Puddle Trouble at Little Steps

· by · in baby changing facilities, bargains, breastfeeding facilities, Bristol, charity shop, Charlton Farm, child, Children's Hospice South West, Gloucester Road, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, play area, Zetland Road. ·
Have you visited Little Steps yet?  In case you didn’t know, Little Steps is a new Children’s Hospice South West shop on Zetland Road.  Little Steps supports Charlton Farm, a children’s hospice, near Bristol.  Charlton Farm provides a home-from-home environment for children with life-limiting conditions and also provides support to mums, dads, brothers and sisters.

I often shop in charity shops.  I have bought baby and children’s clothes, often hardly worn and even new, probably due to the fact that little ones grow so quickly and aren’t in the same clothes for long.  If you are a regular Bishopston Mum reader, you will know that I love books so have bought many children’s books from local charity shops over the last few years.
So when I heard about Little Steps opening, I was keen to visit.  Little Steps differs somewhat from the many charity shops in the Gloucester Road area, as only stocks items for babies and children.  I was certainly impressed!  It has a huge selection of baby and children’s clothes, toys and equipment and is all of very good quality.  It is newly decorated and bright, clean and open-plan (perfect for manoeuvring pushchairs).  
Unlike some charity shops, the layout of Little Steps has obviously been planned with children in mind and there are toys laid out for children to play with…
There is also a sofa to relax on…

My little boy found a toy tank which kept him absorbed for most of our visit.  There are also many brand new toys at Little Steps…
 I want that one!
On the first-floor,  there is a fantastic range of baby and child equipment, such as high-chairs, moses baskets, baby baths, mobiles, etc…
While we were there, I bumped into some good friends of mine, with their one-year-old.  Little Steps aims for its shop to be a place where you can meet other people and interact.  Its atmosphere and wide-open space certainly encourages this.  We chatted quite happily for a while.  Both our little girls played quite happily with a tea set, practising their sharing skills 😉
The Little Steps assistant then approached me to ask if the little boy with the dark hair was mine?  I said yes and she explained that he had had a ‘bit of a wee’.  My little boy is potty trained but sometimes, understandably, has little accidents so I wasn’t surprised.  
But I wasn’t prepared for the sight of him standing in a great puddle of wee, complete with a worried look on his little face.  I wasn’t so much embarrassed but for a few seconds just didn’t know what to do.  I hadn’t brought any spare clothes out for him as he rarely has accidents now.  Even his shoes were sodden!

But, as my friend pointed out, there could be worse places to be caught with a little boy in soaking wet clothes!  I quickly chose some shorts and the assistant showed me into the baby and child changing facilities.

If my little boy hadn’t had a wee, then I wouldn’t have known there were such amazing toilets and baby changing facilities!  There is a baby changing table, complete with wet wipes, nappies and nappy bags.  There are also breast feeding facilities and a little play area there, complete with table and chairs and toys, there for the purpose to occupy kids while mum/dad/carer uses the loo, breastfeeds or changes their sibling.

The assistant was so kind about my little boy’s accident.  I apologised profusely but she reassured me that it was okay and explained that was why little Steps had wooden flooring and that it was no problem to mop it up.
 

I picked up several bargains on my visit to little Steps.  As well as my little boy’s new pair of shorts, I bought a pair of purple trousers and a flowered top for my little girl.  I also bought a wooden clock to start to teach my son to tell the time and two beautiful hardback books of nursery tales and fables to add to our library of children’s books 🙂

If you haven’t yet paid your first visit to Little Steps, it is worth doing so soon to find some quality bargains!  Little Steps need good quality baby and child toys, clothes and equipment and can come to you to collect items if necessary.  To contact Little Steps on Zetland Road, telephone 0117 329 3551 or email chsw.org.uk/littlesteps to find out more about the work of Children’s Hospice South West.

I woud love to know what you think of Little Steps so please do comment below!

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8 responses to “Puddle Trouble at Little Steps”

  1. This looks like a great shop, we have something vaguely similar in Bath but no where near so well designed or bright. May have to venture all the way over to Bristol to sample the joys of Gloucester Road. It has been a while!

  2. What a fantasatic place! I only wish my children were small enough to take advantage of it! I will certainly publicise it at Little Fishes.

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