Baby items you couldn't live without (up to six months) 28 January 2013 at 2:33PM in MoneySaving mums 73 replies 12.2K views

notanewuser

LegalBlonde wrote: »

I was starting to come up with this theory that it was law educated people :rotfl::rotfl: as I use jumperoo pretty much as the lady you described, and I am sticking with stage 1 pouches rather than going on to stage 2....but then I realised she was your double educated sister in law as in SIL, not educated IN LAW :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: baby brain lives on.

We never used baby food for DD - we BLWed so I have no idea about pouches, but have been reading "My Child Won't Eat" which is fascinating. It identifies issues that the puree/lumps/proper food process can cause.

LegalBlonde wrote: »

As an apology for hijacking the thread, I've tried to have a think. All I can really say is TAKE help when it is offered, be confident with whichever way you decide to feed and do not worry about combined feeding or switching to the other if you need to, and oh yeah, a jumperoo :rotfl: and enjoy these precious moments. I never knew what people meant but they really do grow up so fast

I wish I'd thought/somebody had told me that I should have a notebook and pen with me at all times to record key moments. I've forgotten so much.

vic.star

Having read through some people have great points

I would say though, look into a vibrating bouncer chair. We got given a lovely (expensive but second hand) cosetto one which vibrates and plays music. On the high it is loud on our wooden floors but even hearing it calmed my son down. He loved it and at those times when he was restless (or having a bad night) it really helped calm him/set him off to sleep.

He also has a bumbo, which i agree is not worth the RRP, but i paid £10 for mine and think it's great. It took a while for his back to be strong enough to sit himself unaided, and i found using the bumbo helped. They haven't been recalled in the UK - although they have issued a safety harness to fit. You just need to email them and they'll send it out. It takes all of 2 minutes to fit and does the job great. He's now 7 months and can lean forward to grab things so i think i won't be using it unless i am with him the whole time.

As for muslins - i have about 12 and it's never enough :rotfl:. I've also stocked up on wipes and toiletries which i got on great offers.

Get cheap supermarket paracetamol - works just as good as Calpol, but literally half the price. £1.50 for sainsbury's own, same amount as Calpol too

Cot mobile or my pal scout. I have a fisher price mobile that has moving animals and projects stars on the ceiling. I also have the leapfrog my pal scout, and the scout nap time blanket bear. My son loves the songs and he's off to sleep within 10 minutes!

Can't really think of much else must-have wise, but i'm sure you'll pick up your own thing along the way. Good luck!


P.S. I did have a Tomy classic baby monitor, but ended up getting the Tommee Tippee one which i think is brilliant. It comes with rechargable batteries, and charges up every night on the base. It also shows the temperature of baby's room and you can talk to them through it. You can change the settings so it picks up the tiniest of noises/movements and i just found it in general a great monitor. I bought it off amazon for £30, it's originally £60 so a little expensive, but worth it on an offer

zeebie

A good sling, like a ring sling or a stretchy wrap would be a the first thing that I'd like to give to a new mum.

I had too many muslins, DD was not a spitter so I never used them. They are donated now!

Peanut2013

Car seat base so you can just clip the car seat straight into the car. Doing the whole seatbelt thing is fine until it chucks it down and the longer it takes the wetter you get...

We don't have 2 sets of changing stuff but got a box it all lives in and comes downstairs every morning. We use a travel changing mat as the proper one is in the nursery (un used, lol).

A pram the car seat can click into. When LO is fast asleep and I'm literally just popping into tesco for one thing I really can't be bothered to get him out (and wake him up!). Instead straight onto the pram and off we go!

Vibrating bouncy chair. This gives me 10 minutes to put clothes on or do the dishes! Lol

Muslins in EVERY pocket! Lol

Sealed bin for the bedroom for night changes. Who wants to walk to the kitchen bin 3 times a night.

Changing bag def def go to boots and get the free baby club one just sign up online

Kathy535

My DD is now 16yrs old which is probably why I haven't heard of many of the things in this post! On balance, the three things I found most useful were a i) baby bath sponge - a baby shaped sponge that you laid the baby in in the bath giving you both hands free, a boon for clumsy and anxious parents like me! ii) a wilkinet sling which I could put my baby in without any help and had a variety of positions for various ages. I used it until she was too heavy for me to carry on my back or chest. Iii) a car seat with carry handle, obviously useful for transporting baby in the car but also useful for putting baby in when having a shower, going shopping, placing on top of washing machine etc. she never slept as well in the early days as she did in her car seat.

Everything else was useful but not essential for a cash strapped mum - eg bottle steriliser I bought but didn't use as I breast fed. Baby monitor - I recall my mother's comment that what I really needed was a sound proof door - so true! Muslin cloths - nice to have but a large flannel was cheaper, breast pads - comfy but again, flannels were cheaper and didn't get stuck in the washing machine. Bouncy chair - I liked it more than she did.

notanewuser

Kathy535 wrote: »

My DD is now 16yrs old which is probably why I haven't heard of many of the things in this post! On balance, the three things I found most useful were a i) baby bath sponge - a baby shaped sponge that you laid the baby in in the bath giving you both hands free, a boon for clumsy and anxious parents like me! ii) a wilkinet sling which I could put my baby in without any help and had a variety of positions for various ages. I used it until she was too heavy for me to carry on my back or chest. Iii) a car seat with carry handle, obviously useful for transporting baby in the car but also useful for putting baby in when having a shower, going shopping, placing on top of washing machine etc. she never slept as well in the early days as she did in her car seat.

.

Erm, what??!

fluffnutter

Sparkles87 wrote: »

We're trying to put a list together for our baby shower, but there's so much out there that I'm trying to work out what we need and what we can live without.
We have organised a moses basket and a cot - both of which need mattresses but were free. That's it!

Any tips from other mums? Luckily baby will be six months around Christmas, so have 6+ stuff in mind for then.

These are amazing. Much better than sleeping bags.

http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/sp+sleep-snugglers-25-tog+B7186?tyah=y

notanewuser

fluffnutter wrote: »

These are amazing. Much better than sleeping bags.

http://www.jojomamanbebe.co.uk/sp+sleep-snugglers-25-tog+B7186?tyah=y

Until your child learns to climb.

fluffnutter

notanewuser wrote: »

Until your child learns to climb.

I don't see what difference there would be between these and blankets. A child could easily kick off blankets and start climbing. They'd just be colder. Plus sleeping bags don't stop a determined child climbing either.

notanewuser

fluffnutter wrote: »

I don't see what difference there would be between these and blankets. A child could easily kick off blankets and start climbing. They'd just be colder. Plus sleeping bags don't stop a determined child climbing either.

My DD has always been a very warm child who kicked off her blankets. I didnt want ger overheating in a bag she couldnt remove. When it was really cold I'd use a sleeping bag and thought it might limit her climbing too. How wrong I was!!! :rotfl:

Friends have found that sleeping bags did slow theirs down a lot. Mine could run in hers! :rotfl: