When you become a parent, advice spouts forth from every corner. Everyone has the ‘best advice’ for your new baby.
There is everything from the mundane - nappies, to the ridiculous - a snot sucking contraption. As a seasoned mom of three and baby care expert these are my top 5 must-have, nice-to-have and waste-of-money baby products:
Must haves
Car seat
It’s a safety issue, not a nice-to-have. Nothing makes me more infuriated than seeing a baby or toddler on a parent’s lap in the car or worse still - unrestrained.
Swaddle
A swaddling blanket in the early days (0-12 weeks) is a lifesaver – decreases crying and helps baby sleep longer.
Baby carrier
Having a hand’s-free-kit and a method of soothing an irritable little one is essential. A good carrier must be comfortable for you and your baby. It should be safe and easy to use.
Good quality nappies
Super absorbent nappies make night times a whole lot less disrupted because they quickly absorb the urine away from the sensitive bottom skin, decreasing the chance of nappy rash and discomfort.
Dummy
In my opinion, a dummy is a must have. Babies can be very fussy in the early days and a dummy is a sure-fire way to sooth your little one.
Nice to have
Electric breast pump
This is a real nice to have and if they weren’t so expensive would be on my must have list. Breastfeeding can be a tough task to master and an electric breast pump is not only great if you go back to work and need to leave expressed breast milk for your baby but in addition, if you are challenged to keep your milk supply up, an electric pump makes a huge difference.
Pram
Not essential but certainly nice to have. Helps with getting your baby around, especially if you are a city-girl.
Picture: Flickr
Muslin wraps
These wonderful oversized lightweight blankets are great for our warm South African summers.
Sterilizer
Sterilizing is only really essential in the early days and as soon as your baby is mobile, really is not needed. So I would go with an inexpensive option or even rather use the dishwasher – it gets hot enough in the steam part of the cycle to do the job for you.
Sleeping bags
Great for keeping baby safely warm at night – if you have spare cash or a generous best friend – this is a good product to have.
Waste of money
Walking ring
These are worse than a waste of money – they are dangerous and hamper your baby’s development – don’t even go there.
Baby sunglasses
Have you ever tried to keep sunglasses on a baby’s face? I have yet to see them successfully used.
Snot sucker
I have already mentioned that I think a snot sucker is the strangest product imaginable – maybe I never got it right or maybe just the idea of sucking the end of a tube with the other end inserted into my baby’s nose to remove the snot was just a little out there for me. Whatever it is, I suggest rather using a saline nose spray to clear your little one’s nose.
Wipe warmers
The idea seems a good one – instead of wiping your baby’s toosh with a cold wet wipe, this contraption warms them. I am really of the opinion that this is only an issue for a few weeks and your money could be way better spent.
Hear Meg Faure speak as part of the #MeetUp series taking place wihtin the UK’s number one parenting event The Baby Show. The show is making its debut, September 28 to 30, at Kyalami International Convention Centre.