Tuesday, 21 August 2012

Preparation - The essentials list

This is a version of a list that has been added to and refined as it was passed between Mothers & Nannies in London... Luckily for me it found it's way to me, I found it immensely useful.


Gear/ Play

Moses Basket, stand, cover
Mothercare do a fantastic breathable mattress
Car Seat - MaxiCosi CabrioFix
Bumbo Seat - Great for helping them learn to sit up and feeding them btw 4-10 month
Bouncy Chair
Baby Gym + lots of black & white high contrast toys
Pram - Bugaboo Bee is a great city pram as small & light
Happy Mummy pram clips are the ONLY pram clips worth getting

Nursery

Baby bath for bathing newborn
From around 3 months use an infant seat in the big bath
Blankets
Muslins
Audio Monitor (BT 150 has been fantastic)
Laundry bag or bin
Korbell Nappy Bin (useful with foot pedal!)
Fitted Sheets for Moses Basket/Pram (these are the same size) and cot or cotbed (latter is smaller depending on what you get)
Hippychick waterproof mattress protector are nice & soft (cot & pram size)
Bath thermometer
Room thermometer if there isn’t already one on your baby monitor
Humidifier if necessary - we never had one
Nightlight if there isn’t already one on your baby monitor
Wimmer-Ferguson Infant Stim-Mobile

Feeding

- Breastfeeding
Lansinoh nipple cream
Lansinoh breast pads
Lansinoh breast milk freezer bags (easier to use than Medela ones)
Medela Breast Pump

- Formula Feeding
Steriliser - Avent IQ
Bottles - Avent
Size 1 teets
Bottle brush


Toiletries

Thermometer (the Tommee Tippee Multi Use Thermometer is fantastic)
Pampers new baby nappies
Calpol + Calprofen
Calgel
Baby nail clippers or scissors (scissors best for newborn for nicking nails then peeling them, then clippers when a little older)
Sudocrem and Bepanthen for nappy rash
Sponge for the bath
Disposable changing mats
Nappy sacks
Shampoo/ wash/ moisturiser (Simple or Oilatum)
Face moisturiser for dry skin (Doublebase, ask for it in pharmacy, get small tube, sometimes they have to order it in)
Nasal spray

Infacol to help with wind 
Gripe Water to help with wind


Household

Filetti or other non bio detergent and Vanish stain remover for breast milk stains
Plastic measuring jug or such to warm milk in - don’t bother with a bottle warmer
Organic Olive Oil for massaging on new baby dry skin, Neal's Yard baby oil is also fab
Napisan for removing stains


Clothing

Baby Gap socks seem to be the only ones that stay on, and they have grips on the bottom
M&S have great bodysuits (pure cotton 5 or 7 pack)
John Lewis do the best sleep sacks, pure cotton & they have the tog number
GroBags are alternatives also have tog number www.gro.co.uk
Falke catspads are great slipper socks for round the house when they start to walk.


For Mum


Tea Tree Oil (for mum to use in her bath - helps speed the healing process)Maternity sanitary towels 
Disposable changing mats to sleep on
Nursing bras (M&S are really comfortable)
Tops with buttons to make nursing easier!



Having a baby is confusing enough when you stay in one place. Even more so if you wait six months get into a nice routine, find products you like etc, then decide to up sticks and move half way around the world. This is a collection of what i have learned from doing exactly that - plus all of the brilliant advice & tips i got during those first 6 months of remaining stationary.