Unsure of What You Need for Your Child? Read my Tips!

When you are pregnant, there are so many things that you get, so that you are ready to bring a baby home. Somethings are completely necessary for a new baby; somethings are not. You need to get a stroller for your baby and a car seat. Other than those, oh-so-obvious things, it can be a little tricky to know what to get. What is useful and what isn’t? When it is your first child, you will have no idea what is needed. Then there are the things as your baby grow up that they will need in their life. At least, when they are toddlers, you have had a little experience as a parent, and roughly know what you do and don’t need! Here is a quick guide to a few of those things that you should get for your children.

When you first have a baby, you will need to decide how they are being fed. Whichever way they are being fed, there are things you can get to make it easier. If you have decided to give nursing a try, then the best things to get for that is to get a nipple shield. You should also invest in a nipple cream as in the early days they can get sore and cracked. When your routine has been established and if your baby gets on with it all well, it will be so much easier for you. Nursing pads are a good idea to get too. You will use these right from the beginning so be sure to have some ready. It might even be worth taking them with you to the hospital. Getting a few nursing bras and tops is a good idea too. You want to feel comfortable to nurse in public, and these make it a lot easier. They will need to be washed almost daily, at first, you have a few in, ready to go.

As well as all of those things, a nursing cover is a good idea. I bet you never imagined there would be so many things that you need, just to help feed your baby! A nursing cover can help so much. It means that you can use both of your hands to help with the baby and make sure that you are all covered. When you are first feeding, the worry of flashing everyone is a bit of a concern. A nursing cover helps with that a lot. A blanket can slip and fall down. Plus, there is a slight paranoia, that the baby can’t breath with their head underneath a thick blanket.

If you have chosen to bottle-feed, it is a good idea to get a big supply of bottles. You will want to have plenty washed and ready to go. A big sterilizer is a good idea as you can clean several at once. You don’t want to have to wash up every few hours when you have a newborn baby.

Something that I know a lot of moms find useful for feeding is muslin burp cloths. They are a must have for whichever way you have chosen to feed your baby. They are so good because they are so thin. They dry quickly so perfect for wiping up spills and baby sick. They are lightweight so you can make sure that you have a lot of them ready to throw in your diaper bag. They can double up as a nursing cover in desperate times too.

Clothing is a must, for obvious reasons, whatever age your child is. At first, it is a good idea to get a handful of the same types of clothing in. Onesies, vests and cardigans are a great idea with tiny ones. As they grow and start to crawl and walk, more ‘regular’ clothes is a great idea. I find that you do so much laundry, that you don’t need to get too many clothes for them. Then you can just get new clothes for them, as and when they grow out of them.

There is a such a variety of clothing for kids these days. You can pretty much dress them in any style that you like; or any style that they like! You might be thinking that going clothes shopping with kids is hard work. I guess it depends on the age of your children. If you can’t face the idea, then shopping online is a great option. It is easy to browse everything all at once then. For birthday gifts, a personalized item of clothing is a great idea. It would work well for a gift for a friend’s new baby too. You can get all different clothes personalized, from jackets, hats and shoes. You can browse for personalized jackets here and see if there is one suitable for your little one.

There are some things that you need to get for your child, that you might not have thought of. If you love to travel, how about getting them their passport early on? You won’t want to have to wait a while to go on vacation if you are waiting for their passport to come back. It can be easy to do when they are so small. They don’t even need their eyes open in the passport picture.

Plenty of books are a great idea to get in, even when they are tiny. Reading and singing to your baby helps them in so many ways. Making reading time a special time will help them to be enthusiastic about reading as they grow up. Making a cosy reading nook in their room is a great idea. Then it will help them to get excited about reading time even more. All you need is a small book shelf and some bean bags or cushions.

What are your must-haves for babies and younger children? I’d love to hear what you loved and needed. It would be interesting to hear what you thought was a useless baby gadget too. Let me know in the comments!