Before getting pregnant, I had absolutely no idea about anything to do with babies… In fact, I was so un-knowledgable, that I suggested to my husband we get our friends a restaurant voucher as their baby shower gift. Oops.
It wasn’t until I got pregnant (and coincidentally ended up working at Bear & Moo) that I started getting exposed to baby things… And it wasn’t until I had my baby, that I saw what things made my life as a new mum that much easier.
So incase it helps you, I’d love to break it down, in no particular order!
#1 Reusable Change Mats
With all the appointments in the first few weeks of our little man being born, we were always having to do nappy changes out and about. Whether we were at the doctors, in hospital, at our parents, or taking the dog to the park - we have x3 of these mats, and were always utilising them to provide a clean surface for bub. We even use them on our changing table at home, or when we don’t have a mattress protector on hand.
#2 Hushh+
I can’t tell you how much I love this thing. It’s portable (re-chargable), has 20 different sounds including beautiful relaxing music, nature sounds and white noise… And it’s also a night light! We have hardly gone a single night without this being used, since bub was born. Most of the time it’s playing quietly through the night, as the battery life of 20 hours seems pretty accurate we just charge it every few days.
#3 Nappy Pods
At first when going out on a pram walk with bub, we’d take an entire bag of his things - but one day it occurred to me I could just pop a Nappy Pod in the bottom of his pram, and it’s just big enough for everything we would need on a <1hr journey. I have never looked back! I also like to use the pod to keep nappies, wipes & a change of clothes separate from everything else, when in our Day Bag.
#4 Large Wet Bags
When out and about, large wet bags have been lifesavers for dirty clothes, wet togs & even dirty nappies that they won’t let you bin at the doctors! I have x3 of these now, and keep one in the pram nappy pod, one in a day bag, and one as a spare for when others are in the wash.
#5 Subo Bottle
Trying to get baby to take a normal bottle (if I need to be somewhere & can’t breastfeed) has been pretty much impossible, but he loves a smoothie from his Subo Bottle… So, when we really need bub to take formula, lately we’ve just blended up the correct water mix with some fruit… And voila! He’ll take it!
#6 Weleda Calendula Shampoo & Body Wash
The subtle smell this leaves on bub is delicious, and not overpowering in the slightest. It’s the kind of smell that you’d imagine a fresh clean baby would smell like, & since it’s never caused a reaction to his sensitive skin I’ve bought it again and again.
#7 Cloth Nappies
We have used cloth nappies “part time” since bub was about 6-8weeks old… And I love them for their environmental impact, their cute prints, and the fact they save us money. We also love that if we are in the mood to just use disposables for a week, when we get low on those - we’re still not going to run out of nappies because we have a whole stash of cloth ones that can be washed and re-used. We currently have 17 cloth nappies, and this seems to allow us to have a good balance of clean ones leftover when the others are in their main wash.
#8 Cloth Wipes
Most of the time we use disposable wipes for baby’s bum, but we use cloth wipes for everything else baby-mess related... Think; spills/vomit, starting-solids mess, bath time etc. We’ve actually got an entire drawer full of cloth wipes now, and it often reaches empty!
So there you have it! If I was to start from scratch again, these are the products I would grab right off the bat. Right now you can get them all at bearandmoo.co.nz.
Hope this helps!
Charly x
