I love researching stuff – whether it’s a holiday, looking for that perfect new house or a work project. So in the 19 months since I first discovered I was pregnant, it’s safe to say I’ve done a little bit of reading up (slash-obsessive-internet-scouring) on baby products.
But nothing is better than personal recommendation. Inspired by a post by The Daddy Diaries, here are my recommendations for any pregnant ladies/new mums:
I wish I’d been one of those mums who can sit in Caffé Nero and discreetly breastfeed while casually sipping on a mocha, with no hint of bosom showing to the world. In reality, I either flashed my boobs or belly at my fellow coffee drinkers, which was so unpleasant for everyone concerned, that I bought a feeding cover. Bebe Au Lait covers come in a variety of designs and all have a structured top, to allow you to see your baby. Trust me, these things are brilliant and the people around you won’t be able to see a thing.
2. Buggy Tug
It’s just a £5 neoprene strap that you attach to your pram or pushchair, but it could save your buggy (and baby) from rolling away from you. Sometimes the simplest things are the most genius, and this is a prime example. I’m now in the habit of slipping it around my wrist every time I go out with the buggy, and it adds a level of reassurance when I’m on busy streets or a steep hill.
3. Gap socks
They’re the only baby socks I’ve found that stay on. Others go baggy almost immediately after putting them on, and work their way down the foot, ending up on the floor (or on the pavement, just by Sainsbury’s in our case).
Proof: have you ever walked past a Baby Gap sock on the ground somewhere? No. Because they’re firmly on a baby’s foot, keeping it nice and toasty warm.
It’s a bonus that they come in a variety of cuter than cute designs.
4. Tommee Tippee milk-feeding bibs
We were bought a pack of these by a friend and now I recommend them to every new mum. The foam collar around the neck means it catches much more of the milk that drips from a baby’s chin (or in our case, splatters everywhere after a raspberry is blown).
5. Tommee Tippee Heat Sensing weaning spoons
No, I’m not sponsored by Tommee Tippee, but these spoons are fantastic. They change colour when the food you’re preparing for the baby is too hot. I actually don’t know what those people knows as mums-without-heat-sensitive-spoons do. Do they just guess the temperature is correct?
6. Skibz bibs
I came across these dribble bibs at The Baby Show in February. I’d previously bought a Dribble-On bib for my teething five-month-old, but it always ended up sodden wet shortly after putting it on her. I’m naturally very wary of sales pitches at these kinds of events, but the Skibz ladies insisted that their bibs were superior to anything else… and they were right. At £10 each, they’re not cheap, but they absorb so much dribble and remain dry next to baby’s clothes, that they’re worth it. And hey, anything that Kate Garraway’s baby has must be good, right?
If you’ve got recommendations you’d like to add to my list, please comment below.
For me it has to be Miracle Blankets. Didn’t discover them with my first fussy refluxy baby. But did with my second baby. She slept so well in them. Can’t recommend them enough. I tried swaddling first baby in regular blankets but I was rubbish at doing it & he always wriggled out. It’s an age old solution but the miracle blankets make it foolproof!