I'm still using my baby box – here's how my family benefitted from it

My little one, now not so little and running around, has benefitted greatly from the items included in the box, as have I. 

We are one of tens of thousands of families who have taken up the offer of the box of baby essentials, worth around £420.

While some may question the cost, such as those X accounts with Union Jack flags who bombarded my unboxing video before I went on maternity leave, it has been an invaluable part of raising a child – particularly when everything baby-related is incredibly expensive. 

The towel was used after his first proper bath, in which we wrapped him up like a tiny burrito. 

The bath thermometer is still in use to this day, ensuring he has a perfect 37C bath to splash around in and throw cups in. 

The grey hooded jumper with bear ears was a firm favourite in his first months, and he even wore it to one outing to our local pub when we celebrated our wedding anniversary.

(Image: NQ staff) The muslins, of which you can never have too many, mopped up many a spittle and vomit, and are still at hand for any emergencies to this day (now mostly for bogeys).

In those moments of new parent panic, and post-vaccines, the under arm thermometer was an anxiety saver, and allowed us to check if he had a fever or not. Again, we still have this and I will no doubt need to use it again, as he has so far brought home both chickenpox and hand foot and mouth in his first three months of nursery.

The box itself, which he rarely let us use as a bed because he refused to be put down in those hazy sleep-deprived early months, has been repurposed as a toy box in his room. I don’t think this is a point against the box itself, more that we had what is now dubbed a “velcro baby” who would barely sleep in his crib for longer than 10 minutes either. 

I’m still using the changing mat, although he now has the ability to run away and pull-ups have been deployed. 

The one thing I didn’t unwrap was the sling, and this was because I had a particularly heavy baby and a c-section. Not to go into any great detail, but the more robust baby carriers felt safer and by the time I was able to use one, and walk further than the end of the street, my not-so-little one had acquired the nickname “chonk”. 

The teether, toothbrush, toothpaste, bath sponge, nail files, books, hat, bib, and various sizes of clothes have all come in handy in the first 18 months of his life.

And, in those sleep-deprived early days that truly cannot be understood without going through it – we forgot bibs existed for two weeks – having a supply of these things is undoubtedly helpful.

Now, we're using it as a toy box in his room.

While we still had to buy a lot of baby items and were given plenty of wonderful gifts from friends and family to help us start our new adventure, the baby box is a great base to start with.

(Image: NQ staff) It takes away some of the stress, it can help clueless new parents and seasoned ones alike to combat some of the staggering costs associated with bringing a child into the world, and it gives everyone the opportunity to start from the same point. 

I always smiled when I saw another baby in the baby box clothes at groups on maternity leave, so no matter what some angry Unionist accounts would claim, they are definitely making a difference.

In a time where maternity pay is low, paternity leave is short and parents are fighting an uphill battle with their finances, the baby box is certainly not to be scoffed at.