what did you really appreciate for your newborn?

[ladycarlotta]

Posting here for traffic.

We are expecting our baby in a month and DP's friendship group always do a whip-round for a first baby and get the parents something practical of their choosing, at a cost of around £120. In the past people have chosen things like a Sleepyhead, a sheepskin buggy liner, or an Ergobaby.

I'm just wondering, what would you choose? I'm at a bit of a loss working out what we might need - there is so much we haven't got, but I'm also a bit worried that we'll end up choosing something that is not useful, and kicking ourselves for not requesting something else.
I'd ask for a side-sleeper but the Snuzpod ones are over budget, and I don't know whether the cheaper ones are as good.

I know every baby is different, and every couple too, but what was a godsend to you in the newborn days and beyond? What would you definitely not bother with?

Food. Cook vouchers ideally.
Or Amazon prime membership.

The bouncy chair thingys that go in the doorway when they are a little older- mine loved that.

Now I feel broody and nostalgic!

Bouncy chair to put the baby in

Moses basket mine hated cots

Changing table as it saves your back

Electric rocker

Cold water steraliser - steam ones are shit

Loads of bibs

My Next2me Crib & my Perfect prep Machine.
Felt like we were co-sleeping & when he did wake for feeds there was no waiting to warm bottles etc it was great.
DS is now 2 and has been sleeping in his own room for Over a Year in his own bed, and the transition was so easy!

Food. Hands down.

Second thing but only costs £15 is a bouncer.

The things I couldn’t have lived without were perfect prep machine, bouncer chair and a myhummy.

I didn't discover the merits of a side sleeping crib until my son was about 5 weeks old, and I wish we'd had it from birth. We had the chicco next2me and it was fab. He settled so well in there compared to a Moses basket.

I've heard really good things about the sleepyheads but personally never used one.

A sling was fab for getting housework done during the early days when he was a bit of a velcro baby.

If you plan to use formula, I wouldn't bother with a perfect prep. They just seem like expensive tat.

Perfect prep machine and video monitor. Ours is Motorola but there are lots.

If you're bottle feeding, absolutely a Perfect Prep machine. It's the only thing expensive "extra" we bought DD (now 4) that I think was worth the money

If you're going to be bottle feeding, a Tommee Tipper Prep Machine. One of the greatest inventions ever.
An electric swing for when your arms are dead.
A change station.

We have a Next To Me and to be honest our moses basket would have worked just as well.

Congratulations by the way!

A voucher for John Lewis. It was really helpful to have some “cash” to buy things we hadn’t thought we’d need so soon like a bouncy chair or a play-mat or a door-bouncer. That way we could choose what we wanted.

My parents gave each DD one set of Premium Bonds.

Apart from that the things I wouldn’t have thought we needed but were useful;

Gro-egg, plug in night light, head nest thing to stop baby getting a flat head.

If you are planning on formula feeding how about a machine that makes each feed up when you need it?

I wouldn’t bother with a toweling thing on metal poles that goes on the bath to make it easier to bath the baby. It took up room we didn’t have and the toweling thing never got dry between one bath and the next so was unhygienic.

^^ Oh yes, we have a video monitor this time round with DS (we had a audio one with DD) and it's much better! We have the BT big screen one and you can see the baby breathing which is reassuring.

A playmat, the type with the arch with hanging toys over it. we got loads of use from it from newborn until crawling

A good sling/carrier will last you a while too.

Ergobaby saved my life but bit later and only for baby 1. DC2 was not impressed. I second Amazon Prime. Or my personal best buy: a wool sleeping bag. They sleep so well in wool. merinokids was the one I had.

I found the perfect prep useless personally. It's an expensive kettle.

The next to me is great, the ergobaby 360 omni brilliant for trips out especially in warmer weather, but my absolute godsend is an ergobaby aura wrap, an indoor stretchy fabric sling. I have a velcro baby and without it I'd literally get nothing done, he loves it and naps in it. DS doesn't have reflux but they're good for reflux babies too because it keeps them upright.
We've not used a sleepyhead etc due to the SIDs warnings

next to me crib. Brilliant for co sleeping safely.
Possibly a white noise machine such as myhummy or similar with a crysensor

Pre prep machine and one of those swings instead of a boucy chair. Also muslims. You can never have too many! Found bibs were over rated but my sister really got on with them but she had a dribbling baby Think sleepyheads are being investigated at the moment as all over local face book selling sites not to buy them.

Perfect prep
Mam bottles and dummies
Changing table
Electronic swing

I have a 3wk old pfb. Perfect prep is amazing. Really impressed with the mam stuff. Have a mammas and pappas starlite swing which isnt much use yet but i can tell it will be.

Oh and an isofix base.

A sleepy head. My DD would never had slept with out it!

Perfect prep

Swing vibrating chair thing

Nose Frieda too

morrck.com/product/all-season-baby-hoodie-size-1-6-months/

I loved this. So much easier than putting on and off jackets or blankets that blow away or have to keep being adjusted.

Bouncy chair, I have had 6 kids age from 28 yrs down to 5 yrs and I always found a basic everyday, no frills bouncy chair a god send.

Next2me and sleepyhead have been brilliant. Tbh I think we’ve got
decent use out of everything we were given, all except clothes, which we had far too many of and lots I didn’t even like or weren’t practical.