When you just have one child to care for, life as a full-time mum is manageable, if busy.  Before my son came along, daily life revolved entirely around my firstborn.  I’d take my daughter swimming or to a baby music session, then, while she had her post-lunch sleep, I’d get on with a few jobs and enjoy a bit of me-time.  Our afternoons involved more baby-focused activities – a playdate with a little buddy or cycle to the park.  Come the evenings, I’d have time to catch up with the ironing, e-mails or even, God forbid, my husband.

Then just before her 2nd birthday, little brother came along.  And although Big Sis still took a daytime nap, it didn’t coincide with a newborn’s sleeping regime.  Consequently, I had no down time in the day and, along with a baby’s feeding demands and an active toddler to amuse, I was too exhausted to do anything once they were tucked up for the night.  Household chores soon piled up and, short of getting a live-in housekeeper, I quickly realised a new strategy was needed.  I was going to have to devise a way to involve my children in the daily chores, without them wreaking havoc or accusing me in later life of child labour.

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One of my absolute favourite mum-baby activities is taking my 8-month old daughter swimming at our local leisure centre. My hubby takes her swimming every Saturday morning (giving me some welcome free time woohoo!) and I take Amelia swimming one other time during the week. It really is great fun.

Our baby girl has always loved her bath, splishing and splashing madly, although she did go through some bath confusion: thinking it was her bed and succumbing to the odd water nap at her 6pm bath time. She’s over that now and bath time is fun-fun and then some more fun. She had her first official swim at 4 months although it is safe to take your baby swimming within only a few weeks of birth.

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Mumsnet launched its “Let girls be girls” campaign earlier this year and the initiative is rolling on and gaining ground with retailers continuing to sign on in agreement and some yet to sign up. The campaign voices a protest against “the premature sexualisation of children” and encourages retailers “to commit not to sell products which play upon, emphasise or exploit [children’s] sexuality”.

The campaign has received a great deal of positive media attention and many mums around the country have taken the chance to voice their concerns about the growing number of retail items that encourage girls to value their sexuality above all else. Parents are worried that items including high-heels, bras and bikinis for 6-year-olds, and playboy branded stationary, will inadvertently rob girls of their innocence and have a long term negative effect on their physical and mental well-being.

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Babies love faces. Michael Frank, an expert in brain and cognitive science research and currently Assistant Professor at Stanford, says that babies “like to look at anything that resembles a face, even something as abstract as an electric outlet” .

I bought my baby girl a gorgeous maracas from Octopus – the one I chose, upon the advice of the shop assistant, has a big-eyed, rosy-cheeked face painted on it.

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As a first time mum and someone who hasn’t spent much time with babies, I was pretty clueless when it came to choosing clothes for my soon-to-be-born baby. The masses of clothing that would bombard my vision as I entered a baby store did nothing to appease my bewilderment.

I guess that dressing a baby is pretty logical… there are only so many options in the newborn section of a shop. But as a new mum I, as most mums, wanted to get it right – I wanted to make sure that my baby would have everything she needed. It’s okay if you forget to put a sock on a doll or leave its head uncovered in freezing weather – the doll is plastic and you’re only five.

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