JOURNEY WITH US

TOP 10 ESSENTIAL ITEMS FOR A NEW BORN BABY

Amazing news! You're pregnant - over the moon, ecstatic! Everybody wants to congratulate and celebrate with you and you live the first 6 months of your pregnancy in an absolute bubble of baby joy and happiness (minus the morning sickness!) thinking of all the good times to come.

Then, it dawns on you… how much stuff does a baby need? Where do you start? Should I breastfeed? Which pacifiers are the best? What do I need to sterilize for a baby? Do I need a pram or a travel system? It can be quite a daunting task and the list seems pretty much endless… but what items does your new born baby really need?

I've been asked several times by pregnant friends and followers "what are the absolute essentials a baby needs" and what are just "fads" that the media and advertising tell you "you need"… but you don't really need.

With this in mind, I decided to put together a list of my top 10 essential baby items which I simply could not live without now that little Lenny is in our lives.

1 Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine

The Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine has been a godsend. Lenny was formula fed from birth and this machine makes ready to drink bottles, at the perfect temperature and warmth, in 2 minutes at the push of a button. This is ideal for the mid-night feeds when you're in zombie mode (you can thank me later). With anything that is going in your baby's mouth, you have to make sure the filter is changed and the machine is cleaned and de-scaled frequently to avoid any nasty bacteria getting from the bottle to your baby - but don't let this scare you off, it is really simple to use and if you have any difficulties, there are plenty of YouTube tutorial videos which explain how to use it.

2 TOMMEE TIPPEE STERILIZER

As you probably know by now, every single item that enters your baby's mouth must be sterilized. If their favourite toy falls on the floor, it needs to be sterilized. Bottles and pacifiers (after they have been washed), need to be sterilized – you get the picture. This sterilizer machine is perfect (and preferable over some of the microwave sterilizer options) as it is a two-tier system allowing you to sterilize 6 bottles at a time as well as having plenty of room to fit some of their larger toys in as the top tier is removable. It takes around 10 minutes to complete a full cycle and is super easy to use.

The reason I prefer this over some of the microwave options is because, depending on the size of your microwave, the sterilizer may not fit in. Not only this, but I found that the items weren't coming out as clean as I would like from a microwave session and some would need to be sterilized twice to ensure they got a proper clean. When I started using the Tommee Tippee Sterilizer, I felt it gave them a more thorough clean and felt safer. It's a tad more expensive but in my opinion, you can't put a price on your baby's health and is worth every penny.

3 Chicco Next2Me Air Crib

The Chicco Next2Me Crib is the best crib for your baby to use from birth to six months. It's the perfect size for a small baby and can be set up right beside your bed - meaning you can keep an eye on your little one all night long without moving from the comfort of your own bed. Keeping a watchful eye in the first six months is important as your baby hasn't quite developed their strength yet meaning if they turn or roll, they may not be able to turn back. The Chicco Next2Me crib has netted sides meaning, if their cheeks are pressed up against the sides, they can't suffocate and can continue to breath. Another perk is that one side collapses down so you can comfort your baby should they stir in the middle of the night.

4 Tommee Tippee Ollie the Owl

If it wasn't for Ollie the Owl we would quite literally be going insane with the amount of sleepless nights we were getting. Tommee Tippee's Ollie the Owl is perfect for comforting your baby back to sleep. It has several functions (making it preferable over some of the other similar options such as Ewan the Sheep etc) including lullabies, white noise and increased/decreased sound and light settings. Lenny will often stir in the night and wake up lightly (thinking it's morning time already) and when this happens, Ollie gets switched on. The technology of the owl (warm red light and sounds) are apparently similar to the ones a baby can see or hear when they are in the womb, making them familiar to them – Lenny absolutely loves it and goes back to sleep within seconds/minutes.

 5 Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Feeding Bottles

There are many different types, brands, shapes and sizes of baby bottle to choose from. We decided to purchase these particular bottles as most of our other items already belonged to the "Tommee Tippee Closer to me range", which made it easier as we knew for sure that they would fit perfectly in the sterilizer and bottle machine. However, taking away this point, they're actually super duper bottles and we probably would have chosen these over the other options anyway and here’s why… they're especially designed with anti-colic teets meaning your baby won't get as much wind/colic/trapped wind as they would with the average bottle. You can also change the sizes of the teets as you baby grows and they require a quicker flow of milk. The old teets just pop out and the new ones pop in, it's that simple. Finally, we found the sizes of the bottle good as they are small, so easy to transport, but they still manage to hold/make the correct size bottle for a baby of up to six months, meaning you don't have to keep changing the bottle size as they grow and require more milk – perfect (and sustainable too!)

6 baby bath

Your baby only needs to bath once or twice a week as a new born but this amount increases as they get older. Lenny absolutely loves being in the water, he's a real water baby, so bath times are something we really enjoy as a family.

When he was a new born, he used the Schnuggle Bath Tub which was perfect as it seated him upright and supported him so he didn't slip or fall. This is a really popular option for new born babies and most of our friends also have this tub. Although as he got older he wanted to play and kick around a bit more during bath time and, as he is a big baby, he needed something a bit more spacious and felt he had outgrown the Schnuggle by 4 months. We opted for the CAM Baby Bagno Bath Tub which allowed Lenny to kick his legs and splash around when he gets excited. He still needs to be monitored at all times (which is the case with any baby bath) but he seems to really love it and would definitely recommend changing it up if your baby is big enough and enjoys their bath times (but not an essential to have two baths when they are first born).

7 cam travel system

The pram (or "travel system") was probably the hardest item for us to choose. Not only are there hundreds of options but it's probably the most expensive item that you will buy, so you want to make sure you are making the right decision. As it was our first experience, we asked around beforehand and eventually opted for the CAM travel system. What is the difference between a pram and a travel system I hear you ask? Here's the answer… The difference between a pram and a travel system is a pram comes with one attachment (usually a basinet) and will last your baby (if you're lucky) up until the age of about six months. Companies don't tend to make these on their own too much anymore as they are not a popular option over a travel system. A travel system comes with various different clips ons to the structure of the pram consisting of (usually) a bassinet, car seat and toddler pram (lasting until your bubba is 2 years old).

Our travel system is by the brand "CAM" which is an Italian brand - meaning we had never heard of it before. However, after test driving a fair few buggies, we much preferred it over some of the more "popular" options such as the Yoyo Babyzen (which seemed far too small, especially for toddlers and bigger babies. Plus the fact that Ben is over six feet tall meaning his arms would be too low when pushing and it just wouldn't have been comfortable for him to push for a long period of time) and the Ocarro travel system (which seemed too bulky and uncomfortable).

Overall we're glad with our choice as it was summer in Dubai when Lenny was born so we actually never used the bassinet option due to it being too hot (and practically like a sleeping bag) meaning Lenny would have overheated. We found that Lenny liked the car seat clip on as a new born as, if he fell asleep in the car, we could easily transport him in and out from the car to the pram easily without waking him. Now he is bigger and a bit older, he is already in the toddler pram clip on (at just 4 months) as he loves looking around at the scenery and communicating with people (through little giggles and outbursts) as we walk past.  

8 Dock a Tot

I think every parent in history owns a Dock a Tot (previously known as "Sleepy Head"). They are super handy for resting your baby wherever you go, but they do still need to be monitored at all times. Therefore it's great for times like when you're watching TV – your baby can rest next to you on the sofa, napping in their Dock a Tot. I feel like they are super safe and Lenny spent most of his new born days (for the first 2 months) in his but quickly grew out of it by about 2 months.

9 Portable Bottles

Whether you're formula feeding or breast feeding you will need portable bottles to take with you when you're venturing out and about (because you're baby still needs to eat right). These will either hold your breast milk or your pre-boiled water for your formula to keep them airtight, cool and fresh. I used the Medela portable bottles that came with a bag and an ice pack to keep them fresh. I found this pack really helpful and would definitely recommend. The only slight issue is the bottles are quite small, so when your baby gets older your feeds become more limited as you may need two bottles to complete the feed, instead of one. Meaning you'll only be able to take about 2-3 feeds in total, which obviously isn't ideal for full days out.

10 sleeping bag

Every baby sleeps – some more than others, but every baby needs to go to sleep and when they're sleeping, they need to be kept warm. We found our baby sleeping bag super useful and preferable over a blanket as we didn't go to sleep worrying if Lenny was going to pull his blanket over their face and potentially suffocate (yes you really do worry about everything as a parent). The sleeping bag is definitely a safer option and keeps them warm and snuggled which we all know baby's love.

It doesn't really matter which sleeping bag you use, as long as it is warm/cool enough for the location you live in. However we used the Love to Dream range as Lenny liked to have his arms/hands out for comfort. 

I really hope this blog has been helpful and if you have any questions in relation to any of the above, or just about "Mum life" in general, then please contact me or send me a DM on Instagram (@journeywithuss).

*This blog is not an ad and I have not been gifted any of the above items to be featured, nor will I benefit in any way from the links provided. This blog is for genuine recommendation purposes only.