As a mama of three, I share my favourite baby items for other fibro mamas.
There are a multitude of nursery items and almost as many articles about which ones are necessary. Here’s my recommendations for a fibro parent, or really, any parent!
Some of my links are affiliate links, I receive compensation at no extra cost to you if you purchase using these links. I never promote anything I don’t 100% support myself.
Below are my favourite baby items I found indispensable for a mama with Fibromyalgia:
Cot. With an easy to put up and down side, or an opening in the front.
Bassinet. We tried a different option with each baby. Both were easy to move and that was very helpful. I wished for a beside bassinet with fold down side so I didn’t have to get in and out of bed so much and to make co-sleeping a safe option. This 3-in-1 is a great idea, it is a bedside crib and a pack and play.
Changing table. We weren’t going to buy one, I had thought that I could get by without one. But, being given one has been a lifesaver. I have everything I need to change them on the shelf and can lay them down at the right height for changing. You could even use a set of drawers that are the right height with a change mat on the top and the top drawer full of your supplies.
A rocking chair. My husband and I clashed about this one. He didn’t think it was necessary. I believed with all my heart that it was. I ended up getting a second hand one and it has been so useful. For nursing, expressing or just rocking when you’re too tired to stand, it was worth it. Nursing for a mama with Fibromyalgia can be tricky, so a comfortable place to nurse is a good idea – check out my post on nursing with Fibromyalgia here.
Other parenting posts:
Pumping or Expressing for Your Baby: Parenting (Fibromyalgia or Not)
Pregnancy Diaries 2018: The First Trimester of Pregnancy with Fibromyalgia
Coping with a Toddler (Fibro or not!)
Fibro Mama Interviews: Natalie from Surviving Lifes Hurdles
Pushchair. We loved the City Mini Baby Jogger (we have it in black). I found it very easy to steer and lightweight to put up and down. You can also get the universal baby jogger parent console for phones and drink bottles, this goes over the handle. I have recommended this pushchair to everyone, but especially fibro parents as it is so easy to lift, put up and down and steer. I am so sad that we got the last of the old model which means the handle is shorter so we can’t employ the glider board – it would have gotten so much use as each time we had a new baby the older one was not quite old enough to walk everywhere.
- Infant capsule seat with folding pushchair frame. We didn’t get one before Noah was born because I thought it would be too heavy for me to lift. I was right, very quickly it became a real burden to carry. However, with the frame and the fact that Noah was not a good napper, it turned out to be invaluable. At some stage early on I noticed that he was tired by about 9 in the morning, but struggled to get to sleep. So we began leaving the house (rain or shine) either via the car or walking. He learned to nap this way. The seat and frame meant that I could seamlessly move from car to shops to car to home easily.
- A Boppy pillow/feeding pillow. I loved this, it was so useful for nursing and to let the baby’s lie down and watch the world go by. It was a real lifesaver when the boys were small to sit them on it and let them watch me potter around the living area. It was also great for Wyatt with his reflux, he took some of his naps on it. We always used it with supervision because there is a chance of baby slipping down and cutting their airway off by pushing their chin forward.
- A front pack. This is a difficult one. On the one hand, you are going to hold the weight anyway, so why not distribute it more evenly. On the other, from about six months my little guys became too heavy for my shoulders to bear for too long. I absolutely loved having the Boba wrap with number three and I was so sad that I hadn’t heard of it for the first two. For more about baby wearing see this post.
I loved the Gemini Beco – it goes from 7 pounds/3kg, which both of my babies started off at!
A bath seat. This has meant that I don’t have to hold their weight while they were in the bath and it’s far more easy to wash them.
Jolly Jumper. We used this once his neck was strong, at about four months. This was lovely for me when he was super fussy and I was super tired. It gave me ten minutes of time out from holding him.
One thing they can use to pull themselves up with. When he started to develop the ability to pull himself up, we got a table type toy where he can stand and play. This is a useful thing to let them stand without you holding them.
We got one similar to this. Again, this lasted for both of our boys.
Baby seat. This was something I wanted but didn’t purchase until he was already sitting on his own. It would have been useful before this as he loved to sit and see so it could have bought me more non holding time. Now we use it, strapped to a chair as his highchair. We can also take it when we go away. He will be able to use this until he’s tall enough to sit on a chair at the table, without the space a highchair takes.
We used a seat very much like this. We bought it for Noah and have used it for both Wyatt and Nathaniel.
Bouncinette/Electronic Rocker. This was one of those things that buys you some non holding time that you so desperately need when they’re clingy or your sore or you need to get stuff done.
Breast pump. This was a lifesaver for me with nursing my children. I had to exclusively express for my first and then expressed a fair amount for my second. With my third, I was able to nurse exclusively so I only used a Haakaa manual breast pump for catching those precious drops when I was nursing. Our favourite bottles were Avent – because the teats were shaped more like breasts and therefore helped us to avoid nipple confusion.
Something to make baby food with. My nutribullet has been a lifesaver for the puree stage. It is so easy to steam up some fruit and vegetables (say, silverbeet, apple and kumara) and then puree it in the nutribullet with some of the cooking water. I also use it for my plant based milks too so it is far more than just a baby essential.
Did you know that Amazon has a baby registry? You can sign up here Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby Registry It’s basically a mobile registry (available anywhere!)and you will be eligible for discounts and rewards. If you’re going to purchase some of your items from Amazon, you may as well sign up.
Is there anything else to add? Was there one awesome thing you would not do without?
For more information about pregnancy and Fibromyalgia:
Check out the Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia Resources Page – this is the best page I could compile using the limited resources available.
My book is one of only two available about Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia!
Some of my links are affiliate links, I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you if you purchase using these links. I never promote anything I don’t 100% support myself.
