What I wish I had (and hadn't) bought for my newborn

There are so many gadgets and gizmos these days for babies that it all gets a little overwhelming when the time comes to start making preparations for the arrival your new little person. Now that Alfie is nearing 15 months I have started looking back on the things I bought for him before his arrival and during those first few precious months, a lot of them hardly used.

Here I will go through some of the things I wish I had bought and what was a total waste of money.

What I wish I hadn't bought

1. Cot quilt and bumper pack.

This was never used. Before getting pregnant I thought that you needed a bumper on your crib to stop baby from banging his head on the hard wood. In reality, it is much safer for baby to sleep with minimal bedding, so remove that baby pillow, quilt, bumpers and teddies and let them sleep swaddled in a blanket or in a Grobag when of the correct weight. Head over to the Lullaby Trust for guides on safer sleep for babies.

2. The 1000-in-one rocking/swinging chair.

This is a simple one. Alfie much preferred his £14.99 Argos bouncer chair to his vibrating-lullaby-singing chair. A bouncer or swinging chair is somewhat a necessity for mums who just need that 10 minutes without baby attached to your hip to have a cuppa but you don't have to spend over the odds.

3. A baby sling.

I probably used this maybe 3 times with Alfie. Baby wearing sounded very appealing to me and Alfie did seem to enjoy it when we used the sling but it took a while to set up and when your baby is screaming wanting to be picked up, well there's just no time for fiddling about! In hind sight I think a baby carrier like this ChiccoGo Baby Carrier would have been much more practical and I probably would have used it more.

4. A baby bath.

A baby bath is nice and Alfie loved his but it takes up a lot of room and babies quickly outgrow them. A newborn bath support holds baby safely in the main bath and is a much cheaper option.

What I wish I had bought:

1. A Co-Sleeper.

For the first 6 months of his life Alfie slept in a moses basket right next to my side of the bed. This worked fine but as I breastfed Alfie it soon dawned on me how much easier life would have been with a co-sleeper. Having Alfie next to me, in his own safe place but without a barrier between us would have made 5am feeds much more manageable. They are pretty pricey compared to a basic moses basket but if you plan on having more than one child then it is well worth the investment.

2. A Compact Travel System.

When buying our pram we opted for the Silver CrossSurf 2. While it is an amazing pram and has some great positive features there was one main drawback - fitting it into my car boot. There was no space for anything, not even a few bags of shopping. The seat unit of the Surf does not fold down at all meaning it has to be taken off the chassis and stored separately. A more practical and cheaper option would have been the Mamas andPapas Sola 2.

3. A bigger changing bag.

We bought the Silver Cross Heritage bag when buying our travel system and it was the worst £75 we spent. Sure it looks good, but it did not have a zip close and barely held any of Alfie's newborn essentials. Now we travel light with a small back pack but, as you know, newborns don't travel light. I wish I would have invested in a more practical bag such as this Pink Lining Yummy Mummy bag that has enough compartments to fit all the essentials and space for mummy's essentials.

So there we have it, but a few of the things I wish I had or hadn't bought when Alfie was a teeny tiny newborn.
Is there anything you wish you had or hadn't bought for your little one?

Cooking with Kids: Chocolate rice krispie nests

I wanted something simple to make with Alfie for the coming Easter. Him being only 14 months old I thought it was best to make cakes were no oven or baking was involved. Chocolate rice krispie nests perfectly fit the bill. Alfie had so much fun making these and even more fun eating them (minus the Mini Eggs of course!).

 

 

 

How to make Rice Krispie nests

 

Ingredients:

Rice Krispies

A 200g bar of chocolate (we used milk)

Mini eggs

 

Instructions:

1. Start by breaking the chocolate into small pieces into a large bowl. Have a nibble if you must, Alfie did! 



2. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted.

Tip: At this point you can add a tablespoon of golden syrup to the melted chocolate, this stops the chocolate from setting too quickly.

3. Add rice krispies to the mixture bit by bit until all the rice krispies are covered with the chocolate. Alfie decided to have a taste at this point - just to make sure there was good chocolate coverage!

4. Spoon the chocolate covered rice krispies into cake cakes and add the mini eggs before the chocolate sets.

Simple as that, perfect for little fingers to make and totally delicious! What's your favourite Easter treats?

 

 

Review: Hauck Varioguard Combination Car Seat and ERF

Until recently Alfie was still in his infant carrier car seat, he's a little dot and at almost 15 months old is still in 6-9 month clothes. He still has plenty of room left in the infant carrier and although he seemed relatively content in it still, I thought it was time for a bigger car seat that let him see out of the window and engage with his toys a little more while on journeys.

The Science

The scientist in me felt the need to reserach the safest car seats for my boy. I read papers about extended rear facing (erf), something that is not widely discussed here in the UK. Here, your baby weighs 9kg? Stick 'em forward facing, they'll enjoy it more (simply not true).

ERF is 5x safer for children under 4 and babies should ideally be rear facing until at least 2 years old, longer if possible. A babies head accounts for 25% of its body mass and is flung forward with a force of up to 300kg neck loads in a 30mph crash when forward facing. Rear facing protects a child's head, neck and spine by distributing the force along the back of the seat with up to 50kg neck loads in the same crash. Other statistics for rear facing include a 96% injury reducing effect and an 8% risk of severe injuries compared to a 77% injury reducing effect and a whopping 70% increased risk of severe injury when forward facing. 

It's not about being 'that' mum. It's about what has been proven to be safest for our children and I do hope our government change its policies to those of other European countries where children rear face until 4, or even the U.S. where babies rear face until 2.
 

 

The Features

With that in mind, I came across the Hauck Varioguard Combination car seat. At £180 it's not the cheapest of seats but it is well worth the money. It mostly appealed to me as not only does it rear face until 18kg (approx 4 years old) but it is supplied with its own Isofix base which increases its safety  aspect whilst dramatically cuting costs compared to other car seats offering the same features, similar car seats cost around £350! Using the Isofix fitting the child can rear face from birth until 18kg and there is the option of facing forward if needed, although it is recommended to rear face until the maximum limits of the seat. The Varioguard can also be fitted with a seat belt, in which case the child can rear face from birth until 13kg (approx 2 years old) and can also be fitted forward facing with a seat belt. This feature makes it ideal for use in older cars where Isofix is not available. The Varioguard comes in a range of different colours, we originally wanted all black but it was out of stock at the time so we opted for blue and black.
 

The Verdict

Alfie really does love his new car seat. He enjoys being higher which allows him to look out of the windows, including the large back window, and enjoy the view. I was a little worried when I purchased the Hauck Varioguard because I have a 3 door Renault Clio. I didn't know how easy or difficult it would be getting Alfie in and out of the seat when rear facing. In theory it sounded very difficult. In reality it's not too bad. Not as easy as it would be putting him into a forward facing seat but I simply sit on the seat next to him and strap him in that way, it takes no more time than it did fixing the infant carrier in place and I'm sure it will be much easier when I get a 5 door car!
 

Installing the car seat is also very easy when using the Isofix feature. Green and red lights indicate if it has been installed correct or incorrect - a very useful tool for someone new to Isofix car seats like myself. The isofix base is pretty heavy so moving it from one car to another might take a little effort but as it is so easily installed shouldn't be a massive issue. As yet I have not needed to test fitting the car seat using seat belts as both of our cars have Isofix. However, if anyone wanted me to test the seat belt fitting to provide feedback on ease of use and stability I am more than happy to - just comment or send me an email!

Overall we are very happy with the Hauck Varioguard, mainly because we get to extend rear face (which I didn't think was possible in our small cars!) and because Alfie is so much more content in his new seat that we haven't had to sooth him with his dummy since he has been in it!

And he here is trying out the seat for the first time. He is happy on the inside, I promise!

 

Does your child still rear face? 

 

Alfie's Bedtime Routine

Having a good, consistent bedtime routine is vital to us and Alfie getting a decent nights sleep. Alfie has never been a great sleeper but now he usually sleeps between 7/8pm to around 7am but can happily wake anytime from 6am onwards. There are obviously times when he wakes in the night if he isn't well or is teething and on the odd occasion he has been awake at 4am wanting to play! Thankfully those nights are few and far between.

Here, I'll explain how we settle Alfie down for the night.

1. The Bath

We bath Alfie practically every night and have done since he was 10 weeks old. It's his time to play and burn off the rest of his pent up energy from the day. He is such a water baby, he dunks his head under the water and crawls around the bath making waves as he goes. Bath time is such a special time for us, both Dave (my partner) and I work full time so we have limited time in the evenings to devote to our little boy.

2. Quick play

Alfie is a very boisterous little boy, with a lot of energy to burn. If he has been in nursery for the day we usually skip this little play time as he is so tired from a full day playing with his friends and so he might watch In The Night Garden or go straight to having his bedtime bottle. If he has napped well in the day we use this time to have a little play after his bath, practise some walking or talking and 'read' a story. Alfie adores books and looking at the pictures but very rarely lets you read to him, the second word in and he is already trying to turn the page. The Usbourne touchy-feely "That's not my..." range are his favourites!

 

3. Bedtime bottle and Frankie the Frog

We have a quick kiss and cuddle when he starts to get tired and Alfie lies in his cot and drinks his bedtime bottle. We turn off his bedroom light and turn on his Frankie the Frog slumber buddy star projector. This little toy is an absolute must, Alfie loves looking at the stars and the 30 minute timer means we don't have to disturb him once he is asleep. When he has finished his bottle he usually falls straight asleep or has a little cry for his dummy.

 

Frankie the Frog has 3 different colour settings; green, blue and amber and has a variety of sounds; 3 lullabies, 2 nature sounds and a heartbeat - perfect for newborns! We don't use the sound feature but the projection is great, lighting up the ceiling of Alfie's room with a combination of moons and stars.

 

And that is Alfie's bedtime routine. Like I said, he usually sleeps until 7am but can be anytime from 6am, waking occasionally for his dummy. This is a vast improvement from when Alfie was around 6 months old and still waking 3/4 times a night. We keep a nightlight in his room which emits a glow that's not too bright but decent enough to be able to find his dummy in the dark! Recently, we gave Alfie a toddler pillow and quilt because he was far too wriggly and hated his Gro bags. He loves his pillow and has slept a lot better since having it but he hates his quilt and kicks it off in the night. Quite often we find he has wriggled to the other end of the bed, using his quilt as a pillow!

Does your little one have a bedtime routine?

Introductions!

Hi and welcome to Molecular Mum!

My name is Kirsty, a 25 year old PhD student from the Wirral and proud mummy of a very boisterous 1 year old called Alfie. 

Being a mum is definitely the most challenging yet rewarding thing I have ever done in my life so I've decided to start this blog to share all the good, the bad and the downright ugly parts of my journey through motherhood, come join me!