My top 10 products for a newborn

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I’m excluding the usual car seat, pram, crib/moses basket, baby bath and concentrating on accessories and things things you might not think of

1. Baby bouncer, mummy needs to put baby down sometimes… Mummy NEEDS tea, coffee & lunch. Ok, cake, I mean cake and biscuits. We have the Mothercare Loved So Much Bouncer. It’s very comfy, a nice soft material and even has a cosy newborn insert and bear pillow.
2. Foam bath support – stops baby slipping in the bath. We didn’t have one at the start, and as soon as we bought one, it was a relief, life became so so SO much easier! Ours is from Boots and was only ?6.99… it’s a real lifesaver and I’d REALLY recommend it.
3. Ewan the dream sheep – not a necessity, but he’s a very sure sheep and H ‘knows’ him, she turns him on when she wakes, and I do believe he’s soothing. (My review on it is here, and buy from Amazon here??29.99)
4. A playmat with toys. We love this one from Bright Starts. H loves the cat and it’s one of the first toys that got her attention, and the first she smiled at. The cat has flashing lights and plays soothing jungle sounds or plays music (warning: it’s VERY addictive). It can also be set to play continuously or be motion sensor (when hit, it plays). (Bright Starts Spots and Stripes Safari Gym??44.99 Amazon)
5. Car mirror to see baby with – so reassuring to see baby easily when in the car. (we have the Diono Easy View Mirror?from Amazon)
6. Car seat blanket – it’s very hard to keep a normal blanket on a car seat! We didn’t have one, so I can’t recommend any, but I did make one. I can also say for sure, keeping a normal blanket on a car seat is a nightmare!
7. Cot mobile – ours calmed H down if she was upset. Baby also shouted and jabbered at it as she grew older – it was lovely to wake up to and so cute to hear. (the one we have doesn’t appear to be sold anymore but it was like this and was also Fisher Price)
8. Swaddle blanket such as a GroSwaddle – blankets DO NOT stay on a wriggly wee newborn. They have a knack, and the GroSwaddle was our savour, especially having a winter newborn. (we had the Gro Grobag Swaddle (Woodland Friends)?from Amazon
9. A baby monitor with sensor mat. Now, I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, or in everyone’s budget, but we’ve taken great solace hearing that little beep. Waking up in the night I knew baby was fine, I just needed to see the flashing light or hear the click and I could instantly go back to sleep… Otherwise I’d constantly have been peering into the crib! We love the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Digital Sensor Mat Monitor?(often on offer at Amazon and other retailers too (RRP ?99.99, but I think we paid around ?70))
10. A v-cushion for feeding and back support. It’s super multi-purpose! I also found this useful when pregnancy. I bought this pack of a wedge pillow for bump and v-cushion from Argos.

 

I do also love the GroEgg Room Thermometer, again, waking in the night it was easy to see our room was warm enough (trying to predict if H would wake up being too cold!). As well, I would recommend the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine (reviewed here) for formula feeding – we only did one formula feed a day for a long time as I mostly breastfed Baby H, but the Perfect Prep made it all so easy, and more so when we started upping the formula balance. Likewise, for those breastfeeding, I’d recommend a breast-pump and also decent bottles (we loved Tommee Tippee bottles, but it’s personal preference and what your baby will take).

On a non-product level, I’d also recommend using a cuddly toy to take baby’s photo with from day 1. Do daily/weekly/monthly photos with the toy to give a sense of scale. If you take a picture on the same mat or in the same chair this will also help show baby’s development.

Would you add anything?

Lynne x

 

Disclaimer: this is just my top 10, based on my family’s opinions and experience. And, all Amazon links are affiliate links.