With Bug turning 3 months old soon, we decided to share a few of our 0-3 month favorites with you.
Like any other first time parents we did our research. We started to have a look at baby items and immediately we were so overwhelmed by the insane amount of baby gear out there. So much to choose between! What is the best? And what really is essential? Our flat isn’t the best when it comes to storage, so we knew we wanted to keep our baby gear to just the bare essentials, otherwise we would get overrun and fill our flat to the brim with all things baby related!
Here are a few of our favorite items:
A white noise machine.
My friend Katie was visiting from Australia when I was pregnant with Molly. She has a beautiful little girl. She recommended using white noise to settle and calm a baby. It worked for her little girl and she swore by it. Well, the day Molly was born we couldn’t settle her. Stuck some white noise on my phone and boom! Instant sleeping bubba. Its like magic! For the first month or so we relied on our phones which just wasn’t ideal or convenient in anyway,especially when out as it drained our phone batteries. So we invested in a MyHummy.
MyHummy is a sleep aid for babies. It emits five types of white noise: a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner, ocean waves, falling rain and amniotic fluid with heartbeat. You can get different ones but we went for the Sleepy head one. Not just because it was the cheapest one, but because it has a strap on it so you can attach it to the crib/cot/car seat/ your hand as you try to bounce your baby to sleep. Its fab because after 60 minutes the sound automatically fades out but, it has a Sleep Sensor and it resumes humming if the baby starts to stir or if there is an increase in the background noise. MyHummy can also be used in non-stop mode for up to 12 hours. Its quite possibly the best thing ever and I am constantly recommending it to my mummy friends.
A baby carrier.
Seriously, necessary for your sanity. You want to exercise but your baby has other ideas – Put in the baby wrap. Maybe you want to quickly walk to the shops with minimal fuss – Put in the baby wrap. You want to get shit done around the house but have a screaming infant who will not let you put her down – Put in the baby wrap. I was lucky enough to be given a Cuddlebug wrap by my friend Kirsty.
Molly loves it. Those nights where she just would settle due to the wonderful thing that is Colic, putting her in the wrap just instantly calmed her and meant I could still get things done. Liam even wore it when we were down in Somerset during the snow and even though I had to wrap him up , bless him, as he hadn’t a clue, He loved it. You can learn different ways of wrapping your baby as they get older.
We have also got an actual baby carrier that I got at a mummy market for like £5. Bargain if you ask me!! This is also great for when the wrap is ever in the wash! Wearing your baby will allow you to be HANDS FREE, and while that might not seem important right now…trust me. It is. Especially if you happen to have a colicky baby.
Boppy Pillow.
My friend Kirsty was selling her Boppy pillow so I asked if I could have it. This pillow made it so comfy and easy to feed Molly..to be honest, it still does! We use it to feed her, tummy time, to sit her up its honestly a great investment. You can also get many different covers for it meaning you’re not restricted to one design!
Travel System.
Car seat and pushchair felt like the hardest things to decide on. There are SO MANY. And a lot of them are ridiculously expensive. Like, all the monies. After doing lots of research and aimlessly walking around Mothercare feeling ridiculously overwhelmed, we kept it simple and went with the Maxan 4 plus Trio Set and we bloody love it. When I was pregnant i knew I wanted to go walking, a lot, so I wanted something that would be sturdy on all kinds of different surfaces.
This travel system comes with carry cot, Isofix capable car seat, convertible pushchair attachment, leg cover and full PU wheels. Its incredibly light, the front wheels swivel through 360° and Full-PU back wheels and suspension for ultimate shock absorption. It is easy to collapse and set up. you can do it with one hand. The basket at the bottom is huge! Like, I did a full Asda shop and got it all in the basket ( I do have some serious tetras style skills though ). It is also fab because you can use the car seat up to a year old. The carry cot for the first few months and then the pushchair attachment up to 22kg! So the whole things lasts, which I like. We got it in Grey as its gender neutral. It moves so smoothly and i’m just in love with it! Highly Highly recommend!
Swaddle Blanket.
Molly wasn’t a fan of being swaddled with her arms and hands down by her side. Swaddles are known for mimicking the womb, a swaddle also controls the startle reflex which babies have for a few months after birth. That reflex could potentially wake them up sooner that necessary!! I saw the Love to dream swaddle blanket and thought I’d give it a go. Well, Molly started to sleep through the night when we got this. It is easy to put them in as its almost like a sleeping bag. You pop their arms and legs in a simply do up the zip. Its snug and its designed for them to sleep with their arms up, and if it wasn’t already awesome enough, there is a little slit/hole in the back so you can feed a car seat buckle through it.
Lets just say, this made our trip back from somerset a lot smoother than on the way there!! Even though we didn’t get to use the big muslin style swaddle blankets to actually swaddle Molly, they’re the perfect blanket for snuggling on the sofa, or to put on the floor for tummy time, over the Boppy pillow or to use in the car seat to put over her when in the car and I want her to stay warm but not roast!
Gro-Egg Room Thermometer.
Health professionals recommend that the temperature of the baby’s sleeping environment should ideally be maintained between 16 to 20 degrees centigrade. The Gro-Egg is an easy-to-use room thermometer that changes colour to indicate temperature of the room. Blue if it is too cold, Yellow if correct and red if too hot. Also, the great thing is that it works as a gentle night light too, offering enough light to check on your sleeping cherub in a darkened room.
Changing Bag.
There are so many dang diaper bags out there. But I really like my Skip Hop. It’s not crazy big, perfect size for the things I need to carry. Has just the right amount of pockets. Waterproof and washable. It came with a little changing pad that I use whenever we’re out as well as a bottle holder and a small bag that fits in the side. It also has a bottle bag that clips onto the side for super quick easy access for those moments when your baby screams like its the end of the world!! We could have got ours in pink, but I hated it. It was like a real dirty pink. So we went with the blue one because girls can have blue too!
Dove baby products.
I can’t get enough on the Dove baby products. They are super gentle on Molly’s skin and they smell incredible! My friend Louise was kind enough to get us a box of the products that included a shampoo, body wash, lotion and nappy cream – I wont lie, I have stolen the body wash on more than one occasion!
Baby grows
We were very blessed and lucky in the fact that Molly being the first grandchild on both sides meant we didn’t actually buy her many clothes. Both Mum’s ( and families) went to town with clothing, to the point Molly is pretty much set until she is 1. However, I will say that Molly has literally lived in baby grows for 99.9% of the time during her first 3 months. They are cute,comfy,convenient and cheap! I just love a baby in a baby grow! Asda had really cute ones that have built in scratch mittens – Genius!! She just starting to wear little outfits during the day and the baby grows at night time. She’s a proper little person now and the cuteness just melts my heart!
Water wipes
I can’t get enough of these. I am very impressed with these wipes. Firstly, the wipes are thick yet very moist leaving it easy to clean the muckiest of faces (or other bits) in one go. They stayed moist until the very last wipe which has always been a down side of other conventional wipes. There is only 2 ingredients in them – Water, and fruit extract. Making it super safe to use on that sensitive baby soft skin.
AngelCare Baby Bath Support.
This bath support has made such a difference to bath times! Firstly, it is small and incredibly lightweight; I can move it around and get set up in the tub while still holding Molly. Also in terms of its size, I am able to keep it in my bathroom on the back of the door! Meaning my bathroom doesn’t end up looking like a bomb of baby stuff. Bathing Molly was very intimidating at first. She was so small and fragile. When I place Molly in the bath support, the mesh holds her in place, so when she starts to wiggle around she does not slide off the tub which is great from a safety standpoint. It also means I have 2 hands to clean her and play/splash around. She loves it!
Comfort Blanket/Toy
Molly LOVES her comforters. She especially loves her Thumper one and her Minnie Mouse one that my wonderful friend Simone got her AND got her name put on it. Molly will now hold onto them and if shes fussy, she will snuggle into them. I never let her sleep with them at night or if I’m not in the room..and to be honest, once shes asleep i sneak it away anyway! She has quite the collection now, so at least if one gets dirty we have a few spare!
Baby Swing
I’m all up for buying things second hand. Baby items are SO expensive these days to the point of it s actually crazy. My mum managed to get us the Graco baby delight swing, circus design for a silly cheap price. Its in PERFECT condition and Molly loves it. It has become a life saver! It has managed to provide me some freedom to actually drink a coffee whilst its still hot and she will fall asleep in it almost instantly. The swing has a 5 point harness to keep little one safe and secure. It has two reclining positions, the option of two swing speeds and a toy bar with hanging toys to keep your little one entertained. The cover can be removed and machine washed and it folds away to save space! What more do you need from a swing?!
Baby books.
Molly loves story time. She has just started to really focus on the pages. The first books we got for her were the faces book and a Spots and dots one. These books are in black, white and red and she was fascinated with them. Could not stop staring. Now when we read them to her we get the cutest little smile, especially when she sees herself in the mirror!
Bibs
I have been lucky enough to have been gifted a lot of bibs. All different shapes, sizes, patterns and materials. However, none of them compare to the beautifully handmade bibs my friend Kirsty made for Molly. Kirsty is a beautiful mama of 2 boys, yet she amazingly finds the time ( how I will never know) to hand make beautiful items. Not just bibs, but bunting, frames, face clothes, hair bows and more. She uses only the best materials, and is Eco friendly. There are SO many different designs I couldn’t help but literally throw my money at her when she posted on her Facebook page that she had some Cath Kidston fabrics, i mean, who wouldn’t?! The quality of the products are like no other and the service is incredible and personal. I shall be getting more as i cant get enough of them!! Find her on Facebook and on Instagram!
What were your favorite items when your little one was born? Do let me know in the comments if there is anything you think I may have missed, or if you agree/disagree with any of these.
