Newborn Baby Essentials!

Hey everyone, how are you all? Todays post is a bit of a different one for me; it’s all about the things I’d consider my newborn must haves! Which is a little different to my usual beauty content (don’t worry I’m not abandoning beauty) but I wanted to incorporate a little bit of my life since I’ve not long since had my baby! Now he is 3 (almost 4) months, so I thought it was a good time to share this post.

Cuggl Music & Sounds Swing! (or any other battery operated swing really)
This is something we didn’t get before having our little boy, however it’s something we quickly realised we needed so off we popped to Argos! This swing is ideal as it swings baby using batteries, and it plays music and nature sounds too. Obviously just a little disclaimer to not use a swing for prolonged use but we have sometimes let him fall asleep in the swing then transferred him out once asleep. It’s just very handy to have somewhere to put baby for 10 minutes when you need to do something so I would definitely recommend this one.

Snuzpod 4 Bedside Crib
We looked into lots of cribs that would fit nicely in our bedroom and in the end we opted for the Snuzpod4 and we’ve got on with it really well! I like that one of the sides comes down and leaves a half height wall which is ideal in those early days. We will use this until our boy outgrows it which is when he is 20lbs (and since he’s a big boy I don’t think that’s going to quite take us to 6 months age limit but you never know). I think this was pretty decently priced as you can usually seem to get it on offer for around £150ish – so don’t buy it full price if you can wait!

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Formula Machine
I know these perfect prep formula machines have some controversy, so of course do your research and make your own decisions, but personally I believe as long as you take good care of the machine and clean it out as instructed to, then they’re great! They speed up making a bottle so much, it’s super easy, comes out at the right temperature and you can feed baby immediately. It takes out one stress which is always a good thing with a newborn. Quite pricey but for me it’s worth it. (Annoyingly as a side note I don’t use mine anymore as my boy is on prescribed allergy milk, but when I was using it I loved it so thought it was worth mentioning anyway)

Freerider Sling Carrier (or another brand sling)
This is another one I only bought after my boy arrived, but wow in those first couple months I could not have lived without this! This sling enabled me to actually get a few bits done in the days whilst he napped in the sling. It was also perfect to wear at a coffee shop etc. Some days when he just would not nap I’d pop him in this and he’d be straight off to sleep! Freerider advertise this as being good until baby is 30lb, however my boy is only about half of that right now and he doesn’t fit well in there anymore – that could be because I have a short torso and he is pretty long, but it’s something to bare in mind that it may not last as long as you’re hoping, and they are kinda pricey. You can get cheaper versions on Amazon though I think!

A variety of baby sleeping bags/sacks
I’d definitely recommend getting a few baby sleeping bags in different togs so you’re well prepared for whatever temperature your house is when baby arrives. My little boy didn’t like being swaddled, he hated his arms being restricted, so I was glad I was well prepared with some sleep bags. He loves these and sleeps well in them! You can get them from lots of different places – I’ve got some from Asda, Matalan and John Lewis!

Lots of bibs and muslin cloths
Luckily this is something we got gifted quite a lot of before little one was born. I don’t think I would have bought so many of these but I am super glad we have so many! My little boy has reflux and he spits up so much – his bibs and muslins get soaked so quickly so we really do go through these. I’d definitely recommend you make sure you have at least some before baby arrives.

Angelcare Bath Support / Seat
Without this bath seat, bath time would be a disaster! And my little boy adores bath time (apart from the getting out part). I also use this bath seat occasionally to pop baby in when I need a shower if no one else is home to watch him and he loves that too! I think these are a lot easier than the traditional baby baths. We will be getting the other seat from this brand which is for older babies soon. 

A nappy changing mat & area
When I was pregnant quite a lot of people told me not to bother with this as they as found they didn’t use this kind of area. However as I work in a nursery I’m used to using a proper changing mat on an elevated area so I had a feeling I’d like it. Personally I find it helpful as I can keep all the things I need (nappies, wipes, cream etc) in the area in his room, and just have that base to change him. Also if he ever does a wee whilst changing him, it only goes on his mat and not anywhere else I could be changing him. Plus you can get some lovely changing mats to fit in with your nursery colour/theme (ours is sealife!)

High contrast books!
When my little one was a tiny newborn, the only thing that would entertain him was high contrast books/images. We have a few black & white ones, as well as some with a couple of colours. He still enjoys them now, but he also has other books and toys he enjoys too. When babies are tiny they can see high contrast colours and images the best so it’s really exciting for them to look at. The one linked is a really great folding book which has lots of images as well as a big mirror (which he adores) – it’s his favourite one and we take it everywhere with us in his bag!

The ‘boring’ bits & pieces we’ve loved… As for nappies we’ve got on well with the Aldi ones after trying a few other brands. We’ve been using the classic Water Wipes, they are quite pricey compared to other wipes but they’re really good and pure, so whilst baby is little I recommend them! For bottles we’ve used Mam from day one, they self sterilise in the microwave which is super handy, and our boy likes them. For dummies we’ve also gone with Mam and he had no trouble with them. Bath products we chose Child’s Farm unscented to help prevent any reactions, and for cream we’ve gone with Baby Aveeno as our health visitor recommended this one and it’s suited us well.

I think that’s everything… now he is getting a little bigger there are new things that he’s been loving but I wanted to keep this one strictly ‘newborn’. If there is any other baby content you’d like to see please let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

Jazmin xx