Moving away from photography (slightly and briefly) and embracing one of my other 'hats', as my due date has now been and gone, I have shifted my focus to making sure we're fully ready for the littlest one's arrival.
Hospital bag packed, newborn clothes bought, taken down from the loft, washed and folded - I feel ready, though, still in no real rush.
My ultimate belief is that babies need bare minimum - they need fed, slept and comforted. So, technically, all you need is some sort of a feeding device (or two ;)), a few cute outfits, nappies and a pair of hands. You can survive without anything else. However, some items made it a lot easier for us to get on with being new parents the first time around, so I'm digging these things out/buying again/more of and sharing what I found most useful for the first days, weeks and months.
For anyone racking their brains, whether you've got everything you might need, read on...
Mattress protector - without going into too much detail, when those waters break, you don’t want to ruin that Tempur mattress. Luckily, mine went in hospital last time around and this time we’re getting a bit complacent - with just over a week to go until my due date, it’s time to whip out those bad boys!
Balance Ball (65cm) - this was heavensent! We used to burp our little one on it and also rock him to sleep (until quite late on, actually - it was just SO convenient!).
Unfortunately, our cat peed on the one we had, fortunately, they are only about £8 to replace. But make sure you get a proper balance ball, you don’t want to be rolling off it with a baby or at 8 months pregnant!
Muslins - these were used for anything and everything and are still always in my bag whenever I’m out and about with our toddler. So handy for wiping runny noses and dirty paws.
I got a few 'neutral' Aden+Anais ones for the first few spills from naturalbabyshower.
Also, check out these beautiful designs from lovebeebaby - can’t wait to find out what flavour our bump is going to be and place that order.
Moses Basket - now, everyone uses a different variety of a ‘portable’ bed for their newborn and there are various sleeping pods, cradles and recliners, but we went with ‘the classic’ on a rocking base from Mamas and Papas and it really saw us through! The rocking base is handy for settling the baby to sleep or just gentle soothing, the removable basket was handy for carrying around the house, if I needed to leave the room and take baby with me. The lovely starry design went with our ‘stars’ theme (what theme - this time around 😂).
I have also been eyeing up the gorgeous pods from Happy Spaces - a Ukrainian based store that do the most gorgeous designs - we have space-themed cushions and a laundry bin for the nursery from them and people always comment on how cool they are!
Belly Bandit
I got the bamboo version of the adjustable size belt and absolutely loved wearing it straight after having the baby.
I had a pretty HUGE bump (he was born 10lbs6oz) and after delivery felt like a water bed - a little bit all over the place, unbalanced and empty. The ‘Bandit’ is fairly structured, made out of firm fibers and fastens with a Velcro, so very adjustable without quickly becoming too big. It helped me feel more supported when standing, sitting, feeding. It’s recommended to be worn 24/7, only removing for showers - I didn’t sleep in mine and didn’t wear it as long as it’s recommended, but it was a rear comfort blanket - for helping me feel supported and also make me feel like I don’t still look 9 months pregnant (vanity!), but only, maybe 7! :)
I got rid of it (stupidly) after I stopped wearing it, but have just bought another one for this time around. Mothercare are currently having an offer on the Belly Bandit range and the naturalbabyshower online store is selling the lace print version for a very reasonable £52!
When doing my research, I also came across Mamaway recovery belts, which look very good and seem to get great reviews, but they looked a tiny bit more complicated to put on for me, so I never ventured into that territory.
Your maternity portrait!
That belly you’ve taken 9 months to grow, the one you’ve carried around, the one that has added some marks to the map of your body and the one that has magically created a perfect life, is about to go, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to capture a memory of it forever. Trust me, if you don’t think so now, soon enough you will think you looked beautiful and spot that pregnancy glow. Your child will thank you for sharing the precious images with them too - that fascination will change from ‘whoa, I was in mommy’s belly’ to ‘wow. I was my mother’s belly’.
To reserve your natural maternity session, I recommend you get in touch at around 20 weeks and we can discuss dates.
I recommend having the session at around 32 weeks, as we want that belly to take centre stage and you still be comfortable enough to enjoy the session.
Once you have your photos - take pride in them, let’s have them printed and displayed at your home!
What did you find handy after having a little one? What do you expect to need? What 'absolute must-have' everyone raves about was useless?..
Aberdeen | Aberdeenshire | Laurencekirk | Scotland | Photography | Family | Newborn | Children | Childhood | Maternity | Photographer | Motherhood
Comments