Newborn Gadgets: Other Bits

The final post in the Newborn Gadgets series covering some other bits and pieces I'd highly recommend! 

I found newborn Lena surprisingly more alert and aware of her surroundings than I expected. The Bright Starts activity gym was an instant hit. Even more so when she could actually focus on objects more than 5cm away! 

We similarly found the Bright Starts Swing a life saver, for a different reason which was to generally relax her. Most of my friends found vibrating seats useless at sending them off to the land of nod, but this was a sure winner for us. The Baby Bjorn bouncer is a perfect gadget in terms of activity time when they are happily kicking away, but for quiet relax time when you're desperate for a shower a motorised swing is a must.

After week one of Lena being in our lives my wardrobe changed completely. Every top I owned was packed away and a selection of striped Bretons from Boden hung in their place. Babies love contrast and there is nothing better than being the object of your baby's wonderment. So get those stripy tops on!! 

Newborn Gadgets - Cleaning Essentials

Following on from 'Newborn Gadgets: Feeding Essentials' here is my list of cleaning essentials that I wish we had stocked up on before the little red head was born.

By nappy change number fourteen of the day you tend to want to make your life a little easier. This is why I will always sing the praises of the Tommee Tippee Sangenic nappy bin. It wraps the nappies tightly in sort of a plastic wrap so you don't have a whiffy bedroom, or the need to run outside in the pouring rain to throw out the oddly sweet/sour scented parcel in your hand. Once nappy changes reduce and poos become more predictable it's still a handy bin to have around, even without the wraps. In the beginning this really helped not to push us over the edge into crazy.

Although we mainly used cotton wool and water for Lena's nappy changes in the first few months I wish I had found Water Wipes sooner, especially during those explosives changes when you seem to be grabbing cotton ball number 500 and still not getting anywhere near clean. These are mainly water so no concerns about chemicals on your newborn's bottom.