If you were one of the exhibitors at the NEC last month, count yourself lucky. Even though the size of the show in terms of floor space and number of stands was noticeably lower than in the last few years, the footfall of visitors was about the same as last year. That means those of us who were on duty had the pleasure of spending a little more time with the right people, and especially the smaller exhibitors had the chance to show off their wares with competition bother from larger competition.

Two major A list Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie (top) and Jessica Alba have given a huge boost to the makers of the Belle Baby Carrier this week. Their photos appeared in two major weekly magazines: Jessica in W and Angelina being photographed by husband Brad Pitt in People Magazine. The Jellybean Group who distrubute the carrier in the Uk have identified Angelina's as the Organic Black Belle, which of course looks stunning on her.

The BPA report that the recent NEC event was a major success despite the uncertain economic climate. Many exhibitors at BPA Baby & Child 2008 experienced an excellent show with valuable contracts being secured with large multiple retailers. The show attracted 1,800 visitors, which was about the same as last year, with 50 percent attending on the Sunday, 30 percent on Monday and 20 percent on Tuesday.

The Baby Show has confirmed that Bounty will no longer sponsor its show that was recently held at Earl's Court, London. Organisers are now looking forward to The Baby Show Manchester from 14-16 November at Manchester Central.

Premium parenting product brand Maclaren has appointed Mediaman Communications to handle PR and launch the 2009 range. Ian Mullard and Sarah Treder who launched Graco in the UK in 1997 and managed the account until February 2007, are delighted.

Küster has announced the appointment of Steve Whitcombe as National Account Manager. Steve is well know in the industry and will be taking on a pivotal role in the UK, being responsible for all national accounts for the company.

Cheeky Rascals is delighted to announce the appointment of Yang Lu as Web Assistant. Yang joins the company with a Masters in Design for Digital Media, bringing with him strong design skills and technical expertise.  

Rob Pascoe, Managing Director, has just announced the arrival of Lisa Joyce, the new Head of Design and Development for Gro-group® International Ltd. Lisa is responsible for the development of products at Gro-group®, which includes research, design, development, and product presentation in stores and catalogues. She brings over eleven years' experience in design within the nursery industry. Lisa has moved to Devon from Manchester to take up this position at gro-group's headquarters based in Ashburton.

Hardenberg & Co, the official UK distributor of Angelcare Baby Monitors and Nappy Disposal Systems has moved to new offices in Stone, Staffordshire. Marc Hardenberg, MD of Hardenberg & Co is very pleased to finally have an office just for Hardenberg & Co. 'This gives us the space and opportunity to grow our business significantly over the next few years. Our office is part of the old Joules Brewery in Stone, which has been an active brewery from 1758 to 1974, when it was taken over by Bass Charrington. The buildings have recently been listed, so it is great to be part of a bit of local history!'

As  favourite patchwork elephant, Elmer  prepares to take centre stage in the theatre this December, it looks like he'll be number one on Christmas lists too thanks to Rainbow Designs. The story of Elmer, the classic patchwork elephant created by David McKee, has been brought to life for the first time ever by the Birmingham Stage Company and to complement the show, Rainbow Designs' soft toys will be available from the theatre gift shop. The toys will be on sale during the three-week run of the Elmer stage show at The Capitol Theatre in Horsham, West Sussex.

Magmatic Design - creators of the award winning Trunki - start 2009 with a host of new products for travelling tots on the go! Recent National Business Award winners, Trunki has become synonymous with innovative family travel.

The much acclaimed Practical Pre-School Awards have recognised the high quality and superb play value of Taggies in two popular products. Little Taggies won a Gold Award, and Taggies Play Pal Puppets were awarded a Bronze.

Plan Toys, distributed in the Uk by Marbel, has been recently acknowledged as 'an outstanding organisation, for developing the quality of life for persons with disabilities'.

Britax is thrilled to launch the new 'Beep' stroller which made an impact at Birmingham. This stylish and easy-to-use lightweight stroller folds flat with minimal fuss and has all-round suspension for a peaceful and comfortable ride. It is easy to manoeuvre around busy pavements and shopping centres thanks to a skilfully engineered swivelling front wheel.

Manufacturers of the Cushi Tush^TM Baby Seat successfully launched the Cushi Therm Bottle Insulator at the BPA Baby and Child Show this month. Cushi Therm, an extension to the growing Cushi Tush^TM product range, received a large amount of interest at the show.

Baglite is a unique new solar-powered, eco-friendly light that will help children and cyclists be seen this winter. It can be worn over the shoulders or fitted to any backpack or bag.This latest eco-friendly lighting product from award-winning, safety lighting specialist Pedalite, launched recently at Amercia's biggest bike show Interbike in Las Vegas and has been received enthusiastically. It retails at approximatley £23.

Stylish baby bag company Babymel has designed a new print for 2009 exclusively for high-street giant Mothercare.

Following their success at the 2007 and 2008 Harrogate Nursery Fair, X-Adventure UK Ltd importers of stylish prams and strollers from the Netherlands is delighted to announce their new association with Amazon the on line retail giant, plus recent developments have seen the product selected by Mothercare Plc.

Everyone likes having choices and being able to manage a busy life by operating at home or working flexible hours  is an enormous advantage for those lucky enough to have the chance. 

There is a definite air of ‘coming down to Earth' in the BPA office. After a year of planning and organisation for BPA Baby & Child 2008, followed by an intense few months finalising details for the show and the Awards, the feeling of euphoria at seeing the fruits of all this hard work come together, and so successfully, was felt by everyone in the BPA team.

Despite what you may think, a recession can be a time when the more entrepreneurial among you will truly shine, rather than repeat the message of doom and gloom that we are all seeing in the newspapers, on the television and hearing on the radio. The entrepreneurs are looking for their opportunity to make a greater success of their business.

Toddle Time have big plans for the Nattou brand. Gordon Downie, Sales Director said, "Nattou has an enormous potential in the UK and so far has been completely unexploited. We intend putting a lot of support behind this brand. Expect to see both Trade and Consumer Press advertising during 2009 and collection incentives for our retailers to encourage consumer loyalty."

Two remaining months can only underpin what is proving, without doubt,a memorable year for Tiippitoes. Harrogate heralded the Company's entry of the wooden products sector. Such is the appetite for them that six months on in Cologne, Tippitoes' customers were ordering "Littondale" furniture as a matter of course. This level of trust is understandably a source of pride but, as General Manager Paul Walters says,"the responsibility, not least to deliver, that comes with that is not lost on us".

Eight years ago, I was pregnant for the first time and the prospect of going to buy my pram, choose my nursery furniture and figure out what else I would need was so exciting.  I worked in the world of PR at the time and had little inkling that embarking on something as habitual as baby shopping was to have such a life changing impact.

The latest figures from the Department of Health show that 76% of mums chose to breastfeed their babies straight after birth in 2005, however after one week just 35% of UK babies are being exclusively breastfed and after six weeks the figure plummets to 21%.  And yet in the United Kingdom 9 out of ten women who stop breastfeeding before their baby is 6 weeks old would have liked to breastfeed for longer.

Following the BPA Show it's clear that the major car seat manufacturers have been very busy in Research and Development, because there were certainly some innovating new products to see.

The stunning Wallaboo range includes some ‘must have' accessories such as infant and newborn footmuffs, car seat and stroller covers, baby blankets and changing bags.

The Zero Plus Car seat which has just recently be awarded Which Magazine ‘Best Buy Award'. The Zero Plus car seat is a versatile, safe and easy to use car seat. Suitable from birth -13kg. A car seat that is extra light, comes complete with padded safety harness and head protector.

According to Debbie Homer-Davis, Managing Director of Baby Lady in Canterbury which won the 'BPA Retailer of the Year South East' for the second time in a row at the BPA Show in Birmingham, Taggies are just great! Debbie has been impressed by the steady rise in sales of Taggies ever since she introduced them a few years ago, but its only in the last month when she gave her 6 month old Georgina her very own 'Little Taggies', that she began to really appreciate just how special they are:

Travelling with baby is always easier when they're kept amused, and with this in mind the Sassy range from Flair has the perfect solution. The Sassy Wiggle and Jiggle Pals are soft attachable characters that come as either a camel or ladybug. Baby can pull on the character and watch as it wiggles back up the cord; encouraging baby to giggle as they jiggle!

The Tiny Dee Tiny Traveller^TM fits snugly into first stage car seats and buggies to keep premature and new born babies safe and secure up to about 15lbs or until the head and back support is no longer required.

EXO from Jané, is the first car seat in the world with an exclusive Isofix system that reduces the G forces in an accident...... thanks to its revolutionary pneumatic shock absorber system that helps to absorb the impact of an accident.

If you didn't manage to get to Birminham last month to see the fabulous kiddy stand, it's time to get excited. For there's just a chance you haven't heard that the safest car seat around according to European tests, isn't an Isofix model.

Providing 90%+ UV sun protection, the auto-shade^TM is a highly effective shade screen for rear car windows, protecting passengers from strong sunlight, UV and glare. It fits most makes and models of 4-door cars, attaches securely in seconds and is hand washable.

The stylish new Neptune car seat is approved to EC R44/04, for Groups 1/2/3, suitable for children from 9 to 36 kg (from 1 to around 12 years of age). When the seat is used in Group 1 mode (from 9 to 18 kg) the child must be fastened in using the car seat safety harness. The 5-point harness has comfortable shoulder pads and an easy to use one-pull harness adjustment. The 5-point harness can be removed and replaced by the standard car safety belts for use in Group 2 and 3. For Group 3 use (from 22 to 36 kg) you can choose whether to use the car seat with or without the backrest.

Britax's forthcoming 2009 collection features the next generation of safe, stylish and easy-to-use child car seats and wheeled goods.

Recently 'The Licensing Awards 2008' were announced at a gala dinner attended by Sir Steve Redgrave and hosted by comedian and TV personality Rob Brydon. The award ceremony has become the ‘must attend' event in the licensing calendar and over 1,000 guests enjoyed a golden evening of superb entertainment, dinner and dancing - and the fact the whole industry can get together.

Hauck Group are enjoying continued success with their licensed range Disney Baby and have just recently been awarded the Practical Pre-School award for the Disney Baby Tricycle. This innovative tricycle will grow with the child delivering longevity and value for money.

The hit TV programmes In the Night Garden and Peppa Pig are firm favourites with pre-schoolers and thanks to Flair Create, a great range of artistic items available based on the characters to encourage little ones to indulge in creative play.

BabaSlings has donated 75 of its innovative slings to the NCT. The donation is just one of the initiatives that BabaSlings will be using to help promote International Babywearing Week (12-18 November 2008).

Keepsake books, hand painted, personalised plates, casting kits for baby hands and feet and ostentatious nappy cakes are some of the most popular buys for newborn babies. But traditional gifts are always in demand such as silverware and ‘themed' chinaware.

TOLO® Baby's Woodlands Collection from John Crane Ltd makes the ideal gift to welcome baby home. The Collection offers new colour-ways and charming new packaging with a forest theme.

Launching in Spring, from the Branching Out collection by John Crane Ltd are the Lullaby Rabbit and Lullaby Teddy, two adorable new music boxes.

Mama Babe has launched an Australian range of fresh contemporary designed baby wraps, sleep-suits, bibs and booties and mittens sets, created by Fish Lilly. Fish Lilly is a combined selection of colour, design and quality providing mums and babies with a product to remember.

The retail year is full of gift giving occasions - Valentines Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas, the list just goes on but with over 670,000 babies born in the UK last year every day is New Baby Day.

Nearly a million children under the age of 15 go to a hospital emergency department in the UK each year after a home accident, and half of those are under five.

Celebrating 50 years in the child safety market, Clippasafe's Home & Safety Range is the largest range to date, including over 90 products that help parents eliminate household dangers everyday.

Winner of Mother & Baby's Best Design Award, and Practical Parenting's Best Buy Award, the KiddyGuard^TM really is a stairgate like no other. Highly innovative, it works on the same principle as a roller blind, simply "disappearing" when not in use, so there's no horizontal bar to trip over, and no unsightly, swinging gate to bang against. Safety features include a unique toddler-proof catch, an automatic locking system and singlehanded operation (essential when carrying a baby).

Tippitoes' "Swing Shut" is the easy safety gate solution for the retailer.

Doublecheck Oy from Finland is looking for distributors for two very interesting product lines: LeadCheck^TM - Lead can be found all around us especially in dishes, fine crystal, toys, furniture, blinds etc. Young and unborn children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning. LeadCheck^TM swabs provide an inexpensive, fast and easyto- use test for leachable lead. Now available in Europe.