A New Baby Buys Retrospective
This post contains affiliate links.
Here's another baby-based blog post that I've been planning practically since my daughter arrived, but am only just getting round to as she turns 16 months… standard parent fare I think! Hopefully that extra time will actually make for a more useful post. What I wanted to do was look back over the list of items that I made before Ines was born and reflect on what I liked, what I didn't like, what I wish I'd had.
Necessary disclaimer here; you don't really need much when you're expecting a new arrival. I remember just how overwhelming it felt looking at people's 'new baby essentials', and when you're starting to make some purchases, how expensive it quickly becomes. A lot of these items just make life easier for the new parent rather than anything else. I have tried to keep that in mind when I'm writing my notes, but bear in mind your baby needs you and your love more than anything else. What you have bought is no indication of who you'll be as a parent. If you're reading this and you're expecting, I hope that this post will leave you comforted rather than stressed. I know a lot of people really enjoy shopping for their first baby, but I for one am so glad I don't ever have to do it from scratch again and that I have more familiarity with what's on the market and its uses. I know we’re all concerned with the amount of stuff we are consuming these days, too, and it’s worth shopping around as lots of these items can be found secondhand (they do recommend you have a new car seat and a new cot mattress). Also whilst we have had many wonderful luxuries with Ines - some of which have been more useful than others - we didn't have and still don't have a proper nursery set up for her because we still aren't in our new home. A reminder that despite what you see on the internet, this isn't a necessary step if you don't feel up to a nursery, or can't put one together. Your child's room can come together in time when you and your baby are ready. But yes in terms of reading this post, please read the notes for each item as just because I've listed it does not mean I think it's an essential!
The Real Essentials
Lots of onesies and vests. I found we got much more use out of our 0-3 month old clothes than we did newborn, so have a few newborn pieces to hand (7 onesies, 7 vests as a minimum? Probably a few more just so you have a bit of wriggle room on the washing) but I think having a good selection of 0-3 ready to go is useful too. My child did not get into proper clothes (i.e. not onesies) every day until she was around nine months! Obviously this is parental preference, but if you can't think beyond onesies that's ok, especially at the beginning. Ones with zips are best for night-time nappy changes and if you are wanting to use mittens you can get lots of onesies with fabric you can fold over their hands - so much easier to use and less washing! But I never used mittens with Ines, I always wanted her to have free use of her hands and she didn't really scratch her face at all. Oh, and you'll probably want at least one piece of cosy outerwear and a hat depending on the season! A full-body onesie-type piece is easy.
Nappies, nappy cream, wipes. Even if you want to use reusable nappies in the future, I think lots of parents would recommend using disposables just for the first little while, especially if this is your first baby (but it isn't necessary!) The ones where you can see whether they have peed or not with a colour-changing line are useful just for those first couple of weeks when you want to make sure they are feeding properly and all the midwives will ask you repeatedly how many wet nappies your baby is doing - nappies are so absorbent these days it can actually be hard to tell, especially as the volume of wee when they're so little can be quite small. Seeing the blue line and knowing that your baby is weeing properly can be a big relief (oh, the joys of parenting). But it's totally up to you! It's good to keep on top of nappy cream from the get-go in my opinion, but is not totally necessary.
Car seat if you have a car or will be using any cars. Obviously, keeping your baby safe in the car is key. We went with the Cybex Cloud Z which we were really happy with. When she was little it could be converted to a lying flat position which meant she could sleep for slightly longer periods of time in it more safely, plus when you add the Base Z in, it will also spin for easy access in and out of the car. This base can be used with other Cybex seats for older kids, by the way - I know it seems crazy expensive when you first buy the combination. We have also taken the Cloud Z on holiday with us and it is easy to use without the base, too. It doesn't last for a super long time, and some car seats will be more convertible i.e. will last you from newborn through into later years, but there are some drawbacks to these too. I always check Which.com for items like this as their tests are really good - it's a subscription service but worth it in my view, as you can compare everything and anything on there. As a general rule, something rear-facing with ISOFIX (if your car allows) is important with a car seat.
Muslins. Everyone recommends these - there's a reason! Lots of muslins are great for all the spit-up and milk and mess that comes with a baby.
My Essentials
So here are a few things I think I would have really struggled without, or other bits generally considered 'essentials'.
A breastfeeding pillow. I think of all my luxuries, this is the one I would have missed the most had I not had it. I don't want to be dramatic but I think if I hadn't had my breastfeeding pillow, my breastfeeding journey would have been 10x harder, and I have no idea if I would still be feeding today. It made getting a good latch and a comfortable position that much easier. We only stopped using it when she was around nine months! I had the My Brest Friend which I had to order from Amazon because it's an American product, and I absolutely loved it. People get on differently with different pillows, and I did at various points try a more Boppy style one (when I had to breastfeed in front of some midwives #justnewmumthings), and I also tried wrapping my bbhugme pregnancy pillow around me (I believe they also make shorter ones more suited to nursing too) but nothing was as good as the MBF for me, though I have seen people say they didn't get on with it. Why did I like it so much? It's quite a flat shelf - sort of like having your baby on a dinner plate - so there's less slipping and sliding and rearranging throughout a feed. You also clip it around you and tighten it, so it felt very secure to my body and I could get it really high up, so I didn't have to bend over so much. I do vividly remember being exasperated during cluster feeding clipping it on and off, but I think the positioning was so helpful that it tended to override any of the faff involved. There’s also less rearranging in general when you just clasp the thing on, which can make it a bit quicker when baby is desperate and screaming for a feed. If you plan to breastfeed - which of course you might not - I think it's definitely worth thinking about a pillow of some kind, possibly the MBF. So much easier than arranging your sofa cushions or bed pillows around you every time you feed, and being stuck in an uncomfortable position. It didn't really occur to me how physical breastfeeding is and how much of a toll it takes on your whole (already aching, post-birth) body, not just your boobs, so anything to make those long hours comfortable is so vital. Also a note, I could not for the life of me find a comfortable way to feed lying down until Ines was around six months or more, even. People kept telling me to do it and I was like HOW. It was much easier when she was bigger and my boobs had returned to a slightly more normal size as they tend to do when your supply has regulated a bit. I think it works instantly for some who have the right anatomy for it, but it took longer for me to work that one out. Hence the necessity of the pillow.
A carrier or sling of some kind. I had a nice soft sling for inside the house and a more structured one for outside and for when she was bigger. I liked the sling we had, the Ergobaby Aura Baby Wrap, but it is essentially a big piece of material and there are so many options here, they all wrap similarly. Then for our structured one we have the Ergobaby Omni 360. I like this carrier but I'm not in love with it. It has always felt a bit bulky and cumbersome to me. Although at first I baulked at the prices of those Artipoppe ones, I might treat myself to one should we have baby no. 2 because they do look stylish and fairly simple, too. And if you're going to wear it all the time, it could make a difference to how you feel. But certainly a super expensive carrier like that is not an essential! Again, Which.com has a nice roundup of carriers and slings that might be worth looking at. And babies just love these. This would definitely come high up my list.
A bassinet/moses basket/sidecar cot/cot/Dockatot. Right, so. A place for baby to sleep. Not 100% necessary if you want to bedshare and do contact naps, though having at least one so you can have your hands free now and then is a good idea I think. We had the Snoo [gifted], which I liked (if you’re interested I’ll put a solo review of this up, let me know). It is absolutely not a necessity but I did enjoy using it. Transitioning out of it was a bit tiresome, though, and you’ll make life easier for yourself in the long run just using a normal bassinet or cot. When she was born, we also had a Little Green Sheep Moses basket [gifted] and a Dockatot, but no cot (that came later when we transitioned her out of the Snoo). So naturally, you will probably choose something for your bedroom, and then maybe something else for around the house during the day. There's no reason you can't use a proper full-size cot from day one in your room, but many do buy sidecar cots or bassinets for the first few months. If I were buying from scratch and wasn’t getting the Snoo, I would consider just using a cot in my room rather than something they’d grow out of quickly. For around the house, we used the Dockatot much more than the Moses basket for supervised sleeps; it felt that bit more versatile. It was easy to carry around and we used to have her on the table next to us, on the floor, on the sofa. The higher sides of the Moses basket meant that it was harder to keep an eye on her depending on where we were sat, even though it is in theory a portable product (they are safer sleep spaces though as long as there is nothing else in there, so technically you do not have to supervise when baby is in one of these). You could of course use a Moses basket on a stand as your night-time bassinet and something to carry around the house if you’re keen not to clutter your house up with stuff, though your baby might grow out of it quickly. And a Dockatot is certainly at the more luxurious end of things, there are similar differently branded items out there for less, but they do have some lovely patterns so they are easy on the eye. It’s hard to tell what you will and won’t use until your baby is with you, but keeping it minimal is likely a good idea.
Blankets. A baby blanket is a classic gift and it is nice to have blankets here and there for supervised naps or if you need to warm baby up in the pram - something like that. But to be honest with all the safe sleep advice these days you'd probably use a blanket less than you'd think. They can be used safely, but many parents opt for the sleep sack option instead.
Swaddle/sleep sack. So, instead of a blanket, you're likely to use either a swaddle or sleep sack to keep baby warm while they're sleeping unless you are planning to bedshare, in which case you will need neither. Because we used the Snoo we used their swaddle system (and you can buy this too separately to use in your own sleep setup) and I always found it easy to use and effective. I tried the Love to Dream for daytime but never found it as effective as the arms down swaddle, but this is all about baby’s preference really. You’ll make your life easier ultimately by just using a sleep sack from day one because then there’s no transitioning out of a swaddle, but you might find baby would prefer to, and sleep longer with one (and thus it is necessary for your own sanity). I’d recommend having one swaddle-style blanket to hand just so it’s ready to go if you need it. There are so many out there that it can be overwhelming, but they are all much the same (though the Happiest Baby one is a little different and in my view, one of the quickest and easiest to use). If you want a sleep sack, lots of places make them, but try to find ones from reputable sellers as they will have the proper measurements (John Lewis, Jojo Maman Bebe, Mamas and Papas, Marks & Spencer) so baby can’t wriggle down inside it. I like the Superlove Merino ones - more expensive but very high quality and long-lasting.
Buggy or pram or stroller. A big one people consider an essential, but to be honest if you'd rather wait until your child is a bit older and can sit up in a (cheaper, smaller) buggy, I think that also makes sense (this happens around 6 months). You can always use a carrier or sling for your baby instead of buying a pram with a bassinet fixture. We did use ours quite a lot, but it’s not a complete must. Having a pram with a bassinet is quite good for napping out and about - at others’ houses or if you’re out at a restaurant for example. That’s when you might find a carrier only is not ideal. Or maybe you want half an hour with no baby strapped to you - that's also understandable. Ines ended up sleeping well in the bassinet on the pram but it does take some babies a little while to get used to it. We have the Cybex Priam and to be honest I don’t completely love it. It’s quite big and cumbersome and the back wheels are very wide - I’ve met a number of doorways that were too narrow for it. It’s heavy and hard to get in and out of the boot of the car especially in the parent-facing position, which is something we do a lot. I think it’d be better if you are unlikely to be heaving it in and out of a car regularly and if you weren’t city-based as it’s nice and sturdy and easy to steer. In hindsight, I wish we’d just got the BabyZen YoYo. We bought one of these recently and it’s much smaller and more versatile, and much better for travelling. It does have a bassinet attachment if you want one. Some of the more traditional brands are making YoYo competitors these days so it might be worth looking up reviews on those.
Baby Monitor - You won’t need one of these instantly (or ever if your baby's room is near to where you'll be when they're sleeping - though they are also good for others' houses or travelling) but I did buy mine in advance and get it all set up so I didn't have to work out how to do it when I was also in the throes of baby care. We have a Nanit, which I initially liked but over the past few months I've fallen out of love with it. Things I like about it: you can view and listen to baby on your phone (even if you're doing other things on it), camera and sound quality is okay, and you get all the stats like room temperature and humidity and things that modern parents, including myself, like to obsess over. Things I don't like: first of all it's an expensive option to start with, and if you want more than three people to be able to access the monitor you also have to pay a subscription fee on top. I refuse to do this and it makes life a bit inconvenient when it comes to leaving her with a family member for the evening that's not on the system (note: I realised recently since writing this you can just sign in on the same account on multiple phones *facepalm* so you can get around this). Second, it's great that it connects to your phone but this does mean it uses WiFi, so if that goes or it's patchy for whatever reason that puts you out one baby monitor. Third, the all-important WiFi button on ours has already jammed (a common enough problem that they have a section of their website to talk about this), meaning I now can't connect it to any new networks and therefore can't travel with it anymore. Not ideal considering I have a little travel stand for it too! And finally, it gives you a lot of unsolicited advice and 'sleep stats' which are anxiety-inducing and unnecessary. This is part of the ‘Nanit insights’ package that they give you for the first year for free and honestly I wouldn’t recommend it based on this reason. Mine is now finally off because I didn’t re-subscribe and it’s a better service without all the unsolicited advice. No new parent needs their baby monitor to tell them to start teaching their baby to self settle at four months when said baby is waking up screaming every ninety minutes like clockwork. I recently bought a VTech RM5764HD to travel with and I like it. It has a separate monitor which is actually pretty useful and it doesn’t work purely off Wi-Fi which is useful in some more awkward travel setups. The monitor does run out of charge quickly though, so you’ll have to keep the charger to hand. It apparently does have the capability to access it via an app, but I haven’t used it yet.
Changing mats - Very useful! Best to have little changing stations set up in various parts of the house (even if the rooms aren't that far away from each other!) and changing mats will keep things that bit cleaner and are comfy for your baby, too. Having a little box with nappies, wipes, muslins and nappy cream in each room to go with your changing mat is helpful. I bought all of mine from JoJo Maman Bebé but most places will do their own version. We did very briefly use changing mat liners but honestly I wouldn't bother. Just try to make sure the mat isn't absolutely freezing when you set baby down.
Baby bath - You can always bathe with your baby or lie them in an inch or so of water, but we used our Shnuggle Newborn Baby Bath lots and liked it. Ines did grow out of it fairly quickly though (especially considering they say you can use it until 12 months plus… not so for us!) and then we switched to a bath seat which is for when they can sit up by themselves.
Thermometer - I got a three-in-one baby thermometer which I really liked when I wanted to check Ines' temperature quickly and easily. Of course you can use a normal one and check armpit temperature, but I found having a more high tech one to hand was helpful.
White Noise Machine - Not really an essential but for us it really has been. Ines liked white noise as she can be a bit of a light sleeper (no amount of making lots of noise when she napped as a newborn helped - that's just the way she is!) and it helped drown out household noise, of which there is a lot. I didn’t buy our machine before she was born though, and I would probably wait to see if you want to try one. My favourite one we've used is the Avantek one which is actually hard to get hold of now - no idea why. I've also used the Dreamegg one but for some reason prefer the Avantek sound and volume. I do like the portable Dreamegg though for when you are out and about. If you are worried about babies' ears, you can download a decibel meter app on your phone - the white noise should never exceed 80db, but should probably be at least around 60db to make a difference. Also, important to note you can always use a set-up of your own, you don’t need a dedicated sound machine - an old phone with a speaker… an Alexa… whatever works!
The Feeding Stuff
I decided to make this an extra category all of its own. If you plan to breastfeed it's tricky to know if you should have 'backup' bottles and formula at home or not, or whether to have a pump to hand. I think the best solution is to pick a brand and have a couple of bottles to hand (we got some Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature ones). Perhaps you might like to buy a cheaper manual pump as well just in case you need it, and maybe a few of those ready-made formula bottles. If you find you ultimately need or want to exclusively pump or formula feed, you can always buy and experiment with more products suited to this as and when you need them. Listed below are the things I bought, but as you will see I don't think all are essential.
Elvie Curve - So if you are very new to baby stuff, when you breastfeed the baby on one side, your other boob that is not in use will also experience a ‘let-down’, and produce milk, too. You’ll probably leak all over the place if you’re not wearing a breast pad! Something like the Elvie Curve is designed to catch that let-down, so that you can have milk to hand without even having to pump. I liked the Curve, but because Ines was very hit and miss with a bottle - nearly always refusing it - there wasn't much we could do with this milk. We did eventually just stop trying and I exclusively fed her until around 6 months when she could drink from a straw cup, which she took to quickly and prefers. A haakaa would work just as well I think, though the nice thing about the Curve is that you pop it in your bra - less chance of baby kicking it off during the feed and spilling milk everywhere.
Elvie Pump - I did buy one of these with the intention of pumping and getting others to help me with the occasional feed. Then, of course, we had bottle refusal. I wouldn't recommend buying an expensive pump until you know you'll get use out of it. You can always rent one from the hospital if you find you need one urgently, or do an overnight delivery of one. And also, I was never quite sure about the Elvie. I liked that it fit in my bra and was relatively silent, but I felt it could have been more effective and easy to use. I think if I were to pump a lot in the future I would get a proper Mam or Medela one. They’re big and cumbersome but they get the job done. I think the Elvie is good if you know you're going to be pumping whilst out and about because it is the subtlest option, and perhaps having two would be better and more effective than one, but I never quite got to grips with mine. Regarding pumping in general, I got so fed up with all the ins and outs of it that we decided in the end that if Ines needed the occasional feed when I wasn't there (or at least if someone was going to try and give her a feed - successful or not) then she would just have a bit of formula. No harm done! Shoutout to all the exclusively pumping mamas out there - that is some seriously hard work.
Bottles - We tried different bottles with Ines to no avail. She was more likely to take the Mam ones than anything else and I liked them the best, but it is so hit and miss. Like I said, if you plan to breastfeed just have a couple at home ready to go just in case (though babies can also cup feed or syringe feed too when they are really little), but it is hard to tell what they will and won't like until they're here.
Microwave steriliser - You can of course just use a pan of boiling water to sterilise bottles, but this is a good affordable option for sterilising a few things at once. I think if I ended up using bottles regularly I would have got a proper sterilising machine though because the whole process is quite long-winded.
Manual pump - I bought one recently - Medela Harmony Flex - which I really really like and definitely think if you want a pump at home ready-to-go pre-baby you should have one of these to hand instead of an expensive electric one. It’s effective and relatively quick, even though it’s manual. Not as useful for those that pump more often but it is good if you want help with the occasional feed and as I say, you can always add things later.
The Extras
The rest of the bits I had on my list, some of which were more useful than others.
Snot Sucker - We had the NoseFrida and it did come in handy multiple times when Ines was struggling with congestion.
Nappy bin - You don't really need one of these as long as you are changing your bins regularly. We do have an Ubbi nappy bin for upstairs in our room because we are quite a few floors up, but I think even then we probably could have survived without it as long as you've got a bin with a lid. If you feel you want one, I do like the Ubbi because it's very effective but doesn't require any special bags or those casette things that other nappy bins have which seem so wasteful and plastic-heavy.
Travel Cot - Not really necessary unless you plan to travel a lot. We also tried to bring the Snoo with us whenever we could for the first few months of Ines' life so ours didn't really start getting much use until later on. And of course, many hotels will have their own travel cots you can use, too, so it depends where you plan to be. We do get a fair bit of use out of ours now; we have the Nuna Sena Aire. It’s easy to set up and pack down, it's relatively roomy and it has an upper cot setting for when your baby is younger. You can of course actually use a 'travel' cot as your sleep setup at home - there's no reason why you have to have a more permanent fixture.
Night light - This is a nice thing to have for you during night-time feeds - a soft warm light is good to keep things dimmed and 'night-time-y' whilst still giving you enough light to be able to see what you're doing. I have a Tommee Tippee night light for Ines which is fine. People do recommend those red ones so that you don't disturb their melatonin production. No idea if that actually works but could be worth looking into.
Bath thermometer - For whatever reason I was very worried I wouldn't be able to tell if the bath was the right temperature or not - unsurprisingly, I could. Whenever we used the bath thermometer it just told me that I was right, this was the right temperature. You want it warm but not hot - shock! In all seriousness it's nice to have if you know you're going to be especially anxious about things, but you definitely don't need one.
Baby grooming stuff - One of those electric nail files might be nice but to be honest I bought one and never used it. Essentially it doesn't damage the skin at all or feel like anything on the skin but does file away at the nails, so it's a nice option when you have a wriggly baby. But I've always let Ines' nails file down naturally and when she was small they were quite soft anyway so she didn't really scratch herself. Also people say a hair brush… I had one and never used it. More important for babies with lots of hair!
Baby towels - Very cute but unsurprisingly not a requirement. Normal towels will suffice. Ines grew out of hers pretty quickly too.
Bouncer/Swing - I got so stressed out about whether I should get a bouncer or a swing or what because it really seemed like everyone had one. But these are definitely not essentials - a safe flat floor space is developmentally speaking the best place to put baby during the day if they’ll tolerate it. However I know that with high needs and sensitive babies sometimes you need a break and they don’t like lying on the floor and the comfort of the swing or being able to sit up and see you in a bouncer allows you to get that break. We did get a Babybjorn bouncer and it was nice and we used it and Ines seemed to like it, but honestly was it entirely worth it? Probably not. I will be prioritising floor time over bouncer time next time around if baby allows. This is maybe one of the things to buy after baby arrives if you feel like you need it.
Toys + Playmat - Everyone talks a lot about black and white cards and muslins and toys, but really you don't need any of that, and the black and white thing doesn't last long enough to bother spending money on it in my opinion. Baby will look at any pattern, I remember Ines liking a striped top of mine a lot. I think it is nice to have a play gym from relatively early on (though not literally the first few weeks) so they can have some comfortable floor time and something to look up at. But it was only two or three months in before I even started thinking about toys. Then it's only necessary to have a few; I liked the Oball, a Lamaze Captain Calamari, and a sensory blanket and balls.
Stuff for You
I thought this would not be a very useful new baby post without at least thinking about postpartum stuff for you. Some people swear by some of these items, items I didn't get any use out of at all. I won't comment at length on them but just let you know what I did and didn't use and you can make your own decision. Also, get ready for some TMI.
Disposable knickers - People really seem to talk a lot about disposable knickers - whether the ones the hospital gives you are nice, whether they're not nice, which ones are the best. I personally won't be bothering with specifically 'postpartum' or 'hospital-style' disposable knickers again. I liked using the Always Discreet Incontinence Pants for a few days post-hospital and then moved on to using massive maximum absorbency pads in normal knickers.
Peri bottle - I bought one and didn't use it at all. I was laser focussed on staying hydrated and so I think my wee was so watered down that it wasn't acidic enough to bother my stitches anyway.
Sitz bath - Another thing I bought and didn't use. Seemed like way too much faff for me but might be more helpful if you have more serious stitches going on down there. Perhaps something to buy afterwards if you feel you need it.
Spritz for Bits - You guessed it - I didn't use it. I think this is probably because I got off easy with my birth-related injuries. Same goes for those ice pack thingies that you can put in your knickers, too.
Clinell Contiplan All in One Cleansing Cloths - Okay I didn't buy these, the hospital gave them to me and they are AMAZING. So SOFT, so DELICIOUS. I have saved like one wipe so I never forget what they are called (although now I can just refer back to this post lol). They are essentially buttery soft wipes that I used to wipe *down there* for a while after birth. They are also moisturising and cream-based which I think helped with healing. It meant I could actually wipe and keep things clean rather than patting, which I'm sure also contributed to the fact that I never got infections or anything like that.
Breast pads - You probably won't need these instantly as your milk only starts properly coming in a few days after birth (so I didn't use them in the hospital), but they are very useful afterwards. I liked the Medela sleep bras so that I could use breast pads at night, too, and not wake up drenched.
Nursing bras - Speaking of nursing bras… these are very important! I had already bought some during pregnancy because I needed comfy bras that would accommodate my growing boobs and thought nursing bras would be a good option. I much prefer wrap style ones like the Bravado Ballet rather than the ones with clips which always seemed like too much faff for me. Plus I think the shape of the wrap ones are nicer and more flattering under clothes.
Things I Wish I'd Had
A nursing chair - This would be the big thing I'd buy myself should there be a next time round. I often found sitting up in bed during night feeds quite uncomfortable in those early months; I'm not sure if it was because of my stitches, aching muscles or the length of the feeds. A comfy nursing chair would have made a huge difference. And as they get older its nice to have a place to rock the baby without having to stand up, because they get heavy quick!
Things I Never Bothered With
Changing bag - I never missed having a proper changing bag. I've always just used a tote or shoved things into my own massive handbag. This is personal preference I think but don't feel like you need to buy one!
A wipe warmer - This is baby's preference really, from what I've read some babies really hate nappy changes for a prolonged period of time. It definitely took Ines a few days to get used to them but then she was fine.
Changing table - I know some people like these, but I always liked the flexibility of the changing mat set up that you could use anywhere. These are good for your back though if you want to be able to stand and change the baby.
Owlet sock - I never had any system like this, and from what I've heard about the amount it malfunctions I think it would probably increase my anxiety rather than soothe it. The Nanit has breathing wear so you can monitor baby's breathing through the monitor but we never used it as its incompatible with the Snoo.
So that's it my loves, well done if you made it through this mammoth post! I hope it was helpful; I wanted to write something as if I was writing a list for a friend so it is rather thorough. And of course a final point. Everyone is different and what worked for you might not work for me and vice versa. And let's not forget that each baby is an individual who has different needs and preferences, too. So please take everything I say with a pinch of salt (especially because I'm no expert myself!). If I were doing it again knowing what I know now I would have definitely made a few less purchases (and a few different ones!) and waited to see what I did and didn't need. After all, it's so easy to get hold of stuff quickly these days. We do have a joke around here though that every week I'm buying some £40 product for the baby. If you would be interested to know what my must-haves are for an older baby then let me know because I definitely have a few things now that I wouldn't be without.
Anyway, I hope this was helpful and to first-time parents reading this, you are going to be great. It's a tough but beautiful ride.
