Images: c/o Babydino.com
one / two / three / four / five / six / seven With everyone around you telling you the things you need, don't need, shouldn't waste your money on, should invest good money on etc etc, it's pretty hard to keep track of what you do need! Don't let others take the fun away for you and buy what you want to buy, every baby is different so just because your friends baby hated her bouncer, doesn't mean it won't be a life saver for you! Teething Toys Abbie has always been pretty good with her teething, we've tried different teething toys and she would just chuck them on the floor and never look at them again! We were recommended to get a Sophie le giraffe as its actually the post popular teething toy on the market, and used by a huge range of celeb parents too! Abbie LOVED her Sophie straight away, especially one of the legs, it was always in her mouth! Plus now she's a toddler she loves the squeak on it too and it always makes her giggle! I can't say much for other teething toys as we've not had much success with them but I can't recommend Sophie enough!
Weaning products Whether you start weaning at 4 months or 6 months or even later, you will probably feel so overwhelmed walking into a baby store and there are 3 aisles on 'feeding essentials' things you didn't even know existed and others you just cant quite figure out..Personally you only really need some plastic bowls, their first set of cutlery (if they do use it, Abbie can use them but prefers to use her hands!). We used a magic mat from Tommee Tippee too because Abbie likes to throw her bowls or plates on the floor so it was perfect for her to learn how to properly scoop her food out of the bowl too! When it comes to sippy cups, its trial and error really, I think we tried Abbie with about 8 different brands and spouts before we found the right one, I worried so much about her getting dehydrated because she just wouldn't drink anything! We then tried her with a straw like cup and went for the Nuby one, it worked from day 1 and she took to it straight away! So just be patient and try lots of cups!
Bigger products I didn't know what to put as the title here haha, but things like the highchair, car seat, cots, bouncers and swing etc, all the things that tend to cost the most but are the super essentials! For me I would have to say for next time we will DEFINITELY be getting a swing, if he/she is the same as Abbie, they will need motion to get them to sleep, so thats at the top of our essentials list, preferably one that rocks back and forth as well as side to side! The next is the car seat, you can't actually leave the hospital unless you have one so it's pretty important!! My personal favorite brand is Cosatto, they have such a gorgeous range packed full of personality, citable from birth right up until they no longer need it! High chairs! I say 's' because what might be suitable when they first start weaning might not be good for when they get slightly older, we started with a Baby Bjorn highchair which was perfect at first, until Abbie decided she wanted to try and get out of the chair, and although it was secure, I felt much more at ease with the Cosatto 3sixti as it had straps and harness!
When it comes to how much to spend, I would say it's always better to spend more on the bigger things that will be used for a long time, that way your money will go further and you won't be wasting anything! Weaning products are usually suitable from the recommended 6 months until they start using adult plates and cutlery, but they're also really good prices so thats one less thing to worry about! The same goes for the car seat, invest in a 1-2-3 one, suitable from birth until forever, it can be adjusted through different stages whilst ensuring complete safety too! If it's your first baby, you're allowed to go a little overboard, i'm giving you permission, it's ok!! :). I felt like I kinda missed out on certain things because we listened too much on what every around us was saying, so if you want to buy a wipe warmer, you go for it, you want a £200 swing, go get em! You live and learn as parents and its all trial and error too, if you end up spending a bit of money on something and never use it, you can either save it for the next one or sell it on! What are your baby and toddler essentials?
