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Thursday 7 July 2011

Some Things I Can't Live Without as a Mummy!

I don't think you truly know what being a mum will be like until you have that newborn baby placed into your arms and it hits you that you are responsible for another human being! I know I was a bit clueless, despite the baby books I had read... Now, ten months down the line, I feel I have got the hang of at least the basics, though of course as babies are constantly adapting and developing, I come across new challenges all the time. I wanted to share with you some of the products that have helped me from birth to where we are now, almost at 10 months old!

Aveeno Body Lotion
 


  
Cameron developed some very dry skin when he was only a few weeks old and a lot of the creams that were prescribed for him made his skin worse. In the end, the one that worked was Aveeno, which you can in fact buy off the shelf in a lot of shops such as Boots. The cream really helped him and his skin went back to its usualy baby softness. I also used some of it on my stretch marks and patches of dry skin.
 
Nipple Shields
These were a godsend to me when I was breastfeeding. I had a lot of trouble with Cameron not wanting to latch on. Due to difficulty, and a huge amount of stress from not sleeping and constant feeding during the night leading me to start combination feeding, Cameron then became too lazy to latch on to my considerably smaller nipple than the bottle teats he had during the night. As a result I was tempted to just stop trying, but I persevered and a breastfeeding support midwife gave me a set of nipple shields. It was thanks to these things that I ended up being able to breastfeed up until Cameron was four months old. They work by slipping over the nipple/breast and the baby latches onto the teat of the shield, then drawing the nipple into the shield fully, and feeding the baby through the small hole. It worked really well for us, but obviously isn't for everyone, and should only be used as a temporary measure.
 
Gripe Water
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cameron had 'Colic' for what seemed like forever! It is basically trapped wind and it makes the baby very unsettled, up all night, crying all the time etc. It can be very hard to deal with but someone suggested Gripe Water and it seemed to really help. Luckily the colic didn't last too long as it was such a strain, with Uni at the time as well. But I definitely would recommend gripe water for babies who are suffering.
 
 
Baby Bonjela
This was, and still continues to be, a miracle worker! Cameron has been teething pretty much since he was a couple of months old, though his teeth didn't start coming through until around 6 months. He still only has two, and one trying to poke through! First of all I used Dentinox Teething Gel but this didn't seem to do much for him. Then I used Calgel Teething Gel which also was a bit rubbish in my opinion. I knew that I had heard good thing about Bonjela for babies but Cameron was just under two months when he first started teething. As soon as he was 2 months I gave him it and it really helped. I would definitely suggest it!
 
A Changing Bag that isn't a Changing Bag!
Changing bags are officially the biggest rip offs around. They seem to think that because they add the word baby in front of it, they can charge you a fortune for anything other than a boring standard bag. I decided to replace my free Boots Change bag with a floral bag from Primark which cost me about £8 and is lasting really well. It is very spacious, looks good and I have everything I need in it, so why bother spending £60 on a 'designer' changing bag? I have more important things to spend my money on...
 
 
A Formula Measuring Cup

This is amazing! I have two and they are just great products to take formula out with you. Sometimes I put it in them just because it is less fiddly to pour it into bottles rather than use a scoop when you have a hungry baby on your hands. I bought both of mine from Boots for around £5. Totally worth the money and have both lasted months. They are also easy to clean. Definitely my favourite baby related product.

At least one small portable, preferably noisy, toy
 













Car journeys, however short, can be incredibly boring for a baby. Cameron sometimes falls straight asleep, but other times he sits there and gets bored and grumbles due to this. I started giving him toys to play with and he has been so much better. They keep him entertained and he especially loves his 'musical instruments', a maracca and a set of jingle bells..

A Baby Walker

I have heard mixed reviews about baby walkers but since having one I really don't see what all the fuss was about. The only way they would be dangerous is if complete idiots were in charge... Common sense tells you not to leave a baby unattended in a baby walker.... That is the only time when they could cause damage to themselves. They can, however, hurt others a lot if they run over your feet! Ouch! Cameron loves his and I love the fact that it means I don't have to check he hasn't crawled out of the door whilst I check emails or tidy up. Win, win situation.

Fragranced Nappy Sacks
 















To avoid your flat/house/entire road smelling really bad, I would suggest using these sacks to put the dirty nappy in. Might sound like common sense, but sometimes I run out of nappy sacks and believe me, after an hour or so, you can totally tell! Great for when you are out or over someone else's house as well, because they are not going to want the smelly nappy to linger long after you have left...

So they are my favourite baby related products of the last 10 months. I have never had the need for a dummy as Cameron rejected his at only a couple of weeks old. But these products have got me through the first 10 months... If any of you readers with older children would like to give me some top tips on products for the next stages, then feel free to get in touch and do a guest blog on the topic (or just give me the heads up!)

3 comments:

  1. Hi Emma,

    essentials for my 16 month old include: a tippy cup preferably a non spill one (they have some which really do not spill), sudo cream for sore bums, mine still likes his bottle at night so i let him have that, good educational toys i like the 'leapfrog activity table', crayon and paper (he likes to draw) and a travel cot for when hes over at other peoples houses, plug stops as you find they like to switch plugs on and off, cupboard latches and a stair gate (mine likes climbing the stairs and running out the front door and down the driveway) hard back books (remember if you go to the local library they give you free book packs with some fantastic reads for baby in, you can collect them at different age stages)

    essentials for my 3 year old include: a ready bed, lunch bag and a good open and shut cup for nursery, a nice backpack for nursery with spare clothes incase of accidents or playing with water, her royal school of dance ballet outfit (obviously this is preference and suits which ever hobbies your child has), kids magazines especially ones with something to do eg...stickers, games, colouring sections. Good books! think of classics you read when you where younger ie: elma the elephant, the house that jack built etc , dvds with their favourite characters and dont forget to have disney classics because hey you can enjoy them too!

    sorry if this is a complete essay, i may have missed some things but thats all i can think of for now

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  2. Ahh that is great hun :) really interesting! xx

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  3. I adore this post.. Really helpful in getting a box of stuff ready for when my bubba's born :)

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