Thursday, 19 January 2012

EMU Australia - Merino and Premature Babies

Last week I attended a wonderful event in Manchester at the Place Apartments, hosted by EMU Australia. A room full of EMU products, ranging from swaddling blankets for babies, to gorgeous coats for their mums and dads, and of course, lots and lots of glorious boots. But EMU's range is more than just their fabulous boots.

As well as learning about products I met some wonderful bloggers, Angela and Anwen, they are such lovely women with fabulous blogs, and it was really great to meet some local bloggers.

Talia hat and mitten set
I really want to tell you about EMU's baby range, because I think in the UK little is known about merino wool. Merino challenges us about what wool is like and its properties. Superfine merino is really soft. Spun and knitted or woven it is so soft. I just wish I could convey to you by words just how adorably soft the swaddling blanket, hat and mittens and sleeping bag were that I touched (and couldn't put down!)

Merino is easy care. So don't worry, you can machine wash it, its durable, so should last you several babies if you have more than one, it's odour reducing and stain resistant.  All important qualities for baby wear.

Ingal Farm Wrap
For a baby born low birthweight and premature there are some additional qualities that are important. You can read more about merino and babies here at Merino.com . As a mum there are two important features of merino that I think are essential for premature babies, and that's why I really want you to know about them. The first is that merino allows your baby to regulate their own temperature. It's an amazing fabric, and we all know how important temperature regulation is, especially here, where there is such a variance in the temperature of our houses especially this time of year.

Merino is incredibly soft and it protects the baby's delicate skin. I truly wish the swaddling blanket had been around when I had Joseph, it was just so supersoft and snuggly and a great product. The fact that as well as being soft, the fabric is durable makes it a sound investment. Once the baby is no longer swaddled, it can easily be used in a moses basket or pram, or on the floor as a playmat.

Kioloa Sleeping Bag
My favourite product is the sleeping bag, available in indigo and stone as well. It has an opening for a seat belt, so fantastic for travelling. It's supersoft like all of the merino range, and of course machine washable. The size is very generous so should last a baby a long time.

EMU is of course synonymous with footwear and there was a great array on show, from baby, to toddlerhood and into childhood. I grew up wearing ugg-style boots, but back when I was a child/teenager they were our slippers, we wouldn't go out wearing them with skinny jeans, or trendy jumper dresses, but its great that now you can!

I hope you have found this post informative and will consider using merino products for your baby! If you have any questions, please ask, EMU has given me a lot of resources to refer to.

And before I leave you with some images of the footwear, let me tell you my personal reason for loving merino. My grandfather ran a sheep farm in Tasmania. Merino is a very important Tasmanian product, and wool farmers have had a tough time over the years. EMU uses Australian merino. The sheep are treated with respect and kindness. It's really important to me that these farmers' expertise and compassion is recognised and rewarded.

                
Disclaimer: I was invited to an event in Manchester, where I received wine, cake and nibbles, my opinions are my own.