What do I need/don't need for new baby?

plumpmouse

CDP wrote:

Hi fsdss



Of course another big thing is that if you do co sleep you are much more likely to successfully breastfeed your baby. I'm sure that people would like to know that the study done by FSIDS was sponsored by an infant milk manufacturer.

CDP

Not sure of the logic behind this one. I breastfed son til he was 10 1/2 months old. He never had a bottle at all. He slept in a moses basket and then his cot and never slept in Bed with me. If you are breastfeeding I really don't see any advantage to co-sleeping. It is still far easier to get up bring baby back to bed and feed than to make up a bottle in the middle of the night.

Back to topic agree with all that has been said.

Don't bother with a baby bath, we never used one just used big bath, does help if someone else is there at bathtime to help though. Particularly if you've had a difficult birth and are still in pain. My hubby did it for this reason and loves his role at bathtime now.

Nappy sacks we just used value pedal bin liners.

Nappies are always on offer at boots.

Aqueous cream is a fab cream better than any of the expensive baby products.

Good luck with the birth

Jules_M_2

Hi there

Congratulations Jess, I hope your pregnancy goes really well. How far on are you? My son Olly is now 11 months (can't believe how quickly it's gone...) and there are quite a few things we could have lived without, and some that were essential.

I'd echo what others have said; visit ebay, the classified section in your local paper and look at the boards at the supermarkets. We got some real bargains there. I'd also strongly recommend you spend £36 on joining the NCT; you'll meet lots of other new mums (and dads) and they run lots of groups such as working mums, first timers etc which whilst informal are an amazing source of ongoing support. Your £36 isn't for antenatal classes, these are extra (but worth it) just for a year's membership but it will be money well spent. NCT do nearly new sales that are justifiably famous and no doubt in a couple of years you'll be sending stuff to them as well. You get 70% of the selling price and NCT get the rest, so it's a great way of making money out of all the things you end up buying or being given.

The only new things I'd definately recommend getting are: cot mattress (not nesc. a cot - ours is now 11th hand), pushchair (comes in for a lot of harsh treatment so we decided to get a new one to prolong its life), car seat/infant carrier (for obvious reasons) and bottles / teats if you intend to express / bottle feed later.

Everything else could be second hand. other essential items:

Muslin squares (buy 12 - books suggest 6 is enough, but it isn't, no way!)
Bibs
musical cot mobile (loads on ebay)
baby carrier / sling

I often use a baby website, you might find it helpful too: http://www.babyguideuk.com/forums/baby/forum_baby.asp

Hope this helps, enjoy the next few months.

Jules M

Louisa_2

My 2p worth;

Found muslin squares useful but too big (you wash them so often just because of a bit of sick on a corner!) so bought bulk lot of 20 plain white flannels from Ikea and these work brill- multi purpose too
Nappy stacker found completely useless, its not exactly a hardship to put nappies in the bin
*Nappy bags only get used when we're out, otherwise they go straight in the bin and as it gets eptied v regularly not a problem with smells etc

Louisa_2

oops also forgot

If you are having morning sickness- burn some mandarin oil (didn't work for me I was in hospital loads on a drip with v v v bad morning sickness lasted whole 9 months grrr) but has worked a treat for friends

V shaped pillow- so comfy for propping up bump at night when you get huge towards the end, fab for making breastfeeding more comfortable in the early days and has only just been relegated to feeding chair in babys room (7 months on )

didn't bother with special moses basket sized bedding used pillowcases as sheets. Our little man would only sleep in it to begin with if we swaddled him well though so a lightweight blanket or sheet is helpful too

top n tail bowl found pointless- just fill a normal bowl then wash your tiddlers' face and hands etc before nappy area don't need special bowl to separate face water from bottom water

baby bath seat was invaluable for us though, Toby didn't have baby bath just went in normal one and the baby seat meant he felt a bit more secure and we could use both hands to wash him properly

Found a dummy cord great too (was insistent that he would not have a dummy but gave in when he screamed for six hours solid one day then fell asleep the minute I popped it in) it loops around end of dummy and other end clips on clothes so it's not always falling on the floor, otherwise you need about 20 dummies a day and that means a lot of sterilising!

Oooh I could go on for ever- although I would agree with what someone else said in a previous post on this thread, buy the absolute essentials to begin with then make your mind up as you go along. The problem with all this advice is that it can make your head spin!

Congratulations and good luck!

eyeopener

Sorry to jump into this thread but we are expecting in 3 weeks but one thing that I can't see mentioned is a Baby MONITOR. Are they a must have?

Louisa_2

How exciting eyeopener!

I think if your baby will be sleeping in a room where you won't be able to hear it from the rest of the house then yes for sure monitors are really useful (try it first get OH to grizzle a bit with the door shut and see if its audible from downstairs etc )

But if you'll be able to hear through floorboards etc and over radio/tv washing machine (which will always be on hehe) then maybe not. We bought one with a few whistles and bells eg plays lullabies, you can talk to baby through it like a walkie talkie but it was a waste of our money as we've never used these functions- basic parent can hear baby would have been fine.

Any twinges yet?

s@sha

I'm expecting in 5 weeks & was also wondering about a monitor. I've come to the conclusion that it's not necessary for us really, as we have a little house so I will never be very far from the baby when he's sleeping. Also, the baby will be in a crib next to our bed during the night for the first few months (well, that's the plan!) so I won't need one during the night.

It is somethng I think I would think about after the birth, if I felt I was getting anxious about keeping an eye on the baby. But then again, people managed for years without monitors, so I suppose they're not a necessity as such...I suppose it depends if you think having one would reassure you, or just make you worry more!

Forgot to add that August's Which? magazine has a test on baby monitors. If you just want a really basic one that doesn't cost the earth, one of their Best Buys was the Tomy Baby Link, £17. It's a mains powered analogue monitor - it plugs into any plug socket round the house & relays the sounds through the internal wiring of the house. Nothing fancy, but does exactly what it says on the tin!

Spendless

eyeopener wrote:

Sorry to jump into this thread but we are expecting in 3 weeks but one thing that I can't see mentioned is a Baby MONITOR. Are they a must have?

Totally depends on you and your own circs I would say. With 1st we lived in a small MTH we could hear baby anyway. With 2nd we lived in bigger house so couldn't hear her unless we went upstairs to check. We bought one that you could see her on tv (hubby bought it off net cost around £30-£40-unfortunately haven't got any details anymore) and I loved it as could see if she was just gurgling or not. Of course you don't need one that does this, an ordinary one will do if you think you do need one

carpool72

I agree with spendless - probably worth waiting to see how easy it is to hear from different rooms. The one useful extra on ours is a thermometer, which has been really useful as for some reason the temp in our nursery is very changeable. Also, it's digital so has a better range than analogue - good for sitting in the garden of an evening and we don't get crossed with other people monitors (this could be good or bad, depending on how nosy you are!)

Good luck & enjoy being a mummy & daddy!

gravitytolls

Lots of baby gros and vests. Spare sheets if you're using moses basket, cradle etc., as newborns are often sicky.
Pillow ccases come in handy for small mattresses, so can be used instead of spending money on sheets.

Everyone wants to buy outfits for new babies, so let 'em, you won't need to get anything much. If they ask what you want, ask for next size up clothes and nappies, cos they grow fast.

That's prety much it, babies need mummies, daddies, grandparents etc. more than anything else.

Colourful noisy toys are great, but not as stimulating as you are, so join the two together and you've got a hppy (hopefully) baby.

Colic drops, gripe water possibly if you're bottle feeding, probably won't need them if you're breast feeding. calpol a must have after about 1/2 mths, certainly when first jabs are coming, as little ones can react with a temperature and accomapanying miseries.

Baby vick, they often get colds when exposed to us bacteria laden morsels,, and feeding is stressful for mums and babes when noses are blocked.

Have a really great time, and enjoy it all. Don't get too fixed in your ideas, go with the flow, try to relax, and you'll be fine.

Good luck