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Do you feel like you need to pack a suitcase full of baby things when you leave the house? Even if it's only for a couple of hours?  Or do you wonder why you need to pack at all and surely only a couple of nappies will do.  Trust us – a well packed nappy bag will save your day.  Here's our list of what we think you should be packing for your baby and you! 

For your baby

• Nappies – pack one for every couple of hours you’re out and a couple extra.
• Wipes – not only are they useful for nappy changes but sticky hands and surfaces too. Instead of carrying the whole packet, which can be rather chunky and heavy – you can put some wipes in a plastic bag.
• Changing mat  -  some changing rooms have paper towels to cover the changing station but many don’t so having your own lightweight one is a must and it means you can pretty much change your baby anywhere.
• Hand cleaning gel - to clean your hands when there’s no basin
  For cleaning your hands after diaper changes when there's no time or place to wash them.
• Nappy bags – So useful for everything, dirty nappies, clothes, as rubbish bags
• Bottle(s) of milk – if your baby uses the bottle (we recommend Pura)
• Dribble bibs - if your baby is teething
• Meals (if weaning)
• Snacks (for older babies and toddlers)
• Water bottles - we recommend Squeasy or Pura.

Extras, just in case

• Large muslin cloth – so versatile you can use it to cover your baby for warmth, as a shade, nursing cover, burp cloth.
• Extra clothes including bib, vest and baby gro – just for those times when you have an accident of some kind.  
• Dummy/Comforter -  if your baby uses one
• Sunscreen or a hat to protect your child from the sun
• Entertainment – a young baby may not need any toy whilst a toddler going to a restaurant will need more distractions – books, colouring paper, stickers and crayons will make your trip out much easier.
• Medicine – plasters, paracetamol sachets and any other regular medicines
• Sling or wrap for carrying your baby - sometimes your baby doesn’t want to be in the stroller, sometimes you need to park the stroller or for those times you just want to have your baby close to you.

 Don’t forget your own essentials too!

• Nursing cover – if you use a breastfeeding cover then you’ll want to take this in your nappy bag
• Breast pads if you’re breastfeeding

Have a read of some real tips from parents

My two kids are so different in every way.  When my oldest was in the car he would fall asleep within minutes, as soon as there was motion he would stop crying, we would often drive the long route to keep him sleeping.  We would sit in the car parked outside of the house until he naturally woke not wanting to disturb his slumber.

When my little one was born it all seemed the same for the first few weeks but at 5 weeks the minute he was in the car he would start crying - screaming even at the top of his lungs.  The second his tiny body lay in the car seat he would cry.  It made even the shortest journeys unbearable.  Thank goodness it didn’t bother big brother.  But the thought of going in the car would send shivers down the back of my legs.  I would rather walk than use the car. Positives are that it saved money, I exercised and the kiddies got fresh air. But when it rained, when we had to go somewhere a bit further, when we went to Devon - there was no convenient alternative to the car and LO would shrill.  The easiest option became the dreaded.

Fortunately there are a large number of mums who have lived with this issue and we promise you that they do stop crying and will like travelling in the car soon. After ruling out health issues such as reflux or infections - speak to your midwife or GP.

Here are a few of the things I tried to stop baby crying in the car.

1. Make sure your baby isn’t too warm or cold. The car seat is very insulated and the baby can heat up quickly.
2. Make sure the sun isn’t in their face. A car sun shade can help shade the sun.
3. If he’s big enough and able to support his head - perhaps the head support is restricting his movement.
4. Make sure the car seat is comfy enough for your baby. Does he need more cushioning/support.  A rolled up muslin placed on the side could make him feel cosier.
5. Time car travelling with naps - when baby is tired you might find the movement of the car will lull them into a nap
6. Feed baby just before a car journey - a full tummy may calm them and give baby one less reason to cry
7. Give baby their favourite comforter - can be in the form of a blanket, dummy or a toy.
8. Use a car mirror - such as the Onco baby car mirror - this allows them to see your face and more importantly, you can see your baby.
9. Play their favourite music in the car - this may distract them from the car journey
10. Try white noise - this can bring on a relaxing atmosphere for them.
11. Try new music in the car - this will give you a break too!
12. Make a poster to place on the back rest for them to look at. Black and white or primary colours are best for little babies to look at.
13. Print a picture of yourself for them to see.
14. Place the baby’s car seat in the front passenger seat - make sure you turn the front passenger seat air bag off if you have one. The safest position for your baby is in the back but if this works and causes you less stress then your driving will be safer.
15. Ignore the crying - they aren’t in any danger and you will be safer to reach your destination than to fuss or stress over your baby whilst driving.

It could have been a coincidence but one day little one was given a Jellycat toy which we had in the car and as soon I I put the toy in his hands, he stopped crying. He was around 4 months old and I will always remember this day.  LO didn’t stop crying altogether but it definitely reduced how much he cried.  A couple of weeks later I realised that I no longer had that dread - he didn’t cry the minute I put him in the car seat, he actually started to enjoy the car rides.  We both enjoyed travelling in the car!

We all know that having your precious little baby is life changing. Your body changes forever, you can't sleep, you change a million dirty nappies, you are responsible for everything your baby needs: feeding, changing, cleaning, teaching and loving them.  But who knew all the other things that you would do when you have a baby to make life work.  

1. Going to the toilet whilst holding your baby – you’ve held on for as long as you can and your baby either hasn’t finished his nap or just will not let you go without crying, and you have already slightly leaked.   So you go to take a pee whilst holding your baby.  It can be done. This is when you realise those jeans are a pain to put back on … with one hand.
2. Cook whilst holding your baby in one arm -  It’s Wednesday and you haven’t had a home cooked meal since Sunday when husband was at home so you decide to cook dinner but it’s now 6pm and you still haven’t managed to time preparing dinner with your baby.  So you learn the art of one handed dinner preparation and cooking.  The carrots might still have the skin on – it’s hard using a peeler with one hand.  The courgettes might not be perfectly sliced in equal pieces.  Have you ever chopped with a blunt knife before? And the chicken might be overcooked because there are uneven pieces but at least you can say you cooked.
3. Playing tag at meal times with your partner.  On the days you actually manage to cook dinner you’ll want to enjoy your delicious meal whilst it’s hot.  Why do babies always know when it’s our meal time? And wont’ let you eat in peace.  So one of you holds the baby walking around the house, starving.  At least one of you can enjoy your meal whilst it’s hot although you’ll prob eat it in half the time that you usually do so that your partner can have some food.  
4. 1 - 2 minute showers – you know still being in your pyjamas at 4pm is normal but in this heat you can’t wait to jump in the shower except baby just won’t let you… so you put him down, he’s crying as if it was the worst thing on earth you could ever do, so you have the fastest shower on record. Barely getting yourself wet.  Lather up and rinse.  The hair can wait until tomorrow.  Hardly relaxing but at least you are clean. Sort of.  You’re saving water at least.   
5. Breastfeeding on the go – when your baby is half way through his hour long feed and you only have half an hour left of parking and haven’t even picked up one thing from your list of things to get – you’ll find yourself breastfeeding on the go.  As long as he’s being fed you can carry on your with what you need to do. Multitasker extraordinaire!

Baby showers are a great way to not only celebrate a pregnancy but have a final baby free girly get together.  I don’t know how we did it but we managed to surprise our sister, who is expecting her first child and the most difficult person to keep a surprise from, with a surprise baby shower.  Here’s step by step of how we did it.   

1.  Friends and family: Luckily we still had our list of friends our sister invited to her Hen party so it was pretty easy to invite those she potentially would want to be there.
2. Save the date: Our sister travels a lot for both work and pleasure and as well as having  a busy social life it was hard to find out when she was free in the weeks preceding her due date.  We needed our brother-in-laws help with this.  About 4 months before her due date we sent out a poll of 2-3 dates for guests to inform us of their availability.  It’s a good idea to plan the baby shower for between 4-8 weeks before the due date.  With a week to RSVP we then sent out a save the date for the most popular. It’s a good idea not to leave it too long before confirming the date as we all know how annoying it can be to keep proposed dates free when we are all so busy.  
3. Location Location Location: With numbers confirmed we went about looking for suitable venues bearing in mind the different groups of friends living in mainly two places including London and our home town in Kent.  We wanted something relaxed serving good food in a nice location with availability on that date.  After we found the perfect venue we reserved an area for our party and placed a deposit.
4. Fake date: With my sister’s best friend’s help who managed to ‘book’ our sister to make sure she was free and planned to go to the venue for lunch.
5. Gift list: Prepare a gift list of anything that mum-to-be has mentioned she still needs. Make sure there’s a variety of more and less expensive guests to cater for all budgets.  
6. Confirm the venue: About a week before the baby shower
7. Have your cake and eat it: No baby shower is complete without the essential baby themed cake. With lack of time we bought our cake decorations on line and made fresh cupcakes the day before.
8. Guess the name: Keep the party light hearted with a few baby themed games, we had guess the name, weight, length, date of birth, hair and eye colour that we printed using a personalised logo; and the really popular personalise a baby vest using coloured fabric pens and plain white baby vests.
9. Keep it personal: We also printed out a personalised sheet for guests to write a message to our sister to read after her birth to remind her how fabulous she is!
10. Pre-order meal: for a party of our size we had to pre-order our menu. This was actually really helpful in hindsight.  Using an online survey we emailed everyone the menu with a couple of days to choose.  The online survey easily tracks how many of each dish were requested and also who ordered what.  Send this over to the venue the day before. 
11. Cups, plates and balloons: Even though we were having the baby shower at a pub they kindly let us decorate the area with balloons. We made use of
12. Arrive earlier rather than later: Allow at least 45 minutes to set things up especially if you have balloons to blow up and remember to ask your guests to arrive 15 minutes earlier than when the guest of honor arrives.
13. Have fun: Our sister definitely had baby brain.  Even though we had a huge sign with ‘Diana’s baby shower’ posted on entering – she still did not realise it was for her until she saw her friends! Achievement J
14. Cheese: don’t forget to take pictures through the day as a memory for guest of honour.
15. Car ride: Make sure the guest of honour has a car ride home as after a long day the last thing she will want to do is lug all her gifts home.

Even if I do say so myself, I think we did ourselves proud, with great planning, team work and great group of friends, our sister was most definitely surprised and had a great time.