So this we we have...
5 Newborn must haves
Now Brooke is 13 weeks old she's no longer classed as a "newborn" and is now an INFANT! (which is crazy!) so I thought it would be useful to pass on our recommendations for the top 5 products that we could not have lived without in those early days.
1. Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine
For anybody that has been living under a rock and somehow hasn't heard of the perfect prep machine it basically makes perfect body temperature bottles for baby in under two minutes so there's no phaffing around waiting for boiling bottles to cool or cold bottles to heat.
You put an empty sterilised bottle under the tap push the button and a burst of boiling water comes out, it then beeps to let you know that part is done, you remove the bottle and add your scoops of formula and give it a shake/swirl so all the powder mixes with the boiling water, then you put the bottle back under the tap again press the button again and it is topped up with cool water to make the perfect temperature and amount in each feed.
The dial at the top of the machine can be adjusted to make feeds between 4-11oz. The only bad thing I have found is that the smallest bottles you can make are 4oz because when you bring your newborn home from the hospital you will probably be starting on 2-3oz but to be honest they move onto bigger feeds so quickly it really wasn't a problem. We simply made bottles the old fashioned way with boiled water from the kettle for a few days & then moved onto using the machine & wasting a teeny bit of milk each time.
The perfect prep machine does divide opinion, with a lot of people deeming it a waste of money but honest to god this thing is an actual life saver! I know it's not too difficult to wait 10mins for milk to cool down but at 3am having warm milk on tap is amazing when even 2 minutes of baby screaming feels like a lifetime.
It is a little pricey at around £120 but you can usually find it for around £70 in the Asda Baby Event or on Amazon or like me you might be able to pick one up secondhand. We only paid £35 - possibly the best £35 I've ever spent!
2. Baby sleeping bags
She'd sleep anywhere else during the day, on us, in her bouncy chair, her swing, a cushion but just hated her swinging crib for bedtime. It was like she found it too big and open after being in my belly all that time. So much so that I was this close to rushing out and buying a Moses basket for her so she could have a smaller sleeping space!
On night 3 we put her in a baby sleeping bag for the first time and haven't looked back since. Ever since then she only woke up once each night and seemed so much more content and snug. We have 4 at the moment so there's always one clean & dry even when I'm behind on the washing!
NB baby sleeping bags are recommended for baby's 8lb and over. Luckily Brooke was 8lb 9oz when she was born so this was never something we had to worry about.
3. Ewan the Dream Sheep
Speaking of sleep, this little guy quickly became one of our best friends!
I didn't initially buy a Ewan before Brooke was born. Even though they are so highly recommended I thought he was abit expensive for what it does and thought free white noise apps on my phone would do the job just as well - which to be honest they would, but Ewan's cute, cuddly & can strap onto the cot bars so when I saw him on a secondhand selling site for £10 we thought we'd give him a try.
Ewan plays soothing harp, womb, hoover & heartbeat noises on a 20 min cycle and had a red glow. Ever since we started using him Brooke definitely falls asleep quicker. She's always self soothed herself to sleep quite well, before we had Ewan she'd chat to herself for at least 30 mins before falling asleep but now she's easily asleep in 5.
4. Nursing pillow
Even though we didn't chose to breastfeed we found a nursing pillow to be a godsend in the early days.
It was perfect for putting baby down before she could hold her own head up. We could wrap her up and position her on her side and it still felt like she was being cuddled so she'd stay asleep.
I loved being able to lay Brooke in this to feed her just so you have a free hand!
Nursing pillows are great for tummy time and now Brooke's older we still use it on abit more of an angle to support her in more of a sitting up position.
5. A foam bath insert
We quickly discovered that one of these would be really useful. Whether you start bathing your baby in a little baby bath or the big bath I think it really really helps to be able to lay the baby in something so you have a hand free to be able to wash them.
We didn't give Brooke a bath until she was a week old and then the first couple of times I had G to help me but I was really nervous to start bathing her on my own once he went back to work and this was a god send!
We bought this cute fish shaped one from Boots, it came with two little fish sponges and was £6.99. Brooke has only just stopped using it recently, now she goes in a seat in the big bath.
So there has it, the 5 items we found most useful in the early day - obviously not included things like nappies/wipes/pram/clothes etc... The unexpected must haves let's say!
What were your newborn must have products? Did you use any of these?
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XOXO
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