Article written by Vanisha from A Life Unstyled and directly sourced from: http://www.alifeunstyled.com/baby-bed-time-essentials/
Photography by A Life Unstyled
​Vanisha Mishra-Vakaoti from A Life Un-Styled, the amazing life and style journal, writes about her baby bed time routine and essentials. She shares how SNUGBAGS fits into that routine.

Getting ready for bed is such an enjoyable part of the day. There’s something so therapeutic about holding a freshly bathed baby, all snug in his favourite pyjamas. Craddling Rafa for a final feed, reading a book with him or just smothering him with kisses. All three of us will hang out in Rafa’s room until he’s ready to sleep. After a feed he’ll enjoy cuddles and play a little with Patrick. They’ll say a little prayer for family and friends, especially Rafa’s friends. I might steal my little man away for final cuddles and kisses but eventually Patrick will pry him out of my arms and truly get him ready for bed. A few hours into Rafa’s night time sleep Patrick and I are missing  him!

Routines have become a little more prominent in our home, mostly because we’ve seen how positive they have been for Rafa. There are a number of positive associations he has developed and where possible we keep them up. I find having fewer things helps develop and maintain effective routines for us and assists in Rafa developing these positive associations. There are only a few things around him during specific times of day and he has come to know what they mean.

Snugbags Merino Sleeping Bag | We have the Winter Merino Duvet sleeping bag but there are other options depending on the temperature of baby’s room and the climate where you live in. I wrote a review about the bag when we first got it, before Rafa came along (you can read it here). Rafa is in his sleeping bag for all his naps and night time sleeps, in the evenings we swaddle him over the sleeping bag (he’s unswaddled for day naps). Now that he’s in his sleeping bag there has been no need for additional blankets or sheets. He wears his bam and boo pyjamas, gets zipped into his sleeping bag and that’s it. It has also become an amazing cue for sleep, once he’s in his sleeping bag he knows rest is on its way. It’s also a lot easier to handle him for early morning feeds and nappy changes. No fighting with blankets or layers.

As if this daylight savings by itself wasn't bad enough - this year’s daylight savings coincides with a large lunar eclipse which in itself may affect kids and adults alike quite profoundly (!).

Newborn babies are probably the least affected with this change, but some toddlers and young children can really struggle with the change in routine and even adults can also be affected for approximately a week. So patience is essential for big and little kids!

These are some great tips on getting your little one into a new routine when daylight savings starts.

* This week, before daylight saving ends, gradually put your child to bed 10 minutes earlier each night. This way your little one adjust slowly to the new bedtime.

* Understand it may take a week or so for your child to adjust, so expect that your child may be tired after the time change.

* This one really applies for any evening - avoid screens for at least an hour and a half before sleep. It has been scientifically proven that interaction with things like cell phones, TVs, tablets and computers can delay the onset of sleep.

* Since the evenings will be much lighter, children will want to stay up later. Invest in some blackout curtains so the room they sleep in is as dark as possible.

*This is another one that applies for every evening - make sure that your child's nightlight is not too bright. Nightlights are typically white, green or blue which has been known to interfere with sleep. The best colour for a nightlight is Red/Pink and we have found that Himalayan Salt Lamps are perfect to add a soft and calming glow to any nursery.

​*Last of all - try and don't stress out too much and remember 'this too shall pass' xx

WHEN is daylight saving?
When local standard time is about to reach
Sunday, 25 September 2016, 2:00:00 a.m. clocks are turned forward 1 hour to
Sunday, 25 September 2016, 3:00:00 a.m. local daylight time instead
Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour later on 25 Sep 2016 than the day before. There will be more light in the evening,
 

​Article written by Los Angeles based Mini Style Blog and sourced directly from: www.ministyle.com

​​Author: ​Mini Style Blog - USA's leading style blog for little ones.
Photograper: Clever Poppy - Product stylist and photographer. 

When we want to keep our babes warm on chilly nights, we prefer to use a cozy sleep sack! When we discovered these gorgeous sleeping bags from SNUGBAGS, we instantly fell in love with the amazing quality and gorgeous design. 

Based and ethically made in New Zealand, SNUGBAGS specializes in 100% natural baby and toddler Merino & Organic Cotton sleeping bags, swaddles and base layers. Founder, Kim Snel, is very passionate about all things natural and only uses locally sourced and produced merino wool that is superfine and of exceptional quality.

SNUGBAGS new award winning diagonal zip design provides safer, better sleep for baby as well as peace of mind and ease of use for parents. It takes the guess work out of choosing a side or front zip sleeping bag - parents can now have the best of both worlds with this unique new design exclusive to SNUGBAGS. 
Our favorites are the merino sleep bag in the anchor, cloud and bloom prints shown here on these cuties! SNUGBAGS is offering FREE shipping until Friday at midnight. Shop the collection here.

I purchased this hand painted DYI kit from Clever Poppy for Fathers Day as I thought it would make a super original gift and I knew that Neeva Rose would LOVE getting stuck in painting the cups. She is really arty and painting and coloring in are very high on her daily 'to-do' list.

Unpacking the kit I was very impressed with how well organized it all looked and how easy it was to just have everything right there. The instructions were super easy to follow and within minutes of unwrapping the box we were painting! So easy and so convenient!!

Neevie absolutely loved the easiness of the pens and this mama loved the fact that it was absolutely ZERO mess!! The pens are amazing. No drips, no spills, just beautiful clear lines and very easy to apply even for a 4,5 year old!

In case of a little mistake the supplied acetone came in very handy and the little cotton buds made erasing the mistake a breeze.

Result was one very happy little girl (this kept her busy for at least one and half hour) and one very happy mama! The cups came out absolutely gorgeous and we had lots of fun decorating them together.

If you are looking for a special and very original gift that is also heaps of fun to make then this is it. Perfect for grandparents (think Christmas!), Mothers or Fathers day. Also great for an awesome project to keep the kids busy on a rainy day.

Clever Poppy is all about giving you the chance to take time out to create something beautiful for your home, without the hassle of sorting out supplies, instructions and creative planning. Julie hopes to inspire people and give them confidence to give some creative DIY a go!

Our DIY Kit had everything you need to make our DYI hand painted cups into a non fuss and convenient activity:

DIY Kit includes:

• DIY Instruction Sheet
• 4 x cups (250 ml)
• porcelaine pens (you can choose 1, 2 or 3 pens per set, and there are 4 colours to choose from)
• Small pottle of acetone
• Some cotton buds and wipes
• Link to a video tutorial where Julie takes you through the process step by step