[DizzyF]

I can see no Pampers in NZ....(how will we live without sesame street characters on nappies!!!) Are the Huggies any good?

Can you buy Clarks shoes anywhere? Son has very narrow feet so we struggle to get shoes in UK!! Anyone having problems getting shoes for their kids?

If Gap just opened in NZ then would never leave again....think will only miss family and Gap in UK.

[Sam B]

No Gap - I get my family to post it.

Clarks available from Future Feet - there is a branch in Hamilton, and also in Auckland, though not sure where. However, no shoe fitting service.

Huggies are a good nappy, very leak proof.

[marcia]

There doesn't seem to be a real 'call' for shoe fitting for kids over here - most of them go bare foot anyway. Even in shoe shops there are none of the measuring thingys (or not that I've seen anyway) its a case of guessing unfortunately. But then again my kids live in wellies and crocs so you can't really go wrong for fitting them!! :)

I have a freind who draws around her childrens feet and faxes the pictures to her mum in the Uk and she takes them to clarks and buys something slightly bigger and send them over.

[nippa&pippa]

I have a freind who draws around her childrens feet and faxes the pictures to her mum in the Uk and she takes them to clarks and buys something slightly bigger and send them over.

I also do this too for my eldest two cos my youngest still not walking yet :roll so WHEN he finally walk then will get his first shoes

For nappies, I found "natural choice" is much better than huggies for bedtimes cos huggies DOES leak at night :yes (I got a baby ;))

[jubjub]

Huggies are great, but very small you have to go up a size really really early! I gave up and now get Airplus from www.babyonline.co.nz...

clarks, yep, future feet... http://www.futurefeet.co.nz/

[Georgebulldog]

We bought Clarks from a shop in Lower Hutt, measured her feet but now I think it was a waste of money as they were so big, a friend said the same thing happened to her from the same shop, they say room to grow :no

We use Huggies for bedtime & they are OK with our nearly 3 year old but have managed to cut down & use Pams on our 3 month old & they are great

[Familyofmonkeys]

The future feet in Ponsonby is much better than the one on North Shore and the older lady working there is very exerienced at fitting shoes properly.

[peebles16]

Shoes have always been nightmare for us (in the UK too) as both boys have wide feet and very high in-steps so they really have to get measured and then try on have the shop :o Eldest son seems to have levelled out a bit and got his first pair of 'off the shelf' trainers a few weeks ago. Younger one though it's really hard to get shoes he can actually get his foot into - $90 for a pair at specialised shop up in CHC and already they are falling to bits :(

Thanks for the feet drawing tip - Mum's coming out in March and I'm going to get her to stock up big time :yes

karenx

[James 1077]

We used Pampers in the Uk with our twins and Huggies over here. While Huggies are good they aren't anything like as good as pampers were so my suggestion is to get yourself over to Tesco when they are doing a special and buy the lot! Stick them all into your container and make sure you go back every time they restock!

The main problems with huggies are that they aren't unisex (which probably isn't too much of an issue unless you have boy/girl twins like us), they do occasionally leak at night (not often but they did this morning leaving the OH to clear up lots of poo!), they are too small so you can't go by the size range that they give on the boxes and they cost more than pampers did in the UK.

They do, however, have nice Winnie the Pooh characters on them and are also better than everything else we tried. The boxes also are well decorated so look nice in the nursery.

As for GAP - you can get GAP Kids clothes from somewhere in Auckland. A friend of ours told me where it is but that it was quite pricey so we never went and I can't remember where it is! I think it was Ponsonby though. And Pumpkin Patch / Country Road are nicer anyway!

I never managed to buy anything in GAP in the UK for myself (being 6'6" nothing fitted) so don't miss it. M&S would be nice though! But again Country Road is pretty good and not too expensive in the sales.

[dharder]

clarks, yep, future feet... http://www.futurefeet.co.nz/

Do they give the discount for twins as well as clarks in the UK does :)

Just kidding. At those prices, not even a ten percent discount would entice me to kit out my 4 children there...

Daniela

[sizzlingbadger]

I used Pam's Nappies and they're just as good at half the price of Huggies here. Never had an issue with leakage and my boy wore them from 14 mths through to potty training.

Shoes, we've given up going for the $80/$90 Clarks shoes, so No 1 Shoe Warehouse, Hannahs or Warehouse are good enough for them, we tend to only have to buy a pair every 6 mths. At the moment they've got a black school pair that will just about see out the end of term (falling apart !) and a pair of casual shoes. In the holidays we'll get them all a pair of sandals and that'll be it for the summer, most of the time they go bare feet. When you've got three kids and a small budget you can't afford $80 each, way too expensive.

When we first moved out my youngest ended up going bare foot right through winter as no where had shoes small enough for him, didn't seem to bother him. Loves going bare foot even now :)

[James 1077]

Loves going bare foot even now :)

I'm a great believer in not wearing shoes - they are horrible smelly things!

When our kids are up and about I'll be pushing back on getting them shoes for as long as possible. My Dad didn't get his first pair until he was 12 but I doubt that I'll be able to hold out for that long!

[Jennispink]

My Dad didn't get his first pair until he was 12 but I doubt that I'll be able to hold out for that long!

I don't know, out here you might just manage it!:laugh

[YouMeAndThree]

Startrite (http://www.startriteshoes.com/fitting) have a great section on their website with video footage showing how to fit and measure your childrens feet. It might be of use to you if you are having to do your own fitting in store.

HTH

Lx