Newborn Must Haves

Pacifiers, soothers… You either love them or hate them. I had planned to use dummies from the start. Rosalie was a thumb sucker. In every scan picture we had taken during my pregnancy (there were a lot of scans as I was signed up to a growth study) Rosie had her thumb in her mouth. I was determined that she wasn’t going to be a thumb sucker so I tried to introduce a dummy as an alternative quite early on. My view is that at least I can take a dummy away when she is older, a thumb, I can not. I wouldn’t be without it now and I’m sure Rosalie would agree. Many a screaming fit has been averted with the use of a dummy. Sometimes babies just want to suck, and I’d rather it be a dummy than my nipple!

Swaddle blanket

You can buy many so called swaddle blankets but none as robust as the one we bought from mothercare. Rosalie was very wriggly and could wriggle out of a blanket even when tightly swaddled. The mothercare swaddle aka baby straight jacket is brilliant. It has so many flaps and layers there is no way that baby is getting out of this baby. Meaning a peaceful night is had by all. Rosalie slept through the night from a pretty early age and I am convinced its because we used this swaddle and she couldn’t wake herself up with her flailing arms.

 

Rosalie loves a bath. We didn’t use a baby bath at all and put Rosalie straight into this in the big bath. If you are going to be bathing baby on your own I would definitely recommemd it as it means your hands will be free for washing and playing.

 

We have used Ewan the sheep every night since Rosalie was born and still use him now. He makes different sounds that are supposed to mimic the sounds that baby hears in the womb. Rosalie has always been a good sleeper. I don’t know if it is because of Ewan or not as I haven’t tried her without it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

This was brilliant when I was first breast feeding. I don’t use it anymore but in those first few weeks when your not sure what your doing or how to hold your baby when feeding this is invaluable. When using the pillow baby is always at the right height. It means that in a matter of seconds you can whack the pillow round your middle and start to feed your baby. As soon as you get more confident and comfortable with breast feeding you won’t need this but it was a must for me at the start. It is also useful to prop your baby up in so they can’t roll anywhere.

This probably isn’t a must have but it is rather useful and means you can put baby’s nappies straight in the bin without them stinking out the nursery. When your carrying a baby you do not want to have to carry the pooey nappy around with you or be faffing around with nappy bags. It’s the small things.

If you drive a car you will need a travel system of some description. Every baby brand does one. We opted for the Silver Cross Freeway and to be honest if I could make the decision again I would choose something else. The carrycot/pram is very bulky and difficult to carry around. The frame itself is very wide meaning it can be difficult to get through doors. It also takes up a lot of space in the car. Thumbs down for the Silver Cross Freeway.

Again, if you drive, you will need one. We ummmed and ahhhhed about whether to get one or not as we didn’t think it was a necessary purchase as you can still use the car seat without an isofix. We are so glad we bought one in the end. It will make your life sooo much easier.

Bouncy Chair

We put Rosalie in her bouncy chair the day she was born I think because of that she is very comfortable in there. For the first three months Rosalie napped in her bouncy chair in the day, she still does now sometimes. It means we can easily transport her from room to room. She sits in her bouncy chair on the island every evening whilst we cook dinner. She likes it as she can see what’s going on. We could not be without this.

If you are breastfeeding you will definitely need one of these to hold your breastfeeding pads on during the night. Sleeping bras are comfy with easy access which is just what you want at 3am when your half asleep trying to feed a screaming bundle.

Any breastfeeding mother will need these and lots of them. Now Rosalie sleeps through the night I go through about 6 pads per night. The joys of motherhood eh?

I used the Lanolin HPA cream as it doesn’t matter if baby feeds on it after. Again you will go through tonnes of the stuff and it’s really expensive but so very worth it.

 

Only in the last month and a half has Rosalie really started playing with her play mat. Now she is, it means I have another way I can occupy her for 20 mins or so. This is invaluable as it means I can eat my cereal and drink a coffee while she plays before we start the day. It’s the simple things that mean the most.There is a video on My Newborn Must Haves over on my youtube channel where you can take a look at all of the items mentioned above. Leave a comment below, I’d love to know what your ‘saviours’ in baby’s first few months were.