My little baby is 20 weeks old already! I can’t believe how fast time seems to be moving, even my eldest said ‘how is she rolling over already, you just had her!’ I wrote this post a while ago and thought I should publish it now before she starts to outgrow things. After having a few babies, I’ve tried and tested lots of baby products and thought I’d write a post of some of my favourites and what we’re using at the moment. With this baby I didn’t want to buy a lot of unnecessary things and try to have essential and practical items that we’d use everyday.
Clothing
Front fastening bodysuits and sleep-suits are a must for me, they’re so much easier to put on and take off a newborn baby, especially in the early days. They’re a lot less fiddly than putting ones over their head and also makes it easier during check-ups and appointments. I’ve used various bodysuits including Engel, Zara and H&M which are always good. I particularly love the terry towelling Mothercare white sleep-suits which are lovely and cosy for newborns.
Baby clothes are so cute and it’s easy to over buy and then not use a lot of them, as they grow so fast! I’ve tried to be selective of my favourite’s, choosing quality over quantity and not over buy in each size. We’ve really managed to get quite a lot of wear out of all her clothing so far this time around. I’ve chosen practical cosy clothing with minimal ironing, I think bloomers and rompers look cute on babies and I found some lovely knitted booties/scratch mitts, hats and head bands on Etsy which we’ve had lots of use out of. It will be almost time to pack away her winter woollens and get out the summer outfits!
Sleeping
I use the same Moses basket I’ve used with previous babies and ordered a lovely floral mattress sheet to use this time from Tiny Toes and Bedclothes. It has a rocking stand with a fabric shelf at the bottom which is really useful for storing nappies, wipes, muslins, blankets and a spare sleep-suit if needed during the night. Also because we had a winter baby, I sometimes line her basket with a sheepskin to make it cosy and warm. The sheepskin can also be used in the pram or indoors to lay on, so it’s quite versatile, it’s the same one I used with my first born who is 14! (Kaiser babylamm)
I’ve found a cosy wool Disana sleeping bag to be really cute and useful to keep baby warm and not have to worry about loose covers. I used a cellular blanket and a couple of swaddle blankets in the early days, I like a couple I have from Fine Little Day and Little Unicorn. We have a sleep sack to use during warmer weather too, which was on sale at the time from BOXXkids on Etsy.
We have a Lajlo baby nest, which is padded, soft and portable, they have some nice fabrics available to choose from and are larger than some, suitable from birth-age 2. There are some questions on the safety of baby nests and I’m only using it for supervised day time naps.
Monitor/Camera
Baby monitors can be expensive, we’re using a ‘EZVIZ mini O indoor WiFi camera’ with does a really good job and costs around £35-£40. You can move it between rooms, depending where baby is, it’s magnetic and you can also screw it to a wall. You can download an app onto your phone or computer and watch live from anywhere. It has two way audio and night vision.
Muslins & Bibs
We go through so many muslins/bibs and use them in the pram and Moses basket as liners as-well as for burping. I’ve found thicker ones to be better absorbent and longer lasting. I really like Konges Slojd muslins and love the colours, quality and thickness of Cam Cam Copenhagen cloths/bibs. I prefer bibs with ‘side’ press-stud fastening which are easier to put on and take off and Velcro ones tend to stick to other things in the washing machine, so I try to avoid those now. I have some good banana style bibs too which fasten at the back from H&M and Yoga Sprout.
Playtime
We’ve used a play-mat and play-gym from the beginning and use it everyday, it’s somewhere cosy for baby to lay and entertain herself. We’re using a small padded quilt and a Heimess colourful wooden gym.
One item I’ve re-used with all babies is a swing! It’s a cradle ‘n swing and I like it because it’s higher off the ground and can swing in two different directions, they’ve all napped in it during the day and it’s given me chance to do some housework!
She has a couple of Jellycat toys, which are so soft & loveable for newborns. She really likes twinkly lights so we bought a light projector that shines onto the ceiling and wall, it also has a static setting so can be used as a dim light for night feeds too. She also likes a wooden teething toy which belonged to my eldest and a small teddykompaniet rattle which belonged to my son.
Bath-Time
We love the schnuggle bath. It’s suitable from birth and I’ve found it so much easier to use than bending over a big bath and baby prefers it too! It’s one of our best baby buys.
A couple of small hooded towels are useful for after bath time, I found a lovely snuggly one in the Zara home sale.
I love Mustela baby bath products and nappy cream which I’ve also used in the past, the smell brings back happy memories.
Out & About
My favourite pram/pushchair is a bugaboo chameleon which has been used with previous babies. I use car seat adapters to attach a car seat and I like that you can change the fabrics if you’d like to customise with a different colour. They’re sturdy, interchangeable, adaptable to different types of terrain and replacement parts can be easily found.
Baby Carriers are useful, I have a Baby Bjorn carrier which I’ve had since my second baby and find that easy to use during outdoor walks. This time I’ve also tried a baby wrap, I thought they looked complicated in the past, but they’re straight forward once you follow a video tutorial and have a practice, they’re really soft and comfortable to wear, it’s also great for around the house when baby won’t settle, you can carry them hands free and get a few jobs done at the same time. There’s a lot of lovely fabrics to choose from, I really like pastel shades and stripes at the moment.
I haven’t bought a baby change bag yet and have been using a handbag which is big enough to fit the essentials in, including an insulated bottle holder I already had, which I use to store a bottle in when we go out. It only holds one bottle and I’ve thought about buying a double one.
I have a couple of fabric changing mats, which you can also fold up and take out with you, one from Cam Cam Copenhagen and one which my mum made.
Feeding
I’m doing combination feeding (breast and formula) and tried a few different bottles, but settled on Avent natural which suited our baby best (these also suited her better than the Avent classic we used previously)
I couldn’t of managed without Avent nipple shields (I’ve tried others but prefer these) and lanolin cream during the first few weeks to help me continue with breast feeding.
I know there’s advice out there not to use nipple shields because it could effect milk supply and not to use bottles while breast feeding because it could cause nipple confusion, but we’ve found it works for us.
I’ve re-used an Avent manual breast pump and purchased a new space-saving Avent electric steam steriliser (I haven’t tried any other brands) but an electric pump might make life easier.
I’m using a tomee tipee bottle warmer for night feeds. It works well but the knob seems a bit fiddly (can’t get a very good grip on it) We use a cool bag with ice blocks during the night to store milk and keep it cold, which is really simple & practical.
Breast milk storage bags are great for storing milk when you have an over supply in the early days or if you’re expressing feeds. You can store breast milk in the back of the fridge for 3-5 days and in the freezer for 6-12 months depending on temperatures. (Breast milk guidelines can vary slightly on different websites, I usually use mine within 3 days from the fridge and 6 months from the freezer). I also like using the Avent sealing discs, which covert a bottle to a breast milk storage container.
I’ve used a breastfeeding pillow in the past, but haven’t as of yet, but I’ve been considering it recently as baby is feeling heavier to hold.
I also plan on getting a mirror for the back seat and some sun shades for the rear windows in the car.
Hope you find this useful and I’d like to hear about your favourite’s and what you can’t live without 🙂
(None of the content of this post is sponsored or gifted)
