If your planning or pulling together your baby’s nursery you’ve probably thought of the big things like a wardrobe and a cot but there may be some other items that you haven’t considered or think you can do without.
I’ve put together a list of some of the nursery essentials that I used everyday even though I wasn’t sure I really needed them before our baby was born.
Tommee Tippee Sangenic Nappy Disposal Bin
I really didn’t think I would need a specific nappy bin, I was convinced I would just use nappy bags and put them in our normal bin. Oh my days I couldn’t have been more wrong. There is nothing quite like the smell of a dirty nappy and I can tell you, you do not want that in your kitchen bin! Also, you will be going through about 10 nappies a day in the beginning so your bins are going to be overflowing and you’ll be forever out in the garden taking out the rubbish.
I like this bin because it wraps the nappies in the bags like sausages which makes it really easy to empty when it’s full and the refills are often on special offer on Amazon so you can stock up on them.
Be warned though this bin is not magic and there will be some nappies it just can’t handle, get those bad boys straight in the outdoor wheelie bin!
aden + anais Jungle Jam Giraffe Easy Swaddle
Before Amelia was born I wasn’t sure if I wanted to swaddle her. I guess I had hoped I wouldn’t need to but it soon became clear that she needed the security of swaddling at night to keep her arms under control.
I would not have survived without Velcro or ready made swaddles, I just couldn’t get my head or my hands around how to wrap her tightly enough in a blanket or muslin to keep the swaddle together. Simply popping her inside the ready made swaddle and fastening it up where life savers, especially at 4am after a night feed when everyone just wants to go back to bed.
The Gro Company Gro-Egg Room Thermometer
If someone asked you how warm your house is would you know? I didn’t have a clue, what does 18C even feel like? Turns out babies need their rooms to be a specific temperature (between 18-20C) to keep them comfortable.
If it’s too hot or too cold they’re not likely to settle and you’re probably going to have an unhappy baby on your hands. I loved the Gro Egg mainly because it glowed to give you an indication if the room was the correct temperature; blue for too cold, yellow is just right, orange is a little on the warm side and red is too bloody hot.
It’s portable too so you can move it to the living room during the day to make sure your babe is as comfortable as possible, at least you know that’s not why they’re crying…
Lindam Automatic Nursery Safety Sensor Light
We all want our babies to get used to sleeping in the dark but it is nice to have a little light so that you can see them and check on them. This is also super handy for night feeds and sleepy nappy changes.
This night light also senses dawn and dusk and switches itself on and off for you so that’s one less thing for your over tired mum brain to think about.
Oh how I love my nursery chair, that gentle rocking motion and the super soft padding, it’s so nice to have someone comfortable to sit and feed your baby in the middle of the night. Or sit together in the mornings, read a book together or you could just sit there and watch your baby sleep if you really wanted to.
I loved being able to take myself away from the bedroom to feed in the night, firstly because I found it gave me really bad backache trying to breast feed in bed and we would disturb my husband for a good hour when he had to go to work the next day. I didn’t want to go have to downstairs to feed her either so this chair was perfect.
Don’t wait for baby to be born to make use of this though, it’s great when your expecting too. Put your sore swollen feet up on the footstool and rock away the day reading birthing books and getting all your ducks in a row.
My Breast Friend Feeding Pillow
Some mothers can just feed their babies whilst they lie in their arms, I was not and am still not one of those mothers. I would be absolutely knackered without my breast feeding pillow! Fact!
The Gro Company Gro Anywhere Blackout Blind
Black out blinds or curtains are such a great idea, I originally thought that normal curtains would be fine as I wanted my baby to be able to sleep in light and dark. Then someone reminded me that twice a year we change our clocks and it majorly screws with children’s sleep habits.
Black out for us it is then, that extra hour in bed is far too precious to lose and I think it is great for our baby to be able to sleep in the dark. Hopefully she won’t be scared of the dark when she gets bigger.
I love the Gro blind because you can literally take it with you anywhere which can be really helpful you go on holiday and your accommodation doesn’t have black out curtains. Just stick up your blind and there you have it, instant darkness and hopefully a peaceful night’s sleep.
I’ve just written a review about Ewan and all the things I love about him which you can read here. All I will say is don’t knock it until you’ve tried it and once you’ve tried it you won’t be able to live without it.
If you’ve read any of my previously posts you will know I am an enormous fan of this piece of kit. I can honestly say I don’t know how we would ever live without out and for the mean time I don’t intend to find out.
If you want a full breakdown, check out my review here.
I honestly didn’t realise that I would need new baby hangers for all her clothes. I’m not really sure why I thought her little outfits would fit on normal hangers, have you ever hung a baby grow on an adult hanger. It’s hilarious, the little arms just stick out straight to the sides. Not a good look and not good for the clothes either, they end up all stretched out of shape.
These hangers are great because you can adjust them as your child gets bigger and their clothes get larger, no need to buy more hangers.
A little like my naivety with the clothes hangers, I thought there was no way I would need separators for her wardrobe but when you’re swimming in baby clothes it’ll be really hard to tell a new born from a 0-3 months size. You’d think it would be easy to tell the sizes apart but it’s actually not, plus these are super cute and have animals on them. Who doesn’t love little animals.
Any new mum who tells you she’s happy to change her baby’s nappy on the floor deserve a medal as far as I am concerned. After my C-section I couldn’t even get into my own bed let alone kneel on the floor to change 10 nappies a day. Nope, not happening.
A changing unit or cot top tray are essential in my book, plus the units provide handy storage for all those nappy and bath time items that most definitely won’t fit in the bathroom cupboard alongside all my hair products.
These are my must have items in my nursery, things I thought I wouldn’t really need or make the most use of but they have saved my bacon more times than I can count and I can’t imagine how I would have gotten through the first few months of motherhood without them.
Rachel xx
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