Baby must-haves

lindsaygalaxy

Muslin squares and lots of them!
Boots nappies are good as well as their wipes.
agree with the mothercare comment. Often kiddicare.com is cheaper, and we got a lot of ours from babies r us which is at toys r us.
baby changing mat, and look for things in not so obvious places, like the argos sale for bedding (or littlewoods etc) and the next sale (never miss it, great for baby clothes if you are early or do it online).
A V shape pillow is really handy even if you dont breastfeed, supportive in pregnancy and handy for holding the baby or supporing your back ( not expensive in argos).
A moses basket is handy as you can move it around the house with you. We really used our baby monitors but I know people that dont, and a cheap room themometer may put your mind at rest.

Dont forget you! 3 in 1 face wipes, hairbands and non iron clothes! Make food now and freeze. breasts pads (again even if you dont breast feed).

jackomdj

Muslin squares are wonderful, we used them for feeding & also on the cot/moses basket to just change that when DD was a bit sick.

Also I wish I had bought a pack of nappy liners that you use on terry nappies to take into hospital. DD did about 10 poo's on her 2nd night (still in hospital so limited on the nappies) & if we had had these I could have just changed that.

Get things like wipes etc in sales (not a help but Sainsburys just had a 50% off & I bought about 10 packs of 4 pack's of wipes at £2.50 each. Usually get them for about £4 in Adsa.

Don't buy a big pot of nappy rash cream until the baby has arrived. We bought a couple & DD was alergic to the usual one (you will get a sample in your bounty pack). We only use cream when DD is sore (usually when teething or under the weather)

Sleeping bags are fantastic. Get a few clothes but remember you will be given lots as presents.

We were given an electric bottle heater (waste of time) & had a nappy bin for the eldest but only used it for about 3 weeks on youngest because of reasons stated below.

For me my most important purchase was the baby monitor which sends out an alarm if the baby stops breathing. Luckily I have not had any problems with either of mine, but my reasoning was because other monitors monitor sound - if a baby has stopped breathing they will not be making a noise.

HTH
Nicky

98sidney

Nappies baby wipes. Steraliser. somewhere for baby to sleep. lie down buggy, car seat, and plenty of clothes from 3 months onwards as they grow so quick..Agree with a post on here sleeping bag, mine was like a mummy one both my kids loved theirs as they felt secure, and was the first thing I got when I was pregnant with my 2nd baby..

Best thing you can do is think like this if your friend was ill and she had a baby but lived quite away, but you had to look after her baby, what things would you need to get so baby could stay..

AnotherMakes3

I am pregnant with my 3rd and for us the main things were

Obviously a cot, if your room is big enough dont buy a moses basket but if you can borrow then fair enough. Mine lasted 10weeks at most in the moses basket as they were quite big long babies.

Tesco sleepsuits and vests are good and wash well as do their clothes and they are cheap.

Sign up for al lthe baby and toddler clubs at Boots, Tesco, pampers and huggies etc cos they all send our money off vouchers.

If bottle feeding bottles and steriliser and formula milk. Also buy some cartons so if you are short of time they are handy.

Use pillowcases for a moses basket in place of sheets.

Sleeping bags are fab and both of my kids have used them until 18months.

Dont buy loads of bath stuff and shampoo. they irritate and arent really necessary for a newborn or a 1 year old for that LOL.

I loved our baby bath support. Its toweling and saves you trying to hold a slippery wet newborn while washing.

The nappy bin will stink. got rid of ours within a week and that was with about 6 nappies in it per day!

Dont be affrid to use freecycle or ebay for baby stuff. Most in used so little its all practicaly new. Just make sure you can wash it all.

HTH a bit and good luck

I am due on the 8th May

slummymummyof3

The best thing we ever bought was a sponge that you lay in a normal bath for the baby to lie on while you wash them with both hands free! About £5-6 in Mothercare - it was a godsend!!!!! Don't bother with a babybath.

msb5262

Hello,
Some excellent posts on this thread. My top favourite item would be muslin squares - and particularly the ones from John Lewis, which are incredibly soft but will last for ever. My DS2, aged 10, is snuggled up now with one bought 15 years ago for DS1!
I'd definitely recommend something really old-fashioned - baby nighties. These are so easy to put on a baby and you can change nappies without loads of messing about with poppers. Newborn babies' legs don't go into babygrows that easily, I found! Nighties are easy to wash too and make your baby look incredibly sweet, especially with a white or cream cardigan.
You will probably think I'm mad but try nighties for your baby and I promise you will love them!
This is a tip I got from my midwife friend, and it was fantastic with all three of mine when they were small.

gailey_2

Right I got sucked in by all lists however invaluables for me were

steriliser/breastpup breasfed but gave me a break
baby rocking chair where daughter slept most days
infant carseat we opted for maxi cosi as turned our pram into travel system
baby carrier as I dont drive so was super for bus
large change bag as used to like to carry everything but kitchen sink
muslins can never have enough!
Lots of sleepsuits and vests
nappies we used dispodables at first then cloth which was good money saving and never ran out.

tsstss7

re the nappy bin -my lo is 13mths and we still use ours - it's an angelcare one we got free with bounty (I think) and I even still buy the cartridges as it stores about 30 nappies relatively odour free.

None of that twist or scent stuff though just a well sealed bag and bin.

However it's not an "essential" as such -I just find it easier than constantly going out to the wheely bin.

mrcow

Funny to see everyone's must haves. Most of it I wouldn't dream of getting lol (have had 3 children)

The only must haves for any child are:

- somewhere clean and safe to sleep
- a safe suitable car seat
- clean outfits and nappies

Anything else is just garnish.

My personal biggest must haves are baby wipes......I don't go anywhere without them.

jones767

Muslin squares are my favourite. Plus as they get older leave a bag of rice cakes or dried food in your changing bag for them when your on the go. Helps prevent them from moaning when your out and about!