Baby Products

[BabyBrindley]

Hi, I’m a new Mum expecting my first baby in January. I like to be prepared so are there any recommended products out there you rave about? With bottles I’ve had a look at Tommee tippee but a lot of Mums seem to be recommending Mam battles over them. The best wipes, nappies? Open to any recommendations haha! I’d rather they be Mum approved than just going in blind and buying anything. Thank you ladies

Lidl nappies are just as good as the branded nappies and a lot cheaper. I also use ASDA own brand nappies and no problems with them. I use the Lidl and ASDA wipes (£1.90 for 4 packs of sensitive wipes from Lidl) and no nappy rash so far (10 wks). I don’t use bottles so unsure. I have a chicco next to me and a purflo nest and baby sleeps so well compared to first who hated Moses basket.

Nuk nasal decongester- the best £4 I have ever spent on baby products!

You'll be surprised at how much snot can come out of a baby's tiny nose and how often it gets blocked!

Good luck with your new baby

I started with Tommee Tippee bottles and switched to Mam, much better. As pp said don't waste money on expensive nappies but if you get leaks all of a sudden it is worth switching brands. I found my daughter fit different ones better and worse as she grew. Next2me crib is great, mamaroo was great but very much depends on the baby, some don't like it. Metanium nappy cream is amazing for bad nappy rash.

We use Aldi nappies and rarely have any night time leakages. Bepanthen nappy cream is also a great product.

The Hippychick hip seat was also a great buy for us since DD needs to be held constantly!

Oh dear...there are so many good products!

Aldi Mamia baby wipes are amazing value for money, whilst being moist, but not too wet. With a lovely fresh scent, they are thick whilst still being gentle enough to use on your baby’s skin. They are really easy to pull out of the packet one by one. The only downside is that the large packet is quite difficult to fit into a changing bag or handbag on the move, but overall, these wipes are brilliant value for money and extremely high quality.

Find out where your nearest sling library is and then go along after your baby has been born to try on a range of slings and see what works for you.

The "best" things are ones you can afford, can easily get replacements of etc. Nappies are slightly different in design so can fit better on different children, but I really encourage you to look at reusables for nappies and wipes (but use disposable newborn size nappies as they only wear them for such a short time), breastfeeding is free and no need to mess around with bottles. They don't need anything like the amount of stuff retailers would like you to believe and you can pick up everything in larger supermarkets especially when asda has a "baby week"

We used Aldi nappies and wipes, Assad ones always left him feeling a bit sticky.

I would not get a the mothercare very pretty high hair again, nightmare to clean in all the nooks and crannies, I would buy a simple ikea one.

Sudocrem for bums, rashes any scrapes or cuts.

High chair not high hair !!!!

We had a next to me bedside crib.

Cheap pound land flannels are great reusable wipes and you'll save an absolute fortune! We use water wipes for poo and outside the home and reusable for everything else, would definitely recommend!

We use bepanthen for nappy cream.

Most baby lotions contain at least one form of alcohol so we use coconut oil which is lovely and natural. Great baby moisturiser and clears up cradle cap better than any boots treatments I tried, so it's multi-purpose too.

We love our gro egg room thermometer.

Good luck with everything!

Perfect prep machine
Mam bottles
Next to me crib
Antilop high chair (ikea)

If breastfeeding, Medela pumps are brilliant. Mine kept me going through initial difficulties.
Reusable nappies and wipes.
A sling.
With nappies and slings, have a look for your nearest sling/nappy libraries to try before you buy and see what works for you and baby.

I would recommend the Barr minimum at first and see what works for you and see what you need before committing to buying 'stuff'.

Aldi Nappies
Aldi or Asda Little Angels Wipes
Next to Me Crib
MAM Bottles (microwave sterilise ) meaning no steriliser needed

Asda Baby Event is ideal for vests/sleepsuits/toiletries/nursery items

For a lot of things it really doesn't matter, but stuff that I still rate with toddler DD:
Aldi nappies and wipes
Ikea Antilop highchair - perfection!
Sling library before shelling out on sling
Ikea Gulliver cot that has two levels (can be used bedside) and you can take side off to use as toddler bed - meaning you're good until they are 4+ years old.
Tops/suits with foldover mittens to age 3/6 months - Gap, Boots, JL, Sainsbury's, Tesco have them.
Tommee Tippee bottles unless baby is fussy
And (no one listens, but hey ho) just buy sleepsuits and vests until they are 6 months or so - "outfits" are faffy, uncomfortable, impractical and will be worn about twice before being outgrown.

It's so difficult to predict what your baby's temperament will be or whether there'll be any medical issues.

I had planned to EBF but for medical reasons had to stop much earlier than planned, so I had to rush out and buy formula and bottles without much preparation. If you do end up needing to use formula, Sainsbury's own brand stagev1 is the cheapest infant formula on the market. Cow & Gate is the cheapest brand name, if you're not near a Sainsbury's, and Aldi is cheap too if you live near an Aldi. Don't buy a pricey formula like Aptamil: it's almost identical to much cheaper formulas.

Once my baby's medical issues were addressed he was a great sleeper in his Moses basket, and as we weren't then EBF there was no benefit to having him right next to me, so a next2me would have been wasted if I'd bought one. My baby also didn't need any sleeping nests (and please be aware of safe sleep guidelines when you purchase sleeping stuff).

Similarly, a pal gave me a Ewan the Dream Sheep but my son didn't need it.

My main advice is about clothing. Babies grow REALLY fast. Accept all the hand-me-downs you're offered, and buy only what you need after that. And don't spend too much on expensive branded baby clothing. You can get a couple of outfits per size in fancy brands if you like, for special occasions, but it's not worth spending hundreds on stuff your child will only wear a few times: get the bulk of your clothes from supermarkets, Primark, or shops like M&S and Next.

@EssentialHummus just buy sleepsuits and vests until they are 6 months or so

Completely agree (well, I think 1 or 2 outfits per size, for special occasions, is reasonable). We didn't transition to outfits until my baby was 5 months, when he was looking and behaving like an older baby rather than a newborn iykwim. Outfits are an almighty faff for a tiny baby who needs changing every couple of hours.

We like to scavenge the mum 2 mum markets for second hand things.

We really rate the mothercare own brand stuff (Joie) for bouncer (but not all babies like them). We got our Chico next to me crib which is great but again not all babies will sleep in it happily.

I really rate child's farm products as Johnson’s seems to aggravate my baby’s skin. The baby oil is amazing!

Child's Farm barrier lotion is lovely - glides on!

Aldi/Lidl nappies are fab

Sling library (I used stretchy for when DD was small, now in a connecta which I hadn't considered until I went to a library).

If breastfeeding a haaka or naturebond for easy pumping. Decent water bottle. Snacks 😁.

I agree re:clothes. Vests and sleepsuits (ideally with built in scratch mits) until at least four months, and even then just do leggings and soft tops. Can't understand fussy clothing on non mobile babies.

Sorry, just re-read your OP and you asked about bottles etc so assume you're planning to bottle feed. My friends who did really rate the Perfect Prep, along with a decent sized steriliser that you can fit tall bottles in/as much as possible.

Congrats on your baby OP!

Both of mine have had tommee tippee bottles and been fine on them. Buy their microwave steriliser rather than the electric steam one though - I've bought two steam ones and both have broken. Other reviews on JL suggests my experience is not uncommon!
If you're using formula, both of mine have had colic and needed Aptamil Comfort. Comfort milk is a bit easier for them to digest, it has a lower lactose tolerant. I've also used infacol and gripewater to alleviate colic (hopefully your baby wont have it though).

Agree with PP about not spending much on newborn clothing, you'll likely be gifted a lot in smaller sizes. I only bought my son one multipack of 5 plain white babygros in newborn size.

Items that are worth spending a bit more on imo are your changing bag and your pushchair. My pacapod bag still looks new after 4 years and I like the way I can organise my stuff into the different pods.

When you're choosing a pushchair, make sure it'll fit in your boot if you drive. Think about it from a long term perspective if you want to use for more than one child. I have an uppababy cruz which I can clip our maxi cosi car seat onto for doing the school run with my eldest. You can buy footmuffs and raincovers for maxi cosi car seats which us helpful when you're dashing across the playground.

Cheap strollers have been a false economy in my experience.

Above should say 'lactose content' not lactose tolerant.

Also wouldn't be without my perfect prep machine, forgot to add!