I thought I would share with you all a few of my favourite baby essentials.
- Unless you are planning on carrying your baby around with you permanently attached to your hip, you will need somewhere to set them aside from their moses basket or crib. A bouncer is really easily transported from room to room and great for when you want to grab a quick shower, make the dinner and if your really lucky grab a bath whilst keeping your precious little bundle with you at all times.
I had a look at a few different types of bouncers but loved the Comfort Curve from Fisher Price. It has really soft wipeable fabric and is angled and curved which makes a more comfortable sleeping position for a young baby and prevents them from falling over to one side which I find happens with quite a lot of bouncers, so you don’t have to continually keep lifting your baby upright. I found it was great for Cameron since he has silent reflux and being in a nearly upright position really did seem to help ease his symptoms without him sloping down whilst in it. The bouncer has calming vibrations which can lull your baby over to sleep. The detachable toy bar has nice bright vibrant colours and is really robust and encourages your young baby to try and reach and bat at the toys. Fisher Price bring out various different versions of their Comfort Curve bouncer. Ours is the Woodland Friends Comfort Curve which we got from Argos and at the time was around £60 but I did a check when writing this post and they have it reduced to £29.99 which is a fantastic bargain. Suitable from birth until approx. 9kg or when your baby can start to pull themselves up as they may tip the bouncer over at that stage. - Not always do you need to bring out a changing bag, there are occasions when you are nipping out on a short shopping trip or stroll around the park and you need nothing more than a nappy, wipes, your purse, drink and keys.
That is where the Skip Hop Stroller Organiser comes in really handy. There are 3 large sections which you can fit a water bottle, baby bottle etc and some toys, nappy, wipes. There is a front detachable zip purse with holes for ear phones to fit through. This is absolutely perfect when I want to go for a walk or am not wanting to have to bring a changing bag into the supermarket I can just throw what I need into the organiser and go. I got mine from Amazon £24.95. There are various designs mine is the Chevron in grey and white. - Originally I had a normal sized baby bath but soon Cameron started to outgrow it but I didn’t want to put him in our bath as he was still so small and also it would be such a waste of water filling the bath up each time for such a small baby.
Mamas & Papas Acqua Bambino 2 Stage Bath was the answer. It is a lot larger and more specious than your normal baby bath and has a comfortable support position for newborn babies and another for sitting position for an older baby. There is a plug for quick water drainage but I just tip the bath upside down to let the water out afterwards. I really wish I had got this bath from the start as it would have been a lot easier and more roomy. If you are looking for a two stage bath that will last you at least a year then I cant recommend this one highly enough. Retailing for £29 it is worth its weight in gold. - zCush Nap Mat. I have already covered how amazing this nap mat is in a previous post and it still ranks so high up in my essential items I only wish they did a toddler version.
For on the go naps it is such a lightweight cosy soft padded little sleeping bag for baby to sleep in and also for being handled by anyone without disturbing baby. Removeable covers allowing you to mix and match and everything is machine washable. Available from Amazon and Nonnasbaby.co.uk there are so many different colours and styles to suit everyone. Prices starting from £34.99. Ours pictured is the Googly Green Nap Mat. - Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Digital Baby Monitor.
Using a baby monitor is down to personal choice. Some people are all for it, others don’t agree with them but for me having that peace of mind, especially with everything we have went through with Cameron, I can’t be without it. Even if I have to nip out into the garden or downstairs whilst Cameron is napping I can confidently move around the house knowing that I can hear him and see he is breathing by way of the flashing light on the monitor. This definitely works as at times when he is crying I have went to lift him and forgot to turn off the alarm switch and within 20 seconds or so the alarm is going off to tell me there has been no breathing or movement detected. There is a two way talk feature on the handset so if I need to comfort him I can do so easily. On the main handset which sits by his cot it has a room temperature display, night light which can be adjusted and controlled by the parent unit, two way talk back and volume control. The portable unit itself has a very neat rechargeable docking station and has great range at 300 metres. We previously had a tommee tippee baby monitor with Ella but it was an older version and it did pick up a lot of interference which is why we wanted to change to digital this time round. Also the range was terrible that I wasn’t even able to go outside into the garden without losing signal so the closer to nature version is a definite improvement. Available at most retailers from £44.99 so it definitely is worth shopping around for the best offer before purchasing.
