Issue #024
4 July 2008

What's in this issue...

• Win a Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube For Your Baby
• Cooking Beetroot (or Beets) For Your Baby
• Visit our New Pages
• Competition Corner
• BabyCenter's BIG 4th of July Sale
• Tip of the Month
• Safety Recalls
• Our Featured Product Review
• Visit Our Featured Website
• This Month's Recipe - Lamb Stew with Apricots

Win a Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube For Your Baby

This is an excellent toy that allows your baby to use the sounds of five different musical instruments to play eight different Mozart tunes. Unlike many electronic musical toys, this one actually sounds really nice and the instruments sound almost like the real thing!

All you need to do to WIN this clever cube is tell us which baby care item you couldn't live without - and why! We want to hear about ANYTHING you or your baby think is great - from toys and travel accessories to feeding bowls and bibs - and if YOUR review is our favorite this month, then the Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube will be on its way to YOUR baby!

Last month's winner was Kristin from Central New York, with her great review of the Angelcare Baby Monitor - congratulations to Kristin who won a handy Umbrella Stroller.

Don't forget...

... to include your e mail address when you send in your review (that's how we notify you if you win!).

And be sure to send in your review by this month's closing date of July 30th!

Cooking Beetroot (or Beets) For Your Baby

This article has been moved - and you can now read it here

New and updated pages

• They're luscious, juicy and delicious - but are they safe for your baby? Find out more about including strawberries in your baby's diet on our brand new page...
  
  When can my baby eat strawberries?

• Coconut is not the obvious choice as a food for baby - after all, it's somewhat difficult to chew... and surely it should be avoided as a potential allergen? Well, the good news is that coconut is NOT related to tree nuts and peanuts and is NOT a common allergen. What's more, there are plenty of ways of adding coconut to your baby food recipes to create yummy treats with a tropical twist...

  Can babies eat coconut?

Competition corner

The Homemade Baby Food Recipes Competition

Carina MacInnes was the winner of June's Homemade Baby Food Recipes Competition with her deliciously divine recipe for Roasted Garlic and Red Pepper Pumpkin Soup. Congratulations, Carina - and thanks so much for sharing your idea with us and our readers!

Carina's recipe - plus the runner-up recipes for ...

• Tender Little Rice Cakes for Two
• 'Tomavo'
• Salmon & Roast Vegetable Bake
• Chicken Broccoli Dinner
• Tomato & Basil Pasta with Red Lentils and Cheese
• Spicy Creamed Sweet Potato
• Mediterranean Veg & Chicken

Do you have an original baby food recipe you'd like to share with other Mums?

Then send it in using this simple form - you could be July's winner of a $20 voucher from Amazon!


July's Baby of the Month

Thank you to everyone who sent in their babies' photographs for our 'Baby of the Month' competition.

As usual, we've had loads of fun reading about your babies and only wish we could publish EVERY entry we receive!

You can now see July's Baby of the Month - plus more of our favourite entries submitted throughout June - on our Baby of the Month page - and you'll also see the entry form you need to submit YOUR baby's photograph!

BabyCenter's BIG 4th of July Sale

We've just heard that the BabyCenter store is helping parents in the US celebrate this 4th July weekend with a VERY special offer!

From now until Sunday you can save an extra 10% on items that have ALREADY been reduced!

The BabyCenter store has such a great range of products for both Mom AND baby that this is a sale not to be missed! Start shopping now...

Save an extra 10% off already reduced sale items at BabyCenter Store with code SAVE10MORE thru 7/6.

Tip of the month - Make Baby Clothes the Easy Way

Julia told us that she has been making trousers (pants) for her twin sons Joshua and James. That's great, of course... but what really captured our imaginations was the fact the she is making the pants FROM OLD SWEATERS!

Here's the link that Julia sent us, which provides full (and simple) instructions.

If, like us, you're not particularly handy with a needle and thread, then this is a super way to make your own baby clothes... and to give new life to an old, unwanted sweater.

Thanks for the link, Julia.

Safety Recalls

Here's our list of recalls posted to our blog since our last newsletter at the beginning of June. If you have any of the products listed below, then just click on the link and you'll be taken to our blog for more details.

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you know who may have any of these recalled items.

Tomatoes recalled due to Salmonella infection (US)

LiveActive Mixed Berry Crunch Cereal (US)

Wendy Bellissimo Hidden Hills Collection Cribs (US)

Mini Chef Complete Toy Kitchens (US)

Simmons Kids Crib Mattresses (US)

Animal Tracking Explorer Kits (US)

Totally Me Makit & Bakit Jewellery (Australia)

Woolworths lamb products (Australia)

SMA Gold Ready To Use Liquid Infant Milk (UK)

Infant and Toddler Shortalls (US)

Playsafe Spinning Quad Merry-Go-Rounds (US)

Toddler Swing & Slide Sets (UK)

SMA Follow-On Milk Powder (UK)

Wal-mart Key Chains (US)

Burrata cheese (San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California)

IKEA BARNSLIG Baby Sleeping Bags (UK)

Nestlé Pure Life Purified Drinking Water (US)

IKEA BARNSLIG Baby Sleeping Bags (Australia)

Tesco Canned Beans (UK)

Jardine Cribs

Kroger Ground Beef (US)

2nd Nature Built to Grow Cribs (US)

Featured Product - The PC Guard Tower Protector

If your baby is anything like ours were, your computer tower is an endless source of fascination to him!

It lights up, has a bit that slides out when you press a button, a few slots that are perfect for poking toys into... and a really big button that makes the screen go blank and seems to have the strangest effect on Mummy!

But never fear - someone has come up with a solution!

The PC Guard Tower Protector is a simple device that you attach to the tower with velcro, thereby shielding those oh-so-tempting lights and buttons from baby's view.

It's still possible to turn the tower off through the guard - but this gadget works because babies tend to lose interest in the tower altogether when they can't actually SEE the lights and buttons.

The Protector attaches very firmly to the tower and is virtually impossible for a baby to remove. This makes it an effective (and relatively inexpensive) solution to one of life's little problems!

The PC Guard Tower Protector is available exclusively at One Step Ahead in the US for only $9.95.

Featured Website - BabySmash!

This month, we have a rather unique site to tell you about - and (depending on how you feel about your computer) it's one you may or may NOT think is such a good idea!

The site is called BabySmash! And what it offers you is a free, downloadable application that enables your little one to bash the keys on your keyboard without doing your computer any harm. Instead, he'll be rewarded with letters, shapes and numbers that pop up on to the screen with every 'baby smash', along with a variety of amusing sounds.

If you'd like to see the application in action, there are some videos on the site of little ones using it and having a 'smashing' time (sorry, couldn't resist!).

Is there any educational merit to Baby Smash?

Well, sharing a good book would probably be far more beneficial! But the babies on the site are clearly having fun playing with their parents' 'toy' - and, as we all know, no-one has yet invented the toy that can compete with Mummy and Daddy's household gadgets for sheer entertainment value!

Although there is no charge to download BabySmash, there IS a link on this page to make a donation if you feel like thanking its creator for keeping your baby occupied!

Recipe of the month - Lamb Stew with Apricots

4oz (1/2 cup) boneless lamb, cubed
2 tsp flour
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp sliced leek
6 fl oz (3/4 cup) homemade (or low sodium) chicken stock
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 tbsp frozen peas (thawed)
1 tbsp dried apricots (chopped)
1/4 cup prepared couscous

Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg F. Toss the lamb cubes in the flour until well coated.
In a small pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat then add the lamb. Cook until brown on all sides, then stir in the sliced leek and the chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, then transfer to an oven -proof dish and bake, covered, for 45 mins.
Remove the lid, stir in the carrots, then re-cover and cook for a further 20 mins, until the carrots are almost done.
Add the peas and apricots and return to the oven for 10 minutes more.
The meat and vegetables should be perfectly tender and easy to mash and may be served with the cooked couscous - but if your little one prefers his food to be a little smoother, puree the stew in a food processor and serve with mashed sweet potato instead of the couscous.