The first few months of parenthood are a like a giant slap in the face, so now the sting has just about worn off, I wanted to share my five very best buys - all of which saved my sanity, repeatedly. So, if you're a parent to be, or buying a gift for one, or even an old hand at the parenting stuff and just looking for inspiration - here's the list below. I've included the links just in case it helps...
1. Love to Dream Swaddle
The very first time we wrangled the Kraken into this, it worked. I cried. Big, fat, tired tears. This incredible (and super sweet) zip-up swaddle is the SOLE reason the Kraken started sleeping off me or my husband and on his own, for longer than 15 minutes. That night, for the first time in about seven weeks, I slept for longer than two hours. The Kraken felt so secure and bundled up that the chest-bed of mum or dad was no longer required, and we were FREE!
It's incredibly easy to use, even with a world-champion flailing Kraken-type, with a glorious zip rather than ruddy pop-studs or an old-fashioned swaddle wrap that can get kicked off in about 30 seconds. Such is my love for this swaddle that I even wrote a slightly overly-emotional love letter to Love to Dream, thanking them for saving my life. But I genuinely think they did.
[We bought ours from Jo Jo Maman Bebe]
2. The Perfect Prep Machine
This is the ultimate for bottle feeders - you'd be hard pressed to get a boob out quicker than this bad boy can whip up a fresh bottle of formula at exactly the right temperature. In the days of demand feeding in the night, being able to plug the Kraken's screaming maw with a warm bottle of milk in under two minutes was wonderful. I bow down to this machine every day, so if you're even considering bottle feeding, you need it in your life.
[Got ours at John Lewis]
3. Sophie the Giraffe
Long before the Kraken's first two teeth cut through last week (holy crap, now he's armed...), he was drooling and gnawing and whinging for weeks beforehand. Then we bought Sophie, and.... silence. A silence only punctuated with the soft sounds of little gums squeaking against Sophie's rubbery face, and satisfied little gurgles.
It doesn't matter which bit of Sophie ends up in their mouths, as every angle offers perfectly soft resistance for their painful gums. Essential.
[Another John Lewis job]
4. Skiphop Tree Top Baby Activity Gym
This mat has been used every single day since the Kraken was about 7-8 weeks old, when he deigned to let us put him down for more than ten seconds. From the days when he half-blindly, (almost) placidly just stared at the animals to the pulling/kicking/gripping/gnaw-fest of today, this mat has kept on entertaining him. He loves the mirror on the apple, the bell in the owl and the chewing the wooden ring on the bird... hell, the relatively boring squirrel even cracked him up for no apparent reason for a time. Plus- from a dull mummy perspective, I've washed it a dozen times and it still looks as good as new, and takes barely two minutes to set up or take down for travelling. Winner.
[You've guessed it... John Lewis]
5. Your Baby: Week by Week - Simone Cave & Dr Caroline Fertleman
You know how people say babies don't come with a manual? Rubbish. This is it. Does what it says on the tin - it tells you, week by week, exactly what to expect, plan for and do - in very nice, easy, bitesize chunks of text, almost as though the authors knew it would have to be accessible to desperate, exhausted, teary people with about three functioning brain cells left to call their own. Absolutely fantastic, very practical and I referred to it several times a week for the first few months, a must have.
[Got ours at good ol' Waterstones]
No comments:
Post a Comment