What baby stuff is essential?

Charlie23

we had pram sheets instead of muslim squares as i had 'over bought' it was a good job in the end as my dd had reflux and was constantly sick so we always had at least 2 with us every where we went.
Plain white sleepsuits my dd was 9lbs 8oz when born and she fitted newborn for maybe 3 weeks then it was 0-3 months.
Pram - ours had a carrycot and you could use it at night.
Car Seat
changing mat
we had a baby bath - from asda £2.50
blankets and bedding
I had a tommii tippiee breast pump and bottles and they were brilliant.
nappies and toiletries
we had a moses basket but she didn't sleep in it as she was so big.
Cot bed as it goes into a bed. If you have a carry cot/moses basket wait until there are good sales for a cot bed.

don't get: bottle warmer, changing unit,
enjoy your bundle of joy

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart

glitterfairy wrote: »

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;)

It should be pointed out that the Sudden Infant Death foundation reccommends that baby sleeps in the same room as you - for all sleeps - for at least the first six months. This is because it's thought that your breathing (the CO2 produced) stimulates baby to breath, and your movements disturb baby enough as to not fall into too deep a sleep. The monitor doesn't do either of these things, and if you're in the same room, you'll be able to check on baby regularly anyway. It's not always practical if you have a light sleeping baby, but it is both the safest and cheapest way to prevent SIDS

Items that I found essential:

1) A sling/baby carrier of some kind. I had a very clingy daughter and this was a godsend for going out. Also saved us having to haul the big pram into the car every time!
2) On the subject of prams. Our carrycot was only used for twelve weeks, but in hindsight, I wouldn't have been without it. We have a lay-flat stroller now and while it's lovely, I wouldn't have wanted to put a newborn into it because compared to the carrycot, it still seems unstable and flimsy. What I'd do next time would be to get hold of a cheap 2nd hand pram on ebay, freecycle etc, or borrow one, then spend on a sling and a stroller for later. We sold our pram on ebay for £40 :eek: and it was still almost new - you can pick up some bargains. Just make sure it's from a non-smoking, pet free home. Your pram can double as a moses basket too, so you save there.
3) A bouncy chair, even a basic one - just somewhere to pop baby down when you're downstairs for five minutes, even if it's just to eat your lunch. My daughter hated lying down and our adjustable chair (about £25) meant she could sit up just a little.
4) Clothes - do have a decent amount of vests and sleepsuits because the last thing you want with a newborn is a pile of washing to be done! You can pick these up very cheaply. I bought outfits on ebay - baby clothes get worn so little before they grow out of them, seems silly not to use second hand ones.

squashy

Hell_Dans_Un_Handcart wrote: »

It should be pointed out that the Sudden Infant Death foundation reccommends that baby sleeps in the same room as you - for all sleeps - for at least the first six months. This is because it's thought that your breathing (the CO2 produced) stimulates baby to breath, and your movements disturb baby enough as to not fall into too deep a sleep. The monitor doesn't do either of these things, and if you're in the same room, you'll be able to check on baby regularly anyway. It's not always practical if you have a light sleeping baby, but it is both the safest and cheapest way to prevent SIDS

You said what I was thinking much more succinctly than I could have. I was going to say that I have not bothered with monitors of any kind as we co-sleep and so are very in-tune with baby's movements anyway. When sleeping during the day she would go in her carrycot or more than likely in her sling on my back! She's 10 months now and she is still pretty much by mine or daddy's side for most of the day. Works for us :T

cheapestskater

Give Boudreaux's Butt Paste a try, I think the guys selling it are back having stock now

mum2one

as its your 1st your get unindated with things, from hand knitted garmets to bags of clothes.
When I was expecting my dd I was told she was going to be premature and small - she was a week early and weighed 7lb 15oz.

Ignore the list the hospital says you must bring in, I remember mine said 60 nappies!!

If you asked me for 1 item that I could not of gone without a flat changeing mat, from poundland at £1.00 - absolutely godsend.

I would recommend a travel system, as you can double up the carrier as a car seat for the 1st 9mths,
Avoid places like Mothercare, Toys r us, I loved Argos.... has everything you need and Boots, Tesco, sign up for baby clubs they send you offers.

Dont put pressure on yourself with anything related to feeding, I wanted to breastfeed, brought the pump and all the extras to express, but unfortunately my boobs didnt do the job. Luckly got them exchanged at Boots.

Steriliser - I didnt have a posh one, I had one that was microwave steam steriliser and doubled up as a cold water steriliser.

I had a moses basket, as dd stayed in it im my rm till she was 11weeks, then moved into her bedrm then in a cot.

Hope that helps x

sarah1980

SUESMITH wrote: »

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

Any recommendations on these? Esp. considering I have always been rather generously proportioned in that department? If there's one thing I can't stand it's an uncomfortable bra...

galvanizersbaby

squashy wrote: »

You said what I was thinking much more succinctly than I could have. I was going to say that I have not bothered with monitors of any kind as we co-sleep and so are very in-tune with baby's movements anyway. When sleeping during the day she would go in her carrycot or more than likely in her sling on my back! She's 10 months now and she is still pretty much by mine or daddy's side for most of the day. Works for us :T

Re the breathing monitors - it's worth saying that they can cause more trouble than good - I had one for my first baby and it kept going off un necessarily! - I think if you are co-sleeping it's best not to bother with the monitor and lets face it unless you live in a mansion if you are downstairs and baby is upstairs you will hear them crying - with a monitor it picks up every whimper and I found I would rush upstairs thinking my son had woken only to find he had settled himself fine and on occasion my sudden appearance would wake him up when he would otherwise be fast asleep - not very pleasing for either of us! :mad:

iskc85860506

Congratulations.

I am expecting my 3rd in 1 month and like many people bought everthin on the market for 1st baby and alot for 2nd but this time I have only bought what I consider esential or I particaly want to make life easier.

changing mat (wanted not esential a towel wil do perfectly fine and if you have a boy you wil prob find u need a towel to mop up the wee they always do as soon as the air hits there willie when changin them!!)

Baby bath - wouldnt bother (they r heavy when full the last thing you need to carry when just ad a baby and its easy enuf to do them in the big bath) if you r worried as babies r slippy when being washed there are these great foam pads you can lie baby on when you are bathin them only £8.
Oh and the sick is grate at 1st, perfect height!

Cot with drop down side which I remove when they are old enuf and use as bed (alot cheaper than a cot bed)

Carseat (I allways have a new 1 just somethin that I fell safer with, this time I have an isofix base to make life easier)

Crib (family 1, wldnt buy 1 if didnt have free family 1 as they dont stay in them 4 long about 3 months and I have 6lb babies) I would put them at bottom of cot all snuggled up.

Pushchair (I like maclaren as they r light weight and most people swap to these within 6 months anyway from experiance or similar. nt all r from birth bt I found baby wasnt happy with bein led compleatly flat anyway, made them sick and had trouble with wind and all of them lie flatter than leaving then in carseat and attaching that to pushchair, I am not a fan of this)

bottom - I use cotton woll for few wks at 1st then on to sainsburys £1.08 baby wipes which are always on offor so I stock up then!! I dont like pampers and huggies I find them expensive and watery at the bottom.

bouncy chair, I use one wiv toys but no vibration (I cant see the point, batterys always need replacin and baby will cope without havin vibrations runnin through it) although I lie baby on blanket on floor as much as possible as i think it helps them to learn to roll etc (again no proof personal opinion) just put some toys above then I got playgym from argos this time around for £9.99

as 4 blankets clothes etc I would buy minimal to start and see how you go. I tend to have quite alot (about 20 cheep tesco) babygrows and vests as the last thing I want to be worrying about when im sleep deprived is getting the washin done and dried and its sods law baby will pee, puke, poo on lots of them in one day!!

I hope all this helps, Its all personal preferances to me tho and everyone is different.

Margaret54

Congratulations to all expectant Mums here and I can't add anything to what others have posted here, as it is all excellent advice and great tips too.xx

Amanda65

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!

This brings back awful memories. I couldn't get on with expressing myself and as 2 weeks in I had enough milk to feed our local maternity unit asked my OH to 'have a go'. He settled down in front of me very seriously, started pumping and said "It's a bit like milking a cow"

I cried :rolleyes: