Parents-if you had to choose 1 item...

Iona_Penny

For the first few months you will use your designer transport system - car seat to all terrain chassis with matching rain gear etc but...
I guarantee that you will end up with an umberella-style folding buggy to throw in the boot of the car or carry onto public transport. Before Sprog is a year old it will become an essential.

chaliepud

BEST STUFF

Tiny Love Baby Gym - Robbie has loved it sice birth and still does aged 6 months+

Graco Swing (picked up cheap at an NCT Nearly New sale - check these out) kept him quiet and was the only thing guaranteed to make him sleep at one point

Sleeping Bags - used these for my other two as well,great for babies as they can't kick them off and they stay nice and cosy.

Baby Bumbo - a chair that looks like a potty nut enables baby to sit up unaided from about 3 months old so they can be fed, see around etc. bought mine online for approx £25, then resold on eBay for £22, they are almost impossible to damage and esy to clean so have great resale value

UNNECESSARY STUFF

Changing Unit - have always changed the babies on the floor on a changing mat - where they can't fall off and can have a safe play while you change

Baby baths - they do your back in and what is wrong with the big bath, especially if you have older children to bath at the same time, better are the little baby hammocks that free up one hand to grap the sponge, shampoo etc

Anything that seems like a gimmick probably is

HTH

H

Becles

Another vote for boobs

I bought a Mothercare travel cot/play pen. I had two collies, so it was handy to put my sons in and let them play without the risk of being stood on or being offered a dirty rubber bone to chew :rolleyes: If they fell asleep while playing, I just took the toys out and chucked a blanket over them. It was also handy to put out in the garden so they got loads of fresh air, or to stick in the car for nap times when visiting people.

My youngest loved the door bouncer. I'd put him in that and put a CD on with a beat, and he'd bounce around like crazy! His little legs were so strong, he was walking by 10 months!

A buggy board. My eldest was two when my youngest was born. The baby went in the pushchair and the youngest had to walk everywhere. He still got a little tired on longer journeys, and I couldn't manage carrying him and pushing the pushchair. The buggy board is like a sort of skateboard that goes on the back of the pushchair, and the toddler can stand on it. It was heavy going, but easier than listening to whinging because his legs were too tired!

A stick blender for making home made baby food. Much cheaper and healthier than bought food, although bought food is more convenient when out and about.

A steam sterliser. Just chuck the stuff in with a cup of water, switch on and leave it. Much easier than messing about with sterlising liquid and making sure everything is submerged.

callansdad

Yet another vote for breasts! Its just a real pity they aren't detachable!

My mum gave me a changing unit for DS, it was good for keeping everything in the same place, but this time with DD it has been used for harbouring general "crap".

My little uns loved nothing else but to lie on the floor with their nappy off and kick their legs. Which brings me to something else - fleecy blankets. They aren't huge but are brilliant for lying them on the floor, putting over them when they are in their bouncer, for swaddling (when really little), for the pram, the carseat. I have about 5 of them and I was only about £2 each when my local More Store was still open.

Babies also like simple things, like wooden spoons, bottles of juice waved in front of them (DD loves this). With DS i set up a "treasure basket" when he was about 7 months old. It contained safe household objects, like spoons, toilet roll tube, sellotape (this is easy for them to hold). Have a look around, its amazing the safe things you find lying around the home that will keep them amused for ages. The best thing is that you can change the items around so they don't get bored.

When I went back to work after DS my breast pump became my fave essential.

This time with DD I bought a book on baby and toddler meals. This was the best £5 I ever spent in Asda's. I heavily relied on canned baby food for DS. This was through lack of information. I didn't have a clue how quick, easy and cheap it was to make my own baby food! :money:

Lillibet_2

19 days into this parenthood lark & the things that have saved our sanity so far are :

The bouncy chair (Thanks to Caterina for getting us a free one:A:D!) An absolute godsend & the one item I would give up only over my dead body.

Nipple shields : Found breast feeding hurts more than labour! (where's the gas & air when you really need it?)

Controversial but...A few cartons of readymade serve-at-room-temp formula & a bottle : Just for those odd occasions when Spud has drained both my boobs & is STILL screamingley hungary:rolleyes: or so Hubby can take over for a couple of hours to give me a much needed break (sometimes it's that or a nervous breakdown ).

What couldn't I have got through pregnancy without? : Natural yoghurt to beat the persistant re-occuring thrush, & if I ever did it again I'd INSIST on a downstairs loo for the final 6 weeks:p:rolleyes::rotfl:

lovelythings

After becoming a first time mum at the grand old age of 40, the best thing we bought were the Dr Brown's bottles - they are a whole system in a bottle that takes air away from baby and stops colic and middle ear infection etc., they were fantastic and I ended up throwing my Avent ones away.

The worst thing was the all in one travel system pram with car seat etc all attached. I never used it as it should have been used and ended up leaving the car seat in the car and getting baby out and popping him in the pram - defeating the object I know but to get the car seat in and out of the car you needed the manual each time, it drove me NUTZ.

Good luck

eml_3

Can't believe nobody has mentioned muslin squares yet! Great for catching baby sick when you burp them, mopping up sick etc, putting underneath baby when you put them down in the moses basket/cot - if they are sick, then you don't have to change all bedding, use for swaddling, lying baby on to have kick without nappy etc.

Also Boobs! Breastmilk is best for baby, free, always at right temperature etc etc.

On holiday, we never bothered with bibs - just put a large t-shirt over baby's clothes and washed it when it reached its stain capacity.

Spendless

Strange one mine- cos I used it all time with eldest and only on one occassion with youngest-a travel cot.

With eldest we went on holidays several times and used it. Had it up as a playpen and somewhere for baby to sleep during day. lived at opposite end of town to our family and friends so if we went to visit especially when we attended family bbqs put baby to bed in travel cot.

Youngest only ever went to one holiday place where cot wasn't provided. Baby was far smaller so in moses basket for daytime sleeps for lot longer period. Had moved house so were in walking distance of family and friends so put her in pram for sleep when she got tired.

Thing didn't use -baby bath, too heavy for me to lift when full of water and found baby too slippy!! Either put baby in bath with me or used a baby sized sponge that lay in bath.

sooz

whilst pregnant, and after, one of those banana shaped cushions. third [actually 4th] person in bed with us - oh did complain i loved the cushion more than him - for getting under bump to help support it whilst i tried to sleep. also after bump becomes baby, wrap round non-existant waist to help breast feeding - or bottle feeding

nappy wrapper bin - great if baby's room is several floors above wheelie bin, and bin day is only once a week

breast pump - so oh could help do night feed too

certainly friends - esp those with babies. can't live without them. those without have NO idea.


instruction manual for phone - to turn it straigth to answerphone, without ringing, and on silent function, for when you are all having a well earned nap, and grandma phones again.

MissSunshine

Breasts again!!

Cot with dropside esp after csection and transferring them into it when already asleep.

Graco swing, didn't have one for first, v exp, but neighbour gave me hers for 2nd and it was fab for rocking him off to sleep.

Avent bottle warmer once i'd swopt over to formula, v handy in middle of the night when half asleep.

Annabel Karmel feed your baby and toddler book, poor choice of jars here, had to make everything, i still make batches of pasta sauce to freeze now (age 2.5 and nearly 4)

Exerciser from 5 months, pop them in, put extra toys all around and get on with bits whilst they amuse themselves.

Waste of time: Tomy baby sling, only bought it for 2nd cos i was travelling by myself with both and didn't use it again!!