The Scottish Baby Box

From the 15th of August 2017 all newborn babies in Scotland are entitled to receive the Scottish Baby Box.  The box contains a wide variety of newborn essentials such as clothes (ranging from 0-6 months), changing mat, digital ear thermometer, play mat, maternity towels etc. The box also has a mattress in it, so that the box can be used as a bed.

When we were about 20 weeks through our pregnancy our midwife gave us a leaflet, which she had signed, to fill out and send away.  This signed us up to receive a baby box.  I have been very excited for our baby box to arrive and when we opened it the contend was absolutely lovely!  It is very tempting to buy stuff for your baby before it is born, but knowing that we were receiving this box has made me hold off buying almost anything.  I have bought one baby suit and knitted a few items.

This is the first time ever, that I have made (with great help from my lovely fiance) a video for the blog.  I thought that it would be a nice way to show the content of the baby box.  It took me a week from when the video was finished until I finally watched it.  Watching and hearing myself is not something I am a huge fan of, but here it goes.  I hope that you will enjoy it, JJ is being an absolute darling in it so I am sure that you will at least enjoy his part.

Give me a comment on this blog and let me know if you liked the video.  Who knows, maybe I could be convinced to do more of them.  At least I think that JJ could easily be convinced, he is a natural 😉

Maternity pads and nursing pads are both on my list to put in my hospital bag, receiving them in the baby box was great, it means a few less for me to buy.  The bath and room thermometer along with the ear thermometer will definitely come in handy.  I think that these could be items that some might not necessarily think about purchasing before having a baby, but will definitely need.  The condoms, well, not for right now obviously 😉  But eventually they might come in handy!

I love that there is a baby wearing wrap in the Scottish Baby Box.  I used a few when JJ was a baby and eventually moved on to a buckled carrier when he got heavier.  I can guarantee that I will be using this one.  Instructions are provided with the carrier and I really hope that mums will look up how to use the wrap and give it a go. By searching on youtube you can find loads of instruction videos on how to use baby carriers.

There is also a cellular blanket and a towel in the box.  They are both super soft.  I can’t wait to wrap our baby in them.  I have never enjoyed trimming baby nails, JJ dislikes it so much that I still have to do it whilst he is asleep!  I am not completely sure if I will be using the nail files, but I will give them a go. If I find that they are easier than clippers then I will wish that I used them the first time around!  There are also 3 muslin cloths in the box, you can never have too many of them.

JJ is very taken by the yellow duck bath sponge, as you will see if you watch the video in the blog.  It makes me excited about baby’s first bath and having JJ there to be part of it.  There is also a mobile change mat in the baby box and it is of great quality.  It will be replacing the one I had for JJ.  The play mat is of great quality too and such a nice thing to include along with the book, teether and play block.  There is also nicely printed Scottish poem with the box.  I can imagine this on the wall of a few Scottish nurseries by now.

What is more adorable than little baby clothes (well a baby is, but we are a few weeks away from that yet!)?!  I will admit that I am not a huge fan of pastel yellow as a neutral baby gender colour, so I got of easy with there only being one item of purely this colour in the box 😉 That being said I can completely understand that this colour is included as it generally is seen as a neutral colour and who really cares what colour sleep suit a baby sleeps in anyway, I am sure that it does not affect their sleep in any way 😉 I am looking forward to showing you all pictures of our baby wearing these clothes.

The thought of there being parents in Scotland who can not afford a bed for their newborn baby makes me incredibly sad. But knowing that now they are all entitled to the Baby Box, a safe place to sleep, makes it a bit better.  We were given a pre loved Moses basked for our first child which we gladly accepted.  This time around we will be using the Moses basket or a bedside crib.

It is not recommended to put the baby box on a table or surface in case it falls off.  I find that this is one of the reasons, why a few parents are not using the box for their baby to sleep in.  Mothers who have recently given birth are often in quite a lot of discomfort, and having to bend all the way down to the floor to put their baby in its bed can definitely be uncomfortable.  For us the baby box will be used for naps in the living room.  I plan to place it in the play pen (which is 100 x 100 cm so plenty of space for the box to be safe inside it) which has two height levels. At the beginning the baby will be at the higher level, which means minimum bending for me, but still with the guard around it.  This will be a safe place for the box, both away from JJ and the dog 😉

It is lovely knowing that all Scottish babies, by receiving this box, have new clothes and a safe place to sleep.  I have heard people argue that the baby boxes are a waist of money, but I do not agree.  Yes, not everyone might use the box for their baby to sleep in, but the box contains so much more than that!  It is meant to give all Scottish babies the same start in life, and giving them to everyone normalises the boxes and takes away the stigma that could be associated with using the content.  Being a stay at home mum comes with the huge advantage of getting to spend a lot of precious time with my children, but it also comes with a payoff of me not having an income,  this does of course mean a bit less money.  To say who needs a baby box is very difficult and not up to me to say, but I am definitely very thankful for ours!

Iris Xx