Wheely Good Idea!

I remember when my daughter was born and I used to spend endless days pushing her around in her pram, how surprised I was to find that the streets in Spain are just not wheel friendly! It wasn't just the cobbly streets and high pavements that were really hard work to negociate but also I couldn't believe just how many shops and offices were up huge flights of stairs, could only be accessed with teeny tiny lifts or had narrow doors and jaggedy paving outside. This included quite modern institutions like banks, supermarkets and carparks ... so all in all getting around with a pram in Spain is not that easy!

So it was with pleasure that I read last week that Fuengirola Town Hall is aiming to make life easier for people using wheels ... and that's not just parents of course, but trolley and wheelchair users too, by putting into action a plan to eliminate architectural barriers! Apparently 164 trouble spots will be removed and replaced with ramp access ...

Good news for all us mums and wheel users in Spain! Hopefully other towns and cities will follow suit soon.

Time to start thinking togs!

Last night for the first time in weeks I put socks on my toddler when she went to bed and covered her with a sheet ... my husband wanted to get the duvet out but I don't think winters here quite yet!! The evenings have got noticably cooler though ... a welcome relief after months of sweating at night ... and little one's do feel the changes, so it's important to monitor the temperature in their bedrooms and adjust their sleeping outfits accordingly.

All this reminded me that our indybel delivery of new JoJo Maman Bebe sleeping bags should be here any day now! Like everything else, baby sleeping bags are not always easy to find in Spain. We are really excited about our latest products ... these gorgeous sleeping bags come in three different designs and two different togs ( 1.5 for warmer temperatures of 22 - 24 degrees and 2.5 for the cooler months when the temperatures even in Spain do drop below 21 degrees at night! ) We are also going to be selling them in two sizes, 0-6 months and 6-18 months ... all the details will be on our site in the next week or so, so if you are thinking of buying a sleeping bag for your little one this winter don't forget to check ours out. They are a lot cheaper than Grobag, but of the very same high quality!

Here are the 3 designs we're expecting ... all three are perfect for either girls or boys. nb the colour of Carousel is beige/cream.

Noah's Ark Sleeping Bag, coming soon to http://www.indybel.com/ in 2.5 tog size 0-6 months

Carousel Sleeping Bag, coming soon to http://www.indybel.com/ in 2.5 tog, sizes 0-6 months and 6-18 months

Rainbow Sleeping Bag, coming soon to http://www.indybel.com/ in 1.5 tog, sizes 0-6 and 6-18 months

All designs gorgeous for girls or boys!!!

Our First Fashion Show Rehearsal!

Last night we had our first fashion show rehearsal. As many of you know Indybel are putting on a Maternity Fashion Show at the Mother, Baby and Toddler show in October. This is quite a big thing for us as we've never done anything like it before, but happily we have found 6 fantastic real women pregnant models whose enthusiasm and commitment last night was amazing and we can't thank them enough.

We've also had the good fortune to have found a team of 'professionals' who are willing to help us make our show look and feel as professional as possible. Thanks to our team ( including the models )we are confident the show is going to look fantastic and can't thank them all enough. Lousia our choreographer has so many great ideas and last night taught our girls to walk like models in a matter of minutes, we also have a professional hair salon doing hair on the day, David our make up artist is renouned for his fantastic work and will be making up all our girls on the day, plus we've just found out that Tickled Pink will be accessorising and styling our girls with their fab costume jewellery and knowledge ... we can't thank you all enough ... next rehearsal is next Friday and we can't wait!!

Louisa puts our girls through their paces!

Perfect potz take the worry out of weaning!!

When I weaned my baby here in Spain the biggest headache was finding little pots to store the food. When you are weaning it is more practical both time wise and financially to make large amounts of puree's up at once than to cook everyday. So you need lots of little different sized pots which are also freezable and easily washable. I couldn' t find anything much in the shops here, you either got 4 or 5 pots which cost a fortune or a few plastic pots which were cheaper but less safe.

In the end I got my mum to send stuff over from the UK where there was an assortment of stuff avaliable. So she sent me little ice cube pots with lids, a set of 8 or so pots which were far cheaper than here and so on ... but to this day as far as I am aware, weaning pots or those for taking food out and about are still not easily avaliable in Spain. The best pots for taking food out I could find were mini tupplewares which again were both expensive and too big, so impractical!

So it is with huge delight and excitment that Indybel have discovered Babypotz ( pictured above and below ) ... these fantastic baby weaning pots are currently taking the UK and Ireland by storm. The brainchild of mum Lesley O'Mahony, Babypotz are everything you need them to be! Which includes BPA free and microwave, dishwasher, freezer and sterilizer safe... More than that they come in a boxes of 50 pots ( divided into 5 different handy sizes ) so you'll never run out. And believe me, as a mum who has weaned, you need a lot more pots about than you think! Each pot has it's own lid too so you can seal them securely in the freezer and take them out with you as they are.

Babypotz in our opinion are one of the best baby products we've seen for a while. They are practical, safe, look great and are also fantastic value for money. http://www.indybel.com/ will shortly be selling Babypotz on our site for 22.99€ for a box of 50 pots, that means each pot will only cost you 46 cents!!!

Check out http://www.indybel.com/ soon to find out more about Babypotz, or to reserve a box simply email info@indybel.com telling us how many boxes you'd like to reserve!

Gearing up for the first ever Indybel Maternity Fashion Show!

Next month see's the first ever Mother, Baby and Toddler Show in Estepona and as well as taking a stand, Indybel are putting on a maternity fashion show!!

This is a very exciting event for us, but has certainly been complex to mastermind!
I used to work in TV and for years my job was choosing contestants for entertainment shows, finding our models reminds me a little bit of my former career, although it's actually more difficult!

When we conceived the idea of the fashion show we decided that we wanted to use pregnant models on the catwalk. We feel that our maternity ranges are unique in that they are gorgeous, high quality, stylish, trendy, affordable and comfortable clothes. In addition the great thing about maternity clothes is that they really grow up and down with you ... they'll accelerate your bump if you are feeling loud and proud and they'll hide it if you are feeling a bit shapeless or having what we call a 'bad bump day'! Knowing all this we truely felt that 'real' pregnant models were the only ones who could really wear the clothes well .. using models with pillows stuck up their clothing just didn't seem to be right!

So last month we posted our plea for 'real women pregnant models' on a number of websites and forums including our own and are delighted to say that we have had a huge response! Thanks to all the lovely girls who have responded, some are in their first pregnancy, some on their second or third ... some are nervous and others very confident, but all are 'real' and we are so excited to see the clothing on them.

The bumpband at www.indybel.com

This week we have been busy confirming our 6 models and arranging our first model get together next week. The aim of this meeting will be for our models to meet our choreographer Lousia who is fab and for her to teach them a few catwalk moves. Hopefully we'll also be able to try some of the outfits on the models and work out who will be wearing what and which looks will look better on which girls! There is so much to do! Plus as we are fully aware that our models aren't professionals, we are very keen to make them feel as positive, comfortable and happy about the experience as possible.

Seraphine awardwinning bootleg jeans, available in Spain from www.indybel.com ... so comfy you can wear them right up until the birth!

We have also been busy ordering in clothing for the show. Our aim is to show that you don't need to spend a fortune on hundreds of maternity peices, but can achieve a great look throughout your 9 months with just a few staple high quality maternity peices which can then be mixed and matched with other items. Our key peices include our gorgeous Seraphine boot leg maternity jeans, the Seraphine denim skirt and Seraphine Leggings. In addition we'll be showcasing a fab ethnic print dress from JoJo Maman Bebe which can be worn with leggings, jeans or as a dress in it's own right as well as some great adaptable tops from JJMB and of course our own Indybel lounge pants. Plus there's our nighttime range which is also great for looking glam during hospital visits!!
Of course all the peices are avaliable on our site too ( http://www.indybel.com/ ) and not just at the show.

So as the date draws nearer we are really getting very excited. Hopefully after next weeks meeting we'll be able to start to see it really coming together .. we'll keep you updated and maybe see you there!!

Our First Competition Winner!

Congratulations to Gaby from Jimena de la Frontera who has won our August 1st Birthday competition. All Gaby had to do to enter was purchase something from our store during the month of August ... now she's the proud owner of one of our gorgeous pampering Natalia Gift Boxes ...

We had lots of interest in our competition, so thanks to everyone who entered themselves! As it's proved so popular we'll certainly think about running another competition later this year ...

Morning after pill

Just saw this item in the Sur in English newspaper ... From September the Morning-after pill will be avaliable in Spanish pharmacies without a prescription or age restriction ... here is the article in full ....

The morning-after pill will go on sale in pharmacies in Spain in September, the Ministry for Health has confirmed.

The emergency contraception was initially expected to go on sale in August but the health authorities have been working with various scientific organisations to establish the guidelines for selling the pill without a prescription. The ministry says that pharmacists will be advised on what information to provide to users.

It was announced in May that the pill would go on sale without the need for a prescription and without age restrictions in pharmacies throughout the country. Up until now it has only ever been dispensed by doctors.

The PP and Catalan conservative party CiU had opposed the Socialists’ proposal and were particularly against the idea of unrestricted sale of the pill. Critics feared that prescription-free sale would result in an increase in the number of women using the pill as a method of ordinary contraception, however, the government considers that allowing the sale of the pill will result in a decrease in the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions.