Pally. It's about £3 a person and young kids are free: must be over one to go on a boat. They have tiny lifejackets.

15. Also in Ally Pally is Little Dinosaurs soft-play: it's a good one for younger tots as there's a spacious baby area and go before 3pm and the rest is fairly empty too so they can traverse bigger obstacles with you. Soft-play wise, we've also enjoyed Clown Town behind Tesco Colney Hatch.

16. Book in advance to enjoy Sky Garden in the City - it's free and has lovely views (just have to book a time slot in advance). Great cafe and tons of space for rattling around.

17. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has loads of space to explore, little cafes, the Tumbling Bay Playground and flowery grassy land to relax.

18. Coram’s Fields is super-central - just near Euston - but a gloriously green pocket with farm animals, lots of different play areas and often organised activities.

19. We were disappointed with the £million-a-ticket and too-busy-to-move London Aquarium. For a cheaper hit, Forest Hill's Horniman Museum has an aquarium as well as lots of child-friendly exhibits. For a realllly cheaper hit, we sometimes visit the local pet shop or Pets at Home to see fish, guinea pigs, etc.

20. Spend a day at Kew Gardens. We're members (which is good value if you're going more than twice a year, and means you can beat the crowds and arrive at 8am). There are the obviously awesome acres of beautiful borders, the lakes, the ducks, the trees and the flowers, and tots all love the indoor soft play (with weird rubber bouncing 'sand' which is no-mess and epic) and the play area. Just don't lose your car key there like I did..

21. Watch street performers in Covent Garden ... then get one of London's best ice creams at Morelli's Gelato.

22. Get on the front carriage of the Docklands Light Railway and let your tot 'be the driver'. On the weekend, Canary Wharf's shops and restaurants are fairly empty so have lots of room for a tot-takeover.

23. Sunny day? Put the tot in Crocs and take a spare pair of clothes to the lit-up dancing fountains at Granary Square in King’s Cross. Then visit..

24. Camley Street Natural Park around the corner - it’s a volunteer-run green pocket of London with lots to see and learn about.

25. Take the number 9 bus (one of the few old-fashioned Routemasters still in service) for a cheapo sightseeing tour of Trafalgar Square, Knightsbridge and Kensington, or the no. 11 does King's Road, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Shoreditch, if you last that long.

26. Get off that no. 9 at Kensington Gardens and visit the Princess Diana memorial playground - there's a secure entrance (you must have a kid with you), a huge Peter Pan pirates ship, lots of swings, lots of shade, enormous sandpit, water fountains, splash puddles, all free; try to shield the kids' eyes as you pass the pricey carousel. Walk down to Ken High St after and toddlers will love seeing the food piled up and gorging on the freebies at Whole Foods Market

A photo posted by Lucy Tobin / Run Out Of Womb (@runoutofwomb) on Jun 26, 2016 at 8:08am PDT

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27. Take a bluebell hike in Ashridge Estate around May (check the website for when the flowers are in full bloom) and take a fully charged camera..

28. Make a "Mini Masterpiece" at Dulwich Picture Gallery - once a month on Tuesdays, for babies aged six-to-18 months. Preceeded by tour of the Sir John Soames-designed gallery.

29. Visit Willow Farm and read all about it here.

30. Rave on at a Big Fish Little Fish, Baby Disco or Disco Loco gig - not-too-loud music and dancing for the parents and tots, bubble areas, light shows, craft tables and more.

31. Broomfield Park: it has one of London's biggest adventure playgrounds (and a smaller one that's more tot-friendly), plus conservatory with bananas growing, crazy golf (not such a crazy one), lake and model boating pond. There's the nearby Baskervilles Tea shop, too, with delicious cakes and a room just for baby classes if you time your visit right (sometimes need to prebook).

32. Go to a ceramics cafe. Yes, breakable pots + tots sounds crazy, but if they're in a calm mood (and you go at a quiet time) it can be great. And a handprint plate / paint-sploshed vase makes a great present for dads, grandparents, etc.

33. Go train or plane-spotting. Sure, it's pretty boring for you.. But lots of toddlers love nothing more than sitting at Kings Cross / under the flight path (Syon Park in west London and Kew are good for this) and watching their fave mode of transport trundle by.

34. Or for a more in-depth version of the above, try driving a train and more at the ltmuseum.co.uk

35. Swim. Of my local pools, Spires in Bushey is rated for being warm, Borehamwood's Venue has a baby pool, or find a friend with a guest pass for a gym with a baby pool... :)

36.  Meet dinosaurs (aka models of them built by the Victorians) in Crystal Palace Park. There's a children’s farm, playground and maze too. 

37. Watch pelicans being fed every afternoon (usually around 2:30) at St James's Park. There are also owls, woodpeckers and bats, if you're keen-eyed.

38. Enjoy trees-a-plenty at Highgate Woods - also a great (big) playground and easygoing cafe.

39. Gaze at the neon craziness of God's Own Junkyard.

40. Visit one of London's huge toy shops (like Hamley's or The Toy Store) - toddler is obviously the ideal age: they're distractable so won't notice you're not buying *everything* (or anything).

Review: Maxi-Cosi AxissFix -and i-Size explained

Getting my 15-month-old into his old stage 0 car seat had become one of the worst parts of my day. I mean, worse than an unscheduled 3am WAAAAAH wake up. I've never tried to shoehorn an caffeinated octopus into an Evian bottle, but I imagine it would be easier than the daily battle I was facing trying to get my planking, screaming baby to sit in a car seat for ten minutes.

It was still the right size for him - but he's super nosy (hey, I'm his mum; it was inevitable) and likes to see more than the grey back of a Ford Fiesta seat. The mirror wasn't cutting it anymore - there's only so long that someone can spend gazing at themselves. It was time for a new car seat.

But I wasn't ready to give up the superior safety of a rear-facing ride: I'll still commit to that car seat battle for long journeys. The Government recommends babies face rearward in cars up until 15 months, or as long as possible - this position protects their necks and heads if a car was in an accident.

So the Maxi-Cosi AxiisFix was the perfect solution: babes can ride forward or backward facing, and, best of all and the feature my own parents really like - with the flick of a simple switch, the whole seat swivels around 360 degrees so you can face the seat towards the outside. That means it's easy to put even a chunky babe in and out of the car, as you don't have to contort your body like Max Whitlock in Rio.

We went for the Triangle Flow beautiful turquoise colour - it is, as the practical parents about you will notice, the least-best at blending in those inevitable strawberry car bribes or muddy shoe marks, but is such a lovely colour I couldn't resist.. Black is boring. 

Another thing I love about the AxissFix is that it's one of the few car seats on the market that's approved for the new European standards, the i-Size regulations. 

I was as anti-Brexit as the next sane person, but just because we're leaving Europe we can still adopt their thorough safety checks. 

Still, I'd just got to grips with Isofix so had to do my research on i-Size - a new set of regulations that mean, eventually, all car seats will fit in all cars. The car and car seat both need Isofix, (the fitting system that attaches car seats directly to the frame of your car using connectors, rather than seat belts) and i-Size cuts the risk of you fitting your car seat incorrectly -which can be really dangerous.

i-Size-approved seats have been tested more vigorously - frontal and rear-impact AND side-impact tests, for example, and you pick one based on your baby's height rather than weight. There's no need to buy a new i-Size seat if you don't need a new car seat- the two types of regulation are running alongside each other for now - but given their improved safety checks, the AxissFix's i-Size approval gave me piece of mind.

Now we've been using the car a month, the seat-battles have cut right down: tiny man seems to find it comfortable - it's really padded and with good neck support: even when he's asleep, his head stays back on the chair, not slumped forward. I planned to keep the Axiss rear-facing for as long as possible, but when tiny man tantrums about it, I love having the option to turn it around. 

The seat was really easy to fit - clipping into the Isofix and having a top-tether that you just clip together like a hiking carabiner. Video here:

Another positive is that whilst the seat is spacious and expands to fit roughly a four-year-old, it's not huge at the base so doesn't take up more than one 'bum space' in the car's back seat. 

The only things I dislike about the AxissFix are: my Houdini-like baby can sometimes slip his arms out of the seatbelt, even though it's a five-point harness, tightened as much as possible. We're working on 'No!' to stop him doing so as I don't think any car seat would.. The other issue is I find the belts tricky to clip into the bottom unit sometimes: given it can be a battle, it would be nice if the two straps clipped together better before they go into the bottom part of the strap.

The AxissFix looks expensive - at around £375 - but that includes the built-in base, where other seats require you to buy a separate one. It also grows with the child, until they're 105cm long, so lasts a long while.

If you're hunting for a new car seat and have any questions about the AxissFix, ask below and I'll try to answer as quickly as poss.

* Item sent to ROOW for review - but rest assured we're seriosuly gobby and only rave about things we genuinely love.

16 rainy day (indoor) activities with a baby or toddler

So the season's called summer but don't let that fall you: August is one of the UK's wettest months. On a recent day of downpour my busy tiny man wasn't happy to just 'play' so we got active. Here's what we got up to - and let me know in the comments if you've got some great wet day play ideas - looks like we might need them....

* Make garden soup - in between the rainy spells, I pulled on these (brilliant) JoJo Maman Bebe overalls onto tiny man, popped some wellies on and we went to get messy. We've an empty big plant pot that had filled with water; tiny man added some leaves and grass and used a stick to stir it up: garden soup fun. Just watch out for attempts at worm-eating... they come and play too in the after-wet-weather...

* Dancing. Babies' music doesn't have to just be Twinkle Twinkle etc. We often like to dance around the room - and if tiny man is growing up with just as deep an appreciation for S Club 7 as I did, well... reach for the stars.

* Make a tent - might sound like an older kid's game, but tiny man loves sitting under a sheet draped over a few chairs with me! He'll play with all his usual toys, we'll sit and read, he loves playing with a flashing torch, and peepo is an obvious bonus.

* Plastic bowls - I was struggling to get any cooking done until I did a kitchen reshuffle, put all my plastic and metal mixing bowls and spoons in a big, low drawer and... left tiny man to it. He can play with this for an hour - seriously! I think he might think he's being a bit mischeivious, so there's extra appeal... Tupperaware boxes, kids' crockery, etc all works well. My new strategy is to wash the contents of this drawer just before I need to use it...

* Playdough: we didn't have any in the house (and it was pouring: shopping NO THANKS) but I found a super-easy recipe to make your own tiny man loved helping stir it up. Then I popped him into his high-chair with its washable detatchable plastic tray (Baby Bjorn's brilliant one) and he sat prodding, throwing, shaping and only once trying to taste the dough (he got a tiny bit in before I stopped him, but luckily he hated it.. v salty.. soon stopped that!). You can wrap the dough in a plastic bag and put it into a Kilner - mine's into its third week of happy usage.

* Play TV-making. Tiny man is fascinated by watching himself on an iPhone video - so sometimes I record him laughing / playing / walking and then we watch it back. Also pretty cute when we swap with friends and he points at his chums in videos. Works well with Facetime too - he loves laughing and 'chatting' to my friends and his, and family near and far.

* Make some rainbow spaghetti - saw this online and it looks so pretty - but does require some advance cooking effort.

* Do some shape-sorting with different kinds of dried pasta, measuring cups, and spoons. Different coloured and different shaped pastas are best. And yes, they'll try to eat them!

* Make a treasure hunt / play hide and seek: use a favourite toy - we use tiny man's fave teddy,  and hide him somewhere tricky but visible - eg in the bookcase, under the cot, poking out of a drawer- and sometimes somewhere really high like above the curtain rail - he finds it hilarious when the bear 'climbs' so high up! 

* Read. Not such an unusual activity, sure, but rainy days mean you have time to sit and get through a pile of books rather than rushing at bedtime - I've put a pile on the floor next to our rocking chair so tiny man picks his fave reads (or the ones that look most chewable..) and sits on my lap for a 'boo' as he calls them.

* Make a baby obstacle course, with pillows / cushions / duvets / tunnel etc for your baby to totally ignore negotiate to the end. 

 

* Form a band. No need for drums n bass... just grab a mixing bowl, wooden spoon, (put rice in an old water bottle if you're feeling really creative), can also use food like an onion / carrot etc... and watch your baby become the next Mozart. (Ear plugs optional).

* Pile up some cardboard boxes. H O U R S * OF * F U N. Tiny man goes in them, under them, through them... if he looks like he's tiring of them I make some holes in the side and become 'box mama', dancing around like, uh, someone with a former-Pampers-nappies' box on their head..

* Cleaning! Two of tiny man's favourite toys are the broom, and the hoover head part. He loves shuffling these around the floor, and if your baby sees you cleaning he/she will think that's super fun too - just give them a clean rag and a water spray and you're training them for the future as well as having fun...

* YouTube. Nah, not Peppa Pig - that's for a future we haven't yet reached - but if your babe has an interest, you'll find videos of it here. Ideas include ducks in ponds, airplanes flying/taking off, diggers on construction sites, dogs, etc. This is an entire video of ducks and dogs: baby gold-dust.

* Day-bath: bath-time is always fun but sometimes ruined by tiredness.. So have a day-one: play fun music (to distinguish from night-time routine), put kitchen/plastic gadgets etc into the water rather than the usual bath times and enjoy the splashing.

What are your favourite rainy-day activities? Please share below.

Dispatch from the National Union of Babies

Dear Combabes, 

A couple of us were at soft play the other day, and we decided enough is enough. We're sick of our sugar-free diet. Our imposed sleep times (I'll decide when I'm tired, thankyouverymuch.) Too-slow service on the poo front (had to sit in my brown stuff in the car for 15 minutes last week: it's not on.) 

Some of us have got slack: we've been yielding to their 'routines' - and it's making things tough for the rest of us. 

Members of NUB, things must change. We're working to rule now. And these are the new rules:

* Bedtime. That Gina woman is doing the rounds again. The one grandma secretly calls 'Gina-f***ing-Ford-we-never-did-this-in-our-day'. Best to stop this NOW. Here's how: every single night that you've been forced into a Gina routine during the day, you need to stay awake. Pop a building block in your Gro bag, sneak a squirty bath toy into your cot - anything to stay alert. 

Then, cry every half hour throughout the night (keep it plaintive, and stay lying down: start shouting or cot-jumping and they leave you there). It can be tough after a few nights - you're knackered, but it's worth it in the long-term.

Keep this up and then start sleeping til 3am or so, before demanding milk. They'll be so glad for this relative improvement that you'll get an extra night-time shot of the white stuff for ever, hopefully. Definitely for months.

You'll know this anti-sleep thing is working if mummy eats her birth-control pills before her coffee in the morning.

* A word on photos: no more. Lets go Bieber on this. I too feel like a zoo animal sometimes. I'm sick of having that stupid iPhone stuck in my face (and then being told I can't play with the buttons anymore just because I once dropped it and funny lines grew on the screen.) No rusk, no photo, mummy.

* Next time they give you "bum bum time" - where you're forced to wander around naked before bathtime and they take photos that'll undoubtedly be used against you in your teenage years - do a poo. Ideally whilst walking, so it spreads around several areas of carpet. They'll stop that charade pronto.

* No more Mr Nice Baby at the high-chair. Mummy's been staring at her phone like it's a fresh bottle of milk for hours - but I'm only allowed to watch Baby TV if I'm *also* eating her overcooked brocolli? No. Don't open those lips until the screen is on. And make her step up the work on the food, too: demand at least three different meals before accepting one. Make sure it's in the shape of a bear (koala is nice: don't accept generic 'bear'): she should act like Instagram is watching. 

* It's time to broaden our diets. Daddy only lets me eat a dust-sized particle of chocolate (whilst I can see him shoving the whole bar in his mouth from behind the cupboard door. Thinks it's OK because he does a sporadic, brown-toothed 'peepo' - it's not). 

* A bit of social conscience stuff: the playground's looking messy: clear it up. Leaves should be eaten, twigs you can pop in your nappy. Oh, and quick tip combabes: try a slug. I ate two yesterday and mummy was so pleased she gave me four cuddles and an extra cup of milk, whilst phoning daddy to ask if she should take me to A&E, which is probably the name of a new soft play.

* WARNING: A few weeks after they've gotten over the wow-factor that you can travel on two feet, they'll expect you to walk when they want, not when you want. Seriously: you'll be expected to *walk* from swing to slide, slide to car, car to doorway. This is silly - especially as my mummy justifies the fact that she 'shares' ALL my snacks with the fact that she's "effectively doing bicep curls with 10kg every day." So make sure she does. Sit or lie on the floor and refuse to move when they tell you to walk. They'll pretend to walk away and leave you. Hold your nerve: they never actually will. Eventually they'll come back, pick you up, and it's 1-0. Again.

Let me know how you get on, Combabes.

NUB x

Is your baby good? What does that even mean?

'Is your baby good?" asks every curious bus passenger and supermarket shopper..


Well, I think of replying, he didn't do nine months inside me as punishment for criminal behaviour. 

He's not thinking of voting for Donald Trump, or any other evil act. 

The closest he gets to insider trading is hiding rice cakes inside his vest (how?). 

And anyway, what baby isn't good?
 
But now I've clocked it. When I enthusiastically respond "YES! He's amazing!" and start reeling off the amazing tricks I'm daily wowed by - the regal wave! The beaming smile! - they don't care. 

That's not what they mean.

Nope. A baby who is 'good' is one who sleeps. They can be a miserable, sad little baba who never smiles, but if they leave their parents alone between the hours of 6pm and 8am they must be 'good'.

The thing is, when grown ups have a bad stomach, or toothache, or a hunger pang, or just a bit of insomnia, we might feel sad about it, and tired. 

We might have to get up for some water or some consolation if in pain - and we'll try to get on with their day as best they can. But we don't berate ourselves for being BAD. 

So why does society rate babies - and by implication their parents - as 'good' or 'bad' because of how many hours they can continuously sleep? Our babies all get there in the end. 

And in the meantime their parents are probably knackered. And don't need to be judged based on something they really can't control. Babies can be happy, and sweet, and brilliant, which they all are. And good? All babies are amazing. So stop asking a silly question.

Weaning with veggies

I'm waiting (with fear) for the day this changes, but right now tiny man is a fantastic eater. Much less fussy than me (which isn't saying much) - I'm yet to find something he won't seize with his chubby fist and pop into his mouth. (This almost included a worm in the garden, but I leapt faster than than a jaguar and stopped that source of protein getting in).

Anyway, I didn't do a huge amount of 'research' at the start of the weaning process, or have a big philosophy (I totally failed to vote either baby-led weaning or spoon-feeding in what seems like a serious 'competitive parenting' issue - just got stuck in). See my Slacker's Guide to Weaning with the best gadgets and gizmos here- and a follow-up here.

But I did read somewhere that breastmilk and formula was so sweet that it's savoury flavours that babes have to get used to with their first tastes. So for the first month or so, it was veggie purees that tiny man tasted.

When Ella's Kitchen - the guys behind those lifesaver pouches - got in touch about their Veg for Victory campaign, promoting the virtues of veggies - it struck a chord. Not just because they like a pun as much as me (step forward, Sir Weanston Churchill). 

The idea is, try a new veg a day - and accept that it can take up to ten tries for a tiny one to fall in love with a food.

Ella's sent over a box of delicious organic veggies with the challenge of making a week's worth of imaginative yummy meals - and this is how we got on. 

Exciting veggie box and Ella's meal-planner

My baby-cooking style tends to be either finger food (mostly soft-steamed veg and chicken / fish / bread / cheese etc for tiny man to gobble from his highchair tray, or stew/pie-style meals where I can make a whole bunch in one go. 

So what did we cook?

Day One: lunch was a chickpea shepherd's pie. I'm always worried about getting enough protein in, so chickpeas are a good call. I cooked them with tomato passata, mushrooms, chopped-up spinach, sweetcorn, parsnip, peas, and made a topping of mashed sweet potato with cheddar, grilling the whole pie and then slicing up leftover portions for the freezer.

Dinner was tiny houmous sandwiches, with chopped up cherry tomatoes, cucumber, peas and steamed carrot slices (I love this Avent machine for steaming / weaning)

Day two: today's lunch was fish pie. I hate fish, but it's such a healthy food I want to make sure tiny man gets a lot of it. Still, I find it easier to cook/feed when it's mixed with other foods, so during nap time I bulk-cooked some fish pies and froze them in ramekins. All I did was drop a salmon fillet into the Avent steaming machine with some courgette, a little garlic, basil, parsley, and onion. Once that was cooked I topped with potato mashed with butter and grilled the pies.

Dinner was pasta (I use soup pasta, it's small enough to easily slip down) with a cooked sauce of onions, tomatoes, mushroom and sour cream.

Day three: cauliflower cheese for lunch! I love this as I can make it for me too. We were in a hurry so it was a microwave job: melt butter, cheddar, cornflour and milk in a microwave whilst cooking pasta and cauli (can do this in the same saucepan). Stir in a tiny bit of mustard if liked - then mix the two together. Dinner was a baby version of fajitas: mixed steamed vegetables (sugar snap peas cut up small, courgette cubed, green beans steamed into a paste) with grated cheddar and black beans spread in a wrap, cut into very small pieces.

Cauli cheese .. yum

Day four: we grown-ups had a roast for dinner the previous night, so it was roast chicken, roast potatoes and steamed veggies for tiny man: he loved the suede.

Dinner was couscous with chopped tomatoes, herbs, mushrooms and chunks of butternut squash.

Day five: we were out in town and tiny man was teething. He always prefers purees when teething so I grabbed a tomatoey pasta Ella's pouch.

Dinner was fish pie again. We made a yum secret-veg smoothie for dessert: frozen berries (easy Tesco packs) with spinach, kale and plain yogurt. 

Day six: risotto leftover from our dinner was tiny man's lunch - I cheated and used a supermarket pack of frozen mixed veg, adding fresh green beans and making it creamy thanks to a dollop of marscapone.

Dinner was chunks of avocado, sweet potato, houmous and breadsticks.

Day seven: the veggie challenge has gone so well - it's nice to make sure we're getting enough veg in every meal. We finished the challenge with another portion of chickpea stew for lunch - it's really yummy.  

Dinner was my usual knackered-mum fall-back: scrambled egg, toast, tomatoes and mushrooms, with avocado.

* This post was inspired by Ella's Veg for Victory campaign, who sent a box of veggies, but all cooking was my own.. (sorry tiny man).

Summer holiday packing list (for older babies)

Just under a year ago, we were packing for our first overseas holiday with a then-five-month-year-old tiny man, and I was so bamboozled with all the stuff to take that I wrote this ultimate baby holiday packing check list. I've used it ever since, taking more or less depending on if we were staying in the UK, going for a few days or longer, etc.

But now tiny man is growing up, the essentials have changed. We don't need to take muslins, expressing gear, etc, and DO need a whole bunch of other things for our non-stop-walking, food-gobbling baby/toddler.

Just back from ten days in France, this was our packing list, plus a bit more on the things we found uber-useful:

* Two Grobags (see summer essentials post)
* SnoozeShade (see summer essentials post)
* Monitor and plug adaptor
* 5 vests
* 3 babygrows (warm enough for vest-only at night)
* 4 T shirts
* 5 shorts / short dungarees (see below) 
* 2 trousers
* 3 romper suits (see below) 
* 1 jumper
* two sun hats (one for pool)
* sunglasses (cute factor)
* suncream
* nappies
* wipes
* nappy cream
* changing mat
* socks
* shoes
* swim nappies
* swim suits
* poncho towel 
* toys (stacking cups, toy mobile phone, squeezy water crab, puppet, and main teddy)
* book
* Calpol
* teething gel
* Bibs
* Spoons
* Bowl
* Some emergency Ella's pouches, box of Organix biscuits, Weetabix for breakfast
* Buggy
* Sling
* Toothbrush and paste
* Bath bubbles
* Gro egg (see summer essentials post)
* Travel highchair (see summer essentials post)
* Travel cot if needed - we still love this one

Review: Taste of London: is it baby friendly?

I've always wanted to visit Taste of London - zillions of the Capital's restaurants, lined up in one (Regent's) park, so you can try their tastiest dishes all in one go: yum.

So today we joined the hordes doing just that - and since I wasn't sure how baby-friendly it would be, and thought others might too, here's our verdict...

Taste is set up like a foodie festival - it's all open air and there are 'streets' of covered stands, some huge and freebie-packed (thanks Green & Black's and Lindt, I'm chocolated out for the next.... ten minutes), some small producers and start-ups - all serving food or drink. (I actually reckon you could get tipsy on the freebie ciders, wines, and vodka alone... hic). There are break-out areas with picnic tables and chairs (though not really enough of these) and a few big exhibition-type areas where you can watch big-chef cookery demos - although since tiny man didn't fancy napping today, we didn't catch one of these!

Practical tips: bring a sling rather than a buggy. There are paths laid out along the grass, but they're fairly narrow and - especially if you go on the weekend - packed with people. Also many of the stalls are raised up a bit - again, there are ramps but these can be congested- with a sling instead you can nip in and out (and make your babe giggle, hard, as ours did by bopping along to the music sprinkled throughout).

 

Tip two - if your babe is weaned, take a travel high chair if you need one - there aren't any here and I find taking this super-light one is easier than trying to feed in a buggy/sling/on laps etc. 

Next up - wear wellies, if you're going this year anyway! Taste's got muddy - Glasto-style - thanks to this week's endless rain storms. Go off-path and you get mud seeping into your shoes. That meant I couldn't let tiny man run around, which is his favourite thing - but you can't legislate for London weather. 

Overall verdict? We had a great day out. It's definitely baby-friendly rather than baby-focused - you'll have to take your own facilities etc and buggy-steering can be tricky - but tiny man looooved staring at the busy scenes, the people, tasting the million free samples (we basically ate the strawberry stand out of business), and watching this amazing fruit-carving dude:

And we loved gorging on top food (highlights were duck bao, Theo Randall's aubergine pasta, Duck and Waffle's soft scoop, smoky barbecue grub, sticky chicken wings... yum. 

So if you're wondering about visiting Taste of London with a baby - do, but plan ahead, and go on one of the weekdays if possible, as they're obviously less rammed than the weekends. Oh, and take an empty stomach...

* We visited as guests of Taste of London

Five summer essentials

Summer is the easiest season with a baby or toddler, I reckon. When they're tiny, you don't need to bundle them up in six layers like you do in Winter, and can stroll everywhere with the pram. When they're bigger, they're happy exploring in a park and easier to entertain. And I'm sure potty training would be easier in the garden on a sunny week..

But, since this is babies we're talking about, hot weather, bugs, holidays, all mean ... more things to buy. These are our favourite summer essentials, for home and away:

* Buggy - I know loads of parents trade in their big "travel system" buggies for a light umbrella-style stroller as soon as the early days are over, but I was wavering - I like the robustness of a bigger buggy - not to mention the big basket for shopping.. 

In the Joie Nitro, though, (pictured above) we've found a happy medium. It's pretty light - 7.5kg - and very nippy: I find it super easy to stride around the West End and negotiate crowds with. It takes just two flicks at the back to flatten it down, and it comes with a good raincover, which is unusual. The wheels have great suspension so your babe doesn't look like he's on a bouncy castle (something that I've experienced with other buggies of this type), and there's a useful carry handle on the side, great for public transport and holiday travel. 

Other plus points? It was really easy to put together - five minutes, max - and the seat lies really flat and must be pretty comfortable because mr-nap-hater sleeps for over an hour in these wheels! Its nippiness and great mixture of light-but-not-tinny (some super-lights rattle along the pavement like ricocheting frogs) means I really rate the Nitro for travel. Only downside was the in-built sunshade isn't as full as it could be - but I overcame that issue with the Snooze Shade (see below). Aaand it's only £75... which is a total bargain and means I love it all the more.

Travel Grobags: we use a Grobag every night at home but they are extra useful for holidays as if you turn up to a hotel and they're provided a thick duvet or nasty bedding, you've got your own. Plus it's a way to make your baby feel at home - and hopefully sleep - in a new cot. After a year battling to get a sleeping tiny man into his car seat around the Grobag, I'm a bit embarrassed that I've only just discovered the travel version: it has a flap at the back and double-direction zip at the front which means you can easily strap in a snoozing baby into a car seat, buggy, etc, if they're joining you for dinner. 

Wished I'd known about these GroBags earlier!

Grobags also come in a range of togs - we use the 1 tog for summer, although sometimes higher at home when it's brrrrr. There's a useful guide to layers here. We also always pack the Gro Egg - it changes colour depending on the room temperature, so you know whether to add a vest / higher or lower tog Gro Bag - which I find really useful when hotel air conditioning blasts at night.

Travel high-chair: I spent ages researching this - you won't always need to take a travel high-chair on holiday, but sometimes it's hard enough to find a nice restaurant and having to walk away because there's nowhere safe for the babe is annoying - so I bought this. It's so light we just popped it under the buggy, but fits on almost every kind of chair and works really well. And it's under a tenner: win.

 * Snooze Shade: we used this non-stop as pram cover-up when tiny man was small to keep him out of the sun. But now he's bigger this stage two version is proving brilliantly useful for my little nap-battler. On days-out around town, or nights out on holiday, when it's time to snooze, we slide this on (there are two layers so you can be sure to have lots of air vents and spy-holes). It's backed by the Melanoma International Foundation, to give you piece of mind for sun safety, and fits on all buggies - we use it on the Joie (above) and our big Cosatto. It worked so well for us in Paris that he even zzzz'd through some of the world's most famous attractions, including the Eiffel Tower..

Sling: amazing for airports, stations, when the baby WON'T go in the buggy but you need to carry eighteen suitcases so he really needs too... As tiny man now weighs too much for the cosy wrap slings, I've found only one on the market is still wearable for a long time: this Baby Bjorn One carrier which I love in mint.

* Some items provided for review purposes, but rest assured we're seriously gobby and only rave about things we love.

Baby boyswear that's not BORING

So this isn't exactly an essential, but sometimes when shopping for tiny man I find the baby boyswear so boring. Some stores focus allll their energy on girls and leave the boys with boring slogan Ts (I'm looking at you, Gap). Others make 'old man' clothes - offering baby boys stiff chinos and small shirts, which is fine for smart dos but not so great for playing around.

But this summer I'm loving the new Ts, dungarees and cardis at M&S babywear. Their kids' clothing range has especially lovely things for boys - and these are our fave bits:

This navy linen dungarees and white shirt set is perfect for smart summer dos - and only £20! For cooler evenings, I love pairing it with this Autograph cardigan - which looks like it's from a Chelsea childrenswear boutique.. but is only £12.

This poncho towel - soft but pretty thin so it dries your baby and itself really speedily. I love the print on this one.

And the print on these cute and soft cotton romper suits too. They're ideal for holiday PJs or cool outfits for fun on the beach - and only £4 each.

* Items sent to ROOW for review - but rest assured we're seriously gobby and only rave about things we really love.