Things You Didnt Know You Needed for 1 Year Old

All The Gear, No Thought is a regular series from HuffPost Finds where we feature production recommendations for parents, by parents. Whether you're shopping for a car seat for the get-go time or don't know what tech to buy your teen, we've got you lot covered with shopping guides, reviews and the latest deals.

We all know that becoming a parent for the showtime fourth dimension means a whole new shopping experience - from automobile seats to prams to cots and Moses baskets. But what about the stuff you didn't even realise you needed?

My friends and I take a useful listing that we send circular to each other, each time someone announces they're pregnant. It's full of 'never knew I needed that' items; interim both as a guide to the nigh obscure parenting essentials. I couldn't have got through the early years of parenthood without it.

And I'chiliad here to brand your life as a parent easier too, past imparting what I learned on the chore. Forget gadgets and gimmicks: here'south what you really, really need.

Sophie La Giraffe Teether Toy, John Lewis, £11.99

I had no thought of the true importance of Sophie when a close friend gave me one as a 'new infant' nowadays. I smiled at it, thought, "oh, that's sweet", noted that it squeaked quite loudly, and casually placed information technology on top of the growing pile. What I should accept done is carefully sat Sophie on a costly velvet cushion, bowed to her and hung diamonds effectually her neck - for Sophie is a queen. Seriously. Once you know how good she is, there'due south no style you can fail to notice her ubiquitous presence. Sophie, made in France, is the teether to shell all other teethers. She'southward soft and flexible and 100% natural rubber. Your babe will dear chewing her to pieces. End of story. You lot can also purchase a teething ring version with two handles your babe can grip hands. We had both.

Sock Ons, Tu by Sainsbury's, £4

If there's i truism virtually babies, it's that they cannot - they merely cannot - keep their socks on. You'll put on a pair, turn around for half a second to grab something, and one or both socks volition accept been wriggled off and disappeared. This goes for babies who accept only only learned to clamber, babies who can walk, and babies who can't do anything but lay downwards in one place and gurgle contentedly at the ceiling. If you're out and near with your baby in a pram or baby carrier, forget it. You lot'll be coming dwelling house sock-less. It's just a fact. Until... Sock Ons. All hail the magic of a Sock On - they're cheap, stretchy, fabricated of nylon and elastane and fit over the baby's pes to go on their socks firmly in identify. Never lose a sock - or your sanity - over again. You lot're welcome.

Universal Loving cup Holder, Mamas and Papas, £19

What'southward the one affair every new parent needs? That'southward right. Coffee. But if y'all want to be able to carry your precious cargo (and yes - we hateful babe and a apartment white) safely at the same time, you lot're going to demand i of these: a universal cup holder, that clips to the handles of your pram or pushchair. I've lost far likewise many adept coffees sloshing over the plastic lid while steering one-handed - and this solves that problem perfectly. Many individual pram and pushchair brands do their own versions, such as the Bugaboo Cup Holder, but for one that suits all pushchairs, give the Universal Cup Holder a attempt.

Car Mirror For Rear Facing Seats, Jojo Maman Bebe, £12

I had no thought how much I would come to rely on a auto mirror when my children were small and all the same in rear-facing car seats. If you're driving solitary, it can be pretty anxiety-inducing not to know whether they're okay dorsum in that location. You tin can't see their faces in your windscreen mirror, and I found myself having to pull over several times during a long motorcar journey but to check if they were asleep and still breathing. Until a friend who has 4 children gave me 1 of these: a car mirror for rear-facing seats. Hallelujah! It straps to the headrest of the back seat, and you can angle it and then it gives you a clear motion-picture show of your infant'due south face when yous look in your own mirror. And once babe grows into a toddler and moves into a forrard-facing motorcar seat, you lot can strap the mirror to the seat in front of them, so they can watch themselves while yous drive. Better than TV.

Fisher-Toll Roarin' Rainforest Jumperoo, Argos, £80

One thing I swiftly learned when I became a parent: you will do anything for a few minutes of peace and a sit downwards with a cup of tea. Anything. Even having an enormous plastic rainforest bouncer toy in the heart of your living room. The Jumperoo isn't cheap (and then keep an eye on local 'sell and swap' Facebook community groups, which is where I got mine), but it'south a worthy investment. It'south suitable from six months - as long as your baby tin can elevator its head upward unassisted - up to a weight of 11.3kg (25lbs). The manufacturers advise an upper limit of xx minutes per session, which is a solid 20 minutes of sitting-down time. Don't yous dare practice anything boring, like the washing up. Only sit down and relax and watch your baby go wild. Yous've earned it.

Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator, Amazon, £6.43

Babies can't accident their olfactory organ when they have a cold. Worse still, if they're breast or canteen fed exclusively, information technology becomes very difficult for them to feed when their little noses are blocked. Cue: a hungry, ill baby who cannot settle or sleep. It might exist 1 of the grossest realities of parenting, just you volition suck out your child'south snot when this happens. You will exist then drastic for slumber that if there's annihilation stopping your baby from closing their optics - even bogeys - you volition take them on. That's not to say this isn't divisive, of course. I've had full-scale wars with other parents who recollect this is going likewise far. But hear me out: you don't have to suck bogeys straight with your mouth. I mean, you tin, but I use 1 of these – a nasal aspirator. It has a little plastic tube you suck, with the other end placed at your child'south nostril. A piece of foam stops the snot from going into your rima oris and downward your throat. If a amend or more than satisfying invention exists, I do not know what it is. Information technology volition change your life.

TOMY Get-go Years Starlight Dream Bear witness Musical Calorie-free Projector, Amazon, £13.39

A friend bought 1 of these for my daughter when she was a infant... she'southward now turning eight, and she'due south All the same USING It. Every unmarried night, when she turns her light off to become to sleep, she puts her star on. I have one for my son, too - he's three and the same rules apply. Each star has a 5 or ten minute playback setting, and projects a beautiful scene of flowers and bugs and rainbows up onto the ceiling. When we go abroad on holiday or to run into relatives, we accept them with usa. I would never accept dreamed that one small baby gift would give us years (literally) of use, just this has. I couldn't parent without it.

Chicco Next To Me Magic Bedside Crib, John Lewis, £239

With my first babe I used a Moses basket - I liked the 'traditional' look and feel of information technology and loved the way it stood on a stand up in my bedroom. Until... I realised my daughter didn't really like to sleep much. I would detect myself feeding or rocking her for 45 minutes until she closed her optics, simply every fourth dimension I put her down in the Moses basket she would wake straight support again. Then a friend recommended a co-sleeper: a special cot that straps to the side of the bed, with a detachable side separating your babe'southward sleeping space from your own. It meant I could pull my daughter towards me to breastfeed her, then pop her dorsum into her own safety space, all without waking her. It changed everything, considering it gave me the confidence to let myself go and get a skillful nighttime'due south slumber. And when I had my son a few years afterward, I did the aforementioned with him, as well.

Angelcare Soft-Touch Bath Support Baby Seat, Boots, £27.99

I tried all sorts of bath seats: from a 'Tummy Tub' (height tip: for a cheaper version, try a standard £1 plastic bucket from Halfords or B&Q) to a plain Ikea infant bath - but the Hardenberg Angelcare soft-touch seat was the best of the bunch for my children. It feels really safe and sturdy, and the textured angled seating area is soft and comfortable. It also has a water level indicator for optimal prophylactic in the bath. I liked information technology so much that I passed it on to relatives - my children's cousins accept both used it (and loved information technology), too.

Bright Starts Zig Zag Zebra Vibrating Bouncer Chair, Amazon, £25.99

Information technology's of import to be able to movement your baby around so he or she doesn't get bored, so I used to have a lilliputian routine going - 'tummy time' on a play mat on the floor, then a bounciness in the Jumperoo, and then some time in the bouncer chair, and (hopefully) a nap, before nosotros'd brainstorm the routine all over again. If you become one like this, with a gentle vibrating office, it might even send your baby off to sleep while they're in it - which means you are sorted. This has a removable toy-bar, with two hanging toys included. Hours of fun (and a footling rest for mummy or daddy). I besides found a bouncer chair the perfect solution for keeping an eye on my baby while I took a shower, because y'all tin bring information technology into the bath with yous and continue baby rubber - only occupied. The but element to exist aware of is when they start getting bigger, or more mobile (and trying to escape). Later on the age of six or seven months, mine began pitching themselves forwards and could have fallen headfirst out of it. But until then, it was a lifesaver.

We all work hard to earn our coin – so it shouldn't feel like difficult work to spend it well. At HuffPost Finds we'll assist y'all find the best stuff that deserves your cash, from the ultimate lipstick to a durable iron to replace the one that broke (RIP). All our choices are completely independent only we may earn a minor commission if you click a link and make a purchase.

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Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/10-essentials-you-didnt-know-youd-need-when-you-became-a-parent_uk_5e0099e3e4b0843d35fe9e29

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