Amy's first visit to Rostock Zoo

When we went to Germany about two weeks ago, we were blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather, so we tried to spend as much time as possible outside. On a gorgeous Sunday, we decided to make the most of the weather and take Amy for her first visit to Rostock Zoo.

Rostock Zoo is the biggest zoo on the German Baltic Coast and a place that I visited many a times with my family when I was a child. It is literally round the corner from where I grew up and where my parents still live and it guarantees a perfect day out for all the family. Young and old can see 1700 animals in 250 different species, enjoy water play and adventure playgrounds and stop for snacks and drinks in the many little cafes that you will pass when you make your way around the 56 hectare extensive grounds. (see map below)

We started our tour at the duck pond, said hello to the penguins and walked along the monkey house where Amy decided that it was time for some yummy banana and apple puree. After finishing the entire glass, looking at animals makes hungry after all, we made our way to the elephants before we came to Amy's absolute highlight: the polar bears. The polar bear enclosure is situated in the heart of the historical park tract (since 1899) and impresses with a huge polar bear castle with rocks, waterfalls and a bathing basin, which has over the years become the zoo’s centrepiece. In fact, due to Rostock's success in propagating polar bears, many European zoos are now housing the white giants from Rostock. Amy really enjoyed watching the bears jump into the water and catch their food and I have to say that I was more than impressed by how attentive she was. Amy followed the zoo keepers every move and giggled whenever the bears landed in the water with a big splash.

After strolling through the historical part of the zoo, we watched the cheeky capuchin monkeys jump from tree to tree, relaxed with the gnus and antelopes that were lazing around in the sun and ignored the terrarium which is forbidden territory as I have a massive slight snake phobia that would have spoiled the whole day for me. At this point, Amy got a bit grumpy because her teeth started to bother her, so we decided to finish our tour by walking past the flamingos and visiting the wild cats. There is much more to see but we will save that up for our next visit because that one is booked already.

Mummy Alarm Review : Stokke® PramPack - protect your pram when flying with babies

I love my pram. I love my pram so much that I couldn't bear the thought that something might happen to it on our flight to Germany. So you can imagine that I jumped up and down in excitement when Stokke got in touch after overhearing a conversation with another mummy on Twitter and asked me if I wanted to review the Stokke® PramPack. Of course I did, what a question!?

I might be slightly exaggerating but I am not lying when I tell you that the Stokke® PramPack is the most clever travel bag for pushchairs that I have ever come across. It is designed to protect 99% of all ordinary strollers and 30% of all twin strollers against bumps, knocks, drops and all the other scary things that can happen to a pram when it goes traveling. At around £140 the Stokke® PramPack is not as cheap as other travel bags, but if your buggy cost nearly as much as your car, then it's definitely worth the investment.The

Stokke® PramPack™ is airline approved, super padded and has lots of straps that stop your pram from moving around. On top of all that, it is more than simple to use. We had one trial run before driving to the airport and can truly say that it is easier to wrap up your pram than Christmas presents. Big Mummy Alarm promise!

The Stokke® PramPack™ comes rolled up for super easy storage and only needs unclipping and unrolling for you to start packing your pram up into this cleverly designed travel accessory. Once unrolled, you simply fold out the wings to both sides, put the pram in the centre of the pack and secure it with 2 straps on the top and one on each side to make sure that your pram is not moving about. Finally, you pull the top over the pram and secure it with two more clips and fasten them according to your pram's size.

The Stokke® PramPack™ comes with two wheels that allow you to pull your safely wrapped up pram behind you and has two padded handles that even give baggage handlers at the airport some comfort. There is also a little pocket for an address slip and a big caution print reminding airport staff to be gentle with your fragile cargo.

All in all, the Stokke® PramPack™ is a very impressive product that is not only good value for money but also an absolute must-have for all globetrotters. To check if your pram fits into the Stokke® PramPack™, simply visit Stokke's PramPack checker.

Disclosure: Mummy Alarm received the Stokke® PramPack™ free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced by Stokke.

Flying with a baby - how we survived and my 5 top tips on flying with a baby

Remember my panicky post about going on holiday with a baby two weeks ago? Well, we are back and there was not the slightest reason to panic. Amy was an absolute diamond and we had an absolutely fantastic time with my family. Even my biggest worry, flying with a 5 month old baby, was completely unnecessary as Amy was on her best behaviour and slept during both flights and as you can see in the slightly blurry picture below.

We flew with Easyjet from Bristol to Berlin Schoenefeld and although I had done some research online, I didn't know exactly what to expect? Do you check in your pram at check-in or do you keep it with you until you board the plane? What happens to the car seat? How does the baby seat belt look like? How does it work and how do you stop your baby from kicking off whilst on board the plane? I had absolutely no experience about traveling with a baby and I think this is what scared me the most. Along with the stressed parents and screaming babies I have seen on previous flights, of course.

Amy really made me proud though and I really think now, that if you follow some simple steps, you too can have a relaxed flight and start into your well deserved holiday!

Here are my five top tips for parents that fly with babies:

1. Make sure that you arrive at the airport in time

If possible even arrive a bit earlier than planned, so that you can make sure that you can check in your luggage plus buggy, car seat or travel cot without getting stressed. With Easyjet you can get your items tagged at check-in and then decide if you want to keep them until you board the airplane (a member of staff brings them into cargo for you when you board) or if you want to leave them at check-in before proceeding to security. 

2. Take a sling

The queues at security, passport control and baggage reclaim can be long and even the lightest baby can get heavy when holding them, so make sure you take a sling so that your little one and you are comfy while waiting and you have your hands free for luggage, passports & co. 

3. Pack wisely

When carrying a baby, pulling your suitcases or wearing a rucksack you don't want to carry any unnecessary excess weight with you, so make sure that you pack wisely. Nappies can be bought wherever you go and so can dummies, formula and many other baby items. What you really want to focus on is your changing bag. Pack enough nappies for the time at the airport, the flight and possible delays. Take spare clothes for you and your little ones - think explosive nappies, sicky babies - and don't forget a blanket and a couple of toys.

4.Get your little one sucking

It is important for your little one to be sucking on something during take-off and landing to help them to cope with the pressure that builds up in their ears, so have a bottle ready (you will have to get cartons in one of the shops), give your baby a dummy or breastfeed them when taking off. Breastfeeding with a seat belt around you and your baby isn't the most comfortable thing in the world but Amy even managed to fall asleep during both our flights.

5. Don't panic

I know that I did panic but most of the airport staff are really understanding and helpful. Don't feel ashamed to ask them for help and don't be afraid to accept help if they are offering it to you. The less you have to do, the less you can feel stressed about and that can only be a good thing, don't you think?

We are going on holiday with a baby and I am panicking!

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have read that we are going to Germany in six days to a) stay with my family and b) surprise my nan who is in hospital after a hip operation and has never met Amy. I can't wait to see my family and spend time with them and Amy but I am also slightly panicking because going to Germany involves taking a plane.

Flying itself is not an issue, at least not for Ben and me, however we are taking a 5 month old baby this time and this is where things might become a bit tricky. Piles of luggage, long queues at check-in and security, waiting for boarding and an almost 2h long flight are bound to unsettle a normally relaxed baby. Also I don't know how breastfeeding on a plane will work and I really don't want to be sat on a plane with a baby that will cry or possibly even scream from take-off to landing.

Do you have any experience of flying with a baby? How did you cope and do you have any tips or secret techniques that relax us all and make the flight appear like 5 minutes?

Getting a passport is harder than getting into the Royal Family

I don't know if this is actually true as I have never tried becoming a member of the Royal Family and I also don't intend to ever become one but I can imagine that Lizzie & Co would want to know quite a bit about you before they let you into Buckingham Palace and .

Well, the people at the Passport Office are quite curious as well and that is fair enough as they obviously want to be sure that they only hand out passports to people who are actually eligible for them but to be honest, I think they are going a bit over the top with what they want to know.

This is what you need to apply for a first children's passport according to the Passport Office's website:

What the website doesn't tell you is that if one of the parents is not British (that would be me), you absolutely have to strip down to your pants when applying for your child's first ever passport. Not only do they demand that you send your passport and all other forms and certificates to the Passport Office, no they also require the following information for each of your parents: full name, date of birth, their place of birth and when and where they got married. What does my parents' wedding anniversary have to do with Amy? Isn't it enough that Ben and I gave proof of who we are? I really don't want to know what they would have wanted me to pull out my sleeve, if my parents had only been co-habiting - probably the birth certificate of my great grandaunt's German Sheppard. Ridiculous!

Competition and Review: The Me Finder

A busy shopping centre, an amusement park or a hectic train station can all be part of your much loved family trips but they are also crowded places that make it easy for your little one to get distracted and lost. To make sure that your day out doesn't end in a scary hide and seek game, Claire Barnder from Show & Tell Ltd. has developed a digital security wristband for children.

The Me Finder allows you to store up to 5 phone numbers that can easily be saved and accessed by pressing just a couple of buttons. Before you leave the house, make sure that the monitor displays the number of the person that is with your child. You can then teach your child to “Show & Tell”: This simply means that they show their wristband to a safe adult and tell them to phone you while they wait for you to pick them up. The Me Finder comes in three funky and colourful designs and is super-lightweight. Its straps are made form very soft plastic so the Me Finder is comfortable to wear. Furthermore, there is a child-proof safety catch on the wristband to make sure that it doesn't get lost while playing. But that's not the only thing Claire thought of when developing the Me Finder: The wirstband is also water-resistant so that it is ideal for the beach or pool and most importantly, your child can't change the settings by playing with random buttons. Instead, they will be rewarded with some simple animations before the screen automatically defaults back to the phone number. Sounds too easy? Well, it gets better: If you don't belong to the group of tech-savvy parents you can even get your numbers pre-programmed. Simple fill in a form when ordering the wristband online and it will come ready to use.

The Me Finder costs £14.99, is available in pink, green and brown and can be ordered online from Show & Tell Ltd.

I have a whopping ten Me Finders to give away to ten lucky readers.

How to enter the competition:

1. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect - required
2. Share this competition on Twitter including @caro_mad and the link to this competition (you can use the button below) - required
3. Leave a comment telling me what you have done to enter the competition - required

For extra entries:

4. Subscribe to Mummy Alarm using the email form in the top right hand corner
5. Follow Mummy Alarm via Networked Blogs
6. Like Mummy Alarm on Facebook

Please, do not forget to let me know how many entries you get using seperate comments.

The closing date of the competition is 04/03/2011

The winners will be chosen at random.

The winners' names will be shown on this page.

Competition is open to residents of the UK only.

The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available.

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

And the winners of a Me Finder each are 

@ Northernstar6

@netcurtains

@stressybessy914

@laurenawoodward

@FlorrieFloyd

@Bobbity666

@emma1111111

@gingerbread_mum

@jumblyMummy

@superamazingmum

Congratulations - I will be in touch shortly!

Competition: Win CARES for your child's holiday safety

The holiday season is around the corner and many of you will fly into the sun whilst on a plane for at least a couple of hours.

I don't want to unneccessarily worry you: But have you ever wondered about your child's safety considering there is only a lap belt to hold your child in case of an accident? All car seats or high chairs come with a great variety of safety features and several harnesses to make sure that your little one is safe. A plane that travels at a high speed however only provides you with a simple lap belt to ensure your toddler's or child's safety.

Louise Stoll, a former Department of Transport executive, found the perfect safety feature for parents traveling with children. The product called CARES stands for Child Aviation Restraint System and is a safety device designed for children who weigh between 22-44 lbs and that are sitting in their own airplane seats. The device that only weighs 1lb and provides an equivalent level of safety (ELOS) to a car seat can be used with every regular aeroplane lap belt and installs in just one minute on any size plane seat. A special DVD and instruction card guarantee the correct installation on board and a carrying pouch makes sure that you've got all your equipment together when you go on your holiday. CARES is currently allowed on all major EU airlines, all UK airlines and in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapoore, Switerland and Israel. In the UK it can only be bought from Mothercare's Online Store for £79.99 but because I know that holidays are expensive enough, I have one CARES to give away in today's competition.

How to enter the competition:

1. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect (required)
2. Leave a comment telling me what country you'd love to take your child to (required)

For 1 extra entry:

● mention this giveaway on Twitter including @caro_mad and the link to this competition (you can use the button below to share this post, but do not forget adding my name to assure I see that you have tweeted)

Please, do not forget to let me know how many entries you get using seperate comments.

The closing date of the competition is 14/02/2011

The winners will be chosen at random.

The winners' name will be shown on this page.

Competition is open to residents of the UK only.

The prize is non-refundable and cannot be transferred. No cash alternative is available

ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions

And the winners of the CARES device is 

Jane Willis -  @compergrapevine

Congratulations - I will be in touch shortly!