With excitement akin to Christmas morning we eagerly awaited the arrival of our first toy to road test and the ‘Farm Animal Sound Puzzle’ did not disappoint. Beautifully crafted by hand the puzzle has 8 pieces which have matching noises. My son Billy (2 years, 5 months) loved the puzzle with and without the noises (It took 3 trips to the shops to remember to buy the batteries and then once I got home I realised I had bought the wrong size and had the correct size batteries in the cupboard the whole time….it was one of those weeks!). Without the batteries Billy picked up each piece and said the name and made the correct sound before putting it in its place, as a child who usually calls the animal by the noise it makes I thought this new development was great. He was content to use the pieces with the puzzle and take them off about the house and use them in conjunction with whatever else he could find - his blocks, his trains, his baby brothers back.

Once the batteries were put in Billy thought the puzzle was hysterical and plays with it over and over again. The pieces have matching pictures underneath which would help with younger children who are new to using puzzles and the sounds would help those children who are learning animal noises. Even Patrick (7 months) thought the sounds were amusing and watching his brother play with the puzzle provided a good distraction while I was trying to get dinner. For the sake of my ego I maintain that the mass amounts of dribble were in anticipation for the tasty vegetables I was preparing and not his urge to suck on the pieces of puzzle. For anyone in the 1-2.5 year old bracket this Melissa and Doug Sound Puzzle is highly recommended!

The Boon bath toys are beyond fantastic and were love at first sight for both my boys. Billy  (2.5 years) adored the Boon water bugs, he loved searching for them amongst the bubbles and scooping them up over and over again. The net is big enough and sturdy enough to hold all of the bugs and a few other bath toys he decided to collect. Patrick (8.5months) was very impressed by the bugs, in fact he got to know them on an intimate level, he sucked on them, chewed on them, cuddled them and screamed until they were dried off so he could have them out of the bath. They float about in the water making it easy for him to spot (even amongst the bubbles) and their shape are perfect for his little chubby hands to pick up and hold onto while he gives them a good chew.

The Boon scrubbles were equally loved. The three different textured bulbs are interchangeable and with a little bit of practice Billy was able to screw and unscrew them (great for his fine motor development) and he spends a lot of time matching the colours and then mixing them up.  He got the giggles when he realised they would squirt water, and has great fun squirting both his brother and myself. Thankfully being so small they don’t hold that much water before they need to be undone and filled up again, giving me a reprieve from the water action! To start with the bases were quite firm and it was a bit hard for Billy to squeeze them to get the water out but after a fortnight of use they have softened and it is easy for him to get a result. Patrick really enjoys sucking and chewing on them (except for the spikey one) and spends time running his fingers over the different textures…he was also very entertained when the squirting started.

After the article a few weeks ago on the yuckies found in bath toys I was so pleased to see that not only do these toys come apart completely, they dry in a short amount of time AND can be put in the dishwasher.  They are PVC, Phthalate and Bp-A free and are therefore safe for our little ones to play with, bathe with and chew on! They are durable and have been in and out of the bath, around the house, outside and chewed on many times but still have no marks or even scratches on them which just shows their durability . They are a lovely colour (thankfully not purple otherwise they may get lost in our delightful bathroom!) and I can imagine will get double the use in summer when they boys have their waterplay outside.

With excitement akin to Christmas morning we eagerly awaited the arrival of our first toy to road test and the ‘Farm Animal Sound Puzzle’ did not disappoint. Beautifully crafted by hand the puzzle has 8 pieces which have matching noises. My son Billy (2 years, 5 months) loved the puzzle with and without the noises (It took 3 trips to the shops to remember to buy the batteries and then once I got home I realised I had bought the wrong size and had the correct size batteries in the cupboard the whole time….it was one of those weeks!). Without the batteries Billy picked up each piece and said the name and made the correct sound before putting it in its place, as a child who usually calls the animal by the noise it makes I thought this new development was great. He was content to use the pieces with the puzzle and take them off about the house and use them in conjunction with whatever else he could find - his blocks, his trains, his baby brothers back.

Once the batteries were put in Billy thought the puzzle was hysterical and plays with it over and over again. The pieces have matching pictures underneath which would help with younger children who are new to using puzzles and the sounds would help those children who are learning animal noises. Even Patrick (7 months) thought the sounds were amusing and watching his brother play with the puzzle provided a good distraction while I was trying to get dinner. For the sake of my ego I maintain that the mass amounts of dribble were in anticipation for the tasty vegetables I was preparing and not his urge to suck on the pieces of puzzle. For anyone in the 1-2.5 year old bracket this Melissa and Doug Sound Puzzle is highly recommended!

My first baby Billy was a whopping  9.75 pounds. He had reflux and colic and would only sleep for 30 minutes at a time, if I held him upright . The novelty of sitting on my butt nursing a baby purely so he could sleep wore off as quickly as the selection of midday movies.

Enter the Baby Bjorn active carrier. I looked at the whole range of carriers and went with this one purely for the added back support (also because my husband thought it was the least feminine of the entire carrier range and was more likely to use it). Billy loved it, I could pat him to sleep on the bottom with one hand as I cooked dinner or did the groceries. It was great to use if we were out at any social event (although few and far between!). I felt more at ease with him next to me and I found it quite easy to transfer him asleep from the carrier to the car seat. Even in the humid weather we both didn’t get that hot.

I currently use it with my 2nd child (Patrick) who is 5 months old and find it just as good. He loves it when I do the shopping and seated in the front facing position plays with Billy (now 2) who sits in the trolley. Even after a c-section I still felt it was easy to use from about the 3 week mark. The only downside it that when my babies hit the 8kg mark the time I could carry them started to decrease and my back would start to hurt after about 40 minutes. I would highly recommend the Baby Bjorn Active.

Images is of Patrick asleep in the carrier…yes I have a fake beard and a bandage on my hand, we were at a Vegas themed party and I was dressed as a character from the movie ‘The Hangover’!

Meet Sara, one of our new resident Road Testers.  Sara is Mum to Patrick and Billy and is from New Souht Wales.  Welcome aboard Sara! We look forward to reading Sara’s Road Tests and also her Guest Blogs.