Blog : Little Lilypad Co

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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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Category: Reviews

  1. Putting Spring in your step .... and your wardrobe : Vertbaudet review

    Posted on

    Clothing small children is no mean feat. Especially when those small children develop tastes and fashion sense (I use the term sense loosely) so when Vertbaudet asked us to review from their new Spring & Summer catalogue, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask the 8 year old to choose her own outfit.

    I was suprisingly pleased at her choice.

    Vertabaudet Spring Summer

    Note :  This is not my daughter in the pictures ....... her mane of curly hair, would never look that sleek :-)

    She choose this coral party puffball dress for £32 and matching coral bolero cardigan for £ 22, which is a very "girly" choice for her and she obviously wanted to wear it as soon as it arrived. Unfortunately the weather didn't really lend itself to a summer dress (the rain outside trying to convince me that spring is nowhere in sight), so we compromised and added black leggings and pumps to create a great look.

    The dress is 100% cotton satin and comes plain or printed (depending on your choice) and it has a pure cotton voile lining. While this is lovely, all parents want to know how it washes and I am pleased to say that at 40 degrees, it didn't lose any of its colour or quality. The only thing it needs to lose are its creases ....... how does one really iron a puffball dress??

    She is delighted with the dress and I can see it being a key item in her spring wardrobe ..... I am just waiting for her to ask for it in the other colours too!!

    Disclaimer : We were sent the Vertbaudet dress and cardigan to review but all opinions on the quality are our own (and the 8 year olds)

  2. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Perfect Prep Review

    Posted on

    February is the month of love and we have been talking alot about the things we love, which leads us perfectly into our review of the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep. My gorgeous nephew has been chief tester, so without further ado, I shall pass you over to Suzi, our baby blogger .....

    I have been using the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Perfect Prep machine for a couple of weeks now and one word sums it up: Timesaving and if something is timesaving when you have a baby then it really can feel like it’s lifesaving! When you come to the end of your breastfeeding journey or this is simply not an option for you, for whatever reason that maybe, Tommee Tippee brings you as close to nature as you can get. 

    Tommee Tippee claim this machine ‘makes a fresh bottle at just the right serving temperature in less than 2 minutes’ and not wanting to blow their trumpet, I think it’s even quicker than that.

    So, how does it work? Simply, you select the number of ounces required for the feed and it dispenses a small amount of boiling water into your baby’s sterilised bottle, to which you add the milk powder and shake. This part of the process sterilises the powder (a process that is recommended by the health service but is easily missed if making up bottles using other methods). Lastly, you place the bottle back under the machine to collect the filtered cold water that makes the feed up to the right amount and to a perfect serving temperature.

     Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep

    So, it’s quick and easy to use that is clear, but is it revolutionary enough to be worthy of paying the RRP of £100? Well to put it simply, YES! And that is not because I have money to splash around, (if only..),

    its because we no longer have to worry about preparing night feeds in advance,

    it’s because we only have to pacify our little cherub for 2 minutes if he catches us off guard hungry,

    it’s because I don’t need to worry about whether the bottle is too hot or cold,

    it’s because I am happy knowing it has sterilised the milk,

    it’s because I am not wasting water and fuel and time boiling kettles and cooling / heating bottles,

    and last but definitely not least, it’s because my husband loves it! What man doesn’t like a gadget?!

    And what women doesn’t want her man to embrace making up the baby feeds : )

    Oh and there is one more thing, it looks smart, a little bit like a coffee machine to be honest so I’m happy for it to take pride of place in my kitchen. 

    I can only highly recommend this product; its simple, slick, efficient, safe and most of all timesaving, which as I said at the start, feels LIFESAVING!

    And to show just why we both love this product, here is my husband proudly demonstrating how it works! 

    It really is that easy!

  3. Love Is .... giving them a life skill

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    Love Is ..... learning a life skill.

    I talk alot about baby swimming. We are huge advocates of Water Babies and both my girls love being in the water so when I was asked by Konfidence to review one of their Warma Wetsuits, I jumped (or is it dived) at the chance.

    I say it regularly but learning to swim is a life skill.

    It makes holiday's more enjoyable.

    It makes my girls more confident.

    It stops me worrying about them (less) when we are around water.

    But wearing the right thing in the water isn't always easy with two particularly fussy young ladies. My eldest has had about 4 swimming costumes in the last 6 months, they have been too tight, too baggy, too itchy, too strappy (I kid you not). The little one is much easier to keep happy, although one thing we have found is that she is happiest when she is warm, so a wet suit is perfect for her.

    Konfidence Wet Suit

    I love that Konfidence are a family business who started trading in the UK in back in 1998 with the plan to design, manufacture and distribute the Konfidence Jacket buoyant swimming aid for children. Since then, they have grown their range of products with children in mind and I can honestly say, their vision totally translates into great design.

    I am sure that there are the cynics that will say a wet suit is just a wet suit surely? Trust me, this is not always true when there is a toddler and swim nappies involved! We have tried a few different styles, from the velcro wraps that make nappy changing easier to the high street versions but when you have a potty trained toddler, you don't need that option any more.

    Konfidence Wet Suit 1

    The Warma Wetsuit is perfect for us, the 2.5mm flexible neoprene was specifically chosen to provide necessary warmth in and out of the water whilst still allowing great freedom of movement for swimming. The little one needs to fill out a bit as the legs are a little bit baggy at the moment, which causes hilarious waterfalls out of her wetsuit as she gets out of the pool, but it is so easy to get on and off (which is super helpful when trying to undress a 2 year old).

    We are thrilled with the wetsuit and at £19.99 (although it is currently on offer) it is affordable too. However, we are delighted to be able to offer one of our readers the chance to win one of these fabulous Konfidence Warma Wetsuits.

    All you need to do, is enter below .....

     a Rafflecopter giveaway

  4. Why we love Joules : Review

    Posted on

    It is no secret that I have a love affair with shopping.

    It is no secret that I have two adorable daughters.

    It therefore comes as no surprise then that when I buy something, I usually have to buy two of them and whilst there is 6 years difference in age, from time to time, they do like to dress in similar clothing. (Not all of the time, obviously, as the 2 year old can still get away with cute bunny ears on her dressing gown but that is considered not cool by the 8 year old!).

    So you can imagine my delight when we were asked to review items from the new Joules range. I have to be completely honest and admit that I always thought that Joules was all about delightfully bright wellington boots and attire for country folk and whilst this may have been part of its original creation, the colourful range and beautiful prints are perfect for my "floral" named girls. 

    We choose the gorgeous quilted jackets from Joules and when I say we, I really mean me. I loved how they have a classically British look but the burst of floral lining gives them a beautifully girlie look.

    The quality goes without saying, the jackets are warm and it may sound silly but the zips work and the children can use them! I cannot tell you my frustration with childrens coats where the zips get stuck. This may sound like a small thing but when you are on a strict morning schedule, those few minutes dealing with a zip matter! Also trying to wrestle a toddler out of a jacket with a stuck zip is no fun .... but I digress. 

    Why we love Joules

    Joules clothing isnt high volume, low price, it is all about quality, style and standing the test of time. Unfortunately for me, I have now found other things on the site that my girls will look adorable in, I just don't need to let them see the horse print attire as knowing my two, they will want a horse to go with it!