Saturday, October 15, 2011

Its Telethon time!

We are Perth-ites these days (Though I'm originally from New South Wales, born in Newcastle, grew up in Sydney and Uni-ed in Wollongong... and hubby is from Perth but we met and married down in Busselton). And as such we are well aware of our proximity to the Princess Margaret Children's Hospital. WA like most states makes a concerted effort to support their children's hospitals (In Victoria it is the Royal Children's Hospital, in New South Wales it is Westmead Children's Hospital). But here in WA we have quite a unqie setup...

WA is the largest land-mass state in Australia. It has the most geographically strewn capital city also. In a sentence, we're spread out! And as such, when something happens that necessitates a child's transfer to the Children's Hospital, they come from far and wide to get here. From Broome to Albany and everywhere in between! Needless to say, they have a big job to do when it comes to co-ordinating the hospital's ability to do that as well as all the referrals and appointments that come with a specialist hospital like that.

We've had plenty of contact with PMH in the last year. Our little fella, Ayrton, has had an operation as well as having to have a sleep study and repeated follow-ups with the respiratory clinic... we actually have an appointment with them tomorrow! We have alot to be thankful for there. The surgeons have helped us make sure that our son could develop the ability to crawl and walk, and the follow up teams that looked into his sleep apnoea have at least helped us to keep tabs on where Ayrton's development is at.
After the operation... little man quite wiped out!
In preparation for the sleep study... nothing wrong, just trying to hold all the wires in place!

This weekend is Telethon weekend. We were a bit slow on the uptake this year (Side tracked by minor illnesses in the household!), but we want to commit something to this year. So we're having a sale and all the profits will go to Telethon. EVERYTHING in our Baby Safety department will go on special from 1pm WST on Sunday and will stay on sale until Saturday 1pm WST. 

This will include some great products like the Cherub Infrared Thermometer (Gives and ear or forehead digital reading in 1 second with fever alert!), our huge range of baby gates as well as our Baby Hearing protection. 

All you have to do to claim this promotion is checkout. There is no special codes and the adjusted prices will be shown. We just want to get some money for the kids!!!

If you have any enquiries please don't hesitate to contact us! admin@beetlebugz.com.au
If you would like to make a direct donation to Telethon, please go directly to their website: http://www.telethon.7perth.com.au/

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The importance of Infant and Children's Hearing protection

"Hearing is a gift most people take for granted until they start losing it. Because the chronic din of ordinary life is higher than ever, reducing excessive noise can improve your hearing health, no matter your age. Make protection of your hearing part of your everyday lifestyle."Simon C. Parisier, MD, co-director of The Cochlear Implant Center at The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary and founder of The Children's Hearing Institute.

My parents and In-laws are great. I love them. Super suportive... but they still have some ideas that are quite different to my own when it comes to child rearing. My own parent's words of wisdom when our son came along ALL centreed on de-sensitising him to noises when he was sleeping. My own father went outside and mowed the lawn as soon as I was brought home from the hospital. It was his way of saying "We have a baby, we don't need to give up our loves and tip-toe around our children..." Whilist I have to agree with him in part, I don't believe that it needs to be carried out to the extents that some parents do. They expect babies to sleep through rock concerts (Literally!), still work and visit Drag Strips when 8 months pregnant (Fine if you are in the insulated corporate box.... not so fine when you're on the side line with a helpless infant in your belly!)... some even expect their children to be able to handle the same levels of noise exposure that they subject themselves to. The fact of the matter is, infant and children's ears are MUCH different to our own. For more information on this and how hearing damage is propogated, check out this FACT SHEET from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders (NIDCD).

Below is a table that outlines different noisy activities and the exposure times until hearing damage.


Average decibels

Exposure time until hearing damage

Gunshot

165db

Immediate

Rocket launch

180db

Immediate

Power tools

100db

15 minutes

Speedboat

110db

2 minutes

Lawnmower

90db

2 hours

Personal stereo system on max level

105db

4 minutes

Chainsaw

110db

2 minutes

Jackhammer

120db

15 seconds

Average Rock concert

110db

2 minutes

Chainsaw

110db

2 minutes

Firecrackers

140db

Immediate


In utero even an Infant's hearing can be damaged due to the simple fact that sound travels better and further and faster in water... and what do babies live in for the 9 months before they are born? Anywhere from 18-24 weeks onwards a child's ear and the parts in it are being developed and become active. They can hear us speak... so why wouldn't we expect that they'd equally be able to hear other loud noises and be damaged by them, just as they are outside of the womb?

Unfortunantly when you are pregnant, there isn't alot you can do except avoid those situations where noise is excessive (In my case, working as a Junior engineer on the floor in a Rail Yard, I had to take a desk job from 24 weeks onwards for this very reason!). In infants and children though, we have access to some great products that will even have the KIDS wanting to look after themselves! Beetle Bugz are proud distributors of Em's Ear Muffs and we focus on industries such as Motorsports to make sure that even the smallest members of the family are able to participate!

Designed in Australia, Em's 4 Bubs use a headband to hold the earmuffs in place, which helps disperse pressure more evenly around the skull of your baby. With a 22dB noise reduction rating, Em's 4 Bubs are the world's smallest hearing protection earmuffs, designed just for infants. These are also the ONLY earmuffs recommended for use in under 6 month olds!

Like Em's 4 Kids earmuffs (Please see our safety section for these!), they can be used in a wide variety of settings - from concerts and car races (Where we use them!) to sporting events and shopping centres. We've even used them when renovations were going on around us. Use them to protect your child's hearing or to help settle them when disturbed by a noisy environment.

Em's 4 Bubs headbands are available in three sizes:

* Small (newborn - 6 months) * Large (6 months - 18 months) * Extra Large (18 months and up)


For the slightly older kids, we stock Em's 4 Kids Earmuffs! Weighing only 190 grams, these earmuffs are light but sturdy. They can be folded up to fit in the palm of your hand, making them easy to carry with you, or store away.

Like Em's 4 Bubs earmuffs (Please see our safety section for these!), they can be used in a wide variety of settings - from concerts and car races (Where we use them!) to sporting events and shopping centres. We've even used them when renovations were going on around us. Use them to protect your child's hearing or to help settle them when disturbed by a noisy environment.

These are best for use for 12 month olds and up. If this is your first earmuff purchase for your 1+ year old, skip the Bub's earmuffs and head straight for these!


For more information on these or any of other Baby Safety Products, please check out our website! www.beetlebugz.com.au


Friday, October 7, 2011

Welcome Baby Belly Indo!!!

We are VERY proud to announce that we have added another brand to the Beetle Bugz Stable... Baby Belly Indo!

We have recently started wearing the brand (Ok... me Kirsty... not the boys!!!) to accomodate my "growing bump" (Which is due May 2012!) and were so pleased with it that we just HAD to stock it! I've found the clothes to be affordable, beautiful and of such great value. I'm so happy with these ideals and how they fit with what I wanted Beetle Bugz to be about (Affordable stuff making for sustainable families!) that I am beaming with pride at being able to bring them to people! :D

Baby Belly Indo is a brand which was designed by an Australian Mum for ex-pats living in South East Asia and Australia. All garments were made in a Fair Trade facillity in Bali, Indonesia. Her designs centred on generous maternity clothes, cut so that tops were longer to cater for growing bellys that inch up normal shirts, as well as side gathering to ensure even the biggest bump could be housed comfortably.

The designer chose fabrics that breathe and stretch to accommodate your changing figure, as well as ones which could be layered together to create new and different looks without introducing too much fabric, or having to change too much of your existing wardrobe.
Some of Baby Belly Indo clothing can be worn after baby has arrived or doubles as a nursing top.

Yep, the days of dowdy and frumpy maternity wear are long gone because today is the era when hordes of hip moms-to-be are celebrating motherhood by wearing trendy clothes that enhance the beauty in them and their new role...
Motherhood offers thousands of ways for expectant women to be themselves.. so why shouldn't your clothes reflect who you are and who you are becomming?!

The full range of tops can be seen at: http://www.beetlebugz.com.au/category.php?SC=11

And their Nappy bags are GREAT too!!! We have the only other Faux Leather one (In Red) and it goes EVERYWHERE with me... even when I don't have the baby! It is so roomy and beautiful and just plain USEFUL! I can't wait to share these with other mums and mums-to-be to help them in getting their lives whilist out and about ORGANISED! :D But even if you are the fashionably lazy like me... they just do the work for you!

The Full range of Nappy Bags can be seen here: http://www.beetlebugz.com.au/category.php?SC=9

Can't wait to see what everyone else thinks of them! :D


Monday, June 27, 2011

Have I told you that I Love you?

Hi there... I'm Kirsty. The Mumma behind Beetle Bugz.
I thought I'd take a short step outside the regular business posts and just take some time to write about my family.
They are the reason why I started this business in the first place and are the ones who support me even when I neglect them to pursue it!


My husband Spud is my rock. He has been SO fantastic in letting me pour my time (and housekeeping) efforts into this business. He has recently changed jobs and had had many other pressures. But he still takes the time to tell me he loves me, does the washing up and looks after Ayrton in the evenings so that I can get as much "work" stuff done as possible. I just want to tell him "I love you too babe!" :D

And Ayrton. My little guy who "waits" when I tell him to wait for me to finish things at "work".
For an 18 month old he really is the most patient and loving kid. He doesn't take me seriously when I say "Don't touch that! Stop!!!!" as I found today when he fell down the back stairs while I was hanging out the washing. But he is learning! But most of all?
He is teaching me! I am SO thankful for him. When I got married I thought that was how I would be most shaped. I thought this person who is my soul mate would reflect all of who I am and will help make me better. That happened. But having Ayrton is like having a SUPER mirror with lots of flood lights shinning on me. He reflects all my good and bad habbits. He makes me look at myself and constantly want to be better for him.

He is sitting here watching Play School at the moment and loving every second.
While there are times where letting him do stuff like that makes me feel like an absolute failure. But there are other times where he does something that I have strived for months to teach him and it is like he just made it up! It makes me feel like there is hope for me yet!

So guys... I LOVE YOU! Just so you know...

Now lets resume services as normal ;) Whatever that is! hehehe...

Monday, June 20, 2011

We Love Mummies!!!

We love Mummies of every kind here at Beetle Bugz...
We provide products that meet the needs of all kinds of mummies too!
Breast or Bottle, we don't descriminate. There are products to enrich that period of your day and your life!!!

But in celebration of these women's show of support for one another, we're putting our Breastfeeding coverlets from "Pretty Well Covered" on a special sale!
Normally they are $30 but today only, they are down to $25!!!!

We believe that anything that makes you feel more confident and comfortable will keep you breastfeeding for longer, if that is what you want!
Find them HERE! There are 5 beautiful pattern and colour combos that will suit anyone's style!


THE PRETTY WELL COVERED BREASTFEEDING COVERLET INFO...

Enjoy convenient and discreet breastfeeding in public or at home. These are the "Pretty Well Covered" brand of Coverlets! They are made from stylish light-weight and breathable fabric. The sheer fabric enables you to enjoy eye contact with your baby whilst maintaining privacy.
  • Invented by a mum
  • Easy on/off garment without clips or ties
  • Comes in three sizes to provide coverage for your back and post-baby belly
  • Comes with a cute and compact organza drawstring purse
  • Made from fabulous material that doesn't crease
  • Wear it any time - anywhere
  • Available in a variety of colours - Please see below and photos for more details!

Sizing:
Small suits 6-8
Medium suits 10-12
Large suits 14+

Colours:
Teal (S, M & L)
Purple (S, M & L)
Navy/Pink (S, M & L)
Black (small only)
Brown (small and large only).

More stock will be coming soon, so stay tuned!

Have a look at what some happy customers have already said about these!

"I always felt nervous about feeding bub in public. Then a friend of mine recommended the coverlet, and it's been fantastic. I can feed anywhere now!"
- Melinda

"I had a lovely floral/brown one of these when I was breastfeeding my daughter. It came in soooo handy when out and about feeding. Then it just fitted into my handbag ready to be pulled out at the next feed!"
- Louise

"These are great! Lightweight (especially good in hot weather) and simple to slip on & off without drawing attention to myself. I also like the fact that I could leave it scrunched up in my bag and it never came out creased!"
-Louisa

"So glad to find a cover that doesn't cover you from chin to knee, and is so light and small you can scrunch it in your bag without taking any space. Thank you!!!!!!!!"
- Jo-Anne





Sunday, June 19, 2011

Good morning Bugz Loverz!!!

This weekend we took the WHOLE weekend off (Well apart from filling my addiction to making up some new products for the shop!).
We headed out to the Handmade Children's Markets in Melville/Booragoon and saw some GREAT WAHM businesses. Jump on and tell us about yourselves on Facebook if you were there!

ANYWAYS! It is Monday so it is time to get back to the "real" world and start slashing some prices again for you Bugz loverz!

Today's Product of the day:

Bootiq Brijette Convertible Cot - White
1 in Stock!

Price: $360.00 $350.00




A stylish cot with hidden drop sides, the Bootiq Brijette Convertible 2 in 1 Cot - White features two adjustable base positions that will grow with your child. Once your child becomes mobile and can stand on their own, simply drop the mattress base position for safety and peace of mind. Once your little one outgrows the cots, convert this versatile sleeping option to a toddler day-bed. Two beds in one! Then you can also use it as a day bed lounge once the kids have outgrown it!

SPECIFICATIONS:

  • Cot dimensions:
    • Internal mattress size: 1300mm x 690mm x 150mm (maximum mattress thickness) NB: Mattress is sold separately.
    • Assembled dimensions: 1200mm (H) x 1360mm (L) x 750mm (W).
  • Weight: 28kg.
  • Weight Capacity: 18kg.
  • Colour: white.

FEATURES:

  • Bootiq Brijette Convertible 2 in 1 Cot - White.
  • 12 Month Manufacturers Warranty.
  • Coverts from a cot to a toddler day-bed.
  • Two beds in one!
  • Hidden drop sides - one hand action.
  • 2 adjustable base positions.
  • 4 lockable castors - removable.
  • Suitable from newborn to toddler.
  • Cot dimensions:
    • Internal mattress size: 1300mm x 690mm x 150mm (maximum mattress thickness) NB: Mattress is sold separately.
    • Assembled dimensions: 1200mm (H) x 1360mm (L) x 750mm (W).
  • Weight: 28kg.
  • Weight Capacity: 18kg.


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Too much news for just 1 entry!!!

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING EVERYONE! :D

We've just got so much on we've had to write another mini newsletter entry!

TONIGHT!
It's the grand debut of our ad on Speed FM tonight... To hear it though you'll have to sign up to their live feed. It's cheap and it's easy... It's FREE! Click HERE to go through to their site. Let us know what you think of our little ad!

While that is all going on we'll be driving down to Busselton for the Vasse Markets tomorrow morning! This is our first REAL market setting so we'll be using it as a real trial run for our bigger markets. But we LOVE Down South so we'll be making the most of it!


TOMORROW (Saturday)
Vasse Markets and held in the Vasse Community Hall on the first and third Saturdays of every month. We'll be there and so will our Mother-in-law (Organic Tomatos and seedlings!) along with a MASSIVE group of other things!!!


THIS WEEKEND - CATCH OF THE DAY
Because we will be away from the keyboard over the weekend, we are going to extend yesterday's catch deal which is 20% off the entire Love Bugz Range of products!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

ROAD TESTERS WANTED!

Hello there Beetle-Peeps!
We are after some Road Testers for our Love Bugz nappies!
Are you interested?

You'll recieve a Love Bugz nappy in return for a (200 word limit) review and a photo of your bubs wearing the nappy! If you are interested, sign up for our newsletter! We will draw 5 lucky road testers and post you out your free sample nappy! You have till Monday to enter, so get clicking! :D

Entries Close MIDNIGHT AWST 30th May, 2011

To join our mailing list either use the form on our blog or HERE on our page!

Looking forward to seeing your opinions and sharing them with the MCN community! :D

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Busy days for Beetle Bugz Australia!

Well it has been VERY busy here at the Beetle Bugz Australia Office!
We've decided to put together this little "newsletter" to bring everyone up to date!

20% OFF ON LOVE BUGZ PURCHASES OVER $50
To celebrate us reaching 250 Likers on our Facebook Page, we are honoring a 20% discount on our Love Bugz Products in store for purchases over $50. Upon checkout, just put your payment method as "Request Totals" and we'll discount your order and send it back to you for payment!

Why are we doing it this way? because our shopping cart software is having an issue publishing the discounts on Love Bugz products!


WELCOME Em's Ear Muffs!
It is a little bit old news, but we are now a dealer for Em's for Kids. Em's is short for Ear-Muffs and are something we LOVE! We have been using ours since Ayrton was 3 months old and this was because we are so involved in Motorsports that it was inevitable that he would be dragged along to something! He is loves them and we have lots of cute photos of him in them at the recent WA Round of the V8 Supercars!

In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the official Em's kid and see them IN STORE! They are under the "Baby Safety" Section of the Beetle Bugz store website.


SPEEDFM and Motorsport Mama Sponsorship
Because we love Motorsport and the people in it SO much, we have decided to sponsor a few events and services. Namely Speed FM (A radio station dedicated to all things Motorsport) and http://www.motorsportmama.blogspot.com/ (A Blog dedicated to parents and partners in Motorsport).

So keep your ears open at Castrol Edge Winternationals at Willow Bank Raceway in a few weeks as we are hoping to get heard and seen! But stay tuned for info on this as it arises! :D We're pretty excited!!!

Our Relationship with Motorsport Mama is making the odd product available for prize give-aways and writting the odd blog post for them.

Keep your eyes and ears open for future appearances with Girl Torque and The Australian Women's Motorsport Network too!


Finally...
We are working on making some new product relationship with other WAHM businesses to sell their products through our website and also sharing market stalls at the Perth Kids and Babies markets! :D

So all in all we're pretty busy. Everything is going GREAT with the website, so duck over there and have a look! It is always growing and changing!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Mailing List

We have a new mailing list!!! You can sign up to it via the link on our website or on the right hand pane of our blog :D

We'll be putting some vouchers in the email "post" for those who sign up now! :D

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Impressive Savings!

I have always thought about what you could do with that $2500 minimum savings that you make when using cloth nappies. So what would the frugal mummy do with that if she had the money to spare?

Well, she could shove it into a BankWest Kids Bonus saver account (HERE) which has a 10.00% interest on it for a minimum $25.00 per month deposit. So if you kept that going for 18 years, say until your kid graduates high school, buys their first car, goes to uni or buys a house.... what could you give them?

Well, as you can see from below... it isn't anything to be sneezed at! It seems that going cloth really DOES have it's long term advantages! :D About $30,000 worth! And if you can see, that is only with just over $7000 worth of investing over 18 years on your behalf... Food for thought!


Why use Cloth?

I "borrowed" this video from a Canadian Cloth Nappy advocay website. Have been waiting for blogger to come back online to chare it with ya'lll! :D

It is based off the old "SHAM -WOW!" commerical if you can remember Vince. This lady does a REALLY good job and I can see why she won their video competition.


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Found Us!?

We've just noticed that of all our pages and Social Network accounts, it is our Blog that actually comes up before anything else when you Google Beetle Bugz!

If you are looking for our store, either click the link above of this one:
http://www.beetlebugz.com.au

THANKS FOR VISITING! :D

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Links

We are also going to be doing some Link exchanges with other Mumma blogs that do product reviews, comment on social trends and health and environmental factors! Check back in this thread often to see what we've dug up! :D

Links

We are also going to be doing some Link exchanges with other Mumma blogs that do product reviews, comment on social trends and health and environmental factors! Check back in this thread often to see what we've dug up! :D

New Product Review Thread

We are developing a new way of bringing you the most up-to-date product information through this new Product Reviews thread. This will give us a chance to introduce our new product lines, show you what people outside of Beetle Bugz are saying about them and give you a chance to comment on them also!!!