What baby stuff is essential?

galvanizersbaby

foreversomeday wrote: »

They can be - it's now not recommended to use baby wipes for tinies, but they are useful for wiping sticky mouths/hands etc of toddlers/older babies - we were told at antenatal to only use the sensitive wipes that huggies and pampers do etc - but never to use johnson's wipes as they are the worst.

Sometimes you just get the kind of poo that cotton wool and water won't shift, apparently I've not had the baby yet so have all that to come I am sure! :rotfl:

I think the wipes vs cotton wool+water comes down to personal preference. To be even more moneysaving you could use a flannel, dishcloth or terry square with the water and keep in a plastic bag whilst out and then wash![/quote]

Tee hee! :rotfl: - yes this can be the case from memory - best to go with the cotton wool and water at first and then when baby's bottom toughens up a bit you can go with the wipes
I wouldn't recommend the flannel or dishcloth personally but if you are not using disposable nappies it may be worth giving it a go!

I would say don't buy any sort of bottlewarmer if you are bottlefeeding or expressing your milk - they take ages to heat up and you can put the bottle in any container of boiled water and it will do the same job and quicker cos of course you are not supposed to use the microwave

sarah1980

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

I would say don't buy any sort of bottlewarmer if you are bottlefeeding or expressing your milk

Thanks for the tip - any advice/recommendations on the evil-looking breast pumps? The NCT catalogue shows some very pleasant ladies happily expressing milk with their tops still on!

trancebabe

Not sure if anyone has said it already but join your local freecycle group, it's amazing what you can pick up for free just because people want rid and look in charity shops too.

Baby's grow so quickly that they never wear their clothes out. You can pick up some great stuff in the smaller sizes especially

you don't need a top and tail bowl (marg tubs are just the ticket)
you wont need a baby bath
you wont need a bottle warmer

Join as many baby clubs as you can, Bounty, Boots, Tesco, Hipp etc and they'll all be sending you samples and coupons til baby is 2 at least

Congrats on your baby news... wishing you the very best

galvanizersbaby

sarah1980 wrote: »

Thanks for the tip - any advice/recommendations on the evil-looking breast pumps? The NCT catalogue shows some very pleasant ladies happily expressing milk with their tops still on!

:rotfl: can't help on the breast pump front I'm afraid as could never express any myself (did try)
I wouldn't say this was an essential for the first few days but only my experience.
It may be an idea to see how you go with the feeding - at the end of the day you can always get one after the baby's born if needed - it's unlikely you will give birth and commence expressing straight away but this may only be in my experience

foreversomeday

sarah1980 wrote: »

Thanks for the tip - any advice/recommendations on the evil-looking breast pumps? The NCT catalogue shows some very pleasant ladies happily expressing milk with their tops still on!

Those are the ones in a bra I think which are supposed to be hands-free! :rotfl:

I've been given a Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature one from a friend who intended to breastfeed but had such difficulty she now formula feeds and so didn't get a chance to use the pump at all. I'm quite happy with this because those are the bottles I was planning to use if I ever do express milk.

I think it depends how much you want to use it - are you going back to work very early? Do you think you will be expressing a lot? Are you prepared to pay for the convenience of hands-free? Do you know what bottles you might choose to use? Remember you can express from one while baby feeds from the other, so the hands free expressing bra might not be very useful for that!! Personally though unless like me you end up with a free one, I wouldn't buy until after the birth.

NCT catalogues seem to be overpriced, I know they are a charity but it still seems high to me. The only thing I've found cheaper there than elsewhere is the Birth Pool in a Box.

lizziebell*80

Congrats sarah1980 (I think we are the same age!).

I am looking at baby threads quite a lot just now as finding out about pg and stuff as planning to TTC at the end of the year so want to know all about it before hand. My friend just had her first in June and even before the wee one made an appearance I think she had gathered a very large hoard of baby related items and proceeded to tell me that I would need a much bigger car to lug it all around in (however I secretly though that she had maybe gone a bit overboard and also that I was not getting rid of my car!).

I reckon I'll go with the whole "get the bare essentials" then wait for the wee one to make an appearance and see what may be missing.

notlongnow_2

Nappy wrapper???. LOL...er....NO! I always thought baby baths were a waste of money too. For the first two, I bought one..never used it. For the third I didnt buy one and didnt miss it.

glitterfairy_2

hi, i would say that what i consider to be an essential item for a baby is a monitor that detects your babys movement and breathing. i had one of these myself, which i then passed on to a friend, and we have bought them as a present for our nephews and nieces when they have had their first babies as we consider them to be so important. a member of my husbands family had one of these, and when the alarm went off as no movement was being detected, they were able to bring the baby back round straight away, and whilst it is not my wish to frighten anybody, i think that this is an invaluable item to have. they also sell at a good price second hand on ebay, and so you almost recoup what you have spent anyway, unless you prefer to pass it on as we did. hope to have helped;)

Chell

sarah1980 wrote: »

Thanks for all your responses, I am very reluctant about buying clothes/nappies now as I very much doubt the newborn stuff will fit. Obviously I am clueless about babies, but I was 6 weeks premature and over 7lbs, my two brothers were over 9lbs each and we are all now very tall (I am 5'11"). So if that's anything to go by then baby will probably start off in 0-3 months clothing.

My first child was 8lb 11oz, he didn't fit into newborn clothes or first size nappies for more than a week or two as he gained a lb in the first week.

DD1 was 7lb 6oz and seemed tiny in comparison, she needed first size for a good while.

DD2 was 6lb 9oz, today at 19 days old she is still only 7lb 1oz. Some newborn outfits/sleepsuits that she was bought are still too big, her legs get lost in them!

Asda sell plain white sleepsuits and vests very cheaply, even the patterned ones aren't very expensive. I only bought these before DD was born as it meant my parents could pop and get me the correct size and colour once she was born.

Pram/moses basket - If you've got a pram with a carrycot then you don't need a moses basket. We have a First Wheels Elite pram which we bought a better mattress for (about £12). DD sleeps in this at night.

Muslin - I don't agree about needing lots of these, I've hardly used them.

Wipes - Fleece wipes are cheaper than buying cotton wool all the time.

Nappies - I'm using real nappies, I recommend www.twinkleontheweb www.friendlybaby.com and www.fill-your-pants.com - I've bought bits from these three sites in the past few months. Check to see if your local council has an incentive scheme, I got £25 cashback from mine.

Bath - I have bought a kitchen sink basin to bath each of my children in. A baby bath takes up too much space and would need a lot of water to fill it compared to a little plastic basin.

SUESMITH_2

dont bother with newborn clothes my kids never fitted in them.

bought a baby bath but never used it as it was such a faff, we used to take it in turns to have a bath with dear baby, other one used to come and lift babe out and dry it off.

never bothered with a nappy wrapper

my kids much prefered the sling to their pram (wilkinet sp? just brilliant)

we never bothered with a moses basket as our kids were long and would have been out of it in no time (you can always pick these up second hand too) they used to sleep in the carrycot that went with the pram

car seat of course

i had a changing bag but got it half price in the sale, i preferred a purpose made on as it had an attached changing mat for when you're out but i know some people make do with just a rucksack

cot for when theyre older, we bought the biggest one we could

the best thing i did was go along to nct sales where people sell off all the stuff they've finished with

theres lots of hype by manafacturers about what you "must" have but most it will just clutter up your house and make you poorer

oh, forgot to say decent nursing bras for you. good luck