Newborn Must Haves...

Having two little boys so close together in age gap, has meant that I've test driven a lottttttt of products. Whether it be toys, clothes, or toiletries. So I thought I'd do a little newborn must haves. And there's always some products that just vary child to child. And you're not gonna be interested in what I have to say anyway... Like baby wipes or nappies. My eldest couldn't get on with anything but pampers before we got cloth nappies. And yet my youngest is fine and damp patch free in anything, whether it be Aldi's own brand or pampers deluxe. And baby wipes, my eldest will get a rash with Johnson sensitive wipes but is fine with Johnsons normal baby wipes... So some things are just suck it and see... (I mean - not my best phrase to use with nappy and baby wipe talk... Although the babies will... They love sucking on baby wipes.... And nappy bags and literally whatever they can get their hands on... But I digress... ) There's some things I just couldn't live without for either of them. So here's my little list that might help some mums to be 💞❤️💞

Sleep grows /Rompers/ all in ones... Etc etc... Get these with sewn in hand mittens. I would have about 6 of these per baby, the little pairs of scratch mittens you can buy are gorgeous and cute, but they don't stay on and when they do scratch their face, it will rid you with guilt as a first time mum, so best to just have them on the rompers. You wash them over and over so you need a few dry whilst the others are on the line. Also I would get rompers with buttons all the way down the front. At night time when they poo up their own back, and you're changing them half awake half asleep... you are not going to want to drag that thing over its head smearing poo all the way as you do... Leaving your little one literally.... shit faced... Trust me... Yes the ones that go over the head alwayssss come in the more exciting fabrics and colours , but are simply not practical until they're older, like when they can stabilise their own head a bit I would say. And trust me I'm not one to choose practical over beautiful, but having had to cut my babies out from clothes before, so as not to spread poop up their own faces... Practicality is the way forward.

Next up is white noise. For me white noise was/ is my major newborn priority. It worked wonders with both of mine. Helped them to sleep but also mainly blocked out or drowned out I should say the noise of my two yap happy dogs that would bark at the postman as soon as I'd got them to sleep.. So for me... Essential! There are hundreds of products on the market for white noise. Or soothing noises. Ragnar just had my old ipad playing a video we found that played a hair dryer on loop for ten hours on a you tube video. Whereas with Wolf, we bought Ewan the dream sheep. He loved it, and it worked really well if you had good quality batteries.. However you can't wash the old model as you can't remove the battery pack. So Ewan deluxe if you can as he's washable and has extra sounds and they are cute as, glowing in the night. It replicates mummy's heart beat glowing from what he could see in utero and has water effects, shushing noises etc.. Wolf still sleeps better with uterus sounds till today whereas Ragnar always loved like the harsher louder white noises. So see which one works, but it will be a godsend.

Next up, a rocker. Or baby chair with movement. I've had so many friends say they don't want to clutter up their living room.. . That they don't want big plastic items in their beautiful houses... And that's fine, I was one of them!! I get it! I give you a month. Those big obnoxious ugly heaps of plastic crap are made for a reason. They bloody work. And I hate it, but it's true. You can't sit holding you're newborn all the time, it's too exhausting, and you love them dearly yes... But sometimes you just gotta put that little sleep thief down.. And oooooh how you want them to just lie down and go to sleep... Well dream on... they've got other ideas. They love the bouncing or rocking movement. And with all the will in the world you can't bounce them forever.. Its back breaking work. For Ragnar I had one that I got cheap second hand and it was manual... Fuck me... I used to bounce that thing with my foot so long I got repetitive strain in my ankle....by the time wolf came along I'd wised up, took advantage of the grandparents offering to buy more baby stuff and bought an automatic rocker which played nursery rhymes and rocked smoothly. Wolf loved it and I used it till his head poked out the top. They too are a godsend.

That brings me onto my next must have, a next to me bed. Again, there are loads on the market. I never had one with Rags, he had a little free standing wooden crib - looked lovely but it didn’t rock and I had to get him in and out all night with me getting up and down, up and down...like a bloody yoyo.... and so comparing not having one against having one, well there's just no comparison. I had the 'chico dream' next to me bed for Wolf. Incredibly useful if your breastfeeding, let alone breastfeeding with a newly cut c section. It can also rock. So much easier to look after your baby being able to just look and see them right there, so just lifting them to you and back again is easier, without putting your body through extra pressure those first few vital weeks of recovery. Also to see if they've thrown up, see if they're breathing - standard night long mum checks . So much easier if you can do it all from the comfort of your own bed. Well worth every penny.

Muzzies, comforters, sick cloths, milk bibs, dribble catchers...whatever you call them, these thing are cheap but sooooo necessary. I have them in my nappy bag, in my baby station's (these are boxes I have orchestrated - one on the dining table filled with clean muzzies, wipes and hand sanitizer gel, fresh water in a sippy cup, and the other is filled with nappies, wipes, metanium, sudocrem, baby moisturiser, baby oil and nail

clippers so I don't have to wander upstairs for anything I've always got everything I need in my baby stations... Yes... I'm militant as...so much fun to love with I swear... Ahem ) Wolf even uses one as a comforter we got from Wolfe and Luna Co. In the shape of a bunny. Adorable. I also soaked them in ice water and gave them to Ragnar to suck on when he was teething as it was the only thing he'd put near his mouth. And they are great to put over the car seat or pram as a sum shield in the summer. And the bigger, organic ones are wonderful swaddlers for when they're teeny... If they like to be swaddled that is! I get mine from Aden & Anais and The Secret Haberdasher. They are really useful in so many ways, and are without doubt essential.

Metanium is my must have for nappy rash, they get it when they're teething, they never tell you about this before you have a baby I swear..teething is its own fresh hell, and a blog post of its own I feel... But metanium is my favourite. Also, always have spare clothes in your changing bag. Sometimes that might slip your mind I don't know, I'm rambling here and you might read this and think yeah of course you wanker, this is all so obvious... But, I was never told and I would have found these tips helpful... Oh.. And always have spare crib covers, as they pee, poo and sick round the clock to begin with and I had no idea with my first!

Also a breast pump and bottles, but at least a breast pump and storage bags. Feeding a baby can take many turns. But even if you end up breastfeeding like a dream... There's always the odd occasion you need to pump those bad boys so you don't end up in agony and leaking like a bastard!

There's tonnes more stuff obviously, and when you get that baby bag packed and go out for the first time, I swear, you're shocked how much stuff this 15 inch blob requires! But it all helps in the long run, and you'll be amazed at what you can carry, let alone with what you'll learn to do one handed 🙊😂