Our Top 5 Newborn Must Haves.

Now our family has gotten bigger we’ve drastically found that space has reduced therefore we’ve had to be practical with getting the bits and bobs that babies need, that and it being down to experience we’ve figured out babies don’t require half of the stuff that you accumulate as first time parents. It’s crazy just how much changes with each child you have, in just the short four years between Lily and Ted so much has changed and I found so many different products out there to try, some worth it and some not so here are our favourites…

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine.

We had one of these with Lily and it was an absolute must have this time round because well, I just don’t know how parents cope without it if I’m honest, it’s an absolute god send especially in the middle of the nights saving you from faffing around having to juggle a hungry baby as well as trying to get the bottle to the correct temperature. Tommee Tippee have bought out a newer version since Lily was born called the Night and Day, which I’m guessing means it has different settings for the night time. The standard version we had (have) beeps but it’s nothing and disturbs anyone sleeping in our household so we decided not to pay the extra for the latest model and we managed to pick ours up for £60 on ASDAs baby event. A prep machine basically makes bottles freshly and to the correct temperature within the push of a button, all you have to do is scoop the formula in and as I said above it is a life saver throughout the night or when the baby wakes from a nap in the day time and are super hungry! They come in a range of different colours now such as blue, black, red and white and I couldn’t recommend them enough for how easy they make things even more so when you have multiple children.

Milton Mini Soother Steriliser.

I’m not sure whether these were around when Lily was a baby or not, but I saw someone using one whilst I was pregnant with Teddy and they just seemed like such a good, handy idea so I thought I’d give it a try, especially as we used Milton whilst in hospital with Lily and I really liked how clean the bottles smelt after they’d been sterilised. They come in a range of colours and I’ve seen them online in green, pink, blue and we have the grey one, I purchased Ted’s from Amazon for £7.99 but they’re currently on offer in Boots baby event for £5.59. They’re super handy for when you’re on the go because if your baby is anything like Ted then a dummy wont stay in their mouth for very long, and when it’s dropped Lil will grab it often holding it by the teat so it’s great to just pop it in and within 15 minutes it’s sterilised again. You have to purchase the Milton mini sterilising tablets to go in to it but they’re really reasonably priced at £2.39 (at Boots) for a pack of 50. Their handy little strap means that they can be hooked on to pushchairs or changing bags etc.

Ollie The Owl Sound And Grow Light Friend.

This has been an absolute god send, I cannot begin to explain just how much of my sanity this little thing has saved. I’d researched so many different night lights and music / white noise players but I’m so glad we went with Ollie The Owl because Teddy took to it from the first time we used it. We had it at £34.99 from Boots but it’s part of the Gro Company range which I believe can be purchased elsewhere, it plays white noise, a lullaby, a heartbeat sound and a rain fall sound – Lily likes putting the lullaby on for Ted but the heartbeat sound has soothed him no end, we even took it along to his newborn photoshoot and gosh I am glad we did because let me tell you… it was NEEDED. What I also love about Ollie The Owl is that it has a cry sensor meaning it activates itself when baby cries – fabulous! Other benefits include 20 minutes playing time for each sound – giving enough time to soothe the baby and allow them to drift off to sleep, three different volumes and levels of light, and a velcro strap allowing it to be strapped to cot (outside only as it is not breathable fabric).

KinderKraft 5-in-1 Unimo Cradle.

This is absolutely amazzzzzing and has helped us save so much space, it’s available from lots of sites online from Precious Little One to Groupon to Amazon, and it seems to be on offer on most at the minute for around half price and it comes in yellow, blue and pink. We learnt with Lily that reducing how many different surfaces the baby to sleep on works wonders as their little selves have less to adjust too (ultimately meaning a more content sleep), so the fact that the Unimo goes from a cot to a cradle to a bouncer to a rocker to a chair all using the same level of comfort for the baby to get used too is brilliant. Ted currently sleeps in his moses basket upstairs of a night time so we keep the Unimo downstairs as it’s easy for day time use, if I need to pop him down to get something done I can use it in the bouncer or rocker setting along with the sensory toy bar, and if it’s nap time and we’re downstairs I can quickly adjust it to the cot or cradle setting, and it’s really easy to do so too – doing this also means that Teddy will eventually learn the difference between night and day judging by whether he’s in his moses basket or his Unimo. If we didn’t have the Unimo then we’d have to have another moses basket, bouncer/rocker and chair all in our lounge and with two children that just isn’t practical which is why this is so fab for us.

MAM Easy Start Anti Colic Self Sterilising Bottles.

We didn’t use MAM with Lily and we hadn’t planned to with Teddy up until we were gifted a MAM bottle and soother starter pack, I was sold from the minute I took it apart if I’m completely honest. Not only does the top unscrew but so does the bottom which has made cleaning the bottles thoroughly so much easier, the bottom unscrews due to the fact they are self sterilising therefore perfect for on the go as you don’t need to carry multiple bottles around which again is a plus with more than one child. I was actually really concerned with Lily that she was in severe pain from the screeches that would come from her tiny little mouth when she was a baby, so much so I took her to the out of hours doctor one night and it turned out to be colic, we had tried everything from the comfort formula, to propping her mattress up a little, to all of the different drops available and nothing worked for her, I was just going to hope and pray that Teddy wasn’t a colic-y baby too however when I read up on MAM bottles I was sold and couldn’t wait to try them. I feel like the shape of the teat in comparison to other brands is better and would be easier for a baby to take too, also depending on the size of the pack the bottles come with a dummy or two and they are smaller than the 0-6 month MAM ones which have been really beneficial in Teds first few weeks. MAM bottles also fit in the Tommee Tippee perfect prep machine and microwave steriliser.

 

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine | Milton Portable Soother Steriliser | The Gro Company Ollie The Owl | KinderKraft 5-in-1 Unimo | MAM Easy Start Anti Colic Self Sterilising Bottles