Free delivery on all orders today to NZ and OZ!

For Random Act of Kindness day (1st September), buy any of your favourite goodies from Belly Beyond and get them delivered to your door ABSOLUTELY FREE to anywhere in NZ or Australia*

Select FREE from the Delivery Method drop-down box in the shopping cart.

*FREE delivery to Australia is via International Economy which takes 10-15 days. You can upgrade to International Airmail (3-6 days from dispatch) for $8. Not available for layby purchases.

Belly Beyond TV Episode 5

Top 3 tips for starting out on Twitter for the your business and a sneaky peak at the new HOTmilk catalog! (see more tips underneath the vid below)


Tip 1, get your Twitter handle for your business, eg @bellybeyond
Tip 2, Download Tweetdeck or similar. Much easier to manage the Twitterverse
Tip 3, don't broadcast! This applies if you have a product or service (obviously not where your business is specifically about sharing information, eg like the fantastic @babybitesnz). So unless you are Ashton Kutcher or CNN then DO try to interact with the rest of the Twitter world. All sorts of doors will open up! RT peoples tweets that appeal to you and in time people will RT yours. Just like in real life, talk about your business but not all the time!

and extra bonus tip: if you are including a link in a tweet either use www.tinyurl.com (or Tweetdeck) to make it clickable. You only make it hard for people to see what you are talking about by making them copy and past the link into a browser and most won't bother. If in doubt or you have no idea what I'm talking about just include http:// in front of the www :)

Fathers Day Gift Ideas

Yip, it's almost September. How can that be? No matter how much I deny it, we have to face facts that the year is screeching out of control towards Christmas.

But before the big fat guy in the red suit arrives, lets turn our attention to next Sunday, Father's Day.

Funny Dad Story
My Dad had a funny habit of taking his pants off when he got home after a day in the office and just wandering around in his white business shirt and undies. (I didn't think anything of it at the time, it was just what Dads did!) One summer evening he came from work, disrobed as described and had a sit down on the coach. After a time, he decided he should head to the shops for some supplies, put air in the car tyres and a few other odd jobs. It wasn't until he was bent over putting air in the tyres that he realised he'd forgotten to put any pants on!! He sheepishly slunk back into the car and headed for home. Hope you at least had clean undies on Dad :)

We'd love to hear your funny Dad stories in the comments. so please leave a comment.

So what do you get the Dad in your life? Well the little ones can't use the Visa yet but we suggest you cjheck out some of our most popular buys for Dad on their behalf:

Skip*Hop Nappy Bags
Buy a bag this week and get a FREE Daddy loves me book

ERGOBaby Sport Carrier
The ultimate carrier for Dad








And just a quick note to my dear old Ma who will face her 2nd Fathers Day without her Dad (WWII pilot and quite possibly one of the loveliest guys you'd ever be lucky to meet). Thinking of you. :)

Facebook page

Did you know we have a facebook page? Become a fan and we'll let you in on secret deals and competitions.

www.facebook.com/bellybeyond

The more kids you have

An oldie but a goodie: (original source unknown).

BIRTH ORDER OF CHILDREN

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your doctor confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
_________________________

Preparing for the Birth:

1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.
_________________________

The Layette:

1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
____________________________

Worries:

1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
___________________________

Nappies:

1st baby: You change your baby's nappy every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their nappy every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their nappy before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
____________________

Activities:

1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

____________________

Going Out:

1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached...
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

___________________
At Home:

1st baby : You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

_____________________
Swallowing Coins:

1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin, you deduct it from his pocket money.

Belly Beyond TV - Episode 4

A few friends have recently had babies and it's reminded us of that crazy time when every body wants to descend on you to meet the new addition.

Run these tests in your head before you say "yes" to a guest. Get your significant other to do the vetting if need be!



Good excuses for fobbing off unwanted guests include:
(thanks for our Facebook fans for the suggestions)

- we are just all about to have a sleep (From Kerry)
- baby and mum are resting, perhaps another day (From Gina)
- We are just having a bit of quiet time right now it would be great if we could see you at "x" though! (from Paula)
-I left a note taped to my front door saying that Mum and baby were sleeping, and to please call to make a time to come and visit! While some people knocked anyway, most people did just go home and call! (from Rachel)
- we have swine flu (ok maybe not this one, this is my contribution hehe)

Crazy Week

To say our Womama sale was quite successful would be like saying Usain Bolt is quite fast. We were absolutely inundated and are working full speed ahead to get the remaining orders out this weekend. I think we processed somewhere in the vicinity of 900 items. That's a lot of undies!

Childcare has been a huge issue for both Heidi and I as we juggle the massive growth of Belly Beyond and our young families. We often rope in friends and family to mind the kids and here is Miss 11 helping out by taking Finn for a walk around the farm with Mum (Heidi's sister) so that Heidi can get some work done.

Shows how easy the Ergo Baby Carrier makes carrying little ones. They walked for over an hour and Miss 11 said she didn't feel the weight at all. Go ERGO!

Womama 70% off gorgeous Nursing Lingergie 10C - 18G

QUICK! This pricing is available until midnight Monday 17th August and it's only available at Belly Beyond!

FREE Delivery NZ wide on all orders over $150

@@ Nursing Bras were $59.95 now up to 70% off @@

3 styles size 10C - 18G

*1 Bra $25 (save $40)
*2 Bras for $40 (save $80)
*3 bras only $60 + free undies (Save $150!!!)

Undies were $29.95 now $10

Check it out http://www.bellybeyond.co.nz

Have fun!

New Zealand Womens Weekly

Our story is in the New Zealand Womens Weekly this week! We had fun predicting what headline they'd run if we were celebs: "Heidi's wedding nightmare" or "Louisa's shock family split" :)

Back in the real world where we aren't or are never likely to be celebs, we were pleased they went with "Expecting Success"

More info on the media page

I notice I'm looking a lot like Heidi though according to the caption!

The first Belly Beyond lamb is here!

Well it really must be Spring because the Belly Beyond farm has just welcomed it's first lamb!!

Congratulations to Mrs Sheep. We've called him Chopper on your behalf ;)

Mumpreneurs a backward step????

Check out this post from Sue, the editor of www.mamaflossie.com

Here is my reply:

I have mixed feelings about being a Mumpreneur. The dream of starting a business in order to stay home with my children meeting the irony that a start-up business is incredibly hard work and I no longer have the quality time with my kids that I’d imagined.

But I hope the imbalance is a temporay one and it is a satsifying feeling knowing that all the hard work is *for* my children and not someone else’s bottom line.

I know a lot of Mumpreneurs who operate their businesses outside the Baby & Child Industry. Graphic Designers, Lawyers and Accountants who have started their families but can’t fit back into the workplace and so start their own business. You possibly don’t hear about them because they have full client lists through word of mouth and simply don’t need the publicity!

When Mumpreneurs are successful they invariably employ other mums. I think they understand the constant juggle motherhood brings and have back up plans in place when employees kids get sick or they need to go and pick someone up from the nurses office.

I agree that energy should still be put towards more flexible working conditions but being a Mumpreneur is not a step back for women, it’s simply another option. And running your own business is a fantastic skill to have on your CV if and when you decide you’d like to stop being your own boss.

What do you think? Please let us know.

The Big Latch On

Heidi and I joined 178 other Mums at Hoyts Sylvia Park on Friday morning to participate in the Nationwide Big Latch On.

I thought it was funny that those who had gotten organised and pre-registered online were left standing in a really long cue while those registering on the day just wandered straight up. Not quite the outcome the organisers would have hoped for I don't think!

With a 10 second countdown to get your baby latched on at 10.30 there were 180 of us simultaneously breastfeeding - that's a lot of lactating in one place !!!

I felt for the Mums whose little ones decided not to participate and thought it far more fun to simply look around and see what everyone else was doing.

And speaking of breastfeeding, our Feed Your Baby campaign seems to gathering legs with Auckland Hospital asking for copies of the poster. (wohoo!)

Check out www.mamaflossie.com too where the story appears on their homepage.