The Baby Show Live @ Home – Our Haul

Last weekend The Baby Show, despite lockdown, were able to still hold an amazing event, virtually! They launched The Baby Show Live @ Home which was great for me, as I thought lockdown would mean no baby shows for us at all.

It was an amazing event full of talks, advice, competitions and The Baby Show was giving 20% off all products. Though it ran across the whole weekend, anyone who knows Hubby and I, knows how lazy we can be. In true A. style, Saturday was a right off, I was shattered and Hubby wasn’t feeling doing anything at all (kind of annoying as I wish he would pick up the slack when I can’t be bothered to do anything, but that’s a different story).

However, on Sunday, Hubby woke me up at 7.30am with his snoring so I snuck downstairs and got to catch up on all the talks we missed on Saturday:

• Buggy Buying Guide
• MAM Breastfeeding Session
• Baby Essentials
• Daisy First Aid

I think I’ll summarise what I learnt from the above in another post, but for now, here are all the amazing things we bought, thanks to The Baby Show Live @ Home (also just for reference, this post is in no way an ad, these are all items we bought with our own money, but thought it’d be good to share what we bought and where from):

Baby Essentials

1. Baby Planet Online

Chicco Next2Me Magic Side Sleeping Crib and Accessories Bundle – £229

This crib was created to make it easier to have baby sleep alongside you, without co-sleeping. When I started researching these kinds of bedside cribs, unless we wanted to spend over a grand on a crib, that we would only be using for 6 months max, it was between the Chicco or the Snuzpods.

I decided on the Chicco after reading a few reviews, due to it being a bit bigger (so could last longer) and it’s a 3 in 1 solution that can be used as a side-sleeping crib, stand-alone crib or as a travel crib, thanks to the travel bag included.

Initially, I found a deal for the same price through Emma’s Diary, but their retail partner’s website kept crashing. However, everything happens for a reason, as through Baby Planet Online, it came with more items for the same price!

Baby Planet Online	Online4baby.com
N2M Magic Crib Fitted Sheets Boppy Pillow N2Stars Projector Vibration Box	N2M Magic Crib Fitted Sheets Soft Toy

This bundle usually costs £338.99 so, at this price, this was a steal for us!

Bugaboo Fox2 Pushchair Alu and CabrioFix Bundle – £949 (+ £89.99 for the Car Seat Base)

Now I was reluctant to buy a buggy online without being able to try it out in-store but after I saw this video, I was sold on this brand and buggy (don’t worry, we were sensible and watched other demos on The Baby Show, but this sold it to us):

When we went over to the site though, we were even more sold by the fact that it came with a car seat!

To be honest, this is our assumption after we saw the bundle picture, Googling what a CabrioFix was, and the fact that there was an option to add a car seat base to our order. Nowhere in the bundle description is this said explicitly, so I may be eating these words once this arrives, but all clues lead to this bundle including the buggy, it’s accessories and a car seat!

Why we went for this buggy: I feel like the video speaks for itself, but not only can this be used from birth to approx. 4 years old, but it also comes with:

• Matching style set & canopy
• Buggy bag
• Footmuff
• Cupholder

Considering the pram itself is usually sold for £1,029 with just the canopy, and the car seat (without base) is usually sold for £139, this was another bargain for us!

2. MAM

I not only watched the MAM bottle demo which blew my mind in terms of their anti-colic and self-sterilising technology, as well as the pump demo, but I also watched their talk on breastfeeding, as this is what I intend to do with baby. I instantly fell in love with the brand and what they stand for.

MAM Product Sample – p&p £3.99

Usually £9.99 for their sample, I thought I’d get this sample of their Easy Start Anti Colic Bottles. I already have 3 Tommee Tippee Closer To Nature Bottles, but I have also heard that babies can be picky about the type of bottle they like, so it’s good to have a few different options to try at first and see which sticks.

However, MAM swayed me slightly with their ‘best alternative to the breast’ claim, self-sterilising quality and the fact that it’s anti-colic.

We’ll see which one baby prefers though, only time will tell.

MAM Electric Single Breastfeeding Pump with Rechargeable Battery – £91

Mumsnet Best Breast pump for Working Mums 2019!

This 2in1 single pump offers mums the most flexible solution for expressing their milk, as it is both an electric and manual pump in one. I only went for the single one because, while baby is feeding/I’m pumping on one side, I already have the Hakkaa for any leakages on the other side.

The electric pump device features stimulation and expression modes that mimic babies’ natural sucking behaviour and offers mums up to 9 different suction strengths for optimum comfort, suiting individual needs. Plus, it can be plugged in or used while on the go.

What’s included:

• Breast Pump 2in1 Electric Top
• Rechargeable Motor Unit
• Breast Pump 2in1 Adapter
• Breast Pump 2in1 Manual Top/Pump Handle
• 2 x Easy Start Bottles
• 2 x Storage Pots

Usually £130, this seemed like an amazing price for such a highly rated item.

MAM Baby Electric Steriliser – £63

Gold Winner, 2018 Made for Mums Awards for Best Steriliser (6in1) & Bronze Winner, 2018 Mother & Baby Awards for Best Product for Bottle-Feeding.

This compact device can be used for either electric or microwave sterilising, keeping items sterile for up to 48 hours. There are also 4 different warming functions, from express to gentle warming, defrosting and a keep-warm function, perfect for breast milk or formula. Not only is it multi-functional but it warms faster than any other product on the market too!

The 6 functions:

• Microwave sterilising
• Electric sterilising
• Express bottle warming
• Gentle bottle warming
• Defrost & food warming
• Keep warm function

What’s included:

• Electric Steriliser & Electric Base Unit
• Express Warmer
• 1 x 160ml Easy Start Anti Colic Bottle
• 1 x Start 0-2M Soothers
• 1 x Teat Tongs

Usually £90, this seems cheaper than others on the market and I’m down for any product I can get that makes my life easier once baby comes!

We also bought their MAM Baby Bottle & Teat Brush (£4.89). To be honest there was nothing spectacular about this bottle brush, other than we were buying all things bottles from MAM and were getting 30% off, so why not really.

3. Ergobaby

Ergobaby Adapt Baby Carrier Cool Air Mesh – £95.92

I heard about this product a few months ago when I started researching baby essentials. This is meant to be good for outings where you’d like to carry baby, rather than take the buggy, but also when baby is being needy at home, you can carry them hands-free and still get on with your day. There are so many other types of carriers and slings, but I’ve heard many a recommendation on this brand and it seemed like less faff than a sling. The only thing that isn’t clear is how adjustable it is, so whether or not it’s something Hubby will be able to use is yet to be seen, but not sure if it’s really his style anyway, so we’ll see.

It’s meant to be great for newborns and you can even breastfeed from inside the carrier, so I look forward to giving this a go!

Ergobaby Swaddler Elephant – £15.92

Swaddling is a traditional practice of wrapping a baby up gently in a light, breathable blanket to help them feel calm and sleep. The idea is that being swaddled will help your little one feel snug and secure, like how they felt in the womb. People say swaddling seems to help calm their little one, helping them settle more easily and sleep for longer. It’s also thought that swaddling prevents unnecessary wake-ups caused a baby’s startle reflex.

There are some risks of swaddling in terms of overheating and not doing it properly, so an item like this seemed a no brainer to me:

• Simple 4 step swaddle to remove the risk of doing it incorrectly
• Breathable cotton to reduce the risk of overheating
• Easy access to the bottom for nappy changes, without having to fully remove the swaddle
• According to the International Hip Dysplasia Institute, this item promotes a healthy hip position due to the way it wraps around baby

It’s not a sure thing, but it is definitely something we want to try out. Our beautiful Godchildren have always worn sleep sacks once they were slightly older, and this is a newborn version that will hopefully help baby sleep.

Products We Couldn’t Resist #dontjudge

4. Baby Bamba

Six Bibs – £11.19

This was definitely not a necessity to buy over this weekend, I mean I’m sure I could find cheaper options on Amazon/Primark/George @ Asda, but I was on a roll and they’re so damned cute! To be fair as a 6 pack with the 20% off, it comes to just under £2 per bib, which doesn’t seem too bad to me…

Another brand that almost got me though, as they’re waterproof bibs, is BibbilyBoo (£7.99 per bib).

Bamboo Muslin Blanket – Animal Print, 2 pack – £23.99

This muslin is made from 70% Bamboo and 30% cotton. Bamboo apparently has some amazing properties; it thermoregulates against babies’ skin, its breathable, has antibacterial properties and it is grown ethically without pesticides.

These are massive muslins so can be used in many different ways; as a blanket, pushchair cover/liner, cuddle blanket, sleep swaddle or feeding cover.

5. Merry Go Round UK

MuslinZ Hooded Towel – £11.99

Again, not a necessity to get this weekend, but they got me with the 50% bamboo, 50% cotton for maximum goodness! We ended up buying two…

We also bought one of their 3 Pack Muslin Wash Cloths (£3.19) just for convenience as we were already on their site and getting a discount…

If you happen to want to spend a bit more on hooded towels, Cuddledry (£35) and My Little Bundle (£30) almost got me as they can be worn around you, while baby is in the bath, to stop you getting wet, and then is big enough to pick them out of the bath while still guarding you from the water.

• OBaby

Round Back Rocking Chair – £239.99

Last and by no means least, is this total luxury item, but we always envisioned a rocking chair in our nursery, so we did it! Usually £319, we thought this was yet another bargain. We had been looking at the Mamas & Papas ones which look beautiful but are also a pretty penny (£500 without the footstool). Aesthetics wise, as well, of course, as the price, this was always going to be a no brainer for us.

So that’s it! Thanks to The Baby Show Live @ Home, we managed to buy the majority of items on our list in the space of a day, with some hefty discounts, which takes the weight off and means we can start assembling the nursery bit by bit, which is very exciting! It also means that by the time I’m in my 3^rd trimester all things will have been bought (and assembled?) so we can kick back and chill….at least that’s the plan!

Less than a week later, a lot of the items have already arrived so I can’t wait to look through, and hopefully, be fully happy with all our purchases!

Mrs. A

xxXxx