Baby must-haves

liz105

Hello

I'm 7 months pregnant, and am about to leave work and embark on the ritual nesting/hammering t'internet for all my baby necessities as of January.

What I want to know is...

What is your absolute must have item for the first few months of being a new mum/dad/family? The item that looking back you just couldn't have lived without.

Not having many people around me who have had babies I don't have many people to ask, I know the obvious things and am treating myself to a couple of extras (glowing room thermometer as Im terrible with air temp. and a fancy nappy bin as living in an open plan flat I dont want nappy smells around me all day).

Also tips for coping with the big change are welcome, my background is happily married for a few years now, Im mid 20's, hubby is mid 30's, he will continue to work full time and we live in a modern 2 bed flat.

Fire away peeps!!

pinkpig08

I would say one thing would be a slow cooker. Chuck all the stuff in in the morning and you don't have to mess about at teatime then!

Baileys_Babe

I'm expecting my second in the spring. I really don't feel their are "any must haves" I think it depends on your circumstances/life style choices. Sorry not the answer you were looking for, but worth bearing in mind when others make suggestions. Good luck with becoming a family.

beccam

For us (though not for everyone!) was a changing table thing my friend found for us in a car boot sale. It was £20 and was her present to us, we live in a small house with little storage and put it up in the living room, was a Mama's and Papa's one with shelves and stored everything in it!! There was a bath when you lifted up the changing bit which we never used as it was too much of a faff but we stored more things in there instead! It was a godsend as DD was a very sicky baby who suffered from reflux and explosive poos and we had a load of muslins, nappies, vests etc right there.
Wouldn't necessarily pay full price for it as I think its supposed to be about £90 but def if you can get a cheap one.
Also (for us) muslin cloths....could never get enough of them, but then as I say DD was projectile vomiting continually!!

Congratulations and all the best for your newborn.

Notsosharp

Lots and lots and lots of white babygros - Its all my little one lived in for the first six months of her life.

Also, check in charity shops for baby clothes - the one I volunteer in had a load of unsed baby clothes come in and they are sold for 50p a garment.

A travel cot - I did have a proper cot but tbh my little one spent most of her time in there.....

A steriliser too, just trying to think now, my little one is six it seems quite a way away now!!!

chalky_75

LOTS AND LOTS OF LOVE nd even more important lots and lots of time. Precious moments even from day 1 singing,talking and reading to your baby

3onitsway

Congrats :T

I'm also 7 months pregnant (due 9/2), but with my third.

I'd firstly say take no notice of the lists of 'must haves' in pregnancy mags/catalogues.

When I had DS, 11 years ago, I was young (25) and naive (sp) - and insisted we needed absoluetly everything going.

Baby basically needs somewhere to sleep, some form of transport and something to eat!

I got a gorgeous crib for no.1, but he grew out of it shockingly quickly!! No.2, and this one, have got a moses basket for about £20 which should last about 3 months. However, theres no reason baby can't go straight into a cot.

Transport depends on how you travel. You can spend stupid amounts on the latest pram/travel system. Do you do a lot of walking?, travel on public transport?, use the car mainly? Most people find that they use the pram/travel system for the first 6 months maybe, but after that, swap to a light umbrella fold buggy as its so much easier to use.

And feeding - are you planning to breastfeed? Then you'll need breastpads (for leakage), and bottles/pump if you plan to express.
If not, you'll need bottles, formula, steriliser etc.

Shop around! The prices of baby stuff varies wherever you go. You can go to Mothercare to try the prams out, but then go home and google it to find it cheaper. I got my Silvercross for £100 cheaper than Mothercare, with car seat thrown in, from Kiddicare.co.uk.

And if you haven't already, join the Pregnancy club on here! Theres loads of friendly mums and expectant mums on there and you can ask them anything!!

Nicki

We had one of those fancy nappy bins, and it lasted about 2 weeks! I really really wouldn't bother if I were you. They take about 30 odd nappies which they basically wrap up for you in a scented nappy sack and keep in a flip top bin. First, the cartridges cost a bomb and you can just as easily pop your nappy in a nappy sack and put it in your own flip top bin (with the added advantage you won't get poo over your hands as you use the twist and push motion the fancy one requires). Second, even with the fancy bin, having more than about 5 used nappies in an internal bin is going to stink your whole house out, and more so if you live in a flat! I'd really recommend that you just have a normal bin for nappies which you empty in an outdoor bin every time you leave your house. Third, the construction is really weird and its really easy to throw an integral part of the bin away when changing the cartridge which will make it unusable anyway. It is guaranteed that your OH will do this the first and only time he empties the thing!

My best buy was a moses basket for the first few months so baby could slee in whatever room I was in at the time and there was never far to go to feed him.

beccam

Also ask round any friends who have had babies and see what they've got stored in the loft etc. We had a moses basket which went round 5 of us as it was good size and on a rocker stand thing (meant you could eat your dinner and rock it with your foot!!!) It's advised to buy a new mattress for any second hand cots etc but think for the basket it was only about £10.

Oh lots of soap/handwash/alco gel stuff. Poo gets everywhere!!! And a nice hand cream for you so your skin doesn't break from all the handwashing!!

Saver_Raver

My little one is 18 weeks old now. The must haves for me have been:

Babygrows (bought loads from charity shops / tesco sales)
Changing station (got mine £20 off ebay)
Cardigans (I use these all the time but are especially good for bedtime. A lot of people recommend growbags but I am a bit paranoid about little one getting too hot)
Pram (I use this everyday, it was an expense but def worth the money. It has helped me regain my figure too)

Good look becoming a mummy!

PS - if anyone offers to help with housework / cooking.......let them :-)

cazscoob

my must have would have to be baby sleeing bags as my lot kick their covers off and this way i knew they would be cosy all night! also when tiny i like big shawls or blankets to wrap them up tight which settled them easier.

i also advise a bouncy chair but one with a bouncy frame rather than a fixed solid one so you can bounce it when they are unsettled or your in the middle of your dinner:D