The Professional Cinderella

Despite my best intentions, I’ve been a little quiet on here AGAIN the past few months. This time, I feel like I’ve had a perfectly valid excuse, which is that we have been thoroughly immersed in all things Clementine. Any new parent will tell you that one of the overwhelming things about having a baby is the sheer number of products available that promise to do everything, bar raise the baby for you, so for anyone who’s interested, I thought I’d document the things we have found most useful and have kept reaching for these first six months.

I do not profess to be an expert, and every baby and family is so different. Going into giving birth, I did quite a lot of research on breast pumps. In the end I was so overwhelmed by the different advice I found online that I decided to leave it and investigate further once I’d given birth and had a bit more insight. As it happened, I needed a pump from the moment I got home from hospital. My advice to any mum would be to get a portable and if possible, hands-free pump. I have no idea how I would have coped if pumping had involved me sitting stationary and plugged into a wall every time I had to do it, in fact I know it would have resulted in me giving up in the first few weeks. A double breast pump is also realistically the only way to go. You’ll never be as time-poor as you are as a new mum, and being able to express from both sides simultaneously is a huge time saver.

We invested in the Artipoppe baby carrier, which I’m sure you’ve seen celebrities wearing and endorsing, after a recommendation from a friend. I knew I would be using it every day when I walked our dogs so I wanted to make sure I got this purchase right. It’s incredibly comfortable and easy to use, and I’m absolutely thrilled with it despite the expense.

My mother-in-law bought us the Cushii before Clementine arrived, and I will admit that having never had a baby before, I seriously underestimated how useful it would be. One of the things I struggled with in the newborn days was “where do I put her?” when I needed to do things like quickly load the washing machine, or make the bed. This has been a lifesaver in a multi-level house as it’s so portable, and so handy for those times when your baby wants you in viewing range at all times.

One of the things I spent a lot of time freaking out about was what to put Clementine in to sleep- again there is SO much different information online- and how to transition from a swaddle to arms-free sleeping. Baby sleep suits like the Ergopouch are an absolute lifesaver, and the tog ratings, which take the guess work out of temperature control, are also incredibly handy.

One of the things I was most naive about was dressing a baby. I underestimated how much I’d be reaching for onesies, and had a bunch of cute ones for sleeping with feet and press stud closures. I ended up with a baby on the 97% for length, with huge feet to boot, and none of the onesies with feet even made it halfway up her legs! Thank goodness someone has already thought of the solution, and onesies with feet and hands that can fold over exist. These are the only sort I buy now. Two-way zips are also the best thing ever invented for easy changes, especially before your baby has any kind of head control. If I had my time over, I wouldn’t buy any other type as these were the ones I kept reaching for over and over.

Below are a few more of the items we’ve found to be most useful in these first six months. Some of them were surprising to me, and others I’d thoroughly researched and bought before Clementine was even born. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of choice out there, I hope this helps!

Heidi xx