Thousands of pregnant women and new mums flocked to the ExCeL in London this weekend for this year's The Baby Show 2022. They tested out prams, grabbed a bargain, listened to keynote speakers on all things baby and discovered lots of new, exciting products. As a new mum myself to little 5-month-old Theo, I headed along on Sunday to have a look at what was on offer.
5 months into motherhood, I've pretty much got everything I need in terms of cots, prams and the 'big-ticket' items, nappies (we're on reusables) and clothes, there were a few specific things we were after now Theo is a little bigger or I've had time to grow a dislike to something we already have. I wanted to look at travel prams, changing bags, more reusable nappies (because I'm a tad obsessed), and anything to do with weaning now my little one is fast approaching W-day! Arriving just after lunch, I started searching the stalls for anything that caught my eye.
Tommee Tippee
My first stop was to meet the Your Baby Club Official Midwife, Louise Broadbridge who was giving advice on pumping at the Tommee Tippee stall. Louise has worked with us for a long time now, even co-authoring our pregnancy, labour and baby book - Your Baby Bible (click here to shop the paperback, or here for the FREE E-book), and offers weekly lives on our Instagram, answering all your questions on pregnancy, birth and beyond, as well as offering a FREE Antenatal Class!
Tomme Tippee had lots of great money-saving offers on everything from breast pumps to white noise machines and had lots of really great staff to answer any questions you had on their products and how to use them.
Made for Mums
The test track. This was a great area of the show for mums-to-be to try out lots of different prams, push them over different mock terrains and really put them to the test. They seemed to have all the major brands, as well as some lesser-known boutique brands to really give parents a wide range of choices and exposure to everything that's out there. It was really good to see how thorough parents were being in their testing as I've always found it's difficult to really test a pram on a carpeted shop floor with not much space to manoeuvre.
Join Louise Broadbridge, senior midwife & the face of instagram's @thehonestmidwife for a live, online class preparing you and your partner for natural labour, birth and beyond. Enjoyed by 1000's of expectant parents like you.
Baby Planet
Towards the back of the show was a huge area featuring all the pram and car seats, high chairs, baby monitor and cot brands, along with their brand reps to showcase their newest products and help talk through all their features, price points and compatibility. All of these products were available to order through Baby Planet's website there and then with some great show discounts.
We stopped by the Owlet stand in this area to ask a few troubleshooting questions as it's the camera we have and headed to the Snuz stand to enquire about transitioning from a side-sleeper cot into a big cot and what baby should be wearing, sleep aids and generally any tips on how I can get more sleep. Again, the reps were really helpful in giving some great in-depth product recommendations and product-specific tips - something you can't always get in baby shops that sell lots of brands.
Cybex
One of my personal favourite brands. They're stylish, they're the foremost in child safety testing and is my ride or die pram and car seat manufacturers of choice. We have the Cybex Priam pram and Cloud Z car seat which we were wheeling Theo in around the show but seeing their new Priam got us a little envious of the new features that they've added in the past few months for their 2022 version. Available in lots of different colours and chassis finishes, their Priam certainly was attracting a lot of visitors to their stall. We actually got stopped by a few people as they noticed we had one and was asked our opinion on it - of course, we said how much we loved it and the Cloud Z's lie-flat functionality.
Your questions answered live by senior midwife Louise Broadbridge. A workshop covering what to expect in the early days, coping with morning sickness and planning for your first antenatal appointment.
iCandy
Another crowd favourite was the iCandy stand which featured lots of great deals on their high-end buggies, car seats and accessories. The stall was extremely busy and the queue to order one was the longest I saw, with their Orange and Peach pushchairs and carrycots being the most popular purchases at the show. Again, their team of experts were on hand to demonstrate the full functionality and compatibility.
Munchkin & Bear
I actually have two of these luxury play mats from Munchkin & Bear. I absolutely love them, so I was very happy to come across them at The Baby Show and was proving popular with passers-by. They're a small family-run business that produces memory foam padded play mats that are wipe-clean, durable, soft underfoot and have an array of stunning double-sided designs to suit anyone's interior, coming in both rectangle and circular sizes. These playmats encourage and facilitate lots of essential tummy time and the building of core strength to enable them to develop and play in a safe environment.
Theo absolutely loves his. While I type this even, he's rolling around on their mint green speckled one we have in our bedroom for him to play on whilst I work. The dogs love it too and often use it as a wrestling ring. I'm pleased to report that there's not a single scratch or tear from their roughhousing.
BabyZen
So I mentioned before that I was on the lookout for a good travel pram.. well, amongst other brands such as Leclerc and Mamas and Papas I saw featuring some great travel prams, BabyZen was one I've had my eye on for a long time as their YoYo2 is hailed to be the perfect pram to take on flights. Thanks to the 2-step fold, over-shoulder strap and compact size, it actually fits in aeroplane carry-on overhead lockers and down aisles. I'd never, however, seen one in the flesh to appreciate how compact they actually were. Knowing it was also compatible with our Cybex car seat was a plus and I very nearly bought one there and then, had the colour-way I wanted not been sold already. The at-show discount was VERYYY tempting. But now I've seen it, tested it out and spoken to the brand rep, it's certainly going to be my next baby purchase, thanks to The Baby Show.
MAM
The MAM stall was hard to miss with lots of stands filled with bottles, dummies, breast pumps, sterilisers and teething bits, all for great prices thanks to a generous show discount. I have the MAM Double electric breast pump and it's fab! With so many dummy and product options and choices, it was a great stand to grab some bargains ahead of a baby's arrival.
Milton
Milton is a household brand name that mums have been using for over 70 years. They do a wide range of sterilising products from cold water sterilisers to wipes, you'd be hard-pressed to find a mum that doesn't own one or more of their products. Towards the end of the show on Sunday, they were practically giving away their products at an unbelievably cheap price - it's just a shame we already have pretty much everything they sell!
Child's Farm
A great stand to grab some samples. Child's Farm is a popular bath and body baby brand with gorgeous scented, paraben-free baby products for sensitive skin that we also use regularly. With an eye-catching stand, it too was very popular and the products available to purchase were cheaper than you'd find in supermarkets. The best part was the handful of free samples you could take home.
Bloss - on the Main Stage
Another of the show's sponsors, Bloss is an online app where mums can access expert advice, download classes and advice, chat to other mums and generally find somewhere to answer their questions about conception, IVF, pregnancy, motherhood and beyond, rather than search Google, which doesn't always provide the best or most accurate results. Real experts, real experience, at the touch of a button. Binky Felstead of Made in Chelsea, who's a mum of two and the co-founder of Bloss was giving a talk on the main stage all about her experiences as a mum and how Bloss came about.
There were also a lot of other talks on the stage from parenting to sleep advice to weaning, all were really informative, took questions and left the attendees with more confidence and lots of ideas.
LIDL - Lupilu
Finally, the show's biggest sponsor - LIDL. They had a huge stand and nappy changing and feeding areas for their own brand Lupilu. Filled with nappies, wipes, toiletries and baby food, their stand showed attendees the wide range of products that are not only affordable but a great alternative to more well-known branded items at other supermarkets. Their mascot - Penny the Penguin was a crowd-pleaser and we, of course, had to get a picture. Theo was mesmerised by it!
All in all, the show was a great place to grab a bargain and ask product-specific questions to the people with the answers. It's a great opportunity to discover new brands as well as test out prams and car seats, which, let's face it, are pretty big purchases. It's certainly worth going to whilst pregnant, and if you've already got a littlun, it's a good place to find advice and a good deal on things to better your experience.
