At over six months pregnant, I’ve decided it’s high time I started some new baby nesting. 

I’ve said this before, but the second time round is so different.  There’s no What to Expect app on my phone.  I don’t know what size the baby is every single week, and during the last midwife appointment, I learned that I was actually further along my pregnancy than I thought.  As for the blog, there’s no monster baby shopping update like last time.

It’s not that I’m nonchalant about the whole thing, far from it.  I’m excited and nervous all in one.  But with a very bright, inquisitive and active two-year-old – who I still very much see as a baby – I’ve got my hands full and my brain busy.

Mother’s guilt – does it ever go away?

So while I’ve got the excuse of being busy with a toddler, I still feel bad that I’m not paying enough attention to the arrival of baby no.2.  I also worry about how Hannah will feel about a new sibling who will take up a lot of my time and inherit a lot of her stuff.  I figured that nesting might help ease my mother’s guilt, as it will help Hannah and her mini-me.

Big girl bed and a kid friendly mattress

As well as the seismic change of a new arrival, there’ll be practical changes for Hannah.  She will no longer be in her cot bed (which to be honest, she’s rarely in now).  Baby no.2 will make it their bed, along with a new mattress.

However, upon advice from family, rather than waiting for the baby to arrive and then making such big changes, I’m doing it now.  This way it’ll be less of an upheaval for Hannah.  She’ll hopefully feel more secure and less like baby is taking her things.  So we bought a small double bed for Hannah.

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The mattress purchase was easy enough.  I bought a specific child’s mattress after looking up the Independent’s list of top ten mattresses for children.  I opted for their top pick, which is the Stompa Flex Air Flow mattress.  According to the Indy, the Stompa mattress uses the same fabric as Simba and Made.com mattresses, and is hypoallergenic.  As the right mattress has a positive impact on a child’s growth, I’m glad I didn’t just choose a regular adult mattress.

A toddler bed – decisions, decisions      

The bed frame choice was harder.  We could have gone for a divan (my mum’s bed of choice), a wooden frame, or an ottoman.  We decided against a divan, as they are generally higher off the ground than the other two options.

This meant that if Hannah falls out of the bed, there’s quite a big drop.  A wood frame was the expected choice, but as we were buying online, I was conscious of getting someone that looked good online, but lacked quality.  I’ve had my fingers burnt before when buying a wooden bed-frame online, so didn’t want to do this again.

The dark horse was the ottoman.  It’s low on the ground, a solid structure (no slats to trap limbs), AND the entire frame lifts to reveal storage the size of the entire bed.  This was a huge plus, as hubby and I are big on storage solutions.

We opted for a brown leather-look ottoman bed from Wayfair.  First, the delivery was amazing.

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We ordered over the Christmas period (bad move).  I expected the delivery date for 2nd Jan, so imagine my surprise when the bed arrived on Christmas Eve!  This was a huge plus as it meant hubby was off work to assemble the bed.

In terms of assembly, the Wayfair bed was a bit fiddly to make, and hubby needed to buy an extra cog of some sort, but we got it working, and it fits Hannah’s room nicely.  The brown leather-look is a lot darker than expected, it looks almost black, but I don’t mind.  We’ll jazz it up with glow-stickers and the like to make it homely.  P.S. the pic you see is from Wayfair’s website, as I’m too lazy to lift up the ottoman for an arts-y shot right now.

Hannah loves her new bed and is staying there every night.

Chicco 4-in-1 Baby Hug – A very versatile thing indeed    

Full disclaimer, the Chicco 4-in-1 Baby Hug was originally gifted for Hannah to review as a feeding chair.  However, soon after we discovered that we were expecting baby no.2, so the super versatile chair opened up a whole host of options.

The Chicco 4-in-1 Baby Hug grows with your baby right from newborn to small child age.  It can be used as a crib from birth, a recliner chair, a high chair, and finally as a child’s chair from 6 months old.  This one product has all these configurations.

The height adjusts to be a high chair and a floor-level seat.  It lies flat and opens up to become a crib.  And just in case that wasn’t brand-spanking enough, it comes with an activity bar, which features soft toys, lights up and plays music.  It is literally all you need in one unit.  Oh, and it has wheels with brakes, so you can keep it stationery in one place or move it from room to room with ease.  This makes it a much easier option that a traditional Moses basket with a static frame.

Despite all these bells and whistles, the Chicco 4-in-1 Baby Hug doesn’t skimp on quality.  It’s smooth and solid features are built to last, so I can totally see it being used for as long as it claims.  I wish I knew about this fancy contraption when Hannah was born.

Fun for Hannah, practical for baby

But we’re making up for lost time.  Hannah is enjoying dancing to the music that comes from the chair and is constantly asking me to switch on the light show for her amusement.  I get the feeling both she and her sibling will enjoy the Chicco Baby 4-in-Hug for a while.

If you head to my instagram, you’ll see some of the gadgetry in action.  I’ll post up a detailed review once it’s in full use.

Sensible baby shopping    

Apart from that, there’s been some clothes shopping and a general audit of what’s needed for the new arrival.  I’m trying to be pragmatic this time around, and have realised that there’s so much I don’t need, that we feel we have to buy.  So stick around for more baby-based updates, and any hacks and savings I come across.

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