Baby must-haves

OrkneyStar

Lots of muslin cloths (for burping, wiping, putting on changing mat, boosting absorbancy of real nappies etc), lots of vests/babygros in several sizes, a dreampod (Mamas and Papas version of grobag- can be bought 2nd hand on ebay etc, I got one in a charty shop for 50p but retails at £30!- I know cos I bought another lighter one and smaller sized one full price!), monitor, plenty non-bio washing powder (or eco balls), small cartons of jucie- so handy to pick one up and drink from a straw when breast-feeding instead of cup!
All the best.
x

slummymummyof3

Oh nearly forgot, don't forget to get a cabbage in and store it in the fridge for when your milk comes in.......peel off a leaf (one for each boob) and pop them inside your bra when you feel a bit sore. Whilst you will go around smelling like a cabbage, the relief of a cold cabbage leaf cannot be beaten!

Katgoddess

One thing I have used pretty much every day since late pregnancy is a v cushion which cost me £45 from John Lewis and has been worth every penny. I used it to make myself comfy when I was big and fat and had sciatica. Used it in hospital during labour and during my post c section stay as an extra pillow. A lot of people use it as a prop for breastfeeding, but I found it a bit too big for that for me. I used it to prop myself up in bed though during night feeds. Now my baby is sitting up and getting more active the cushion is used to make a nest around him so he doesn't fall smack on the floor.

Other things I found handy:
muslins
flat terry nappies (used for the same sort of things as muslins but more heavy duty - I have a sicky baby)
For the first 6 months DS spent most of his life wearing sleepsuits.
Don't buy any bath stuff. You will get free samples and people will always give you some as gifts. Then you will find out that baby has cradle cap/allergies/lavender stuff makes the baby sleep better etc and it will sit unused.
A clothes rack for all that extra washing.

DaisyFlower

I hold my hands up and admit I bought Mothercare out when I was expecting. Not planning any more but if I ever changed my mind I would not buy most of the items again.

The pushchair was fab, comfy and not bulky (travel systems are too bulky and heavy for my liking) and the cot with the drop side was another good buy. Baby sleeping ags, a thermometer and baby wipes were all fab.

The bulky battery powered swing got used for around a month as by the time my little one had reached the min weight he outgrew it size wise a month later. The fancy nappy bin with liners was useless so switched to nappy bags.

I also bought lots of toiletries, bottles dummies etc - little one had excema so couldnt use most of them and only like one brand of dummy and bottle teat!

I passed some bits onto family and health visitor arranged for the rest to go to a refuge so I didnt totally waste all that money.

Mothercare is paradise for a pregnant women though :-)

Auzelia

Hi
I dont have much to add as to what was a proper essential item for me.
But I saw that you said you wanted a nappy bin

Well when you have your baby you will be given the bounty newborn pack in the hospital. This has a £20 off voucher for the angelcare nappy disposal system. Making it cost only £4.46. http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3761913/Trail/searchtext%3EANGELCARE.htm

HTH!

pollyanna24

I would agree with the people that you don't need any of the fancy stuff. I was on here asking the same questions as you a couple of months ago.

My little one is 2 months old (I'm 27, bf 28) and we have just kinda made do. Lots and lots of babygros are essential (mine isn't even a pukey/pooey baby), but it sure is handy to have plenty around.

Maybe more helpful is the stuff people say you need that you don't. We don't have any nappy machine thingie, just chuck them in the kitchen bin (they don't smell so bad yet). The things I couldn't live without are babywipes to clean the poos (I know, not moneysaving or planetsaving).

I would also say make sure you have all the stuff you need for changing on both floors (if you live in a house). We have everything we need in a drawer in the bedroom and another set downstairs in the changing bag. This way we always have a bag ready if we need to go out with her. If we don't go out and we need to change her downstairs, we work out of the going out bag.

Obv things like steriliser are important and if you can, dump the dummies. Ours had a dummy till last Thurs when we were at our wits end when she kept spitting it out 20 times a night and we had to put it back it. There were a few iffy days, but now she settles down easy without it as she's forgotten about it.

Actually, I've remembered a thing I couldn't live without which at the time I pooed pooed as a waste of money. A bottle warmer. We keep it in the bedroom topped up with water and use it for her dream feed at 11pm and also her 3am feed. Saves having to trek downstairs and waking up the dog to get it out of the fridge and using the kettle to heat the bottle up. This probably only works as we had our baby in winter, so it's okay to leave the bottle out for a bit.

Right, gona stop waffling now!!