Hi Everyone!
As I’m sure all mums and pregnant women can vouch for, the amount of stuff you have to get for a new-born baby is unreal! It’s shocking how much stuff this little tiny person needs. I’ve been lucky enough to get lots of advice from friends and family on some must haves so I thought I’d put together a list of just a few of the items you might want or be interested in. If you are interested in purchasing any of the items just click on the picture to take you to where to buy! Please note that I haven’t actually used any of these products yet as baby is still cooking for a few more weeks, but we’ve got them all ready to put to the actual test!
Tiny Love 3 in 1 Rocker Napper
Although we obviously have our Moses basket for baby to sleep in upstairs, I really wanted to have something baby could sleep comfortably in downstairs too. We went to visit our friends who recently had a baby and they had one of these nappers and as soon as we saw it, we knew we’d want one! This is a really clever bed which has three different levels from completely flat (napper). slightly raised (rocker) and an upright seat (chair) so it is perfect from birth. Fortunately there is no great palaver about adjusting the levels of the bed; there is one simple lever you use to adjust the levels. There is also an adjustable stand that can be levelled so it is either complete stable and stationary, or you can raise the ends so it gently rocks. And it also comes with a cute mobile with music and sounds to entertain baby. The feature that absolutely sold it to my husband was the vibrate feature; our friends little one was starting to grizzle in hers but as soon as her Dad put on the vibrate feature, she calmed down and was so content. I’ve heard lots of good things about babies loving gentle vibrations in rockers and chairs so I am really glad it has this feature. It comes in a few different colours but as we are Team Surprise we got it in red as that seemed nice and neutral and matches our buggy.
Ewan the Dream Sheep
We heard lots about this product when we first announced our pregnancy. It’s a soft toy (obviously a sheep!) and first of all is attachable to cots,cribs and pushchairs which makes it adaptable and easy to cart around; a very handy feature if baby gets really attached to the toy. Ewan plays sounds that mimic the noise your baby would have heard in the womb; various wooshing sounds and,of course, Mum’s heartbeat, and these sounds really comfort your baby. As well as these sounds, Ewan has three other white noise sounds that can be introduced as baby gets older and it also has a pink glow night light in his tummy, which is an additional soothing quality.
I’ve spoken to lots of people who have tried this and the vast majority swear by this toy. There are so many positive reviews and articles about it and I personally love the sound of the features especially the womb like noises which I really think will comfort the baby. I have read that it does use the batteries up quite quickly, but I would certainly have no problem buying a decent stock of batteries in exchange for a soothed baby.
mamaRoo Infant Seat
Now this is a real extravagance and something I understand most people probably couldn’t afford, myself included. But one of my best friends was lucky enough to be bought one of these and has been kind enough to say we can borrow it when our baby comes along.
This product looks amazing! When my friend showed me hers, she took one look at me and knew I’d be asking to borrow it and she was kind enough to offer before I started begging!
Suitable from birth, thanks to its reclining seat, the mamaRoo is a very clever product and rather than just mechanically rocking back and forth like your average baby chair, it mimics human movements which babies find really soothing; in fact, its slogan is “it moves like you do”. There are 5 different motion settings including swaying, bouncing and even one that feels like a car ride, which I am sure many mothers know babies seem to be soothed by. The seat is also a compact size so it won’t feel like half your lounge is being taken up by it! There are four different sound effects, along the lines of white noise including the sound of rain and the sound that a fan makes, to comfort baby and as well as this, it is extra fancy and has its own app! Using this on your phone, you can control the settings of the motions and sound and play the baby any music from your phone that may comfort him or her (I’m sure mine will be used to a bit of One Direction by the time he or she is born)!
I cannot wait to try this chair on my baby – it looks so clever and if it works as well as I believe it will, I’d definitely be investing in one for future babies.
Quinny Buzz Xtra Travel System
Now I actually can’t take the credit for this – my husband is the one that discovered this brilliant travel system! And even more impressively he did it after a good old gossip with other Dads at work! When we first started looking for a pushchair/pram, I knew I wanted to get a whole travel system so I had everything that all went together. But I found it quite overwhelming when we went to go and look; there were so many different brands and choices, and being a first time Mum, I didn’t know where to begin. Luckily my husband had the Quinny Buzz Xtra recommended to him and I am so glad. As soon as we both gave it a “test drive” we both loved it. I’ve never been a big fan of three wheeled buggies; having tried friends in the past, I always found it a bit hard to manoeuvre them. But this one is a dream. The wheels are slightly bigger than the average pushchair wheels, so it’s a bit “tougher” which is ideal when we want to take the baby for walks in the countryside. And if you are desperate for a four wheeler there is a fourth wheel included that you can install on to the pushchair if you want it.
I also love the unfold button – you literally press a button and up it pops! I am a bit clumsy so I was pleased it’s not a total pain in the neck to put up and down. There is also a large shopping basket underneath which I’ve no doubt will come in super handy! Other features include an adjustable handle for you, an adjustable footrest for baby (handy for afternoon naps) and it is compatible with the ever reliable Maxi Cosi car seat, We also bought the compatible carry cot so it is suitable to use from birth. As mentioned with the Tiny Love Napper, we bought this in red as a nice unisex colour and I honestly can’t say who is more excited to use it – me or the husband! A great find!
Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor
The final item on my list is the Angelcare Movement and Sound Monitor. Monitors, like the travel system, were another minefield to me where I didn’t really know where to begin. We decided quite early on that we didn’t want a video monitor. Quite controversial I know, but we both agreed we didn’t want to get one as we’d most likely end up sitting and staring at it all night, in which case we may as well just set up camp in the nursery and watch the baby in there! Having done some research, Angelcare monitors kept cropping up so I did some research and found this product which consists of a monitor and an under mattress sensory pad. I felt that as a first time mum this would give a lot of comfort, as I am a real worrier, and I was massively impressed with some of the amazing reviews it received!
The monitor itself includes temperature display and control and an out of range indicator. This can be kept with you downstairs as per usual monitors, and then the Angelcare Halo monitor is kept in the babies room, and can be used as a gentle night light, minimising any disruption if and when you go in to check your baby.
The sensory pad monitors all your babies movements, no matter how slight. This goes underneath your babies mattress in the cot or Moses basket (it can be used in both). If no movement has been detected for 20 seconds, an alarm will sound on your monitor. I personally think this sounds like a fantastic idea and I know it will reassure me and my husband. I already know in myself how nervous I’ll feel at first when putting baby to bed so I am so glad I’ve come across this product. There is even an optional “tic” feature that reassures you the monitor is working, even when baby is sleeping silently. These features, as well as the absolutely amazing reviews (please look on Amazon at these, one even gives a story about how the monitor alerted Dad when there was no movement and baby was ill and this effectively saved that baby’s life) made me sure this is the monitor for us.
These are all the products I’m going to review for now; I know how overwhelming baby shopping can be and I don’t want to bombard you with too much information in one go. I will most definitely refer back to this article once baby is here to let you know if the items are as good as we have hoped and of course recommend anymore that I think might be helpful for all you yummy mummies out there!
Thanks for reading
xx
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