Seeing as this is my third pregnancy, I’ve kind of got to know what essentials we need and what we don’t. We have all of the main bits of expensive kit that comes with a baby, such as the travel system and crib but we will have to make some new purchases before her arrival.
We don’t need to worry straight away but at some point we will need to invest in a new cot. I think our old cotbed more than served its purpose for the boys. The sidebars were gnawed through twice over and it was certainly looking a bit tatty before the boys decided to snap the base frame when jumping on it. Not ideal to have to buy another but at least this way I get to buy a nice white girly one. Something simple. Our previous cot was a cot bed and we now that we would just go straight to a bed once the cot has been used.
Then we need to think about a major essential and that is clothing. A. whole. new. world. to. me. Girls clothes! We’ve sorted through the boys old baby clothes and have managed to salvage a bag full of gender neutral clothes, nothing terribly exciting but it’s a start anyway. We’re not completely starting from scratch but it’s near enough. She has got some new babygro’s bought a few weeks ago, simply adding to her collection gradually.
I thought I’d write a wishlist of items that I think we need and might find useful. Drawing from our previous experiences should definitely help. We may get it wrong and despite good reviews from some people, not everything is going to be a wonder product. This is a place for me to put all the items down as I haven’t even started planning getting any of the bits yet. I do love the planning stage though.
The Wishlist…
Baby bouncer
Now this is a baby bouncer with a difference. Seeing as we need a new bouncer after the last bouncer was used for both boys and was very basic. With Beastie we didn’t really know what the best things were to buy and of course our budget was always an aspect, you have your list of essentials to get and you work your way through getting them. It’s only through trial and error that you realise that certain buys could have been better planned. Now with this Babymoov Swoon up bouncer, it ticks all the boxes. I love the fact that it is height adjustable. This is a really great idea for keeping the baby at the same level as the rest of the family, such as at the dinner table or next to you whilst you get on with things in the kitchen etc. The rocking motion is an essential part too. Our last bouncer vibrated feebly and mostly required a foot to be rocking it or it wasn’t effective at all! This also moves 360 degrees, so no more awkward manoeuvres needed when you need to change the babies position and be able to see them.
Sleep positioner
I stumbled across this when looking for a suitable type of bed for the baby to sleep in when downstairs. When the boys were babies, we still lived in a flat and being on the same floor meant that we could use the crib as a place to sleep during the day. So when looking for moses baskets or the like, I came across the Cosydream. This I realise (if it does what it claims) would have made life a lot easier with Baby Beastie when he was initially born. I had real difficulties trying to get him to settle in his crib to sleep and he was almost always wake up once placed in it. I know that he felt very exposed, even when swaddled. His defiance meant that he spent most of the time sleeping on me and I would like to avoid that scenario this time around. I ended up being a co-sleeper and I wasn’t comfortable with that with a tiny newborn, bigger yes but not a newborn.
Baby calmer
This little invention looks like a valuable buy for a newborn. I have received the Gro-hush to use once the baby is born. Basically it plays white noise to soothe babies and has three sounds; heartbeat, rain on a tin roof and ocean waves. You place it against your babies head to settle them when they are restless and it can be carried around anywhere. It fits snuggly in your hand and is cushioned underneath to place against your babies head. The sound is also barely audible unless you have your ear near it or against your own head. It’s completely safe too rather than having a mobile phone placed near your baby playing similar sounds. It’s best used direct from birth as part of a calming routine, so it’s something to think about getting to use from day one. I definitely wish that these were around when I had my boys and I will blog about it when our little one arrives. A simple yet genius idea.
Pram blanket
As we are using the travel system that we bought with Baby Beastie, I feel it’s only fair that our baby at least as some new pieces to accessorise it. We have the BabyStyle Oyster with a turquoise accessory pack. When he was born, the lovely people at BabyStyle sent us a red pack for us to have a change. At the time, we never swapped them over, so the red pack is still brand new and perfect for our little girl. I think it’s only fair that she has a nice floral blanket teamed up with it. This Cath Kidston one is the perfect match. I’ve also had fairly bald babies so if she’s the same, this blanket may help stop some awkward comments should anyone be confused about her gender. I can hope.
Changing bag
This isn’t for the baby but will of course benefit her. I do already have two beautiful pink lining bags but a girl can always dream of a new one with pretty bird cage prints. I love the shape of this bag, no unnecessary pockets and it looks plenty big enough. This bag could be used way beyond nappy changing too…
I could research all day and go on and on. That wouldn’t be hard. However, I need to be practical and of course not too delusional greedy. So for now these are my wanted items and I will keep you posted as to what gets bought and what doesn’t. Babymoov watch this space.
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