To ask about newborns...

[notsureifimbeingur]

I'm due to have a baby in November, and I wondered if anyone has advice of things to buy that were an absolute must have when you were giving birth/ settling into life with a baby at home?

Perhaps things that I wouldn't initially think of, but couldn't live without, and would then have to make a trip out to buy them.
I like to be as organised as possible!

(Sorry, I know this isn't strictly AIBU, but posting for traffic!)

Thank you!

OMG just seen how long that post was. I'm blaming sleep deprivation for inability to condense info 🙄

We put the sleepyhead in the next2me as well

Groegg thermometer - changes colour so easy to know room temperature and also helps as a dim night light.
Just seen Aldi have a much cheaper equivalent sleepyhead (£20 instead of £120!).

Muslin cloths, baby sleeping bags are an absolute godsend! If using tommee tippee bottles either size 2 or variflow teats, a sling.
Maybe a wipe warmer? I know opinions are divided on them but in November a cold wipe on a tiny baby bum in the middle of the night can't be nice!

If you need bottles for feeding, go to the pond shop or local chemist as way cheaper.
A plastic jug & lavender essential oil to pour over your bits in the shower to sooth & aid healing.

Nasal spray for when they get a cold

Sorry I should have said Saline solution nasal spray

Earplugs. You will definitely still be able to hear them crying but it will take the edge off when they take a while to settle. I also found lanisoh, my Kindle, Audible subscription and some noise-cancelling headphones very useful. Feeding can take a while and if you don't want to read, being read-to is wonderful!

An Audible account.

A million muslin squares.

For the large-breasted breastfeeders :

I was a 30E pre-pregnancy and am now a 30H while BFing. I found it was really hard to find nursing bras to fit - the lovely soft croptop styles just sort of floated around the middle of my chest with most of my breast hanging out the top and bottom, and they didn't provide any support at all (because if they were big enough in the cup they were far too big in the band). My back was killing me and I ended up with mastitis from the band resting halfway up my boob. Same with all those lovely nursing tops with integral shelf bras - they just didn't fit around my breasts.

I switched to using an underwired nursing bra like the one I've linked below, and it feels so much better. People say underwired bras cause mastitis, but I think that's because a lot of people wear the wrong size bra and the underwire is sitting on the breast. If it's sitting on your chest wall like it's meant to, it's fine.

www.figleaves.com/uk/anita-smooth-flexi-wire-nursing-bra/ANT-5068.html?dwvar_ANT-5068_color=707560&cgid=maternity-and-nursing-lingerie-bras#gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4a_q-87W1QIVybftCh2pXgVtEAMYASAAEgIaMvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CPnE4IjP1tUCFaEg0wodnhwCxg&start=2

White noise, millions of muslin cloths, nappies and wipes in pretty much every room of the house, a decent video baby monitor, flask of boiling water to make preparing night feeds quicker (if bottle feeding) and a little caddy to keep everything close by like your phone, tv remote, books, snacks and drinks. Good luck you'll be fine!

"millions of muslin cloths"

That's quite a lot- I think a million would be enough...........

two things that were essential for me:

Sling (we have an Ergobaby and have used it daily since DS was 4 weeks old - he's now 10 months)

Slow cooker. You possibly won't be able to cook when you want to, so a slow cooker is perfect for getting dinner ready when you only have 5 mins here and there.

I should say that I'm still using the slow cooker 2 or 3 times a week now. Soooo useful.

Sashkin - that's a great nursing bra tip. I had the same underwired Anita bras and they were fab. So much more comfortable and better fitting than the soft bras I tried.

Definitely an aspirator to unblock snotty noses.
It is so horrible when they can't breathe through their noses when they're feeding and their nostrils are so tiny.

Another thing is a co sleeping cot. They WILL NOT be put down so be ready to be holding/ touching them for the first 4 months non stop!

Another thing I wish I'd done, was buy some cheap bedding. I got the waterproof mattress protector, but some lovely sheets have been ruined. There's all kinds of mess in the first weeks and my beautiful high thread count sheets may never recover

Maternity pads! I brought one pack and nearly ran out on day 2! Went though about 10 packs in the end

Shameless placemarking 😊

More maternity towels than you think you will need !
Chocolate and tasty treats

Muslin cloths - anywhere under 20 and you don't have enough.
Nappybin - am I heck going out at 2am in the rain to throw a shitty nappy away. Nor do I want it festering in my kitchen
Nappies/wipes. - obvious but you will go through about 12 nappies per day. Get different brands so you can work out what is good and what isn't.
Clothes - think about realistically how quickly you can get the dirty stuff washed and dried. Also consider do you have enough pjs :) my ds was an expert at missing the Muslin cloth.
Kindle app/magazine supscription - Feeding at 3 am is boring.
Sanitary/maternity pads - I bled for about 6 weeks so stock up. You won't be able to use tampons for a while.
Beddas bubble bath - amazing if your bits hurt
Make sure you've got plenty of tv shows/box sets to keep you company. Newborns are pretty boring at times.
Get some frozen food ready.. either shop bought or home made meals and stick in the freezer. It will be a while till you can do a full roast without being interrupted ... about 18 years and it will be easier .
Sleeping bags. Ds is and always was a massive wriggler... sleeping bags mean I'm not up all night tucking the little monster back in. (Check the tog and the weight limits)
A good quality pram/pushchair. I used to and still do walk miles with ds. If your using the bus is it bus/train friendly. Also consider if it fits in the car (if you have one).
Bouncychair (or something portable for them to sleep in) so you can pop them down so you can shower etc.
Hope that helps 👍.

If I can add what pointless stuff won't you need:
Expensive clothes - they will shit all over those super cute mamas and papas clothes the same they will on stuff from Tesco/Asda etc.
Primark stuff is really small so expect to go a size bigger.
£300 bouncy chairs with £75 adapters which allow the baby to rock
Fiddly clothes - try to avoid over the head sleepsuits. You'll need about 8 arms for it to go on easily. Stick with poppers down the front
Also separate scratch mits. Ds used to either bite them off or shake his hands till they fell off. - get stuff with inbuilt mits.
Having an exclusively white wardrobe - cute? Yes!, shows the stains up? Also yes!
Don't worry about a fancy nursery - they will probs be in with you till they are 4/5 months. They don't need everything to be colour coordinated.

Just to make a change from all the muslin recommendations - terry squares are also really useful. I still often reach for one of the Bright Bots brightly coloured ones - never used them as nappies, but used them for everything else.

My other suggestion would be, if you haven't already, identify a couple of books that you like, that are decently practical and fit with the kind of parent you can see yourself being, and then read and reread them now till you practically know them by heart. The problems you have won't be the ones you're worrying about now, and it's so much easier if in theory you know the one that arrives is a common problem and what to do about it than if you have to wonder if it's just you. It's hard to read or think when you're sleep deprived. (You may not be, not all parents are, but many are!)

Plenty of food for when you come home
Pregnancy pillow
Baby bean bag. My 5 month old loves it. She prefers this over her swing. It's light so can be moved anywhere in the house.

Place-marking. Great thread! 😊