Okay, so this is how the ABG story has unfolded thus far …

In 1997 Penny Attiwill was pregnant, had extraordinarily fat ankles, was feeling a little lost and had collected a daunting and really annoying pile of parenting brochures, newsletters, magnets, samples and magazines on her kitchen bench. She is not particularly fond of clutter (even less so when her ankles are the same width as her knees) and while nesting one particular afternoon she tossed the entire lot in the bin.

Having worked in publishing for years she started wondering if anyone had produced a comprehensive resource guide for parents that had all the information in the one spot. She went searching for a book that had articles on all the relevant topics and information on products and services relevant to raising a child. Nothing existed, not even the slightest whiff of a website.

She ran the idea of publishing her own book past a few people; some said she was mad to go up against the big magazine publishers, others were more encouraging. The first Melbourne edition of The Nappy Bag Book was published in 1999 and she was proud as punch. News spread across the land and soon after that Penny's company was publishing five separate state editions, updated annually, which gave her a few grey hairs. In 2005 she had the bright idea (it took her a while) to publish just one national edition each year which made her less tired, and gave her time to publish other titles including Dog Poo on the Pram Wheels which became a besteller and made people chuckle, and so she felt even better.

In early 2008 life was relatively easy with two kids at the same school and a liberating “well the kids won't starve if they have the occasional toasted sandwich for dinner” approach and she got twitchy feet at work. “Let's turn the old Nappy Bag Book upside down, give it a good shake and see what happens,” she thought, so she emailed a few hundred parents that had recently bought the book and asked them for their feedback. The responses were fantastic and constructive and the Australian Baby Guide was born – a new title, a new look and a whole new enthusiasm for Penny and her team.

“Let's take it all online as well!,” she bellowed one day and with the help of her loyal staff, a tenacious tech head and a near-vertical learning curve www.australianbabyguide.com.au came to be. 

So that's the story so far.

Enjoy the site and the book.

PS. You may also like to know that Penny's ankles did return to their normal shape and size after both pregnancies although her breasts did not.

PSS. Okay, you probably didn't want to know that but she feels better getting it off her chest, what's left of it.