Essentials for those first weeks at home

Bringing a baby home for the first time is both a wonderful occasion, and an anxious one. The nursery may have been planned and decorated for months and the pram and car chair bought after careful consideration, but what many new parents don’t consider are the everyday items baby may need when living in their new home.

“T he excitement over a newborn baby can often overshadow what that baby is going to need,” comments Mario Correia, brand manager for Milton and Karvol. “Often, some items are only realised to be needed at the last moment, and this is when mild panic for a new family can set in.”

Correia suggests the following must haves for when the baby is welcomed into his or her new home:

Bottlebrush

Karvol

When baby suffers from a stuffy nose or a cold, Karvol has been used as a trusted and effective decongestant for many years. Each capsule is filled with a combination of aromatic oils that when released as a vapour, actively works to help baby breathe more easily.

Simply use one capsule to apply drops to the baby’s clothes or bedding to open up the breathing passages or add it to baby’s humidifier. The Karvol room spray can also be sprayed in the room as an extra decongestant aid.

Nappies

Although this is one item that won’t be forgotten about, it is the number of nappies that a baby needs that will astound new parents. So just to be sure, buy one more bag.

Also, if using disposable nappies, there needs to be a dedicated place where they will be thrown away. Cloth nappies when soiled need to be taken care of quickly to avoid smell and mess. A bottlebrush is needed to get into the hard-to-reach places, as well as a teat brush to clean out anything blocking the feeding hole. Bottles and brushes need to be washed well to ensure that all leftover milk is washed away.

Bottle teats

What most new parents are not aware of is that bottle teats come in different sizes. The smaller the baby, the smaller the feeding hole.

As the baby grows new teats will need to be bought to ensure that baby is getting the right amount of food needed for her.

Unscented baby wipes

Baby’s skin is very sensitive and often it is best to avoid any scented baby wipes. Unscented baby wipes are just as effective and offer a level of sensitivity that baby needs. These items, along with others, will make bringing home and living with baby much easier. Although decorating the nursery and choosing a play mat and bath toys is the fun part of being pregnant, the day-to-day items are the ones that are going to get baby and parents through each day.

Milton

Once the bottles are washed, they need to be placed in a Milton unit with water prepared with Milton solution. This will sterilise baby’s bottles and teats, as well as baby’s other feeding utensils, dummies, teething rings, small plastic toys and weaning items. By sterilising these items, baby will not be unnecessarily infected with any germs.

Baby nail clippers

New parents are only first confronted with how often they will need to cut their baby’s nails, when they have a baby. This is a slow-going job but will stop the baby from accidentally scratching her face if her nails are too long.