But don’t panic - many products you can borrow from friends or buy second-hand. Others you just don’t need. Every mum has their favourite gadget – here are some of the best products that Families mums swear by. Pushing Top of the list of things you’ll need is a pram. However, selecting one can be like negotiating a minefield. Does it need to fit in the car, or on the bus? Do you walk a lot? Do you have a toddler, or two? If you live in a top floor flat go with a lightweight fold-up buggy, if you’re tramping across fields every day a three-wheeler might be better. Prams can cost more than a month’s mortgage, so choose carefully. Bugaboo, iCandy and Stokke are still favourites but depending on what add-ons you choose you could be saying goodbye to over £1000. We love the limited edition Liberty Quest from Maclaren, as well as their Cath Kidston buggy, both of which cost considerably less. The new pram on the block is the Babystyle Oyster, which looks great and is less expensive than its rival travel systems. Another big fave is the Uppababy, recently judged as a ‘Best Buy’ by Which? Magazine and with features including reversible seat, carrycot and compatible car seat. What has really got us excited is the 4moms Origami Pushchair. It’s not cheap but will fold itself away at the touch of a button. It also has pathway lights and will charge your phone when on the go! The LCD dashboard includes thermometer, speedometer and odometer, so you can keep check of the distances travelled. Yikes! It may be the future of travel systems, but with this amount of technology, you might decide a reliable Maclaren buggy will be a safer bet. Carrying When my firstborn came along the choice of slings was limited to Baby Bjorns and wrap-arounds that nobody could work out how to use. Now, there are ring slings and pouch slings, backpacks and soft-structured carriers. Take advantage of www.slingmeet. co.uk, which organises meet-ups across the UK for mums to testdrive different slings. The Lifft sling consistently comes out on top as it spreads the baby’s weight, reducing back strain. Baby K’Tan is different from many carriers as it’s a sling-wrap hybrid – too complicated for me but there are plenty of mums who love it! For a ring sling the Joovy Baba is a favourite. Our must-buy is theErgobaby. It is comfortable, easy to use and can be worn as a backpack as well as in front. Beware though – baby slings are often voted ‘most useless’ product by parents! Feeding Believe it or not, you can spend over £400 on a high chair! Everyone’s favourite is the Stokke Tripp Trapp as it ‘grows’ with your child but it comes with a price tag of over £150. John Lewis’ East Coast highchairs are another top choice, at less than half the price. Or IKEA’s easy-clean Antilop Highchair is a snip at £12. For a futuristic pod try Mamas and Papas’ Loop - it fits neatly under your table, looks like an office chair and costs nearly as much. If you want to buy top end, the bloom fresco chrome boasts designer looks in a myriad of colours, pneumatic height adjustment and the ability to spin 360 degrees. Another option is to do away with the chair altogether and invest in a Lobster seat from Phil and Teds that screws onto your tabletop. Mountain Buggy do a similar one called Pod Portable. Sleeping Most mums tell us you don’t need to splash out on a moses basket, cotandcot-bed. Your pram is perfect for daytime naps, and at night even a tiny newborn is fine in a cot-bed – block off one end by rolling up blankets. We love the Ryeland Cot-Bed from The Little Green Sheep, and the Stokke Sleepi Convertible Nursery Bed which starts as a crib, becomes a cot, then a junior bed and finally either two chairs or a sofa! Another favourite is the Alex cot-bed from John Lewis, at a tenth of the price.
If you want to share your bed with your baby but are concerned about the risk of smothering, go for the Arms Reach Universal Co-Sleeper Bedside Cot, which always gets 5-star reviews. Invest in some good blackout blinds – our favourite is the Gro Anywhere Blackout Blind from Gro Company. Those little things we can’t do without… Top tips from Families mums that will make life with a newborn a whole lot easier! • a dimmer switch in the nursery is the single most effective thing I ever invested in. A nightlight will also do the trick • avoid tripping over stairgates and buy a retractable one, such as Lascal Kiddyguard • warm mist humidifier, although it could also go in the Most Useless category. Instead, pour hot water into Tupperware • get a baby seat for the bathtub. They free up your hands, save your back and are cheap as chips • cot mobile • dummy, with a dummy clip so it doesn’t go astray • nursing pillow such as My Brest Friend. Provides back support and encourages correct position for feeding • we love Pink Lining changing bags. If you want to follow the celebs go for the Sofia by Storksak • Neals Yard Baby Barrier (a pricier version of Sudocrem) lasts forever and is excellent • organic food and toiletries, best for baby, best for the health of the planet • almost everyone we know swears by Lansinoh cream if you are breastfeeding • a baby nasal aspirator so you don’t have to do the sucking out yourself! Try Chicco Physio Nasal Aspiration Kit • Calpol, of course! Use a syringe instead of a spoon. Calgel for sore gums and Infacol to prevent wind. Homeopathy is great for babies - use a qualified practitioner and build a relationship early. Aromatherapy is great for baby massage and burning essential oils aids sleep • Vanish stain remover, and lots of it! …and those products mums thought were a waste of money! • the worst culprit of all has got to be the pop-up travel cot. Travel cots are bulky and impossible to assemble (most holiday destinations provide them anyway) but pop-ups are so lightweight they become useless the minute your baby can roll over • baby monitors. If you do use one, chose a monitor that doesn’t emit Electro Magnetic Radiation, as most work on WIFI. See recommended ones here: http://bit.ly/1dSZI1P • bottle warmers. They take an age and don’t work very well. I always use a jug of hot water. (Best to avoid microwaving baby’s milk. ) • nappy stackers Nope, I’d never heard of them either, and disposal bins • bouncy chair, baby swing, playmat, door bouncer and Bumbos. Borrow them! • baby-weighing scales • pram sunshades • hooded baby towels • bath thermometer • newborn-sized feeding bottles. Use normal bottles with a newborn teat Top Tips Compare products and read reviews before you buy at www. babyworld.co.uk, www.babycentre.co.uk, www.askbaby.com, www.which.co.uk Buy second hand from www.ebay.co.uk, www.gumtree.co.uk, www.craigslist.co.uk or check out NCT sales. For new products www.ikea.com, www.mothercare.com, www.kiddicare.com, www.babiesrus.co.uk, www.johnlewis.com, www.mamasandpapas.com Oxfordshire
March / April 2014
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