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Pregnancy / newborn must buys

16 replies

SweetPeaPods · 12/05/2022 17:27

Is there anything from your pregnancy or newborn stage that you wish you had bought/received or that you had and couldn't live without?

Currently pregnant with dc3 after a 10 year age gap and we are pretty much starting from scratch as got rid of everything. I'm sure there are lots of new things available too that wasn't available first time round.

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PeaceLily2000 · 12/05/2022 17:44

Things we have used everyday with our 4 month old are:

Next to me crib
Mam anti colic bottles (don't need spectate steriliser)
Perfect prep machine
Dockatot (for supervised naps)
Tommee tippee grow egg for room temp
Schnuggle bath (fits perfectly in our kitchen sink)
Hooded towels
Pack of 12 flannels from IKEA for baths and general washing
Sleep sack (ours is a Primark one but lots of options on these)
Mam dummies
Babygrows with zips
Aldi or Asda nappies
Pampers wipes
Cup & Phone holder for pushchair

SweetPeaPods · 12/05/2022 17:58

Really useful thank you. Had to Google a docatot.

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SweetPeaPods · 12/05/2022 17:59

Cup/phone holder for pram is a great shout. Plan to walk off this baby weight!

OP posts:

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bogoblin · 12/05/2022 18:34

Plenty muslins for catching spit up and some kind of baby carrier or stretchy wrap for when they don't want to be put down but you need your hands free!

queenie2016 · 12/05/2022 18:46

A doona pushchair, perfect prep , nuby rapid cool for our and about , wish I'd bought a baby carrier earlier too bought one at 5 months and wish I'd had one sooner! Mam bottles used toner tipper last time so good that you can use microwave to sterilise them oh and also a boppy pillow!

Perpop · 12/05/2022 18:49

Snuzpod or one similar
thermometer duck for bath
touch night light
bedside caddy with nappies wipes creams etc
organic coconut oil for nipples if planning to breastfeed

my most expensive by far for pregnancy & postpartum… a bbhugme pregnancy pillow. Best money spent!

enjoy the newborn snuggles!

Perpop · 12/05/2022 18:50

Love my boba sling also!

Noonecaresifyounamechange · 12/05/2022 19:01

I have a crib down the stairs for day naps…safer than the dockacot things - you can run to the loo after baby is sleeping when they’re in a proper cot.

Things I’d recommend:
Hands free breast pump
Milk bags
Set up a snack station - water bottle, cereal bars, sweeties, for feeding times.
Extra long charging cable - contact naps are pretty normal for new borns and running out of charge is a pain.
Over the bump knickers incase you have a section.
Cup holder for pram is a must!
Pram parasol.
Ergo baby carrier, I got the cover a few weeks ago and wish I’d got it to start with too.
Wash clothes
Sleep bags
Tummy time toys

I just put our hive next to baby instead of a thermostat,

barneymcgroo · 12/05/2022 19:01

I bought a shnuggle (yes, I know, awful name) changing mat for dc2, after the previous one for dc1 basically disintegrated. Dc2 is nearly 2, and it looks unused still. (Used constantly). Hard recommend. It's not cheap, but they do a good resale on eBay.

SweetPeaPods · 12/05/2022 20:01

These are great thank you.
Sling is already on the list, will come in very handy.

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BertieBotts · 12/05/2022 20:34

The dockatots are a bit controversial, worth a Google before you decide whether to buy.

I had a ten year gap between DC1 and 2, the most useful things I had that were new

Baby app that predicts when they are due for a nap. I used Huckleberry but they are charging for that feature now. I hear Napper is an app that does the same thing that Huckleberry used to.

Swivel car seats, amazing. And extended rear facing past the baby stage is much more accessible now and there are loads of seats available that do this. The normal carry seats have become much heavier, though, as well as eye wateringly expensive, so it's worth choosing carefully. I ended up with a basic Cybex. And some of them now have height limits which is fine if you're only planning to use it up to about 8 months but if you're expecting it to last like the older ones did, make sure the height limit is over 80cm. You have to rear face until at least 15 months now.

Baby check app from lullaby trust which lets you put in their symptoms when they're ill.

Shnuggle bath or Angelcare bath support seem to be the best options.

Boba air, the most brilliant sling ever, used from around 4 months. Stretchy wrap before that.

There are some amazing buggies now that convert to double and back again if you think you'll have another baby.

Pampers do coconut oil wipes now which are amazing. Nuk do bottles with heat sensor on so you can tell if it's too hot.

Silicon breast pumps like the haakaa - can't decide if genius or awful? I can't produce for a pump unless I'm insanely engorged so not much use for me but I liked the idea.

JuJu Sundin Birth Skills and The positive birth book were both great if you're planning a natural birth. I got new things from birth although TPBB won't have much new to tell you if you're a third timer, I got it cheap. Also podcasts! There are birth and parenting podcasts now which is brilliant. I enjoyed The Midwives Cauldron.

OTOH there are some new things which are a bit pants.

Facebook groups have gone totally insane. So is Reddit. Everyone is obsessed with the tiny nuances of safety or perfection. If you followed it all you will go absolutely mad. Try to keep your 2012 risk assessment head on or whenever your first baby was born. I can't decide whether it's helpful or bloody awful to follow loads of parenting gurus on Instagram and Facebook. It was simpler ten years ago.

That said, I really really love some of the stuff that's coming out on the social media baby scene. Lyndsey Hookway, Lucy Ruddle and Amy Brown are fantastic. Love all of their pages and content. It's intelligent and nuanced and not scary or perfectionist.

I don't like all the millions of miracle sleep products on the market now. There isn't a bedside cot that works. Just convert one like we did in the olden days if you plan on cosleeping. There are a million baby monitors which claim to reduce risk of SIDS or sleep Train your baby for you, it's probably all bollocks.

You can get sleepsuits with zips on but I hate them. People seem to like them though so maybe it's just me.

Everyone seems to use a snot sucker, but I hate them too and no baby has died yet from a giant bogey so I think it's fine to not use them.

The IKEA antilop is still the best high chair.

You can no longer find the 80s style baby bouncers at car boots so you need a swing with batteries or the baby Bjorn. None of the modern bouncers are any good because they're the wrong shape. Also babies are not allowed to sleep in these things any more but I kept my 2008 risk assessment head on and did it anyway.

BertieBotts · 12/05/2022 20:37

That should read I got new things from both, in the paragraph about birth books.

The tommee tippee prep machine is supposed to be great if you're planning to formula feed.

ShirleyPhallus · 12/05/2022 20:38

Dock a tots are perfectly safe for supervised naps and very useful for putting the baby in when you’re in the shower / folding laundry etc

I pretty much agree with everything on everyone else’s list, apart from the number of muslins. If the baby isn’t very vomity you don’t actually need that many so don’t go overboard

SweetPeaPods · 12/05/2022 23:21

Will look into the social media people you mentioned and the podcast thank you.

Lots being added to the list to look at thank you.

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