Getting out and about with baby

Baby swimming
Teaching your baby to swim before he can even crawl is a growing trend. Specially designed lessons for babies are very popular and some book up even before birth! Normally running in courses of six or eight weeks, the swimming is fun for both mother and baby. You often have the option to get a very cool underwater photo taken of your baby. For more info see Little Dippers or Water Babies

Baby music
You'll be surprised how quickly a baby recognises a tune and even if you're tone deaf, singing to your baby is bound to bring a smile or chuckle. Baby music classes are great fun, and you'll enjoy watching your baby develop as they start to shake the instruments and clap and wiggle along to the music. You can start taking your baby to music classes usually from three months. Try Monkey Music.

The big scream!
The last thing you imagined doing with your baby is watching the latest movie, but taking your baby to the cinema is proving a popular outing for mums. The volume is lowered and the lights are raised to make it a bit more of a baby-friendly environment, so you don't have to worry about tripping over in the dark if you need to get up and change a nappy. Odeon cinemas run special screenings for mums and babies nationwide.

Feeding on the go
It's increasingly easy now to find somewhere a little more private to feed your baby while you're out. Many shopping centres, department stores, baby shops and supermarkets have special feeding rooms where you can breast and bottle feed, and change your baby's nappy.

Vicki Scott, Feeding & Wellbeing Advisor says, 'It may help you to feel more confident about feeding in public if you practice at home first, certain types of clothing or a scarf can help you to feed more discreetly - many mums find that quite often people are not even aware they're breastfeeding and think you and baby are just having a cuddle!'

One advantage of expressing your milk with a breast pump is your partner can also get involved with feed and bond more with your baby. The bottle you choose for your baby is an important consideration because you want your baby to find feeding from a bottle natural and comfortable. Look for a bottle teat which is naturally shaped and promotes proper latch-on with a wide open mouth, as at the breast. A bottle with a wide neck will be easy to hold, stable when not in use and simple to fill. The AVENT Airflex Feeding Bottle (from £4.25) is designed to work with baby's natural feeding action so your baby controls the milk flow, similar to breastfeeding. It also has a soft, naturally shaped teat and is clinically proven to reduce colic.*

* Clinical trials available at www.philips.co.uk/AVENT