I am writing this post not only to remind me for future babies but for all the mama to be’s and new mama’s wondering what I have found are great buys that make my life easier! Considering I think I have bought about every product and item available to us I think I am a great person to review them all for you! hahahaha! Somebody throw shamoo back in the ocean. In all honesty though, each baby is different. That is the tough part and probably why I bought so many items trying to find what my baby likes or what I find useful.
First and foremost… I WISH I got this product sooner.
OWLET SMART SOCK
This little sock is very smart. It straps around your infants foot and tracks their heart rate and oxygen levels. You can moniter it on your phone or the base system alarms if outside normal range.
I just wish I got it sooner. I woke up countless times when Elle slept longer than normal and jumped out of bed so fast my heart stopped. I had the angel care pads that moniter as well but I found them not very reliable especially as I use a cocoonababy (another product I’ll talk about).
Since getting the sock I have so much peace of mind. I highly recommend it. It can save babies lives too by alerting you if the HR or O2 levels are out of range. It is essentially the exact same as the machine they use in hospital to do obs on your baby to check HR & O2 levels except you have it right at home!
COCOONABABY
This has probably been the most asked about! What bed does Elle sleep in? We have a bassinet and cot but in both of those we use our portable COCOONABABY it is like a safe nest that hugs bub but not too closely and keeps them slightly elevated to assist in any reflux issues that occur when laying them down flat. We love using it because when she was really tiny we used it downstairs in the loungeroom. When we went away we take it and pop it in between us in a king bed and when at home it is in her bassinet or cot but either way it is always familar to her! It is great.
These are the best priced cocoonababy’s including delivery I could find here
RIFF RAFF SLEEP TOY
Another one I wish I got sooner! What a great little toy. I was originally sketchy because I didn’t want Elle to be dependant on anything to get her to sleep. What if I lose it? What if I forget it? but what I soon realised is she is already dependant. Dependant on me. That is okay but what if I can’t be there? This is where RIFF RAFF is amazing. Amazing in the car where I can’t comfort her. Amazing when I shower. Amazing when everything aligns and I pop her in bed and turn it on and she falls asleep without my rocking, without my swaying, without my effort!
You can also save on FREE POSTAGE by purchasing yours through this link! We have clover the bunny! http://riffraffco.refr.cc/mikhaillag
NUNA LEAF & PIPA CAPSULE
I have nothing but GOOD things to say about the NUNA PIPA CAPSULE.
We use it as our carseat and in the pram. It is perfect for transfering a sleeping baby and has definitely made my life easier. Especially when I am a person that likes to constantly be on the go it allows me to do so without distrupting her sleep much. The only downside is the length is about 15cm longer than a rearward facing carseat so it takes up a lot of room for the front passenger seat even in our family Mazda CX-5 car. None the less, I highly recommend it and think it is even better for families with more children! Not to mention its five star safety rating. We actually had another capsule before the NUNA Pipa ( A Maxi Cosi ) but when both installed it was evident the nuna pipa was far more sturdy and secure in the car. You can really FEEL the difference in the way they secured in the car! Both were isofix.
NUNA LEAF
I have used this on and off in all honesty. I have numerous different bouncers. This one stays upstairs near my room and often I pop Elle in it when I shower especially in the newborn weeks it was great as it is soft, comfortable and gently sways them at their own pace. I definitely find it alot more useful now though as she is so interested in everything so loves being in it and smiling at the toys and kicking her legs around.
BABY STUDIO VELCRO WRAPS
These are great! Don’t stock up on love to dream or arms up swaddles until you work out what your baby likes. Elle likes arms down and loves to be wrapped. Once she got bigger though she became an escape artist and that meant startling herself awake! Someone recommended these wraps as they velcro tight and we haven’t looked back! so incredibly practical. They are just from TARGET and although ugly very effective haha!
BUDU BABY CARRIER
I have three different carriers. A Chekoh wrap, Manduca carrier and this one the BUDU Baby.
They are all useful in their own ways but I get the most wear out of the BUDU one for sure.
The chekoh was great in the early weeks but I don’t find it as convenient when I want to quickly pop it on as it is more time consuming however it is great for securing bub comfortably on me when going to the movies etc as it fits well when sitting down as well as standing.
The Manduca carrier is more sporty and supportive. My partner loves it but for my small build its bulky however I can see how it will be useful for me to support Elle when she is much bigger.
The budu though really I can’t fault! It is easy to put on, soft for Elle, easy to adjust while she is on me and best of all I find it the easiest carrier to transfer her if she falls asleep in it without waking her! Oh and it is pretty damn stylish!
PLAYMATS, WIPES, NAPPIES
Go for a colourful playmat from Baby Bunting. Don’t spend big on a fancy wooden or one coloured playmat to fit your theme. Bubs LOVE colours! Elle has a ball in hers as you would see on my instagram stories.
Wipes are something I don’t recommend cheaping out on. We use water wipes and although expensive I think its far cheaper to prevent an issue rather than treat it! The purest wipes that are 99% water mean no irritation to Elle. Stock up on these and you can buy bulk packs of 4 from chemist warehouse for around $24.
We tried Huggies, Eco by Naty, Aldi and Baby Love nappies and for us we love baby love!
Even though its normal for Breastfed babies to go 10+ days without a poo Elle is on the opposite end of the scale and poo’s alot during the day so I am changing her nappy alot and need one that is super secure and absorbent. Huggies let me down alot as they didn’t wrap around her leg as well so we would get lots of leakage. Eco by Naty and Aldi were quite similar to each other and the fit was really good but it contained everything on the surface so irritated Elle quite quickly – I think they are better suited to those bubs who don’t poo as often! Babylove is a winner for us because it is secure, absorbent and gets me through the night without a change! They are priced pretty well too!