Review: Hauck Dream 'n' Care Travel Cot

Every visit to my parents is a battle of baby vs. dog - neither is willing to accept the universe does not revolve around them. Bracken tries to jump all over the baby, and Marianna tries to yank the dog's fur. Basically, they bring out the worst in each other. Today my dad suggested getting out the travel cot they had from my aunt. The difference is amazing! Marianna and Bracken are separated and peace and quiet reigns (almost) supreme.

Looking up at TV friends...

The cot itself is great - it folds up nice and small, and the extra level on the bottom is great for storing baby paraphernalia (the other side has a zipped compartment for access to it). After the usual amount of faffing to get it together - if you're as clueless as we were, just type in 'travel cot' on YouTube - the structure is pretty sturdy, and the mesh sides are good as it means Marianna can still see me and vice versa.

Bracken.

Manufactured by Hauck, the Dream 'n' Care Travel Cot comes in a range of colours and designs. There's 'animals', 'butterfly', 'bear', and Winnie the Pooh. You can expect to pay £50 and up new, or you might be able to find it going cheap on eBay.

Review: Command Strips

I heard about Command strips fairly recently, within the last six months or so. Basically they're adhesive bits of velcro you can use to hang pictures without damaging the wall - great news if you're renting! Command also make hooks, racks, bath organisers, etc, etc.

I bought the Rasch Parrots Wallpaper from B&M Bargains (£8.99 a roll), while the orange frames and tins came from Tiger. There's also a pretty Russian Khokhloma cup I found on eBay and D.I.Mdoll Gayane.

The strips themselves are really easy to use. You press the two halves together until they click (and they really do click), then peel off the backs and stick one side to the frames. Once they're well and truly stuck in place, peel off the backs of the other sides and stick them (plus frame) to the wall.

I used a pack of large strips (£3.80 on eBay including postage) and I must admit I was a little sceptical. But... they adhered a big 24" by 36" frame with perspex front (£16 from khaksar11 on eBay) to the wall without any problem. For once a product that actually lives up to its hype - I'm impressed! :)

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Trade-In Trials

You really have three options when it comes to media you have already consumed: you throw it away, give it away, or try to sell it. The first just seems all wrong to me (I mean, putting a book in the bin? A book!?), so traditionally I've always gone for option two. But, inspired by all the TV ads on the subject, lately I've been using online trade-in sites instead.

Rather than go with the usual tried and tested option (Ziffit), I decided I'd shop around a bit more with this lot to see if I could get a better deal. They all pay within around seven working days of receiving your package, so I was more interested in how much they offered and how easy the process was when rating - as I prefer using Royal Mail to Collect+ that was also a factor.

Plenty of stuff to trade in...

Fatbrain.co.uk 
Trade-in Limit: £15
Shipping: Label is emailed to you, with the option of using Royal Mail or taking the package to your local Collect+ point.
Comments: This came out worst in my test, with no trade in offers for the bulk of my items and typically the lowest offers for items they did want.


ZAPPER.co.uk
Trade-in Limit: £10
Shipping: Label is emailed to you, and package must be taken to the nearest Collect+ point.
Comments: Slightly more offers than Fatbrain, with offers generally around the 20 - 30p mark. The biggest downside of ZAPPER is the high number of items the site didn't recognise the ISBN for, and even popular, well selling books fell into this category.


webuybooks.co.uk
Trade-in Limit: £5
Shipping: Label has to be printed off and package taken to Collect+ point, although they will send you a Royal Mail label if you have no local Collect+ point (doesn't specify how local...).
Comments: The search function was slower than on the other sites, and trade in offers were generally low - but it would take some of the items none of the others wanted.


Amazon
Trade-in Limit: £10 (to be paid in Amazon vouchers)
Shipping: Label needs to be printed, but there is the option of Royal Mail or Collect+.
Comments: Didn't offer trade-in on many items, but did offer a decent price for the items they wanted.


Momox.co.uk
Trade-in Limit: £10
Shipping: You need to print the shipping label or write out your own label, then post it via Royal Mail.
Comments: I've used Momox before and was impressed with the offers I received from them for books which no other site wanted. The only downside I can see is that they're the only one based out of country (Germany), so turnaround time might be slightly longer.


Ziffit.co.uk
Trade-in Limit: £10
Shipping: You can either print out the label or request that they post you one, then you either take your stuff to the nearest Collect+ point or, if your trade-in weighs over 10kg, they will collect it from your house.
Comments: By far the best trade-in site in my experience, offering trade-in on the widest range of items, along with offering the highest price in around 75% of cases. I've also found their customer service department to be very helpful, with a quick response time.


Have you tried out any of the trade-in sites? Which one is your favourite?

Review: Jumperoo

Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo

I had heard loads of good things about the jumperoo, so was thrilled when my cousin offered to get her daughter's rainforest one down from the loft for us. FP don't provide an age recommendation to start from, just that the baby needs to have good head control. Marianna certainly does, and with her number one favourite activity being kicking (preferably a person...) it seemed just the kind of thing she would enjoy.

The jumperoo is so bright and colourful her face lit up as soon as she saw it. And when we swivelled the seat around to the lights and sounds workstation she looked positively amazed. She's too young to bother much with reaching out for things, but she enjoys watching the lights and when the more up-tempo tune comes on she likes to kick a bit. I'm sure that she'll work out the joys of actually bouncing in it over the next few weeks!

As the above picture shows, the jumperoo is a large and sturdy structure. To my mind it's safer than a door bouncer, and has the added advantages of letting us a) shut the door and b) not getting us into trouble with the landlord for marking the door frame. Marianna's not quite big enough to be able to reach the floor whilst in it, so we put her mat and blanket underneath it. The jumperoo is suitable for babies up to 25 lbs so she will have plenty of time to grow into it.

I really have to go with the vast majority of reviewers on this one, it's great. There are lots of colours, lights, noises, and things to reach for. There's dangling toys, and spinning toys, and the ability to bounce. It's safe and secure, and even at this age Marianna is happy to sit in it for 20 - 30 minutes before wanting out. You can expect to pay £80 - £115 new, but if you're able to collect you can pick them up for around £10 on eBay.

New Phone!

The weather was great today, stuff happened and things got done but, really, today was just the day I (finally) got my new phone. I'd had a contract with Orange for years and decided to end it and look for a better deal. ...I ended up back with EE, just with a new handset and £5 extra in my bank account each month. Result. My new number is:  07940 434654

The 13MP camera is plenty decent enough for everyday use.

Choosing which handset to go with was pretty easy. I hate touch screens so, short of giving up and buying a Doro PhoneEasy, Blackberry is always the obvious option. I'd read mixed reviews on the Blackberry Passport, even taking into consideration the fact that most tech reviewers seem to be of the opinion physical keypads should have gone out with the pull up aerial. Then I saw how it handled a spreadsheet. I use my phone mostly for reading - online, offline, plus agendas and supporting docs for work - so the BB's selling points of 60 characters per line and good PDF handling were really big draws for me.

There is also a 2MP selfie camera on the front of the handset.

Size wise, the Passport is big. They say size doesn't matter, but obviously both ways have their pros and cons! The screen is excellent for browsing, watching and reading, and using it feels like having a mini tablet rather than a big phone. On the downside it is a little more awkward to use one handed. But, I did manage to download Instagram, the lack of which was one of my only criticisms of my last Blackberry. I think we're going to get on well. :)

Prams and Tutu Baskets

My mum made the most adorable personalised pram keepsake for Marianna. It has her name on the back, and her initials on the little pillow. Here it is posed with two of my pose doll collection:

I also have my eye on the super cute tutu baskets she's been making lately. I could make my own, I suppose, but I am notoriously lacking in patience when it comes to crafting...