Pregnancy: Choosing Those Bigger Items For Baby

I love shopping for baby bits – it is so much fun isn’t it? I have to say though, when I was pregnant with LJ it wasn’t as exciting as we had kept everything from G and therefore needed for nothing. I bought her a few new bits and bobs but on the whole she had everything handed down. It is still a little bit like that now really although she is growing at such a rate that G hasn’t grown out of things before LJ is needing that size!

As much as this baby was planned, it still came as quite a shock when I saw those words on the test stick! We had given everything away, sold things long long ago. Not that all the girly clothes would have been any use to us seeing as we are having a little boy, but so many things are having to be bought again – we are pretty much starting again like new parents.

One good thing though is that we know better than when we were first time parents. We are not going to waste money on items we know we will never use – baby bath anyone?? So, we are in the fortunate position of knowing exactly what we need and I have been busy sourcing those bigger items.

Thankfully the one thing we did still have was a cot so have saved there, ours has a cot-top changer too so we don’t need to buy a separate changing unit. LJ has just moved out from her cotbed into the bunkbed with her sister, so that is now converted back to a cot ready for baby. 🙂

But what else did we need?

A Car Seat

LJ grew out of her 0+ seat months ago and so we had no reason to keep it. Although to be honest I think I would have still wanted a new one as hers was so basic. We are working with Britax for a second year and they have sent us the BABY-SAFE PLUS SHR II 0+ car seat. The best news is, it fits with an ISOFIX base. It is always such a faff getting baby in and out of the car, strapping them in using the main seatbelt. I was always worried that the seat wasn’t strapped in properly so the base avoids this worry completely. Plus, if it is good enough for the Duke and Duchess is is good enough for me 😉

A Moses Basket

Now, neither of mine were fans of their moses baskets and slept in our bed before moving straight into a cot. However, I didn’t not want to have one and then wish I had one. I did look at getting a side cot to attach to our bed but then figured that if baby boy decides he loves my bed as much as his sisters did then I would have wasted our money. So, I got an absolute steal on a local FB page – £5 for a Clair De Lune moses basket. Hurrah!

A Swing

As soon as I found out that I was pregnant I kept my eyes peeled for the exact baby swing I wanted – the same one as I had for LJ. The Bright Starts Comfort and Harmony swing was one of the best things I bought when LJ was a baby – she absolutely loved it and it meant she could swing away happily while I still spent time with Little G. I am hoping baby boy will love it and I can give the girls attention while he sleeps soundly!

A Baby Monitor

I am such a nervous mummy, always worrying whether baby is ok or not. Being able to see them on a screen is just amazing and I couldn’t have coped without my old monitor. Again, we got rid of that a long time ago and so needed to find a replacement. We have very kindly been sent the Motorola MBP853 Connect and we have been testing it out on the girls – so much fun as you can talk to them via the camera!! I will have to wait a few more months to use all of the features to their full potential but so far so good!

A Buggy

Now this has been stressing me out some what. LJ is still so small and I have been worrying that she is not ready to give up her buggy- especially as we walk back and forth from school every day. I was considering a buggy board but I just don’t think she will accept that as an option just yet! I had a very exciting email the other day – check out this post to see what it was about – but we will be using a double now and I am very relieved as it will be the perfect option for us. I cannot wait to get it!!

That is it for bigger items as far as I am concerned – but then knowing me I could well have forgotten something major! Let me know if there is something you couldn’t have lived without!