Yesterday I went to The Baby Show which is forever being hit and miss in my book. One visit is good and the next is pretty poor. In February I enjoyed it but yesterday, it just didn’t float my boat. There wasn’t enough of anything new and innovative while the show felt tired; I’ve been quite a lot of times but even for someone who had never visited I can’t see it would have been THAT much of a day out…

It seems very commercial these days and with hardly any discounts being offered I see no real benefit to going? Most things at the show yesterday were things which have been knocking around for donkeys and what I wanted to see was something NEW!

Just as with the show itself I have always found the creche to be changeable and yesterday Jimmy came out crying and clung on to me. This is not like him. Not like him at all. My friend’s son enjoyed his time in there but Jimmy absolutely didn’t and I have to say it didn’t look much fun through the window either. The first time Florence went when she was tiny it was much more bright, full of fun things and creche like. More and more they have got sparser and sparser so that really it’s just a room with a few toys. I’m sure the staff are trained but there wasn’t much interacting going on from the little bit I saw. Shame.

So… What did I like? Well my friend and fellow blogger Jennie who writes Edspire is the official blogger for the show and I love that it is giving her a platform to show off her wonderful blog as well as raising more awareness for The Lullaby Trust. Jennie’s daughter Matilda Mae passed away from SIDS and the Lullaby Trust raises money to help bereaved families as well as funding the research needed to find out why this happens to healthy and happy babies like Jennie’s baby.

This brings me onto iCandy who have a brand new ‘Emilia’ bag which is so named after The Lullaby Trust’s ambassador, Emilia Fox. iCandy are donating £10 from the sale of every bag to the trust which is just awesome. The bag is pretty gorgeous too! I have a new iCandy bag myself and they are fabulous but this one is extra special because of who it is named after and how it is raising money for The Lullaby Trust.

At iCandy I also got to see their whole range including all the different colours of the latest buggy I’ve been pushing myself, the iCandy Raspberry! I have it in ‘Lush’ with a matt black chassis but the options are very extensive making this a stroller which is extremely versatile on aesthetics.

Another brand I was impressed with at the show was Stokke. I know, this post is totally out of my Bugaboo comfort zone isn’t it! It’s not often I mention iCandy OR Stokke buggies and here I am doing so in one post. I’m not saying I liked anything at the show more than I like my Bugaboos but I definitely saw things which impressed me more than they ever have before. So, Stokke have always won highly with me when it comes to chairs, I love my Steps and have always admired the Trip Trap from afar, they simply can’t be beaten but when it comes to their buggies they’ve just not been to my personal taste, until now.

The new Scoot is fabulous with brilliantly big off road wheels and yet still manages to be small and nippy. I’d say this is a great option for if you have a lifestyle where you need some city wheels but still have to walk over countryside and I’m not sure there are many buggies which cater to both. I also really, REALLY like the new Trailz. It’s a BIG push chair but it really is very attractive and pushes easily. Stokke are also giving one away at the show so if you’re there today and tomorrow DEFINITELY pop along and find out how you can get your name in the hat!

The new stripes kit for the XPlory also seemed very popular and most of the bloggers and journalists I spoke to had something to say about the new pack which comes with black material for the inside to make the stripes work on the out. The XPlory is not the buggy for me and I’ve never made any bones about that but I definitely like the stripes!

I had a good time at the show but honest and truthfully it was all down to the company. I saw lots of friends including a bestie in Katy from Modern Mummy and I also got to catch up with many of the people I work with. Jimmy didn’t have fun in the creche at all but did enjoy running around freely with no shoes and socks on, he has recently decided he wants to make like a hobo and shoes are for losers…

I came away with nothing new in the bag, no purchases whatsoever! The best deal of the day for me was the Sonam Photography Studio who were offering a sitting with a framed picture for £10. I don’t actually like pro photos in frames all that much so the deal wasn’t snapped up by us but if it’s what you’re into then it was a bargain! Saying that we did go around all the stands offering free pictures and took away some nice snaps as always. This time I’m afraid the show was NOT worth the ticket money and I’m pleased I didn’t have to pay for mine! No freebies (aside from a few photos), hardly any discounts and not even many competitions (iCandy and Stokke had the best ones). I’d say pick your game up Baby Show, you used to have it right so why not now?

I have not been paid to write this post.

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