Top Baby essentials for new mums

When I was still pregnant I definitely took 'nesting' to my very own level of organisation, researching for those must have items and ultimately online shopping for things I was certain me and new baby would definitely 'need'! Having had Lux our beautiful daughter 7 months ago I can now honestly say that I bought a lot of crap I or we as a family didn't need and also missed a few things along the way that we did or could have done with. So I can now share with you what I consider to be the top baby essentials every new mum should not be without. I have and use all these items everyday. Obviously you may have your own tastes as to which brands or designs of these items you like, but these are the exact ones we have, use and love!  

1. Philips Avent 3-in-1 Steriliser currently on offer at Mothercare for £39.99 (bargain £20 off) - this steriliser is absolutely brilliant. I use it every day without fail and it takes only 6 minutes to sterilise everything. Easily fits x6 large Dr Browns bottles plus extras. You can also make it smaller if staying away for the night which makes it super easy to transport. I love this!
2. Dr Browns Bottles. These bottles are fantastic. I had to emergency wean Lux of the breast due to starting chemo and she would not take any bottle to start with. She would push the bottle away... I was thinking, sh@t how the hell am I going to get her to take a bottle? Surely she is too young to be able to push a bottle away at 2.5months old? I felt terrible. I had tried about 6 different bottle types when after hearing good things about Dr Browns bottles for colic and so on, I thought I would give them ago. Success!!!! I do think that every baby is different but at the time it really did feel like Dr Browns had saved my life... or at least reduced my guilt at having to swap Lux from the boob to bottles. Also highly recommended for babies with colic. Newborn starter kit available at Mothercare.
3. The Sleepyhead!!!! This is genius! Forget a moses basket, forget all these other luxurious carry baskets and easy cots, this is brilliant and so many of us mums have bought these and recommended them and recommended them again... Lux hated her moses basket and many mums I know also could not get their little ones to sleep in their various sleep pods until we all got our lovely shiny white sleepyheads. Now I know what you're thinking, you're thinking I could actually just roll blankets and tuck them neatly inside and around the moses basket to create the same feeling for my little one, and yes, actually this is very true... (I did have the same thought) but in all honesty not to mention realistically when it's 3am and the blanket has come unraveled or you're off to overnight at the grandparents, will you really have the energy for this? Can you actually be bothered? In my view it's the best £99 I have ever spent and all I needed to do on sleepovers is grab the sleepyhead handle and a large muslin as a cover and off we go... Super easy, super sleepy baby! Everyone's a winner! Get it from John Lewis here.
4. So the grandparents (in-laws) bought us this super Summer Infant baby monitor and I absolutely love it. I looked at quite a few and I know the motorola gets quite a good press, but I found the battery life died quite quickly and the signal is often more distorted than the Summer Infant which shows me a really clear picture both day and night, comes with a touch screen, adjustable monitor and a night light. The only thing I would say is that it does say the temperature is about 4 degrees warmer than it actually is. Maybe there is a fault with mine, but I haven't worried about changing it, I just minus 4 degrees from the temperature gauge. Get it from Amazon.
5. Oh Tommee Tippee I thank theeeee!!! This is the best thing in the whole world!! So I didn't have one form the beginning. I was told about them by two friends who said, you should get one they are brilliant and I thought, hmm do I really need another gadget to take up yet more room in my kitchen? The answer is YES YES you Doooo!!! And so eventually (why I did not do this sooner I curse myself for still) I got one. and It's made such a huge difference to my days. I was told this would make things easier for me - which is truly what I do need right now given everything, but this tommee tippee perfect prep is as it says in the tin, absolutely perfect. No more boiling and cooling, no more jumping startled from a little nap because you've just remembered that in fact you've forgotten to boil the kettle and your baby is about to wake screaming any minute.. Nope! Lux now has ver very own, what we like to call Cappuccino maker, which produces the perfect temperature bottle in just 2 minutes. (If that). THIS you must get!|!! YES! Currently on sale at the amazing price of £60 from Amazon or Asda.
6. I love Weleda, they are really lush. My sis bought me some of their products in a lovely little 'for Lux' gift pack and I have to say it's oooh sooo gooood! It's natural with no nasty stuff in it and it also makes her skin (and mine when I borrow it) super soft!!! Like a baby's bum hah! You can get it from health stores or boots or waitrose do it too!
7. Lucky number 7 is for the boobies and nothing but the boobies! This ladies is the only thing that works! Get it - even if you're not breast feeding, but mainly if you are! It's fabuloso!!! When your boobs get sore (and if you're expressing as well as breast feeding then they definitely will) apply this totally awesome, nothing else like it, Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple cream and away you go... Saved!  Get it from Boots or John Lewis. Sometimes cheaper on Amazon. (not the easiest name to remember though)
8. This Medela Swing Maxi Double Breast Pump is considered to be the best Brest Pump on the market. I started with a hand held one - who was I kidding? Like you have the time and energy for that in the first few months...nope! My advice, either rent an 'industrial' one (not cheap) or buy this double whammy and get it done in half the time. Remember you're going to be expressing at all sorts of random times (whenever you actually have 10 spare mins) so get something to help you get it done asasp. Then plaster your boobs with the Lanolin nipple cream!! I got my dbl pump from Amazon but John Lewis sell them too.
9. We all need one of these! Can't leave the hospital without one, so unless you're planning a home birth, this is one thing you can get in advance! We got one that worked with our buggy and car, which is usually the best way to go :) Love our confetti Maxi Cosi Pebble! Ideal!
10. On the go a lot? Even if you're like me and you buy one or two changing bags (that I am fed up with using now) so forget all that stuff about this is going to be the bag that I will carry every day for a year excuse stuff to get that really expensive one, because trust me, you won't! I have three, yep, three and actually I am now very bored of them all and in fact, I've never used one of them because it's too big, (which was the selling point originally) so if you just use any nice bag that you have and then maybe plonk one of these super duper, I use this every day, skip hop, pronto changing stations into it, you my friend are done! JL sell them and JoJo Maman Bebe too.
11. This little number is genius! I've been stopped a fair few times and asked where I got my curtain from - It's by Farg Form and it's ideal, clips onto any buggy and comes in blue, pink, grey or green. Forget muslins clipped on with pegs! Look cool instead and get one of these! I bought mine from the baby shop who are super lovely and offer great customer service too!
12. Isn't this nursing pillow by smallstuff.dk awesome? I hated all those fluffy, babyish designs that most of the nursing pillows come in, or white, I mean why white? Get's dirty super quick and looks terrible! So I got this über cool blue stars one (and yes I have a girl- wooaaahh) I can't actually remember where I got it from but I found it here in two other colours and in navy from Dubuy dk.
13. Muslins Muslins everywhere! You'll be needing these and lot's of them! I have about hmmm 20 odd and I still feel like I could do with more.. My faves as many of you will agree are from Aden and Anais an american brand (run by an Australian lady called Raegan Maya-Jones)  - Lovelyyyy!  I think I got mine at John Lewis but Amazon  sell them too.
14. And in at number 14 (I know I know it's a random number but what can you do...) It's the lovely Farg Form ( and yes I do like my Scandi stuff rather a lot) Changing mat that I have in the nursery. Mine actually is grey printed with white sheep and not with the clouds (I do have the clouds on my FargForm buggy curtain and blind) but I love the clouds one too and I also love how it curves on the outer edges. Looks rather good in the  nursery even if I do say so myself! And so that's it - there we have it - my top 14 defo must have new mum and baby items that we have at home and I personally, honestly really wholeheartedly would and do recommend!! Amen!