Mums, dads, grandparents, primary carers (whomever), if you are looking after a beautiful little newborn bundle of joy, there are a few things that you'll need to prepare prior to that first day when you bring home baby from the hospital.
While the the obvious might be a cot, change table and feeding chair, there are a couple more 'Big Ticket' Items that I (as a mama), as well as my little group of mamas, recommend purchasing prior to the arrival of baby.
So without further ado, let's dive in to the 'ultimate newborn list' of 'big ticket' items and the reasons why I like and recommend each item.
Cot
While this is a biggie, I genuinely feel that is not something that you need to get straight away, as I personally had our little one solely in the bassinet next to my bed for the first four-and-a-half months. After four-and-a-half months (when mini was showing signs of growing out of the bassinet - he was a tall boy), I was putting him in his cot for day naps to get him used to his own room.
Change Table
This one I am buying well before baby is earth-side. That being said the general consensus from the mama tribe is that a combination of a chest-of-drawers and change table is the way to go. Not only is this a great space-saving option, but also because it’s super handy to have all of their clothes and changing bits all in one for easy access. Those 3am feeds and changes were made a thousand times easier with changing items, extra onesies and sleep swaddles all in the one spot - A poop explosion early one morning really humbled us into realising this.
Another reason for having change table that you can stand up next to is for those c-section mamas. A fresh scar is going to make sitting awkwardly on the side of the bed or couch difficult when changing nappies. And don't even get me started about getting up from the floor - Ain't no mama got time for that - as that is worse. In this instance, do your future self a favour and get a stand up change table!
Rocking / Feeding Chair
A combination swivel chair is a great option as opposed to a traditional rocking chair as it takes up less space (rocking chairs require a larger area to accommodate legs so that might be something to think about). In addition, you can also purchase swivel/rocker recliner combo chairs and honestly, that recliner option may be your holy grail for night time feeds as you can lean back and relax as baby feeds away saving your precious neck muscles in the process.
Bassinet
After seeing so many amazing reviews and having friends who swore by it we got a snoo. What got us over the line is this: you spend so many thousand on the pram and car seat and baby doesn’t really spend so much time in there other than travel. However the first 6 months of your child’s life, they’ll spend the majority of the time sleeping, so why compromise on a cheaper side sleeper when you can get something that will intuitively assist you and your baby with their sleeping habits. Our son was sleeping through the night from 7pm till 7am (with us waking him up for a dream feed at 10pm) from 8 weeks old and I believe it was thanks to the snoo.
I have also seen online that there are other brands coming out with their own version of the Snoo, (4Moms Mamaroo Sleep Bassinet) but am not sure about these as I don't know anyone who owns one, nor I have I seen it in action, so I am not going to comment on what I don't know. Having said that, the price point is significantly lower than a Snoo and it's also available to purchase in 'Baby Bunting' stores (as opposed to having to order it online) so that's pretty handy.
Pram
'Uppababy - vista V2' has so many features to love. It has a MASSIVE basket that fits almost every baby bag known to mankind, it can accommodate two babies (or a toddler and newborn) and also can grow with the family as you can purchase a wobble board (a skateboard-like board that attaches behind the pram to stand on) for bigger kids as they get older. Also they have great accessories, like the food tray, that help to keep mini’s fed and entertained as you push so less stress and mess for you!
Another pram that we considered was the 'Bugaboo - Donkey 5'. We liked this one for one reason only, the fact that mini man (toddler) could sit side-by-side with his brother. This meant that I could have the bassinet at my eye level and the toddler seat either facing forward or backward right next to the bassinet (The Uppababy Vista V2 has the boys sitting one on top of the other with the bassinet at the bottom, something that doesn't sit quite as well with me).
All things considered though, as my toddler is already 2 and a half, the question that I needed to answer was how often would I be taking both boys anywhere where they would both need to be strapped in. If you find yourself only needing to put the pram in double mode on occasion, the Uppababy is your pram! However, if you're out and about often and feel the need to wrangle in your toddler and juggle your baby, then the Donkey 5 might be best suited to you! Weigh up the pros and cons and see what will work best for you.
Car Seat
There are many great (and safe) brands and car seats out there, however, my personal preference Britax. We purchased the Britax B-first Safe n sound for our first born, and despite the fact that he's taller than average, he is still fitting into the seat comfortably with room for further growth. To me that's worth the money as it will stay with him at least till he is three and a half. With our second, we are buying the updated version of this car seat, and I have high hopes Baby M 2.0. will have his seat for many years to come.
In addition to these two car seats in our main car, we have also purchased the Britax Safe and Sound Maxi Guard for three other cars (Yep, you read correctly... THREE), My husband's car, my mother's car and my mother-in-law's car. As we have very involved family, our first born often spends time with his grandparents, so having a car seat in their cars ensures mini man will always have a safe ride to where he needs to go.
So why Britax you ask... Britax has a fabric called ‘Tex Fabric’ and if you spill anything it doesn’t absorb but rather allows it to pool so you can quickly dry it up. This has been fantastic for us thus far with multiple milk spews as a newborn, to juice box mayhem and most recently a tonne of hot chips and tomato sauce (face palm moment). All of the spills and more were so easy to clean (much easier than mini man's clothes) and have left no stain or smell on the fabric, as nothing was absorbed! Life saver if you ask me!
Pillow bed for Couch/ Travel
We love our Dock-A-Tot! We often would day-nap our first born in the Dock-A-Tot on the lounge next to me during those first 12 weeks of recovery (I hated being in my bed so the lounge was where I perched), and as I became more mobile, I wanted our little man in full sight when I would plod around the kitchen doing odd bits (because I couldn't stay still) and the Dock-A-Tot meant I could do so without having to cart the bassinet into the living area or bring the pram inside. All this freedom and no fear at all that mini would roll off.
It's portability was another feature that came in handy when we would go to mum’s place, as I could rest him on the lounge next to us without needing a barrage of pillows (which is unsafe) to contain him. There are other similar pillows on the market, however the Dock-A-Tot was a clear choice for me as it had removable covers that I could wash, and the pillow itself had a low profile so it wasn't big to cart around.
Capsule
This was not something that I felt was necessary for me as a Mumma. With my first, we purchased a car seat and a pram with a really good sized bassinet, so the thought of spending money on yet another 'Big Ticket' item that would essentially only be used for the first few months of life seemed ludacris to me. I understood the ease and functionality of transporting from car to pram to house without waking the baby, but the con's for me, far outweighed these few pros.
The first con is that you should only have baby in the capsule for a two hours maximum at a time, so for car trips with baby followed by an outing and then another car trip home (total of let's say an hour and 40 minutes), that time could add up quickly. Why is this bad? Well the Red Nose website states that "babies left in a sitting position for a long period of time may be placed at increased risk for sudden infant death." and also that a capsule or car seat "may cause baby’s neck to flex forward which may block baby’s airway not allowing airflow". This was the clincher for me and I avoided the capsule at the time. With that in mind, my first born was super easy to manoeuvre in and out of the pram and car seat without waking up or being distressed, so I honestly had no issue not having the capsule back then.
Being pregnant the second time around, the thought of organising baby and a toddler on a 'quick' outing gave me chills. So I brought the topic up with the mama's around me. Most of the mama's onto their second mini swore by the capsule! So back on my list it went - however Baby M 2.0. had other plans... He is big, and my placenta is low lying so into the operating theatre for a c-section I will go!
Why no capsule then... well, when you have a C-Section, you can only lift the weight of your baby for the first 6 weeks (or thereabouts) so you will be unable to lift the weight of the capsule (+6 kgs at least) and your baby during that time so unless you have a support person who will be able to do the heavy lifting for you at any given time, there is no point in having that capsule. In addition, if your child is anything like my first and grew faster than the speed of sound, the capsule won't last you very long at all.
For this reason I will always recommend either the bassinet that comes with your pram or a front carrier (whereby you wear baby on your chest), plus your car seat of course.
So there you have it! From Mama Interrupted and the community of mama's, based on our experience being mama's in the 2020's.... the ultimate baby list of big ticket items.
If you like the content and want to know what else you might need for your baby and why please follow along and we will endeavour to keep you in the loop.
In addition, if you would like to know about specific items and what was purchased where, please email at hello@mamainterrupted.com.au and I can keep you further in the updated.
xoxo
Mama Interrupted
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