Our little newborn Sophie bear came into our lives three months ago. Now that she has been with us a while I thought I’d share with you the top 5 products that I have found to be most useful as a new Mum. This list is just my opinion, based on what has been most useful for us:
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Moses Basket
As I mentioned in her three month update, Sophie is really quite a small baby. She was 6lb 1oz as a newborn and at three and a half months old is still only 10lb. Sophie is way too small to be placed into her cot-bed and although we don’t co-sleep, I do want her right there next to me at night. A Moses Basket has been a perfect solution and she is still sleeping in it today so it has been well worth the money spent. I recommend buying a few fitted sheets and lots of cellular blankets (you only need about two at night if you’re house is adequately heated but have more so you have spares).
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Medela Nipple shields
Definitely not the most glamorous of products but they saved our breastfeeding journey from the toe curling pain that the early weeks of breastfeeding can bring. The breastapo would have you believe that they aren’t a good product to use for various reasons which I’m not going into but for Sophie and I, they worked a treat and I highly recommend them to anyone who is really struggling with the pain. I also met several other lovely Mums at my local breastfeeding group who were successfully using them with inverted nipples or over active let downs.
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Muslin cloths
Buy shed loads of these because they are infinitely useful for mopping up all kinds of unmentionable secretions that come out of a newborn. Seriously, you can’t have too many.
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Newborn Baby bath
A lot of people told me that these were a waste of money for a newborn but I absolutely disagree. Have you tried holding a slippery, wriggling, soapy newborn baby in what will seem an enormous swimming pool of a bath? Newborn babies are only in the bath for a few minutes so you don’t want to have to waste water by running a whole bath tub of the stuff. Get a little baby bath and make your life a bit easier. I bought mine very cheaply from IKEA and it works a treat.
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A changing bag
I have a Pacopod changing bag and I really love it. It has lots of different pods for different things such as a changing pod with space for nappies/wipes/cream and a feeding pod if you want to take bottles out with you. You really do need a bit of a Mary Poppins bag when you are out and about with your precious newborn bundle and I like this best of all because it still manages to look like a handbag and not just a Mum bag.
If you are pregnant I hope this has been useful for you.
What other things have you found to be the most useful besides the obvious clothes/nappies etc? As always, I’d love to hear from you so drop me a comment and if you enjoy my posts then don’t forget to subscribe (it’s free!)
xxx
I wish I’d had nipple shields for mine!
For me, my breast pump was a lifesaver with my first baby. I had soooo much milk at the start and even with him feeding almost constantly, there was still way too much and my boobs were like big, sore balloons! But j agree with everything you’ve put here; total baby essentials! #KCACOLS
Davin recently posted…Second child syndrome
Some really great essentials here. I can’t even think what ours would be if we had another. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a newborn in the family! #kcacols
Kat recently posted…Jadu Tea London – Review
Even though this is third time round for me, it’s been a while since Ive been baby-mode so this was great! I loved your honesty about nipple shields, with my second daughter, using them for just a few days kept me going until we got past the ouch-point! Lovely post, Mrs C x #KCACOLS
They can really help can’t they! Thanks for commenting x
This is so useful for new mums! Sometimes you just don’t know what to get. Love the changing bag, it looks super stylish.
Mellissa Williams recently posted…Meet The Bloggers – Linda From Mother Distracted
Hi Melissa, So true, I remember buying all sorts of useless things with my first child! Thanks for commenting x
People told me the baby bath was a waste of money as well, but like you described, baby seems SOOOO small in such a big bathtub. I think this is a fab list! <3 #KCACOLS
Savannah recently posted…Take a Walk on the Wild Side
I know – I love it, we are still using it nearly four months later and it was only £10 so we have got our money’s worth out of it. Thanks for commenting, glad you enjoyed it x
Muslin Cloths are my number one recommendation.
I also recommend a bouncy chair! My two loved their bouncy chairs from a young age and it sat them up just enough so they could see what was going on around them.
Laura x x x
My Life As A Mummy recently posted…Trolley Bags // Giveaway
A bouncy chair – yes! This is a must have for sure. Thanks for commenting x
And a pushchair more specifically the Doona. That was amazing!!
Jodie recently posted…A Visit To Marsh Farm Animal Adventure Park
Well yes lol. I’ve not heard of a Doona – we have the Armadillo Flip XT which I love . Thanks for commenting x
Even with 2 kids I was never big into the changing bags. You know the big ones. I always took the essentials in a small bag.
Janine Dolan recently posted…H&M Online Shopping Spree
You do get tired of carrying around those massive changing bags after a while don’t you! Thanks for commenting x
Excellent list! I’m sure lots of mums-to-be will find this useful x
Zoe Alicia recently posted…Things I Did on my Device Free Evening
I hope so! Thanks for commenting x
I have a ten week old and my essential is a gro-bag. My baby girl was big at 8lb 11oz when she was born (14 days late!) and she has hated being covered up at night and kicked all the covers off, so I bought a few gro bags and its given me a piece of mind that she is kept warm at night.x
#KCACOLS
RACHEL BUSTIN recently posted…Book Review: Mandalas to Crochet by Haafner Linssen
Yes I remember using these with my son who was a big chunky boy. Sophie has been too little up to now but you’ve reminded me to get them out of the drawer because it is so annoying having to replace their covers at 2am! Thanks for commenting x
Ahh this brings back memories! I would say all those are definitely must haves! I never knew about nipple shields until I had my second though.
Thank you for linking up to #KCACOLS and I hope to see you back again on Sunday x
Maria @ Suburban Mum recently posted…Comment on Devon holiday: Corffe Hill Cottages by Natalie
I wouldn’t have known about them this time if my midwife hadn’t suggested them! Think she was just sick of seeing me crying about my nipples haha x
Great list, I love your changing bag. I really wanted one that looked like a handbag but in the end I went with a cheaper, larger alternative. I like the idea of everything being separated into pods, I might have to consider an upgrade! #KCACOLS
It is great and I think you can get lots of different style of bags in the Pacopod range so there’s something for everyone x
This is great, I didn’t even think of nipple shields. Are baby baths really a good investment? #KCACOLS
Well they are pretty cheap and I’ve really found ours to be useful so I’d say so. Anything that makes life easier is a bonus for me! x
Your paca pod is gorgeous, love it! I found our moses basket to be an absolute waste of money x
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Thanks lovely x
Ooooo I remember those toe curing first weeks of breastfeeding, isn’t it amazing when you know you’re out the other side? I have a pink lining changing bag and, although it looks so cute, my other half hates it if I make him hold it…. Something more neutral would have been better. Thanks for sharing, my youngest is 18 months just gone, and you can forget all those little bits they need at the start….
Ha that made me laugh about your partner, I can just imagine it x
Haha ‘breastapo’ – that made me giggle!
We have that IKEA bath and it’s fab, Lily is 14 months and still fits in perfectly. Our first baby bath only lasted her a few months so the IKEA alternative is definitely money well spent.
I think that whatever you need to support your BF journey shouldn’t be judged by others at all so pfftt to them!
Muslins are absolutely essentials, we flew through them in the early months.
Congratulations on the birth of the your little girl and I hope you’re enjoying these first few months.
X X
Lucy Smith (Hello Beautiful Bear) recently posted…Frugi Spring Wishlist – #RNW2016
Haha Lucy, that’s what I call them – I’ve met some seriously hard-core fanatic breastfeeders and they’re a scary bunch! Thanks for your lovely comment x