My sister is having her first child sometime in August (depending on his schedule and her diabetes!) so I have been hard at work putting together a package to send to her after the bub is born. A collection of all the bits and pieces that I’ve found essential in my experience as a mum.

Looking around there are some amazing tutorials and patterns floating around on the Internet, so I thought I’d share my favourite finds with you!

Burp Cloths! My first son had reflux, which meant he spent the entire day spitting up, we’d probably get through about a dozen of these within 24 hours. We used cloth nappies, tea towels, absolutely anything to soak up the never ending stream of baby puke. I think having something as pretty as these would make it far more bearable.

The Burp Cloth tutorial is super simple and very quick to complete, a great present for a last minute shower or when an expected baby turns up a little earlier than planned and you’re left scrabbling for a handmade present!

When I was first pregnant I was trying my hardest to be a dilligent mother, buying lots of toys that promised to develop my baby’s skills, grow his brain and hopefully allow him to complete his first degree before he turned 13. When I had him I realised that it was all a bit silly. My lovely newborn was more interested in boobs than attaining his scholarship and now one of my first pieces of advice to any pregnant women is to not waste hundreds of dollars on toys when a few simple ones will do just as well.

This turtle rattle is perfect. Made in wool and stuffed with some cotton or bamboo you have a lovely and completely natural toy for babe. The crochet pattern is very simple if you’re familiar with Amigurumi and crochetting in the round.

I have only just (like literally in the last week!) discovered the joys of sleep sacks. My eldest was obsessed with moving from a very young age, and anything that kept his feet contained would be a reason to scream for hours on end. My second son is very laid back and is sensible enough to realise that these sacks are a wonderful way to keep toasty and warm in this particularly harsh winter that we’re having, he’s even mastered crawling in one!

I’m still only a beginner knitter but the sleep sack pattern doesn’t too too complicated, and the zodiac sign (all the charts for the different signs are included at the bottom of the page)  is a lovely touch.

Blankets! You could have 50 blankets and you will never have enough, I promise you this. They will get peed on, puked on, it’ll get cold and suddenly you’ll need to wrap babe up in 20 of them just to stop him shivering, PLUS, I am fairly convinced that a blanket fairy resides in our home, just next door to the sock fairy.

I love these Self Binding Blankets because they make a change from the usual receiving blankets, they’re also very effective for only a little bit of work – once again, excellent if you’re pressed for time.

And my number one essential for every new baby is…. a sling! Everyone has their favourite carrier, but for newborns I absolutely love pouch slings, and even up to 14 kilos I could still lug my toddler around in our sling.

This is the same pouch pattern I used to make all of our slings (you need one to match every outfit, right?) and I’ve found it very easy to adapt to a reversible sling pattern as well.

What are you baby essentials? Have a missed something else that I could make to throw into my sister’s parcel? Let me know in the comments!