Where to shop for baby items

[lgmum2b]

Hi Ladies,
Would love some advice.
I've been very disappointed with the limited ranges availbale in my local Mothercare and Mamas Papas. Have spent some time in John Lewis and again not blown away by the choice.

I orginally come from New Zealand and at home there are big Baby superstores named things like Baby World.
I've seen the big Kiddicare store on line but it's in Peterborough and was wondering if anyone in London could recommend if any of these big stores actually exist here and if so where? Ideally close to London.

Thanks in advance.
Lou

Mamas and Papas are generally very poor for customer services, so I would avoid them.

What items are you after in particular?

The two best places BY FAR IMO are

Babies R Us and JoJo Maman Bebe..

Both wonderful!

Babies R Us and Mothercare are good for basics but not so great for anything non-mainstream - ie. cloth slings, cloth nappies, clothing that isn't cookie-cutter baby stuff, etc. Jojo does carry a lot of good things, but you can often get them online a lot cheaper, so search around.

I can recommend Babyworld online or the warehouse shop (in Wallingford, South Oxfordshire) for a good range of buggies and other accessories. Alternatively, look in the local Yellow Pages for anything calling itself a Pram Centre, as they normally carry a range of non-buggy things you can browse. If you're in London, there will be smaller 'boutiques' with cute European clothes and oddments, but pricy.

Otherwise, can I recommend an NCT Nearly New sale? They are about to start the autumn season sales and there will be one close to you. Great for bargains like cots, baths, clothes, toys adn so on. If you look [[http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/in-your-area here] you can find your closest one. Don't forget ebay either, if you have a specific thing in mind! And freecycle is worth a look too.

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NCT

Thanks ladies.
Trains and Planes I'm looking for everything.
Our first baby so need everything just getting a bit lost as to where to start.

Amarillis - Will dfinitely look up your suggestions. Thanks you!
x

Mothercare are OK for basic babygros and vests. I also liked some of the sainsbury's ones. I liked baby clothes from babyGap, got some as presents.

John Lewis do nice fitted cot sheets.

With equipment - always try it out and see what you think of it and never spend too much on any one item in case it turns out to be useless/not something you get along with.

TinyLove (available at Mothercare) do nice playmats with arches over them and toys dangling down for a baby to just lay under and look at and then hit with their hands.

For my first, I got loads in Mamas and Papas (major mistake). For my 2nd, I looked around and got different things in different places, different brands and always got advice from MN before buying.

Regarding where to start: I would start with a few babygros (called sleepsuits I think on the packets) and vests and also get some newborn nappies. Carseat is important - bucket style one - but before buying, consider whether you want to attach it to a set of wheels and use it as part of a travel system. This can be useful if you have taken the baby out in the car with you and you just want to get out relatively quickly to get something - you just snap the carseat onto the wheels and away you go. (shouldn't leave baby in carseat for longer trips). A carseat is too heavy to carry the baby in when you are shopping unless the baby is very young and teeny. Although the carseat can be strapped into some supermarket trolley and this can be useful.