A Few Of My Favourite (Baby) Things...

Probably the MOST overwhelming thing in preparation for baby, is the multitudes of stuff you have to buy. Antenatal classes and glucose tests are a breeze compared to the barrage of products you’re faced with. So, I thought I’d share some of my favourite baby items with you. I’ll save the ‘could have done without this’ post for another day.

Baby Jogger City Mini GT

So if you’ve heard that choosing a pram is like choosing a car, it is true! I did a lot of research and decided the Baby Jogger City Mini GT was for us. We went and checked it out, tested it etc. and we loved it! But then looking around the giant sea of prams, we second guessed ourselves. So back to square one we went.

When choosing a pram we were looking for something compact, easy to use and easy to fold up. My husband’s main requirement as knowing me as well as he does, he knew if it was too hard to put up and down, I just would never use it. Lots of the prams were so wide that I knew they would be a hassle getting through doorways and shopping aisles. Then we considered getting one that can attach a toddler seat, but then who knew if we would be able to have more babies or if J would even still be using this when another one came along.

A lot of people require a rear facing pram. This didn’t bother us. We never planned to use it so much that this would be a concern. I read somewhere that forward facing prams tend to see children have poor language skills. This worried me at first, then I got a grip and thought, why is it that these rear facing children are only building language skills whilst in a pram? HA! Are their parents not spending time with them OUTSIDE the pram to develop them? I also read that babies become overstimulated by forward facing. What a load of crock. J LOVES facing outwards and surveying the big, wide world around him.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. We eventually went back to the City Mini GT and haven’t looked back since. We ended up buying the bassinet and paid $249AUD for it. We weren’t going to get it originally, but we wanted somewhere that J could sleep in when we were out. It’s served that purpose well especially at my brother in laws wedding recently. He falls asleep really easily in it. He is almost 3 months now and I think by 4 months he’ll be too long for it. But I still think it was money well spent. However, you could totally get away with not buying it! The pram lies flat enough for a newborn baby.

Baby Jogger has made an amazing one handed folding mechanism. It is just so cool, I can’t rave about it enough!!! One hand and bam it’s folded. It’s also fairly light weight. We got ours in black and I love the black, so chic. But it also comes in a few brighter colours. The GT wheels are excellent and that bit bigger than some other prams, but without making the whole thing too wide. The GT also has a huge sun visor that comes right down over baby and shields them from the sun (and prying strangers eyes in public).

This pram usually retails for approximately $599AUD but we once again waited for a sale (9 months pretty much guarantees you’ll get things on sale) and we only paid $499. Not a huge saving, but better than full price. I would happily have paid full price for this pram though.

If I have one criticism of this pram, it is that the basket is a tad too small and hard to reach when not using the bassinet. However, for what we use this for, walks, quick shopping trips etc. it’s really not an issue for us.  Overall, I love this pram and would buy it again and again. I’m all for ease of use and this has to be the easiest one out there (that I tried out at least – and trust me, I tried thousands).

Lamaze Pond Symphony Motion Gym

When shopping for baby products, my husband and I had no idea how valuable a good play mat would be. We bought a cheap one thinking it would barely get used…so naïve. After a couple of months, someone we know bought this for my niece and J loved it. It isn’t cheap (retailing for $99AUD) but we waited until it was on sale ($49AUD) and snatched it up at Myer.

This mat plays two different tunes. One is a more upbeat, space themed kind of music. Honestly, this one drives me a little bonkers but it’s J’s favourite! The other is a more calming and peaceful melody. It has been known to put J to sleep too on those days he just does not want to go down, score!

The two arms move around so baby can track the arms and the dangling toys as they move about above. It’s almost like a giant mobile. The hanging toys consist of a squeaky duck, a jingling frog and turtle, a butterfly with crispy (seriously what’s the word I’m after there?) wings, a leaf shaped teething toy and a discovery mirror.

The mat itself is a generous size and has some parts that crisp when baby touches them. The batteries lasted 3 weeks for us, and that’s with this being on for hours every single day. In fact, last night the batteries died and we had no replacements and I had a mini freak out because J will be so upset when he wakes up. He really loves this play mat and therefore, so do I. There’s so much for baby to look at and play with and the fact it moves and plays tunes makes for endless hours of baby fun! Personally, I’ve found the noisier a toy the better. J loves noise and I think that exposing him to noise has also helped with sleeping through loud noises, i.e. the vacuuming. I know there are a lot of play mats that only play quiet sounds and to me, that’s not interesting enough.

Mimco Lucid Baby Bag

Hands down, without a doubt, the best baby bag ever! The Lucid Baby bag by Mmco is so practical and also looks amazing (BONUS)! I actually have two. They are BIG! I can fit so much stuff for J and me in my bag. I don’t carry a handbag, just this.

It comes with the change mat, wet bag, is fully waterproof, lots of different compartments and pockets to store things. And it comes in black, beige, leopard print (my favourite), pink and navy. This bag retails for $250, yes not cheap! But I think with how often you use it (EVERYDAY), it justifies itself. I managed to get my second one on sale for $129 as the leopard print was clearance stock.

I like that even when J grows up, I can use it as an overnight bag, or carry on for the plane. I also love that it doesn’t look like a nappy bag, it just looks nice. You might be wondering if it is so big, how do I take it places. Well, I take it most places. If I am going to the supermarket quickly or something, I take a nappy wallet but leave this in the car. Too easy!

Angelcare Sound and Movement Monitor

I had heard mixed opinions about fancy monitors like these. Some said they weren’t needed, some said they caused more fear than anything and others said they were a necessity. Then a friend told me how it saved the life of a baby she knew. So, off I went to get one. We actually didn’t use it for the first 12 weeks. We only used it once J transitioned from Moses Basket to his cot. With J’s Moses Basket, it sat right next to my bed, as in I couldn’t’ get out of bed cause it was in the way. I had to scoot to the end. His cot however, is about a metre from my bed, so just that little distance makes me a little more anxious. I can’t hear his breathing as well. Also, the cot is bigger and he has more room to wriggle. Him suffocating under his blanket is a big fear of mine. But I have slept so well the last few nights knowing his sensor pads are working.

The monitor comes with two sensor pads and two portable parent units. If your baby doesn’t breathe for 20 seconds, it beeps. You have to remember to turn it off when picking baby out of the cot or it can make for a pretty loud and unnecessary morning (or middle of the night) wake up call for anyone else sleeping –my husband.

The monitor also tells the temperature of the room, which I find really handy. It helped me realise that J needed an extra blanket on last night as the room was only 16 degrees Celsius.

I just love the peace of mind of having the sensors there. I hope our baby never stops breathing, but if he does, I feel so reassured knowing the monitor will alert us so we can take necessary steps! I highly recommend this system. It has not made me more paranoid at all! The sound is great, no static or anything and it is so audible. J is 2 metres from the main part of the system and it still picks up every noise. I love sitting in the lounge room and hearing his musical monkey playing and his little cooing in his sleep.

Grovia Cloth Nappies

I’m going to do a post on cloth nappies (diapers) soon, but I have to add these to this list. I ADORE them!!! They are so easy to use and super cute too. Everyone loves a colourful, padded bum right? Stay tuned for that post, especially if you’re a first time Mum or you’re just thinking about making the switch.

There are other items I really love, but these are my top favourites that I use pretty much everyday. I’ll post some more favourites in the future. Hope this helps anyone on the fence about these products or just looking for new items to buy.