You know when your tiny human rocks up and you find yourself on Amazon at 3am looking for those products that will theoretically ‘save your life’… yeah, you know what I’m talking about and if you don’t yet then you soon will.

Here’s our TOP 12 post baby arrival buys that I swear, we could naaaaat have lived without:

The Poddle Pod:

Around about Day 4, we realised we had to maybe put him down at some point, even if just for a wee, a brew or just because he’s a heavy little chap and our arms get mighty tired… introducing our saviour- the Poddle Pod! Arthur wasn’t a fan of much when he was a wee babe other than sleeping on our chests, but he LOVED this little cocooned beauty. Thanks Poddle Pod- thanks for the coffee breaks and the arm rest. We owe you.

(Sadly he’s outgrowing it, so we need to look into the upgraded ‘Toddle Pod’)

MAM bottles:

One of those trial and error points in the early days were the bottles. When Arthur was about 12 days old he pretty much point blank refused to drink from his tommee tippee bottles, to the point where I’d still be battling a 4oz bottle 2 hours later… THEN we got recommended the MAM bottles and holy cow, we suddenly had all this extra time on our hands because he’d drink it, like straight away!!! (I’m not going to lie, I shed a tear of happiness and probably tiredness)

MAM soothers:

Whilst we’re on the MAM subject, their soothers are also a dream, particularly when popping one of these in sends Arthur right back to dream land and allows me an extra hour or two of the holy grail… sleep.

Formula cups:

Ah now these, these are again an internet recommendation that we truly couldn’t have lived without. Handy little portable formula cups for when we’re out and about… just scoop and go – sorted!

Angelcare Bath Seat:

Shout out to my lovely mama friend LC for providing this saviour… after a particularly stressful bathing event where I struggled to bend over his baby bath post C section with shaking hands and the ultimate ‘shit, I’m going to drop the baby’ fear, she handed me the Angelcare bath seat and woah, bath time just became way less stressful for all involved. I’m pretty sure he’d now hang out in it forever if I let him…

(He actually does love it, this is just his, ‘I want milk’ face FYI)

The Oceanwave nightlight:

If your babe is a fan of the shiny, shiny sensory shiz, then I highly recommend investing in one of these bad boys… 7 different captivating light settings, 4 inbuilt sound settings (think nature, birds, jungle and you’re on the right track) OR you can connect up your phone/tablet and play your own music. Arthur absolutely adores it and I’m not going to lie, so do I.

The Perfect Prep Machine:

If you’re a formula feeder then you probably already know that the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machine is God’s gift to tired parents. Reasonable pricey but I’ll tell you a little secret, we got ours for £40 off a reputable Facebook marketplace seller, and it’s probably the best thing we ever brought. Time saving, easy and super efficient.

Top tip- also adjustable so works with any bottles not just the TT ones FYI.

The Gro-bag:

Ah the gro bag- the answer to my ‘is he safe sleeping, is he pulling the blanket over his face, is he too hot or too cold?’ woes. We zip him in and sorted. Plus it looks like he’s wearing a super cute sleep dress which is just too adorable right? Arthur is sporting the Mothercare 2.5 tog which you can find here! John Lewis also have a brilliant range here!

The Sock-ons:

Once you’ve bought these little beauties, you’ll wonder how you ever survived without them. They’re one of my biggest parent recommendations. Cleverly named ‘sock-ons’, they do exactly what it says on the tin and His socks actually STAY ON HIS FEET. ALL DAY! I know, I know… revolutionary.

The handheld fan:

I was going to do my TOP 10 but then I remembered that we purchased a handheld fan for our little ginger during this weekend’s heatwave and it’s been amazing when we’re out and about, and he starts getting a bit hot and bothered! This one’s a rechargeable one too. Win!

Baby nail file:

Aaaand finally, there is absolutely no fear like that of chopping your baby’s finger off whilst using tiny nail clippers. You need a steady hand, nerves of steel and possibly a masters in the game ‘Operation’, none of which I possess. Then we found the baby nail file on Facebook (A win for your Facebook ads there guys) – suffice to say, Arthur still has all his fingers…

Any other parental must haves that I’m not aware of and definitely need to invest in? Hit me up, and let me know…

Disclaimer: OBVIOUSLY, what works for Arthur may not work for other babes, these are just my personal worked for me, maybe worth a try recommendations… I take no responsibility if no extra sleep or time is gained…

Much love,