I am often asked why I came up with SnugBaby. Quite simply, I needed a comfortable sling, that could cope with my demands – easy to use, looked good, would last a while, husband could use it, and it could be washed!

When I had my first son, I admit I had never even heard of babywearing. We were given a structured front carrier, which we used for the two weeks we spent on holiday in Florida, when he was 12 weeks old, and that was pretty much all the use it got. When we had SnugBoy#2, however, it was clear I needed to be able to keep him close, and happy, and look after SnugBoy#1, then 2 years old, aswell. I tried a sling, liked the concept, but the one I tried wasn’t very comfy.

So I made my own, shaping it how I wanted it, adding padding, changing bits and making it my own.

Babywearing was about to make my life a whole lot easier.

But, I hear a lot about people not knowing enough about babywearing to be able to make the choices they need to in order to have the sling they want. I am attempting to answer some of the more common ones here.

Do slings have age limits? Most slings, carriers, wraps and mei tais are suitable from birth, as long as they have a supportive headrest. If they don’t they may only be suitable from an age when baby can support their own head (usually around 4 months). The upper age limit varies from sling to sling, even within types. If they are tested to British Standards (and remember, not all are, so it’s worth checking) they will have an upper weight limit – which is usually anywhere between 12kg and 18kg. This is usually reached anywhere between 2 years and 4 years.

Are they easy to use? Any reputable sling will come with instructions, to help you get to grips with them. Some look easier than others, but they all have their advantages and disadvantages.

What about the different carrying positions? Some slings can be used in many different ways – on your front, hip, back, lying down, facing out. Different positions take different amounts of practise, but after a few goes, most people find them all pretty straightforward to do. I find mei tais a great compromise between ease of use, and versatility.

Can I share it? Many slings are suitable for parents to share, with varying degrees of ease. A pouch sling is sized, usually by lady’s dress sizes, and is not usually easy to share between parents. Buckle slings and ring slings can be shared with some adjustment, whilst wraps and mei tais are easily shared, with no adjustments needed.

So, which is the best? That depends on what you want it for. If you want something that you can easily pop baby in and out of, with no tying and untying, don’t go for a wrap sling. You would be better with a pouch. If you want something comfortable for long periods, a two shoulder carrier, such as a mei tai, would be great. You need to think about what you will use it for.

But isn’t it a bit, well, hippyish? Well, I guess it falls under the “natural parenting” category, but for me it is all about convenience. Parenting is hard, and anything that makes my life as a mum easier, has got to be a good thing in my book.

So, for me there are loads of reasons to use a sling…

I can go places that I can’t go with a pushchair.

I can hold my eldest son’s hand at the same time as keeping SnugBoy#2 close.

I can easily walk the dog – hold the lead, walk across fields, and not run her over with a pushchair.

I can fold the sling up and pop it in my bag, and only get it out when SnugBoy#2 gets fed up of walking.

I get to spend a lovely time chatting to SnugBoy#2, and he gets to see something other than knees.

SnugBoy#2 is safe, and close to me – especially important at busy holiday times, as it means there is no chance of me losing sight of him!

If you have any questions about slings, mei tais, carriers or wraps, please ask and I will do my best to answer them all for you.

We are delighted to have received an email today, informing us that SnugBaby was voted the 3rd most practical and best-loved baby gift, by voters in a recent poll for the Practical Baby Gift Guide.

Now, it may not be an immediate choice for a new baby gift, but the focus for the guide is on practical items which make new mums’ lives easier. And, of course, we are thrilled to have featured, especially so highly.

However, it doesn’t really come as a great suprise that parents find that SnugBaby baby slings are amongst the most useful, must-have baby products around. The versatility of SnugBaby is what makes it so desirable – the fact that it will last from newborn to toddlerhood; that it fits all sizes of parents; and that it can be used in a variety of positions, simply by tying it in a different way. Add into the equation that they are super-comfortable, and oh-so stylish, and we’re sure you will agree that we deserve our place in the top baby essentials!

Did you know SnugBaby has a FaceBook page? If you are not already a fan, we’d love you to join us, to hear the latest snippets of SnugBaby news. From time to time we even post impromptu, time-limited special offers on there, so you could be missing out on some bargains by not following us.

And if you needed any more reason to join us, you might like to know that when we reach 250 fans we will be holding a competition to win a prize that money can’t buy! We will be offering the chance for one lucky mummy (or daddy!) to have their very own custom made SnugBaby sling. You send us some gorgeous fabric, and we will make it into the best, most stylish baby carrier you could ever dream of owning!

So, what are you waiting for?

What a fabulous surprise I had yesterday when I got an email from the Remote Worker Awards, saying SnugBaby was selected as a semi-finalist.

The Remote Worker Awards, in association with BT Business, is the only business awards featuring remote and home working. It offers employers the chance to be recognised for their flexible working solutions..

It also gives employees the chance to shine amongst their peers as the best remote and home based workers. The Awards aim to identify the most deserving individuals and businesses who support this unique method of working.

As you can imagine, it would be fabulous for us to get to the finals. We have to wait until the first week of August to find out if we are through to the next stage, so please keep everything crossed for us!

So here we are.

The day has finally arrived.

The postman has popped a package through my door, containing a shiny CD of beautiful photographs from the photo shoot we did last week, with the new SnugBaby models. I know you are every bit as excited as I was, so I will cut to the chase and just show you them…

We’ll be adding them to our main website pages very soon, but I couldn’t resist showing them off to you here first.

So, what do you think?

The day finally arrived, and we were up bright and early, to go and meet the lovely Claire and Grace for the Face Of SnugBaby photoshoot at Russell Colman Photography in Bowness on Windermere. The sun was shining and it was a perfect summer’s day – what more could we ask for? When Claire and her family strolled down the path, complete with Grace already in a SnugBaby, I figured it couldn’t get much better.

Both Grace and Claire were utter naturals – Grace looked the right way, smiled and generally enjoyed being the centre of attention. Claire was pretty good too (and every bit as lovely as she seems on Twitter!) We took about an hour and a half taking various shots, in various slings, and various positions. And neither of them moaned a bit. The garden at Russell’s studio is massive, so we made use of the fabulous outdoor space, and the great lighting to get some really natural shots, which will fit perfectly with the SnugBaby philosophy.

Whilst Claire and Grace were strutting their stuff, I wanted to try to capture some of the day, so I took a few snaps of behind the scenes. Here are a few to give you a little tease before we unveil the final shots!

So, what do you think?

Thanks once again to Claire, Grace and the rest of her lovely family for coming up to take part in the shoot today. We thoroughly enjoyed the day, and hope you did too.

But even I knew that Lampard’s goal in the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup between England and Germany, was most definately a goal!

SnugMan tried to explain the reasons why Mr Blatter has decided against goal line technology in the World Cup – they don’t want to stop play etc etc, but to not allow that goal is indefensible. Here’s what I think they should do:

If a goal is uncertain (whether they can’t tell if it’s over the line, offside, or whatever), why can’t they get another referee to be sitting watching the video, while they continue with the game? I understand it can take a few minutes viewing it from different angles, but doing it this way would ensure that the correct goals are allowed. There were replays showing the ball over the line within a very short time, so someone could have decided that it should be given, very quickly. Even if it not as cut and dried as that, they could carry on and then award the goal when they decide. They could even set a time limit if there are concerns about players performing differently – say, if it’s undecided after 5 minutes of video checking, then it’s not a goal.

So, do you think Mr Blatter will review his decision on video refereeing? And do you think that linesman should be penalised for his bad judgement?

Anyway, it’s a sad fact that we didn’t even make the quarter finals. Suffice to say, “We was robbed!”

Better luck next time, lads.

This week I had my first brush with fame, being interviewed on BBC Radio Cumbria about my views on setting up an online business. Well, I thought that’s what it was about. It somehow turned into “setting up a business in the current economic climate”, so I was a little unprepared (given I only had 12 hours to prepare for it, that’s more than a slight understatement).

Anyway, aside from not sounding like me at all, I think I came across ok… no-one has said I was dreadful, at least.

In hindsight, I would have given more practical advice, but I stand by my comments that if you are passionate about your business, that’s half the battle. Being passionate about SnugBaby certainly makes it  lot easier in the long, dark hours spent slaving away. It makes it more fun, and if you are having fun, it’s less like hard work.

Setting up online is a great way to test the water to see if your business has potential. It’s fairly easy to set up a basic website, although, thankfully, SnugMan deals with all that. But even employing someone to design and make a website for you is an awful lot cheaper than finding physical premises from which to run your business.

Online also allows more flexibility. If you need to carry on with your day job, so to speak, operating online means you can do this, and knuckle down to your new business in the evenings, until you are in a position to be able to take it full time. For me, it means I am still the one who picks up my children from school, who helps them with their homework, nurses them when they are poorly, and kisses away their salty tears when they fall.

Of course, working solely online can be lonely. I get very little face to face contact with customers, which is why I love doing baby shows. Online networking can prove invaluable – there are many websites where online business owners can share ideas, ask advice and generally act as a sounding wall when the need arises. And of course, for those who must have human contact from time to time, there are local networking groups, who often meet in the evening or early in the morning, which are a great source of information, advice, and for meeting new contacts.

Having a shop in the great big world wide web means that I am not restricted by my geographical location. SnugBaby slings have been sold internationally, and if I was relying on a shop in my home town, I could never reach anywhere near the 61.4 million people in the UK, never mind the 6.6 billion people in the world!

So, to me, setting up online sounds like a pretty good idea? What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

If you fancy a listen to my 15 minutes (well, 3) of fame, you can listen again to the Mike Parr Breakfast Show (I am on at 0:52:30)

National Breastfeeding Awareness Week runs from 20th – 27th June 2010. The  main  aim  of the campaign is to raise  awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding, increase  social  acceptance  of  breastfeeding  and  promote  support  for  breastfeeding.

As you will know, breastfeeding has many benefits, and gives babies all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life, as well as helping to protect them from infection and diseases. It also reduces mothers’ chances of getting certain diseases later in life. Breastfeeding also allows you and your baby to get closer - physically and emotionally. So while your child is feeding, the bond between you can grow stronger.

As breastfeeding is best done on demand, feeding whilst using a sling gives great convenience once you know how to do it, and means you can keep covered up if you wish, using the carrier as a cover. Not only that, but the act of babywearing helps facilitate breastfeeding as you produce more milk when your baby is close to you, and by more frequent feeding, so it is perfect if you are having difficulty.

If you’d like some help with breastfeeding using a SnugBaby, we have a video to demonstrate how to breastfeed whilst using a mei tai in our article,  Breastfeeding and Babywearing.

If you have any of your own tips for how to get the most from breastfeeding whilst babywearing, we’d love to hear them in the comments below!

I have been debating this for a while. I want a new phone. I need a new phone. I want a swanky one that I can get emails on (I have never had a fancy-pants phone before). The uber-generous SnugMan has offered to buy me an iphone4, so I was all geared up for the pre-ordering launch yesterday, but the providers have still not announced their tariffs, and it seems only available to pre-order direct from Apple. Cue disappointment from me.

So, I started looking at Androids again, and I am really quite taken with them. I like the HTC Desire, and it seems to do everything I need, and more. And it’s free, which is always a bonus, in the current economic climate. But, well, iphones are cool, aren’t they? I haven’t got an i-anything. I must be the only person not to own an ipod, or any MP3 player, for that matter.

So anyway, back to the point. Why should I get an iphone? What advantages does it have over Android? Or, for that matter, what advantages does Android have? I am totally confused by it all.

Please help me choose which to get!