10 Baby Things I Couldn’t Live Without (And 5 I Didn’t Need)
Disclaimer: I am no expert on babies. I only have one, and know a handful more.
But, as our good mate Einstein once said: “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” And this list isn’t just based on what I found useful; it’s based on other lists I obsessively read, the mum’s Facebook groups I check at 3am, and firsthand wisdom from all my newfound mum friends.
Every bubba is different, but for what it’s worth, I hope it’s helpful.
11 MUST-HAVE BABY ITEMS
I had my doubts about the Snoo, and we only really got it because a friend loaned it to us - but I would 100% hire it for the next time round if we couldn’t borrow it again. As soon as we got home from the hospital, our little guy seemed to be soothed by the rocking and white noise, and was doing 3 to 4-hour stints in it. We also really like the Snoo app for tracking his sleep - everything blurs together in the night and it’s so good to see at a glance when his wake-up times were, how long he was unsettled for etc. I miss that feature now that we don’t have the Snoo anymore, and am always asking my partner wtf happened in the night because I can’t remember when he was awake/unsettled/feeding.
We got a baby lounger from Linen Social but there are a bunch of equivalents out there. We use it on the couch, outside, on the dining table while we eat dinner, I even put it on my desk while I use the computer. People will try to scare you and say they are not safe for babies. I say use your common sense, they are fine under supervision etc.
It worked really well to send up a bunch of change stations around the house for when baby needs a nappy change. We have one in the master bedroom, one in the living room and one in the nursery, each stocked with nappies, wipes, bags for dirty nappies and a spare change of clothes. I loved this nappy caddy thing for holding nappies, wipes etc - I put mine into the top level of this IKEA trolley and it’s handy to easily wheel around the living room, especially when the midwives, health nurses etc. visit - you can have their health book and everything else you need on the trolley too.
I couldn’t love this change mat more. It’s very easy to wipe down, is comfy for baby and looks good.
We use these cloth nappies for everything except being actual cloth nappies. Mopping up baby voms, holding over a leaky boob, protecting ourselves from wees while changing him, etc. They are SO SO SO helpful.
We bought this giant play mat for the nursery but now want one for every room - they are so plush, comfy and easy to wipe down. I couldn’t handle having another thing to wash.
This $77 turtle seemed like a ridiculous thing to buy but I kept seeing it be recommended and we love it so much we used it even before Darcy was born - it’s safer than a mobile as it projects light onto the ceiling and has the most soothing white noise options, like a spa!
Instead of buying a giant, bulky nappy bag with a million compartments I ended up getting a giant washable Country Road tote and these Nappy Society organisational cubes which have been so great - the big one has his nappies and wipes, the medium one holds his spare clothes/muslin wraps, the small one has creams, handsanny, my lip balm etc.
An emergency room doctor recommended this Vicks thermometer after we spent ages trying to work out which is best - it’s $26 and does the job perfectly.
My physio partner forced me to get these recovery shorts for a bit of ab separation that I had plus support for my c section wound - I thought they were a scam because they were so expensive but now I love them. So supportive and has really helped with the back pain I am still battling from pregnancy and postpartum/ (they are apparently the only product on the postnatal market actually backed by science and supported by physios, everything else is a bit useless). I got the mini length because I am a shortarse and just wear them as regular bike shorts.
Strange but someone mentioned babies love naked time on the mat on a hot day, so I bought puppy pee pads from Kmart and he really does love hanging out naked on there. You can also get disposable change pads from kmart which are also good for this purpose (and having in the nappy bag if a change table is really grubby while you are out and about - although I usually just change him in the boot of the car because I don’t trust public bathrooms).
3 THINGS I PROBABLY DIDN’T NEED
We spent ages tossing up between a car seat and capsule, and working out whether a capsule was worth the convenience of being able to take in and out of the car. I ended up getting a capsule for my car that clips into the pram - but then everyone freaks you out that they can’t spend much time in it due to chin to chest - so now I’m anxious and 90% of the time transfer him from the capsule to the bassinet in the pram anyway. If I had my time again I would just buy a car seat for my car and save the $$ as the capsule is only good until they are about 11/12 months anyway. That said - I might change my tune if we have multiple kids as apparently a capsule is handy for day care/school pick ups and drop offs.
Our change table was a gift from someone who said “this thing is useless once they can roll over or sit” and it’s true! I prefer changing him on the floor because it feels safer.
I bought a Spectra 2 breast pump because I knew someone selling one for cheap and the options seemed overwhelming. If I did it again I’d likely spend my cash on a wearable electric breast pump - way more $$ but it saves you from being chained to a chair feeling like a cow all the time.
BONUS NOTES
My Amazon Prime subscription has paid for itself a million times over. Also, Huggies nappies are really cheap via an Amazon subscription.
I also got Woolies delivery unlimited for the first few months post-partum and it was so handy, plus stocked the freezer with dinners from The Dinner Ladies.
Speaking of which, if anyone asks what to get you, suggest a Dinner Ladies voucher or gift voucher for a cleaner!
The Huckleberry app was really helpful in the early days when we were concerned about him not putting enough weight on or having enough wet nappies (the midwives are obsessed with wet nappies = healthy babies). The free version is fine for tracking and you can share a login so my partner could see when I fed him overnight and when to give him a bottle if I was sleeping in.
Don’t let anyone come over unless they are bringing food/offering to do your washing/holding the baby while you go for a much-needed nap. I thought I would really enjoy having visitors but they ended up annoying me if they weren’t doing anything to help! It’s really nice if they want to coo over the baby but the mum needs to be held just as much in the early days and nurture is key.
The new baby hormones may keep you awake, I couldn’t really sleep for the first week as I was so alert to all the baby noises and wanted to stab anyone that said “sleep when the baby sleeps!” It will pass (as with everything else) and you will get to a point where you are so tired you will sleep through. My friend said this tea also helped her.
ADVICE THAT HELPED ME
1) Be grateful for the good nights and know that the bad ones do end.
2) A bad night is usually followed by a good night.
3) Babies are too little for routines until about 3 months (or so everyone says) but it’s good to wake them every 2-3 hours during the day for feeds so they begin to work out that nights are for sleeping and days are for feeding. Exposure to natural light also helps, and I keep things pretty noisy in day time even if Darcy is sleeping so he knows it’s different to his night sleeps (not sure if this is doing anything but worth a go).
With love and baby dust
Nat x