Pregnancy Diaries: Products I Will Be Reusing This Time Around

5th March 2018

LIKES

Pregnancy Diaries: Products I Will Be Reusing This Time Around

Hey ladies

So now that I am almost 25 weeks I am starting to think more about, what do I need? With Anabelle I only made it to 36 weeks and have been advised it may be a similar situation this time, so with that in mind this mamma needs to get her ass in gear!!!

This time around, thankfully, I have the experience of Anabelle behind me and I am not in as much of a panic as I was with my first pregnancy. I’ll never forget the buggy/ travel system panic the first time around – I was in a tizzy!!! The baby market is overwhelming and we are constantly bombarded with products for babies and newborns so it can be hard to decipher what we need and what is not a necessity. I can only talk from my personal experience, I am not a pro by ANY means, I don’t know all the endless options out there, but I’ll share some of the products I used that we loved and that I know I will use again.

I also plan to do a post just around what basics we need to buy, just a sort of ‘To Do’ list of what we can get organised now. But for now here are a few products I already have that I’ll be dusting off and reusing 😉

The Sleepyhead

I only found out about the Sleepyhead when Anabelle was around 12 weeks old and at that stage we had gone though weeks of no sleep and severe reflux, I only wish we had of had this from day 1.

At that time (2015) there was no Irish stockists so I bought from Amazon and it worked out very dear with postage etc. Now Bella Baby in Ireland stock them which is great – See them HERE. They are a big expense, some may not see the value in them but I have to say for us, it was invaluable, from the moment we got ours Aanbelle slept better. They are very cosy for baby and are designed to give the sensation of being held. The Sleepyhead fitted into the Chico Next to me (which she slept in at night), and can also be used in the normal cot or cot bed. During the day they can be used downstairs etc. They do grow out of them fast – be warned, they say it should last unto 8 months but if memory serves me correctly Anabelle only got to maybe 5/6 months max. I then bought the next size up ‘The Sleepyhead Grand’ – again, very expensive but 100% worth out for us.

2. Chico Next To Me

Another item I’ll be taking down from the attic – I LOVED the Chicco Next To Me. See it HERE.

We used the Chicco at night time, there is an option to attach this to your bed and zip down one side – I personally really liked this feature; it meant I could reach out and touch Anabelle, which gave me great comfort. . If you are breastfeeding it makes life a lot easier too. If you don’t want to have the sides zipped down (as baby gets bigger or is not directly next to your bed etc) then that options is available to. You basically get to co -sleep without the worry of baba actually being in your bed.

We also used the Chicco as our travel cot, it was perfect for weekends away, trips to my mums etc.

What was also a GOD SEND for us with the Chicco was that it can be put on a tilt. As I said above Anabelle had very severe silent reflux so at all times she was more comfortable lying at an angle. This is such a genius feature of the Chicco. The only thing I need to do to get this Chicco ready for baba number 2 is get a new mattress; I ordered one over the weekend from this uK website (see here). As I mentioned, the sleepyhead fits into the Chico perfectly. I have this exact colour Chicco (think it’s called Dove Grey)

3. Ewan The Dream Sheep

Ah Ewan, you little legend you! I will 100% be buying another one of these little guys. Anabelle still has hers and no way will she part with him so this baba will be getting one of their won. What does Ewan do? “Ewan emits soothing sounds at a low base frequency and a calming pink glow, which when combined, help settle your baby or toddler into a peaceful sleep.”

Ewan has different sounds (press each foot for a new sound) womb, harp, hoover, rain (basically like white noise), all with the sound of a heartbeat in the background, it’s very comforting for them. Buy Ewan HERE.

4. Car Seat – Maxi Cosy Pebble Plus & Base

This was the newborn car seat we had for Anabelle (see here) I can’t remember 100% but I think she didn’t last very long in it, perhaps 6 months or so – it’s funny how you forget these things so quickly. (Anabelle is now in a Maxi Cosy Two Way Pearl)

Anyway, this car seat is in the attic, we have the new born inset and it is in perfect condition so most likely we will use this again. We will need to buy a new base, with Anabelle we bought the Maxi Cosi Two Way fix Base (see here) so we will buy the same again, it means the base doesn’t need to be changed even when we change to the next car seat.

5. Moses basket

I bought a gorgeous moses basket for Anabelle, I will be buying a new mattress and using again. I know many people don’t bother with a moses basket but in the first few weeks when they are teeny tiny I think it’s nice to have one. And as so many people have pointed out though now that I have a toddler a moses basket can be dangerous as Anabelle could so easily pull it down if she was trying to look at baby, it’s 50/50 but most likely will have moses basket maybe in my mums house or will use in bedroom for first couple of weeks. Either way I’ll get a mattress for it, it’s so cute, be shame not to use it again.

6. Stokke Tripp Trapp

Anabelle is still in her Tripp Trapp highchair so this is something I will be buying a second one of. Except this time we plan to get the newborn/ baby set as part of it. I absolutely ADORE the Tripp Tapp highchair, they are so neat and compact and I love the minimal design. I love that with the baby part the baby can now sit as part of the family with us at the table.

The Tripp Tripp is suitable from birth right up to adult. Anabelle has the ‘wheat yellow’ colour with the butterfly cushion, this time I don’t plan on getting a matching one, i am thinking maybe the white or the grey.

You can buy the chair on it’s on, the new born package, the baby package – all can be done separately. See the options here.

I see there is now an potion to have your Tripp Tripp personalised, I LOVE this idea. Will deffo this done in he future.

7. Sleepytot Comforter

This is not something we will need til baby is a lot bigger but this has to be my number 1 purchase with Anabelle! She is obsessed. She only gets bunny at night time and nap time (or if she has to go to the GP). He is her ultimate comfort and she adores him, so much so, some nights she tells us its time for bed because she wants bunny!!!!!! You can buy bunny here (and you can thank me later….. LOL)

The idea with this genius bunny is that each paw is velcro so you can attach a dummy to one, or two or all paws – no more dummies dropping on the ground and getting high pitched screams for the the doddy at 3am!! My advice? Buy lots of them!!

8. Feeding

I haven’t even broached the subject of feeding yet, I may do a separate blog on that. But we have lots I can re use again. Bottles, steriliser etc. Had this Dr Brown’s steriliser last time and will use again.

9. Monitors

With Anabelle we bought the Angel Care video monitors and still use them. Video monitors, although expensive are in my opinion brilliant. The sensor mat which came with the set we used in the early days but to be really honest I won’t be using that again. Although monitors will not be required until much later on (whenever baby is finally napping or sleeping on their own/ in their own room) if you are like me, you like to be organised and have these things bought in advance. I will most likely buy a second set of video monitors, I have;t decided which brand yet. It is such a shame I didn’t future proof when buying my monitors because it would be really handy if all I needed now was a second camera and we could use the same receiver to flick between both Anabelle and baby (apparently there are some brands which you can do this, so I would recommend looking into this (Summer Infant is the brand). When I asked on snapachat, most mammies with a toddler and a baby wither had two sets of video monitors or used a cheap audio only set with toddler and used video set with new baby. My issue is though I like the video on Annabelle, she is a monkey and always climbing and acting the messer so the video is important for me.

10. Swing & Playmat

There are tonnes of this type of swing on the market, I don’t believe one is any better than the other, this just happens to be the one we bought, AB loved it and my nephew got good use out of it too so we will deffo use this again. This will be when baba ia a little bigger off course.

I have always eyed up those fab fancy rocker/ bouncers from MamaRoo, have you seen them in action? They look amazing!!! Not sure I can justify the price tag though… Anyone have one and recommend?

As for a playmate, again, ANY brand for type is fine, we had one with Anabelle which we will re use again.

All these things like rockers, seats, bouncers etc are obviously not necessities and things you can pick up in time.

Baby Wraps

I would love to try wear this baby in a wrap from very early days and would love your feedback on what one you would recommend? I never had a wrap with Anabelle, but would love to try this time. Looks like quite a technique in learning how to do it properly but like to try. Any tips welcome!

What else?

Oh why do I feel I have forgotten so much??? It’s only been a few years since i did all this and feel I’ve forgotten so much! I am sure I will be amending and updating this post as I go; it’s as much a mental check list for myself as it is hopefully a tool for others. As I said the other post I plan to do is “buying the basics’ type post soon, sp was you should or could be buying now to prepare for baba; so you knows the likes of; socks, mittens, vests, babygros, muslin clothes, swaddles, blankets, nappies etc etc