What baby and parenting essentials did you find most useful?

[Pinkfairy00]

Due our first baby in 4 months. What are everyone’s baby and parenting essentials? I know the basics like next to me, cot, pram etc. but what are some things that I will need/ want that you found useful :)

In general, remembering that the shops don’t close after the baby is born. As long as your baby has something to eat, somewhere to sleep, something to wear, a way home from hospital and some nappies and a way to clean them up, then there’s nothing which is an emergency and stocking up on everything other people find useful just in case is expensive and will fill your house with so much clutter. One person’s can’t live without item is another’s untouched at the bottom of the drawer. Now I’m the other side of the baby stage, I’m so glad that I bought the bare minimum and bought as I went because other than a portable white noise machine and bibs, I used pretty much everything I bought for my baby.

But I do love merino wool sleeping bags. They’re pricier, but they’re all season and are thinner and longer lasting than most other sleeping bags. And milk collector cups if you plan to breastfeed which sit in your bra. Not anything with suction like the Haakaa, but passive collectors. And an inkless footprint set for his little feet.

For me, I’m glad I had a fancy shower gel because showing was my only proper me time for a while and it made it feel fancy and my Owala water bottle.

In-ear thermometer, Calpol and Nurofen. Plug in vapour thing for a snotty nose. Snot sucker.

Baby bath seat.

More muslins than you think you'll need.

Dummy.

A freezer full of pre-cooked meals and/or subscription to one of those Gousto type delivery companies so you don't need to think about food for the first few months.

A private lactation consultant (an IBCLC qualified midwife).

I paid about 1k, it included a session at 38 weeks to teach me the basics, 2 or 3 home visits and 24/7 availability over WhatsApp for advice/emergency for the first 2 weeks.

Best money I ever spent. Not only was she amazing at helping me establish breastfeeding, she checked the baby, and had some really good advice in those early days when you don't know what you're doing. She also spotted a small issue with my baby's neck being a bit tight to one side which was affecting his feeding and referred us to a baby physio who helped us nip it in the bud.

In terms of things to buy:

• Love2Dream swaddle
• a good baby monitor. Unless baby is premature, I wouldn't bother with heart rate monitors etc, just something with white noise and view of the baby etc
• disposable underwear for the first 2 weeks. Extremely useful in hospital and after that (I had a c section)
• lots of blankets and LOTS of muslins
• that chewy French giraffe became indispensable around 3/4 months

• Never thought I would need one, but baby swing was my coping mechanism.
• nooie camera monitor
• mirror car seat so I could keep my eye on her.
• Those ready made aptamil baby milk bottles. They didn't need to be refrigerated and I would never attempt again to make formula and store it when taking baby out. It was a small expense but totally worth it. A few in my bag were essential to me.

I never used the 20 muslins i had purchased / benn gifted, I found them oversized and unnecessary

Sorry, should have read car mirror

The first poster had it right when she said wait, because everyone prioritises different things.

Let me show this by going through the essentials that the second poster recommended:
I never used the nose / snot things. I found the bath inserts more difficult than just holding them in my bath. My first baby required tonnes of muslins, which are sitting unused in the bottom of the drawer with my second. You're not supposed to give a dummy to a breastfed baby for two months, if at all.

Though I do find a thermometer useful!

A sling. I used it a lot with my first but now with my second I'm finding it even more indispensable to just do stuff at home, run errands, do the nursery run with eldest, etc. I use one of those wraps which are great for first few months.

Ready made formula bottles. So much easier for going out than faffing about with prepping powdered formula.

Star blanket. My first was born in winter and he practically lived in one of those. Not so useful for my newborn during these heatwaves though!

For immediate postpartum, Frida's disposable C-section underwear were a fantastic find second time around. Infinitely better than the cheap plastic ones I bought for my first C-section. Pricier but so worth it for the comfort. I used them for nearly 3 weeks pp.

As others have said, buy as you need is the best approach. Most things you won't know you'll need (or might not) until you're actually going about your new routine.

A husband that isn't an absolute waste of oxygen.

A breastfeeding support person that came to the house to show me how to feed comfortably.

A white noise machine. The witch hazel and aloe Vera potions on cotton pads in your underwear.

My partner wore our second hand Baby Bjorn carrier a LOT, whereas I got no use out of it (when baby was that close to me they only wanted to feed and screamed that they couldn't until they were too heavy for the Baby Bjorn!).

Microwave steriliser for bottles as combination feeding.

Baby Einstein playmat. It let me bring my baby lots of places in the house after about three months, eg I could cook while baby played on the kitchen floor.

A book called Natural Healthcare for Children how to raise happy, healthy children from o-15
karen Sullivan
It was a brilliant reference I used for both children, a thing to dip in and out of throughout the years

The best thing I got was an electric nail file for babies. Removed all the stress in cutting my baby’s sharp talons. It’s a little round rotating emery board and you can change the heads from soft to hardest as their nails get harder. So much better than the stress of trying to cut or clip!