Monday 26 January 2015

Newborn Essentials - My Top 10 Products!


Whilst I was pregnant I spent a lot of time trawling through pages and pages of blogs in the search of some guidance on what to buy for our tiny little baby. I mean, how do you know where to start? 
There are several hundred brands of bottles, prams, nappies, wipes, you name it, they sell it! So how do you know what the right product is for you? 

 Here are our favorite products that made parenting just that little bit easier!


Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine 

This product is probably Chris and I’s favorite baby purchase (and there have been a lot!) After one night of tedious bottle making with fresh, boiling water and a tiny, hungry, screaming newborn baby we bought the Perfect Prep Machine and haven’t looked back since. We certainly couldn’t be without it now, and even take it with us when we visit Chris’s parents for the weekend!  

The prep machine allows you to quickly prepare a fresh bottle of milk in under two minutes, and within the current formula feeding guidelines so you know that you’ll always be giving your baby a safe bottle. The prep machine releases a “hot shot” of water that kills any bacteria that may be in the formula power, and then tops the bottle up with warm temperature water – perfect for our little one’s sensitive mouths. It allows you to make bottles between 4oz and 11oz so we will definitely get our moneys use out of it. 

We bought the machine in the limited edition black colour, available from Amazon. It is very stylish, almost a coffee machine for babies! It seamlessly fits in kitchen appliances due to its colour but we currently have it set up in Florence’s nursery for ease during night feeds. 

The Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine is an ingenious creation that takes away the troubles of feeding on demand, and one that every bottle feeding parent should own. 

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine - Amazon - £74.99


Tommee Tippee Milk Feeding Bibs 

If I had known about these bibs before Florence was born then I wouldn’t have bought any other! The padded roll neck design means that any milk or sick is quickly absorbed into the bib before it reaches the baby’s skin or clothes, and the Velcro fastening ensures a snug fit around the baby’s neck. The material is super-soft and durable, and they wash and iron excellently. I have already bought another two packs of these bibs and will certainly buy more when the time comes. 


Tranquil Turtle

Chris really wanted to buy Florence a product that projected stars (or something similar) onto the ceiling, and when we saw the Tranquil Turtle in Mamas and Papas it was a must buy. The turtle has two musical settings;  an underwater sound and a wave/white noise sound, both of which are incredibly relaxing for babies and adults alike! The turtle also projects gentle waves onto the ceiling, turning any nursery into a peaceful underwater scene. Florence absolutely loves this product and it really helps her to peacefully fall asleep at night. It has taught Florence how to differentiate between day time and night time – we use the Turtle during her last feed before bed time and then for each night feed, but never during the day. This way she understands that when the turtle is being used it is time for bed, and when it isn’t being used it is time for play. The Tranquil Turtle is also a great sensory toy because of the light projection. Florence really opens her eyes to look at the wave pattern and tends to stare at it for the entire 23 minute timer cycle. We have used this product from birth to create a relaxing night time environment for Florence.


Muslins 

These are an absolute baby must have. As many as you can get your hands on – buy buy buy!!! We use these for absolutely everything; burping, mopping up sick, laying in the moses basket if Florence is sicky, laying on public changing units, and to shade Florence from the sun. You can usually buy large multipacks of muslins from places such as Mother Care, Tescos, Primark. It really doesn’t matter on the colour and design, just stock up because they really are a parenting life saver and you can never have too many! 


Vests 

A little like Muslins – you can never have too many, especially when your baby has a habit of wee’ing every time you take their nappy off!!! I wouldn’t even be able to tell you how many vests Florence has, and I certainly didn’t stick to the whole “7 sleepsuits and 7 vests” rule, I mean, who even wrote that anyway?! Apart from vests that came as part of an outfit most of Florence’s vests are plain white. This makes it easier to wash them altogether without putting loads of different washes on. One thing I have learnt since Florence was born is to keep everything simple to make life easier! Florence’s vests are from the Tesco clothing brand, F&F. They are super cheap at £2.75 for a 3 pack but please don’t be put off by price – they are well made, very soft, and they wash and iron beautifully each time (yes, I do iron all of her clothes...!!!) When the time comes to put Florence in 0-3 clothes I will certainly be stocking up on F&F vests. 

Cellular Blankets  

 I wish I had listened when somebody told me that no amount of blankets is enough! We bought two of these small cellular blankets from Mothercare before Florence was born, and 2 days after she was born I went out to buy even more! They have so many uses such as; layering at nap time, keeping warm in the car seat and pram, swaddling and laying on cold public changing units. She also has heavier blankets but these smaller ones are so handy to have, I always keep an extra in my changing bag!


Pampers New Baby 

Choosing what brand of nappy to buy was probably the thing that I found the most confusing.

There are so many types to decide from...popular brands such as Pampers and Huggies, and supermarket brands. There’s also the sizing issue to figure out. Do I chose size 1 or size 2? 

After comparing different brands of nappies Chris and I decided to choose Pampers New Baby. They have features such as an ‘absorb-away’ layer which draws the moisture away from your baby’s skin to keep them dry, a navel shaped fit designed to sit comfortably around your baby’s belly button, and a wetness indicator which was the winning factor for us. When your baby has a wet nappy, the wetness indicator changes colour from yellow to blue, making it easy to identify when to change your baby, especially useful during those night feeds when your baby is screaming for their milk! 

The cheapest place we have found to purchase Pamper New Baby Nappies is Amazon. We actually have an Amazon Family Prime account which makes a months worth of nappies £23 – an absolute bargain!!!

Regarding size, we originally bought Size 1 to start us off with. Florence was only 6lb 10oz when she was born and we found that Size 1 absolutely swamped her so Chris went and bought her some micro baby nappies (bless!) Florence moved into Size 1 nappies at around 1 week old. We started putting Florence into size 2 nappies this week, she is now 8 weeks olds and weighs a little over 10lbs, 

We have found these nappies very reliable. They have only leaked once and that was due to a very explosive nappy. Touch wood, Florence hasn’t suffered from any Nappy Rash. 

 
Maxi-Cosi FamilyFix Car Seat Base

This product may seem expensive but it is worth its weight in gold. It makes car journeys so much easier. Goodbye to the days of trying to install the car seat using the seat belt, struggling to make the seat belt stretch over the car seat whilst dealing with the freezing cold weather and a tiny baby. This base is compatible with our car seat, the Maxi-Cosi Pebble. 

The reason Chris and I chose this base over the others that are available is due to its light and sound safety feature that rules out any incorrect fitting. The base has three lights that should be lit green to symbolise the correct installation: the first is to show that the arms are connected to the IsoFix points correctly, the second is to show that the leg of the base is touching the floor of the car, and the third is to show that the car seat is clipped in correctly. If part of the installation isn’t correct the base with display a red light and beep to notify you. The second reason we chose the Maxi-Cosi Family Fix base is because it is compatible with the next group of Maxi-Cosi car seats, meaning we shouldn’t have to purchase another base as Florence grows. 


This is a 2 in 1 monitor as it can detect your baby’s movement and sound. I can’t comment on this product as a whole because we haven’t set up the under mattress sensory pad because Florence is in our bedroom. The full colour screen displays the room temperature, a sound bar and the battery level. The most useful feature that we have found with this monitor is the nightlight on the Nursery Unit. It provides a soft light to allow us to check on Florence and change her nappy during the night without disturbing her too much. 

The monitor is easy to set up and provides us with peace of mind when we aren’t in the bedroom whilst Florence sleeps. 


Tommee Tippee Sangenic Nappy Disposal System

There’s nothing worse dirty nappies laying around the house waiting for the next weekly bin collection day. Nappy bags are useful when you’re out of the house, but in my opinion they don’t lock in the smell very well. The Tommee Tippee Sangenic Nappy Disposal System allows you to conveniently and hygienically dispose of nappies whilst remaining odour, germs, and mess free. The unit is small, compact, and easy to you. You simply pop the used nappy into the disposal system and twist the handle to seal the film, ready for the next use. The downfall to the unit being small is that it only holds around 28 nappies which isn’t many in the life of a newborn!
 
 ***Please note that I have not been paid by any of the above companies to write a review of their products. All thoughts are my own***

1 comment:

  1. I agree with all of these!! Especially the monitor and the car seat base! great list xxx

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