Baby Essentials.
A couple of months ago, I said something about putting together a list of our essential baby items, so finally, here it is!
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We only have a smallish flat, with very little storage space, and so we were keen to not have too many un-needed bulky items. This bath is brilliant for those without hundreds of cupboards, it’s also been great when travelling between sets of parents!
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I think this is the most popular car seat on the market. It’s not too crazy expensive, has a great safety rating, and is pretty compact. You can’t ask more than that. We didn’t bother with the Isofix base, it’s pretty easy to get in and out of the car.
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We hadn’t used the sling much until recently, as Freddie tended to get quite hot in it, and it meant you didn’t have all the storage space under the pram for stashing bags when out shopping. Having said that, it really came into its own when we went on holiday a couple of weeks ago, as he’s now big enough to be able to see over the top, and it’s really comfortable to carry him in, even for fairly long walks. He slept quite happily in it several times, and I even managed to fly a kite whilst breastfeeding. A necessary skill for mothers everywhere.
I know people who utterly swear by slings for allowing them to get things done when their baby is refusing to be put down. This one isn’t quite as great as the stretchy slings for that as it’s quite structured, but I like the security of it, the cloth ones always make me a little nervous…
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We didn’t really buy any toys before Freddie was born. I didn’t have much of an idea of what he would need when, so we thought it was best to play it by ear. When he was about 7 weeks old, we decided to get him a playmat. There are so many options out there but we really like this one. He has spent up to 45 minutes playing with one of the spining, hanging things, freeing me up to actually have a shower and other important things, hurray!
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We are so pleased with this pram. We have walked miles and miles with it, through both town and some pretty uneven country, and it has performed admirably. It’s really easy to push, simple to fold away into the car (well, once you know what you’re doing - we may or may not have had to Google it the first time we tried), and comes with almost everything included. Freddie’s super long so we’ve had to transfer him into the pushchair part already. However it can still be parent facing, and fully reclines so he can sleep soundly!
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This seems to be the favourite toy of young babies everywhere. Freddie is no different!
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It turns out that babies don’t like sleeping in moses baskets, at least not at first. I don’t understand why people don’t tell you this? Anyway, after multiple attempts at trying to put Freddie down whilst asleep, and him screaming the second he touched the mattress, we realised that cosleeping was going to be the only option if any of us wanted any sleep at all. After 2 weeks of me sleeping very awkwardly, terrified that we would somehow roll onto our baby boy, or the duvet would get near him, we decided to invest in the Sleepyhead. It was the best £99 I have ever spent. Ever. He settled in it straight away every time, and it ensured nothing would get close to smothering him. After 3 more weeks, we decided to risk putting it in his cot and he didn’t even notice. Hoorah!
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The Jelly Cat toys are so super soft and Freddie loves his bunny. The bunny on the other hand has spent much of his life in Freddie’s mouth so I suspect the feeling isn’t entirely mutual.
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I used blankets when Freddie was sleeping for the first 3 months but he had a habit of kicking them off. As he’s got more mobile I’ve found it harder to keep him cosy at night and so have only recently started using a sleeping bag. I wish I’d started using them earlier. He sleeps really well (relatively!) in it and I think putting it on also helps him know it’s bed time.
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Well I never thought I’d be sucking snot out of another human’s nose. The joys of parenthood. Trust me, this makes colds much easier!
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I love this stuff, it smells amazing and is great on super sensitive baby skin.
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We have very large windows in our flat, and paper thin blinds. Literally. They are actually made of paper.
This interior decorating decision seemed like a really good idea at the time (I suspect Tom may disagree…), as it preserved the beautiful tree view and it’s never been too much of a problem for us, as we’ve gotten very used to sleeping irrespective of the light levels. Unfortunately babies don’t feel the same way and eventually we had to get a better blind for Freddie’s room. This £20 solution has been a lifesaver, with Freddie now only waking up (well, apart from waking to feed), at about 8.30am meaning I either get an extra couple of hours snooze time, or I manage to have a shower & get dressed before he’s up. Either way, it makes a huge difference to how my day goes!
I’d love to know of things you think we’ve missed. What could you not live without?
p.s. If you’re planning to breastfeed, you absolutely MUST buy Lansinoh Lanolin cream. Breastfeeding really does hurt at first (but I promise it gets better very quickly, and is totally worth perservering with!) and this stuff is an absolute life (nipple) saviour.