Things I Don't Regret Buying for My Baby

Hi Guys!

It's me! I am back from my 4-month maternity break and is now ready to share my still very limited experience on motherhood.. so here goes...

5 Things I Don't Regret Buying for My Baby

• Stokke Flexi Bath and Newborn Body Support

If you’re a first-time mom like me, bathing your newborn baby can be a daunting experience. I mean, she’s tiny and fragile, and using soap and water on her will make her skin very slippery. Having to hold her firmly whilst also needing to wash her will make you feel like you want to grow octopus hands. Of course, the last thing you wanna do is to hurt her while you’re trying to bathe her. The best way to bathe a newborn baby is to place her on a sturdy yet comfortable body support and have both your hands free to do all the things you need while bathing her. I find the Stokke Flexi Bath and Newborn Body Support very useful. My baby is comfortable when placed on the body support even during her first week as it follows the natural curve of the baby’s body making bath time a very enjoyable experience for both mommy and baby. Almost 5 months down the road, my baby absolutely loves bath time. She loves it the most when I trickle water down her face! Recently, we have started using the swimtrainer and let her swim in our bath tub once a week and it is without a doubt, our favourite time of the week!

The body support attaches quite easily on the tub. The tub folds compactly for easy storage and is great for traveling too. Stokke Flexi Bath and Newborn Body Support retails are sold separately, available at Mothercare outlets. 

• Mothercare Diaper Pail

A baby wets and soils her diapers like nobody’s business. On average you will have to change her 6 times a day. Weather you use disposable or reusable diapers, a diaper pail will help you keep the odor at bay, preventing the dirty diaper smell from wafting through your home. I know there are some diaper pails in the market that are very high-tech, with stainless steel exterior and carbon filters and whatnots, but they also come with a hefty price tag. This particular one I got from Mothercare is easy to use, perfect in doing the job to control the smell, good in size, not too big and not too small; enough to contain 1 or 2 days’ worth of soiled diapers and it is affordable too. The only downside is that it doesn’t have a foot pedal for hands free usage.

• Fisher-Price Discover 'n Grow Kick and Play Piano Gym

We first introduced our baby to the activity gym when she was about 4 weeks old. She totally loves her gym time! She will start kicking the piano, gazing at her reflection from the mirror and try to grab the hanging toys. This activity gym is good to strengthen baby’s motor skills, enhance eye-hand coordination as well as help baby understand the magic of cause and effect; the piano will play different music at every kick. I find that this activity gym keeps my baby entertained for at least 15-20 minutes. I normally use it two to three times a day and it gives me enough time to do a round of laundry or steal a quick power nap while my baby is happily distracted playing with the gym!,This activity gym can be used multiple ways - whilst lying down during her newborn stage and as the baby grows the arch can be easily moved down and the piano can be swiveled up for play during tummy time or sitting down.  Something that is multifunctional and could grow with your baby is definitely worth the investment!

• Medela Freestyle Breast Pump

If you’re a planning on breastfeeding, I cannot stress enough the importance of investing on a good pump. I like the Medela freestyle for many reasons. First and foremost, I like the Medela freestyle because it is compact and lightweight so it is very easy to lug around. Next, it has a rechargeable battery. It takes a couple of hours to charge the battery to full and depending on your usage, the battery could last about 2-3 days! If you buy the complete package, two sizes of breast shields will be provided – 23mm and 27mm. I use the 27mm and it fits perfectly. I started using the pump as early as when my baby was one week old. I know that most breastfeeding textbook will tell you that you should not introduce bottle too early as it will inhibit the baby’s desire to direct feed. Well I believe that statement is not entirely true. Every baby is different in character and you have to really experiment to understand your baby. I am lucky enough that my baby does not prefer one over the other; she takes both bottle and direct feeding just the same. So mothers, do experiment. I am not encouraging bottle feeding, don’t get me wrong. I agree that direct feeding is always the best and in the perfect ideal world, every mother should direct feed. But in the real world, especially with working mothers, exclusive direct feeding is absolutely impossible. Some reviews in the internet mentioned that the suction of Medela Freestyle is not as good as hospital-grade pumps, and I really can’t compare as the freestyle is the only breast pump I own, but I can assure you this pump is the winner if portability and functionality are the two qualities you look for in a breast pump. 

• Ring Sling Baby Carrier

I am not a big fan of baby wearing, to be honest, but I was desperate. My baby hates the stroller. Whenever we go out we always ended up using the stroller as a trolley for our shopping bags and having to carry her as well, which was a pain to our shoulders and arms. The ring sling baby carrier was our savior. Our baby is happy in the ring sling, most of the time sleeping or enjoying the view and the closeness to the parental unit. Also we have both our hands free and it gives support to the baby’s weight, enough to not give us a backache after a full day outing. It is also lightweight, and easy to carry around. Just fold it and store it in the diaper bag when not in use. Now that our baby is almost 5 months old and could sit down assisted, we have started to train her in the stroller again and she has started to enjoy sitting in her stroller, so phew! However, we will still use the baby carrier for when we go out to busy areas where pushing a stroller would be an inconvenience.

Till Then, Happy Buying!

Liv