Mummy Stuff I love

When you're a mum to be, people will tell you all the stuff you need and can't live without. Some are common sense, however some are an absolute waste of money. It's easy to see why you think you can't live without some stuff, but in reality most of the stuff you buy, you look at in a few months time and think, "what possessed me to buy this?!"

So, there's some things that as a mummy, I may have never even considered whilst pregnant, but I could never do without now.

A big THUMBS UP for some of my favourite stuff.


1

Cloth nappies 

I couldn't be without my beautiful stash of cloth nappies. This is not a complete stash...this is barely half my stash, but I'm pretty addicted to buying them.

I never in a million years thought I'd be a mum who used cloth nappies. I just thought they were terry squares, and they were outdated and a lot of hard work. How wrong I was.  I absolutely couldn't go back to disposables now. They're not a faff or an inconvenience at all. They don't cause extra work either; apart from one extra wash every other day they are pretty much like disposables, except they don't stink of that disgusting chemical smell (if you have a baby in nappies, and don't know what that chemical smell is, you've become accustomed to it.) They don't make my daughter's botty sore, and they are better for the environment of course.  And did I mention how pretty they are?!?! And there's nothing like seeing them out on the line drying!
We have had quite a few explosive poops, leaking out of disposable nappies. I've also had a leak at night in a disposable too, but I've never had a poop leak out of a cloth, and she's never wet in the morning either after a night in a cloth nappy.
There are tons of types of cloth nappies. Everyone like different ones for different reasons. I have lots of Bumgenuis all in one's which I really like. But my absolute favourite is the Mio Solo. I only have one (as I can't justify buying any more nappies at the moment), but I love it.  It's a good size, the pocket is a good size and even hubby can get his hand in the pocket easily, it feels lovely and fits really well. Not only that, it is reliable. I am pleased to say, that after a few weeks of disapproval from the hubby, he was soon won over to the joys of cloth, and is an avid cloth nappy supporter!!!

2

Moby Wrap.  

Unfortunately, my little girl isn't so little now, and is too big for the Moby Wrap, so we have a woven wrap instead (which I love too). A Moby Wrap is a stretchy, very long piece of fabric. There are various ways to wrap your baby in it to carry her around. Once baby gets over a certain weight though, they don't support baby as well and it's best to change to a woven wrap, which is what I have done.
But I loved my Moby wrap and I still have it as it reminds me of newborn snuggles and many an hour of wandering around with her cuddled into me like a little koala bear, fast asleep and with a very happy little look on her face.
Here we are in Devon, on a pier, enjoying the sunshine, and not having to worry about getting a pram onto the train and boat ride we are about to take.

I have to say, the pram/travel system we bought was a bit of a waste of money for the number of times we used it. I could definitely have survived with just my Moby wrap and a car seat. There's lots of advantages to having your baby in a sling or wrap. For example, you can get on with the housework with them in the wrap and have 2 hands free, and they will sleep or watch you work. Plus, the closeness is good for their development and security. This is me and Georgia with a Mai-Tei - a different type of sling, but equally as useful. 

Every mum should have a wrap or sling (but not a crotch-dangler carrier! they're very bad for a baby's spine).

3

 Cuddle-dry towel. 

More recently acquired, as it was a gift, is the most soft and cuddly towel ever!It's a toddler towel so it's lovely and big, and I don't think I could describe how soft it is. It's like being dried with a huge piece of cotton wool. I absolutely love it. Now, technically speaking I could probably live without it, but....I wouldn't want to! It's too soft, and I want one for myself. Cuddle-dry, you should make adult towels so mummy can match with her baby!!   

Here's my little angel with her cuddly "Cuddle Dry" towel

4

Burts Bee Diaper Ointment

Burts Bee Baby products are lovely, especially their nappy cream (annoyingly called Diaper Ointment). It's the bestest most amazing product of its kind. My little one has only had a sore botty a couple of times, and that was because of a record number of poops in one day. I've tried various creams, but none are as effective, easy to apply, delicious smelling, or long lasting as Burts Bee Diaper Ointment.   Don't let the name put you off.
One application clears up any soreness or rashes. I only apply it at night because she goes a good 12 hours in one nappy overnight. She doesn't need cream any other time because we use re-usable nappies so doesn't get sore. I also use their shampoo and wash and it lasts months as you don't need much.  And I used the Burts Bee belly butter when I was pregnant. I applied every day and still have 1/4 pot left !!! Their products are just so amazing...you only need a bit so they last for ages! No stretch marks for me. Not sure if it was down to the cream or good genes, but it was lovely stuff either way and if I'm blessed with another baby, I wouldn't take the risk and would be applying every morning again!

Most importantly, their products are chemical and nasty-stuff free, so are very safe for little ones' sensitive, precious skin. I never use products on her skin that are full of chemicals and horrible stuff. When it comes to what we put on our skin and hair, we use products that are actually full of all sorts of things that are not nice (check the label on your shampoo/body lotions/shower gel and research what some of those long weird words are, and you'll be surprised they're allowed to be used!!).   These nasty things penetrate the skin and scalp and enter our bodies. It pays to spend a little more on quality products for our precious bundles in my opinion. But I find that in reality, they don't work out any more expensive because they last so long, they're really economical.

Other fab products....

I also couldn't have lived without breast-shells. These are little plastic devises that collect any surplus milk (oh yes, the joys of leaking milk!!) which, if you sterilise them, you can store the milk and use it in your baby's breakfast, or if they're too young for solids, you can freeze it for later use. You can't use them at night though (or if lying down, or bending over as the milk will spill out and that's not nice, believe me).  Oh, and for the record, disposable breast pads are horrible. Re-usable are so much nicer as they're so soft and not scratchy.

So what was a waste of money - apart from the travel system.....

- A nappy disposal system.

These are bins with a very expensive cartridge that you put disposable nappies in. It supposed to make life easier and keep all nasty smells away.  I have one of these. At first I thought it was fine as babies poop doesn't smell when they're on milk (well, they don't if they're breastfed....not sure about formula).  So for 6 months it was all fine. But when we started solids.....yukk! I switched to cloth nappies when little one was around 7months old, and the majority of her poop goes in the toilet, so just the wipes and cotton wool goes in the nappy disposal system. But YUKKKK. It does not keep the smell in at all. and the cartridges are so expensive.  A pack of nappy bags is so much cheaper.

- A cot mobile

Some people may think they're great. But I have rarely used ours. The reason why is that she was in a moses basket for about 5 months, then by the time she was old enough and big enough to go in the cot, she knew what she liked to get to sleep, and the cot mobile wasn't it! She preferred mummy cuddles, milky snuggles and mummy's terrible singing. I only used the cot mobile at nappy changing times if she was a bit cranky.