From a Mother to Another Is Collecting Again To Reduce Clothes Waste & Help Syrian Refugees

Frost loves the From a Mother to Another initiative and is proud to support it again this year. 

From a Mother to Another, the initiative from JoJo Maman Bébé, starts collecting again on 22nd Feb 2017. The aim; to reduce the shocking levels of clothing waste that end up in a landfill whilst helping those in need in the UK with distribution via Trussell Trust food banks, and thousands of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon. For full details of how to donate visit http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/FAMTA

JoJo will be collecting good quality outgrown or unwanted baby and children’s clothes in, sizes 0-6 years and children’s shoes.  Customers are requested to make up complete outfits, with shoes in a separate bag and donate at one of their 80 stores across the UK and Ireland. Full list of stores can be found here http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/stores.

Nearly a third of the UK’s clothing ends up in landfill, equating to 350,000 tonnes a year. By extending the life of clothes by just three months of active use, carbon and water waste could be reduced by up to 5-10% a year. Sending good quality, little worn hand-me-downs to those in need would mean they are worn by many more children, extending the clothes lifespan.

In the UK the emergency clothing packs will be distributed by some of the Trussell Trust’s 420 Foodbanks. In Lebanon the packs will be distributed by a number of partner charities on the ground. Helen Frank’s from Trussell Trust explains; “I am delighted Trussell Trust Foodbanks will be participating in the From A Mother To Another campaign for the second year running, it is a natural fit to The Trussell Trust’s ‘More Than Food’ approach, which offers additional services to help alleviate poverty in the UK. Over a third of three-day emergency food supplies provided by Trussell Trust foodbanks go to children in crisis. Last year the packs were gratefully received by over 1000 families” From a Mother to Another Is Collecting Again To Reduce Clothes Waste & Help Syrian Refugees

From a Mother to Another Is Collecting Again To Reduce Clothes Waste & Help Syrian Refugees1

Laura Tenison, founder & CEO of JoJo, visited refugee camps in the Bekaa Valley on the Lebanese Syrian border in early 2016. Laura explains what she found when visiting the camps; “The situation is dire and has not improved over the last 12 months. The millions of women and children living in makeshift tents are in urgent need of emergency humanitarian aid to help until it is safe to travel home – just a few miles across the border. They left Syria with whatever they could carry. Their children have outgrown their clothes long ago and are often in rags. The gift of a FAMTA pack brings tears of gratitude. Children are dying from the cold, we just had to help.”

JoJo Maman Bébé will cover the extensive costs of checking, sorting, shipping, customs clearance and managing the logistics of delivering the parcels to the partner charities in Lebanon and to the Trussell Trust’s Foodbanks across the UK.

 

 

Mustela Skin Care for Babies

 

 

It’s not just adults that suffer from dry skin, especially at this time of the year.

From birth to around the age of two, babies have particularly fragile skin which needs to be moisturised daily. Some babies can be born with skin that maybe be dry or that has a tendency towards flakiness.

Mustela® offers a range of skincare products formulated with specific ingredients not only to protect and moisturize but also to nourish the skin.

Mustela Nourishing Cleansing Gel with cold cream

This cleansing gel comes in a handy pump dispenser. It is gentle on the skin, easy to wash off, and leaves skin feeling smooth and smelling gorgeous. Its rich, creamy texture is ideal for dry skin.

Mustela Nourishing Lotion with Cold Cream

Nourishes and strengthens delicate skin.

Mustela lotion is quickly absorbed leaving skin gently nourished and moisturised. It also smells so delicious that I think many mums will be using it on themselves.

musti-eau-de-soin

Mustela Eau de Soin

Mustela  Eau de Soin can be used daily to delicately fragrance hair, body and clothes. It is an aromatic mix of subtle citrus notes combined with the soft fragrances of rose, lilac and amber. Chamomile and honey extracts offer soothing and softening properties and the fragrance is alcohol-free.

Mustela products are guaranteed safe from birth onwards and they are tested under dermatological and paediatric control.

Taking care of our children also involves taking care of the environment in which they live. At every stage along the life cycle of its products, Mustela does everything it can to minimize the impact that they have on the environment. Mustela bottles, for example, can all be recycled. The boxes used are from sustainably managed forests, and Mustela Bébé foaming formulations are all biodegradable

If you are pregnant or a new parent the Mustela website has lots of great advice www.mustela.co.uk

 

 

 

Share Your Experience Of Childbirth For Catherine Balavage’s New Book

childbirth, birth, labour, labour tips, labor, childbirth book, what to expect, catherine BalavageFrost Editor Catherine Balavage is looking for women- and some men- to share their experience of childbirth with her. This will be for Catherine’s new book Women On Childbirth. Catherine had a traumatic birth experience and wants to write the book to help other women know what to expect, but also how to have a better birth. This will be Catherine’s fourth non-fiction book. She also writes fiction books.

If you would like to be included we would need your experience in 400-1000 words approx (although word count can be flexible), a biography and then some labour tips. Email your experience to frostmagazine@gmail.com

Thank you in advance to contributors.

Deadline is 1st April 2017.

 

Welcome To The Club: 100 Parenting Milestones You Never Saw Coming

parenting , parenting milestones Welcome to the Club

100 Parenting Milestones You Never Saw Coming

By Raquel D’Apice

ISBN: 9781452153476

Price: £9.99

I doubt there is a parent who can’t relate to this astutely observant book on parenting. It will have you laughing out loud and grimacing in remembrance. On a more serious note, it makes you feel less alone. Not much feels better as a parent than when you realise you are not the only one in the trenches, making mistakes and dealing with the daily horrors of trying to raise young children. From poop explosions to first smiles, I loved this book and its great milestones.

From the comedian behind the popular parenting blog The Ugly Volvo comes a refreshing spin on the baby milestone book. Instead of a place to lovingly capture the first time baby sleeps through the night, this book shows what it’s like the first time baby rolls off the bed/sofa/changing table, leaving mum or dad in a state of pure terror (it happens). These 100 rarely documented but all-too-realistic milestones—such as “First Time Baby Says a Word You Didn’t Want Her to Say”—provide comfort, solidarity, and comic relief for new parents. Laugh-out-loud relatable text and distinctive paper-cut illustrations of these “bad” parenting moments make this a must-have book for anyone entering the mysterious club of parenthood.

About the author: Raquel D’Apice is a comedian, humour writer and the blogger behind The Ugly Volvo. Her writing has been featured in Slate, BUST, Mommyish, iVillage, Babble, Parents, Circle of Moms, Reader’s Digest and the parenting humour anthology I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE. She also writes regular articles for The Huffington Post. The mother of a young child, she lives in New Jersey.

Frost Loves Tiny Trolls of Norway | Perfect For Christmas

tiny-trolls tinytrollsofnorwayreview tiny-trolls-of-norway tinytrolls

Tiny Trolls of Norway immediately caught my eye. The outfits were so cute, but they also looked functional. The right outdoor clothes are important for children, it is a must that they are dry and warm. My expectations were not dashed when the cute onesie and hat arrived at Frost HQ. I could tell immediately that they were well made and warm. When I put them on my son not only did he look super cute- but I could tell he liked them too. In fact, the hat is the only hat he has ever worn which he has never tried to pull off. High praise indeed. People also commented on his outfit a lot. Always a good sign. We are huge fans of Tiny Trolls of Norway.

 

Tiny Trolls of Norway create functional and attractive outdoor wear for children aged 1-8. All items are made to the highest specifications and feature beautiful detail. The Tiny Trolls of Norway range is created with children and parents in mind. Clothes can be washed again and again without losing any quality, and rainsuits are 100% waterproof. From beautifully subtle pastel colours to the vivid Get Urban fuschia and turquoise, there is an outfit here for every child. Parents will love the durability and practical designs while kids will just adore the colours and cute embroidered troll logos. Ideal as a Christmas Gift, and essential for every child’s winter wardrobe – these are clothes kids really want to wear.

Natural products for soothing babies and toddlers

It’s great to see so many companies  offering great child care products and looking after the environment at the same time. Here at Frost we particularly like:

puressential_babyrelaxbalm

PURESSENTIEL REST & RELAX BABY BALM – Ideal for babies & toddlers / pre-schoolers

The Baby Relax Balm made from 100% natural essential oils will help soothe fractious babies and may be an absolute godsend for fraught parents. Gently massage your baby’s body with a small amount of balm, a couple of times a week, and your baby will relax and sleep more easily.

Blended from cypress, lavender, marjoram, orange and thyme it smells gorgeous and worked a treat  settling the youngest member of the Frost team – and it smells so good that mum may want to use a little on herself.

Puressentiel takes the best from nature in an ecologically responsible way. It is dye and preservative free and has no synthetic perfumes. For use on babies from 3 months.

http://www.puressentiel.com/uk/en/products/rest-relax/baby-relax-balm

 

 

musti-eau-de-soin

MUSTELA BABY FRAGRANCE – MUSTI EAU DE SOIN – Ideal for babies & toddlers/pre-schoolers

Mustela  Eau de Soin can be used daily to delicately fragrance hair, body and clothes. It is an aromatic mix of subtle citrus notes combined with the soft fragrances of rose, lilac and amber. Chamomile and honey extracts offer soothing and softening properties and the fragrance is alcohol-free.

It is guaranteed safe for use from  birth onwards (including newborns out of the NICU) and tested under dermatological and paediatric control.

Taking care of our children also involves taking care of the environment in which they live. At every stage along the life cycle of its products, Mustela does everything it can to minimize the impact that they have on the environment. Mustela bottles, for example, can all be recycled. The boxes used are from sustainably managed forests, and Mustela Bébé foaming formulations are all biodegradable

A truly lovely product.

 

Ecoffee Cup – The Natural Reusable

ecoffee-biodegradable-cup

Looking for a stocking filler? The perfect choice  for the Secret Santa? For an original, beautifully designed, practical gift, look no further than Ecoffee Cup. After all, how many of us grab a coffee on the way to work? With over 100 billion single-use coffee cups going to landfill every year globally the Ecoffee Cup is the perfect choice for those looking for Christmas gifts with a conscience.

Made with natural, organic and biodegradable bamboo fibre, the Ecoffee Cup is sturdy yet light, is naturally sterile, has a resealable and ‘drip proof’ lid and is fully dishwasher safe.

The cup will last for years if treated nicely (it can split if stepped or sat on). However, it is not suitable for microwave use.

Created with the world’s fastest-growing, most sustainable crop – naturally organic, bamboo fibre – and non-GMO corn starch, Ecoffee Cup is BPA and phthalate free. It’s the Natural Reusable.

The Ecoffee Cup feels a bit like thick, yet light cardboard. Nice to hold and gorgeous to look at.

And if that wasn’t enough the cup is biodegradable; when it has reached the end of its lifecycle – simply crush it, soak it in boiling water and bury it with organic compost. So no more faded plastic cups lurking in your cupboards or sitting for years in landfill.

Available in a wide range of fun, vibrant designs; from block colours, striped or spotted, to geometric, feather or floral patterns prices start at £9.95.

ecoffee-biodegradeable-cup

We particularly like the recently launched William Morris collection with 14oz cups priced at £11.95

We tested it here at the Frost offices and happy to say the Ecoffee Cup doesn’t taint the coffee, unlike many plastic reusables. It looks great, feels good to hold and is easy to store in your bag.

For more information or to purchase your Ecoffee Cup, go to www.ecoff.ee.

Bimbamboo Children’s Dining Sets From Ecoffee

And if you are looking for something to delight the little people in your life why not take a look at the Bimbamboo dining range for children.

bimbamboo-kids-dining-set-balloons

Perfect for tiny tots. It looks and feels great, the designs are colourful and cheerful and our little band of testers enjoyed using them. Designs in the range are Owls, Robots, Transport, Hot Air Balloons and Animals.  Made from the same natural, organic and biodegradable bamboo fibre as the Ecoffee cup, they are kind to the environment and look so much better than many of the plastic versions available.

bimbamboo-kids-dining-set-owls

Each set includes a divider plate, a bowl and handled cup.

They’re also naturally sterile – making them the ideal surface for serving kids’ food. We loved them.

Priced at £15 per set

MumsThread: On a Mother’s Love

a mother's love, parenting, It terrifies me how much I love my son. It is overwhelming. A feeling so powerful that sometimes it makes me nauseas. It makes me both weak and strong. Fearless and scared. It is something I never expected because it is so pure. There is nothing I don’t love about my son. He is perfect in every way. From his soft hair to the tip of his toes. I love him so much I would give him a kidney. I would take a bullet for my son. Hell, I would even help him bury a body. There are no limits. And god help anyone who ever tries to hurt him.

This isn’t to say I have never felt love before, or that I don’t love my husband just as much, it’s just that your love for your child feels different. I think it is because they are so dependent on you. Or maybe it’s their innocence. When I was pregnant I loved this little bean growing inside me of course, but I hadn’t met him yet. I was so thrilled to be pregnant that I kept expecting someone to pinch me and say that it wasn’t real. Then the birth was so traumatic we weren’t sure he was going to make it.

I still remember the first time I saw my son. I couldn’t believe it. The midwife brought him to me and laid him on my chest. I cried. Tears of pure happiness and relief. It was the best moment of my life. I know it sounds strange that you can be pregnant for over 41 weeks (seriously, get out!) and not believe that you are lucky enough to have your own son. When he was born my husband and I felt the same; we just couldn’t believe he was real. He is 18-months old now and we still count our blessings everyday. He is the best thing that happened to us. He is everything. He is our son.