


(202 Posts)





Thanks and good luck.


TeaTowelQueen Fri 19-Oct-12 18:38:02

My top 5:

1 muslins - loads, you cannot have enough, ever, and they do so many things, swaddle, clear up sick/milk whatever and protect your clothes and hair a bit. Then you can boil wash them and they dry in minutes

2 sleeping bag - no faffing with blankets and they can fall asleep wherever then be put in cot with minimal disturbance

3 sudocreme - the best

4 baby monitor - to give you the confidence to put the baby to sleep away from you so you get time to relax

5 bath thermometer - I did not trust myself to get this right and still don't

Things I didn't need - moses basket, hated the flimsy thing and bought a rocking cot for beside the bed instead after two nights

And yes, next day delivery is your friend - Amazon and Next were my saviours seeing as I live in the middle of nowhere....

HannahLI Fri 19-Oct-12 18:39:09

Top ones
1. Branded nappies like pampers that work
2. Bouncy chair
3. Towel with a hood
4. Pushchairs that goes over any surface - I personally love Phil and teds!
5. Good car seat - I like maxi cosi for the first seat!

Products you don't need;
1. Wipe warmer
2. Changing table
3. Baby bath
4. Medicine dummy
5. Bath thermometer - just use your elbow!

ZombieTribble Fri 19-Oct-12 18:43:08

1, Nappies.

2, Muslins.

3, Moby wrap, with a refluxy baby this was a lifesaver.

4, Lansinoh, when I was breastfeeding I went through this like no ones business.

5, Baby gap socks, they were the only ones that stayed on his feet.

Bottom five:

1, fancy changing mat, seriously a towel does the job.

2, toys, a window will suffice.

3, Posh changing bag, I wish I'd been sensible and bought a rucksack.

4, Night light, the ones I bought were utterly useless.

5, Nursing cover, I drew more attention to myself with that thing than my boobs ever would have done.

starlight36 Fri 19-Oct-12 18:48:02

5 essentials

Buggy with carrycot - essential to be able to get out and about ASAP.
Lots of sleepsuits as for us was day and nightwear for our little one. Plenty of time for cute outfits when they are older!
Baby gym - we got a foldable one which was easy to transport for visits to grandparents
Baby bath - using main bath alone seemed too daunting for a newborn and our sinks were all too small

Not so useful

Baby shoes - never worn
Scratch mitts- pulled off straight away. Instead relief on sleepsuits with built-in mitts
Electronic ear thermometer still in box and DD is nearly two!
Fancy Moses basket - if you use one it will get used for approx 3 mths only so go for cheap and cheerful
Baby journal - never had time to fill it in properly

poppy1973 Fri 19-Oct-12 18:48:43

1. New born disposable nappies are essential.
2. Delicate sensitive wipes or cotton wool and water.
3. Sleep suits. (I kept my little one in sleep suits most of the time - it was easier.
4. Nursing pillow - extra support for baby when feeding and good for your back. The pillows in the hospital are never enough and not firm enough while feeding.
5. Car seat - one that you can carry around out of the car - essential for trip from hospital to home and great for food shopping and getting around.

Must haves for me

1) Nappies and wipes
2) Vests and sleepsuits
3) Moses basket (though not everyone needs this, I find co sleeping impossible and newborn babies look lost in a cot)
4) Steriliser and bottles (I cant breastfeed)
5) Car seat.

Not necessary

1) A changing station. I have never got the point. They are so expensive and actually quite dangerous if baby rolls off. A changing mat does the same job.
2) Nursery furniture. Its often "minature" and seems such a waste of money. Adult sized furniture will last longer.
3) Socks and shoes for baby. Pointless invention when they spend a lot of time in sleepsuits.
4) Expensive designer pram.
5) Toys. A few rattles are enough. Babies get enough stimulation from everyday things.

gazzalw Fri 19-Oct-12 18:49:43

Nappies and wipes
Baby Bjorn
Lots of babygrows

Bottom Five
Bath thermometer
Cat net for the cot (WTF?)
Change bag (we still have the black Oasis rucksack DW bought 12 years down the line)
Moses Basket (DS really hated it and co-slept from several days old!)

Oh this thread brings back memories

horsebiscuit Fri 19-Oct-12 18:50:02

Most needed:
nursing cushion

Least needed:
baby bath
extortionately priced pram you can't fold
special nappy bin twisty thing
toys for a newborn. Newsflash- newborns don't play with toys!

DeeBeee Fri 19-Oct-12 18:51:11

Breastfeeding pillow - complete lifesaver
Plain white babygros and vests
Moses basket
Baby bath which we placed on a cheap foldout table, really helpful with a C section

Not used:
Nappy bin
Top and tail bowl
Sling - my baby hated it

nah1974 Fri 19-Oct-12 18:52:05

Muslins - lots of them!
A sling/baby carrier of some kind
A bouncy chair - very good I found for when the baby is grizzly
A Moses basket - one light enough so you can move it round the house with you
A light/easy folding pram/travel system. I didn't realise how important this was until on my first day on my own with DD, I could neither lift nor fold the enormous pram we had .... And when I eventually got it folded it wouldn't fit in my car ...

Not needed:
Lots of outfits - sleep suits & vests are fine in the early days
A cat net to put over the pram (don't even ask ...!)
Lots of toys
A big cot - Moses basket is fine for first few weeks
A bottle warmer (if you're FF - a jug of boiling water costs nothing & is quicker!)

IKilledIgglePiggle Fri 19-Oct-12 18:57:39

2.sleep suits, vests, scratch mitts, hat. (newborn clothing)
3.Nipple Cream
4. Baby bouncer, nothing fancy, just a fabric stretched over a metal frame, very soothing if you have a crier and you have tried everything else.....also allows you to pop too the loo.
5. Something to swaddle with, be it a blanket or a purposely designed swaddler.

IKilledIgglePiggle Fri 19-Oct-12 19:00:50

Oops pressed too soon

Not so needed.

Cot bed, too big.
Bottle warmer/wipe warmer....really
Nappy bin, ewwwww
Stupidly big pram

Asmywhimsytakesme Fri 19-Oct-12 19:04:06

Cot plus bedding
Car seat

Everything else optional though breast pump, pads and milk storage bags handy.


Angel monitor type things
Designer outfits

Teladi Iran Fri 19-Oct-12 19:19:29

1. Video baby monitor - I know a lot of people would say these are overkill but if you have a baby that wakes in the night and starts messing around, it does help to see what is going on in there before you barge in and make them think its night party time.

2. Nappies

3. Vests. The poo goes everywhere!

4. Chair - my baby liked to see what was going on from quite early on and would yell if you laid her down. We got the BabyBjorn BabySitter which again some people would say is overkill but she still likes to sit in it now sometimes at 13mo and most other bouncy chairs would be way too small. Don't need a vibrate-y one though.

5. Muslins. Babies leak a lot.

Not so needed

1. Bumbo - by the time we thought it was a good idea she was sitting up herself in a week or two

2. Outfits for tiny people - they don't like getting dressed as it is

3. Scratch mitts - by the time they stay on, they don't need them anymore

4. Weird weaning food prep stuff. In my experience, by the time she was 6mo, which is when I started weaning, she was ok to just eat regular food, with some stuff mashed a bit with a fork.

5. Soft toys (like teddies) for babies... they don't care about those, they like the ones with the dangly bits to eat!

jumpinghoops Fri 19-Oct-12 19:23:14

Top 5 goodies:
Lansinoh cream- amazing
Swaddle wraps
Connecta sling
Medela swing breast pump

Bottom 5 baddies:
Breastfeeding pillow-bloody uncomfy actually
Wipes warmer thing (a present)
Breastfeeding scarf
Bath bath
Baby 'outfits'- vests/sleepsuits only in this house

1. Lansinoh - it saved my nipples!
2. Nappies and wipes
3. A good sling
4. Sleep suits, DD hated vests
5. muslins, DD is 2 now and we still use our supply - they are invaluable smile

Not so good buys -

1. moses basket
2. baby bath
3. all singing all dancing pram (see sling!)
4. teddies - how many do people think one child needs???
5. any baby clothes cosing more than a couple of quid

Clothing for baby - sleep suits are best
Infacol - better to be prepared
Dummy - in case of emergency at 3am after trying everything else
Biscuits! smile obviously necessary to fuel you producing milk for hungry babies and also to tackle the sleep deprivation and more importantly they can be eaten while feeding/ rocking/ cuddling said baby without worrying about dropping food on them! (crumbs don't count!) grin

Top 5:
- Nappy bin
- Isofix car & car seat base (transferring a sleeping baby is a massive help)
- Wipes, wipes and more wipes
- iPhone for keeping in touch with the world while BFing
- Sky+

Waste of time (for me):
- changing bag - just get a travel changing mat with some pockets. If you BF you don't need a huge bag of crap to carry round too
- expensive highchair - just get the ikea antilop for £12
- travel system. Wish I'd bought a quinny zapp extra and adapters for my maxi cosi car seat. Wouldn't have needed anything else and wouldn't take the whole boot up.
- bumbo. DS could nearly get out of it as soon as he was big enough to go in it.

ScienceRocks Fri 19-Oct-12 19:28:43

Must have - nappies, sleeping bags, car seat, baby carrier/sling, sleep suits

Pointless - muslins (never worked out what to do with them), change stations (used a muslin on the floor as i had no other use for them), baby bath (used a storage box in the shower cubicle for a few weeks then a couple of cm water in the big bath), nappy wrapper (the bin for empties more regularly so smelled much less), bibs (used tea towels as they are bigger!)

HoneyDragon Fri 19-Oct-12 19:29:38

1. Easy access to the internet (Mnet natch) / a book with booklight or Ereader.
For night wakings and overlong feeding sessions.
2. Nappies
4. Some sort of chair / moses basket to plop them in when you still want them nearby.
5. Sleepsuits and Vests.

MrsJohnDeere Fri 19-Oct-12 19:31:00

1. Grobags
2. Muslins (huge nos)
3. 2 changing mats - upstairs and down
4. Waterproof suit
5. Decent sized cot

Waste of money:
1. Scratch mitts
2. Baby monitor
3. Moses baskets
4. Outfits for tiny babies
5. Changing units

JustFabulous Fri 19-Oct-12 19:34:03

Must have

waterproof bag
car seat
vests and babygrows!

Don't need

Fancy pants travel system
poncy change bag
Real clothes - jeans/dresses
specific changing table
slound/light toy for getting them to sleep hmm

honoraglossop Fri 19-Oct-12 19:41:16

1. sling. i liked my meitai one
2. nappies and wipes
3. babygrows. and not "outfits"
4. fleecy blankets. can be used to keep baby warm/changing mat/ emergency sick cloth and dry REALLY quickly
5. lovefilm on computer/ or some good dvd boxsets when up and bored at all hours

not needed:
1. moses basket
2. any kind of baby entertainment...... and that includes mobiles/ fancy mats/ baby dvds all that crap
3. breast pump[ unless needing to get back to work very soon. far easier to just feed baby.
4. changing station unless have very bad back ( found it easier to do on the floor)
5. baby outfits

JacqueslePeacock Fri 19-Oct-12 19:42:12

Top 5:
Lansinoh for sore nipples
Washable breast pads
Moby wrap sling
Muslin cloths
Bouncy chair - it didn't actually bounce but was the perfect angle for putting a refluxy baby in after feeds so he wouldn't throw up

Not so great:
Expensive toys - baby just wanted to stare at people
Special swaddle cloth - he hated it
Teddy bears - so boring to a tiny baby
Books on baby routines - ha ha ha!
Special holder for baby to suck fruit through - hell to wash and utterly pointless (why can't baby just suck fruit directly??)

Must haves for me were:
Nappies & wipes
Breast pads

Not so necessary:
A steriliser that a friend gave me - took up loads of space & barely used as DD refused bottles & I got fed up of expressing for it to go down the sink.
A proper changing bag. Never used one. Just chuck a couple of nappies & wipes in an old washbag.
We didn't have a Moses basket, so I'd agree that's not necessary.

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