As a first time mum I brought all sorts of gadgets and products that were dubbed to be the go to product for your baby. The reality was that they stayed in the cupboard untouched and sold on eBay!
I packed and repackage all 3 of our hospital bags! One for me, one for baby, and one for ‘stuff’ such as food, tens machine, clothes for daddy, iPads and chargers. Next time I will be going in with less Jan half the amount!
Things we didn’t need…
Kudos to Milton because they look fantastic, and can easily clip onto the side of your changing back or even onto your pushchair. But the reality is after your precious newborn spits out their dummy for the second time in 30seconds you will just go with it the international ‘mum wash’, aka stick it in your own mouth and promptly into your little bundles mouth.
Shoes
What possible need does a newborn who won’t be crawling let alone walking for months need with shoes? Enough said.
Outfits
For the first 4 weeks Noah lived in sleepsuits! The endless amounts your little one can puke, poop, and pee (aka ‘triple P’) is somewhat phenomenal, and sometime simultaneous! I never imagined how many changes we would go through! Life is far easier in sleepsuits! We particularly like Next, and find all their sleepsuits wash exceptionally well (I’m such an old lady), and these unisex sleepsuits are particularly gorgeous.
However can we just take a minute to appreciate how cute that Next outfit is.
Things we most definitely needed
Muslins
These are invaluable! They mop up everything and in fact we still use these on a daily basis. Some of our favourites are Natures Purest, Aden + Anais and good old Primark who are all amazingly soft and again wash well. These superseded the basic bib, which we never ever used and have ended up in the loft for baby no2.
Dummies
Mam dummy
Yes I know, controversial. But when you have a baby with a severe tongue tie and your nipples are in shreds, you will be glad of the little bit of respite one of these bad boys can give you! Babies are fussy creatures, and Noah will only have the mam newborn ones. These ones above are brilliant as the centre button glows in the dark. Hallelujah for no more ferreting around in the pitch black half asleep trying the find one in the cot or Moses basket. Nowadays, Noah is big enough to both find his dummy and stick it back in again.
Swaddle
Whilst I was pregnant I picked up these Peter Rabbit extra large muslin squares not thinking anything of the size. Until Noah rocked up. He remained swaddled at night from the minute he was born until we went cold turkey around 4 months old (endless sleepless nights but once he got used to life without a swaddle, we have never looked back).
We used muslin swaddles instead of swaddle blankets as it was spring/summer and just used blankets on when needed.
Other essentials
- Nappies – kinda goes without saying. Whether you are cloth or not, you will always need nappies!
- Wipes – again goes without saying, but these were the best wipes we used.
- Amazon Prime – you will seriously save yourself a small fortune! And they deliver on a Sunday!
- iCandy Peach – I love our pushchair, ours is in black magic.
- Sleeping pod – this helped Noah feel more secure and helped us transition him into his cot.
- Stretchy Wrap – you actually get your hands back!
- Gro Egg Thermometer
- Ewan The Dream Sheep – do not underestimate his ability!
- Slumber buddy – he goes everywhere a nap in the travel cot is needed
- Sock-ons – best invention ever!!
- Thermometer – I don’t think any explanation is needed! Just get one.
Hope this helps little
Life with Noah xx
