The Wishful Style Queen

In my circle of friends we’re in the middle of a baby boom. Within the space of a couple of years, we’ve gone from a group of girls, still thinking we’re in our early twenties to a group of mums with enough little ones to start up our own childcare facility(not a bad idea!)

This group provided me with invaluable knowledge on what to get in preparation for the arrival of Little A. Sometimes the recommendations were overwhelming, how are there so many different brands of breast pump? What do you mean rent one?! But one piece of advice came from everyone. Less is more. You don’t need EVERYTHING in Mothercare before the baby arrives, and if you find you really need that baby swingy rocker thing, you can buy it and get it delivered straight to your door.

One year on here is my list of things I could not live without.

Stokke Babybath and insert

Bathing a newborn baby is terrifying. They are slippy, you are constantly afraid you are going to drop them. Not relaxing what so ever, so takes away from all the advice you are given about a nice serene bath allowing your little one to drift off to sleep. Pah. Enter the Stokke Baby bath. While more expensive than other baths, it takes up a fraction of the space of the cheaper versions, making it an excellent buy for those tight on space. There is an additional insert for newborns, kind of like a giant spoon, that safely supports them, allowing the anxiety levels to drop a bit. Little A may have outgrown the insert, but the bath is still used nightly, which is a plus as it fills quickly with less water than a standard bath. Money well spent. You can buy them here.

Baby sling

Little A has a cow’s milk allergy and until he was diagnosed and subsequently treated he would get very upset, wanting to be close to you all the time. This could be tricky when you were trying to do the 10th wash of the day. (I am still amazed at the sheer volume of washing one tiny human can create.) Enter the sling. We opted for the Babybjorn One, which had different ways of carrying your precious bundle. Not only that, it provided good support for their legs and hips and for the fashion conscious among you comes in a range of colours. Little A loved it, and made trips to the supermarket and our holiday abroad a breeze. This version of the Babybjorn can be used when they are toddlers, on your back. Result!

Stokke Trip Trapp and Newborn set

It was love at first sight when I first set eyes on the Tripp Trapp many moons ago in my Dutch in law’s kitchen. I loved that it grew with your child and allowed even a grown up to sit on it. I swore that was the first baby product I would buy.

Fast forward a number of years and we’re the proud owners of a red trip trapp and Little A adores it. Initially I wasn’t convinced on the newborn set, thinking that it was an extravagance. But after I had an emergency c section I quickly discovered that bending down was out of bounds, so having the baby at a height(and away from curious doggy) was a life saver. Little A was in it until he was six months old, so when I started weaning at 5 and a bit months, it meant the process was slightly easier. Stokke I love you.

Babybjorn bouncer

Hero product alert. If I could only buy one of all of these it would be this. Little A LOVED it. We loved it because it could be used from birth and was easy to transport, meaning whenever we popped over to someones house to visit, we knew he’d be happy in his own chair. It provides super support for a newborn, and safely allows you to lower the level if your baby falls asleep in it. A loved to bounce in it, with ferocity, I have visions of him flying across the room in it. But the careful engineering means it’s properly balanced for even the most active of babies!

Bonus it’s easy to clean!

Nappy bin

There are many people who would say why do you need one of these, surely a regular bin will do. And yes it would do if you lived in a house with no stairs, or where happy to make a trip to the outside bin for particularly explosive episodes. No me neither. This clever contraption is easy to use, you drop the nappy in, turn the handle, and ta da. It’s locked away along with any odours. In my opinion it’s money well spent. Mothercare stock the Tommee Tippee one and they have special offers on the inserts from time to time.

Changing bag

One with compartments meant even when Little A was screaming the house down, I knew where things were at a moments notice. Now if only I could apply that logic to my own handbag. This is such an essential piece of kit that I will do a post dedicated solely to this next week!

Muslin cloths

At one stage our house was coming down with these squares(and sometimes rectangle) pieces of cloth. In the early days we’d go through nearly a dozen a day, and then some. Thankfully they are one of the cheapest items in your arsenal and are available everywhere these days. I found Penney’s and Marks and Spencer did the best versions which were easy to wash and dry. Cath Kitson and Aden and Anais do beautiful ones which would be a lovely gift for any new mum.