My Little Pony Bedding from Character World

There was one morning this week when I went into the girls room and it was a total and utter tip - clothes everywhere, hairbands, books, single pieces of jigsaws, empty water bottles and a pile of discarded sheets from the hot weather. So this morning I asked the girls to tidy up and gave them an incentive - a brand new set of bedding from Character World featuring their favourite My Little Pony Characters; Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Pinky Pie.

Character World make full bedroom textile sets for children in a range of favourite character themes including My Little Pony, Marvel, Care Bears, Lego, Minecraft, Trolls, Shopkins and many more. At present, if you buy a set of Character World Kids Bedding from Tesco you could be in with a chance to win a 4 star all-inclusive holiday to Majorca with Ice Lolly holidays. The competition closes on the 31st July.

Lara and Holly's bedroom looks fab now. Both bunks are fitted out with a My Little Pony duvet cover and pillowcase. Each girl has a My Little Pony cushion as well so that they can snuggle up when they are reading or watching TV; on one side is the face of Rainbow Dash and the other, Twilight Sparkle. To complete the set, Lara and Holly each have a fleece blanket which they've chosen to settle under in preference to a duvet in this hot weather as it is lighter and easier to shake off.

While the My Little Pony duvet cover is largely pink, the big bold bright colours of the ponies fit in well with our Rainbow-themed bedroom (Rainbow dash has always been popular in our house) and we love the big chunky colours on the cushions as they make a big statement.

Lara and Holly have already found a few good uses for their blankets - to cover over their unsightly pile of clothes, cover over their shoes, to protect their bedding from cat hair and to roll up and support their head when they're reading. I think Holly also plans to use her blanket for a teddy bear's picnic later today.

You can find curtains, cushions, beanbags and bedding in the Character World range online - look out for them in Tesco and Argos. My girls are super-happy with their new My Little Pony bedding and I bet they ask for these covers to be put back on again straight away after every time we wash them.

Disclosure: Character World sent the girls a duvet cover and cushion each in return for sharing news of the competition. All thoughts expressed in this post are our own.

Clair De Lune Cot Bed Mattress Protector Review

Holly has now been potty trained during the day for nearly 5 months, so much earlier than we had bargained on!  At bedtime, she has been wearing a pull up nappy but a couple of weeks ago, we forgot to buy any and so had to risk a night nappy-free.  We lifted Holly when we went to bed and successfully managed an entire dry night.  Of course, since then, Holly has been keen to keep trying to go nappy free at night, even though I don't think we are really quite ready.  This means we are in need of very reliable mattress protectors to help keep Holly's cotbed dry even when accidents do happen.

Online4Baby sent us a cot bed mattress protector for Holly to try out.  It is a Clair De Lune fitted mattress protector sheet which is 140cm by 70cm so is suitable for both a cot mattress and a cotbed mattress.  The sheet is elasticated to stretch over the mattress and is designed for use underneath your normal fitted sheet to add a protective waterproof layer.

The Claire De Lune mattress protector isn't heavy or thick, it feels much like any other fitted sheet just with a slight sheen to the base of the fabric.  It isn't really shiny and it doesn't crinkle and make a noise when you lie on it (unlike other waterproof sheets we have used in the past for Lara).  This mattress protector is just as easy to fit as a regular cot sheet.

For me, a cotbed sheet needs to be capable of dealing with a baby's leaky nappy but should also be up to the greater challenge of a toddler or preschooler's middle-of-the-night accident which is a far greater challenge to deal with.  We've had one accident when using the sheet and this was first thing in the morning when Holly woke up so we knew about it and could act within minutes to take the bedding off the cot bed and get everything in the wash quickly - the bed was nice and dry underneath the sheet.  I don't know yet how it would cope if the accident were to happen late at night when the mattress protector would have to protect the bed for several hours.

I've successfully put this sheet through the wash but you have to be careful not to use fabric softener so that it retains its waterproof properties.

The Clair De Lune fitted mattress protector sheet currently costs £10.95 at Online4Baby.

The Bedding Company Silentnight Anti-Allergy Cotbed Bedding Review

We are fast approaching the point at which Holly will move our of a cot. In fact, Lara was already out of a cot by the age that Holly is now and sleeping in a cot bed. Every morning and evening Holly rattles the bars on her cot and she is attempting to escape so this time I am prepared and ready for the move from cot to cot bed and I have on stand-by this Silentnight Anti-Allergy Cot Bed Set from The Bedding Company.

The Bedding Company have a range of Pillow and Duvet Sets so they asked us to review this Anti-Allergy set designed specifically for toddlers. The set includes a 4.0 tog cotbed sized duvet and a slightly smaller-than-normal pillow to match.

I've tried Holly out with the pillow in her cot on nights a week or so ago when she had been snotty from teething and I've felt that the little extra height would benefit her breathing. This ingenious plan seemed to go very well because the Silentnight pillow is very thin so it doesn't come as too much of a shock in terms of posture when sleeping for a toddler who is used to sleeping on a flat cot.

all dora'd up and ready for action

The Silentnight Anti-Allergy cotbed duvet is made from a hollowfibre breathable filling and a polycotton covering which have been treated to reduce allergens such as dust-mites. It is washable in a washing machine which is a BIG must-have when it comes to toddler bedding. It is good to be prepared for potty training! The 4.0 togs means that for us it will be a good all-year duvet for use on the cotbed - it feels very light and very soft and combined with the pillow I think it makes a great first bedding set for a toddler (a duvet is suitable after 12 months... and closer to 2 years if possible as by then your children are able to regulate their own temperatures).

Part of me is really looking forward to when Holly graduates from the cot. I know, from experience, that it will be hard but I think the move is a turning point.

The Silentnight Anti-Allergy Cot Bed Set costs just £12.99 at The Bedding Company.  My top tip - buy two sets (you'll need them when it comes to bedtime potty training!)

B-Sensible Bedding - A Great Travel Idea?

Earlier this year when we went on holiday, we had to take our own bedding with us as we were staying in a private apartment. I can't tell you how good it felt to spend the first night in the apartment sleeping in our own familiar bedding knowing that it was clean and fresh and hygienic. B-Sensible recommend taking one of their breathable, hypoallergenic and waterproof pillowcases with you on holiday to ensure you get a good night's sleep.

We have been using a B-Sensible cot sheet for the girls for a couple of years now - the innovative Tencel fibres used in the fabric mean that the sheet is naturally waterproof to absorb leaks so it is ideal for little ones both at home and away. But B-Sensible also make their sheets and pillow cases in sizes right through to adults.

One of the fab things about the B-Sensible breathable pillowcase range is the array of colours that you can buy the cases in - there are some amazing bright colours which will fit many different rooms and which will remind you to bring it home with you at the end of the holiday! The Tencel fibres mean that the pillowcases and sheets don't cause heat and help you to regulate temperature at night - perfect for hot sticky summer nights. They also help protect against dustmites that might be lurking in a hotel or guest room pillow!

I now really like the idea of taking my own fresh pillowcase with me whenever I go on holiday as it is such a compact thing to pack.

You can find out more about the B-Sensible range at www.bsensible.net .

Lara's First Big Girl Bedding - Yorkshire Linen

Yorkshire Linen really got their timing right when they asked us to review some of their children's bedding range. A short while ago Lara moved out of her cotbed and into a full-sized adult single bed so we needed to choose her some new bedding.

Yorkshire Linen had a wide range of character bedding but Lara has a lot of character toys and ornaments and I thought maybe that the move to a big girl's bed was an opportunity for her to try a more grown-up yet still extremely girly duvet cover set. Between us we chose this Nelly Duvet Cover Single Set which is predominantly pink but with blues, greens, oranges and greens as well.

I had half been expecting Lara to be disappointed that we hadn't chosen her a character cover but in fact, the design went down a storm with her. Lara has actually requested that her Nelly duvet cover be put on her bed in preference to other designs - now that's what I call success.

The Yorkshire Linen duvet cover set is fully machine washable and can be cool tumbled. It is very soft and falls nicely on the bed. I think the thing I love most about it (other than that to me it signals that Lara is growing up) is that on the reverse of the pillow there is a really vibrant pink flower design that looks really bold and works so well with the white in the rest of the cover. We match the Nelly duvet cover set with a plain white sheet.

I think the thing I've proven to myself over the past few weeks is that just because character products make Lara incredibly happy, doesn't mean that non-branded products won't make her smile even more so!

Little Green Sheep Mattress Protector Review

This week saw a momentous milestone in Lara's life. She moved out of her cotbed into a big girl's bed! Lara still needs to be woken up in the night to be taken to the toilet so you can imagine that we were a little worried about risking putting her into a single bed with a brand new mattress but I didn't want to buy her a thick vinyl waterproof sheet like she had on her old mattress because it used to make her sweat. The Little Green Sheep came up with the solution when they asked us to review their organic cotton mattress protector.

Lara sweats heavily at night so we only wanted to use a sheet made out of natural fibres. The Little Green Sheep specialise in organic baby bedding, along with a few other natural baby products. The Little Green Sheep organic cotton mattress protector is a thick unbleached cotton sheet that houses a waterproof membrane inside. It is absorbent enough to absorb nightime accidents and prevent liquid ruining the mattress.

The mattress protectors come in lots of different sizes from moses basket right up to single bed, as well as a few specially shaped ones for well-known brands of cot; prices range from £9.95 but the single sheet like ours costs £39.95. When I first opened up the packet I was a bit worried that it described itself as a flat sheet and I had images of me trying to fold hospital corners! Thankfully it has elasticated straps which allow you to slip it easily over the corners of the mattress as well as allowing the sheet and mattress to breathe.

The mattress protector has so far proved its absorbency, thankfully not through a toilet accident but actually through an glass of water that Lara knocked off her bedside table (she hasn't quite got used to the new bedroom arrangement). The mattress was left untouched. Phew.


Our Little Green Sheep mattress protector feels very soft so Lara doesn't even notice it is there, unlike the old crinkly plastic sheet. It is fully washable and tumble-dryer safe should it have to combat any bedtime accidents. I love this sheet compared to our old one and will definitely be buying one for Holly's cot when the time is right.

Finebedding Children's Bedding Review

Lara decided, in the week's before Holly's birth that she wanted to be a big girl and dispense with her night time nappy - good for her! Night time toilet training has me worried - it took Lara a long time to master the art of day time toilet training (nearly a year from when she first expressed an interest in attempting it) so I don't expect this to be an easy ride. Thankfully, Lara is now the proud owner of a machine washable duvet and pillow set from finebedding.co.uk.

We had already invested in a number of waterproof sheets for Lara's bed but after our first attempt in March to  dispense with the nighttime nappy (which ended up in an accident less than an hour after bedtime), I knew we were going to need more than just sheets.  The spundown children's bed set from finebedding.co.uk is a two-part set of bedding that can be washed frequently and in a normal washing machine - no need to tumble dry this duvet.  Yay!

The duvet and pillow set is really good quality - soft fabric on the outside but a nice firm filling in both the pillow and the duvet.  The pillow is really plump and has a breathable cotton covering.  The duvet is one of finebedding's "spundown" duvets (ours is a cotbed size but the set is also available in a single bed size).  The duvet has a very soft covering and is made from a compressible material which means you can squidge it into your washing machine easily.

Both the duvet and the pillow can be washed at 60 degrees in a washing machine which is the temperature at which dust mites are killed - a higher temperature wash is also ideal for getting rid of unpleasant odours and stains.

The cotbed and single duvet bedding sets are available in 4.5 tog or 7 tog rating.  I think Lara's must be the higher tog because it is quite phenomenally warm - she is always REALLY toasty underneath it.  Possibly a bit too warm for this time of year!

Currently Lara has about a 60% success rate at getting through the night without any accidents (this dropped a little while she had chicken pox) which means that our bedding set has seen the inside of the washing machine on numerous occasions.  It is doing well despite this and is still as good as new - I'm also surprised at how quickly it dries (we can wash it in the morning for it to be ready by bed time).

The children's cotbed set costs £35 from finebedding.co.uk .

The Sunday Review - BabyRoyale Luxury Baby Blanket

We recently received a BabyRoyale luxury baby blanket to review. It is a little piece of baby luxury!



When I first saw the blanket, I thought it looked a bit old-fashioned. I've always found newborn baby paraphernalia old-fashioned and this was no different. The pattern of the blanket is a very small check which is created by the inter-weaving of two different coloured threads (although you can buy it in all-white, ours was a pink/white mix and they also sell a blue/white mix). When I pulled the blanket out of its packaging, I realised that this wasn't any old fuddy-duddy old-person blanket! It is beautifully soft and more than merits the 'luxury' tag that BabyRoyale give it.

The Babyroyale blanket is made from 30% organic cotton and 70% organic bamboo – both natural fibres which are kind to baby skin and help your baby to regulate their own temperature when snuzzled up inside the blanket. The bamboo fibres in the blanket ensure that it is naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic. Bamboo has great green credentials as they claim that their bamboo crop is self-regenerative.

I found the blanket to be a little on the small side. This might just be because I tried to swaddle my toddler in it but, in comparison to the other baby blankets I own, I think it is a bit small. At 90cm by 75cm I can just about cover Lara in her buggy with it, but it is a stretch. For a newborn baby it would be plenty big enough.

I was slightly worried that the luxurious softness of the blanket would diminish after I has washed the blanket but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was just as snuggly after washing as it was when brand new.

The Babyroyale blanket is available from Babyroyale directly or from Hello Baby who I've featured before. Hello Baby also sells a wide range of other baby products including baby toys, nusery furniture, travel and safety products.