Naomi Hill's baby product guide

When you're expecting, it's easy to get bogged down in the process of buying new products, preparing your home and generally making sure you're ready for life with another little person. Naomi Hill, soon-to-be mother of twins and sister of iVillage.co.uk parenting blogger Katy Hill, offers her top tips on how to navigate through this period with minimal stress.

The greatest shock of childbirth was not the pain, nor the emotion, nor the fact that I left the hospital looking as big as when I went in! It was that no one told me that motherhood is (or as I have learnt, can be) all consuming and completely selfless.  

So during the past two years I’ve found ways to keep life as normal as possible and this time around, as we're about to embark on voyages two and three, I’m determined that I won’t lose sight of myself. With the help of some of the best baby products on the market, here’s my survival guide to having babies. Whether its twins, your first, your second…or your second and third!

Style

With a pregnancy experience behind me I’ve realised that you don’t have to let your bump steal your style. Last time around my sister Katy and I were pregnant at the same time, so we gradually turned into Mama Cass together. This time I’m a lone ranger and, as Katy and I are normally the same size, I have a constant reminder of how I should look.

Also, as this is my second pregnancy (and twins) I popped much sooner, so the option to stretch out my usual wardrobe with bump bands and bra extenders was non-existent from the off. So, to prevent nine months of fashion faux pas I’d recommend going shopping early – having maternity clothes before you need them is key. After all, 280 days is a lot of ‘What to wears?’

My pregnancy shape is more Pat Butcher than Demi Moore, and I’ve struggled to find comfy maternity clothes on the high street. I had more success buying Lycra-based non-maternity dresses and tops (geometric patterns and block colour look great with a bump) and mixing them with a few key pieces of well-cut designer maternity wear.

A friend recommended Eva Alexander and her designs are genius, doing for bump what spanx do for wobble. My favourites are the wrap tie jacket (£175) and the faux wrap top (£80) – which you could wear with anything, and although more expensive than high street clothes, they look just as good without a bump. Add some maternity tights and a bump band to the ensemble and you’ll be amazed how good even Pat Butcher can look!

Rummaging around like a bag lady searching for scraps is not helpful when your little angel is screaming – so organisation is key. Italian brand il tutto make a stunning range of mama bags, and the Nico (£149) ticks all of my boxes.  It’s one of the roomiest nappy bags around and it looks stunning too – job done.

Preparation

If you already have children then I expect that you are keen to sort out any issues with them before the newbies arrive. Our daughter isn’t two yet, and nights aren’t the best. So we felt it would be easier if we could get her from a cot to a bed and enlisted the help of dusky moon’s dream tubes (£34.99), which have worked a treat. We’ve also found a brilliant sleeping bag to gently ease her from sleep sac to duvet. Koeka’s Antwerp foldable sleeping bag (£84.50) fastens under the mattress, cant be kicked off and converts into three different sizes so it can grow with your child.

Your home

When Aurelia was born I completely lost sight of the fact that two adults lived in the house too, and our stylish home soon resembled Pat Sharp’s funhouse. This time around I’m sticking closely to my new rule that practical doesn’t have to mean ugly. 

I’m also a firm believer in having plenty of ‘stations’ around the house for hands-free moments – so I've graced our downstairs with two of the gorgeous i-feel baby rockers (£139.99) from the same range.

The nursery

For the first few years the nursery will be an extension of your own home, so it doesn’t need to become an all out Mecca to Peppa just yet! Plus, if, like us, you plan to have the newbies in your bedroom for the first six months then you’ll want to keep an even tighter reign on what comes into the house.

Thankfully, Joules have recently launched a new range, Joule Nursery, which is utterly gorgeous, and their magical Moses baskets (£85) mean that all my design efforts on our own boudoir haven’t been in vain!

They’ll help to keep your little person in the correct position at the foot of the cot and stop them from wriggling under the sheets (reducing the risk of SIDS). Another genius invention is the Content and Calm cot canopy (£99.99), whichis ideal if you want to black out your baby’s room. It fits directly over the cot – so there’s no messing about with things hanging from your windows shanty style!

Gifts

When I had my daughter we had presents coming at us from every walk of life; grandparents, friends and even random neighbours we’d never spoken to. But they all had something in common. While SO thoughtful and SO generous, there was nothing in the roomful of gifts that we’d actually wanted or needed.

Babies are massive investments and people love to give – so this time around I got in there early with a gift list and made my sister circulate it to anyone who showed interest in the twins!

Alongside some of the essentials like Aden and Anais’ muslins and a handy (and reasonable) Ruby and ginger nappy purse (£13) I included things that will be keepsakes for the little peeps and am in love with Little Pockets by Spooks (£35) which would be a welcome addition to any nursery. People want to give, so help them give something you actually want.

Out and about

When you venture out with newborns, make life as easy as possible. Aurelia was born in three feet of snow (not literally!) and every time we went out it was a balancing act of layers on/ layers off. Hippychick have come up trumps with the Wallaboo Leaf Wrapper (£44.95)  which you can wrap/unwrap according to how much grit is on the roads!

I have also found a gorgeous pram blanket from Joule Nursery (£30) to stave off the winter chill, and my snoozeshade (£19.99) has proved invaluable with Aurelia – it’s the only way she’ll sleep in her buggy so I’ve made sure to get one of their new shades for a twin.

If you’ve already got a little person then I’d also recommend a trunki (£37.99) to stamp out travel boredom. When we have any long visits to make, Aurelia simply fills trunki with toys and we have hours of portable entertainment on hand, safeguarding granny’s china and mummy’s sanity!

Help!

Since discovering that I was pregnant with twins I’ve become an information hound, stalking anyone with a double buggy for advice. It doesn’t matter whom I speak to, the message is loud and clear. ‘Get help’.

I’m lucky as my amazing mum is moving in with us for the first few weeks to help, but once the honeymoon period is over and I’m alone with my trio I’ll need to grow some spare arms.

It’s also important to get the best monitor that you can afford as it means you can relax while your babies sleep – a video monitor (my fave is the Lindam clarity video monitor £129.99 from www.boots.com) is great as you can see at a glance whether it’s just sleep talk, or whether you need to sky plus Downton Abbey and race upstairs!

Phew. Ready, set, GO!

I’m not claiming to be an expert – far from it, but I’ve been lucky enough to get lots of research under my belt and wanted to share my finds with you. When I worked in the corporate world I used to prepare myself for work with all the designer suits and tech I could possibly need to do my job well.

Now, in just the same way I equip myself with everything needed to make my wonderful life with my children even better. No one is ever ‘just a mum’. You’re the founder, CEO and owner of your company and that takes a lot of plate spinning. It’s the hardest job in the world so make sure you’re properly equipped. You deserve it.

See also:

• Katy Hill's working mum diary
   
• The Development Tracker tool