{Tips for New Mums, Part 2}

Following on from my initial post on tips for new mums, I wanted to continue with some more suggestions of what to buy and what not to buy.

Mammasaver has recently written a blog post on what you need for a new baby. It's a comprehensive list and has all the basics that you may need such as muslin cloths (I've been using combination of bibs & muslins), cotton wool (useful for bathing & changing baby's bum in the early days before you start using wipes), cot bedding, changing mat, vests & sleepsuits... The all important item that was missing that I added was nappies. Nappies are essential, whether that be re-useable or disposable ones!!

It's very true that a lot of companies market baby items for the mum-to-be and I think a lot of expectant mothers feel they have to have everything purchased and ready before the baby arrives. When my son arrived, 7 weeks early, all we had done was order a travel system (Concord Neo if you are interested) and a cot bed from Next. Neither had arrived and the nursery was bare as the plasterer hadn't even started working on the room yet!

As a result, we did only buy what we needed, or what I thought we needed, and I don't think we made too many bad decisions.

One bad purchase on my part was a Gro Egg Thermometer for in the nursery and after a while I removed it and haven't used it since. We didn't really need it as the baby monitor I chose also monitors the temperature of the nursery. If you don't have a temperature output on your baby monitor, then possibly this might be a worthwhile investment. However, you can get paper thermometers that can be stuck to the wall. I'm sure I got one free with a baby magazine. One benefit of the Gro Egg however is that you can check the temperature of the room in a quick glance... red for too hot, amber for just right and blue for too cold. With a wall thermometer it's possible you might disturb a sleeping baby trying to check the temperature.

Gro Egg Thermometer

Depending on the size of your flat or house, you might want a baby monitor. We are in a house and the nursery is on a different level from the living space. A baby monitor has been essential for us. We initially were given an Angelcare movement and sound monitor to borrow:

Angelcare baby monitor

We didn't use the sensor pad under the mattress though as we felt it was a bit extreme to monitor every movement our baby made. The voice activation was a great feature as was the adjustable sensitivity as it allowed us to set the level at which we could then hear our son. He was such a noisy sleeper that we didn't want continuous sound reception! After speaking to all my new mum friends, the monitor that the majority of them had was the BT 150 digital baby monitor. This is what we purchased and it's been fantastic. I recommend it to all mums-to-be.

BT 150 digital baby monitor

My son has loved the polyphonic lullabies and the room temperature monitor meant that we didn't need the Gro Egg. There is also a talk-back option - useful to help sooth a cranky baby without actually going into the room. Similar to the Angelcare, the sensitivity is adjustable. 

With the addition of our daughter to the family we've purchased another baby monitor. The 150 monitor is now in my daughter's room and I chose a BT 250 monitor for in my son's room. I wrongly assumed that this was a newer model of the 150 monitor, and unfortunately it doesn't have an adjustable sensitivity. It is possible to 'Mute Low' where sounds below a certain pre-determined level are ignored or 'Mute All' where an alarm (beep, vibrate or lights only) is used when baby makes a noise. I just wish it was possible to change the sensitivity... I'm going to have to swap the monitors between the bedrooms I think but my son absolutely loves the songs on his new monitor and he gets so excited when I tell him that it's time to brush teeth & get snuggly in bed with some music... you would think that I had told him there was a present or a cake waiting for him!

One purchase that I would definitely recommend is a Swaddle Pod. My daughter is still in her Woombie at 5 months old and she is now sleeping from 7pm through until 7.30am. I firmly believe that swaddling has helped establish her sleep patterns.

Another recommendation is a footmuff or cosy toes for your car seat if your going to be out and about lots, especially now that the Winter has arrived. We had blankets and a fluffy all-in-one suit for my son, but the blankets would blow off in the wind and he would get too hot in the all-in-one when he was in the car. This time round I bought a Wallaboo footmuff that I had seen a review for on the Bambino Goodies site. They are breathable which is great and the fleecy lining is nice and soft. The great part about it is that the top can be unzipped and the bottom used as a liner if the weather is warm. I tuck my daughter up in hers when outside, but unzip the top when she's in the car so she doesn't get too hot. It's ideal.

My daughter in her car seat

{Lunch-time}

Miraculously, both my son and daughter have an afternoon snooze at the same time, 12 noon - 2pm. I'm so chuffed that I was able to get them into this routine as it means I have 2 hours to myself to get housework done, sort through the mounds and mounds of laundry (where does it all come from!??!), make a start on dinner or fanny about on the internet with a nice hot cup of tea (Pinterest, online shopping, blogging...) or even have a sleep myself if I'm feeling particularly lazy! Another favourite activity during these 2 hours is to catch up on my TV... the joys of Sky+. I've been recording ER on Sky Atlantic - I was never really into ER before and didn't really get the whole Dr Ross, Dr Carter & Dr Greene thing - but I'm loving it now! I'm also looking forward to catching Grey's Anatomy which is being shown from the beginning on Really from Monday. Again, another show that I missed first time round.

I'm not sure how I managed to get the kiddies into such a good routine... With my son I was quite strict about his sleep times and I rarely drove or walked anywhere when he was supposed to be awake as the movement sent him to snoozeville rapidly. He had three naps daily to start with - one around 9am, another longer sleep from 12-2pm and then another shorter nap at 4pm. So if I was going anywhere I tended to travel between 9-10am, 12-2pm or 4-5pm. He also settled really easily in his cot and I put him in his cot for daytime sleeps as soon as it arrived (he was 7 weeks early so we weren't organised at all for his arrival!). I also introduced a bedtime ritual (bath, baby massage, milk, story, bed) as soon as we got him home from the neonatal ward and he always settled well in the evening.  

Sometimes he was so exhausted he'd be asleep before I even got him into his cot!

I've heard numerous stories of parents who have to drive about in the middle of the night to get their children back to sleep, or have to pound the streets during the day to get their babies to take their daytime naps. One trick I did use with my son, that I've not had to do with my daughter, is use white noise. I used to have my iPod dock near to his cot and I had downloaded some womb music, wave noises, hairdryer sounds and the hum of an untuned radio. I played these on repeat (his favourite was the untuned radio!?) until he settled at which point I would turn it off. Eventually we didn't use it at all. Swaddling also helped and we have been using a swaddle pod with my daughter. 

Staying asleep was another matter and my son did wake frequently until he was about 14 months. For a while it was because he would roll onto his front and we'd have to go in and turn him over, then as he was older it was because he had lost his dummy (I was advised by health visitor to try a dummy strap and it was a great help). Now he only wakes up if he's ill or teething. 

My daughter has been an angel. She has slotted into her brother's routine so easily. She similarly has a morning snooze around 9am, then a longer lunchtime sleep at 12-2pm and another shorter nap in the afternoon about 4/4.30pm. I've not been out and about as much with my daughter and so her one downfall is that she doesn't seem to settle well in the car seat - she much prefers her cot. It's also a bit tricky on the days when my son is in nursery and I have to collect him, normally about 4pm, which coincides with her nap and so she tends to be a bit cranky on these days. She crys herself to sleep and we leave her for 5-10min until she settles. We've made the decision not to use a dummy and she sleeps through from 6.30/6.45pm until 7am without a peep (we do wake her at 10.30pm for a feed and she settles again in minutes. We did the same with our son and didn't drop this feed until he was established on 3 solid meals a day). A lot of people have commented that 2nd babies tend to be easier because you're more relaxed, but from a few mums I've spoken to that's not been the case with their 2nd babies so I think I'm very lucky.

{Gifts for New Babies}

My sister gave us the most gorgeous bespoke cake stand from Corn Kist Ceramics when my daughter was born. The cake stand had the text 'sugar and spice and all things nice, that's what little girls are made of' and 'snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that's what little boys are made of' round the edge and in the middle is a heart with my son's name and date of birth along with my daughter's details too. On the stand is has a personalised message with details of who the gift is from. I'll get photos asap (we used the stand at my son's birthday party and I'm waiting on my sister getting photos to me!).

Another gift we were given for my daughter was a gorgeous personalised fleece baby blanket from Bundles of Joy. The blanket is embroidered with her name and date of birth. It's washed well and is still lovely and soft.

Bundles of Joy Baby Blanket

My friend Becky and I also came across some fabulous socks for baby girls in a local gift shop Nuala Ashe. The socks are by Trumpette and have the most adorable little satin bows on them... Becky is going to buy a pair for my daughter's Christmas present :-)

Lucy socks at Trumpette

A gift that I have purchased for a few new babies is personalised wooden letter blocks from Hush Baby Sleeping at Not On The High Street.  They would look lovely on a nursery shelf, and they come in a variety of colours so can be personalised to suit colour schemes. Perfect!

Personalised Wooden Letter Blocks by Hush Baby Sleeping

My neighbour has just opened a card & gift shop in Glasgow called Velvet Moon. I was able to pop into town to have a browse the other week when she opened, although my visit was rushed as I had two screaming babies in tow! She has some lovely items in the shop and I purchased a few bits & pieces, including a very cute Jelly Cat cow that I haven't seen before. It will make an ideal new baby gift for one of my many pregnant friends!

Jelly Cat Bashful Calf

Something I came across fairly recently is The Food Stork.  It's such a great idea - they deliver freshly prepared food gifts for new parents. As a new parent, life is exhausting, so to have a few healthy meals delivered to your door would be lovely! (Are you still classed as a new parent when your baby is 4 months because I would still love to have some meals delivered to me!!!).

{Tips for New Mums}

I wanted to try and pass on some of the things I have learned and mistakes I have made to those new mums out there... First post is going to be on some of the items you need to purchase - what to buy and what not to buy.

My first tip would be don't buy too many baby clothes.  You will be given so many as gifts that you won't need to purchase anything yourself. Of course you want to pick out a few items yourself (I got our son a little baby vest that said 'Dad's Pride & Joy' - very cute!) but I would try and not go OTT. I'd recommend to get a couple of vests and a couple of sleepsuits, and a going home outfit. You'll possibly also need a blanket for keeping baby warm on the trip home from hospital (I stupidly brought one of my son's blue blankets to the hospital for the birth of our second baby as I was convinced that we were having another boy, so our daughter was wrapped in blue for her first 24 hours! I don't know why I didn't pack the white one!?). For the sleepsuits I would pick ones with poppers down the front rather than ones that you need to pull over their head - it's much easier for those frantic middle of the night outfit changes as a result of vomit and/or poo!! 

'Dad's Pride & Joy' vest from BabyGap, 2009

We bottle fed both of our babies, and so a steriliser was a must. For our son we used an electric steriliser from Mothercare. It was expensive (although it's currently in their sale!), leaked and is now in the bin!! I'm currently using a microwave steriliser (Tommee Tippee if you're interested, although it's Dr Brown bottles I use) and it's easy to clean, takes up minimal space (can be stored in the microwave when not in use) and was much cheaper to buy. You can pick these up at larger supermarkets.

Electric Steam Steriliser Pod from Mothercare

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Micro Steriliser from Tesco

Another of my purchases was a Moses basket. As my husband and I are both tall, I had wanted to make sure I got a decent sized one as I was expecting a large baby. In the end my son was just 4lbs 14ozs when he arrived and so the size of the basket wasn't really an issue! The basket was really handy for the first few months and I'm still using the same one for my daughter. Moses baskets and cribs very in price, but I was really impressed with the quality of my choice for the price (currently £35). I'm glad I didn't spend a fortune on one as it's likely you won't use it for long. My son was moved into his proper cot from about 12 weeks old (I'd just like to point out that this was against the health visitor recommendation and it is suggested that you keep your baby in your room with you until they are at least 6 months old). Some prams have breathable carry cots that are suitable for little ones to sleep in, so you may decide that you don't need a separate Moses basket.

John Lewis Waffle Moses Basket in White

Watch this space for more tips and advice...