The women in my family all appear to suffer from the same affliction: we can't resist the urge to start home improvement works just as we enter the third trimester.

Clearly, there's something wrong with our brains, but we're not alone. Nesting can do funny things to a girl, which is why The Handy Squad's new "Mother's Little Helper" package is such a brilliant idea.

If you need help assembling cots, fitting baby gates, painting the nursery, putting up shelves, or doing any other jobs round the house that are driving you demented, the Handy Squad will send a handyman round.

When Maclaren asked ParentDish to review their latest buggy, I was expecting something tiny, lightweight and highly portable to arrive.

Instead, a giant box turned up at my door, containing the Grand Tour LX, Maclaren's latest three-in-one travel system, which couldn't be further away from the usual Maclaren strollers.

With a carry cot, reversable push chair, and an optional car seat converter, the Grand Tour LX has more in common with the Bugaboo Chameleon and iCandy travel systems.

Oh, apart from the remote controlled safety lights, pedometer, temperature gauge and built-in clock, that is! (More of that later)

Choosing the best baby monitor isn't always easy. To help you along the way, we asked gadget blog Dork Adore to take a look at some of the newest and best available.

Best for: baby's bedroom

LeapFrog Advanced Digital Baby Monitor
£69.95

The LeapFrog is a great all-rounder for anyone who wants a monitor with high-end features with a softer, more baby friendly look and feel.

Source

Netmums turns 10 this year. We caught up with founder and mother-of-three, Siobhan Freegard, to find out how her site is helping new mums to make friends.

Why did you launch Netmums?

I had my daughter and it was when she was really tiny that the idea for Netmums came to me. The experience with my daughter was so much nicer than the first time around with my son because by then I had learned so much and met so many people.

It was great, but I could see all the new mums with their babies and I thought "they're going through what I went through when I had my son and it's so miserable!" So the idea was to create a lot of local information that would help new mothers.

Like the rest of the nation, over at ParentDish UK, we're REALLY excited about the imminent return of Doctor Who to our screens (Saturday, 6.20pm).

This time, Steven Moffat is taking the reins as Doctor Who's series producer and head writer, and there's a brand new Doctor in the rather elongated shape of Matt Smith. And while Doctor Who may not win the prize for the MOST scary children's TV show, it certainly put the fear of god into me as a child.

So, here's ParentDish's top survival tips for children.

The Bambeano is – you guessed it – a bean bag designed especially for your baby. It's suitable for 0-6-month-olds and comes with a special strap to keep your baby securely in place.

I've been buckling my daughter into the Bambeano since she was born, and now she's three months old, she's still enjoying reclining on the kitchen floor while I get chores done around her.

It's a nicely designed product and I like the fact that I can slightly alter the height and positioning thanks to the beans. I'd prefer more covers to choose from – beige dots are tasteful but unexciting, and I'm avoiding the baby pinks like the plague – and a warmer fabric option such as fleece would make this more winter friendly.

When you've just had a baby, life's all about the little things. Little new person, little clothes, and little sleep. Which is why heading out for a day with the baby can seem like a pretty big deal.

So thank goodness that my first major excursion across London on public transport with my 10-week-old was to visit a special mother and baby spa.

Cupcake is a very different sort of gym and spa. If the long line of buggies parked at the entrance and the play pen in the corner don't give the game away, the countless little people charging merrily about the place soon will. This is a gym for parents.

Started in 2008 by American Karen Hastings, Cupcake is Hastings' answer to what she felt was a lack of really nice gyms in the UK. And it certainly is different to any other gym I've been to. It's a place to hang out over some food and wine, a place to have a calming treatment, a place to do your ante-natal classes and a place to leave your children when you're doing all of the above.

I admit it, I've been totally won over by mOmma from Tomy. The new range of "developmental feeding products" has more than a whiff of Alessi about it and I like to think I'm not impressed by designer gear. But the combination of kooky looks, bright colours and clearly quite clever ergonomic design has left me hankering for a complete set.

Everything about the range has clearly been very carefully thought out, with bottles, plates and cutlery all designed to be un-tippable thanks to their rounded bottoms.

For those slow eaters, the Warm Plate can be filled with warm water so that food doesn't go cold so quickly, while the chunky cutlery makes for easy gripping.

You'll be carrying a changing bag round with you for quite some time, which means it's a perfect excuse to buy something a bit special.

These OiOi changing bags are fresh and vibrant looking, with a choice of monchrome designs that will keep your baby enraptured.

They're also incredibly practical, with plenty of pockets, a wipes box, a zippable waterproof case, comfy sleeping bag-style changing mat and an insulated bottle case.

Most importantly, it's got clips for keys and dummies to save you rooting round in your bag.

I love my OiOi bag - and it's getting plenty of admiration from the other mothers as well. It's roomy, practical, and I'm more than happy to be seen carrying it around for the next year or so.

Picking the right baby monitor means making some decisions about exactly what features you want. Do you want lullabies included? Talkback? Do you want extras like feeding schedules and alerts?

The LeapFrog Advanced Digital Baby Monitor comes close to ticking pretty much every box when it comes to jazzy extras. It keeps track of the room temperature in the nursery (and you can set it to bleep if it gets too hot or cold); it plays digital lullabies that you can start up remotely using the receiver unit; and if you want to remind yourself when you last fed your baby or when it's time to feed again, the Leapfrog's feeding alerts can help.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the "parent talkback" feature – though I'm not sure the manufacturer intended it to be used to request a cup of tea from the bedroom while your other half is downstairs.