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Welcome to the fifth issue of our e-newsletter.
The purpose of the TIPS e-newsletter is to give you a flavour of what TIPS has been up to since last time issue, which product testing has been completed and what other products we are planning to test.
I am thrilled to announce that there are now over 180 TIPS parent testers (and many more TIPS members).
Thank you so much to all of you who have already been involved in a TIPS trial and good luck to those who have yet to get started. We continue to get very positive feedback from the baby skincare products trial. When the awards were featured on the American site www.mothering.com 997 people viewed the page in just one day. Our site crashed and remained offline until the bandwidth was upgraded.
60 testers are currently taking part in our third trial of nursing bras and tops. 220 samples (worth over £5000) were sent out in November. Keep an eye out for the results which will be available online early in the New Year. I must say a big thank you to all the companies involved for their generosity in supplying the many wonderful samples for testing.
Our statistics show that the awards pages are the most viewed on the TIPS site, which is wonderful and shows how popular this information is with parents. The number of visitors to the site has tripled since March, when the TIPS Awards and the new look website were launched. We are now regularly attracting 4500 visitors a month (100,000 hits) which is amazing.
If you would like to suggest a category of products to be tested by TIPS, please let me know and I will do what I can to source the best products available.
You can still check out the FAQs on breastfeeding and baby skincare on the site, but read on to see my top tips for our featured website, event, book, article, product and of course see the list of competition winners. We have introduced a couple of mini-competitions this time around so give these a go too.
Remember if you are not ‘in’ you can’t win!
Happy testing!
Dedicated advice line: Remember you can contact me on my own Speak Now number, you can call me anytime on 09064006215* if I am unable to answer immediately, press 1 and you will receive a free text to alert you when I am next free.
My speciality subjects are breastfeeding and baby skincare although I am happy to take calls on any midwifery related issues.
Press and Media: If you are looking for expert advice on midwifery related topics you can also call me on my advice line.
*£1.50/min from a BT landline. Calls from Mobiles and other networks may vary.
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 Featured products :: baby skincare and open top cup test results.
With 50 awards in the recent baby skincare awards and four brand new awards in the cup feeding category there are too many to tell you about here. The following products won the Best of the best award in their respective categories:
Baby bath: New Baby Calendula cream bath by Weleda
Baby lotion: Sleepy Head Dream Time body cream by Little Me Organics
Baby oil: Mother & Baby massage oil by Aromababy
Baby wash: New Baby Calendula shampoo and Body wash
Nappy cream: Barrier balm by Aromababy
Shampoo: Berry Burst shampoo-detangler by Halos n Horns
Toothpaste: Toothy fruity toothpaste by Halos N Horns
Open top cup: Doidy cup by Bickiepegs
Click here for more information and to read the full reviews on these awards
  
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Featured products :: Arm's Reach Cot...
 
I am delighted to feature the innovative Arm's Reach cot, recently brought from the US to the UK by Sierra Distribution Ltd. The Arm's Reach® Universal Co-Sleeper® is a pioneering drop-side baby cot that attaches securely to any adult bed width and adjusts to multiple bed heights for maximum flexibility. By creating a dedicated environment for babies, while keeping them within arm's reach, parent and child safely receive all the benefits of a co-sleeping relationship, which is a recommended world-wide practice.
However, the advantages of the Co-Sleeper® reach far beyond its value as an infant bed. If the Co-Sleeper® was simply a bedside cot, it would still be a fantastic, exciting product. What sets it further apart from other infant beds, however, is that it converts to several additional uses:
- a free-standing bassinet
- a changing table
- a play yard
- and a travel cot!
The product has already been sold in the US for several years with huge success. This product has changed the way that parents connect to their babies and babies to their parents within the first years of life. Check out the website for more information.
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Featured website :: www.mothernurtureskin.co.uk
Mother Nurtue Skin (www.mothernurtureskin.co.uk)
I was impressed by the range of natural, eco-friendly, toxin free and organic skin care toiletries and disposable nappies Mother Nurture offers. Mother Nurture was founded by Tanya and Natasha, who have four children (and another on the way!) between them.
Once they had children themselves, Tanya and Natasha realised how many chemical 'nasties' there are lurking in the every day products that we use. People do not seem to question what goes into the products that they use on their family's skin. And so Mother Nurture was born with a mission is to offer a range of affordable and luxury skin care products, together with a friendly and efficient service.
Mother Nurture only sell skincare ranges that Tanya and Natasha are happy to use on their own babies and children. Follow this link to have a look at the products on their site .
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Featured website :: www.fathersdirect.com
Fathers Direct (www.fathersdirect.com)
I came across this website a few years ago and would like to commend it for filling the niche of a truly father-friendly resource. Fathers Direct is the UK's leading provider of training, consultancy and publications to help family service providers meet the government requirements to include fathers in their practice.
All their work is grounded in evidence of the impact, both positive and negative, of fathers in the lives of children and mothers. Their vision is for a society that gives all children a strong and positive relationship with their father and any father figures, supports both mothers and fathers as earners and carers, and prepares young people for a future shared role in caring for children.
You can call Fathers Direct on 0845 634 1328 or visit their website.
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Featured book ::Baby green - caring for your baby
Baby green – caring for your baby the eco-friendly way
By Jill Barker with Gilly Smith
Published by GAIA
Thinking www.octopusbooks.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-85675-134-6
Baby green – caring for your baby the eco-friendly way charts the gestation process of the now thriving business that is ‘Green Baby’.
Packed with personal reflections and background details from founder Jill barker, this environmentally -conscious consumer guide provides a commonsense approach to eco-friendly parenting, As Jill says: “Necessity is the mother of invention”.
She explains how her vision for a greener world was inspired by a search for alternatives to disposable nappies and baby skincare products free from potentially damaging ingredients.
Jill’s tremendous enthusiasm shines through her text which is both accurate and informative. This is complemented by a comprehensive list of resources at the end of the book. Readers wishing to know more about the ‘green’ aspects of baby related advice on feeding, nappies, skincare, nursery products, travel and childcare, will find this list extremely useful
As a well known devotee of safe skincare practices for babies and children, I particularly liked the author’s ‘water-only’ advice during the first month of life. This is now recommended by NHS policy makers.
Sadly (for me!) Jill missed a golden opportunity to acknowledge the TIPS website as a source of evidence-based information for parents. In the recent TIPS baby skincare products trial, the ‘Green Baby’ product range achieved seven TIPS skincare awards, including three eco-friendly accolades. I do hope that TIPS will get a mention in the next edition of this extremely useful publication.
Sharon Trotter - November 2007
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Featured event ::Breastfeeding - International Perspectives
Leeds, 28th and 29th March 2008
As a supporter of the excellent work carried out by the Lactation Consultants of Great Britain (LCGB) I am more than happy to promote their forthcoming Annual Conference on 28-29 March 2008 at the Village Hotel and Leisure Centre, Headingly, Leeds
There will be masterclasses on 28 March from 1.30pm - including a masterclass by Dr Suzanne Colson
The Conference will take place on 29 March - speakers will come from the USA, Sweden and Australia
Subjects include
• Adoptive Nursing
• The 7 Natural Laws of Breastfeeding
• SIDS, Dummies and Sleep
• Breastfeeding and Oxytocin
For further information or to book your place please contact:
LCGB on 020 8339 9577 or visit www.lcgb.org
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Featured article :: Biological nuturing by Dr Susan Colson
Reference - Colson Suzanne (2007). Biological Nurturing (1): A non-prescriptive recipe for breastfeeding. The Practising Midwife, 10(9): 42-48.
This excellent article explains that Biological Nurturing (BN) is a type of close holding and cuddling. It promotes a range of semi-reclined postures and instinctive feeding behaviours that can be used to facilitate breastfeeding. In itself this is nothing new, as Mums have adopted such positions since time began.
However, Suzanne’s approach is different: it includes positions that have often been ignored. With this work, Suzanne hopes to help Mums understand positioning and attachment, thus reducing the occurrence of sore nipples and greatly improving the chances of successful breastfeeding. This article is the first of a series on this topic, so look out for others in forthcoming issues of the Practising Midwife Journal. Go to Suzanne's website for more information on biological nurturing
 
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::TIPS ::..Late News....Late News....Late News....
NIP article - Following my recent presentation on baby skincare at the London NIP event I am pleased to announce that I have been asked to write a piece which will be published in the forthcoming January/February issue of the NIP Magazine. This will emphasise the importance of safe skincare regimes for babies,especially during the neonatal period, when they are there most vulnerable.
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::TIPS ::Competition winners
15 September – 14 October 2007
Question: What manufacturer has just featured their winning TIPS Award in a Junior magazine advert? (See Stop Press for details)
Answer: Natracare
Winner: Vicky from Kingston Upon Thames
15 October – 14 November 2007
Question: What well known retailer is TIPS featured in their Business of the month for October 2007 (see our newsletter for more information)?
Answer: Costco
Winner: Lynn from Ashford
15 November - 15 December
Question: Which American magazine has just featured the TIPS Awards for baby skincare products? (see press cuttings for details)?
Answer: US Mothering Magazine
Winner:Annette from Skegness
Fourth TIPS e-newsletter competition
Question: In the TIPS ‘Babycare-back to basics™’ leaflet I recommend that it is safer to bath your baby in plain water for how long?
Answer: one month
Winner: Angela from Southampton
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Remember you can contact me on my own Speak Now number, you can call me anytime on 09064 0062 15* if I am unable to answer immediately, I promise to call you back. My speciality subjects are breastfeeding and baby skincare although I am happy to take calls on any midwifery related issues.
Press and Media: If you are looking for expert advice on midwifery related topics you can also call me on my advice line.
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