Freebie Friday – Shop 4 Mum and Bub

My gorgeous little sister is pregnant and I have been hunting high and low for the perfect maternity gift for her. She’s working on bringing her second baby into the world and is stubbornly refusing to reveal the gender. Again. So it makes buying for her and bub that much harder! Then magic fairies brought Shop4MumandBub.com.au to my attention!

My sister and I, in many respects, are chalk and cheese. Where I am the roundly, high-fat mozzarella cheese and she is the thin-as-a-stick-of-chalk one. She is stylish, me very much not. I’m in Brisbane while she lives in a tiny, but perfectly formed worker’s cottage off Brunswick St, Fitzroy in the uber-trendy Melbourne. She is quiet, me… well, you get the picture.

So my hand-me-down baby bag was never going to cut it. And don’t even think about my old pregnancy clothes – oy! So, I’ve been roaming around online for awhile and then, as fate would have it, Rebecca Christian dropped into my lap, like a virtual shopping fairy!

Rebecca’s online boutique Shop4MumandBub.com.au caters for every conceivable baby-related need, from pregnancy to birth and beyond. She sells clothes for pregnant mum, post-delivery mum and absolutely gorgeous clothes for bub, starting with newborn up to toddler. These clothes are GOR-JUS! She also sells a variety of skincare products (all eco-friendly, of course!) and soaps, along with a wide range of baby shower gift ideas.

Like most mum-preneurs Rebecca’s idea came out of a need she had that couldn’t be met with the products already on the market.

“(I was home from the hospital) with my premmie baby, Jake, and I was having difficulty breastfeeding. I was suffering from reccurring mastitis,” Rebecca says.

“I thought a great way to cheer myself up and encourage myself to keep feeding was to spoil myself with a couple of new, stylish breastfeeding tops. So, I was at home with a premmie baby and a 2.5-year-old toddler and of course there was no way I could even fathom leaving the house yet to go shopping – it was too overwhelming!” she says.

“I powered up my laptop and started searching for stylish breastfeeding tops and dresses. I couldn’t find anything that was affordable! I was also looking for clothes made from natural fabrics, things like organic cotton and soft bamboo fabrics. They are said to have antibacterial properties and also are gentle on your skin, as well as being environmentally friendly.”

Unable to find anything that fit her needs Rebecca did what most mumpreneurs do and decided to set it up herself and offer it to the market.

“Nine months later, after a lot of long hours were spent researching and putting together my business plan, my online boutique Shop 4 Mum and Bub was born! I launched in November 2011. It’s my third baby, really!” she adds.

Since launching, Rebecca has also exhibited at the Melbourne Baby & Toddler Show which has yielded great results. The boutique is off to a strong start and Rebecca is adding new product lines regularly. This month, continuing the raising of her boutique’s profile, Rebecca has a featured product in My Child magazine, the beautiful baby change mat by Danica Studios.

“So far we have had great feedback on how easy our website is to use and navigate,” she said.

“And we are excited to announce that our Zahra Breastfeeding Dress by Mothers En Vogue was seen on the catwalk in France earlier last week. This is such a great dress and a little secret is that’s is made from bamboo which is so soft and feels so luxurious,” she said.

Shop 4 Mum and Bub will be exhibiting at The Baby & Childrens expo in Ballarat on Sun 28^th October and The Baby & Childrens Expo in Geelong on 16^th March 2013.

And to celebrate, she’s giving Moore4Mums readers one of her deluxe baby change mats. To enter, just duck over to Shop4MumandBub.com.au and tell us what your favourite product is. Then shuffle back here and leave a comment! It’s that easy! Go to it!

(Entries close Friday July 20).

UPDATE: Congratulations to Donna! You’ve won a gorgeous change mat from Shop 4 Mum and Bub! Thanks to Rebecca and Donna both for your involvement with my blog! (20/07/2012). Felicity.