A Mini Me and Me Must: 'Is it worth it? I have worked it, I've got a top 9 list of Newborn p

You know that saying ‘it takes a village...’ - well no sentence could be more apt when it comes to newborn babies. However in this instance, the word village refers to the sheer amount of space you need to store all the stuff your baby requires. The smallest person in your life is about to take up more space than you ever conceived possible. How is it that such tiny beings need SO. MUCH. STUFF?! I’m still baffled by it. And the thing is, they genuinely need almost all of it! There are of course some things that you’ll waste money on simply because they’re pretty or they were featured on the ‘Top 1000 things you can’t possibly raise a baby without and if you don’t buy it you’re a terrible parent’ List. They’re the things you end up never using and are secretly hoarding away to pass on to your unwitting friends who make babies further down the line... watch out ladies, I’m coming for you...

Knowing what I know now, I’ve complied a short list of things we have used everyday since Serena was born and couldn’t have lived without. I’ve talked about Bottles, Formula and Sterilisers here and Nappies, Bodysuits, Sleepsuits, Car Seats and Buggies go without saying. Mothercare actually have a great tick list of all the things you’ll need here, but this is my personal one. Max and I definitely didn’t have time to save for a Baby. As I’ve said, it all happened so fast we were working with a fairly modest budget. BUT our amazing friends and family showered us with more gifts and essentials than we could have ever possibly imagined, so a lot of the stuff we ended up having was actually by the grace of their generosity which we couldn’t have been more thankful for. But I digress... I’ll stop waffling on and let’s get down to brass tax. My Top 9 Newborn Essentials that we couldn’t have lived without.

1. Sleepyhead Deluxe+ Baby Pod: I cannot recommend this cocoon of coziness enough. If you splash out on one item for your baby, make it a Sleepyhead. The Swedish design is based on the security of the womb making the transition from inside to outside an easy one for your newborn. Serena has never had a bad nights sleep since we brought her home from the Hospital and I’m 99% sure it’s because of this wonder product. The sizing advertised is 0-8 months. Do I think she will fit in it until she’s 8 months? No. At the 3 month mark we had to unclip the bottom so she had enough room as our beauty is slender, but very long. I can see it lasting until she’s 6, at a push 7 months. Regardless of that though and the uncertainty of it's advertised sizing, it really is worth its weight in sleepy gold. Read more about it here.

2. Water Wipes: They are literally what they say on the tin. Water Wipes are made from 99.9% water and 0.01% Grapefruit Seed Extract. They’re the purest wipes on the market. They’re not loaded with chemicals like many of the other major brand’s wipes and are safe to use from Day 1. Serena has never had any bottom bother and it’s because of these little wipes of wellness.

3. Metanium: This sunshine yellow cream is the dream when it comes to red bottoms. Serena has never had nappy rash, just the occasional redness. When that occurs, I just smooth a thin layer of Metanium between her little peaches and jobs a goodun’. It’s prescribed by Doctors for Nappy Rash, is fragrance and lanolin free and the little yellow tube is seemingly going to last forever! And the best part, it retails at roughly £2.50. Some people say it can stain material, but I’ve never had this problem. Just cream it on, smooth the excess off your finger into the fresh nappy and as always, wash your hands afterwards. Bish, bosh, bash, no nappy rash!

4. Aveeno Baby Daily Care Baby Hair & Body Wash: I love Aveeno products. I know they’re not all natural and I know they’re owned by Johnson & Johnson, but for that reason they’re scrutinised to the extreme and their accountability is almost unparalleled. We’re very lucky that Serena doesn’t have sensitive skin so their products are absolutely fine for her. I can’t therefore account for it’s effectiveness on sensitive skin or if it would cause irritation, but what I can speak on is it’s mild scent (it smells heavenly) and gentleness which are a wonder for us. The way the Body Wash cleans her body and keeps her skin moisturised is great. When washing her hair it has kept her scalp healthy (no cradle cap) her hair super shiny and from what I can tell, if she has ever had any product accidentally rinse in to her eyes, it’s been so mild I haven’t actually known because she’s never made a fuss. It’s almost always on offer for £3 and we wash Serena with 2 pumps every night and with 1 pump for her hair every other night and our first bottle is still going strong. Which is why I’ll continue to use it in her bath time routine for the foreseeable future.

5. Aveeno Baby Daily Care Baby Moisturising Lotion: I use this on Serena for most of the same reasons as above really. At the beginning babies really do have a ‘drying out’ period. Imagine yourself submerged in water for 9 months and all of a sudden you’re exposed to the elements. Your skin literally dries out and babies do end up looking, well, a bit crusty! Skin is a living, breathing organ and moisturising it offers it a lovely slurpable (this is a made up word) solution to keep it, um, moisturised! This particular one is gently enough to use from birth and is not only incredibly moisturising, but it is quickly absorbed by the skin. This is important as at first babies love to be changed quickly as during those first few weeks, they really don’t enjoy being nakey. It makes them feel vulnerable and exposed and is the complete opposite of how they felt tucked up all cosy and warm inside you. A few mere months down the line they’ll be wiggling to a different tune - Serena absolutely loves nudey time, but like all babies, at first she didn’t. As above you can always find it on offer for £3 and the 150ml tube lasted us for just over 4 months. Also did I mention, this stuff smells uh-may-zing...

6. Philips Avent Mini Soother Dummies: I’ll be honest, I was vehemently against the use of dummies before Serena was born. Call me a snob, but I think there’s nothing worse than seeing a toddler that can walk and talk running around with a dummy in their mouth. But like most things you said you’d never do as a parent, when you have that tiny person in your arms all those best laid plans go out the window and you do what’s best for them. I know think dummies, used appropriately (i.e. not just to get a kid to keep shtumn) are a great tool to have in your arsenal. Not only are the proven to help reduce the risk of SIDS, but for us in those first 7 weeks when Serena’s little digestive system was giving her trouble, the were great to help soothe her crying so she wasn’t sucking in more air making her tummy even more windy. She also had quite bad hiccups when she was born, again something that helped create those nasty air bubbles at first, so it was great for that. She’s got such a petite, delicate face that we still use the 0-2 month frame (they have the same teat as the 0-6 month ones) as anything bigger just looks ridiculous in her. You can find the ones we use here. Now, she only uses it for nap times, bed times and occasionally is happy to have in while in her car seat, but any other time you put it near her, she will promptly slap it away. What can I say, the girl knows what she wants.

7. Knitted Heart Cosy Baby Blanket: We call our cosy blanket our Jo Jo Blankey as it was brought for Serena by Max’s Auntie Jo. It’s probably one of the most versatile items that we have and we use it everyday. It many uses are included but not limited too; blanket for Sleepyhead, blanket for Pram Carrycot, blanket for Car Seat, blanket for floor play and tummy time, blanket used for the floor at Baby Massage and blanket used to cover her little leggies when she’s in her bouncy seat in the chilly kitchen. It’s also tumble dryer friendly so I can turn it around in under 2 hours so it can be washed every few days too. Win, win! You can find the one we have here.

8. Bright Starts Spots and Stripes Safari Play Mat & Gym: I set up Serena’s playmat when she was about 7 days old, and we’ve used it everyday since then. I decided to go for one that wasn’t a beautiful, muted, Hygge, Scandi affair, but one that was bright, colourful, stimulating and inexpensive. And she loves it! It’s by Bright Starts who do a huge range of developmental toys and mats and seats. And we have one of all three. You can find the Playmat we use everyday here. I chose it not only because it has great reviews on Amazon, but also after my research in to early cognitive development found it ticked all the boxes. This is taken straight from the description and I truly believe in every word: “Designed using sensory stimulating principles, this Bright Starts ‘Start Your Senses: Spot and Stripes Safari Activity Gym’ is packed with activities and features that encourage baby's development within the first years of life. The giraffe prop pillow promotes tummy time development and the large play mat features high-contrast colours and patterns, developmental toys and fun characters. The On-the-Go Tiger has lights and more than 20 minutes of melodies and sounds to help develop baby’s senses of sight and hearing. The large baby safe mirror encourages visual stimulation and self-discovery. The tiger chime, zebra ring rattle, dragonfly teether, teether leaves and eight links feature multiple textures to encourage reaching and grasping. The activity gym is machine washable and is easy to fold and carry so you can take it with you when you visit family and friends.” If you follow me on Instagram you know how much Serena loves her Playmat, which is why it’s a must on my little list.

9. Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine: Ah my Perfect Prep. How thou wouldst be lost without thee. These little bad boys are an investment and it cost more than my kettle, microwave and toaster combined (Am I a cheap skate? Yeah, probably...) but damn is it worth every Brass Farthing. It’s recently been redesigned to make it sleeker, but we have the old style one which you can find here. This beauty filters normal cold water to create the perfect temperature bottle every time. We didn’t start using it until just before she turned 3 months (see my previous post on formula here), but after her little tummy settled down, we switched back to Powdered Formula and proceeded with using the smallest bottle size option available - 4fl oz. Personally, an option for it to only create 3oz bottles would be ideal, but Serena wasn’t a very hungry newborn so that actually might have only been idea for us. But this machine is a wonder and so easy to use. Select your size bottle, press the button and it jets out boiling water it. It will then beep to tell you to add the required amount of formula. You have 2 minutes to do this. Once you’ve scooped, pop it back on the shelf, press the button again and it then shoots out cool filtered water and beeps when it’s finished. Et voila! The perfect bottle, every time, in 2 minutes. Every new parents dream. It tells you when it needs cleaning, when the filter needs changing, when you need to top it up. It really is fool proof. You can even cart it around and put it in your bedroom for those first few months of night feeds. Life’s hard enough, so make it as easy as you can and invest in this little beauty. You can find it here.

I hope this post can provide a little bit of help and insight in to what seems like the never ending list of needs and must haves out there. These are what we have used everyday and in the grand scheme of things, don’t cost the earth. Truthfully, you can buy as little and spend as little, or buy as much and spend as much as you want. But at the end of the day, all your baby needs is you. Your devotion, your cuddles, your time and your love and the rest will truly just fall in to place. You got this Mamas and Papas.