Baby and toddler things that I wish we'd bought

I often see lists that people have made of all the unnecessary things that they purchased for their babies and toddlers. It made me think of the things we didn't buy that, with the benefit of hindsight, we really should have done! We either didn't think were necessary at the time, or else I didn't consider them until it was too late to justify the purchase.

So here is my list of things that I really wish we'd had!

Top of the list is a video monitor. We ended up buying quite a pricy monitor anyway, so it wasn't the cost that put me off, I was just worried that I'd end up obsessed with watching the baby. But I think that we would have found one really useful, and would probably still be using it now. All those times in the middle of the night when I was woken up by a whimper and didn't know if the baby had gone back to sleep or whether it was the prelude to a two hour screaming marathon. Those occasions when I'd put a small toddler down for a nap, and I wanted to check if they were still asleep or up to mischief. Those very infrequent mornings when a small child actually slept past 6am, and I started to worry, but didn't dare go in to check in case they woke up.

On a similar note, I think that a two way baby monitor would also have been a good investment. We still use monitors for the children (I know, they are too old really, but we have a large house and we like to watch the television loudly downstairs in the evening while they are sleeping) and it would be nice in the mornings when they wake up and shout for us to call back and tell them to go back to sleep (ha!).

We definitely should have bought a decent buggy board. Harry was never a particularly good walker, and I used to push Mia around in her car seat on wheels because that configuration on our travel system created a sort of step that Harry could stand on. A proper buggy board would have had lots of use and been far more comfortable for all of us to use.

Also when it comes to being out and about, I'm sure that Harry would be much better on his bike now if we'd bought them a balance bike. I've seen tiny toddlers whizzing about on them, and they progress brilliantly to proper bikes. Harry is still riding about on a toddler bike with stabilisers which I'm a bit embarrassed about, and Mia has never even ridden a bike on my watch. We didn't get them one because they already had a Scuttlebug and scooters which they've had loads of use out of, and it just seemed a bit excessive to get them that as well.

Finally I also really wish that I'd invested in a nice change bag right from the start, instead of using the one that I got free when I joined the Boots Baby Club. To be fair it did the job, fitted well in the pushchair, has lasted incredibly well and is still in use packed up with spare clothes in the boot of the car. But I spent so much time carting it about, it would have been lovely to have a pretty one, not to mention a baby purchase that was something for me out of all the money we spent on things for the children.

I suppose in the end that's not a huge list (and probably not nearly as long as the list of things that we bought and didn't actually need, which I don't dare to make).

What would you add? I'd love to know!