Thursday’s Top 10 – My most useful baby products

Babies come with a LOT of stuff. It’s unavoidable. You will get gifts from people, freebies from companies at expos, hand me downs from friends and family and not to mention all the things that you think you will need. This is more the case with a first child because by the second time around you would have sussed out which products are necessities and which are space wasters. Here’s my Top 10 most useful baby products in no particular order:

Wooden Cot

Initially we didn’t think we would need a wooden cot because we had been lent a lovely camp cot. We were the typical annoying first time parents who preached about having a few good items instead of a ton of baby stuff everywhere (eye roll). The camp cot was perfect right until baby could roll over and we had to lower the mattress so that she wouldn’t fall out. Well, my back did not enjoy having to bend practically to the floor every time I wanted to lay baby down for a nap or pick her up. It was awful! So we bought a wooden cot and it changed my life!

Camp cot

I know I just said that you need a wooden cot but the camp cot was SUPER useful once my daughter could sit up. With the mattress and soft sides she could fall over or roll around without me worrying about her hurting herself. This was the perfect place to let her play while I quickly went to the loo or had a shower or even cooked supper. I would roll it to whichever room I was in so that she could see me and then get stuff done. It’s fantastic.

Infant to toddler car seat

Its very common to buy a travel system when you’re expecting a child. You know the one, the stroller with the infant seat that clips into the car and also the stroller? Those are awesome in the first few months but a baby can only stay in the infant seat until a certain weight and then you need to buy another car seat. Rather buy a car seat that goes from infant to booster seat. Invest in the best car seat that you can afford and make sure it is installed correctly, you never know when that car seat will save your child’s life.

Umbrella stroller

Another reason why I don’t like travel systems is that the stroller is usually huge. Which is super comfy for baby and awesome when you’re shopping and need space for everything but it can take up the entire boot and isn’t always easy to open and close when you also have a screaming baby in the car. I was most often alone with my daughter when we went out so I ended up selling our fancy stroller and buying a cheaper umbrella folding lightweight stroller that I could open and close with one hand. It took up a third of the space of the other stroller in the car boot.

Fisher Price portable feeding chair

I can’t stress how much I love this chair!!!! It’s straps under almost any chair and also around the backrest to keep the seat secure. There’s also three adjustable height levels for when baby is ready to sit at the dining room table without the tray. It is portable, so easy to wipe down and quick to assemble. The whole chair, with the tray, folds up and can be carried like a handbag. This chair has travelled with us whenever we went on holiday or to a fancy restaurant. Both my kids are wrigglers and it’s impossible to feed them on my lap without getting food in my hair and all over their clothes and mine! This way they are stuck in one place without all the gross germs from restaurant high chairs

Stokke foldable baby bath

This was quite an investment for us at the time as you can get simple baby baths quite cheap. However, this one can be folded and put away or taken along when traveling which we really liked. Best decision! The bath has really come in handy and is now being used as a toy box 😂

Baby sling

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idn't use the sling for very long, probably only for the first five months with my second child, but I have it on the list because the sling made a world of difference to me! She was one of those kids who always wanted to be carried so being able to strap her to me meant she was happy as a clam and I had my hands free to do other things. If you already have other kids who need you then this product is for you. I didn't take the wrap because my daughter was born in summer and I would have melted if I was wrapped in all that fabric. The sling was perfect.

Backpack nappie bag

I received about four different nappie bags with my first pregnancy. They were all beautiful and had compartments for the gazillion things that you end up carrying when you have a baby. What I found out pretty soon was that having a sling bag can be quite cumbersome when you’re also carrying a baby. Especially if your child likes to jump around in your arms which makes your bag slip off your shoulder 🙈 I ended up using my camping backpack as a nappie bag. Hands free!!! The back pack had a compartment to separate bottles and formula from everything else and it worked out perfectly.

Dr Browns bottles

These bottles are a little pricey and not pretty like the Nuk bottles but the flow is most similar to breastfeeding and neither of my girls had a problem switching between breast and bottle. The bottles are anti colic with the inner tube preventing the baby from sucking in any air. It’s a pain to wash the extra bits inside especially when you’re exhausted but it’s worth it. There’s the fatter bottles that have a teat supposedly more similar to an actual nipple but they take up so much more space and my girls took to both bottles so I prefer the slimmer bottle

Sudocream

We tried a few different barrier creams (all samples from magazines etc) and this one was by far the most effective. Neither of my girls has had a nappy rash since we changed over to Sudocream. We also use it on mosquito bites and scratches. I buy in bulk when it goes on special and have even posted a tub to my friend in Egypt when her supply ran out!

I am not getting any kickbacks from promoting these products 😂😂 This list is based on my own experiences and opinion. What baby products did you find most useful?

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