Tell me your most ‘can’t live without’ items for a new baby please!

[MilkAndFenty]

Hit me with the stuff you absolutely love- also interested to hear what was a massive waste of money in your opinions!

Don't bother with the nappy bin. It smells.

A couple of good playmats are a must have.

Muslins and so many

Best
hooded towel with ears, baby loved it. Soooo soft
baby monitor app, check what’s going on
Blackout blinds in nursery, so dark
night light that projects shapes , baby stares at it transfixed

worst
baby bath big hulking heavy thing, replaced with a round basin
baby sling , never got used to it.too much faff

Sorry muslins were the most useful item I have ever used

Waleda bum cream

You need 1. A really good quality mattress protector for your own bed. In fact, make that 2…

Sorry Weleda bum cream

Massive muslins, small muslins, just all the muslins really.

I love the reusable wipes for at home, (cheeky wipes) only need 1/2 per change. No pulling hundreds of wipes out a packet by accident when trying to just get one out. No risk of putting your finger through and getting covered. Alllllll the muslins. In ear thermometer that reads within seconds. Sling I loved and with first baby was the only way to do anything as they just wanted to be held.

Baby bjorn bouncer chair - totally portable, unbelievably amazingly useful. No whistles or bells just a brilliant high quality bouncer-can di it with your foot or facing away for quiet settle etc, it saved my sanity when my ds wouldn’t go to sleep teething or colic and I’d bounce him gently when nothing ends worked. Expensive but sells on eBay afterwards.

Baby gym, baby transfixed and amused for hours
Kindle for the night feeds

Muslins were number 1 for us too!

Also really useful but not essential were gro snugs /gro bags, a dummy, white noise from the Alexa and a rucksack for a changing bag.

Perfect prep for making bottles up so easily.

Sleeping bags (when the baby is heavy enough).

Peg airer to air dry all the bibs and muslin squares.

I like your thinking- I wouldn’t have thought I’d that, but that is super practical!

Oh and metanium cream is fucking magical!

We are all so different! I loved the baby sling, got so much done with her in there and great for walks and naps.

and schnuggle bath is excellent

travel white noise machine for me was a great thing

Essentials
Sling
Muslin cloths
Lansinoh nipple cream
Moses basket

Biggest waste of money
Cot
Crib
Baby walker

Best things:
Reusable wipes, still using them now nearly 3 yes on
Muslins, tons of them
Sling, if you have a sling library nearby go check it out
Join 360spin..Great carseat, easy to get baby and now toddler in and out and rearfaced

Muslins, so many muslins!! And DD wasn't even a particularly sicky baby.

More baby vests than you think you'll need as well.

Apart from that I can't really think of anything else I couldn't have done without, it's so down to personal preference and what the baby ends up being like.

A thermal flask/travel mug so you can enjoy a hot drink over a few hours and not be microwaving your cup of tea 3 times in an effort to drink it hot.

Best:
A stretchy wrap/sling. My first born always settled well in it and meant I could get some housework done!
Blackout blind with suction cups. Still using it 3 years on.
Audio only baby monitor, never needed a video one
An in-bra breast pump. Very expensive but saved my breastfeeding journey!
Cloth nappies!

Worst:
Babywearing coat. Just wore my ordinary coat and baby was cosy enough in the sling!
Nursing cami tops - any old strappy too will do, under a loose shirt for discrete feeding
Baby bath. Literally used it a couple of times and baby hated it. Just use the sink or hold in the bath
Baby swing - baby just went in sling so never needed it much
Baby walker - complete waste of money, don't bother
Anything for tummy time. Just use a rolled up blanket.
Bottle warmer. Just use a jug with warm water in it lol

Muslins are a must! Baby Bjorn and mattress protectors sound like a very good ideas too.

Buggy that suits your lifestyle - for me it was a Bugaboo Bee as we live in a city and I wanted something easy to manoeuvre and get on public transport. Work out what your priorities are (off road? car or bus?) and go from there.

Sling (soft stretchy for 0-6 and structured for 6-24)

Totter & Tumble playmat - covers hideous rental carpet, not babyish, really pleased with ours

Weleda nappy cream

Perfect Prep (baby 1 was EBF but baby 2 was FF and the prep was brilliant)

Don't bother with a change bag, get a large pouch for 3 x nappies, wipes and a spare babygro and pop it in a comfortable rucksack/crossbody bag. Change bags are heavy and bulky and kind of pointless.

Dummies - DDs both loved to suckle constantly.

White noise toy - we had Ewan the sheep

So many things here I wouldn’t have thought of- really great suggestions!